Ritsuka had experienced the back of Marie's stallion once before, but now was different. They were not running from a monster, but to one. It was not a quick jump, but a long sprint. It had him clutching the princess to keep himself from being jostled off or torn off by the wind. He knew that if he so much as lifted a finger, he'd be possible miles behind them.

It was not much of an exaggeration. Not when he saw road passing beneath them so much like they were riding in an open train. It was something amazing to see.

Just as incredible was the ease with which all the other servants were able to keep pace with them. Sasaki, Longinus, and even Solomon running with no lack of urgency. Eyes forward despite the wind, while Ritsuka had to squint and still shield his eyes. Each moment he tried to look forward, a laugh came from his back. There Mozart would pat his shoulder, keeping him mounted behind the princess.

"We're nearly there." Solomon called out in his mind. He looked with a barricaded gaze at the tanned man, who looked back up with ease, even as his legs continued to sprint. "When we arrive, you must stay back with me Master. The others will charge ahead."

"Isn't that what happened before? Maybe I should go with them this time."

"You'd be a target like last time." Much like a few minutes before. "This time, we have Rider, who will not be dismissing her Noble Phantasm." The glass beast they were riding in on. "Should we be attacked again, she'll take you back to Jesus, faster than any of us." Considering how the mare they were felt as if it were in a slow gallop, despite the bullet train speed, he could believe it.

"Alright. And everyone else?"

"As I said, they will charge." Ritsuka watched, confused as the man suddenly jumped forward. Not high, though reaching head-height with the Master on the glass horse, but more of a long-jump.

Ending with him sliding forward in front of the horse. Marie's mare reeled back, and the others stopped as well. Ritsuka was about ask why, before he looked ahead and saw it. The town that the man had to have come from, at the top of a hill. It made sense, from the little he knew of the construction of ancient cities, to make a home atop a hill.

That meant nothing when there were dozens, near the hundreds, of the wyverns flying about the top of the buildings. Even from the distance away, Ritsuka could already see the walls and buildings torn from the village, structures either carved in half or collapsed in on themselves. Small fires were blooming atop the roofs of a few scaffolds, and there was no way they'd do anything else but propagate and burn. It was a horrifying sight to witness, one he'd seen thrice now already.

But it was only the second time he'd heard the screams. They were more horrifying from so far away.

"They're still alive?"

"Hurry! We have to help them!" Ritsuka shouted, pointing ahead. He saw Longinus nod.

He fell forward and off the horse before he could not back, a cry of surprise chocked in throat as he fell over himself. He landed easily in Solomon's robed arms, looking up to see Mozart's outstretched hand. He waved to him with a wry grin.

"From now on you're a member of the audience, Master. Let your Servants keep the others protected and entertained." The man's words spurred on the princess at the head, raising her balled fist over her large cap.

"Viva La France!" The glass horse took off full tilt. Ritsuka understood when all he saw was a streak of light, why the Servant couldn't go all out with him on the steed. Longinus and Sasaki were not far behind, climbing the hill and charging towards the monsters.

Ritsuka's feet found purchase as Solomon let him down, but kept a hand on his shoulder. They stood side-by-side as they watched the village from so far away, as the four servants vanished into the slowly growing ruins. He could only pray they would succeed before any other lives were lost.


"We will attack from two sides," Longinus yelled as they ascended the hill. "Sasaki and I will go right, Marie and Mozart the left!"

"Giving orders?" The Samurai quipped.

"Before my soul was saved, I fought and worked with the greatest army of the old world. Tactics are known to me against an armies that are grand in number!" Gray eyes looked up, watching as the wyverns twisted their long necks. Their cries continued to split the air. The shouts of the people within was the burning balm to hasten them. "It will make short work of our enemies and save the people!"

"Then I agree!" The princess shouted. She adjusted herself on her steed, grasping at a reign he couldn't see. "Wolfgang, prepare your loudest drums! We will remind the people we are here to save them!"

"AHA! Of course!" The caster flicked up his baton at the command.

The air was filled with the very instrument the princess requested. The boom of the drums, like the Gauls marching against the first Caeser of Rome. The few of the wyverns that looked before turned into them all, every pair of slit eyes staring at them, jaws opening with the desire to feast. Were it his old life, the sight would have been sure death.

In this newly christened existence, Longinus ready his loathsome lance mid-charge with Sasaki drawing forth his long blade. Neither felt hesitation for what was to come.

"Good luck monsuires!" The princess shouted as her glass horse veered off. "For the people who depend on us, VIVA LA FRANCE!" With the agility of a Rider, the mare beat the ground into chunks and began to round the village. More than a few of the beasts looked at her.

"They have their enemies, and now we have ours." Sasaki's voice let out with slight jubilation. "I hope their numbers increase their difficulty. I can only cut down so many birds before the act becomes boring."

A shrill cry from one of the monsters was its response, followed by it beginning to swoop towards him. Longinus continued on, staring at the next one in line through his helm. He had no fear of the monster nor for the warrior it was charging.

SCREEEE-

The sudden cut of its cry was evidence that it wouldn't be any trouble. His lance turned point up as he watched the maw of another beast deciding to take him whole. He had little to worry for.

His boots kicked off the ground, rocketing him with the speed of the trebuchets, yet directing a solid point forward. His lance didn't so much pierce as it obliterated the top part of the wyvern's skull, letting only mush and a disconnected lower portion fall with the rest of its body. Its body had not yet stopped rolling when he was still reaching the apex of his point in the air, spinning his lance and finding his next target.

A pair of them flew up, attempting to tear him apart like the wild beasts they were. Longinus had no difficulty in using the butt of his lance to push off the swinging wing of one, letting his boots crash into the back of the other. It writhed in the air, trying to push him away, but only gave him purchase and momentum to pull his lance back and pushing it through its through. The head of the spear jutted out from the creature's mouth. He ripped it up, bisecting it from throat to head, turning its reckless cries into a mute descent.

The other beast dove at him again, and many more were behind him. Longinus took a slow breath while he took a glance at the quickly approaching ground. He pushed on the corpse he as riding, letting it turn until he was facing another one of the beasts. He jumped, letting the monster he rode in on crash into another monster, hearing it cry out in annoyance.

The Wyvern he attacked had no such time to cry, his body slamming into its throat as if practicing combat with the centurions and their shields. But they could resist him then. Here, he felt the bones crack in the monster's neck, forcing out a wet gurgle of death. Gray eyes watched the ground approaching, and he took hold of the monster as it neared.

The body would have been no cushion to any living human who rode in on it. For a Servant such as himself, it gave him the moments needed to ride its broken body. The scaled monster was mush as it tumbled through the streets, but the slayer of Christ jumped from its form, blood on his lance guts following him. The sight would have given any warriors in Rome's time pause, for admiration or fear.

SCREEEEEE! SCHRAAAAAA!

But beasts possessed neither thought nor logic, and they dove at him in pairs and trios, trying to rip him apart. His footing was sturdy, even on the broken cobblestone, and it let him raise his lance to slash at the wing of one. It let out a cry, backing away and falling against a broken down stall. Its weight crushed the wood, but the thrashing of the beast was proof it was far dead.

Longinus had no time to pursue it, its 'comrades', for lack of a better word, charged ahead. One maw snapped about where he stood, avoided by a quick step back, only to have him feel the talons of another scratch at his armor. The strength was enough to break down the walls of buildings, so it was enough to have him rocked forward, catching the ground with his staff for balance.

Training in the Roman Empire taught him to not hold still in a solo fight. So the moment his balance was regained, his lance tore out behind him. The resistance of impact was immediate, as well as the beast suddenly beating at him for escape. Longinus braced the medial portion of the staff beneath his arm, twisting on his heel with a cry of effort.

It ripped the lance out, dragging the beast's innards across the one next to it. The wyvern hit with his ally's intestines let loose another shrill cry, beating its wings and ascending swiftly for safety. Longinus wouldn't have it. Body still turning, he pulled back his lance, cocking it over his arm, and letting it sit parallel with his outstretched limb.

He let out only a small breath of air with the effort of throwing it, watching with satisfaction as the tool pierced the back of the monster, sliding through deep enough for it to nearly vanish. The wyvern's beating wings stalled, trembled, and finally relaxed, taking the monster back to the ground. Longinus knew he had struck its heart, as easily as he would hunt for rabbits in the scouting missions for the empire. It was a thought he put away for now. He still had to retrieve his lance.

And the wyverns were barreling down on him again. Gray eyes looked ahead for the corpse, charging it. One wyvern, by luck or instinct, fell between him and it, mouth opening as it prepared to bite at him again. He was prepared to jump, but it wasn't necessary.

He saw the glint of steel from beneath the monster's wing.

SHING!

And then he heard its cry as its appendages fell limply to the ground. The lavender robe of Sasaki came to settle just next to him. They shared a glance as he jumped over the newly made corpse, landing on the speared Wyvern and drawing out his weapon. He kicked off of it a moment later, driving the body into the ground and settling beside the Samurai.

"How did your combat in the air fair? I wasn't aware the Romans were capable of such things." The samurai teased, body hunched with sword as the ready. "Or is that a blessing of your Lord?"

"All that I do and all that I succeed in is a blessing from him. My defeats are his lessons and my victories his reward." The roman's answer made Sasaki Kojiro laugh again, belly filled.

"I have met your Lord and I have seen his powers of speech! To have warriors as capable as you swearing to him, it reminds me too well of the Feudal Lords who sought to break the caste of the system." The man's blade sliced at something, and Longinus heard blood spatter. "I look forward to seeing all that he can do, so perhaps I can be wooed by him."

"You have only but to ask, and you shall receive," Longinus answered. The words came as another wyvern dove at him, talons out and head out of reach, perhaps have seen enough of his slain comrades. Seen enough to know better, but not enough.

Longinus took a lunge forward, weaving between its outstretched legs, grasping the end of his lance, and drove it forward as if a part of a mounting line. It skewered the underside of the beast's skull, stretching past its body's length. It went limp at the end of his weapon, leaving the former Roman Scout to hold the body at a normally impossible length.

It did not stall him. A twisted as the body collapsed, leaving him to drag the lance down. It was done in time with the rustle of wind, feeling the head of the lance tear through a wing of another monster. It cried out as it fell, head slamming the ground unbalanced. It twisted like the snake that it was, ready to chomp at his feet.

Kojiro's blade made short work of it, taking its head from the jaw-line up, and having it writhe for a moment before blood pooled beneath it. He twisted on his heel expertly, pulling his blade back and stopping the strike of another wyvern. Stopping it, not countering it. Longinus's eyes narrowed. His feet stomped as he dove forward, twisting his spear and slamming the butt of it into the wyvern, blowing it back, skull a crumpled mess.

"An even trade," the samurai noted simply. "Though one I'm unfortunate to having need made."

"I agree," Longinus followed. His mind on the wyverns Sasaki slew with him. "It appears their numbers are making the battle more difficult. Not unforeseen, but unfortunate."

"I suppose it is true what they say. Quantity is its own quality."

"Then we will have to shower a greater efficiency."

Longinus took a step around the Samurai, turning his spear and making a wall with larger body. A wyvern that was flying towards them scratched at him, failing to drag him up. He made motion to attack, but withdrew. He had to, or else risk the other monster attacking him snatching at his arm. He beat it away, before pulling back and enduring the winds of another.

"I have never endured swallows attacking in a pack," the samurai noted, even as the Roman Scout heard his blade slip through the air, but lacking the finality of crumbled bodies. "I do not suppose your Lord has a blessing for a time such as this?"

"Only to not fear what is about the world, for he has conquered it."

"Then we are faring less than ideally against rebels."

The two circled about one another, backs against each other, watching as the Wyverns encircled them. Perhaps it was the sight of their comrades dying, but they were not charging them with the abandon they had before. They were either waiting, or stalking. Neither were ideal, especially if there was a village that still needed saving. For that, the enemy required routing.

"My sword was famed for its reach, but I recognize that it is still a lesser brother compared to your lance."

"What?" Longinus resisted the urge to look over his shoulder.

"Yet I may slice and draw on the enemy no matter their distance from me, once they are close. You can only stab from afar and slice from the same distance."

"Now is not the time to judge the way I am meant to fight." Another wyvern howled at them. It earned an ire filled glare from Longinus's gray eyes.

"Rather that judge, I am attempting to compromise. I am not untrained with polearms, but I doubt I would fare as well as you with yours, nor would you be able to match me with a blade. This is also assuming you have knowledge of the sword."

"All soldiers, scouts to legionnaires, are trained with the use of the sword and shield."

A hand touched the back of his armor. He risked a glance, seeing the wry grin on the samurai's face, and the man's eyes following his infamous weapon.

"Then it would be fare to assume we can work around one another?"

Longinus thought on the man's words, with less effort than he gave the sacrifice of Christ, but more than he would the musings of his former generals. The monster cried out around them, and he realized after a brief moment what the man was suggesting. It was far from a ludicrous proposal. Rather, with the events around them, it was the opposite.

They were in strange times, and these were the times when one had to work with the blessings God had given him. Blessed with a lance that drew the blood of his Son, and in a land desperate to keep his word whole, it was a time to try.

"We may attempt so," Longinus suggested. He adjusted his grip, reverse hold so he could swing the lance with either hand. "To do that, we need to know how we should strike."

"As I said, you have the greatest reach. I'll follow your lead," The man's food dragged on the stone. "Following that, I say we treat each other as we would an extension of ourselves. Can you do this?"

"I may do all that God can permit."

"From what you have said, there is nothing he cannot." The Easter man was correct. "Then, whenever you are prepared." Longinus nodded, gray eyes searching from beneath his helm. The monsters were flying around them, but their patience was far less than a former Roman Scout and famed Japanese Ronin. The cries were high, their distance shortening.

One had had enough and charged. Longinus did not wait.

He back-planted his foot, stabbing forth with his lance. The Wyvern beat its wings, failing to keep itself from being impaled on the lance. It's quick impalement was another's opportunity, as Longinus saw another Wyvern charging at him. He made to rip the lance out from the beast, but stopped as Sasaki rounded on him. The samurai jumped, putting his feet to the still speared wyvern, then jumped once more.

His blade sailed through the charging monster, decapitating it and letting its body roll to the cobblestone. It was the lighting of the war fires, as the rest of the beasts began to fly. Longinus knew it was his time to act.

Moving his grip, he swing the still impaled Wyvern, treating it more like the end of a barbarian's hammer and slamming it into an encroaching wyvern. The blow was far from fatal, but it grounded the pair of beasts. And as he suspected the swordsman was thinking, a sitting bird was a still target.

It was a thought closely shared as the blade of the samurai was a string of silver, slicing through the monsters and turning scales to butter. His robe flipped as he stalled, a wyvern attempting to eat him from behind. He looked behind him, but Longinus did not wait for him to react. Pulling free his lance, he reeled back and launched it with the ferocity he was taught.

It gored the beast from head to tail, planting itself on the ground and dragging the innards of the monster with it. An approving nod was given from the samurai, who raced towards Longinus. The slayer of Christ shared a look with him, running back towards his weapon. He heard the singing of the man's blade as it ripped through the monsters behind them. It gave the soldier time to grasp the spear, pulling it free with a shower of dust and cobblestone. Instincts flared in his mind.

He twisted pushing the butt of the lance to the ground and raising his arm. Claws danced over his pauldrons, sparking as the monsters flew high. It threw him off balance, making him miss the counter, but kept him free from harm. The next beast to come at him did so from above his head. It was a show that their minds were not there.

Rather than jump or slice, Longinus fell, letting the breast chase him. A twist of his wrist positioned the lance between himself and the monster, letting its body weight gore itself on the weapon. Blood fell across his armor and helm, but that was all. With a casual roll, his spear tore itself from the monster, moving before the rest of its body could crush him. He stood when he was free of it, looking for Sasaki. He didn't need to look long.

The samurai raced next to him, crouched at his side and blade pulled back for a swing. Gray eyes traced his path, seeing a veritable squad of Wyverns rushing like a river's torrent. Dangerous, lethal, even to them. But neither he nor the eastern wanderer swayed in their stance, or shirked their gaze.

"I don't believe your lance may spear them all."

"Not at once, no."

"My blade may work then. Can you assist me?" Sasaki tapped the pole portion of his spear, drumming on it. "I may need a boost, of sorts." It took a moment for the idea to click. When it did, Longinus nodded, stepping back and raising his weapon. The samurai had already jumped onto the weapon, effortlessly balancing himself as easily as the Follower of Christ held him.

"This is not a position I've practiced." He confessed. "I hope you have the skills to make-up for the short-comings." The long-haired swordsman answered with a grin.

"I am learner of nature. I can jump good."

The comment came as Sasaki pushed against the butt of Longinus's lance. With a cry, the follower of God spun himself, twisting his spear like a blade. The samurai jumped at the heigh of the moment, launching him so much like a ballista bolt.

But ballista fire was a straight shot. Sasaki made his more like rogue saw-blade spinning through the air.

None of the wyverns were able to avoid the man as he ripped through them. Ripped and tore with the ferocity that Longinus fear few beasts of any history could match. The wings, tails, and heads of the monsters fell like rain to the ground, coating the town red and smashing the stalls that were still left undamaged. He took a step back and watched the samurai hit a far off building, the dust and ruin of his impact vibrating through the ground. Be had not even begun to fall to the ground himself before the last of the wyverns had already hit it.

The Roman nodded, pleased, though not joyed, to see the bodies of the monsters lain out before him. He heard no more cries in the air, and saw no more of the beasts gunning for them. He twisted his head, curious about the state of the princess and the Harold. Curious, but not fearful. She was faster than these monsters could move, and the baton wielding caster proved capable of at least pushing them away. It was not his concern for how they'd fare. He'd have been warned if it was for the worse.

"Do you see something in the distance?" Gray eyes looked again towards the path of monstrous bodies, seeing the lavender robe of the samurai approach, wiping clean his long blade.

"No. I'm only curious about the others."

"If they are injured?"

"No, if they are done." The samurai laughed, laying his blade over his shoulder, just before sliding it into his sheath. "We may be able to call Master and Solomon now, for I believe ethe town is ours."

"That it is, for the ruins that it could not be more proper to be called. But I am not one to distress a fine fort position. They make the safer inns to stay at, and usually invite the best warriors to gather." The man put his sandal to one of the wyverns, pushing it. The limp collection of scales and muscle flopped around so much like a fish, it almost worried Longinus. "Warriors are gathering now."

"They have been for some time. I have no need to meet more. The battle was already fought and won for our Lord."

"Your Lord, Roman, but a battle won regardless." He adjusted his neck, playing with his hair. "It was an enjoyable battle, but this cannot be it." Sasaki turned as he spoke. Longinus met the slit look with one of his own.

"What do you mean? You thought it easy?"

"Larger than swallows, but their scales do not match another warrior's steel." The samurai confirmed. "Though I wish for there to be more, I know there must be." At first the warrior wasn't sure why. Not until he thought before the battle, as a Scout must do entering dangerous territory. Rethinking land and decisions. Or in this, confrontations.

"You think this because of how the man reacted."

"That," he confirmed. "And by what I do not see." The Samurai wiped down his blade once more, but he did not return it to its sheath. His posture remained bent, preparing for another attack. Longinus did not mirror so much as he mimicked, twisting his infamous lance as he put himself beside the eastern warrior.

"What is it you do not see?" He asked. "Do you believe so well a Servant must be here?"

"I am sure there is, or was, but that is not what I'm looking for."

"Then what?"

"Dear scout, where are the people?" The simple question made Longinus blink his gray eyes.


"There's no one? That can't be right." Ritsuka agreed with Solomon. The pair stood before the other four Servants, all in thought again. "We heard them screaming from the hill over. The Wyverns were still attacking. They were not bashing at rock for the fun of it."

"They weren't, and they wouldn't," Longinus agreed. "No beast destroys without the thought of gathering something from it. A lion tears through wood to catch a rabbit.

"And a soldier breaks down doors to find the people inside." The princess concurred. "These beasts attacked us as we neared, but they looked to be searching before us. Yet we have found no one."

"No alive… could they have been killed that quickly."

"Non. I didn't mean no one alive, I meant no one." The large hatted princess clarified… which only made Ritsuka raise his brow. "No bodies, no corpses, none of the dead that we have seen before. This town is gone, as if it were destroyed weeks ago."

"But that can't be true," Ritsuka spoke up. "The man ran from here, and he was terrified of something."

"That remains true, and before thought is given I made sure he was a man and was not influenced by another's magic. My crests may be a bit potent, but I'd be able to sense someone putting a cover over his mind." Solomon rubbed at his brow. "Though now I wish I would have forced another answer from it, beside the terrified mutterings."

"I suppose we should be happy the man didn't merely crap himself." Mozart snorted with his own words, and Sasaki's chuckle made Ritsuka sigh.

"Wolfgang…"

"Apologies, apologies, I only wanted to hear a bit of a flue play after the war drums were beat for so long." The man cleared his throat. "But it does go to say that something odd is happening. We heard the people, saw the beasts attacking, and have a witness to something terrible, yet we don't know if the man was one of the people that came from here, or a nearby voyeur who saw too much.:

"What does that mean?"

"He's saying the man who came to town was not a resident of the village, but another traveler." Longinus spoke slowly. "Thought it doesn't answer what could have caused this. It doesn't even speak of much."

"Oh but it does! The man saw something terrible and let his horse's legs fly! But those already rooted to their seats were forced to endure slings and arrows of an untuned orchestra. Who was the conductor is yet to be seen, but the results may be clear."

Ritsuka had no idea what he was talking about.

"You believe… it a form of magecraft?" The Wise King did.

"Certainly in some regard, but I'm not about to say what. I wouldn't dictate the type of craft anymore than I would appoint members of your court."

"No, but your direction… it has some merit," the crimson cloaked man spoke. "There are many forms of magecraft that could result in the ferocity of the Wyverns being directed at structures, or letting cries of the dead ring out, but very few that could happen at the same time."

"Dead?" the word fell from Ritsuka's lips. "How do you know?"

"I don't, but them being alive wouldn't make sense."

The Wise King of Israel showed his past with those words. No lack of sincerity, but no abundance of compassion. A cold, simple, undeniable truth. It had Ritsuka sucking on his tongue.

"Master, can you contact Chaldea? I believe Da Vinci and the Director may have an idea." He nodded, tapping at the wrist mounted device. It took little time before the screen bloomed above them, having the others circle him to have a better view. In a short moment's time, the face of Da Vinci came on, the woman sitting down with her perpetual smile.

"Hello~! So good to see you all again." The woman's cheer wasn't diminished either. "But so many long faces. Did the unexpected occur?"

"More like unexplainable," Longinus added.

"Nothing is beyond explanation. You only need to think hard on it~." Her voice sang with superiority. Ritsuka was tempted to tap the button again. "Ah, but waste not time. The Director approaches." His hand was stayed, for now.

The living work of art stood, and in her place plopped down the blue-hued vision of the Director, staring at the screen with her usual stoic seriousness.

"Alright, what happened. Did something Jesus do upset the villagers?" The question was so left field it took Ritsuka a moment to collect himself.

"No, it has to do with another village." Solomon refocused. "A man came riding in to us on horseback, delirious with fear over something that happened. We were able to slay the wyverns chasing him and came her hoping to save the others, but we found nothing."

"No village?"

"Nothing as in no bodies, no blood, only monsters attacking empty buildings."

"Don't forget the screams. You can't forget to add the accompanying instruments."

"What screams?" Ritsuka picked up as Solomon sight.

"He means that when we were outside of the village, we could hear them screaming. Villagers, not the monsters." He could recall it well. It felt like it would have been more at home in the burning town with skeletons and monsters tearing and rending them all. If only Jesus were beside them now.

"So you heard screams, but couldn't find bodies. Could the wyverns have eaten them?" Olga put up a hand with her own question. "No, no, they wouldn't leave a clean kill like that. Nothing does. The Wyverns were real though?"

"If they were illusions or spells, it would be the first time my blade cut through them." Sasaki noted as he twisted his blade. "A wyvern is a like a swallow, but I never though a spell would be the same."

"It wouldn't be~." Da Vinci sang. "But what I believe our dear Director is implying is they were never there. Not a construct, but an illusion~."

"One that affected all of us, including Solomon?" Eyes turned to the Wise King. "That seems unlikely."

"If it is the work of a devil, then no man is beyond its approach," Longinus put in. "The greatest of saints were tempted and toppled by lowly creatures, and the work of the devil is so grand it took the near greatest of God's Angels to subdue him." Gray eyes looked at the golden gaze of the king. "With respect to the progenitor of our Lord, I don't believe you're immune from a twisting of the mind."

"I'm not, but I'm certainly not susceptible." The king rubbed his chin. "But we are thinking about this incorrectly. A good thought comes from a sound path. You cannot stumble upon an answer." His finger lifted into the air. "We came here following a man's terrified path. Wyverns were following him, showing he was being chased. We heard people being attacked here and saw the monsters attacking as well. Yet, when we finally arrived, there is nothing. Not even a Servant."

"Wait," Ritsuka spoke, something clicking. "Didn't… didn't you say that wyverns typically follow Servants?" He looked at the princess and musician. "It was how you reached the number six before, right?"

"Oi, it is the most likely, though I was referring to large groups." Her hands reached out as if to grasp her massive hat. "The group that chased the poor man to the other village would not qualify."

"But the pack that made too liberal use of the drums here certainly does," Mozart countered. "I believe our Master is correct in that the group was simply too large to focus on this area without some kind of conductor. God on high knows I'd never trust an orchestra to lead themselves!"

"Then there is likely a coward about here?" Sasaki's blade moved in his grip, grin just as sharp.

"It is a distinct possibility. It would make sense, though the heard cries but unseen bodies still confuse me." He rubbed his palm to his temple. "The purpose just isn't there. Attract attention? The man who ran from us is point evidence that no one would willingly run in here."

"They wouldn't," Ritsuka agreed. "Most wouldn't." He thought, eyes on the blue screen, and the blonde-haired Director watching them from beyond it. "I'm not sure."

"Most wouldn't, and it's not cowardice, but self-preservation." Solomon continued. "A soldier runs to protect others, but any farmer or villager who hears his neighbors cries while fires rage first saves himself and his loved ones." His hand slowly fell. "So this was a ploy of sorts… to attract soldiers."

"They're looking for the French army?" the question came from a horrified princess.

"No, they're looking for you all." Olga corrected. "Other Servants are the ones who would be left to save villagers, and they knew that you would come running if there was a possibility to save them." She hissed behind the screen. "It's stupid, it should have been obvious. A town this close to the castle surviving when all the others were already seen as at the 'rim'."

"If there was time to think on it, it would have been obvious," Solomon agreed. "But when you are looking to preserve life, the mind is never so keen to act quickly."

"Never mind what could have been. What do we do now?" Longinus stepped in. "It was a mistake to come here, a likely trap. Why haven't we seen anything?"

"Could it have been for another performance?" Mozart spoke up. "I may position and raise a violin for a part two pages into a score. Could this be the same, a bit of preparation?"

"The question then becomes what they gain from this." Sasaki stepped forward, tracing his padded feet over the ground. He drew lines in the dust and cobblestone, staring at his own quick art. "Moving us to a different location where no warriors lie, no people to protect, none here." His foot dragged back. "But plenty from where we came from."

The implication hit hard.

"They're separating us!?" Ritsuka almost yelled. "From Jesus! They would do that!? We have to go back! We have to hurry."

"No, we don't." Solomon gripped his shoulder. "Because that isn't it."

"It has to be! That was-"

"Just a thought, and certainly not a conclusion." The Samurai pushed back. "No different than watching one leaf fall and judging the height of its former home."

"If they're goal was to have us come here and separate from Jesus, it would imply they already knew he was here." Solomon spoke past Sasaki to Ritsuka. "But they were unaware of both Rider and Caster while they attacked us, implying they are unable to intuitively know other Servants. Further, Jesus was not guiding us then, and has been in the village since yesterday night. To device a plan to separate us in that time, and somehow knowing Jesus would stay behind when not even you and Longinus did, is something that cannot be reliably predicted."

Each simple conclusion calmed Ritsuka down. The logic flowed over him, the Wise King showing the worth of God's gifts to him.

"That is also to imply they desire the people, if not Jesus." Da Vinci followed from the holographic screen. "And yet, we have seen nothing to imply this. They are vicious creatures, of that there is no denying, but they haven't done more than destroy and kill. This seems to be too much effort for so little gain."

"Are you saying a village of my fellow French is a small thing?" Marie asked. The living painting's smile did not betray her.

"Compared to the erasure of Christ's influence on the Order of Mankind? Yes~." The pout the young princess gave was vicious, if a bit adorable in that hat.

"The point of that round about conversation is that it is unlikely you were sent out here for the purpose of reaching the people or attacking Jesus. It has to be either a means to draw you out, or attack somewhere else."

"A diversion?" Longinus asked. He cupped his exposed chin. "It would be a fine one, but then for what gain? The question remains the same."

"Not a diversion… but a study perhaps. That would make sense." Da Vinci hummed across time and space. "Yes, that would be a genius move~."

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean that it is possible whomever laid out those wyverns did so to see the Servants performing at their best! Much like any good artisan studies the subject of their painting before putting it to canvas. I was famed for looking into the human form before crafting many of my works, and dear Michaelangelo was put into an infamous light for his study of cadavers. You may say others were afraid it'd put a dead look in his eyes~." Sasaki chuckled at something Da Vinci said. Ritsuka didn't get it.

"That would make sense, and it would annoy me greatly if it was true." The Wise King sighed. "They know exactly how everyone operates and how they'll handle threats, leaving on Ritsuka and myself out of the group analysis. Not that it helps us much."

"Then we wasted time here?"

"Non! We defeated real wyverns that would have devoured any travelers of our fair land! We saved those who will come by in the future, and we have encroached on the captured lands of the castle!" Marie pointed towards a wayward direction. "That is a victory in itself. No matter what they may learn, we stand on their land as ours again! Viva La France!"

"Our dear princess has a point~." Da Vinci confirmed. "No matter how necessary the fight, the town is vacant of monsters again. That is a boon for rebuilding, clearing away the cobwebs~."

"I thought cobwebs were spider webs that were abandoned." Ritsuka muttered the note, looking up when he felt all eyes on him. "Sorry, just something a sister told me. Using the right terminology."

"You have a sister?"

"He means a member of a convent." Marie corrected the laughing musician, not at all amused. "But should we return to our other home now? I know that Jesus may wish to speak us again!" that made the Master stare.

"How do you know that?"

"Because who wouldn't wish to speak to those whom you love?"

The question, so simple, made Ritsuka blink at the young girl, dancing even with her large red hat.

"I must offer my apologies," Longinus spoke first. "Your simple question has instilled in me a newly found appreciation for your wisdom, and desire to speak with my Lord."

"No need to thank me for something so simple. It isn't as if you didn't wish to speak with him." The man smiled. "But then we should be off! If we are swift, we will only just miss lunch, and a meal in this fine weather will raise the spirit of any of my fellow countrymen!"

"We could… we could…" Solomon spoke slowly. "Or we could stay here."

"What?" "Huh?" Marie and Mozart parroted one another.

"I'm suggesting we stay here for the day." He answered again. "It would give us time to properly prepare for where to go next, rather than worrying for the people around us, and gives us a greater land to fight on." He pointed at Mozart and Longinus. "I am aware a pair of you were holding back in the last fight, trying to keep the town protected."

"That was while I believed families were hovelled in their homes."

"Same."

"And that is my point. Here we don't have that issue. If we are attacked again, there is no longer a need to hold back." Solomon pointed at the rim of the village. "With our lack of an Archer as well, we have a better view from up here. It will make it easier to see other Wyverns some distance away, so we will not be chasing the cat's tail, so to speak."

"Wouldn't it be lizard's tail?"

"Like I said, so to speak." He was sure he saw Longinus pushing Sasaki now. "If nothing else, we must remember that our goal is to return this land to the proper Order of Mankind, and that means defeating the rogue Servants and saving Kadoc. The faster we do it, the less we need to plan on saving."

"The idea is sound. Now all you need to do is plan on it."

"Plan on it?" Solomon looked up at the screen confused. "I thought I was just an idea guy. Can't you have Da Vinci make up the plans?" Sasaki was laughing again, with Mozart joining him.

"Master, I have a request~." Ritsuka looked up at the living painting, blinking down at him with the same perpetual smile. "Can you please kick the Wise King for me?"

"Stop being childish Da Vinci. We have more important things to worry about."

"Remember how he stole your eggs?"

"Ritsuka, do as she says!" The turn almost jarred him, not as much as said king.

"Now hold on! It was just a joke!" The robed man whirled back on him, all smiled. "Besides, non-violence and all that jargon the Catholic faith, right? I'm clearly not doing anything worth a… beating?"

"I mean, it was kind of rude. I've had the father scold me for saying the sisters should do some work before me." He remembered that once, and never again. "This doesn't seem too bad." Relief poured down Solomon's face.

"Remember how he blamed you for those eggs?"

Before the king could blink, Ritsuka was reeling his leg back.


Ritsuka shivered as he stared ahead.

Stars dotted the sky above him, and the moonlit hills of the night rolled like waves before him. He sat on the ruins of someone's hope, a portion of a thatched roof ripped off, and the sound of clattering windows filling the air. The same cool air that filled and empty his lungs, like ice water. It kept him away, and trembling.

The small blanket he pulled over himself, rough and coarse, did little to help him. It was far from the insulating wool or other fabric the church might give him, but it was enough to break the wind. The wind, but not the temperature. Still, it was better than nothing.

The same nothing that he was doing. Stuck, because there was little else he could do.

The others were making use of the seemingly abandoned town, with their history and abilities. The Military history of Longinus told Solomon where would be the greatest points to put watches and the best homes to encamp in the case of an enemy attack. His strength and history as a scout made it easy for him to gather and build the quick fortifications. They weren't something Ritsuka thought would last in the modern era, but watching him move was like watching a professional builder assemble a home by himself.

Marie was helping him, or all of them, depending on how he understood it. He needed food, and warmth, but the other Servants only needed to enjoy them, if he remembered Olga's words correctly. Regardless of which, she knew where her people would tend to store their food and provisions. She'd already found several salted strips of beef, but the favored find was unbroken wine.

Mozart was still looking around for anyone else. His ear was acute for noise, something about knowing the pitch of each noise, so he'd be able to know where any screams or cries for help came from. That was hours ago, but he at least was being diligent about it. The samurai was doing the same, but different.

Sasaki was looking for the rogue servants. He said that as a Ronin, he was familiar with the nature of strong enemies, where they would hide and wait or finding out where they had been. It was a part of a wandering warrior to be looking for fights, and that came with the territory of knowing how to find a waiting enemy. He, like Mozart, had found little, but little now did not mean nothing later.

Solomon was… doing his own thing. Ritsuka found his admiration for the man closely resembling that of priests. Beyond reproach while they stood behind the alter, blessing all and laying their at the foot of the tabernacle, yet outside of it were as likely to participate in a video game. His foot still ached from where he kicked the Servant.

He rubbed it, staring at the dark hills. The moon was starting to scratch at the stars and his breath was chilled. There was little else for him to do here, and he rather enjoyed it, even if it left him knowing there was much to be done. Too much, and yet nothing he could do.

Just a Master who had to wait for the Servants to finish their work. He wouldn't dare to entertain the thought that this was what his Lord felt in the times of strife.

"Ahoy there!" He almost jumped, turning to see Mozart standing at the edge of the roof. "Careful, didn't mean to scare you. Hate to have you crap your pants over a greeting." His smile was unmistakable even in the low light.

Ritsuka was just as sure he could hear Sasaki laughing off somewhere.

"If your drawers are clean, do you mind if I sit with you? I would love to have a better view of any potential audience." He flipped up his elaborate robes, taking his place next to Ritsuka regardless. "So much work to do, and I think only two of us are actually dressed for the work."

"You mean Longinus and Sasaki?"

"I knew we had a wise Master!" The man laughed. "Of course them! I prefer to have my food and housing delivered, and you'd think Marie was looking for cake given how seriously she's looking through the pantries." Regardless of the man's words, he produced a bottle in his hand. Ritsuka had seen enough of them to see the sloshing wine. "Of course, I prefer something sweet to drink."

"Did you prefer it? While you were alive?"

"Of course! It helps to dull the body, open the mind." He poured a glass and drank it like a shot, repeating the action and handing it to Ritsuka. He took the glass, but held it between his hands like a thermace. It was far too cold for that. "Aren't you going to imbibe?"

"I shouldn't. I was asked to watch, and I haven't regularly drank before." He looked at the dark lavender liquid. "There's a difference between the wine of church, blessed as the blood of Christ… and then enough alcohol to poison one's self."

"I'd wager the blood of God has the same quality. I've seen enough devotees to know something about him is addicting." His snickering earned a narrowed gaze from Ritsuka. "Careful Master, it'll be hard to see the night with shut eyes."

"Why do you mock him?" Ritsuka asked. "You've seen what he is capable of."

"I think you are thinking too hard." The musician countered. "I'm not mocking him, far from it. He loves me enough to give me the ability to create music to make others remember my name for centuries to come. I'd have to be awfully cruel to mock a man giving me that kind of gift." He dipped his head and had another drink. A full glass as a shot. Ritsuka stared at his own.

"Then can you take back what you said?"

"Nope." Ritsuka frowned. "I can't. No more than you can take back anything else you've said or done. Like, say, kicking the Wisest King in history in the shin. By the way, how's the foot?" Ritsuka stared at his glass. "Wait, you were bleeding?"

"W-What, no!" He rose, only to see the musician's wry grin. "You're a lot like him though."

"I imagine I am. Both of us loved by God and all." The statement took Ritsuka's strength. "Though I think he needed one life to figure out what that meant. Always doing what others asked, not realizing that he's not going upstairs any faster, and there isn't exactly a pantheon up there~." The man snickered again.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the Wise King is acting more human that he was before." Another full glass shot. "Oh not that he was acting inhuman before now, but I did my lessons as a scribe. I had to learn a LOT about the church, a fair number of requests coming from them to give praise to God. I give enough praise when I had the drums beating and the people listing in silence."

Ritsuka watched him, the man swirling the bottle, grin broad and his expression patient. The air was cold, and the glass in his hand was honestly starting to make his hands shiver. He still abstained from indulging in a vice.

"There were stories about the Wise King who lived less like a human and more like an angel, full of knowing wisdom for all but himself. Quite the father too, if I recall. It takes a man sure of his faith to sacrifice a soldier just to bang his wife." Mozart laughed. Sasaki likely did somewhere else. Ritsuka dropped his glass.

"That's not something to joke about." He shook his head. "That was… one of David's greatest sins after he created Israel."

"Do you think it kept him from heaven?" The question took the Master's wind away. "I don't think so. Don't have memories of those clouds in the sky, but I'm rather sure it's because my soul is up there, and this is just a body who is enjoying the Earth one more time." He took his fourth glass. "And I have to say, I'm enjoying the crests and waves of this orchestra so far. How about you? Any tune you want to change? The tempo too fast, perhaps?"

"No… No…" Ritsuka drolled twice, licking his lips. "I'm… I'm just trying to pay attention and help where I can."

"So you want to be Solomon over me." It was a statement. "At least the old Solomon. This new one has a fun side to him. Never thought I'd get a king to laugh at my jokes. Though is that samurai a ruler?" Ritsuka shook his head. "Didn't think so. Such a shame. Oh well, I suppose I'll have to settle for making Jesus Christ laugh at a poop joke."

Ritsuka was sitting down, but he still managed to slip down the tiled roof. Mozart caught him with a laugh, throwing an empty bottle away. Ritsuka wasn't sure if his cheeks were burning from rage or embarrassment.

"Don't talk about Jesus Christ that way. That is one thing I will not stand."

"Good that you don't, but don't put yourself in front of things he wants to enjoy."

"What?" Mozart didn't answer him, not immediately.

"Shh… listen…" He held up his hand, and Ritsuka waited.

He heard the wind in the air, feeling it lightly tickle his skin and drag down his shirt. Some distance away, he heard Sasaki and Solomon speaking, one another laughing. Perhaps at jokes, or something else that he couldn't recall. There was a female voice in the air, doubtlessly Marie, singing some rhyme he couldn't name. He heard little else, aside from the scutter of grass from the dark hills.

"It's a great sound, isn't it?"

"Laughter?"

"That, but I prefer silence." Ritsuka watched, confused. "Silence is where you do your best thinking, and listening. You hear everything you need to when things are quiet. Too loud, and you might miss something important. The volume of every instrument is key, be it the piccolo from the rear of a set, or the laughter of a child some room over. You want to hear one over the other. In silence, you can decide what you are listening to."

Ritsuka watched the man, robed in immaculate colors, tilting his head back and letting his blonde locks dance in the wind. It was a sight, seeing the smile of a man who was so brazenly saying near blasphemous statements before. And yet, more than just apathetic or uncaring, he looked pleased.

"Tell me, young Master, do you have a reason to smile?" The question caught him.

"What?"

"A reason to smile. It's easy to smile at a joke or hearing a good tune, but someone who can smile in silence is a happy man." Mozart showed a brilliant expression in the drifting wind. "You have to be able to smile in silence, as that's the most important time to smile. Because in a good life, you'll find yourself surrounded by silence often. In the dark of the night, after a long day of work, before a meal starts, silence is all around. Smiling then is important."

His baton came out, the magical tool touching Jaune just above the nose. He blinked, rubbing at the spot as if expecting his face to be dressed in some kind of graffiti.

"So, what's your reason to smile?" He said the first thing that came to mind.

"Knowing that God is watching over me, and I was able to speak face to face with his son." The musician laughed, and it was a hearty tune that could have come from his own Orchestra.

"What a great reason that is~!" The man reached into his robes… and produced another bottle. "Come! Let's have a glass over it! I promise to stop you before you get the runs!" The sudden change had Ritsuka backing up, scrambling over the tile.

"I-I'll be alright! I think you, but that is not necessary!"

"Nonsense! It wouldn't be fit for a Servant to not treat his Master when he shares Wisdom!" He was playing word games! "Come now! I can make a nigh Orchestra play and-" Mozart went quiet.

"And… and what?" Ritsuka looked to see the man looked past him. He twisted, looking into the dark of the hills and over the night sky.

On the peak of one of those rolling plains, he saw someone standing tall. Not alone, but on a steed. A steed that swayed in the wind, without a man and beating at the air as if it were in heat. The moon drapped on the figure, but it showed nothing. Only a dark outline that sat atop it, looking at them silently.

"Master, do you think Jesus is looking to scare us?" It wasn't worth a question.

"No… the Lord may have surprises, but nothing like that." He had never shown himself like this. Always with words or deeds. Not… an ominous stance. "I don't know who that is."

"Perhaps I'll go inform the others. Do you think you can watch while I do so?" Ritsuka nodded. "Good, and don't forget, you have the baton this time. Give it a flick if you think trouble is coming." His hand touched the back of Ritsuka's palm, dragging over the Command Seals.

"I will," he said, but the Caster was already jumping from the roof. Ritsuka watched him, knowing it'd take little to no time before the others came. It gave him time to look at the dark rider again.

And this time… see that he was not alone.

There were bodies standing around him now, other figures standing about the lone rider. They were hunched over, too far away to see what they were wearing, but looking as if they were dragging items with them. Bags, crates… spears… lances… weapons. And they're numbers were growing.

Literally growing.

From the ground.

Ritsuka's gaze widened as his breath hitched. He scrambled on the roof, trying to put his head around what he was seeing. He stared as the bodies continued to stand around the hills, their number flowing from the dark rider like he was a spring source, and the flow was unending! From one hill to another, until their numbers began to rise to a degree that needed him to twist his head. The count was already lost, and the numbers were only increasing.

A terrified noise left his mouth as he stared at the figure again, the one on the horse that was the doubtless cause of this. Bodies rising, the dead coming to foot, and all of it around a being that had to be staring at him. Staring, watching… maybe even judging. That could have been the worse.

Worse yet was what Ritsuka saw as he did the same. He judged the rider, and he put to note something he was sure Mozart had missed. What it meant, he did not know. What was happening meant just as much.

Even staring at it, Ritsuka didn't know what he was looking at. He describe it great detail, he could paint a picture if he had the tools. He could scare the alter servers when he got home with tales of it. He could even have the sisters bless him for having witnessed such a horror. But for all of that he didn't know what he was looking at.

He had no idea why the dead were rising. He did not know who the Rider on a black horse was. He only knew what he saw.

This dark rider, was horned.

And his shadows were screaming.


Author's Note:

Fun stuff, right? Well, I may be cheating with this Rider, as I combined a pair of characters, but my defense is that they ARE the same, just from two different mediums. And for those who read the story first, they doubtlessly watched the movie thinking they'd see this, then didn't, then were confused. Then realized what happened by watching the 'making of' and 'history' videos.

Then we get back to this and you realize why the other Rogue Servants were so antsy. Not many like the idea of the dead walking around them!