To live a good life. The interpretation of such words varied, where many people would find different answers. Some that could be agreed upon by the common masses, others that deviated. Whereas most people will only agree that by living a good life, one could be happy.

The woman Kirei saw was far from happy.

She spoke. She smiled. She prayed.

But that smile never reached her eyes.

Here, in Jerusalem, where a man known far and wide as the Great King of Wisdom, a single woman worked within his royal palace. She was not one of the Great King's many wives, nor a concubine. Instead, she was a mere worker. A simple woman who aided those with the real power, be it political or otherwise.

She washed. She cleaned. She earned her keep. Some would claim that even if her life was dull, there was some measure of worth in living a life where she did well for herself. Living in clean quarters, eating enough to keep herself healthy, and was even considered a model for being a dedicated worker.

Her family, her friends, they would all assume the life she led was one she could enjoy at the very least. A good life in the end.

"..." As the woman passed by him, all Kirei could see was emptiness in her eyes, her lips thin, almost a frown. With a void surrounding her. As if the joys around her could never quite touch her. Even when others all around could find happiness doing the same thing she was doing.

As such, she never truly smiled. All she did was work like any other day, experiencing neither pleasure or displeasure. Simply being apathetic to everything around her, as nothing truly peaked her interest. Simply repeating these days over and over, as if she were a lifeless automaton.

One might ask, if she was dissatisfied, why not do something else? Find another job, do something that would fill her with pleasure if her current lifestyle wasn't providing any. Kirei however, as he continued to watch, felt that it wouldn't work regardless. If this woman couldn't find joy in what was a decent job, then would she really find joy in a lesser position than she's in now? It was difficult to say. Perhaps she could, or perhaps she never would.

"Hm?" But that was easily changed when, one day, the woman discovered something different and new.

It had been an accident, she hadn't had any ill-will when doing so. Yet, during her duties, the woman had been aimlessly wandering around inside Solomon's temple and had taken a wrong turn. It would have been simple to find a way back, then resume her job like so. But she was stopped when she discovered an open door.

Perhaps Solomon had an off-day, or maybe he just didn't remember. Whatever his reasonings, a single door was left open, one the woman knew was his basic workshops. One that held nothing to stop her when she took a step forward, out of curiosity.

With that single step, the woman entered the room.

Maybe Solomon realized what had occurred at the moment she entered the room, considering he was a mage of great renown. But for the woman, who knew nothing about his immense powers that could see even the future, all she saw was something else. What was to change her life.

She knew of the existence of the supernatural, but she held no knowledge of it beyond that it existed. But even with such meager knowledge, when the woman entered the room, she could tell then and there what was a mundane object in the room, and what was a treasure.

With one treasure being a chalice of gold.

One look was all it took to tell that it was a magical item. The pressure it gave off was not ordinary, giving an allure that the woman never felt before.

Up until now, her life had been nothing but dull. A hardship that gave her no joy, no happiness. Only an empty feeling that she could never quite shake off of her. One look at this chalice changed all of that. It was as if the item itself was calling to her, to hold it.

It was wrong. Forbidden, however.

Deep down the woman knew she should take a step back and leave. Solomon would forgive her, if she simply explained herself. She hadn't meant to enter this area of the temple on purpose. All she would have to do was explain and she would resume her duties like so.

"..." Her hand reached out and took hold of the chalice.

Watching in quite shock, Kirei saw the woman leave without even looking back. Where she would then cautiously return to her original duties, but with one difference.

Without anybody noticing, when assured nobody could see her, the woman placed some simple water in the chalice. The magical energy of the item seemed to make the water shimmer, giving it an extra shine. Lifting it to her lips, the woman then drank from the chalice.

Where Kirei saw the most innocent smile she had ever made, that filled her entire body with such jubilation. A smile…that made Kirei jealous.

Demons. In works of fiction, they were monstrous beings from hell that attacked mankind. In the world of magecraft, they are an existence that, while being of the Laws of Nature, distort the flow of such by the exercise of unnecessary powers. Covering both Energy and Magical Beasts. They were also different from daemons, though most people would misunderstand and believe they were one and the same.

Admittingly, Waver had never met an actual demon before. He knew they were phantasmals, even studied a bit about them, but that was all.

'H-H-Holy crap!' So it took a lot of effort to not just piss his pants and scream in a very manly (girly) voice.

Massive teeth. Big claws. Black and purple with flaming red eyes (if they were eyes), and being the size of a truck. Along with some tattoo that looked like a number, Waver had to admit that even if this thing wasn't a demon, it sure looked like one.

The other Masters also seemed to think the same. All of them taking a step back as the creature before them, the very same that caused trouble from before, has given them its full appearance. Masters and mages they all may have been, such a sight along with its sudden appearance had managed to cause even them to feel intimidated.

'So this is Assassin's beast.' Keeping her face as stoic as possible, ignoring how her hands shook and the instinct to just run, Irisviel stood her ground. Rider had already stepped forward, the other Servants doing the same, Berserker and Saber. Each held their own blades and aimed it at the beast, the demon.

'Gotta say,' Kariya thought. 'That thing would definitely have killed us all. No way any of us stood a chance.' Just like a mouse to a cat, a fly to a spider, a human, even a mage, likely stood no chance at escaping or even hurting this monster. Just look at it! It was like something from an anime, or, he didn't know, one of those popular card games with monsters. That kind of thing.

As for the Servants, they were all ready. Had things gone differently, their Masters would have perished with them as well. Their survival could only be thanked because of one person.

"Ahhh." A person that Assassin, in his agony, noticed as he writhed and twisted on the ground on the floor. Injured, his possession slowly unraveling, his own Saint Graph feeling as if it had been doused in acid, Assassin could barely even concentrate as he slowly began leaving his host body.

As he did that, his eyes looked above where he saw the figure of a single woman, where on the ceiling he noticed a hole like something had gone through it. His mouth twisted into an angry snarl, as he began to understand what had just happened.

All while the woman loosely smiled at him as she recalled what had happened moments prior.

"You are all in danger." The conversation happened some hours back, before everyone met up at the church where the overseer was at. Gathered in the open, where none could make a move without getting in trouble, sitting on a dining table were the three Masters and four Servants.

A small bounded field made that simply had normal people not bother them as they all spoke under this small truce. Where Lancer, who had managed to gather them all after meeting Kariya and his Servant, had introduced herself. Keeping her hands where everybody could see them while everyone waited patiently to see just what it was she had to say.

"Aren't we all in danger?" Saber just stated the obvious, with none really refuting his words. They were in a Holy Grail War after all. Danger would either come to them, be it through combat or some manner of curse.

Lancer chuckled. "You are right? Excuse me for not being specific." Around her, everyone kept their guard up. Even though this woman had promised she would do no harm, and seemingly kept her word, they still felt suspicious regardless. It was only through the fact that they were all out in the open that nobody did anything.

For now.

"Very well. Let me get to the more interesting parts." Folding her arms, Lancer said, "At the church Assassin currently lies in wait, ready to eliminate you all." Her eyes turned to each and every single Master. "You three in that order."

"Assassin!" That was news to Waver, with the others, including Servants, looking just as surprised. "He's there? Now!"

"Waiting at the church. Hm." Irisviel took it more calmly than Waver, though even she understood the problem if what Lancer said was true. If Assassin was there, then maybe… "By any chance, was it just him alone. Or…?"

As if Lancer read Irisviel's mind, the Servant answered, "Yes. The creature that Rider and Saber faced is there." The two Servants winced. Both could easily remember their fight with the monster that attacked in the open. How it took even their best strikes with little problem. How brutal it was until Caster had come and did what they couldn't.

For Kariya, he knew little of the monster that attacked other than it caused a lot of the people who covered stuff up a headache. Judging by the reactions he saw on the others, even a poor magus like him could see this beast was a big problem.

"Can you explain a bit more." While Saber had no reason to distrust Lancer, just to be certain, he wished for more information. Not desiring to go in this supposed trap if everything said is indeed true. Lancer obliged to his question like so.

"As you may all know, aside from myself, Assassin has done well in hiding himself."

"No lie there." Waver grunted.

"Coward." Roze didn't like it when the enemies hid.

"Hm, he is certainly something." With a small giggle, Lancer resumed. "Still, he's also rather naughty. See, he didn't know this, but my Master had actually kept in contact with me when Assassin decided to monologue on and on."

"Monologue?" Saber knitted his brows before snorting. "Well, I suppose that's a standard for villains."

"Yeah. In anime." Waver shot out, not noticing Rider looking at him, confused. She had no idea what this 'anime' even was.

"Hehe. Well, you're not wrong." Lancer said amusingly. "Still, outlandish Assassin is, he holds skills more associated with a wraith than a Servant. At this time he has possessed the Overseer and has captured the remaining Masters."

At the mention of 'remaining', Kariya peaked at her words. Listening more carefully now with interest. Whether Lancer noticed or not, she continued on with what her master informed her. "Right now, you all have been told to accept the Command Seals to deal with the beast. Yet, isn't it surprising the Overseer is offering it now instead of after?"

Cupping her chin, Irisviel found herself agreeing. "That is unusual." While there have been times when the Overseer gave a Command Seal to another, it had always been after a Master did what was asked.

"It could just be because it's an emergency." While Saber felt that Lancer was speaking the truth, he didn't consider it wise to merely take all she had to say for granted. On the chance she was lying to them all and simply wanted them to do her dirty work. It'd be best if he presented counter-points to see if she outed herself if she was deceiving them all.

"True." Lancer didn't even deny his words. "Still, what I say is no lie. Assassin is waiting for you all. And he will kill you and attain the Holy Grail. For once he's done with you three, the last ones are next." Kariya looked as if he ate a lemon. So much for hoping Tokiomi would be the one to die first. As for everyone else, they began to think over Lancer's words.

In the end, while there was a possibility this was all a scheme against them, there wasn't any evidence to suggest she's entirely lying to them. At the very least, they could take her words under consideration, with Irisviel now pondering one thing.

"...if we were to go, would you be with us?" If Lancer were to refuse to come, it would be more than suspicious compared to if she did. Everyone now looked at her, waiting for her answer.

After a few seconds, Lancer did.

"It's true that its full power may be denied to me, but it still remains a lance that could slice through any type of demonic power." As Assassin glared at her with eyes that could make even an angel flinch, Lancer simply kept her smile up.

While Assassin continued to suffer under the effects of the holy item and squirm. With a shriek, one that combined the voices of both Risei and his own, Assassin escaped the human's body in a dark mist while the worthless old man fell on the ground unconscious. A blessing for him.

A curse for Assassin, who then realized something shocking. "Wha-?!"

His right arm was gone still.

It should have reformed, with the pain vanishing like so. While Assassin could feel any injuries a host body may feel, it wasn't as if it would affect his true body. A body that defied the common sense of man, due to originating from elsewhere. As such, he should have been in perfect health when he left Risei.

Instead, he could still feel a lingering pain across his body, his right arm gone.

His vision grew red with a deep-seated rage bubbling in his throat. One that he would release soon after, as he shrieked at the top of his lungs, "NUMBER 96! KILL THEM ALL!"

"Ruagh!" A deep gluttonous howl made it clear Number 96 was in agreement. Taking one step forward, it twisted its body and then lashed out, it's right hand stretching overhead where it knew Lancer was and smashed the ceiling into wooden splinters. The entire building rumbling from its actions.

Lancer wasn't there. If anything, it was almost as if she hadn't even existed in that spot. The lance itself is also gone now.

"Get it!" Though the Servants who remained weren't vanishing anytime soon. With a chance to take down the beast and Assassin, all three Servants struck while the Masters ran out the slowly collapsing church. There were times when a Master was needed for support, but now wasn't that time.

With trust in their Servants, the Masters were gone, leaving only the three opposing heroes versus Assassin and his demonic-like ally.

"Aim for its legs, knock it down!" With Saber taking charge as he lifted his blade, feeling the power of his Noble Phantasm, Back-Up Rider, increasing his strength stat to keep up with his allies. He rushed past under the beast and aimed for the injured Assassin. "I'll go for the Servant!"

"Right!"

"Uh!"

The two didn't argue back. They followed Saber's words without problem, the beast turning around to grab Saber only for two blades to slam against its ankles. While the attacks left no mark on its body, their strike managed to make Number 96 stumble forward and then fall face-down. Its weight cracked through the already damaged floor it itself had caused and fell into the basement of the church itself.

This let Saber come to Assassin and steady his blade. Focused solely on Assassin, having been advised by his Master that if the Servant goes, then any summons they make shall vanish just like them.

"Haah!" So Saber lifted his blade, and with A Rank strength, brought it down to Assassin's head.

"Fool!" Only for the sword to go past Assassin, who could indeed be considered close to a wraith, an evil ghost. His blade cutting into the ground, Assassin took his chance and flew away, but not before grabbing the dismembered limb that once belonged to Risei.

"Damn it!" Saber quickly chased after him, having not expected his attack to go through like that. Still, he wouldn't just give up after one failed attack. At the very least, he could try and find another method of attack, his Master once suggesting he put some additional mana into his blade if he ever felt like strengthening his sword.

Unfortunately, whether this method would have worked or not would be pointless, because before Saber could even start focusing, from the giant hole in the ground a screech came from it and the beasts' claws came out and shot right at Saber, gripping him tight and dragging him under without letting him so much as scream.

"Saber!" Rider shouted in concern. Not that she would have time to worry, as suddenly the ground beneath her and Berserker cracked and fell apart, the entire church once more shaking as the two Servants could tell this entire place was outright breaking.

Another clawed hand then came out and broke whatever support Rider had beneath her feet, causing the young Servant to fall down with Berserker right behind her. The two girls crashed in the basement of the underground church with broken wood and anything that had been inside the church crashing down with them.

With a foot crushing any such objects as Number 96 loomed over the two women with a hiss. In its right hand, a struggling Saber who only wasn't turned to paste through his temporary gain in strength from his Noble Phantasm.

"Guh!" Though it was unlikely such power would last long enough to keep him alive, especially as Number 96 just applied more pressure onto the Servant. Though with two more worthless prey before it, the Number decided it'd need to multi-task a little.

"Gruagh!" Pulling its right arm back, Number 96 threw Saber no different from a baseball and aimed it for what it believed to be the slowest Servant, Berserker.

"!" And indeed she was too slow to react. Saber slammed into her and the two crashed into a wall and broke through it. Then they continued breaking into another wall and the one after that, leaving only Rider and Number 96, the latter of which leering down and making a noise that Rider could only assume was a chuckle.

"..." Images of what she saw before slammed into Rider's mind. Her hands shaking as the faces of the dead and their mutilated bodies came into her view, overlapping Number 96. It wasn't a sight she wanted to remember, let aside recall. The closest she's seen to a dead body was the skeletons she found alongside Raye, and that hadn't been nearly as bad as the corpses had long since decayed to bones.

But what she witnessed before…

For the better or worse, likely noticing an opportunity, Number 96 attacked. With a screech, it moved forward and brought down its right hand, its claws then extending and shot towards Rider with the intent of skewering her as before.

With her mind snapping out of her trauma, Rider immediately moved, legs going right and left to avoid each claw before they could so much as touch her. Then she leapt onto its arm and ran alongside it. Of course Rider knew any attack she made would be worthless, a vexing recognition she hated, but one she could work with.

If its body was immune to attacks, then what about its eyes? With armor now covering her body, Rider rushed at the flaming red eyes and struck down on the right one with her blade, jabbing her blade into that orb of fire. Hoping she would get some kind of response from it.

A large grunt and the beast shook her off its head, her attack pointless. Landing on the ground safely, Rider took care to avoid its extending claws that threatened her health. Sadly, this was a stalemate at best.

'This thing is too strong. I can't even cut through it.' Without a way to harm the beast, nothing could be done to ensure a victory for Rider. Worse, it was only a matter of time before she got tired. Where the monster could then grab her for easy pickings, something Number 96 knew as it wasn't even trying to attack her directly.

With a satisfying grunt, it half-effortly made attacks that would simply tire Rider out while conserving its own strength. Its teeth twisting into what can only be considered a smile as it then ran forward and lifted its foot to half-heartedly stomp down on Rider who would likely just avoid it.

She wouldn't be able to when the wall behind Number 96 broke apart and Berserker burst forth with a mad scowl. "Uaghhhh!" With a war cry, Berserker caught Number 96's attention who turned to see just what she was doing.

It caught her jumping up and then slamming her blade down between its eyes. Even if the woman couldn't destroy him in battle, the force of the blow knocked Number 96 onto its back. Berserker landed on what might be its forehead and lifted her pulsing blade and brought it down onto it, causing Number 96 to shriek.

"Ah. Of course." Seeing it shriek, Rider suddenly recalled what she and Saber did before. When Caster had harmed it followed by her and Saber attacking its wounds. "Even if we can't injure it, we can still bring it pain." Pain that Berserker was delivering finely, as each swing that slammed down gave Number 96 a killer headache.

One that it was having enough of as it swiped at Berserker who was slammed by its palm, sending her away and allowing the monster to try and get back up. Keyword, try. Because Rider came in and swung her own blade down onto the back of its head.

While her blade wasn't as strong as Berserker (not that she'd admit it), she held similar strength to the Servants thanks to her Noble Phantasm, Sky Striker Ace. So when she struck Number 96 from behind, the monster found whatever it called a head cracking the floor in front of it while feeling a brief bit of pain from the blow behind it.

"Graaugh!" That seemed to make it upset.

Turning to Rider, it stood up and gave a sign that it was more than a little upset. The sound of a footstep stopped it from attacking, where it turned to see Saber having now arrived and glaring, having not liked being turned into a glorified baseball.

His blade was out and nearby, so is Berserker's.

Three Servants.

One monstrous creature.

Under a second all three Servants came upon it while the Number itself roared in defiance.

Rider, the fastest of the three, came in back and forth all across Number 96. Quick but strong strikes all over it, each hit always grabbing its attention, even if only by a little.

Berserker, likely the strongest of them, slammed her blade as if it were a truck. No matter where she hit, even if she couldn't physically damage Number 96, the sprout of pain took hold of the Number, so unused to genuine pain that the discomfort would always make it lose its attention on the other Servants.

Saber, even if he was the weakest of the three, knew how to attack. Barking commands while attacking himself, he gave orders on where to hit next, being a man that had fought different types of monsters in his career.

Together, all three kept on repeating their blows over and over, moving too fast for Number 96 to even catch hold of them or even assault back. Completely unused to facing multiple enemies at once. Normally just attacking one foe at a time back where it came from, not three at once who had freedom to attack again and again despite the lack of a duelist.

There was also one other little problem, one that Number 96 was only now realizing.

It was starting to run on fumes.

It could feel it, the magical energy coursing through it. With each blow made, just a bit of magical energy was chipped off. For each attack it attempted to cause, even more. It's own Personal Skill, the very same that allowed it to be immune to any of their attacks other than Numbers, draining more mana to ensure it couldn't be harmed.

It was starting to run out. It didn't know why, and in truth, it would probably strangle its other-half if it did know. The answer being: Ryuunosuke.

Worthless as he was, Ryuunosuke had indeed been Assassin's Master. Providing him with magical energy that kept his and by extension, Number 96's existence. With him gone, while Assassin was alright thanks to Independent Action, Number 96 had no such benefit whatsoever. And with Assassin having left Risei's body, Number 96 was effectively running on its own magical energy and nothing more.

And with these Servants dodging and ducking every blow it had, even Number 96 came to realize it would vanish before it could kill any one of them. It needed another way to win. Another way to assure victory for itself, unwilling to let itself lose this duel due to the incompetence of its other-half. It was a Number. It was superior to these meat-bags.

As it failed in slicing the male in armor, while feeling the back of its left knee being smacked and bringing it down onto its knee, Number 96 then looked up and saw the hole it had made.

Ah. Right.

The humans should still be nearby.

Lifting both hands up, all its claws extended and it twisted right and left, forcing all his opponents to back away lest they get smashed. Once it could see all three of them, Number 96 howled before it bent its knees and jumped.

One of the Servants said something but it didn't care for what they had to say. It only decided to focus on one thing, winning.

Bursting out of the remains of the church's front half, Number 96 screeched aloud as it landed on more solid ground. Its eyes darted back and forth until it located three humans past an open gate. None of them looked happy to see it. With a scream it immediately made its way towards them.

Only to feel a rush of air from behind past him along with a cry from above. It looked up and there it saw Rider and Berserker, both high above it and their blades raised over their heads. The two then fell down directly towards it like a rocket.

Kariya had to admit, at times he wondered if he entered an anime or some fantasy tale novel. Because seeing that demonic monster being pummeled into the ground was certainly something out of an awesome tale. The ground itself exploded while that monster was sprawled like a beaten dog.

"Way to go Rider!" Near him, Rider's Master cheered with a big smile on her face. The kid seemed a bit worried, but impressed too. Not surprising, even Kariya was amazed. Sure that freak was getting back up, but instantly the two girls began striking down on it, using their ludicrous strength to keep it from coming right at them.

'Man that's cool.' Kariya smirked at the sight of it all. Wishing he could take a picture of this. "Berserker," Kariya contacted his Servant, connecting their minds. "How are things going?"

"Good." She had swung her blade down, ensuring the beast couldn't lift so much as a finger to aim those nasty claws at them. "Keeping it….Down. Magic energy…Nearly….Gone." She was huffing a bit between breaths, with Rider looking just a bit tired herself. It was taking a lot of effort to keep the thing from getting back up. If they were to stop, even for a second, the creature would get up, smack them away, then come after them.

'Maybe it'd be best if we moved away from here.' So that on the off chance that thing got away from those two, the three Masters weren't just suddenly there to be easy pickings. It'd also put their Servants at ease as well, not having to worry about them.

"Huh, what?" Kariya then turned to the kid, who spoke aloud. Likely talking to his Servant. "What do you mean you can't help the others? I get you aren't as tough bu-" He then stopped talking, likely that his Servant was explaining himself.

Kariya hoped it was a good one. Because even having just another Servant would be good against this damn freak that refused to stay down and die. Especially since Lancer left them high and dry by this point. He really hopes she wasn't going to stab them in the back.

As for what answer Saber gave the kid, he wouldn't know other than the kid saying, "You found who?"

"Two men. Both of them tied up. One of them is missing a hand." Saber opted to not mention the clearly dead body that looked more like squashed meat than anything else. He only knew it had once been a person by the amount of blood and bones sticking out of it. "Anyway, both are injured, particularly the one on the ground." His face looking heavily bruised.

"And how did you even find them?" His Master asked.

"By accident." After the two girls left, Saber had been about to follow them when he swore he heard a voice coming from one of the holes he made in the wall. Deciding to be certain nobody was here, Saber checked and found these two men down here with a good idea who they were judging by the marks on their hands.

"I believe the ones down here are the remaining Masters."

"What about Assassin's Master? Is he down there as well?"

"I don't think so." If anything, they were probably playing it safe. It was infuriating to know Assassin's Master could be anywhere, they probably weren't even here. Wherever they were, they must be having a good laugh at all of this.

Still, whoever and wherever they were didn't matter. What did was one thing. "I'm going to secure the two and bring them out. And I'll try to get the Overseer as well." It was disturbing how Lancer, even if she did it to free the poor man's possession from Assasin, had removed the man's limb in the process and left him to bleed out in a battle zone. No attempt at all to get him away from all of this. "Once I ensure the men are safe, I'll go back to you."

"Got it. But remember-"

"-stay safe." A vocal howl in rage hit Waver's ear. Seems the beast was really upset. If it had an actual face, Waver bet it would have long contorted to pure rage by now. Not that it wasn't feeling it regardless.

Turning to Irisiviel, doing his best not to look scared, Waver asked her, "Think that thing will go away soon?" It bothered him that even after all these hits that monster still wasn't dead. Even Kariya, who found some amusement, didn't like that it was still kicking while Rider and Berserker looked moments away from being kicked down themselves.

"I don't know." Irisviel replied, narrowing her eyes. "Still, I don't think we have to worry about killing it. A creature of that size and power, it isn't something someone can keep around forever. Even with a strong Master."

Yes, she could tell, just by the way it was acting. It was still moving, but now it was moving in a more frantic manner than before. No longer was it just trying to get up, it was outright lashing out at the two girls that kept it from even standing. As their blades continued to slam onto the back of its body and limbs, keeping it from even crawling, its screeches and howls became less and less malicious and transformed into something desperate. Like an animal trying to escape its prey.

"It's probably hitting its limit." That was the only conclusion that could be based here and now. So long as they keep this up, then they'll win for sure.

"Did you really think that you'd win?" It came from above, all three Masters then looked up. There, with a scowl, missing his right arm but holding a limb in the other, is Assassin. Looking appalled by what he was seeing before him. A group of nobodies, insignificant worms, holding back his other-half while the humans looked ready to celebrate for a victory.

Hell no.

"You think just because you got the drop on me, you've suddenly won?" It didn't even look like he was talking to them specifically. Yet his words shook them all the same, his left hand tightening on the dismembered flesh he held.

"Thinking by working together, now you can walk happily away. That this pathetic truce is enough against me." Old memories boiled beneath him. Pupils shrinking while any lingering pain he felt before was overshadowed by hurt pride and a need to deliver retribution on the ants who thought they could topple a God.

"Number 96!" Assassin then held his prize. All of them glowing, the memories he gained serving to gain usage of them for himself. Every Command Seal including the ones from Tokiomi and his pathetic Master. More than enough to not just refill Number 96's dwindling supply of mana, but extra.

"Noble Phantasm!" With a bellow more suited for a beast than a God, Assassin's forehead glowed while Number 96's Number sign shone just as brightly. In that instant Rider, despite knowing she had to hold Number 96 back, stopped and adjusted her stance to Assassin. Simply knowing she couldn't allow him to finish.

It was too late.

"Rank-Up Magic Barian Force!" The words were said with a mighty force behind it. And an explosion of light came out of both him and Number 96.

"Hm?" Where elsewhere, a certain woman with blue-eyes turned her head as she began walking a bit faster to the source of the disturbance.

Sorry if the action wasn't all good, but I was never all that great writing it. Anyway, Number 96 goes nuts and decides to use one last trick to prove he's superior, even when he was just really throwing a tantrum on how he's losing somehow. That's what happens when one has too big of an ego I suppose.

Still, his Rank-Up isn't going to make anything easy. Though help may soon come, if it's enough.