The Prince of Magic Chapter 14 — An Unexpected Outcome, a Fate/Extra + Harry Potter Crossover fanfic

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Well, hello and here we are again with a new chapter.

Sorry for being MIA for two months. There were complications that came up in my life and needed my utmost attention. My parents both got the seasonal flu, my brother was waiting for his test result for the coronavirus (he came up negative in the end), and I also got sick (just got better myself), so the delayed update couldn't be helped then.

I'm better now though, so, hopefully, I'll be able to update again soon.

Anyways, I thank you all for your patience and continued support in looking out for this story.

But, enough of my rant. I'll leave you guys be with this new chapter, so enjoy! :)

…

"Speaking"

'Thoughts'

"Spells" or "Abilities"

* Sound Effects *

[ Moon Cell ]

…

Chapter 14 – An Unexpected Outcome

…

"Can't believe I'm about to do this…" Kieran groaned, clearly reluctant.

"Stop with the complaints, Kieran." Dia scolded. "We have our orders."

"Ugh… fiiiiine." The amber eyed servant sighed, then muttered. "You're such a straight ass to authority, Dia."

Dia paid his muttering no attention.

Instead, he kept his attention to the front as he walked one step ahead of him.

That suited Kieran just fine.

One might think that the knight of the lance was giving the tan skinned servant the cold shoulder, but in truth, Diarmuid was simply in his combat-ready state. The prideful knight was normally calm and relaxed to hang around with in most circumstances, but when ordered by their Master, a solemn expression would be present on his face.

The same one that he was wearing from the moment they exited the control room.

A few minutes later, the pair stopped in front of the see-through doors of an elevator.

The two male servants stared at it for a few seconds before Dia turned his head to look at Kieran, who wore a strained expression, as if he ate sour lemon.

"Come on, you." Dia frowned, gesturing for the other servant to get in.

"Yeah, yeah…" Kieran scowled, scratching the back of his head.

The amber eyed servant moved inside, plopping his arse down on one of the cushioned seats within the moving compartment.

The elevator was not an ordinary one. It was too large and furnished to be compared to the elevators seen in modern buildings. The surroundings walls were also made of see-through fiber glass, which was reinforced with magecraft. But, like most elevators, it was equipped with speakers as a soothing classical music played in the background.

The doors closed with a soft chime once Dia went inside and pressed on a button.

Kieran huffed to himself, ignoring the bronze eyed knight who stood near him with his arms over his chest.

Seeing the sea animals play around through the glass without care, Kieran envied their blissful ignorance of the dangers in the world. Realizing that negativity had taken hold of his mind once again, he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. The classical music playing in the room had helped him relaxed somewhat, distracting from his doubts.

'Might as well check my equipment…' Kieran mused.

He patted the side of his left rib where his weapon was holstered. He reached in with his right hand and grabbed it by the handle, feeling the familiar weight settle in his hand as he took it out. Inspecting the gun in his hand, Kieran was reminded of the moment when he received it from his Master.

The gun was based on a .500 magnum, but heavily modified. It has a black chrome and gold color scheme. The firearm's design was a mix of old-world craftsmanship and modern technology. It has a black rubber grip, a long round frame, adjustable rear and front sight, muzzle brake and a cylindrical barrel that can hold up to seven rounds capacity.

The customized firearm may appear ordinary in the eyes of most people, but in reality, it was heavily modified with magecraft.

'Dooley', the name of his firearm, had been equipped with a solid set of spells, such as a few old runes inscribed by the old man (Zelretch), some reinforcement spell (to maintain the gun's durability), a bit of time manipulation (to replenish ammo without the need to reload), and ammo alteration (to change the effects of the projectiles).

The ammo was not exactly actual 'bullets', as in the metallic kind, but a magical energy in the form of one. The firearm was equipped with the option for Kieran to choose to fire the 'bullets' in a straight, classic fashion or to shoot with a bullet spread effect. The gun was well-thought out, seeing as his master and the old man casted a recall spell, so that it will return to him always in case he lost it.

It was a good thing that it had such a useful function, considering as Kieran had lost the gun once when his usual (severe) bad luck reared its ugly head and dropped it in the pit of shit by accident. That was one of the times Kieran truly had an appreciation for the benefits of magecraft, despite the intricacies that came with it.

While his master had cleaned the gun for him, Kieran had to (unfortunately) endure the bouts of laughter from his fellow retainers that time, much to his annoyance.

His firearm was also a sibling to the one that Hadrian made long before they met. Said weapon was a lot more destructive in power and was actually the original model for Dooley. Although, the firearm was often kept in storage as his master rarely uses it, seeing as he already had two mystic codes that were more in tuned to his magecraft.

Looking at the firearm in his hand, Kieran remembered the day he received the weapon in question.

Back then, Kieran had informed Hadrian that he was weak, even by normal standards of most servants.

The day after he made the contract with Hadrian, the latter gave him a weapon (which was the gun) and advised him to take shooting lessons, including close combat techniques to raise his chances in a fight. Kieran did so, with great reluctance and doubt in himself. He was not exactly the type to improve himself in combat, preferring to remain the way he is, despite his weaknesses.

However, after a few months of diligent training, Kieran was glad that he agreed to it after he found out that trouble always seemed to follow his Master everywhere he went. No, rather, it was more like trouble would come in the form of assignments and his Master would accept to resolve them.

As the heir to Schweinorg house, Hadrian bears a great responsibility to evaluate situations that can possibly affect the world and mankind. It was a duty that his Master's grandfather, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, shouldered on his own the moment he achieved the impossible (acquiring the Kaleidoscope, that is).

As one of the retainers, Kieran and the others were duty-bound to accompany their Master on his 'missions'.

…which just royally sucked in his opinion.

Of course, the young Master would never force them into anything he and the others don't want to do. Hadrian had always been courteous of their feelings, despite how cheesy it may sound. Yes, the young mage has three command seals that he can use at his disposal anytime, but due to his noble character, he would never resort to such a trick.

If Kieran and the others doesn't want to follow his orders, the young Master would respect their wishes, but then comes the unexpected downside.

Hadrian would be the one to do it instead of forcing them, which would often surprise Kieran and the rest.

During the time they spent with him, Kieran and the others realized that their Master was someone unafraid of getting his hands dirty. They all discovered as such when they saw the things he had went through in the grail war, but it had shocked them that the young mage was capable of brutality and ruthlessness, despite his delicate and striking appearance.

Such was the effects of the brutal event upon their Master's state of mind.

The grail war made him suffer just as much as it had made him stronger, which often caused his retainers to worry over him. Kieran himself didn't care much about Hadrian right when he agreed to be one of his retainers, but over time, once he realized how much freedom and leniency he was given, Kieran couldn't stop himself from caring about his Master's safety.

Thus, Kieran did his best to improve his combat prowess and help Hadrian as much as he could, despite his great reluctance to fight.

Truthfully, he would rather dump all the hard work to his fellow retainers than do it himself.

But since his Master had spoken up and gave him an order, one that Kieran was always welcome to refuse if he really wanted to, the amber eyed servant forced himself to get off his behind and move to follow his king's order. Yes, Kieran knew that the young mage was reincarnated, but it was a well-kept secret that only a handful in the group know of.

It was a sensitive subject that was really not open for idle discussion.

The young mage respect each of their privacies and had no desire to openly talk about their past, which was one of things that Kieran and the others admire about him. It was a kind gesture that Kieran and a few others returned by not uttering a word about his past life to the rest of the group, though his present life was an exception.

Not that the young mage was aware of being gossiped by his servants behind his back.

It was rather amusing to Kieran, in all honesty.

His Master had been born a King in his previous life, and died as one in a grand heroic fashion. Then, he was reborn in a different world and later designated as a king once again. The only difference is that his Master was selected as a king by an alien artifact and had no citizens to guide to a better future this time, only his subjects and family knew of his otherworldly kingdom inside the moon.

The young mage just seemed incapable of escaping his title as King, or the kind related to monarchy at least.

Hell, even the Mage's Association bestowed upon him quite a grand title, the 'Crown Prince', for his amazing talent for magecraft and the grand achievement of emerging victorious from the grail war, which only a handful of individuals in the organization knew about. The subjects related to the last war was kept as a tight-lipped secret, as it was ordered by the higher-ups of Clock Tower.

If that was not irony, then Kieran doesn't know what was.

"Funny how life works out…" Kieran huffed in amusement.

Dia, who heard his muttering, turned to look at him.

"What is?" The knight of the love spot asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Hm? Oh, nothing. Just the Boss, that's all." Kieran said as he idly laid the gun on his lap.

"What about milord?" Dia asked out of curiosity.

Aware that he needed to tread around the conversation carefully, Kieran kept himself cool and unperturbed, maintaining his gaze on the gun across his lap.

"Just recalling the day I got this gun." Kieran answered in a bemused tone. "It's almost as if the Boss had already expected I would join the group."

That day, Kieran expected an unfair and nonchalant treatment from Hadrian.

The amber eyed servant was not exactly optimistic when it comes to expectations in life. His view of the world had long been tainted with utmost negativity, no thanks to what he went through when he had been alive. Needless to say, Kieran was the type to always expect the bad things in life and never the good ones.

It was why when his master met him and took him in, treating him as part of his family, Kieran made the decision to assist him in any way he possibly can.

He might be the weakest in the group, but almost none of them had the advantage that Kieran has, which was his loyalty to Hadrian. Wherever the wind may blow for his Master, Kieran would stand by his side. Even if the young mage start a killing spree of innocent people, Kieran would gladly join him if it makes him happy.

Kieran was broken out of his reverie when he heard Dia speak.

"Ah, if I recall correctly, that weapon's name is Dooley, yes?" The knight of the love spot said as he glanced at the firearm.

"Yeah…" Kieran nodded his head slowly.

"And milord was the one who named it, yes?" Dia asked next.

"Yeah, what about it?" Kieran frowned slightly, curious as to where he was going with the topic.

"In case you didn't know, I'm from Ireland, Kieran." Dia smiled knowingly as he continued. "Dooley means 'black hero' in my homeland."

Dark amber eyes blinked in surprise by the explanation, causing Dia's smile to widen as he saw his reaction.

"For milord to name that weapon as such, it's quite fitting, no?" Dia said with a chuckle.

Kieran frowned, feeling a bit annoyed by the amused look on the knight's face.

"No, not really." Kieran denied, his tone nonchalant. "In case ya'll haven't noticed, I ain't a hero nor do I intend to be one."

"Oh? Why are you here with me then, Kieran?" Dia asked in retort, quirking a brow for emphasis.

By his response, Kieran went silent, but it was enough for Dia to guess what he was thinking as he continued on.

"I know that you could have just stayed behind in the control room where it was safe, and yet here you are." Dia gestured to him with his hand. "Accompanying me to battle and following the command of our mutual lord nonetheless. For all your words and displays of negativity, you act how a Heroic Spirit should be."

Having enough of his assessment, Kieran scoffed and turned his gaze to beautiful underwater view, unconsciously gripping the handle of the firearm a bit tighter than usual.

"Yeah, keep talking shit, I just might up and leave you here, ya knight-bastard." Kieran growled, resisting the urge to shoot the curly haired imbecile.

Knowing that he overstepped his bounds, Dia simply shook his head and chuckled in amusement.

They both turned their heads to the speakers, hearing a female robotic voice announcing that they have arrived to the top.

When the doors opened, Dia walked ahead for a few steps but stopped and glanced over his shoulder to look at Kieran, who stood up from his seat and holstered his weapon.

"Bit of advice, Kieran. From one retainer to another, do not let the past taint the life you made for yourself in the present." Dia stated, his tone confident and calm. "Whatever happened to you in the past should stay there. Let it rest before it eats away at you and ruins your life all over again."

With that said, the handsome knight of the love spot turned on his heel and left the spacious elevator, leaving Kieran to look on after his retreating form.

Processing his parting words, Kieran sighed as a small frown settled on his face.

"As if I didn't know that…" He mumbled, sounding oddly resigned.

Sometimes, Kieran really hates being seen through easily, particularly by stuck-up knights.

…

After reviewing their strategy, Dia left Kieran inside the building on top of the floating platform.

In consideration to Kieran's capabilities, their Master (Hadrian) proposed a simple, easy plan for them to follow. Since Dia was more powerful than Kieran (in most aspects), he would be the one to face their enemies outside while the latter himself would remain inside to serve as a last line of defense in the case some stragglers manage to get pass Dia.

The only way to gain access below the underwater headquarters was to use the elevator. Thus, Kieran was the one assigned to guard the entrance.

The amber eyed servant didn't know what to feel about that at first, but he went along with their Master's plan after a few complaints.

Their young master informed them that the incoming intruders were humans, highly trained in combat and modern weaponry but mortals nonetheless. Two servants would be enough to handle a group of humans, even if one of them was neither powerful nor skilled based on the normal standards of Heroic Spirits.

A loud sneeze echoed from the building, causing Dia to pause for a moment before he continued his trek to the exit.

As he did so, he mused over his parting words to Kieran.

"Let the past rest, huh…" Dia muttered, a thoughtful look on his face. "Easier said than done."

Even though he said such a thing to Kieran, Dia felt that he should be the one to follow his own advice thoroughly.

Originally, it was his liege who gave him the advice after knowing his true name. His Master was familiar with myths and legends, particular stories with heroes in it. The young magus even admitted it was a habit that he developed during the grail war, which the retainers understood. Diligently gathering information on the enemy was half of the reason why he won the brutal event.

Thus, it was no surprise when his master had easily discern his true identity.

Despite his young age, Hadrian was perceptive enough to tell that Dia often thought of his past, subtly inviting the Fianna knight to share his burden with him in times of privacy whenever it was only the two of them. It was something that Dia was honestly touched by, considering as he rarely had such genuine moments of man-to-man talk in the past.

He had some with his previous lord, but after certain things occurred, it was no longer possible to return to such moments. Even if it was, the events that followed between him and his previous lord will never be erased. His sin was deemed too grievous for his previous liege to merely accept and forgive, this Dia knew. Thus, rekindling his bond with him was naught but wishful thinking on Dia's part.

It was why, when he felt a link from his place in the Throne of Heroes, Dia wished to serve his new master as a true knight.

When Dia informed him of his wish, Hadrian didn't bat an eye and merely took in his words with utter calmness, which truly surprised Dia.

Most people would have laugh at his desire to serve a new lord as an honorable knight, considering as people of the modern age often look down on chivalry, but not his current master. No, instead, he took his words with a solemn aura that was rarely seen in young men like him. Clearly, the young mage was a different breed from the rest that Dia had seen in most people.

With Hadrian as his new liege and his acceptance to his strange wish, Dia felt that the world had given him a break.

He remembered some of the previous masters he had served in the past, and even he could be honest with himself by admitting that his current master was one of a kind, a unique cut above from the rest. His young liege was similar to his previous lord in some ways, but highly different in most. He may be young, but he was calm, wise, just, intelligent and highly charismatic.

His previous lord can be quite arrogant at times and, sometimes, inconsiderate, but not his current master.

His current master was different, literally the opposite of his previous lord. And most importantly, his current master is a king, as in a literal sense. Not only was he a king ruling an otherworldly kingdom hidden inside the moon, but has the character, heart and presence of a great one as well. Such qualities simply made Dia feel honored to be one of his retainers.

It was one of the reasons why Dia felt to return his master's kindness and consideration to his well-being by serving him as a knight the best he could.

Although, there were some moments when Dia felt his knightly ways can be a bother.

Such times when he was up against people who does not care for an honorable battle. His master had already educated him that there are such people that exists in the modern age, and the ones who are about to trespass into the Watch were such people, which brought a small dilemma inside him.

While he understood to insist on an honorable battle with the intruders was foolhardy on his part, Dia still felt that he should uphold his pride as a knight.

'But what happens if my enemies don't want to?' His mind asked.

Dia's forehead wrinkled as he frowned, a bit distressed by the train of thought before he shook his head as he felt frustration bubble up from his chest.

It was bad enough that he was feeling contrite over a simple manner, but it was worse for him to feel distressed when he was about to enter into combat. If the others were here, they would most likely scold him for being distracted, while some – particularly Astolfo and Charles – would tease him and tell him to loosen up.

Dia smiled wryly at the thought of his fellow retainers.

Great allies they were, but they can be bothersome when they want to be sometimes.

The unnaturally cold air hit him in the face as he stepped outside of the building, making him pause his walk as he felt the small hairs on his body rise up right after the impact.

Inwardly, Dia felt glad that the formal black suits he and the other wore were equipped with weather proof magecraft. Otherwise, the freezing cold air would have turn any of them into a living popsicle in minutes just by standing outside of the floating platform. The cold air within the bounded field that surrounds the island and the Watch was simply that cold.

He remembered that their attires were called 'Formal Wears', which were clothes embedded with magecraft.

Dia and his fellow servants had decided to wore their black suits since their liege had warn them of entering into possible combat, which was an assumption that turned out to be quite right. The precast spells embedded upon the suits were simple but made of high-quality: weather-proof, reinforcement (to resist physical and magical attacks), and presence concealment (to avoid magic detection).

The suits can still be destroyed with magic, but only by stronger spells. 'Presence Concealment', on the other hand, was usually a class skill that belong to the Assassin type of servants. However, his liege lord had managed to discover an ingenious method in how to transfer the class skill into a Formal Wear.

Dia doesn't know how the young mage had done it, considering as he was a knight, not a mage. And knowing mages, they have their secrets.

But, he did recall him saying that his master had managed to do so with the automaton's help.

Nevertheless, Dia and the others found his achievement to be noteworthy, especially for someone at his age. Clearly, his master had truly earned the title 'Crown Prince' by his talent and knowledge of the intricacies of magecraft on his own effort, even if he was humble about it. The young mage might have the advantage of being born in a prestigious magical house, but it was clear he was gifted.

There were a great many geniuses from different houses, but his master was undeniably an exception among the rest.

Speaking of which, Dia felt the familiar sensation open in his mind, signifying that the mental connection he has with his young lord was being opened.

'Dia, ready yourself. Your company has arrived.' He heard his liege's voice.

After relaying what he wanted to say, the mind link was cut and his thoughts was his own again.

The wavy haired knight closed his eyes briefly, taking a deep breath of the crisp, cold air before exhaling it from his lungs. Idly, as he opened his eyes and watched his breath turned into a visible large puff of mist, Dia silently marveled at the fact that he was once again in the living.

Being a Heroic Spirit was a bit jarring to him at first, but after he was given a new body to use (courtesy of his master's grandfather), doing the simple things in life had never been so amazing for him. It took some time to get used to eating, bathing, and sleeping, but it was routine he and the others had easily fell under as the time passed.

His musings came to an abrupt halt when the quiet humming sounds of an engine entered his ears, making him glance to the far off distance where he heard the noise came from.

With the intruders in sight, Dia sighed and walked to the center of the platform with his two clothed spears at his sides. He stood and waited by the space where a wide helipad was located, eyes closed and a serene expression on his face even as many loud footsteps padded against the black cemented ground.

Even as he sensed a group of people stop and positioned themselves a few feet away from him, Dia remained still and silent as a statue.

Until…

*CLICK*

When he heard a round of clicks, Dia slowly opened his eyes and stared at the sight before him.

A group of people stood in front of him, with their black military-like attires and firearms aimed at him. Some were kneeling on the floor to better their accuracy, but most were standing up. Their heads were covered by black helmets that made it difficult for him to discern their faces with his sight alone, but that was fine with Dia as there was something else he considered important.

And that was to give them the option to surrender.

Even though they were his enemies, Dia felt that he should at least be courteous enough to provide them the chance to avoid fighting. As a knight, his pride demanded that he do so.

From the corner of his mind though, he can already imagine the groans and irritated of some of his fellow retainers' would be wearing on their faces should they happen to discover what he was about to do. While some of his allies might be understanding to his feelings, there are some who does not since they were not knights nor had valiant characteristics to share such sentiments with him.

(In some parts of the world, several servants who are contracted with Hadrian sneezed at the same time,)

Unperturbed by the fifteen green laser sights aimed at him, Dia took a step forward and spoke in a loud, clear voice.

"Greetings, my name is Lancer and I shall be your foe today." He introduced himself confidently, mindful to use his class name instead of his real one. "You are all in violation of trespassing on private property, and thus, must be punished accordingly. But, I shall give you the option to leave this place, safely and with your life. If you choose to do so, I will not give chase. If you do not, I –"

*BANG*

Loud gunshots interrupted his speech, causing Dia to blink as he felt a few bullets pelt against the surface of his reinforced suit.

'Suppose that is a no then…' Dia frowned.

When the intruders noticed that he was unharmed and began to aim all of their weapons at him, Dia narrowed his eyes into a solemn glare and readied himself for combat.

With an experienced hand, he twirled the red spear in his right and dashed through the rainstorm of bullets. He used his great speed to run and twirled the spears in both of his hands to protect his body from being filled with holes and lead, moving the two spears into a blur so that no stray bullet can pass through the momentum.

Once he got close enough to the group, Dia attacked with the long red spear into a wide arc, hitting some of his enemies by their chests in the process.

Next, he leaned his head to the side, just in time to avoid a bullet that went passed his cheek. He glanced over his shoulder and turned his body around, thrusting his left arm and he was rewarded with a shout of pain as another enemy got impaled with his spear through the gut.

He pulled the spear from the dead body and dashed to his far right, avoiding the spray of bullets and two hand grenades that exploded a few seconds after he made his escape.

*BOOM*

The platform shook as the explosion went off, but it remained sturdy and unmarred even as Dia went on the attack.

Dia chose a hit-and-dash strategy, using their numbers to his advantage to cause some friendly fire in their midst.

The knight of the love spot was quick and strong, as a servant of his caliber ought to be, but his enemies' quick thinking and their seamless cooperation was giving him a difficult time to end the battle as quickly as he had originally intended to. Also, as he glanced over his shoulder every now and then, he noticed that the ones he injured seemed to be getting up and rejoining the battle.

His enemies were also quick. They might not be at his level, but it was enough for him to notice the difference, further increasing his belief that his foes are truly no ordinary humans.

Such a thing should not be possible, unless something else was at work.

After hearing what happened to Scáthach and Rider, Dia realized that the intruders he was fighting off might not be the ordinary humans he had first thought of.

'Milord will need to hear about this…'

With a grunt, Dia kicked a guy away after he made quick work of him. He was about to turn around and attack the one intruder near him when he saw the wounds he inflicted on the guy healed almost instantly before he slowly got up to his feet with the assault rifle in his hands. The cut on the cloth of his top was still there, but the large open wound was closed, as if it was never even there.

Dia was surprised for a moment, but shook it off as his current predicament demanded his focus.

He would have time to think on it later, but for now, he must concentrate on the battle and remain true to his objective.

As he continued to lay waste on his enemies left and right with his skill alone, Dia didn't noticed a small group clad in black slipped by to the side and entered the building behind him.

…

It had been fifteen minutes or so when Dia exited out of the building, leaving Kieran on his lonesome.

He had been relaxing by the lounge area near the reception desk, watching some gameplay videos in Utube to pass the time and to calm his nerves. It was something that he always did whenever he doesn't got shit to do before entering combat. He figured he might as well enjoy himself while he can in case something happens to him later on.

The building was curiously silent, as if abandoned. But that was understandable.

When the others blasted themselves off to the island, Edward Miles had ordered the building to be put under lockdown and commanded his employees to go below the headquarters, so that they may be safe in case something were to happen. And something did happen, the building was about to be trespassed by shitty people that his master remarked as enemies.

"And I just happen to be in this deep. Fucking great…" Kieran deadpanned.

When Kieran heard the gunshots, he instantly became alert, knowing that the time for leisure was over.

The amber eyed servant stood up from the lounge with a resigned sigh.

He pocketed his phone inside his jacket as he lazily made his way out of the lounge, shoulders slightly slouched and hands in his pocket. So focused he was in his worries, he did not even noticed there was something in front of him before it hit him, literally speaking. The lazy expression on his face quickly contorted into grimace when he stumbled into a transparent glass, face first.

He cursed as he backed away with a hand on his face, barely managing to center himself and avoid falling on his arse.

"Ugh… fucking doors." Kieran glared at the twin glass doors, which opened for him fully. "Couldn't they had made a metallic one instead of this shit?"

Resisting the urge to shoot the translucent sliding doors, the amber eyed servant walked to the center of the next room.

Behind him, the dark doors of the elevator was in sight. But Kieran paid it no mind other than a glance before he made his way to the center and stood there.

The way where Dia had exited was also the entrance to the building as well as the exit. With his position, Kieran had the advantage of seeing who would be able to get inside the premises and who will leave. But, once a fight occurred outside, Kieran was instructed to move to the main hallway where guests were received.

And now here he is, standing by on his lonesome with a hand on his holstered gun.

The main hallway was spacious and well-furnished. In the center of the room, there was a number of lights set into a straight line. The walls of the hallway were made of fine, smooth beige cement. It walls was complimented by the red carpeted floor made of velvet. The ceilings were high and decorate with beautiful carved statues that would not be out of place in an art museum.

Seeing such opulence for a simple hallway made Kieran snort in derision, which allowed him to forget his predicament for a moment.

'Magi and their weird tastes. I can only imagine the cost to make this room…' He thought as he inspected the ceilings.

He was brought back to reality when the gunshots became louder and numerous, accompanied by pained grunts and cries as the battle outside went on. Sensing a few unknown people approaching, Kieran turned his gaze to the entrance, just in time to see the black tinted glass doors opened automatically to admit someone.

The amber eyed servant quirked a brow when he saw a group of armed people wearing black militaristic attire with helmets rushed inside before slowing to a stop a few feet away from him. With him in their sights, they immediately pointed their assault rifles and shotguns towards him without warning.

Unperturbed by their actions, Kieran simply adjusted his stance and put a hand on his hip, leaning most of his weight on one foot than the other.

The expression on his face was the very picture of someone disinterested and bored out of his mind.

The reason for his discontent was the fact that he got scared at the thought of fighting these people earlier, only to discover then that they were no more than weaklings he can take on by himself. He is still wary at the thought of possible death at their hands, but now that they were close enough for him to sense their power, Kieran was sure he has the advantage in the upcoming fight.

'Sides, I got the Boss to pull me out if things get messy…' He frowned thoughtfully. 'There's one thing that's bugging the hell outta me… why do I feel some familiarity with these bastards?'

Before he could think deeper into it, he was broken out of his reverie when the soldiers in the middle parted to make way for someone.

Said someone was an old gentleman in his late fifties, whose long gray hair fell straight down his back and has dark gray eyes. He was dressed in an all-white suit, complete with a dark crimson tie and a pair of white gloves that covered his hands. He has a pale complexion and stood a few heads taller than Kieran. Based on his aristocratic features alone, he can easily pass off as a European native.

What sparked Kieran's interest however, was the look of boredom in the old man's eyes.

The old man's eyes held a cold, unfeeling vibe similar to most magi, but the disinterested glint within them was more prominent than his own.

Silently, Kieran wondered what bored the old gentleman that much, considering as the location he trespassed was anything but. Furthermore, there was something strange about the old man standing a few feet away from him. Kieran can't put a finger on it, but he sensed something odd about old magus… something that made him different from the soldiers still pointing their guns at him.

Suspicious but focused more on the situation, he filed the thought away in the corner of his mind as he heard the old gentleman speak.

"Greetings, do you happen to know where a young mage by the name of Hadrianus Mathius von Schweinorg is?" He asked calmly.

Kieran's right eyebrow twitched in irritation.

The question was phrased in a polite manner, but the tone he used to say it was cold and snobbish, which rubbed Kieran the wrong way as he felt annoyed at the bored stare he was being given by the old man. It was as if he was nothing more than an unsightly cockroach undeserving even an ounce of his attention.

The two of them had just met and Kieran was already getting the urge to outright murder the old bastard instead of answering him.

However, he was also curious as to why the old bastard would go so far just to find his master's whereabouts.

Still, just because he was curious doesn't mean that Kieran would need to be polite to him.

To be fair, the old bastard was the rude one, giving him the attitude on first meeting, not him.

"The fuck you want, old man? Better yet, who the fuck are ya?" The amber-eyed retainer returned with a glare.

It was silent for a few moments as the old bastard simply rose a gray brow at his 'welcoming' inquiry.

Most likely surprised by his eloquent choice in words, Kieran presumed. Now that he thought about it, he does have that effect on people. Case in point, the way those three witches (Arturia, Scáthach and Medusa) always seemed to be annoyed with him nearly every time he opens his damn mouth, which was nothing new in his opinion.

With the exception of Hadrian and his family, most people don't really take well to his presence.

Even when he doesn't say anything, Kieran always seemed to bring out the worst in people. He doesn't know whether that had something to do with his personality (which, he would admit, was not the ideal kind to have to make friends), his choice of words, or simply his past altogether. Perhaps, it might even be all of the above.

Shrugging at his own train of thought, Kieran focused his attention on the old mage, who began to speak again.

"My name is Jester Karture, and I'm here to see your Master." He introduced himself in a calm, prim tone.

As the old mage did so, a quick telepathic conversation occurred within Kieran's mind as he opened the mind link to his liege.

'Boss, this bastard wanna see ya. Response?' The amber eyed servant asked.

'Denied.' His master answered with utter nonchalance.

'So, does this mean I can kill him?' Kieran asked, wanting clarification and permission.

'Yes. Make sure to be thorough, so that none of them will leave here alive. Other than that, you can do whatever you want with them.'

Briefly, Kieran closed his eyes and smiled as he felt the mind link closed.

It seemed his master was also not a fan of a certain somebody, which worked just fine in Kieran's favor. It had been a while since he was let loose, so he was looking forward to kill something to lessen the pent up stress he kept bottled up throughout the past few months. It had been one case after another, which was more of investigation than less real action.

Sparring with his fellow retainers doesn't really count as a fight, considering as he was always on the losing side. Getting serious against them would only spell his death, which had left him with no other option but to find someone to fight outside of his circle of companions. To think that one would fall right into his lap was something he considered good fortune.

Also, while he was still terrified of dying, he felt a sadistic pleasure rise up in his chest since his opponents are humans.

"I hear and obey." He muttered under his breath.

When he opened his eyes, the enemy frontline of intruders except one flinched in unison the moment they met his gaze.

But, Kieran knows that that was not the reason why they seemed wary of him now. No, it was the combination of the small black tendrils of malignant aura and the eerie smile full of malice that was on his lips that made his audience become instantly cautious of him. That, and due to the black marks that slowly and steadily began to appear on his face and other visible parts of his body.

Discerning the wariness in their body language, Kieran was pleased as it simply meant that his enemies are still human at their core.

If there was anything that he was good at, it was to kill humans.

And humans are his favorite targets to play around with whenever he was feeling the urge to kill something.

"Heh… sorry, but I'mma fraid that ain't gonna happen." Kieran chuckled, taking one step forward as he shook his head slightly. "Boss ain't much interested in gracing you bastards with his presence. As a matter o' fact, you lot will have to make do with little ol' me."

Right after he said it, Kieran lifted his left hand and snapped his fingers.

The sound echoed throughout the room, causing the intruders to jolt in surprise before they straightened their postures and aimed their guns at him again. But, with their fingers on the triggers, preparing to fire. The old mage in front of them, however, seemed unperturbed as he simply looked at Kieran with a frown.

No doubt, the old bastard sensed the activation of a bounded field around the room. It was what his Master created earlier before, though Kieran did not expect that it would be used to trap the intruders inside with him instead of keeping them out. The young magus left the activation of the bounded field in Kieran's hands, as if already expecting that the retainer would be the one to meet them.

Now with a powerful bounded field in place, none of the intruders would be able to leave without his say so.

In actuality, the mere idea of letting any of them leave was laughable to Kieran. Some of his allies might show mercy, but he was no goody-two-shoes, especially to those who were hostile to him.

Jester opened his mouth to speak, seemingly intent to continue to converse with him.

Unfortunately for him, Kieran was no longer in the talking mood.

In a blink of an eye, the amber eyed retainer crossed the distance and appeared in front of the old mage with a small smile bearing ominous intentions.

*FWIP*

*SQUELCH*

Surprise was clear on the old man's face before he found himself impaled in the heart with an odd bladed weapon that somehow appeared in Kieran's left hand. After coughing up a wad of blood, Jester Karture started to fall to the ground, face-first, after Kieran pulled out the strange-looking knife in a rough fashion.

When the body of his first victim hit the carpeted floor, the black attired soldiers snapped out of their shock.

"ARGH! YOU MONSTER!"

"FUCK!"

"SHOOT! FUCKING SHOOT!"

Shouts of curses were thrown in his way as the intruders open fire at him without care.

Kieran made himself scarce and was already standing a few meters away from them. The amber eyed servant chuckled as he watched the intruders hit their own, causing friendly fire in their midst for a few moments before they realized that he was no longer there anymore. His fun was brief as some of them were quick to notice his new location, making him go on the move.

He ran a couple of steps forward and swiped at a man with his strange knife, feeling good at the sight of his second victim bleeding profusely due to the large cut on his throat.

Sensing a few guns aimed at him from behind, Kieran used his speed as a servant to dodge the sprays of bullets, all the while firing back at them with the modified gun in his right hand. A vicious grin made its way on his lips when he saw and heard the pained cries of the ones his bullets had hit.

Feeling emboldened by the success of his kill, the amber eyed retainer turned, searching for another victim, and ran at a lone intruder, who was a bit far from the rest.

The soldier clad in black let out a gasp of surprise at his sudden appearance before a strange-looking knife stabbed him at the head, penetrating easily through the hard exterior of the helmet. When the retainer confirmed that his recent victim was dead, Kieran kicked the body away from him and reached around his back with his left hand as he turned around.

He fling his arm in one quick motion and threw a grenade at the feet of a small group of soldiers, who were running directly at him but came to a sudden halt when something landed in front of them.

Kieran chuckled and pointed his index finger at them.

*BOOM*

"Boom!" He exclaimed at the same time the grenade exploded and obliterated the intruders into small, uneven chunks.

After watching the bloody fireworks, Kieran went to work (kill) on the others.

When they realized that confronting him directly was suicidal, the rest of the black clad soldiers resorted to tricks and cohesive teamwork. Unfortunately, it was more of a spur on the moment strategy instead of a plan that was well thought out. Also, the fact that he was still a servant and they are humans made all the difference in the battle.

As a result, the remaining soldiers had put up a valiant effort in taking him down, but couldn't managed to in the end.

Needless to say, the amber eyed servant was having the time of his life by playing (killing) the soldiers left and right to his heart's content.

Kieran had been surprised by their impressive stamina and regenerative properties, but with the application of his unique magical energy (which nature was as dark as the root of true evil itself), their advantages was rendered inert and he was able to pull off his killing spree without much trouble. He can still feel the excruciating pain that comes with using his power, but it was not as bad as before.

Although, he had to wonder why their magical essence felt familiar to him for some reason. He was not exactly sure earlier, but after fighting them up close, he was damn certain now.

A concerning issue better left off pondered for later, he supposed.

Ten minutes of killing spree later, the amber eyed servant was finished with pouring out his pent-up stress on the poor soldiers.

He stopped for a moment to admire the scenery before him, holstering his weapons beside him as he looked around with a refreshing smile.

Unlike before, the spacious hallway now looked damaged. The furniture placed here and there were destroyed, along with some of the light bulbs and chandeliers. Most of the walls were riddled with bullet holes, no thanks to the intruders' firearms who fired at him out of panic. Broken glass riddled most parts of the carpeted floor.

Oh, including the blood, guts and severed body parts of his victims too.

"Still… I think I rushed this a bit." Kieran frowned, mildly disappointed when it dawned on him he doesn't have anyone to kill anymore.

*CLINK*

Kieran blinked when he heard a sound nearby, causing him to slowly turn around and direct his gaze to a white couch with bullet holes in it.

Using his magical sensory, he found a soldier hiding behind the furniture, along with several others scattered around the room. Some were playing dead, some were hiding behind a pillar and so on.

He smiled to himself, realizing with mild relief that he still had a few toys to entertain himself with.

Stalking over to one of the areas he marked where the survivors are located, Kieran whistled a jaunty tune as crossed the room, stepping over the dead body of the old mage without a care.

Once he was behind the couch, the amber eyed servant grinned widely and struck out with his free left hand, like a snake descending upon its prey, shocking the hell out of the soldier hiding behind it as he grabbed him by the back of his neck and lifted him up with one hand.

With one hand, he vaulted the soldier over his head and slammed him against the ground, making his next victim gasped from the pain.

Kieran dropped on one knee, hitting the soldier's stomach in the process as he used his weight to keep his prey out of breath and down on the floor.

"Thought you could hide, ain't ya?" He asked with a chuckle, staring with bloodshot eyes in the face of a terrified-looking soldier that he was choking.

Seeing the feeble attempts of his prey to escape his grip, Kieran simply laughed when the soldier tried to reach for his gun, only for him to be denied as Kieran threw it away. The horror in the soldier's eyes increased when the black marks upon the amber eyed retainer's body writhed, as if it was alive and thriving the longer the retainer use his dark power.

As for his soon-to-be-killer, he simply raised a brow and laughed at the terrified look on his next victim.

"Funny how you humans are scared of a small portion of this energy… when it's bastards like you that made it in the first place."

…

[… The Watch – Control Room …]

Hadrian was in a dilemma.

After spectating the battles on the island through the monitors, he switched his focus on his two other servants who were busy entertaining the intruders above. Although, while the new group of hostiles were concerning, Hadrian was not that worried about them. No, he was more concerned about that old mage, Jester Karature.

His retainer, Kieran had killed the old mage, but that was not the actual truth.

Jester was playing dead, fooling everyone in the room he was in.

The old mage didn't even seemed to care that his soldiers were getting slaughtered by the amber eyed servant, whose sadistic nature continues to show and grow the longer he played (torture) around the remaining soldiers within the vicinity. Hadrian was not overly concerned with the retainer's seemingly unusual behavior, considering as he already knew about it when they had met.

One might have been wary about his retainer's true nature, but not him.

Kieran had been upfront with him regarding his true identity when they were first discussed the conditions of his service to him. The former told him the truth, including his past, true name and so on. It was the first honest discussion they had with one another, and it was why Hadrian began to give him the benefit of doubt.

As for the reason why the retainer was behaving sadistically now, it was mainly due to his true identity.

The ancient Persian God of Darkness, 'Angra Mainyu'. That was Kieran's true identity.

Hadrian found him by accident when he was sent to investigate an ancient castle in ruins that stood on top of a mountain in Fuyuki City of Japan.

His grandfather asked him to investigate there when the old mage had detected an unknown surge of magical energy creeping about in the mountain. He had been informed that the ruined castle once belonged to a well-known noble family with a magical bloodline, the Einzbern. But, it was destroyed during the time of when the Holy Grail wars were still active.

When Hadrian arrived to the location, all he had found was a ruined castle beyond repair, soot and ashes among the white snow.

There were scorch marks and deep gauges on the walls and ground, which were obvious signs of struggle. The automaton was also helpful enough to inform him that several battles between servants had occurred within the castle, rendering the structure to take damaged in the process. That, and a servant was the one who literally burned the castle to the ground.

Surprisingly enough, even though the building was in ruins, the Bounded Field that surrounded the perimeters of the castle was still there, albeit weakened.

The Einzbern were well-respected for their knowledge in alchemy and their unique spell-casting, but their talents lies in various branch of magecraft as well, including making custom Bounded Fields. It had been a surprise to Hadrian that the Bounded Field surrounding the castle managed to remain active for many years, despite the lack of maintenance.

Although, there were many rips in the Bounded Field, which was caused by absence of someone to keep it in check. It was also the main reason why his grandfather had managed to locate the source of disturbance from within the ruined castle back then, to which he had sent Hadrian to investigate the matter.

With Arturia in tow, Hadrian went to inside and straight to the source of the issue, but what he found was quite unexpected.

In the middle of the vast hallway of the ruined castle, there was a Holy Grail placed atop of a broken pillar. The golden chalice of the biblical myths and the source of untold brutal events was just sitting there, glittering prettily under the bright rays of sunlight, as if it was innocent from the many bloodshed.

What made the highlight of his day during that time was the rogue servant that merely strolled in to the room, as if he owned the place.

Said rogue servant was hostile, crude and bad mannered. He neither cared about other people's safety nor does he have a good moral compass, only caring about his own well-being and keeping the Holy Grail to himself. He needed it to keep himself existing in the present world, but Hadrian had told him that it was not possible.

When the former asked why, Hadrian had explained to him that the Counter Force would be sent after him since he was deemed an anomaly by Alaya.

Due to his unique position, his grandfather often acted as a liaison to Alaya and Gaia whenever the two were in a disagreement over matters that concerned humans and the world. How that had came to be, Hadrian had no idea, but what was important was that his grandfather would always be the first to handle any issues that threatened the safety of humans and the stability of the world.

In turn, it was a responsibility that was extended to the members of his family as well as those who work under him.

Thus, Hadrian had been the one sent first to test the waters, mainly due to his status as the heir to the Schweinorg house and the old mage's trust in him.

If he was unable to handle the matter, then the Counter Force would be sent to clean up the mess, which was the reason why he and the old mage had to work hard to prevent it from happening.

Of course, the rogue servant did not took to his response well, retaliating violently almost right after he explained the situation to him.

A fight broke out and the ruined castle became even more destroyed in the process. It had been a good thing that Hadrian had the foresight to raise a multilayered Bounded Field before he went inside, or the locals nearby would noticed the disturbances inside the perimeter of the barrier.

The rogue servant had put up quite a fight, despite having manifested independently.

But, his opponent that time was Arturia and she had a Master by her side. Therefore, the battle did not took any longer than a few minutes at best before Arturia had beaten soundly. He had been close to death's door at that time as well, and it was only thanks to Hadrian order that Arturia stopped before she could end his life.

At that time, Hadrian had already taken the Holy Grail, thereby cutting off the rogue servant's source of magical energy. But Hadrian also healed his injuries, which would still give him enough time to maintain his physical form before he ran out of magical energy. Although, he was restrained to the floor by Hadrian to prevent him from escaping.

The young mage didn't want the rogue servant to think about using the locals nearby to replenish his magical energy, so he had to restrain him.

With the rogue servant held down, Hadrian went and had a one-on-one talk with him.

Their talk was fruitful in the end. The rogue servant had no choice but to comply anyway, considering as he would be marked to death if he were to refuse the offer. Accepting Hadrian's offer to be one of his retainers would give him freedom to live his life peacefully, albeit chained to the former's fate.

Once a contract was made between them, Angra Mainyu became Kieran to hide his true identity. And in time, he earned the former rogue servant's trust.

Kieran was still rude and has the same devil-may-care attitude to most people, even to his fellow retainers, but around Hadrian and his family, his normally rude behavior was toned down. The servant seemed to have a soft spot for Hadrian's mother too, given the way the former tend to behaved whenever she was around.

For all of his rude attitude and derogative words, the amber eyed servant's demeanor around his mother was akin to a child behaving in the presence of a strict parent.

Not that Hadrian's mother was strict, but the metaphor was the same altogether.

Hadrian smiled faintly, shaking his head at the memories.

It was almost rather inappropriate of him to think of such times when he was watching Kieran beat the living crap out of the intruders with that disturbing smile on his face. Then again, the intruders had it coming anyways, so the young mage doesn't really feel too bad about their predicament.

'But what to do with that guy? One way or another, he's going to make a move. It's just a matter of when he'll do it. Also…'

Hadrian turned his gaze to another screen where he saw the retainers on the island doing their damn best to follow through his command.

By the look of things, it seemed that his retainers were having a difficult time accomplishing the task of rendering their foes unconscious. While his retainers are skilled and powerful in their own rights, the enemy servants held the advantage in the long run since they have no reason to hold back in the battle.

The one watching him in the shadows would probably rejoice at the mayhem their minions were causing in the island.

If the Spider awakens by the ruckus they were making, it would only be to the enemy's benefit, not to his.

Previously, Hadrian thought of joining his retainers in the island. But when Jester Karture came into the picture, he had second thoughts.

The old mage might appear human, but in reality, he was not. As a matter of fact, the one playing dead on the floor and got stepped on by Kieran was not even the interloper's true form. No, as soon as he was in sight, Hadrian had the automaton to pull up any information it had on the old mage and what he discovered honestly surprised him.

The old mage was a Dead Apostle. But, not one that was a part of the 27 Dead Apostles, which his grandfather also happened to be a member of.

After some contemplation, the theory he had once before didn't seemed to be outlandish anymore, not when he had gathered enough proof. The mysterious runic schemes drawn upon the cloaks, the enemy servants and their twisted forms, the Dead Apostle and the lack of info in the automaton's archives regarding his investigation in the abandoned manor yesterday.

All of them were connected, which leads Hadrian to one conclusion.

'They didn't came from here.' Hadrian summarized. 'It's the only thing that makes sense.'

While he has yet to explore more on the Moon Cell's capabilities, there was something that he did learned about the automaton. Particularly, it's limitations.

One, despite its powerful abilities in observation and information assessment, there are still some things that the automaton was incapable of appraising. When it does, all information it had gathered on the target would be sent to the Far Side of the Moon where it would be classified as bits of data errors, to which Hadrian had to take the time to clean up in person.

The idea that he, who was once a king of a great magical nation, was rendered into a walking data cleaner for an alien artifact with artificial intelligence was not lost on him.

On a side note, that was also where he happened to walk upon a certain King of Heroes and nearly battled with him to the death.

The second limitation was that the automaton is incapable of observing other worlds.

There were some cases that it did, but only the ones that were mostly similar to the world it was currently observing. Other dimensions with too much differences to the one it was monitoring was out of its limits, which leads him to the current issue at hand. The enemy servants most likely came from a world different than his own, which was the real problem.

His grandfather was the only one he knew who can travel to different worlds, but now there was someone out there who was also capable of it.

'Gonna have to talk to opa about it. He'll want to hear this…' Hadrian mused, bright cyan eyes narrowing slightly. 'But first, I have to get things done here.'

As Hadrian watched the battles continue through the monitors, an idea came to mind.

It might not be the brightest one he had before, but he was a bit desperate and pressed on time. He wanted to help his retainers, but he cannot leave Kieran and Dia here, not when they were tending to the intruders above the headquarters. Hadrian was only one person, so he can't be in two places at once. But, there was still someone who might help him.

The end of his lips curled up a bit before he closed his eyes and opened a telepathic link to a certain someone.

'… Sorry to bother you about this, but are you busy?'

'…No… I am not. Why thou art ask?'

'I need your help on something.'

'Speak then. I shall listen to thy request first, and decide after.'

'Haha, thanks.'

One minute later, Hadrian grinned wearily as he sensed the mind link closed once the conversation was over.

Then, slowly, he turned his gaze to the right side and down to his pant pocket where his hand was in. The crimson light of his Command Seals pulsed brightly before dimming as he felt one of the three sigils was used and the familiar dip in his magical reserves. He may have a near unlimited access to a vast storage of magic energy, but even he can still feel the drop when a great amount was taken.

One of his retainers, the second servant he summoned after the war, had just teleported to the island from a far distance via one of his Command Seals.

Hadrian rarely asked for that servant's help, but whenever he does, it has to be of utmost significance.

Otherwise, he would get a scolding from that weathered servant of his, which might sound tame but not exactly good to see nor experience in person.

Recalling the first time he got scolded by the servant in question, Hadrian shivered a little.

'Not even Kieran or Astolfo would dare to bother him when he's like that, which reminds me. I should get him to scold those two. They've been on bad behavior lately.'

Unbeknownst to him, the two servants would later lament on their horrible luck for being on the receiving end of their senior retainer's harsh lecture in the future.

After a few moments of contemplation, Hadrian sighed as he made a decision.

Nearby, the two old mages, Hugo and Edward, heard his sigh and turned to him with curiosity on their faces.

It was Hugo who voiced their mutual curiosity.

"What's the matter, young master?" The older mage asked, causing Hadrian to look at him.

"I must go above the platform." Hadrian answered, calmly glancing up the ceiling. "My two friends will need my help there."

"Er… then what about…" Edward trailed off, gesturing to the people around the control room.

Before, the control room had a bit of space, but after the alarm was sounded and the headquarters was put under lockdown, the rest of the Watch members stationed above the headquarters had been commanded to wait inside in the room along with them till the intruders were dealt with and the danger passed.

The control room was spacious, but now, there were a lot more people than there was previously.

Most of the Watch members looked nervous and scared as they watched the battles happening in the island and the building above the underwater headquarters. Although, they do still maintained their professionalism as they worked together with the core members of the control room, assisting them with technical issues here and there.

Knowing that he couldn't leave the people here without an assurance, Hadrian went to Hugo and stood in front of him.

Before the latter could open his mouth to ask, the young mage calmly lifted his right hand up and plucked his fluffy white familiar from his comfortable nest (which happens to be on his master's head).

"Kyu?" The white fluffy familiar cooed.

The pudgy familiar did not even resisted as his master grabbed him with both hands and faced him.

"Okay, Ryu. You stay here, and protect these people in my place." Hadrian instructed, looking at the small familiar in the eyes. "If something happens, you know what to do. Got it?"

"Kyukyu!" The familiar chirped with a smile, his thin white furry tail swishing in confirmation.

Hadrian smiled at his familiar's enthusiasm to follow his order, then he turned towards to Hugo, who looked surprised at his sudden attention.

"Do you happen to have a free chair here?" The young mage asked.

"Um… why do you ask?" Edward inquired, curious as to why he would need one.

"Oh, just something." Hadrian answered with a mysterious smile and twinkle in his bright cyan eyes.

For some odd reason, Hugo and Edward felt that the expression the young mage wore in that moment was nearly identical to the one that their liege lord would often wear, which was whenever the old Wizard Marshall felt like executing a prank that would give many mages headaches just by witnessing it.

…

Meanwhile, above the underwater headquarters of the Watch…

Kieran let out a sigh of satisfaction, wiping the sweat off his brow with the back of his left hand.

He had just finished playing (torturing) the black clad soldiers, and now he was standing on a small pile of their bodies. Most of his clothes were covered in blood (theirs, of course) and bits of their flesh, including their innards that Kieran took great joy in plucking out of their bodies. Now that he looked at it, he can see some tiny remnants of their flesh and organs had gotten stuck in his fingernails.

Pulling out a clean handkerchief from his pocket, the amber eyed servant tried to clean himself as best as he could, wiping off the bits of fleshes and fresh blood off his face and body before chucking the piece of cloth away in some direction without care. He looked around the room, admiring his own bloody handiwork once more.

The grand hallway looked perfectly thrashed, even more so before. The once clean walls and floors were painted with blood and broken furniture can be seen everywhere strewn around the room. The broken chandeliers on the floor got stained with dried blood. Some even have intestines decorating them, much to his grim amusement.

It was simply no longer as grand, polished and majestic as it was once before.

Once he had his fill, Kieran came back to reality and walked down from the pile of dead bodies.

Just as his feet landed on the carpeted floor, his sense of danger blared in his mind like loud horns, causing him to pick up his modified firearm from its holster in a blink of an eye as he turned around to the direction where he had sensed the threat to his safety.

An incredulous expression came upon his face as he saw it was the old mage, who he had killed first earlier.

'The hell? How's he not dead? I thought I was thorough. Either he's not human, or he got a trick up his sleeve...' The retainer thought, a bit surprised by the old mage's perseverance.

The amber eyed retainer watched as the old mage simply stood where he was, eyes closed and seemingly calm with his arms by his sides.

The magical energy Kieran was picking up from the old mage was the opposite told a different story, however. It was dangerous, ominous and undeniably not akin to a human's. Just by watching the old mage stood there eleven feet away from him felt foreboding, as if there was something dangerous about to come next.

That was when he noticed it.

In place of the dead bodies of the black clad soldiers, there were skeletons instead. It was as if the corpses shriveled up and had been reduced to bones. The only evidence that the skeletons were the soldiers are the black clothes and the puddles of blood that remained behind, which begged the question as to what happened while his attention was on the old mage.

Even as Kieran had his gun pointed at him, the old mage didn't moved an inch.

The retainer was beginning to wonder whether he was even breathing, seeing as he didn't saw the fall and rising motions of his chest. The long haired mage was that still. Not only that, the foreboding sense of danger he was feeling from the old mage was getting more prominent as the seconds went by.

Feeling that he was getting nowhere with his internal musings, Kieran had decided to break the eerie silence.

"Oi… 'ow the fuck are you up and about?" The retainer questioned, glaring at the intruder.

In response, the old mage opened his eyes, and that was when it dawned on Kieran.

The old mage's dark gray eyes were no longer so. Instead, replacing them were a pair of bright crimson ones that was one of the familiar characteristics of a certain race.

"Dead Apostle… fucking awesome, really." Kieran muttered under his breath, internally cursing his luck.

His attention turned to the old mage when the latter began to speak.

"I must say… you did quite a fantastic work taking me out first. You caught me off guard, this I admit." The intruder smiled wryly, as if amused by his own incompetence.

"Why thanks, I'm flattered." Kieran replied with thick sarcasm in his voice.

"Still, that was also quite rude of you." The old mage idly said, brushing off imaginary dusts from his shoulders and front, despite the blood and bits of gore that stained them. "I was merely asking for your master's whereabouts to give him something, not to harm him."

"Oh? Well, Boss ain't interested in seeing ya, so you can either fuck off or die right here. I highly recommend for ya to choose the second option though." Kieran stated nonchalantly.

"Awfully charming, you are." The old mage(?) smiled thinly, clearly amused.

"Some say that it's one of my charmin' points." Kieran said with a shrug.

"Nevertheless, I insist."

After flashing him with another smile, one that revealed the two fangs peeking below his upper lip, the blood-sucking creature crossed the room in a span of split second, almost too fast for Kieran to notice. But, fortunately, his spars with the others improved his basic abilities and honed his senses to a manageable level, so he didn't sucked more than he was originally.

Using the underside of his gun, Kieran managed to block the thrust attack from the intruder's sharp nails that nearly pierced his throat.

He did a roll to the side to evade the intruder's kick, firing several shots at him as he moved to the other side to maintain a distance.

The Dead Apostle was about to follow up another attack before he was rudely interrupted by an unexpected newcomer.

*BANG*

Endless barrages of black magical energy in the form of tiny marbles, launching off with the speed of a bullet, hit the Dead Apostle in specific areas. They landed on the center of Jester Karture's head, his torso, arms, legs, knees and repeat. The magical bullet storm came out of nowhere, but seeing the direction of their appearance, Kieran saw that the attacks came from below Jester.

The 'black bullets' were actually simple curses called the 'Gandr', but due to the highly concentrated magical energy contained in them, they are called 'Finn Shot'.

The assailant was targeted his vital spots with such marksmanship and terrifying precision in perfect order, it was almost a beautiful sight to watch.

Knowing who was behind the attack, Kieran simply stood to the side and enjoyed the show, smirking at the way the Dead Apostle kept getting hit.

The intruder was not happy with his current predicament though, seeing as he tried to escape the onslaught of black hailstorm. But alas, every time he did try to escape, he would be interrupted, getting shot in the face or forehead in return as the speed of the barrages slowly and steadily increased.

Also, Jester's high-speed regeneration, one of the abilities that was normal and expected in most vampires, helped him recover his limbs and other body parts he had lost. But, the powerful effects of the Gandr was reducing the speed of his regeneration, preventing his body from being fully restored.

Kieran had already lost count how many times Jester got hit, but after a whole twenty seconds was done, the furious black hailstorm stopped. But, not after one shot, one that looked a bit larger in size and power, was fired off and landed on the intruder's face. The power behind the shot launched the blood-sucker off of his feet, away and down to the other end of the hallway near the entrance.

Jester landed on his back with a rough 'thud', thoroughly pelleted with so many Finn Shots that he was reduced to an ugly pile of blood, flesh and curses on the dirty floor.

"Damn…" The retainer whistled, highly impressed and slightly intimidated at what he had seen.

*DING*

The gentle chime of the elevator's arrival to the current floor caused Kieran to look over his shoulder and behind him.

The doors of the elevator opened, revealing his Master, Hadrian, in all his calm and majestic glory with the infamous Trident gripped in his right hand, its sights facing the ground.

His master still wore the same calm and poised expression that was ever present, but the inhumane grace in his movement and the regal yet serious intensity in his bright cyan eyes were akin to that of a great apex predator, who was about to end the life of his prey. Which, in this case, would be the vampire, who recently got bombarded with bullets and prone on the ground.

Seeing his master calm and poised, as if nothing ever bothered him, Kieran grinned humorously and gave a jaunty salute to his benefactor.

"Wassup, Boss!" The retainer greeted. "Nice shooting. Ya got the bastard, but how'd ya do that?"

"While the elevator was going up." Hadrian answered, stepping beside his retainer. "But, don't let your guard down yet. He's still alive."

"Wait, I thought ya aren't going up here?" Kieran asked, brows furrowed in confusion. "Who's protecting the people below?"

"Don't worry, I left someone capable of guarding the others there." Hadrian said with great confidence, smiling pleasantly.

They were interrupted when a series sounds of bones cracking echoed in the room, causing them to turn their gazes to where Jester Karture was located.

When they sighted him, the vampire was in the process of regenerating. His bones were forcefully righted as his regeneration undo the damages, albeit in a slower paced than before. The young mage did a number on the intruder's body, to the point that it took a whole minute for the latter's body restored enough for him to stand.

Idly, Hadrian took note of the strange clicking sounds he kept hearing, which was oddly similar to the noise of a revolver's chamber turning.

Hadrian and Kieran did nothing, simply observing and waiting for the intruder to regenerate.

They had this feeling that the intruder had something to say, now that Hadrian was present.

True enough, after Jester forcefully righted the bones in his shoulder and straightened his posture, he flashed a smile towards Hadrian and bowed to his waist.

"Greetings, you must be Hadrianus Mathius von Schweinorg. I am Jester Karture, a mere lowly Dead Apostle. I am deeply honored to be in your presence." The intruder greeted him.

"So I've heard. Now, state your business here before I lose my patience." Hadrian stated in a sharp tone, his bright cyan eyes squinting slightly in warning.

While a bit intimidated by the glare, Jester simply flashed him another smile, one that seemed genuine but lacked any warmth inside.

On anyone, it might even seemed true, but on the vampire's face, it just felt like a mockery of what a smile should be. That was what it felt to Kieran.

"Very well." Jester coughed lightly into his hand, then continued on. "I am here to deliver you a message. This letter, actually."

"A letter?" Kieran repeated, skeptical.

"Yes, a letter." Jester affirmed with a nod.

He reached into the inside of his blazer's pocket, unheeding of how Kieran pointed his gun at him, ready to shoot, as he grabbed something and pulled it out.

True to his words, in his right hand was a small envelope that was stained with a bit of blood. It was even stamped with a red seal.

Hadrian already had the automaton scanned the item, and found nothing magical on him. He was still cautious though, but his instincts also told him that it was a simple letter.

Knowing that the two wouldn't take the letter from him even if he offered it to them, Jester kneeled on one knee to the floor and laid the enveloped gently on the torso of one black clad skeleton. Then, he stood up and sighed in relief, causing the amber eyed retainer to frown suspiciously at him.

"There, I've done my part. Now, I must return." Jester announced, giving another bow to Hadrian.

"What makes ya think we'll let ya leave here, eh?" Kieran began, glaring at the vampire.

"Oh, I think you have other matters that would concern you greatly." Jester replied, smiling toothily.

The amber eyed servant felt uncomfortable.

From the beginning, the vampire had been calm and nonchalant. Even when they had been fighting earlier, Jester Karture was nothing but apathetic to everything around him, including the deaths of his soldiers. Now, however, the blood-sucker looked almost amused, despite his unkempt and bloody appearance, which gave eerie vibes to Kieran.

For some strange reason, Jester reminded Kieran of an unsettling clown. The ones that act genuinely, yet distant and cold at the same time.

It was almost as if emotions was an alien subject for Jester Karture; that was the impression that Kieran was getting.

Just as Kieran was about to tell the vampire to fuck off, he was beaten to the punch when Hadrian disappeared beside him, only to reappear next to Jester in a split second.

In slow motion, the retainer watched as his master kicked the intruder in the middle, launching him away and his body slammed roughly against the wall before the young mage followed it up with two powerful Finn Shots to Jester's face and chest, causing the vampire blast through the wall of cement that seemed six inched thick in mass.

Small debris fell over as a man-shaped hole was made, while Jester disappeared through it and was blasted far into the ocean.

In a rare moment, Kieran found himself speechless.

He had fought the vampire, albeit briefly, but the power Jester can muster was not a joke. Now, he just witnessed his Master overwhelmed Jester, even outmaneuvering and besting him. The magical strength behind his Finn Shots alone were enough to blast the vampire away and catapult the blood-sucker through the wall, making a nice man-shaped hole on it.

'Yeah, one of the reasons why I never messed with him. Learned my fucking lesson the first time…' Kieran thought to himself, feeling a trickle of sweat pour down the side of his face as he looked at the gap on the wall, courtesy of his young master's doing.

He was broken out of his reverie when the entrance opened and admitted a certain Knight of the Love Spot, who entered to the scene in a run. Dia ran inside, but stopped when he noticed the state of the room, his fellow retainer and his master inside. Said spear-wielder looked around with a confused expression, then turned to Kieran.

"Did I miss something?" Dia asked, glancing at the man-shaped hole in the wall.

"Yeah, a lot." Kieran snorted, shaking his head with a wry expression.

"Come along, you two." Hadrian interrupted, walking towards the entrance. "We must get to the others."

"Ah, but what about the people here?" Dia asked, hurrying to his liege's side along with Kieran.

"They'll be fine. I doubt there would be anymore intrusions after this." Hadrian answered, keeping his gaze straight ahead. "The enemy's main goal is in the island, not here."

"What about that fucker, boss?" Kieran said with a raised brow. "I'm sure as hell that that blood-sucker ain't dead." He paused, continuing unsurely. "… Is he?"

"No, he is not." Hadrian confirmed. "I doubt mere spells would be able to kill him off. But that was the best I can do at the moment. I would have used a Black Key, but it's my inventory. I do not want to give away of what I'm capable of to a mere messenger. Also, we're near the Spider's nest, so I don't wish to trigger the alien's early awakening if I can help it." Then, he muttered to the side, looking the other away with a slightly sheepish expression. "I'm trying to keep low right now on my magical displays, so I'm limited in spells."

Due to their extraordinary senses, Kieran and Dia exchanged surprised glances with each other, not knowing what to say to their liege's mumbled excuse that was obviously not meant for their ears.

Before the two could say anything though, the young mage sped up his walk, following after him were his two retainers.

One was dutiful and loyal, while the other was apprehensive of what was about to come. Both are different, yet united in their loyalty and trust to their young liege.

Kieran merely hoped that they were not about to walk to their deaths.

…

[… Spider's Nest – South …]

*CLANG*

Sparks flew as Arturia used her wind covered sword to deflect the bullets that came in her way, courtesy of the enemy Servant, Archer.

"HAH!" The King of Knights shouted.

After deflecting the sprays of bullets, she willed for the wind to gather around her invisible sword and swung the weapon with both hands at the enemy servant's way.

Strong gusts of wind came with the intention to hammer down at the insolent intruder, surrounding said intruder from three sides. The heavy pressure behind them pulverized the crystal trees nearby in to dust, creating small whirlwinds nearby as they rushed towards Archer, who simply smirked before using his speed to get away.

His escape would have been clean if not for Arash, who fired off a series number of arrows in his way.

"Tch!" Archer grunted as he used the white coffin to protect himself from the projectiles.

Since his evasion was hindered, he was forced to guard himself from Arturia's attack as well. He was pushed back nearly twenty feet away when the King of Knight's wind based attack met the coffin, and his feet nearly got buried in the dirt as he mustered the strength in his lower body and legs to endure the assault.

After sensing the force had dwindled, Archer lowered the coffin and quickly went on the move.

The two servants quickly gave chase, equally determined not to let him get too far away.

Even though he had only fought the two servants for a few minutes, Archer can easily deduce that the knight and bowman were an unrelenting duo when it comes to a fight. By unrelenting, he meant that the two seemed to truly intend on taking him down, even if he was on death's door. The attacks they used against were direct yet tricky, though the trickiest attacks only came from the bowman.

The beautiful woman with the invisible sword was always the one who would subtly challenge him in a direct confrontation.

Of course, Archer had no intention to fight her mano-o-mano. Just by strength alone, she had him beat by a mile wide.

It was why he often tries to distance himself from her to avoid being engaged in a close combat. The brown skinned bowman, however, seemed to have a different opinion about this. Every single time Archer had managed to distance himself from the relentless woman, the brown skinned archer would engaged him in a long-range battle to buy some time for the swordswoman to get close to him.

It was a tactic that often led Archer to gritting his teeth in annoyance, simply due to how successful it was in catching him off guard.

As vexing it was for him to admit it, the criminal mastermind found himself in a troublesome pickle.

He had already tried to disrupt their seamless teamwork and tactic by firing off missiles and bombs at them, but unfortunately, he was not the only one with tricks hidden under his sleeve. The moment he changed his attack pattern, the two did so as well… by showing him their own skills. The swordswoman used her wind trick, sword skills and that blasted magical burst of energy from her body.

The criminal mastermind experienced a nasty shock of surprise when his 'special' bullet didn't even penetrated through her defenses earlier.

After that particular moment, Archer had sworn off from firing any more of his special bullets against the determined swordswoman, especially when it would just be a futile effort on his part since her magical protections were too strong for the bullets to go against. When it comes to the blonde swordswoman, Archer's luck often plays against him.

The tan skinned bowman on the other hand, showed him his level of commitment in using underhanded tactics and his magic trick of creating arrows instantly.

The arrows might be simple, but the tanned bowman was quick to make them and just as fast to release them like Archer would pull the trigger on a gun. The force behind the projectiles the former had employed was also noteworthy. Often times, there were moments when Archer's bullets and small missiles would get hit by his enemy counterpart, just as soon as Archer had deployed them.

It speaks of the other archer's skills with the bow and his great eyesight.

While their abilities alone might seemed unimpressive, it was their smooth cooperation with one another that gave Archer the most trouble. He was only one man against two foes, after all. It reminded Archer of how a certain detective and his doctor friend would work together to thwart his plans in the past.

'Aaah, I really am old here…' Archer sighed to himself, resigned.

Shaking himself off from his sentimental lapse, the criminal mastermind quickly zoned back in the battle.

In all honesty, he wanted to converse with the two servants regarding something, but after his 'trick' earlier in the forest before they came to the crystal valley, the servant duo seemed to have no desire to talk to him. They made small talk earlier in the first minute of the battle, mostly taunts and sniping at each other, but no one talked after that.

Idly, Archer wondered if he had gone too far with the traps he had set up in the forest.

He had been bored of waiting for them earlier, so he set up a series of 'fun' surprise for the two, which he left in the forest. He could not help it, not after he had been turned and infected with something disgusting right after he was summoned. His summoning was not even natural, but at least he still remained as himself at the core, albeit one with darker thoughts then before.

His allegiance might be to that vilesome woman and is forced to be loyal under the power of a Command Seal, but his mind and personality was still mostly the same.

Anyways, Archer still desire to talk to the duo regarding something important, so he tried.

*BOOM*

…

After he evades the swordswoman's attack first.

Once he was safely out of harm's way, Archer was about to call out to them when a sudden chill went down his spine and he felt a brief flash of pain on his neck.

He blinked once and was met with the startled looks upon the servant duo's faces. His sight slowly faded into darkness when he tried to blink for the second time.

Everything had gone dark after that, and Archer knew no more.

…

Arash and Arturia didn't know what happened.

One moment, Archer evaded Arturia's attack and opened his mouth, most likely to call her out

And then, in a blink of an eye, Archer's body stiffened as a number of flashes of light appeared from behind and through him, only to vanish as quickly as it appeared. The criminal mastermind blinked once, meeting the two retainers' surprised and startled gazes with a dumbfounded look on his weathered face.

When he blinked the second time, his knees buckled when blood began to come out from his neck. A large, deep cut in the middle of his neck was the cause of his wound, but more appeared around the torso. Then, Archer's body started to fall to the ground, and his head soon followed as it detached itself from his neck with a disturbing 'squelch' noise.

The two retainers stared at the headless body of their enemy for a few moments, then to the lone head that rolled away a few feet from its body.

Slowly, they turned to look at each other, disgust and bewilderment clear on their faces.

"Well, that was… quite an execution." Arash said slowly, unsure of the outcome.

His comment made Arturia to sigh and rubbed his temple in resignation.

"Must you always do that?" The King of Knights asked, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

Cause if she doesn't, she might give in to the urge and hit the bowman on the back of his head with the blunt side of her sword.

"Do what? I'm just being honest." Arash said with a grin, relaxing now that the battle was over.

Arturia did too, but only a little. She was not sure happened, but just because the enemy seemed dead, it does not mean the battle was over.

Recalling what happened to Rider and Scáthach yesterday in the abandoned asylum, Arturia would prefer to ready for whatever might happen next.

"Do not lower your guard yet, the enemy might still be alive." Arturia warned, sending Arash a knowing look with her eyes.

Arash was about to respond when the appearance of a cloud of black smoke suddenly appeared behind Archer's dead body nearby.

The two servants snapped their gazes to the black smoke, wary and guarded as they readied themselves for another potential battle.

The black cloud stayed there for a few moments, dancing on one spot, then a bright light flash briefly before a shape took form. The black smoke disappeared when someone began to come out of it, and it was only when a pair of eerie blue infernal eyes shone through the darkness of the smoke did the two servants lowered their weapons.

The owner of the blue flame-like eyes belongs to a man in a dark gray cloak. He stands at 220cm, with broad-shoulders and has a heavy physique. Most of his features were hidden due to the hood he wore over his head, but when he turned his gaze to the two servants, the bearded face of a weary and stern-looking old man in his late fifties was shown.

The large sword gripped in his right hand and the aura of dread surrounding his form would immediately dissuade anyone who would be disrespectful in his presence.

It was 'Hassan-I Sabbah', who was also known as the Old Man of the Mountain.

Arash was the fourth servant to be summoned by the young mage, but King Hassan (a nickname his master gave to Hassan, which the latter took a liking to) was his senior, seeing as the Old Man was the second Servant that was summoned a few months after his master and Arturia had returned to the Schweinorg castle from the Moon Grail War.

Seeing the powerful Assassin before him, Arash recalled how master described to him about the former's summoning ritual.

At that time, after a few months of rest and catching up on his research, his master wanted to test the limits of the Moon Cell's abilities after he was gifted with the Regalia. One of the abilities he wished to put to the test was its ability to summon servants. The automaton had already displayed its phenomenal abilities in the war, but he had been whether it would allow him to summon a Servant.

The answer resulted with King Hassan responding to his call.

Arash clearly remembered how Hadrian explained to him that it had been an unexpected summoning. He prepared the ritual below his workshop, but a gift from his father (of which had also been a gift to his father from his late uncle before his master was born) accidentally became a catalyst, and in the process, King Hassan came out of the void.

The Persian bowman considered himself skilled and strong enough to contend with the likes of Arturia and the others, but King Hassan stood at the pinnacle above them all. Arash was surprised to hear Arturia and Scáthach admit to themselves that the Old Man was stronger than them, despite their legends.

How that was possible, Arash had no idea.

But, his master did mentioned to him about King Hassan's Saint Graph being different to all of them, but the tanned bowman had no clue what he meant by that. Even now.

What he did understood was that there was something in King Hassan's Saint Graph that made him powerful and unique than the rest of the retainers.

Arash snapped out of his thoughts when King Hassan took a step forward and stabbed the large sword in front of him, laying both of his hands over the pommel.

"Man, you scared us there, King Hassan." The bowman grinned sheepishly, shoulders relaxing.

"Indeed." Arturia agreed with a sigh of relief, closing her eyes for a brief moment of respite. She opened them again and looked to the tall, imposing form of the powerful Assassin. "Speaking of which, what are you doing here? In fact, how did you even arrived here?"

"Through a Command Seal." The Old Man of the Mountain answered, his tone was curt but precise.

The tone of his voice as he spoke would have offended other people, but not the two servants present.

They were already used to his stern way of talking. In fact, most retainers were amused by his archaic way of speaking, but none dared to show it on their faces as it might offend the silent and stern servant, something that they would rather avoid wholeheartedly. The Old Man might not be as skilled as some of them, much less famous in legend, but his ability to chop off the heads of his enemies with a mere swing of his sword was simply too terrifying for Arash and the others to even dare consider teasing the weathered assassin.

His fellow retainer, Kieran, would be more mindful of his words whenever King Hassan was in the area. To the point that the cynical servant would not even so much as curse in his presence.

The founder of the Hashashin was that intimidating.

Arash and Arturia nodded in understanding, not minding that the assassin turned silent and gave no further explanation.

"Then… Master sent you here?" Arash asked, scratching the side of his head with the butt end of an arrow held in his left hand.

"Correct." One dull gray eye met the bowman's gaze as the cowl of his cloak hid the other.

"I see." Arturia said, then nodded to him in gratitude. "I thank you for the assistance."

"Yeah, thanks. This bastard was quite tricky, so we had a bit of a trouble knocking him out. Better that he's dead instead of alive and potentially escape in the future." Arash agreed with a sigh.

"Tis of no matter." King Hassan stated.

"So… what now?" Arash asked, glancing to Arturia then King Hassan and back. "This guy's dead. Should we just leave him here?"

The enemy servant's body seemed solid, like their own. Archer had bled earlier, and bled even more after he had sustained many fatal injuries from their combined attacks. Seeing that his body was not showing hints of fading away into golden particles of ether, which was the norm when a servant dies, Arash assumed that he was given a body similar to his and the others.

The bowman didn't even want to think what would happen if a spawn of the Spider's stumble upon Archer's body and consider it as its next lunch.

Hence, the reason why Arash was leery of leaving the dead body alone. Just as Arash was contemplating of burning the body instead of leaving it behind, he heard Arturia began to speak.

"Never mind that, what about the others?" Arturia asked in return, brows furrowing in thought.

Surprisingly, it was King Hassan who answered her.

"Thou shalt not need to worry." The tall, imposing assassin said, eyes closing briefly. "The young mage hast set forth to come here."

"Eh? You mean Master's coming? Like here, here?" Arash asked, dark brown eyes wide in surprise.

"Why?" Arturia inquired next, concerned for her liege.

"He shall explain that himself soon." King Hassan responded calmly, eyes opened and met their gazes. "Thou shalt have other concerns than the young mage."

"What do you mean?" Arash queried, confused.

*Thou shalt see soon enough." King Hassan announced, much to the two servants' confusion.

As soon as he said it though, a loud series of cracks snapped through the clearing, startling the two servants before they turned their gazes to the left where they heard the noise. It was as if something delicate (like glass) broke and a domino effect occurred. Then, the ground beneath feet rumbled, further adding to their confusion and apprehension.

A high pitched scream caused the three servants to break into a run, with Arturia and Arash leading the front charge while King Hassan followed after them.

Just as they were about to enter a forest of tree crystals however, a certain pink-haired servant suddenly appeared into their sights, trailing closely behind him were Yan Qing and Rider. What worried Arash was the obvious anxious expressions on their faces. Rider still remained calm, but there was a sense of urgency in her movements, as if she wary of something.

Yan Qing was cursing under his breath, but Astolfo looked rightly afraid. There were even tears pooling on the corners of his eyes, threatening to fall as the situation turned intense. It would have looked comical if the situation was not so dire and they were not in a panic. Just by sensing the tension rolling off from his friends, it was enough indication for Arash to adopt a serious demeanor once more.

"The hell is going –" Arash was about to ask them once the trio got close enough.

But, he was ignored as the three ran past him and the others.

"RUUUUUN!" Astolfo shouted over his shoulder.

"FUCKING RUN MAN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Yan Qing added through gritted teeth.

Rider went by without so much as a word, which didn't really made Arash feel any better about the situation.

Bewildered, the Persian bowman turned his gaze to where the trio had come from and found the source of their anxiety.

It was something dark, tall and menacing. The size of the creature would tower even the tallest of man. It was also powerful in terms of magical strength, and appeared to be very, very hungry. It let out a loud roar that rumbled the ground and distorted the air around it. Increasing his apprehension was that the thing was not alone.

Needless to say, after taking a glance of what was chasing after the three, Arash was quick on the uptake and was right on his friends' heels.

But, not before he took an item that fell out Archer's pocket and ignited the latter's body on fire with one of his arrows as he bolted away with the others.

His master might need to take a look at it later.

First and foremost though, he would need to survive the current situation with the others.

…

"SHIT! SHIT! SHIIIIIIT!" Charles cursed through gritted teeth.

Just when he thought his day could get worse, his friends came out and brought something horrible with them.

The turnabout of the situation was so sudden, it was headache inducing for him just thinking about it.

Earlier, he and Scáthach were battling the heavily muscled Servant. It had been intense and exhausting, with every arrow the strange-looking servant fired at them could have had potentially killed him or the crimson eyed spear-wielder. Fortunately, their hard-earned teamwork shined through the fight and allowed them to overwhelm the enemy servant's highly impressive combat prowess.

If not for Scáthach's little diversions and contributions, Charles would have died so many times in the fight.

With their level of cooperation and diverse skillsets, he and Scáthach had pushed the enemy servant back. They had even managed to cause a number of fatal injuries upon the big bastard that he was forced to retreat from the fight, which proved their master's assumption that the intruder was simply a bait for them to be there. They have yet to discover why they would resort to such a thing though.

Flushed with victory as their objective was within their reach, the two retainers were not about to let their quarry escape after it was clear that he was weakened.

The danger he presented alone was enough for the two retainers to consider killing him then and there, if he were to resort to using his Noble Phantasm just to make their lives difficult.

Then, a huge curveball was thrown at their feet and the two retainers were forced to turn their attention away from the enemy.

His allies came out of nowhere and interrupted the battle, which gave the big guy an opportunity to escape from under their noses. The result of the situation greatly annoyed the two retainers, but the gravity of the situation demanded their attention more than to give chase to a troublesome foe, who have yet to reveal his true abilities.

All Charles and Scáthach had managed to gather from the big bastard so far were his top-notched skills with Pankration (an ancient Greek mixed martial arts) and the bow, his strange armaments, his basic prowess in combat (endurance, strength, speed, etc.) and his equally strange appearance.

Hmm, perhaps his master might have an idea on who the big bastard is.

Astolfo led the group in the front, running towards Charles and Scáthach with a frightened expression on his face that would have sent Charles laughing at him in any situation but now. Not that Charles could blame his friends for running instead of fighting. It only took a single glance for them to see what was chasing after their friends that made Charles and Scáthach decide to run along with them.

Now, all of the seven retainers were on the run, doing their absolute best to evade the assaults of the Spider's spawns.

Charles didn't think that the things chasing his friends, and them, would be the actual spawns of the Spider. He had been assured by his liege that they were sleeping, hibernating, somewhere in the isle, but he did not expected that he was about to encounter them in the middle of a battle.

From the bits and pieces he had gathered from Yan and Astolfo's conversation while they are on the run, the intruder that they were assigned to capture used his Noble Phantasm amidst in their fight. It had a close call for the Rider, Yan and Astolfo. The trio did their best to prevent the outcome from occurring, but it happened when they least expected it.

Some kind of explosion went off when they tried to stop him, but the enemy servant used that chance to activate his Noble Phantasm and nearly overwhelmed them as a result.

The trio had no other choice, but to defend themselves from his attacks by switching to their Servant forms, which turned out to be their greatest mistake.

No sooner did they manage to successfully defend themselves from the enemy's unexpected assault, the three retainers were about to go on the attack when something tall, large and eerily menacing had literally dropped in the middle of the battlefield without so much as a hint of its presence.

It was so unexpected it had caught the three retainers off their guards, they stopped and looked at the spawn with similar surprised expressions. The three retainers were broke out of their shock when the enemy servant tried to attack the spider's spawn with several of his black stakes, deeming the alien spawn as an enemy for intruding on his battle.

Keyword being 'tried'.

The trio received a nasty surprise when the attack didn't work, not even scratching the hard external surface of the spawn's body. Instead, the attack had only managed to aggravate the spawn. It had growled and screeched before it returned the favor and attacked the intruder by backhanding him across the clearing.

The trio didn't stay in the area any longer than necessary after they had seen their opponent get easily brushed off in such a manner.

If their enemy's Noble Phantasm didn't work on the spider's spawn, what hope could they do with theirs?

And so they ran.

The three retainers did their best to run and hide somewhere, but the spawn was clever and fast.

Hiding did not do them any good since the spawn had terrifying sensing abilities, to the point that it can detect them before they could even think about hiding somewhere. The retainers had tried to use the runes that Scáthach can cast with minimal cost in magical energy, but even that plan didn't worked in their favor.

It also didn't helped their case when the spawn called out to its kin from nearby as it had chased after them, increasing their chaser into more than just one.

The only thing that they can do was run and used their own abilities to push the spawns back whenever they lunged or try to tackle one of them.

Yan, Astolfo and Rider had managed to keep up their tactic till they met with Arturia and Arash. Then, the five continued to run and the spawns continued their chase relentlessly. Said five arrived to the scene of where Charles and Scáthach were located, and the rest was history.

The retainers had tried to come up their own strategies to fight back, but none of their attacks had worked so far.

They weren't even given time to rest as the spawns were quite unexpected and shrewd in their assaults. If it weren't for their battle experience, teamwork and diverse abilities, half of them would have been caught and eaten as lunch by the alien spawns. The retainers had to work together to survive, or they would never be able to leave the island alive.

The current situation was simply that bad.

As Charles brainstormed while on the run, he heard some of his fellow allies talked nearby.

"Just so you guys know –" Astolfo half panted and half shouted. "This is (pant, pant)… This is not how I imagined my day to be! Being lunch to an alien spawn is not on my weekend bucket list, guys!"

"Why're you worried about something like that at a time like this?!" Yan shouted back, incredulous.

"I'm too sweet for an alien spawn! I don't think I'll make for an appetizing meal!" Astolfo returned, pink brows knitting in panic.

"You're not the only one who is about to become a meal!" Yan retorted, getting annoyed by the pink haired retainer's ramblings as they ran ahead of the group.

"Too sweet?! More like a pink Macaron chock full of crap sugar if you ask me!" Arash pitched in with a laugh.

"Be quiet and keep running, you two!" Arturia commanded through gritted teeth. Then, she glanced to Arash briefly. "Arash, Scáthach, ready yourselves!"

With that said, the swordswoman lashed out with her invisible sword at an alien spawn that was beginning to be a bit too close to them for comfort and a strong gust pushed the strange, hungry spawn further back to its kin. The spawn let out an annoyed screech as it was blown away and crashed into a few crystal trees in the process, making loud clicking noises in displeasure as it goes.

One spawn might have gotten behind, but several more were still chasing after them.

The retainers didn't let up in their pace and continued to run, only stopping in brief moments to defend or evade the assaults of their chasers.

Ignoring the peanut gallery beside him, Charles turned Arash and Scáthach, who are both assisting Arturia to make their escape smoother and easier.

"By the way, you said that Master is coming here right?" The cheeky retainer asked, controlling his breathing as he paced himself.

"Yeah, he got Kieran and Dia with him." Arash answered, letting out a grunt as he fired a group of arrows to push back a persistent spawn that was fixated on him for a while.

"I thought you said that the old man was with you guys? What happened?" Charles asked, recalling his friend's words when they met up with him and Arturia earlier.

"Dunno! Hup!" Arash said, jumping over a spawn's head to avoid being captured before he made his getaway, firing his arrows as he did so. "Got separated from him, and I didn't see him when Arturia and I made a run for it." Seeing the look of concern in Charles's eyes, Arash was quick to reassure him. "Don't worry 'bout him, I'm sure the old man's fine. He's the strongest than all of us, after all."

"Hmm… for an old man, he sure is quick to disappear." Charles joked, trying to ease his concern.

"Perks of a top Assassin class!" Arash grinned.

"How long are we going to keep this up?" Scáthach cut in, annoyed by their relentless chasers.

Most of them were sweating bullets, especially Astolfo and Charles. They are tired, both physically and mentally.

With the exception of Scáthach, the six retainers were still within the boundaries of human limitations. Exhaustion and hunger were still viable for them since they had been given mortal bodies to better blend in with humans. Switching to their servant forms had crossed their minds before, but they are afraid that they might wake up more of the Spider's spawns if they chose that route.

Doing so could possibly make things harder for them than the opposite. So, they opted to endure the chase within their mortal forms.

While Scáthach was not tired like most of them, she was still annoyed by the brutality and relentlessness of the Spider's spawn. She, Arturia and Arash were in charge of guarding the rear, so that the remaining others can safely survey the front to make sure that they weren't being greeted by a horde of hungry alien spawns and get trap in between.

The chase had went on for quite a while and they had been managing well so far, but it was slowly beginning to get on her nerves.

"Till Master gets here." Arash said, then he smiled as a familiar static went off in their minds. "Oh, speaking of which…"

'How you are guys holding up?' Their Master's calm voice asked, causing some of the retainers to smile in relief.

'Never better, Boss.' Yan said with a sigh.

'Where are you now?' Arturia asked, straight to the point.

'Just arrived on the island. I'm with the others.' The young mage answered promptly. 'Make your way to me. We'll make our escape once we regroup.'

'Got it / Yes / Roger!' The retainers all responded in unison.

As soon as the mind link was cut off, the retainers felt a surge of magical energy in their bodies, replenishing what they had used before and energizing them further.

Their Master must have been used a spell to give them all his magical energy and some buffs, which made them feel refreshed and ready for combat.

"Aight, let's go and lose some of these bastards on the way!" Arash proposed with a grin.

The male retainers let out shouts of 'hurrahs', voicing their agreements, causing the three females in the group to shake their heads at their antics.

"Men…" Scáthach and Rider muttered in unison.

…

When he took a step forward, Hadrian let out a sigh.

He watched as the air he breathed out became a visible puff of mist in front of him. He switched his attention to his surroundings, surveying the area from left to right. He stared at the black ground, the thick mist scattered across the island, and the glittering crystal trees. Then, he turned his gaze to the front where he saw the crimson beacon of light blinking deep within the heart of the isle.

"To think I would step foot here." He shook his head, smiling wryly. "Must've lost my damn mind…"

"Fou…" Fou, his white fluffy familiar, cooed from her perch on his shoulder.

The young mage smiled, rubbing the familiar around her nape as thanks for her comforting gesture.

On his way to the island, Hadrian couldn't help but feel apprehensive.

He had felt it before back in the main headquarters of the Watch, but now that he had stepped foot unto the island, the fear in his heart was more prominent. No mages, regardless of their prestige and noble ranks, would dare venture into the territory of an Ultimate One. His grandfather was even wary of putting such a thought into motion, despite his superb abilities and tricks.

The Wizard Marshall might be daring at times, but when up against a powerful entity, even Zelretch would exert extreme caution.

It was the same as how he handled his battle against Crimson Moon. Hadrian had heard it from his grandfather quite a number of times in how he approached the ancient bloodsucker, and it was with a combination of wit and cunning. His grandfather had always taunted the latter to throw him off his guard, while coming up with different ways to end his immortal enemy.

Needless to say, his grandfather had lost count on how many times he had managed to successfully annoy Crimson Moon, which the old mage seemed to take pleasure in recounting and took it as his main victory in their battle. In hindsight, it was also probably the reason why the ancient vampire turned his grandfather into a Dead Apostle, for causing him an aneurism for the first time in his long life.

His bravery and 'noble' achievement aside, Zelretch was quick to warn his grandson of approaching possible encounters with hostile aliens.

'Don't rush in. Prepare your escape first before planning out your attacks. Better yet, just don't come near where aliens hang around, okay? Don't do what I did!'

That was the wise advice of the infamous Wizard Marshall, of which he passed onto his grandson.

And yet, here he was, treading into the Spider's territory to rescue his retainers from their problematic predicament.

"Too late for that…" Hadrian sighed. "I suppose I really am his grandson."

He had spoken to his seven retainers and gave them some support by casting a few buffs and a healing spell to ensure their safety and escape. It might be miniscule, but his buff and healing spells can go a long way. It was the least thing he could do for all the troubles they encountered. It was also what helped him and Arturia throughout their battles in the Moon Holy Grail War.

Now, he had just finished his preparations for their escape, and had sent King Hassan and Dia deep into the island for something important. If they happen to encounter the others along the way, then it was all the better for them to stick together and guide them to him so that they can be sent to safety.

The only problem he encountered was that the teleportation circle cannot transport more than five people. The actual process would be instantaneous, but it was limited for five at a time and there was a temporary break once the transportation was used before the action can be repeated. The break would last for about thirty seconds after each turn, which poses as a problem due to the dire situation.

His retainers were being chased, and still are.

Hadrian can sense it, and the automaton reported to him as much.

If need be, he would not hesitate to use the remaining Command Seals if the situation takes a turn for the worse. The seals would always replenish itself by the next day, courtesy of the automaton's doing. Thus, he was not concerned about using them and down to the last tattoo.

Also, he was not naïve to expect that he and the others would be able to leave the island without encountering some kind of trouble.

With no time to waste, Hadrian spent some of his time in checking and re-checking the bounded field he made around the teleportation circle. The bounded field was ten meters wide and fifteen meters high, which covers more space so that the small clearing would also be protected. In addition, he also placed several traps in certain areas around the clearing within the bounded field.

That way, the spawns would be delayed momentarily, giving him and his retainers more time to make their escape.

The bounded field mostly consisted of magical and physical interference, and he casted about ten of them (five of each) to prevent any living creature (other than humans and his retainers) from being near the teleportation circle. Hadrian had a feeling that the spawns might bulrush through the boundary line, so he made ten and layered them on top of the other as a safety precaution.

He even used a bit of his unique magical energy to reinforce the barriers, rendering them stronger than normal.

The magical traps on the ground would trigger in a similar way to a mine bomb would. The traps were not design to explode, but to restrain the target's movements. At first, he had thought about using bombs, but he discarded the idea since he didn't want to risk jostling the island due to the effects of the explosion.

The safety nets might be over the top, but against the spider's spawns, Hadrian was not even sure it was enough, despite his efforts.

Still, as he reviewed his work, the young mage still felt a foreboding sensation that won't go away.

Recalling his grandfather's advice helped him calmed down somewhat. He was still kind of nervous, but it was not as much as it was before when he stepped foot unto the island. The beat of his heart rang loudly in his ears as he took in the sight crimson light blinking in the darkness, as if it was right next to his ears.

He felt a trickle of sweat slid down the side of his neck, making him clench his right hand in reflex as he ignored the urge to wipe it.

Laying a hand over his heart, Hadrian took a deep breath and closed his eyes, counting from one to ten in his mind.

When he opened them again, his heart was calm and his thoughts were silenced.

"Wish I could get in the zone like that…" A familiar voice commented idly nearby.

Hadrian shifted his gaze and saw Kieran standing to his right with his arms crossed over his chest.

At first sight, he might appear calm and relaxed. But, to an experienced observer, it was the opposite as his body language expressed his anxiousness clearly as the sun would shine in the sky. Signs of tensions were clear, and it can be seen with the way his brows were furrowed, the tight muscles around his shoulders, and the way he shifted his weight on one foot to the other.

The frown of displeasure was the most obvious out of all them.

Taking in the comment, Hadrian just smiled that was touched with a hint of resignation.

The retainer, however, doesn't seemed keen on letting the silence reign over the area again and continued to speak.

"How do ya do it, boss? Rushing in here without hesitation?" Kieran asked, shaking his head slightly in disbelief. "I know I've said this before, but I'm really not cut out for this type of shit."

"I've noticed, Kieran." Hadrian remarked with a hint of amusement in his voice. "As for how… well, I supposed it comes with being a magus. Danger had always been a part of our lives, and death was something that we must always be prepared to face. With every progress we make on our research, the possibility of dying due to it is always there."

Hadrian paused, thinking for a few moments before he let out a chuckle.

"Not that it would stop us from continuing to advance. The same thing can be said with the normal folks. Even if they went through troubled times, they will still try their best to live their lives to the best of their abilities and move on. Mankind's history is a testament to this fact." Hadrian said, giving the retainer a knowing smile.

"Yeah, true." Kieran agreed slowly, a bit skeptical. "But this is different. No humans have ever stepped foot on a territorial alien before."

"Haha, yes. But in my case, I just can't leave the others here without making sure that they can safely escape." Hadrian laughed slightly, wryly amused at his own reason. "I'm well aware that they are well capable of such if the situation calls for it, and I respect that. I guess you can say it's selfish on my part, but I want to help, even if it's dangerous."

Kieran huffed, not knowing whether to be amused or impressed.

In the end, he settled for neither.

"Ya know…" The amber eyed retainer slowly drawled. "That's all well and good, but I'm still not comfortable being here. And for the record, I still think mankind can go to hell for all I care. No offense to present company." He added, seeing the raised brow his liege gave him.

"None taken. And yes, your discomfort is noted, Kieran. You've said as much on our way here." Hadrian said, amused by the retainer's deadpan expression.

"Then, you won't mind if I escape with the others first?" Kieran asked in a weary tone. "I think I've had enough of battles for today."

The moment of silence from his liege didn't really instilled much hope in the retainer though.

"Um…" Hadrian's bright cyan eyes shifted upwards in an attempt to not meet the gaze of a certain servant.

"Boss?" Kieran called, suspicious as to what his liege's was planning.

"Nothing! We'll see when the others get here." Hadrian said with a smile that was too bright for Kieran's liking.

Alarm bells rang in his mind, the amber eyed retainer was not about to let his master get away without a clear answer to his request.

"Oi! What –" Kieran was about to ask, but found himself interrupted.

*BOOM*

*CRASH*

*CLANG*

An explosion of noises caused the master and servant to pay attention to their surroundings.

Amidst the first sound, the familiar sounds of something breaking and metal clashing against another followed almost immediately. The source of the noises came from a certain distance, somewhere far out of sight but close enough for the two to hear it. The crystal trees and the mist that had spread throughout the island made it difficult for them to see where they heard the noises from.

Hadrian picked up Silver Trident in his right hand from its holster, staring in the way where he heard the noises with a calm and observant gaze.

Kieran, who stood near him, was also quick to follow his example.

The retainer already had Dooley in both of his hands, nervous but prepared to assist in the events to come.

Granted, his request earlier had went unanswered, but his loyalty and trust in his master was enough for him to muster the courage to grab his weapon. That, and he also had a strange feeling that, if he pushed the matter, the three withes who-shall-not-be-named might do something to him later.

'And that's not even including the old man…' Kieran thought, worried of what the old assassin might say at his cowardice.

Or do, depending on King Hassan's mood.

As if summoned by his thoughts, a mass of dark blue flames suddenly appeared a few meters away in front of them and out came King Hassan, who had his long double-edge sword in one hand while the other held something that was perched on his left shoulder.

Kieran tilted his head as he zoomed in on that 'something', then realization dawned on him when he saw that it was a person.

"Old man, what the fuck?" The retainer began, pointing at the person on his shoulder with his index finger.

"T'was the young mage's request." The old assassin answered, putting down his burden gently on the ground once he was near.

"Of what? To kidnap people?" Kieran asked in a deadpan tone, hands on his hips as he stared at the old man with an incredulous expression.

"Rescue." King Hassan corrected in a stern tone, meeting the amber eyed retainer's gaze with a challenging one of his own.

Noticing that he was out of line, Kieran was quick to let of the subject and raised his hands up in defense, to which the assassin simply huffed at.

Their attention shifted to the person, a man in his early twenties with average features. By his appearance, it seemed that the man was Canadian. Most likely a local, Hadrian assumed.

"Mmmmph!" The man said, his voice muffled due to the cloth covering his mouth.

The poor sap was scared, and it was obvious with the way he flipped his wide-eyed gaze from Kieran, Hadrian and to his savior King Hassan.

Both retainers had no urge to sooth the man's worries, but their master had no such reservations as he was slowly went down on knee and spoke to the man with a smile and gentle tone.

"Ah, sorry 'bout all this." Hadrian said, then pointed his left index finger at the man's forehead.

"Mrph?" The man was confused, brows furrowed as he stared at the finger, almost cross-eyed.

"Just think of this as a bad dream." Hadrian said with a mysterious smile.

The young mage muttered something under his breath and the man's features slowly slackened, relaxing as he was quickly lulled to the realm of dreams. His eyes closed shut and his head lolled to the side as he was put to sleep. Hadrian sighed as he slowly stood up from his kneeling position, dusting off the dirt from his pants.

"So… who the hell is this?" Kieran asked, gesturing to the sleeping man on the ground with his hand.

"I don't know, but he was kidnapped by one of the intruders." Hadrian clarified.

"Ugh… those fucking dirty asses." Kieran groaned, face-palming.

"Yes, well, anyways, we have another one coming." Hadrian said, causing the retainer to look at him in confusion.

"What –"

The sound of feet padding against the surface of the ground interrupted the amber eyed servant for the second time of the day.

Said servant waved his hands in front of him, cursing loudly as he turned away even as Dia appeared from within the crystal forest and dashed towards them.

"Ya know what, fuck it!" Kieran griped, wide-eyed and disgruntled. "I'll just stay my sorry ass to the sidelines then. I'm nothin' but a minor character anyway."

Three people reacted to his low muttering, but only two were amused by it. The other didn't even so much as blinked at the younger retainer's irritation.

After giving the sulking retainer an amused glance, Dia stopped in front of his liege and bowed his head slightly in greeting.

"Milord, I have arrived with what you have requested of me." The Knight of the Love Spot said, straightening his posture a moment later.

"Yes, thank you, Dia. You've done well." Hadrian complimented with a genuine smile, much to the knight's joy.

The knight's elation didn't last long as the young mage directed his gaze at the bundle that was wrapped in a black cloth, to which the former had been cradling gently against his chest.

"Now, let me see what you have there." He instructed, nodding his head slightly to the bundle.

"Ah yes…" Dia said, pulling it away slowly from his chest and presenting it to Hadrian.

Kieran craned his neck slightly to look over his master's shoulder, curious what the knight had brought with him, only to inhale sharply when he saw that the bundle was a sleeping infant.

Hadrian, Dia and Kieran found that as a fortunate thing as it would be troublesome if the baby had been awake. Infants can be unpredictable with their moods, especially when they are in an unfamiliar environment. Who knows how the baby would react when the first thing he or she saw were three strangers and a giant with a scary visage and a big sword.

"The hell? Another one?" The amber eyed retainer muttered.

"Foufou!" The squirrel-like creature on the young mage's shoulder agreed.

"At the risk of sounding repetitive, yes, it's another one." Hadrian replied, a bit distracted as he looked over the babe.

Like before, the young mage casted a spell on the sleeping infant. But this one was designed to search for any abnormalities in the baby's body and spirit.

Hadrian feared that the intruders might have done something strange to the man and the babe, so he simply wanted to make sure that they were truly healthy.

Fortunately, nothing seemed to be amiss apart from one.

Earlier, he noticed that the man appeared to be having a difficulty in breathing. At first, Hadrian assumed that the man was having a slight panic attack, seeing as it can be a natural reaction when one gets kidnapped. Then, he realized that the source of the issue was actually their surroundings.

The air around the island was infused with the Spider's unique magical energy. Magical creatures such as spirits and Phantasmal Beasts would be right at home in the isle, but humans like the man and the baby would not be able to last long if they stay anymore. Breathing in the air here would be akin as to inhaling poison, slowly killing a person in the inside.

It was one of the reasons why the Watch had only observed the Spider from a distance and not up close, seeing as they have yet to find a safe method to do so, even with their resources.

Hadrian himself had only managed to resist the effect due to his magical circuits being partially activated.

When he arrived to the island, Hadrian had already activated about five percent (5%) of his circuits.

It was embarrassing for him to admit it, but he did not realized the effect of the magically infused air until he noticed the man's condition before he had hypnotized him to sleep. He was warned about it by the Chief before he and the others had departed, but it slipped from his mind in favor of his planning and concern for the others.

Hadrian shook his head slightly, disappointed at his own carelessness before he forced himself to focus on his task.

After a few moments, he was satisfied with the results and stepped back.

"Hmm, this little one is okay. They're both okay." Hadrian spoke, meeting Dia's relieved gaze. "Now, I have another task for you, Dia."

"What is it, milord?" Dia asked without hesitation, always ready to follow his liege's command.

"Do you see that portal there?" Hadrian pointed behind him and to the ground where the teleportation circle was drawn.

When Dia looked to where he gestured and nodded in understanding, the young mage continued.

"I want you to use it and take these two to safety. The portal shall take you back to the headquarters. Once you are there, make sure that these two are safe." Hadrian ordered.

"But, what of you and the others, milord?" Dia asked, worry clear on his handsome face.

"We will follow after you. The portal has a 30 seconds timer after it is used. Once it's clear, it'll be ready operational again. So, do not be confused if we are not there immediately after you." Hadrian explained. Then, he nodded his head over to the teleportation circle. "Now go… time is wasting."

"As you command, milord." Dia bowed his head to him before moving to the portal.

"Oi, what about –" A certain amber eyed retainer protested, causing the young mage to sigh in exasperation.

"And take that imbecile with you." Hadrian cut in before the latter could finish.

The retainer in question didn't really minded the interruption as he simply grinned and helped Dia with evacuating the kidnapped humans, picking up the unconscious man from the ground and over his shoulder before following the knight of the lance. Needless to say, Kieran was pleased with the order and was only too happy to follow it, even if he was insulted.

Ignoring the jolly retainer, Hadrian gave the two retainers one last glance to make sure that the transportation was successful.

A bright flash of light later, and the two males were gone, causing Hadrian to avert his gaze and return to observing the crystal forest where he noticed signs of activity.

"Not going to go next, King Hassan?" The young mage inquired, almost as if he was asking the weather.

"No. I shall remain here until you leave." That was the only response he received from the old assassin.

"… Thank you." Hadrian said, giving the terror-inducing figure near him a genuine smile of gratitude.

The old assassin said nothing, opting to be silent as he focused his attention onward, which Hadrian didn't mind since he was already used to the former's behavior.

*BOOM*

*CRASH*

*SCREEECH*

Hadrian's eyes narrowed at the various noises, staring at the crystal trees breaking in the distance.

The crash was followed by an inhuman screech that was unpleasant to hear. He blinked when he felt the ground beneath him vibrate merely by the sound alone. He blinked again when a familiar blue screen came to life, almost obstructing his view of the crystal forest that was a fair distance away from where he stood.

…

[… Warning …]

Alien life-forms detected.

Initiating emergency retreat for the Sove–

…

'No.' Hadrian denied, dismissing the notice with a subtle swipe of his hand.

Ignoring the automaton's protests in his head, the young mage focused his attention in the direction of where he heard the noises.

Just as Hadrian was about to use an ability to 'see' through the crystal trees, two familiar figures came out. It was Astolfo and Charles, who were running as if bloodthirsty hellhounds were right on their heels. Given what he knew about the alien spawns, it might as well be. Fortunately enough, the two doesn't seemed to be sporting any fatal injuries.

The two servants have small cuts and bruises, and some parts of their clothes were torn and dirtied, but they are in one piece at the least.

"MASTEEEEEER!" Astolfo cried out, looking quite relieved to see him.

A few paces behind him, Charles stared at his friend's back with a resigned expression.

With a quiet sigh, Hadrian waited for a few moments before he sidestepped the pink haired servant's tackle-hug, causing the latter to crash to the ground, face-first. The momentum of his dash seemed to be too much for the servant to handle as Astolfo tumbled and roll on the earth, skidding into a halt near the teleportation circle.

"Uuuurgh…" The pink-haired retainer groaned, butt facing upwards.

Ignoring the prone servant behind him, Hadrian shifted his gaze to Charles, who slowed to a stop in front of him.

"Master, we need to leave!" The cheeky retainer said, panting slightly.

"I know, but the others…" Hadrian trailed off, his eyes narrowing as he looked past the retainer's shoulder when he saw movement in the distance.

"The others are on their way. They're just busy shaking off the rest of those things." Charles explained, straightening his posture once he had recovered his breath.

"Oh hey, granpa! You're here!" Astolfo exclaimed from behind, sounding enthusiastic.

"Hm." Was the old assassin's response to the younger servant.

"Then, prepare to evacuate." Hadrian ordered, ignoring the two servants' interaction behind him. "It won't be long for the others to get here."

"Where's Kieran and Dia?" Charles asked, looking around for any signs of his fellow retainers.

"I told Dia to go on ahead. As for Kieran…" Hadrian trailed off with a sigh, closing his eyes briefly.

The cheeky retainer's face, however, paled as he took in his master's reaction differently.

"… He's dead?" Charles muttered quietly, aghast.

Hadrian face-palmed, then shifted his gaze to the former king, who adopted a grave expression.

"He's not. That fool went along with Dia. Don't just kill a man off like that." Hadrian reproached, his tone exasperated.

"Hehehe… Sorry…" Charles chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish expression.

*BOOM*

"Speaking of which…" The young mage muttered under his breath, stepping pass Charles.

The sound of the explosion was familiar to him. It was similar to the noise of Arturia's 'Strike Air' would sound in action.

Hearing that alone was enough for Hadrian to guess that his three retainers were not that far. He still couldn't see them since the crystal trees kept hindering his view, but the silhouettes and the flashing lights that would appear every now and then were clear indications that something was happening in the distance.

"GO! GO! GO!"

"FUCK!"

"MOVE!"

"I AM FUCKING MOVING!"

Hadrian felt a bead of sweat slid down the back of his head after hearing the shouting match between Arash, Yan Qing and Scáthach.

*SCREECH*

*BOOM*

A moment after two explosions were heard, familiar figures came out of the crystal forest.

The first Hadrian saw were Medusa and Arturia, who were soon closely followed by Scáthach, Yan Qing and Arash. His retainers immediately saw him and made their way towards him.

Hadrian's attention, however, went to Yan Qing, who looked over his shoulder briefly and threw a magically powered sphere at a tall, dark and menacing creature (which he would assume as a spawn of the Spider's) that was about to pounce on him.

*BAM*

The attack landed and caused the alien to fly back, crashing into the mutated trees and some of its brethren.

The alien spawn screech, obviously annoyed by the attack.

"HAH! EAT SHIT, YA FUCKS!" The younger assassin taunted, smirking triumphantly.

The smirk was wiped off from his face and he ran with a yelp when a few alien spawns replaced the one he had forced back earlier.

It was fortunate that the servant had already entered the boundary line. Otherwise, his moment of victory would have been for naught as the spawns quickly followed after him and the rest, only to be stopped by the bounded field that Hadrian had prepared around the area to delay the creatures.

Speaking of the creatures…

The closest Hadrian could describe about the spawns' appearance would be that of a Spider's. His grandfather had provided him of the Spider's image in the past, and it really was, in truth, similar to a arachnid's. Except, the Ultimate One was forty meters tall, capable of shifting its form to something similar to a UFO and has an outer skin that was superior in any substance found on earth.

In contrast, the spawns were smaller compared to their sire but taller than a grown man, has a dark exterior, but no less aggressive.

Their incessant screeching and murderous auras made him winced though, not expecting the spawns to be that powerful.

The info he was provided with about them clearly didn't do them justice. He could only imagine how strong their sire was.

Things took a turn for the worse when Arash got delayed by one of the creatures.

His retainer was close behind Arturia and was about to enter the boundary line when one of the spawns unexpectedly blocked his path before surrounding him on all sides. Arash appeared startled and surprised, clearly not expecting to get caught in a trap nor for the spawns to be smart enough to spring it up on him.

Arturia, who had just entered the boundary line, sensed something was amiss, causing her to look over her shoulder and notice Arash's predicament.

"STRIKE AIR!" The swordswoman shouted before she attacked.

The wind she called forth pushed two spawns away from Arash, clearing the path for him to escape.

But, before he could, one of the spawns came up behind as soon as he turned around. In one blow, one of the spawn's appendages hit the bowman on the back. The end of the spawn's arm was sharp and it slashed vertically on the retainer's back, causing Arash to cry out in pain as blood spurted out.

The force behind the attack was enough to send the retainer down on the ground, unconscious.

Hadrian's heart stopped for a brief moment as he watched his loyal retainer get dragged away by his assailant by the heel.

"ARASH!?" Astolfo and Charles shouted from behind him.

The young mage stepped forward, angry but more concerned for Arash's safety. Two hands grabbed both of his wrists, forcing Hadrian to shift his attention to Arturia and Scáthach, who were standing beside him. The two women gazed at him with alarm and concern in their eyes.

"Let go!" Hadrian demanded.

But the two didn't, firming their grips instead.

"You can't go there, Master! It's too dangerous!" Arturia argued.

"Even so!" Hadrian insisted, grimacing slightly.

"Be reasonable!" Scáthach scolded, brows furrowing.

"I am, now let go!" Hadrian growled.

When the two still didn't budge, Hadrian was forced to improvise.

In addition to the five, the young mage activated fifty of his magic circuits, letting the od course throughout his body. His bright cyan eyes shifted into a deep crimson, glowing with fatality as a neutral expression settled on his face before he teleported out of their hands, startling Arturia and Scáthach when he vanished in a beautiful display of blue, silver and gold particles.

Hadrian reappeared outside of the boundary line, a few meters away from the bloodthirsty spawns banging their sharp arms on the barrier.

"MASTER?!" Astolfo and Charles shouted in shock.

"BOSS! WAIT!" Yan urgently called.

"IT'S DANGEROUS!" Medusa warned, her voice was tinged with concern.

An unusual reaction from the normally calm and collected statuesque woman.

Nevertheless, Hadrian ignored their calls and he ran deep into the crystal forest before the spawns behind him could sense his presence.

He could still feel the contract with Arash, which meant that his retainer was still breathing. However, it would not be so if he received too much damage.

Or worse, eaten by the spawn.

The bodies that his grandfather made for the servants might be stronger and on a different level (almost akin to a human in peak condition, or that of a first rank homunculi), but it was still made of flesh and has its limitations. Just like when Arash got hit, he was rendered unconscious, proving that he was in the bounds of human limits while in a mortal vessel.

If he received another fatal injury, it might possibly damage his spirit core and kill him.

Killing Arash while in his mortal body would end the master-servant contract, something that Hadrian was high-bent on preventing.

The issue would not have been so dire if Arash managed to stay awake after receiving that blow. The bowman could have simply turned into his astral form to save himself from such a scenario, but it did not turned that way. Hadrian only had himself to blame for giving the retainers such an order. He was, after all, the one to urge them to venture into the island in their mortal forms.

'And now… I'm paying for it!' The young mage thought, angry at his own incompetence.

He shook his head, ridding his mind of thoughts of self-doubt and blame.

He would have plenty of time to do that later. Granted, the others would probably teased him about him sulking in his room again, overthinking things and on what-ifs, but he will deal with it later.

Now, the others need his help, especially Arash, and Hadrian would prefer to do it without such ideas in mind.

Distractions would only hinder him right now rather than help.

With his body reinforced with prana, Hadrian made haste to chase after the looming figure of the spawn that had knocked out Arash, which was also dragging the unconscious retainer on the ground. It was not difficult for him to find the two as he came upon them a few moments later.

The spawn had one of its long spider-like legs raised above Arash's head, obvious in its intent to finish off the unconscious servant.

With no hesitation, Hadrian charged forward and pointed the Silver Trident in his right hand at the creature.

'Code Cast: Bomb...!' He chanted in his mind.

*BOOM*

*SCREEECH*

The spell landed right on the spawn's spider-like face, causing the creature to be blown away from Arash, who was still unconscious and bleeding on the ground.

Hadrian went on the move to grab the servant, but only managed to take a few steps before something hit him in his midsection. He felt the shards of tree crystals dug into skin as he crashed into them before the momentum of the attack stopped and he dropped to the ground into a helpless heap.

His spectacles flew away from his face, exposing his naked eyes to his surroundings.

Almost immediately after, an excruciating headache came down on his head, nearly knocking him out. The images his mystic eyes kept sending him was too much for his brain to process all at once, forcing him take deep breaths and blinked through the overloaded sensations.

Even though beads of sweat fell down his face and his face was set into a grimace, he did his best to endure and powered through the pain.

"Urgh…" He grunted, slowly and painfully shifted his gaze upwards to see what attacked him.

It was one of the spawns, much to his chagrined. It was black all over, but a bit bigger and taller in form than the one he blew away.

Hadrian had difficulty to see the damn thing since the area was too dark, and the only lighting was the crimson glow that came from deep within the island, reflecting off the crystal trees. His magical sense had also been kind off, no thanks to the Spider's magical energy mixed into the mist.

The thing growled at him, as if displeased that he was still alive before it ran towards him with the intent to kill.

Hadrian tried to get up, but his body worked against him as his nerves seemed to be paralyzed, failing to respond in kind whenever he pushed himself off of the ground.

'Damn this body…' He cursed in his mind.

His soul might have retained the divine essence of the Lucis Caelum bloodline, but his body had yet to adjust. It was why he trained himself beyond the limit, but obviously, it was not enough for him to endure a direct hit from a powerful foe. Never mind it being a spawn of an Ultimate One. Then again, there might other things in play as to why his physical resistance wasn't working as it should be.

Heedless of his assumptions, it was not the time for him to muse.

The few times he tried to get up, the spawn was already three feet away from him.

But, Hadrian didn't expect to be saved by his familiar though.

His little white fluffy familiar, Fou, ran and stood in front of him. She was on all fours, and he can tell that she was currently aggressive due to the way her fluffy tail was raised up.

"Fou! Fou! Grrr!" Fou barked at the spawn.

The sight would have looked comical, seeing as there was a little squirrel-like creature barking bravely at an alien spawn that could kill the former with just one stab of its leg.

To his astonishment however, the spawn flinched backwards at her sudden appearance, screeching in a way that seemed as if it was scared of her.

The emotions in its screeches was obvious. The way it coward back even as it tried to go move forward, the high pitch in its screeches that was never there before. The bloodlust he felt from it earlier didn't seemed to be as prominent as it was before, which caused him to wonder why it was reacting that way to his familiar.

The spawn raised two of its legs and tried to take a step forward, but Fou had beaten it by barking continuously at it, growling all the while as she forced the former to back off.

Hadrian didn't even noticed that he had sat up, watching with a dubious expression as his tiny familiar made a spawn of an Ultimate One retreat back deep into the crystal forest. He was curious as to why that was, but something else caught his attention. He can feel it in the air as he shifted his gaze upwards.

'What the hell…?'

He had no clear words to describe the feeling, but there was something in the air that sending signals towards the spawns.

It was almost as if… something was calling them to return to where they had been before the island was intruded.

He can't hear the signals as there was no sound for him to notice, but there was some sort of buzzing in the air that can only be sensed via magic sense.

*THUD* *THUD* *THUD*

The continuous sounds of something hitting the ground made him frown, causing him to turn away from his musing to the left where he noticed movement.

Hadrian leaned back in surprise when he saw a small horde of spawns was running in his direction.

He was about to pick up his familiar and run, but he was, once again, treated to another sight.

The small horde of spawns split into two when they had reached his location by five feet, running pass by them like a river around a rock. It didn't escape Hadrian's noticed that Fou was in front of him, looking cute yet aggressively protective as she glared at the spawns that didn't even stop to target them.

When he watched the last of the spawns disappear, he looked around before he turned back to Fou, who sat on her hindquarters and was now looking at him with those big purple eyes of her.

"Fou…"

Feeling at a lost, Hadrian let out a sigh and slowly stood up, picking up Fou in his hand as he did so.

"I guess we should go back now." He said, smiling when his familiar cooed at him in agreement.

There were many questions running through his mind, but he would deal with it later as he still had things to take care of.

His unconscious servant several feet away from him for one, who he had nearly forgotten no thanks to the events that occurred earlier.

Even as he moved to help Arash, the bitterness at his powerlessness earlier made him somber throughout the entire day.

…

Looking down at the young mage's form, Jester Karture smirked from his vantage point.

He had survived the Schweinorg heir's attack earlier and had proceeded to follow him into the island in secret. The Dead Apostle had to admit, the young mage had not held back in his assault. Some of the fatal injuries he received from the feisty youngling were still healing, but it would take a lot more than a couple of spells to truly kill him.

Still, his efforts to follow after the young man had not been in vain and he was treated to something wholly interesting.

Seeing the spider's spawns chase after the young mage was amusing, but what happened after was something he did not quite expected.

The Spider had called off its spawns to prevent the young mage from being killed. If it were anyone, this kind of scenario would not have been possible. Ultimate Ones are not exactly known for their benevolent temperaments, seeing as intruding on their territories was akin to suicide. Jester tried it multiple times in the past, and his efforts only got him killed in the end.

But alas, it did happened for the young man and Jester knew the reason why.

The young mage was being favored by the world.

Having received the favor of the world, even if one was unaware of it, was a great boon to have. With Gaia's favor and blessing, the young man was safe as he can be from anything that can possibly harm him, especially from those that received backup from her. Even venturing into an Ultimate One's territory would be an easy tour for the young man.

Case in point, the scene that occurred earlier.

Which brings him to another problem…

"I suppose she was right…" Jester mused out loud. "Confrontations here is meaningless. It would be better to proceed the plan to the next phase instead."

He shifted his gaze to the kneeling form of the Schweinorg heir, who was healing his injured retainer with magecraft.

"Enjoy your freedom while you can, young man. You might have won for now, but next time won't be so easily won."

With one last glance at his target, Jester Karture turned on his heel and walked away from the scene, disappearing into the darkness of the crystal forest without anyone being the wiser.

…

[… Omake (3) – A Bun's Moment…]

Hugo Faust and Edward Miles stared at the white fluffy familiar, who was placed atop of a high stool and staring back at them in return.

The two mages looked at each other, then turned back to the rotund familiar seated in front of them.

After a minute of staring, they turned back to each other.

"Are you sure we're safe with… this little fella?" Edward asked, unsure.

"I'm sure we are." Hugo stated, yet also looking unsure as he continued under his breath. "At least, I hope so…"

"What even is this?" Edward said, brows furrowed.

"That, I don't know." Hugo shook his head. "My lord Zelretch said that Ryu here was created by the young master's uncle."

"Wasn't he the practitioner of the First Magic?" Edward asked, recalling a bit of info in the past.

"Yes, therefore, this little fella must be special." Hugo paused, continuing on after a second of silence. "…despite its appearance."

"Why does it have to be a bun though?" Edward mumbled under his breath, brows knitting as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing.

"That, I also don't know." Hugo sighed.

"Magicians sure are difficult to understand. Their artistic senses is probably in a different world from us common mages." Edward stated, frowning thoughtfully.

"That, I wholeheartedly agree." Hugo nodded with a wry smile, recalling his liege's eccentricities.

…

In an unknown location, a young woman dressed in a gothic attire titled her head in confusion.

"Hmm… is it just me or does that boy just like to sit around?" She asked her male companion beside her.

"He simply might be content in letting those companions of his do the rest of the work." He suggested, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hmm… perhaps…" She relented.

It was quiet for a few moments before…

"I'm bored. Fetch me something to eat, Baz!" She ordered impudently.

"What kind of food?" He asked, brows furrowed in curiosity.

He was only consenting to her demand since he was getting hungry as well.

"I don't know, get me a meat bun then!" She grinned at the idea.

"… Why?" He asked, looking at her with furrowed brows.

"I just feel like it!" was her only reason.

For some reason, there seemed to be an inside joke at play here, and he has this feeling that the young woman was not even aware of it.

Although, at the same time, she does seemed to be amused by the idea.

…

Author's Note

…

Well, that's another chapter down.

I know, it's quite long. I actually thought about releasing half of this chapter a month ago, but it didn't felt right for me when I read through it. Also, things in rl got in the way and my sickness didn't really helped me at all, so I've decided to hold off in updating before I'm satisfied with this chapter.

This chapter is worth 27k of words. See how two months of delayed update can do? It's amazing, really.

Now, let's discuss of the content of this chapter for a bit.

As I'm sure you've all noticed, Kieran's true identity is that servant. I know that Avenger is from a different Fate franchise, but I wanted him to be present in this story.

I think I've already said this before, but this story is like a mesh of Fate/Extra and Strange Fake, and others bits from other fate series too. The characters that appeared in different Fate franchises are chosen to appear in the story because I either like them enough to be so, or because there's a reason for it. It's either one or the other, really.

In Angra Mainyu's case, it's the latter. You guys shall see the reason why in the future, so hold off that question for the moment. I know he's a bit OOC here, but that's because I'm still learning his character and it's difficult to ascertain his personality if you don't research him well enough.

In King Hassan's case, it's the former. He's not a Grand Servant in this story. Just an ordinary one, but still stronger than most.

As for the last scene of this chapter, I want to show you guys that Hadrian, for all of his powers, is still weak. Yes, he's got all those abilities, weapons and is quite the schemer, but there will always be someone (or in this case, something) powerful than him and things will not always go to plan.

His near death experience here is a testament to that.

Remember his wish when he won the Moon Grail war? What happened in the last part of this chapter is connected to that.

By having Fou on his side, Hadrian was basically saved by Gaia's influence here, preventing him from being lunch of the Spider's spawns.

When Fou stood against them, the Spider sensed her presence through its spawn and promptly told its children to back off, out of its respect to Gaia. Remember, Fou is a creation of Gaia, which the Spider had felt the instant she faced down the spawn. What happened in that last scene can be deemed as a butterfly effect.

When Hadrian made a wish to restore the world back to its natural state, he unknowingly gained the world's favor and he was saved because of the result of his own decision.

If he didn't made that wish, he would have died along with Arash when he was under the spawn's mercy. Or at least, leave the island wounded.

I summarized the situation in Jester's point of view since he's watching (stalking) Hadrian from a far distance. I hope this clears up any misunderstanding in the last part.

Now, you might wonder why Hadrian couldn't have used his unique connection to the Root to power up his spell with True Magic essence. The reason that he didn't is because he does not want to agitate the Spider into a full awakening. Do recall that the air surrounding the island is infused with the Spider's magical energy.

If Hadrian casted a spell with the energy of the True Magic, it'll be a one-way ticket to triggering a grouchy Spider. We don't want that.

Oh, and that bit with formal clothes with a different servant class skill, I took a page out of that one from canon.

If you guys had seen the gameplay of Fate/Extella Link, you'll know what I mean. The MC there (Hakuno) has that option to install different kinds of abilities (or code cast spells) on the formal clothes. I suppose it's a privileged that's only available to whoever owns the Moon Cell.

Anyways, it seems I've got the important bits covered in this chapter. So, like always, if you got questions, leave it in the reviews. I'll check them all out once I have the time.

And also, feel free to follow, fave or leave a review for this story. Tell me what you think of this chapter in there, or if you have other questions.

That's all for now. I'll see you all in the next chapter. Stay safe and healthy until then.

Thanks for tuning in, guys! Adieu for now! :)

…

Q & A

…

Robobot:

A – Thanks. Glad you're liking the progress of the story so far! :)

…

KingAllen:

A – My response is late, but I am glad to be back. Thanks! :)

…

fruitspunchsamurai-987:

A – He is bullshit.

The Berserker version was already bullshit enough, but then the devs had gone ahead and showed us a glimpse of his Archer version, albeit corrupted in nature.

…

Dxhologram:

A – Kind of, but not really ;)

…

Shiroyasha Rises:

A – I've thought about that, but it didn't really felt right for me in this chapter.

There were some parts here where Hadrian fights, but they ended up short.

In the upcoming chapters, preferably when he's surrounded by his servants, I think that's when I'll let him have the spotlight.

…

Kensei-1085:

A – No, it's the Fate/Extra (Lancer) version in this story. He looks dignified there too, but insane.

I've thought about using his Berserker version, but it didn't felt right. Vlad III of Apocrypha looks sane and dignified, which made me confused when he turned out as a Berserker in FGO since he didn't looked quite insane to me. More like the opposite of one. I dunno what the devs were thinking on that one.

I feel like the devs played around with his character design when it comes to Vlad. His Lancer version was the insane one, yet his Berserker self has the appearance of a sane dignified man.

…

The Loud Person:

A – Yeah, but Moriarty's dead here now.

I had to kill him off since it would be too troublesome if he lives long enough to make some serious problem for our dear MC.

Although, just because he's dead now doesn't mean there won't be any more trouble coming from him.

I also wish that the devs would finally release Alcides official Archer version. The one in Fate/Strange Fake is corrupted and is already bullshit.

I want to see the genuine article in FGO! :)

…

Gen2324:

A – I'm thinking about it. The story (this story) is sort of diving into the events of Fate/Strange Fake, but only by a small margin.

I'll admit, I'm not really familiar with the story line of FSF. I've only seen bits of the manga, but from what I can tell, the plotline is kind of messy.

The characters shown there were all cool and unique, but the plot itself seems… ambitious, from what I can tell so far.

The only reason I've decided to include the characters in FSF is because they, more or less, fit into the roles I've planned for them. Not because of the plot in canon.

I've read a bit about Hippolyta, and she seems unique. Quite different from Penthesilea, that's for sure.

I will need to research her background a bit more if I want her to have a role in the story. If you know something about her, feel free to let me know since any info can help. The stuff I've found out bout her were from wikipedia and type moon wiki, so any little trivia that are not commonly known about her can help.

…

Journey to the End:

A – Yeah, it's quite the turnaround for those two, isn't it?

First, it was Berserker who was protecting Ilya in UBW. Then, it's Gil who protected a girl in FSF.

Irony of irony, if you ask me.

…

Urek | Lu:

A – Geez, is it just me or does Poseidon like to break innocent maidens and turn them mentally unstable?

First, it was Medusa, now it's Caenis. Well, at least Medusa turned out okay in the end. Can't say much the same for Caenis.

Still, as much as I feel sorry for what happened to her, that doesn't exactly excuse what she had done. She may have legitimate reasons for acting the way she is, but if she does the same thing that was done to her, then she's not any better than Poseidon. If anything, she's worse than him, cause she had experienced that worst situation yet she does it to innocent people anyways.

No hesitation whatsoever. I've yet to actually see anything redeemable about her, but I'll give her the benefit of doubt and withhold my judgment on her character.

Also, I find her annoying for some reason. Maybe it's because her childishness? Her terrible personality? Or the fact that she nearly attacked Ritsuka that one time for no reason?

(To Urek) Reading the things you said about her background, her decision to take out her frustrations in life by becoming a tyrant king seemed like an immature reason in my opinion, especially when she harmed innocent people during her reign. I'm not even surprised that she got herself killed because of her terrible personality and character she had been alive.

It is fine to sympathize with her situation, but don't forget her sins when she had been a tyrant king.

Anyways, thanks for the info on her, you two. I appreciate it. I'd give you both cookies for your efforts to educate me about her, but there's a pandemic going on, so I'll just settle for kudos instead.

Kudos to you two! :D

…

sugoijack9:

A – Maybe ;D

But it ain't going to be a war like you're thinking of though.

…

With that done, I'll see you all in the next chapter.

I bid you all adieu! :D