Saber Wars: III

"At which time you are then given the quest by said character which amounts to you walking through lands you have already visited and then finding a specified amount of materials."

Ash nodded his head along at the explanation, saying nothing and keeping his eyes forwards facing.

"Though depending on the nature of the quest, it can be dependent on drop rates of defeated enemies or, alternatively, based upon whether or not a special item has randomly appeared in the field. Usually it will carry on for hours depending on the measure of your luck."

The explanation…why did it sound oddly familiar to him?

"Fetch quest…" He cupped his chin and hummed quietly to himself, narrowing his gaze a little as the words bounced around in his head. It was not something that he was wholly familiar with, not under those words, but he did know the burden of walking through the same land again and again while forced to battle enemies that resurrected.

"You're very knowledgeable about this sort of thing, Olga." The comment from Marie brought a faint flush to the face of the woman, though from how Ash looked at it, the blush had more to do with being caught out in her explanation. "That's good, I'm not sure I would have really understood it otherwise. When someone says fetch, they make it sound as though you're getting just one thing…this sounds a little more complicated."

Olga made a face, pawing at her brows. "Not so much complicated as much as it is annoying. Especially if this Berserker has been dropping materials of unprecedented power all over France…the very last thing I believe we need to put up with is more annoyances."

Ash didn't have much of a problem with it, not in the way he could explain.

Shrugging his shoulders, he rolled his jaw. "At least you are likely to get some combat experience out of this, that is never something to be vexed towards…Though I am moderately puzzled as to why you agreed to come down in the first place. Usually you would have remained behind."

Olga rolled her jaw, glancing at him from the corner of her eye before loudly exhaling. "...I've been making efforts to avoid Elizabeth Bathory."

Suddenly everything made a great deal more sense to him.

"Because of the-"

"Don't talk about it. It never happened."

Hmmm.

"Awww…But I had a lot of fun with that." Marie whined a little, putting on a pout and folding her arms a little. "Really, I think it would be worth something just for a little get together between a couple of friends. I know that Nero would really enjoy it. You don't need to sing for the sake of anyone else, you know, if it's that much of a bother."

Olga clicked her tongue. "I'm not talking about it…I barely even knew I could sing…Or wear something like that…" her face burned bright red, her hands slapped over her features with a pitiful groan leaking out from between her fingers. "And I had just managed to erase the image from my head."

He grunted but said nothing about it.

He remembered it very well.

Rather, it was impossible for him to forget and he was fine with that.

"So what do you think about Mysterious Heroine X?"

It took him a moment to realise the question was directed towards him, he craned his head towards Marie and raised a brow.

What did he think about the clearly insane woman who had frightening levels of speed, twin Excalibur's and some manner of rocket ship and who would consistently make references to things that not even his vast expanse of knowledge could find links to?

"...I think that we have lost our opportunity to escape from them."

Marie sent him a flat look and then rolled her eyes. "Not about that, I mean do you think they are really a Servant from space?"

"Please do not tell me you actually believe that stream of consciousness that was hurled into our faces…" With an exasperated sigh, Olga placed her hands against her face once more, Ash figured she was sending Marie a disappointed look. "I understand your need for excitement, but believing the obviously ludicrous explanation of whatever they talked about is…No, clearly this is some concerted effort concocted by several Casters to turn what is clearly Arthur Pendragon into a clown."

Ash might have been more inclined to believe her on that point, except for one slight flaw in her explanation.

"Was it not Romani who stated that the power levels from the rocket were far higher than anything it's size should be? And that not even Da Vinci could understand anything from the readings that they were getting from the ship itself?"

Olga sent him a withering glare.

"See!" Marie, meanwhile, looked rather triumphant as she pointed to him. "That's what I'm talking about. Besides, it seems like a lot of effort to go through just for the sake of doing that to King Arthur…and why would they give them two Excaliburs? I think it's just more interesting to think of them as being an alien from space."

"She's not an alien." The white haired woman ran her hands through her hair and pulled ever so slightly, closing her eyes and blowing out air through her nose. "What she is, is undoubtedly an insane Servant who has managed to drag all of us along to clean up whatever mess they have littered across the field. And you are only jolly at the idea of them being an alien because they crashed in France and you want to show off to them."

"No…" Marie leaned back, though the way her eyes darted to the side, it was clear that she wasn't telling the whole truth. "But if they were interested in France, I would consider it my absolute duty to teach them all about France and explain why it is so amazing…and then take them on long rides through the countryside so they can appreciate the beauty of France."

Yes.

Beauty.

Ash turned his head from the pair of them and kept his gaze focused on the back of one particular individual.

He was waiting for her to do something, to make some sort of move and slip up to reveal her true intentions.

…She was good at hiding herself, he supposed, but that was to be expected when she had so much experience on that point.

But Mother was lingering around Mash and Lily for a singular reason and he would discover what it was.

She never did anything without an intention behind it and he would not let some manner of ill-fate before either of them. Regardless of whether it was because Gawyn had been friends with Lily or not, he was hardly about to let anyone fall victim to whatever schemes were currently boiling away in the mind of his Mother.

"Because Sabers are literally everywhere in the cosmos, in fact they are so common that it's becoming something of a plague on the universe."

Gwynevere hummed along with the explanation, saying nothing but acknowledging it.

Learning about this supposed realm in the stars and the woes with the different classes were rather amusing. Even if it turned out to be little more than the spawnings of this one's hyper-active imagination, that did not make it any less creative to listen to. Especially because the girl was speaking with such absolute confidence that it was clear they believed it to be true.

"And with everyone acting like they're a Saber, it's really brought the name of the Class right the way down." Heroine X let out a tired sigh, shaking their head as they marched forwards, turning slightly and wagging a finger. "You say you're a Saber Servant and then they just look at you as if you're already going to be trash. But that's what happens when you let regular old third-rates who wouldn't even make it as a Lancer slap a Saber badge onto themselves."

Gwynevere raised a brow at them, then spoke up. "And I suppose that you have made it your mission to separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to the Saber class? Ensuring only those who are true Sabers can call themselves as such."

"Exactly." Heroine X pointed behind themselves and towards her. "See, you get it? It's just that everyone wants to be a Saber and they don't want to be any other Class. Not that I have a problem with the other Classes but they aren't being a Saber…Don't even get me started on people wearing Saber-faces."

Ah, this was something that she did not quite see the problem with.

"Forgive me if I am incorrect, but are they not individuals who wear matching faces to your own?"

"Yeah…False Sabers who moonlight as true Sabers because they decide to shift up their appearance. Or just ape off the popularity of the Saber by wearing their face and then strutting out into the open and going 'look at me! I'm not a Saber but I have their face, now you don't need a Saber!' or something like that."

…Indeed.

Gwynevere spared a glance to the others walking by her side and silently raised a brow to see if any of them were catching on to what the person was saying in regards to the face stealing.

None of them looked all that clued in.

Least of all was poor Lily, who appeared to be caught between looking bewildered and a touch concerned.

"You seem to be rather absolute when it comes to your approach to things."

Heroine X merely chuckled in a tired voice. "Trust me, when you wander the cosmos for as long as I have, you tend to find that there's really only one approach that some people understand. The application of force and then beating them up until they realise that you were right all along."

The boy spoke up after a second. "You tried speaking to the fake Sabers yet?"

"No? Why would I bother speaking with fakes? They committed unspeakable sins when they decided to run around with Saber faces and call themselves Sabers. The only thing they will be talking to is my Holy Sword and the only language it speaks is violence."

The teen made a face that was rather apparent in that they did not find themselves wholly comfortable with what the Servant was saying. Then again, one often would find zealots to be far from appealing when dealing with. So set in their ways, especially violent zealots as well.

"Senpai, I think this is another troublesome person." Mash whispered to the boy. "I wasn't entirely sure of it before, but now I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this is definitely a very troublesome person who will almost certainly start fights with people. I'm a bit worried in case we encounter anyone with a Saber-face."

Gwynevere could imagine it as well.

She frowned a little bit in regards to the thought, then hummed and glanced in the direction of the boy. Activating the mental link and filtering her words through the mind of the young man. 'If it would aid you, I could charm her sight to avoid her perceiving the faces of those identical to her?'

'So you mean…she thinks she's seeing someone else, instead of a Saber-face?'

'Is that what you are going to call them?'

'No idea…uhh…I'm not looking to start fights with people regardless. So hold back on that for the moment, I don't think it's likely for us to be encountering Servants with the same sort of face as her in the first place, so I think we'll be alright.'

Ah, the path of diplomacy was it?

Well, they would find out sooner or later whether they were truly an individual of their word when it came to encountering Servants who copied their faces. Though she did not quite understand the aggression, none of the Silver Knights ever commented negatively upon the fact they were all of the same face.

Rather, it was the individuals with different faces who earned greater focus from them, than their own.

"Are you certain of this, Lily?"

"I'm not sure about what they are saying towards the Saber faces…" Lily replied to her question after a couple of moments, her own hand idly touching at her cheeks a couple of times with a trouble frown, then lowered her hand down and nodded her head once. "But I do know that whatever else might be the case, I think she means well when she spoke of trying to help me."

Not that they needed the help when they already had her as a teacher, but that was so obvious it was barely worth mentioning.

"And I believe it is the duty of a knight to help those in need. Clearly, this is a person who still needs our help, so I want to make sure she can return home to space."

That earned a rather exhausted look from the boy, who brought his hands up and rubbed his face a couple of times before pulling them down. "Alright, yeah…I guess I can get behind that sort of reason. Though I would like to point out that her first reaction upon meeting us was to hurl insults and then try and fight us which…"

He paused, his expression tightened before his shoulders dropped, along with whatever point he was trying to make.

"Nope, not even going to comment on that. Glass houses and throwing stones, all that stuff."

Glass houses and stones?

What a curious phrase they used there.

Hmmm.

Still, in regards to the words of Lily.

"That sounds like a most noble sentiment for you to hold." She spoke with a nod of the head, glancing at the young girl. "Though a knight must just as sternly keep the peace as much as they must aid those who need it, make sure that you do not jeopardise one for the sake of the other. Especially when dealing with individuals who might be regarded as troublemakers at times."

Lily frowned and nodded her head up and down. "I understand what you are talking about, Gwynevere-san…But I believe that the effort of trying is worth more. Even if people can be a little bit troublesome, I don't think that should stop you helping them. If that was true, no one would have ever helped Merlin."

"Was Merlin a big troublemaker, Lily-san?" Mash posed the question with a tilt of the head.

With a wry smile, Lily offered a half shrug as an answer. "I think that Merlin might have sometimes said more than he needed to…and done more as well. I know that Kay never really enjoyed all the mess Merlin would make. He was a bit of a philanderer."

Mash nodded along with the words. "I see."

Gwynevere stopped walking as she felt something, her eyes narrowed and her head turned towards the direction of the hill just to their right. Keeping her eyes fixed upon it for a couple of seconds before her actions drew the attention of the others.

Silently, she raised a finger towards them before gesturing to the hill.

"I sense something quite lively in that direction."

"Hmmmmmmmmmm." A long winded hum from Heroine X, the tracksuit Servant walked forwards and then dove their hands into their rather enlarged pockets once more, rootling around in them for a couple of seconds before pulling out a small grey rectangle with flashing lights.

A second later, it made a whirring noise.

"What is that?"

"Altrium-detector." Heroine X answered without looking up, she sniffed once then started to walk forwards. "We're close to a particularly strong deposit of it. That means that something has probably started bathing in the Altrium particles special abilities. You should be prepared for a fight against some seriously weird things. Altrium can affect the powers of whatever it possesses."

That sounded rather concerning, though they spoke as if it was common.

Gwynevere could not recall a single instance where she had ever heard of Altrium in her life.

"Alright, Saber Lily. You're up first."

X did not even raise her head as she issued the command, Gwynevere raised a brow at the woman and then glanced at the young girl standing by her side. Naturally, Lily looked rather caught off guard by the command.

"Eh? Me-? wha-"

"Uhm, what do you mean that she's up first?" The boy stepped forwards, already with the hint of an edge in his voice. "Shouldn't we see what we're dealing with before we start deciding who is doing what?"

Heroine X paused, brought her head up and then turned around. "What are you talking about? She's a Saber, so she should take point. That's the whole point of being a Saber is that you're the vanguard of the situation. Also this is training. How can you train if you're hiding behind more skilled people?"

Gwynevere gave a light hum. "While I will not deny that your words hold some truth, you do not fling warriors into the thick of fighting before they have a touch of polish to them. Else they might end up injured. What is it that you humans call it, trial by fire?"

Especially when throwing them into battle against an unknown enemy, there was no telling what abilities they would have.

Perhaps when Lily had more confidence in her abilities, she would be more willing to entertain the idea of having her serve as a vanguard, but until such a time as Lily was actually able to swing her sword with complete faith in her own abilities, it would be best to keep the girl under a close eye. Letting someone with so little certainty fight would only serve to worsen their condition.

Any injuries or failures would only cement their belief they were inferior.

This method was a surefire way of destroying the confidence of Lily if she needed to be saved, hence at the moment, it was perhaps the worst method possible.

"Trial by fire, you say? Yeah, that sums it up pretty well." Heroine X cemented her stance with those words, nodding once and then looking towards Lily with a sharp gleam in her gaze. "Naturally, any Saber worth their salt will be prepared to fight any manner of unknown enemies without any sort of preparation. Literally, they could just leap out of nowhere and what are you gonna do then?"

Lily blinked, then made a small noise. "Uhhh-"

"Exactly!" X pointed squarely at the face of the young girl. "Caught unawares, you'd be easy prey! So you need to charge right into the thick of things from the get go and become accustomed to being surprised. That is the only way you can ever progress in this universe."

The boy made a small noise at her. "I'm not entirely sure you can ever get accustomed to being surprised, that's why it's called a surprise…and I don't think walking right into a new threat is really the best idea-you know what?"

The teen turned and called past them. "Ash? Come here a second."

Gwynevere tensed as the trunch of footsteps drew closer and closer, they did not pass her by, but they did stop behind her. She dared not turn her head, instead focused her senses and found some small relief that they were not looking at her.

"Yes?" The blank voice of her son.

"When you encountered a new enemy, what did you do?"

"I walked at them."

"And what happened when you did that?"

"...That would depend." He replied with an odd tone of voice, a shuffle behind her before they spoke again. "Would you refer to what happened on average, or what would happen on mere occasion?"

"Average."

"I was rather violently killed."

Her eyes glanced to the side at the casual way they spoke of death, as if they did not give thought to it in the least. As though it held the same weight to them as did a shift in the weather, or spotting a bug upon a leaf. Something to be expected and treated with utter apathy.

Lily flinched and sent a pitying look towards them.

The boy, meanwhile, just nodded his head up and down before turning towards X, then pointed at Ash. "See the problem with just walking right into things? That's why it's best to actually prepare some sort of strategy first before you go charging off and hoping for the best…no offence, Ash."

"My method worked for me because I had no finality. I doubt you can afford to be so callous with your own life…Though I am curious, what heralded this conversation?"

"Hmmm? Oh, we've come across a bit source of Altrium. X seems to think that it's probably centred around a host or something and she wanted Lily to just run at them and charge them down because they're supposed to be the vanguard."

Ash made a noise. "That would be my strategy as well…But I previously said that it likely would not be as effective for you, given that I can ignore mortal wounds, the infliction of pain and have superior endurance."

Something stuck out to Gwynevere, her lips thinned at their words and she turned her head slightly towards them. "Walking towards them? I am certain that you were taught by Llew to case your surroundings and probe your opponents strength-"

"If I had been raised with my memories, I am certain I would have done that." Ash cut her short with a sharp tone of voice. "As opposed to walking towards them like a fool and being slashed to bloody ribbons a dozen times over before I finally worked out what I was supposed to do and what their abilities were, or did you think me some oaf who would ignore even those basic instincts by choice?"

She was only asking to make sure, how was she supposed to know all of that?

"Back to the topic at hand." Returning her gaze to the group in front of her, she moved her focus away from Ash. "I would support the suggestion of Ritsuka. I believe that if we are to face this unknown, it would be best to use this fight to measure the capabilities of those possessing this blessing of Altrium."

The boy made a small expression at her, then raised his brow in a thoughtful manner. "You mean like a controlled fight to see what sort of powers they have? That still sounds a little risky…but if it does give us an indication of what we're dealing with, then I can get behind that…What do you think, Mash?"

Mash was quick to give a hum and a nod of the head. "It does sound dangerous, especially if we don't know what sort of powers they have, but if we do encounter more Altrium infused enemies, I believe it would be beneficial to know what they are capable of, Senpai. That way I will know how best to protect you."

Lily raised her hand. "And I will know how tough they are."

The boy looked between the two girls for a brief instant, then rolled his jaw from side to side with a thoughtful look. Clearly debating the idea. Then he nodded his head up and down, glancing past her and towards those still approaching. "Okay, I can work with that. I'll let the Director know and then we can prepare, I figure that Marie will probably want to have a go at this sort of thing as well."

"Ehhh…" Mysterious Heroine X made a rather dissatisfied face at the prospect of letting the Queen join in, looking as if she had swallowed something foul. "...Fine, I'll make an exception but I don't do training for Riders to turn into Lancers…If she tries to learn how to fight like a Saber, I'm going to kill her."

"The hell you will." The boy didn't even look at the Assassin as he shut down the remark, an edge in his voice. "She can fight with whatever weapon she wants to fight with."

"That's how it always starts! The next thing you know, she will be demanding a sword that shoots laser beams!"

"No she-what?" The boy turned and looked at the girl for a brief second, an expression of pure bewilderment before swiftly shaking his head and dismissing the rather peculiar suggestion.

"You're just upset that I'm telling the truth here!"

Lily was rather pleased that Ritsuka was supportive of the idea, it did mean that she got additional training and the idea of fighting by herself - while a little daunting - did make her feel a bit comfortable. It meant that she would know whether or not she was actually going to improve based on the upcoming battle.

They were a few feet from cresting the ridge when Heroine X stood before her, hands on their hips and raising a single finger.

"Alright pupil-"

Gwynevere lightly cleared her throat and shot a rather sharp look towards the teacher.

"Hey, butt out of this, Caster. The Sabers are talking." Heroine X shot back at the Goddess with a frown and a side-eye, then turned back to her and resumed speaking. Or at least, she made the effort to, she wasn't able to get out a single word before Gwynevere interrupted her.

"They are? I must apologise because I see only one Saber. Perhaps the other has yet to arrive? Though, given your skill as an Assassin, I am certain that you can wait quietly until they do."

"Hmph. As expected from an amaetur in the Fate world, still using your eyes to see and ignoring the truth standing right before you? While I may hold the Class of an Assassin, it is a mere disguise to the fact that I am the one true Saber-"

"Oh? So as the one true Saber, you ended up in the wrong class by accident? Then perhaps it is your education that is at fault? Though, I cannot lay the blame upon you. S and A are close together in the alphabet, it must have been very easy to confuse the two of them."

"Ha! Shows what you know, idiot! They actually are right next to one another on a keyboard! In fact, I'm sure that I've got the number of a customer support line in case you ever find one of them, I know how much the elderly struggle with technology."

"A lesson in technology from an individual who cannot even steer their own ship without crashing? Forgive me for being a touch sceptical as to the qualifications of such a person."

Lily leaned back as the two glared at one another that it looked as though lightning was going to spark between them. Her eyes danced away from the tense duo and towards Mash and Marie, both of whom were standing near her and looking just as uneasy towards the argument as she currently felt.

"Tch." Heroine X clicked her tongue, then turned back towards Lily and pointed at her. "Now then, listen closely. When the time is right, you have to plan your attacks to deliver maximum damage. So that means you need to land some well placed insults at your targets confidence, accuse them of being an idiot or being weak. Then, if that fails to rattle them, you need to bust out the big guns."

X smirked rather confidently. "It means you need to run away and then come back at night when they're asleep. Find their sleeping back and then start kicking them in the head before they can get up. Or plant loads of traps around their house so that when they get outside and go to start their rocketship or something, they fall over or trip into a hole in the ground."

When they finished speaking, they wore an expression that appeared to be as if they had just delivered unto her some manner of astounding wisdom.

Lily, meanwhile, felt rather horrified about the brutal and downright dishonourable tactics that had just been levied towards her. It wasn't as if she was totally naive to the concept of pragmatic fighting, but this sounded less like the battle of a knight and more like the regular old brawling of some sort of hired thug.

"What manner of barbarism are you trying to instil into the young girl?" Gwynevere sounded rather horrified. "Perhaps next you shall tell her to spit into the eyes of her enemies as well? Or perhaps aim some kicks into their genitals during a battle. Or better yet, she can hold their families hostage."

Heroine X closed her eyes, then folded her arms and nodded her head sagely. "Those are advanced tactics once you have mastered the basics. For now, I think she should focus on trash talk. That's normally the easiest to get around."

"Uhm…" Marie raised her hand, looking a touch worried. "I apologise if this sounds to be a rather silly question, but doesn't that all sound to be quite a touch more…mean-spirited than it needs to be? I understand that fighting someone to the death might be brutal at times, but I don't think that we need to be too cruel about it."

Lily wholeheartedly agreed, nodding her head up and down.

"As well you should think that." Gwynevere regarded X with a wary gaze for a moment as she nodded her head in support of Marie's point. "Quite frankly, it is during the times of battle where one must conduct themselves in a fitting manner to prove that they are above the rampant nature of an animal. Pragmatism of fighting aside, you cannot garner respect from the people if they see you fighting like a brute."

She pointed at X with a narrowed gaze. "And, quite frankly, to suggest otherwise makes you sound as if you would welcome the company of Alma. That is hardly any measure of compliment."

"Eeeeh?" Heroine X merely made a face at the Goddess before shaking her head from side to side. "I don't think you guys get it at all. The Cosmos is a seriously dangerous place and if you aren't doing your absolute best to live, then you're gonna end up burnt."

A roll of the eyes, she turned towards Lily and placed her hands on her hips. "But alright, just approach the guy - or animal - and then announce yourself and your intentions and then say you're there to defeat them. Once that is out of the way, you can just start swinging until they die. That should be fine, right? Proper battles in accordance with the Saber class."

Lily would admit that it sounded very vague, but it was certainly more appealing to her than whatever the previous advice had been. For one thing, spitting in someone's face during a battle seemed to be rather abhorrent behaviour. The sort of thing that she imagined a rather foul individual doing.

A far cry from the chivalrous behaviour of a knight, to be certain.

She did not even think that her altered adult self would stoop so low as that.

Turning her attention towards the others, she briefly paused as she caught sight of Ash and raised a brow at the actions of the Servant. As opposed to wielding the sword, they were instead now armed with a rather large and bulky silver bow, easily the same height as they were, and pulling forth some manner of arrow that looked more like a stalactite.

The Avenger remained silent as he nocked the arrow, then brought his head up and met her eyes. His head tilted in silent questioning.

"Why do you have a bow?"

"Ranged combat." Ash simply answered. "If this is a chance to improve fighting capabilities, then it would make sense that I contribute in some capacity."

"I was unaware you could wield a bow."

Ash twitched ever so slightly at the comment from Gwynevere, Lily noted that the tone of the Goddess seemed to border somewhere on intrigue and a touch of unease. The Goddess inclined her head towards him and spoke further. "For how long have you been practising with that art?"

"...Does it matter?"

"It might, if you have some talent for it, then I am certain there are others in Chaldea who might-"

"I misspoke." Ash cut her off with a blank look. "I meant to ask, does it matter to you?"

"And if I said it did?"

"Alright, enough of that." Ritsuka voiced out with a hint of warning to his words as he moved in her direction, briefly looking at the pair and between them. "We hardly need to start any sort of arguments out here. Gwynevere, leave Ash to do his own thing. He can practise with a bow if he wants to."

Ritsuka stood before herself, Mash and Marie, placing his hands on his hips as he looked over all of them. "Okay then. So we'll approach this cautiously, depending on the situation but we'll be on standby in case things go south. Ash will be on overwatch because he's the one with the spearbow."

"Greatbow."

"That ain't like no arrow I've ever seen before." Ritsuka joked back with a twitch of the lip, Lily felt her own amusement rise at the slight jab. It wasn't mean spirited and there was evidence behind it. Namely because it did look as though they had mounted some sort of pick inside a bow. "But yeah, I'm sure we can rely on Heroine X to make an effort…But I'm sure that you'll all do fine."

"I told you he was an Archer!" The comment from Heroine X, containing no small amount of accusation, Lily turned her eyes to the speaker and immediately took note of the accusing finger being levelled towards Ash. "See! He literally has a bow right there! A certified Archer!"

"What, you didn't know?" She sees the ghost of a smirk on the face of Ritsuka, she can already tell he is about to say something rather snarky. "Everyone can use a bow. Heck, there are Archers in Chaldea who use swords instead."

Heroine X immediately looks at him with such surprise and offence that it was if she was personally insulted by his words. "What!? You can't go around being in an Archer class and then using swords! That's just wrong! What the heck? You! Stick to using bows you-"

"Sarcher."

"...What?"

"The last time I wielded a bow, I went by the Class of Sarcher." Ash replies to her as he looks over his weapon, giving a single grunt as he pulls the string back with a groaning sound and then returns it. Clearly satisfied with the pullback of the bow. "I merely combined Saber and Archer, given that I was in the Saber class at the time. Though I utilised a Bow, thus I just called myself Sarcher to avoid confusion."

"...That's foul. That's absolutely despicable." Heroine X spoke in the most toneless voice she had ever heard in her life. "You are a menace to Sabers everywhere. Stop making up classes and just stick to being an Archer, you're just jealous that you weren't summoned as a Saber."

"Are all Assassins from the cosmos as loud as you? I fail to see how you can land any surprise attacks if you spend your time shouting and screeching at them."

"I'm not an Assassin! I'm a Saber! A Saber! What sort of Assassin would have a sword that shoots laser beams!? That's the opposite of subtlety! You're definitely either an Archer or an Assassin! You landed a sneak attack earlier, what do you have to say about that?! Hah?!"

"How does the truest of true Sabers lose to a single punch from an Assassin?"

"Gurk!?"

Lily rolled her lips inwards and looked to the ground, already expecting another argument to blow up in front of her.

"Alright, try and avoid killing one another over this." Ritsuka sighed, palming his face and grumbling under his breath. Lily could feel the exasperation rolling off him in waves. Turning on her and offering a tired smile. "Good luck Lily, we will be right behind you…provided we don't accidentally start a fight amongst ourselves first."

She was glad they had such confidence in her, but the way everyone had spoken of this Altrium, she was getting a little on edge. Though with Mash and Queen Marie fighting with her, she was sure their combined powers would be able to take down whatever they were against.

"We can handle it, Senpai." Mash spoke for herself, clenching her hand into a fist and thumping it against her chest. "Right, Lily-san?"

"Yes, absolutely."

"Glad to hear it."

Marie remained silent, sending an expectant look towards Olga, who had remained rather quiet with her arms folded.

Her face twitched, then the white haired Director closed her eyes and lowered her head down. "...I'm sure that you will be sufficient for the task at hand."

"Yay!" Marie let out a small cheer. "Does this mean I can get a ladies favour like a knight?"

"What? No! Just get over that hill!"

Lily chuckled slightly as the woman sharply pointed towards the hill, with a quick nod of the head to the others, she turned around and marched up. She could already sense the surge of power coming from the other side, certain that when she crested the hill, she would be faced with a very tough opponent.

Mash joined by her side and leaned over, a look of mild anxiousness on her face. "What do you think it might be, Lily-san? They talked about Altrium like it was some sort of blessing. But I have never heard of it before…Honestly, it sounds a bit made up."

Lily could only shrug her shoulders. "It might be something known by a different name? But if this Servant is really from space, then maybe it is something we cannot detect?"

"Do you think they are from space?"

Did she?

Well, she was not entirely sure. The Servant was definitely strange, but despite their words, it felt more as though they were incredibly over enthusiastic in regards to their work, rather than malicious. Someone like that would not have been so eager to try and train her up, but they definitely were confrontational.

As for the being from space part…They did not seem to be a liar in her eyes.

"Whether they are from space or not, I still believe we should help them."

"That's the spirit!" Marie cheered her on. "You really sound like a proper knight!"

That comment made her feel a little warm inside, being told such a thing by an actual Queen was a very high compliment.

With that said, she crested the ridge and looked over towards the enemies-

"No, Sammy. It's meant to go there so as to cover the pitfall-Damn, Gilles? How long are you just going to stand there and do nothing, man?"

"..."

"Are you just going to stare at me in silence and-hey! Don't fold your arms and look away from me as if I'm not worth speaking to! Aren't you a general? Don't you guys have proper respect for authority and stuff?"

"...!"

"Ah! Sammy! Gilles is glaring at me really nastily, do something about it, will you?"

"..."

"Don't you go all quiet now and all."

Lily…had no idea what this was.

She glanced towards the others and found herself met with the same blank stares, each one of them regarded the other with total silence, then looked back to the trio of figures looming over some sort of metal box buried in the ground.

The tallest of the figures, a man with a large blue coat and pointed bear with what appeared to be something burning in it, held up his hands to his peers and pointed to the box. "Right, this is basically the ultimate trap card for any sort of would be raiders, right? It's like a high level drop. No one is going to be able to resist it."

A man with dark hair and adorned with silver armour stood silent, stoically gazing at the tall fellow.

"See, you look at me like that, but I can tell you're secretly impressed with my amazing abilities for deduction." The tall man spoke with a sharp grin, much to the immediate and very visible irritation of the silver dressed man. "So basically, this is the key to success. People will come looking, they will find it and we can either rob them…Or!"

The man held his arms up. "And just here me out here, or if they are super pretty girls, they will become instantly enamoured with my incredible wealth and fantastic luck and will fall head over heels for me without fail, yeah?"

Lily's eyes turned to the last of the three figures.

It was an angel with blue skin and four arms, with a face that looked more like the night sky than anything else.

It was, quite possibly, the most odd looking Servant she had ever really seen before in her life.

"..."

"You get it, don't you Sammy?"

The aforementioned Sammy just kept silent, Lily wasn't sure what they were saying - if they were saying anything at all - but it clearly didn't sit well with the tall man, if the pout he now wore was any indication. "What the heck, of course I know it's valuable. It fell from the sky, how would it not be valuable?"

"..."

Lily frowned at the one sided conversation, then leaned towards Mash while turning her gaze towards the Shielder. "This is a bit odd, what are we supposed to-Mash? What are you making that face for?"

Mash was staring down with a rather haunted look, her eyes warped as if she had seen the foulest thing known to humanity.

It was the same look that Kay sometimes gave Merlin, that was why she knew how to spot it so well.

Wait…did this mean that they knew those Servants down there and that they were no good troublemakers?

Lily turned back to the trio with a renewed sense of wariness about her, grip on Caliburn tightened ever so slightly as she glanced down to the metal between all of them.

She could sense the power emanating from it, far beyond what she would have expected for something that looked so unimpressive, but this was stuff beyond what she knew about.

The thought of troublemakers having access to that sort of power, it was absolutely no good.

She could tell immediately that there was definitely something wrong with letting them have it, and the way they had been talking earlier. She knew that the man had definitely said something about robbing people. That was a really bad thing, which made these guys highwaymen!

With a renewed sense of purpose and confidence about her, Lily took a single step forward.

The man straightened immediately, whatever he was going to say went silent.

Fast as lightning, the head of the man whipped around and he pointed squarely towards her then towards Mash before it finally landed on Queen Marie. The face the man made was one of absolute surprise but it quickly morphed into one of clear jubilation! Slapping his hands against his cheeks and letting out a rather high pitched noise.

"Eeeeeeee! I knew it! I knew it would work! See! See, general! I was right! Three super cute girls have appeared and-is that Mash-mallow I see!? Is this a gift from God!? Is Kami-sama finally bestowing his blessings upon me!?"

Clapping his hands together, the man lowered his head and looked to the ground.

"Thank you!"

Lily felt some weird sense of unease when the man spoke.

What was this off-putting feeling.

"It is clear that we need to defeat this Servant."

She almost flinched, whipping her head to the speaker as they walked past her, her eyes wide at the grinding sound, trailing down to see Mash dragging the base of her shield through the dirt and leaving a trench as she walked.

Mash's voice had never sounded quite so dead before.

It was a little unnerving.

"I recommend that we attack them immediately before they have a chance to say anything else. I'm sorry, Lily-san. But we need to do exactly as Heroine X suggested and rush this Servant with everything we can possibly muster."

"Eh? Is Mash-mallow telling me that she's going to go one hundred percent for me! I'm blessed!" The man, clearly having heard them, let out a cheer and pumped his fist into the air. "This is the first time that a girl has ever given me so much attention! Is this the start of my popular phase?"

Lily quickly gathered herself, rushing forwards and catching Mash by the shoulder and pulling her back slightly. "Mash-san, we shouldn't lose our cool so quickly. We don't know what they are actually doing, I did hear some super suspicious stuff, but a confession is better!"

Mash didn't say anything for a couple of seconds, then her posture loosened and she straightened herself back out, facing Lily with a tired smile. "Yes, you are right, Lily-san. After all, it will make me feel better when they hand out a confession first before we start hitting them."

They said that with such an innocent smile as well.

Was Mash always this violent!?

Lily put the thought to the side, then turned towards the tall man and pointed Caliburn. "Excuse me, sir. We have come in search of the material that lies at your feet! If you would kindly hand it over to us so it cannot be used for nefarious means, we would be grateful for your assistance."

There.

That was a fair offer to them, if they rejected that then she could definitely take it by force now.

Her eyes swapped between the three figures, though she noticed the brief pause from the man with silver armour as his eyes briefly landed on her and widened ever so slightly. It was a single instance of surprise, but she could see the flash of confusion in his gaze before it evened out, then came the hesitance as he turned his gaze away from her.

"General Gilles, that is what you were called, right?"

Marie was the first to speak, stepping forwards and pointing towards the man, he flinched ever so slightly.

"Gilles de Rais?"

The name filtered through her mind and instantly she regarded the man as the greatest threat amongst them. Her eyes widened, she turned herself towards them, grip on Caliburn tightened.

Gilles de Rais.

Marshal of the French Army, companion of Jeanne d'Arc.

…And murderer of children.

This man was, without a doubt, a despicable figure but from the sight of him, this was during his days as a soldier of France. The aura he held within himself was one of status, he maintained a stoic gaze even after being outed.

His eyes flickered towards the speaker.

"I suppose it would only be fair to return the favour of being outed." Marie admitted with a wry smile, thudding her spear into the ground and bowing her head ever so slightly. "Marie Antoinette. Bonjour, Marshal Rais."

A faint widening of the man's eyes as he stared at her with a new sense of comprehension, his lip tightened and he glanced to the other two before back to them. He returned the bow, but still remained silent.

Was he against speaking or something?

"Eh…? A Queen? Damn, we got an SSR encounter already." The tall man muttered, scratching his chin and then elbowing the angel twice. "Isn't this, like, super lucky Sammy?"

"..."

"Eh, you're just being overly cautious. I'm sure they will be enamoured with the stuff-"

"...!"

"What the heck do you mean they're going to beat me up? No way! Mash-mallow would never do something that cruel!"

Lily frowned ever so slightly at their slightly degrading comment of Mash, though it sounded like a nickname between friends, it did not look as though Mash considered this person a friend in the least. "Excuse me, I would demand an answer to my earlier question, if it is not too much trouble."

"Oh yeah, you want this stuff?" The man muttered, then folded his arms and looked thoughtful for a few moments. "No way. Why would I ever give up the treasure that I found? How could I ever look any of my pirate buddies in the face if I admitted that I just handed treasure over to a pretty face? I mean, I am tempted, but that feels like I would be treading down a dark path."

Shuddering for a moment, the man placed his hands on his hips. "I might be a man without shame, but I do have some dignity."

That…

Lily pinched her brows.

Something in that sentence didn't quite add up.

"So then…You will not relinquish the material to us?"

"Heck no!" The man shouted back, then grew a rather odd smile that made her skin crawl. "But…I would be open to sharing some of the treasure with you guys for a couple favours…nothing above PG, mind you, just calling me 'Blackbeard-senpai' and then telling me how cool and reliable I am should definitely make me-"

"I refuse."

Mash didn't even let the man finish speaking.

"I admit that it does seem like a rather strange thing to ask and, I hope you do not take this the wrong way…" Marie hesitated for a moment, then she just shrugged her shoulders and came right out with it. "But you somehow give me the impression you're a bigger pervert than Mozart. That is actually rather concerning, Monsieur, but hearing that you are a pirate…It makes a great deal of sense."

Blackbeard, Edward Teach.

This man was certainly a scoundrel.

Lily hardened her features. "I see. In that case, prepare yourself, miscreant!" she announced, stepping forwards and holding Caliburn with the blade pointed towards the man. "For in the name of justice, I shall-"

"Are you gonna do a sailor moon transformation!?"

Lily stumbled a little, looking at Blackbeard in bewilderment. "A-a what?"

"You basically do this big little spinning dance while your outfit changes and you enter the serious mode during a fight." Blackbeard explained rather patiently, one hand on his hip while the other was raised with a finger pointing skywards. "It's basically the compulsory moment for every magical girl. Heck, even with the action shounen, you need a power up sequence or a moment where they activate their ultimate attack."

That just…

Lily squinted. "Isn't that just a Noble Phantasm?"

The man made a face. "Eh…If you wanna be boring then sure, but ain't you got something more flashy than that?"

"Well-"

"Stop distracting her!" Mash cried out, pointing a finger at the man. "If you will not surrender the Altrium, then we shall defeat you and take it. You definitely are going to use it for suspicious purposes and I cannot allow that to happen!"

Blackbeard recoiled as if struck. "So this is the end of my popular phase, Sammy…"

The Angel perked up.

"...Jump 'em."

Jump them?

What did that-?

A circle of pure darkness appeared next to her, Lily widened her eyes and swung towards it, a flash of light and Caliburn collided with a solid beam of light. The Angel pushed through the circle and moved from one spot to the other.

The arm pushed, she stumbled as it brought its hand up and flashed out a string of light from the palm, it shot right past heard. She heard the clang of metal being struck. Mana pulsed through her limbs, the head of the angel turned on her sharply as she pushed the blade of light back.

The angel floated into the sky with a flap of the wings and hovered there.

Another circle of black appeared with Blackbeard, but where was the other side of-

He reached through, she felt a grip on the back of her neck and she let out a gasp as she was pulled backwards, briefly passing through a tunnel of darkness before she felt the rays of the sun on her face once more, her body flipped twice before she landed in a crouch, her head rose up and narrowed her eyes.

Blackbeard now stood before her, having reached through the portal and pulled her through.

"Here's a little tip for being a magical girl."

The man brought up his right hand, she watched a rather large hook loop over his hand and hand at least a foot and a half over the end of his knuckles.

Blackbeard stepped forwards, a dangerous grin on his lips.

"Sometimes, it's not Sailor moon-"

He charged forwards, she brought Caliburn up and winced as his hook crashed into her sword, legs buckled as he forced her down and cast a shadow over her.

"-sometimes it's Madoka Magica."

She did not understand what he was talking about.

But she could not deny that it sounded ominous.