While Archer had been chasing Serenity through the Einzbern forest, it had seemed like there was nowhere to go – the paths she could safely take growing smaller and smaller. Now, it felt far, far too large.
As she ran, she cast her awareness outward. On my way, Master, she sent. I should arrive in – she ran a quick mental calculation – no more than three minutes.
Good, came the reply instantly. Faster, if possible. El-Melloi and Saber have arrived.
Serenity wasn't so unprofessional as to curse out loud, but her lips pursed in a frown as she accelerated. No doubling-back or trying to stay subtle now – she sprinted in a straight line directly for the castle.
What is the situation? she asked. Plans formed in her head – ambushes, traps, escape routes, all depending on exactly how far El-Melloi and his Servant had intruded.
Saber has penetrated the outer minefield, came the curt reply. About to enter the castle proper.
Keep me updated, said Serenity, and dug deep into her reserves to find yet more speed.
Trees rushed past in a blur, as she raced towards yet another fight against a far more powerful Servant.
The doors to the Einzbern's castle lobby were large and heavy, but when Saber knocked on a door, it stayed knocked. The Einzbern's hall was revealed, stairs at the opposite end leading to a high gallery filled with shadowy alcoves and doorways.
Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald could imagine the scene. Framed in the entrance as the doors slammed against the wall, their two figures would make a perfect tableau – Saber, immaculate as ever, fist raised, the picture of swashbuckling elegance, and behind them, he himself, the robed and brooding magus. Between them, they matched the grand hall perfectly, furnished with the finest statues, rugs and chandeliers that the Einzberns could bear to give up.
Far more, at least, than the ugly device in the corner of the ceiling which swivelled to face them, red light winking on and off. A security camera, he thought it was called. Kayneth's nose wrinkled. He could feel the cold gaze of the Magus Killer in the camera's blank stare, which gave almost as little away.
Saber drew their sword with a flourish. Shall I be your herald, Master?
Despite himself, Kayneth couldn't help but smile. It was just so comforting to have a Servant on his wavelength. He didn't even have to link their minds for Saber to know exactly what he was thinking.
He did so anyway, because clarity was important. Yes, please.
"Emiya Kiritsugu, Master of Assassin!" Saber called, looking directly at the camera. "The ninth head of the El-Melloi, Kayneth Archibald, challenges you in this the Fourth Holy Grail War!" Their voice rang and echoed round the hall… leaving only silence.
The oppressive gloom of the forest should have been banished, here in the light of the castle – but instead, the faint sound of wind blowing through dark branches only highlighted the utter lack of life within.
That was what you got for leaving your castle unattended for sixty years at a time, Kayneth supposed. There really was nothing here. No life, no joy, but most importantly no threat. If the Magus Killer was going to force Kayneth to winkle him out of whatever hole he was hiding in, so be it.
Kayneth made to step forward, but Saber's arm thrust out to bar the way.
"Not yet, Master," they said. "Here too, we must be careful. The explosives we found outside will prove more potent still inside a closed space."
No-one could scoff like a magus, and Kayneth was no exception. "No self-respecting magus would sully their own atelier with such…" He trailed off, eyeing the horrible camera in the corner. "But then, of course, the Magus Killer has no self-respect. I'd forgotten. You are right as usual, Saber." He stepped back, and assumed a neutral position, hands behind his back.
Saber rewarded him with a winning smile. "Do not assume the traps have stopped just because we are now inside Assassin's lair. The opposite, rather."
They strode forward, and here, on the job, it was a stride, not the dance-like steps they usually used. Gone was the coquettish diplomat – here was the confident cavalry officer.
Halfway across the floor, they paused, then crouched, lifting a tripwire gently with the flat of their sword. Carefully, they let it fall. "Yes, attacking here will not be so simple, I think. It has been too long since I acted the spy… take care, Master. This will not be the last, and we have yet to confront the Magus Killer or his Assassin."
Kayneth's confident smile did not waver. "I trust you, Saber. Now, bring us to victory."
Yes, he really couldn't have hoped for anyone better than his Saber. They made up for his shortfalls perfectly – canny and shrewd where he was straightforwardly naïve, honourable and upright where he so often let himself get dragged down by the magus culture he spent so much of his time in. And – he could admit to himself – so very, very pretty. It wasn't an appropriate thing to think, not between a Master and his Servant, but there was no point denying it.
If he hadn't had Sola-Ui, he might have been tempted. But what he and his fiancée shared was special. What had started as an arranged marriage, a mere joining of bloodlines, had turned into so much more. He truly loved the woman he would spend the rest of his life with, and despite her sharp tongue he knew she felt the same. For their part, Saber had kept things purely professional, doing nothing that could be construed as provocative.
He crossed the room, taking Saber's hand to steady himself as he stepped over the tripwire. Robes were elegant and comfortable, but so awkward to move in…
And that was the moment Emiya Kiritsugu chose to strike.
The silence was broken by a hail of gunfire from the shadows of the upper gallery. Perfectly timed, completely unexpected – the Magus Killer knew his work, and knew how magi thought.
Kayneth realised, much too late, his mistake. He'd seen a security camera turn to face them, and assumed someone must be looking through it. Otherwise, why would it be there? He'd never, in a million years, imagine that it was, instead, just a distraction. Magi were no strangers to trickery and deception, but it took a special kind of mind to turn conventional logic on its head like that.
Saber, however, was just as much a spy as a soldier.
That wasn't to say they were defenceless.
Their sword flashed into motion even as they whirled aside, the staccato ring of steel on bullets an echo of the gun's retort. Parrying bullets was well within a Servant's capabilities, and it looked like Saber was taking no chances with Assassin's poison. Kayneth was whisked along for the ride, losing his balance entirely as Saber pulled him out of the line of fire. Despite having to move for two people, Saber never missed a beat, neatly swatting each and every bullet out of the air.
The assault stopped abruptly, and Saber released their Master. Kayneth staggered, and missed his footing as a bullet rolled under his boot. He stumbled backwards – only for Saber to steady him by his shoulder, inches from the tripwire.
"Careful, Master," they said with a wink. "A little dancing practice is in order, I think!" They turned, and addressed the shadowy doorway the bullets had come from. "Master of Assassin, I assume. Now, why is it you and not your Servant that ambushed us?" Blue eyes narrowed in suspicion, then flicked to her Master.
I have a suspicion, Master, came Saber's mental voice. Where their vocalised speech had been airy, even flirty, the telepathic link conveyed nothing but steel-hard professionalism. If I am wrong, you could be in danger. Please, remain vigilant.
I trust you, Kayneth repeated instantly. Do what you must.
With a light hop, Saber leapt up to the top of the stairs, landing as though they'd stepped off nothing more than a step. Her Master stayed below.
Had Assassin been there, leaving a Master unattended would have been madness. The Servant of Murder always went for the weak point, and every Master would always be the Servant's biggest. The Einzbern Assassin was a mystery to all – excepting only Lancer, who had not seen fit to tell anyone – and the extent of their abilities was unknown. It could take as little as a second of inattention to prove fatal.
Unless that opportunity had already come and gone without Assassin taking advantage. Unless you knew that, not half an hour earlier Servant Archer, the greatest huntress of Ancient Greece, had raced off to find and kill them. Then… well, then you might just be willing to take a chance.
There was the sound of running feet.
Saber smiled a bright, bright smile. They started forward, then paused and half-turned. "Master, do be careful while I hunt this rogue. I am sure we have not seen the last of the traps laid for us."
"Of course. You too. Should he summon Assassin to his side…"
"Then it will be up to my gallant Master to save me, naturally!" Saber winked. "Good hunting, Master."
"You too. Go, and finish this!"
Saber nodded, and dashed off.
Kayneth waited until his Servant was out of sight, then removed a small vial from his robes. "Fervor, mei sanguis," he intoned, dripping the mercury out on the floor. It pooled together, and grew to its full size.
Volumen Hydragyrum was energy-efficient as Mystic Codes went, but it was still just taxing enough that it was worth waiting as long as possible before deploying it. Had Sola-Ui not been handling most of the strain of keeping Saber active, using his most powerful Mystic Code could have been… taxing. But then, joining the War as a united pair rather than an individual was, in some ways, their greatest advantage.
"Ire sanctio," he said, and Volumen Hydragyrum spun itself into thin wires, racing along every corridor, until Kayneth stood at the centre of an expanding web. He closed his eyes, and gave his senses over to the Mystic Code, trusting it to protect him in case of a sudden return by Assassin – long enough to recall Saber, in any case.
But part of being a magus was developing enough mental capacity to multitask, and he found his thoughts drawn to his Servant, unable to resist monitoring their progress…
Emiya Kiritsugu was… slippery.
Saber stalked round a corner, and saw a dark figure dash round the end of the corridor. With a sigh, they started after it, noting the devices attached to opposite walls. Their function was a mystery, but then, it wasn't necessary to know exactly how such things operated. Whether it was a physical wire, some invisible beam of light, or a spell, a tripwire was a tripwire, and those statues next to it seemed oddly out of place. Bombs then – and yes, Saber could see the droplets of poison clinging to them where Emiya had splashed it as he ran past.
A skip took Saber over the devices, and well out of any beam running between them. Because they had something of an idea of how the Magus Killer thought now, Saber flipped almost horizontal in mid-air, well below any cutting wires or glass spikes that might wait for anyone who carelessly leapt over such an obvious trap.
Landing lightly, cloak fluttering around them, Saber continued their slow, measured hunt without breaking stride.
The interior of the Einzbern Castle was – as expected – positively lousy with traps, to the point where it wasn't at all clear how the inhabitants actually lived there. There again, perhaps the Magus Killer was just that quick at setting up. Tripwires, mines, remote detonators, pressure-sensitive pads, pitfalls; grenades, firebombs, spike traps, poison needles… every method of delivering death, paired with every method of directing it towards people who weren't supposed to be there.
It was almost sad.
When Saber rounded the next corner, they had only an instant to take in the sight of Emiya and what he'd set up – but then, they wouldn't be much of a dragoon if they couldn't recognise a firearm when it was pointed at them, even if this had rather more barrels than they were used to and was mounted on some kind of tripod. The weapon spun, barrels blurring, but didn't fire, and Saber cocked their head. Was it broken?
With a roar, the weapon blazed to life, a wall of lead speeding down the corridor towards Saber.
Servants were immune to modern weapons, and something like this, formidable as it was, could never harm Saber… usually. However, Saber had not ascended to the Throne of Heroes by underestimating their opponents, and if Emiya Kiritsugu fired his weapon at a Servant it was probably because he expected something to happen. Saber didn't have to know whether it was Assassin's poison, some Einzbern enchantment, or something else entirely to guess that getting out of the way was a wise decision.
And despite how fast this weapon could fire? Saber was still a Servant.
They darted forwards and sideways, ducking under the first of the wild shots and racing alongside the stream of bullets. Emiya tried to walk the fire onto his target, reacting impressively quickly, but Saber used their momentum to kick off the wall and vault over the other side of the stream. In a fraction of a second, Saber had reached the weapon and brought their sword clean through it.
Eight barrels clattered to the floor, and Saber brought their sword round, lunging for her target.
Emiya blurred, speed accelerated far beyond human limits, drawing a knife so quick it almost seemed to appear by magic in his hands. He threw himself into a two-handed block, barely forcing Saber's thrust off-target, then took off running. In moments, he was at the other end of the hall, drawing his personal weapon and snapping a couple of shots off.
Saber parried the bullets absently. Yes, Emiya was quite quick… for a human. Saber could have pressured him more – speed boosts or time acceleration or whatever trick Emiya used, he wasn't winning a close-quarters fight against Chevalier d'Eon – but there was a balance here. If Emiya felt too under threat, he might decide to cut his losses and summon Assassin. Boosted as he was, he might be able to pull it off before Saber could kill him, and there was no telling what kind of tricks they would have to deal with then.
Better to wear him down, and wait for Archer to finish the job.
Time was on Saber's side. Carefully, elegantly, they hunted down their prey. There was no need to rush.
Serenity had never climbed a wall so frantically in her life. She hurled herself through the window at the top, fading out and back in to physical reality as she did. (A good Assassin never broke a window when she could help it.)
Kiritsugu had, as promised, kept her updated. The tactical situation… did not look good.
It was just so hard to deal with a Master-Servant pair that worked so well together. Every trap El-Melloi could have fallen for, he'd instead been warned about by his Servant. And, just when Kiritsugu could have tried to exploit that by turning the Master into a shackle round the Servant's neck, they'd separated, leaving Kiritsugu to try and stay ahead of Saber on his own.
And he'd tried, he really had – but against a Servant who could dodge minigun fire in an enclosed corridor, there really wasn't much he could do. Only his Time Alter spell had let him escape as long as he had.
In the vehicle bay, came Kiritsugu's voice. Exit is blocked. Saber en route, seconds away.
I'm in the castle, Serenity sent. Save your Command Spells, I'm almost there. Keep them talking, distract them, anything!
She sped up, bare feet pounding on carpet. She leapt out another window, catching the lip just enough to swing her sideways before scuttling down the wall, faster than most humans could sprint.
Up ahead, she saw the tiny window that marked the basement that had been turned into the vehicle bay. She raced for it – then, despite how her heart pounded in her chest, forced herself to slow down. Slower, slower, knowing that at any second her Master could be caught, she crept towards the window, until she was nothing more than a shadow once more. Slow was smooth, and smooth was fast… or more like, smooth was not being detected by one of history's finest swordfighters and killed like a dog.
When, what seemed like hours later, she reached the window, she risked a look.
Kiritsugu… had been cornered.
There were two entrances to the vehicle bay. One came from the castle – and in this doorway stood Saber. Their sword was drawn, but held relaxed at their side. Despite the chase they seemed fresh, even cheerful.
Kiritsugu, by contrast, looked as though he'd sprinted a mile – pale, sweating, breath coming in ragged gasps. He stood in the centre of the room, between the rows of Einzbern vehicles that lined the bare stone walls. Serenity knew that there was a veritable arsenal held in those vehicles, but in his hand Kiritsugu held just one thing.
A gas grenade.
Kiritsugu had no respirator, and it wouldn't have mattered if he did, because this gas grenade was filled with Delusional Poison Body in aerosol form. Inhalation was fatal – but so was simple skin contact, and at least if you breathed in Serenity's tainted gift it would be fairly swift.
As ways to stall went, a dead-man's switch might not have been the wisest, but Kiritsugu could be dramatic when it came to this sort of thing.
He could have thrown it and ran… but not far. The other entrance to the vehicle bay was the road access. Usually, it was covered by a simple metal grille.
It was not usually covered by a shimmering silver wall, stretching the entire way across the gap from corner to corner.
The El-Melloi Mystic Code. How strange, that such a versatile piece of magic had been most dangerous to Serenity and her Master as a simple roadblock.
The silver wall contorted in the middle, forming an archway, through which El-Melloi himself stepped. Kiritsugu's off hand snapped up, aiming a pistol, but he didn't fire – the Mystic Code was far too fast for it to achieve anything, and even if he did wound El-Melloi, Saber would simply kill him before he could fire a second shot.
"You may as well put down whatever foolish weapon you are holding," El-Melloi said. "Both of us know you are far too cowardly to truly risk your own life in battle. If it were otherwise, why flee from me?"
"You think I am more cowardly than I am spiteful?" Kiritsugu raised his hand. "You'd stake your life on it?"
"Yes," said El-Melloi simply. "You are a contractor, a freelancer, a mercenary. The Einzbern have hired you to fight their War for them, and you naturally wish to make use of your payment for as long as possible. Your type are all the same. You'll seek any way out you can get."
Kiritsugu said nothing.
Serenity dematerialised, and drifted through the window. Slipping down, she landed silently on the bare stone, crouching to keep a car between herself and Saber. No-one in the room reacted, and she began to move, ever so carefully, towards El-Melloi.
"Make no mistake, though, I will kill you," El-Melloi continued. "You've threatened what I care about most in this world, and I'll have you pay for that. My fiancée, put in danger in a War I took her into? There's no way I can ever forgive you, though I wouldn't expect you to understand." Around him, the silver wall developed spikes, all aimed at Kiritsugu. At the other end of the room, Saber stepped forwards.
Damn it. If Kiritsugu wasn't here, this would be as simple as releasing Delusional Poison Body into the air. In such an enclosed space, neither Saber nor their Master would be able to avoid it. But the fact was, Kiritsugu couldn't be allowed to die here – his dream needed him to make a wish on the Grail.
Attacking El-Melloi would be the natural choice, as it was for all Assassins. One hit would be fatal… except that while he was protected by that Mystic Code, Serenity might not be able to land that hit – not before Saber killed Kiritsugu in turn.
That made the choice obvious.
A flurry of knives ripped through the air – at Saber. Their eyes widened, caught off guard, but they still managed to parry every single one with no apparent effort.
… it was very annoying, how everyone seemed to be able to so easily brush aside Serenity's attacks. First Archer, now Saber – though Serenity really shouldn't have expected anything different.
She hadn't expected anything different, in fact – and even as the last knife clattered to the floor Serenity was falling on Saber, knives ripping. Saber flowed out of the way, and lashed out with a cut that only failed to lay open Serenity's throat because she ducked under it. Serenity tried to catch the extended arm with a light cut across the wrist, but Saber did something complicated that twirled their rapier to parry the knife before going on the assault again.
Serenity dodged, and weaved, and countered where she could, and really, really hoped Kiritsugu had a plan to deal with El-Melloi. As fast as she was, as good as she was, Assassins just weren't meant to go up against Sabers.
Steel flashed towards her face again, and she brought her wrist up to knock it aside even as she slipped aside. The pain of her arm being cut was not new, and it was only a surface wound – and if it didn't affect her fighting ability all it did was give her a new weapon. She swung her arm, scattering droplets everywhere, and on some instinct Saber brought their cloak around to block the spray… and their view. Serenity lunged…
"Stop!"
Everyone did.
Kiritsugu had his Thompson Contender out, prepared, and aimed at El-Melloi, and the gas grenade was disarmed and hung at his belt – but he had not been the one to shout.
Beside El-Melloi, a second figure had appeared, arms and feet trapped by the silver wall but quite recognisable even if her eyes were closed. El-Melloi wasn't threatening her directly – but the fact that he controlled the Mystic Code holding her captive meant everyone had stopped when he commanded them to.
"Iri!" Kiritsugu gasped, before visibly stopping himself and forcing his expression into a neutral mask again.
"Oh, you know this homunculus?" El-Melloi sneered. "I had hoped that was the case. I found this one here in this garage, collapsed on the floor. Your handler, I assume? The Einzberns wouldn't leave you to operate with no way of checking their work."
"More than that," called Saber, watching Kiritsugu carefully… though not so carefully as to take her eyes off Serenity. "He truly cares for her."
Serenity's heart sank. Why did Saber have to be so insightful? It would have been much easier if they were some dumb brute.
El-Melloi's eyes widened in genuine surprise – before narrowing again in vindictive glee. "Is that so? Truly?" He laughed, a nasty, vindictive sound. "I never knew the Magus Killer's services were so cheap. Well, this is perfect. You threaten my fiancée? I will in turn hold your… whatever this is hostage against you."
Kiritsugu thumbed the catch on his Thompson. "Release her."
"Oh, I will. Unlike you, I do have some honour." El-Melloi sniffed. "Do you know why I participated in this War, Magus Killer? I already have everything I could ask for – wealth, fame, talent, a beautiful and loving fiancée. Nor am I seriously expecting this to be the path to the Root… it would be almost disappointing if it were, although a wish is certainly a nice prize. Perhaps I shall offer it to Sola-Ui as a wedding present." For a moment, his smile turned wistful, almost goofy. Then it slipped off his face.
"No, what I came here for was experience. I am, without exaggeration, a prodigy. Already I have reached Pride rank in the Association, not that I expect that means anything to you. Pride… I wondered about that. What did I take Pride in? My magecraft was powerful, my research promising, or at least it felt that way, but without measuring myself against others, how could I know?
"There were the usual rivalries, of course, and I suppose I accounted myself well, but I realised that what I craved was the chance to use my skills in battle – to fight with everything I had, pulling out Mystic Code after Mystic Code, and to stand victorious on a true battlefield. Yes… that was what I wanted."
Serenity was glad her expression of disgust was hidden behind a mask. To treat war as a game, as a jolly experience… such things could only be said by those who had never experienced it. In those times, long ago, when she had tried to rationalise what she did, she'd told herself that as abhorrent as her style of killing was, at least it prevented all-out war. Slay a general in his bed, and his army would disappear, and the people would be spared the horror of what could have followed.
When she'd discovered that, all too often, what she did instead simply made wars less controlled, releasing bandits and mercenaries to pillage the land… well, that went some way towards her eventual breakdown.
At least she had never enjoyed herself.
"Therefore, Magus Killer," El-Melloi was saying, "meet me in honest battle! At a time and place that the Moderator will choose, come and face me. No tricks, no deceit – though as I am a generous man, I will permit you use of your modern crutches." He smirked. "It is no use if I crush you too easily, after all."
Irisviel began to sink back into the silver wall. "It should go without saying, but if I should get even an inkling that Assassin is moving, I will kill your woman," El-Melloi said. The Mystic Code began to flow around him, hiding him from view. "The Moderator will be in touch. Prepare well, Magus Killer."
And with that, he was gone.
Saber sheathed their sword and bowed. "I look forward to seeing you at the duel," they said. "As I'm sure you have realised, while my Master is too straightforward to really understand how an Assassin thinks…" they raised their head, eyes hard, "I am quite familiar with any tricks you may wish to play. Rest assured, I am not above killing a defenceless woman."
Neither Serenity nor Kiritsugu said anything.
"Good!" said Saber. "Then, with that out of the way, it is good to finally meet, you, Assassin. I am impressed you escaped Archer!"
Serenity considered saying nothing, but the fact would get out eventually anyway. "Dead," she said.
Saber's expression flickered. "Ah… that is a shame. We could have worked well together. Well, it wasn't meant to be, I suppose. You must be formidable indeed, Lady Assassin. With that, au revoir!" They dissolved into a soft shower of petal-like white motes.
When the last of them had disappeared, Kiritsugu sagged to the floor.
Serenity wanted to join him. A Master-Servant pair had survived an encounter with them – next time, they would be even more prepared for their tactics, even more prepared for their tools, even more prepared for their tricks. Saber was already too skilled and too canny for Serenity to defeat in open battle. Kiritsugu had been challenged, with his wife's life on the line, to a fair fight against a vastly superior magus.
And in the meantime, one of the most talented magi in the city had unfettered access to the Holy Grail.
