Fate: Souls and Singularities

by Mundatorem

Singularities. Points in Human History which have become corrupted with the presence of a Holy Grail with the end result being the incineration of Humanity. However, it is not the Grails alone which are divergent. The Incineration comes about as one world in particular comes to an end. The two become linked as figures from a different Throne reach across the barriers between worlds

272. Garden of Order: Ending

Garden of Order: Ending

Stepping backwards, the blood splashed against the floor and she thrust her sword down, the tip pierced through concrete before stopping, her weight shifted onto the blade and she panted heavily through her helmet, though by this point it was half exposed.

Her left hand climbed to her chest, holding her curled fingers over the slash as crimson poured out at an alarming rate, having not stopped since she suffered the blow.

Raising her head, she glared through blurred vision at the scarlet shapes which flanked around her, poised to strike the moment she dropped her guard. Something that was going to happen sooner, rather than later. She knew it would happen from the moment she came here of her own volition without trying to find the others.

But perhaps it was for the best.

She had spurned them when they came to her.

Truly, a fool in life and in death.

It was irritable, her left hand moved from her breastplate and caught the top of her helmet, yanking it upwards and then throwing it aside, hearing the distant clatter of it rolling across the roof, she pushed upwards and gripped her sword tight, a single tug wrenched it free.

Wiping her forearm over her face, she cleaned off the blood and the sweat dripping down her brow, a shake of the neck and greater focus returned to her eyes, letting her pick out the many details of the figures that crowded around her now. The dark spirits and the wraiths, all of whom were at the forefront.

Behind them all loomed the one responsible for this.

The one who had been without words since she had burst to the rooftop and started fighting, she was unsure how long it had been.

Verndari spat to the ground, blood painting the spot, and willed her shield into existence and hoisted it in her offhand. Assuming her stance once more and narrowing her eyes. Until she was well and truly dead, she would fight until she could no longer. That was the only way she could redeem herself.

If she could not serve loyally and without problems, if she could not rid herself of these feelings, then she could at least ensure those who came after her had an easier time of it all.

Her tongue darted out, wetting her lips and then retreating, her gauntlets creaked as she tightened her hold further and shifted her heels. Glancing between the figures and waiting for the first one of them to make a move. She could see it in their posture, their tensed forms and the way their arms trembled.

It was no fear that stayed them.

It was anticipation.

Like so many predators crowding around and all holding the same aspiration to be the one that would deal the killing blow, and yet it was always cornered prey that fought the hardest and she was still strong enough to swing her sword. Sturdy enough to challenge a few more blows and skilled enough that it would take more than one to put her down.

"Come then…" She breathed out, lips curling into a scowl. "...I do not have all day."

They charged as soon as the words left her throat.

Her shield swung to the forefront, a weight flew against it and a thud echoed out as a flash of light crashed into her. The twitch of darkened slashes breaking over her mirror and she held her ground, pushing forwards and knocking the attack aside, but soon enough catching a glimpse of crimson flying upwards from the left.

Verndari ducked her head, the scythe passed over the top of her scalp, she launched her body and slammed into the attacker and positioned herself to thrust into them, but she stopped at the warnings in the back of her mind. Whirling around instead and holding her sword up, her arm rattled as a greatsword fell down, inching close to her temple as her eyes nearly crossed as the blade loomed in on her.

A grunt escaped, she pushed the blade aside and down, thrusting the pommel of her sword and missing the spirit by mere inches as they leaned their head back. She scowled at the miss and internally cursed her slowing speed, stepping backwards to put both of them in front of her.

That was when the third jumped into the fray and with them came another dozen slashes from the wraiths that circled them, the magical attacks rolled over her armour and wrent chips from polished silver, she grunted and staggered once more, a shape slammed to her side and her knee jerked upwards into it, knocking the undead to the ground and holding her shield up in preparation.

She did not see the blow, but she felt it. A rattle threw her arm as the greatsword fell upon her like a hammer, holding firm and stepping forwards to push it backwards. Another slash from the right and she caught it with the sword.

Pain lanced over her shoulder as a tearing sound filled the air, an awful grating of steel as something slashed over her back, or rather slashed into her back. It was a ripping noise and then a tightness in her muscles, a terrible jerking of something pulling away.

Verndari twisted about, pulling with all her might and spinning on her heel, glancing over her shoulder as she did so.

As expected, the scythe wielder had impaled her and gotten stuck in the process, with her swift turn she threw them into a stagger and pulled the scythe free of her in the process. Red hot pain lanced across her, but she ignored it all and continued her offensive between the three of them.

Now growing in number as more ghouls and wraiths joined the fray.

The spirits launched at her again.

Verndari dove forwards, a sword passed over her head as she charged into the next one, shield raised and battering them down, she pressed forwards and made certain to stomp down onto their face as she did, whipping around and swinging out with her sword, the strike caught the flat of a greatsword and was rebuffed rather handily.

"Hr!"

A weight slammed into her back and clambered over her shoulders, a foul stench filled the air as vile greying skin filled her vision, a hand clawed at her face and she swung herself about to free herself of the undead, but she had little time. Dismissing her shield, she reached up and gripped the arm, yanking forwards and hurling it towards the spirit.

Though it sidestepped the flying corpse, it was ample enough distraction for her to throw herself and clear the gap between the two of them.

Lighting pooled across the barbed blade, dragged the tip along the ground and then swung it upwards, unleashing a sphere from the tip and hurling it towards the spirit. Braced against her attack, it growled as the orb slammed into it and spread across the body, coiling like a serpent and sending it into a brief spasm.

Her eyes widened, she stepped back as a second greatsword passed above her head and into the ground, she glanced left and saw the other had recovered and come about to her once again. She scowled and brought her sword to bear.

Swinging upwards into the guard and throwing a punch as well, it blocked the first and dodged the latter.

A shoulder was driven into her chest and staggered her backwards, the spirit chased down with a halfhand to the sword, she drew back her arm and thrust towards them. Hilt raised, it caught her thrust and parried it of course, then swung the sword about, she winced as it struck her upper thigh, not breaking armour but still stumbling her.

Shield forming once more, she swung it down and into the blade itself, clattering it to the ground between them, she stepped forwards and pushed, pressing against the spirit as it clawed and fought to keep itself upright.

She pulled, heaving the body up and over the top of herself before discarding them away and into the distance. Stepping off the ground, she skipped several steps and fell upon the next attacker, ploughing through half a dozen undead as she did so, their bodies splattering over the front of her armour as she charged.

It was a mad dash if nothing else and, against all odds, she made it before they had raised their guard.

Yet she could see they were prepared for her, even if their guard was not quite raised.

And yet, she was not out of moves.

Something she would have thought utterly unthinkable had she not seen it done time and time again by her direct peer. A gamble at best, but at this point there would be no turning back given the number of her enemies.

Her foot struck down hard enough to shatter concrete, she pivoted her body and twisted her shield arm about so that it was held with the mirror pointed to the sky. Her rotating frame whistled as she locked down and then, in the next moment, she loosened her hold on the grip of her shield and hurled it forth with all the strength she could muster.

Verndari launched herself forwards in the next moment, giving chase although still slower than the shield.

It reached her target first, the spirit ducked down and swung upwards, parrying the shield away from its body and high into the sky but the movement that followed was sharp and jagged. A displacement of their weight which heavily favoured one side and she saw it all the same, the way they were leaning on their right.

With sword in both hands, she roared and swung in on the left, seeing the greatsword twist about and fall down towards her own head.

She leaned an inch to the side, the sword fell down and she grunted as it cleaved off her right ear and slammed down into her shoulder. Armour wrent and steel tore into her muscle, and yet she kept the swing moving, hammering it right into the ribs of the spirit and pushing forth, lighting pulsed all across her body and through the barbs lining the blade.

For a brief moment, there was a crackle like the distant pop of a fire.

Then light exploded forth from between them, the armour of the spirit shattered as she pushed the sword through and dragged it across, cleaving open their torso and splattering motes of light into the air around them, with her cry still going, she pulled her arm back and thrust forwards, piercing through their head in a single motion.

Her remaining ear was drowned with the heavy clang of footsteps rushing towards her from behind.

Left hand shooting forwards, she caught the upper half of the body before it could vanish and turned herself about, pulling her sword free and throwing the half of a corpse towards the one flanking her. It splattered and vanished against the front of the spirit, scythe closing in on her neck.

Her sword raised and she stepped into the guard, the hooked edge curled around her body as she moved just in range but felt it yank her forwards, her raised arm barely kept the edge from slicing into her nape, she stepped forwards and followed through, swinging her forehead down like a hammer.

Vision whited out as she smashed their temples together, unsure of which of the two of them were worse off, but she cared little in that moment, instead she gambled it once again. Removing her hand from her nape and dropping her fingers onto the polearm, she dragged it forwards and upwards, feeling it carve a line over her crown.

In the same moment, she reversed her sword and drove the pommel up and into the side of the spirit, it folded with the attack, she dropped the scythe between them and twisted in, first catching them with her elbow and then releasing the polearm to deliver another backhand across their head. The blow sent them reeling as she stumbled with her own swing.

A fist countered, crashing into her cheek and throwing her backwards.

She swept her arm upwards, knocking the next punch aside and retaliated with a kick to their knee, jerking them downwards and driving the same leg upwards into their chin.

Her skull bounced, a dull crack echoed out through her sole ear as ringing flooded her senses, her vision blurred as she was launched off her feet and across the ground, sword slipping from her hand and striking something, bouncing far out of sight and her shield clattering away from her.

Verndari struck face first, her strength flooded her, hands pressing down and throwing herself back to her feet, turning about and swinging at the blur racing towards her. The punch struck with force enough to turn the head of the first corpse to past, it dropped as she grabbed the next by the shoulder and threw it overhead and behind her.

But they came without end, smelling weakness - or presumed at the very least - and charging in ferociously. Without even the needed break to bring out her sword, she was reduced to just swinging her fists back and forth, hammering away at the bodies throwing themselves at her from all angles.

Her eyes danced left and right, she knew none of these had struck her.

Something else had-

Bodies were thrown over her head from the left, she whirled around and held her arms up in a guard.

A scream tore its way through her throat as a mass of steel dropped down onto her arms, her eyes focused on the edge of the blade which was pressed right above her face, twisting her head at the last second, her vision in her right turned crimson as the steel bit down into her brow and pushed further.

She gazed beyond the sword to the wielder and clamped her jaw shut to end the scream.

Undead after undead launched themselves upon her, hands clamoured all over her arms and face, mangled fingers tore at whatever openings they could find, teeth bore down onto exposed skin, she could feel them tear away at the hair on her scalp.

The sword dropped further, she could no longer see the spirit under the mass of bodies swarming her, the ghoulish faces leering down.

It stank, it was hot and filthy.

Her face was slick with sweat, blood and the breath of these foul creatures.

She was just tired, really.

Lighting pooled around her, arcs of white shot from her body and spread across the masses, throwing them from her two or three at a time and channelling up the length of the sword buried in her forearms. She pushed herself to her feet and drew her right arm across, tearing it away and forcing the full weight of the sword solely onto her left.

The greatsword was forced further into her gauntlet, she hissed through her nose and drew her arm back into a fist.

Hands pulled at her coiling arm and she ignored them all, tearing her first free of the barrier and hurling it towards the head of the spirit-

Red stopped it in its tracks.

Her head whipped to the side and her eyes widened.

A second spirit stood with arm outstretched, fingers curled around her fist and stopping it from reaching her target.

It thrust its sword for her gut, she twisted her arm, dropping it like a pendulum and diverting the thrust just an inch. The greatsword glided over her armour with a terrible shriek, sparks flying as she kicked off the ground and pushed herself bodily into the spirit before her, the swing in momentum meant the sword was pressed between the two of them.

She parried the greatsword in her forearm to the side, sweeping her left hand up and around the shoulders of the spirit before her and yanking them forwards into an embrace, or as much as one could manage.

The sword between them pressed into their ribs both, Verndari felt hot blood rush up her throat and fill her mouth.

With a sharp jerk the sword was yanked out from between then, slashing open her armour which did not protect her this time, blood splattered down between them and with her hand still around the shoulder of the spirit in front of her, she curled her fingers and pushed her weight into them, shoving them into their partner and pushing herself away.

It was a stumbled retreat at best.

She staggered back and let her arms hang down limply in front of her, blearily looking towards the pair as they freed themselves and turned back on her, greatswords poised in their hands.

Her fingers twitched.

The barbed sword came into being in her right hand and she curled her fingers in a loose hold around it, not through choice but through sheer will. It was as tight as she could manage and she knew that wielding her shield would be nearly impossible for her to do with her left in such a sordid state.

It was a mixture of ugly red flesh and bent steel pressing into the wound now, she could barely move her fingers.

But she could still swing her arms, even if they would serve as little more than clubs.

She pushed herself further up straight, no longer hunched over, but every shift in the angle of her spine brought a terrible cracking and creaking. Disjointed metal and folded steel pressed against her back and into her skin, she grimaced and forced down the lances of pain from showing on her face.

The spirits in front of her watched in silence, perhaps taking on some strange custom and waiting for her to be ready to fight.

Not that Verndari knew and not that she particularly cared at this moment either.

"You fight as though you have no allies. As if you were the lone member of Chaldea to challenge me."

It was a sudden interjection that drew her eyes, twisting her head past the spirits and towards the shadow which had remained unmoved. Only now did the man bathed in darkness speak, red eyes glinting under the moonlight.

"Were you so motivated by your anger to strike me down that you would cast aside your allies? Did the pull of the darkness in your own heart serve as the only fuel you needed for this doomed venture of yours?"

"As if you would understand." Verndari ground out a response. "I am a knight. You are an enemy of my lord…That is all there is to it."

The shadow was silent, then slowly nodded its head. "I see. Then perhaps I underestimated your resolve, knight."

A brief pause, then a laugh cut through the air, the shadow threw back his head and released a long and bellowing cackle that was almost mocking if it were not so genuine. "Kuhahahahaha! It seems as though even in your rage, you cling to your chivalry! Or perhaps it is your chivalry and your loyalty that brings you such strength in fury? A most righteous anger indeed! To witness such a display has been most splendid, O' Broken knight!"

She scowled. "...It was not for your entertainment."

"I am amused but not entertained." The correction came swiftly. "I see you surrender if only in part to your anger from shame and little else, such a thing is foolish. Anger is not shameful, it is human. To rage, to fight, to rebel…It is all human."

"...Is there a point to this?"

"Hmph, perhaps there is not." The shadow mused with a tilt of the head. "I may only be wasting my breath and speaking in hollow tones, I await Chaldea and thought to see the quality of their allies firsthand…Your anger is understandable but you think of it as dirty. Even when given the chance to truly unleash your rage without concern, you refuse to embrace it naturally."

Verndari dulled her eyes and huffed. "I told you…I am a knight."

"Knights are but men in armour clothed in ideals, and such things are no more than promises yet to be broken. Come now, speak with some honesty, broken knight."

With a flurry of movement, he waved an arm and pointed a finger towards her, the eyes burned brighter and his voice rose louder.

"Do you reject your own anger and rights to it because you think it a crime to be born as you were? Are you so ashamed of your achievements that even drawing breath in this body of yours is enough to bring about "

Verndari snarled. "You were honest before, you waste words and offer naught but hollow air instead. If you are to kill me then be done with it already, I have lost interest in enduring whatever prattle you think serves for good conversation."

The shadow lowered his arm slowly until it was by his side.

"...Your anger is well worn, but poorly aimed. Inwards instead of outwards." The shadow remarked with a shake of the head, his voice turned oddly sombre. "It is not you who was wronged, it was those who wronged you…but the blame falls forever on your shoulders. Yet I do not believe you will heed my words."

He squared his shoulders.

His hands started to steam, wisps of smoke rising from them which were not related to the darkness currently clothed around him, she could tell as much from the flicker of deep blue that swirled around his knuckles.

Verndari tensed, the spirits before her did also.

As did the dozen or so undead which were still flanking around her.

"In which case, let us test the measure of that anger of yours. Wield it openly or bury it in the depths of your soul. My flames shall find it all the-"

An explosion of sky blue tore through the words and through the line of undead, Verndari staggered as the shockwave reached her and everything shifted from eerie silence into a surge of noise and chaos. Blurs launched themselves past her eyes, shadows and light flashed across the battlefield and she felt her legs give way underneath her.

She dropped down with a thud and struck hard on her knees, gasping and planting her sword down, leaning heavily upon the blade to stop herself from falling. Her eyes rose and gazed across to the shape throwing itself towards her.

With greatsword held aloft, the spirit launched themselves towards her and bore down upon her with such single minded focus.

They were to claim her head, if nothing else.

Her grip on her sword tightened, but it would be for naught.

Whatever had fuelled her legs during her previous conversation was run dry, she remained on her knees with her left arm as little more than a worthless lump of numb flesh dangling from her torso, even her right arm responded to her commands only with sharp jolts of pain along her muscles.

She pulled all the same-

The spirit was thrown down by another flash of light and heat, her eyes widened as a smaller shape all but bowled them down with a thunderclap. She could scarcely hear a single sound after that, instead staring through ringing ears as the smaller finger ducked under a clumsy counter swing and thrust their weapon forwards.

It pierced through the leg and exploded a moment later, tearing the limb away.

A flash of steel, the attacker whipped out a second weapon in the blink of an eye and severed the hand away holding the sword, it flew through the air before the sword dropped back down, gliding across the neck of the spirit and removing the head, the body steamed away into dust before vanishing.

The smaller sword was swiftly sheathed away on the hip of the newcomer as they hefted up the glowing jousting lance, in a moment Verndari was staring up in silence at the face which had all but consumed her field of vision. Aware that they were speaking words but not quite understanding what was happening.

"W-why are…?" She croaked back, truly confused as to when-

A second shape appeared over the shoulder of the first, her eyes switched to them as the blonde approached with no signs of stopping.

With barely enough time to open her mouth, she released only a strained gasp as the newcomer ducked down and tackled her by the waist, only to heft her up and sling her over their shoulder before moving, she could feel no strength to protest the rough movement and it became nothing more than a blur.

It was a journey lasting seconds and years alike, then she was dropped back to the ground and propped up against something, a third person joined and pressed their hand against her forehead, a flash of light soon followed and there was some relief coursing through her body, the numbness gave way to pain and then to nothing as she felt her more apparent injuries heal up.

Ritsuka crowded her person, flanked by Gareth.

Not that Verndari could understand how this was happening.

"Ash! Form a circle and keep Avenger from-"

"Kuahahaha! You finally made it, my kindred! I feared you would arrive too slow!"

Verndari heard no response to the taunt, not with words.

She instead winced and jerked her head back, snapping her eyes briefly shut from the sudden blast of heat and brightness in her face before opening her eyes once more, looking past Ritsuka and Gareth both and to what seemed to be a collision of many flames.

Black, blue and brilliant orange.

Comets of fire dancing across the rooftop and some climbing into the air, it was difficult to make sense of where one began and the other ended, a tangled mess of battle.

"Tch!"

Ritsuka clicked his tongue and rose to his feet, standing with his back to her and raising his hand.

"Mash! We're getting flanked! Mordred, keep with her and cut them down, focus on the Forlorn!"

She was not so dazed as to fail to hear the savage and almost gleeful bark of laughter.

"Now we're talking!"

Crimson burst across the horizon as she turned and looked across to the one person who remained with her.

Gareth looked back with a face that was bereft of emotion.

Somehow that was worse.

Verndari looked down to her lap and held her gaze against her knees.

"...You held out pretty well, you know?"

A hand dropped to her shoulder and patted twice.

"Glad we got here in time though. Master called me down because, well…he said he needed my help for freeing you and-"

Verndari just closed her eyes and fell back against whatever she was leaning on-

She blinked and cracked her eyes open when something rested atop her head.

Looking up at the blinded face of a pale skinned woman with white long white hair, though Verndari's eyes were drawn mostly towards the growths rising from her forehead, the sort that looked almost like horns.

Jerking forwards and off what she was now realising was some soft comfort, she looked back and frowned deeply.

"I must-"

"Stay right there is what you must do." Ritsuka snapped from in front of her, making another gesture and ordering through the mental link, he took a step back and looked down over his shoulder, something in his eyes that was rather difficult to process.

He exhaled sharply and turned back around.

"Next time, at least wait for us?"

Next time, he said.

Next time.

…She wasn't sure if there would be a next time.

---

He ducked left, a streak of blue flames launched over his shoulder and he retaliated with his own.

Black fire coated his hand as he thrust back towards Avenger, launching an orb across the rooftop.

Avenger laughed once more and took off to the sky like a shooting star, Ash whipped his head upwards and leaped backwards as the ground was glazed over with falling spears of flame, each one scorching black the asphalt and throwing up chunks of debris from the shots that landed.

His feet touched the ground, he raised the sword in his grasp and dragged his hand across the blade, coating the length of the titanite with dark flames and sweeping it across, rushing to chase down the comet and swinging it to block whatever attack came close enough towards him.

Fire sung as it flew above his head, Lancer throwing out his own orbs of flame which chased down the laughing Avenger through the skies above their head.

Sliding to a halt, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

The air in the path of Avenger fell inwards, surging at it coalesced into a ball before expanding outwards in a sudden blast.

Avenger fell to the ground, but not from the impact.

Ash tensed himself and raised his sword as within the same span of time it would take to blink, the cackling shadow was striking towards him. Both hands clawed and wreathed in those cursed flames of his. A hooked grip found its way onto the skin of his blade and struck it like a hammer.

It was not that Avenger was stronger than he.

But there was something that was amiss here, some force that was powering him beyond whatever shard of the Grail he had found.

Ash met him blow for blow, then jerked backwards as a clawed swipe glanced across his ribs, he flung himself away on instinct and looked down to where the blow had landed, made only possible when Lancer charged down Avenger and vanished into a series of burning thrusts, each one coming faster and stronger than the last.

He saw the finger marks dragged across his armour, the burning indentations that still felt hot to the touch even after their maker had scored nothing more than a glancing blow.

Yet that was not it.

That could not be it alone.

Those flames were…

His head snapped up as Avenger twisted about the swift movements of Lancer in a fighting retreat.

Those flames were dangerous.

He did not know how, he did not know why, but he knew that being struck by those flames was dangerous for him, far beyond what would normally be expected.

Ash brought his eyes back to the fight, lunging forwards and directly into the duel between Lancer and Avenger.

Mixed flames washed over him as he brought his sword down, Avenger launched himself up with a burst of fire, the sword dropped into concrete alone and splintered it, quickly twisting his grip into a reverse and pulling. He hurled slabs of debris from the rooftop towards the retreating Servant, flames coating to them as the burning projectiles fell upon Avenger.

Except they missed.

Ash narrowed his eyes as Avenger exploded with speed, blitzing past the shower and sliding to a halt at the far end of the rooftop, red eyes glaring back at both him and Lancer, he straightened himself back out and narrowed his own gaze upon the Servant and assumed a stance.

Briefly, he glanced towards Lancer at his right and caught the gaze of the Servant.

There was a mere moment of understanding that passed silently between them, then Ash broke into a sprint and started flanking in from the left, Lancer charged right for the opposite movement, the pincer formation closing in on the stationary Avenger, who looked between the two of them.

Then threw back his head and released his loudest laugh yet.

Ash gripped his sword with both hands, fires exploding hotter and brighter across the sword as he drew back his arm and dropped the tip down to the ground, trailing a line of molten orange where he sprinted.

It was a few steps at best.

Then, all while laughing, Avenger kicked up into the air and flipped over, both hands coated in those strange bluish flames and then swung them down, hammering his fists into the floor.

An explosion of heat and darkness jumped upwards, Ash could not slow his advance as the wave of flame rose high above him and dropped down. Instead he brought his sword up and swung directly into the tsunami of fire. His sword pierced through it and kept moving, cleaving a clear line of sight through to the other end-

Avengers' grinning face was suddenly in his line of sight, fist cocked back.

The fist slammed into his head, right above his left eyebrow and sent a wince across him as the flames burnt at the side of his temple, another blow came in from the right. A deft raise of the elbow caught the knuckles against his armour, Avenger jumped up and kicked him square in the chest and vaulted into the air as though he were a springboard.

But Ash sensed something else in that moment, right above the Avenger.

Clearly they sensed it too, though Ash was more familiar.

The activation of Ritsuka's mystic code, and the specific one.

Shiki manifested in the air right above Avenger with her knife poised to drop down, she fell like a comet and dropped onto the Servant, thrusting. Ash could not see through the brief tangle of limbs, only hearing the snarl of Avenger before the pair of them became shrouded in fire.

A short skirmish, one that ended when Shiki was launched into the ground, landing on her shoulder and swiftly rolling to her feet.

He did not wait to see the state Avenger was in, charging forwards and thrusting for the cloud of smoke and flame.

A gasp answered him as his sword vanished halfway into the fire, only to feel a jerk as the weapon was thrown off course, he looked beyond and saw the vague shape of Avenger knocking his sword to the side, then countering with another punch to the head. Ash ducked left, the fist just glanced past his cheek.

Then he countered with a punch of his own, drawing his arm back as far as he could and throwing it forwards, twisting his shoulder with the blow.

He struck Avenger square in the face.

Time seemed to settle for a single breath.

Then a thunderclap rang loud as the flames were snuffed by a shockwave, the concrete was upturned and Avenger was flung like a missile across the length of the roof, striking down and bouncing twice before thrusting his hand down into the concrete and catching himself before he could be launched over the edge of building.

Panting hard, Avenger raised his head and spat something out of his mouth to the ground.

"It seems that Hell shall always strike sinners greatest." There was a smirk in the comment, even if not upon Avengers face. "Just as I would expect from one who carries so much hatred. Yet what else is there? A blow with no feeling? No rage?"

Avenger shot to his feet and scowled. "Will you collect their fury and keep it contained? Will you not release your feelings of-"

He cut himself short and launched himself away, perhaps the only thing that saved his life.

Lancer plunged down where he had been standing, driving a burning hot spear into the ground before twisting it.

Avenger gasped and dropped back to the ground, Ash could see clearly why.

The surroundings of Lancer transformed, spears akin to the one held in his hand sprouted from a burning ground, rising head and shoulders above their owner. Lancer deftly tore the spear and drew his arm back before hurling it forwards, the spear sailed and struck true as Avenger was carried away by the momentum.

Then slid to a halt as the spear vanished from its place, buried in his forearm.

Lancer was already upon him.

Ash jumped forwards, only to stop and duck underneath a blow meant for his head, standing back up and turning to the side.

Another of the Forlorn.

He frowned as he stepped back again and avoided another blow.

A blur of silver slammed into it, ragdolling the body away from him.

The silver, coated in scarlet, slowed to a halt with a snarl and a flick of a long blade. Mordred mounted the sword on her shoulder, horned helm glaring to the spot of the Forlorn before turning towards him and snorting once.

She said nothing as she charged off after the Forlorn, Ash dismissed the brief interaction and moved off to chase down Avenger.

But he stopped for a half second and looked down at his own chest.

Something felt like it rumbled under his skin.

Something dark and twisted.

He shuddered for a moment as he felt souls rouse ever so slightly, he clenched his teeth and forced them back into their slumber.

He did not call them.

But Avenger…he was…he was making them stir, making them anxious.

…Avenger had to die before it got worse.

---

Splitting his attention between so many different battles was starting to wear down on him.

It was not that he had never done it before, but charging on without really resting properly was coming back to bite him and Ritsuka knew it. His eyes glancing between the different engagements happening, keeping most of his focus on Avenger and the others fighting while also having to pay attention to Mash and Mordred.

To say nothing of ensuring that Priscilla was still fine-

"Mash, right side!"

"Haaaa!" Mash flung herself in with a cry, sending bodies flying as she dove in between the small gathering of undead who had been charging towards them.

He took a half step forwards her and narrowed his eyes as she fought, glancing for any further sign of enemies from whichever direction they would be coming from, but that seemed to be the extent of it for now, at least. He did not doubt that the longer this went on, the more ghosts and darkwraiths would start showing up.

Ritsuka turned his focus to Avenger.

That right there, that was the main concern.

Even though little more than a chaotic blur, he was still trying his best to keep track of Avenger and how they were moving. Even without a weapon, he was fighting furiously and with an alarming level of skill. Ritsuka could not tell if he was actually on par with any of their current Servants, but he was faster and he was able to fly.

Distance and height seemed to be his main advantages.

And those strange fire beams he kept throwing out,

They just needed a way to stop him getting some distance.

"Gareth." He called behind him. "Sorry, I'm gonna have to bring in someone else-"

"Don't worry about me, Master!" She called from behind him. "I understand!"

He nodded to himself and then held out his hand, feeling the link and then tugging away.

"Archer!"

Independent Action was really going to be quite useful here.

Two forms sprung forth in front of him and Ritsuka was quick to raise his hand and point towards the direction of Avenger.

"He keeps jumping into the air, force him down to the ground."

Arash and Archer said nothing before they were drawing out their bows and knocking arrows.

It was clearly something Avenger had sensed given the way they hit the ground and whirled in his direction, a faint widening of the eyes before they narrowed. Then he vanished into a blue comet as arrows chased down after him, the Servant leaping and weaving between each barrage and flinging themselves into close range with the other combat Servants.

There was something far too eager with the way he had closed the distance like that.

Ritsuka frowned to himself and then pursed his lips.

He hadn't misjudged, had he?

…No, he couldn't worry about that now.

A flash of light and then Lancer was knocked backwards, Avenger launched himself and the pair vanished as Ash and Shiki dove in after him. A tangled mess of flailing limbs and jets of flame followed next, Ritsuka could not see beyond the vortex of mismatched fire and felt a frown crease his brows.

Instead he pointed to the right, "Support Mash and Mordred, clear out the rest of the undead until it's just Avenger."

Both Archers were quick to follow through, Ritsuka took the brief interval to step backwards until he was beside both Priscilla and Verndari, dropping down to one knee and placing a hand atop the knight.

Once more, he activated the healing mystic code.

The wounds on Verndari knit themselves together slowly, his eyes met hers, she broke away and looked down. Shame across her face. He frowned but otherwise kept silent, knowing there would be plenty of time for them to speak after they had all-

"Gah!"

A shout of pain and a heavy thud, Ritsuka whipped his head about as Avenger was slammed into the ground, deftly launching himself back up before Shiki could plant a knife into his head.

Only for his brief retreat to be blocked off by Mordred, forcing the Servant to duck underneath Clarent before it took his head off.

Avenger cartwheeled then struck the ground, slamming his palm into the floor.

What happened next was barely perceivable for him.

It was as though beams of light just erupted from the ground at every angle, spotlights broke apart the once clear battle and seemed uncaring as to who was caught in their path. It lasted for no more than a single second, perhaps less than that, before it vanished away but the immediate result was clear to Ritsuka for a heartstopping moment.

Perhaps it was the sudden surprise of the move or perhaps something else, but he could see scorch marks across several of the Servants caught in the midst of the battle, he could not tell how serious they looked but it was clear that the flames were not easily departing from their bodies.

His eyes focused onto Ash who was rather furiously hammering away at the fire coating the right side of his body, just underneath his arm.

"Emergency Evasion!"

Ash vanished just as a beam shot through the air, missing him completely as he reformed.

Avenger whipped around and sent Ritsuka a sharp and measured look, Ritsuka met his glare without blinking and narrowed his eyes in turn.

There was only a single beat before Shiki thrust her knife towards him once more, the pair of them retreating and chasing down one another across the length of the building, shortly followed by the others charging after him.

Ritsuka was on his feet, a quick glance showed the progress of the two Archers.

It was enough.

"Archer!" He called, the tanned man with silver hair inclined his head and faced him, Ritsuka pointed towards Avenger.

A single nod of the head and Archer turned about and drew back his bow, unleashing a flurry of arrows.

They were dodged and weaved or caught in a screen of flames.

Ritsuka clenched his jaw.

Avenger should have been on the backfoot and yet he was jumping between being on the ropes and suddenly fighting without worries.

What was he missing here-

"They are all…"

It was a whisper from Priscilla behind him.

He turned and looked over his shoulder towards her.

She was silent, her head turned to the battle.

---

She could see but she could not see.

A trick of the mind, she had called it.

Nothing more than the absence of the lines making her imagine them even as they were gone.

But they remained clear as day even now.

Not until there was battle, not until there was fighting, could she find herself gripped with that chilling realisation.

They would never leave her.

The lines would stay even if she were to tear her eyes from her skull, smash them in her grasp and toss them away.

She was well and truly cursed.

And that was her world, those bright lines burned into her mind.

Them and the images they flooded her with.

It was a sensation of the emotions and the way they pooled, the way they churned and the way they congregated.

Priscilla could feel it clearly, like a whirlpool in the ocean.

Avenger was soaking in the grudges and the anger all around them, the natural emotions during violence and the deep seated pain of the spirits and ghosts who resided here, who perished here.

Her hand came up and rested right above her head before her head turned down.

It was the tugging sensation within even herself as those she cared for were starting to rouse, were starting to feel something more than peace. As they were being forced to remember their terrible lives before they embraced them.

Priscilla clenched her hand into a fist.

It was unacceptable.

…And her little brother…what would it be like for him…?

Surely he would have felt it more than her, felt it worse than her, as Avenger gorged himself on the anger buried in the soul for his own strength. As he twisted the minds of people and became nothing more than a creature that feasted on hatred and pain.

It was tragic in its own way.

How could such a man have come to exist?

She took a deep breath and then shifted her focus elsewhere, turning her attention to the young man who had helped her so very much.

Or perhaps he had helped himself and merely used her, but that was fine.

It was easy to tell the relief it brought him when he was aiding her, thus she had no complaints regarding her treatment.

But…

"Young one." She called out, feeling his attention switch onto her. "Thy hands carry the gift of physic, doth they not?"

Priscilla knew such a thing already.

But to ask it…

…No.

For just a brief time she could pretend she was free of the curse, that she was a different person who was finally - at last - free to live as she wished without the worry of that biting curiosity to prick those lines.

Except that was nothing more than fantasy.

The lines never left her and she was exactly who she was now as she had always been.

Restoring her sight would change nothing within her. She would remain forever cursed, with or without her eyes…except…

…It would be nice to use her eyes to aid, rather than to destroy.

"If that is the case. I would bid a favour of thou…"

---

Shiki could tell Avenger was plotting something, these sorts always did.

Even when he was on the back foot, he was still doing something, plotting something.

It was clear by the way he fought, the way he moved. He was fighting with a clear purpose in mind, but she could not quite see what it was.

Ducking under a flame coated hand, she slashed out to his side and almost clicked her tongue as she missed him, bringing her eyes up and meeting his gaze as he swung down towards her head. She rolled under the blow and towards the side of the roof, sliding across the concrete and placing her feet flat against the guardrail before kicking and throwing herself back towards him.

Avenger leaned out of the way of her dive, she twisted about and watched him jump once more as Lancer flew in towards him.

It was clear to her that he was starting to abandon the idea of fighting and was just countering where he could actually get a blow in.

Both hands raised, Avenger slammed them down into the ground and pulled upwards.

Shiki ducked low and charged through the curtain of debris the Servant threw up towards them, her head snapped left as a beam of light burned right over her shoulder and just about skimmed her ear. Eyes narrowed she twisted her feet, drew back her arm, and hurled her knife forwards with all her might.

It struck, impacting just below his knee.

"Ah!"

Avenger stumbled as he pressed weight on it.

Then Mordred was upon him, Avenger blocked her sword with a burning hand only for a burst of red to knock him flying away from her.

Shiki gave chase only to be outpaced by Ash who jumped and stomped down.

A twist of movement from Avenger saved his head from being crushed, back on his feet and thrusting out his burning palm. Ash whipped around and backhanded the outstretched hand away from him, casting the fires into the sky and thrusting his own sword towards the Servant.

It was parried.

Shiki was close enough now, Avenger switched his eyes to her and scowled, it was a clear thing in the shadow.

He wasn't doing a lot of that boisterous laughing anymore.

Avenger gripped Ash's arm and tugged, throwing him into her path.

Shiki slammed into his back and bounced off, blinking to herself out of the sheer shock value of it. Ash was launched over her head, she saw Avenger pull back from the uppercut he had launched and the man then threw himself towards her. She stepped back and raised her knife in preparation-

She blinked, somewhat dazed, and staring in confusion as she was somehow looking down towards the ground.

What?

When did that-?

"Fighting an Avenger with such hatred in your hearts."

Shiki pressed her hands against the ground and pulled her head up, staring across to the shadow as he stood at the far end of the roof, blue light peeling away from him form and returning to a vague shadow once more.

"You do not understand despite having one of my kindred, such arrogance! Such incredible overconfidence and ignorance! Kuhahahaha!"

Ah, he was laughing again.

"Do you truly not understand?"

Avenger swept out a hand, fires coating his fingers once more.

"I am the incarnation of vengeance! My fuel is righteous fury! So long as you project hatred to me, you shall only serve to fuel me! And in this place that is filled with such passionate rage, such deep seated hatred, my flames are served the finest kindling!"

Shiki pressed off the ground back to her feet, it started to click into place for her.

No wonder this guy was such a pain.

"And with another who serves the purpose but so much greater! Can you not feel their anger becoming focused, my kindred?"

A question aimed towards Ash, but she barely paid attention to it.

Her eyes instead narrowed.

He was getting strength from this place? That made sense to her, it seemed to be a running theme with this apartment complex that it would only serve to use people's pain for the benefit of the one who owned it.

Really, she should have expected this from the beginning.

Anger made him stronger?

Then she just needed to cut away that fuel of his.

Her eyes pulsed and she straightened herself.

It felt like her heartbeat was slowing down in her chest, but there was no alarm within her.

A slow exhale escaped her nose and she slowly rose up straight, closing her eyes and allowing the coldness to settle in.

This was something different, she knew that.

But it was…acceptable?

No, it felt more refined than before.

As though everything was becoming simpler for her.

Her eyes opened and Avenger was staring towards her, red eyes widened in some shocking sense of alarm as he whirled towards her, hands ablaze. Only to stumble and stagger as several explosions went off around him, a hiss burst from the shadow as arrows fell upon him one after another.

Had that not been bad enough, that was the moment the other Servants collectively launched themselves towards him as one, weapons ablaze with a multitude of colours as Avenger was forced to dodge, weave or counter all of them with some varying levels of success.

「Shiki」started to walk forwards.

Everything was so clear to her, fingers curling around the grip of…no, it was not a knife.

Not anymore.

Now it was something more suited for the purpose she intended.

Her eyes glistened, the sounds of combat fell to the void and she looked less towards the fighters and more for the invisible strands which flowed from the building and towards Avenger. The thin strings which gleamed a rather ugly red connected with the shadow, all of them owing one single purpose.

To hasten his fuel of the hatred aimed his way.

Without those strands.

「Shiki」held up her sword and looked at them all, tilting her head and then shifting her posture.

Yes.

All she really needed to do was cut them and truly, that was perhaps the easiest thing in the world for her to do.

With a swing of the blade, a mere lethargic movement, the katana was brought across in a wide movement.

Something lurched, the building shuddered and Avenger stumbled right into a punch and then a kick, juggling between his attackers before another haymaker sent him flying into a barrage of arrows.

Finally ended with a roundhouse kick to the back of the head which bounced him off the length of the building and finally slid him to a stop right at the edge.

Watching him for a moment, she hummed and then shifted her gaze away and towards something a little more interesting.

She caught the eye of Ritsuka, he stared back at her with some measure of surprise but then there was something else. Confusion swept through his gaze and was soon followed by dawning recognition, gripping his temple with one hand and squinting hard at her as though he was putting things together.

Her answer was a rather light smile and an incline of the head.

"It seems I'm the one appearing rather suddenly before you. This is something that makes us even now, does it not?"

Ritsuka rubbed his brows for a moment, opening and closing his mouth before pulling his hand away.

"...At least this time I'll actually be able to do as you ask. You never introduced yourself last time."

"Did I not?" She tilted her head and furrowed her brows. "Oh, I had thought I already did that. My apologies, it becomes confusing to differentiate between time when you exist within nothing. My mistake."

Ritsuka only huffed and straightened out. "Well. Nice to meet you…again."

"And you as well."

「Shiki」turned and glanced over her shoulder to where Avenger was coughing and slowly righting himself up.

"I will leave the rest to you and her." She announced. "Truthfully, I'm not fond of becoming involved in situations such as these. That and I'm sure you can handle things from here, I've taken care of the more troublesome part of it."

Ritsuka nodded. "Thanks Shiki."

She smiled at the use of her name, even if it likely wasn't in the context the boy was expecting and if he had deduced that she was separate from Shiki, then he did not show it or did not care in the least. Who could say?

Closing her eyes, she let herself slip back under.

Shiki opened her eyes and then raised a brow.

"Why are you looking at me like that? What happened?"

She looked around, then stopped and stared at Avenger and noted his position was different the last time she recalled.

Did she slip over and knock herself out or something?

"Gah…hahahahaha!"

Avenger's laughter rang loud, placing his hands either side of himself and pushing back to his feet.

"I see…those eyes of yours can cut more than just life, they can slash through hatred itself? Indeed, there can be no more terrifying an opponent for the incarnation of Vengeance…to think that there would be such a thing here."

Shiki found herself rather confused as to why he was looking at her like that when she hadn't even laid a single finger on the guy yet.

Weirdo.

He stumbled once, then held up the burning hands once more.

"You're really going to keep pushing this, aren't you?" Ritsuka called out.

Avenger chuckled once more. "Of course, so long as there is hatred there will always be one who carries it within them. Until such a time as you have bested me truly, then our battle will continue."

"...Alright."

Shiki furrowed her brows.

Wait…

She looked back towards Ritsuka.

Where was the giant lady from earlier?

---

The invisibility was a blanket for her.

One she had worn so often and so willingly that it came back to her as though it had never left in the first place.

Her steps were gentle, the ease at which she tip-toed until she was behind the shadow was rather alarming. Though his mind was clearly elsewhere, thus it served as an excuse. But Priscilla could not shake the shame of what she was about to try and do.

It lasted for only a moment before her heart resolved itself.

Her hands brought her scythe upwards.

Avenger tensed, clearly now realising she was behind him, in some instinctive manner.

He turned about to face her, hand alight with those toxic flames which were seeped in such terrible things. She was unsure that the others could quite sense what she could sense from them, that those were flames born of pure anger. Such terrible and dark things that they were, it was as if they were alive.

But she knew that.

Fire was linked to the Soul of Life.

Which made it alive.

And if it was alive…it could be hunted.

The invisibility peeled away from her, eyes aglow as she bore down upon Avenger and swung in the split second before he could unleash the cloud of flames. He ducked to avoid her, but still too slow from the initial attack. Her scythe struck his hand, the line cut perfectly, slicing the knuckles and fingers away from his palm and drawing a gasp of pain from him.

He launched himself away from her.

Priscilla gave chase, she could see them all upon him.

Those little threads, all of which looked so simple.

So easy to cut.

And just this once…she would indulge the temptation.

Flames roared around Avenger, he hurled bolts of fire towards her.

She weaved the first, ducking low and feeling the heat pass atop her shoulder blades, not quite low enough as the burning licked at her fur, drawing a faint wince from her as she chased down and swiftly brought her scythe upwards, the next fire streak of flame was met with blade instead of flesh.

Her scythe cut through it back to the source, Avenger hissed and yanked his arm backwards, hissing as blood poured from the slice across his other palm.

His feet carried him into the sky, Priscilla slid to a halt and turned her gaze upwards, readying herself for the next assault that would doubtless fall upon her.

Avenger was silent now, gone was the laughter from before.

Instead there was only the whistle of arrows in the wind.

He became a streaking star across the night sky, chased down by flashes of red and blue. She knew the Archers that Ritsuka had brought forth were harrying the Servant down. The lights danced in the sky, the explosions followed and the comet of blue twisted and ducked in such impossible movements that she could not help some sense of awe.

Despite it all.

The display was rather beautiful.

It ended with a shout from Ritsuka and some sort of movement.

Suddenly the comet was halted by a resounding clank of metal, Priscilla blinked and then squinted at the sudden burst of light which had proceeded the strike, then blinked as she saw that Mash had somehow managed to appear right in the path, Avenger flying into the shield and bouncing clean off.

Mash - for who else would it have been - followed through, in the next moment Avenger was sent hurtling back to the roof on account of a rather painful sounding kick.

She ducked left and allowed the Servant to slam into the ground and roll beside her, only for him to sit up.

The horned knight slashed into his side, Avenger snarled and countered with flames.

Priscilla threw herself forwards this time, drawing the scythe down and snuffing the fires once more, twisting and swinging for his head this time. He avoided it by just dropping down, then kicking her in the toe. She gasped and drew her foot backwards from the pain, leaning away to avoid another kick.

Lancer struck him with a flaming fist, the explosion knocked Avenger backwards.

Her brother was right in the path of his flight.

His arm held out and caught Avenger in the back of the head with a punch that flipped him over and onto his face, sweeping around and striking them with a kick which sent them flying a short distance.

And right into the path of Mash who delivered another painful shield back to his back, this time burying him into the building under a small indentation.

That the roof did not collapse from under them was a surprise.

Priscilla readied her scythe and drew closer.

Holding it up and preparing herself to-

Blue fire surrounded Avenger and she stumbled back, there was a shout from somewhere and a blur of movement.

She whirled around to the noises.

He was stood at the edge of the building once more, panting heavily.

"It seems…" Avenger spat blood out onto the ground. "Seems as though I have been bested in this instance…This effort of making Hell shall go on incomplete, I would offer congratulations to you, Chaldea, if it were not ultimately futile in the end and yet…hmm…hahahahaha!"

He stepped backwards onto the ledge and laughed.

"To think that all this time…Heh. Perhaps that King of Mages underestimated you all as well. Though perhaps that is for the future."

Ritsuka was stepping forwards, only to stop.

"...You're going to try and run?"

Avenger nodded. "Of course. I have been bested in this fight and shall accept that completely. There is little reason for me to remain-"

"You ain't getting away that easily-"

The horned knight - Mordred - could not even finish her sentence before Avenger turned on his heel and jumped.

The group charged forwards and looked over the edge to see him crossing the distance to the next building.

Which was a not insignificant distance from them.

"What the-huh?! Hey, Shiki! Stop!"

A scuffle.

Priscilla turned her head and looked across, Shiki had stopped just shy of throwing herself from the building.

"Avenger is faster than the lot of us and he'll be long gone by the time any of us get there."

Ritsuka was quick to explain, turning his head and looking down.

"Chasing after him won't do us much good now that he's got a head start."

Shiki was silent.

Then flipped her knife in her grasp, drew back her hand, and then loosened it forwards.

Priscilla blinked.

Then a distant cry of pain echoed across the city.

"...Or you could do that." Ritsuka replied rather slowly, then turned his head. "Did she get him?"

Priscilla turned as well.

A pair of tanned skin men stood with arms folded and looking into the distance, the one with white hair spoke first.

"A superficial wound at best for a Servant, but in his current state of injury…hmmm. Perhaps the effort could be made to chase them down, but they have yet to deploy a Noble Phantasm."

The one with dark hair followed up.

"I'm fine with whatever choice you make, Master. But we've run him off and we've taken control of the problem building anyway. Unless there is a chance he could make it again?"

Ritsuka only shook his head. "If what we've been told is true, then he doesn't have the backing of Solomon anymore. Which probably means he won't be able to do something like this again and if he does…well…"

He shrugged.

"...Well. We'll deal with that when the time comes. For now though…let's take this place apart and get something normal back in."

Priscilla stepped backwards.

Yes.

That was fine.

"...Hey."

She stopped at the whisper, then turned her head down to Ritsuka as he looked up at her.

"...You alright?"

Was she alright?

…Such a difficult question to answer.

"I am myself again."

It was the only answer she could give.

Ritsuka looked as though perhaps he had more to say, but his name being called drew his eyes away from her. She took it as the chance to withdraw before she let anything else slip away from her.

She was herself again.

And she tried not to focus on how his face and body were covered in those vulnerable little threads.

---

"The Casters have been analysing the spell since you started." The Director informed him, then folded her arms. "It seemed to have been linked with Avenger's presence on the building itself, rather than something imbued into the building itself."

Ritsuka nodded his head. "So now that he's gone and run off, the spell is going to vanish?"

"Conveniently, that is indeed the case. The spirits that had already been drawn in will take some additional time to reset but this distortion will soon be corrected. As with any other Singularity, the world shall undo the damage done. Whatever Avenger did here will be resolved, regardless of his continued presence."

Well, she did say it was convenient for them and Ritsuka could not blame her.

Nodding his head up and down, he relaxed a little bit. "That's…a relief."

Humming, the Director nodded her head. "Yes, quite. I have already readied instructions for your retrieval back to Chaldea along with…any tagalongs you have picked up along the way."

The way she said that made him snort. "Yeah. I'll get back to you on that. Still…I'm a little bit worried about Avenger."

Olga raised a brow. "How so?"

"I mean…the guy got away and it just doesn't make sense to me. Surely he would know all of this as well, wouldn't he?"

His words were met with a short silence, the Director frowned then cupped her chin. "Hmmm. I cannot deny that his retreat does imply that he could have an alternative method of escape and it has been demonstrated that certain Servants have the ability to travel between Singularities. Simply because he might have abandoned Solomon does not mean he cannot be approached by the others interfering with the timeline."

If Ritsuka was being honest, that was not even something he had considered in the first place.

"I guess we just need to wait and see, huh?"

"...Unfortunately, that is the case." She removed her hand from her chin. "In the meantime, I shall leave you to the final conversations or farewells and then wait for your signal to return to Chaldea."

Ritsuka nodded. "Yeah…and thanks, Director."

"...Mmmmh."

The communicator shut off, Ritsuka lowered his arm and turned his head towards the direction of Shiki, where she was still staring off into the direction Avenger had fled towards.

His approach to her was rather obvious and she turned her head towards him the second he was close enough to her.

"So that was a thing."

Shiki silently raised a brow. "...Yes." she responded flatly. "A thing."

Ritsuka shrugged and turned his head in the same direction she had been looking. "We'll be finishing up here. Turns out with Avenger gone, this place is going to go back to being a regular apartment with the ghosts disappearing. We won."

Shiki hummed. "I suppose we did."

He wanted to ask about the version of her in the Kimono with the katana who had appeared but that felt like it was a whole can of worms.

And given her confusion as to when the other version vanished…maybe she didn't know?

Well.

He could ask when they were more comfortable with one another.

"...Why did you stop me?"

Ritsuka raised a brow. "From jumping off a building?"

Shiki nodded. "I am a Servant. I would have been fine. I survived it when I was a human as well."

"Guess I just spoke without thinking, really."

"You seem to do that a lot."

Ritsuka snorted. "Yeah. Like you would not believe. It's…well. It is what it is. Just saw you running towards the building and I didn't even put two and two together that you were a Servant until after I said it."

"Then you came up with the distance excuse." She accused.

"Not much of an excuse." Ritsuka pointed out. "He really was pretty fast and would outrun everyone…Though I wasn't expecting you to throw a knife at him."

"How else would I stab him at a distance?"

He laughed. "Yeah, silly me."

"...Do you want me to come back to Chaldea with you?"

Yikes, was he really that obvious?

He nodded his head up and down. "Do you want to come to Chaldea?"

Shiki was silent, her brows pinched just a little as she slipped her hands into her coat pockets. "...It sounds as though it would be a lot of hassle."

"It really is."

"...Aren't you supposed to try and convince me to come with you or something?"

"I can't lie all that well." Ritsuka pocketed his own hands and shrugged. "This is a fairly standard occurrence, truth be told. It's had its ups and downs. The downs are…"

He trailed off, feeling his brows drop and his shoulders slump.

The bad moments were bad.

That was probably the cleanest way of putting it.

"...You helped me." Shiki said after a few moments, then turned her head and looked at him. "Seems only fair that I help you, doesn't it?"

His lips pulled into a faint smile for only a second before it dropped. "Well, I don't want you to feel like you're being forced into it but…"

"It's fine." Shiki brushed off his words. "I was planning on following you anyway. It does seem like a hassle but I don't think that is a bad thing."

Ritsuka looked at her for a moment before he smiled. "Thanks, Shiki."

"Sure." She nodded. "It is what a Servant is supposed to do though, right?"

He wasn't sure how best to answer that, so instead he just looked over his shoulder in the direction of both Priscilla and Lancer.

"Maybe. But I think that whether you're a Servant or not, you can do whatever you want to do."

He stopped, only when he remembered what Shiki talked about what was natural to her.

Then he winced and looked back to see she was sending him a raised brow which indicated that she also remembered telling him what she often wanted to do.

"...Sometimes. I mean. Well. You can do what feels right for you and I'll accept whatever choice you come up with and-"

"I've already said I'm coming with you."

"...Yeah." He sighed. "I'm just waffling now. My bad."

With a shrug, the girl looked away from him with a slight twitch of the lip. "I think that sort of thing is normal for you though."

And she had already gotten a grip on what he was like now.

"You're going to ask them to come with you, aren't you?"

Ritsuka shook his head. "I'll ask Priscilla but…I'm not sure about Lancer, but I'll still thank him all the same."

"Hmm. I won't keep you then."

He waved to her in passing as he moved off and towards Lancer.

Briefly he caught the eyes of Mash and nodded his head to her, she moved away from where she had been tending to the still somewhat wounded Verndari and Sir Mordred and walked off to join him. The pair of them being stood before the crimson haired man as he looked between the two of them.

"T seemeth as though our campaign hast cometh to a closeth with a victory. Congratulations."

Ritsuka hummed. "You as well. Really. Thanks for your help, Lancer."

Extending a hand towards them, he held it out with a smile.

"I appreciate it. Truly."

Lancer looked down and eyed the hand, the serpents that cloaked around him watched the extended hand for a brief moment, then Lancer slowly started to raise his own hand and reached out to clasp it.

He shook it slowly, the eyes of the snake remained solely on Ritsuka.

Privately, he was starting to wonder whether or it was the snake or the golden eye in his head that was being used to see. So he switched between looking at the both of them as they shook hands.

It ended, but Lancer did not release his hold just yet.

"Mine own owneth eff'rts were paltry. Thee hadst comrades enow to secureth a comfortable advantage 'gainst our shared foe."

"Maybe. I'm not going to argue about how useful people were or were not." Ritsuka was sure there was a lot that could be said about him in the past in regards to how useful he was and all of that.

And that was one conversation he wasn't going to be let opened with people arguing about who was doing more than the other.

"I'm just grateful for the help that we received along the way and am glad you stayed with us until then. It really was a pleasure to work with you, Lancer."

Lancer looked rather oddly at him.

It was a bit weird in the manner the Servant gazed back and then down to their still gripped hands before he looked across towards Mash.

If he was expecting a different opinion, then he would be disappointed.

Mash seemed more than happy to disappoint, if that were the case.

"Senpai is right, Lancer-san! Your support really made things smoother for us. Maybe we would have won if you weren't here…but I am very glad you were here to aid us."

She inclined her head in a short bow.

"So thank you very much for the assistance."

Ritsuka smiled at the expression Lancer made, one that very much showed a great deal of surprise at the words. The grip loosening around his hand was further proof that the man might not have actually been expecting them to thank him.

Which did make him feel a little sad, if he was being honest.

"I'm not sure if we will ever work with one another again in the future." Ritsuka's words brought the attention of Lancer back to him. "But if we ever do, then I'd be grateful if we got the chance to work together again."

Lancer spoke in a quiet, almost bemused, tone of voice. "Thee wouldst not asketh me to accompany thee?"

Ritsuka shook his head. "You said we were only working together until we were finished against Avenger. We've won and the problem has been solved…so I'm not going to try and change your mind if you don't want to come, but I will thank you for what you did."

Standing up straighter, the grip on Ritsuka's hand became a touch tighter, but not uncomfortable.

"Thee speaketh with true respect and earnestly grant thanks." Lancer spoke clearly, his jaw clenched and his eyes looked down rather intensely. "Such a thing is a rarity. Taketh heart not to loseth that nature of yours in thy coming battles."

He stopped for a moment, then leaned forwards and lowered his tone until it was near a whisper, something else glinted in those eyes.

It seemed almost pitying.

"Even if it be true thee shouldst findeth yourself against former allies."

The reminder of Boudica made him wince, he looked down and sighed. "...I'm not sure that is something to get used to, if I'm honest."

Slowly nodding his head, Lancer leaned back. "Nor shouldst thee. I seeth that thee holdeth thy allies dearly. That is…something that couldst beest considered a weakness."

Ritsuka shrugged. "Maybe, but that doesn't mean I will."

Lancer's lip twitched for barest a moment, whether it was to be a frown or a smile was left to the imagination.

But at that moment, Ritsuka felt something else.

There was a brief twinge between them, he glanced down at the handshake as it started to pulse before he felt something settled around him. The command seals on the back of his hand flashed for a single second before they dimmed.

His eyes darted up in surprise.

"But you said-"

Lancer inclined his head and released his hand.

"T wouldst beest disrespectful to answer such granted thanks with abandonment." He explained, as though that was reason enough for it. Ritsuka was still trying to understand what happened. "As thee aid'd me in mine own quest, t wouldst putteth me at ease to aid thee with yours. If 't be true that is acceptable."

"S-sure!" Ritsuka stumbled over his words in his enthusiasm. "I mean, I was fine with-no, nevermind. Thank you again, Lancer and I look forwards to be working with you again. Though I will say it…might be a while."

Lancer only huffed. "Such things are known to me. If we are to be allies, t'would do to know my name…I am Messmer."

Messmer?

Cool.

Great, even.

"Thank you for joining us, Messmer-san!" Mash's rather loud call had him flinch. "Thank you for accompanying us!"

Messmer only hummed and looked past and towards Priscilla.

"I believe thee hath one final conversation."

It seemed as though it was really obvious.

Ritsuka nodded in silence and walked on, stepping the two of them and towards Priscilla.

If he was asked how he was feeling, he would say he was nervous.

Because he knew that when he healed Priscilla's eyes, it would mean something might change within her. She had said as much and had seemed totally convinced with it. Hence the rejection when offered before.

He tried to hide his grimace but could not quite manage it.

Shoulders slumping as he approached, he glanced at the burn mark across her back and reached out his hand, the mystic code activated one final time. The white fur sprouted forth, and covered the rather ugly blackened patch of flesh, vanishing until it looked as though it had never been there at all.

Lowering his hand, he approached her and stopped right next to her.

Even when sitting down, she was still nearly his height.

The pair of them stood in silence before he broke it.

"Sorry for not warning you, it just looked a little painful."

Priscilla responded with an affirmative hum.

"So."

Ritsuka sighed.

"...You have your eyes back."

"I do."

"...How are you feeling."

"I believe I spoke of this-"

Ritsuka sat himself down next to her with a small grunt. "Priscilla…how are you feeling?"

The silence this time was more deafening, her head started to lower itself until she was looking down at her hands, staring at her palms before sighing once more.

Her words were quiet, barely loud enough to be heard.

But he heard them all the same.

"The urges return as though they never left." It was a near silent confession, and there was no disguising the shame in her voice. "The ease at which they hath slipped into mine heart once more. It is a smooth thing. A pure thing. As though they were not wrong in the beginning."

Ritsuka thinned his lips and lowered his head.

"Sorry."

Priscilla turned and looked at him. "Thou owe me no apologies. I made the choice."

"And I listened." Ritsuka replied back, drumming his finger on his thigh. "I knew how much you really did not like those eyes and I went along with it. I healed them back up and then you went out there and…"

"T'were vain hope that I would remain blinded to these urgings forever. This would have become a certainty sooner or later."

Ritsuka knew that, he really did.

But she was so clearly uncomfortable with it…

He looked down and pursed his lips.

"...You should have been free of it a little longer-"

"Thou were never comfortable with my mutilation."

"...No."

"But thou accepted it because I felt peace."

"...I don't want to believe that was the only solution for you."

"Thou truly are a considerate soul." He looked across at the large palm that placed itself down upon his knee, it was a hold that was so alarmingly gentle and almost consoling. The fact it was being used on him made him feel all the more guilty. "To confuse thou with mine father…I cannot offer enough apologies-"

Ritsuka clenched his jaw. "You…I spent time with him. You're not to blame. He…I guess he left an impression."

"...He hurt you."

"...No." Ritsuka shook his head. "It wouldn't have been as bad…if…if he had hurt me."

The hand removed itself from his leg, then moved up and placed itself atop his head.

"...I am thankful for thy aid, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka chuckled. "I didn't do that much, let's be honest."

Priscilla shook her head. "No. Thou did more than thou could imagine. Ritsuka, Thou…I was a small girl again. I had a question I held for so long answered. It is something that I cannot thank thee enough for."

Her words just made him frown all the harder, especially because he knew - on some level - why he was doing all of it.

Nothing really changed what happened.

But, for a time, it made him feel a little better.

"You…you can come with us." He murmured in a low voice. "Back to Chaldea, I mean."

"And mine brothers thoughts on this?" Priscilla jabbed back. "He wears his dislike of me openly. What of his thoughts pertaining to my joining you?"

Ritsuka thinned his lips. "There are a lot of people in Chaldea that Ash does not like."

"I would not would to inflict further pain upon him by merely forcing him to endure mine presence. It would a cruel act for an older sister."

Very slowly, he turned and looked at her. "...I…I see."

Priscilla looked at his face, a brief cringe overtook her before she turned away and pulled from him. Dropping her hand back upon her lap.

"...I am sorry. Most tru-"

"Go."

The pair whipped around and looked up.

Ritsuka was rather surprised as to not even have heard their arrival.

Ash looked between the two of them with a face caught somewhere between constipated and exasperated.

"If the sole thing keeping you from Chaldea is my presence, then put me from your mind and accept his offer. It is clear Ritsuka would rather have you with us from this point onwards and has grown accustomed to your presence."

Priscilla frowned. "And what of thou? Or hast thy thoughts changed regarding mine presence?"

Ash shook his head, then turned and walked off.

"No." He answered. "But Ritsuka wishes for your presence and it is clear you would still wish to be there. Save us all the pain of your farewell and just accept the contract with him."

The blonde had walked off before anyone could really say anything to that.

Ritsuka, meanwhile, just blinked a couple of times and then looked back at Priscilla. "I think that's permission for you to come."

Priscilla looked more troubled than relieved. "I do not believe I would wish for permission to be delivered in such a painful manner. He concerns himself for thy own thoughts, as opposed to his feelings."

He could not deny that.

The entire argument had been as though it was purely for his sake, even though it clearly bothered Ash.

Ritsuka sighed and palmed at his face, dropping his head into his hands.

He felt Priscilla gently pat him on the back in a comforting manner.

He removed his hands and dropped them back onto his lap. "Do you want to come to Chaldea?"

Priscilla tensed. "I…do not wish to be thy enemy once more."

Ritsuka was sure she did not even remember being their enemy in the first place, if she did he doubted she would have ever been as comfortable around him as this.

"...I would like it if you could come with us."

"I would wish to join thou."

"...If…" Ritsuka wet his lips. "Da Vinci, she's a person in Chaldea, she's smart and I'm sure she could do something about your eyes…she's really clever. Really, really clever."

Priscilla huffed an almost laugh but sighed. "...Is this to ease they guilt or-"

"No!" He quickly answered, then looked down. "Not…not entirely it…I want to get to know you. Not just the you who was…our enemy or our ally. The you who is you. If that makes sense."

Priscilla hummed and nodded her head slowly. "I believe thou."

Ritsuka nodded slowly.

"Then…" With a short pause, she looked down at him and smiled. "I would wish to join thee."

A weight that had long been pressed on his shoulders was abruptly pulled free of him.

Ritsuka all but shot to his feet, then dropped forwards and placed his hands on his knees, closing his eyes as a shuddering breath escaped him.

"...Welcome to the team." Ritsuka whispered.

It was fine.

Everything was fine.

It was all…going to be fine.

…He didn't know how long he needed to say it until it became true.

But he would say it every time he needed to.

His head came up and he looked across, briefly meeting Ash's eyes.

The blonde only grunted and turned his head.

Ritsuka winced.

He…really hoped that this wasn't just making Ash more and more miserable, collecting family members he had problems with.

Well.

This singularity had played on everyone's nerves.

"Alright!"

Ritsuka called out, drawing all eyes to him.

"Time to go home."

---

AN: Yes.

I'm sure you know what this all means now.

If you did not already guess who Lancer was before now…well…here he is.

And here are his stats.

Messmer, The Impaler

Servant: Lancer

Height/Weight: 231cm/170kg

Strength: A

Endurance: C

Agility: A

Mana: B

Luck: E

Noble Phantasm: A

Spear of the Impaler - Monuments of Death: B (Anti-Unit) Max Target: 10, Max Range: 0-5

Spear of the Impaler, the weapon forged from old techniques in the Land of Shadows. It can channel his cursed flames and focus them fully upon his foe. Inflicting terrible wounds with these fires which might bypass even the greatest magic resistance because of it.

Upon invoking the true name, it might be thrust to the ground with devastating effect. Spawning a rapidly growing wall of spears from the earth underfoot, amidst flame and metal they pierce Messmers foe with the intent of locking them in place or outright killing them.

The Abyssal Serpent - Shorn of Light: A (Anti-Army) Max Target: 200, Max Range: 1-30

Messmers cursed existence made flesh, his body is transformed upon the invoking of this Noble Phantasm. Stripping him of his divinity and marking him as a cursed demon. The serpentine form is wreathed with the cursed flame and can be used to inflict terrible damage upon all of his foes, allowing for him to call upon it even when in his humanoid form.

Class Skills:

Magic Resistance: A

Cancel spells of A-Rank or below, no matter what greater magecraft it is. In practice, the Servant is untouchable to modern magi.

Divinity: B

Demi-God child of Marika, oldest of all her children from before the time of Godfrey. Demi-God through lineage, rather than through a truly Godly parent at his birth. For Marika was no God at the time.

Personal Skills:

Charisma of the Crusader: A

Served as leader of the Crusade in the Land of Shadow. Despite his curse, he amassed a following of staunchly loyal allies. Showcasing his expertise in leading troops into battle.

Icon of Fear and Horror: B

His brutality in the Crusade was known far and wide, earning him the moniker of 'Impaler' for his brutality. He might inflict dread in those who face him through sheer presence alone. Even if his true name remains unknown. Should he be named, this skill is raised significantly.

Flame-Cursed Serpent: A

Born cursed with the Abyssal Serpent beneath his skin. His flames are a terrible thing that he despises, yet makes use of. The flames are almost alive, seeking out his foes and marking them with terrible wrath.

Summoning

"Upon thy summoning, I has't answered the calleth. As is desired of me, those who trespass beyond thy mercy shalt all meet death…in the embrace of Messmer's flame

Dialogue 1

"Thee spendeth much timeth in peace. Ill-fitting of this troubled time. Art thee so devoid of worries?"

Dialogue 2

"The role of master and servant? It has been longeth since I wielded mine own partisan for another. Yet I am aware of the role. I shalt doth as is commanded of me."

Dialogue 3 (If you have Boudica)

"Thou are marked with the blood of thy own crusade, waged in the name of revenge. I bid, would thy children hast served as thy tools would they had yet drawn breath for thou?"

Dialogue 4 (If you have Divine Servants)

"Chaldea is rife with those blessed by the grace of light. Seemeth an ill place for one as cursed as I to wander. Never do they give regard to whether mine stride crosses their line of sight. Tis for one such as I to bask in the flow of envy and revulsion."

Dialogue 5 (If you have Medusa, Gorgon or Medusa [Saber])

"Thou are cursed by the serpent as well, it seems. For that thou hast mine pity."

Dialogue 6 (If you have Vlad)

"I see, so thou as well…No matter. Seemeth we both were the instruments of fury upon the lands. Say to me, were thy foes as deserving of slaughter as mine?"

Dialogue 7 (If you have Nightingale or Asclepius)

"If mine curse had a cure, I would hast found it long ago. yet I shall not dissuade thou. Nay, I encourage thou. Prithee…free me of this twisted form."

Dialogue 8 (If you have Gwyndolin)

"I seeth, then thee were also. T'seemeth as though we has't both seen our curs'd f'rms hath used as tools."

Dialogue 9 (If you have Ash)

"Wielders of cursed flames and weapons of our mothers. Thou also has't a lunar knight in thy service? I…I seeth."

Dialogue 10 (If you have Rellana)

"Thee needeth not give further service to me. There is nay gain to beest hadst in following me anon, if 't be true there ever wast…hmmm? 'There is no causeth for restraint on mine own parteth?' bid me. what doth these words defineth?"

Dialogue 11 (If you have Sulyvahn)

"I holdeth nay kindness for that one. Merely that he sullies a memory I holdeth dear. Nay more and nay less."

Likes

"I has't given nay thoughts to enjoyment. Yet if 't be true thee wouldst searcheth for me beyond combat, thee wouldst findeth me in the library."

Hates

"I has't longeth since released mine own hatred. Now it is suited only for mine own reflection."

Wish for the Holy Grail

"To beest free of mine own beshrew. T is all I ever did wish for…perhaps then mother wouldst…"

Bond Level 1

"Our battles art hath met with success. Thee seemeth to has't some talent."

Bond Level 2

"Thy thanks art unneeded, I am merely doing as is instructed for me."

Bond Level 3

"T seemeth as though mine own words shalt not dissuade thee. Though I shalt speaketh plainly. Offering gratitude to me is a wasteth."

Bond Level 4

"Again and again I bid thee to desist and yet mine own every word is ignored. Perhaps thee seemeth to think this is one battle that can beest wonneth by thee?"

Bond Level 5

"I shalt confesseth yond thee has't the stubborn resolveth of Gaius. In that case, I shalt admiteth mine own defeat plainly. Thou art...I doth not seeth for what purpose thee offer praise and kindness to one such as I, but I shall not wasteth further timeth in combating thee for it. Doth as thee wisheth."

Birthday

"A birthday is for celebration, is it not? I confesseth I has't celebrated none before."

During an Event

"There is a great gathering nearby. Oh, thee wisheth to partake…and drageth me with thee, it seemeth."

1st Ascension

"This strength is did need. The battles ahead shalt beest most wondrous."

2nd Ascension

"Mine own eye glitters just a toucheth brighter, thee claimeth? It is…nothing to beest concerned with."

3rd Ascension

"There is nothing amiss with me. Nothing more than the great strength thee has't granted me. Think nay more of it."

4th Ascension

"The Abyssal Serpent hungers. It gnaws at the seal without endeth. Yet I did contain it once before. I shalt containeth it again."