CRACK! CRACK!

The sound of metal hitting bone rang through the darkness.

CRACK! CRACK!

It was like someone was using a meat tenderizer to split open a coconut.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

?: "Make the drumming stop! Make the drumming stop!"

CRACK! CRACK! CRUNCH!

Finally, after several minutes of pounding, the sound of bone fracturing filled the dark room as blood dripped to the floor.

?: "Ah! That feels so much better!"

October 15th, 2009

Naru got up early the next morning and quickly made breakfast. He wanted to quit the Grail War as soon as possible. As he, Touka, and Artoria were eating, Naru noticed something.

Naru: "Hey, where's Brook?"

Artoria: "She is outside. She already has a camp set up in the woods. She said she didn't want to be a freeloader in your house, so she's staying outside."

Naru: "Is that so? That's very thoughtful of her. Normally, I would be glad, but why doesn't this feel right?"

Naru shrugged at the thought and continued to eat his breakfast. Then, he noticed Touka looking at him with a sad look in her eyes.

Naru: "Touka? What's wrong?"

Touka: "Is the nice knight lady going away?"

Naru: "I'm afraid so. Miss Saber here is going to be leaving soon."

Touka started to form tears in her eyes. Naru didn't like telling Touka anything that made her cry, but he couldn't just lie to her either. Touka got up from her seat and hugged Artoria.

Touka: "I'm going to miss you…"

Artoria: "Don't cry little one, I promise that-"

Touka: "...Violet Evergarden!"

Naru: "Pffff, hahahahaha!"

Artoria: "Y-young lady, m-my name is Saber, and as for you Naru, stop laughing! It's embarrassing!"

Naru: "Sorry about that!"

Once they finished breakfast, Naru and Artoria left the house and went on a path through the woods.

Naru: "If we continue to follow this path, we will eventually reach the local church."

As they continued to walk, they eventually exited the woods and reached a set of stone steps. They walked up the steps until they found themselves near a large gate. Next to the gate's entrance sat an old man with long, white hair, green eyes, and a long beard hanging from his chin. He wore a brown, tattered cloak and was fast asleep with his head leaning against the gate.

Artoria: "I assume this must be the gatekeeper."

Naru: "Yeah well, he's not doing a good job at 'gatekeeping.' Hey, you old fart! Wake the fuck up!"

The old man woke up and looked at Naru with drowsy eyes.

Old man: "Sorry lad. The church is closed today. If ya want ta visit, please come back another time."

Then he noticed Naru's right hand with his command spells.

Old man: "Ohhh! Yer a master! Why didn't ya say so? I'm assuming the lovely lass behind ya is yer servant?"

Artoria blushed after being called lovely, while Naru looked at him annoyed.

Naru: "That's right, and I'm here to speak to the mediator of the Grail War."

Old man: "Oh! Sure, Sure! C'mon in!"

The old man took some keys out of his pocket and unlocked the gate, allowing Naru to enter. When Artoria tried to enter, the old man reached his arm out and blocked her path.

Old man: "Sorry lassy, but no servants allowed inside."

Naru: "It's okay Saber. I'll do most of the talking and since you'll be staying outside, I guess this is the last time we'll see each other."

Artoria: "I guess so. It was nice meeting you Naru. Even if our meeting was brief, I thank you for providing me with the opportunity to see Shirou again."

Naru smiled at Artoria before turning to enter the church.

Naru: "Now then, it's time to get this over with!"

Naru opened the doors of the church. The moment he stepped in, he marveled at the sight before him. The inside of the church was completely white, including the benches on the sides. On the walls were various paintings featuring different moments from the Bible, including Christ's crucifixion, Moses parting the Red Sea, the construction of the Tower of Babel, and many others. Naru felt as if his very presence was dirtying the place.

?: "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Standing before a podium at the back of the room, camouflaged by the white covering the church was who Naru assumed to be the mediator. He wore a white robe with gold accents and a gold cross around his neck. He was completely bald and covered in wrinkles. Despite his age, he was quite large and looked to have quite a bit of muscle.

?: "I had the church renovated to look more appealing to outsiders. Oh, forgive me! I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Gregor Maxime, and I assume you are a master in this Holy Grail War?"

Naru: "Y-yes! I'm Naru Kaminari, I'm the master of Saber."

Gregor: "The Sekoyoma Ripper? You have quite the reputation. You also say you're contracted with Saber, the strongest of the seven classes? That is quite impressive."

?: "Indeed it is."

Naru looked to the left and saw a new face enter. It was a girl around his age with black hair tied in a braid. She had blue eyes and wore a nun's habit with metal gloves covering her hands.

?: "After all, it's only natural for mages to latch on to even the smallest inklings of power. Isn't that right…heretic?

Naru: "I…excuse me?"

Gregor: "Oh, that's my daughter Marylin. Forgive her, she can be rather hostile to new people she meets."

Marylin: "But father, didn't you say that all mages are heretics that twist the very laws of nature?"

Gregor: "Hahaha! Oh, Marylin! You can be such a good joker at times!"

Naru: "Right…I'm just going to ignore that."

Gregor: "Ahem! Anyways, what can I do for you?"

Naru: "Well…I want to quit the Holy Grail War and I was wondering if you could help me with it."

Gregor: "Really? You realize that you could simply use your command spells to sever your contract with your servant, right?"

Naru: "I could, but Saber still wants to stay around for…personal reasons. I would rather just transfer her to a new master."

Gregor: "I see, that is quite a shame. You two would be the strongest of partners. Very well, I will help you with your request."

Naru: "Thank you, Father Gregor. That means a lot to me."

Gregor: "No problem! Now, let's get down to business! Marylin, get the table ready for the procedure."

Marylin: "Yes, father."

Marylin left the room temporarily before returning with a table with a black line running through the middle.

Marylin: "Please place your hand on the table and align your wrist with the black line."

Naru was a bit confused. He didn't see any magic involved with this procedure and didn't see another master to transfer his command spells to.

Naru: "Maybe Marylin is going to be Saber's new master? It's best if I don't think about it more than I should."

Naru placed his hand on the table and aligned his wrist with the black line.

Naru: "So…what now?"

Marylin raised her hand above her head.

Marylin: "Hold still."

Naru: "I'm confused. Is she casting a spell or-"

Then Naru noticed that the edge of Marylin's glove had a razor-sharp edge. Naru looked at it and the black line his wrist was aligned with and realized what she was about to do. Naru moved his hand just as Marylin's hand cut the table in half. Naru backed away in shock while Marylin looked at him with a fearsome scowl.

Marylin: "Why did you dodge?!"

Naru: "Why did I-? You tried to cut my hand off you psycho! Why did you do that?"

Marylin didn't say anything. Instead, she removed her right glove, revealing a set of command spells that looked like a cross with angel wings and a halo.

Naru: "Oh…well shit."

Naru tried to run away but found that he couldn't move. He looked down and saw three long knives with red handles pinning his shadow.

Naru: "Black keys!"

Gregory: "That is right. You are now trapped in place, which gives us the perfect opportunity to finish you at our leisure."

Naru: "You aren't the mediator, are you."

Gregor: "No, I am simply a humble father assisting his daughter in winning the Holy Grail War. Sadly, it seems you won't be getting any assistance from anyone. Marylin!"

Marylin: "Yes father?"

Gregor: "Kill him."

Without a word, Marylin produced a weapon in her hand. It was a long chain with a long spike sticking out each link. Marylin lashed out with her chain, wrapping Naru around the head with it, the spikes digging into his flesh.

Maylin: "Know the suffering that Christ endured! Crown of Thorns!"

Naru was then electrocuted, the shocks directly entering his brain.

Naru: "GHAAAA!"

Naru's body spasmed for a few moments before going completely still.

Marylin: "Hmph! That was easy. Let's see if his servant is still there."