Silence dominated the following minute.
In front of King, a man of slim build stands. His hair is white as snow, while his skin an uncanny mix of black and white, a red gem protruding from his chest. The golden armor and spear adorning him exuding power and divinity.
Sharp blue eyes met the hero's, filled with simple loyalty.
"Servant, Lancer. True name, Karna."
Beside him, a dark skinned man with white hair stared at Ritsuka, wearing a black vest and pants, covered with a red coat.
His eyes seemed to analyze the young master, making the teen squirm slightly.
"Servant, Archer. I have come at your request."
The silence from the four Chaldeans was broken by the sound of King stepping forward.
"I'm King, nice to meet you, Karna." King faced the demigod, extending his hand to the pale servant.
Every single person in the chamber stopped and stared at the act.
Olga's mouth was agape at the perceived lack of hesitation or fear on King's part, while Mash and Ritsuka both admired it.
The red archer simply nodded, impressed at the older master.
Karna stared at the hand offered to him, the surprise in his eyes only visible to the most eagle eyed.
Slowly, the Indian demigod reached for the hand and shook it.
'Huh, so these are the heroes of this world.'
King looked at the two results of the summoning. Looking simply from their physiques, they should be rather strong, but considering his world had a literal elementary schooler able to kick concrete to pieces, perhaps it's not the best sign of strength, especially in a world with magic.
King noticed the paler servant looking at him.
"Servant, Lancer. True name, Karna. Nice to meet you."
'Lancer, huh?' From what little King remembered from servants on the game tutorial, lancers are heroic spirits that use lances or spears, and sure enough, a golden spear was in Karna's right hand.
Well, if Karna was his servant, then it would be rude not to introduce himself after he did.
"I'm King, nice to meet you, Karna." King offered his hand, only to be met with stares and silence.
For a moment, King was afraid that the simple gesture was a rude one in this world, and that he just unintentionally insulted his servant.
Thankfully, after half a minute of silence, Karna reciprocated the gesture, slowly shaking King's hand, making him sigh in relief.
"I see, so you are a King, master."
King's eyebrow twitched, it was rather common for people to joke about his name when he was younger. 'King, King of what?' 'I got you a seat, my King' he heard those same damn jokes one too many times during his school years, enough for him to hate it now.
That being said, the pure sincerity in Karna's voice disarmed whatever anger King might've felt, so instead he cleared himself.
"No, not at all, it's just my name." King replied with a smile.
"I understand, so you took the name King to represent your nobility, master." Karna's smile remained bright and sincere.
This time, King's eyebrow twitched more visibly.
"No, no, it was my birth name, given to me by my parents" Exasperated, King hoped this would finally clear the misunderstanding.
"Ah, then your parents blessed you with a powerful and noble name, master."
…
Well, at least he doesn't think it's a fake name now.
Sighing in defeat, King let go of his servant's hand, only now noticing Olga, Ritsuka, and Mash stifling their laughs while the archer in red cloak gave an amused smile.
"Well, master, I suppose you aren't going to introduce yourself as well?" Ritsuka's servant, the archer, turned to the teen boy, expecting eyes staring at him.
"A-ah yes! My name is Fujimaru Ritsuka, nice to meet you, Archer!" The japanese boy gave a slight bow.
"A-and I'm Mash Kyrielight! I'm senpai's first servant and a demi-servant!" Mash followed her master's actions, bowing to the older man in red.
"Well, now that introductions are out of the way, mind explaining the situation in more detail?" Archer turned to the Director, who had been silent up until now.
"...Yes, I suppose a little debriefing is needed."
"...I see, so something happened in Fuyuki, Japan in 2004 that diverted it from human history, and Chaldea is here to investigate the cause, correct?" Karna reiterated the director's words, barely showing any emotion to the information.
"And an explosion at Chaldea caused the investigation team to have dwindled?" The Archer did the same, focusing on the accident at Chaldea.
"Yes, the situation is quite dire, as you can see." Olga winced at having to relay just how pitiful their conditions are to the two servants.
The two servants stood in silence, digesting the information Olga told them. Archer, in particular, seemed to be deep in thought.
"...Very well, I understand. We will do our best to help you." Karna stepped down from the shield, now standing beside his master.
"What is our next move, Director? I reckon you don't know enough about the city to know where to start." Archer followed Karna's actions, now standing beside Ritsuka, who is still staring at his servant, some admiration and wonder visible in his eyes.
"...You're right, I was planning for us to explore aimlessly, we don't have a choice with the limited conditions." Olga gritted her teeth. The more she talked about it, the more she felt just how unqualified she is as a leader.
Archer sighed.
"As I thought, well lucky for us, I see a giant bridge in that direction." Archer pointed to a direction.
Following his finger, the humans in the area were confused at the lack of the supposed bridge.
"Hm, yes, I see it too, Archer." Karna's voice complemented the archer's observation.
"It's behind the ruins of that building, yes?" Archer nodded at the lancer's confirmation.
"How did you-"
"Clairvoyance, it's a skill of mine." Archer answered Ritsuka's question before he could ask all of it.
"W-well then, let's investigate that bridge shall we?"
With the Director's order, the now party of six started their march
'This is unreal.'
Ritsuka had a lot of expectations going into the summoning.
There were so many heroes in the history of humanity, it was impossible to truly predict who was going to show up.
But even so, the heroic spirit King summoned exceeded even his wildest imaginations.
'I'm walking alongside Karna! The Karna from Mahabharata!'
Never in a million years could he have expected that he would one day walk alongside the Indian demigod son of the sun god Surya.
The story about how he gave his weapons away to an Indra in disguise, despite knowing of the deception comes to his mind when thinking about the servant.
How does he know all this? Well, let's just say he was downplaying it when King asked about his obsession towards heroes.
'Still, to summon a demigod… no, maybe it should be expected from someone like King.'
Ritsuka's opinion about his fellow master had done a 180 after the advice he received from the older man. King is a wise and strong-minded man yet also kind when the situation calls for it.
King's encouragement still rang in his mind even now, he still has quite a lot of doubts, but he will try to make the right decision when the time calls.
So, yes, perhaps it was only natural someone as admirable as King would summon such a noble hero.
Speaking of servants…
"Say, uh, Archer." Ritsuka had been curious about his new servant, not really recognizing any famous figures named 'Archer'.
The red cloaked man turned his gaze into his new master.
"If you don't mind me asking, can you tell me about your identity? I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with any hero named Archer."
Ritsuka had expected Archer to briefly answer the question or maybe even brush it off.
What he didn't expect was a slightly surprised look coming from the tall man.
"Fujimaru! I know you were a civilian hire, but didn't you at least read the guidebook?!" From his left side, Director Olga stomped her way to him, scolding him in the way.
"You were a civilian, master?" Archer asked the teen, a slight frown making itself known on his face.
Ritsuka winced, he supposed it's somewhat natural to be disappointed in having an inexperienced teenager as your master.
"...Well, I suppose I can explain it to you while we walk." After the small kerfuffle, the group resumed their march while Archer started to explain the basics to Ritsuka.
"I assume you already know about the basic concept of a heroic spirit at least, so I'll explain it in more detail." Ritsuka nodded.
The Archer proceeded to explain the finer details of servants to his master, from classes, to command spells, skills and true names.
"...So your name isn't Archer?" Ritsuka asked, a quizzical look on his face.
Archer chuckled.
"No, no it isn't. For example, Karna's true name isn't lancer, that would be his class." Hearing this, Ritsuka brought his finger to his chin, thinking.
"...Wait, so what's your true name, then?"
"My true name?" Archer looked contemplative.
"Sorry, master, I think just Archer will suffice for now."
"Oh, I see…" Ritsuka tried his best to hide his disappointment, not wanting to disturb his servant's right to privacy by prodding any further.
"One more thing, master, every servant has their own noble phantasms."
"Noble Phantasms?" Archer's words broke Ritsuka out of his stupor, catching his attention.
"Yes, Noble Phantasms are-"
"Monsters incoming!"
Mash's voice interrupted Archer's teachings, shifting the focus of the master-servant duo to a group of skeletons coming their way.
"Well, master, how about some practical lessons? You too, Mash." Calmly, Archer stepped in front of Ritsuka, now facing the skeletons beside Mash.
Without words, Archer crossed his arms, blue lines emanating from his fingertips, creating outlines of a sword in each hand.
Slowly, the outlines filled with magical energy, before dissipating, revealing two swords, black and white in color, complementing each other like yin and yang. Ritsuka watched in awe as his servant created the two weapons, seemingly out of thin air.
"Karna, can you leave this half to us? I'd like to teach Mash and Ritsuka how to fight as master and servant." Karna simply nodded and walked to the front of the other half of the monsters with King following suit, preparing to engage the walking dead.
"Ready yourselves, Mash, master." Archer took a fighting stance.
"Y-yes!" Mash readies her shield.
"G-got it!" Ritsuka stands behind the two, ready to give commands.
In the flash of an eye, the skeletons rushed the two servants with intent to kill, for they had become walking resentment.
Karna observed his master.
The man is taller than him by a good head, with 3 stripes of damaged skin running through his stoic face.
For the last few minutes of their walk, the pair had been side by side, neither has yet to make even an attempt at conversation.
However, Karna didn't mind.
When the throne of heroes sent out a call for the fate of the entire world, Karna readily accepted, his heart filled with a pure desire to save the world and all living beings in it.
That was when he first saw his new master.
From looks alone, Karna's impression of the man was 'strong', especially compared to the sloth of a woman his previous master was.
However, his master's first act upon meeting him gave him his first true impression of the man.
From what Karna could remember from his previous summonings, most of the humans that summoned him treated him on a pedestal, praised his deeds, his divinity, and his story. His eyes saw through it however, seeing the intent and at times fear behind those honeyed words.
Still, Karna followed their orders, his sense of honor and loyalty looking past the sometimes questionable morals of his masters.
He never disobeyed or even questioned. After all, he is a mere spear in the hand of his masters
When he saw the extended hand of his current master, Karna was caught off guard for the first time in a long time. He could not sense any fear nor intent clouded behind the offer.
It was a pure and genuine introduction as an equal. Nothing less, nothing more.
That simple gesture sparked Karna's curiosity about the scarred man.
So now, in the dawn of a battle, Karna stood still, observing his master, waiting for his orders. Karna already knew his master is a capable commander, simply from the aura he is emitting, and the unchanging calmness of his face.
What he is curious about is the way his master commands and fights. As a soldier, Karna found that a man's true nature is often found in the heat of a battle, and through this battle, he will discern just what kind of man his master is.
'Now, show me what kind of man you are, master!'
'What the fuck am I supposed to do?'
King is exasperated, though one would not be able to tell just by looking at him.
When the monsters came at him and his companions, King briefly panicked at the prospect of having his facade of a mage torn down, before remembering about his servant.
Right, his servant, Karna, who is currently looking at him, awaiting for orders.
That doesn't really help, does it?
King thought back to the lessons Archer gave Ritsuka. He had intentionally eavesdropped on the conversation they had, hoping to learn more in-depth about servants as well.
King looked at the back of his right hand, three bright red markings making a tattoo like pattern now present. The top part looked like a thorny crown, the middle a simple line with a downwards angle, while the bottom part stretched to the base of his forearm, shaped like an arrow.
'Command spells, right?' From what he heard, command spells are basically a way for him to force an order over a servant, or to empower them. Archer said to keep it for emergencies, as there are only three uses before it depletes, so he probably shouldn't use them on some skeletons.
Still, this left him in a pretty tight situation.
The pile of bones are slowly, but surely approaching him, while his servant's eyes are unchanging, still staring at him while in a combat stance, waiting for orders.
The severity of the situation caused his panic to come back with a vengeance, starting the King Engine.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
Drumming sounds fill the battlefield.
Karna's grip on his spear tightened, preparing for his master's orders.
The skeletons continue their march, unfazed.
King shook in his shoes, mistaken by Karna as battle lust.
The stalemate continued for what felt like hours until finally, one of the sides made a move.
However, it was neither the demigod, nor the monsters.
King stepped forward with a powerful stomp, now standing in front of Karna.
Karna's eyes widened in shock at the move.
The undead are walking resentments, without thought nor will, but even they stopped and stared at the man.
Was it instincts? A mere physical reaction? Either way, the army of skeletons hesitated seeing the man's confidence.
'FUCK ME!' …Or perceived confidence, more precisely.
In his panic, King had tried to step back, maybe order a retreat. It would hurt his credibility and may even risk the others calling out his bluff, but better than dying, right?
Well, that doesn't really matter anymore, because the muddy ground made him slip forward instead.
Thankfully, some quick thinking on his part made him land on his right foot, preventing his face from meeting the dirt.
…He still fell to the waiting arms of the monsters, though.
In fear, King shut his eyes, forgetting about the servant behind him.
Karna stared at his master's back.
He had expected to hear an order from beside him, maybe even a spell from his master to start the battle.
Never could he expect that his master would step in front of him.
For the briefest of moments, Karna was at a loss, until he realized something, the sound reverberating from his master's torso was still going on. The sound of his master's heartbeat rang through the area like a war drum.
Karna understood then what the action had meant.
In the blink of an eye, Karna danced through the battlefield, his spear in hand, cutting through the still stunned skeletons one by one. In less time than one could take their breath, the skeletons turned to dust.
Letting a breath out, Karna put his spear away into spirit form. He looked back to his master, who now stood up straight and looked him in the eyes.
"So, that is the kind of warrior you are, master." A King who does not hesitate to stand with his soldiers, even when he himself is nowhere near as strong as his soldiers nor the enemy.
The most honorable kind of leader.
"I'm happy to have someone so noble as my master." With all he wanted to say out of the way, Karna began to walk to the group, Ritsuka's team having finished up their half of the monsters.
Unbeknownst to him, had he just stayed for a few more seconds, he would've caught King's flabbergasted look.
Archer took in the scene in front of him.
Mash is kneeling, using her shield as support. She gasped for air, exhausted at the battle that just took place.
Ritsuka isn't doing much better either, hunching down and breathing loudly, no doubt mentally exhausted from his first time commanding two servants in a battle.
The battle itself, however…
"So, how did I do, Archer?" Ritsuka asked, labored breathing interrupting each word.
"To be blunt, master? It was quite dire." While they won the battle rather decisively, the road to victory was filled with many potholes, really only reaching the destination because of how weak the skeletons were.
Mash did well initially, only to be overwhelmed when the numbers game was too much for her, while Ritsuka did his best to command both of them, but failed to keep up with Archer's speed and Mash getting outnumbered.
"Haha, that bad?" A mirthless laugh escaped the boy's mouth, his head downcast.
Archer sighed.
Despite himself,when the world called upon heroic spirits to save the world, he was one of the first to respond. Old habits die hard it seems.
He didn't really know what to think when he saw that his master was a teenage boy, but despite his doubts, he decided to go along as the boy's servant.
But then it was revealed to him that Ritsuka was a civilian, with absolutely no knowledge of the moonlit world until just today.
Archer frowned, someone like that has no business being in his shoes, he should be in college, learning about something useful rather than be forced to save the world.
Though, it's not like there's a choice if what the Director told him was true.
"...No, not at all, master. Considering your circumstances, the fact that you're even alive, much less able to command us for a moment is very impressive."
It was true. Masters who wished to summon a servant usually trained and prepared for the upcoming holy grail war. For someone who didn't even know about the moonlit world until today, it was nothing short of a miracle he came out relatively unscathed.
Archer took his focus off the still downcast teen to look around him.
'Fuyuki, huh?' The city brought up a lot of memories within him, this was his hometown after all.
He looked at the seemingly eternal fire consuming the city, serving as a reminder of the catalyst that led him to be the servant he is now.
He looked at the bridge just up ahead, his mind going to the battle he had with the servant of a certain purple haired girl, leading him to mull in silence about the two weeks that irreversibly changed his life.
He turned his focus back on the young boy in front of him, he couldn't possibly be much older than he was when the Holy Grail War happened.
And yet, the boy now had the fate of the world unfairly thrust upon him.
Sincerely, Archer hopes that his master does not lose himself along the way.
Shaking his mind off reminiscing, he saw the other master-servant pair approaching his own group.
"All targets eliminated." A robotic response came from the lancer.
Seeing Karna, son of Surya, at his side during the summoning was quite a surprise. From what he could remember the demigod was an extremely powerful servant, worth an entire roster of a holy grail war, much like a certain golden archer.
But Archer's attention was instead drawn to the man behind him, his master, King, if Archer remembered correctly.
Compared to his own master, the scarred man is an enigma. The display of confidence the man did in the summoning chamber was a rare one.
When a mage summons a servant, often they would either treat them as a tool beneath them, or as a powerful being, awed by their power. Archer could count the number of times they treated a servant as an equal with one hand and have fingers remain.
Yet, that was exactly what King did, shaking his servant's hand and fighting as an equal alongside him on the battlefield.
While there is still much he doesn't know about him, he felt some relief knowing his inexperienced master had a strong companion to accompany him on his journey.
Although, the same cannot be said about Ritsuka's other companions, Olga Marie and Mash Kyrielight.
He looked at the Director of Chaldea, slowly coming out of her hiding spot, having retreated the moment the monsters made themselves known.
To be perfectly honest, the girl had yet to do anything to make him view her as anything but a liability power-wise. That being said, he can sense her high quality magic circuits, so it would seem her weakness is of the mind.
As a leader however, he could see some potential, but as she is now, she is far from realizing it.
Mash, on the other hand, had the opposite problem.
As a servant, her combat prowess is lacking. While it could be chalked up to inexperience, he suspected the cause was the circumstances of her existence.
'A demi-servant…' He recognized the term, a fusion between a human and a heroic spirit, but this is the first time he saw it beyond mere concepts and theories.
She had yet to say anything about it, but he suspected something went wrong with the process, making her a defective servant, unable to use her powers to the fullest.
Archer sighed once again. It would seem that he got his work cut out for him.
He looked to the port, where Fuyuki's church lies just beyond.
Truthfully, when he pointed out the bridge to Olga, he didn't use his clairvoyance at all, but rather his knowledge of the city to point them in the direction of the church.
With what that church has been used for over the years, surely at least a hint of this singularity's cause can be found in that damned place.
Archer approached Olga Marie, intending to make their next destination known.
"The port there seems to be a good place to continue our investigation, what do you say, Director?"
Olga Marie absentmindedly nodded at the servant's suggestion.
She always thought that she had the potential to be a great mage.
It would make sense after all, the quality of her magical circuits are top notch, not to mention her family name afforded her first class training ever since her childhood.
Not even the reveal that she had no potential to be a master waver her belief in this fact. Even if she is a sorry excuse of a director and leader, she held solace in her faith.
Today, that faith had been shattered.
Despite her involvement in the moonlit world, she had never found herself in a true battle to the death, owing to the fact that her father never saw her as an heir. As such, when she saw the skeletons, she readied herself to support her subordinates in combat.
However, she found instead that she could not make a move.
When she cried for help instead of fighting back when King saved her, she had rationalized that she was alone and panicked, and as such, could not fight back. Up until now, she buried her doubts, convincing herself that had she been in the right state of mind, she could easily fend off those monsters herself.
So why is it that she cowered and hid even when three servants were present?
A rhetorical question, she knew the answer. She had known since she took the position her father once held.
She has no talent, no passion beyond living up to the Marisbury name, whatever the hell that means.
And now that Archer is the one pointing directions, she is well and truly worthless. She could jump off this bridge and she doubts the rest would even notice.
These thoughts kept swirling in her head, taking every ounce of willpower she had to keep the pretense of a confident leader while they walked towards the port ruins.
Trying to distract herself, she focused on the rest of the party.
She looked behind her, King and his servant walking quietly side by side. She saw how King stepped up to the skeletons alongside his servant fearlessly, uncaring about the massive difference in power between them.
Shaking her head, she shifted her attention to the other master and servant pair, Ritsuka and Archer, making small talk as they went.
She thought about the young candidate, he isn't even supposed to be here, he's just a civilian hire! He should be in Chaldea, reflecting on sleeping during the briefing instead of risking his life against things he didn't even know were real until today. The only reason he's here is an unfortunate string of events that led them here.
Yet, when push came to shove, he stood his ground, fighting his fears and fought with his servants despite his lack of experience and knowledge.
'...This isn't helping.' The more she tried to distract herself, she instead found how much more she lacked compared to her companions.
Finally, her eyes shifted to the girl beside her. Mash, the girl who had lived in Chaldea in all 16 years of her life, never once seeing the world beyond the snow visible from its windows. Despite the brutal experiments Chaldea conducted on her, she never once protested or even voiced her displeasure.
For as long as she had known the girl, she had always been a headstrong girl. That extends to the battle she just had, where she pushed on and defeated the monsters even when outnumbered, and even now, as she could see her keep walking even as she is wincing from pain of the earlier battle.
"...Mash, don't push yourself. Slow down a little, I know a little healing magecraft." Olga said to the demi-servant, preparing the one healing spell she knew.
If nothing else, with the lack of caster servants, she can make herself useful this way.
King looked towards the scene in front of him. Mash was insisting that she didn't need the Director's treatment, only to find that Olga is more stubborn than she thought.
The younger girl finally gave up and let Olga use her magecraft to heal her wounds.
The rest of the group watched the interaction with varying degrees of reaction, from amused to relieved.
King however, felt a slight pang of guilt from ever comparing her to those stuck up executives. Besides the haughty attitude, she had been nothing but caring to him and Ritsuka.
Without her, he and Ritsuka probably wouldn't have been able to summon their servants, and without Karna, he would not be alive right now.
Speaking of Karna, King is still unsure about how to feel about him.
He is strong, that is for sure, strong enough to most likely guarantee his safety from now on, judging from the show against the bones, so he's glad to have him as a servant.
That being said, he wants to know a little more about Karna as a person, especially since he's probably stuck with him until however long it takes for him to get back home.
Judging by Ritsuka's reactions, he could at least gather that Karna is a famous figure of sorts, but that isn't really much to go off on.
"...Is there something on my face, master?"
The sudden voice of Karna made King jump back a little.
"Ah, I'm sorry, it's just that you've been staring at me for a while, master."
'Was it that obvious?' he had been sneaking glances at the servant, sure, but he didn't think it was noticeable! Maybe he has super senses?
"Oh, well, I'm just curious about you, I guess."
"Me?" Karna seemed rather surprised about the inquiry. Why that is, King couldn't even begin to fathom.
Karna chuckled.
"Unfortunately, I don't think there is anything interesting to tell you, master. As your servant, I am merely your spear, for you to use as you see fit."
King frowned at his response, for someone so strong, he sure thinks very lowly of himself. Still, King is determined to at least get some details about him.
"Don't say that, Karna. Regardless of what you think about yourself, it's up to me to decide what is interesting and what's not." King replied, hoping that it's enough encouragement for the pale man to open up.
The lancer stayed silent for a while, before letting out a small laugh.
"Is that so, master? Well, I believe that this isn't the most appropriate place and time for me to recant my legend, but if I were to put it simply, then I would call myself a soldier." Karna finally divulged to his master, with a slight apologetic gleam in his eyes.
King nodded. So, he was a soldier. That would explain his combat abilities, along with his conduct as his servant.
"My deepest apologies, I know I can be quite tiring to talk to." The servant slightly bowed his head to apologize, confusing his master.
"One of my previous masters often told me that I speak too little, and it's unpleasant at times I do. Perhaps it is simply my nature, I hope it doesn't bother you too much."
'His nature, hm?' King decided to not prod his servant incessantly about it, god forbid someone question his otaku lifestyle.
"You see, I much prefer gauging others with actions rather than words. Much like how I did with you when you stepped forward beside me."
…Oh, so that's what that was.
"Yes, your actions back then showed me your noble character, master."
'Noble character?' No no no no. He needs to stomp this out before it's too late.
"N-no, that was a complete accident!" King desperately tries to clear up the misunderstanding, praying his words go through his servant's head.
But Karna only chuckled again.
"Noble and humble? You are a man of rare breed, master." Karna replied, amused. It would seem that his efforts are as futile as usual.
'Oh, well.' King supposed it's fine for just one person to misjudge his strength. It's not like there's any community here for his deeds to be grossly exaggerated again.
"We're here."
The voice of Archer rang out, catching everyone's attention.
In front of him, King could see the ruins of the port, infested with skeletons yet again.
Archer summoned his swords again, with Mash readying her own weapon. Ritsuka stood behind them, ready to give commands.
"Well, master, I must admit, I'm still rather curious about how you command, so I'd like you to stay here this time."
"Wait-" Without waiting for King's response, his servant advanced into the fray, spear in hand.
Karna was once again on stand by, waiting for King's orders before committing to the first strike.
'Fuck' He's damn out of luck now, he doubts that he can create another situation like the one at the bridge, not like he wants to get in front of monsters again.
"Calm down, King, deep breaths." King whispered under his breath, before analyzing the scene in front of him.
Karna is standing by himself, surrounded by skeletons numbering in the 20s. He is in a battle stance, calm and collected.
'Alright, let's just think for a second.' King looked at the fight happening to his left, Ritsuka was loudly giving orders to Mash and Archer, directing which enemies to strike and warning them of incoming attacks.
Maybe he could try doing the same? He can't imagine relying on random coincidences all the time.
"...The one on your right, Karna."
Immediately, the lancer swiftly executed his orders, thrusting his spear to a sword-wielding skeleton, shattering it into bone dust.
Behind him, a skeleton rushed with its spear directed towards the lancer, intending to skewer him as retaliation.
"Behind you!"
Wordlessly, Karna sidesteps the attack, not even looking at his attacker, before spinning around the undead, executing three slashes along its back.
Karna's response to his orders were instant, much like a video game character's.
'...A video game?'
If there is one thing that King is truly proud of himself, then it would be his gaming skills. In fact, he often competes in online tournaments anonymously, never losing a single one. It doesn't really matter what kind of game, you name it, he's probably amazing at it.
That fact comes with its perks, namely multitasking from strategy games, and reaction time from FPS and fighting games. Of course, without the physical instruments necessary, those skills are rather useless.
With Karna here, however…
"The one with the shield is distracted, Karna." The sound of Karna's spear destroying the monster's skull reverberated through the area.
"To your left, three are grouped closely." The lancer's spear flowed through the air, as if a brush on a canvas, the monsters' dust his paint.
With every single order he gave, his servant executed them without delay. The skeletons stood no chance, as if he was a grossly unbalanced character in a fighting game.
…
'Yeah, this could work.'
"Well, that church seems interesting, wouldn't you say?"
"Yeah, sure."
Nodding at the director's reply, Archer looked at his master.
The boy is surprisingly adaptive. While he still wouldn't call his performance here good just yet, he made good use of the bits of advice he gave him on the bridge. As a result, his orders this time around were more focused and useful.
From the two battles they had been in together, Archer could see some determination in his eyes. While it's good in a practical setting, especially now, he couldn't help but be slightly worried about it.
He is scared, that much is apparent to the servant, but the will he had to push on is… unusual, especially for a civilian.
Hopefully, it doesn't get him killed.
Shaking his head, Archer focused back on the walk to the church.
"Say, Director, do you have a theory on the cause yet?" Mash questioned Olga, breaking the quietness that had ensued.
"Well, as you know, CHALDEAS is the model of the earth from where Chaldea observes the future of humanity, and LAPLACE is the system we use to compile the data into records, and according to LAPLACE, in 2004 there was a-"
"Holy Grail War, right?"
Emiya's sudden interruption made Olga look at him, surprised.
"You know about it, mister Archer?!" Mash now turned to him, as surprised as Olga was.
"Yes, I suppose you could say I was part of a Holy Grail War that used the same system, once." Archer left his answer vague, not wanting to reveal his true role in the Fuyuki Holy Grail War.
"The Fuyuki Holy Grail War, seven masters, seven servants, fighting to the death over a Holy Grail, that's the basis of it, right, Director?" Unbeknownst to everyone else, Olga bit her lip at Archer's takeover of her lecture.
"...Yes, details are scarce, but we know that Saber was victorious in the end."
'Ah, so Saber won in this timeline.' He briefly wondered about her, before reshifting his focus. Being melancholic is not ideal right now.
Olga then briefly went on to explain CHALDEAS, LAPLACE, SHEBA, and FATE more in-depth, mainly to Ritsuka, who is still a fish out of water compared to everyone else.
"...You mentioned heroic spirits at Chaldea?" Archer couldn't help but take notice of the small detail in her explanation.
"Yes, though FATE was not stable before today, we managed to summon three servants. The first summoned by the previous director, the second fused with Mash, and the third was summoned after I took over, Leonardo da Vinci, Caster."
"Leonardo da Vinci is at Chaldea?! The engineer, painter, and inventor?!" Ritsuka immediately jumped at Olga, pestering her about the aforementioned servant.
"Ack! Yes, yes she is! Don't you have any sense of personal space, you buffoon?!" Olga scolded the young master, making him apologize.
Archer smiled slightly at his master's behavior. His admiration of heroes and historical figures is quite naive, but Archer can't help but find it slightly endearing.
'...Wait, she?'
Before Archer could continue that train of thought, he spotted yet another group of skeletons, right in front of the church.
"Another one?! Ugh, how many bones are buried in this damned city?!" Olga complained quietly, yet her frustration still shone through.
"Hold on, master. They haven't spotted us yet." Archer gestured at his master to stop him from engaging.
Archer put his hands forward, projecting a dark bow in his left hand, and a sword that spirals into its point in his right.
Slowly, he began to draw the bow, using the sword as the arrow. The sword stretched as it was pulled, looking more like a thorny spear as Archer drew the sword to its anchor point.
Then, he released the sword.
Everyone present watched as the sword-arrow traveled to the monsters, faster than any of the skeletons could comprehend.
BOOM
The arrow made an explosion on contact with the area, engulfing the undead, turning them into dust.
The humans watched in awe, while Karna merely nodded in approval.
"...Was that your Noble Phantasm, mister Archer?" Mash finally asked after a few seconds of silence.
"Noble Phantasm?" Ritsuka questioned the term, making Archer realize he had forgotten to continue his lecture from the bridge.
"Noble Phantasms are crystallizations of the legends of a servant, the very symbol of their being as a heroic spirit, basically." It was instead Olga who finished his lecture, while sporting a slightly disappointed look at his master.
"You really didn't read any part of that handbook, did you?" Ritsuka loeked sheepish at the accusation, while the Director could only sigh.
"Speaking of Noble Phantasms, Mash, is it possible that you can't use it?"
Mash winced at Archer's hypothesis. Bingo.
"Yes, you're right, mister Archer. I don't even know the true name of the servant I'm fused with, let alone their Noble Phantasm."
"I suppose you could call me a failed servant." Mash looked disappointed in herself, her head downcast.
"Don't worry about it, Mash, even if you don't know, you were still strong enough to save me, right? And I'll help you figure it out along the way."
"Senpai…" Ritsuka did his best to comfort Mash, which seemed to work wonders based on her reaction.
"That's good and all, but let this be a lesson, Fujimaru. Try to learn the true name and Noble Phantasm of your servant before you contract them, these two should be the exception." Director Olga said, gesturing to both Mash and Archer.
"...Honestly. With how little you know, I would assign you to a desk job if we had the choice."
"Oh? Is that your way to say you're worried about me, Director?" Ritsuka's teasing reduced Olga to a blubbering mess, eliciting a laugh from Mash, and an amused smile on the others' faces.
As Olga and Ritsuka kept bickering, they walked to the church, Archer leading the group.
"Well then let's see what we-" As Archer approached the main door, he sensed something, a powerful presence.
One that can only belong to a-
"Master! Step back!"
Ritsuka heeded his servant's warning at the last second, dodging a blur of black and purple, which crashed into the ground instead.
The smoke of the crash cleared, a woman with long purple hair revealed herself, dressed in a black dress, a snake tattoo adorning her forehead.
"...I missed." The woman hissed, staring daggers at Archer.
"Hmph, not like you to miss, Rider." A distance to her right, a man clad in a mix of monastic robes and armor walked into view, a wide assortment of weapons on his back.
"Servants?! Is the Holy Grail War still going?!" The Director screamed out, retreating behind the masters and their servants.
"Master, take care not to stare into that woman's eyes, lest you turn to stone."
"Stone?! Then, her true name is-"
"Medusa." Mash breathed out, completing Ritsuka's words.
"Hmph, so you know who I am." The woman twirled her weapon, a sharp dagger attached to a long chain.
"Leave this one to me, master, focus your efforts with Mash on the lancer servant." Archer separated himself from his master, intending on fighting the rider by himself.
"G-got it, Archer!" Ritsuka replied, running towards Mash to engage the lancer.
"▂▂▃▃▅▅ーーー！！"
However, before he could make it to his servant, a giant shadow covered him, threatening to end his life.
CLANG
Sparks flew as rock met gold.
The giant's figure came into view, a half naked beast stared into the demigod's eyes with malice. His skin as hard as rock, the only clothes covering him an armored skirt. Pure overwhelming strength radiated from the statue-like being, his otherworldly growls send pure dread down the spines of Ritsuka.
Karna held the giant beast's strike with his spear, preventing Ritsuka's demise.
"Hm. it would seem a strong warrior has appeared. Would you mind leaving him with me and master, master Ritsuka?" Karna requested the younger master, still holding the clash between him and the giant.
"Y-yes! By all means!" Ritsuka was more than happy to oblige, continuing his sprint to the lancer servant.
"Tch, I can't believe Berserker failed." Medusa snarled, now face to face with Archer.
He stared at his opponent, she did not behave like how he remembered her. Black aura surrounds her, further raising questions in his head.
He projected his most favored weapons, Kanshou and Bakuya. The anomaly in her behavior can be saved for later.
Archer took a fighting stance, followed by the greek monster.
"...Come at me, Rider."
" ▂▃▅▅！"
In the open field of the church's yard, the enormous berserker swung his sword wildly, abandoning all reason and strategy for pure strength and speed.
The opposing lancer dodged them with ease, taking into use the orders of his master in tandem with his own senses.
The giant roared, drawing his sword arm behind his body, before striking with all his might.
Karna jumped towards the attack, landing on the sword, before jumping once again. Now above the berserker, he lit his spear on fire, landing a counterattack that left the beast screaming.
"▅▅▅■■■■！！" Not content with being on the receiving end, the berserker grabbed Karna's leg in mid air, throwing him.
Unfazed, Karna balanced himself, landing on his knees and slowing himself by stabbing his spear into the ground.
Invoking his lineage as the son of the sun god, he summoned fire into his hand, blowing them to the giant, resulting in the beast's disarray.
Taking this advantage, Karna rushed his enemy, attacking him with a wide slash of his flaming spear, sending the servant reeling back from the damage.
Though the fight might seem one-sided, Karna had yet to find an opening to finish his opponent. Even now, kneeling from pain, the berserker's watchful eye prevented him from committing to a final attack.
"...endure…"
Karna's attention was caught by his master's voice. For the last few moments, his master had been quiet, giving no orders. He had chalked it up to his master's trust for him to finish the fight himself, but perhaps he had been devising a tactic all along?
'Endure?' Karna looked down on his body, particularly, the golden armor he wore. The armor, Kavacha and Kundala, given by his mother as proof of his divine blood, had protected him for as long as he could remember, reducing what would be lethal blows to mere scars.
"Right, thank you master." In the heat of the battle, he had forgotten about the gift from the woman whom he was grateful to be born from, regardless of how she felt towards him.
A gift that can withstand the berserker's blows.
When the giant swung his next attack, Karna did not move, rather merely bracing himself. The sword came down on his shoulder, causing the lancer to grit his teeth in pain.
The berserker, even in his madness, was shocked at the durability of his opponent. The attack that should've cleaved the lancer in two, merely resulted in a slight gash.
In his shock, the beast did not notice Karna gripping his sword, launching himself behind the berserker, landing a fatal blow to the back of his neck.
Karna landed gracefully after the attack, the giant lay dead on the ground.
"It's a shame you've gone mad. Perhaps next time we meet, it will be a much closer battle." With his respects paid, Karna began walking to his master, intending to congratulate him for their victory.
Unbeknownst to the master-servant pair, the wound on the berserker's neck started to heal, returning back its statue-like appearance.
Faster than Karna could intersect, the beast rushed his master, murderous intent overflowing from his being.
"▂▃▅▅！" The giant roared, brandishing his sword. If he cannot win fighting the servant, then he shall win by killing the master.
A mighty swing rained down on the scarred man, with speed no mere human could react to, let alone dodge, sealing the master's fate.
…Or at least it should've.
Instead of the crunch of a broken body, the sound of rock hitting the earth sounded through the area.
The berserker looked down at his weapon, the lack of blood and gore on the sword evoking his confusion.
Slowly, he turned to look behind him.
The master is standing tall, his arms crossed.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
The unbelievably loud sound of a heartbeat filled his ears.
In his madness, the beast could not feel fear, but even so, his instincts left him stunned.
Was it bloodlust? Did the man in front of him truly think that he could take on a servant?
Or perhaps, he knew he could win.
Had the giant not been a berserker, rationale would've told him that the man was a mere human being, much weaker than himself. But, pure instincts declared the man in front of him powerful, not to be underestimated.
"▂▂▃▃▃▃▂▂…" Seeing his disadvantage, the berserker retreated, out of sight of the master and servant.
King is surprisingly getting used to this.
Seeing his servant as a video game character to be controlled really did help when it comes to commanding him.
Coupled with the familiar feeling of being in a battlefield courtesy of being an S-Class hero, the experience had a weird familiarity to it.
That being said, he still wouldn't call himself an expert at the whole master thing. Sometimes the dust from the fight gets too much for him to see what's really going on or his servant moves too fast and erratic for him to properly transform his thoughts into the words.
Like what's happening right now.
For the last few moments, the battle had gotten too out of hand for him to give Karna orders against the beast.
'That guy is really tall.' Seriously, what the hell is this guy? He's even slightly taller than Darkshine!
Anyhow, though Karna seemed to have it in the bag, he remained on stand by, in case his servant pulled that test again.
That was when disaster struck.
Walking with his new servant had made him forget about the one problem he had yet to take care of today.
His bladder.
"D-damn it, I have to endure!" King whispered under his breath, trying his best to not lose control during such an important moment.
After a few seconds, he looked up to find that Karna had slain the big man, who is now lying face down on the ground.
Relieved that it's over, King keeled over, clutching his bladder.
However, a rush of wind over his head made his pain temporarily disappear.
Nervously, he raised his head, only to be met with Karna's shocked face from afar.
Slowly, he turned back.
A gigantic beast filled his view.
He could feel his entire body shaking as a staring match between the two commenced.
King crossed his arms in an attempt to stop his body's vibrations. He could hear his heartbeat starting to emit its signature sound.
He tried to call for his servant, only to find his throat freezing in fear.
Seeing no way to save himself, King closed his eyes, surrendering his fate to the giant before him.
…
'Huh?' After a minute of darkness, King opened his eyes to reveal an empty plain, no big dark giant in sight.
Confused, he turned to his servant, a congratulatory look in his eyes.
"To think that you are even able to stand your ground against a servant… No, perhaps even I underestimated you, master." The last part was said apologetically by his servant, before walking back to the church.
'...What?'
Sparks flew through the air as swords clashed with dagger.
Medusa tried to keep her distance from Archer's swords, utilizing her chain to try and bind the servant.
However, Archer was too agile for her, slipping out of every attempt to tie him, getting closer to her, parrying her dagger at the same time.
As Archer got closer to her, the rider prepared her secret weapon, one of the most famous aspects of her legend.
The Mystic Eyes of Petrification.
But even that wasn't enough to stop the man.
Before the petrification could even begin, Archer prepared his bow and shot two arrows into the rider's eyes.
The woman let out a scream, the damage temporarily blinding her eyes.
Archer used this window to execute a counter, flipping over her and slashed her across the back with his two swords, killing her.
'...How strange.' Her abilities had greatly diminished from what Archer remembered of her. She lacked any sort of tactical acumen and instead attacked blindly, like a berserker instead of a rider. Not to mention, her Mystic Eyes was far weaker than usual, only managing to slightly seize him in the brief moment he looked into her eyes.
"MASH!" His thoughts were broken by the yell of his master.
He looked towards his master's battle, or rather, its conclusion.
The lancer servant had his spear raised, intending to cleave Mash in two. However, Ritsuka instead ran to shield her from the blow, intending to save her life with his.
"Damn!" Archer cursed his negligence, rushing to the scene as fast as he could.
-line-
Mash had been trying her best.
Since she and Ritsuka had entered the singularity, she tried her very best to live up to the servant who now shared her body, even if she had no clue of their identity.
She had tried to become a shield for her master. Her master who did his best to save her in that burning room, who decided to comfort her in her last moments instead of saving himself.
When she saw the skeletons try to kill Ritsuka, she rushed to defend him, not even registering her new armor and shield until after she blocked their first strike.
Ever since then, her top priority had always been to protect him, even though she could not draw out the full power of the servant she's fused with.
When she and Archer fought on that bridge, even as she was overwhelmed by sheer numbers, the thought of letting them hurt her master allowed her to push on and defeat them.
When she revealed her faulty nature and he comforted her, even saying he would help her along the way, it felt as if butterflies somehow got into her stomach.
Even now, she is trying her best to protect him.
But the gap between a proper servant and a failed one is starting to show itself to her.
The lancer servant attacked her with the many weapons on his back, his onslaught raining down on her shield mercilessly.
"Keep defending, Mash! I'll look for an opening!" Her master's order rang in her ears as he kept observing the fight from a distance, worry in his eyes.
He had apologized to her after the fight on the bridge, saying that he had no experience and that she probably could do better under a better master.
But it really isn't his fault.
It's hers.
A servant that can't even use her Noble Phantasm.
"Mash! Your left!" Hearing Ritsuka, Mash tried to block the attack.
However, her body did not react as fast as her eyes did. The hammer knocked her down, and her shield off her hand.
The lancer raised his spear, intending to kill her.
"MASH!"
She saw her master in front of her.
'Ah, even now, you're protecting me, master.'
But before the spear could come down, a pillar of fire came unto being right under the lancer's feet, instantly turning him to ashes.
"...What?" Ritsuka looked to the dust the servant used to be, the source of the fire nowhere in sight.
"Yo!"
A voice rang throughout the church area. Her master tried locating the source of the voice, until his eyes landed on the roof of the church.
A blue haired man wearing a blue robe can be seen standing on the roof, in his right hand, a mage's staff is visible.
The man jumped down, approaching the teenage master.
"U-um, thank you for saving us!" Ritsuka thanked the mage, bowing his head in sincere gratitude.
"Ha, don't worry about it, you don't owe me anything." The man casually replied, spinning his staff.
"You're a heroic spirit, right?" Mash asked, standing up after her near-death experience.
"Yeah, I'm the caster of this Holy Grail War, but I'm afraid I have to keep my true name se-"
"His true name is Cu Chulainn." Mash jumped as Archer suddenly made his appearance known from behind her.
"First time I've seen him as a caster, but that's definitely him."
…
"Aw come on, did you really have to do that?!"
Hey.
I know I said that this chapter would come out later, but the more I wrote it, the more I wanted it to come out before the tests, which starts tomorrow.
So here it is.
I'm really grateful for all the welcome back messages. I was half expecting to not have anyone read after so long.
I hope that the pacing here isn't too boring for you all, it kinda felt like it when writing it.
Also this is my first time writing action scenes, so some feedback would be appreciated.
Do tell me if I wrote either of the servants extremely OOC.
Later.