A Fake Familiar Reborn

by NimtheWriter

In the middle of a possible Stray hunt, Rias Gremory accidentally ended up with three marks on her hand due to activating an unknown spell. After researching them, she discovered their use of calling forth a possible familiar. But what came from the summoning was a familiar that not even a Devil could have ever imagined.

29. Holy Sword Part 7

Hiiii~ Another chapter is here!! A very late

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful day and got to relax doing things y'all love. I wish the best for everyone who read my stories this far and am very grateful.

Aight, now also a big thank you to my newest patrons: Nahuel Viveros, Benjamin NotFrankling, Guy Nguyen, Stellrrrrr and Nil. Y'all rock!!

Next update is either Nanoha or Hound

That is all, Author NimtheWriter out!

Beta read by Shigiya and Paragon of Awesomeness

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It was a strange sensation, to say the least — the soft caress of the wind and the pungent, salty stench of the Mediterranean, wafting toward her with every breath. A sight both foreign and familiar, seen thousands of times with a variety of emotions associated with it.

She was born not from flesh, but from an amalgamation of human beliefs and desires — a manifestation of humanity's endless yearning for beauty. Perfect beauty.

He did mention something about such beings: Divine Spirits, who for many represented gods. Born from power, manipulation, and the very essence of the domain attributed to them. At least, that was her understanding when she listened to him.

Yet in terms of embodying perfect beauty… this person came quite close. Not really there, but still close… in a way.

Confusing.

A being that should have embodied the ideal, the perfection that people desired and worshiped.

But perfection was an illusion, an impossibility that people had differing or even opposing ideas of, especially when it came to something so subjective as beauty. Which was why instead of there being only one ideal embodiment of the concept, there were three — each of them revered, each considered flawless in the eyes of mortals, yet each possessed a flaw hidden beneath the surface. One carried a love that bordered on cruelty, another beauty veiled with manipulation, and the last… lacked the gift of eternal youth, a reminder that even the gods could be petty.

Of the three, she had been the youngest and unluckiest. While others may have seen her form as a blessing, to her, it was nothing short of a curse. She remembered a time when she and her sisters had been nearly identical — three radiant beings, each a reflection of the other. But as the years passed, men stopped worshiping her sisters alone. They began to covet her as well, their eyes filled with lust. Her once slender frame blossomed into something more, something that aroused desire and greed in men and gods alike, and envy from even the goddesses.

Looking back, it was almost laughable — and frustrating — how the gods, beings supposedly above mortal concerns, could still act like petulant children. Their tempers ruled their judgments, and their whims shaped the lives of innocents without a second thought to the consequences. She hated it. Sona hated it.

From the very start, the youngest had no control over her fate. She was a victim of the world's cruelty, with only her sisters by her side. Banished to a desolate isle by a jealous goddess, she couldn't even find it in herself to hate the deity. Over the years, the endless struggle dulled her emotions, numbing her to the point where she couldn't distinguish between anger and despair. The weight of the world's scorn and the goddess' envy became a constant, heavy presence in her life.

Even now, standing beside her, there was an invisible barrier between Master and Servant — a wall that concealed her true feelings, suppressing the grief and rage that had accumulated over the years. She couldn't let it show. Not to her, not to anyone.

"Dear sister, look how sinful your body has become… It makes me want to toy with you a little."

"Oh, how adorable you look with that hairstyle! What's that? You don't like it? Well, I do."

"My, look at how you've grown, sister! Those small clothes no longer fit you anymore, hehehehe, let me handle getting you new ones~! Don't worry, they won't reveal too much skin~!"

"Your elder sister is feeling a bit down today, come over here and let me play with your face. Don't run away now~!"

Often teasing, quite mischievous, even a bit sadistic at times… and very caring. Their constant acts of mischief brought forth a similar emotion that a certain childish Satan calling herself a magical girl often elicited. Yet despite all the frustration they caused, she loved them, and so did they love her in turn.

Though the world had abandoned them, they had each other, and were happy with that. She had been the one banished, yet her sisters followed, never regretting their decision. For years, they teased and tormented her in many ways, their love disguised as abuse and then finally solace in the face of her growing despair. They witnessed her transformation, watched as her body changed and her soul grew weary.

They accepted it. They accepted her. Even as it spelled their own doom.

It was a twisted love, one filled with sorrow for what she had endured, but also acceptance for what their lives had become. The emotions cycled between the three of them — love, grief, and a silent understanding.

There were moments of peace.

Even as she became a monster whose nature demanded she feed on blood.

Moments where she could pretend that the world beyond their little isle didn't exist, where all their problems would never find them. She had her sisters, and they had her. If she could have stopped time and trapped them all in that brief moment of a strange form of peace, she would have.

The gods would never allow it.

The hidden truth lingered between them — the understanding that, when the time came, they would give everything for each other. The words were never spoken, but the intent was always clear. Each of them would sacrifice anything, even their lives, to protect the others.

"But peace was fleeting. After that brief reprieve came only tragedy."

Yet no matter how she tried, no matter how many she killed, no matter how much she tried to stay sane — at the end of the day all of that never mattered.

The monster eventually broke free despite all her efforts.

She…

No…

It had always been destined for ruin.

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"A-Ah!"

A certain black-haired Devil's violet eyes came to open bit by bit while her body leaned against the table. A splitting headache coursed through her mind as she struggled to focus on her surroundings.

"What the hell happened?" she muttered, feeling the headache subside after a few seconds of breathing and her surroundings becoming more and more clear. "Did I fall asleep in the middle of class?"

Looking around, she knew this was the student council room, more accurately her personal desk which currently had an entire mountain of paperwork piled on it, her hand was still loosely holding a pen, which she'd been using to scribble on a document that was only halfway finished.

The ink had stained the document at some point, creating a true mess on both the expensive wood and her hand. Nothing a cleaning spell wouldn't take care of, but it was still an eyesore.

Realizing she had somehow fallen asleep while in the middle of working, Sona couldn't help but sigh in disbelief. "I should have told Tsubaki to make me coffee. This is unacceptable, and I'll be even later in finishing all of it."

Due to everything that happened recently, the backlog of paperwork had increasingly gotten bigger to the point she had dedicated multiple days to finish them off, but forgot that even as a Devil with a better physique than a human, she was still prone to exhaustion and mental fatigue.

Especially when a majority of this work consisted of frivolous complaints sent by students who demanded a budget increase for their own clubs, and requests to have either Archer or Rider become their homeroom teachers or club advisors.

Putting aside how Rider was a librarian rather than a teacher, she just declined all of them with a single, blanket "No" written in bold letters.

This exhaustion further worsened now that a portion of her demonic energy was constantly getting siphoned by her Servant. Though it wasn't enough to put any strain on her, Sona was acutely aware of the drain required to maintain her Servant.

Unlike Rias, she didn't have anywhere as enormous a reserve of magic.

Compared to a normal Devil, hers was still considerably larger and was easily on par with most other Pillar heirs, but Rias was frankly in a league of her own in that regard.

Thankfully she was still not a freak of nature like their older siblings.

"Did Tsubaki put this on?" She noticed a blanket had been placed on her shoulders. "No, she never did this before."

Already, the young Devil knew it wasn't from anyone in her peerage, all of whom were busy with their own assignments. Which meant only two people came to mind for who would do such a thing for her.

"Rider."

The air shimmered as the beautiful Servant appeared in her usual battle gown she'd been wearing when first summoned, though unlike before, she was still wearing the glasses Archer had given her. Sona didn't even need to ask whether she was the one behind this act of kindness or not, as she pretty much knew this to be the truth.

Best to focus on more important matters first.

"How long was I asleep?" Sona asked, her voice still sounding a bit raspy. She rubbed her temples, trying to ward off the pounding headache that was already threatening to return with a vengeance. Every fiber of her being screamed for more rest, but she knew there was far too much work to be done to indulge in such a luxury.

"An hour, Master."

"An hour… not as bad as I feared."

This period of weakness, the constant lack of sleep, and the annoying headache were not the fault of these documents on her desk. With everything that had been going on lately in Kuoh, from the rogue Fallens, Riser, the consequences of summoning a Servant behind Rias' back, the exorcists, stolen Holy Swords, and finally Kokabiel… all of them were to blame for her current predicament!

"I can have Tojou-sensei come and help."

Tojou Shirou… Rias really didn't have any talent when it came to names. Had the Servant been summoned with blue or red hair, would she have given him the name of Tojou Aka or Tojou Ao? Knowing her she probably would have, even though anyone with a brain would instantly suspect it of being fake.

"It's fine, I don't want to disturb him."

As her mind cleared, images of the seashore surrounded by an endless ocean from her dream once again reemerged.

"What a strange dream." As she cleaned up the residual dried ink on her desk, the girl tried to recall the bits and pieces of that dream she just had and frowned when a few returned to her.

It was unlike anything she had ever experienced in the past — both foreign and strangely familiar, as if she were the one living through that life.

It made no sense.

As much as she tried to recall the details, it became harder to grasp them as the seconds ticked by, like a dense fog clouding her mind. But there was one thing she remembered clearly: the faces of the two beautiful young girls who were such a prominent presence. Faces she knew she had never seen in real life, but when imagining them closely, they both displayed a clear resemblance to her Servant.

"Rider, did you have any siblings? Ah."

Sona regretted saying those words as soon as they left her mouth. 'Idiot! In her legend, there were clearly two sisters of the Gorgon named Stheno and Euryale! Why did I ask such a stupid question?!'

Perhaps it was due to her dazed state or half-asleep mind, but it slipped past her mouth without her even realizing, and now all she could do was simply power through and wait for Rider's response.

"I did," the woman answered after a couple of seconds of silence. Though her words were few, they carried a deep meaning and sadness, which Sona felt she could better decipher because of that weird dream.

At least… that was what she wanted to believe given the strangeness of what she'd seen.

"Why do you ask?"

Sona resisted the urge to wring her hands. "Please tell me if I am being insensitive, as I recognize that this is a personal question. But, since you are a Heroic Spirit, is it perhaps possible that you were reunited with them on the Throne?"

"…It doesn't work like that, Master."

Her words were once again short and clear-cut. It was at such moments that Sona realized her Servant was extremely hard to read. Her ever-unchanging expression made it nearly impossible to understand what Rider was thinking most of the time.

"Do you miss them?"

"…I do."

"I am a bit curious about them. What were they like?" Two of the three gorgons, according to legend, were initially blessed with beauty just like Medusa, but then turned monstrous and immortal. Unable to be killed by Perseus, the last thing mentioned about them in the tale was their failed attempt to hunt down the one who killed their sister as Perseus fled the isle that was their home.

Most of the stories she read held a similar legend, but now Sona started to doubt all of them. For this was not what she'd seen in what little she managed to remember from her dream.

"They used to tease me a lot. You'd probably call it bullying."

"Really?"

"I was the youngest. Whenever they were bored I became their toy. From playing with my hair, stealing or destroying my belongings, insulting me, amongst many other forms of entertainment they used me for."

The more Sona listened, the more worried she became. Were the sisters like that in any of the myths?

"That sounds… rather abusive doesn't it?"

"They… were," admitted Rider without trying to defend their actions or change the story. "But… it was their way of showing love, no matter how painful it was to bear. They teased me at every opportunity they could — but I still loved them."

That much, Sona didn't doubt for an instant. Abusive as these sisters of her Servant sounded, Rider had indeed loved them with all her heart. And she still missed them dearly.

"Is that so?"

A faint sense of camaraderie bloomed within Sona's heart as she listened. Sona found that she was unable to stop herself from thinking of Serafall. The eldest daughter of Lord and Lady Sitri could generously be described as eccentric, and one who showed love for her sister in ways that both embarrassed and shamed Sona to the point of wishing for a hole to swallow her.

Regardless of all that, she did indeed love her sister dearly.

"I won't force you, but can you tell me more about you three? It's just… the stories in this world about the Gorgon sisters have many versions, and I wish to know the truth as you experienced it."

She saw a rare smile bloom on Rider's face as she recounted more stories. Nothing important, just small moments that still served to paint a picture. The more she listened, the more a certain thought began to enter her mind.

'Archer mentioned that most Heroic Spirits have regrets and a wish they want to make to the Grail. Looking at it that way, it makes sense that Rider too has regrets and a wish she wants to see fulfilled.'

The tale of Medusa the Gorgon was more tragic than she'd imagined — a beautiful woman cursed by the gods because they both envied and desired her. Just one of the many tragedies in history because those with power did what they wanted and others suffered the consequences. It made Sona curious about what exactly her Servant's wish was. To start over? To see her loved ones alive once again? To come back to life? Revenge?

All of them sounded valid, but of course, there could only be a single wish.

"Say, Rider, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly is your wis—!"

She didn't get to finish her sentence, as a terrible chill sensation spread across her body. A layer of what felt like some sort of field swept across the room and enveloped both of them.

"Are we under attack?"

Fearing the worst, she wondered if Kokabiel had decided to lay siege upon the school. "I need to find Tsubaki and the rest of my peerage!"

"Careful, Master." Rider's firm grip caught Sona's arm, yanking her back into the office just as she was about to bolt. The young Devil stumbled, her eyes widening as she caught sight of what lay beyond the doorway. Skeletal figures were clawing their way out of the ground, their bony fingers leaving furrows in the earth.

"Dragon Tooth Warriors."

"Summoning magic!" Sona shouted, quickly gathering her demonic power to launch a torrent of water crashing onto a few Dragon Tooth Warriors trying to enter her office and making quick work of them. Rider did not stay idle, dispatching the remaining creatures along the hallway at blinding speed, her chain whipping around in the air like a snake slithering and crushing everything it got entangled around.

"There are more outside!"

Looking at the school grounds, Sona saw a certain white-haired Servant jump down from the rooftop onto a swarm of the same skeletal summoned familiars like the ones she'd just destroyed, along with what seemed to be other variants.

For a moment, she was at ease seeing him take care of the threat at range with his bow, firing several powerful projectiles at the same time. Yet that moment only lasted for a brief period until another creature tried to sneakily attack him from behind. The attack failed, fortunately, but he was forced to leap away from the roof.

Archer plummeted into the fray, a blur of steel against the mass of skeletal creatures. Sona's breath caught as he vanished from view, engulfed by the swarm. For a heart-stopping moment, she feared the worst. But then flashes of light pierced through the horde, accompanied by the distinct sound of shattering bone. Relief washed over her as Archer emerged, unscathed and efficient as ever. Still, the close call left her unsettled. Capable as he was, even Heroic Spirits weren't invincible.

"Sona!"

She heard Rias' voice sound within the corridor as the red-headed heiress came running, followed by her peerage and Sona's. All of them were destroying any of the skeletal creatures in their path mercilessly. Rias' orbs of destruction laid waste to them with minimal effort, while Yuuto, Koneko, Akeno, and Issei in the back dealt with any remnants. She also found her own peerage making sure there weren't any following them and dealing with any creatures that tried to pursue them.

"Are you okay? I heard from Archer this is most likely an enemy attack involving a Servant."

"I'm fine," she said, at least seeing them completely safe made one worry of hers diminish, but there was still another matter she was very concerned about. "Rider, go support Archer! We'll deal with these summoned creatures here and any other dangers within the school!"

"…"

The purple-haired Servant hesitated at first, clearly uncertain whether to leave her Master unattended whilst they were in the middle of an attack.

"This is an order! Not a suggestion!" Sona commanded as she used more spells from the Sitri clan to shoot another wave of water that easily took care of more creatures that started to emerge around them. "I have Rias and my group here, we aren't so weak as to be unable to take care of such fragile creatures ourselves."

This display of power acted as a guarantee to Rider that she alone was capable of taking care of herself, and with the others with her now, she didn't need to worry about anything.

The figure disappeared, and the woman reappeared outside next to Archer. Both did their best to cut down the horde, which kept growing by the second, showing no signs of diminishing, while Sona and Rias' group went on a task to clear the building of any monsters. It was a tedious task; it wasn't that their opponents were hard to kill, but rather that there were just so many of them, and more seemed to get summoned as fast as they could kill the damn things.

A few would even appear out of the blue and nearly catch one of their members in a sneak attack. Thankfully, Yuuto was able to react in time and saved Issei before the latter could get sliced across by another dragon tooth warrior.

"Asia, Issei needs some healing," Rias instructed. While their opponents were easy to kill, some members weren't able to deal with them unscathed, sustaining wounds here and there.

"Leave it to me!"

"Akeno and Kiyome, send your familiars around the school and make sure there aren't any students still here."

"On it."

"Yuuto, keep Tsubaki and the others company, do your best to kill these things before they are fully summoned!"

"Understood, Buchou!"

"Koneko, you're in front with Tsubasa!"

"Kay."

"Issei, you're our rear guard!"

"You got it, Buchou!"

Having been under the guidance of Archer, the training he'd painfully carved into their very bones manifested and Rias Gremory started shouting off orders as if it were second nature. "Gasper, I just want you to stay near me. Don't venture too far but still be ready to use your power in case things ever start to look dire for anyone."

The little dhampir nodded his head resolutely.

"Just how many of them are there!?" Even Tsubasa and Momo were getting tired of facing the ongoing horde again and again. Seeing Rias had already ordered her group in a steady formation, Sona didn't want to fall behind and started to do the same.

Tsubasa, Tomoe, Saji, and Momo destroyed all the Dragon Tooth Warriors coming from the hallway while Tsubaki and the others dealt with some flying skeletal warriors who tried to enter through the window.

"Wah! Don't cut me! I'm innocent! Help!" A terrified feminine scream echoed from downstairs, Sona and Rias were jolted from their task and hurried to find a strange sight: the Gremory Knight holding a blue-haired Fallen at bay with a sword touching her neck. The latter was sweating nervously while carrying two unconscious students on her shoulders.

"Fallen Angel Kalawarna?" Akeno recalled the woman's name and frowned at her unexpected presence. "Are you kidnapping students for the enemy now?"

"I-I-I'm not! I-I swear! It's Archer! Archer told me to bring these two to the student council room after they lost consciousness! I'm really a member of the staff now, look me up!" She desperately pleaded, cursing that bitch Raynare for being the cause of her being stuck dealing with this situation alone while that woman just lazed around in their shared apartment emptying the fridge and booze cabinet!

"Should we trust her, Buchou?"

Sona heard the Knight's question and waited for Rias to answer since this was her responsibility. The red-headed girl agreed reluctantly. "Since it's Archer who sent her here, then we can trust her… a bit. But keep an eye on her, Koneko."

"Roger."

"Alright everyone, there's only a few more of these monsters left, let's do our best!"

Fortunately, their efforts showed results, and with time, they managed to clear out the building.

"More will come if we stay here longer. Let's wait in the student council room until Archer and Rider are done," Sona suggested, to which the others agreed and followed her. The occult research club was too far away, and the path would be obstructed by more and bigger creatures. Even though these skeletons appeared easy to kill, she didn't want to take any risks.

While they waited, Sona managed to catch a glimpse of both Servants fighting against the horde in the field, and once again she found herself amazed at their prowess.

"Incredible," she murmured, watching Rider's graceful form as she wielded her chains like a whip, purging dozens of targets in seconds. Archer on the other hand, ruthlessly tore them apart with his twin swords, unleashing a never-ending stream of blades. Each of them fought completely differently, yet somehow they coordinated seamlessly, their backs pressed against one another.

It was a form of trust she couldn't quite put into words. But as she continued to observe them, the more she noticed something odd.

"What are they doing?" Despite being in a dangerous situation, it was clear that both Rider and Archer were having a conversation with one another. Even with her enhanced senses, she couldn't hear anything going on below, but seeing her Servant at the end make a small smile made her bristle with disbelief.

"This is not the time to be having idle conversations!" she shouted out the window at them, feeling an inexplicable irritation rise within her. "Nor the time to be flirting, Archer! And you too, Rider!"

From the looks of it, even Rias shared her disbelief at what was happening. Fortunately, the conversation didn't last long, as the onslaught of skeletons began to subside, and the group immediately made their way to the other end of the building, where they saw Archer standing.

"What is going on here?" As soon as she arrived, Sona noticed the close proximity of both Servants and saw a shroud envelop Archer's body. It was clear that Rider was checking on him, and that made her fear that he had gotten injured.

"Wait, what happened to the exorcist?" It wasn't until she asked that question that it finally clicked in her mind. The same realization hit the Servants simultaneously, and unfortunately, her worst fears came true.

"This whole thing was just a distraction!"

{Break}

(An hour later)

"They were taken not long ago," Archer said, his voice steady despite the tension in the room. Since the kidnapping of the exorcists and the disappearance of the holy swords, they had patrolled the school quickly but found nothing. Now, both groups sat together, strategizing their next course of action. "Effortlessly as well, with no signs of any kind of struggle. Caster even took away the Excalibur fragment that I recovered from Freed." Archer said before turning his attention to Koneko.

"If I remember correctly, you can sniff out holy energy, right?" The little Rook hesitated before nodding her head. It didn't take a genius to figure out the plan he had in mind, which made Rias look at him with clear worry in her eyes.

"Will this plan to find them work?" Rias asked, her brow furrowed with concern as she watched Asia's hands hover over Archer's shoulders. The soft green glow of her Sacred Gear illuminated the angry red lines creeping across his skin — evidence of Caster's poison still being at work. Archer had tried to downplay the injury, but Koneko's keen nose had betrayed him. Now he sat still, allowing the healing, though his face remained impassive. Rias pursed her lips, clearly unsatisfied but unable to offer a counter-proposal. Her eyes lingered on the slowly receding poison, a stark reminder of the danger they faced.

"Let us Servants handle this, Rider and myself are more than capable of taking care of ourselves."

Akeno's eyes flashed with barely contained anger as she knelt beside Asia, her hands glowing softly with healing magic while she assisted the former nun. The Queen of Rias' peerage shot Archer a pointed glare, her usual playful demeanor replaced by genuine concern and frustration. She focused her magic on containing the poison, her jaw clenched tight. It was clear she shared Rias' opinion on the matter.

"I'm fine, the poison would have worn off eventually."

Her hands touched his skin, gently having her fingers go over the part where the monster's teeth had pierced his skin. The wound was now nearly gone, leaving behind a faint line that would disappear soon.

"Going back to what you were asking, Master, it is unlikely," he answered truthfully, letting out a sigh. "There's a small chance Koneko can pick up a potential trace of her scent, which might help us locate her. But I doubt Caster hasn't accounted for that. Still, it's better to try our luck than to stay here sitting all day doing nothing."

"I can help as well," Sona added. "While we don't have someone with a sensitive nose like Koneko here, we're not useless." Archer agreed, preferring to cover as much ground as possible, and having more people along would definitely help.

"I can't cover all of Kuoh on my own. We'll have to split up; Rider and your group can check one side of the city while I take the other near the mountains." With that, the Sitri group departed, leaving Koneko to keep him company while Archer spoke briefly to Rider. "If you do end up finding a possible source, then wait for me."

The purple-haired woman nodded, leaving promptly with Sona and the rest.

"Can you fly fast? We'll have to cover a large area in a short amount of time."

Koneko didn't answer immediately, taking some time to ponder first and then looking him directly in the eyes. "It's better if you're the one carrying me around,"

He raised an eyebrow at her seriousness. "Seriously?" But she remained adamant, her deadpan gaze unwavering.

"My body still hurts… And I can't fly as fast as you can run. You were too rough with me in training."

"Once again, your words are pretty misleading. Also I'm pretty sure you Devils heal within a day from all but the worst of physical traumas. It's been far longer than that since we came back from the training trip."

Koneko simply remained silent, her hands held up like a small child wanting their parents to pick them up. But he wasn't going to fall for such a trick.

"You know, I got another idea, why don't you just carry me as high above the sky as possible so that I can get a better birds-eye view of Kuoh? We can cover more ground like this, and as a Rook it should be easy for you."

His suggestion startled the girl as she pictured in her mind the image of her carrying Archer's large figure with her tiny hands or acting as a bonafide attachable set of wings while being used like some kind of rucksack. She immediately rejected that image fiercely with how wrong it looked.

"I'll fly," said the young Nekoshou before quickly jumping out of the window and heading for the skyscrapers in the distance. Her response earned a small chuckle from the Counter Guardian, especially when he saw her grow pale at the end.

"I wouldn't mind carrying you around." Of course, Yuuto did not see any issue with the idea suggested. His words earned a few weird reactions from Issei and Rias. "What?"

"It's fine, you just stay here and keep Master safe." Archer said while waving him off.

"I can do more than that!" He insisted, hands clenching with clear emotions of anger rolling off his being. "That Servant not only kidnapped the exorcists but also took the holy swords for a reason. I don't know what their goals are, but I have to make sure whatever they are planning to do with the swords never happens!"

Archer's eyes narrowed, his voice cutting through Kiba's protests like steel through paper. "And what about your friends? Are they worth less than your revenge?" He stepped closer, looming over the Knight. "Rias will be vulnerable without Rider and me, which leaves you as her best available defense. If you abandon her now, you're choosing vengeance over loyalty." His tone dripped with disdain. "Are you really so obsessed that you'd risk more lives just to destroy some knock-off holy swords? Think, Yuuto. Is that the kind of Knight you want to be?"

"…"

The words were harsh, and Archer was aware of them clearly. But no other methods were going to pierce through this boy's stubbornness other than a stark reminder. Better he felt hurt and insulted right now than regret his actions later on for the rest of his life.

Rias stayed in the background, as she didn't know what to say, but decided to trust her Servant and let him speak.

"T-There's no guarantee that Buchou will actually be attacked…"

Archer scoffed, his eyes hardening. "You can't even convince yourself with that weak excuse." He turned away, gaze drifting to where Koneko had disappeared into the night sky. His form began to shimmer, fading into spiritual particles. "I'm not here to babysit you or make your choices. If you can live with the fallout of your actions, then do what you want. Just don't expect me to clean up your mess."

His figure disappeared, leaving behind a thick atmosphere that led there to a short period of deafening silence that lingered for an unknown amount of time. Even Issei didn't know what to say, looking at the Knight who kept grinding his teeth.

Wanting to confront the man, he was stopped by Akeno who shook her head.

In the end, Yuuto took a deep breath and turned his head away from the spot where Archer disappeared. "Buchou… what should we do next?"

Rias frowned, not liking the idea of staying idle. But then she remembered there was another person present in the room.

"W-What?" Kalawarna, who'd placed both Murayama and Katase on the couch, shook under everyone's intense stare. She was suddenly having a very bad feeling for what was to come next.

"You aren't part of our group and you also are a Fallen Angel who worked for Kokabiel once. So why aren't you assisting all of us in finding his location as well? You should." Rias said calmly, with the others agreeing except for Asia who was uncertain.

"I don't have any special abilities to track someone like a Cadre!" she hurriedly responded. "And if anyone was working for Kokabiel back then it was Raynare! I was only following her orders! Let me stay with your group, please!"

She had more chances of living while staying here with her former enemies than to go searching for that warmongering lunatic!

"I was not making a suggestion. You now represent the Fallen faction as the sole representative in this school, so if you back out now when we actually need you, then I assure you the consequences will be far worse than whatever you're thinking of."

Seeing she had no choice, Kalawarna wanted to cry but had no tears. Now cursing both Raynare and Archer in her mind.

"F-Fine… I'll try my best."

These Devils! They were trying to get her killed before she even got her first paycheck!

Then again, she just had to search. If she didn't happen to find anything that couldn't be seen as her fault! Where would a safe area be away from all this conflict?

Ah!

The forest!

She could fly around there for a bit and stay clear from any trouble before returning.

A great idea.

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.

.

"Looks like he managed to listen."

After he left, no one followed him and Yuuto stayed by Rias' side. There was still a growing hate within that boy's heart that couldn't be so easily extinguished unless some drastic actions were taken. But this wasn't the moment to delve into such matters. Against someone like Caster, she could use that hate to her advantage and lead him around like a dog on a leash.

A few seconds later, he reached the top of the highest skyscraper in town and found Koneko crouching at the edge sniffing the air with her eyes closed. "Any luck?"

"It's hard, there are too many scents. This far away, all of them merge with one another, I can't pinpoint the Exorcists' scent yet." Koneko continued to focus, trying her best to find a clue but growing more and more frustrated. "I didn't like them and didn't bother remembering their scents before."

He couldn't blame her for that, and it was clear this decision had already started to weigh heavily on her mind as they kept changing locations yet still weren't lucky enough to catch a trace as he feared. Unless Caster used actual teleportation magic or had the help of someone from this world to do the same.

"Do you think they're dead, Archer?"

"No, Caster wouldn't have gone this far to kidnap them if their goal was to just kill the girls. But I can't guess how long Caster will bother keeping them alive."

"…It wouldn't be that big of a loss."

Archer paused, his gaze shifting to the small figure beside him. Koneko's words caught him off guard — they seemed starkly out of character for the usually stoic girl.

"They told Asia she should die."

"Is that all?"

"…They made Yuuto-senpai very angry."

Ah, that too.

"Then you'll be pretty saddened to learn that we still need to find them regardless of their past actions. Best to avoid giving the Church more excuse to come after all Devils. Letting them die will just satisfy Kokabiel's desire to start a war."

"I guess."

As time kept ticking away, Emiya understood they couldn't delay this search any longer. Nearly two hours had gone by since the attack at the school and the entire town was now quiet. Both of them went from one district to another with little luck until an idea popped into his mind.

"Tch, why didn't I think of this sooner…"

"What do you mean?" Koneko asked, glancing at him.

"I know Holy Energy is very dangerous for Devils to be around, but can you track the scent of a holy blade?" It wasn't an idea he was fond of given how it held the risk of having negative effects on Koneko, but he had no other option than this if they were to track their targets in a timely fashion.

"…I can give it a try." She hesitated upon answering his question, tilting her head slightly. Her golden-colored eyes looked at him intently. "But I can't pick up the scent of the holy fragments' any more than I can the exorcists', and other swords like your Black Keys smell different.."

Archer nodded in understanding. "Well, it's not exactly a secret since you've all already seen my Magecraft, but something tells me this will attract more problems if more people were to find out, especially people from the Church."

As he finished speaking, he extended his right arm with the palm facing upwards. Her nose and ears twitched when she sensed the usual sensation crawling all over her body whenever he was about to use his Magical Energy. Faint, very faint, but still there with her able to sense it this close by.

The air shimmered, blue motes of light gathering until it became a tangible bright flash that took the shape of a large blade towering over herself. Goosebumps rose from her skin, the familiar sensation of a bone-chilling amount of Holy Energy emanating from what floated above his hand.

A large sword with three points at its tip, a hilt that resembled an ax, and a rounded black handle surrounded by golden lines appeared in front of her. Exuding the exact same aura Xenovia's Excalibur showed, its appearance was likewise identical down to the smallest details such that she wondered if Archer had perhaps stolen it in secret.

"H-How…" He knew his abilities were somewhat similar to Blades Blacksmith and Sword Birth, but this weapon before her didn't feel like a replica at all!

It truly felt like the real deal.

"You know the answer to that. So, can you use this to trace the original?" He held the sword firmly without any signs of rejection, a sight she knew would have made Yuuto very conflicted.

"This can't be a replica…"

At that, he smirked. "I'll take that as a compliment. But it is indeed just a copy, as I mentioned before, albeit a very convincing one. These swords aren't as amazing as people are led to believe. I can't say anything about the original, but these ones mostly serve just to act as a symbol of power representing the Church's will. They may have interesting abilities, but can break easily. Rider could break them with just her heels if she wanted to."

The more he looked at the 'Excalibur' fragment in his hands, the more apathetic he came to see the sword. A mystic code at best, made to carry a name it did not deserve. It would have been much better had they given it another name entirely rather than forcing it to carry the legacy of Excalibur.

Now forever present in his Reality Marble, perhaps he could bring it out to use it against Saber if fate decided to make them face each other once again.

"I'll hold it, just tell me if you feel too uncomfortable and I'll dismiss it." She shook at its presence, barely able to keep herself from jumping away out of pure instinct. Carefully approaching the weapon, she got much closer to its surface, her face reflecting off of the blade itself.

Her nose scrunched up when taking a whiff, backing up immediately and stopping her body from shaking. Archer felt bad, this being an outcome he expected and wanted to avoid.

"Sorry, I'll compensate you later with anything you want."

"Re-really?" Koneko asked, her eyes now bright.

"It's the least I can't do." And so, Excalibur Destruction was dismissed and Koneko once again felt at ease. "So, any results?"

Koneko squinted her eyes, focusing for a good minute till her eyes widened, making him sigh in relief. "Where?"

"North, near the spot where you and Grayfia fought."

The spot where he fought that maid? So the nearby forest on the mountain, a quiet place far from the bustling environment of Kuoh and near the Himejima shrine from what he'd learned more recently. The shrine on the other hand was far away enough that it hadn't been damaged from the battle. Was Caster…

"Why is it always shrines?" he muttered under his breath, starting to question if this Servant was actually Medea. Even the kidnapping tactic aligned with her actions in the past! She was also known to use a great amount of Dragon Tooth Warriors, making this possibility seem more likely.

'Rider's summoning was a coincidence because Sona used a pegasus feather and got lucky. But if it's also Medea who got summoned as Caster, then this is too much of a coincidence for me to take lightly. That might mean the other potential Servants could be the exact ones from the fifth Holy Grail War. Damn it, I'd rather not deal with all of them again, especially not Berserker and Lancer!'

He could already hear that blue-haired Irishman's snarks and Berserker's roar in his head.

"Fine, I'll go there alone. You return to Rias' side and make sure that Caster hasn't left behind any surprises. Have her contact Sona and tell her to return with Rider, and give the latter my location." Archer advised, his eyes narrowing as he set his eyes on the forest in the distance.

"I can't," Koneko replied, her stubbornness evident. This made him sigh more than anything else. "I can help."

"No, you can't," he replied without missing a beat. "I don't know if you remember, but I distinctly recall how you and the others behaved when Rider was summoned. There is a chance that Caster will be far worse."

She flinched at his words, shame washing over her face.

"A Servant is not something any of you are prepared to face at this point in your journey. I have no doubt that one day you'll be capable enough to confront and even defeat one, but that time is not now. Worst of all, we're up against a Caster who's already proven themselves willing to resort to underhanded tricks to gain an advantage."

"B-But—!" her words were stuck in her throat when she felt a hand ruffle her hair. She looked in a stupor at the person to her front showing a small smile on his face.

"Listen, I appreciate you wanting to help me, but this is something I was summoned to handle. And you being there also puts me at ease knowing Rias has one more person with her helping to keep everyone safe. So just trust me, okay?"

"…"

A swirl of emotions passed within the young girl's eyes. She truly didn't want to repeat the events of last time, where all she could do was cower in fear. One of the many reasons she trained so hard was not only to protect her King but also not to fall behind everyone in the peerage.

But when faced with Archer, that second emotion became far greater to the point she hated herself for being this weak. For being such a coward.

"Yo-you… you better come back," she squeezed out those words, barely able to contain herself. "I don't want a dead brother… and you still owe me a favor for helping you."

At that, Archer chuckled, "You're still determined to switch up the story of us being distant relatives to full-on siblings, aren't you? Oh well, there is nothing I can do about that. But don't worry, I'm very hard to kill." Archer stroked her hair once more before he disappeared.

"Don't disappear like Onee-sama," Koneko whispered, attempting to calm down her beating heart as she began flying back to the school.

…

With the conversation coming to an end and Koneko having left as he told her to, Archer arrived at the edge of the mountain and hesitated.

His figure appeared on top of a tree as he surveyed his surroundings, becoming even more cautious when he sensed no bounded field. With Caster of all Servants, he'd have expected them to have set up some manner of preparation. "Given this location, it shouldn't be an issue of lackluster leylines."

He had the idea of using his bow to strike the enemy from a distance, laying waste to their territory without needing to go inside. If this was truly Medea, then his previous approach could work. He didn't need Medea around to weaken Berserker nor was he being ordered by a Master to protect anyone he'd personally rather see dead. A clear shot from Caladbolg could work, regardless of her skill in healing magic. This time he wouldn't bother missing like he did before.

But there was a problem with that approach.

"There's a large chance that Xenovia and Irina are there. I can't just fire Caladbolg without risking their lives." he reminded himself, questioning how important these two were to the Church. If they were to die, there was no guarantee that the Church would retaliate; they had sent these two here to die in the first place. "But they could also be using this as a perfect excuse to confront and seek compensation from the Devils, possibly even establish a foothold in Kuoh."

In the end, all of his approach revolved around his theory of this Caster truly being Medea. If he was wrong then the tactic may very well end up working against him.

"Maybe I should wait for Rider to arrive first."

Two Servants against one was far better than him facing Caster alone on her own territory, especially with the likelihood that the Cadre was also present and wouldn't remain idle.

"Hm—!?"

In a heartbeat, his instincts screamed at him, his senses flaring wildly. The sharp whistle of a projectile slicing through the air reached his ears. Without thinking, he propelled himself away from his position, narrowly avoiding the incoming strike. A spear of searing golden light, as large as his own body, pierced into the spot where he had just stood.

The item exploded on impact, a sizable cluster of trees turning into dust and the ground shuddering beneath his feet as a deafening boom tore through the forest. He instinctively raised an arm to shield his eyes from the blinding flare, the heat scorching the air around him. When the light finally dimmed, he blinked against the afterimage that had tried to burn itself into his vision, only to realize the extent of the danger that lurked all around him.

The forest itself seemed to breathe, dark shapes shifting within the underbrush. Thousands of malevolent, crimson eyes glowed from the shadows, glaring at him from every corner of the encroaching darkness, each pair filled with unspoken hunger. The creatures of the night had him surrounded, lurking just out of sight, using the thick forest canopy and the blackened underworld to their advantage.

A trap.

Of course.

"Just how many more of them has Caster summoned…" Despite their presence, he kept his gaze focused up and glared at the singular figure floating in the sky. Ten wings proudly presented accompanied by a hail of black feathers that slowly descended from above. "From that attack, I suppose this is the real you rather than a golem."

With red glowing eyes just like the creatures around him, and pointed teeth that resembled something more demonic than angelic, Kokabiel smiled at him from above. He was vested in a black suit just like before, but this time his entire aura of sophistication was nowhere to be seen.

Maybe not even a demon, but rather a vampire, with a face like that.

"Greetings, Servant of the Bow and contracted Heroic Spirit of Lady Rias Gremory. It is indeed my real self that has come to greet you on this beautiful night. I am Kokabiel, a Cadre of the Fallen Angels."

Emiya scoffed, "You have a strange way of greeting people, what with you throwing light spears at them." All the while as he spoke, Archer kept his senses sharp for the slightest trace of Caster. Having learned quite a bit from their last interaction, he made sure to watch his back even more attentively than he usually did.

"I just wanted to see for myself if you are truly worthy of being called a Heroic Spirit. A small test out of many if you would, and a desire to see with my own eyes whether what you've shown during the Phenex Rating Game was real or not." Kokabiel scratched his chin, no trace of wariness shown. "You have been a particularly annoying thorn in my side for quite a while, I must admit. I didn't expect you to kill Freed so easily. Then again, he was merely a mentally defective fake human at the end of the day, even if he had a surprising affinity for holy swords."

Caster was nowhere to be seen, but he knew they must have been close by like last time to summon these.

Second of all… 'Kokabiel doesn't have Command Seals.'

With Kanshou and Bakuya in his grasp, his body twisted and the Married Blades went flying across the forest, slicing through the summoned familiars around him with another pair soon being Traced right as another spear of light was thrown from above. Kanshou sliced through the construct as if it were butter, separating them into two halves which blew up the terrain behind him.

'Large amounts of energy in each spear, enough to injure a Servant to some extent if hit directly. But they are also very slow and can be dodged easily or cut apart before detonating. Is this really all he's got?'

Having fought against Grayfia, he had been prepared to face a highly dangerous foe. But so far, this Cadre Fallen Angel had fallen short of his expectations. But he remained vigilant, knowing that Kokabiel might still be holding back, trying to feel him out and get an idea of his own power.

Snap!

Rather than continue with his assault, Kokabiel snapped his fingers and a bounded field quickly formed around the area. "My initial plan was to greet the Devils in the heart of their territory at that school of theirs. Unfortunately, I had to make some light adjustments to my plans at the last moment."

He descended from the sky, landing on the ground with his grin growing larger. "Have you had time to consider my proposal of joining my side? Though to be honest, I don't recall if I was able to properly extend the offer your way to begin with. You were rather quick to slice through the golem wearing my face."

He looked unafraid, fully confident with his hands inside his suit pockets.

"Where are the two exorcists?*

"If you believe that a silly binding contract is what keeps you tied to the Gremory brat, then that is not an issue." Said the Fallen Angel, completely ignoring Archer's question. But those words did make him grow even more suspicious of the identity of the Servant that Kokabiel had in his camp. "From what I understand, a Master and Servant contract does not mean the Servant will disappear as soon as the Master is dead. There is still at least a small period of time where another contract can be established provided the prospective new Master has enough energy to spare. Well, I can assure you that I have enough power to easily support more than seven of you without straining myself."

This man was either delusional of his own might or was incapable of understanding the kind of danger he'd be putting himself into by even thinking of contracting multiple Servants simultaneously. Unless all of them willingly cooperated with him and each other, then he was just digging himself an early grave.

"You're not going to have Caster face me?"

"That troublesome woman?"

So it was a woman after all.

"Humph, she's arrogant enough to underestimate me constantly. Had it not been for her usefulness, I would have put a spear through her heart long ago. Though I'll admit, part of the reason you were lured out here was because I wanted to prove just how wrong she is by using you as an example."

A woman who was a keen manipulator and wielded a silver tongue… At this point he'd be downright shocked if this wasn't Medea.

To Archer's surprise, two golden blades appeared in Kokabiel's hands. Blades he called them, but in actuality they were just light constructs of holy energy.

"No matter what you are, Servant, Heroic Spirit, or any other title, you're still a simple human. It's a shame you weren't interested in my offer, Grail or not I would have granted your wish."

Granted his wish? What a joke. He wanted to laugh but held his tongue. At this point he was certain, this guy truly didn't truly know what a Servant was and was being led into a death trap. 'This looks far too convenient, I have to be careful Caster doesn't use this opportunity to sneak attack me. Also, why hadn't Rider arrived yet?'

"Alright then," even though those light spears were lackluster, Kokabiel himself was still an entity thousands of years old who fought in the last great war between the biblical factions. So the least one would expect from him was a basic mastery of melee combat.

"Hehehe-HAHAHA! Try not to die so easily, HUMAN!" Kokabiel's wings fluttered, pushing his body forward as he dashed forward with his weapons at the ready.

Archer's body tensed, his eyes narrowing as Kokabiel charged, blades of golden light shimmering ominously in the dim forest. His instincts partially focused on the person before him and the rest on his surroundings, but there was no fear — only the calculated calm. Kanshou and Bakuya, firmly held in his hands, the black and white married swords moved to block the downward strike.

Crash!

The weight pressed upon them was far superior to what strength Koneko or Tsubasa could bring to bear, making his boots slightly sink into the dirt. Yet his arms remained steady.

'Again, slow. The number of wings doesn't seem to mean greater speed from the looks of it, and the constructs are holding up surprisingly well against Kanshou and Bakuya. A good swing from him would reduce many of the blades in Yuuto's arsenal into dust. Impressive, in a way.' His mind analyzed his opponent's every move and evaluated the Cadre's strength as the clash continued.

"The Gremory heiress doesn't realize how lucky she is to have you in her service!" Kokabiel shouted in between his slashes, "Already Devilkind has grown arrogant by their growing numbers, believing that the existence of the Evil Pieces will solve all their problems. Now presented with Servants, they've only grown more arrogant! I wouldn't be surprised if they've started believing themselves superior even to beings like myself!"

Kokabiel's speed was impressive, his wings propelling him forward like a comet, but to Archer, his movements were clear, almost predictable even. The Fallen Angel's arrogance dripped from his every move as he swung both light blades down toward Archer in a powerful, overhead strike.

Archer saw no reason to meet Kokabiel head on though. So rather than meet Kokabiel in a contest of power Archer deflected and weaved around the Cadre, countering raw might with skill.

"With this, war will finally be upon us once again! The injustice of having our race be underestimated due to Azazel and Shemhazai's indecision! This absolute joke that they dare to call peace, wasting their time on pointless research of Sacred Gears and other things that are of no use to us, all of it will be burned away along with my boredom! This time, nothing will stop me from bringing down my fist once I've raised it!"

With a calm breath, Archer sidestepped Kokabiel's latest overhead strike at the last possible second, a fluid motion that made Kokabiel's blade nearly glide across his face, close enough he could feel the faint heat from the construct. Kokabiel brought down his opposite blade, but Archer brought up Kanchou at an angle that forced the construct off-target while Bakuya was poised to strike at the Cadre unhindered, only for him to take to the skies with a flap of his wings.

"Tch, is that all a Servant can do!?" Kokabiel sneered before he rushed back down to meet Archer in close combat once more.

Kokabiel proved himself even more aggressive with his next onslaught, but Archer's blades were ready to meet him. The Married Blades clashed against the golden constructs with a sharp, metallic ring. The force of the blow sent a small shockwave rippling through the ground near them, yet Archer's stance was unmoving, his body perfectly balanced as if rooted to the ground, staring directly into Kokabiel's eyes with a deadly calm.

"You talk too much," Archer's voice was cold, taunting.

"Arrogant!"

Anger built up with Kokabiel's snarl, trying to push forward with his wings aiding him, but Archer spun, letting the momentum of the strike carry him into a counterattack. In one graceful arc, Kanshou sliced into Kokabiel's side and Bakuya cut through one of his wings.

Blood began soaking the ground with more spurting from the Fallen's back, a motionless wing falling to the ground with a soft thud.

'No reinforcement on his body of any sort. Strange, even if he isn't Caster's Master that only means one of his subordinates is. She should have at least granted him such an advantage.'

"You dare!" Kokabiel roared, completely enraged. Regaining his footing, his wings beat furiously as he launched himself into battle again, slashing at Archer with renewed ferocity. "Just because you drew first blood, don't think that means a human like you can possibly defeat me!"

"This is pointless," Archer said under his breath, having grown tired of hearing this madman scream nonsensically this entire time. "You are nowhere near as dangerous as that maid. I was worrying too much."

Confused by what he meant, Kokabiel felt a change in his opponent's demeanor and saw those steel gray eyes now completely focused on him.

Archer suddenly began to glow with power as he drew upon his Master's reserves, and then the stalemate in their strength instantly changed when Kokabiel felt himself get pushed back in an instant. "What!?"

Archer broke his stance by slashing his blades up, the force of the blow sending Kokabiel's arms into the air with his front completely exposed and free to allow a hard boot to strike at the center of his chest. The impact sent out a miniature shockwave accompanied by the sound of bones cracking. "A—ah!"

The Fallen was sent flying backward, gritting his teeth and flipping in the air with his nine wings flapping vigorously. Crimson eyes were prepared to glare at his opponent, only to widen with shock when he found the spot to be empty.

"Where… hrgh!" The air was forcefully pushed out of his lungs, his already bruised sternum outright cracking when Archer's knee struck it. He coughed out a mouthful of blood, the surging pain accompanied by a sense of humiliation when he suddenly found himself thoroughly on the backfoot in this fight.

'He has the makings of a seasoned swordsman, I don't even think either Yuuto, the exorcists, or all three of them together would have been able to defeat him. But that's about it, his speed is lacking, and it seems that he's spent far less time throughout his millennia of life fighting than I'd expected.'

"ENOUGH!" Reaching the limit of his patience, Kokabiel gritted his teeth and flew upwards with his nine remaining wings. Blood dripped down the corners of his mouth, back, and from the cuts that had accumulated all over his body. Both his hands raised up, abandoning his light swords and focusing a large amount of energy on a golden spear that grew larger than a car in only a few seconds.

At the same time on the ground, a multitude of summoning circles appeared, all from which emerged various three-headed hounds resembling the legendary Cerberus.

All of the summoned beasts jumped at Archer simultaneously, intending to enclose him and leave him unable to dodge.

"So her words weren't a complete exaggeration after all. You are indeed most capable despite being a human. But this is where it ends! I'll send your Master to meet you in the afterlife soon." In a swift move, he hurled the attack downwards and the spear went flying, reaching Archer's location in less than a second before reacting and exploding the moment it touched the ground.

A large dome of pure energy expanded, encompassing dozens of meters and destroying a large section of the surrounding forest along with all Kokabiel's own beasts.

Kokabiel did not consider the loss of his pets as anything substantial, he could always get more later. Frankly the new addition to his army more than made up for it; from what he understood, that woman could easily create a few hundred of those creatures if she so desired.

The golden dome continued to wreak havoc for a few more seconds until it died down, leaving behind a wide circle of ashes obscured by thick smoke. A deadly silence followed, which made him ecstatic.

"Hahahaha!" Kokabiel's maddened laugh echoed across the area. "Did you see that!? In the end, I emerged victorious even against the one you so vehemently warned me to fear, you foolish woman! Now all that is left is the other one, and then nothing will stop me from starting this war for which I've hungered all these centuries!"

Despite all of the wounds around his body, the Cadre's grin couldn't be any more twisted. The sensation of killing a powerful foe the likes of which he hadn't experienced since the Great War returned. It was an addicting feeling that he'd almost forgotten, and Kokabiel found it so thrilling that he ignored his condition and readied himself to fly into the heart of Kuoh to end all the Devils and their protectors with his own hand.

"I win, Azazel."

Woosh!

The sound of metal twisting came from below, his eyes widened when he looked back to see the smoke being pushed apart by and a familiar sword greeted his eyes. "Impossible!" Excalibur Destruction twisted before his eyes into an abomination of an arrow with the three tips of its point jutting out at different angles as the man he'd thought dead pulled back the string of a massive black bow.

Fired, it closed the distance between them far faster than Kokabiel could launch his own spears, leaving him no time to fly out of the way. Having no choice but to defend himself, he covered his body with his wings, knowing they'd be enough to block an attack from those pathetic Holy Swords.

Yet his expression turned into one of agony as soon as the arrow touched his wings. "A—AAAAH!" A destructive wave of power traveled across all nine of his remaining wings, tearing them apart like they were overinflated balloons. A vibration so intense that even wings that could block high-ranked spells were unable to resist. Clouds of black feathers, bones, blood, and flesh burst with the arrow responsible turning into dust.

Yet the damage was done and Kokabiel gracelessly fell to the ground, his body bouncing with a disgusting splat with more blood flying everywhere. "H-How!?"

He looked in disbelief at his once beautiful wings that were now nearly all gone, with only a single one left. And even this one was terribly damaged with multiple open fractures. A mind-numbing pain threatened to overwhelm his mind, but even that was buried by the unyielding rage that fully consumed the Fallen Star of God.

"DAMN YOU!"

Any trace of sanity now gone from those crimson eyes, both hands were raised and began pouring every last bit of Kokabiel's energy into a single golden spear of light. One so large it quickly grew from the size of a car, to a bus, then a house, and then it rivalled the size of Kuoh Academy's gymnasium, yet still the injured Cadre intended to channel more of his power.

"—!"

A shadow burst from the dust, and was already behind Kokabiel by the time he registered it. Held firmly in Archer' grip, the white surface of Bakuya gleamed in the moonlight even as fresh blood dripped from its edge. The colossal spear of light broke apart in much the same manner as Archer's Projections, and one of Kokabiel's arms fell onto the ground, cleanly cut from his shoulder while yet more of Kokabiel's blood spurted onto the ground.

"I've noticed that anytime you create weapons that pack more of a punch, you need to use both of your hands to create it, leaving you vulnerable while you charge it. Considering how fast I've already shown myself to be, you really shouldn't have tried to charge up something that big," Archer said calmly, showing no signs of an injury whatsoever, the closest thing being his holy shroud having a few scorch marks.

Kokabiel couldn't believe his eyes, his state he'd been reduced to being so ridiculous to him that his mind hadn't even registered the pain of losing an arm. Or perhaps his pain receptors had already gone numb from having his wings destroyed.

Archer didn't care, easing Kanshou in a reverse grip with its spouse pointed at the Cadre's face. "And as I said, you talk too much."

His arm shot forward, a motion to swiftly stab the weapon into his opponent's face.

Clang!

Unfortunately, something resembling a shield blocked the attack, sparks flying and his sense of danger going haywire. "—!"

The area around him became illuminated with dozens of magic circles all gathering an enormous amount of Magical Energy before releasing in a series of concentrated beam attacks.

Both married blades moved to slice through as many attacks as he could intercept while Archer retreated to gain some distance. "Hn!" There being so many of them, a couple managed to bypass his defense and grazed his armor which took the brunt of the impact while he spun out the way, all the while deflecting more.

All in all, he managed to defend himself mostly. Now fully on guard, he looked cautiously at the hooded figure standing next to Kokabiel, her delicate finger raising the man's face up to her eyes as he saw the lower part of her face twist into a sneer.

"I told you it would end like this, foolish little crow." She spoke eloquently, her voice a melody to anyone who would hear it, and very different from the person Archer had in mind.

'She was here this entire time, yet I didn't sense her at all. Capable of using multiple powerful spells, summoning a shield at a distance, able to hide herself, and… poison!' He created more distance between himself and her when he noticed the area slowly filling up with an odorless cloud of purple smoke. Archer felt it sprinkling his skin, forcing him to once again use his Magical Energy to push against it and purge it from his body as much as he could. Thankfully his shroud helped to oppose a harmful environment such as this, mitigating much of the effects.

"I'm curious, are you truly an Archer?" the lady spoke, curiosity filling her voice. Turning to face him, he got to see her face as the hood that covered her face disappeared — no longer bothering to keep her identity a secret. Provided he could put a name to the face.

She was quite a beauty, that was for certain.

Strands of dark hair long enough to reach the ground, sharp golden eyes looking at him intently, and most prominent of all were the elf-like pointed ears. Unlike Rider, hers wasn't a face he recognized at first glance. Familiar in a way for certain, but the name didn't didn't jump out at him — it was right at the tip of his tongue.

"You barely use a bow at all from what I've seen, most of the time it's those two black and white swords. Your way of fighting doesn't strike me as something an Archer would engage in. It comes closer to what I'd expect to see of someone from the Saber class instead. How intriguing indeed." She smiled coquettishly, yet it only made him more unnerved than anything else. "I wonder, are you an Archer, a Saber… or both?"

"You finally decided to show yourself and you clearly know a fair bit about me. Shouldn't it be common courtesy to introduce yourself first?" he said, gathering everything he'd been able to piece together about this Servant. Highly proficient in poison, mastery of offensive and defensive spells, summoning magic… and Presence Concealment.

At his words, she scoffed. "I am not exactly one for such knightly customs. Why give away the answer when it's more advantageous for me to keep my silence? You are also quite the enigma yourself. I've observed you and Rider for a while but your identity still remains a mystery."

So she'd uncovered Medusa's identity already? Just how long was she observing them… he needed to find out her identity as well. 'There are not many individuals known for using poison in the Throne, much less ones who also possess inhuman traits like those ears.'

The more he thought about it, the clearer the answer became since very few people held those characteristics as far as he knew.

"You… you're not a Caster," he said with certainty. His statement surprised the woman a bit.

"What gave it away?" she asked calmly.

"Casters don't have Presence Concealment. You've managed to get the drop on me on more than one occasion, Assassin."

'Her Presence Concealment shouldn't be that high since I managed to sense her as soon as she went on the offensive. Possibly C, or C at most. I have to take into account the extra power she must have gotten from being summoned into this world.'

Assassin's smile widened, yet her eyes became even colder. She hummed as if acknowledging his answer without bothering to deny it. "I must say, you're even more clever and observant than I gave you credit for. I made sure to be quite careful in my approach. Had it not been for this crow acting so brash, then I wouldn't have needed to intervene at all."

Her distaste for Kokabiel was prominent in both her tone and her gaze as her eyes shifted over to him, scorn evident as she looked down at his mangled form.

"I take it your Master is working for him?" he asked, his shroud and armor shimmering as both were fully repaired. "And where are the two exorcists you've kidnapped?"

"I may have said you were clever, but you get no points for pointing out something so obvious. As for the exorcists…" her fingers snapped, and a spell taking the shape of a mirror appeared which showed him the inside of a dark room where both Xenovia and Irina were locked up. Their faces were pale with black lines covering their bodies, their breathing harsh — it was clear that they had been poisoned.

"Quite a tenacious one, that blue-haired girl. Even under extreme pain she wouldn't stop cursing me over and over again. That foul mouth of hers really doesn't suit such a pretty face. The other one fainted in only a few minutes," Assassin noted casually. "Don't worry about the poison too much, it's just something to make sure they behave themselves until our business here has been settled."

This woman was dangerous. Unlike Kokabiel's nonchalant behavior at the beginning which was just plain arrogance in the face of new powers he didn't bother to understand — this woman was different. She had seen him fight, possessed some knowledge of what he was capable of, yet still stood before him so confidently despite her class being better suited to ambushes than direct combat.

Why hadn't Rider arrived yet? At this point, Koneko must have already returned and informed the main group by now. Just as he was about to use his connection to Rias to ask what happened, a wave of Holy Energy emerged from nearby, followed by the sound of the maddened laughter of a crazed fool.

"Finally… FINALLY, THE HOLY SWORD EXCALIBUR IS BEING REFORGED INTO ONE BLADE!" With his battle against Kokabiel, the area had been mostly cleared, letting him see an old man in the distance behaving like a typical mad scientist at the sight before him. The six swords, half of which he had already seen, spun in the air around one another, the energy growing stronger and his worries intensifying.

Most important, however, were the Command Seals on the back of his hand that Archer managed to spot.

His face was nearly similar to the man he researched after hearing Yuuto's story. He had certainly aged in the years since, but this was definitely the same person who had been denounced as a rogue agent formerly of the Church. One who had been excommunicated for his horrific experiments on multitudes of children in the name of trying to create wielders of holy swords by implanting them with holy energy. The experiments had ended up killing all but one of the kids, who'd only survived because he managed to escape, and then go on to join the peerage of one Rias Gremory as her Knight.

"Valper Galilei. So that's your Master."

"Unfortunately yes." It appeared that someone else was familiar with his identity and personal history as well.

No matter, he had to stop the man and whatever he was planning on doing. "Hn!" He jumped into the air, getting as far away from the poisoned area with a bow in his hand which he prepared to use to shoot down the crazed former bishop from afar.

Of course, Assassin wouldn't just sit back and let him.

"Not so fast," beneath the remaining trees, a multitude of purple chains burst upwards aiming for him like snakes that had been coiled to strike. Furrowing his brows, Archer used his bow as a defensive item to block the first few with a grunt of effort. Using the resulting momentum to his advantage, his body sailed through the air while quickly firing off a volley of arrows in quick succession to intercept the rest.

A handful of his arrows were aimed at Assassin herself, and another was headed for Valper's head.

And all the while Archer was Tracing multiple swords around himself and rapidly firing them as well.

"Such tricks won't work on me." Assassin just waved her hand and a wall of hexagonal-shaped prisms formed in front of her and Valper, acting as a shield that successfully blocked the projectiles.

This display of magic further solidified the woman's identity in Archer's mind. The stealth of an Assassin while also being able to easily command a multitude of spells like a Caster. Characteristics he could only expect to see from someone with the Double Summon skill, which was so rare that he only knew a single person off the top of his head who possessed it. And that same person just so happened to have a legend consisting of being the world's oldest poisoner, having used the method to kill her husband Ninus mere days after marrying him.

A ruthless yet wise queen of Assyria who had the blood of both a human and a goddess flowing through her veins.

Semiramis.

"You can't keep dodging me forever, Archer." Despite having left the area as he kept dodging the chains, he managed to hear her voice clearly as if she were right next to him.

His Mind's Eye helped him keep up with the onslaught, yet with chain after chain coming at him like so many venomous snakes and a multitude of spells being shot at him almost omnidirectionally, even he struggled to keep up. Despite his efforts to close the distance to Valper, Assassin's endless barrage and a myriad of poison traps she'd set kept him at bay even as he destroyed as many of them as he could.

"Damn it!"

He was starting to feel the pressure. A few of the spells had once again managed to graze him, as had the chains, the latter being coated with poison. The longer this went on the more such injuries would pile up..

"You can always choose to stop struggling and keep me company, Archer. I am curious as to what you've managed to uncover about this world and the conditions that allowed us to be summoned here. So do refrain from running away." One of the chains managed to coil around his ankle, and Archer was unable to switch from his bow to Kanshou and Bakuya before Assassin took advantage.

With a wave of her fingers, he felt the chain viciously pull him down, his body creating a small crater upon impact. With the poisonous fog starting to seep into his lungs and more chains heading for him, he cursed and formed Kanshou in his hand before Reinforcing it just shy of being Broken before striking the chain.

Upon impact, the blade and chain both exploded, the resulting force forming a clearing amidst the poison cloud and blowing the other chains off course. Archer took in a breath of fresh air while he could, noting how his movements were already beginning to feel a bit sluggish. The poison he'd been dosed with must have had anesthetic properties. That made it easier to ignore the pain, but more of it would hinder his mind.

Assassin allowed him a brief reprieve as she spoke, calm and regal as ever. "You can cease struggling and submit to me, there is no shame in that after the fine display you've put on. But if you remain stubborn, then death is all that awaits you. Choose carefully."

While she talked, Emiya noticed the holy energy in the distance had settled down, and a bad feeling grew in his heart. He had to deal with Assassin as quickly as possible.

Semiramis grinned as he straightened, his stance ready. "Hoh, still willing to continue? Well, I suppose that's to be expected from a fellow Heroic Spirit," she commented, clearly amused but also not taking him lightly as more magic circles formed around her again.

"Trace, on."

This time, a new blade formed within his grasp, one she recognized but didn't have time to comment on when Archer's figure flickered and closed more than half of the distance between them at speeds beyond what he showed before.

"Tch!" Assassin summoned more chains and fired off more blasts of magic, all of which shot towards him in great numbers. Yet he didn't block or jump away from them, nimbly moving past the dangers as they missed their target by a hair's breadth.

Like water his body twisted around the chains and the beams, running closer to the ground and moving far faster than she predicted. She cursed under her breath, summoning a prism wall as soon as he drew near enough to slash a copy of Excalibur Rapidly which shattered upon impact. A fragile sword that she wasn't afraid could hurt her, but he wasn't done, for in his other hand she saw him holding another weapon that was already striking her shield.

Neither a sword nor a dagger, but a two-meter crimson spear with vines gracefully lining the shaft, one that instantly shattered her defense. No, upon closer inspection she understood it severed the very connection of her magic. Left with no means to defend herself and too slow to dodge, the spear managed to pierce a few inches into her stomach.

"—!" Only for Archer to halt his movement and drastically twist his body around right as a light spear struck him at his side and sent him flying.

Crash!

His figure stuck a couple of trees, breaking them apart into wood splinters.

Assassin looked down at her stomach with wide eyes, the crimson spear falling near her feet and disappearing into many particles of light. A small open wound was left on her stomach where it only managed to pierce only a few layers deep. The warm feeling of her clothes getting soaked in her own blood made the woman frown even as she worked to heal herself.

Archer on the other hand righted himself, having had barely enough time to Trace a sword that managed to bear the brunt of the spear's impact. He narrowed his eyes at the sight of an enraged figure marching forward, covered in blood and holding a twisted golden sword. One that held far more holy energy than any of the fragments had, and seemed to even grant its wielder renewed strength.

That wielder being Kokabiel, who'd been able to reattach his severed arm.

"You fool! I saved your life and you come back just to discard it again!?" He heard Assassin shout in an enraged voice as she glared at the Cadre with dissatisfaction.

"Stand down, Assassin. With the perfected Excalibur in Lord Kokabiel's hands, there's nothing that can hope to stand in his way." An exceedingly smug voice spoke from behind Kokabiel, Valper stepping forth with a contemptuous look on his face as he looked at Archer. "This other Servant will make a fine test subject for my magnificent creation's array of abilities. Please, do enjoy yourself, my lord."

"I had this under control," Assassin said, only to be ignored by Valper who waved his hands dismissively.

"Do not disobey your Master's order, Assassin. You were only to retrieve the other fragments and then serve as a distraction until my masterpiece was completed. Now that your services are no longer required, you may return to the sidelines until Lord Kokabiel or myself have further need of you."

Killing intent flashed within her eyes, "I advise you to not treat me as some puppet of yours, Valper." She looked back at Archer, who once more stood upright with another pair of blades comfortably resting in his hands. Though there were numerous cuts across his body and her poison visibly flowed through him, she knew that this man was nowhere near being out of the fight.

"I highly doubt that sword of yours will be of any help, especially if that's your idea of what perfection looks like," she said, glancing derisively at the ugly thing her Master called Excalibur. A flash of disappointment appeared on her face as she saw how he'd essentially just mashed the six fragments he had together and called it a success. Never mind the fact that there was supposed to still be a seventh fragment somewhere in the world.

"Silence!" Kokabiel shouted, hateful glaring back at Archer and slowly ascending upwards with his only remaining wing. "I can't accept it. I CAN'T ACCEPT THIS! A human can't defeat a Fallen, a Cadre no less! I will correct that mistake with this!" He gleefully brought the reforged Excalibur up to his face and grinned. "I was wrong about you, Valper. This toy is indeed better than I ever imagined! With this! WITH THIS, NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO STAND AGAINST THE FALLEN ANGELS! NOT EVEN SIRZECHS!"

Archer listened to the madman's rambles, having a weird expression when observing the sword made from six of the seven fragments being forcefully recombined into one. He saw what Assassin had seen, and more. And in the vast expanse of his Reality Marble, another sword was added. 'It holds the combined abilities of all six fragments. I can see why he's so confident. But…'

But it was still nothing compared to the Sword of Promised Victory from his world. A hastily made blade such as this had so many structural flaws that for all its power, its durability was a joke. But more than that, the sword still remained nothing but a shell of its former self.

An incomplete weapon.

A bastardized creation made by the hands of an ignorant fool who only saw what he wanted to see.

"Hah… " he sighed, whether it was out of disappointment or something else, he couldn't quite tell. Even with Kokabiel holding the sword, the biggest threat here was still Assassin by a wide margin. The woman seemed downright frigid when she'd addressed Valper, who seemed content to treat her as a mere tool. For a queen such as herself, that had to rankle her pride. He believed he had a good idea of what was going on in her mind right now.

It wouldn't be the first time a foolish Master suffered the consequences of disrespecting their Servant.

"Let's just get this done with, I don't want to waste more time dealing with this nonsense," he said to Kokabiel. He then felt some of the poison within his body start to subside, a thing that caught him off guard. Especially when he saw the woman responsible retracting the poison from the area around him.

His body still felt some of the effects linger, but at least it wasn't as bad as before.

Assassin gave him a knowing look. One that said Valper would now have to use a Command Seal to make her intervene.

Kokabiel, hearing his response, grew red with fury once more. Emiya, not bothering to listen to whatever rambles the Cadre wanted to spew next, dismissed the Married Blades and prepared a demonic spiral sword in his right hand along with his bow in the other. He didn't need to get close to Kokabiel to destroy that blade and him along with it.

Unlike that time with Grayfia, he would ensure his aim was on point.

Crash!

Yet the next moment, everyone was surprised to feel a tremor at the base of the mountain. Looking down with his enhanced eyesight, Archer was shocked to find a disheveled Rider embedded into the side of the mountain. Her appearance was a complete mess, with wounds all over her body —- cuts and burns — and she had nothing to cover her eyes. Feeling his gaze on her, she barely managed to turn her head in his direction and her mouth moved, from which he was able to read the following.

"Run… you can't beat her."

Woosh!

A large pillar of crimson lightning rose in the distance, completely dwarfing any presence of the holy sword even from such a vast distance away.

"This power…" he muttered, feeling a chill creep up his skin.

The source of this power stood at the edge of the forest, facing the mountain, completely hidden by the crimson wave of power gathering into one spot and aiming at Rider. The latter staggered, struggling to stand, and was also trying to unleash her own Noble Phantasm.

"That idiot!"

In her state, she'd be far too late. The pillar of crimson destructive energy descended and Archer moved from his spot. Completely ignoring Kokabiel and Assassin, he landed in front of Rider who halted in her steps at the sight of him. Her stunned expression was now full on display without it being hidden behind her blindfold. Her mouth moved, wanting to say something, a warning most likely.

He ignored that.

"I am the bone of my sword."

He raised his right arm, palm facing out, and gripped the forearm with his other hand.

"Rho… Aias!"

Faced against the immense pressure threatening to swallow them, a pink flower bud bloomed from his hand.

Rider from the back watched in a daze as the sight of a beautiful seven-petaled flower unfolding reflected within her eyes. Seven layers stacking up on top of one another right as it was struck by the tsunami of crimson energy, instantly swallowing up everything around them and carving a trench through the mountain.

As her hair thrashed in the roaring wind, something in Rider's mind clicked as she watched the back of the white-haired Servant get momentarily replaced by that of a younger… equally stubborn boy with red hair who used a four-leafed shield instead.

Their figures overlapped onto one another until a name slipped out of her mouth.

"…Shirou…"

As the tower of raw energy descended from the sky, Kokabiel who stood in its way watched it approach him with a dazed expression. He raised Valper's attempt to reforge Excalibur to try and block it, only for the weapon to be instantly shattered upon impact and his figure became completely enveloped.

—————

---

Servant

Name: Semiramis

Class: Assassin

Master: Valper Galilei

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Parameters

Strength: E

Endurance: D

Agility: D

Mana: A

Luck: A

Noble Phantasm: B

Class Skills

Presence Concealment: C

Item Construction: B

Territory Creation: EX

Personal Skills

Divinity: C

Double Summon: A

Familiar (Dove): D

Noble Phantasms

Sikera Ušum (Anti-Army): A

Hanging Gardens of Babylon (Anti-World): EX

The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Hound having 3 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.