I decided to add soundtracks From both Bleach and Fate media to certain scenes in this chapter and others to both upcoming and past chapters to create immersion for my audience.

And Thank all of you for your support.

Soundtrack of choice: In a Nightmare by Yuki Kajiura

Very few things in life could make Saber feel fear.

Such as the endangerment of her master Shirou and her allies, or the fear of failing to live up to her duties as a knight and king.

However, the fear she felt now was far more primal, suffocating and one she thought would never feel again.

Yet when she saw the dark humanoid menos emerge from the dimensional tear, there was no room for doubt that it was the highest order among them.

A Vasto Lord.

His skin was black and pale like that of a corpse. Yet, his muscles were unnaturally toned and robust, his face hidden by a featureless white mask save for two curved horns on the top of his forehead and red eyelid markings below his gold piercing irises that shone from the curved eyeholes of the mask. The spirit's hair was a wild mass of ghostly white, that flowed over his imposing shoulders. His lower body was covered in dark tattered furs, consisting of nine bushy fox-like tails that wrapped around his waist like a belt, and on his back were two large black raven-like wings that seemed to eat away all the light and warmth around them.

And worse of all, judging from the Vasto Lord's Spiritual pressure…he was vastly stronger than the one Saber faced in her past.

However, Gilgamesh, as if just now noticing the powerful spirit, merely huffed at him dismissively.

"Well, it took you long enough, wraith, given that the battle has already started…" The king berated him. "Though if you prove your strength is adequate, I may be willing to forgive your tardiness"

The Vasto Lorde then glared at Gilgamesh in what could appear to be annoyance before casting his gaze over to Saber, whose heart nearly stopped…

And then to Ichigo.

Soundtrack of Choice: Dogfight by Yuki Kaijura

Faster than anyone could anticipate. The Vasto Lord appeared before the young shinigami, pulled out an insect-like spear from his back with their right hand, and struck at their foe, which took all of Kurosaki's strength and speed to block the strike lest he wanted to get cut in half.

Ichigo grinds his teeth in the strain as he desperately tries to push the insanely powerful Menos off of him. That is until he saw Renji stepping behind the Hollow and tried to cut him down with Zabimuru raised, but the Vasto Lorde, without even turning around, blocked Renji's Shikai with their left arm, much to the vice captain's shock, and then, within a swift motion, pushed Ichigo back, twirled his spear around, and slashed through the vice captain's chest! Causing a massive gash of blood to spew out of the wound.

Renji could then only look on in shock before coughing up blood and falling to the ground unconscious.

"RENJI!" Ichigo shouted out as he immediately tried to slash through the Vasto Lorde's body while his back was turned.

…only for his blade to pass right through his enemy's body unharmed.

"What the"

SMACK!

Ichigo was given no time to speak as the Vasto Lord kicked him in the stomach and sent the Substitute Shinigami flying and crashing through several buildings in the far distance.

Berserker then tried to attack the Hollow by swinging his axe down, but the wraith easily deflected the strike with one of his wings, before grabbing Berserker's face and tossing him far away over the horizon just like Ichigo.

On seeing this, Illyasveil, Archer, Rin, Rukia, Byakuya, Toshiro, Rangiku, Saber, Shirou, and Lancer all stared at the Menos in shock and fear. Save for Sakura who looked on impassively, Shinji who smirked at the sight, Kirei who smiled in amusement, and Gilgamesh who was impressed by the display of power.

"Well now…consider yourself forgiven" Gilgamesh praised.

Soundtrack of Choice: Evacuation By Yuki Kaijura

Shirou then stared wide-eyed at the Vasto Lorde as he froze still with dread. "This Guy…he managed to get rid of Ichigo, Renji, and Hercules as if they were nothing!' He then raised his dual blades in a desperate defense. 'Is this the power of a Vasto Lorde that Saber warned about?'

The High Menos then gazed over at the group again, this time setting his sights on Toshiro, who immediately released his Bankai and covered himself with his ice wings, just as the powerful Meno attacked him with his spear, and upon making contact the icy wings nearly shattered them to pieces.

'He's trying to take us out one by one!' The captain realized as he immediately flew up into the air to get some distance.

However, before his eyes, he saw the vast lord raise his right hand and sprout over hundreds of massive worms that were each the size of a small car when sprouted out wings and began to attack the captain at all angles with immense agility and speed.

"Captain!" Ranigku called out only to immediately be stabbed by Lancer's spear when she wasn't looking forcing her to back away while clutching her bleeding wound.

Then when Shirou tries to rush in to save her, Shinji blindsides him by slamming his head into the ground.

"You didn't think you could just ignore me, did you, Emyia?" He spat mockingly while raising his right hand.

Then as the young Matou stretched out the palm of his right hand a huge eye opened up. Which had a sickly yellow scale and a deep red iris. While Shirou could only widen his own eyes helplessly in horror as Shinji quickly grabbed hold of his face.

"Akuma no me…Kiga No Noroi" (Devil's Eye...Curse of Hunger) Shinji uttered in a dark tone as he nearly instantly absorbed all of Shirou's mana causing the young man to scream in agony before losing consciousness and collapsing on the ground while Shinji grinned on delight…though it felt forced.

Gilgamesh then laughed at the display. "Well, this is quite the predicament" He taunted while looking over at the frustrated Saber, the determined Bakukya, and the wary Archer. "Here you all are boasting how it is madness for us to challenge you all. Yet it is your forces that are getting crushed!" The king then narrowed his eyes. "Or do you believe that you can all turn this around with some last-minute miracle?"

The group then looked at each other held a silent agreement and retreated much to Gilagmesh's smug amusement.

Archer breaks off from his fight with Kirei and goes to Hitsugaya and rescues him from the speeding flying worms by shooting them down with his arrows and urging the captain to follow him. Which he complied with without argument.

The second was Saber who grabbed hold of Rin who held on tight with Rukia and Orhime following behind her. Rin looked sadly at her sister Sakura who in turn then avoided her gaze.

The third was Byakuya used a flash step to appear before Shinji and forced the Magus back with a swipe of his blade and retrieved Shirou's unconscious body before fleeing.

Thus allowing the shinigami and their allies to retreat. While the rogue, Servants, and Vasto Lorde stood victorious.

The soundtrack of choice: Recollection 3 by Shiro Sagisu

Sometime later, Ichigo awoke with a start as he rubbed the back of his head in pain.

"Fuck…" He cursed to himself. "Been a long time since I took a hit like that"

A low breath then startled Ichigo. "Well, I'm glad you finally managed to wake up by the time I brought you here"

Kurosaki then followed the servant's voice. "Archer?" Ichigo called out. "Just what the Hell happened?"

The older Emyia then let out a bitter sigh. "Let's just say that the whole plan to take out Kirei and his servants failed miserably as he not had has more allies than we anticipated...but is also much more powerful than we realized"

Ichigo then rubbed his head some more. "Urrgh no need to remind me..." He then gazed back at Archer. "So what is this place?"

The Servant of the bow then folded his arms. "Well, since your suite is now surrounded by Hollows along with Emyia's and my master's home. Everyone has decided to use this hidden base that... the particular captain set up would be the best option to hide out for now"

"Mayuri..." Ichigo guessed with a grunt as he looked over the supposed medical room he was in that was covered in wires, tubes, and other strange instruments he would rather not know about.

"Well at least we will get the chance to recover," Kurosaki reasoned, and then stopped himself before gazing back at Archer in worry. "And Renji…is he going to be okay?"

Archer then breathed out. "If you mean spiky-red head he'll live along with that other vice-captain woman…but neither will be fighting for a while and as for Shirou…" He furrows his brow in worry "…he is still in critical condition"

Soundtrack of Choice: Feudal Society By Shiro Sagisu.

Meanwhile, at the hidden base R,etsu was busy restoring Shirou's energy which was now barely being held by a thread while Saber looked on in worry.

While Hitsugaya, Rin, Byakuya, and Illyasveil were busy making plans with her remaining allies in the meeting room.

"And that is all I have to report, Captain Commander" Toshiro explained to Generysai from a giant purple vein-like TV monitor.

"I see..." The elder Shinigami commented. "So the enemy's forces have proven to be far more formidable than we thought," He then opened his red eyes. "To the point that they now have a force that rivals our own"

Byakuya then stepped in. "Should we send in the other captains to aid us?"

"No..." the commander bluntly responded. "Given the enemy's strength, the four pillars must remain guarded by them so that no civilians will get caught in the crossfire...meanwhile we should now determine their next move"

Illyasveil then raised her hand. "Um, sir...If it will help, I know the location of where the Greater Grail is, and it is likely where they are all stationed to protect it"

The captain commander raised his eyebrow.

"Is that so?" He questioned and Illyasveil nodded.

"Yes and it is right underneath Ryuudou temple itself"

Toshiro then held his chin, "Makes sense given that the temple is built on the central ley lines of this land, along with an anti-spiritual barrier around it"

He then narrowed his eyes. "But that Magus girl...she had far more mana than any Magi is naturally capable of to the point that it was practically bottomless"

Illyasveil then lowered her head and her face became grim. "Likely because she made a contract with...Avenger"

The soundtrack of Choice: All Evil in the World Konoyo No Aku

Rin then raised an eyebrow. "Avenger as in...a servant?"

The Einzburn nodded. "I was unsure how exactly the grail was corrupted, but I had my suspicions when Archer mentioned all the world evils...and they were confirmed when I met Sakura herself"

"What do you mean by that?" Ichigo spoke out as he entered the room alongside Archer and Illyasveil's expression softened before becoming stern.

"Ichigo..." Illyasveil began. "Do you remember the past holy grail wars I told you about and how they all failed?"

The teen then gave her a concerned look. "Yeah?"

Illyasveil then sighed. "Well, during the third holy grail war, my family attempted to win by summoning an Avenger. The eighth-class servant, whose heroic spirits were fueled by vengeance even long after death, and through that class sought to summon the evil god of Zoroastrianism...Angra Mainyu" She then let out a huge breath. "And make him into their Servant"

Ichigo then gasped at hearing that. "Your family...plan on summoning...a god?" He then furrowed his brow and dropped his jaw incredulously at what he heard. "And tried to control him as a Servant?"

Archer then closed his eyes in thought. "More like a Divine Spirit given that pretty much all the gods have degraded greatly in power due to a lack of worship," He corrected and then opened his eyes. "Though even degraded he would still be considered as powerful as a natural calamity regardless" he then looked over to Illyasveil. "But I can guess that wasn't that what happened?"

"No..." Illyasveil confirmed. "The Servant wasn't the evil god but rather an unnamed villager that was randomly chosen by his people to take up that role. To represent the source of all the world's evil, a scapegoat to blame all their misfortune on, and in turn, paint themselves as naturally good..." She then narrowed her eyes "So they tortured him to insanity, carved every word that curses mankind onto his body, and refused to let him die until he succumbed to old age"

Ichigo and Rin grimaced in horror, Toshiro growled in disgust, while Byakuya and Yamamoto remained stern with a subtle hint of pity in their eyes.

"Just..." Kurosaki began to say while trying to process the fact that a group of people could do something so abominable to one of their own. "How the Hell did any of that make him into a Heroic spirit!?"

Illyasveil then held a calm yet eerie gaze. "Because Kurosaki...by taking on the role as the King of Demons, the entity responsible for all the evil in the world, he in turn took the responsibility and blame for all his people's woes and in turn he gave them salvation" She explained morbidly. "By blaming someone, anyone for their hardships, it relieved them of their sorrow while enforcing their self-righteousness..." She then narrowed her eyes, "And through that, even if unintentional, enabled that man to become qualified as a Heroic Spirit"

Ichigo then stared at Illyasveil in utter horror on hearing that before lowering his head and baring his teeth in anger. "Unbelievable..."

Byakuya held a similar if much more subtle expression and looked over to the Einzburn. "And was this Servant formidable?"

Illyasveil slowly shook her head. "He was extremely weak and only lasted four days...yet his soul was absorbed into the Greater Grail nonetheless and due to all the wishes of his people wanting him to become the Demon God King to justify themselves in torturing him and reliving them of their suffering…"

Everyone then held a grim realization.

"The grail granted them that wish..." Ichigo spoke slowly.

Rin then tightens her fists. "I see now...since Sakura became Avenger's master she was able to gain access to his power when that tortured man became a demon god.. but to make such a pact she would need to have a connection to the grail, like becoming..." She then held her mouth in another horrific realization hit her. "A vessel"

Illyasveil then looked away from Rin. "That may very well be the case...and if so then they don't even need me to activate the Holy Grail"

The soundtrack of Choice: Yamamoto's theme extended by Shiro Sagisu and remixed by H20 SUN

"Then our objective is clear..." Yamamoto spoke up.

"Once rested and prepared, all available captains and willing allies are to infiltrate the temple, find the underground chamber, and destroy the greater grail before the enemy can manifest this king of demons" he ordered, and the rest of the captains nodded. "While I will be on standby in case the worst comes to pass"

Toshiro hummed in acknowledgment. "Understood Captain Commander," He said, and the screen on the huge TV turned off. In contrast, Illyasveil looked over to the younger captain.

"What does he mean by standby and worse comes to worse...isn't he coming to help us?"

Toshiro furrowed his eyes sternly. "The Captain Commander has his own responsibilities to attain in this war...one of which I hope won't come to pass..."

Rin then narrowed her own eyes at the captain. "What do you mean?"

Byakuya then glanced over to the Magus. "It means that if we fail to stop this Avenger...then the Captain Commander will activate the final fail-safe in protecting this city and the world by activating Ennetsu Jigoku" He answered forebodingly.

Ichigo then widened his eyes in surprise while Archer looked on perplexed.

Rin then knit her brow in confusion. "Ennetsu Jigoku?"

Toshiro then turns his attention to Rin. "A sacrificial technique set by the Captain-Commander's Ryujin Jakka, the greatest of all fire type Zanpakuto and one with the highest offensive power in all of Soul Society" The young captain explained. "With flames so intense that they can burn the earth and scorch the sky itself and in this case..." His fact then harden. "Reduce this entire fake city into ash...along with everyone in it"

Rin and Illysveil then gasped in shock while Archer held an expression of concern. "He...is willing to sacrifice all of us just to destroy the grail!?" Rin questioned loudly.

Byakuya then stepped in. "Not you, only us captains who are unable to escape, and that same courtesy includes Ichigo and his friends"

Ichigo then rolled his eyes. "I feel special"

Soundtrack of Choice: Rin's Decision by Fukasawa

Rin then lowered her head. "I see...which would mean the entire legacy my family that has been built up for centuries could pretty much go up in smoke," she let a small laugh. "Literally"

Archer then raised an eyebrow at the young Magus's comment. "You don't seem too bothered by this"

She then shrugged. "Considering that the Shinigmai pretty much won the war by default and we are all fighting rogue Magi and Servants at this point, plus the fact that the greater grail was going to be dismantled regardless, to prevent another Holy Grail war from happening. Burning the entire land to ash will just make that process faster" She then looked back to the captains. "But still...for all, you sacrifice yourselves to this extent to protect the people of this city?"

Hitsugaya then closed his eyes. "As captains of the Gotei 13 every one of us is duty-bound to sacrifice our lives if it means protecting the innocent and this wouldn't be the first or the last time we will do so"

Ichigo held an expression of respect which was shared by Archer while Illyasveil looked on with a bit of admiration.

Rin then looked at all the shinigami and then looked down deep in thought and then exited the room and entered another patient room for privacy. Still trying to come to terms with everything that just happened.

That is until someone knocked on the door.

Rin then let out a sigh. "Come in..." she answered and when the door opened it turned out to be Orhime.

"Ms. Tohsaka?" Inoue began to speak. "I saw that you looked upset about something...do you want to talk about it?"

The young Mangus then looked over to the Fullbringer. "It's..." she hesitated. "About Sakura and to an extent Shinji," Rin admitted. "And I don't know what to do if I were to fight against them...considering how far the rest of the Shinigami are willing to go to save the whole world"

Orhime then chuckled. "Well, they are dedicated," she responded cheerfully. "Were you, Sakura, and Shinji close?"

Rin then frowns at hearing the latter's name. "For Shinji, I wouldn't even consider him worth mentioning given that he was willing to betray me and Shirou." Her face then softened. "But for Sakura...she was my little sister back when we lived together...before my father gave her away to the Matou family"

Orhime then furrowed her brow. "Are you upset by that?"

Soundtrack of choice: Greif by Yuki Kaijura

Rin then let out a quiet breath. "A little bit...but I understand my father's decision" She then stared up at the ceiling. "After all there could only be one heir for a family of Magi and given that both me and Sakura had enormous potential as Magus it would eventually result in a conflict of who would become the heir of the family...and since the Matou bloodline had degraded to the point of being unable to produce any heirs of their own Sakura was given to them to fulfill that role" She then smiled. "And not only that...but I thought that Uncle Kayria would keep watch over Sakura"

Orhime then raised her eyebrow. "You had an Uncle?"

Rin then huffed in a cheerful tone. "He wasn't related to me in blood or anything, but he genuinely cared about me, Sakura, and my mother, Aoi, when both of us were kids," her expression then saddened. "But then...he disappeared without a trace"

Orhime then focused her gaze. "Did you know why?"

Tohsaka shook his head. "All I know..." she then grimaced. "Or at least from what the despicable priest told me, Kayria was originally the heir of the Matou family...but out of dissatisfaction ran away from them and became a freelance writer" She then gripped her hands and lowered her head. "But after seeing what Sakura and Shinji have become...I believe now that it was far more than just dissatisfaction"

Inoue then smiled. "And you wish to save Sakura from whatever fate fell upon her?"

Tohsaka then lowered her head. "I do, regardless if she thinks she is doing her duty or not," She then cracked her fist. "Even if I have to beat some sense into her"

Orhime then chuckled lightly at that. "Well, I will be there to also make her see reason...after all" Orhime's face then softened. "I can sort of imagine how she must have felt...to be trapped in her situation...much like how I once was"

Rin then paused at the woman's words and returned the smile. "And I am sure with all of us working together we will pull her out of it, and...thank you Orhime"

Inoue's smile then brightens. "Anytime"

Soundtrack of choice: Curse By Yuki Kaijura

Later that night, within the chambers of the Matou mansion, which hosted the family crest worms. The Vasto Lord stood silent as he allowed the vermin to swarm and crawl in and out of his body, and lying on the other side of him was Shinji, who allowed the worms to do the same to him.

"I am surprised that you would still undergo this Shinji, considering that the worms have already adapted to your body and mana…do you seek to push yourself further?"

Shinji stood silent and then closed his eyes. "It has less to do with pushing myself…and more of serving my comeuppance…however fleeting it might be"

"I see…well at the very least you are willing to properly discipline yourself…"

Shinji then stood quiet for a moment before asking another question.

"Tell me...what it is like to be Hollow, I mean," He asked awkwardly. "Do all of you just devour souls to satisfy your hunger?"

The Vasto Lord remains quiet momentarily before letting out a deep breath. " I afraid satisfy is too positive of a word to describe a Hollow's hunger...for it is not something driven by a desire for substance...but rather a relief to fill in the void created by the loss of their heart from despair"He then looks down at the hole in the center of his chest. "And for me...that void was so great that only devouring other Hollows could ease it"

Shinji then lowered his gaze "Is that...how you became a Vasto Lorde...by having a Hunger greater than most?"

The menos then let out a dry chuckle. "That...and by having a powerful enough will to dominate all other Hollows that make up the Menos that even now I am still part of...and the potential to reach that stage of evolution to begin with"

Shinji gazes over to the swarming crest worms, not even reacting when they dig into his skin. " And in the pursuit of reaching that stage... does it make something like even this feel natural now?'" He asked. "Instead of abhorrent like before?"

Soundtrack of Choice: If You Leave by Yuki Kaijura

The Hollow then closed his eyes. "In the pursuit of survival and maintaining one's identity...most abhorrent things end up becoming insignificant in the grand scheme of it all...and in the pursuit for power...they might as well be nothing, especially when one pursues their ideals and goals"

Shinji then hummed before letting out a small laugh laced with melancholy. "Well, it feels that way..." Shinji then looked over to the Vasto Lord. "Do you believe…even if we accomplish our goals…will things change?"

"…If not then it will be another stepping stone towards the path to achieve that…" The Vasto Lorde answered as he then looked into the cold abyss above. "And once the grail has been completed...we will then have the means to take it"

Seems things are heating up for our Heroes now that they seek to destroy the corrupted Holy Grail and Stop the Avenger from manifesting will they succeed? The Tone in next time in the following chapters.

Anyway I decided to add soundtracks From both Bleach and Fate media to certain scenes in this chapter and others to both upcoming and past chapters to create immersion for my audience.

And Thank all of you for your support.