The Laughing Master [Hellblazer X Fate]

[Leo Novum]

Chapter One: AVALON

I stamp my feet about as the snow slowly drifts down. It's a bloody awful winter for a broke bloke like me and many of you might be wondering why
am I even wasting my time, standing in Hyde Park at ten in the morning even though the lack of sunlight makes the whole place look like some part of Gotham. I reach for my pocket even as reason urges me not to while habit persuades me. Habit wins out in the end and I pull out the pack of ciggies. Lighting a fag in my mouth with a snap of my fingers, I look around the deserted park. Nobody is out right now for some reason but that just makes me more conspicuous to any passing eyes. It's around ten below zero and bound to get colder at night.


Why am I, John Constantine, exorcist, con artist and petty dabbler in the dark arts, waiting here in Hyde Park like some lost soul? Well, the answer to that is interesting in itself. It starts with me being drunk out of my mind three days ago, nearing the end of the month with nothing in my pockets except a deck of tarot cards and half a pack of Silk Cuts. I received a telephone call from an anonymous source which promised a much better deal if I turn up at ten o'clock in Hyde Park. It wasn't as if I had much of a choice. Now that I was here, I was severely regretting making it.


I was sitting on a bench, looking at the water when I heard him approach. I turned around to face him and made sure to get a good look at his face. They say that eyes are the windows to the soul and if that was true then I was looking at the most soulless blonde kraut I had ever laid my eyes on. He wasn't even shivering even though he was only wearing a white jumper over some shirt and trousers.

"Mr. John Constantine, I presume?" He asked. The way he pressed his lips together and how he stared at me made me think that a negative answer wouldn't be appreciated.

"Ah, yah. That would be me." I said as I got up. I offered him a handshake but he simply coldly stared at me until I dismally dropped it. What a bastard.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Constantine. I have been reliably informed that you are reasonably well versed in both the magical and the mundane worlds. My name is Otto von Einzbern and I am here as a representative of my family with a business proposal." The man said in a monotone. I had a sudden urging to punch him on his perfect cleft chin. Pleasure my arse, you couldn't even bother to raise your arm a few inches and touch a plebeian like me? But business is business and I kept my face straight.

"Well, I am flattered by your source's description." I said bitterly.

"It was not said in kindness." Came the cold reply. Christ, did the man even understand sarcasm? I didn't mean it 'in kindness' either.

"Well, let's hear it then." I said a little harshly. "What sort of business are you proposing?"

The kraut's eyes narrowed. For a moment, I thought he would try to kill me outright. I wouldn't be surprised either. There were just so many magicians in society running around in their fancy little pants, thinking themselves so high and mighty only because they could do a bit of magic. Some would even fling around magic for a bit of a lark, completely ignoring the lives of the innocents while others would go power-mad. I don't know much about the Einzbern but I at least do know that they have more restraint than the average mage.

"We need you to retreat the Avalon, sheath of the sword Excalibur." He said finally after contemplating whether or not to speak. The snow kept falling around us as the words seemed to go through my head, each syllable hitting harder than the last.

"Are you serious, mate?" I asked incredulously. It's not that I don't believe in the existence of such items. Hell, I've encountered more fantastic and outrageous items than some simple old scabbard. The reason I found myself so speechless was because I was being asked to retrieve such a priceless artifact. Most of these families which had their heads up their arses usually sent their own progeny after artifacts like these just for them to earn their stripes. Or to kill them off to thin the herd but that was essentially the same thing really. The thing was, they weren't going to send some common con man like me for such a grand task.

Unless, of course, they couldn't find it themselves and were now getting desperate. I took a long draw from my cigarette before throwing the stub away. Now this was interesting even if it was just as dangerous. A desperate mage will be willing to negotiate but he will be just as willing to blast you to pieces. Maybe I should hear what are they offering first.

"That's all very nice, lad, but what's in it for me?" I asked. Could have worded it better but I need to give the impression of a common thug, not someone with a working brain. I am willing to bet that he doesn't regard me very highly. No one actually regards me highly.

The kraut reached for inside his coat. I tensed, expecting the worst but he simply took out a blue box and held it out for me. I hesitated before taking it. I muttered a few safety spells I knew but the box proved to be harmless as far as I knew. Holding my breath, I opened the box before exhaling rather sharply once I saw what was inside. There were three diamonds, uncut, each the size of my thumbnail.

"Each one of these is worth a million pounds, Mr. Constantine. This will be your down payment. The other seven will be delivered to you personally after the success of your mission. Good morning." Otto von Einzbern said stiffly before turning around and beginning to walk away.

"How will we keep in touch?" I yelled at him.

"You won't contact us, Mr. Constantine, we'll contact you." The kraut said as he walked away, not even bothering to turn and look at me. I just stood there, diamonds in my hands, somehow feeling that I had taken part in something I shouldn't have. There was only one thing left to do now. I walked over to the nearest telephone booth.
"Chas?" I said through chattering teeth, the cold finally finding a way through my trenchcoat. "Come over to Hyde Park, that's a good lad."

---------------

"Constantine, what an unexpected pleasure." Jerry O'Flynn exclaimed tiredly, as if he had to force the enthusiasm, before standing aside. "Come in! It's not every day a man of your caliber visits." He looked behind me and noticed an extremely surly and shivering Chas standing outside. "Well, all of you better come inside."

Jerry O'Flynn was a collector of strange, magical, magically strange and strangely magical objects. And drugs. He apparently always kept an unhealthy and illegal stash of cocaine in his house if rumors about him were true. Everyone keeps talking about that stash as if it was personally delivered to him by the devil. Bunch of Puritans. Anyways, if there was anyone who could track an absurd item on short notice, it was Jerry. He gave the appearance of some madman who had stepped out of a story and probably was, a fact that gave him a lot of grief.

"What's the matter, Jerry? You look knackered." I commented as Jerry led us to his study. The walls were lined with several tomes, books and grimoires, some mundane, several magical while a few not falling in either category. Jerry immediately pounced on the nearest bottle of grog and poured himself a snifter which he downed in one go.

"Another one of those blasted young writers came to interview me. Just because I have a persona most don't doesn't mean that I should be plagiarized or copied so frequently. William O'Conner, Ian O'Flaherty, James Donner, Magnus G. Tolstoy, all of these are characters based on me! And people keep confusing me for them!" Jerry said angrily. I simply waited for his anger to subside. "But you're not here to listen to my tragedy. Speak, Constantine, what is it that troubles you?"

"Jerry," I said slowly and clearly to make sure I wasn't misunderstood. "I am looking for Avalon, the legendary sheath of the sword Excalibur."

Any other person would have laughed. Even mages would have laughed in my face. Jerry is a different case. For Jerry, it never is insane enough, queer enough, weird enough to be disregarded. The fat old man merely stroked his beard thoughtfully before getting up and retrieving a book from a shelf.

"It's strange for you to refer to the scabbard as Avalon. It's actually the name of the island where Morgan Le Fay lived. According to legend, it is here where Arthur's first sword, Caliburn, was forged. It was here where King Arthur was taken after he had been hurt to the death by his enemy and son, Mordred." Jerry recited.

"Yes, that's very nice but what we need is the sheath." I said impatiently.

"Patience, young man. It is only through perseverance will you reach you bounty." Jerry scolded before turning back to his book. "It is said that the sword Excalibur was thrown into the Lake and the sheath was thrown before it by the Lady Morgan Le Fay." Jerry closed the book with a snap. "Now the obvious thing to do, of course, is to find the correct lake!" he said with a flourish.

Chas groaned from his seat. "Smashing. Absolutely smashing. There are hundreds upon hundreds of lakes, lochs and pools in all the length and breadth of this country. Do you plan on visiting every single one of them and sticking your hand in to check if some blinking broad chucked a scabbard down?"

"Of course not, my rather vocal acquaintance. We are going to narrow down the number of places where something as magical as a legendary sheath can be." Jerry said as he waddled over to a chest of drawers and pulled out a rolled up map of some sort. He came back and pinned it to the wall with thumbtacks he found from somewhere. It was a map of Britain with ley lines drawn over.

"Now, according to legend, Arthur was carried over to Avalon after the Battle of Camlann. Before being carried off, he ordered one of his knights, whether it was Griflet or Bedivere doesn't matter here, to throw Excalibur back into the lake. This means that all three places, Camlann, Avalon and the Lake need to be within riding distances of each other." Jerry theorized. Chas merely grunted.

"Well, it sounds reasonable enough, old chap, but it is still purely conjecture. Aren't you going to back it up with some sort of proof or at least theory?" I said, goading him. Jerry likes to bombast and draw out the obvious and I need him to be quicker.

"Glastonbury." Jerry said suddenly.

"Pardon?" I said, quite confused.

"The ley-line passes through Somerset, one of the likeliest places for the Excalibur to exist. The place is perfect as well. There used to be a lake here, if I recall, which was later drained off. The Glastonbury Tor was a marsh in those times, giving the Tor itself the appearance of an island. The battlefield itself could now be Queen Camel, near the River Cam, Somerset. There you go, Constantine, I found your blasted sheath for you. Now you owe me something back." Jerry said in a satisfied manner. I gritted my teeth. Jerry, as I keep forgetting, is a businessman. A business to whom money is secondary to collecting rare and queer items but a business man nonetheless. And just like a businessman, he had given me nothing and was already making demands. Bollocks.

"Jerry, we don't know for sure if your hare-brained theory is correct or not." Chas groaned from the seat. "We just can't pay you for nothing." Good old Chas, always being the voice of reason in a stupid little world.

"I am willing to wait, Constantine." Jerry said magnanimously, ignoring Chas completely. What a bastard. "In return, I would like a photograph of the legendary sheath."

Well that was quite cheap. I had expected him to ask us to retrieve Excalibur or something of the sort. Maybe Jerry could be a reasonable sort after all.

"Let's go, Chas. The game's afoot." I said as I mentally prepared for the long drive to Somerset with my anguished driver at my heels.

----------------------------

Here was I, standing back in Hyde Park. The entire retrieval turned out to be pitifully uneventful, not that I was complaining. We found the legendary sheath buried under the Tor at its foot. All I had to do was basically run a simple divination spell and the magic led me to where it was. Talk about luck. We took an entire roll of photographs and posted it to Jerry. Bloke turned out to be correct after all. Chas could scarcely believe the sight but decided not to speak anything. It was beautiful alright. The golden and blue scabbard looked as if it had spilled out of legend into the grimy modern times of England. How much King Arthur must be actually crying about the state of affairs of merry old England is something I don't know and I don't care to know. What I do know is that I am about to trade this thing for seven million quid.

The kraut appeared after a few minutes, right on schedule. I took out the lit fag from my mouth before dropping it and snuffing it out. Must appear professional after all.

"Do you have it?" Otto von Einzbern asked tersely. This is the first time I had heard emotion from his voice. Not that I have heard him enough times but when someone who is all about appearances looks haggard, it means shits been about. The bloke looked as if he hadn't slept properly for days.

I simply threw down the duffel bag I had on the ground. The kraut immediately bent down and unzipped it greedily. There was no light but the sheath seemed to glow all on its own. Avalon illuminated the man's face, making it look even more haggard and skull-like. He suddenly stood upright, making me back away a little. It was at these moments when employers tend to off their employees so that any secret may remain safe.

"You have performed adequately." The kraut said with a sniff. He might have looked regal if it wasn't for the slight drool still hanging from the corner of his mouth and a brief smile of glee he still had. He reached for his coat pocket and I reached for my lighter. Better be safe than sorry.

He brought out another blue box, similar to the one he had given me a week ago but slightly larger this time. He held it out for me and I reached over to take it.
That was when everything changed.

A sudden spike of pain erupted in the back of my right hand. It seemed as if someone had attacked it savagely with a knife. I gripped it with my good hand and tried not to scream. Blood flowed out of my fingers and freely dripped out.

"You sodding bastard." I said trough gritted teeth. It was the kraut's fault, I was sure of it. Trust me to make such a mistake. Trust me to be naïve enough to trust a mage like him. Fucking back-stabbers, the lot of them.

"Show me your wound. I swear that I didn't do anything." The kraut said, sounding concerned. He reached out and gripped my wrist. His hand was unexpectedly soft yet firm. I could get used to a hand like that. He forced my good hand away and looked at my injury.

I am not going to say that it was the queerest thing I ever saw but then again, it did make the top ten list. The wound was gone and replaced by some sort of blood tattoo in the shape of a curved sword and two crosses above it. The entire tattoo looked a little like a smiley face like the ones on five penny pins.

"Mein gott, a command spell." The kraut muttered. I knew that tone. It was the tone of someone who has to cancel parties, the tone of someone who has to do something unpleasant yet necessary, the tone of someone who had to kill you. I yanked my hand away and jumped back.
And then things started happening extremely quickly.

The Einzbern raised two jeweled golems out of the ground. Apparently, they had already been stored there or he could simply form them out of available minerals. I didn't know and I didn't care. I needed a fire quickly. I reached for my lighter and flipped it open. The flame sprang out, lively as ever. There was no time for me to recite a spell. I would simply have to charge the flame with magic and shoot it straight at the kraut.

Einzbern's golems leaped at me. My fireball leaped at Einzbern.

The fireball hit the kraut square in the chest. I don't think the poor bloke actually expected me to be so much faster than him which was why he didn't even bother shielding himself or maybe my magic managed to tear through his shields. The golems exploded into a thousand fragments before they even hit the ground. It was over.

"Constantine…" Otto von Einzbern croaked. I walked over to his dying body.

"What is it?" I asked. I am not going to say that I felt pity for him. He did try to attack me after all. But I guess that didn't mean I didn't have to listen to his dying words.

"Hear me Constantine…" Otto said, struggling for breath. "You… may have… defeated me… but… the Einzbern… will avenge me! Our new weapon… Kiritsugu… will defeat you… in the… Grail War…" he said.

"What's a Kiritsugu?" I asked, nonplussed.

"My death… won't be... in vain!" Otto said before dying with a twisted smile. I simply stood there, in the middle of snow, jewel fragments and blood. For a moment, I felt like screaming up at heaven and calling out the Authority. Why me? Why is it always fucking me? Why give me all the weird shit? Why do I get the melodramatic ones? Here I was, expecting a nice sum of money to help me stave off any worries about the future and this huge pile of shit just had to fall in my lap, didn't it?
Bollocks.

But I didn't. I simply picked up the blue box of diamonds and the duffel bag containing Avalon. Then I cremated Otto von Einzbern and wished him luck beyond the veil. Guy was an arsehole but that didn't mean he didn't deserve some sort of ceremony. Then I simply walked out of Hyde Park.

It was time for me dig into whatever this Grail War was.

[Leo Novum]

Chapter Two: DEALINGS

I groaned loudly as the light attacked me, burning eyes with holy lances of brilliance. What the hell did I do last night? Did I get so pissed that I hopped into bed with another man or woman?

Again?

"Good morning, you useless lump." I heard a familiar voice. I groaned as the sound, which seemed to come out of the very throats of Hell's bells, thundered in my ears.

"Rick, how did I end up in your house?" I asked, trying to keep my headache from killing me outright.

"Funny you should ask. You were brought here by someone who told me that you told him that I was your friend. Apparently, you were buying everyone drinks and were dancing on the tables. Pity I missed the sight. Would have been worth quite something." Rick's voice said. I groaned and dared to open my eyes only to shut them quickly again. Christ, just what did I drink anyways?

The events of last day started to run in my head. The Einzbern, the blood tattoo, the sudden duel, the even more sudden death. What kind of an idiot was he anyways? Why didn't he shield himself from my flame? It was a weak spell and even a minor magician should have survived it. Instead, I end up killing a human being. No wonder I decided to get drunk. I groggily patted my coat and felt a small amount of relief when I felt the box in my pockets. Apparently, my good luck is still holding for now.

The Constantine line is said to have the luck of the Devil but didn't Old Nick lose to the Heavenly Host in the battle that mattered the most? Not that I am sympathizing with that bloke but the analogy, in my opinion at least, is a load of crap. But then again, I do have the luck of the devil after all. Just when I thought I would end up with ten million quid, I end up with a crisp kraut. Well, at least, I still had the money. I reached for my pocket and pulled the blue box of diamonds out. With a satisfied smirk, I flipped open the box.

It was empty.

It would be wrong to say that I didn't feel a thing. I only didn't yell or sob because I was feeling nauseous and my head started spinning. But the pain of the loss of my precious diamonds was very real. Damn you, John Constantine. Why did you have to go and get drunk like a fish like that? Oh right, the murder. For the umpteenth time, I wondered exactly what I had drunk and how much of it.

"So, why were you muttering the name of the Magus Killer last night? Anything bad happen?" Rick asked curiously.

"The What Killer?" I asked blearily. Whatever I was talking about can't be a good thing considering it has the word 'Killer' in its name.

"Magus Killer. Kiritsugu Emiya. You were muttering his name quite a lot. Did the Laughing Magician finally meet his match?" Rick asked in a semi-humorous tone. Rick Westinghouse doesn't have a drop of magical blood in him and yet somehow, it doesn't stop him from being extremely up to date about the magical world. The only reason I don't visit him often is because he tries to wrangle news out of me as well and I don't like that. Some secrets are secrets for a good reason.

"I don't understand what you're talking about." I groaned although the name Kiritsugu felt quite familiar. I tried pressing my mind but my mind was currently more interested in driving me crazy.

"This is what I am talking about." I heard Rick before something large hit my face. I opened a single eye to see what had Rick thrown at me. It was a copy of the Amulet, a fourth rate tabloid about the occult which even third rate tabloids about the occult laughed about. Written in bold letters was the headline "CREMATION IN HYDE; CONSTANTINE STRIKES AGAIN!"

Ironically, this is the first time they had gotten a correct headline.

I groaned as I realized just what had happened. Most tabloids were, thanks to my bloody exorcism attempt in Newcastle, quite inclined to sling mud at me for any occult accident or incident. Couldn't blame them though considering what a dodgy affair it was.

Alex Logue was the owner of the Casanova Club and was a third rate sex-and-drugs type magician who was more interested in orgies than in magic. He had a daughter, a little girl named Astra, who was an unwilling participant in her father's proceedings. Unlike her father though, Astra had genuine magical prowess and ended up killing everyone with the Norfulthing, something she somehow summoned. We, the Newcastle Crew, a group of seven wannabe magicians ourselves, decided to take matters in our own hands.

Let's just say that we severely underestimated the entire thing. When you fight fire with fire, most of the time you're just left with ashes. I accidentally sent that girl to Hell and I still haven't managed to rescue her.

"So," I heard Rick pull something before sitting down. "Start talking Constantine unless you want to be injected with sodium pentothal."

Slowly, my memory of the previous day leaked back into my mind. The kraut did say something about a Kiritsugu before dying so melodramatically. At that time, I had thought it was the name of some strange Oriental weapon or artifact. So, it was a person the Einzbern had probably hired. I briefly debated with myself whether or not to tell Rick about the funny things that happened yesterday before caving in to myself and deciding to let the cat out of the bag. Not that it was properly in the bag to begin with.

"Constantine, you have the kind of life most murderers wank to. Seriously, you burnt a hole through his chest before cremating him. Not only that, you robbed him blind as well?" Rick said, a little disbelievingly. Sure, go ahead and act surprised Rick. I am not going to fall for your eager audience act.

There was a knock on the door. Despite my hangover, I scrambled out of the sofa and tried to hide blindly under it. There was no knowing who might be at the door. Could be the police, the MI-6, the Freemasons, Interpol, the Clock Tower or maybe even all of them. The thing was, it would be wise to hide. Rick, on the other hand, leisurely got up and answered the door. After a few minutes of talking, Rick came back with my duffel bag in hand.

"The bloke who carried you here just gave me this. Said you left it back in the bar." He said, casually tossing the bag on the ground. I groaned once more. I couldn't hold on to my seven million quid but the legendary scabbard of King Arthur walks back here, cool as a piece of metal. Bollocks.

I didn't bother yelling out at Rick as he unzipped the bag but I did roll my eyes at his sudden string of exclamations and curses. I just remained under the sofa and concentrated on recovering. This was, overall, proving to be a horrible year for me. The Queen had just declared this year as Annus Horribilis, what with the royal scandals and the Windsor Castle fire, and I shared that sentiment. Maybe I am sounding too much of a tosser here but right now, I would kill someone just to get rid of this headache.

"What is this?" I heard Rick say in a mystified voice.

"That, my boy," I said, trying to muster some authority in my voice and failing miserably. "Is the legendary sword sheath Avalon, tossed out of the lake by the watery broad the Lady-of-the-Lake and later tossed back in the same lake by the same broad."

"Oh." Rick said, still sounding awed. "Oh." He repeated, this time sounding less awed and more comprehending. I didn't like that tone. It meant that Rick knew something that I didn't. I don't like not knowing things, especially when they concern me.

"So you're participating in the Grail War, eh?" he asked.

"Rick, I still have no idea what you mean by that." I said wearily.

"Look, I know a bit more about the magical world than you, alright?" Rick said. I snorted slightly. He maybe more up to date but Rick doesn't know more about the magical world than I do. But I let him keep his victory. I needed to know about the Grail War and if it means stoking his ego, I am going to stroke it. "There is a thing called the Holy Grail War which happens in Japan every sixty years. You apparently have been selected for participation."

"Holy Grail in Japan? Has the Vatican started drowning in its own wine? Why would it happen in Japan, not the Middle East?" I asked.

"You don't understand. From what I've heard, it's not the actual Christian Holy Grail but is something nearly as powerful. They say it can grant any wish." Rick said.
I opened a single eye before opening the other. Slowly, I crawl out from under the sofa, weak as water, and sit cross legged on the floor. The light still burns my eyes but I endure it.

"Continue." I said, my curiosity roused. Rick simply smiled a bearded smile before beginning.

----------------

Two hours later, Rick finished explaining all he knew about the Holy Grail War of Fuyuki.

"Bugger." I muttered quietly, looking at Avalon. Rick simply nodded

I was still sitting in Rick's floor. The room was moderately large and dry. Pale and weak London sunlight fell through the window behind me and illuminated the room. Either the heating system was broken or Rick had decided to switch to coal fires because there was one in his hearth. A lot of oil paintings, newspaper clippings and photographs were pasted on the walls around. There was an easel standing near a broken telly with an unfinished and ugly painting of Tower Bridge. Most people pegged Rick for a conspiracy theorist. Unfortunately, he wasn't.

"So, you're saying that I'll somehow have to bring some famous dead bloke back to life using a spell I don't know to fight in a war I don't care about?" I said grumpily. The headache was weaker now but still wasn't gone completely. Rick simply nodded once more. "Bollocks to all of it." I growled as I searched my pockets for a fag. I didn't find any and settled back, mood even sourer now.

"Now don't say that, Constantine. I know that look. It's the same look that left me naked with only a pen and a toothbrush in Spain. Do you know how you made my way back? Hitch-hiking and sketching for change. I can see that you're interested in this Grail War stuff and you can't deny it." Rick said. I muttered something rude about him. He was right. I was interested.

A wish is a powerful motivator after all.

"Looks like I'll have to break into the Clock Tower again." I muttered.

"I would recommend against that, Constantine." Rick said light-heartedly before he noticed my gaze. "Oh Christ, you're serious! Why do you want to break in to the Clock Tower? Have you forgotten that the entire Barthomeloi Clan is still out for your blood?"

"I need to learn everything about this Holy Grail War thing. I don't know the spell, for starters." I clarified.

"And your first thoughts are to break into the Tower? Why don't you just ask me?" Rick said.

"Wait, you know the required spell?" I said incredulously. It's sometimes hard to understand that Rick is just a mundane. He can fetch magical objects and artifacts just as well as any other magician and mage.

"No, but I can get it for you. I have enough contracts. But there's a favor I want to ask of you." Rick said hesitantly.

"I am not giving you the wish." I said immediately.

"Not that you idiot." Rick said in an annoyed voice. "If someone, per chance, summons Lord Nelson or Alexander the Great, get me their autographs, won't you?" he said.

"You know, Westinghouse, that's kind of a tall order. I mean, we'll all be busy killing each other, you know?" I said uneasily.

"Just keep it in mind, alright?" Rick said impatiently as he reached for the phone and began dialing. The next few hours were extremely confusing. I had decided to go back to sleep on Rick's sofa and would wake up occasionally to find Rick still on the phone. The sheaf of papers was delivered to Rick's house at five in the morning. He woke me up and we pored over the strange writing.

"Saber? Archer. Lancer. Rider? Berserker. Assassin. Caster." I read from the papers. I rubbed my eyes, which still seemed full of Morpheus's sand, and stifled a yawn.
I reached for my pocket before remembering that I still didn't have any cigarettes. "Whoever created these class names had obviously no imagination." I quipped drowsily.

"Or was Japanese." Rick added. He may have been up for thirteen or fourteen hours but he still looked as fresh as ever. Smug bastard.

"Or Japanese." I said, nodding briefly at him. "The summoning requires a special circle and should ideally be conducted near a large ley-line." I said as I looked at the instructions. The summoning circle required two pages for illustration and even then, several details were extremely minuscule. I looked for a magnifying glass, found one and then re-examined the illustration with the glass under my gaze. Whoever designed this circle was either extremely thorough in practicing magic or was a sadistic bastard. Probably both.

"The closest major ley-line is around a hundred miles away." Rick said, looking at me uncertainly.

"I am not going to summon King Arthur here, you idiot. I am not even sure whether I should summon him at all." I said.

"Why not? If you want the wish, you have to summon him." Rick said.

"I am not sure because for all I know, this might be the biggest cock and bull story the forces of Hell are trying to feed me. What do I know about all of this being authentic?" I said bitterly. I hate it when things are too good to be true because they often are.

"You got that blood tattoo thing on your hand." Rick pointed out.

"This," I said, raising my hand and showing it to Rick. "Proves nothing! Hell has enough magic at its disposal to conquer Earth in a single day. The only thing that keeps them in check is the Heavenly Host. Something like this is the perfect way to lure people into selling their souls, one wish at a time." I finished yelling before getting up and heading to the loo.

"It might be authentic." Rick said quietly when I returned. I stopped myself from sighing exasperatedly. Rick was just as fascinated with the occult and the magical as any other mundane. Maybe even unhealthily so. And now it seems that he really wanted his autograph of Alexander the Great or Lord Nelson even if the chances of them getting summoned in this bloody War was slim at best. But he was right. I had no proof that all of this was just a charade by Hell. And if this was real and I passed such a great opportunity, I don't think I would be able to forgive myself.

"There is only one way to find out." I said as I stood up and started hunting for my shoes. I found them by the broken telly and shoved them on. A few minutes later, both of us were decent. Rick put out the fire while I picked up the duffel bag, making sure it was tightly zipped shut. We stepped out of the warmth of the house and into the cold streets of London. A few minutes later, we had hired a rusty Ford Granada which seemed to be at least ten years old.

Three hours later, I was standing on the Salisbury plains, smoking a fag. We had stopped briefly in Amesbury for tea and cake and had refueled the car just in case. Snow had piled furiously on the fields, an absurd expression but the only one that came to mind. It was a long way to come and freeze my balls off just to prove something but I needed to prove it.

"Stonehenge? Constantine, are you in your mind?" Rick yelled over the sudden wind.

"Well why not?" I shrugged with a grin. "A major ley-line passes through here and old King Artie can have a bit of a lark, being back at a place he can recognize."

"I don't mean that! I just thought you were surveying the plains! You actually are going to summon him in this blasted weather?" Rick yelled in a quavering voice, unable to keep his voice from shaking. We weren't dressed warmly enough for standing in the open. London was actually warmer than this. Still, I had made it this far, it would be quite a waste to get cold feet right now.

The snow inside the circle of stones was melted in an instant by a simple fire spell. Presently, both Rick and I got to work on ploughing the frozen earth into the shape of the summoning circle.

"Would this even work?" Rick asked as he looked at our handiwork. I laid down the duffel bag containing Avalon near my feet as I inspected our wonky handiwork. It seemed good enough. I had selected this place not because it was isolated but because I think the excess amount of energy being emitted from the ley-line might make up for any cock-ups I might commit. I reached down in to the duffel bag and pulled out the notes Rick had so mysteriously procured. I looked up and paused a moment before starting the spell.

This wasn't for something useless like wealth, money, honor or glory. This is for something better, if I can say so myself. This is for Astra who didn't deserve to be dragged off to Hell for my mistakes. Not that I want to be dragged off in her place but I just want to save her without harming myself.

Christ, I am sounding like one of those foppish lounge lizards who seduce old ladies for money. I shook my head to clear my brain and triggered my magical circuits.

"Alright, here goes. Let silver and steel be the essence." I begin chanting the spell to summon King Arthur as I formally enter the Holy Grail War of Japan.

[Leo Novum]

Chapter Three: SABER

I had finished the incantation and against my expectations, the entire thing hadn't blown up in my face. I can't help but smile. I could get used to success like this. The summoning had, however, somehow managed to melt all the snow that had fallen on the summoning circle during my spell chant and some of the surrounding snow as well. I was now standing, with the legendary scabbard Avalon inside a duffel bag at my feet, in the middle of Stonehenge while steam all around me wafted gently in the cold Salisbury breeze as snow fell from the heavens. The entire spectacle looked and felt extremely mystical. In fact, if it wasn't for someone yelling in the background, I would have even called it beautiful.


"Constantine!" I heard Rick yell.


"What is it?" I yelled back in annoyance. Bugger that idiot. Couldn't he jolly well let me enjoy the moment? This sort of thing only happens once every sixty years or so, according to the instructions anyways.


"The snow's on fire!" Rick yelled in a panicked voice.


"The what?" I said, a little surprised at what Rick was yelling.


"It's on fire, you idiot! The snow's on fire!" Rick yelled, his voice definitely sounding terrified. Puzzled, I ran over to him.


The snow was on fire. I yelled in surprise and started stamping on it. Rick joined me and together we began trying to put out that paradoxical fire.


I should've known that summoning had gone too well. Something always happens when things are too good.


Fortunately, this weird fire turned out to go out like any normal fire if it was stamped on. A few minutes later, both of us were standing in hot slush, sweating like pigs. The steam had settled down now and the breeze was now freezing us to death.


"Const-t-t-tantine. L-l-look!" Rick said, now shivering viciously. Poor bastard. Maybe I shouldn't have dragged him all the way here. I looked back at the summoning circle and saw one noticeable change.


The steam was pretty much gone now and there was a girl in a blue dress and some other strange clothing standing in the middle of the summoning circle. A girl who looked extremely annoyed. Oh bugger, looks like some mundane got too curious and decided to explore.


"Help me out here, Rick. I need you to hold her down as I wipe that girl's memory." I said.


"Y-y-you can d-d-do that?" Rick asked in a surprised tone. What's the matter, Rick? Don't you believe in magic? This is one of the easiest spells I know. Sometimes, I don't even have to use a spell to make people forget. Mundanes are gullible like that, bless those poor bastards.


"I can hear both of you, you know." The girl said. Oh bollocks. Well, in hindsight, it was a pretty dumb idea to talk about mind wiping the girl who was standing barely ten feet away.


Now that I took a closer and longer look, she sort of looked like she was dressed in armor. Quite strange. Was she reciting for a play perhaps?


"What's the matter, miss? Are you lost?" I asked hesitantly. I needed her to lower her guard before I could hypnotize her. The girl scowled for the first time. I don't like scowling girls. When girls make an ugly face in front of me, it usually is somehow my fault.


"As, I already said," The girl said, her voice firm and carrying hints of annoyance. "I am the Servant Saber. Upon your summoning, I have come forth. I ask of thee, are you my Master?"


There was the briefest pause as my mind made several leaps in logic before I arrived at the conclusion.


"You're King Arthur?" I said, barely able to contain my volume.


"There is no need to shout." The girl, the female King Arthur said in a slightly annoyed voice. "I can see the Command Spells on the back of your hand. So it seems that you are my Master for this War. Very well, upon my honor as a Knight, I vow to be your sword and shield." She said, all emotion suddenly gone.


"You're King Arthur?" I repeated, my mind still unable to wrap itself around the fact. It was kind of logical though. I could feel a magical connection between her and me, although it was quite faint for some reason. She had appeared inside the summoning circle, wearing queer armor and was calling herself Servant Saber. She should be King Arthur. But I still couldn't stop feeling surprised.


"Come on, your Majesty, Miss, Sir." Rick said before helplessly looking at me. "What do I call her, Constantine?"


"She's King Arthur." I repeated stupidly. I think my brain had kind of locked itself down. Amazing thing, isn't it? I have stared at mutilated corpses, the legions of the damned, the Clock Tower's Enforcer army, an Elder God's children, a vampire's spawn and what I can't believe is that King Arthur was actually a woman.


"What should I call you Miss? I mean, your Majesty?" Rick said a tad bit helplessly.


"Saber will be adequate. I am here in this era to serve as a knight and Servant, not as a king." Saber said. Couldn't she show a bit more emotion? She had only expressed annoyance before and now seemed to have locked up all her expression as if in penance for her outbursts before. If you could call them outbursts, that is.


"Right, right. Um, so help me carry Constantine to the car, will you? That's a good lass. Oops, I mean…" Rick said, awkwardly gesturing and gesticulating wildly. If Saber minded, she didn't show it. She simply grabbed me by the forearm. I yanked my arm away.


"I can walk on my own, thank you very much." I said gruffly. I didn't mean to sound so rude but I had blown any opportunity to establish a good impression on King Arthur. Now I was stuck with a hard mouthed Saber and an extremely flustered Rick. The three of us walked back to the Granada in silence. Rick chauffeured, Saber silently sat in the back while I took the front seat. We left Amesbury in silence.


"I still can't believe she is a woman." I muttered, my brain finally accepting reality.

-----------------------------------------------------


The clouds had parted by now and the weakest rays of sunshine fell on the rotten hive called London. People decided to crawl out of their dwellings and scurry about the streets. Somewhere in London, football fanatics would be busy beating the shit out of each other or getting piss drunk. Homeless beggars huddled in alleys that weren't supposed to exist on paper, out of sight of the affluent and the well-off. Patches of the streets were shadowed by hoardings. The air was dank with the scent of rubbish.


"Welcome to modern times, your Majesty. How do you like your kingdom?" I said. I couldn't help myself. Maybe it was because I was still in an irrationally sour mood for her being a woman. Or maybe I thought I was being funny. Whatever it was, I immediately regretted it when I saw Saber show genuine emotion. A mixture of distress, regret and shame, all at once, seemed to pass across her face. "I am sorry, that was rude of me." I apologized but the damage was done.


"She's Welsh, you idiot." Rick said as he steered the car through a particularly tricky series of streets.


"I am sorry?" I said.


"King Arthur was a Welsh King, not a Saxon. London probably wasn't part of her kingdom." Rick said. He stopped the car at a red light and turned to face Saber. "Begging your pardon for this, your Majesty, but may I ask a question about your times?" he said. Saber looked sort of confused but nodded.


"Why did Merlin make Stonehenge?" he asked.


"He had Stonehenge made so that people in the future would wonder why did he make it. It was his idea of a practical joke." Saber said, her voice still emotionless.


"Well, that explains so much." I muttered as Rick stopped the car in front of the rental agency.


Minutes later, we were inside Rick's house. Saber looked around impassively. I noticed that she was staying quite close to me. I shrugged before taking off my trenchcoat and throwing it over the sofa and lying down on it. I opened one eye and saw that Saber was standing quite close to me, not uncomfortably close but just close enough to make me wonder.


That was when the link between me and her began to strengthen. Strange information began to leak into my mind. Just by looking at her, I could gauge Saber's strength, agility and such parameters. It was making my vision go wonky so I sat up once again and lit a fag.


"Rick, I need you to hunt down the names of any Grail War participants." I said before turning to face Saber. For a moment, I couldn't say anything. Nothing came to mind at all. How was one supposed to talk to King Arthur when he was a woman and had pledged himself to your service for two weeks? At least, I am supposing that it's two weeks. Christ, I am not ready to deal with this.


Maybe I am focusing too much on a stupid issue. I am too much focused on the fact that she is a woman and letting that cloud my judgment. Let's see, if I was going into a War, the first thing I would do is ascertain the position of the enemy.


"Saber," I said, trying to muster a sound of authority in my voice. "Can you sense other Servants? And if so, can you tell if there are any nearby?"


"There is one Servant inside this city but I cannot tell how strong he is or who he is." Saber immediately answered. I blinked in surprise. That was fast.


"Can you point out where the Servant is?" I asked cautiously, not wanting to get my hopes up. Saber simply raised her arm and pointed. I exhaled a cloud of smoke.


"Clock Tower, eh?" I said bitterly. Not a surprise. I would have assumed at least one bastard making his way into this competition. Britain is the country with the greatest amount of magical activity going on at any moment. Most blokes here wouldn't wait for a second before flinging fireballs at each other. The fights are often completely pointless. Not that most hooligans, magical or mundane, need something as useless as a reason to fight. With all of this magic in the air, I am kind of surprised that Saber managed to detect another Servant at least two kilometers away.


I looked at Saber once more and once again, the weird bits of information started seeping into my brain. It's kind of bothersome but I think it is part of the package so there's no use in complaining.


"Saber, how much time do we have until the Grail War starts? I am assuming that you do know about the Grail War." I asked.


"From what I can tell," Saber said, honoring my presence by looking me in the eye. "The Grail War starts in two to three days. The day after tomorrow is the last day for anyone to summon their Servant."


"Right," I said, not knowing on how to continue. I would need supplies, fags, clothes, someone who speaks the language. "Rick, fancy a trip to Japan?"


"Oh hell no, Constantine. Have you forgotten Spain already? Shroud of Turin my arse, you stole my clothes!" Rick said angrily.


"That was only one time!" I protested.


"It's not happening, look you." Rick growled. I clammed up. There was no moving that Welsh boy now.


"Alright, how about you dig up some stuff about the other participants, there's a good lad?" I said.


"Sure. It's cost you a hundred thousand quid." Rick said.


"A hundred thousand? I don't have that much, Westinghouse!" I exploded. Why was he suddenly being so uncooperative? Is it because he wants to get back at me for dragging him to Salisbury? Or maybe my tab has run up?


"Don't tell me you spent all ten diamonds in bars, Constantine." Rick said. I paused. I did have at least three million in my bank, now that I thought about it.


"Alright, I'll pay. Let me just make a big withdrawal." I said tiredly, reaching for my trenchcoat. Saber had remained a silent spectator throughout our little row.


"By the way, Ava-ooof!" Rick began before I suddenly grabbed him by the collar and dragged him outside, making sure to close the door behind me.


"What was that for?" Rick asked angrily.


"You idiot, don't just casually tell her that I have the scabbard." I whispered fiercely into his ear.


"Well, why not?" Rick asked, confused.


"Look, I saw how strong she is." I said before realizing that Saber hadn't performed anything noteworthy. Rick looked even more confused now. I decided to press on. "I mean, I can tell how strong she is. She is bloody strong and I'll need everything at my disposal to rein her in." I clarified, somewhat haphazardly.


"But I thought that's what those Command Spell things were for." Rick said. I looked at my hand. The curved sword and two crosses stared back at me, reminding me of a smiley face. It seemed to mock me for some reason.


"How would you convince someone powerful to work for you?" I said, changing the subject abruptly.


"You offer them something they want, I suppose." Rick said hesitantly.


"Exactly." I said, surprising Rick. Idiot probably didn't expect to be right. "I am guessing that she has been promised the Grail as well and if I tell her that I can't give her the Grail then I don't think even a thousand Command Spells would be able to save me from her."


"How would you know that she has been promised the Grail?" Rick asked.


I paused for a moment before dragging one last smoke out of my cigarette and dropping it on the ground. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Saber looking at the two of us through the window with a decidedly guarded expression. How did I know she had been promised the Grail? This was something that boiled down to my years of experience as an occult specialist.


It's not even human nature to want something. It's more like living nature. Or in case of people who have never been born and will never die, it's the nature of existence. To live, to have an identity means to want something, to crave something. Basically speaking, everyone wants something. It's how life goes by. Small animals want basic things like food and the occasional shag while higher end organisms and entities crave for godhood and world domination. If you know what someone wants then it becomes quite easy to hold them hostage.


A wish, on the other hand, is the biggest blank cheque you can write. It doesn't just cater to one specific species or class, it applies to everybody. You can get anybody, perhaps even the Authority, to do what you want if you promise them a wish.


Servants are no exception. They're just famous dead blokes walking around well after their prime after all.


The problem here is that the Masters, the ones whose hands are on the leashes of the dead blokes, are promised a wish as well. I am guessing the only way the dynamic between the two of them works is through the Command Spells but I don't trust the Command Spells as far as I can throw Saber. That's why I need to keep the existence of Avalon a secret. And to do so, I need to hide Avalon in plain sight.


"Keep Saber busy. I am going to make a few transactions." I said as I went inside to retrieve a duffel bag containing a certain legendary scabbard.

----------------------------------------------


"Welcome to Japan!" the air hostess said cheerfully as Saber and I disembarked the plane.


"I don't like these clothes. They are too conspicuous." Saber complained.


"The clothes aren't conspicuous. We are." I hissed back. It was true. The two of us stood out like sore thumbs. Slant eyed bastards were all around us, making me feel edgy. Although Saber had reassured me that her connection to the Grail made her capable of speaking Japanese, I still didn't feel at ease. Maybe it was because I had finally learned how to hide Avalon in plain sight. It had taken me four hours of running various test, spells and tricks but finally, I discovered how to show the sheath into my body. Looking back at the past few days, I am surprised that I found it before any heroic minded idiot. Knowing what goes on these days, I had kind of expected the sheath to be in the hands of some meta or masked teenage brat who was using the code name 'Agent Excalibur'. Everybody wants to be a superhero these days. Bollocks.


Or it could simply be because I was currently carrying enough narcotics, hallucinogens, magical performance enhancers and illegal herbs in my suit case to kill the entire population in the Clock Tower. There was also a gun in there, not that I wanted to take one but Rick forced me to do so. As much as I hate firearms, I had to admit that the chap had a point. I couldn't always rely on Saber after all.


Although Saber might be true as well. She had agreed to go in civilian clothing but the clothes I had gotten her were not suited for blending in the population. I'll admit that her black trench coat was something bought on a whim but the whole three piece suit itself was something Rick bought. I wonder how he knew it would fit Saber.


So, I like trenchcoats. Bite me.


"I trust you made plans for our accommodations in this city." Saber said tersely. I looked at her, noting her sudden tenseness. I had forbidden her from using the word Master because I found it extremely unnerving. A seemingly fifteen years old girl calling a middle aged man Master wouldn't just raise eyebrows.


"Westinghouse has booked us a room in the Marriott." I answered. The two of us walked out of the airport.


Clean and fresh air welcomed me. It smelled of green tea, mountain dew and oranges. The traffic in front of me was orderly and sparse. Men in business suits and young girls in clothes resembling sailor uniforms walked briskly on the streets. The atmosphere crackled with an electric tension similar to Salisbury; We were standing somewhere near a major ley-line. This city was devoid of any hoardings, something I found slightly startling. How did the companies in this country advertise their stuff?


"Well," I said as I took it all in. "I guess this is it."


From now on, six other bastards with six famous bastards under their control were going to try to kill me during a period of two weeks for the sake of a single wish.


The Holy Grail War had began.

[Leo Novum]

Chapter Four: TRUMP

I took a step back and inspected my handwork as I took off my mask. All over the walls of the expensive hotel room of the Marriott, in which I was staying, were various runes, seals, glyphs and magical circles which I had just drawn with spray paint. Several cans littered the floor and the air was heavy with fumes. Saber, however, seemed perfectly fine and I decided not to open the windows for now. Hopefully, all of these would be enough to protect me from any supernatural attack. They might even hold up against some mundane bomb or explosive but a sufficiently large or intense explosion might overcome this defense. Which is why I had prepared for that situation as well.


I had booked a room in the Marriott under the name of Gary Lester, a late friend of mine. And instead of staying in that room, I had hypnotized a young looking Japanese bloke to leave the hotel and go back home without checking out. I was currently inside his room, painting symbols on the walls. I have no doubt that any one of the other Masters would track me down. They would make the connection between the names Gary Lester and John Constantine and understand that I had booked that room under that name. And if they would pay closer attention, they might even see my double bluff.


Christ, I missed these thrilling experiences. I've been out of the game for a bit too long now.


Saber was, surprisingly, reading a newspaper instead of just standing around and staring at me unblinkingly, a development for which I was infinitely grateful. It just doesn't feel right when someone stands at your beck and call like that. At least, I don't like it. I carefully make sure a series of glyphs I have drawn are correct because they will help me in astral projection.


I am not good at making familiars which is why I prefer the astral realm. There is also the fact that some of my best acts have taken place there. Since time is a distorted concept in the spirit plane, you can sometimes end up spending years wandering and comeback only a few minutes later or you could simply go out on a lark for a few minutes and come back to find yourself in Delphi. But it is an extremely useful way of spying on people and that's why I mainly rely on it.


"Well, I suppose this will do the trick." I muttered to myself. "Saber, keep watch over my body. If I remain out of consciousness for more than five minutes, stick this into my thigh and inject me. I don't wake up, stick the second one." I told her Majesty as I handed her two adrenaline pens. The chemical would cause my demonic blood to excite and may cause a minor heart attack. But it would forcibly yank my spirit back to my body. Saber gingerly took the devices from me and inspected them closely.


"Do you need to use such a risky maneuver?" Saber asked cautiously. I considered her question.


"No but what's the point of a boring life?" I said before projecting astrally.


That was the first wrong move that evening.


Turbulent winds swept my spirit from my original standing and blew me off course. No, it wasn't blowing me off course at all. What I imagined to be a wind was in fact a sucking force of tremendous power, something evil and malevolent and just wrong pulling at all the magical energy in the area. I just happened to be a bit of flotsam caught in the current.


I look around me, disoriented by my dual vision of spiritual and material sight. The magical energy is slowly being absorbed by something on a nearby mountain, something powerful. But there is something incredibly malevolent under the mountain which is pulling at the spirit realm. I cannot make sense of anything. Is the thing under the mountain sucking magical power as well? Or it isn't?


I am still being pulled along and there is no way for me to fight my way out. Spirits of various small sizes are being pulled along as well, too pathetic to even fight back. Are they animals? Or are they the spirits of the deceased?


Or something else entirely?


I can't think. The malevolent entity under the mountain casts a vicious eye on me, daring me to even hope. And I can't. I simply fight and thrash.


There is a point in the flow where both suction forces cancel each other out; a spiritual anchorage. With my last remaining energy and will, I try to swim for that point. The safe point is on top of a sky scraper. I hurriedly try to bind myself to the building but I am too weak to do so. I can only linger here for a few minutes. At least the entity's influence is quite weaker here. I try to compose myself but the malevolence in the atmosphere makes it extremely hard. This malevolence is quite baffling. Most influences try to corrupt people into doing evil deeds, this entity doesn't even bother. It seems to hate everything.


However, I can sense other, powerful influences, even through the miasma of hate. There is a particularly brilliant golden aura on the other side of town, practically bursting out of the seams of the mansion it was in. It gave the impression of being even larger. It possessed neither angelic grace nor demonic seductiveness, it simply was.


The second aura was almost as large as the golden one. This one was sort of reddish but it also seemed to crackle with lightening and life. The third one was smaller than the first two but the amount of agony and madness it emitted was comparable in intensity to the first two. Now that I had located three Servants, I tried to look back at the Marriott. I then noticed another thing.


Saber didn't have an aura. It was quite startling to not that there was no blue ball of light emitting an air of authority and aloofness. That's quite paradoxical but it works to my advantage. I had figured that Servants would be easier track down in the spirit plane since they are walking stiffs. The instructions Rick had brought me mentioned that Servants could materialize and dematerialize which made certain that they are nothing but absurdly powerful ghosts able to interact with the material realm. But if that was so, didn't they feel the pull of the entity too? Or maybe I am the only one who could sense it. But if so, why?


The anchorage I was standing in slips and shifts. Like quicksand it moves under me. In a few seconds, the anchorage will disappear. I hurriedly look around and find another anchorage. Gathering all my strength of will, I jump for that spot and finally managed to make it, despite the huge resistance. It's a street light. I stand beside it, inside a void in the flow. People walk around me oblivious to the magic and malevolence. Perhaps the malevolence can't affect those with a body? That would explain why the Servants and Master's don't feel it.


It's here where I notice that there are enough safe spots on the ground for me to safely make it back to the hotel room. Not wasting a single moment, I make my way back, one anchor at a time.

-------------------------------------------------


I burst back into my body, gasping for breath. Saber is still standing where I left her. I startle her slightly but I don't care. Staggering to the toilet, I open the john and vomit uncontrollably. The malevolence was potent enough to somehow taint my already corrupted spirit. I don't know if it is going to hurt in the long run or not. Right now, I simply focus on emptying my intestines.


"Constantine, are you alright?" I heard Saber's voice.


"How long was I out?" I rasp in between hurling. "Barely a few moments." Comes the answer. Somehow that doesn't surprise me. If the spirit world is in such a hurry, it's time will be affected as well. Considering that I spent roughly ten minutes in there and only five seconds or so passed in the material world, I am guessing that spirit time is nearly a hundred times faster than normal time. I finish vomiting and crawl back to the room. Saber looks apprehensive and even sympathetic but she doesn't help me. I appreciate her gesture. Any sympathy right now would be extremely insulting.


I pull myself into the sofa and simply collapse there, too weak for any further activity. Whatever entity it was, it was damn powerful to bugger me like that. Christ, I expected the War to be a handful but this is getting ridiculous. One of the reasons I am so good at cheating devils and angels is that angels, mostly the lower ranked ones, don't often suspect foul play and the devils always do. Knowing how they think, I can always plan a way round. It's a damn sad thing but most of these heavenly and hellish blokes have the same way of thinking. You meet one demon or angel you meet them all.


Humans, on the other hand, are so vastly different that even an ordinary con on a human takes me as much thinking as a con on a duke of hell or an archangel. And these are for ordinary humans. Servants are, despite all their power, humans. Which means I'll have prepare to fool twelve human, six of them who could snap me like a twig at any time of the day and another six who would probably throw enough magic at me to fry my balls off.


Charming. I reach for my trenchcoat and pull out the box of fags. I flip open the box.


It's empty.


"Oh fuck." I groan. No Silk Cuts? How am I supposed to even function in this war now? Through supreme effort, I pull myself up. I am not going to just lie here when there are fags to be smoked out there. I stand up with every fibre in my being protesting against the action.


And immediately fall on my face.


"Constantine, are you sure you're alright?" Saber asked, worry finally coloring her voice. It's kind of nice for her to worry about me but I know that she is only worried about me because I am supporting her magically. If I go down then so does she.


"Cigarettes. I need cigarettes." I rasp as I try to pull myself to my feet. A sudden feeling of claustrophobia decides to attack me. Strange, considering that after my experiences outside, I should be more afraid of the outside.


"Are you sure that is a wise decision?" Saber asks sternly. I look at her. Don't talk to me as if you are my mother or father or legal guardian is what I want to say. But the sentence itself is too funny in my head.


"Probably not." I shrug. "But I can only calm down and think rationally after a scenario like that after a good smoke." I said. I look at her. "You can come with me if you want." I say but I know that even if I hadn't offered, she would have followed me. Saber looks torn between obeying my stupid orders and her common sense. In the end, she helps me up to my feet, puts my arm around her neck and easily supports my weight. Together, both of us make our way outside.


There were no cigarettes in the hotel's vending machine and gift shop so we had to exit the building. Fuyuki City is different at night. The magic almost seems to come alive. I can't sense the spiritual eddies and flows but the magic I can sense. The night if filled with scents of oranges and cherries. I can't understand why this city smells so fruity but I don't like it. It might be pleasant but knowing that a magical war is about to be waged, the sweet smells seem a bit rotten. I miss London. At least I knew the ins and outs of that place. Here, I am a foreigner in a foreign land.


After going through six shops, I decide to buy some Marlboro and Dragon Smoke cigarettes. Damn bastards don't import Silk Cuts. These slant eyed blokes don't know what they are missing. We decide to sit down in front a public library. I pull out a Marlboro, light it with a snap of my fingers and inhale. The welcome smoke fills my lungs and fills me with bliss.


The bliss is very quickly interrupted by someone breaking out of the library. Saber gets up, already in a fighting stance. She doesn't activate her armor just yet, her eye fixed on the figure emerging from the library. I stand behind her. Call me a coward but I prefer being safe as compared to being skewered.


A young lad of about sixteen jumps out of his hiding place and starts yelling at the gigantic man who had come out of the library. The boy was completely unremarkable save for the fact that he had feminine features and was even more reckless than I am. Or perhaps he, in his delusion of being a Master, felt safe against the gigantic man in red.


I was proven right moment later when the giant casually flicked away the young boy. Remarkably, the boy's skull was in one piece after that. And then the giant saw us.


"It seems that we have an audience here!" He boomed. Christ, does this man not understand the meaning of tact? Or volume control? "Fellow Heroes and Master, I, Iskander, the King of Conquerers! I have been summoned into the Rider class for this upcoming magnificent battle. In honor of this, I bid you welcome to this magnificent city! Come, let's at least introduce ourselves as Heroes worthy of the admiration of the masses!"


"Saber." I said cautiously. "Please don't reveal your identity." Saber simply nodded but she activated her armor nonetheless. This was the second time I had seen it but it takes my breath away every time. Most magic I have seen is usually effective but not graceful or the other way round. Saber's manner of magically activating her armor is both.


"King of Conquerers, I offer you greetings in return and thank you for your hearty welcome. I am the Servant Saber and I regret to say that I cannot revel to you my name. It is a pity but it is a necessary precaution." Saber said. Her tone is guarded. I get the feeling that Iskander, whoever he is, hasn't made a good impression on her. She is being polite simply out of habit and her respect for a fellow Heroic Spirit.


Wait, Iskander, King of Conquerers? Doesn't that mean, Alexander the Great?


The Alexander the Great? THE Alexander the Great?


How come this great oaf managed to conquer half of the world?


More to the point, why was his hair red? And why was he so tall? That doesn't match the physique he should have! He is Macedonian! He should have black hair and should be around five feet five inches, not some giant of six and three! There is just too much wrong with all of this. Has all of our history been a lie? That would seriously take the piss out of historical jokes.


"That's indeed quite unfortunate." Iskander said but he didn't look particularly disturbed about it. Rather, the giant looked as if he wanted to quickly move onto another topic. He looked at me with red eyes, another thing that shouldn't be natural and gave me the biggest grin that was humanely possible. It was ridiculous yet somehow extremely charismatic.


"And what about you, Saber's Master? Are you willing to introduce yourself?" He asked me. I briefly consider backing down. The problem in getting chummy with me the enemy is that sooner or later you end up as chums. And when the times comes, one bastard needs to kill the other bastard. But what the hell, it's not every day you meet Alexander the Great. And he seems like a nice bloke anyway.


"My name is John Collier Constantine. I am the Master of Saber and I would like to ask a favor of you, Mr. Alexander." I said, trying to summon as much casual indifference. I somehow manage to look confident in front of him. Not bad, if I do say so myself. Alexander's grin widens, if that's even possible. Saber looks at me incredulously while Rider's Master looks at me fearfully.


"Ohoho, you're quite the plucky one! Very well, ask away!" Rider said magnanimously.


"I promised a friend of mine an autograph of you if possible. I made that promise in jest but since you have actually been summoned, I guess I should fulfill it." I say, trying to keep swear words and vulgarity out of my voice. Alexander looked like the kind of bloke who wouldn't mind if you tricked him into paying the bill but I could be wrong.


"Hmm, it seems that even in this age, my exploits haven't been forgotten. Very well, I'll grant it!" He said before opening one of the two books that were in his hand. He tore off the blank page inside, making his Master cry out in rage.


"You idiot, those are library books!" he said indignantly but was ignored by the red headed giant of Macedon.


"Ah, quit your whining, Waver Velvet. Can you not see that I am entertaining guests? And by the way, do you happen to have an instrument I could write with? A kalamos or a quill, perhaps?" Alexander said impatiently. Realizing that it was futile to argue against his own Servant, the young boy sighed and pulled out a fountain pen which he handed to Alexander. Alexander took it before inspecting it.


"A most interesting device! What is its function?" He asked before suddenly answering his own question. "Ah, so it is a writing implement? Intriguing, most intriguing!" He started writing his own name on the paper. "A most smooth writing instrument! And metallic as well! I feel a deep familiarity with this instrument. Perhaps its metal was once part of my sword? Waver you must let me keep this marvelous tool! It is too valuable for me not to let go!" he exclaimed as he handed me the torn page. I quickly folded it and put it inside my coat pocket.


"Valuable? It only cost me five shillings. I could get you a whole dozen if you want." Waver said in a depressed tone. I was torn between rolling my eyes and getting excited. It was extremely stupid how Iskander was getting excited over something as simple as pen but on the other hand, his sheer enthusiasm was carrying me along as well.


"Are you saying that it is possible to obtain similar writing instruments en masse?" Alexander asked, eyes narrowed. Waver looked uneasily. Saber, on the other hand, simply frowned. I am guessing that she was tired of all of this mucking around pointlessly over a bummed pen.


"Well, yeah. What's there to it?" Waver asked uneasily. He simply got another finger flick to the forehead. I didn't anticipate this.


"Fool! It is a matter of utmost importance! We must stockpile ourselves with these magnificent writing instruments for the scribes that'll soon be part of my army." Alexander roared. Flinching but still unable to keep from smiling, I helped Waver back to his feet.


"What army, Rider?" Saber said. It was slightly surprising to hear her speak up after all of this fooling around.


"Ah yes, before we leave, I do have one offer for you, Saber." Alexander said. He stood straight and cleared his throat importantly before throwing his arms wide.


"Join my peerless army! I can see that you are a warrior of great strength and fortitude! Your participation will be greatly appreciated! Abandon your quest for the Grail and join me to conquer the heavens! I shall treat you as a peer and equal despite your gender! With our combined might, the conquest of the world will be trivially easy!" he roared enthusiastically. I actually flinched several times during his screaming.


"I am truly sorry, Rider," Saber said but her tone indicated that she was furious instead of angry. "But I cannot serve you. I have promised my Master the Grail and I cannot break my oath so easily."


"That's a shame." Rider said before turning to me. "So I'll just have to ask your Master instead! You won't mind if it's your Master's order to abandon the Grail, would you?" he said mischievously.


"Are you insane, Rider? Does the name John Constantine not ring a bell in your head? Oh wait, it shouldn't but never mind that! He is the most dangerous criminal in the history of magecraft! He broke into the Clock Tower to mock the Head! He has destroyed entire lineages of families merely through words and tricks! He is a dishonorable, lying, two-faced thief!" Waver Velvet, the lad with no spine, suddenly decided to grow three at once.


"Is that true?" Rider said, running a critical eye all over me. I casually took out the fag in my mouth, which had burnt itself out.


"Report of my exploits tend to be greatly exaggerated." I said calmly.


"Exaggerated my foot, I was a first year when you broke in! You actually released Gazamy the Wraith just to throw off the Enforcer team!" Waver Velvet said, practically foaming at the mouth. Well, it looks like someone is skilled at taking the piss out of things.


"Hmm, it seems that you too share a taste of adventure like me." Rider said. "So what do you think? Doesn't the idea of conquering the world warm your heart? I will even give you a country of your own to govern!" Rider said.


For a moment, I was severely tempted. I guess this was how Eve felt when Samael offered her the fruit. Or the time when Christ gave in. The idea was too good to pass up. I could have control and crush all of those bastards who dare to perform sickening rituals. I could make the country one free of all those shadowy bastards who think they could control them and lead them.


"Constantine." Saber said warningly.


I could even set up a whole new series of bars. Beer would flow from the streets. Football matches would be held in better stadiums. A better motorway. London, Cardiff, Northampton, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Newcastle…


Newcastle…


"I am sorry but I'll have to refuse. I need the Grail desperately." I said with a forced smile. Alexander's smile lessened and immediately all the charisma he seemed to carry around his person faded away, leaving me feeling rather cold.


What the hell was I even thinking, ruling over like the Queen? And more to the point, was that really something I wanted or was I getting carried away by Alexander's massive influence?


"I'd be willing to discuss terms." Alexander said rather somberly.


"Ah for the love of God, shut up already!" Waver yelled angrily. "They already refused so there is no point in discussing or negotiating. Besides, we are in a war! The whole point is killing them, isn't it?"


I look at the boy warily. I may have pegged him for a naïve idiot but he did say something spot on for once. Alexander and Waver were our enemies, no matter how amusing blokes they might be.


"Let's go Saber. I think we've mucked around enough." I said as I turned to go. Saber nodded, looking relieved before walking alongside me.


"Saber! I hope that we'll be able to hold a parliament a few more times before meeting in battle." Rider called out. We ignored him and made our way back. Sometimes, the best move is not to place the game at all.

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I double checked all the seals I had made on my body. Saber was in the other room after I had ordered her to leave. I felt too uncomfortable stripping too my pants in front of her. But since it was necessary, I had to do it. I had painted various seals and glyphs on my body. If I had used the correct combination, and I really hoped that I had used the correct combination, then my spirit won't feel the effects of the soul-sucking abomination under the mountain. Feeling apprehensive, I put on my shirt and trousers. The trenchcoat remained on the floor. I rechecked the position of the Einzbern Castle on the map before lying down on the sofa.


"You can come back in Saber." I said. Saber complied before looking at me questioningly. I handed her the two adrenaline pens."You know what to do. If I don't wake up in a minute, give me the first pen. If not, the second pen. And if I still don't wake up then kiss your bum good bye." I instructed her before exiting my body.


The look of outrage on her face was almost worth it.


The spirit realm was as fast as ever but the runes and glyphs held out. Instead of feeling like a piece of wood in the flow of a flood, I felt more like a man in a strong wind. The flow annoyed me but it couldn't make me budge. Well, that was one good thing in my favor. Taking off like a bird, I flew against the flow and after twenty minutes of flight, arrived at the Einzbern Castle. I didn't have time to admire the architecture because the castle had enough spiritual defense for me to make it impossible to enter the castle without triggering at least one.


So I decided not to care and waltz in. There were several defensive mechanisms that should've affected me, even in my spirit form, but thanks to all of the painting on my body, they only badly battered me instead of killing me outright. I was wrestling with a minor creature made out of silver wires when Kiritsugu Emiya stepped into the room.


"Call your creature off, I am here with an offer." I said quickly. The Japanese man didn't do anything but the creature seemed to unravel itself before disappearing. I brushed myself, as much as I spiritually could. Since Emiya was a magician, he would have no problem in seeing me, although I would seem like a pale ghost with lots of blue glyphs and runes drawn all over him. Emiya himself was an imposing man. He looked at me with eyes as soulless as the kraut's who had sent me to fetch Avalon. No, soulless wouldn't be the correct term. His eyes were simply empty. It was like looking into a deep pit, knowing in your heart that somewhere in the bottom lies a beast that shouldn't roused.


He was also wearing a coat similar to the one I had bought for Saber. Had to give the lad credit, he did have style.


"State your offer." Kiritsugu said. It wasn't a command or a request. It was a simple statement. And I had a simple answer for it.


"I am willing to offer you the whereabouts of Waver Velvet, Master of the Fourth Grail War's Servant Rider, real identity Alexander of Macedon in exchange for an alliance for the duration of the War until we are the last two standing." I said confidently. Kiritsugu narrowed his eyes. He didn't trust me. Smart lad.


It was about time someone had started the Grail War already.

[Leo Novum]

Chapter Five: BACKSTAB

I woke with a gasp and rolled off the sofa and on to the floor. My left arm felt as if it was being forced through a white-hot tube while my jaw felt as if someone was taking swings at it with a cricket bat. I would have emptied my guts on the handsome carpet but my stomach was, fortunately, empty.


"How long was I out?" I rasped as several shades of octarine danced in front of my eyes.


"Five minutes." Saber calmly replied. Each of her word seemed to drill its way through my skull, making me shed tears. That explained the pains I was suffering. The world slowly started to come back together and make sense. As usual, the time flow had been skewered to pieces. I had only experienced forty minutes in the astral realm while I had expected to have eight hours. The carpet's color scheme returned to normal and the agony started to fade. With muscles weak as water, I tried sitting up but failed. Saber wordlessly picked me up and laid me on the sofa.


"Well?" Saber asked. She expected me to apologize for my actions or at least rationalize them. Completely understandable but I am in no mood to explain to her what I had just done. Call me a fuckwit if you want to but a jaunt up the astral isn't my cup of tea on a sane day. And this isn't sane day. And I had to do it three times. I don't reply to her at all. My body has almost recovered despite having suffered from a minor heart attack only a few seconds ago. I just want to close my eyes and go to sleep forever and hope nothing happens.


Saber didn't yell at me or chastise me or even glare. She simply picked up the newspaper she had been reading before and resumed. That was quite convenient but why wasn't she showing any emotional response?


Ten minutes pass before I sit up. Who was I kidding? Nothing terrifies me more than boredom. And right now, I was bored.


"I have forged an alliance with the Mage Killer Kiritsugu Emiya. We have agreed to help each other out until we both are the last teams standing in this war." I said and waited for her answer. I will admit that I was planning on depending on her military expertise for the next fourteen days. Battles and wars, even cold and secret ones, aren't what I am good at. I work better at the sidelines, not inside the storm.


"Why did you choose to ally with Emiya Kiritsugu?" Saber asked.


"Well, for one thing, he is THE Magus Killer, not just a magus killer. The very definite article, one might even say. I am just a con artist who occasionally larks into the occult." I explained. "He will prove to be a valuable asset. He will do the heavy lifting while we wait. And when the time is right, we will finish him." I explained. Saber frowned.


"Constantine, I cannot condone such an under handed method to defeat him." Saber said. I blinked. Oh bugger, I forgot the while chivalry and honor thing knights have.


"We can settle the final battle by determining the outcome through single combat." I replied. Like hell I would let that happen though. But my answer did appear to mollify Saber.


"Well, if that is the case then I don't have any objections." Saber said. "Since we are on this topic, I would like to know how did you ascertain Emiya's trustworthiness?"


"Well, he isn't trustworthy at all. He is willing to stoop to any level to achieve his goal." I replied.


"Then how do you know he won't stab you in the back first?" Saber asked.


My eyes shot open and I sat up. What Saber had said was quite true. I had no way of knowing he won't backstab me first.


"Saber, check the corridors and the lobby. I will check the windows for snipers." I said hurriedly as I scrambled off the sofa. Saber immediately dashed out of the room while I hobbled to the windows and started drawing the curtains.


Bugger bugger bugger, how could I do something so stupid? Was I growing proud of all those cons and heists I had pulled off? Had I started to think of everyone as a naïve demon or angel to be manipulated at my whim? Whatever was the answer, I was just glad that nothing had happened yet.


"Constantine, nothing seems to be out of the ordinary." Saber said as she reentered the room.


And that's when the entire hotel exploded.

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"Master? Master? Are you all right?" Someone was calling me. Was it me? Why were they calling me? And why were they calling me Master? Did I end up buying an elf slave again?


"Lemme sleep, Chas, that's a good lad." I mumbled groggily as I turned in my sleep.


And fell off the bench I was lying on and landed on the cold, hard ground. That woke me up alright. Note to self, stop rolling off furniture; It's becoming a habit.


"Where-?" I said, still half asleep. I was in some sort of park. Street lamps illuminated the area, showing me Saber's concerned face. "How-?" I asked her, bewildered.


"You don't remember, Master?" Saber said with a concerned look. "When we were attacked, you activated a Command Spell which allowed me to carry you away from harm."


"I activated a what?" I said, still trying to make the world stop spinning. The familiar scent of green tea, mountain grass dew and oranges told me that I was still in Fuyuki. That would make sense, considering that if Saber was still here that would mean the War was still ongoing. This meant that I had been out for less than two weeks at least.


"How long was I out?" I asked.


"A few seconds." Saber said. "It is quite fortunate of us that we came here. This place is in public and therefore, we'll be quite safe here."


That was when the fireworks began.


The first unholy bolt of purple magical energy landed directly on Saber and dissipated completely. The second one nearly hit me but I was saved by Saber jumping in front of me. Floating above us was a Servant in a purple hooded cloak which spread apart like wings. Several wall sized glyphs floated at its sides. Saber's magical resistance, as it turned out, meant that no spells would affect her. Not so sure about me though.


"Are you mad?" Saber yelled at the floating Servant. "It is nearly dawn! Desist from your attack at once!" There was enough anger and charisma in her voice to make an entire army bend its knees.


The Servant simply shot ten magical lasers at once.


There wasn't any explosion or any sound at all. The world just turned purple, and then to violet and then to a blinding white until a sudden black. I have experienced pain before but having all of my skin burnt off was something I hadn't experienced before. I couldn't see anything, I couldn't hear anything, I couldn't even smell anything. All I could feel was the sensation of my body being repeatedly burnt.


And suddenly, my vision sprang back into existence. My body was still in pain but the sweet relief of being able to see again made me forget the agony. I lifted my hand up to see how it was.


I didn't recognize the stump of charred flesh for a few moments. And when I did, it was only after Saber jumped in front of me again to shield me from the Servant's beam once more. She said something to me before turning around and cutting down a skeletal soldier of sort. I couldn't hear anything she said because my ear drums were currently out of commission.


Oh bugger, I must have nearly burnt to death by all of that unholy purple magic. And something kept me alive and was currently repairing me again. My demon blood? No, couldn't be. This much damage was too much even for it to handle. Angelic intervention? Nah, I was still in the red. Maybe this land is magically powerful enough to restore a person to life? No, that would make the entire War pointless.


I kept running several thoughts through my head to avoid thinking about the pain. I even tried to crawl away until I realized that I didn't have any legs. After that, I firmly stopped thinking about anything related to the War and forced myself to think about every single sexual escapade I had to keep myself from going insane from the burning sensation. My hearing started returning while I was thinking of Abby Holland; My tongue regenerated while I was at Epiphany Greaves and my whole body was almost healed at Zed.


And then I got hit again. I couldn't help it this time. I screamed. I screamed as hard as I could, as loud as I could, as long as I could. Anything to take my mind off the pain. As soon as my limbs started coming back, I started crawling away. Staying in one place was too dangerous. I needed to get to some shelter.


After a few agonizing minutes, I managed to pull myself together and stand on my own feet. My sense of balance was still off and for a few moments, all I could do was stagger. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Saber brutally cut down the hordes of the damned. Who the fuck was that floating Servant anyways? I couldn't recognize her magic at all and that was quite something. I took cover behind a copse of trees and looked at the fight. None of the bony bastards could even come close to her. The floating Servant kept firing fruitlessly. I would've even pitied them but I wasn't in the mood for that.


What I needed to do was help Saber somehow. Unfortunately, what with my skin still growing, I couldn't actually focus on how to do it. Instead, I tried to think of why the Servant was still attacking at dawn. There were no people in the park yet which meant that the Servant probably thought itself quite safe from the public eye. The grass also happened to be on fire which meant that navigating my way to freedom would prove to be quite a handful.


Then suddenly, the idea sprang into my mind. The Servant felt safe from the public eye. All I had to do was create a scene so flamboyant that I would either attract every other Servant's attention or at least every mundane's attention in the vicinity. If that didn't work then I had no idea what would. Inhaling deeply, I activated my circuits.


There are two ways of doing a magic trick. The difficult way is, ironically, the one with a greater success rate. It involves slaughtering a virgin, not necessarily a female, at the full moon and then burning the corpse in a bonfire of yew wood while you wank naked while dancing around the fire, ignoring the thorns in your feet. There would be a huge chance that some demon or deity or trickster or entity would be watching and decide to grant your wish for shits and giggles. Most mundane blokes use this route because this is the only way they can do it.


The other way is for the magician to activate their magical circuits, pour their od into whatever they want to magic and simply bugger themselves into thinking that would happen. Mostly, it happens.


What I am about to do is neither. I am simply going to ring up one of the feathered chaps up there and insult him.


"Oi, Islington! I am right here, you cock-sucking bastard!" I yell as the magic in me drained away.


For a few moments, nothing happened.


Then I got hit in the head with bullet. Bugger. I recovered quickly enough. By the time I was back on my feet, I heard someone approach me from the back. I turn around to face Kiritsugu Emiya.


For a moment, nothing happened. How the fuck did he manage to sneak here? What kind of a bastard was he, to be able to sneak up on me like that? I am not going to say that I am the expert on stealth but I can say that my incredible luck always protects me from stuff like this. Why has my luck suddenly declined?


He was dressed entirely in black, rather fittingly. Rick had told me that this was a man who frequently went into battles and conflicts he had no interest in and managed to end them. Not through peace talks or shit like that. He simply murdered the fuck out of enough people on both sides that the battle lost purpose. He shot down a jet liner full of passengers just to kill one mark. I had found the man disgusting on paper but now that I saw him up close, I found him to be repulsive.


Then I laughed. I laughed long and loud. Not because I had given up. I couldn't help myself really.


Kiritsugu was smoking a Silk Cut cigarette.


"Can you give me one?" I ask casually. Kiritsugu simply leveled his handgun at me. It was an ugly thing, giving off an extremely unpleasant aura. It took me a while to understand that it wasn't my bias against guns that made it feel ugly, it actually was quite ugly, magically speaking. There was some sort of destructive magic inside it, probably the one which made Emiya the Magus Killer. Before, he could even fire, the entire game changed. With a sound like a million panes of glass shattering at once, Islington descended.


"CONSTANTINE!" It yelled in fury, its voice alone managing to shatter every single skeletal soldier Saber was fighting. It made her Majesty stumble back a few steps. Kiritsugu's face sported a look that I would cherish forever, the look of a man who had never believed in Santa and now had seen Rudolph. I think the best thing about things going pear shaped is that for a moment, everyone present show their true faces. Saber's sword hand had gone limp and she was looking at the angel with a mixture of wonder and fear, Kiritsugu's Servant was nowhere in sight while Kiritsugu himself looked as if he had been slapped awake.


Islington itself didn't care for anyone present except for me.


"CONSTANTINE, YOU BACK STABBING WHORESON! I AM GOING TO MAKE YOU REGRET CROSSING ME!" Islington roared, its voice snuffing the grass fires. Well, someone had been mulling over their dialogue options.


"Good morning to you too, Islington." I cheekily answered. Islington had descended in its heavenly armor and had even brought its sword. If I could convince it to join my side, winning the War would take less than three days. And Islington's only a Principality. Whose actual name I managed to change. Although to be fair, it was an accident and we had managed to save the day, when all was said and done.


I mean, when you make everyone in Islington, London, forget the fact that they had seen a triple-breasted hermaphrodite demon casually murder several hundred people for a promotion in Hell and then to see the same triple-breasted hermaphrodite demon get casually killed off by a Principality, you need to make them forget stuff. If the side effect of such a spell was some feathered bastard's name getting wiped throughout the universe then I think that is acceptable.


Of course, considering that each angel cherishes its name since it has been personally bestowed to them by the Authority, Islington getting pissed off was kind of understandable. It wanting to kill me, however, was decidedly not.


A blur appeared besides Kiritsugu. His Servant appeared and grabbed him from the behind. From this close, I could see that His Servant was a woman. She held onto Kiritsugu and then wrapped her cloak around him. The Master and Servant disappeared and left me and Saber alone with Islington. The angel didn't care about King Arthur. It had only eyes on me.


Bugger. My solution to most problems is usually to bring in a bigger problem and then use the resulting scuffle as a distraction for me to escape. This wasn't going to help me this time. Islington pointed its flaming sword at me menacingly.


"Give me one reason." It said darkly. Nothing else needed to be said. Islington probably wouldn't receive any punishment larger than a rap on the knuckles if it killed me. Hell, considering the amount of felonies I had committed, Islington might end up as a Cherub if it killed me. That would be one heaven of a promotion. Besides, angels are allowed to take lives if they see it fit. So saying that it couldn't kill me because it was an angel would be a poor excuse to make.


I could simply activate my demon blood once more and give a shout to Nurgle. Islington would be nothing compared to him. But as much as I wanted to get out of the situation, I wouldn't stoop to that level. Islington's temper tantrum was still justified. I was in the wrong here. And summoning that demon would end up with me getting an even bigger problem than before.


Besides, I already knew the answer to my problem. Everyone had a price and the best way to buy someone off was to give them a blank cheque.


"I could restore your name." I answered casually as I reached into my pocket for my cigarettes.


Islington's resolve wavered and I mentally congratulated myself. Islington hadn't become obsessed with killing me yet. "Liar." It said softly, still pointing the sword at me. Instead of trying to dispute the fact with it, which I couldn't, I simply turned to my Servant.


"Saber, doesn't the victor get one wish as a reward?" I asked.


"Well, that is correct-" Saber started but I cut her off as I faced Islington once again.


"Well there you have it, Islington. One wish for the victor. I am going to win this War and then wish your name back. Any problems with that?" I said, feeling quite confident. As I said before, angels naturally trust humans every time. You can't teach an old dog new tricks after all.


"And what if you betray me again, Constantine?" Islington retorted. Or maybe you can teach it new tricks after all.


"Well, it's your choice. You can choose to believe in me and stand a chance to regain your name. Or you could kill me right now and forever regret the choice." I said. It was at this point where I only looked confident. If an angel can express doubt even once, that is a sure sign that dealing with it is going to be a pain. But then again, this was an angel's name that was at stake. I had a feeling that I was going to win.


Islington lowered its sword and looked defeated. I felt a slight twinge of sympathy. Angels are relatively forgiving chaps when it comes to humans. That's why I can keep conning them again and again and still get away with it.


"Very well, Constantine, I will hold onto your word. But don't you dare to even think of going back or else!" It said before flapping its wings and disappearing as suddenly as it appeared. I stood there and waited for Saber to say something. It would be something along the lines of how unnecessary it was for me to do any of that, that I was an idiot for doing stuff like this.


"Constantine, are you hurt?" Saber asked. That question caught me off guard for a moment. Concern isn't something I am used to receiving.


"Well, yeah." I said with a shrug as I stick a fag in my mouth. I light the Marlboro with a snap of my fingers. I inhale deeply, welcoming the nicotine in my lungs. The smoke relaxes me while my eyes light up. "We need to get going. I think I have caused enough of a ruckus for today." I said as I started walking.


"Agreed." Saber said as she dismissed her armor and resumed her civilian façade. I yawned and realized that it had been one hell of a night already. Skipping across the astral realm three times would normally put me off from any activity for at least a week but right now, the only problem I am facing is a lack of sleep and a roof over my head. My strange and not quite unwelcome power of healing is still confusing me and I am trying to figure out how did I get it. As much as it had saved my life, it also had forced me to endure burning alive.


"Constantine, what you had done back in the park was completely unnecessary. We could have risked getting disqualified." Saber said solemnly. I rolled my eyes and stopped myself from comparing her to my father, if only because my father wasn't the King of England.


"That's completely uncalled for, Saber. I had to endure burning alive and you are saying that my actions were completely unnecessary." I snapped at her.


"If you hadn't made the mistake of trusting a known assassin who goes by the moniker of Magus Killer, we wouldn't have been in that situation to begin with." Saber coldly replied. Damn that woman, cutting right to the heart of the matter in one answer. Bollocks. The part which drove me mad was that she was right, it had been my fault to begin with. But I wasn't going to admit it.


"Let's just retreat my belonging for now. We can play the blame game later." I said. Saber didn't answer but simply nodded stiffly as the traffic signals turned green and we crossed the road.


There were crowds of people who wanted to look at the ruins of the Marriott and a brigade of stone faced police officers who were keeping the curious onlookers at bay. It is a testament of the human mind's flexibility that it can accept gas explosion as the reason for a building collapsing. No wonder the magical side has such an easy time hiding its existence from the masses. And controlling them as well, something I intend to remedy in the future.


I am not quite acquainted with explosives myself but even I can tell that a bomb was used in bringing down the Marriott. With a little hypnotism and persuasion, I crossed the policemen standing guard and made my way in to the rubble and ruin. The entire building was ruined so much that it was impossible to tell which part had been my room. I could have simply started rummaging around for my personal effects and spent hours at the task but I was in a hurry. I simply picked up a piece of rubble, broke of a piece of string from my shirt and tied the two of them together, creating a plumb line. Muttering a few spells for divination, I waited until the plumb line started to violently swing on its own towards a certain direction. I walked in that direction until the plumb line came to a shuddering halt. I was standing on a wing of the hotel whose walls had survived to a certain extent. The roofs of the wing I was standing on had probably caved in due to all of the bricks and mortar falling on it. Bollocks.


With a shrug, I started digging with my bare hands. Saber wordlessly joined in and a few moments later. Brick after brick was picked up and thrown away until I made a whole that was large enough for me to crawl through.


"Allow me to go through, Constantine. I can survive if the ceiling falls." Saber said. I thought about opposing her for a few moments before sighing and standing aside. Who was I to stop her from doing what she wanted? Besides, the lass had a point. Judging from the outside, my room, the one I had been staying in, had suffered the least from the explosion. That was probably because of all the damage reducing glyphs I had drawn on its wall with my own blood. I wished that I had my cigarettes with me. I really needed a fag at the moment. After what seemed like an eternity, Saber's blonde head popped out of the hole. She quickly scrambled out of the destroyed hotel room and handed me my suitcase and trench coat. Dusting our clothes, the two of us scurried away into the concrete jungle called Fuyuki.

-----------------------------------------


Saber ordered the food while I simply rested my head on the table and tried to catch a few winks of sleep. From now on, we would have to assume that Kiritsugu was watching us at every moment. Both packets of cigarettes, the Marlboro and the Dragon Smoke, were lying in the bin a few fee off. I had been suffering from such intense nicotine withdrawal symptoms that I had smoked two fags at a time. The gun was now in my pocket and I would sometimes reach inside and finger it ever so slightly, to make sure it was still there. The suitcase was at my feet, still bristling with magical drugs and herbs.


Bugger it all. Kiritsugu had brassed me off proper with his savage backstabbing. I came to this city with a lot of bottle but all of it turned out to be just hot air. I hadn't managed to do anything of worth and might have even decreased our chances of winning. I may have survived but considering what a spectacle I had made, I wouldn't be surprised if every Master remained wary of me and kept out of my way. That would be all fine and Bob would be my uncle and all but the thing was, if they kept away from me then so would their Servants. And it was a sort of requirement to kill the already dead stiffs again to make a wish come true.


Or they might get risky and try to jump me at once. That would be fun but I wouldn't dare to summon someone to drive them off. I don't think Saber is strong enough to fight six people in her own league. And if I tried to summon or provoke something that could murder six Servants, I would end up dead. Not because it would be beyond my capability but because most people I summoned had, like Islington, a bone to pick with me. Probably my bones. And they would be too rabid for me to screw over. I sighed and scratched the back of my right hand, looking at the bloody tattoos or Command Spell things. One of the crosses had faded, leaving pristine skin behind. Nothing I could think of made sense except for doing the one thing I would hate to do. But right now, it was the best option I had at my disposal, if only because I had received alliance offers from him before and he didn't strike me as the sort to go back on his word. The waitress, a cute young lass with a shapely bum, put the tea on our table and moved away. Saber picked up her cup and took a sip, her eyes fixed on me. I sat up with a sigh and looked at her tiredly.


"Let's team up with Iskander." I said.

[pulsor93]

I am so, so happy to see that you've decided to cross-post the fic here. Hopefully this'll mean more exposure for it!
Now all it needs is to get posted to SB, and gain a TV Tropes page and all will be well with the world!

[Leo Novum]

Chapter Five and a Half: CHURCH

"I trust that you managed to look at Constantine's Servant's attributes, Kirei." Tohsaka Tokiomi, the head of his family and my esteemed teacher, said. I was currently standing inside the vaults of the Tohsaka estate along with my father. Like everything inside the Tohsaka residence, this place reflected Tokiomi's elegance and opulence. It was as if my teacher wanted everyone to know and understand his status. If a thief were ever to into his house, I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to entertain the charlatan before slowly incinerating his miserable existence.


The entire room seemed to have been decorated with the color red kept in mind. Red curtains, red carpet, a dark red mahagony door which I suspect only served the purpose of underlining Tokiomi's love of the West, red cushions on red chintz chair on which sat my teacher dressed in red. The entire room made me feel nostalgic. It reminded me of my Apostle hunts when I was an Executor. It was probably one of the few times in my life when I could almost feel joy. I had left them when I realized that I felt joy for the wrong reasons.


"Yes, I have indeed. Despite managing to summon a Saber class Servant, Constantine has either made a severe mistake in summoning it or has purposely summoned a weak Servant. Her strength, endurance and agility are above B rank. But her magic resistance is only at C rank, which is what makes me think Constantine has made a mistake in summoning it." I answered.


"You misunderstand, Kirei. It is impossible for Constantine to make a mistake like this. It is far more likely that he has somehow managed to obscure its true magical resistance. I would expect nothing less from the mage who managed to break into the Clock Tower." Tokiomi said. I resisted the urge to tell my teacher that being adept at breaking and entering did not mean one was adept at thaumaturgy. My father shook his head ever so slightly. The message was clear. Just nod and agree for now. Take precautions later.


"Incidentally, can you hazard any guess on the identity of Saber?" Tokiomi asked.


"I am afraid not. What I can tell you is that she and Constantine conversed in English but that is hardly lead, considering a Servant's connection to the Grail. Her sword was invisible, covered in some kind of magecraft, therefore we can assume that her weapon alone has enough fame to be associated with her." I replied.


"A famous weapon." Tokiomi said in an amused manner. "Well, it matters not in the long run anyways. We have an understanding of the Servant's various strengths therefore we are capable of dealing with it."


"Regarding that incident in the Fuyuki Park," My father said. "I urge you to not regard that winged humanoid as an actual angel of the Lord, Tokiomi." I turned my attention towards my father. It had created quite a stir among the three of us when an angel, or a winged human bearing a sword, had answered Constantine's calls and descended. Assassin had been observing the fight between Caster and Saber at that time and I had even managed to glean some of its aspects. To be honest, I was and still am quite underwhelmed. For Assassin to be able to understand such an entity probably meant that it wasn't a holy entity or anything like that. Probably just a phantasmal species which happened to resemble an angel. Blasphemous, I must say.


The second thing that disappointed me about it was the fact that its stats resembled a Servant's in some regards. And not quite an impressive one at that. The only thing impressive was its decent resistance to magic and equally deep reservoir of magic. That had been obvious when the winged entity's arrival had been enough to destroy Caster's army of skeletons. In all other regards, however, it was barely stronger than Archer. To be honest, I think Archer wouldn't have much of a problem dealing with it if it ever came to that. Furthermore, it seems as if the entity itself wasn't exactly at good terms with Constantine. That would mean that we could at least consider ourselves safe from it.


"Still, your foresight is quite commendable, Kirei." Tokiomi said as he smiled at me. "I have to admit, I was quite skeptical of your plan to send Emiya Kiritsugu after Constantine. I was hoping of persuading Archer to finish him as a show of force to all other Masters. But I see now that your idea was the better one. We now still retain the element of surprise and we also have an estimate of our adversary's strength." Tokiomi said. I suppose that I should feel happy about my teacher was praising me. I have read that many people crave the approval of their pedagogues just as much as they crave their parents'. But like everything else in life, it meant nothing to me. All I could do was simply nod passively as my father and Tokiomi continued talking.


"By the way, Kirei," My father said. "What exactly made you think of such a plan? How did you know that Emiya would be willing to cooperate?"


That question caught me off guard. What made me think of such a plan? In all honesty, I don't know. I suppose that it was like some of the ideas and thoughts which people just inherently and subconsciously know. People know that killing is wrong. People know that friendship is satisfying. And I knew that there was more to both Constantine and Emiya then they let on. I had done extensive research on both of them. Both men had lived lives of intense violence, both were the type of me who would rather carve a path to their goal rather than follow tradition and protocol. People similar to each other feel an intense attraction and hatred towards each other. I knew that Emiya would be willing to go back on his word against Constantine because I knew that Constantine and he were natural back stabbers.


But I said none of this to my father lest I let slip this veneer of sanity to him. Instead, I just shrugged and replied "It was just a instinctive idea I had on which I acted upon."


"Well, instinctive or not, it has proven to be quite an effective one." Tokiomi said, still smiling. My father, however, did not seem satisfied but he didn't pursue the subject.


"You may go, Kirei. I will summon you when I will have further need of you." My teacher said. I simply nodded before halting the spell and opening my eyes. In truth, I saw little practicality of such a spell. But Tokiomi, ever the magus, couldn't even begin to comprehend a manner of communication outside of magecraft. I saw no need to bicker and simply obeyed.


On the first night of the War, my teacher and I had created a performance between Archer and Assassin to deceive the other Masters into thinking that Assassin had been eliminated. For that reason, I was now living under the Church of Fuyuki. Although, it seems that I am no longer alone.


"Was there any good reason for you to polish off my wine collection, Gilgamesh?" I asked coldly. I turned around in my revolving the chair, probably the second most advanced piece of technology in the room, and looked at him. Lying on the couch, which was actually softer than my bed and the most luxurious piece of furniture in the entire church, was my teacher's Servant Archer, the Babylonian King of Heroes. Despite dressed in casual modern clothes, his very presence gave off an aura of hedonism and sloth. His golden necklace shined in the light of the gas lamps, which was the most advanced technology in the room.


"Tokiomi's collection is quite poor." He said casually, as if he was the owner of the room and I was the guest. "Which I find disgusting, considering his manner of conduct."


"And that justifies drinking all of my wine?" I asked once again. I wasn't angry, only irritated. It had taken me some time to build my collection after all.


"Well, yes." Gilgamesh said before take a sip directly from the bottle. For all his talk about being the King of Everything, the Servant had the manners of an ape. "Tell me, Kirei. Why did you choose to participate in this War?" he asked.


"Because Tohsaka Tokiomi asked me to and my father instructed me to do so." I replied absent mindedly as I started to pick up the bottle and put them back in the shelves.


"That is an inadequate explanation, Kotomine Kirei. Surely there must be something that you desire." Gilgamesh said.


"Why does my desire matter to you?" I asked.


"Well, this world has turned out to be quite ugly and disgusting. I have yet to see anything here that captures my attention which is why I decided to see what do the participants in this War wish for. Tokiomi himself has proven to be quite underwhelming." Gilgamesh said before taking another sip.


"I do not wish for anything. My participation in it is out of duty and my selection for it occurred out of chance. There is nothing more and nothing less to it." I answered as calmly as I could. I must have failed because Archer chuckled.


"Not wish for anything? That statement is absurd. Nothing in this garden of mine is without desire. To live is to struggle and to struggle is to want, after all." He said, inspecting the bottle closely. He then turned his head and looked at me in the eye. "It seems that what you desire, Kotomine Kirei, is something you find sinful and shameful."


If there was some word I could use to describe the intense sensation I felt, I would feel that 'thunderstruck' would be the best approximation. All of my life, I have managed to fool everyone I came into contact with and yet this Servant looks right through me. For the first time I feel angry but I cannot bring myself to say the words. What would I rebuke? Penetrating though his words were, they were true.


"I seem to have struck a chord in you, as the saying goes." Gilgamesh said before tossing the bottle away lightly. I frowned and picked it up as well. "So what you desire is something that repulses you and yet pleases you at the same time." He said to himself before sitting up and looking at me straight in the eye. "Sit down, Kotomine Kirei, and tell me what is your wish."


"I am not sure." I said as I busied myself with arranging the bottle chronologically. I then realized what I had just said. "I mean, I don't have any certain wish. I merely wish to be of convenience, that is all." I said. Gilgamesh's full blown laugher told me that my words sounded hollow.


"Such self-delusion. I think that I am beginning to enjoy your presence, Kotomine Kirei. Perhaps this War won't turn out to be so disappointing after all." Gilgamesh said. I refused to face him and furiously arranged the bottle alphabetically. Someone had the audacity to arrange them chronologically without my permission.


"What's this?" I heard Gilgamesh. "John Collier Constantine?" he said. I realized, with a sense of dread in my abdomen, that he was reading the documents that were on my desk. If I had known someone would be visiting, or in this case, intruding, I would have locked them somewhere safe. I quickly stood up and turned around to see Gilgamesh reading the blasted documents with a grin on his face.


"Stop that!" I cried out as I snatched the papers out of his hand. For a single moment, the Servant glared at me and I felt truly vulnerable. I knew that all of the Assassins were close at hand but I doubted their ability against a Knight Class Servant. They would be more likely to abandon me and look for someone else as their Master instead of dying to protect me. Then all of a sudden, Gilgamesh smirked before walking away.


"Well, you are at a troubled point in life therefore I can find it in myself to forgive you. Be grateful, mongrel. It is not every day the King grants a pardon." He said as he lay down on the sofa once again. "Besides," he said, his smirk widening. "I read the whole document."


I didn't answer him at all. Instead, I tore up all of the papers and threw them into the fireplace.


"Do not misunderstand, Gilgamesh. It is not as if I researched Constantine for any reason other than to be prepared when meeting him." I said.


"Says the love-sick maiden." Gilgamesh replied. I gritted my teeth and started to arrange the empty wine bottles in my shelf. Someone had the nerve to arrange them alphabetically. Retorting would only fuel his amusement therefore I chose silence. I kept at the task at hand until I realized that Gilgamesh had finally left me in peace. I thanked God and all the Apostles for watching over me. I could have been killed by that rash decision but I wasn't. God must have a plan for me, I suppose. Still, it is at times like when I wish that angels would descend.


The communication device rang. Tokiomi must require my presence once more. Sighing to myself, I got up and went back to my desk. I touched the device, activated my circuits and made the connection. My consciousness flew to the next device, which was in the Tohsaka residence. Once again, I found myself in front of my teacher and my father.


"You required my presence?" I said.


"Ah, here you are, Kirei." Tokiomi said cheerfully. "I just wished to tell you to send the Assassins after Emiya tonight. We should strike while the iron is still hot."


I merely nodded before breaking off the connection.

[Leo Novum]

Chapter Six: WISHES

The last thing I saw before I closed my eyes was a knight standing with his back to me.


The first thing I saw after I opened my eyes was a man standing with his back at me.


I had closed my eyes as a king and had opened them as a Servant.


He had come off as oblivious in the beginning. He couldn't understand what had happened when I had appeared. He had blundered about at first, quite unsure on what to do. He had talked ill of me in a manner most unbecoming. His companion had to talk some sense into him for him to quiet down. He had even forgotten to make sure of the security precautions around him.


He had been excessively reckless. He had a casual disregard for his own life which bordered on to suicidal. Even when he knew that he was venturing into a dangerous location, wrought with peril, all he had to say were some caustic remarks to me.


He smoked like a chimney and was completely addicted to tobacco. He had even left the room and tried to hunt down some cigarettes when he ran out.


But as I now look at my Master, I see him in a whole new light. Regardless of the fact that the winged entity named Islington seemed to be the one in the right, I could almost see Constantine as a respectful figure. Perhaps it was because Constantine had managed to drive away Caster and her Master. Truth be told, the battle had shown me that my magic resistance was too weak against her. I was lucky that Constantine had some sort of bizarre healing magic which prevented him from dying. The same couldn't be said of me. Underneath my armor, my wounds still bled albeit quite slowly. I couldn't dare to show weakness in front of my Master which was why when he collapsed against me, I did not flinch or pull away.


"Constantine, are you hurt?" I ask him with great concern. He looks at me as if that was the strangest question someone had ever asked him. I suppose that he isn't familiar with receiving pity or sympathy. Although, considering his methods, it isn't difficult to understand why.


"Well, yeah." He said as he stuck a cigarette in his mouth and lit it. I notice that his hands are shaking but I decide not to comment on them. "We need to get going. I think I have caused enough of a ruckus for today." He said and I nodded.


"Agreed." I said as I helped my Master walk out of the park. After a few minutes, in which we retrieved his possessions from the ruins of the hostel, we sat down at a restaurant. I looked around, always on the guard from foes. It was the early hours of morning, something between four and five. The establishment we were at seemed to have a twenty four hour policy although the serving girl was still yawning as she brought us our food. I checked the same ends of the street while Constantine checked the same skirt. He might have been pretending to be asleep but I could see how his eye lids would crack open slightly when he heard her approach.


As if Merlin hadn't been enough.


Constantine suddenly looked up at me with blood shot eyes.


"Let's team up with Iskander." He proposed tiredly. I made sure to finish my sip of the drink called black tea before setting the cup down and staring him straight in the eye. I had scolded him quite severely earlier today for being foolish enough to ally himself with the Magus Killer. It seemed that he had taken my words to heart and was asking for my opinion before he did anything. Once again, I stopped myself from smiling. It was good that he was doing so. This indicated a new level of cooperation between us. Or perhaps he was just much more cautious now.


"Before that, I would like to ask you, Constantine, what had possessed you to place your trust in Emiya?" I asked. It was necessary for me to know the answer of such a question since it would help me gauge his mentality. The link between us, that of Master and Servant, was quite weak. Neither he knew anything about me neither about him. I don't object to this situation but now that I need to know how he thinks, the bond feels inadequate.


Constantine sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "When you are a legend," he began to speak, not looking at me. "When you are regarded as a myth, when you are seen not as a person but as a force of nature, you began to lose your edge." He said before pausing. I waited for him to continue. I suspected as much. Pride had dulled his judgment and had resulted in this situation. "And when you are regarded as a legend, your fuck-ups tend to be legendary." Constantine muttered.


"What did you mean by that?" I asked.


"Nothing." Constantine quickly replied. But now I fully understood what drove him to acquire the Grail. I allowed myself a small smile while he wasn't looking. So we both wished to undo our mistakes. Was Islington his mistake? No, I think not. He did not treat the winged entity with much respect. For him, it had been nothing but a minor inconvenience he could rely on. Something much greater drove my Master. I would not press him about it considering that he hadn't pressed me about my past.


"Well, Iskander would prove to be a valuable ally." I said.


"But you still don't like him." Constantine said bluntly.


"Well, no." I said. "He is rather lacking in subtlety."


"You mean he is too thick for your liking." Constantine said with a tired chuckle. He finally picked his tea cup up. I had begun to wonder whether he ran exclusively on tobacco smoke. "Can't say I disagree with you on that one, Saber. Blokes like these are the reason why Plan A never survives the first encounter. Although I am guessing he never has a plan to begin with besides charging at the enemy."


"It's not that I am worried about. I am more concerned about his casual disregard about the secrecy of the War and the need to remain quiet about one's own class and identity." I said.


"But the fact remains that he is the only other Servant we have come in contact with." Constantine said. "And we need all the help we can get."


"True but if we engage every Servant in single combat then I will defeat everyone. Which is why there is no need to ally ourselves with him." I said. I wished to see how we would react. Although I had said that, it wasn't quite the truth. If I was in prime condition then there would be no doubt that I could back my claim. But the truth was that with Constantine being a subpar Master, we would really need to ally ourselves with someone else. I didn't wish to ally with Rider because I had a feeling that if we both ended up as the last Servants standing then I wouldn't be able to defeat him in a duel. I would need someone else's help in defeating him.


"That's quite a bold claim you're making, Saber." Constantine said slowly. "But I would feel better if we ended up with Rider."


"And why is that?" I asked.


"Two reasons, actually. He asked us first so if we accept now, it would give off the impression of us being in control."He said. I nodded. That was a valid statement. "The second reason is that we can threaten Waver Velvet into compliance if it ever became necessary." He said.


"I don't like your second reason." I told him.


"Thought you might not. What with all that chivalry and honor you have." Constantine said. He leaned forward. "How much do you want the Grail, Saber?" he said.


"That is neither here nor there." I said.


"Stop dodging the issue." Constantine said. "You know just as well as I do that it won't be easy winning this War. The best way to defeat a Servant is through the Master and we can control Rider that way." Constantine whispered as another waitress passed by. I felt a surge of anger in my heart which I quickly quelled.


"Such under handed methods are beneath me, Master." I said through gritted teeth.


"But they aren't beneath me." He answered. "Also, I said that we would resort to that if it ever became necessary. I don't think it ever will."


"We could forge an alliance with another Master." I said.


"I don't think we have the time to hunt down another participant in this bloody War." Constantine said in a tired voice. I noticed that his head was nodding.


"We have thirteen days." I reminded him.


"You don't understand, do you?" Constantine smiled. "After that brilliant display back in the Park, I don't think the other Masters would feel so easy becoming friends with me. They see me as a threat. Rider is our only option left now because he is too stupid to care."


As much as it pained me to say it, Constantine's reasoning made sense. But just because it made sense didn't mean I had to enjoy the decision.


"Agreed but how are we going to find his lodgings?" I said. With any luck, he would manage to commit some blunder and we would search for some other Master.


"With this." Constantine said and he pulled something out of his coat pocket with a flourish. It was piece of paper Iskander had autographed. "Didn't expect to see this come in handy, did you?" he said with a grin. That much was true.


"Well?" I asked him.


"This way." He suddenly said as he got up. He quickly signaled the waitress and thrust several bills of paper money into her hands. "Keep the change, love." He told her. I quickly translated his intent to her, although I omitted the love part, before following him out to the road.


"See, normally, I would use divination to hunt down this Waver Velvet. But with this, I can easily track Rider and it will be much faster as well." Constantine explained as he stared intently at the paper in his hand before he started to walk again. I didn't deign him with an answer. A few minutes later, Constantine stopped.


"Clever lad." He said with a frown. "He's set up sigils somewhere around here which makes tracking difficult. All I can tell is that Rider is somewhere here."


"Does this mean we are calling the search off?" I asked him.


"We could do that." Constantine said with a shrug. "Or I ould set up a complex divination roitual that will overcome the stealth sigils." He said. "But that would take some time so why don't you ask that nice lady over there where do the foreigners live?" He said, suddenly smirking. I frowned but did as I was told.


A few minutes later, we were at the front gate. Constantine had a cardboard box in his hand which appeared to hold some sort of bakery product. He had said that it was a sort of custom to give this to someone you were visiting which was why he had run back with me and bought it.


"Well," he said, tugging at the ridiculous length of clothe around his neck. "Here it goes." He knocked on the door.


After a few anxious moments of waiting, the door was opened by an elderly woman.


"Yes? How may I help you?" she asked.


"Ah, mornin' ma'am!" Constantine said cheerfully, all traces of fatigue and pain gone from his voice. "The name's John Constantine. I was just in town when I heard Waver's staying here. Couldn't pass such a chance so I decided to come over and say hello!" he handed the extremely confused looking woman the cardboard box. "May I?" he asked.


"Why yes, do come in." The woman said, standing aside and letting us enter.


"Nice place you've got here." Constantine commented.


"Thank you." The old woman replied. "Waver dear? One of your friends is here for a visit!" the old woman called out.


"Friends? I don't have any friends, Grandma!" Wave shouted back.


"So that's his cover." Constantine muttered. I had refrained from voicing my opinion about this charade but it did not sit well with me.


"Of course you have friends, dear. Now make yourself presentable while I fix something for Mr. Constantine." The old woman said.


There was a sudden crash and Waver Velvet appeared at the top of the stairs, in what seemed to be his unmentionables. There was a look of surprised terror on his face.


"What are you doing here?" He yelled.


"Waver!" The old woman said in a scandalized tone. "That's not the proper way to treat guests! And what are you doing outside your room in such a state, young man? Don't make me climb these stairs!" she said.


"It's quite alright, ma'am. Me and Waver, we, uh, didn't part at the best of terms. I still have to make amends, you know? Hence the cake and the sudden visit. My fault really. Should've called in earlier." Constantine said with a casual smile.


"Oh nonsense. Waver, not another word from you. Now go and get dressed. Mr. Constantine, please follow me. I'll get Glen. Any friend of Waver's is a friend of ours." And with that, she led us to the living area. Constantine had successfully ingratiated us with them. I felt a sudden stab of sympathy for Rider's Master.


"So, John," the master of the house said as he cut a slice of cake. "What brings you to this neck of the woods?"


"Business, of course. My associate and I travel a lot all over the world. When I arrived here, one of my contacts told me Waver was staying here." Constantine answered, graciously accepting the slice of cake from Glen MacKenzie. I looked at the food. It didn't look suspicious to me at all but I wouldn't be too sure.


"And what's your relationship with Waver?" Martha asked. She had finally recovered enough of her wits to begin getting suspicious.


"Actually, it's not as casual or friendly as I would like to be. See, I used to run with a bad crowd back in Blighty. We used to a play a game of sorts in which we pinched the pockets of unsuspecting Londoners before tossing their wallets back at them and having a laugh." Constantine said before sighing heavily. I noticed the MacKenzie's looking at each other. "Then one day, the game became real. I was the one who pinched Waver's wallet and we ended up spending quite a bit of money from it, just for laughs. And then Waver managed to track us down."


"Oh dear me." Martha said, putting a hand on her chest. "Was he alright?"


"Well, he wasn't daft enough to come alone, you know? He brought a Bobby with him." Constantine said. The two MacKenzies simply blinked in confusion.


"And what does bringing this Bobby have to do with anything?" Glen asked.


"Ah, silly me. Bobby's an English nickname for policeman. Anyways, that's when I realized that what I was doing was wrong. So I broke off from the gang, cleaned my act up and have been on the straight and the narrow ever since." Constantine said.


"My, that was quite, something." Martha said. Glen, on the other hand, simply chuckled.


"Always knew he was a brave boy." He said. "I am just glad he managed to do some good as well."


"You're quite a Masterful story teller, Master Constantine." Waver said coldly as he entered the room. "Pray tell me, how shall this humble Servant service you?"


I noticed Rider, who was still dematerialized, draw his sword. Constantine simply reached inside his coat and pulled something out. It seemed to be a watch on a chain.


"Five, four, three, two and one." He counted.


"This cake tastes funny." Martha commented before passing out.


Rider materialized while I donned my armor and prepared myself for battle.


"For Christ's sake, you lot!" Constantine yelled. "Calm down! Have some cake! It's perfectly harmless! Here look." He demonstrated it by biting off a large amount. "Well, it will knock you out if you don't have any magical circuits but that's not the point. Now that the mundane are out o the way, we can talk shop. Rider, I would like to propose an alliance."


"Well chosen, Master of Saber! So you have finally decided to join my army?" Rider grinned as he sheathed his sword. Waver, however, was decidedly less enthusiastic.


"How did you find me?" he asked. Constantine lazily pulled out the piece of paper and waved it mockingly in the air before putting it back and lighting a stub of tobacco.


"You seem to be in bad shape, Master Constantine." Waver said. I had to agree with him. His clothes were almost tatters and rags, his face was extremely gray and he had bags under his eyes. It was a miracle that no one on the street had noticed.


"Don't remind me. I had to use my last drops of magic to charm the MacKenzies. Anyways, back to the subject at hand. I need your help in this War." Constantine said. Waver sat down and poured himself a cup of tea.


"Why don't you summon an angel to do our bidding?" Waver asked sourly.


"You were watching." Constantine noted without a hint of malice in his voice. It didn't surprise me as well.


"Well, you made quite a spectacle of yourself alright." Waver said.


"If you were watching then you know that I can't rely on it." Constantine said.


Waver looked at his Servant. "What do you think, Rider?" he asked him. Rider closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.


"Well, having a Knight of the Sword at my side would definitely help." He noted. "But the question is, how shall we know that they are trustworthy?"


"You don't." Constantine said, much to my chagrin. "You'll just have to make sure that your arse is harder than our knife when we backstab you."


"Master, I don't think that's wise." I said, noting his look of anger with some satisfaction.


"You're right Saber, I shouldn't have told them that we were going to backstab them." Constantine said.


"I don't think we should backstab them. At. All." I said.


"But where's the fun in that?" Constantine said. Rider suddenly started laughing.


"I thought that Waver and I were the most incompatible pair but here you are!" he said. "Very well, I accept! As you said, Master of Saber, I'll just have to harden my posterior to deal with any attacks from behind!"


"Oh the symbolism." Rider's Master groaned before turning his attention his Servant. "Are you insane, Rider? He just stated his intention of betraying us! In front of us! He is so assured in his victory that he doesn't even rely on discretion!" the young man would have continued his incessant yelling but Rider put an end to it by flicking him on the forehead.


"Oi, Waver." Constantine suddenly said. "I am sure you have put out familiars to watch every Master and Servant, haven't you? Do you have eyes on the Tohsaka estate?"


"Well, that's true but…" Rider's Master began saying.


"Good, show me the Tohsaka estate." Constantine cut him off. The young man grumbled but poured some tea in a saucer. He muttered a few words and the tea became smooth as glass. A building came into view. The vision was quite blurry and most features couldn't be discerned but the building had an air of grandeur. This was most certainly the Tohsaka Estate.


"Do you do everything so half arsed? This is the worse scrying I have ever seen." Constantine quipped.


"Well pardon me for not being a grand mage like you, Master Constantine." Waver retorted. Constantine stared at the magical tea for sometime before getting up.


"Right then. I have to do some work and I'll be leaving then." He said as he opened his bag and started pulling out a spare set of clothes.


"Constantine, what's the meaning of all of this?" I asked, slightly startled at his sudden decision. He walked into an adjacent room and closed the door.


"Oh don't you worry, love. It's nothing dangerous." Constantine's voice floated from beyond the door. If that was meant to reassure me, it didn't. The door opened and Constantine strode out in fresh clothes. He reached the exit before turning around and looking at Rider and Waver.


"I'll be back." He said before opening the door and stepping out. I followed him outside.


"Don't follow me Saber, this is something I have to do for myself." Constantine said.


"I disagree. I swore to be your sword until the end of the War, Constantine. You cannot make me go back on my word." I said. Constantine stopped before turning around and staring at me.


"Oh I can't, can't I?" Constantine said before holding up his hand and showing me the Command Spells.


"There's no need for us to come to this, Saber, but if you will not step back in line, I will force you to do so." Constantine said. I sorely wished to box him in the ears for that comment but I refrained from doing so.


"Very well, Master." I said, lacing every word with venom. "I shall do as you suggest and shall wait here. But only this once."


"Oh good. Give the MacKenzies some cock-and-bull story about me, would you? I think we'll stay here for the time being. Ta-ta and cheerio!" he said with his signature mocking grin as he left.

-----------------------------------------------------------


Constantine returned after seven hours. I was waiting outside for him when he returned. It was immediately obvious that something had gone wrong during his absence. For one, he was wearing different clothes from before. He was also carrying a suitcase. He was sweating profusely and his free hand was shaking violently.


"Constantine, are you alright?" I asked, all of my previous anger forgotten. Rude or not, he was still my Master and I was still his Servant. Constantine opened his mouth but no sound came out. There were tears in his eyes and he was holding them back with some difficulty. Whatever ordeal he had gone through had had a serious emotional toll on him.


"Not now Saber, I am just too tired." He said before shambling into the McKenzie residence, climbing the stairs, shoving the suitcase under the bed, locking it magically and collapsing on Rider's Master's bed. A few minutes later, Waver entered the room. He glanced at Constantine's prone form, opened his mouth, paused for a moment before closing it.


"The things I do…" he muttered as he pulled something out from under the bed. It turned out to be some sort of bag which could be used for sleeping. Waver extinguished the electric lights of the room, climbed into his cocoon and fell silent.


"Now that we have no one else to intrude on our parliament," Rider rumbled, his disembodied unheard by nearly everyone else. "Do tell me why you desire the Grail, Saber."


"Why do you wish to know?" I asked. Since I couldn't dematerialize, I had to be content with simply standing guard besides Constantine. I had unequipped my armor and was standing in the modern, black clothes Constantine's acquaintance had bought for me.


"Come now, such things are naturally a subject which pique the curiosity of others. There is no reason to my inquiry." He said. I frowned and remained silent. "Would you tell me yours if I tell you mine?" Rider timidly added. My frown deepened but I had to admit, I was curious. What would Rider wish to have? I gave the tiniest of nods to indicate my willingness.


"Good! Now that you are willing to listen, hear me. I wish to be reborn once more." Rider said. That startled me.


"What madness do you spout, Rider? Aren't you satisfied with the time you had?" I asked. There was a pause.


"Saber," Rider spoke once more, in a much lower tone than before. "When I came into this world, the first thing that struck me was how strange the sky was and what a foreign land I was in. When I first saw how large the world was, it filled me with great wonder. All my life, I dreamed of conquering the world and here I realized that my efforts were truly minuscule."


"Then why wish to be reborn once again? Surely, you will feel ill at ease at such a strange land." I countered.


"To conquer it all over again, of course." Rider answered. "We are Servants now but once I am free, I shall move heaven and earth all over again if I have to."


"But now you know that the world is unconquerable. Why pursue such an impossible ideal?" I asked.


"What madness you spout, Saber? It is a beautiful ideal because it is impossible!" Rider exclaimed. I did not deign to answer the fool. And before he could even speak, something happened.


Perhaps Constantine didn't wish for anyone to see his dreams. Perhaps he had memories he didn't wish for anyone to know. In any case, the bond between Constantine and I was extremely weak, perhaps deliberately so. But suddenly, the bond strengthened and we connected.


A building in rain


Oh..We could be heroes just for one day


Seven figures


"Newcastle, eh? What a crud pit. Reminds me of Pittsburgh."


A brash young Constantine in front of the building's gate


"Better kick it in or we'll all drown in this poxy rain."


They enter the building


"Okay, who wants a drink?"


A raven haired woman


"Something awful happened here."


A pile of mutilated corpses


"Strewth!"


A blonde little girl, dancing in spite of the corpses


"Jesus, it's little kid. Logue's daughter, Astra!"


A screaming little girl


"Don't touch me! I won't do it anymore! I don't like it!"


A hideous beast, part wolf, part ape, sinking its teeth into a terrified man


"For Chrissakes! Get out, get out, get out!"


Plans


"So what we've got to do is raise a really powerful demon to destroy it."


Preparations


"Frank, can you rig up that gas tank outside to blow this place to hell if we don't come out?"


A ritual of sorts


"By this talisman and this naming character, inscribed in blood with the pen of the art, I wake you, Sagatana. I conjure thee, appear, in human form, fair and agreeable, without noise or inconvenience, in order to obey my will."


There is something wrong with the girl, Astra


"did i nOt coMe, aLthOuGh yoU coUld noT maKe mE? Did i NoT aSSuMe a 'huMan foRm, fAir aNd agreEable, witHout noiSe or incOnveniEnce'?"


They all flee except for Constantine


"Go, Judith! This is my problem now! Run!"


Constantine is confronting the abomination


"tHe chaRacTer you iNscriBed was miNe but SAGATANA's nOt the naMe that fitS and tHus yoUr inVocaTion lAcKed tHe weiGht of mAgical iMperatiVe."


The girl is dragged off


"No I screwed up! Take me if you must!"


Constantine is still holding her arm…


…He doesn't realize that it is just her arm


"No! Leave her! You can't part us now! We've been to hell and back!"


The man with long black hair tries to comfort him


"I think you're probably still there."


John Constantine, in his arrogance, has failed and the price has been paid by another


I gasp as the dream ends. I take a look at Constantine to make sure he was alright. It was the older Constantine, the pungent, unshaven one who I was familiar with, who was on the bed. The nightmare was most assuredly just a nightmare.


"What's wrong, Saber? Did you see your Master's dreams?" Rider's voice came from the darkness. I merely nodded. There was a beautiful moment of silence.


"Do you wish to delay this discussion?" He asked. I nod once more, grateful of his understanding.


Now I know why Constantine is so bent on winning this War no matter the cost. It is strange how two people who are so different can be so similar at a deeper level.


"So," Waver said, his eyebrow twitching madly. "This is your plan?"


It was next morning and we were making plans for the War.


"Now see here, Master of Saber," Rider said with the patient air of a weary pedagogue lecturing a rebellious student. "I don't think I have to say anything since even Waver can see the flaws in your plan."


"Constantine, you're mad." I told him flatly.


"You expect Tohsaka Tokiomi to just give up on attaining a wish granting entity for a suitcase full of money?" Waver finally exploded.


"It's not a suitcase full of money; it's the greatest treasure Tokiomi could possess!" Constantine corrected him.


"Same thing! A suitcase full of whatever isn't good enough against the Grail itself." Waver yelled.


"Look, I am asking you to participate in this only once, alright? If it doesn't work, we'll get back to the drawing board and start over." Constantine said.


"What if he just decides to take the suitcase and kill you?" Rider said.


"Saber will be there to protect me. And you'll be waiting in case anything like that would happen." Constantine said.


"I don't like this plan. I find it rather disgraceful." I added.


"Well, if what Waver is saying is true, this Servant is leagues beyond your capability. It would be most prudent to take him out first." Constantine pointed out first.


"But your plan is still insane!" Waver pointed out.


"It's crazy but not stupid." Constantine admitted.


"That doesn't even make sense! I am going to get some tea." Waver said as he got off his seat and made his way into the kitchen. The MacKenzies were sleeping once more. We had put them in their room this time.


"Well," Rider spoke up once more. "I don't see any harm in following his plan."


"What do you mean by that, Rider? I thought you were a man who lived for the challenge." I asked, surprised by his sudden approval.


"True but it's not like Archer's Master will be easily persuaded. And it seems that your Master has put a lot of work in this plan of his so I say we humor him for once." Rider said. I merely bit my lip but didn't object any further. Constantine, in the meanwhile, was talking to someone on the phone.


"I have arranged a meeting at the Tohsaka estate through the War's mediator." Constantine announced. "The meeting will take place tonight."


"Very well, Constantine." Rider said as he drained his cup. "We are with you, for better or for worse."


It was night time now and both of us were standing in front of the Tohsaka Estate. If Rider's Master's description of the fight between Archer and Assassin, if it could be called that, was true then the garden should've been devastated. It was, however, perfectly immaculate. Probably some sort of illusion cast around the land to fool the casual observer. Constantine was looking at the estate wryly. He had brought that suitcase here as well. As Rider had said before, it was highly unlikely that Tohsaka would relent simply because of some cheap baubles of sort.


"Shall we go then?" Constantine said. I merely nodded. The two of us crossed the threshold and into the Tohsaka estate.


The garden was indeed in a poor state. It was pock-marked with various craters as if someone had bombarded it with various explosives. It indeed looked like the work of Archer. He probably had some sort of Prana Burst ability similar to my time. The scorched patches of grass suggest a flame oriented Prana Burst ability. Although it could also be lightening. Or simply some projectile that exploded on contact.


"Can I ask you why you talked about backstabbing?" I said.


"It was a sort of bluff. Not that it would fool Rider but Waver's a nervy kid. He would be too paranoid to think of betraying us. Not that I would think of betraying them." Constantine said. The last statement caught my attention.


"Why not?" What did Constantine know which made him reluctant about going against Rider.


"I know enough history to understand that Rider could probably out think me. So I think I'll leave him to you." Constantine said. This seemed like the closest he would ever come to genuinely praising me. We resumed the silence.


The Head of the Tohsaka Family was standing in front of his house's entrance. There was no one else beside him. Was he that confident in his victory?


"I would it appreciate it if you would refrain from advancing any further." He said in English with a charmless smile. "I would rather not sully the house of my ancestors with your presence, John Constantine."


"It's not like I have any interest in entering your bloody house." Constantine retorted.


"Indeed. Let's us cut to the meat of the matter then." The Tohsaka said. "I will allow entertain you here for a single minute. If your so called treasure turns out to be worthless, which I am quite sure it is, then you will be slaughtered."


"Good. Saves me the time." Constantine said. He undid the locks on the suitcase in a single tug. Te flap opened and a bound and gagged child tumbled out. The Tohsaka's eyes widened.


"RIN!" he yelled and took a step forward but stopped as Constantine aimed a gun at the child.


"I wouldn't do that, mate. Might prove to be a cock-up in the long run. Trust me, I know." He said. "Now, Mr. Tohsaka, which do you wish to obtain, the Grail or the Girl?"

[Leo Novum]

Chapter Six and a Quarter: BASTARD

A wish is the biggest blank cheque you can write for anyone. It doesn't matter who it is, elder gods, demons, humans, magi, apostles, animals even angels wish for something.


Of course, the cheque doesn't mean shit if you end up losing something you value just as much. That's what I am going to do. I am going to bleed Tokiomi Tohsaka white.


I felt the gun in my trench coat. The bottle of chloroform was in my other pocket along with the hankie I had borrowed from Velvet. I look up at the innocent looking building. After seeing the Tohsaka estate from the street, the Zenjou residence left me kind of underwhelmed. But then again, I suppose it made some sort of magi sense. Maybe the Tohsaka head married her for her potential? Bloody magi the whole lot of them. In this insane world, they treat sex as a tool for power and ambition. No wonder we can't have nice things anymore.


My plan was based on a simple idea; Tokiomi Tohsaka would have, as a normal member of the thaumaturgucal society, married and sired children to pass on his work as a mage. His offspring were, therefore, his greatest treasures and ones which he would hesitate to sacrifice. Since a War is going, he would send his offspring to a safe location, possibly their grand-parents home.


Strewth, now even I am thinking like those fucking magi.


It had taken me nearly four hours to track down the house. It might seem like an incredibly short time but it felt like an eternity. I couldn't risk going to some archive and hunting down the maiden name of Tohsaka's wife. As a foreigner, I would stand out like a sore thumb while doing the research.


So I took the easy way out and looked through the newspapers in the Fuyuki Library. Magi, for all their seclusion and reclusion, have to make occasional appearances in public. Tohsaka's marriage might have been such an event considering that he was a prominent philanthropist and socialite. I was willing to bet a quid that his marriage was probably reported in the Fuyuki paper. It took me half an hour and the help of an English speaking local to find the correct article. According to it, Tohsaka Tokiomi married Zenjou Aoi seven years ago in a rather plain ceremony which nonetheless had at least fifty guests. I found this a little surprising since I had pegged him as a bit of a show off. I then hunted down the location of the Zenjou family's residence through the Japanese white pages. Once again, I had ended up relying on the local to find the correct address. Finally, after another ninety minutes of searching, she found the correct address and I headed to Sumaru City. But not before making her forget her meeting with me.


The only reason I went through this lengthy and mundane process was because Tokiomi had been smart enough to shield his in-laws from any scrying effects or attempts at divination. I had to hand it to him. Even I couldn't have tracked them down on divination alone and that's one of my strong points.


Right now, I was standing in Sumaru City's Rengedai Ward. The last hour had been spent with me trying to find my way through the sprawling mess of a city. I say sprawling because I got lost as soon as I stepped off the train. Tracking spells turned out to be completely useless. The whole bloody city was turning out to be an enormous damper on magecraft. It also seemed to keep changing its structure and maybe it even was. Bloody japs. Can't even build their cities in proper locations. I sighed and gathered my wits about. It was time for me to play the part of the evil foreigner. I touched the door handle and mentally willed it to open. With a satisfying click, it unlocked and I entered the Zenjou residence. I had now, for all intents and purposes, become a criminal in the eyes of the law. Not a new thing. It just felt wrong right now because I was doing this in Japan for the first time. And if it turned out that Tokiomi's child wasn't hiding here then it would mean that the last hundred and fifty minutes have gone to utter waste.


The house was completely silent. Not even any sounds from the street could be heard from inside. Tokiomi probably magically sound proofed it. It worked in my favor. It just meant no one would hear me committing any crime. The whole house was surprisingly western which I found slightly off-putting. Weren't these people supposed to be xenophobic traditionalists? The corridor was carpeted a faint smell of mothballs hung in the air as if someone had just unpacked their long forgotten trunk of clothes. I noticed that there were three pairs of shoes at the entrance. One set of clogs, one pair of sandals and a dainty little duo of brown school shoes. So there were three people at home then. Why would they leave their shoes in front of the entrance though? It made no sense. Shrugging off the culture confusion, I slowly made my way towards the closest door.


Somebody called out in a reedy male voice from the front of the house. A thin and stooped man walked into the corridor. Before he could even exclaim or cry out at my intrusion, I knocked him out with a quick blast of hypnotic magic. The poor geezer went down like a sack of potatoes. I caught him and laid him against the wall. Considering how he hadn't even resisted my magic, I could safely say that he didn't have a drop of magical blood in him. One down, two to go.


There was a room which had nothing but a small table in the middle of the room with a blanket wrapped around the edges. There was a small basket of oranges on it. The table was too short for anyone. And why was there a blanket wrapped around it? Ignoring the table entirely, I walked to the next room. This one was also furnished in a western style. There were two sofas, a coffee table and a television. An old woman sat on one of the sofas, engrossed in her knitting. She looked up at me, looking slightly confused. I simply hypnotized her, like I had hypnotized her husband.


There was a small patter of feet behind me. I turned around just in time to notice a twin tailed girl in a red skirt jump out from under the short table. So that's where she was hiding. Before I could even react, she punched me in the gut.


My whole body was cleanly lifted off the ground and I felt myself slam in the opposite wall. I was surprised that the little girl's punch hadn't ripped my stomach apart. I slid to the floor into a miserable little heap. Taken out by a child. How inappropriate.


Then she set me in fire.


"FUUUUCK!" I yelled as I started rolling around on the floor. It is surprising that I didn't shrug off the fire. I had been through worst. But then again, each type of injury brings its own type of pain. The little girl's spell didn't hold a candle to Kiritsugu's Servant's fireworks but it still hurt like hell. My burns healed quickly and I stood up, my clothes nearly burnt to threads. The little girl's back was to me and she was trying to wake her grandmother up. I quickly pulled out the hankie wet with chloroform and tried to subdue her.


The little girl simply bit my hand as hard as she could. I jerked my hand away. The bleeding stopped as soon as I pulled away. The little girl simply sent me flying once more and then proceeded to punch my face in. Teeth were sent flying. Someone had trained this girl alright, trained her right and proper. She would be right at home in Glasgow. Hell, she might get adopted in the first bar fight. My jaw was crooked for some reason. Ah yes, she had done that. She's also yelling something at me. I can't understand her because it's in Japanese. Tears are falling from her eyes. Why was she crying? For some reason, I can't understand why she is crying but I think it has something to do with me. There is something flowing out of my mouth and nose. She is now backing away. She looks like one of those children who have seen something particularly awful. Do I look that bad?


The throbbing sensation of pain suddenly jolts my mind to reality. I had broken in this house to kidnap the girl who had just beat me to a pulp. I try to stand up and nearly fail to do so. The television had fallen off its table. I looked into its darkened screen as I try to stand up another time. Bloody hell, I look like a skeleton. All of the skin and flesh has been stripped off my face. My jaw is straightening itself although there are quite a few teeth missing. One of my eye sockets is blank. As I look, the whole eyeball grows back. Bollocks, no wonder the girl looked disgusted. The nerve endings heal and the pain, which had been merely been a dull and throbbing sensation, is sharpened to an exquisite burning. Tears flow freely from my eyes. I stagger to my feet, my balance still awry. The girl is still trying to wake her grandmother up. There is no other way now. I turn her around and stare into her eyes.


The hypnotism fails completely and for the third time in less than two minutes, I am sent flying. But I noticed that her punch was weaker now. Either her magic was running low or she had been too terrified to hit me properly. I wouldn't blame her. If it wasn't for my new found healing ability, I would have been dead already. The pain still remains even as I get back on my feet.


And then the girl suddenly chants something and freezes both of my feet solid. She probably condensed and froze all the water vapor in the room at my feet. Now I was firmly rooted at the spot. The little girl started to speak incredibly quickly. A golden magical circle appeared in the middle of the air. This was getting dangerous. She only looked six years old but the spell was something I recognized. At least, I recognized various designs on the circle she had conjured. I briefly consider taking out the gun and shooting. Not any where serious, just her kneecaps. But I decide against it. That would be a whole new degree of bastardry. Instead, I start chanting as well. A silver pentagram appeared in front of me, hovering a few inches from my face.


I hate spell-to-spell duels. These kinds of duels mean that one of us is going to end up dead. Like hell I would want that to happen. But the little girl had been terrifyingly clever. Now that I couldn't move, she could leisurely finish me off. My only choices left were to either melt the ice or to retaliate in kind. I chose to do both. I started etching further runes in the pentagram. At the same time, I flicked my lighter open and used its flame to jump start my fire spell. A stream of flames bathed my frozen feet, burning my trousers and shins as well. The little girl's circle suddenly increased in size. It was now three feet in diameter. From its orientation, I guessed that it was aimed at my head. I groaned. Bigger usually meant more powerful. Unfortunately, I didn't know how to further power my spell.


We both fired off at the same time. Our spells collided with each other. I had fired a concussive blast of magic which managed to deflect the Tohsaka's attack. We were both blasted away by the resulting explosion.


With a snapping sensation and lancing spear of agony, I realized that my feet had been separated from my legs. I hit the wall for a fourth time. For some strange reason, I couldn't feel my left arm. I looked down at it and gasped. My entire left arm, shoulder and a dangerously part of my rib cage were missing. There was something white poking out from the carnage. Probably a lung. I couldn't see my heart although could see plenty of blood. I groaned and went limp. I was done for this time. No amount of demonic blood or healing magic could fix this.


"Chas." I whispered. "I am sorry. I think I won't be able to pay my tab now."


Not only Chas. Rick, Jerry, Tom, Ian, Saber, Islington, Astra. I was indebted to so many. Now I'll never get around to repaying them. Astra haunted me the most. I could almost feel as if my heart fluttered at the thought of never rescuing her.


Hang on just a sec, my heart was fluttering. Or more accurately, it was beating at a frantic pace. I looked back at my ruined body to see my heart on the ground pumping away. Then my lungs and heart seemed to get pushed inside by some unseen force of magic. I started laughing. This was downright insane. Rubbish. This was magic at a whole new level. Pain wracked my body as my rib started to grow back but I didn't care. I was alive! With a determined effort, I stood up once again and surveyed the room.


The Zenjou grandmother was lying face down on the floor, a few feet from the sofa. My blood was all over the veiling and the furniture, making it all look like some sort of crime scene. Now that I thought about it, it was a crime scene. The Tohsaka girl was on the short table, which had now shattered, whimpering and clutching her arm. A pang of guilt hit me, worse than any injury she had inflicted on me. There was a special place in hell reserved for people who hurt children. It didn't matter if the child in question could hurt you back. One simply didn't hurt children. But I still had something to do. I painfully made my way to her and looked at her in the eyes.


"RIN!" someone shrieked. The very next moment, that someone buried a cleaver in my right shoulder. Clutching my shoulder with my newly healed left hand, I looked up to see a hysterical Aoi Tohsaka wielding the cleaver. Had to do something. Things moving too fast now. Mother is hysterical. I took out the gun. Maybe could terrify her into submission. Tohsaka throws the cleaver. Hits throat. Wrong move on my part. Grip on pistol loosened. Pistol out of my hand. Pistol in Tohsaka's hand. I fall to the floor. First bullet penetrates eye. Someone screaming. Me or her? Second hits chest. Misses heart. Tohsaka's a beautiful woman. Third hits heart. Vision returning. Eye healing? Fourth hits stomach. That'll bust a gut. Pistol clicks empty. Only brought four bullets. Tohsaka pick up cleaver. Have to get away. Heart working again. Probably restored by now. I am scrambling up. Tohsaka attacks. Cleaver slashes face. I am at my feet once more. Tohsaka is now drawing her cleaver arm back again. I jump up to her, grab her arm and gaze into her eyes.


"Go to sleep." I tell her. She goes lax immediately. Oh bugger, did I use too much magic? The Tohsaka girl was still whimpering. I move over to her. The magical healing in my body expels the last bullet out through the bullet hole. I feel the wound closing. I grip her arm and look at it. Her wrist is only dislocated. I fix the injury with a practiced movement which I had learnt from Zatanna. I look into the girl's eyes once more. She stares back angrily. She then suddenly starts cursing me. I can only guess what she was saying but I don't think they were words of flattery. I render her unconscious easily this time. She had probably poured her last drops of magic in her final attack which was why she didn't resist.


I got up and checked every victim's health before cleaning the entire place. I couldn't fix the broken television, the burnt sofa cushion or the shattered table with the blanket around its edges but that much was acceptable. Aoi Tohsaka would wake up in two days and by that time I would be done. She wouldn't be able to report this to the police due to this being classified as a problem of the magi.


I searched the house and finally found a suitably large suitcase. As I was making my way back, I noticed my image in a mirror. I looked at myself before swearing colorfully. I might have healed but my clothes hadn't. My prized trench coat was in tatters, the whole left sleeve and quite a bit of the left breast was burnt off. My shirt was reduced to a single sleeve and covered in dry blood. My trousers were now the size of boxers. Since I had grown a whole new pair of feet, I was now shoe less as well. Growling inwardly, I looted the Zenjou grandfather's wardrobe where I found a pair of black trousers and an expensive looking, white dress shirt, both of which were slightly too short for me but I wore forced them on anyways. I burnt my clothes and flushed the ashes.


I carefully put the little girl inside the suitcase, zipped the suitcase shut, jammed my feet into the grandfather's clogs and left the house. There were no bystanders outside. The house looked pristine from the outside. It was probably protected from harm from inside. I was now guilty of breaking and entering, willful destruction of property, kidnapping a minor, assault, illegal use of magecraft and theft. The hour long train ride back to Fuyuki was spent with me thinking of various scenarios in which the Tohsaka kid was discovered by someone and with me getting killed in some suitably poetic manner.


Bugger.


After an absence of seven hours, I arrived back at the MacKenzie residence. I found Saber waiting patiently at the gate. She looked at me with a strange expression.


"Constantine, are you alright?" She asked. I looked at myself, dressed in an old man's clothes, and then looked at her. No doubt she had noticed all of this and the suitcase as well. I opened my mouth to make an excuse before realizing that I was too tired to think of one.


"Not now Saber, I am just too tired." I said before shambling into the McKenzie residence, climbing the stairs, shoving the suitcase under the bed, locking it magically and collapsing on Waver's bed.


Sometimes, I just hate being John Constantine.

[Leo Novum]

Chapter Six and a Half: CODE

"Constantine, put that thing back it where it came from or so help me!" Saber yelled at me. I am standing between a pissed off King Arthur and a horrified Tokiomi Tohsaka. Strewth, I never knew I could go this low. But then again, I sort of need the Holy Grail even more than Saber.


"Have you no dignity, John Constantine?" Tokiomi asked in a voice heavy with emotion. I guess I did hit him right where it hurts. "A child? Are you so desperate to acquire the Grail that you would forsake your own humanity?"


"Oi, it's not like you are any better than me. You're a mage, Tohsaka. You should be prepared to walk with death." I replied casually. I was still pointing that filthy piece of metal at Rin Tohsaka. I noticed Tokiomi's face twitch slightly. Did I hit a nerve again?


"Constantine, get back or be prepared to get cut down." Saber said ominously.


"You wouldn't do that." I said, lackadaisically waving my hand with the Command Spells. "I could simply order you to stand down and not hurt me."


"I can cut off your hand before you order me." Saber stated. "It won't be a problem either. It is a good thing you can heal." Looks like someone is in a bad mood.


"Relax, if our friend Tokiomi is wise enough, he'll do the right thing." I said before giving him appointed look. "Right?" I asked. Since I didn't feel the pain of my hand getting chopped off, I can safely assume that Saber hasn't cut it off. Knowing her, she probably still wants to trust me even if I am making it very hard for her to do so. Gotta love knights in shining armor. They are so easy to fool, it's not even funny.


For a few seconds nothing happened. It was like one of those times when the ball is in the air and the crowd at the Oval is holding its breath. No one has any idea where the ball will land, whether it will be caught or dropped, whether the batsman would walk back to the pavilion or will be hailed for scoring a reckless six runs. Of course, there was that time on the Third Day at the Old Trafford when I had to knock everyone out, reset all the clocks and steal the ball but that was because the ball was actually a Tibetan Mandala but that time doesn't count. And I swear, Jones had sent it out of the boundary anyways. Besides, Australia got to keep the Ashes anyways.


Then Tokiomi whimpered. I steadied myself. This was when the big decisions were made.


"By the power of my Command Seal," Tokiomi began to speak as he raised his right hand.


That was all he managed to say.


In a blinding display of golden light, Tokiomi Tohsaka was skewered in the back by a red spear with veins running all over it. The entire thing was disgusting to look at. But what was worse was that I didn't cover Rin's eyes. Congratulations, John. You have successfully ruined another little girl's life. Oh wait, never mind, you already did that a day ago! Someone was screaming something.


I was suddenly thrown backwards. No, not thrown, rater pushed backwards with incredible force. Saber was now suddenly standing in front of me. She was waving her sword around. My vision cleared and I realized that she was deflecting what seemed to be flying swords. The swords suddenly stopped but Saber didn't drop her guard. Tokiomi was on the ground, dead. Someone was clapping.


"Well, mongrel. I can see why Kirei was so interested in you." Someone said in a most beautiful voice. A voice which made me feel incredibly inadequate. It made me feel worthless. Who was I to even exist in this voice's presence? I should probably off myself and make the world a better place for him, whoever the voice belonged to.


"Master!" Saber yelled. My mind jerked back to reality and I found myself holding the gun at my head. Why was I trying to commit suicide? What the fuck was all this? Strewth, this was worse than Rider. At least Rider got you carried away in his enthusiasm. This bastard made you commit suicide.


"What was that, Saber?" I asked, completely terrified for the first time. I can shrug off most kinds of mind control; I can even struggle against the ones which try to push you over into the abyss. But this? I didn't even have any idea on what this was.


"His Charisma is great enough even to charm the Gods. It is natural that you would get carried away." Saber explained as she kept her attention fixed on the new arrival.


"Bollocks, I swindle Old Gods on Thursdays." I said with bluster. I turned my attention towards the new Servant for the first time. He had some kind of garish golden armor on his person. A blonde and red-eyed, he was unlike any Servant I had come across. Perhaps because, even now, I could feel being just a miserable pile of tricks in front of him. There was also the fact that he was standing on the Tohsaka residence's roof.


"That is quite a tall claim to make, mongrel." The new arrival said distastefully. "Let's see if you can live up to it." He said.


And then something incredible happened. A pool of golden light appeared at his side and the tip of a sword emerged from it. It stayed there, held back by the Servant's will before it was suddenly released. Like a hound, it leaped and covered the distance. Saber jumped and intercepted the crimson sword. There was the sound of two great forces clashing before she managed to deflect the projectile.


"Well, you at least have a dog to defend you." The golden boy observed, looking thoroughly bored. He looked directly at me, into me and through me. "I have changed my mind." He said simply.


And then the nightmare began. I thought that he could just fire away weapons once at a time. I had really hoped so. But then thirty different golden pools shimmered out of nowhere.


Bugger.


Saber was yelling. I was yelling. The world had decided to slow down once more. The Golden Servant's weapons were speeding towards us. Saber was shooting towards me at an incredible speed, as if she had strapped a jet engine on herself. She wouldn't make it on time.


And then the weapons suddenly changed their direction in the middle of the flight. At the same time, the Golden Servant jumped off the roof. A fraction of a second later, half of the Tohsaka Residence went up in flames.


"Rabid dog," I heard the Golden Servant growl as soon as he landed on the ground. I realized that he hadn't sounded angry before. "You have the audacity to make me move from my place? Your crime is greater than any others."


The smoke cleared and revealed a man in black armor wielding an axe and some sort of modern weapon which I couldn't recognize along with a similar weapon slung over his shoulders. That axe was one of the weapons the Golden Servant had shot at us. But how did he catch it then? Or was he actually more skilled than Saber which was why he could catch it?


The Black Servant didn't bother with the pleasantries. He simply threw away the first modern weapon and gripped the second one and then fired. The weapon shot a bulbous thing which managed to hit the Golden Servant. He was immediately engulfed in an explosion.


Correction. He protected himself by conjuring a shield in front of him.


"You use such pathetic weapons, mad dog. I wonder if you would have resorted to such methods if you were sane." The Golden Servant observed dryly, his previous anger suddenly gone. "Not that I care to know. It is time for you to die now." He said.


This was getting ridiculous. I couldn't even count the number of golden pools there were now. Fifty? Hundred? Two Hundred? Could we even survive this many?


"Constantine!" Saber yelled. I didn't even need to be told now. There was only one thing to be done. The Golden Servant shot his barrage of weapons. I used the last of dregs of my magic to activate the Command Spells at the back of my hands.


"SABER!" I yelled. "WIN!"


It was either the by-product of the Command Spell or the result of us willingly doing it. The link between Master and Servant grew strong enough for me to see through her eyes. It wasn't a perfect synchronization but I could see echoes of what she was seeing. The salvo of swords, spears and scimitars couldn't be stopped even by Saber. But through the generous power of the Command Spell, she was stronger than before; faster than before; quicker than before. They were leaves in the wind before her now, just waiting to be swatted out of the air.


But no matter how weak they were now, they were too many. There was only one way for her to deal with all of them at once.


"EX-" I, she, we yelled as we raised our arm. The wind let the Sword of Promised Victory shine with all of its naked glory.


"Wait, lass! If you slash vertically, you'll hit Rin as well!" I yelled. My plea was heard. Or was it her thoughts that I heard? Saber drew back her arm for a horizontal swing. She was pierced by a sword in the shoulder as she changed her stance. I felt the pain as well, even if it was just a phantom of the original. The sword glowed golden. The magical energy built itself up faster than possible for even such a legend such as this. The golden rain of death was upon us.


"-CALIBUR!" Arturia Pendragon. The sword released a blazing glory of light on the incoming weapons. A dragon roared in my mind.


It was all over in a fraction of a moment. There were no more pools of golden light shooting ancient weapons of mass destruction. The sky was clear of clouds and the beautiful stars shone down on us. There was the problem of the Tohsaka residence being reduced to a smoking heap. What worried me was that the Black Knight and Tohsaka Rin were gone.


There was the sound of metal clanging against metal. My heart sank as I saw the Golden Servant step out of the smoke, completely unharmed. There was a small smile on his face as if he was being politely amused at some joke at a party.


"That's an interesting sword, cur." He said. "So you dare to call yourself the King of Knights? I find your sheer chutzpah to use such a title disgusting."


I readied myself to use the final Command Spell if the need arose. Saber took a step to the side and raised her sword once more. She had managed to repel nearly a hundred weapons at once. I am sure she could so again but the cost would too high.


"I earned the title, Archer. Who are you to say otherwise?" Saber answered.


"Who am I?" Archer said. "You dare to feign ignorance about my royal identity? I was inclined to spare both of you after that little trick of yours for you had amused me well enough but now, you have sealed your fate." And once again, he conjured the pools of light.


"Fuck." I simply said as I realized that I didn't even have enough prana to activate the last Command Spell. Someone was screaming in the background but I elected to ignore it. Saber unwrapped her sword from the winds.


Archer fired an axe. Saber drew back her arm once more. I began to hope and pray.


Rider's chariot arrived with a magnificent display of lightning and thunder. With a deft movement, he intercepted the axe in mid-air and saved Saber from the trouble of doing so. Oh sure mate, be the glory-stealer when it suits you.


"Now, now, everyone!" He rumbled. I blinked in surprise. His chariot was pulled by two bulls of all things. And they didn't seem to be standing on the ground but rather on air. "Why should we always settle our differences through violence? Why can't we negotiate for once?"


"Because it is convenient?" I said before I could even stop myself.


"Because I choose to do so." Archer answered.


"Because we are at War with each other?" Saber replied.


"Well, you all raise good points." Rider said as he rubbed his beard. "Nevertheless, hear me out! I propose, King of Heroes, that with your armory and my army, we join forces and take over the world!"


"Fool, why should I desire to take over something I already possess?" Archer said.


"Is that so? Then perhaps I should try to see whether you live up to your claims or not." Rider said with a smile.


The ensuing silence could have strangled newborns. Did that thick bastard just challenge that golden monstrosity? Even Saber was looked slightly concerned.


And then Archer gave a short bark of laughter.


"I see that this world hasn't lost its share of knaves and jesters while I was away." Archer said grinning widely now. "Very well, Rider. Your sheer stupidity has saved all of you mongrels' lives. When we shall meet again, I expect to see something interesting." He said before dispersing into motes of light and fading away.


I suddenly fell to my knees. Bugger, had been running on adrenaline too long.


"Saber." Rider said. I weakly looked up at the giant in front of us. "It is a shame but I cannot remain allies with you anymore. Your Master's actions aren't something I or my Master can overlook." Saber simply nodded. There was a pause as Rider looked straight at me. Why did he look at me so pityingly? Fuck this. Why is he even pitying me?


As Rider drove his chariot away, I struggled to stand once again.


"We should move. The authorities would be quite curious as to what happened here." I said. Saber wordlessly nodded. She began to move but stumbled. I quickly reached out to help her to her feet but she roughly shook me off.


"Don't touch me." She said in a small voice. I backed away. We may have survived Archer's onslaught but she was still furious. Saber planted her sword on the ground and looked up. For the first time, I noticed that her eyes were brilliant green like emeralds. She was holding back tears for some reason. I thought she would be brave enough to face Archer. Was I wrong?


"I can tolerate you calling me names. I can tolerate you being disrespectful. I can even tolerate your low tricks and traps. It pains me but I can endure. But a child? Do you have no honor or dignity, Master? Is this what the Grail War is to you? Nothing but chance for you to get your wish?" she said.


"Stop." I said quietly.


"I assured you that I would bring you victory. Is my word not enough? Or does a thief not understand the meaning of trust?" Saber continued.


"Don't go there." I said quietly.


"You aren't worthy of being a Master in the Holy Grail War. No, let me say that again. You aren't worthy of being my Master. It was a mistake for me to even begin trusting you. I should have understood it the moment I saw you. Your friend, Westinghouse, would have proven to be a much better Master." Saber said.


"STOP!" I yelled, finally losing my patience. It barely fazed Saber. God knows how angry she was feeling but right now, I thought that my rage was hotter than hers. "Do you think that I am pursuing this fucking Grail for some bloody desire? No! Fuck no! I don't want anything like that! All I want to do is rectify one mistake of mine! Just fucking one! Is that too much to ask? It's not my fault that you have to fight in this fucked up country but there you are! I have no choice to do otherwise."


Saber opened her mouth but I resumed screaming at her. "And you know what I hate most about this entire thing? YOU! You fucking bitch and your fucking ideals. They are stupid! Just because you lived in the best of times and were the best swordswoman doesn't mean every single one of us are! We don't have the luxury of being honorable! And most of the people don't even know how to fight the evils in the world. That's why I live."


Saber seemed to have shut up and was just listening to me. I carried on.


"When you look up in the sky, sometimes, it's just a bird or a plane. Evil always manages to escape sight even if it's brightest day or darkest night. And I have to deal with these things. Me! John Fucking Constanine. And the only way I know how is by being as dishonorable and pragmatic as I can." I said. My anger had worn off by now. There were sirens in the distance. The police was probably on its way here but I chose to ignore them. I still had a few more words to say to her. "So forgive me, our Majesty, if I come across as a dick because that's what I am. That's all I know. And if I have to fuck every single one of these participants to get my hands on the Grail, I'll gladly fuck them twice!" I finished and looked at her. She was now inhumanely calm now.


"Is this what Astra would have wanted?" she softly asked. The name shook me up slightly but it failed to make me flinch or wince. So she wanted me to feel ashamed? Too bad, I had lost all of it in Newcastle.


"Yes." I answered her as I looked her in the eyes. "Hell isn't a place where you muse over the moral repercussions of your manner of escape."


I turned around and started walking away. I may have seemed to have won the argument but even I knew that I was in the wrong here. And it hurt. It hurt me something awful.


Some days, I just hate being myself. But a wish is a blank cheque and I need one desperately if I want to get rid of all these nightmares.

[Leo Novum]

Chapter Six and Three-Quarters: COME

"Berserker?" I asked patiently. The Assassins are quite adept at gathering information but they're minds are strange enough that I have difficulty in understanding what they are trying to say despite our link to the Grail. I blame this on myself actually. I only had three years worth training with My Master. I do not think that this was or is a sufficient amount of time.


…come…


"Wandering….around…never…constant…" The three I had assigned to Matou Kariya answered. It made sense slightly. In the state he had himself rendered, Matou Kariya would probably not be able to stay in one place without attracting attention.


"What about Lancer?"


"Same…same…place…not…moving…" they answered. So Lord El-Melloi had decided to bide his time? It was probably for the best. His Lancer was not quite at par with the rest of the Servants. Even Emiya's Caster would probably be able to hinder him outside her territory. But I only say that after seeing how poorly Saber fared against her despite her magic resistance.


"What about Rider?" This was a Servant who had bothered me since he hadn't even bothered to hide his identity. That either meant suicidal overconfidence or justified arrogance. Considering that he had conquered half of the known world in his own lifetime, I am guessing that it is the latter.


…cometome…


"Strange…Rider…Saber…Together…" they answered. I paused.


"Are you saying that they have joined forces?" I said. They did not answer verbally but merely emoted their collective assent. So the Servant of the Sword and the Servant of the Reigns had allied themselves. I wonder what forced Constantine to agree to such measures? While it is true that the battle between Saber and Caster showed that he was in dire need of help, surely he could have done better. Lord El-Melloi would have made an acceptable ally while a combination of Berserker and Saber would be completely unstoppable, as far as I can see. Perhaps Rider is a better Servant than I anticipated? Such are the mysteries of life. A man is feeble against the secrets of the universe, futilely trying to achieve and archive all knowledge he can scrounge yet in the end, time laughs at our efforts. Then does it not justify our need to establish our existence? To scream out loud that 'Look at me! I was here!'? For if we are here but briefly, why should we not live fully?


Anyways, it is time to continue the surveillance.


"Caster?"


"Strange…Master…Strange…" The assassins answered.


"What is it that you find strange?" And in response, they showed me what they saw through their eyes. My vision faded out and their vision faded in. I blinked, no, they blinked once. They were inside the Einzbern Castle. The Mage Killer, Emiya Kiritsugu, was bent over a map on a dining table. No doubt that it was a map of Fuyuki. Emiya was probably planning his next move in this War. If I would hazard a guess, Emiya would be planning to attack us. It is a good thing that we have had Assassin simulate his death or else Kiritsugu would have probably struck against us instead of Constantine.


…come…


"I dropped off the RPGs where you specified." The dark-haired woman told Emiya.


"Is that so. Very well. Considering that this is Matou we are talking about…" Emiya mused.


"…He would probably attack Tohsaka." The dark-haired girl finished his sentence.


"Or at least provide a big enough distraction for us to take advantage of." Emiya added. There were a few moments of silence as Emiya went back to reading the map. The dark-haired girl remained standing where she was, looking uncertain.


"What is it, Maiya?" Emiya asked without looking up.


…cometome…


"Sir, I think you are still underestimating Constantine too much. He has a colorful reputation to boot and he is the Master of Saber. We can always take care of Archer by simply killing Tohsaka." She said.


"I am confident that we will be able to take care of Constantine. It's Archer who worries me more. Caster won't be able to do much against him. Which is why Tohsaka takes priority." Emiya explained. The dark-haired woman frowned as she chewed her lip before nodding stiffly and exiting the room.


"You know, I would often pluck out the eyes of people who poked their noses in other people's business." Someone drawled behind me. Despite me inhabiting Assassin's mind, I could still hear him. I withdrew my sense of self from my Servant's mind and turned to look at the Servant on my couch.


"What is it now, Gilgamesh? Surely you couldn't have grown tired of the modern world already." I said. But then again, who am I to say that?


"Nothing of the sort actually. Despite its ugliness and degradation, the world will always be my garden. If the King won't love his garden then there is no reason for the garden to exist. Which is why I'll never grow tired of it." Gilgamesh said with a chuckle. I winced at his rather verbose answer. At least he wasn't guzzling down my own spirits. "No, Kirei, I came here to see you. I came to see how you were doing." He looked straight at me. "You look strange."


…come…


"I would say that I am flattered by your attention, Gilgamesh, but that would be a bald-faced lie. I dislike your company and your talk. If there was some way for me to get rid of you without endangering my own life, I would have taken it. That's why I look strange." I said bluntly. I had a feeling that he wouldn't kill me outright. True, he was quite a capricious Servant but he was also the type to look after his own pet projects.


"True." Gilgamesh said but he looked slightly distracted. Since he didn't open any of his Gates, I could safely say that he regarded me too valuable to destroy. Now, all I needed to do was make sure my value didn't drop. "I heard that you are going to assassinate one of your former allies tonight."


"Not tonight." I automatically answered. Gilgamesh frowned but he looked more curious than angry. I decided to explain things to him. "There are two reasons for that. The primary reason being that the Assassins haven't completely dismantled Casters defenses yet. If we were to even attempt an assassination right now, all of the assassins would be killed before they could even throw a dagger. The second reason being that right now, Kiritsugu would be too high-strung for us to have the advantage of surprise. That's why we are going to bide our time." I told him.


…cometome…


"Which means that you have nothing better to do than to stew in your own misery." Gilgamesh said. Not exactly accurate. I was perfectly alright with you being as far from me as possible. But I had to admit, I find myself slightly fascinated by him. Here was someone who saw through my decades long masquerade instantly. What more could he tell about me?


"So," Gilgamesh said, interrupting my thoughts. "We were talking about your wish that you didn't want to have." He sat up and looked at me. "Are you willing to confront your desires now?"


I sighed and turned away. I was hoping for something more majestic than that. "No." I answered.


...come…


"Because you perceive them as sinful?" He asked. I merely nodded.


"What could your desire be that you find it so repulsive?" Gilgamesh mused. "Is it murder?" he said. I winced. "Ah, so that's it. You want to murder somebody and you find your desire too evil." Gilgamesh said, sounding disappointed.


"Yes, I want to murder somebody." I said quickly. Thank god he thinks that I only wish to commit murder.


"Your admission of guilt was too quick, Kirei." Gilgamesh said, his eyes narrowing. "There is more to your wish than murder. Is it rape? Do you wish to violate and murder?" Gilgamesh said. I turned my face away. "Well, it's not that unexpected." Gilgamesh said. "I find you extremely anticlimactic, Kirei. You merely wish to use the Grail as a tool for debauchery? I expected more from you."


…cometome…


"Well, why do you want the Grail?" I asked. "Surely, the Great King of Heroes must have had all of his wishes fulfilled in his life. Why would he need the Grail at all?"


"It is just as you said, why would I need the Grail? It is nothing but an ugly cup, not even fit to be a drinking vessel for me. But I still desire it because it is mine." Gilgamesh answered.


"That's your only reason?" I asked. Gilgamesh simply nodded. "I envy you. You are already satisfied of your life. You fight a War for paltry reasons."


"True, I fight it for paltry reasons and the prize isn't even worth the dust on my feet. But a war isn't just fought for reasons or prizes. Sometimes, wars are fought for the sake of fighting. Therefore, you can even say that I fight in this War because I wish to see what has happened to my kingdom." Gilgamesh said.


"And you find your entire kingdom in ruins." I said, unable to help myself.


"It is a natural consequence of my absence, mongrel." Gilgamesh said but there is an edge in his voice. Perhaps it is a sore subject? Or merely his fickle temper? "I am tired of you, Kirei. I honestly thought you would be an interesting pet to keep around but then again, not all fruit is sweet." Gilgamesh said as he began to disappear into golden motes of light.


I sigh as I approach the device my Teacher gave me. It is good that he didn't see any further into myself. It is time for me to inform my Teacher about the change in plans.

---------------------------------------------


"Master…Barrier…Foiled…" The Assassins informed me. The problem with this operation was that even with Caster's defenses down, we had no way of bringing down her offensive measures. Which is why this had to be conducted more along the lines of a military operation instead of a targeted killing. Not that Hassan bin Sabah was an amateur at conducting military operations; he was an undisputed master of it in fact. No, Hassan bin Sabah had no experience in dealing with magecraft on this scale. He lived in a time when all magecraft was considered heresy. It didn't matter if you were a Christian, Jew, Muslim or Atheist, if you were caught conducting magecraft, you were summarily, gladly and eagerly executed. The simple truth of the matter was that the Assassins would fare poorly against Caster even if they were superior to her in close combat. Which is why I would stand just outside the Einzbern lands and conduct the operation. And in case the worst was to happen, I would act as the trump card in this gambit.


...come…


It is cold. I know that it is winter but somehow, the cold seems out of place to me. Perhaps because I have grown used to remaining in the warm church basement? Regardless of the actual reason, I find myself feeling lightly daunted for the first time in quite some time. The Einzbern Forest stands still as if it is mocking the modern age. It reminded me very uncomfortably off my Apostle Hunts in the past. Doubtless the woods had spirits and wraiths for security but they would prove to be nothing as compared to the Assassins. And the Assassins would prove to be nothing compared to Caster.


I draw a deep breath. The hardest part is the waiting.


"We will now begin the assassination. Assassins, dismantle the Bounded Field." I said as I pull out my Bible from my breast pocket. Each page is actually a Black Key which I can materialize simply by running prana through it. It is a trick that my Teacher, Tohsaka Tokiomi, helped me master although I have no idea how he learnt to do that. Truth be told, a Bible full of Black Keys would be useless against a Servant. But then again, it is not as if I came here to fight. If I had to take the frontlines, I would have brought the EXODUS. But then again, I doubt that the Church would have allowed their best anti-magi weapon leave their vaults. I lean against a tree, making sure to stay out of the Caster's permeable Bounded Field, close my eyes and let my conscious wander.


The world inverts and pulls itself inside and out. The wind howls even though there is no wind. I recognize this as my subconscious desire to remain in my own body, my fear of the unknown struggling to anchor me. There are some fears that remain with us no matter how much we strive to master them. But for me to lead, it is necessary for me to leave my own body. And I do so. With an expected turbulence, I become one with the Assassins.


When the Old Man of the Mountain first saw the crusading armies, we were there. When the last human shall look up at the stars and ponder the riddles of the ages, we shall be there. We live in the shadows but our name shines in the light. By shedding our earthly bodies, we have become immortal. We are Assassin and we are many.


With a quick stab, we dismantle the physical anchors of the Bounded Field. Together, we step into the forest. We feel the Bounded Field reform behind us but it matters not. Caster shall have to cover a lot of ground to find us and we shall make it difficult for her to do so. As one, we run through and up the trees. Nary a leaf moves nor a twig is disturbed. Even if this is a land we never knew, we make no mistakes and remain out of sight.


And then the first of our enemies appear. Dead men, fleshless fiends, enemies to be slaughtered await us. They blindly shamble around the trees. For a few moments, we don't understand why they do so. Then we realize. They can't sense us. We are tempted to throw a few dirks and kill some of them to impress our power on them. But this is Caster's lair. An act like that risks exposure. We pay them no further heed and continue towards our objective, Emiya Kiritsugu.


A copse of trees is violently hit by a violet burst of light. They are immediately burnt to ashes. Caster's Spells were weaker against Saber, partly due to Saber's magical resistance and partly due to her being outside her Temple. She knows we are here and she is bombarding the forest in hopes of hitting us. Her own skeletal soldiers are sacrificed as collateral damage. We decide to split apart to minimize any potential damage.


Presently, the Einzbern Castle blooms into view through the leaves. We make haste for this incessant display of fireworks has become irritating, even if it is deadly.


And then we stop.


There is something wrong.


There is a bounded field in front of us. We can't see it but we can sense it. There is also something terribly wrong with it. Or at least, it emits dangerous amounts of hostile intent. We look at each other? Which one of us shall geld the camel? One of voluntary steps into the bounded field. We wait with baited breath for the consequences. There is a brilliant flash. The egg-like bounded field flares up like Greek fire. We shield our eyes from the glare with our arms.


There is nothing but ash inside. We lost a little of us to save the rest of us.


"Master…Something…Wrong…" We say.


Then the first blast of evil light catches us at unawares. We lose thirty-one more of us. We move out of the way. The deadly rain of magic melts the earth. We have no choice.


As if waking from a nightmare, I open my eyes. My name is Kotomine Kirei and I am the Master of Assassin in the Fourth Holy Grail War. My Servant is in danger and has advised me to retreat for now. The assassination has been identified as a complete failure. It would be best to cut our losses. As soon as I am a safe distance from the Einzbern Forest, I am going to use a Command Spell to forcefully teleport Assassin to me. That way, I would at least be able to save a few of them. I turn around.


And find myself standing on the wrong side of Caster's Bounded Field. I am in the woods now and despite making sure to not step inside before I merged with Assassin's conscious, I have somehow unwittingly stepped in. I cautiously place a hand on the Bounded Field. A spark jumps from the shimmering blue field and slightly burns my hand. It is not a serious injury but it signifies the threat the Bounded Field poses. From what I can tell, even Assassin will have difficulty bypassing this Field. Only a Servant with a significantly high magical resistance can pass through here but then it would end up dismantling the Field, giving Caster and early warning. I can't help but admire Caster's work even though I am in danger.


The dragon teeth soldiers shamble out from the shadows. I suppose Caster would have made it her first priority to get rid of me but the Assassins are keeping her busy enough. It would be up to me destroy these abominations and kill Emiya Kiritsugu.


I find myself smiling. Apparently, I was looking forward to this without knowing it myself. Then I realize.


It's been quite some time since my last Apostle Hunt after all.


The Bible's pages suddenly spring into the shape of blades. These are Black Keys, holy sacraments of the Church. They are elegant weapons for such an uncivilized age. They have served me well in the past and they will serve me well now.


The bone soldiers rush at me. I lash out at the bone soldiers. The first three are shattered to pieces with my fists alone. To a normal human or even a non-combat oriented magus, they would pose a significant threat. But I am not a Magus.


I am an Executioner.


They rush at me, blindly and without form. Even if they had made proper formations, it would have made no difference to me. Technique, form and tactics are tools for the weak to utilize against the strong. But there comes a point when an opponent can be strong enough for all methods to fail.


I am strong enough. These soldiers are not.


After a few seconds of intense movement, I stop and rub my knuckles. I have destroyed at least fifty of the bone soldiers. I have grown stronger than before. Three years ago, it would have taken me at least two minutes to accomplish the same feat. As it turns out, despite my initial disdain for it, Reinforcement Magecraft certainly has its uses. I hear the sound of something exploding. I must find Kiritsugu and put a stop to all of this. According to the Assassins, Caster has put another Bounded Field around the Einzbern Castle which apparently kills anything alive inside it. Which means that the chances of Kiritsugu lurking in these woods is quite high. I reform the Black Keys into pages of scripture before neatly tucking them back into my Bible. Then I start to jog further into the Forest.


The blow comes silently and powerfully. My body reacts before I even realize that I am in danger. I jump and do an awkward somersault in the air before landing on all fours. The tree which I was about to pass by has been reduced to splinters. There is a rather well endowed woman in white servant-wear standing near it. She is wielding a rather ornate halberd which I presume she used to destroy the tree.


"Oh?" She says in a flat voice. She has an extremely thick German accent that nearly renders her speech unintelligible."You managed to dodge? I'll applaud you." She rested the halberd against her shoulder and actually started to clap slowly. I don't know if she was being sarcastic or was genuinely praising me. It didn't matter to me anyways. I am assuming that Caster had had the Einzbern premises vacated because of her life-destroying Bounded Field and this homunculus was unlucky enough to come across me. I am already moving before she has finished clapping. A well aimed kick at her forehead will certainly kill her.


And once again, I am forced to spin in midair to save myself. The homunculus's movements are unrefined but not slow enough for me to take advantage of. As soon as I jumped, she placed the halberd in my path. I only saved myself from impaling myself on it by using the halberd itself as some sort of sharp jumping edge and leaping off. I land on both legs and my left hand this time. With my right hand, I pull out my Bible. I will need to use every weapon I have against her.


"Oh, are you anime character?" The annoying homunculus comments. "Sad. I can't get autograph. Must kill you. Mistress Irisviel will be pleased."


And then she takes an actual stance and charges. I experimentally throw four Black Keys at her, aimed at her head, solar plexus and kidneys. She deflects them all with minimum difficulty. I am slightly impressed. Einzbern homunculus are renowned for their thaumaturgical prowess, not their combat ability.


I deftly leap aside. For all her speed and strength, the homunculus doesn't have the proper reflexes to stop herself. She overshoots, crashes into a tree and to my mild surprise, manages to uproot it. Such a clumsy combat homunculus couldn't have learned to deflect high-speed projectiles by herself.


"Tell me." I ask her, curiosity getting the better of me. "Did Emiya Kiritsugu teach you how to repel projectiles?"


"Master Kiritsugu told me not to tell that to anyone." The homunculus said naively. Such innocence. Do you take pleasure in sending it to the battlefield Kiritsugu? Or do you simply teach it how to wield weapons and then sit back and watch it destroy itself? You and Constantine have given me hope and I wish to see what kind of person you both are. What is the tactical advantage of teaching a homunculus something like this?


And more importantly, how did you teach a homunculus to do something like this?


"How did he teach you?" I ask her.


"Master Kiritsugu used snowballs. And kept doing it until I learnt." The homunculus said. She tilted her head to the side, a little like a curious dog. "We fight now?"


"Yes." I answer. I needed to see only this much. I transform the Black Keys back into pages and carefully place them back into my Bible. Now that I understand how she fights, I will finish the fight without them. I take a casual stance, nothing too revealing. For her, I don't even need to use proper martial arts.


The homunculus charges. I leap.


I grab the halberd's shaft with my right hand while I punch her in the solar plexus with my right. If I hadn't Reinforced my arm, it would have been powdered to dust by the collision. I feel my arm go through the warm body and emerge through the other side, into the cold night air. The look of shock on the homunculi's face is exhilarating.


"Whatt…?" She says with tears flowing out of her eyes. It is a miracle she can speak at all, considering that I had torn her diaphragm and right lung open with my fist. "But… I… was… winning…" She looks at me with a plea in her eyes. I drop her body and shake my sleeves clean.


"Master… did… I… do good…?" The homunculi gasped before falling silent. I pay her no heed as I resume my jog.


I can understand Kiritsugu's modus operandi slightly after this encounter. He is willing to throw away his resources to achieve his goal. Einzbern homunculi cost a lot. Even this combat oriented model would probably end up costing in hundreds of thousands of marks to manufacture. Yet Kiritsugu threw it away just for the Grail. Granted, the Grail is a powerful wishing device and any cost to attain it can be justified but I thought, after looking at Kiritsugu's track record, that he would play it safe. Besides, there was no need to send that homunculus. Caster's bone creations would be sufficient enough, if not Caster herself. This is her Temple, after all.


Several bone soldiers appear out of nowhere and try to overcome me at once. It would have been a sound tactic against anyone else. At least the homunculus had the advantage of strength and speed. These have neither. They would at best, serve as distractions.


There is the sound of wind whistling and something tackles me from behind. My face is smashed into the ground. I taste a mixture of blood and earth.


"Got you!" Somebody whispers. My eyes widen. Of course the homunculus wouldn't die so easily. Apparently, her wound is still open. Her blood is still falling on me.


"Master…" Assassins yell as they try to kill the homunculus again by throwing their daggers. The homunculus simply endures the attacks but doesn't let go of me. I try to struggle but she is strong. She makes sure to keep my mouth closed in case I invoke a Command Spell.


And then Caster appears in midair, right in front of me. She doesn't say anything. She just smiles and various shining orbs of purple light appear beside her, hovering in air. My eyes widen. Was this how my life was going to end? Overpowered by a homunculus and killed by a Pagan? Well, there are worse ways to go out. But I need to live! I haven't found out why I was born yet. I haven't found out what my wish is! This is unfair!


Is this how Apostles feel when I kill them?


'If we live,' I recite mentally 'we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.'


And then it is over in an instant. One moment, Caster is smiling and preparing to kill me. The other moment, a golden rain of Noble Phantasms kill her and destroy a lot of her bone creations. The ones who manage not to get hit simply collapse like puppets with cut strings. The hail of ancient weaponry doesn't discriminate between Caster's golems or my Assassins. Nearly all of my Assassins are impaled as well.


"KOTOMINE! I have an urgent order! Establish a contract with me!" Gilgamesh, ever the loudmouth, yells from the tree he is standing on. The entire situation catches me completely off guard. It is either through luck or design that no harm has befallen me. The homunculi's grip on me has slackened considerably. I take the opportunity to break out of her grip and grab her by her throat.


She has red eyes. I never noticed that before. Up close, I see that she looks completely terrified. The very idea strikes me as morbidly amusing. Only a few moments ago, I was the prey and she was the huntress. And now, the tables have turned. Still, she did manage to fool me once. Respect should be given where due.


"What's your name?" I ask her. She responds by spitting on my face.


"How rude." I say as I snap her neck


"Are you done playing with your doll, Kirei? I grow impatient." Gilgamesh said. He didn't sound impatient though. Still, I shrug off the comment. It didn't take long for him to swing from bored to murderous.


"Why do you need to establish a contract with me, Archer? What has happened to my Master?" I say as I wipe my hands with a handkerchief.


"I killed him. He had the audacity to use a Command Spell against me." He answered. I pause. Now that Tohsaka Tokiomi is dead, I am free to do whatever I please. But I have this nuisance of a king to take care of. Then there is the fact that I finally want the Grail for myself, if only to know why I exist in this world. So the situation hasn't changed much after all. Gilgamesh has even killed all of my Assassins. How convenient.


"Master…Please…" I hear an Assassin's voice. Not all of my Assassins then. I gaze around and spy an Assassin under a tree. He probably fell out after he was stabbed by one of Gilgamesh's many Noble Phantasms. I cautiously make my way to my fallen Servant. The Assassin is slowly dissolving into dust and is fighting for every breath.


"Our real name is Zaid bin Jibran…We was born in…We never killed women or children…Master, remember our name…Please Master, we were a good Servant… Please Master, just remember"


"Why should I?" I find myself asking before I stop myself from speaking anymore.


"We…served…you…Master…" Assassin answered. "Please…all…we…ask…"


"Remember his name, Kirei. You owe him that much." Gilgamesh says from the branch he is perched on. What is he saying now? How can someone like him say something like this. "It's the mongrel's dying wish, Kirei. Even I wouldn't turn down a dying wish unless it was extremely drastic." My confusion must have been apparent on my face. It's easy for him to say that. I am on the ground and he is up a tree.


"Fine, Zaid bin Jibran. I shall remember your name." I say. Assassin doesn't answer. He simply stares until he completely turns to dust. I remain kneeling for a few seconds. The Command Spells on my hand fade away. Assassin's loss feels strange. On one hand, our mental link was quite strong. On the other hand, I feel happy at his passing, almost as if I wished for it. The only thing that would have made this better is if I had ordered him to commit suicide through a Command Spell.


There is the sound of something cutting through the air at high speed. I look up to see Gilgamesh stare off into the forest. The Gates are open besides him.


"Go check what has happened, Kirei." He told me. I am in no position to argue. He has the higher ground after all. I jog over to find a Noble Phantasm buried in the ground. A corpse is lying prone beside it while Emiya Kiritsugu's head looks up at me with blank eyes. I feel shocked but I don't know why. Maybe it's because I wanted to see what kind of person he was. He and Constantine are similar enough to give me hope. They have lived violent and bloody lives with no regard for their lives or the lives of others. It was a shame really that he ended up like this.


Still, Constantine is still alive somewhere. It seems that I have one more reason to continue my participation in the Grail War after all.


"My will creates your body and your sword creates my destiny." I utter the words of the incantation from heart. I see, I really do have a wish after all. And I am already willing to let go of what I can't have to focus on what I can. It's not that I have realized what to do; I am simply doing what I realized long ago.


With a painful burning sensation, I receive a new set of Command Spells.


I must win the Grail War. For my sake and no one else's.

[Leo Novum]

Chapter Seven: SHELTER

Waver Velvet wordlessly handed me my luggage. If he could have taken a knife and cut the words hate over every inch of his body, it still wouldn't be enough to convey the hatred he felt for me. Alright, so I am being overly dramatic here. I have faced a few things that hate me more than this kid does. Gary Lester, Papa Midnite, My father, Nergal himself. Actually, now that I think about it, Waver was acting like one of those white knights in fiction, brooding over a wrong done to others. At least the others hated me for personal reasons. Waver is the first person I know who hated me for such selfless reasons.


Oh wait, I completely forgot about her bloody majesty, the one and only King Arturia Pendragon. Who happens to be standing right behind me.


"Don't show me your face again." Waver said.


"Bit of advice, kid." I said as I adjusted my tie. "Don't use such strong words. People might end up thinking you can back them up as well."


"I can back them up." Waver quietly answered as Rider merely raised his eyebrow at me.


"For now," I pointed out. "But what about later? Preparation for the future is what you magi are all about, right? Food for thought, kid. Cheers." I said as I turned to leave.


Where was I even going? What was I even going to do? I had no place to stay now. My funds were running low, not to mention, my prana level as well. I can't aimlessly wander around town or Saber might decide to off me for being thick. Strewth, she was probably having a murder fantasy right now. Can't say I blame her. I just used a child as a bargaining chip and indirectly murdered her father in front of her. I don't even know if the little Tohsaka is alive or not. I can only hope that she is alive and in good hands. I didn't see any charred remains back at the Tohsaka residence. Maybe she did survive?


"Constantine, where are we going?" Saber asked.


"Fucked if I know. I just want a place to sleep." I groaned back.


"Very well. Let us go to the Fuyuki Park and rest. There won't be many people at this time of the day and it will be large enough for us to hide our presence. I shall keep watch over you while you rest." She answered. Anything sounded better than walking around drowsily. I didn't even bother arguing and made my way to the park, even though it was an hour long walk away. We reached there at one in the morning. The fourth day of the Holy Grail War had started.


I collapsed on the nearest bench I could find and closed my eyes. Two days of sleep finally caught up with me and I was soon asleep.


After what seemed like a trivially short time, someone shook me awake.


"It's not supposed to bend that way, Chas." I groaned.


"Constantine." Saber said patiently. I opened my eyes reluctantly. Bright sunlight burned off my corneas like the lances of angels, if angels actually used lances nowadays. They are now more into halberds and swords again. Shows what you know about the Heavenly Host. At least they try putting thought into the changing times. But they've got nothing on the Hordes of Hell who change their wardrobes every year. And that's not even getting close to the Fae.


"What is it?" I said. My tongue felt thick and hairy. Good lord, what had I done last night?


"Someone is tracking us." She said. Nothing could have jolted me awake faster than these four words. I hurriedly sat up, rubbing away the sleep from my eyes.


"How many?" I asked hurriedly.


"Two." Saber said. I mulled over it for some time this new information.


"It's daytime." I pointed out.


"Do you see anyone about?" Saber replied. Damn it, she was right. The enemy could simply erect a Bounded Field that would block out noise or unusual lights, rules of the War be damned. Our only advantage was that we were expecting them. Bugger.


Just to be safe, I quickly looked around, hoping for any sign of hope. We were in the Fuyuki Park and were surrounded by pine trees. Or was it fir? We, specifically, were in a large clearing. I was sitting on a green bench while Saber stood in front of me. There was only one way into the clearing for civilized people. A path made out of cobblestones connected the clearing to the rest of the Fuyuki Park its way through. She hadn't donned her magical armor yet but her stance suggested that she was ready for combat.


"Should we run?" I asked. There is nothing wrong in running from a fight. Epiphany once mentioned about retreat being one of the stratagems of war. I don't know who said that but it sounds like a bloody good idea to me right now. As much Saber wants to hide it, I can tell that Archer had wounded her one too many times last night. We don't know if these two people had Servants with them or not.


"We can't. The woods won't offer much of a terrain advantage with me having to protect you. You will end up hindering me. Fighting presents a higher chance of survival." Saber stated. Christ, I am better at wriggling out of situations than you, Saber. You don't even know half of what I can do. Not that I am at my best game right now but I am definitely more than just a load of bottle.


But I decide to let Saber take the reins. As I said, I am not at my best game. My own way of doing things has actually made everything worse. And I am still in this shithole which means I better do something to fix it.


"They are close." Saber announced. "They are approaching from the front which means that they are probably the Masters of Knight-class Servants. Possibly Lancer and Berserker. Rider wouldn't turn on us so soon while Archer wouldn't approach like this."


The next second was perhaps the most anticlimactic of my life.


Two women walked into the clearing. One of them had white hair and red eyes. The other's hair was black. But what really mattered was that they weren't two Servants, just a homunculus and another random woman. Maybe the homunculus was hypnotizing her? No, that wasn't correct. The black-haired woman's movements weren't erratic or haphazard; they had a more military precision to them.


The two of them walked up to us and stopped a few feet short of Saber. Maybe our luck had finally begun to turn around.


"Einzbern." I said.


"Constantine." The homunculus replied. She looked nothing like the previous Einzbern I was acquainted with. Oh sure, both had white hair and red eyes. But aside from that, they were completely dissimilar. Otto had quite a masculine face with narrow eyes. The homunculus in front of me had a narrow face with eyes like a little girl. Made me wonder how old they really were. One of my books on magic theory, back at Liverpool, mentions that skilled alchemists can grow homunculi in weeks that look like twenty year humans.


"What brings you to this neck of the woods?" I asked as I mentally winced. Now was not the time to joke around with puns. Judging from her reaction, she didn't understand the joke. Bloody krauts and their sodding sense of humor.


"We face a problem and we need to ally ourselves with you." The homunculus answered.


"And what manner of problem is that?" Saber asked. She was still quite unnerved by the homunculus presence. We were facing a walking, talking thaumaturgical artillery and she could probably tell.


"Emiya Kiritsugu is dead. As well as our Servant Caster." The Einzbern answered. I didn't know what to say. I could have said that I was sorry for her loss but that would have sounded extremely hollow. I was quite glad that the Magus Killer had died. That bastard turned out to be nothing but bad news. He betrayed me but that's not the most extraordinary thing he did. What I would like to know is how did he physically travel all the way from the Einzbern Castle to the Marriot, rig it with explosives without anyone noticing and nearly kill me in less than an hour? There was an answer to this but I had an annoying feeling that it had something to do with Caster herself.


Bollocks. I didn't feel sorry at all and I wouldn't even bother trying to lie. Emiya Kiritsugu was a bastard who had to die.


"I am truly sorry for your loss but I fail to understand how this is relevant to an alliance. You are now disqualified from the Holy Grail War. And if you were interested in convincing me to turn against my current Master and make a contract with you then the answer is no." Saber said.


"Nothing of the sort." It was the black haired woman who spoke next. "We are no longer interested in winning the Grail War. Our priorities have changed."


Saber turned to look at me. I simply shrugged. As I said, I would let Saber handle this one and see where it goes from here. Saber turned her attention back to the Einzbern and her bodyguard and nodded.


"We are willing to supply you with shelter, supplies, prana support and reconnaissance in exchange for your services, Mr. Constantine." The Einzbern woman said.


"Now wait a minute. This is too good to be true. There must be a catch to all of this. Don't think your previous kraut left me any stupider." I blurted out. I am not going to make the same mistake twice. Fucking krauts, thinking they can trick me again and again. "Why should I trust you, you albino Nazi?" I added, underscoring my hatred for all things Einzbern.


"As much as it disgusts me to say it, my Master does have a point." Saber said, giving me the evil eye. "We don't have any proof about your sincerity. And we have been caught off guard one too many times."


Our guests exchanged looks this time before the black haired soldier reached inside her jacket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She delicately unfolded it before offering it to me. I cautiously looked at Saber. Guessing my intent, she took the paper from the soldier before passing it to me. If my luck would be with me, any harmful charms or curses on the paper would be dispersed by Saber's Magic Resistance. Taking a deep breath, I looked at the paper.


And nearly choked.


"What the fuck?" I said. "A bloody Self Geis Scroll? Are you fucking serious? There is no way in hell am I going to sign this!"


"Please," The Einzbern's composure cracked for the first time. "You are the only one I can turn to. I need your help."


"Give me one good reason, bitch." I said furiously. Fucking krauts. I would do the world a favor by incinerating the lot of them. I ignored the soldier's and Saber's murderous glares and the Einzbern homunculi's hurt look. I ended up in this shit because of those Germans. I am not going to be dragged further into it. The Einzbern wiped something away from her eye before taking a shuddering breath. The soldier placed her arm protectively around her. The Einzbern smiled at her companion before looking at me with a determined expression.


"Yesterday, I was a wife. Today, I am a widow. But I am still a mother although one who can't help her own daughter." She said. I felt something cold in my stomach. How could I have been such a twat as to say all that?


"You're lying. Homunculi can't procreate." I quickly retorted. I had to do something to take the guilt away. Slinging the blame back seemed like a good choice.


"I am going to prove the truth behind my words, Mr. Constantine." The homunculi said quietly as she snatched the scroll away from me. The soldier handed her a pen knife which she used to prick her right index finger. She signed her name with a flourish.


Holy shit, she was serious.


"I have proved my determination, Mr. Constantine." She said. "Will you?"


I looked at the paper. On close inspection, I realized it was made from vellum, not paper. The text was in cursive English and had been obviously written with painstaking care.


This document binds the magical circuits of Irisviel von Einzbern and John Collier Constantine to a contract imposed by the former and accepted by the latter. The contract dictates that Irisviel von Einzbern shall support John Collier Constantine in the Fourth Holy Grail War by supplying him with necessary shelter and apparatus in exchange for John Collier Constantine retrieving the daughter of Irisviel von Einzbern from captivity.


I looked at her. She had signed the bloody scroll with her own blood. Not only was she serious, she was even desperate. But I hadn't put my name down yet. The contract could still be cancelled if I refused to put my name down.


"Why me?" I finally asked. "Why me, of all people? Why can't you just rescue her yourself? You are free, aren't you? You don't need to fight this bloody War. You can go back home. Why ask me and not use your vast family resources to rescue her yourself?"


"Why you?" Irisviel von Einzbern said with a sad smile. "Well, isn't it obvious? You John Collier Constantine, the Laughing Magician of this age. If there is anyone who can do it, it is you." She took a shuddering breath as if she was ill. "As for why not me, the answer is simple. I am the Holy Grail which is why I can't leave Fuyuki. And my daughter is in the hands of the Einzberns."

I took the sheet of vellum from her.


"Master, don't!" Saber said.


But I signed it anyways.

---------------------------------------------------------


"It's a nice place, isn't it?" Irisviel said happily as the soldier opened the gates of the Japanese residence in front of us. Saber had volunteered to drive the car, a white Honda Civic 1992, which she drove into the grounds of the Emiya Residence. "Kiritsugu bought it with his own money as a safe house. We'll be safe here."


I kept my trap shut. I couldn't bring myself to look at my host in the eyes. Mostly because she had emotionally forced me to sign a geis but partially because I was such an asshole to her. For all my disdain for knights in shining armor, I can be quite a smelly one. Okay, maybe not exactly shining but I did end up accepting an Einzbern's proposal simply because the life of an innocent was involved. That has to count, right?


Strewth, this sort of stuff belongs in Metropolis, not in the middle of Japan.


We got off the car and Saber parked it somewhere out of sight.


"Welcome to my humble abode." Irisviel said with a smile as she threw the sliding doors open. I'll never understand the Orient. What's the point of having sliding doors? I kept my comment to myself as I followed her inside. Remembering the Zenjou residence back at Sumaru, I took off my shoes at the house's threshold and continued inside in pungent socks. Saber and the soldier, who was carrying bags of groceries, joined me a few moments later. The soldier overtook me and bumped into me in the process. Well, if she hated me so much, she could have simply said so. But then again, I can understand her anger.


There was a low table in the living room with cushions placed around it. The soldier went straight to the kitchen and started rummaging through the plastic bags.


"Please excuse me for the lack of proper hospitality. My maids couldn't survive the encounter which killed my husband." Irisviel said. Damn it, stop sounding as if I am to blame that they died! It's not my fault that there is a Grail War going on.


The soldier returned with a plate of sandwiches and a few files. I realized that I was famished and stuffed one in my mouth.


"How did the Japanese say it," Irisviel pondered briefly before clapping her hands together. "Ittadakimasu." She said before picking one up and taking a dainty bite. And now I felt uncivilized. Damn japs and their table manners.


"If you don't mind me asking so early," Saber interrupted. "Who killed your husband?" Irisviel stopped chewing for a moment. She then swallowed and spoke.


"Last night we were attacked by the Servant Assassin whose Master was the former Church Executor Kotomine Kirei. Although Caster managed to trap all the Assassins and Kotomine inside her Bounded Field, Archer's arrival and subsequent assault killed Caster, all of the Assassins and my husband, Emiya Kiritsugu."


"Your husband was the Magus Killer?" Saber said, surprised.


"Yes. Didn't I mention that before?" Irisviel said.


"No, you didn't." I said through gritted teeth. Bollocks, I've got myself stuck in some real shit now. Rescuing the Magus Killer's kid from her own maternal family? And I signed a geis on top of that?


"That is hardly relevant to our current situation." The soldier spoke for the first time, her voice cold as the winter. She turned to face me. "Kotomine Kirei maybe a former Church Executor but he is still quite dangerous. His actions seem to be directed by his teacher, the Master of Archer, Tohsaka Tokiomi. Together with Archer, they'll pose as the greatest threat."


"About that," I drawled.


"Tohsaka Tokiomi was killed twelve hours ago by his own Servant." Saber bluntly stated. Irisviel spat out the water she was drinking.


"What?" The soldier said.


"What!" Irisviel exclaimed.


"I forced him to choose between his daughter and the Grail." I said, ignoring Saber's look turn murderous, with a shrug. "It was quite a hard choice for him." The soldier studied my face for a few moments before visibly relaxing.


"Is that so? At least you're out completely bound by magi standards. Perhaps we have hope after all." She said.


"That's the worse compliment I have ever received." I noted. I mean sure, being called a bastard and actually being a bastard works fine for me. I even enjoy being called a bastard for acting like a bastard to bastards.


But being complimented for acting like a bastard? That doesn't sit well with me.


"We now know that Archer is Masterless which means that he probably is looking around for another Master." The soldier observed.


"Not necessarily. I managed to glean a few of his attributes yesterday. He has an A rank in Independent Action which means that he can remain on the material plain for at least a week. Considering his attitude towards others, I find it difficult to imagine him deliberately seeking out a Master when he can leisurely defeat every other Servant. I propose we out wait him. There are still ten days left in this War." Saber said. I can't believe it. Saber? Speaking sense? Has the Wizard Marshall started mucking with the time stream again?


"That might be true but we can't be sure. It would be much better to assume that Archer has formed a contract with Kotomine Kirei. I am saying this based on the fact that Tohsaka has died and that Archer deigned Kotomine worth rescuing himself." The soldier said. Saber closed her eyes for a few moments. Maybe she hadn't considered that angle?


"True but it would still be wise to bide our time against Archer. I, for one, cannot think of a plausible strategy which doesn't rely on suicidal tactics." Saber said. That statement was almost humorous. For all her talk about honor and chivalry, Saber's manner of fighting is quite risky. Either she doesn't understand how ironic her own statement is or she knows and is trying to make a joke. Actually, I call bollocks on her being ignorant of her own myopia. It wouldn't be the first time I met a smart blonde.


Oh wait, I am blonde. Fuck.


"What do you think, Master?" Saber suddenly said.


"Me? I, uh, I agree with whatever you are agreeing with. And if you are disagreeing then I am all for it." I stammered. She read my mind. She read my mind. Why else would she suddenly ask for my opinion?


"Please be serious, Mr. Constantine." Irisviel said. Bugger, even the Einzbern is criticizing me!


"Er, thing is, I am not so sure what to do anymore." I began. The three women's stony faces didn't help matters. Hell, I should do what I always do. Bluster away and pretend to have a plan. "It's true that Kotomine Kirei came in contact with Archer but as Saber accurately pointed out, he doesn't have much respect for us 'mongrels'. Kotomine isn't going to be an exception to this. And even if Archer accepts him as his Master, which is very bloody unlikely, he will face one difficulty." I said.


"And that is?" The soldier asked.


"Kotomine is very likely not a very good mage. He is a former Church Executor which means he won't be very proficient in thaumaturgy. Additionally, this means that he will be a very poor source of prana. That means that Archer won't be able to dump his load of weapons on us. He'll be forced to fight cautiously. This is where we have the advantage." Interesting, I actually came up with a solid plan that doesn't rely on bullshit. Okay, so it does partially rely on the assumption that this Kotomine Kirei is an inept mage but that's more like an educated guess than pure crap.


"Can we at least agree to bide our time?" The soldier asked. She looked quite fed up for some reason. Hell, lass, if you were bored to tears by this old duffer's bluster, you could have just walked away. I simply nod.


"Agreed. We shall bide our time until we think of a suitable strategy or we are forced to fight." I said. I sounded needlessly dramatic. All we had done was agree to wait out the storm and pretend that it was a plan. Any tosspot with two brain cells could have come up with that sort of plan. The soldier and Saber had gotten up and left the table. Only the homunculus and I were in the room now. The atmosphere was getting quit thick as if someone was watching us. I grabbed another sandwich and crammed into my mouth.


"Can I ask you something?" Irisviel suddenly asked. I nearly choked.


"Y-yes?" I said.


"How did you kill Otto von Einzbern?" she asked.


"Why do you want to know?" I asked.


"Because I am curious. We, the Einzberns I mean, are quite aware of how strong various magi are. We considered you a weak mage. You defied our expectations quite remarkably." She said. She doesn't sound angry or anything. More along the lines of curious. Ah well, what could possibly go wrong? If she decides to kill me with magic, I can always kill her right back. On second thought, I'll just restrain her. And get Saber to hit her on the head with Excalibur.


"I am guessing he was quite fragile. I managed to kill him because I cast my spell first." I replied. Irisviel merely nodded. She seems distracted for some reason. I notice that her eyes are on my hands. I am holding my lighter. I may have started playing with it out of habit. And a need for fags.


"Kiri used to have a lighter like that one. He lost it on the Einzbern grounds when playing with Ilya." Iri said with a sad smile. Strewth woman, don't go emotional on me. I didn't know your husband until six days ago. I am not going to offer you sympathy. "Sorry, I got a little carried away." She said with a smile.


"It happens." I said. I fished about my pockets for my pack of ciggies. That would give me the excuse to get out of the room. I pulled it out and flipped open the lid.


It was empty.


"Bugger." I groaned as I crumpled the box. I was now in despair. The sight of my empty box cigarettes, even if they weren't Silk Cuts, had left me in despair.


"Um," Irisviel said uncertainly. She reached into her dress and pulled something out and laid it on the table. "Here."


It was a box of Silk Cuts.


"Ma'am, yer a real life-saver." I said as I grabbed the box with eager hands. Twenty Silk Cuts. Enough to last a day. I pulled one out as gently as I could. "To Emiya Kiritsugu," I said solemnly, "a great man with an even greater taste in fags." I stuck it in my mouth and lit it. I suck on the filter, trying to savor every wisp of that crazy, carcinogenic smoke that soothes my soul and sharpens my mind. I haven't sucked anyone's tongue as passionately as I sucked on this cigarette. Not counting Epiphany though.


"I should go now." Irisviel said. I merely nodded, too engrossed in my fag to care about her. I am sort of surprised she didn't order me to smoke outside the room. Oh well, who cares. My gracious host got up and left the room. One thing I don't understand was why didn't she change her name to Emiya after her marriage. Maybe it was forced to prevent the Mage Killer from getting any ideas? Anyways that was not the pressing issue at the moment.


"You can stop aiming that gun at me, Miss Hisau." I said calmly. The sliding door opened and the soldier woman stepped into the room. I had my back to her but I could tell she wasn't in a good mood.


"Did I surprise you by not betraying your mistress and giving you a reason to shoot me?" I said with a smug grin. I love it when I don't act like a tit to people who fully expect me to do so. "Even though it would have been trivially easy for me to do so?" I added. The soldier calmly walked around the table and sat where Irisiel had been sitting.


"Give me my wallet back." She said. I calmly reached into my trenchcoat and pulled it out. There wasn't much money in it, just a few identity papers and a pressed wingnut leaf. I slid the wallet over to her.


"When did you realize that I had picked your pocket?" I asked.


"As soon as you bumped into me at the entrance." Hisau answered as she checked the contents of her wallets. "When did you realize I was keeping an eye on you?"


"I didn't realize it, I expected it. Irisviel von Einzbern was alone in a room with John Collier Constantine, exorcist, con artist and petty dabbler in the dark arts. Anyone would get suspicious and make sure nothing went south." I said. I took another pull at the Silk Cut. "You weren't being very sly either, love. Any bloke with a good set of ears could have heard you breathing. Was that deliberate or not?" She didn't reply so I am going to assume that it was deliberate.


"Why did you accept this alliance?" she asked.


"I felt like it. Makes for a delightful change of pace." I said. I snuff the fag's embers on the empty sandwich plate. I consider for a few moment before offering her a Silk Cut. She hesitated before accepting. Kiritsugu, you naughty lad, you should know better than to get a lady hooked on to fags. What would mother think of you? "Why were you working for the Magus Killer?" I asked. In my experience, women seldom work with violent sociopaths. Actually, not many people do, regardless of gender. They are violent, don't care about their employee's wellbeing and generally listen to opera music.


"I have my reasons for doing so." She curtly answered. Have it you way love. I consider smoking another one before deciding to save it for later.


It was getting late. I got up and made my way to my room. Even though I have slept quite a lot today, I still feel the muscle pains of all that punishment I endured the previous days. The fourth day of the Grail War ended without incident.

[Leo Novum]

Chapter Eight: FATHER

Life is a fragile thing, granted to all and yet taken for granted by nearly all. I find a certain irony that I, someone who had just taken part in an assassination and was well acquainted with killing, appreciated it more than the average man. I never saw the point of rationalizing my deed to comfort myself. Perhaps it is because I never felt distress in such deeds. And today, I know that what I did was for the greater good. Emiya Kiritsugu, for all of his similarities to me, was just a man who needed to be put down in the end. My Master had once theorized that Emiya participated in this War merely for monetary gain. That was incorrect. Emiya was similar to me, someone who reveled in death and destruction. To be fair, so did I but I restrained myself. Emiya had no such restraint.


No, what I find disturbing right now is how he managed to gather loyal followers like that homunculus. It was clearly not the Grail and yet it displayed an almost human personality. Emiya Kiritsugu, I find myself regretting to have not met you at least once. To have someone follow you means to have someone understand your view and ideals. Even a homunculus, for all its lack of will and thought, is a difficult thing to persuade if you do not explain yourself. And yet you had and here I was, hands red with the blood of your thrall.


"Disturbed, Kirei? That is rather unlike you. Didn't you already kill that thing and slake your thirst?" Archer's voice, filed with a malicious curiosity, drilled through my ear. All of this is his fault. If he hadn't seen through me, I would have kept myself in check. I find it slightly amazing how he could just crack though my will with a few words.


"Or perhaps you seek something else?" He said. I manage not to wince. Yes, I seek something else. Merely killing does slake my thirst for a while, so to say. But it isn't enough. What I want is to know what I want. And now I know why I desire the Grail. To know what I truly wish means to understand what sort of person I am. If I allow myself to see this, no, if I force myself to see this, I would come across an undeniable truth. And that would change everything.


Why should I fear change? Because I, like my fellow man, am comfortable with the present. That status quo gives me a sense of security, no matter how much of an illusion it actually is. Change is the only constant of time after all. Every day, the world steps forward to a brighter, better future. And it can only do so by embracing change. However, even if humans accept and even create change at a species level, they despise it an individual level. Change can cause them to become alienated by society, to fell useless to society even cause their social deaths.


In that regards, I am no different from them. I fear change for the same reasons. Right now, I could still paste the mask of Kotomine Kirei, catholic priest, back on and formally drop out of the War. I would never need to know what I desire. If I do that, I will probably go back to being an Executor for a few more years until I am past my prime. After I retire from that, provided that I survive, I would probably take the place of my Father as the priest of this church. Perhaps I'll even bring my daughter back here. Each Saturday night, I will compose my sermon. Each Sunday morning, I will hold mass. I will show people the error of their ways. My daughter would probably have find a suitor I would approve of by then. I will probably conduct their marriage ceremony by then. A few years later, I would become a grandfather. My daughter would periodically visit me with her children. A few years later, I will die, having lived a relatively sinless life. I would probably want to be buried in Jerusalem or Italy by then since old age might have some change on my mind. But my daughter and her husband wouldn't be able to do that and I would be buried in the Fuyuki Christian Cemetery, behind the Church.


But that's not going to happen. Like a fly drawn to honey, I am drawn towards the Grail. Now I see how far can temptation lead a man astray. Desire is truly a sin after all.


But isn't it better to know your sin than to have no sin?


"That is for you to decide, Kirei." Archer said. I realized that I had said the last sentence out loud. I had been walking back to Church, deeply immersed in my thoughts. I had come back without incident. I sigh and notice a cloud of water vapor escape my mouth like smoke. It had started snowing. It fell on my shoulder and melted. I should better get inside.


I shut the door behind me, welcoming the warmth washing over me.


"I am home." I announced.


"Welcome back, Kirei." My father said. He was standing at the doorway at the far end of the hall. That door led to our residence, which was built as an annex to the actual church some hundred years ago. Probably built using the charity of churchgoers. We no longer depended on charity due to Father and my stipend from our respective line of work.


Father looked disturbed.


"What is the matter?" I asked.


"Kariya just dropped Rin off. A very kind and brave deed to do, considering that he is in no condition to even move, let alone command a Servant." He said. His frown then deepened. "Although, I am more worried about Rin herself. Her mother isn't responding to my calls neither are her grandparents. The poor child just witnessed the murder of her Father and she is fixated on his murderer." Father said.


"She is?" I said. Archer chuckled. Not the best thing to do, considering that he was the actual murderer.


"She keeps repeating phrase 'Kill Constantine'." Father said before shaking his head. He clearly felt Tokiomi's death very deeply. "Needless to say, it is quite unhealthy. Which is why I am glad to see you."


"You are?" I asked. "Why?"


"Because Tokiomi made you Rin's guardian in case of his death. Tohsaka Aoi is not well versed in the world of magi which is why you were selected." Father said as he moved to warm himself in front of the fireplace. Why couldn't we get a proper gas heater or a modern radiator? "I suggest that you get in touch with your in-laws and bring your daughter over. Rin will need a playmate she can bond with and give her a normal childhood. You will take my place as the priest of this church. I recommend that you get started right now."


In hindsight, I think this was the final nail in the coffin. Not Archer's goading, nor my desire to talk to Kiritsugu, neither my fascination with Constantine. All of this was decided in a single instance of childish rebellion. The prospect of freedom is quite powerful after all.


"Father, you are saying all of this as if I am relieved of all duties." I protested.


"I have asked Narbareck to drop your name from the Executor's roster. She seemed quite happy to do so." Father answered. He wasn't even looking at me.


"Father, I meant this!" I said as I stuck my fist up, Command Spells clearly visible. Father turned his attention to me.


"So Assassin managed to survive? That is interesting but ultimately, in vain. Tokiomi is dead and there is no need for you to continue in this War." Father said.


"My Servant isn't Assassin." I said, tasting every word in my mouth before speaking them. "It is Archer."


That had a visible effect on Father. His normally narrowed eyes opened wide. He regarded me not unlike how one looks at a rabid dog. In that moment, I was no longer his son but a threat that had to be dealt with.


"Kirei, get rid of it." Father commanded.


"I can't, Father." I replied.


"What do you mean, you can't?" Father demanded. "Why else were you blessed with Command Spells?"


"I did not mean it that way. I meant that I wish to obtain the Grail." I said. My father's demeanor did not change.


"There is no need for Men of God to pursue such worldly objects." Father said carefully. "What we desire is greater than any sordid magical cup."


"But I desire it!" I blurted it out. "I truly do!"


"Listen to me, Kirei! You can't have the Grail! I won't allow it! God know how would it affect you if you got what you desire! Aren't you satisfied with being free of sin?" Father yelled. Something in his voice told me that he knew.


He knew. All those years of hiding behind a mask of my own face had been futile. The one person I wished to hide from knew about me.


"When did you learn about it?" I said. Father grunted angrily.


"I am your father, Kirei. It would be unbecoming of me not to understand what kind of a person my son is. I always watched you." He faced me. There was no anger, only pity. "There was only one answer to your behavior. That you enjoyed committing evil. It pained me and I prayed for a miracle just for you." Father's expression softened. "And you seemed to understand that it was wrong to do what you enjoyed. You deliberately restrained yourself, without even needing to be told. I hadn't been the best father. I feared confronting you because I wasn't sure how to teach you. But your restraint and your faith filled me with pride." His expression hardened once more. "Which is why I beg you, Kirei, do not pursue the Grail! You might have forgotten what gave you pleasure and that in itself is good! At least you are fee of sin! If not for my sake than call off this sinful endeavor for your own!"


His point was well argued. But not enough.


"No." I said quietly.


"Why not?" Father said.


"You just," I said then I paused. Why did this hurt so much? "You just assume that I am evil. You just assume that my wish is evil."


Father remained silent. That was all the confirmation I had needed. All my life, my Father had seen me as nothing but a child who wished to do evil. It's not as if I don't know the difference between evil and good. I know it better than you, Father. It is all very well to stand on the higher ground and claim to know all about morality. But you never felt the desire to do evil, did you, Father? You find happiness in the Bible and how I envy you for it. All you need to do is read some scripture and you feel satisfied. But I can't. Now that I know that I can see for myself what I want, I need to see it! Perhaps you may turn out to be wrong. Perhaps my wish isn't wrong at all! Can't you have a little faith in your son?


"It seems that I can't sway you any further through words." Father said. He began to take off his shirt. I stiffened. He can't seriously thinking to do that. "Then I have only my fists left to guide you." He said before taking a stance.


"Father, please stop this. This is madness." I said.


"No, this is my crusade." He said before charging at me.


Archer didn't bother materializing. That was good because he would have ended the problem, and the church, in the matter of a few seconds. Father began with trying to blow my head off with his right hand. Unlike me, who was barely trained in Bajiquan, Father was quite good at several different types of martial arts. I could tell that he used a different mix together to fight. Although why did he bother at all? He wasn't an Executor, he was a simple priest. Just a few of the many things I didn't know about my own father.


Dodging the first blow was trivially easy. Which was why I didn't notice Father's knee. It hit me in the stomach like an express train. How strong was he? I backed away a few steps.


"Will you see reason now, Kirei?" Father demanded.


"No." I replied.


"Wrong answer." He said before engaging again.


The first blow was once again delivered to the head. I deflected it with my left palm and grabbed his wrist. He tried to hit me on the stomach with his knee once more. I brought up my own leg and intercepted the attack. He then twisted my left arm completely and slammed me to the ground.


"Do you submit?" He asked.


"Well?" Archer, still invisible, drawled. "Do you?"


Fighting Father was nothing like fighting Apostles. They were so confident in their own strength and magecraft that there was no difference in fighting one or another. As a rule, they rarely engaged in close combat despite being many times stronger than humans and usually resorted to bombarding me with magecraft or sending their familiars to do the dirty business. In other words, rather like Caster of this Grail War. It was a completely different case for Dead Apostle Ancestors but that is not the point here.


Now that I think of it, this is the first time I had fought a human being in close combat. For it to be my Father is something I didn't anticipate. He had shown me the difference in skill between us. It seems that I would have to resort to overpowering him instead of outfighting.


I kicked off the ground with all of my strength, lifting myself and Father into the air. Then I somersaulted and slammed us on the floor. Father's grip slackened. I hastily pulled myself free. Father was already rising to his feet. Now I know where I get my strength from. Instinctively, I pull out a Black Key and stake him through the heart.


The look of shock on his face is delicious. It is like he never expected me to do something like this. It is also simultaneously saddening and reassuring. He, even in his blindness, had faith that there was good in me. That I would see reason. He fought me expecting this fully and had his expectations cruelly defied. Perhaps he was correct. No sane man would resort to killing his father just to get what he wanted. What is wrong with me? I find his murder so satisfying and et I see it as an atrocity as well. Will nothing satisfy me?


"Now you've done it." Father wheezed. He sank to his feet. "You've spilled blood on hallowed ground." He looked at me. "I am severely disappointed, Kirei." He said before falling over dead.


I remain standing there. I see that I have killed him but a small part of me doesn't believe that I killed him. But even that part is also slowly convinced that the deed has occurred. The worst part is that I feel nothing but joy at having finally murdered him. I am disgusted with my happiness. I didn't know that one could feel that. My joy is carnal but my disgust is spiritual. Two conflicting emotions trapped in one body. Woodenly, I bow down and pull the Black Key out of Father's body. I must hide it before Rin gets curious by all that noise and decides to investigate. I pick up the body and take it to the cemetery. I can feel Gilgamesh's presence behind me. No doubt e finds the entire farce amusing. Patricide. A foul word.


There are no empty graves which is why I am forced to dig one myself. It has stopped snowing but the ground is damp. It makes digging a difficult business. But I finish it much more quickly than a normal man and bury my father. I find myself at a loss for words, the bliss and the revulsion still mingling together. I make my way back to the church and clean the blood.


There is only one thing left now. I open the door and leave the church.

[Leo Novum]

Chapter Nine: MAIYA

I placed the pot of incense on the dresser before lighting it. From inside my coat, I dug out a picture of you and set it against the pot. It is a picture of you smiling, something I only remember once. Pierre had the camera at that time in Sri Lanka. It had only been a weapons delivery to the Tigers at first but we had decided to stay. And that was when you had seen something in the village that made you smile. Pierre had the camera out and taken your picture before you stopped. He later told me that there had been a bet going on about it. What had made you smile? I never knew and I always wanted, so desperately. Just once. Your smile had brightened the day so much and in a way I had never thought possible. The whole world seemed to have stopped still just for you and I couldn't savor it enough.


And now you are gone. Somehow, I always imagined us going out in a blaze of glory, like one of those Hollywood films we watched when we couldn't find any more work. That's how you taught me English anyways. I remember driving you up the walls with all those one-liners and puns. Although the times put a quick stop to that.


Death by decapitation via flying sword wasn't quite up to expectation.


Madam had screamed and cried as we simply saw you there. She even bit my hand as she tried to crawl over to your side. I had to restrain her physically or else we would have been killed next. I didn't let her go even after the two of them were gone. It was one of the first things you taught me, to make sure the coast was clear. The enemy might have left a golem or familiar watching over the body to make sure no one retrieved it, standard Executor MO. There weren't any but I couldn't have risked it. Madam had tried to 'fix' you in her own way. It was pathetic and unsightly but understandable. She is a child at heart and had reacted as such. I feel guilty for treating her so harshly at that night. But only now. There was no sympathy for her then.


We buried you in Einzbern earth. I will never understand why you requested to be buried on that island but I suppose it was important to you in some way. You never told me and I never asked, just some of the many things that simply slipped out of my grasp, like grains of sand. At least you are back at home. Although, something gives me the idea that you never saw this place as home.


You were never home.


Madam's demeanor changed after she calmed down. She completely became calm. I would attribute it to shock but it seemed more than that.


"We have to find John Constantine." She had said. As I said before, I chalked it up to shock at first.


She was adamant. Very insistent on me hunting him down and arranging a meeting between him. The only way I could calm her down was to use a simple tracking spell and hunt him down. It wasn't so hard. John Constantine had left traces of his magecraft everywhere, ranging from the Tohsaka Estate to the MacKenzie Residence till the Fuyuki Park, where we had found him.


Kiritsugu, I find it extremely hard to believe that this mealy mouthed, yellow bellied excuse of a man managed to become a participant in this fell ritual of thaumaturgy. He would have looked more at home in some English pub, chugging away at his pint. He seemed as if he had barely woken up and his attention appeared to be diverted most of the time. It was only after Madam signed the geis scroll when he finally paid attention. But that would be equivalent to saying that an earthquake caught someone's attention.


I close my eyes and murder him in my fantasies. It's not something I am proud of and it is quite unprofessional of me but it would be extremely cathartic. He smokes like a chimney and speaks like some British thug. Cancel that. He certainly is a British thug. I can't understand how or why you evaluated him as a high threat. It is a miracle he can generate any od at all. He lacks a Crest. He lacks finesse. He lacks caution.


Although he is a good pick-pocket. I didn't even notice my wallet missing until he addressed me by name. But then again, that would barely help us in this War. It certainly wouldn't help us win any mage duels or anything of the sort. I brace myself internally before standing. As much as I loathe him, we need him.


The flat box in my pocket suddenly grew hot. I took it out and placed it on the dresser. I delicately opened the top.


"How is the War proceeding, Emiya?" A cold voice came from it. I considered closing the box for a few moments.


"Emiya Kiritsugu is dead." I said. There was the sound of someone quickly inhaling from the other side.


"Who is this?" The voice demanded.


"I am Kiritsugu's acquaintance. I was here to aid him in winning the War for the Einzberns." I answer.


"So it appears that my faith in him was unfounded." The voice muttered angrily. "Did he manage to eliminate John Collier Constantine?"


"No, he didn't. Constantine is still a participant in the Fourth Holy Grail War." I replied.


"And what of the Grail? Is the Lesser Grail still safe?" The voice asked.


"I am afraid that the Lesser Grail, the homunculus named Irisviel von Einzbern, is in the possession of John Constantine." I answered.


"What! The thieving charlatan had the audacity to do that? What of Tohsaka and Makiri? Why didn't they do anything to stop him?" The voice roared. I suppose that the shock of losing his nest egg to a conman would cause anyone to lose their composure.


"In regards to the Matou, I cannot say anything. The Head of the Tohsaka Family was just killed indirectly by Constantine which is partially why the Grail is still in his possession." I replied. There was a moment of silence. I presume that the person on the other end was musing over this set of revelations.


"Explain how Constantine managed to outwit Tohsaka Tokiomi. He isn't one to be made a fool out of so easily." The voice said.


"From what I gather, Constantine forced him to choose between the Grail and his daughter. He chose poorly." I answer briefly.


"Is that so?" The other voice spoke. It sounded concerned, for the lack of a better word. "If Tokiomi decided to save his daughter then of course, his Servant was going to retaliate. But the question is why? Why choose to abandon a path to certain victory?" I didn't know and I didn't care to know. "What made his daughter worth saving?" I don't know maybe the fact that she was his daughter? Fathers tend to prioritize their offspring's well being, after all. "It makes no sense unless he hadn't transplanted the Family Crest on to her daughter's body." Have you gone senile? What sort of logic did you apply to this scenario to arrive at such a result?


"In short, the Tohsaka family is in dire straits and Constantine is still at large." I interrupted him.


"What is your interest in the War?" The person on the other end snapped.


"I don't understand the question." I feign ignorance just to see what he means.


"You are in the possession of the communication device I gave to the late Magus Killer. You either had no idea what it is or you made a choice. Seeing that you are still conversing with me, I can assume that you are interested in the War for some reason. Out with it. What do you want?" The person on the other end said.


"I am willing to deliver John Collier Constantine to you in exchange for five hundred thousand dollars and protection from the Clock Tower." I said.


"Your price is too steep. I cannot offer you protection and I will only be willing to listen at half of your stated price." The voice said. I grunt angrily. Miserly kraut. He doesn't have much faith in me. "Besides, you have nothing to prove that you can deliver." He pointed out.


"Wait a moment while I bring you proof for your ears. Do not cut this line of communication." I said before getting up. I physically and thaumaturgically locked the only gun I had in the dresser before opening the sliding door and stepping into the corridor. I kept checking all of the rooms until I found the correct one.


His only effort at undressing was to take off his shoes. His tie was a little loose and crooked. One leg was sticking out of the blanket. This man clearly had no experience at sleeping on futons. I calmly walked up to him and kicked him in the ribcage.


"My pants!" Constantine yelled before sticking a hand in his mouth and rubbing his teeth. "Oh, they're still there." He then blearily looked at me. "Do I know you?"


I kicked him again. I then left the room and went back to mine. I pulled the thaumaturgical communication device after making sure that I was secure.


"I am sure you have identified the person by voice although if you haven't, I can verify it by making him say his name." I said.


"His voice was sufficient." The voice from the other end said. "Why are you aiding us? As a mercenary, you would have dropped the whole assignment after your employer died."


"I don't see this as the end of one job, I simply see it as another opportunity to take advantage of." I said. There were a few moments of silence.


"We need to renegotiate your price." The person on the other end said. "We are willing to your previously stated price but we want Constantine alive and the Avalon along with him. You also have to make sure he doesn't win this War."


"The Avalon?" I repeated.


"It is the legendary sheath of King Arthur. It bestows tremendous regenerative abilities to its possessor although the presence of King Arthur is required for it to work." The voice said.


"I will keep that in mind. I will capture John Constantine at the end of the War. We will cease communications until I have." I said before closing the box.


"So that's why I kept healing." I heard someone drawl behind me. I sighed. I knew he would eavesdrop but I didn't expect him to get up so late. "I actually thought that Nergal's blood in my system had somehow upgraded itself. So, planning on doing a little Christmas shopping with all that pin money? It's nice to know the Einzberns value me so much. Ah, the joys of being loved."


"You're late. As a Master in the Fourth Holy Grail War, you should have gotten up earlier than anybody else." I said. There's no need for me to panic. Once I explain why I parleyed with Einzberns, he would agree with me.


"Forgive me for being a bloody chav who enjoys late night walks." Constantine yawned.


"You went outside?" I said. What kind of a reckless idiot was this man? There was whole god forsaken War happening in this town with megalomaniacal, power-hungry men harnessing forces of nature to win a wish and he goes out for walks?


"And had some tofu. Bloody terrible it was. Never going to have that sort again. It's plain old fish and chips for me for the rest eternity. Blimey, does anyone have any breakfast or am I going to have to cook some for myself. Good morning." He said before leaving my room. I couldn't move. How carefree can a man be?


"Oi, aren't you worried about the job I've got from the Einzberns?" I finally yelled.


"I trust that it is a ploy to get me into the Einzbern estate." He called back. "Because you didn't bother disconnecting from your thaumaturgical mobile phone when you saw me. Neither did you bother denying it. Of course, if you really are trying to betray me, I would be a tad bit buggered." He got me there. At least he is sharper than most even if he is a bigger prick than most.


There wasn't any breakfast. There was just a somber affair where Constantine smoked, Saber read the Fuyuki Times, Madam ate some burnt mess of eggs and something indescribable and I kept watch on Constantine.


"Constantine, we shall now start the ritual in which I supply Saber with prana and relieve you of that burden." Irisviel said after finishing her meal. I had to admire her tenacity. A soldier or a prisoner can be expected to eat that food but not someone who has been raised in luxury. "Before you start it, I would like to go over the finer points of that ritual. I would like to make sure that both of can understand if the spell is about to go wrong or not."


I pick up the ashtray and dirty dishes and dump them in the kitchen sink. I can deal with them later. The sun is shining and it looks as if it is going to be an unexpectedly pleasant day. It would be a pity if I were to spend it inside, going over thaumaturgical theory and prana transfer rituals. I wordlessly leave the main building and walk out into the sun. The grass is quite springy beneath my bare feet and I sit down, enjoying the natural cushion.


This sort of respite is nice. Kiritsugu enjoyed days without any strife as well even if it meant that he couldn't do any world saving if he took his time. He usually didn't but he realized the importance of rest. Some days, rare though they were, he would just sit in the sun and look at nothing. I had once asked him what he was thinking about. He never answered that question and I wisely chose not to pursue that. For all our intimacy, I knew only a little more about Kiritsugu than the average man. In some ways, I envied Madam.


The sliding door opened and Saber stepped out of the house as well. She was still holding on to the newspaper. She sat down on the lawn, still reading. I briefly entertain the thought of asking why she wanted the Grail before discarding it. Wishes are people's most private thoughts. A person's wish tells what sort of person she is.


I am not sure Saber wanted me to know that. She probably wanted people to think of her as just a knight.


"Is the ritual complete?" I asked.


"Yes." She replied.


"Was it successful?" I asked.


"Yes." She replied. What was so interesting about the newspaper?


"Can I ask you a question?" I finally said, my curiosity getting the better of me.


"You may." She answered.


"Why are you reading the newspaper?" I said.


"For the news." She said as if I had asked an extremely stupid question. In a sense, it was.


"Why would someone from the past be interested in the affairs of the future? It's not as if you can understand any of the news. Neither can you benefit from it." I said. Saber folded the newspaper, tucked it under her arm and sat down beside me.


"I read it because I enjoy it. I also read it as a form of reconnaissance." Saber answered. She opened the newspaper and pointed at a certain headline. It was something about the repercussions of the hotel bombing. "This article, for instance, details the aftermath of the destruction of the hotel we were staying in. Even though it doesn't touch upon the War itself, obviously, it captures the atmosphere of the city."


"And how does that count as reconnaissance?" I ask although I already know the answer. I was planning on reading the newspaper myself though. I don't like it when someone points something out on the newspaper if only because I don't like things being pointed out to me. I would rather read it myself, thank you very much.


"Knowing how the people of this city feel tells me where should I take my battles. If the city was tranquil, I could even risk a few moments of battle in the urban area if it became necessary." Saber said. That was quite obvious. You didn't even need to read a newspaper for that. Is she deliberately lying about the reason?


"Which reminds me," Saber suddenly said. "How did you manage to plant explosive devices in the building in such a short time? Constantine was only knocked himself out for somewhere around five minutes."


"I don't know how Kiritsugu managed to pull it off." I lie. It's not a very good lie but I don't care. I can tell enough about Saber that she is the type of woman who doesn't force someone to tell something they don't wish to reveal. Honor and all the works. The truth was, we rigged all five of Fuyuki's Five Star Hotels and all sixteen Four Star Hotels with enough explosives to blow them sky high. It had taken us nine months to go through every hotel. Kiritsugu has even rigged all the Five Stars with another set of explosives. I called it excessive; Kiritsugu called it contingency. Saber glared at me as if she could read my mind but didn't say anything. Just as I expected, polite to a fault.


Thinking about explosives got me thinking about ammunition and armament. Most of our weapons were back in the Einzbern Castle. Going back to retrieve them could prove be too risky. Kiritsugu had used a Command Spell on Caster as soon as she was summoned; to prevent her from controlling him, me, Madam or any non combatants. This meant that Caster had ended up at her weakest, running nearly no fumes. But it was worth the risk. Casters are a notoriously fickle brand of Servants. A magus trying to control a Witch from the Age of Gods would be downright suicidal if not for the Command Spells. The downside of all of this ended up with Caster being in no condition to fight Saber, even with the latter's degraded abilities. Caster's spells simply weren't strong enough to kill Saber. She certainly isn't showing any signs of distress or damage now although they might have healed up.


The sliding door opened a second time and I automatically knew who had stepped outside this time. The British conman made his way to me and sat down. He carried a whiff of smoke with him as if he had been standing to a burning funeral pyre. Constantine had to be the worst smoker I ever had the misfortune of meeting.


"Alright, so tonight we are going to go after that Archibald bloke." He said.


"And why is that, Master?" Saber asked. Something tells me that Constantine disliked being called Master because he made an angry noise when Saber referred to him as such.


"Because he has the weakest Servant. Defeating him won't be a difficult task for you." I automatically answer. It was something Kiritsugu and I had gone over several times.


"Right, so Saber, be sure not to mess this up, love." Constantine remarked. Saber didn't bother replying. I guess that she isn't keen on the sarcasm game.


"Constantine, are you sure Saber can defeat Lancer?" I asked as I sat up a little straighter.


"I beg your pardon?" Saber said. I ignored her and continued. "Her performance hasn't been quite noteworthy up till now. We could simply eliminate Archibald through mundane means."


"As much as I would love to do that, I can't." Constantine said. "My way of doing things has gotten me into shit. Not that I am used to that but I don't like being dragged along in the muck. On the other hand, Saber's way has at least gotten me shelter and food. So I suppose we'll do things her way instead." Wait, that's it? What happened to your normal approach to tradition and magic? Constantine shrugged. "Sorry, love, but Saber and Lancer are going to sort it out the old fashioned way."

------------------------------------------------


"This is insanity." I mutter. We are, once again, standing in the Fuyuki Park. Constantine had gotten in touch with Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald and the duel had been arranged to take place here. It was a shame that we left all the bomb detonators back in the Einzbern Castle or else I could have made short work of him. The Hyatt had been rigged since it was a Five Star Hotel. But now, it was no use. I was standing at least five hundred feet away from the clearing, behind the safety of trees. I had decided to bring Madam along with us since there would be no security back at the Emiya Residence.


The insane part was Constantine standing in the clearing with Saber. That idiot probably didn't realize that even if Madam was acting as the prana supplier, his death would cause Saber's elimination. But stepping out and reprimanding would be inadvisable. I could only grit my teeth and bristle.


"To think that a petty dabbler like you would end up summoning the best Servant," Archibald drawled. It must be an acquired family trait. "I severely underestimated you, Constantine."


"Is that right? I tend to have that effect on a lot of people. You aren't an exception." Constantine said. Why was he bothering with the banter? Get on with it already.


"So it would seem. Still, to formally request to settle things in a manner befitting of me and my lineage, it seems that you have a sense of propriety. It's a shame that your talents are wasted like this. Perhaps you might consider working for me after this War is over, provided you survive."


"Forget it, Archibald. A job like that always ends up bad for simple people like me. Besides, how am I to know you won't simply dissect me for research?" Constantine said. What is he waiting for?


"As much as I find the thought appealing, it wouldn't be worth it. For all your charm and mysteries, Constantine, your lineage doesn't carry any unique traits whatsoever. You actually lack the ability to create Magical Crests. There is no gain in tearing you apart. You would be more of use as servant." Even Saber looked impatient now. Perhaps this is all a gigantic bluff on part of Constantine? But why now? I thought he said that he was going to go with Saber's decisions?


"Are we going to pit our Servants against each other or not?" Constantine said.


"If you insist on witnessing your Servant's, and by that extension, your, humiliation, I will not delay." Archibald said. His Lancer, who wielded two spears, readied himself. Saber also took a stance.


A twig snapped and made me turn around.


What the fuck? How did he get here? How did I not notice him coming?


Archer looks at me impassively before turning his attention to Madam. I understand why he is here. I don't have any weapons though and even if I did, it wouldn't really matter. He is a Servant while I am just a mercenary. But it's the thought that counts.


"Madam, run!" I yelled as I stepped between Gilgamesh and her. Madam didn't move. She is frozen to the spot in fear. There is no other way for me. I grab her by the arm and run. "Saber!" I yelled.


Archer simply grabbed me by the neck and tossed me away. I flew through the air before hitting the ground. My eyesight became unstable. This couldn't be happening! We had, I had, worked so hard for this! Archer simply grabbed Madam and disappeared into golden dust. How could he do that?


Someone is crouching beside me.


"Hisau!" Saber said. She sounded alarmed. That's strange. I never pegged her for one having emotions. Is it something I did?


"Archer has Madam." I said. It was important to tell them first. Madam's safety, no, her entire existence kept the Grail War together. Her being in the hands of a biased participant could throw the whole War into chaos.


"Saber, don't bother with her! Track down Archer! I'll take care of Hisau." Constantine yelled.


"Constantine." Saber said. She sounded uncertain.


"Damnit, Arturia Pendragon, you don't have time to lose! Take the car and search for Irisviel! Go!" Constantine yelled. Saber didn't argue a second time and went away.


"Easy there, lass. I'll just drop you by the Emiya Residence. You sit this one out." Constantine said. If he wanted to sound reassuring then he was failing to do so. Besides, he possibly hadn't ever seen someone get the wind knocked out of them. I pull myself up. "I'll be fine. We have to concentrate on recovering Madam." I said.


"Maiya, love, you might want to take some bed rest. Getting thrown by a Servant can't be good for your health, you know?" Constantine said. That was a strange thing to say.


"I am fine. This isn't the worse I've experienced." I told him as I got up. I brushed my clothes.


"That's not why I wanted you to stay down." Constantine said. Something in his tone made me turn around.


He was pointing my gun at me. My gun, which I had left locked in my dresser back in the Emiya Residence. Now the smell of burning wood on his person made sense. He probably couldn't have unlocked the dresser so he burned his way through. Clever, unfortunately.


"I really didn't want to do this, Maiya." Constantine said.


His hand is shaking. He is still reluctant to shoot me. I can take advantage of that. I tackle him, making sure to pull his gun arm away before kneeing him solidly in the crotch. He doesn't collapse. He struggles instead. Once wasn't enough. Constantine is unexpectedly strong. I won't be able to properly take him down. I'll have to resort to brute force. I try to punch him in the face. He brings his arm to protect his face just as at the last second. The gun goes off.


Strange. It almost feels like I am shot. I look down and see the dark stain blossoming on my chest. Oh, so I am shot. It doesn't feel painful. Shots to the chest can kill purely through shock. Legs are going weak. I am on the ground now. The pain is coming now.


"No no, shit! This wasn't supposed to happen! Stay with me! Oh God, why did this have to happen!" Constantine is panicking. That's strange. Judging by his reputation, he should be experienced in this regards. He is panicking as if this is his first time seeing a gunshot victim. Apply pressure to the wound, you bloody idiot.


"No, don't do this! Maiya!" He is yelling but his voice sounds so far away. The pain is making it very hard for me to understand what he is trying to say.


Then the light fades.

[Leo Novum]

Chapter Eight and a Half: TOFU

And now, we go over events once more. This time with clarity and understanding.


My name is John Collier Constantine and I am standing in front of a wounded associate. Alright so maybe calling her an associate is stretching it a bit. Let's call her a former enemy who is forced to co-operate with me due to extenuating circumstances. Who also conspired to sell me to Krautland Alchemists. She's also bleeding from a bullet wound in her chest. A bullet that I shot. Accidentally. Oi, I just wanted her to keep away! It was supposed to be part of the plan!


I swear, every time I try to do something right, all of Creation conspires against me. And when I do something wrong, it still conspires against me. Strewth, what am I supposed to do now?


Alright, think clearly. Your associate is bleeding to death, your ticket to redemption has been kidnapped by an ancient Babylonian King and you may have accidentally pushed the war beyond acceptable limits. What's the solution?


Easy, stick the sword sheath in to her body and watch her heal.


"You are so lucky that I overheard your conversation with those krauts, lass." I said as I charged my fingers with od. "I wouldn't have known to use Avalon otherwise. Bloody thick of me, I suppose, but hey, we all forget important things in our life." I stabbed my hand into my abdomen. I feel my body open. It's not painful but it feels extremely unpleasant. A little like taking off your jumper in a snow filled street in January. The cold wind stings but I persistently fish around until I grip the object tightly. Pulling it out, on the other hand, feels mildly pleasant.


With a single motion, I charge the sheath up and stick the tip inside Hisau Maiya. She gasps and then moans. For a few moments, nothing happens. Then I see her body pop out a bullet. The slug is slightly flattened at the tip. Surprising. Did she instinctively reinforce her skin? That's a hell of a technique to pull off. I quickly shove Avalon back into my body and look around. Hisau will recover in due time and probably come running to rip my head off. Most women I know want to rip off my heads anyways so there hasn't been a significant change in that area.


No, the actual change is that the game has finally started. All thanks to me and Kotomine.

-------------------------------------------------------


I couldn't sleep at all. I am not used to these mattresses on the ground which the japs use. And then there is the fact that the Einzbern keeps sobbing. Granted, she isn't loud but she keeps me awake anyways. Saber is somewhere in the house, probably standing at guard. The link between us fluctuates according to my whim. This is the only thing I've left that I can control. Bugger. I miss the feeling of being in control of the situation.


A bell rings somewhere in the house, jolting me from fitfully drowsy to fully awake. I simply lay there for a few moments, unable to do or think anything coherent. I sat up and tried punching my pillow to make it more comfortable. One thing led to another and soon I was venting my anger into the pillow.


What the fuck was I doing? I was now nothing more but a glorified spiritual anchor to her Majesty King Arthur. I was a Master, damnit! I was supposed to be the one in charge! I pull the crew through every shitstorm we encounter.


Oh wait, I don't. I get them killed more often than not.


I give up. The pillow's a mess anyways. It was entirely innocent anyways. Maybe a glass of water will help. There was some bottled water in the refrigerator. I get up and slide the room's door open. This is another thing I'll never understand up about the Japanese. What's wrong with a regular swinging door? And then with all the tables at the centre of the room as if it's some sort of clansmeet. I can't believe I am already sick of this country.


I couldn't endure it any more. I threw off the blankets and tip toed out of the house.


And stopped dead.


"Oh bugger." I groan at the sight of the Executer in front of me. To be honest, he looks just as confused as me. The two of use stare at each other, unsure of what to do. Being the charismatic individual I am, I decide to take the lead.


"Kirei Kotomine, I assume?" I said. Irisviel von Einzbern had mentioned him a few hours ago. "I admit, you Catholics are good trackers. Tracking down a target in a densely populated city like this in a matter of hours is impressive by my standards." I had to keep him talking and signal Saber somehow. Why hadn't she noticed his presence yet? Or was she waiting for me to muck it all up? Quite sly of you, lass. Never expected this from a knight but maybe there's hope in you yet.


"I was after you." Kotomine said. His English is accented but the lilt is Spanish. Strange. Or maybe not. He is an Executor after all. Traveling the world is part of his job description.


"So you're hunting Protestants now? Well, they did say that nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition." I said. Kotomine looks at me as if I am completely insane. Come to think of it, that was quite a stupid thing to say.


"I need to talk to you, Mr. Constantine." Kotomine said. He hesitated for a few moments. "I need guidance and I think you can help me."


What the hell? I am the wrong person to ask for mentoring, lad. Isn't this Japan, the land of kung fu and stuff like the sort of wise monks and stuff like that? Hell, even a self help book bought at an airport can be of better use to than me. Most people who ask for m advice usually end up dead, broke, humiliated, insane or a combination of those four.


Actually, this is a good opportunity for me to mess up his mind. Mr. Kotomine here is in extremely emotionally vulnerable at the moment. I can convince him to stand down and spend his life in some monastery in Italy or something like that. Do Italian monasteries accept Japanese blokes? Considering the rampant xenophobia of the world, no man is safe in any country. Hell, people aren't safe in their own country. But that's not the point here. The point is that I have a golden moment here that could probably decide the course of this War.


On the other hand, I could listen to his problems. Who knows, maybe he is just some bloke who had the hard luck to draw the short straw and ended up in this Bloody War. He may have killed Kiritsugu Emiya but what choice did he have? If not him then it would have been Emiya who would have taken the chance. So what if he is an Executor? It's his job to exterminate threats to humanity. The rest of the world doesn't have the luxury of having aliens in tights watching over their cities. These people are humanity's first line of defense.


And besides, I've made friends with worst people. There was a time when I ended up saying 'I could murder a fag right now.' In America. Can't remember which city but the results sure were spectacular. I ended up starting a war between social rights crusaders and Neo Nazi punks, with the Nazis personally going out of the way to rescue me, pat me on the back and taking me out for a couple of drinks. Those were probably the best Nazis I had ever known. I mean, as that American president said, you kill the enemies you make friends out of. One hell of a saying that but one that I approve.


I made my decision.


"Do you want to talk here? Or would you prefer someplace else?" I asked him. The bastard almost glad when I said that. From the way things looked, it seemed as if no person had decided to listen to him vent before. It's a pity I don't have a hip flask because this looks like it's going to be a long night.


"I know of a place where we can sit in private." Kotomine said. I could pinch the link between me and Saber shut and leave her in the dark about my whereabouts if I wanted. But that would be extremely stupid. However, if I decide to go against my alliance with the Einzbern, Saber would decide to take my head off. I would prefer not to have that happen. As it happens, I am quite attached to my head. I could, however, use up my spare Command Spell to summon her if there would be trouble. But that would mean that there is nothing to hold her back from killing me dead if I do that. I finally hit on a ridiculous idea.


"Move out of sight." I told Kotomine. He looked perplexed but he walked out of the gate. I go back inside the House. I walk in to my room and slide open the divide between my room and the next. Lying on the mattress is the King of Camelot, eyes wide open. I swear, her irises actually gleam a brilliant green in the dark.


"Constantine, is the intruder hostile?" She asked. So she was aware that someone had come inside but hadn't interfered.


"Well, I am still alive, for starters." I said casually. "It's a confused civilian who is resisting hypnosis. I am going to slowly mesmerize him until he forgets even coming near this place. I want you to follow me but keep out of sight just in case something happens." Saber considers my plan carefully.


"It is a good plan but are you sure it is necessary? What if it turns out that there is no reason for you to do all of this?" Saber asked.


"I don't know if he has seen something or not. For all we know, he may secretly have discovered the world of magecaft and he was sneaking in here to discover some more. It is better to over write his memories than ignore him. He might get himself killed." I said. She will go along with this plan for sure. Protection of the small, the weak, the helpless and the innocent is what all kights are about after all. No matter how brassed off she was, she would agree with my plan if it over lapped with her code. Kind of obvious in hindsight but something that was easy to overlook. Should have found a way like that in the case of Tohsaka.


"Agreed then. What do you propose that I do?" Saber said.


"I am going to leave with that poor bloke for a bit of a bender. You follow us after fifteen minutes. I'll keep the mental link between us open at all times. Keep out of sight but not out of range. I'll be trusting you on this one, Saber." I told her. I look at her in the eyes but she doesn't blink. In the end, I am forced to look away.


"Of course, Constantine." She said and then stood up.


"And another thing. Don't wake Hisau or Einzbern up. There is no need to disturb them." I added. Saber doesn't seem to mind. Perhaps she doesn't trust those two just like me.


"Let's go." I say as soon as I leave the bleeding house. Kotomine simply nods and leads the way. The night is cold and my breath seems to come out like cigarette smoke. I feel the need for another fag but I restrain myself. I only have so many sticks left. Who knows when I might run out.


It only takes us forty five minutes of walking to reach a Chinese restaurant. Kotomine and I sat on the same table facing each other.


"Is this place safe to discuss the War?" I asked.


"There is no need to worry. I have hypnotized the staff of the Hongzhou Feast Hall for the explicit purpose of this talk." Kotomine assured me. That's quite a load of hot air coming from an Executor. I thought most Executors weren't mages but more along the lines of the Church's Anti- Apostle Special Forces? Mundane men who had undergone vigorous training and endured a baptism by fire to emerge polished like human weapons?


Kotomine ordered something while I looked around. I could sense Saber's presence. She was close by and at the ready in case of some misunderstanding or hostility. Kotomine was a deceptively large man. He stood at least an inch taller than me. His clothes seemed to fit him like sausage skins. How did he put them on to begin with? His forearms threatened to split the cloth every time he moved. Was this an intentional design by the tailor? Japanese Catholics are a queer bunch.


The waiter put two bowls of something in front of us. The steam wafting from it made it seem delicious but I was still wary. Who knows what sort of eyes of newts or toes of frogs were in it? It did boil and bubble like some sort of hellbroth. I wouldn't be surprised if this bowl was actually made from Soylent steak. The Japs had to take care of their population somehow. Hell, they might even slip in some supernatural flesh if they could get away with it. Japan is the magical Australia of the world, filled to the brim with supernatural phenomena just waiting to go from bumping things in the night to stripping you down to the bone. I know this because I know a few people who've been there. Just because I haven't seen anything like this yet doesn't mean I shouldn't be ready for something like this.


Kotomine is eating his food with a far off expression. Something really bad must have happened to leave him so gutted. Wonder what it was. Executors aren't known for having the mindset of a common man. One can even say that they are better trained to deal with the sort of stuff I dabble in. Not that I want to stop dabbling, mind you. I am just saying that they are better at it in some ways than me.


"Alright, I'll just assume that you forced me to walk all the way here for a reason that has something to do with the Grail War, Kotomine." I said. Kotomine blinked once or twice before focusing his attention on me.


"Forgive me, I have a few things on mind." He said. His tone sounded sincere enough.


"I can see that." I said. "So, what's the matter?"


Kotomine didn't speak for a few moments. He just played with his food while I waited.


"Why did you participate in the Grail War?" He asked. I am not surprised by that question. In fact, there wasn't even a need for him to drag me all the way here to ask me that.


"I made a stupid mistake in the past while mucking around with stuff I didn't understand." I said. I shrugged. "Someone else suffered for my stupidity."


"Are you talking about the murder of that girl?" Kotomine asked. Christ, how many people have done their research on me? Next thing you'll know, the Queen herself will be gossiping about stuff like this. I decide not to confirm his suspicion. I just look outside. So far, there hasn't been any show of enmity from Kotomine. So far, so good.


"I didn't expect such a noble cause to be your motivation, Constantine." The priest said.


"What's so surprising about that?" I snapped. Kotomine doesn't flinch. The joy of not being infamous means that I can't bully people stronger and better than me since they don't know my reputation. Yet another reason to hate Japan. "Are you saying that Brits can't be good chaps? Or are you saying that blonde blokes are evil? Or maybe you just assume that I, John Constantine, can't do good because I am a selfish bastard?"


"I assumed that because you used Tohsaka Tokiomi's daughter against him." Kotomine bluntly stated. Strewth, I hate Catholics. All that time, dealing with confessions and the likes means that they can judge a man from looks alone. Or was it voice alone? Anyways, Father Brown, what more can you tell about me? Maybe you would like to ask me about my father now? How I hated him and lusted after my mother? Sorry to say, my mother died giving birth to me and my Father never forgave me for that. And yes, I went through that and didn't decide to wear tights and a mask and go out crusading against petty criminals, calling myself 'Captain Britain'. Vigilantism is an expensive hobby, you know. You would have to be a billionaire who also lived in a criminal haven to be able to do all that.


"All is fair in love and war." I brush him off with a pithy quote.


"No, it isn't." He replies. "The International Law explicitly forbids war crimes." Oh now we are going to use the mundane world as a reference, eh? I swear, you mages are all the same. Well, not Executors but since they are more combat oriented, I think my intentions fit the glove. Actually, do supernatural creatures even concern themselves with mundane laws? Why bother with procedure and protocol when you can simply mesmerize your way through? And let's face it, even mundane don't respect the law. For all our pretense of being a civil bunch of civilizations, we respect bigger sticks more than fairer treaties.


"So, I used unfair means to eliminate a strong threat." I said. "It's Tohsaka's fault that he failed to predict something like this."


"True." Kotomine said. That was unexpected. I would have thought that he would disagree with on the grounds of my actions of being morally questionable at best. "But that doesn't mean you had to exploit him like that." And now we are back to me being the villain. What does it take to get some redemption around here, a cross and some nails?


"We aren't here to discuss my problems." I said, putting the conversation back on track. "Why did you bring me all the way here?" My bowl of grub has gone cold but I don't care. I take a spoonful just to see what's it like. Christ, what is this stuff? Why does it burn like demon blood? Is Kotomine a masochist? Or does he enjoy torturing his guests? And why does it taste so hot even when it has gone cold. Strewth, there isn't any water or milk anywhere. I can't speak Japanese! Fuck you, Scoville! I am not going to show weakness to my enemy. I quickly grab a cube of sugar from the ceramic sugar bowl and pop it in my mouth. The pain doesn't go away immediately but it dulls. And once again, I have overcome a powerful enemy.


"What is this anyways?" I said, wiping away tears from my eyes.


"Tofu." Kotomine said.


"Oh." I said. So this is what vegetarians eat instead of meat? I beg your pardon, vegetarians of the world. I used to mock you for being herbivores but now I see that simple meat isn't enough for your leathery tongues. As for me, I think I prefer my bacon just the way it is. Never knew that there were people who actively enjoyed punishing themselves. Besides Puritans but that's a different story."What do you wish for?"


I hit gold. Kotomine shuffles. His entire posture tightens. He was emotionally exposing himself to me before but he seems to be aware of his situation now. Lad, I am not an expert on Catholicism but even I can tell that you need to get yourself to a confessional. Or better yet, a nunnery. Actually, maybe not.


"I know what I wish for. But I do not know whether I should wish for it." Kotomine said.


"That's not much for me to go on if you want me to play the role of the therapist. By the way, does this place remains open until midnight?" I said.


"Yes, it will remain open until then. And I don't know whether I should tell you more about myself. I came to you thinking of you as a kindred spirit but you are not one." Kotomine replied.


"Oi, what do you mean, not a kindred spirit? I may not share many commonalities with you but I go about keeping people out of the reach of Hell and its minions." I said. "And I have had my air share of run ins with Dead Apostles. Actually it was only once but it was a good once." I added. "We share more things in common than many others." I lean forward and look at him in the eyes. "So come clean with me, Kotomine. What's your malfunction?"


"A participant in the War just murdered my father." Kotomine said after a long pause. "He was the mediator of the War. It was his duty to make sure that the War would have remained fair for everyone."


"Well, I am sorry for your loss." I said. I can't imagine being fond of my father. Or anyone being fond of their father at all. "But how does it pertain to the discussion at hand? Are you having second thoughts about the War after his passing?"


"My father forbade me from pursuing the Grail. He believed that it wasn't meant for a man of God like me." Kotomine said. There is something wrong with his statement. He is either lying or holding back a part of the truth.


"And now you are torn between playing the obedient son and the ambitious Master." I conclude. "Well, at least your father can rest easy knowing that his son cares about his instructions so much." Kotomine flinched slightly. It would have passed my notice but he had been sitting so still before that I managed to note it.


"I am not, was not, the best son he could have asked for." Kotomine admitted. Now we are talking. To be fair, most sane men think of the same. Whether they lived up to their father's expectations or not. "The best I can do for him right now is to honor his wishes."


"But at the same time, you really want the Grail." I said, nodding wisely. I can nod very wisely. It's one of my superpowers. How else do you think I manage to win the trust of nuns and prostitutes? And nuns who were former prostitutes? Actually, I haven't met one of those yet. Kotomine doesn't say anything. I suppose this is the part where I push him out of his stroppiness and into helping me.


"The way I see it, you won't respect your father's death by giving up on the Grail." I said. Kotomine stares at me. Stop with that dead fish look, mate! "Your father died at the hands of someone arse who decided to piss on the rules of the War and take the Grail for himself." I pause for emphasis. "Are you going to let that bastard take the Grail or are you going to secure it or yourself?"


"Yes, I suppose." Kotomine mutters.


"Suppose nothing. Right now, you have the power to end the Grail War in a single night. I suggest that you take the opportunity and make the most of it." I told him.


"How?" Kotomine asked, looking quite startled.


"Well, I happen to have the Einzbern woman who functions as the Lesser Grail, as an ally. You happen to have the strongest Servant." I said. "I suggest that we work together and defeat all the other Servants and witness the birth of the Lesser Grail. Should be a nice sight to see anyways." I said. I had seen the Command Spells on Kotomine's hand. It meant that he still had a Servant somewhere. I would assume that it was Archer after all.


"True." Kotomine said. Assumption confirmed then. "But why are you aiding me? Don't you want the Grail yourself?"


"Oh, don't misunderstand, mate." I said, finally giving in to temptation and lighting a fag. The waiter didn't object despite a clear no smoking sign in the shop. "I want the Grail even more than you do. In fact, I fully intend to betray you at some point. I am just willing to cooperate until the Grail comes forth. After that, all is fair game."


"That's a rather blasé statement." Kotomine commented. "How do defeat all the Servants?"


"Well, all you have to do is kidnap the Einzbern woman and make sure everybody gets the message. 'I have the Grail and there is nothing you can do about it.'. If it works well enough, everyone will come running and Archer can pick them off." I said. "But the question is, can you pull it off?" I know he will agree because he is tempted by the Grail. A man can murder his best friend for money, after all. Wishes are better than any amount of money. It was never a question of whether I could convince Kotomine to join my cause. It was just a matter of time.


"How will I find the Lesser Grail?" He asked me.


"I'll make sure to bring her out of hiding somehow. Maybe, I'll challenge some other participant. Is that good enough for you?" I told him. He simply nodded. I should trust him to do that. He managed to track me down to the Emiya Residence after all. It's a good thing he didn't decide to attack us. It was night time and it was within the War's rules to do so. Poor bastard's probably still shook up over his father's death. Can't think straight after all.


"Well, I should get going now." I said. Good riddance to bad tofu. Besides, Saber might start getting worried.


"Constantine," Kotomine says as I am about to leave the shop. "Do angels exist?"


"Well," I pause to think. If I give him a clear cut answer, what would happen? Maybe he is facing a crisis of faith? Maybe he wants to use the Grail as a ticket to Heaven? That won't work out because trying to forcibly ascend the celestial ladder is prone to cause massive disasters. I could lie and say no but I've already brought Islington down once. But since he is asking me about that means that he either didn't see that or doesn't believe that Islington is an angel. "That depends upon your definition of angel, doesn't it? Cheerio, Kotomine, and don't forget to kidnap the Einzbern woman." I answer as neutrally as I can.


I leave Kotomine standing and disappear into the Fuyuki darkness.

[Leo Novum]

Chapter Nine and a Half: REGICIDE

"Well, at least the mongrel keeps his end of the bargain." Archer said as he gently set down the body of the Einzbern homunculus on the ground. "Surprising, considering that I pegged him for a cur below the rest."


I check the homunculi's pulse. It is still steady, despite being forcibly rendered unconscious by Archer. That is good because I don't know if her death would affect the ritual or not. It would be better to err on the side of caution, after all. Besides, it would be a waste to kill her in her sleep.


We are standing on the stage of the music hall inside the Fuyuki Civic Centre. This is approximately where the Lesser Grail is set to materialize. I am already anticapting a bitter struggle between Masters in here which is why I took care and made preparations.


"Now that you are in control of the War," Archer said, leaning against the wall. "When do you plan to betray Saber's Master?"


"I am not going to betray him." I replied. Archer didn't look shocked at my statement although I expected him to. He just seemed to be waiting for something.


"And why is that, Kotomine? Now that you have everything in your control, there is no need for him." He said.


"This Grail," I said, gesturing at the unconscious Einzbern homunculus, "is the reward for the victor of the Holy Grail War of Fuyuki. It is said to be an infinitely powerful and omnipotent wish granting device, perhaps even capable of enacting lost miracles. If it is infinite then surely it would be possible for a victor to share the spoils among the others."


"And where did you find this spark of altruism, Kotomine?" Archer said. He was trying to enlighten me about something but I couldn't tell what exactly.


"Is it really unexpected for a man of God to be magnanimous towards his fellow man?" I asked.


"For a priest of your religion, I would assume it isn't but for you it is." Archer said. "You killed your own father, Kotomine. If you are going to delude yourself, you will need a better illusion."


"Patricide has nothing to do with my intentions of sharing the Grail." I said through gritted teeth.


"No, no it doesn't." Archer acknowledged. "But your case highlights your selfishness and your drive for the Grail. You desire the Grail enough to bury your father for it. I find it hard to believe that you would share such a treasure with anyone else." He said.


"Constantine is a friend and I see nothing wrong in dividing the spoils with him." I said.


"Oh, so this is the illusion you are going to wrap around your head now? As far as false notions go, it is better than your previous one but not good enough to convince me." Archer said. "Let me explain why he isn't your friend, Kotomine. You've only learned of him a few days before this War started and that was only out of necessity. You knew him not as a person but as a target and an enemy, cutting down any chance of friendship."


I truly hate Archer. He tore down this façade that I had built around myself with just a glance. This accursed War would have been better off without his involvement. I shouldn't have listened to him at all. His mere presence is a harbinger of destruction.


"Your sole meeting with him was only meant as a way to assuage your fear about being a worthy Master. You doubt yourself so much that you actually need to reach out to an enemy and ask if your wish should be allowed to come true." Archer continued.


"So I am alone." I finally said. I didn't yell or scream but my voice seemed to be magnified in the music hall. It must be due to the architecture of the place. "And I dislike my solitude with great intensity. Is it wrong for me to do so?"


"I am not criticizing your solitude, Kotomine. I am criticizing your self-delusion." Archer said.


"So tell me, Archer." I said. "Tell me why don't I wish to keep the Grail for myself? What other fantastic explanation do you have for my behavior?"


"You see Constantine as a device to measure yourself. You want to share the Grail with him only to see whether or not your wishes resemble each other. If they do, then it means that you aren't alone in the world after all. And if they don't, then it simply means that for all you know, you are alone." Archer explained.


"Stop." I said softly.


"Kotomine, your flaw isn't your desire, it is your stubborn insistence on becoming something you are not." Archer said.


"Stop." I repeated. His voice seems like sandpaper, rubbing away at my sanity.


"You are driven to commit acts of violence and depravity on others purely for pleasure," Archer continued. "But that in itself is fine. Pleasure is, after all, something worth striving for."


"Please stop." I said. There wasn't much holding me back now.


"You are an evil man by the standards of mongrels, Kotomine Kirei, but your claim of being a good man makes you disgusting even to me." Archer finished.


"GILGAMESH! NEVER SPEAK AGAIN!" I yelled. The back of my hand burned as if someone had touched a patch of skin with live embers. I glanced down to see the first Command Spell burn away to leave nothing but a faded trace. Someone made a choking sound. I looked up to see Gilgamesh looking absolutely furious and murderous but unable to make sound. Pools of light began to appear behind him one after another. Five, ten, twenty, fifty. Very soon, the entire chamber was filled with them. The music hall was illuminated by the brilliance of the Gates of Babylon. The sharp ends of swords, spear, arrows, axes, halberds and daggers protruded from the pools, each one a mystery given form, each one capable killing me with a single blow. Gilgamesh's golden armor seemed to glow like the sun and it was at that moment when I realized that I had thrown away my right as a Master.


"Archer, die." I said. My second Command Spell burned away.


But it didn't stop the Gates from firing.


Wave upon wave of Noble Phantasm sprang out of the treasury and turned on their Master. But they simply hit Archer's armor and failed to penetrate it. They harmlessly clattered off, fell to the floor and disappeared as golden dust.


Until one particularly demonic looking sword pierced the back of Gilgamesh's head and emerged from between his eyes. For a few moments, Archer stood absolutely still. The Gates of Babylon immediately extinguished and every other weapon, besides the one sticking in Archer's head, disappeared. My eyes took some time to adjust but by the time I could see properly, Archer's corpse still hadn't faded away. His red eyes still seemed to be alive, trying to understand how could this possibly happen.


I will admit that even I am surprised at how this happened. I had, in a moment of weakness lost control and let my emotions get the better of me. Archer's corpse finally fell on its back. Its limbs started to collapse into golden dust. So this is how a king dies, unmourned and unattended. Who shall look upon his works and despair? Despair? About what? The certainty of death or the indignity of being lost in time? True, I am drawing parallels between two completely different things but I feel the essence is still the same. Gilgamesh was the most powerful Servant of the Holy Grail War. Witnessing his death is cathartic, enlightening and depressing, all at once. I am uncertain on which emotion I should feel first. Having more than two emotions at once at the moment seems beyond my power.


I collapse to my knees. Gilgamesh's corpse is completely gone by now. I have faced Dead Apostles, entire hordes of the undead, ended the lives of magi who had supposedly transcended humanity, killed Spirits that threatened mankind and even destroyed bone golems from the so called Age of Gods. But none of those experiences can be compared to what I had just gone through. Was it the sheer power Gilgamesh radiated? Or was it merely his presence that made the very idea of killing him seem absurd. Facing his wrath was actually painful since it made me feel helpless.


Perhaps not completely helpless. I had just killed him after all. Whether or not forcing a person to kill himself counted as murder, I had performed something which could be considered as impossible by human standards. Modern human standards, to be exact. None of that took away the feeling of having lost.


I had lost. Plain and simple. With no Servant to rely on, I am ill prepared to meet any Servant. I, a mere human, am not able to face Heroic Spirits. That is an established fact, one which is inviolate. I have, through my own folly, killed my own Servant and had gotten myself disqualified from this War. This is also a fact, one which will not change no matter how much I deny it or refuse to believe in it. The Grail requires the sacrifice of all the Servants in order to materialize on the physical plane. That is an established fact, one which I learnt from my late teacher, Tohsaka Tokiomi. I am currently in the Fuyuki Civic Centre and cannot contact Constantine. This is not a fact, merely speculation but considering the circumstances, I can say that it is true. I need Constantine's aid to have a chance at witnessing the birth of the Lesser Grail. Once again, this is not a fact, only an educated guess.


All of my brainstorming goes out of the window as soon as I notice the Einzbern burning. Before I can even get up, the body has burned away without a scream or cry. There are no ashes.


Only the Grail.


I don't know how it could have materialized in spite of four Servants still remaining. I only knew that it was beautiful. Now I know why would magi pursue it. How can one not want to possess something of such immense beauty and power? It glowed with a soft golden light, nothing like the harsh and garish display of power of Gilgamesh. The Grail called me. Its melodious voice crooned softly in my ear. It promised me many things but most of all, it promised me the prospect of never being alone, of being with similar minded people. Who killed and destroyed and spoiled and murdered to their heart's content. A world where I would be free of the expectations of humanity. A world where I would prove Gilgamesh right.


I stop. I am in the middle of reaching for the Grail. It is only inches away from my fingers. But something stopped me from grasping it. What was it? What was powerful enough to stop me from obtaining the Grail?


Gilgamesh. The very thought of proving him right, of him being correct actually made me stop. Why?


I find it hard to believe that you would share such a treasure with anyone else. Even in death, Gilgamesh's voice haunts me.


I frown. I killed you, Archer. If I can kill you then proving you wrong would be child's play for me. Never again will I lose control over my emotions. I quickly walk over to the windows and take a peek outside. There are a few minutes until the sunset sets. It has been several hours since I had asked Archer to kidnap the Einzbern homunculus. The other Masters will come out of their dwellings at night. Their Servants will surely be drawn towards the Grail. I need to get in touch with Constantine before that. But I don't know how.


If I think carefully enough, I can come up with a method to summon Constantine. What do I know about him? He is a man whose entire life always remains in motion. Even though he usually limits himself to Great Britain, his presence has been felt all over the world some way or another. Like Emiya Kiritsugu, the myth of Constantine is painted in blood. Death is his companion and deception is his mistress. Unlike Emiya Kiritsugu, Constantine uses magic as a tool of salvation. At least, he believes that he uses it as such.


The answer was so simple in hindsight. I quickly erected a Bounded Fielded around the Grail before leaving the music hall. It would be extremely naïve of me if I didn't take that security measure. I casually walked out of the Civic Centre and crossed the street. There were still people on the pavements. I can't render myself unnoticeable through mundane means or magecraft. But I can ensure a diversion that would make me particularly uninteresting.


The glass of a clothing shop shattered. Many people cried out, mostly in surprise. One of the mannequins on display fell over. I had thrown a Black Key as fast as I could. If I had done it correctly then my actions would be too fast for the human eye. While everyone was looking at the broken glass, I quickly punctured the fuel tanks of several cars on quick succession and set the pouring fuel on fire. In a few minutes, five cars were burning away merrily and a large crowd had gathered in the street. I heard the blare of fire engine. While everyone was looking at the cars, I quietly retrieved my Black Key. Wouldn't want anything like this fall into mundane hands. Still unnoticed, I calmly crossed the road once more, leaned against the wall of the Civic Centre and waited for Constantine to arrive.


I was not disappointed.


"Strewth, what happened here?" Constantine said. I opened the door and checked the digital clock inside the civic centre. It had taken Constantine three minutes to arrive. Impressive.


"I thought about the best way to attract your attention. And then decided to set various vehicles on fire." I answered.


"You thought the best course of action to summon me would be set things on fire? What made you think of that?" Constantine said. The fire engine, meanwhile, is extinguishing the flaming cars.


"You have a knack for arriving at disasters, both mundane and fantastic. Of course, five burning cars don't count as a crisis but I did the best I could. I would prefer not to initiate a world destroying cataclysm just to bring your running." I answered. "By the way, how did you actually find me?"


"I was trying to track you down through divination after I sent Saber away to another part of the town. Your burning cars did little to help except paint a large red target on this entire street. What if I hadn't showed up?" Constantine said.


"I had to take a risk, didn't I?" I said. I find the reversal of our roles back at the restaurant quite amusing. Now I am the lackadaisical one and Constantine is the worried one. "Come with me, Constantine. I have much to show you." I said. Together, we entered the Civic centre.


"What if someone had gotten hurt?" Constantine asked. His voice was quiet but inside the building, it was audible. Is Constantine truly concerned about the citizens? Or is it a mask which he puts on when he confronts the world? I suppose there is only one way left to find out. With a flourish, I throw open the doors of the music hall.


"Rejoice, John Collier Constantine, for your wish will be granted." I said. A little too dramatic, I suppose, but I couldn't help myself. After thirty five years of living, I would finally see whether or not I was an aberration inside the Great Plan. Father, I am truly sorry for killing you and going against your wishes but this is something which I had to do. If I had stayed away from this War, I would have been able to live a long and sinless life. But Archer changed that. And now, I am at the gates of victory.


"Bollocks." Constantine said. Rather inelegant but then again, one cannot harvest ivory from a dog's mouth. This was probably the best word he could come up with."Why didn't you take the Grail?" he asked.


"We are in this together, Constantine." I said. "We planned this together, we executed the plan together. It is only natural that we grasp our reward together." Constantine, however, isn't paying attention to me at all. He is looking around the music hall suspiciously.


"Where is Irisviel?" He asked. His voice is sharp and accusing. I still take it in stride. I can't think of a reason for him to empathize with a homunculus but then again, Einzbern homunculi are usually quite humane. Even the one I had encountered in the Einzbern woods had come across as an immature adult rather than a mindless killing machine. No wonder this particular family is considered so powerful.


"As soon as I killed Gilgamesh, she burned away and the Lesser Grail emerged from the ashes." I said. Constantine's expression looked slightly pained. "I am sorry, Constantine, but I didn't do this intentionally. I thought her being the Grail was only a metaphorical explanation, not a literal one."


"I thought so as well, mate." Constantine said. He looked at me with a determined expression. "Why do you really want to share the prize with me, Kotomine? There must be some reason behind that."


I decide to tell him the truth.


"I think that you and I are similar in many manners, Constantine. And I want to see how similar we are. If the Grail is a truly a infinite bounty then sharing it wouldn't be a problem. And by seeing what you wish to see, I can compare myself to you and see whether my assumptions are correct or not." I answered.


"Well, we both keep common blokes safe from things that go bump in the night but I can't see much commonality after that. You don't even smoke." Constantine said. I didn't bother correcting his assumption. Let him believe what he wished to believe. I had said the truth. "Shall we touch it together then?" he asked.


"Together." I nod.


"Dark is the domain of the soul"someone chanted. The next moment, a vicious blast of wind hit Constantine in the back, drilled through him and emerged from the front. Before he even had time to fall, his body started repairing itself. An interesting property. Perhaps it was Constantine's personal sorcery trait? Or the effect of his Magic Crest? But I don't have time to act as a researcher. I am not even one, to be fair. I leap aside and pull out my bible. Three Black Keys appear in each hand and I face my opponent.


"Found you at least, rat." Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri snarls. Her attention is on Constantine, who is still busy bleeding and cursing on the stage. She is pointing her right arm while gripping the forearm with her left. Her dominant arm is covered in blue circuits which I can see from this distance. "I knew following you would bear fruit."


This is an interesting situation even if it is unwanted. Right now, I am still within leaping distance of the Lesser Grail. For all her superior wind power, Sophia-Ri's spells won't be able to reach me in time. Additionally, my Executor robes are reinforced mundanely with Kevlar and magically with faith. Bullets and spells are useless on me. One would need to use a proper ritual or a proper explosive to harm me. The conclusion of this brief musing is that I can safely grab the Grail and have my wish granted.


The Black Key would have taken out Sophia-Ri's eye but it seems that one of her spells passively deflects any danger. Interesting. So taking her out of the picture would be more difficult than I expected.


"Huh?" Sophia-Ri said. It is interesting to meet someone even more inelegant than Constantine. Besides, Constantine does have a certain flair which I find crassly charming. Sophia-Ri is quite dull.


I could grab the Grail but as Gilgamesh said, I needed Constantine as a reference. If I were to have my wish granted, how would I know if I am alone or not? How would I know that I am not evil, just misunderstood? Or that I am evil but at least I am not alone?


"Get up Constantine. It seems we have some business to take care of." I said as I prepare another Black Key. The British mage is already on his feet and tinkering with his lighter.


"I am fire." He growled. It seemed as if Sophia-Ri had somehow managed to anger him. Perhaps he was also letting his anger get the better of him? "I am death." He finished. The lighter flame jumped to him left palm. A pillar of flame erupted out of it, tame and ready to be used. "Bitch." He added.


That was really unnecessary. And very insulting to dogs.


I check my surroundings. Sophia-Ri's magecraft hasn't disturbed my preparations. I had hidden quite a number of blades in plain sight. Having a supply of unlimited Black Keys works every time. It saves time as well. There isn't need for me to pull out my bible every time.


The sun has set by now. The final battle of the Grail War has begun.

[Leo Novum]

Chapter Ten: VICTORY

I took a deep breath before stepping out of the shadows. Hiding from fellow Heroic Spirits in such a manner is futile and rude but I have to keep out of mundane sight. The Fuyuki Civic Centre is surrounded by fire fighters who are busy battling the flames inside. I am willing to bet that the flames are Constantine's fault.


"Lancer." I greeted the knight of the spears who acknowledged my presence with a nod. "Rider." I said to the King of Conquerors. He hadn't brought his Master this time. That meant that he was finally going to unleash all of his power. All three of us were standing on the Centre's roof. Not a single mundane had noticed our presence. All of them were too busy fighting the flames.


"Saber." The King replied. The three of us remained silent. We all knew that only one of us will walk away after this. "Must it come to this?" He asked. "I confess that even though I don't know both of you much and neither did I get the opportunity to know either of you, I wish to find another way to resolve this conflict."


"As do I, Rider" I answered. "But I see no other way out of this without one of us stepping over the other two." I paused and mentally went over each and every one of Constantine's shenanigans. "And I fear that the struggle for a different approach will only hurt other people. And that I cannot do."


"Very well, Saber, you have made yourself understood."Rider said.


"Shall we battle on this meager building?" Lancer asked. "Or do you have somewhere better in mind?"


"We are standing above the Grail." I said. This was the last place where I had felt the Einzbern homunculi. "I can think of no battleground more convenient than this." Both of my opponents nodded. The fourth hidden participant would have also nodded if he was sane.


And then without further delay, we three rushed at each other.


There was a brilliant flash of white light and the world changed.


------------------------------------------------

When Constantine had told me that there was a mundane man outside the safe house that night, I had believed him. There was no reason to doubt him. But I had grown slightly suspicious when he had said that he was going to slowly hypnotize him into forgetting whatever he had discovered. My suspicions were slightly allayed when he ordered me to follow him but to keep out of sight.


It is difficult to make a knight go back on his word. It is impossible for me to do so as well. But Constantine had proven to be a difficult man to get along with. The loss of the Grail aside, I would have suffered a blow to my honor as a knight if my negligence resulted in my Master's death. Which was why when we came near the commercial area of the city, I decided to take certain liberty in interpreting Constantine's commands. He had told me to stay near and to stay out of sight. He hadn't said anything against peeking and eavesdropping. I closed my eyes, steeled my resolve, and looked for Constantine.


I found him sitting in an eatery and talking to a Japanese man. Oh, so there was nothing out of the ordinary here after all. There really was a mundane who had stumbled into the magical world. I relaxed. Constantine was probably hypnotizing him in between bites. Why was Constantine suddenly filling his mouth with sugar? Is that another strange habit of his?


Then the Japanese man raised his hand to brush something off his forehead and I saw his Command Spells. I stiffened once again. Constantine, you blackguard! How dare you go behind all our backs again? Who was this participant? Was he the Master of Berserker? No wait, Hisau Maiya mentioned that Berserker's Master is barely alive. This man looks like he is at the prime of his life. Archer's new Master then? Was this man Kotomine Kirei? Whoever he was, he was an enemy and Constantine was talking with him.


What should I do? Should I ignore this? No, that is not the correct solution. Should I call out Constantine and drag him out of the restaurant? No, he clearly old me to stay out of sight. I won't break a command. He didn't say anything against telling the Einzbern homunculus about any of this. I decided to go back and warn Irisviel.


There was an old man standing in front of the safe house gate when I arrived. Something about that man made me think of maggot ridden meat. His fell presence forced me to walk like a mundane girl.


"Good evening. Lovely night, isn't it?" The old man smiled. "A pristine sky mirroring the moonlit world. Sights like these make me wish I was young again."


"Indeed." I said as I opened the gate, walked through and closed it behind me. What happened next didn't surprise me at all. It only annoyed. A mass of worms suddenly surged through the cracks in the gate frame and reassembled in the shape of the old man in front of me. I donned my armor and revealed my sword with a blast of prana.


"Really no, have all young people started to disrespect their elders or is that fashionable from your time, Saber?" the old man asked. I didn't bother to banter with him. One slash of my sword would separate his head from his body but I didn't attack. Someone fired a gun and three large holes appeared on the old man's torso which the worms covered up. Hisau Maiya opened the bullet riddled sliding door and aimed a grenade launcher at the human worm. Where had she been hiding that thing?


"Calm down, I am here to propose an alliance." The old man said. Irisviel had come out of the house by now. I wish she had stayed inside. I saw her give tiny nod. I lowered my sword and shed my armor. The old man gave a croaking laugh. "Glad to see that the Einzberns haven't lost all of their wits."

---------------------------------------------------------------


I stopped myself and stared around. I wasn't on the roof of the Centre anymore. I wasn't even in Japan anymore. Lancer, who had been charging at me, had somehow been moved to my left while Berserker, who hadn't come out of the shadows yet, was standing at my right. We were in the middle of a desert and Rider was nowhere to be found.


"This is his doing." Lancer observed. He gave me a knowing frown. "I suspected that he was hiding something. Well, at least now we know the answer."


"A world from within." I noted.


"A universe etched into one's soul." Lancer agreed.


There was the sound of tens of thousands feet stamping in unison. How was that even possible? The sand was too soft to make any sound. And yet I heard the army first before I saw it emerge from the horizon, with Iskander at the head.


"Saber, Lancer!" Rider called out. He was no longer on his chariot but was riding a black horse instead. "How badly do you desire the Grail?" I looked at Lancer. Somehow, I knew that his answer would be the same as mine.


"I am willing to fight you and your army, Rider. Is that answer clear enough for you?" I said.


"I lived my entire life on the battlefield against insurmountable odds." Lancer called out. "I thank you for giving me an opportunity to display my skills once more."


"Well said!" Rider said with a laugh. "Well and truly said. Now then," he unsheathed his sword. I revealed Excalibur to the world. Lancer's spears unclothed themselves, showing me that he was Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. "Charge!" he yelled and the Alexanderian Army followed. Berserker roared and charged on ahead, weaponless.


"Lancer, defend me while I ready myself!" I said. Any other day, any other time, Lancer might have hesitated. But I know that with the odds stacked so badly against us, Lancer would cooperate with me. Excalibur began to shine but there was still sometime before I could unleash it.


The tide met the shore and the white horses of foam rinsed the flowers of battle.

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"Saber, don't bother with her! Track down Archer! I'll take care of Hisau." Constantine yelled. Archer had just kidnapped the Einzbern homunculus and I was at a complete loss at what to do. This wasn't what I had expected. I was expecting Archer to sabotage my duel with Lancer and to kill him. And probably me as well, now that I think about it.


"Constantine." I said. Was this part of his plan? I doubted it. He looked too panicked. But he had fooled me before.


"Damnit, Arturia Pendragon, you don't have time to lose! Take the car and search for Irisviel! Go!" Constantine yelled. I didn't argue a second time and ran to the car. Even if he had orchestrated the homunculi's abduction, he was right. I didn't have any time to lose. I raced across the roads of Fuyuki before realizing that I had no way of tracking Archer. Where would I search for him?


I could search for his presence alone but the problem was that he could be anywhere in the city. And Fuyuki was large and full of traffic. I needed a proper vantage point. I stopped the car besides the tallest building I could fins and got out. There was no entry fee and I soon found myself on the roof. It was a beautiful day, bracingly cold yet filled with sunshine. The entire city of Fuyuki was spread in front of me like a picture. I could sense Lancer running nearby. He was probably on his way up. Berserker was, as the old worm Matou promised, nearby as well.


But Archer was nowhere to be felt.


"Is something troubling you, Saber?" Lancer asked as he materialized besides me.


"That was the Einzbern homunculus. She was under my protection." I replied. I hesitated before adding. "She plays an important role in completing the ritual." Lancer nodded. No doubt his Master had informed him about her. "But there is something else as well, Lancer." Lancer turned to look at me. "We'll need to work together to bring down Archer."


"I am aware of that." Lancer said. "It's why I came here." He looked at where Berserker was standing, invisible to the mundane eye. "I presume you convinced his Master as well?" he asked.


"More or less." I lied. "I'll be able to convince Rider as well. But we all must work together." I said.


"I don't need to be convinced when the truth is plain, Saber." Lancer said. "Very well, I swear on my honor as a knight of the Fianna that I will cooperate with you to kill Archer." He said. I smiled. At least there is some honor left in the world. "Are you certain about him?" he asked, indicating towards the Black Knight.


"Worry not. His Master has forced him to work with me." I assured Lancer. "It would be better if you were to scout ahead. I cannot dematerialize like you and have to rely on mundane means to travel unnoticed." I said. Lancer nodded before disappearing.


I took one last look at the Japanese scenery before walking towards the stairs. It was going to be a long day.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Army came within throwing distance before showering us with javelins. Most of them hit my armor and bounced off, leaving me battered but otherwise unharmed. The few which could have been fatal were blocked by Lancer.


Rider's army had either forgotten Berserker completely or hadn't considered him a threat. They were now dearly paying the price. The Black Knight had turned the opposing army's weapons against them. He grabbed their weapons, corrupted them and killed them with them. He tore through the Macedonian ranks like a humanoid typhoon, hellbent on destruction.


But he still wasn't enough.


The army kept pressing down on us. Lancer held them off and made them lick their wounds and beat hasty retreats but for every one he killed, two more would take his place. Very soon I found myself surrounded by soldiers. Lancer had been swept away and he was doing his best to make his way back to me. Berserker was also running back, killing off anyone who was brave enough to try and stop him.


I repelled the first soldier by kicking him in the face. The second was dispatched by an elbow to the teeth. I was forced to actually hit the third in the throat with Excalibur's hilt. But even if I had full use of my limbs, I wouldn't have been able to weather all of their attacks. I was forced to explosively release my prana around me to repel the soldiers. Every prana burst delayed Excalibur further. There was no end to the soldiers.


Lancer managed to break through the ranks. "How much longer?" He asked as he pulled his red spear out of the heart of a soldier. Unlike me, he didn't seem worried at all.


"Just a little longer." I said. "You seem to be enjoying this." I said as I kicked a soldier out of the way. Lancer stabbed him with his yellow spear and threw his body at his comrades.


"What better way to die than at the service of one's lord and without a debt on one's head?" Lancer said.


"Sadly, I, unlike you, am not free of debt." I said. Only a little longer. "There is a woman I need to avenge."


"Is that so?" Lancer asked as he tripped a man and stabbed him through the neck. "Keep your sword sharp and you might live to repay it."


I was about to reply when a soldier's sword finally found my throat. The light in the sword of promised victory began to fade

-----------------------------------------------------


I found Constantine standing beside the car, pacing back and forth with a cigarette between his fingers. "Where were you?" he demanded. "You had me worried something awful."


"I was looking for Archer." I answered. Perhaps he hadn't planned something like this.


"On top of a building?" he asked. I nodded. "Strewth. And I am guessing that you couldn't find him?" he asked. I nodded once more. Constantine muttered a strong of colorful curses and threw away his cigarette. He opened the car's door and sat down. "Well get in the car then. We'll comb the whole city if we have to." He said. I leaned against the car and poked my head inside.


"Constantine," I said. I needed to know. "Did you plan this?" Constantine hesitated for a moment. "No more lies, Constantine. I saw you meet with Kotomine Kirei last night." I said. Constantine glared at me but I held my gaze. He broke off the stare and looked down at his feet.


"I didn't plan this. Kotomine betrayed me." He admitted. I knew it. I suspected it all along but hearing it from him confirmed my suspicions. "Archer was supposed to kill both Lancer and Lord El-Melloi. Instead, this happened." He said. I got in the driver's seat and started the car.


"You'll never learn from your mistakes, Master." I said. Constantine flinched but didn't reply. Maybe that remark was a little too harsh. Actually no, it wasn't.


We drove up and down every street and road of Miyama Town but I couldn't feel Archer's presence at all. "Can't you track Kotomine with your divination tricks?" I asked.


"What the hell do you think I've been trying to do all this time?" Constantine snapped. I sighed and turned at the next signal. "Let's try Shinto. It's obvious that we aren't making any progress here." I said as our car began approaching the red bridge across the Mion River.


"I don't think Shinto is a good place to look for Archer." Constantine said. "Now that Kotomine has the homunculus, he'll probably try to force the ritual. To do that he has to be near one of the four spiritual gates in Fuyuki." I am surprised. He actually paid attention to Irisviel. "Besides, if he was going to engage in something risky, he would have to do it somewhere secluded."


"Perhaps you are right." I said. "But Kotomine Kirei doesn't strike me as a sort of man who would think rationally."


"And what, pray, makes you say that, love?" Constantine sneered.


"Because I can sense Archer here." I said, making Constantine sit up.


"He is here? That bloody bastard is actually here? What is he thinking, trying to kick start the ritual in an urban area?" Constantine yelled.


"I don't know but as I said, this man called Kotomine doesn't seem to be in a rational mindset." I commented.


"No Executor is." Constantine said. I kept heading towards the place where I could feel Archer's presence before something happened.


"Archer is dead." I announced.


"What?" Constantine repeated. "How?"


"I don't know but I intend to find out. I am quite certain that it was Rider who did the deed." I said.


"Can you pin down where he was before he died?" Constantine asked. I nodded. I kept driving towards where I had last felt him when I suddenly felt Irisviel. I pressed down on the car's accelerator when I felt Irisviel's presence fade away. My lips pressed themselves into a hard line. Even she was gone. I had failed to protect my ward.


"Stop the car! Someone has set some cars on fire in that street and I can sense Kotomine's presence there as well." I did as I was told and Constantine ran off in the direction of the conflagration.


And then I felt Rider's presence. I looked up and saw him standing on the roof of the Fuyuki Civic Centre.


Had he really killed Archer? Had I severely under estimated him?


"Do we have to contend with him now?" Lancer asked. He was still invisible to mundane people.


"Perhaps. Is Berserker nearby?" I asked.


"He is on his way." Lancer assured me. I parked the car, locked it and made my way up to the Centre's roof. Both Kings looked at each other eye to eye. The sun was beginning to set. The fire fighters had managed to extinguish the flaming vehicles.


"Were you the one who killed him?" I asked.


"No. It appears that Archer was disposed of by his own Master." Rider answered. "A pity as well. I was looking forward to challenging him over the right to rule the world."


Flames exploded from within the Civic Centre, giving the fire fighters a new enemy. Lancer joined us while I stepped out of the shadows.


This shall be the last day of the Holy Grail War.

-----------------------------------------------------------------


My blood colored the golden sand. Air escaped my open throat as I struggled to breathe. This was too soon! Too soon! We were still inside the Reality Marble and I hadn't even released Excalibur yet!


"Saber! No!" Lancer yelled. Look behind you, you fool! I would have yelled if I could but my body refused to heal properly. Too much prana had been spent in repelling the soldiers and charging Excalibur. I was too weak to even raise my hand. Three spears emerged out of Lancer's abdomen while another soldier thrust his sword into the knight's stomach. We had lost. I fell on the burning sand and my armor vaporized off of me. All for nothing. All for nothing.


Someone, his hands gentle but firm, pried Excalibur out of my hands. The Black Knight, his movements too refined for a mad warrior like him, took up my sword and held it high. What could he do? I had only given my sword to two men in my life. Excalibur was as good as useless in his hands.


Why wasn't he corrupting Excalibur?


"The one sword I couldn't master." The Black Knight said, his voice surprisingly rich and deep. The Black Knight raised Excalibur high. His helmet fell off his head. My eyes widened.


"EXCALIBUR!" Lancelot roared and the sword of promised victory filled the battlefield with golden light.

[FlameStrike]

Wow this is amazing. I'll need more time to fully digest everything but seriously this is one hell of a story.

[TheInfamousMan]

Why do I have a feeling that Saber is going to be the newest ghost haunting Constantine?

[Leo Novum]

Silly TIM, that's not the worst of it. The worst of it is that I've planned a Fifth Grail WAr fic consisting of Saber antagonizing Constantine!