Jeanne had decided to take the longest route of her trip, departing from Paris towards Trifas in a bus.
She knew that the Great Holy Grail War had yet to start, so she decided to spend her time enjoying the food and culture of the modern world.
The trip would last an entire day without rest. Since she's a spirit possessing a human, she had to satisfy the needs of Laeticia's human body such as hunger, bladder, and sleep, so it will take a while before arriving at her destination.
So she embarked on the bus to Trifas and dozed off while thinking about possible outcomes of the upcoming war.
"Hello, is this thing on?"
Jeanne's eyes shot open when she heard a rough, manly voice echoing around her. She found herself standing on an empty void, levitating aimlessly. She was dressed in the type of clothing she loathed wearing.
It was the gown she had worn on the day she died on the pyre.
While she didn't have any regrets regarding her past life, remembering how she was burned alive still left a sour taste in her mouth.
"You don't have to turn anything on… we're using a mental link." A gentler, womanly voice spoke. "Jeanne dearie, can you hear us?"
Two balls of light surrounded Jeanne, flickering fast. They seemed sentient as they moved at an unnatural pattern, pacing around uncontrollably. After a stunned silence, the blonde realized that the creatures asked her a question, and she was being rude by not answering.
"Uhm, yeah, I can hear you."
"Oh, that's great Jeanne! We called you because we have news to tell you, so please don't ask unimportant questions and hear us out."
Jeanne blinked, flabbergasted with the events that unfolded before her. It wasn't a first for her, but it's still a surprise to be part of these apparitions.
"Wait, are you-"
"My name's Uriel and the other, more vexatious fellow is Gabriel."
Gabriel? Uriel? Jeanne's eyes widened, not believing what was in front of her. These two balls of light were actually two of the Four Archangels of God
"You know, you can save me from a lot of headaches if you introduced me as your sister…" she heard Gabriel grumble, to which Uriel laughed. "Anyway, we both got into an argument, and since we don't know how we can't prove which side is better… we decided to use the Grail War as a test." She explained in a more serious tone. "In short, we tampered a little with the Throne of Heroes and added new servants of our choosing."
'Is there a reason for them to do this?' Jeanne thought as she cupped her chin. She shook her head. 'There shouldn't be a reason for them to interfere with human affairs… unless something happened between them that made them do this? But it all sounds… like a spat between them.'
She shook her head. It cannot be possible that beings of the highest authority of angels altered the war for petty reasons.
"These heroes will be summoned in this upcoming Great Holy Grail War, and they are unknown in this world's history," Uriel said as a matter of fact, to which Jeanne nodded. "So in case you can't call them out with your skill, we're here to tell you about them."
"I see you don't want to risk me going blind in case a battle ensues," she smiled kindly. "I thank you for your kindness."
She heard Gabriel snort.
"So, which one of us should start?"
"Start with the Black Team, I'm still writing down my list."
'Writing… down?' Jeanne's eyes narrowed. 'What in the heavens is happening on their side?'
Uriel sighed. "Very well. Hear me carefully Jeanne, because I'm not going to repeat myself again. My choice of servants are as follows…"
(X)
Darnic bit his hand as he paced back and forth.
He felt deeply frustrated with himself after witnessing the huge miscalculations that went with the summoning. He had spent an entire lifetime finding the rarest treasures that are required to summon Vlad III and even settled in Romania because it was the perfect battleground in which The Count would be at his strongest.
Standing in front of the summoning circle – where Vlad was supposed to be – was a woman with long blue hair that reached down to her feet. She wore a strange military gear that didn't belong to any country on Earth, which meant that the spirit in front of him belonged to an ancient country, or the outfit was a product of those egregious pop culture activities.
'What was it called? Cosplay?'
He clenched his fist. What went wrong? Why is there a bluenette bimbo-playing soldier standing in front of him?
He took a deep breath. No good will come if he lost his cool for a small misstep on his plan. He wouldn't have had a long life if he threw a fit every time his plans went wrong.
"Master, I have answered to your summons," The blue-haired woman let out a sultry grin. "I'm a Servant of the Saber class. I'm ready to rush out to the battlefield whenever you see fit."
"Where is Vlad?" Darnic demanded, glaring daggers at the unknown Servant. But his anger was quickly replaced with confusion as he realized another predicament. "Wait… Saber? I recited the chant that would specifically summon a Lancer-class servant."
He frowned and thought about the possibilities which could have led to his failures, he found none.
The bluenette grinned, a gesture that Darnic didn't appreciate. She had the audacity to make fun of his missteps!
"I'm afraid I don't have the answer to your questions, Master. However, I would advise you to not underestimate my abilities. You might be surprised at how… fierce I can be." Saber said calmly. However, the Lord of Yggdmillennia could sense another personality beneath her calm façade. His intuition proved right as Darnic felt a massive amount of bloodlust radiating from his servant, akin to that of a warmonger.
Saber stood up, walking towards the platforms in Darnic's studio, where his expensive relics were placed for all the world to see. She then took a look at a particular painting that hung on the wall, the picture of Vlad III the Impaler.
She snorted at the picture. Was that contempt?
Darnic shook his head. Now it wasn't the time to reprimand her for her disrespectful behavior towards Romanian culture.
Instead, he was curious about Saber's earlier statement.
He focused his gaze. If Saber's claim was on point, then her parameters must be…
His eyes widened as he gazed at her stats, which were A rank across the board, with the exception of agility and luck, which are downgraded to the B rank.
Maybe this Saber wouldn't be so useless after all… he would have to evaluate her abilities in battle.
Darnic grimaced as he felt a sudden disturbance in the Bounded Field that surrounded Yggdmillenia's territory. It was a brief feeling, but a man with nearly 100 years of experience like him knew that it wasn't a normal malfunction. Something, or rather, someone, was coming, and if Darnic's intuition was correct, then it must be magi from the Association.
He knew from how they tried to hide their steps that it wasn't an amicable visit.
The clan head seceded Yggdmillennia from the Association as his plans to reach the Root proceeded smoothly. He even told them that he had the Greater Grail hidden in his castle in an attempt to declare war. He did so with the purpose of starting a war so the Grail could gain enough power for his wish. It wouldn't surprise him that the Association knew about his plans and sent magi to exterminate him.
With support of the homunculi guards and the castle's defenses, the clan can win against the magi squad, but it would be a long and tiresome battle, which would exhaust Yggdmillenia's resources. Resources that Darnic would rather preserve. The Lord knew that the Association would attempt this trifle, so he prepared beforehand and summoned a Servant to quickly deal with the threat.
He grinned, this should be the perfect opportunity to see if this Saber would be useful to him or just fodder to discard in battle.
"Saber."
The bluenette looked up, eyes locked on him.
"I have an assignment for you," Darnic said, walking towards the door. "Follow me."
Saber let out a mad grin and followed suit. The Master couldn't help but compare this woman to Celenike, and not on the positive side – god bless if she ever had one in the first place.
"Lead the way, Master."
They exited the studio and walked across the hall for a good 10 minutes, eventually reaching towards an elevator door at the far end corridor. Darnic noticed that Saber looked carefully at the stationed homunculi that guarded the door.
He pressed the arrow down button and waited for the elevator to come.
"Where exactly are we going?" Saber asked as she glanced at the stationed guards. The homunculi remained unfazed by her presence, as proper dolls should be.
"The basement. You were not the only servant that was summoned today." Darnic said as he pressed his cane on the floor.
If Roche did what he was told, then he should have summoned Avicebron. Having the European mage by their side would be beneficial as the quality of his golems is nothing to be scoffed at and would greatly benefit the forces of Yggdmillennia.
He heard a chime and the doors opened.
They made their way inside. Darnic pressed the button which had a letter S, the doors closed and the elevator started to descend.
"This is quite an intriguing machine…" Saber said as she caressed the metal walls and hummed to the catchy elevator music. "The Grail provided me with information about this era's invention, but seeing it firsthand is still something."
"You didn't have elevators where you came from?" Darnic asked, genuinely curious about the era that his servant came from.
"We do, but they weren't as advanced and conventional as this. They were used mostly for constructions."
So they used ancient devices such as windlasses or hoists. Strange, Saber's uniform seems to resemble that of the modern military from the 20th century, and Elevators by that time were much more advanced. Either history is wrong or this servant is an anomaly from the grail.
Darnic snapped out of his thoughts as he felt the elevator stop. He heard the chime again.
The doors opened, and they both walked forward. They stood in a massive room that looked like a combination of a factory and a mine. The cave had various steel pillars that supported the ceiling and the walls were raw cobblestone, a product of the recent excavations that were made.
Various homunculi workers were on standby, waiting for Avicebron to be summoned to help him with the mana problems that his golems require. On the far end of the room, there was an engraving that represented a summoning circle, and beside it stood one of the youngest mages of his clan, Roche Frain Yggdmillennia. The boy looked panicked, shivering uncontrollably.
It was at this moment when Darnic's mood plummeted. He clenched his cane to suppress his outburst that would otherwise go onto his grandson.
In the center of the summoning circle, was a tall young man that had long brown hair tied into a bun. He wore a white shirt underneath his black coat and wore a pair of black trousers. His dead emerald eyes stared intently at the agitated preteen.
"Hey, calm down. Losing your head right now won't help you summon a different servant." The servant said as he raised his hands, trying to placate the boy.
"No, Rider, you don't understand. If my grandfather finds out that I summoned the wrong servant, he's going to–"
"I'm going to do... what exactly?"
Darnic's seething question made the young magus pale and made him jump back.
'Good, he should know my anger. Failure is not an option. If you had failed any other time, you'd be dead to me.' The mere sight of the wrong servant made his blood boil.
"Grandfather!" Roche trembled as he slowly turned around to face the clan leader. Darnic's deep frown did not help him calm down. "I-I know you're mad, b-but I can explain!"
He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. "Please do."
"Master, you speak to the child as if you didn't make the same mistake," Saber added as she made her way towards Rider. She cupped her chin, looking up and down at the servant.
Roche's eyes widened. "Wait, grandfather, did you summon the wrong servant as well?"
Darnic sighed, having expected this question. "Yes, it appears that I wasn't the only one to have… unfortunate miscalculations." He said reluctantly. He shot a glare at his grandchild regardless. "That doesn't mean that you should copy my mistakes."
"I'm sorry, grandfather I—"
"Save it, Roche. What's done is done, we have to make do with what we have." Darnic rebuked as he rammed his cane to the ground, making the young magus whimper. He then shot a loathing look to Rider. "And what can you do? Because your parameters don't seem to be all that impressive."
Rider stats were E-rank… in nearly everything, with the exception being in agility and mana, which had a measly D-rank. Darnic would have killed the useless Servant on the spot if it wasn't for a peculiar stat that caught his eye.
Now that is intriguing, an A++ rank Noble Phantasm could change the tide of the battle.
"Rider, show us your Noble Phantasm." He ordered. The servant shook his head.
"You don't want me to show you in here. Unless you want me to destroy everything around me." Rider said as he placed his hands on his pockets.
'Ah. It's that powerful, isn't it?' He internally smiled, thinking of how unfortunate his enemies were to face him. 'No matter. He will show me how powerful it is shortly.'
He raised his eyebrows as he noticed that Saber was getting closer to Rider, scanning him with an unreadable expression.
The man remained silent, gazing at the woman with his cold eyes. Saber then let out a satisfactory smile.
"You have the eyes of a killer." Saber praised as she let out a kind smile.
"Can't say I'm proud of it." He didn't so much as flinch with her scanning him.
"You should be." Saber said, extending her hand towards Rider. "I'm servant Saber, I look forward to working with a promising young man such as yourself."
Rider blinked. He then scratched the back of his head and shook Saber's hand. "Oh, uh… likewise."
"Well, now that introductions are in order, follow me. I have an urgent assignment that you two must take care of." Darnic said as he walked turned back and made his way back to the top floor.
He stopped on his tracks. Roche stood in front of him with a resolute expression.
"Let me go with you. As his master, I must see what Rider is capable of on my own."
"Oh, and why is that?" Darnic asked, intrigued by this development.
The young magus looked aside. "I have a wish of my own…"
The lord snorted. Who doesn't have a wish? It's just a matter of being diligent and patient enough to get it.
He didn't elaborate, but Darnic already was deep in thought.
'I could take him to see his servant in action, but that would mean that he will be in danger, and if he died, that means that Rider would as well, which would hinder my plans considerably. I can't afford to sustain Rider until it's absolutely necessary.'
He looked over at his grandson, looking irked with him.
"Sorry, grandfather! If you want me to stay-"
He heaved a sigh.
'He will have to learn about what war looks like. I'll teach him now.'
"I won't babysit you, but I will come to your aid if you find yourself on death's door. You're not good to me if you get killed."
Roche did his best to suppress his smile and nodded vigorously.
"Understood!"
(X)
'Another battle. Another war. Which means that I'll have to kill even more people. When will the murder end?'
Rider resisted the urge to sigh as those harrowing thoughts crossed his mind.
'Why? Why do I have to do this every time? Am I… really a slave?'
He shook his head of his thoughts. Now wasn't the time to be drowning in self-pity. He had a mission to complete.
Rider looked over at his summoner, who decided, on his own, to come with his servant.
'He chose to watch me fight. He's terrified, but he still brought himself up, and pushed forward, carrying the burden.' A ghost of a smile appeared on Rider's face.
'I will win this fight and this war. No matter the cost.'
The forest of Trifas was a dense place. It had an uncountable amount of tall trees and dim lighting, which was a perfect place for organizing an ambush. Luckily, the Master's provided Rider night vision to fix the problem. Saber on the other hand didn't need to, since she claimed she was a natural when it came to hunting at nighttime.
Rider followed Darnic, Saber, and Roche. Their steps were silenced by their master's magecraft, but they were still on edge. They scanned every single corner to be ready for a potential surprise, except for Saber, who seemed more eager than concerned to dive into battle.
'She's not even human, is she?' He looked at her with hidden disgust in his eyes. But he pushed that aside. 'Whatever. It's not my place to say how human she is.'
It's not like her crazed nature would be a hindrance to their mission. Saber carried an aura of professionalism that kept her from being reckless, a trait she needed to have to earn her past status as a general.
"These magi must be enforcers of the Association. Do not let them chant any spell. Eliminate them on sight."
Rider nodded at Darnic's orders.
"I'm moving first. I can't fight without my Noble Phantasm, and it's rather destructive when I activate it. Don't get caught in it." Rider said as he stepped forward.
He stopped, for a single second, overlooking the forest.
"Get as far as you can from me if you want to stay alive, old man."
Darnic narrowed his eyes and clenched his cane, but he understood.
"They're coming. Move. NOW." Darnic spoke, before running forward, leading the two soldiers to serve him.
Roche and Saber followed Darnic, while Rider stayed behind. They'd have to end the battle quickly.
'I'll see how effective you are as a weapon, Rider.'
Darnic didn't lose eye contact with the servant, eyeing him like an indispensable weapon.
'He's not like my grandchildren. He's a special person. I can tell.'
Rider quickly moved his head to the side as a dagger flew beside him. Rider grimaced as he heard rustling coming from the bushes beside him. More strange projectiles started to come out from the shadows, everything from daggers and arrows to light balls and acid needles.
'So that's magecraft.' Rider mused.
Rider dodged the incoming projectiles by running towards the trees, using the trunks as cover. He followed the path that had the most lighting.
'The path with the most light in a dark forest can lead into a clearing. I remember that from training in the corps…'
He ran, still dodging the projectiles with ease, no matter how many were sent.
'I have to get some light. If I go into an open area, they'll take their chance to reveal themselves, and try to kill me. They have too much pride to do anything else.'
He knew that people who hid behind blades and weapons were too prideful or too weak to use anything else.
He used to be that, after all.
Rider couldn't help but be amused at the strange magic of this world. The grail provided him information about the basics of magecraft but seeing firsthand was still ridiculous.
Ten shadows jumped from the bushes and surrounded him, each one of them equipped with different weapons.
Nine men and one woman. Two men had a bow and arrow, three of them carried daggers, one carried a mace, the last three carried swords. And the woman carried a staff.
"Are you really a servant? You're far too weak…" The man with the mace said mockingly. He twirled his mace with a confident grin, thinking of all the torture he could inflict on this man.
'Very poor choice of last words.' Rider thought.
They would find that out in hell.
Half of the magi sensed a disturbance and jumped back just before the servant was enshrouded in light, blinding everyone to what he had turned into. The lucky ones were caught in the blast and disintegrated into nothingness.
The man with the mace included
As the smoke dissipated, and the light dimmed, the magi slowly uncovered their eyes. As soon as they laid their eyes on the menace that stood in front of them, they dropped their weapon. A massive humanoid monster of 15 meters stood firm, glaring down at the terrified magi.
This was part of Rider's Noble Phantasm.
The Attack Titan.
"S-Shit, run!"
His enemies scattered, trying to lose sight of him by splitting up, running the hell away from him.
Rider howled and hardened his right hand. He punched the ground, creating a shockwave that made the entire forest shake. But no one came out.
'They didn't even flinch to this. Their eardrums would have bursted with that blast…'
He saw that they all had protection around their ears, made of magic. He looked with wide eyes as he realized something: he made an impulsive mistake.
'Damn it. I didn't account for that. I can't use my full power to kill them all, or I'd kill my master.'
He looked around, seeing the people running away in fear.
'Let me relocate with Saber and my master. I'll make a plan with them.'
He ran towards the forest, creating shockwaves as he started ramming through every tree that blocked his way.
'Come on. I can't make mistakes like that.' He thought as he rammed through trees with ease, reducing the massive trees to pulp as he created shockwaves to stir confusion into the enemy magis.
Eventually, after running around the forest, and crushing a few magi beneath his feet, he came across a bald mage, impaled with, presumably, Saber's power, icicles
Around her were corpses, with their arms and legs taken, leaving them only a husk of their original selves.
The once cocky prideful bald mage, in front of Saber, was reduced to a shriveling mess, crying.
'He's been stripped of everything. His power, his body, and now... his spirit.'
Rider grimmanced, remembering that look all too well.
The titan stopped to look at a bald mage. He had tears in his eyes, probably the product of the everlasting pain Saber inflicted on him.
"Help… me..." the mage wheezed towards Rider, with his last few breaths.
Rider understood, as he squashed the wounded mage into paste without hesitation. The best he could do was ending that man's misery since he already fought hard enough.
The titan went back to chase his enemies. With his towering size, he flattened any trees that were on his path and quickly closed the distance with his enemies. He managed to find a fleeing mage that jumped from branch to branch on the tall trees. The man turned around in a panic and stopped to raise his hands up.
That was his last mistake.
"N-No please, I don't want to-"
No words managed to come out of the mage as he was mercilessly swatted by the titan. He got hit by a tree trunk, breaking his spine, and fell limp to the ground, dead.
'Is that what you felt, Annie?' Rider thought as he continued to find the many mages that came here.
Beyond that, he was thinking about the magis that were sent to him.
'I only counted ten. I killed 6 of them in the initial transformation, and another later. But that doesn't make sense, to have all your soldiers gang up against a weak servant. So that means… they probably sent maybe three to four times more against the people they perceived as a threat.'
He came across two fleeing magis. When they laid eyes on him, they started to throw fireballs at him, completely disregarding that a dry dense forest like this is easily flammable. Rider needed to take them down fast before they started a forest fire.
A ball of light appeared on the titan's hand, molding into a small but sharp ornamented throwing knife. This is another part of Rider's Noble Phantasm, the Warhammer Titan.
He threw the knife at one of the fleeing magi. The magi's eyes widened and reinforced his entire body for the incoming blow, but to no avail. Half of his body blew up into pieces before he could do anything and the rest of his pieces fell into the ground.
The other magi wailed as he saw his partner's dead body but kept running away, trying to live just a little bit longer. The magi's steps turned sloppy as he let himself consume with panic, and that was all that Rider needed to close the distance.
The titan charged forward and ran over the mage, he heard his spine break from the impact, so he probably died instantly, painlessly. It was a better fate than many of those magi had gone through.
Only the woman remained. The titan scanned the signs of the carnage for the final magi, but he found no one. It wouldn't surprise him if the woman managed to flee from the battlefield.
"AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"
That blood curdling scream reached him, and he followed the source of the sound. He saw a trail of blood combined with brain matter scattered on the ground, until he finally came across a harrowing… but familiar sight.
Corpses of uncountable numbers scattered everywhere. Each one of them had punctures on different parts of their bodies, either caused by Saber's rapier or the strange ice magic Rider noticed on the victims he found earlier. The people who were previously smirking and cocky now either broke down in despair in front of their dead comrades, or were dead themselves.
"Please, please forgive me!"
Rider turned to see a man on his knees, dragging himself backward. His sword broke, along with his spirit. He dragged his back indefinitely until he finally hit a trunk. He whimpered as he saw Saber walking towards him, with her rapier in hand. He turned his bloodshot eyes towards his frightened comrades.
"Help me you useless cunts!" he yelled desperately. No one moved, they just stood there, frozen in fear and ready to abandon their supposed friend. Saber giggled and kneeled at the man's eye level.
"I'm sorry honey~," she said as she feigned sentiment. She then pressed her free hand into the man's gut. "I think they know better than to help a weak coward like you."
She drove her left hand into the man's gut, easily piercing his insides. The man tried to cough blood but all he managed to throw out were red icicles. His body started to convulse, and the man screamed in agony. Red icicles started to emerge from his torso all the way to his legs, all while Saber laughed hysterically.
She threw the twitching man's body to the ground, paralyzing him, letting him die, with no ability to rebel.
He could see that Darnic looked satisfied at the results as he let out a pleasant grin, while Roche looked on the verge of puking.
'Sorry, kid. You didn't deserve that.' Rider swallowed his anger, as he realized the truth of every world.
Life was cruel. But humanity… they were crueler. He grit his teeth, just thinking how it could have been different.
Darnic's eyes widened as he laid his eyes on Rider's titan form. He briefly frowned but it was quickly replaced with a proud smile.
"Well, well, it looks like you weren't joking when you spoke about your Noble Phantasm, Rider." Darnic praised as he inspected his titan form. "It looks like Roche will be in good hands."
Rider looked at the kid in question, who was looking at the floor, trying to remove the sight of the disfigured corpses that Saber crushed without remorse. He clenched his hands and gulped, as he looked once again. He forced his shaky legs to stand and took a deep breath, swallowing his guilt.
From his titan form, Rider could see the utter fear that was carved into his face, which forced him to stand.
He was that person, being pushed into hell. Rider could see that clearly.
Slowly, but surely, he stood once again, no longer shaking.
"I'm okay… I'm okay…" Roche said as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.
"You defended yourself admirably and displayed optimal use of your abilities," Darnic remarked. He shot a glare towards the young magus, which made him whimper. "But you hesitated when you had to go for the kill. Do that on the battlefield and you will die."
The clan's headwords weren't condescending or patronizing, they were facts, facts which Rider couldn't help but agree with. Roche nodded.
"Yes… grandfather."
He saw him visibly swallow his words.
Roche then turned to see the towering titan form of Rider, who eyed him carefully. The young magus was startled by the gaze of the titan but his fear was quickly replaced with amazement, and curiosity.
"R-Rider, are you a golem?" the kid asked, "Wow, I can't believe you would be so tall…"
Golem? Does it mean those types of mindless elemental creatures that the grail told him?
The way his summoner was eyeing him was… intriguing. Those weren't the eyes of fear that he was tired of seeing, but the eyes of a person who sought knowledge, no matter the cost. It made him remember a blonde person he used to hang out with, ever curious to learn of the world they lived in.
"Certainly doesn't seem like a golem since he lacks natural elements from the earth, but you can't deny his power," Darnic said as he briefly eyed the titan. The clan head glanced towards his other servant.
Saber had been slaughtering the magi mercilessly. Five mages remained out of the entire squad that came. And the servant herself was untouched, her clothes covered in blood and her mad grin plastered on her face.
Darnic clapped his hands.
"That's enough Saber. You already showed me what you're capable of. Capture one of them please."
"Very well, Master. These weaklings were starting to bore me anyway." Saber said as she dashed towards the woman that escaped from Rider, and grabbed her the neck. The mage dropped her staff and rattled frantically, trying to free herself from the servant's grasp, but her efforts were futile. The other mages froze in fear and looked helplessly as their partner was getting captured.
"Let me go you bitch!" the woman cried, repeatedly shaking as Saber shamelessly lifted her up like nothing.
She stopped to look in awe when she saw the huge titan standing behind the summoners. She let out a satisfied smile. "I knew there was more than meets the eye when I saw you."
Rider grimaced inside of his titan. The same could be said about Saber, a woman that should not be trifled with.
The rest of the mages looked terrified as they dared not to say a word. Only one of them dared to break the silence.
"So… can we go?"
Darnic looked at them with a stone-cold expression, which seemed to scare the magi further. After a minute of silence, he let out a fake smile.
"Of course you can leave, I'll give you three seconds to escape."
The remaining magi started to stand up. Their shaky legs could barely hold the weight of their fear, as they looked at the man with false hope. "R-Really…?"
Darnic's smile faltered. He then raised his cane and pointed at them, with one command.
"Time's up," he said, "Rider. Kill them."
The Attack Titan compiled, letting loose an ear-shattering roar. The magi tried to run, with what little time they were given, but it was too late. Rider had already smacked them with his palm, like he was swatting flies, and kicked them around like soccer balls. The mages crashed onto the trees, shattering their spines with such a strong force that it ended their lives instantly.
"Noooo~!" the girl cried, her tears wetting the ground her face was on.
When the coast was clear, Rider emerged from the nape of his titan. There were noticeable lines under his eyes that marked the use of his power.
"Rather morbid of you, master. Not that I dislike it though." Saber said as she looked at the crying mage that she pinned to the ground.
"I lived for a century. I need a way to have some fun." Darnic grinned. He shot a brief look towards the servants and chucked.
"Excellent work. Both of you exceeded my expectations. I may not have Vlad by my side, but I can certainly make great use of all of you."
Rider nodded, not trusting himself to make a good response.
Saber then pulled the mage from the hair, forcing her to stand up on the eye level of Darnic. She grunted in pain, but the fear kept her from rebelling.
"As for you… I need you to deliver a message to the Association."
(X)
She placed the teacup down on the Victorian-styled table and let the contents of the herbal tea flow down her throat.
She closed her eyes and started to ponder about the current situation, especially on today's big event. All the homunculi were busy with the preparations, leaving Saber the only one in the room.
Two months had passed since Yggdmillenia delivered the message to the Mage Association, and thanks to Darnic's spies on Clock Tower, he managed to get intel of the date they were going to strike. They are sending mages to participate in a Great Holy Grail War.
The reason for this predicament was because of the emergency system of the Greater Grail, which recognized that Yggdmillenia was trying to summon seven servants and assemble them in one single power. As such, the artifact took appropriate measures to deal with them by assigning seven extra masters.
Saber had asked his Master as to why form a team in the first place, and he said that he needed as much power as possible so the Grail can grant his wish. A Grail that holds the power of seven servants paled in comparison to one that was powered by fourteen servants.
'The laws of this world… they are pretty morbid aren't they?' She chuckled. 'You can't have victory without a battle, and the Grail created this system knowing this...'
This so-called God liked to play pranks upon its subjects, and Saber loved it.
Darnic and Saber didn't waste the last two months. The woman told the lord that she can strengthen the forces of Yggdmillennia with her Noble Phantasm, Ice Cavalry, which allows her to make soldiers as powerful as D-rank servants, so she has been making soldiers since then, making a total of 60 Ice Cavalry soldiers at the disposal of the Black Faction. The Grail limited the use of her Noble Phantasm to once per day, so she couldn't make more soldiers even if she wanted to.
"Is the tea good?"
The general's eyes snapped open and turned to see Rider approaching, hands-on his pockets.
"Ah Rider, good to see you. I assume that you are here to meet our new comrades?"
"Yeah," he said, taking a seat beside her. He folded his hands on the table. "I have to see who we're working with."
"I agree, I'm also curious about our future comrades." Saber said as she took another sip of her tea. "Is your Master going to attend the summoning ceremony?"
Rider frowned. "I don't know… Roche is in the basement. He's still trying to build golems from scratch without Avicebron's help, and he's not having the best of luck."
Saber sighed and chugged the remaining tea on her cup.
"A futile effort on his part. I guess this is what happens when you give a kid an adult's ambitions," she said, carefully eyeing at Rider. "If only we could create an even… better type of monster."
Rider's eyes flashed slightly before he shook his head. "I can't create titans if that's what you're asking."
Saber smiled and nodded. Darnic had tried to ask Rider to create monsters like him, but the latter said it's impossible to do so. A shame really, those creatures looked quite intriguing, and would have been interesting to see them in battle.
"That's a shame, I was hoping to have those creatures at our side... with them and my Ice Cavalry, the forces of Yggdmillennia would be at their peak."
Rider glared at her. "Titans are no joke. They can easily get out of control and cause a catastrophe. They can flatten the whole world if given to the wrong hands. So even if I could create Titans, I wouldn't do it for such a shitty reason."
She blinked a couple of times. That was… not the response she expected. It was brief, but Saber swore she heard the slight seething anger from his voice. She shouldn't have elicited that reaction from him. Was it a touchy subject?
'What are you hiding, Rider…' She let out a toothy grin. 'Now this is interesting, let's see what happens if I try poking the lion with a stick.'
"And that's a problem? I think a low-class magus from this world could easily control an oversized human." Saber said as she crossed her arms. She then let out a soft giggle. "Unless you're against the idea of using the homunculi as a procedure?"
"Artificial or not. They are people-"
"You should know that the homunculi by themselves are no better than cannon fodder. They are weaklings, turning them into titans will let them have a better chance of survival." Saber cut in, glaring at Rider dead in the eye. However, the man remained stoic.
"I still can't turn those homunculi into titans. Even if I could, I wouldn't. I wouldn't enslave even my worst enemy to that fate."
Saber grunted at his response. These morally self-righteous people are so hard to argue with.
What intrigued Saber the most was Rider's reaction to the overall subject. The way he denied his ability to make titans… seemed like he was a little too on the defensive. It was very suspicious, so much that it raised her curiosity and she intended to get to the bottom of it.
"Darnic is not as tolerant as I am, and he would be quite displeased if you hid an incredibly powerful tool from him. After all, he doesn't seem to be the type to tolerate deceivers..."
Rider didn't even dare to glance at her.
"I won't discuss this any further." He muttered as he walked away. Saber trailed behind him and reached by his side.
"I was just stating facts Rider, there's no way you would hide important information to us!" Saber said as she shifted into a friendlier tone. "Let us go to the ceremony. Care to accompany me?"
Rider just went along with it. "Fine, let's go."
They exited the dining room and made their way towards the throne room. They walked in silence, but it was blissful, pleasant silence, at least for the bluenette. Rider didn't seem to share the same sentiment.
Saber opened the door of the throne room to see a wide white room without any noticeable furniture. It made sense to find an empty room for the summoning of four servants.
Standing on the upper corner of the room, there was an obese-looking man, Gordes Musik Yggdmillenia. The man seemed pretty confident in his high horse, but Saber couldn't deny that he was competent in his craft. To find a way for the servants to use the homunculi as mana batteries is a feat that deserves praise. They can unleash their Noble Phantasms freely without having to worry about their master's safety.
Darnic gave Gordes the catalyst to summon Vlad III under the hope of having the Count on their side, even if Saber considered it a useless endeavor. With how volatile the Grail is acting, it wouldn't be surprising that each member of Yggdmillenia summoned a different servant.
On the right side, stood a teenager with brown hair and glasses, Caules Forvedge Yggdmillennia. Saber didn't bother about finding a notable quality for the young man. He was weak, pathetic, and had no talent whatsoever.
The same could be said for the woman that stood near Gordes, Celenike Icecolle Yggdmillennia. A woman who likes to see the suffering of others, but that's about it. She lacked the drive to dive into battle and push herself to the limits because she was too weak to do so.
'What a pathetic sight,' Saber thought as she suppressed the urge to kill her. 'It makes me sick…'
The bluenette noticed a young, crippled woman standing in the far left corner. She was holding an old, worn-out arrow in her hands, a catalyst for the Greek hero's master, Chiron. This was the woman that caught Saber's interest the most, Fiore Forvedge Yggdmillennia. A talented young lady that had an understandable desire for the Grail, she was strong, albeit a little naïve. Though if push comes to shove, Saber had the feeling that this woman would continue to the end.
Saber walked towards her. The crippled woman noticed the approaching servants and waved her hand excitedly.
The bluenette waved her back.
"Greetings Fiore. You look more determined than ever." Saber said. Fiore to let out a nervous chuckle.
"I don't know about this though. This is the first Servant I'm going to summon, so you can guess why I'm a little bit over the edge today." The young girl said as she twiddled her thumbs. She then showed both servants the arrow. "Luckily, I brought the right catalyst to use."
"I don't recommend you to use one it though." Rider quickly intervened. Fiore's mood soured after hearing his words as she blinked fast.
"W-Why not?" Fiore stammered, trying to keep up a smile.
"Do you see Vlad III somewhere?" He asked rhetorically.
That made the girl pale.
Rider brought up a good point. What's the point of using the catalyst when the Grail is acting unstable? Darnic and Roche tried to summon their respective servants using catalysts, but fate had other plans for them.
Fiore quickly composed herself.
"I understand that my grandfather made a mistake, but don't worry. I will recite the chant to the letter to avoid his mistake."
Saber snorted. 'What a stubborn girl… It reminds me of a peculiar little assassin that sought to bring me down no matter the cost, and succeeded against all odds. Maybe Fiore will have that same cursed luck as her?'
Rider sighed and rubbed the back of his head.
"Well, I can see that it took a long time to get that catalyst. Might be worth a try." He said as Fiore tensed up.
Rider shook his head in disappointment and went to sit on the dais, leaving the two girls alone. Saber was quick to ease the girl's tension.
"It doesn't matter if you summon another servant Fiore, as long as he's a strong one." Saber said with a smile that could melt anybody. She patted her shoulder. "Well don't let us keep you. Good luck."
Fiore smiled back at her.
"Yeah, you're right. Thank you, Saber!"
The bluenette then made her way towards Darnic, who was scanning the room with a thoughtful expression, making sure that the preparations went smoothly.
"Well Master, what are the odds of them summoning their desired servants?"
Darnic closed his eyes and hummed. He rubbed his temples, thinking aloud.
"If the Grail is as volatile as it was two months ago, then I'd say next to nothing. We still can summon Vlad III, so I gave my catalyst to Gordes for good measure, but I doubt he will be able to summon him if even I was incapable of doing so."
"Will you feign displeasure to scare them?" Saber said amused as she anticipated what was coming next.
"I will feign nothing, Saber. I will be displeased with the outcome of this summoning… but I won't be shocked by it." Darnic said as he had a deep frown on his face. He then coughed loud enough that he got the attention of all the present Masters.
"Now then, let us begin the summoning!" he shouted, causing all the present masters to nod. They started to chant, causing the circle to glow in purple light. The words that came out of their mouths made no sense to Saber, but she knew it was a necessary part of the ritual so it didn't bother her.
When the purple light faded from the circle, four lone figures stood by the center.
'Wow, who would have seen that coming…' Saber thought as she tried her best to hide her amusement.
"You have to be kidding me…" Darnic spoke with a low growl.
No one dared to speak a word, as they were stunned by this turn of events and they were careful to not trigger an outburst from Darnic.
It was Caules who decided to be the first to break the awkward silence.
"What is this..."
Standing in front of Caules's circle was a young girl with spiky black hair with red strands. She had silver eyes, which overshadowed her childish face. She wore a black vest with a grey shirt underneath and a red skirt. She wore a long red cape on her back. She wore a peculiar red case with black lines, which radiated dimly with magical power.
The servant dashed towards Caules and eagerly shook his hand.
"Hello, I'm servant Lancer, ready to use my awesome weapon and kick some servant butt. Let's get along, Master!"
Caules blinked a couple of times, shocked by his servant's energetic attitude. He nevertheless returned the smile.
"Sure thing."
Standing in front of Fiore's circle stood a very tall man with spiked white hair. He wore a standard black jacket and black pants. His most noticeable feature was his blindfolded eyes which would make anyone think he was blind.
"I'll be damned; this really is 2004. The era of flip phones and MySpace! It would be fun to tease my students as kids, but looks like I'm doing this." the white-haired man said playfully. He walked towards Fiore who looked at him with confusion. She had no idea what the man before her was saying. He extended his right arm. "Hello there missy, I'm Servant Caster, the strongest sorcerer known to mankind is pleased to meet you!"
'Strongest sorcerer? Is it a self-proclaimed title proclaimed by a charlatan or did he have enough power to back it up?' Saber thought as she narrowed her eyes. 'No, the amount of confidence he radiates… it can only be found in people who absolutely know how much power they have. I better keep an eye on him.'
Fiore's eyes widened and almost fell off her chair at the man's carefree nature, but quickly composed herself. "O-Oh um, likewise…"
On Celenike's circle stood a scrawny teenager who looked no older than sixteen. He had a plain face and scruffy blond hair. He wore a white shirt with a black tie and had black pants. A very simple and odd choice of clothing for a spirit to have, but she didn't question why. After all, Rider was dressed in the same way.
"This really is 2004? Damn, took me a long time to adapt to the friggin' tech of my world, and now I went back in time? This sucks." He said with a sigh. He noticed Celenike's was giving a death glare. "Oh right, introductions... Ahem, I'm servant Berserker. Nice to meet you… lady with glasses?"
Celenike's eyes narrowed as she scanned him on all fronts.
"You're… pathetically weak."
Berserker looked at her, appalled. He let out an annoyed sigh.
"Off to an amazin' start, I guess…"
Gordes seemed to be the one that was annoyed the most. On his circle stood a very short kid, who looked no more than twelve. He had green eyes and his hair was messy blond with one strand standing out. He wore an unbuttoned white shirt underneath his black vest and unloose red tie.
"Well, well, well… this era looks way more advanced than the one I was, but I think I can adapt thanks to the grail." The kid beamed, waving his hand at the annoyed obese man. "Servant Assassin ready to fight. Let's all get along everyone!"
Saber blinked. 'What an odd little Assassin... a little bit too cheerful to belong in a class that makes you a killer. He is nothing compared to that pesky little group of Assassins that she loved to hunt down in her lifetime.'
"What's the meaning of this?!" Gordes shouted. His face was beet red. "I swear I used the right catalyst for Vlad III! I even used the ax they used on his execution!"
"That's very morbid don't you think?" Lancer whispered to Caster's ear loud enough that everyone could hear it. Caster nodded.
"Yeah, respect the dead Gloop…"
Gordes ticked a nerve. "I can hear, you insolent brats!"
Saber noticed that Berserker approached the Assassin, the latter looking crestfallen.
"Help me Assassin…" he groaned. The small servant saluted him with a grin.
"Oh hey, what's up!"
He leaned towards Assassin's ear. "That woman is givin' me a glare that shouts trouble… what should I do?!"
Truth to be told, Celenike was giving Berserker a glare that would make the bravest men cower in fear. Assassin, however, let out a mischievous grin.
"Oh, I know that look. She's probably the highest class of dominatrix or a cougar for short." He said, patting Berserker on the back. "Good luck!"
That didn't help to ease his worries.
"No way man, I'm screwed, I don't wanna get puked in the mouth again!"
Saber let out an amused giggle and looked at Rider, who was giving a ghost of a smile. Darnic on the other hand was gritting his teeth, no doubt trying to ease his headache.
"So… did you expect this?" Saber asked with a smug look. Darnic eased his posture and sighed.
"We're all going to die."
(X)
Jeanne's face blanched at the mention of the Black Servants. It was nothing she couldn't handle, but it was still an absurd situation.
She gulped and tried to compose herself.
"A-Are you sure that this is the right choice of servants for Yggdmillennia?"
"One hundred percent," Uriel said through the mental link. "But don't worry Jeanne, if push comes to shove, you can control all of them with your command spells!"
She heard a bunch of papers being tossed around. Uriel gasped.
"Oh, dear…"
Jeanne blinked once. Then twice.
"What's happening over there?"
"Nothing, I'm just… overwhelmed by Gabriel's choice of servants," Uriel said after a brief, uncomfortable silence.
Jeanne felt a lump on her throat as she ingested the news.
"Are they strong…?"
She heard Gabriel snort at her ignorance.
"Incredibly so… but I think they would be great contenders for the Black Servants. Especially since Yggdmillenia has incredibly large mana resources" She said with a confident tone. Uriel let out an annoyed grunt.
"You know what? Fine, I can allow most of these servants to be summoned to the Red team."
"Most?" Gabriel asked, intrigued. Jeanne leaned forward, intrigued by this development.
"Yeah, I do have one question for one peculiar servant," Uriel said, coughing awkwardly. "Who's The Crimson Fucker?"
Jeanne heard Gabriel laugh hysterically, and she couldn't help but be unsettled by her reaction. It really was going to be a wild war.
(X)
"In the name of the father, son, holy spirit, amen. Can you give me some of the coke you used to create this story? Because this shit is wild. Props to you on using the Apocrypha setting instead of Stay Night, it's really a breath of fresh air for this genre. You also didn't use Zelretch as a plot device for your servants, so that's another plus.
It was really fun to edit this, and I can't wait for the next chapter!" ~ My beta's review
If you guys read this story, I would understand if your first reaction would be... what? What in Alaya's name have I created? It's a Dramedy for starters.
Or better yet, it's an idea that's been bugging me for quite a while, and I never thought I would attempt it, but here we are. Granted, a multi-crossover in a Fate setting has already been attempted by various people, but I wanted to test my luck in Fate/Apocrypha. The premise is simple, what would happen if old popular anime series clashed with new popular anime series?
See you guys in the next chapter!
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Originally Posted by RoydGolden
