Chapter 77: Compare

I do not own Fate/Stay Night and stuffs.

o. o. o.

It was a quarter to ten at night by the time they had convened by the base of Mt. Enzo. Since it was winter, it had already been dark for a few hours already.

It had oddly enough been a silent and uneventful trip.

For most other magi or members of the moonlit world, it may have been otherwise. It was well established by now that Archer's ability to pick out opponents in the distance, day or night, was with few rivals, so it was half expected that any one of their group would have at least had a close encounter with the wrong end of an arrow, or sword, or Noble Phantasm, en route.

However theirs was not a conventional ensemble.

"Any trouble?" Shirou asked the Vice-Director's group as she, Bazett, and Waver made their way through the trees into the clearing, with Lancer no doubt still in spiritual form.

Nobody missed how he was flexing his right hand open and closed. A brief look behind his coat exposed the shimmer of more than one familiar and terrifying weapon stored away. The teen wasn't playing around.

"None. Lord Barthomelloi's wind thaumaturgy hid us exceptionally." Waver replied. "I see you are free of holes as well."

Shirou flicked a hand up and, like a card dealer playing a trick, a dagger appeared in his fingers before making it spin and roll down his knuckles. "Carnwennan. It hides its user in the shadows so long as they hold onto it."

"That's your toy, ain't it, Saber?" Lancer materialized with a smirk. "Who knew someone as straight-laced and boring like you would have something fun like that?"

"It's no doubt less remarkable than your proficiency in any field of meticulous magecraft, let alone runes," Saber effortlessly rebutted.

"Harsh. Fair, but harsh." Lancer dramatically recoiled mockingly.

"I don't think Archer was outside at all, let alone aiming to snipe us from the mountain." Shirou frowned. "I can't see as far as he can, but I didn't see any sign of him at all at the spots where he'd get the best view of anyone getting close. Even if I didn't fire anything, I'd still be at least ready for a heavy assault just in case, if I was in his position."

"How certain are you?" Waver frowned, not liking the sound of that.

"Considering none of us had any trouble getting here at all? Almost absolutely. With what he has in stock, by all rights one of us should have at bare minimum been wounded if not pressed by this point. It's not like there's an equal number of Servants and Masters among us." Shirou grimaced. He didn't like giving Archer credit for anything, but he wasn't the sort that underestimated his enemies either. Archer was too good and experienced to let an easy target go if he could help it, and the idea of all of them making it this far without getting noticed was just laughable.

It was blatantly clear, Archer never intended to fight them outside the mountain where he was at a clear advantage. The final confrontation would be inside… where he held a different edge on them altogether.

He was less eager to see what was in the caves than he was before, if that was possible.

"What point of action have you decided?" Lorelei skipped the banter and looked down at Shirou with scrutiny.

Before they had split up, Shirou had mapped out several plans of attack given their situation ranging from high risk, high reward, moderate fallout to ludicrously high risk, exceptionally high reward, low fallout to low risk, moderate reward massive fallout.

For context, that last one was just Saber Excaliblasting the mountain and wasting everything under it. And it was still being seriously considered by some parties.

"Which one do you think?" Rin sighed from the sidelines. "He picked the insanely suicidal one."

"Of course he did." Waver shook his head while Bazett let out a brief chuckle and a "well what can you do?" shrug.

"And you believe this approach will have the greatest odds of success?" Lorelei didn't budge one way or the other hearing the news.

"Given the circumstances." Shirou sighed before looking to his side at the mountain side.

Or rather, the hidden entrance to the caves into Mt. Enzo.

The hidden entrance where a dozen crimson and pitch black ribbon like appendages shot out like serpents at the small crowd not even ten meters away.

Rin prepared her gems.

Lancer and Saber took up their blades.

Bazett raised her fists.

Lorelei palmed her crop.

Waver got ready to run away.

That was all they could do as Shirou scoffed while manifesting and firing off a blade per ribbon, impaling and nailing them to the stone and dirt around the cave.

"As you can see." Shirou half lectured, "Raiding the Mountain using conventional tactics would be inadvisable at the moment."

The reason why Rin had been complaining about Shirou's decided plan of attack was simple:

The strike force entailed Shirou, Lorelei, Bazett, and Rin. And no one else.

Meaning the Servants were to stay outside.

An outright suicidal notion under normal circumstances.

Unfortunately, in an enclosed space absolutely riddled with a substance that can nigh instantly absorb if not kill Servants in general, normal circumstances were few.

Waver frowned for a moment, looking at the thrashing ribbons speared with the blades. To his knowledge, Sakura's elemental magic should be more than capable of absorbing even traced objects almost as effortlessly as Servants. What made them… so…

Oh. Oh that was brilliant.

"Are those, Black Keys?" Rin blinked in disbelief, not that anyone could blame her.

After all, the last thing most of them expected were for the appendages that could trump Servants and Noble Phantasms to be helpless against some of the most dated and niche armaments of the Church. Ludicrously dangerous in the hands of an Executor, sure, but seeing them these days was akin to someone bring a flintlock to a gunfight. They were a sidearm material at best to the majority of Executors save for those most dedicated to their use… which ironically included Kotomine.

"Matou's powers are closest linked to shadows. The Keys are spiritual implements that can pin shadows and their users on the spot when impaled." Waver scoffed, almost disbelieving what he was seeing. He had spent years with Kiritsugu and Sirius trying to figure out a way to deal with Sakura's powers should she get out of control, and the answer was practically right in front of everyone's faces the entire time. "When did you figure it out?"

Shirou shook his head. "I spent almost five years with Sakura while reading all of Kiritsugu's notes. You think I wasn't going to test out every option possible after what I learned just in case the world went sideways? Hell, Zouken practically encouraged it on the off chance he'd be able to use the info for himself one day when he found out what we were doing. As for when, I think it was halfway in my freshman year. I passed by Kotomine by sheer chance when he was leaving some restaurant and the idea came to me when I remembered that he used Black Keys. It worked and I just went from there."

"No wonder Zouken kept you around despite how much of a risk you were," Rin deadpanned. Unless another miracle happened and Kirei actually joined hands with Zouken, there wasn't a single person in Fuyuki that had a hope of keeping Sakura in line if she started going out of control other than Shirou.

"I have that effect on people." There was a hint of amusement in Shirou's tone, however whatever levity it might have garnered died the moment anyone saw the Vice-Director visibly glower and look down on the guilty party in question.

Which, to be fair, it was well deserved. He had that effect on her too, and she wasn't particularly pleased about it.

"As informative as this is, we're wasting time," Waver stepped in.

"He's right. Let's stop procrastinating. If there is any other point of order or alteration before we execute the plan, we do it now." Saber crossed her arms.

Shirou sighed and nodded, the crimson shroud wrapping around his head in the process. "Waver-nii, Saber and Lancer will help protect and aid you in your part of the plan. In addition to that…"

He walked over to a portion of the mountainside where an unusually flat boulder nearly two meters in radius was sitting straight up.

Without any hint of what he was thinking, the teen materialized a Black Key and stabbed it into the center of the stone.

"Trace. On."

Following that, he rested his hand on the stone, and altered the penetrated surface. Within seconds a perfect formalcraft circle was engraved onto it with the sword at its center. "The circle invokes Gradient Parallel. Use copies of the Keys to supplant the original plan."

"Black Keys to… hm. That might work, but there are discrepancies. I'll see what I can do. They are Sacraments of the Church, not standard mystic codes. Ideally we'd have a member of the Church for this." Waver frowned in thought, understanding what was going on.

"You'll make do. Saber will tell you where the core of the setup is after we leave."

"Humph." Waver pulled a cigar from his pocket and lit it up. "I can already tell you're hiding something from me that I'm going to give you an earful for later."

"I look forward to it." Shirou turned to Saber and Lancer. "Keep him safe."

"Keep some fun for us." Lancer smirked.

Saber allowed herself to roll her eyes, but nodded in agreement all the same. "I expect you to remain conscious after this matter is concluded. For once."

The Second Magus Killer shook his head and turned towards the hidden cave entrance, not bothering to see if his conspirators were with him, or checking to see who was laughing at his expense.

The good mood was not liable to last long. Might as well let them all enjoy it.

"Let's get this over with."

o. o. o.

"It looks like they've finally started to move," Irisviel noted, sitting on a boulder and kicking her legs like a child.

"Hmm. It would have been better for us if they had waited a bit longer, but I suppose that's to be expected." Archer absently humored her a response as he looked up at the pulsing monstrosity that was the Greater Grail at the core of the Grail system.

Sakura wasn't being used as the Lesser Grail, and there was still just a little over four Servant's worth of mana in the system at the moment, but it didn't detract from the abomination taking form.

All it meant really was that the horror in front of him was liable to wipe out a portion of Japan's population instead of the planet's.

"Are you sure that it was a smart idea to let them get this close to begin with?" Iri asked curiously. "You are an Archer. You could have at least taken out Lancer's Master or crippled some of the others. I doubt you would have missed all of them approaching the entire time."

EMIYA sighed. "I might have, but it would have opened me up to the others to counterattack the second I did so. All it would take is a single command spell for Saber to "Jump" to cross my entire range in a single bound and I'd be finished."

"Fufu. Sounds like another personal bittersweet experience of yours from your tone." Irisviel taunted.

The Counter Guardian's expression hardened at the slipup. "... So? Are they all rushing in like mindless bulls?"

"No. Surprisingly, Shirou's leading the Vice-Director, the Enforcer, and little Rin alone through the caves while Lancer and Saber stay outside with Waver… I still have trouble believing that boy's grown up so much…" She shook her head. "It appears they're wary of the Servants getting caught by our dear Sakura here."

They pretended to ignore the ebony and black blob of ribbons and imaginary space simply standing silently nearby. Rider, in spiritual form was just as close, hovering over her Master protectively, ready to make a suicidal last stand if needed.

"Fools." Archer sighed. "Damned if they went with Servants, but damned if they don't as well. The fact that they moved in so quickly without any hesitation only underscores their misguided confidence."

"You say that, but you aren't surprised in the slightest. I wonder if having trouble voicing your honest feelings is something that Kiritsugu also accidentally taught you."

Finally, Archer turned to give the woman an annoyed glare. "Constantly comparing me to the man that mangled both of our fates isn't exactly endearing."

"It's what a mother and love does, Shirou. I'm sorry that I can't help it." His almost foster mother smiled shamelessly. "It won't be that much longer now before your wish is done. We could kill Rider right now and be just about done, but you still desire to do it the long way."

"There's no telling how Sakura would react if we did that. She's stronger than anticipated. You said it yourself, it's taking the bulk of your focus to keep her under control. There's no need to agitate her further when there are other resources available."

"Fufu. If that's the way you want to play things, it's fine with me. Just so long as you get your wish." The maiden in black and white giggled as though patronizing her child for telling an obvious lie. "... Then again, it's not like we are bereft of alternative options at hand to begin with."

o. o. o.

"You are surprisingly at ease."

Waver carelessly shrugged at Saber's statement as he sat on a rock and wrote some calculations on a pad and paper. "It's been a curious decade between Wars. I had to grow up or perish in the attempt. I'm confident that many of your kinsmen can relate to such sentiments."

Saber held back a dry and bitter laugh. "My kinsmen rarely stood on the grounds where the end of the world may originate. Much less had a hand to play in stopping it. I applaud the confidence and self-control, but do speak with some pride. The King of Conquerors would not let either of us hear the end of it if he heard you speak like this."

The lord twitched and briefly looked up to give her an annoyed glare. Not because she brought up Rider, but because she was right. "... Maybe, but I am not a warrior like you. Experienced, yes, but I've learned that it's best to keep my head on straight until after the fight is won and my role is completed."

"Sheesh. Aren't you a fun bag of sunshine?" Lancer appeared nearby, tapping the formalcraft engraving Shirou made and grabbing a copy of the Black Key produced. "I can tell you're the type that'll just unleash hell on everyone once you knock back your third drink."

"Fourth. I try to pace myself, and you know how nobility is with alcohol and parties." Waver allowed himself to smile dryly. "It doesn't help that I'm a teacher as well."

"Oof. Now I'm reliving my own nightmares when my teacher had five too many. Rather fight Berserker than deal with that again." The Irishman shook his head to clear his thoughts. "So? Where does this one go?"

"We're going with an adaptation of the Kabbalah alchemic system incorporating Old Testament influences to yield optimal results, so…" Waver paused as he saw the Servants look at him before shaking his head. It was hard to break himself out of his lecturing habits at times, even when pure chaos was potentially on the horizon. Instead, he just flipped a page on his pad, jotted down some directions, and pictures, ripped it out and handed it to Lancer. "It'll take too long to explain. Just stab them at these general locations on the perimeter."

"My kind of instructions. Be right back."

"You really are a dedicated teacher. Merlin could have learned a thing or two from you." Saber watched as the Irishman leapt and vanished over the treeline.

"Merlin had more going for him than just an interesting occupation." Waver already went back to work on his calculations. "As far as Magi go in terms of power and versatility, I'm second rate at best. I can pick apart and analyze magecraft as much as I want, but I am incapable of doing much alone with what I can deduce."

"You give yourself too little credit. Shirou would not have accepted you coming if he thought you would be a liability. He values your insight, much like those in Fuyuki valued his during the War," Saber chided, recognizing the man's lack of self confidence that had been there since the Fourth War. Waver had certainly grown into himself, but he had turned accepting his weakness into a shield to hide behind almost proudly. More than likely out of necessity due to the politics of his situation, but it was still something that no doubt would have pissed off the King of Conquerors had he been present to see it.

"It is not my insight that I find lacking and a potential liability, King of Knights, merely my overall general weakness. My physical, tallent, and thaumaturic capacity are lackluster even by modern era standards, so I must accommodate for that and adapt, or be swept aside like countless others, with my intellect and insight. I just happen to be more apt at it than most." Waver didn't bother looking up as he continued to invest his focus into his calculations. "Do not be concerned, Saber. While what I said is depreciative, had I truly believed I would be a liability for this disaster, I would have outright refused to come in the first place."

"And yet here you are among legends and kings as a peer and equal member. One could claim that that alone makes you stand out more than the rest of us," Saber prodded.

"Humph. Now that, I can believe Rider agreeing with you without any annoying extra nonsense." Waver smirked.

"While patting your back no doubt," the King of Knights teased, recalling how Waver used to be literally thrown a small distance every time the King of Conquerors gave his small Master his usual physical displays of encouragement.

Waver's smile dropped. A decade later, and he still doubted he'd be able to stand on his feet if Rider gave him a repeat performance. Hell, he could practically feel the impacts on his back and the ghost pain echoing through his body already. "I could do without that if possible."

Saber allowed herself to enjoy the minor victory over the young Lord before turning her attention back to the mountain.

"Is there any trouble yet?"

"No." She shook her head, seeing through her Master's eyes as over a dozen black ribbons, melding almost perfectly with the shadows of the cave, were impaled into the stone walls effortlessly and expertly. The assault failed to slow down the four magi that were swiftly travelling deeper into the system in the slightest.

"You're worried." Waver concluded.

"As I should. I'm allowing my Master to traverse dangerous enemy territory without a Servant's aid. Had it been anyone else, I would be there with him, risk be damned."

It just went to show just how much Saber had put faith in Shirou's deductions at this point to take his word over her own instincts. Regardless of how much she often taunted how he still had much to learn before being acknowledged as a "squire", or how large the gap was between him and a top tier Servant like herself was, the fact of the matter was undeniable: Shirou was Strong. Enough so that his word could be trusted and his blades not ignored.

"I find your trust both well founded and misplaced." Waver turned back to his notes and continued with his calculations.

"You speak of the others with him." Saber connected the dots. "While I agree that Archer's and Lancer's Masters are talented, I cannot put as much confidence in their performance from what I have witnessed."

The Lord chucked. "I'm starting to see why Shirou is so eager to try and win your approval. Your level of standard is insultingly high, King of Knights. Or rather, maybe it is just more proof of how far it has fallen in this day and age, but I remiss. Your focus on your Master has led to an oversight, King of Knights."

"... Go on," she allowed Waver to attempt to assuage her concerns.

Waver didn't look up from his paperwork. "There are games that simulate these sorts of things. Fantasy-like simulations, playing roles and the like. Shirou is a Ranger, and unusually well diversified at that with far more potent skills and tricks than expected for one at his level. A jack of all trades master of none, but with the highest level of equipment for near any situation. Long range. Short range. Support. Trap detection and disarmament. Scouting. The only real role he can't perform adequately on the fly is the role of a healer and spell discernment, the former of which I suppose Miss Tohsaka will fulfill for this excursion with her gems. Under normal circumstances she no doubt would act as an adequate and well rounded Magus. Talented and skilled no doubt in all sorts of fields due to her multiple elements, but just a bit unexperienced in actual combat and specialization to make the cut for a frontline fighter under the current situation. Had she possessed the Sword of Zelretch it would be another matter, but for now she's best suited as a support unit."

Saber frowned as he went on.

"Bazett is a Warrior. The frontline unit. She takes damage and deals it. A simple, but necessary role in traditional setups. Her experience, enhanced clothing, and strength enable her to barrel through most haphazard magecraft effortlessly, but her secret weapon, Fragarach makes her a hidden Boss Killer if not dealt with properly."

"I don't get what your point is." Saber shook her head.

Waver smirked. "The Vice-Director is the point. Shirou has tricks and versatility to hit above his weight class. As does Bazett. Tohsaka is adequate support. But Lorelei Barthomelloi?"

o. o. o.

"She is one of the few monsters in the form of humans that can fight on par with the mysteries and nightmares that equal Servants in this world. A cheat unique-class character with unfair stats that render most games moot the moment she appears on the board, simply because she destroys everything that crosses her path. As far as surprise guest units joining a raiding party, you'd be hard pressed to find a unit that possesses more raw power than her on the side of humanity. And the best part of it all?"

"Hostile entities approaching."

"That perfectionist monster has been parading Shirou around for the past five years as her unofficial secret weapon against Dead Apostles. Even if he's been keeping secrets, she already knows how he fights and how to maximize the results the day they did eventually work together to take down one of those monsters."

"Right Arm!"

Shirou shouted as they entered the massive cavern at least a hundred meters in radius. Something this massive shouldn't have fit under Mt. Enzo, at least in addition to the cavern holding the Greater Grail, but with how much magical energy was being thrown around at this stage in the game, distorting the space and dimensions of the cave network wouldn't be surprising.

Close to the other side of the space was what could only be called a weaponized ten meter tall statue. Modeled akin to a young woman, the masked ivory automaton was decked in bronze and gold armaments as though some of its clothing was made of castle ramparts. Attached to its arms were what looked like musket barrels lined with blades that were repurposed from antiquated electrical equipment, given how said blades were literally shining with enough mana and passively discharging electricity with every other millisecond.

Most notable about the monster though were the crimson and black veins that reached up its legs and pulsed all over its body like a secondary circulatory system that contrasted it's mostly white frame.

When asked later about it, Shirou and Rin would admit that if it weren't for the size difference, they would consider it a more impressive sight than Fina's Castle transformation.

No further information was needed. They moved like a machine.

"Engaging stage two combat proto-"

Rin stayed back to take cover. She wasn't prepared for this fight.

Shirou bolted forward, crossing fifty meters within a second while Bazett and Lorelei darted to either side of the cave.

At the end of said second, he had skidded to a knee, bow in one hand, and primed copy of Balmung in the other. The gem in its grip already exposed, and Pure Ether all but exploding around him.

The air in the cave Shook and thrummed with power.

"Alert. Weaponized Pure Ether detected. Threat value of opposition readjusted to priority grade. Emergency override for maximum offensive output executed. Identifying target as the current Tenth."

The artificial god's bangs lifted up as though they were on a hinge as it pointed its arms at Shirou, revealing that the seemingly superfluous design had a purpose as the underside of the "hair" exposed massive circuit like engravings that were already channeling even more energy to the surface.

Power quickly saturated the cavern as a race to be the first one to attack became blatantly apparent to all sides…

And despite Shirou being the one that increased the intensity of the situation the second he reached the cave, arming himself with his strongest attack and drawing first, it was Merem Solomon's Right arm that reached its peak charge first and unleashed a disastrous and blinding flash that-

"FRAGARACH!"

CRACK!

o. o. o.

"My Right Arm's an idiot."

Merem sat in front of the Magi and Servants. "It's like having a spoiled teenage daughter with a ghoul's attention span. Make no mistake though, it's unbelievably powerful and purposefully designed for battle. It will do what I initially order, and then proceed to ignore everything afterwards before wandering off until I can catch it again. There's a reason why I only use it for major fights, and it's not because of the high levels of property damage whenever it's brought out."

Off to the side, Merem's left arm was looking away innocently, clearly not wanting to add any fuel to the fire. No doubt there were more than a few stories that backed up the vampire's claim and annoyed disposition.

"Fortunately, or rather unfortunately, it was not the one that was responsible for its designs, weapons, and tricks. I was. So listen closely if you don't want to waste too much time and energy dealing with my arm to prevent the end of the world."

o. o. o.

Merem's right arm was different than his other limbs in that it had gone through several iterations, being modeled and primed for genuine war and being updated with the times.

The current version had been made well into Merem's tenure as a member of the Church, so a good portion of its armaments and defenses were made with the Vatican's resources and assets in mind… and if Merem's offhand comments were to believed, maybe three or four pieces of technology "misplaced" from Atlas thrown in the mix.

All of which meant nothing as causality was reversed the moment it launched its all out counter attack against Shirou, having its statuesque skull literally cleaved in half down the middle by an A ranked Noble Phantasm in the shape of a lightspeed battleaxe…

And yet, in spite of his fingers literally burning and going numb from the overwhelming power in his grasp, Shirou didn't let go the the arrow yet.

"Primary central processing unit damaged. Danger imminent. Engaging secondary processing units and disassembling body…"

Almost immediately, a chorus of cracks and clicks and the hiss of pressurized air escaping echoed in the chamber as the mechanical giant came apart like a massive sentai robot, its arms, legs, and portions of its torso jettisoning in every direction to minimize how much of it would get hit by Shirou's attack while somehow remaining airborne in the process.

This was the part that usually got most of the victims that had the misfortune of facing Merem's right arm. Under normal circumstances, it would only reach this stage once it had received an exceptional amount of damage to begin with after a massive and drawn out fight. The idea that each of its horrifically overarmed bodyparts could act independently of one another, while in hindsight not that surprising, usually came too late for most exhausted combatants to react to in time before everything went to hell from seven to twelve different directions in the form of varying artillery grade munitions and spellwork.

Usually.

"VICE-DIRECTOR!"

Usually, the enemy wasn't forewarned about this.

"Do not take that tone with me, dog. Know who you are speaking to."

Usually, the enemy hasn't dealt critical damage within the first few seconds of battle and was primed for a literal overwhelming finishing blow.

CRUNCH!

It was as if a black hole had manifested right in front of the target. An overwhelming force of time, space, and wind hyper focused itself on a single point, drawing in the escaping parts of Merem's Right arm before they could even finish calculating their counter attack patterns, rendering each and every one of them unable to escape the pure devastation that was to come..

Usually, the enemy doesn't have Lorelei Barthomelloi in its ranks.

"Error. Error. Gravitational singularity detected. Unable to disengage. Danger. Danger. Damn it master! Why did you let this happen? This black stuff is nasty and gunking me up! I can only fight at fifty percent with this garbage in me! Why couldn't you have marked that smug Rat instead?!"

With its head cut in two, the mask over the false god's face fell off, revealing a picturesque young woman's face scrunched up in childish frustration… while seemingly unaffected by the fact that it was split in half down the middle.

The conditions were set.

"Balmung."

"This is a terrible first impression! This isn't how I wanted to meet my new little bro-!"

BOOM!

Everything went white as half of the cave was literally obliterated in Pure Ether, and had the Grail not lined essentially the entirety of the interior of the mountain with its influence, there would have been a genuine concern of having the landmark collapse right on top of everyone instead of simply rocking everything as though they were at the center of a massive earthquake.

It was only because of that chaos that the group of four magi didn't push through just yet, even though they had shut down and overwhelmed an entity on par with some of the weaker Dead Apostle Ancestors in under half a minute.

Instead of waiting for the rubble to settle down though, someone in the group had other ideas.

"Enough of this. We are wasting time."

With a swish of her crop, the cloud of dust flattened to the floor.

Another elegant wave pushed away the upturned stone in their way to the side, giving them all a clean path to the other side of the chambers.

There was no sign or hint of the ten meter tall war puppet that they had just encountered.

"... Anything?" Bazett turned to Shirou, knowing that he had the best nontraditional sensory skills there. No doubt that the Vice-Director had already scanned ahead with her wind based mysteries.

He shook his head. "No. Let's go. Rin, come on."

Rin stepped out from the back of the cave warily, giving Shirou look that clearly hinted that she was going to remember something amusing for later. "... So when were you going to tell us-"

Swish. Shink.

A flash of a steel blade flickered past her head and impaled another black ribbon that had just been about to stab the girl from behind.

"Hurry up." The Assassin cut her off before she could finish her sentence and sped walked deeper into the mountain's depths, both for his sake and her's seeing that the Vice-Director was still within clear earshot of them all.

The less they reminded the woman that he was part of the vampire ranks, the better.

That, and as far as Shirou was concerned, he already had enough insane older sister figures in his life. He really didn't need any more if he could help it.

Despite his efforts, it didn't stop Bazett and Rin sharing a mutual silent exchange of amusement, all but guaranteeing that he was without a doubt going to hear about this later for everyone else's entertainment.

"He really does change when he gets in the zone like this," Rin stage whispered to Bazett, enjoying his embarrassment.

He ran ahead to avoid hearing anymore of it for his own sake.

o. o. o.

Irisviel blinked owlishly as the intruders pushed forward, clearly not anticipating what she had just witnessed through the clairvoyance spell lined through the mountain. "... Well. That was unexpectedly fast. They didn't even have a Servant. I guess this is what facing the elite of the modern era is like. It's simultaneously enlightening and frustrating."

"If you're going to complain, just blame the vampire for making a shoddy familiar. It'll make things easier for everyone if we're asked later," Archer advised halfheartedly. "More importantly, did we benefit from it in the way that actually matters?"

"Huh? Oh! Yes. While that giant mechanical familiar we stole isn't a Servant, it shares enough similarities with them that the Grail can use its essence as power." Irisviel fumbled with her words as she got back to business. "As for the thaumaturgy used to defeat it…"

Both Servants looked to the side to see the jellyfish-like blob that was Sakura begin to swell, the crimson highlights that extended from it glowing erratically while it stretched to Marjatta and the Greater Grail.

"Well, as capable as Sakura is, I'm afraid there are few components of the Greater Grail system itself that are capable of processing and utilizing True Ether in substantial quantities."

"Will it be a problem?"

"Fortunately I diverted the bulk of the True Ether away from the Grail System into the Leylines before they could be a problem. Unfortunately, it means we have less and need more time than expected to get things done. Our guests are making better time than expected." Irisviel sighed like a concerned housewife, resting her hand on her cheek.

"Mhm. And when exactly are you going to pull out your hidden cards?" Archer didn't fall for it in the slightest. "Or were you going to suggest we use Rider next?"

The cavern was ominously quiet.

"... Fufufu. Was it really that obvious?" Pretender cracked first, giggling without shame.

"You were here for days before being found. Weakened or not, you weren't sitting on your hands the entire time."

"I suppose it was foolish to assume that everyone would believe they were that lucky. You could have at least played along and acted surprised."

"And how long would you have drawn it out if I did that?"

"Haaaah." The corrupted Servant sighed dejectedly, giving up on the argument, "It really is like talking to Kiritsugu sometimes."

"Speaking of…"

"Don't worry. Honestly, if we were alive and I had a remotely normal body, you'd get wrinkles before me with how strung up you are." Irisviel waved him off. "You should know better than to assume that I'd forget about your father. Relax."

o. o. o.

"I prepared for him just as much as I did for the others."

The remaining pathways to the Greater Grail were completely quiet. Either they were blocked off by Angra Mainyu's essence, caved in, or so out of the way, long, or difficult in some capacity to navigate that there was no real point in obstructing them.

Light was minimal at best if present at all, only the off glow of the increasing mana in the system and the crimson highlights of Sakura's ribbons barely illuminated the path for the untrained eye.

Sound itself seemed to be an avoided luxury, as the occasional echoes of unnatural battle and the whispers of growing curses seemed to disturb the silence. Had a normal human been present to give a comparison, they'd instantly rather be stuck in a tomb than this haunted venue.

And yet in one of these winding paths that seemed to travel to hell itself…

Thunk.

A crude dagger whose only notable characteristic would be its darkened metal blade that blended effortlessly in the dark impaled the floor of one of one of the major remaining paths.

"Show yourself, Assassin of the Fifth War. Your level of Presence Concealment won't work with us."

One second.

Five seconds.

Ten seconds.

The drawn out silence itself seemed to put an unnatural pressure in the cavern littered with irregular stalactites and stalagmites to the point that a normal human would have passed out if not had a heart attack from the stress…

And then Kiritsugu appeared without a sound from behind one of the towers, his coat and hood covering his features save for the bottom half of his face.

"... I am here to have a discussion with my wife and son." There was no emotion or inflection in his tone. Only a bland fact.

It was a simple statement with a simple ultimatum. Either help and live, or don't and die.

"We are here at their request."

If Kiritsugu's entrance was non-existent, the other party's was akin to a mobile void, somehow taking in what little life and sound was around them and rendering it dead.

Dressed in black, with skin tanned and pigmented so dark that they blended into the shadows even without any skill, a woman appeared in a skull mask and a high ponytail. The only thing that appeared blatantly amiss with her were the glowing red veins that littered her visible skin, pulsing a tainted fluid throughout her body just as easily as blood.

They had never met face to face, but Kiritsugu recognized her immediately from when he was alive.

It was one of the hundred personas of the Assassin from the Fourth Grail War. One that had been massacred by Rider during the Debate of the Kings.

Meaning he was already surrounded.

Kiritsugu wasn't the strongest of Servants to begin with, but his versatility usually made up for the disparity against most Servants so long as they weren't obnoxiously overwhelming.

That versatility was a limited stock though. A limited stock that was not designed to deal with a hundred skilled opponents, degraded Servants or not. It was an almost perfect counter to his skillset.

Almost.

"And?" If her appearance or statement were intended to affect him, he made it blatant that it didn't.

A chorus of light chuckles echoed in the room, like a series of amused whispers of death tickling the ears from all sides.

"You have our thanks, former Master of Saber. We were informed that you were the one that killed the traitor that was our former Master, as temporary as it supposedly was. Your indirect involvement in taking out the King of Heroes has also earned our respect. It is why we are giving you this ultimatum instead of executing you. An Assassin you may be, but you are not Hassan. Your crude skills in our craft would be found inadequate on the Holy Mountain."

Even in the unlit cave, the shadows seemed to converge and surround Kiritsugu menacingly, waiting for an excuse to close in like a bear trap.

"... You are right. I am not Hassan."

Despite him not moving an inch, his attackers got ready to strike.

"My skills do not compare to yours."

His right hand clenched, and the trigger device in it was set.

BOOM!

Half the pillars in the cave behind him exploded violently as one, reducing the space available to fight into half in an instant, with the other half rendered into pure chaos.

Three dozen daggers flew at him from all sides through the dust and shattering stone. Two dozen less than expected.

They all missed, flying over the bouncing grenades that had already been dropped.

"But this is not your Mountain."

BANG!

The flashbang grenades went off violently, blinding the majority of the hundred faces in the enclosure, even as half of it began to collapse on top of them.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

In their blind confusion, the small army of murderers began to fall one by one.

"And this is not your War."

o. o. o.

"Shirou."

"I know."

Not even fifteen minutes after wiping out Merem's Right Arm, the group of Magi had encountered a new development.

There weren't any obstructions yet, and the pressure of the mana in the caves, while growing, hadn't become suffocating either.

But even so, the sight of random swords poking out from all sides of the tunnels were more than an unnerving experience.

"Archer must have assimilated to the Grail in some way." Bazett frowned as they passed by the weapons warily, their pace only slowing down by a small margin to make sure they didn't fall for some trap.

"A trap?" Lorelei half asked, half demanded an explanation from Shirou.

"A taunt." Shirou clicked his tongue in annoyance and pretended to ignore the weapons. "They're all tools from traitors and failures. No gimmicks or tricks. Asshole is fucking with me."

"That's unusually petty. Even for Archer." Rin frowned, unsure what the point in the insulting display was other than to prove that the Servant was connected to the system now. No, maybe that was the point? But then why hint it in the first place?

"Contact." Shirou's lone word cut off any thoughts she and the others had as they slowed down entering a new massive cavern much like the one before.

Only instead of one titanic problem, they encountered three human sized ones.

One wielding two spears.

One on a horse.

One wrapped in a black cloud… and also conveniently wielding a copy of one of the spears his ally used.

All three of them possessed black and crimson veins along their figure as though they had a second circulatory system.

"Shit," Shirou flatly summed up their situation.

"Yo! So you four are the ones we're supposed to stop huh?" The Servant on the horse asked curiously, a massive man with crimson hair resembling a lion greeted them cheerfully. "A curious bunch you are. A boy and three women huh? A scary set at that with that air you have. Not sure how this will turn out."

"My apologies." The visible dual spear user bowed. "But despite the circumstances, we are compelled to stop you. Our summoning is irregular. Our cores aren't stable, but the one that summoned us has an absurd amount of mana available to counteract that. Regardless we are still Servants. I'm afraid we are beyond the current era's magi ability to manage."

"▂▂▂▅▅▅▅▅▅" The enshrouded third Servant growled.

"Are those who I think they are?" Bazett asked warily.

"Rider, Lancer, and Berserker from the Fourth War," Shirou answered immediately. "Alexander the Great. Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, and Sir Lancelot."

Judging from how Rider and Lancer blinked and turned to the hidden Berserker in genuine bewilderment, and how the black cloud around him immediately began to dispel, the latter of the group's identity had not been made known to them.

"Huh." Rider blinked. "Well, that certainly explains a bit."

"No wonder he retained his martial skill in spite of his class," Diarmuid agreed.

"Waver's going to be pissed when he hears about this." Bazett grimaced and took a stance, knowing how important the King of Conquerors was to the Lord. "An Apostle Ancestor's primary familiar is one thing, but three Grail enhanced Servants at once is a bit much, Shirou."

"They stated their handicap. A single proper battle will force their cores to collapse on themselves. Are you that uncertain of our capabilities?" Lorelei brandished her crop, mana already thrumming in her blue blood.

"That's not the problem. Lancer's got B ranked Magic Resistance, and his spear disperses mana. That prick Archer made a copy of it for Berserker, who has a Noble Phantasm that literally makes whatever he holds his own personal weapon with skill to spare, which essentially makes him a Magus killing monster and a literal double counter against me with his personal skills. He'd steamroll through any one of us almost effortlessly with Lancer in a close second, weakened or not." Shirou corrected her. "Even without Rider, our odds of getting past here without major casualties are shot unless we summon backup, much less any of us surviving, period."

"Which will be no different than throwing fuel onto a fire to put it out." Rin groaned. "How did they even get summoned in the first place?"

"Judging from how you act, you have memories of the Fourth War, don't you?" Shirou spoke up, not wasting time.

Rider smirked. "You certainly are a sharp one. I've rarely encountered eyes as keen as those, even in my ranks. A pity you hide your face like Assassin, but at least you're willing to talk. Since you speak to us with such familiarity, you must be related to one of our former Masters."

"The Grail was not utilized properly at the end of our War. The remnants of our spirits were not fully consumed within its contents, so they were recycled, in a sense." Lancer elaborated. "We are and are not those Servants. Our apologies."

"The homunculus woman, Saber's former Master, who summoned us clearly had little interest in having us last long. Even without fighting we will be gone come morning. We are more phantoms than anything." Rider scoffed, clearly displeased with his current predicament. "Assassin was given more time with her and then sent elsewhere, but the rest of us are here. Saber, Archer, and Caster were not given this treatment."

"It is for the best. Archer and Caster are unruly characters to put it mildly, and I do not wish to see Saber again regardless." Lancer's mood darkened.

"▂▂▂▅▅▅▅errrrr." Berserker growled, twitching.

"... Probably best not mention her around Berserker for the time being. Private affairs should remain private," Rider grimaced, realizing just why the mad Servant kept on hounding Saber during the previous war.

The invading group of Magi made it a point not to look at Shirou.

"You are quite complacent for familiars defending this path, conversing so casually and revealing such vital information." Lorelei stepped forward. "Your summoner clearly did not do a thorough job curbing your egos."

"She did not," Lancer agreed. "Her behaviour is erratic, to put it mildly. Even for a disturbed Magus. Her approach is haphazard to the point that we don't really know if she truly desires half the things she claims despite her actions."

"Then there's that peculiar Servant in red she was with. That one didn't say much other than procuring a copy of Lancer's spear for Berserker. I wasn't particularly keen on the feeling I got from that one. He was no doubt an interesting spirit, but his mind and spirit were clearly preoccupied with something else. The sort of man that had made up his mind about something important and was committed to doing something reckless, but still wasn't certain on certain key details," Rider crossed his arms and nodded as if coming to an agreement with his own assessment.

"It appears that Servant or not, the Homunculus has become defective. Not that it is any surprise," Lorelei noted. If she had been expecting Shirou to react to them, she hid it well.

"Heh. That one gives off the same feeling as your former Master, doesn't she, Lancer? Even the way she speaks is the same. Clearly another highborn Magus," Rider scoffed, appraising the Vice-Director curiously. "At least this one doesn't hide like a coward. In fact it looks like she's got more fight in her than the rest. Hey, mage woman! How would you like to join my-"

"If you care at all about your former Master, don't finish that sentence!" In a moment of blind panic, Shirou broke character in a pale sweat and cut the Servant off and made it a point to not dare look at his boss.

Had he the fortune to do so, and not be murdered, he might have noticed Bazett and Rin going ghost white and edging away from the Vice-Director for their own safety.

"Eh? You know the kid? He's still alive? With how frail and whiny he was, I thought he would have accidentally gotten killed off by the time the Fifth war came around," Rider balked, more surprised than anything.

"... Waver's going to cry if we tell him this." Bazett grimaced in pity.

Shirou had the same look, but fortunately he had his shroud hiding his face.

"I'm starting to see why Lord El Melloi II always diverted the topic of conversation whenever he was asked about details of his Servant," the Vice-Director stated in a dry tone that promised a long and painful conversation with Waver later. "Overwhelming personality indeed."

"Hah! What a pretentious name! What sort of fool would bother with something awkward and unwieldy like that? Hahahaha!" Rider laughed loudly, his voice echoed throughout the cave without restraint…

Said laughter died slowly and awkwardly as he realized that everyone stared at him with mixed levels of apathy and pity.

"... You're serious? The boy? He couldn't be that big of a deal, could he?"

More silence.

"... I knew he had some potential, but I guess this is what they mean by reality surpassing fiction."

Lancer shook his head and sighed. As if he didn't pity the boy enough. Personally he found it astounding that Rider's Master survived the Fourth War in the first place, much less succeeded his own former Master's title.

"This clown conquered a third of Eurasia?" Lorelei almost seethed in disbelief.

"It's the Charisma," Shirou answered for her in a dead tone, knowing what she was getting at.

God he hated that skill.

"I heard that," Saber reminded him that she was watching through his perspective.

He pointedly ignored her.

"Oho? Sounds like the lad there knows a thing or two about us. I see Command Seals but no Servants. Don't tell me you thought you could barge past us on your own?" Rider's smiled into something hungry and not peaceful.

"I advise you stay where you are." Lancer stepped forward, spears in hand. "We are only guards. We will not pursue you so long as you don't show aggression."

"Humph. Use your eyes Lancer. They have already made their minds." Rider huffed before stroking his beard. "I would not underestimate them either. The woman that summoned us believed it would be prudent to send all of us against them despite their reluctance to bring their Servants. I would not be surprised if most if not all of them have some particularly nasty tricks up their sleeves. Especially the boy."

Shirou withheld the urge to throw his hands up in the air and yell in frustration. He hadn't even done anything yet and they were already singling him out. "And your reasoning for that?"

Lancer held back an amused chuckle and smiled, his natural beauty and curse managing to get a faint blush out of Bazett and Rin, though unsurprisingly the Vice-Director remained as stoic as ever. "My apologies. It is of no fault of your own, but your comrade in the back is clearly your least experienced party member. It is not uncommon for those in her station to turn their attention to the one they see as the leader in high risk situations like this. She's turned in your direction more than the others combined since you stopped."

"Hoh?" Lorelei hummed and looked back at Rin with a dangerous look briefly, clearly indicating that there would be an explanation later as to why she put Shirou on a higher pedestal than her.

"D-Don't look at me like that! You know how many times Shirou's pulled something crazy off in situations like this?!" Rin waved her hands frantically and backed away for her own safety.

"No. By all means. Someone else take charge. I insist," Shirou emotionlessly replied. If someone else could handle this nightmare better than him, he'd let them have it in a heartbeat just so long as Archer was taken down in the end.

That said, it didn't really matter given the current situation. There were only two real options available to them with their own pros and cons.

Technically three, but he kinda doubted that the Servants would believe him that stabbing themselves with a sketchy ritual dagger would possibly sever their connection to the Grail.

The first was to try and take out all the Servants and continue on as a group, a slower but debatably safer way.

And then there was the way that they were probably going to take because time was of the essence.

"You insult me, dog. Don't foist a pointless task on someone when the end result is inevitable regardless." Lorelei took a step forward, crop in hand and a faint yet heavily mana wind rolling off of the ground.

Well if that wasn't a backhanded admission that the Vice-Director believed he was the best to take lead of this shit show, he didn't know what was.

"Hoh? Not bad for a magus. If I didn't know any better I'd figure you for a Caster." Rider grinned as his horse blew out heavily from its nose and shook its head.

It was only obvious that the Vice-Director would focus on Rider. He was her best possible match up when the other two Servants were sporting anti-thaumaturgy spears and Lancer had a high Magic Resistance.

Bazett and Shirou looked at one another. The latter held up a hand and a metal cylinder materialized in it a second later.

"You got Lancer. Make it fast." He handed it over to her.

Bazett nodded emotionlessly and hoisted it over her shoulder where its original was strapped to her back, understanding exactly what Shirou wanted.

"A curious mystery. But if you're a Master, you can tell that the magecraft of a single magus of this era is next to useless on me." Diarmud twirled his spears.

Shirou tilted his head, showing his amusement even with his face covered. A bow materialized in one hand and an arrow in the other. "Maybe. But before we get this started, how about a brief bit of levity to lighten things up? Maybe some impressions. I'll go first."

"Impressions?" Rider snorted. "While I do have some doubts young man, I'm afraid that it will fall flat. There aren't many that are recognized by all three of us here."

"Are you sure?"

Trace. On.

Eight dozen Noble Phantasms materialized over Shirou, all aimed at the three Servants.

"?!" Rider, Lancer, and Berserker all twitched, immediately recognizing what was about to happen and took a stance.

"I've been told my imitations are quite convincing." As if to rub salt in the wound, Shirou allowed himself to articulate his words slightly in the same way Gilgamesh did.

Triple Accel.

Half the cave was enveloped in explosions while the other half shook just as violently only with less dust and debris.

Seconds later, the cavern lit up brilliantly as lightning flashed about in every direction, originating from a single point, as though a localized lightning storm had spontaneously spawned.

"I guess this is what the easterners call Karma!" Rider yelled with a wide grin upon his chariot led by two gargantuan oxen, his horse no longer visible. With a single swing of his sword, half the debris around him had vanished in a flash of lightning. Other than some somewhat mild cuts on his body and some cosmetic damage to his chariot, he had emerged from the attack relatively unharmed.

Lancer was pretty sure that wasn't what Karma was about, but held his tongue. With a twirl of his spears, he also revealed himself, having fared much better from the assault. "Those weapons were copies of Noble Phantasms. Exactly like that Servant in red from before. I've never heard of a magecraft like that. My spear can tear them apart, but they still hit almost as hard as the originals. Someone with that power is a Master?"

"Think he might be related to Goldie?" Rider half asked half mused out loud.

Maybe it was the stress of the situation. Maybe it was the absurdity of what was said. Maybe it was due to the fact that Shirou had been unwillingly tied to too many obscure and random parties over the past few years and didn't want to tempt fate any more than it had.

Regardless of what it was, the question immediately broke Shirou out of his calm persona and caused him to reply immediately in a near panic.

"No! Don't ever say something like that again!"

More importantly, it drew their attention to him. Specifically, it drew their attention not to where he had been attacking before, but above and behind the fighters, where he was being pulled by a golden chain at high speeds past the Servants and towards a sword that had been impaled in the stone behind them during the madness.

"Haha! I like this one!" Rider urged his chariot to move and turn around, but a wave of overwhelming pressure beyond the initial attack impacted his mounts and caused them all to brace themselves and stall their movement.

"I continue to be disappointed. You fancy yourself a King, yet you bother chasing the Dog instead of the Queen in front of you. A brash mouth for a brash ruler. I am not impressed so far." Lorelei scowled as she stepped forward, the body of her riding crop was encompassed with enough mana charged wind that it looked like a blade in its own right.

"Oho? My apologies then. I didn't know mages had royalty in this era. Or are you a royal that happens to be a mage?" Rider's grin turned hungry, and lightning arced around his chariot as though he was in the center of a thundercloud. "Either way, allow me to correct that mistake and give you the attention you desire."

Unlike Rider, Lancer and Berserker had no immediate hangup chasing after Shirou as he slammed back to the cave wall just above the opposite opening.

"COME! LANCER!"

"About damn time!"

Correction. They had no immediate hang ups.

"Berserker! Hold them off! I'll get the boy!" Diarmuid ordered his partner as he jumped forward with his spears forward like a missile…

… Right at the boy that had let go of the chain, changed directions, and skid to a stop in front of the opening to where the Greater Grail was.

More importantly though was that he was now somehow wielding a massive slab of stone hewn into the general shape of an axe sword hybrid with one hand while radiating mana and ready to strike viciously.

The Servant would have lamented or scoffed at the human's attempt to hold him off… if his battle hardened instincts that came from his Mind's Eye skill were not literally screaming DANGER as he approached at the top of their metaphorical lungs.

Unfortunately, he was already running full tilt at his target, and the command that his current Master gave him would not allow him to pull back at this point.

"That won't work!" Diarmuid of the Love Spot shouted, less than two seconds away from impaling the unfortunate boy.

Two seconds that could only be described as pure madness, even to a Servant.

"▂▂▂▅▅▅▅!" Berserker's roar echoed through the entire room as he rushed the newcomer.

"Gae-" The blue Lancer had immediately taken a stance, his cursed blood red spear radiated violently.

"Gae-" The dual wielding Lancer prepared his own lethal strike.

"Nine Lives-" With his feet firmly on the ground, Shirou focused his everything into enhancing his muscles. His right arm mutated into a scaled gauntlet from shards of Arondight for the extra rank in power. His usual tricks wouldn't work against this opponent. Mysteries wouldn't be the answer. Only overwhelming raw power and technique.

"BOLG!"

"DEARG!"

"BLADEWORKS!

Mana flared. Curses were unleashed. Power was thrown about wildly.

The cave shook as though multiple bombs had gone off.

Berserker's expert swings thrashed at Lancer's strike in an attempt to intercept and counter it. The curse of the reversal of Cause and Effect all but guaranteeing a killing blow…

Which was just enough for the insane Servant with B ranked Luck and the A ranked skill Protection of the Spirits to avoid getting his heart speared through and merely end up with his left shoulder impaled to the point of crippling it instead. The armored pauldron had been ripped off of his body, revealing what appeared to be the exposed ball and socket of the Servant's shoulder, devoid of all the flesh, bone and sinew that were supposed to be on top of it.

That said, the Lancer of the current War didn't get out of the exchange unscathed either as his right side was impaled by Berserker's borrowed spear just before they had disengaged.

A nasty and debilitating wound for most Servants, much less humans, but for a Servant with Battle Continuation, well, a certain Monty Python quote would be both accurate and ironic given the current circumstances and who was involved.

"Over here!"

What Berserker's Luck and skill didn't save him from was the D ranked beam of light that nailed his helmet from the side so hard it dented and sent the mad Servant stumbling from the unexpected blow from Lancer's Master.

It had almost been enough of a distraction for Lancer to follow through with a second strike and impale his opponent, but Lancelot was known as the greatest Knight of the Round Table for a reason, and managed to retreat with only a deep scratch across his armor.

Meanwhile, Shirou and Diarmuid grimaced as they stared one another down from their own exchange.

"... I'm not sure what's more curious. That technique, your sword, or you." Diarmuid smiled halfheartedly.

Four broken ribs, two broken fingers, a deep cut on the top of his head that caused blood to trail down his face, a moderate gouge going down his upper chest down to his abs that tore through his skintight armor, a bisected clavicle, and a shattered shin.

Debilitating for a Servant, and a ludicrous feat for a human to pull off, but not enough to kill them.

Shirou was doing better, but not by much. His right arm, aside from the fact every muscle in and attached to it was torn and overstrained from trying to imitate Heracles' technique, was gouged deeply from the top of his wrist to his elbow, and a hole just above his left hip made standing a pain. Nothing vital, but it all hurt.

The fact that his arm wound originated from Gae Bhuide was a minor blessing. The stomach wound would have bled more and held him back if left unchecked.

Copy or not, Avalon and his connection to Saber was a godsend right now.

All that said, the teen still didn't drop the simple ivory white sword in his hand, even with his arm rendered next to useless for the time being.

Lancer's mistake was expecting Shirou's sword to dissipate like his projections. He had altered the grip and the strength of his spear to accommodate for plowing through a Mystery, and had not anticipated to be met with a vicious battering ram like attack from all sides that did not disappear on contact.

It wasn't a matter of "Lancer not being strong enough", but more "Lancer misjudged what his opponent was doing and failed to properly defend against it".

Neither bothered to pay much attention to the six fresh trenches in the stone floor behind where Lancer stood.

He managed to pull off six swings this time. Not bad. Unfortunately not good enough either.

"Please don't be curious at all. I've had enough attention as of late." Shirou looked at him with dead tired eyes.

"Hmhm. I feel like I could get along with you. A pity we had to meet in such circumstances." Lancer stood up, twirling his spears expertly, hiding the pain the action caused his body. "That technique was clearly meant to be utilized with more strength. I've no doubt that using it as intended would have overwhelmed me absolutely, but you unfortunately do not possess that supposed might."

That was an understatement if ever there was one. Lancer could only shudder at encountering the original maker of such a destructive move. Really? What sort of monster makes a move intended to literally kill a single target more than six times over in a single instant? More importantly, what was it intended for?

"I'd be worried if I did. Heracles wouldn't be known as a monster if he was that easy to emulate." Shirou smirked, standing straight and pushing past the pain.

Diarmuid blinked before chuckling. "Heracles you say? You have me at a crossroads again. Should I be jealous of your encounter with such a hero, or worried? He's not your Servant, is he?"

In spite of himself, Shirou smiled and laughed. "Nah. He's my sister's. I didn't call Saber because she doesn't want a reunion with you guys. It was bad enough dealing with Gilgamesh."

"Gilgamesh? Wait, you mean… and Saber?" Lancer balked at the revelation before realizing what else was revealed. "She remembers?"

"She has a condition." Shirou shrugged casually, only to wince as the gesture agitated his torn muscles.

Too casually.

Lancer frowned, realizing something was amiss.

A brief scan of his surroundings immediately alerted him to the first thing that was wrong. The dust in the air that had been subsiding just moments ago was increasing again.

Unfortunately for Lancer, the brief moment he took to take in his surroundings and come to his conclusion were enough for Shirou to just barely beat him to the punch, leaping back a half a second before the Servant could.

His damaged arm swung. It was a sloppy display with no real strength or power behind it that held no danger to anyone, much less a Servant.

The sword in his hand that warped into a nameless mystic code was another matter entirely.

It had no real mystic properties. It wasn't divine, indestructible, or even that sharp.

But it did shine at five million lumens.

Held consistently, it was a bright intensity more than enough to severely impair if not outright permanently blind the average human that had the misfortune to look at it directly, even for an instant.

All the Servants flinched at the miniature white nova that temporarily blinded them in the cave that had been pitch black save for the sporadic lightning that had been generated by Rider.

All the Magi on the other hand kept moving unimpeded, having light filtering mysteries up since the beginning just in case. Shirou had warned them about what reinforced flashbang grenades could do. The only reason why he didn't use them was simply because they weren't fast enough for the current situation.

It would only stall for a few seconds at most, but that was more than enough.

"Tch! And to think I thought someone with your skills were above such tricks." Lancer clicked his tongue and blinked his eyes, holding a defensive stance. His sight returned quickly, but not quick enough as he found himself in a dense fog, literally turning his world from white to black.

"Sorry, but I have things to do. If it's any compensation, you didn't deserve what Dad did to you and your Master. War or not." Shirou's disembodied voice was further away than before, and the cave began to shake somewhere outside of sight. "... Saber also sends her apologies. She didn't intend for your fight to end the way it did."

"Wait!" With a heavy swing, Lancer managed to blow away just enough smoke to see the cave exit in front of him collapse, blocking anyone from following the young man on the other side. With how much mana flowed in the system, even a Servant would need to put in some effort and time to get through that mess if they didn't want to use their Noble Phantasm.

The Servant clicked his tongue, annoyed at his failure, and looked to see that the source of the smoke was coming from several swords stabbed into the stonework around the rubble.

Clever kid. He had this backup planned the moment he had fired off those swords like Archer. He should have figured the boy would have some Assassin-like trick with how he carried himself, but between the flying swords and that absurdly overwhelming technique earlier, the idea had completely escaped his mind.

"▂▂▂▅▅▅▅!"

BOOM!

Berserker's roar and Rider's loud chariot brought Lancer back to reality and forced him to turn around.

It was nothing short of chaos.

Enlarged cave or not, Rider's Noble Phantasm was simply too much for the battleground. Almost half of the stalactites and stalagmites were already felled from his battle with the powerful mage woman as they assaulted one another with the elements.

More amazingly was that the mage was actually holding her own.

Every charge of the bulls, every bolt of lightning, every flying boulder aimed in her direction was effortlessly dismissed with a wave of her crop like a conductor, curving and guiding the air around her with such absolute authority that Lancer was certain that she was bending space and time to her whims.

Her counterattacks were just as brutal, as projectiles of wind endlessly fired off and speared through the air and clashed with Rider's defenses. He could see that each blow had enough impact to rival a Servant's, and despite being a human could affect her opponent if the grunts of the bulls and the slight change in direction after each hit were any indication.

But more importantly was the other fight.

Even in the middle of trying to strike down the boy he had heard it.

Gae Bolg.

Ireland's Child of Light.

Cu Chulainn.

A legend of the previous generation in his own era.

"Come on! Show me how you compare to our, Berserker!"

If the previous battle focused on the channeling and execution of raw power, this one could only be described as the bout between two ferocious yet agile killing machines using every trick in the book to get around the other's defenses to gut their opponent.

Both were injured. Berserker lost the use of his left arm while his opponent had a hole in his stomach. But it did nothing to stop the pair from flashing, weaving, slashing, and striking at one another like trained dogs gone mad.

That said, had it just been that, the battle would admittedly have gone to the Child of Light. Lancelot was a mighty warrior, but even he would not have been able to handle his enemy with just one arm.

No, the factor that evened the scales were the black and crimson ribbons that probed and tauntingly peeked out from the cracks of the stone floor around the battleground. Wiggling around innocently and mockingly, they lashed out at the attacking party whenever he got too close, throwing the demigod off his attack to avoid or tear apart the interruptions.

The short haired woman that was his master was trying her best to make up for the discrepancy, but she was making slow progress. It was peculiar to see a magus pugilist, but it was a poor situation for the task she was faced with.

"Lancer! Force him into a corner!" Bazett shouted, noticing that Diarmuid was no longer occupied with Shirou.

"Tch! Not really giving me much to work with, Master!" Leaping back, Lancer landed in an area that was only sparsely populated with the oncoming black ribbons of Angra Mainyu reaching out, severed them, and took a stance. Immediately his spear radiated with a cursed energy that would have sent chills down everyone's spines if it weren't for the fact that the cave was already halfway flooded with the residual essence of an ancient god that was literally "all the evils in the world".

Berserker, in response, immediately recognized the threat he was facing and tossed aside the spear he was using to pull out his own personal weapon.

A black and purple broadsword that seemed to drink what little light around it like it was the depths of a lake. Even with one hand, the Knight wielded it with such familiarity and assurance that there was no doubt that he would have little trouble cleaving through lesser Servants with ease.

Arondight. The Unfading Light of the Lake.

Even from where he stood, Diarmuid could tell it was a magnificent weapon of the Fae that put even his own spears to shame. No doubt the power it possessed would more than force his opponent to…

What was his Master doing? There was an iron sphere that came from one of the tubes she wore and was transforming into…

"▂▂▂▅▅▅▅!"

Diarmuid paled as he saw the mad Servant rush in to try and take advantage of Lancer preparing his Noble Phantasm.

Without even stopping to think, he ignored the pain in his body, cocked back his arm, and hurled Gae Buidhe as hard as he could.

The yellow bolt speared through the halfway mark between both parties, just a few inches in front of where the mad Servant had stopped on a dime to avoid getting impaled.

"Berserker! It's a trap! Get away from them!"

"Diarmuid! Do I look like fucking Cumhaill?! Don't you dare cuck me!" Knowing that he was both given an opening and that the previous plan was a bust, Cu Chulainn shot forward with his lance like a predator ready to kill.

Which only understandably made him more pissed when a small forest of black ribbons shot up from the abused stone floor in between the two Servants and interrupted the spearman's charge.

Even while that was taking place, Diarmuid did not take his eyes off of the woman with a glowing short sword with an iron ball as its grip hovering right over her cocked fist.

Fragarach. The Answerer.

Cu Chulainn's Master was a Fraga, capable of wielding the Ace Killing Joker Noble Phantasm.

A Noble Phantasm that his Foster Father had personally imbued into the very blood of the Fraga Clan.

Had he not stopped Berserker in time, the insane Servant would have either been killed by Gae Bolg, or, more likely, Fragarach.

Rider was right. The humans that had been trying to get past them were dangerous.

He hated it when Rider was right.

Fortunately it seemed like things were about to turn in their favor as the ribbons multiplied almost exponentially to become a wave that had surrounded Cu Chulainn, like an amorphous maw about to eat him whole from below…

He felt it just before everything else. A piercing sensation like light going through his being. He probably would have liked it had he not been directly tied to the corrupted Grail, but instead it was more akin to needles spearing several inches deep into his flesh from all sides, making every movement immensely uncomfortable.

The lights were next.

Speared throughout the walls of the cave, the Noble Phantasms and other swords that the boy had fired off earlier that he now realized had purposefully not been aimed at the Servants glowed with a pristine light, humming as if they were in tune with one another.

No. They were in tune with one another.

"Don't tell me. Those are all holy blades?" Diarmuid blinked as the walls of the cave shimmered as though covered in stars before a thin, film-like aura filled the room. "A bounded field?"

"Haha!" His attention was drawn to where Cu Chullain was supposed to be overwhelmed by the cursed grail's tendrils, and instead was met to shredded ribbons feebly putting up a fight and giving way to the demigod's vicious escape. "That damn obsessive brat! So this is what it feels like to have him backing you up, huh?! He really doesn't cut corners! No wonder that shitshow war turned out the way it did!"

"Stop sounding so proud when you were nearly eaten a second ago!" His master, the Fraga, hissed irritably, her Noble Phantasm still cocked at the ready against Berserker.

"It's called enjoying the moment, Master. You should try it some time." Lancer skid back to her side just as Diarmuid lept to Berserker's. "Though you should try to avoid doing it too much like those two dicks for brains in front of us. Good thing you're not married or they really might have gone after you."

"Is now really the time for that?!"

"You're one to talk, Cu Chulainn. The halls chanted your name equally for your drunken foolishness as they did for your endeavors." Diarmuid readied himself, Gae Dearg in hand. "My deepest apologies. All the warriors of my time dreamed of crossing spears with you in combat. And to see the Fraga in this era, still blessed with my foster father's gifts. It pains me from the bottom of my heart to have to confront the two of you under these conditions."

"Literally, I see." Lancer smirked, looking at Diarmuid up and down and whistled, clearly impressed. "Not even gone for a minute and the kid's already put you through the grinder. I'm almost jealous. Don't take it too personally. He does it to everyone that takes him lightly, Servant or not. Should have seen the vampire he went crazy on last week. Care to spill what he did? I could have sworn Gae Dearg countered most of his tricks."

Diarmuid chuckled. "I barely caught the name, but he used some white sword and transformed it into a hulking stone blade before utilizing an absurd technique to try and kill me several times over. It was an incomplete performance, but it was enough for him. He claimed it was Heracles' technique?"

"Hah! Now I really am jealous! You really must have had the kid panicking to pull that one out of his ass! He almost used the same thing on me a while back before we were stopped!" Lancer laughed, more amused than anything.

"I'll take your word for it." Without intending to, Diarmuid struck a pose as he wiped his face and brushed back his hair with his free hand to get rid of the blood coming down his face. Damn prettyboy. "That said, I wouldn't be so confident if I were you. As capable as your Master is, and damaged as we are, you are still outnumbered and outgunned, Cu Chulainn. The overwhelming mana behind Berserker and I is more than enough to make up for this handicap."

"Then how about I tilt the scales?"

All eyes turned to the back where Rin walked forward confidently, a rainbow array of gems circling around her and glowing with ominous power.

"Rin! Get back! Even if Berserker changed his weapons, Lancer still has Gae Dearg!" Bazett shouted in alarm. This was not part of the plan.

"Love the spunk, kid, really, but there's a time and a place for this sort of thing!" Lancer's expression turned complicated.

"Oh I'm not going to fight. These gems are just a precaution." Rin smiled sweetly.

Too sweetly.

It was the kind of smile that promised much discomfort and chaos for those on its receiving end.

All four of them shivered internally.

"If you don't mind-" Diarmuid prepared to strike immediately, unwilling to let the girl talk more than that. He knew that type from court. Nothing ever good came from letting them take the stage for too long.

"King Arthur is here." Rin's smile widened.

"▂▂▂▅▅▅▅er!?" Berserker immediately perked up as if he was a dog that just heard its master say the word "walk".

"Shit," Diarmuid cursed.

Rin nodded sincerely and stepped to the side, out of the way of the cave exit. "Short? Blonde? Green eyes? Invisible Air? Incredible appetite? Excalibur? 'Hunger is the enemy?' A cute strand of hair on her head that nobody's supposed to touch?"

"AAAAAR███████ER!?" If the insane Servant hadn't been sold before, he was now judging from how badly he was twitching.

"She's just outside the entrance to the caves." Rin innocently pointed behind her as if she was only trying to help. "You have to hurry if you want to see her though. That boy that just passed you was her Master. She might not be there for long if he needs her help. She might be doing something important to stop the Grail, so if you get to her in time, you wouldn't be breaking your commands to protect it too."

"ARRRRR▅▅▅▅███████EEEERRRR!" Completely ignoring what he was doing before, Lancelot shot off like a rocket to the exit of the cave system, hollering his throat bloody raw and leaving his "allies" to fend for themselves.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Outside of the chaos that came from Barthomelloi's fight, everyone was dead quiet as they stared at Rin.

"Rin…" Bazett started slowly.

"Can we please hurry up? I have a few words I wish to have with Archer before Shirou potentially drops the mountain on all of us." The teenage girl smiled sweetly in a way that promised cruelties that even Angra Mainyu was not capable of.

"R-Right." Reminding herself of where she was, Bazett got her head back into the game.

Despite the better numbers, the odds still weren't ideal. The damage that Shirou had dealt Diarmuid was healing in front of their eyes, and the absurd levels of mana flowing through the Servant meant that stat wise he was still superior to Lancer in every way other than speed.

"An unexpected twist, but no matter." The corrupted Servant sighed before taking a stance and briefly glancing to where he had thrown Gae Dearg earlier to stop Berserker…

… And didn't see it.

Why didn't he see his spear?

Or sense it?

"In case you're wondering, I put away your spear for safe keeping." Rin's smile grew if anything, as if she hadn't done the absurd and just stolen a Servant's Noble Phantasm. "Wouldn't want anything to happen to it."

"HAHAHA! I knew there was a reason why I liked you." Cu Chulainn laughed from the bottom of his stomach. "It takes a special kind of woman to keep that Archer in line for as long as you did."

"I blame Shirou."

"Hah!" Diarmuid assumed there was some hidden joke in what the girl said given the even wider smile on his opponent's face.

He wasn't smiling.

"Looks like the break's over." The Servant in blue crouched down and readied his spear. "Like you said, it's a pity we met the way we did. This fight could have been real fun."

"How kind of you, but I'm no longer in the mood."

Two crimson spears began to glow, overflowing with mana and killing intent.

o. o. o.

After setting off the bounded field to help everyone in the cave behind him, Shirou turned around and made his way to the Greater Grail without any hesitation.

He trusted Bazett. He trusted Rin. He more than trusted the Vice-Director, or at least the power she possessed.

And they had trusted him to finish this bullshit.

"Haaah."

He could have gone faster, but he needed time to recover from the damage that Diarmuid did to him, and while his copies of Avalon were perfect, being so far away from Saber in such a twisted location delayed the healing process a fair bit.

Fighting, let alone moving with a hole in your stomach wasn't exactly pleasant, but at least that finally closed up. He had to project a cloth and bind it tightly around his right forearm to stem the constant bleeding, and even then he couldn't currently move his ring and middle fingers properly. Unless Diarmuid, or at least his Gae Bhuide was dealt with, he wouldn't properly be able to use a bow or dual wield his blades for the foreseeable future.

It didn't change the fact that it felt like a long serrated blade was constantly sawing into his limb every passing second though.

Not even fifteen minutes of jogging later, he was in a cavernous opening that felt like it could contain Mt. Enzo in its entirety by itself. It dwarfed the ones that he had encountered before, both in size, scale, and mana.

The horrific and twisted sight of the Greater Grail forming on the other end only exemplified the significance of the room.

What warped it even further were the glowing pitch black and red veins crawling all over the chamber.

What made it a mockery was the fact that there were blades sticking out of the veins all over said chamber.

As if Archer's Reality Marble didn't sicken him enough, it had gone a step further by being corrupted by the grail and was somehow half manifested all around him already.

In spite of all that, Shirou was more occupied with the sight of Archer, Irisviel, Sakura, and Rider in front of the abomination.

"You took your time," Archer spoke, his words carrying across the distance even though he was facing away from Shirou. It was the same half sarcastic drawl he had as always that made it hard to tell if he was being honest or just mocking you.

"Hi, Shirou! Sorry for everything you had to go through! I hope it wasn't too much trouble!" Irisviel waved happily, as though nothing was amiss. She genuinely was eager to see him.

Shirou didn't say anything as he slowly approached the group with a steady walk, his eyes peeled for any trap, scanning the ground in front of him before darting up to his targets once more. His hand slowly reaching behind his back…

"So that's your plan then? To destroy everything with Balmung?" Archer asked without turning around. "Quite crude and violent for an opening move, even for you."

Shirou didn't stop moving and pulled out the altered Noble Phantasm. A bow appeared in his other hand. "You don't make a wish. I don't obliterate your ass."

So long as Archer didn't turn around and look at him properly to see his handicapped hand, Shirou could still bluff his way to closing the distance. Once he was close enough, he wouldn't need to fire Balmung with his bow to make its threat hold weight.

Archer snorted. "It must kill you to hold back."

"Hilarious," Shirou replied with just as much enthusiasm.

"So your plan is to stall for everyone else then." Irisviel hummed thoughtfully before blinking and gave him a sly smile. "Oh you clever boy. You can already tell, don't you?"

If he didn't suspect it already, the confirmation just now only deepened the pit in his stomach.

They were already too late.

Archer and Irisviel had enough Mana. Or they had the means to get the Mana needed anytime they wanted to accomplish their goals.

Archer could have made his wish already.

But he didn't.

"What do you want?" Shirou asked dangerously, his bow notched. He didn't need to fully draw it to make his point known. Servant or not, Balmung was powerful enough and Shirou was strong enough to fire from the current setup more than fast enough to stop any possible wish from being made at this point.

"It's not what I want." Irisviel's perpetual smile did nothing to ease how unnerving she looked in the glow of the Grail behind her. "It's what Archer feels he needs."

"Needs?" Shirou frowned while going through several scenarios in his head.

At least until his thoughts were literally interrupted.

"Wh!? Shirou! Lancelot's here!"

Fuck.

"Fight him off. Keep him away from Waver and the array."

"One of his arms is severely crippled, so it's more than possible, but I don't relish putting down my kinsman again! Stay alive and don't get yourself killed!"

His friends must have set Berserker loose on Saber after giving him the handicap on purpose to divide their forces. He didn't like it, but it was a smart move if they were having trouble. She should be able to handle him on her own without too much trouble if he really was fighting one handed, and having her fight outside the mountain put the battle further in her favor.

Whether she'd be able to take him down fast enough was another matter.

"Something catch your attention?" Irisviel asked curiously.

"... Lancelot found Saber." Shirou grunted accusingly.

To her credit, Irisviel did grimace. "Ah. I see. That was always a possibility when I summoned him, but even I had hoped to avoid that particular debacle again. Send Saber my apologies."

"She's a bit busy," Shriou coldly stated.

"I figured as much."

"Don't pretend to act guilty when you summoned him specifically to hold her off in the first place." Surprisingly, Archer was the one that chastised her.

"It can be both!" Irisviel pouted with a blush. "I'm working with limited resources, you know! I can't just pick any Servant I want!"

Shirou's eyebrow twitched. Pretender or not, Irisviel had some sort of effect on him that made it hard to concentrate. Every time she spoke it was like he was drawn into her tempo of things and got sloppy.

More importantly, it made it hard to keep an eye on Archer and Rider.

Then again, if they didn't want to rush, so be it.

"Has she been like this the entire time?"

"Of course the only time you'd willingly talk to me is when you're trying to stall." Archer immediately figured out what he was doing, but found it more amusing than anything. "Yes. She has, if it makes you feel any better. Before you ask, from what I can tell she has some sort of Charisma variant skill that generates a form of mental interference. Fortunately it isn't strong, but it's still annoying. It doesn't work on Rider from what I can tell though so its targets are conditional. I haven't bothered to figure out more than that."

Of course it was a Charisma skill.

"Archer! Don't tell him my secrets!" Irisviel flailed childishly. "If my Skills were annoying you that much I would have stopped if you just asked!"

"Somehow I doubt it."

"What are you after?" Shirou asked, slowly approaching the Grail as he spoke and keeping an eye out for traps. "You could have made your wish already. You're not the type of fool that grandstands or shows off your victory. What condition haven't you met yet?"

"I asked him the same thing. But he's as stubborn as Kiritsugu." Irisviel pouted and crossed her arms. "Unless everything is in line and all his concerns are answered, he's never happy."

"Happy? Please. I can barely remember what happiness is." Archer sighed and shook his head. "Relief. Gratitude. Concern. Contentment. Sure I know those, but happiness? That was hard to come by even when I was alive. Even with my partial memories I could still recall that much."

The Servant turned around to face Shirou, and the latter bit his tongue in disgust.

It was like a graft of Angra Mainyu was over the Servant's chest. A warped and corrupted gold pulsed over his flesh and armor like a second skin with its core right over his heart. No doubt it was keeping him alive from his stunt with the Broken Rule Breaker.

The two stared one another down, trying to see something in the other that was just outside of their comprehension. Like trying to make sense of a twisted reflection of yourself and figure out just how you could have turned out in the image presented in front of you.

"Care to humor me and answer a curiosity of mine? It's been bugging me for a while now." Archer asked almost casually.

"Does it matter?" Shirou snarked, still closing the distance between them.

"It might. For all you know I might even drop this whole wish nonsense if your answer's good enough."

Shirou seriously doubted it. Judging from Irisviel's giggling, she did too.

"Let Sakura and Rider go." Shirou gave an ultimatum.

"Sorry, but we can't. Sakura's needed to facilitate the power to start the Grail System's final activation. And Rider goes where she does." Irisviel apologized. "Same with the Marjatta girl. It was difficult, but so long as the procedure isn't interrupted they all have a reasonable chance of surviving this."

"Don't try anything if you want them to live."

Shirou heard the unspoken ultimatum clearly.

"... Fine. What is it?" Shirou mentally cursed. He shouldn't have rushed. If the Grail was already prepared and they were waiting for him, he should have stalled a bit more for everyone else's fights to conclude so he'd have more cards to play. But as it was, he was stuck with few options other than to drag things out.

"..." Archer didn't say anything immediately, as if he was debating asking the question at all and whether or not it was worth even knowing the answer.

"Well?" Irisviel asked, losing her patience and breaking the silence first. "This is the whole reason you stalled in the first place, isn't it? You could have gotten your wish and found out how to get out of the Throne of Heroes by now. Why are you losing confidence now?"

"It's not confidence. I just strongly suspect I'm not going to like the answer." Archer shook his head and sighed. The single gesture seemed to make him age a decade in front of everyone before he regained his resolve and focused on Shirou. "Shirou Emiya. Exactly why do you hate me?"

o. o. o.

Servant Stats:

Archer:

ID: Shirou EMIYA (Stat change due to memory unlocking and more powerful Master)

Alias: Wrought Iron Hero/EMIYA

Master: Rin Tohsaka - Greater Grail

Alignment: True Neutral

Strength: D+ - C

Agility: C- C+

Mana: B+ - A

Luck: D- E

Endurance: C+ - B

Noble Phantasm: ?

Class Skills:

Independent Action: C - D

Magic Resistance: D

Personal Skills:

Clairvoyance C - Hawkeye: C (Downgraded from B+ due to Grail Corruption)

Eye of the Mind (True): B - A (Upgraded from recovered memories, but still downgraded from EX due to Grail Corruption)

Magecraft: C - Projection Magecraft: A (From recovered memories)

Noble Phantasms:

Unlimited Blade Works: E-A++ (type unknown)

o. o. o.

Assassin

ID: Kiritsugu Emiya (Stat change due to change in Master with higher compatability)

Alias: Magus Killer. Hero of Sacrifice.

Master: Illyasviel Von Einzbern

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Strength: E - D

Agility: C+ - B

Mana: B

Luck: E - D

Endurance: D - C

Noble Phantasm: B

Class Skills:

Presence Concealment: B+ -A

Independent Action: C - D

Personal Skills:

Opportunist: A+

Subversive Activities: A

Mental Pollution: E -D

Eye of the Mind (True): B+ (Reduced from A due to Mental Pollution)

Thaumaturgy: C

Noble Phantasms:

Tools of the Trade: E-C Supplementary

Thompson Contender: C Anti-Unit/Anti-Barrier

Origin Bullet: B Anti-Magic

o. o. o.

TRUE NAME REVEALED

Caster - Pretender

ID: Angra Mainyu/Irisviel Von Einsbern

Alias: The Whispering Grail

Master: Fuyuki's Greater Grail

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Strength: E

Agility: C

Mana: EX

Luck: B

Endurance: E

Noble Phantasm: ?

Class Skills:

Divine Core of the Goddess: C

Territory Creation: B

Self Replenishment (Mana): D (Upgraded from E due to connection to Greater Grail)

Personal Skills:

Child of Nature: B (Downgraded from A due to Pretender class)

Annihilation Wish: C (Downgraded from A due to Pretender class)

Resolute Devotion: B (Downgraded from A due to Pretender class)

Magical Healing: A

Matriarch: D

A skill that underscores the Servant's role not as a significant Hero but as a significant mother. A skill designed not for a main character, but a significant supporting character that holds enough sway over a tale that it, and the Hero, would develop in a completely different direction should they be absent. It is normally present in Servants that are known for being the mothers and mother figures of other Heroic Spirits rather than being Heroes themselves. The more Heroic Spirits that viewed the user in a matriarchal position in life, and the more they naturally desire to fulfill that role, and the greater the love shared between the user and their family, the greater the rank. That said, this skill is often sublimated by other stronger related "maternal" based skills in more notable Heroic Spirits, so it is rather uncommon.

It is a skill that grants the owner influence over those that see her as the "mother" or "matriarch" of their family unit, allowing their words and wellbeing hold greater weight and influence over their decision making. Simply being present holds sway over "their children's" choices if the relationship is strong enough. Inversely, their words alone can also invoke a rejuvenation like effect and cleanse mental attacks in some circumstances, enthralling and motivating them to fight harder than before.

This skill is particularly effective on established family members, children, human, Servant, or otherwise, and pet-like familiars.

At higher levels, this skill can not only persuade others unrelated to the user to see them as their natural mother figure, but invoke a near cult-like worship and hysterical love with little reasoning. Those that see the users as family would do anything to appease and protect them, even at their own misfortune and even lives, much like a devout worshipper would for their idols.

As a Pretender and with only her "husband", an adopted son she never met, and the irregularity (redacted) all on the Throne of Heroes, all of which are exceptions and not conventional or potent Heroic Spirits, Irisviel's ranking is middling at best. Had she been summoned not as a Pretender but as "Irisviel Von Einzbern" with her genuine love for her family uncorrupted, it would have gone up to C rank.

At this level, she can only influence the minds of those recognised as her direct family and small non-Servant children. Many of her actions, so long as they are not overly suspicious, are innately dismissed by those she holds influence over. Even when outright suspected and in the open, her self incriminating words and actions are still second guessed and doubted to some degree by family members, though not enough to ultimately deter those with naturally strong wills and resolve.

Other Servants that qualify for this skill include Minamoto no Raiko, Tiamat, Grendel's Mother, Echidna, Hera/Europa, and Morgan.

Noble Phantasms: ?

o. o. o.

Omake: Uncomfortably Easy:

The four humans were standing in front of the three Servants, two of which were armed with Anti mystery armaments. It wasn't looking good for them.

Until…

Shirou dramatically pointed to a random direction behind the servants and gasped. "Oh dear! Is that a lonely married woman in trouble?!"

"Where?!" "▅▅▅▅███████?!" Diarmuid and Lancelot immediately turned around in excitement.

BOOM!

While Rider managed to get out of the way of the eight dozen Noble Phantasms flying at them, his allies did not.

Shirou did not turn to look at the scathing looks his allies were giving him. "... It worked, didn't it?"

"All in favor of never letting this story leave the cave?" Rin proposed.

"Aye." All the other women, and Rider raised their hands in confirmation.

"... You do know that Diarmuid is technically the model that Lancelot according to some…" Shirou started.

"Never leaving the cave!"

o. o. o.

A/N:

As always, thanks Wayfarer for betaing the chapter.

Sorry for the delay everyone. I got sciatica last monday and it wouldn't go away. Had to take a few days off of work cause my leg hurt so bad. Gotta love pain killers and muscle relaxants. It's better now, not gone, but no longer crippling… other than the fact I lost a little bit of feeling in my foot. Not sure if I can run now, but otherwise I'm mobile and ready to work again sooo, yeah.

Anyways, the fighting and crazy has commenced. Admittedly, I don't think I've done Lorelei much justice so far, but I'm saving the Queen's glow up for next chapter.

I actually had another idea where Iri summoned false Assassin to hold up the group instead of the three, and Shirou would essentially duel him in a brief Tsumabe Gaeshi clash for a one round win (with cheating of course), but I couldn't think of a way to get him summoned realistically. So I stuck with the three stooges, which, while it makes things longer, also allows Lorelei and Bazett to have a moment to shine.

It's actually pretty interesting how some characters in Fate are really suited or are related to one another despite never crossing paths. The Fate Zero characters are particularly interesting. Diarmuid's father was the one that gave the Fraga clan, and if you think about it, Gae Buidhe is the PERFECT NP to force a Servant to go all out for Bazett to use Fragarach. Likewise, Lancelot's loaded Luck loadout makes him a natural terrible matchup for Cu Chulainn.

I personally see Lancelot just overwhelming Cu in a conventional "fair" fight with similar masters in general, but between Lanclot getting super powered by the Grail, but also getting his arm crippled early, the scale is slightly in Cu's favor, if the Grail wasn't using Sakura to interfere in the fight for the most part.

If there was an Apocrypha scenario where the 4th and 5th Grail War servants fought, minus Saber, I'd put my money on the 4th War's team, and not simply because of Gilgamesh. Rider, Assassin, and Caster all have absurd win by numbers NPs that nobody on the other side other than EMIYA can properly counter if they went all out at once. Anti Army NPs are a thing, but Caster's starfish constantly resummon themselves and Rider's NP just makes too many soldiers to deal with unless EMIYA holds them off with UBW… which will be hard to do when he also has to hold off Gil. Heracles is a solid balancer of the scales, but he can only be in one place at a time. The best thing he could do in this setup would be to steamroll through the armies to kill Caster from the get go before aiming for another Servant, probably Lancer or Berserker, but even then…

Meh. Enough brainstorming.

Things are coming to a head in the next chapter, where I will REALLY start to unload the bullshit that I'm infamous for. It's gonna be fun. Muahahaha... ha.

Damn it. The website is making it harder to put shit like Italics, bold, and warped speech into the damn text. I gotta manually stick it into the website document text or it doesn't work. Fucking... ugh. Nevermind.

We're getting close to the end of the story folks. Thanks for being patient with me.

Obligatory Pa-eon plug. Just search Third Fang.

SO REVIEW! WORSHIP THE LOG! IRISVIEL WAS GIVING OFF TOO MANY EVIL VIBES TO TRIGGER DIARMUID'S AND LANCELOT'S "LONELY MARRIED WOMAN" SENSES! AND REVIEW AGAIN!