Akane's POV
Hidden in one of the mountains near the temple, praying that those Servants would never approach this place, I watched as Berserker was sent hurtling into outer space after Assassin's disastrous attempt to kill him.
"I never expected to see a vampire inside me; thank goodness he's a Servant," I heard Wright-san say as he surveyed the area through binoculars.
The vampire who lives in Assassin's shadow, if I'm not mistaken, is named Kiss-Shot. I knew she was there; Assassin himself had told me, but I didn't think she would actually appear.
"So our alliance is over," I told Wright-san. I wasn't worried about the alliance ending, since it was already daylight, and neither his Servant nor mine was in any condition to fight.
"I hope so, honestly. I don't know if sending him to the moon will do any good; knowing him, the King of the Monkeys, let's rest for now; we'll discuss our fight later," said the envoy from the clock tower.
"I understand, see you later," I said, waving goodbye, which he also did. His servant could still stand; mine couldn't, so I'd better leave before his arrives, just in case.
...
Once I arrived at my workshop, I was able to relax. This place might not be the safest, but with the barriers I'd put up, I knew that if an enemy arrived, I'd be warned and could react in time, which allowed me to rest.
As I walked through the village, I felt a sense of unhappiness, as if I'd been cursed, but it was superficial, and honestly, I was too tired to dwell on it.
When I reached my makeshift bed, I saw a creature lying on it, wrapped in the bedspread like a caterpillar.
I stood before him, listening to his moans, and to be honest, I don't blame him. He'd said he could only withstand two blows from the enemy, and that was that. With the second blow, he was lying on the floor, and I had to call the vampire for help.
Speaking of which, I looked around, checking if the vampire was anywhere in the workshop.
"It's in my shadow; summoning it consumes mana, something I need to heal myself," I heard Assassin's voice from under the bedspread.
"It's alive. I thought this was your coffin," I said, grabbing the bedspread and, with a strength I didn't know where I found, pulling it off, sending it tumbling off the makeshift bed.
"Ouch," Assassin said, hitting the floor. "Is this how you treat your Servant? You're a malevolent Master, sending your Servant to fight a basically invincible enemy. How terrifying."
"There was no other option; at least we managed to get Berserker out of the way," I said reluctantly.
"I don't think it's quite like that," he explained, getting up from the floor. I gave him a strange look, which he noticed. "Sun Wukong went all the way to hell and back; the Chinese Buddhas and gods had to trick him or seal him away. The guy has multiple immortalities; sending him into space wouldn't kill him, and the way the planet works, he'd eventually fall, and when that happens, chaos and destruction will return to Fuyuki."
"Really?" I asked, a little worried.
"No," he said curtly, walking past me; I just gave him a blank stare. "When he comes back, the guardian will already be dead, since Caster cast a curse before she died. At least Saber's master isn't doing anything about it."
Hearing Assassin's words, I remembered the feeling of a curse in the village streets. I'd forgotten about it since I hadn't felt it inside the workshop; the barriers must have stopped the curse.
I wonder if it's necessary for me to do anything to help people.
"Don't worry, the curse isn't that strong, since he cast it while he was dispersing and returning to the Hero's Throne, so getting rid of it isn't that difficult; it'll just take time, and to be honest, if Tohsaka thinks it through, it could help her situation." Assassin explained as he returned with a half-eaten apple and went back to bed.
"Hey, that's my bed; get out of there," I complained, grabbing Assassin's arm and pulling him out.
"You snooze, you lose," Assassin replied.
"What does that even mean? Speak your mind, and while you're at it, get out of my bed."
...
Third-person POV.
*One day before the Holy Grail War.*
Not far from Fuyuki City, a cave could be seen, modified with magecraft and multiple barriers to make it larger and more convenient to use.
In one corner of the magic workshop was a summoning circle; not far away, a man sat. If I had to categorize him, I would say he was a dark sorcerer.
This man had heard about the Holy Grail ritual, the ability to summon a being from a bygone era, and above all, the possibility of having a wish granted.
A wish: what better wish than to bring destruction and chaos to the world? After all, that was his purpose in life.
Now, along with his subordinates, sorcerers who only wanted to see the world burn, cloaked in layers that covered their entire bodies, they lingered, preparing for the start of the Holy Grail War.
To win the Holy Grail ritual, a powerful Servant was needed, one that aligned with his own affinities, and what better than to try and summon Satan or some of his minions?
The man stared impatiently at the back of his hand. The Command Seals hadn't appeared yet, so he couldn't summon him; if he had, he would have brought Sanatas to life long ago.
In the most hidden part of the workshop, there were several children between the ages of 7 and 17; they were the children of non-heir mages, sold by their families. These children were here to be sacrificed for the invasion of the Servant belonging to the man who bought them.
They knew it; the Holy Grail War was about to begin, so they would be sacrificed at any moment, but they wouldn't be treated like livestock by some vile being.
The oldest of them was already chanting to break the locks of his cell, because, as they had planned, they were escaping from this place today.
With the sound of a lock snapping, the guard turned around, only to see a fireball hurtling toward him, consuming him and reducing him to ashes.
The barrier surrounding the cells had a mana detector, so if any spells were used there, the leader would know.
And, as expected, he sat in his chair; the moment the lock was opened, he remained motionless.
"The sacrifices are trying to escape; don't kill them all," he told his right-hand man, who nodded and began leading the other subordinates to where the sacrifices were. And so the massacre began.
The area began to be covered in blood, prana, and other unpleasant smells.
The oldest of the children did everything he could to save those he could, but these people had weapons that could withstand mages.
All the children were mages, and they had some knowledge of Magecraft, but that didn't mean they were skilled in combat.
In a corner, he saw a 16-year-old girl shield the 7-year-old boy with her body from one of her captives' attacks so that both would be impaled by the man's weapon, dying as well.
"Damn it," the 17-year-old said, but he looked; Looking away was his mistake, as someone slashed his hand in one swift motion.
The leader remained in his seat; he was the only mage in his group; all the others were non-mages, so facing child mages was already a difficult task.
His patience running out, he donned his goat mask and went there. When he saw the massacre, he was filled with fury and rage; without restraint, he slashed his wrists, from which blood began to flow, but it was controlled.
"Strong blood, dark blood, seize my empire and intercede with all." With his words, the blood in his veins transformed into swords, which began to kill all his sacrifices, leaving not a single one alive.
Once this was over, the leader sighed, his bloodlust and rage satiated.
"Lord, your sacrifices," one of his subordinates told him in shock.
"There's still one left, a rat that escaped," he said, looking at where his throne should be.
Chiaki was the third daughter of a Japanese mage family. Because of her family's poverty, she was sold by a cult leader, awaiting a gruesome death. She never spoke to anyone; she wasn't good at it. Her shyness never helped her make friends or allies.
As soon as the escape began, she used sorcery to hide and flee on her own. Her heart, filled with remorse and regret for leaving everyone behind, consumed her with self-loathing, but her will to survive was far stronger.
Unfortunately, she didn't know where the exit was, which led her to the cult leader's throne. She saw a circle of sorcery there, likely used to summon some demon with the blood of children and virgin women.
Just as she was about to turn and leave, an attack caused her to lose focus, dissipate her camouflage spell, and injure herself in the process.
She fell to the front of the circle, landing a few feet away from a man wearing a goat mask—a mask made from the skin of an actual goat.
"Little rat," he said, "you betrayed your companions to escape on your own, only to be caught. They must be writhing in death."
The 14-year-old girl's eyes widened at this, for she understood the implications of his words.
"Why?" she asked. "Why are you doing this, monster?"
"You wouldn't understand, and it's no use saying it to a corpse; those are your last words," the cult leader said.
"I curse you, I curse you, I curse you, I curse you, I curse you; may the Shinto gods fall upon you and may justice be done to the people you have killed." As he said all this, three command seals appeared on the back of the girl's hand, and the summoning circle began to glow.
The cult leader realized this and tried to stop him, but it was too late.
"KAMISAMA WILL COME AND KILL YOU, BRINGING JUSTICE TO THE CHILDREN YOU AND YOUR HENCHMEN JUST KILLED, MONSTER!" With his final scream, the summoning circle flashed with a brilliance that blinded them both.
Once the light and smoke dissipated, a woman dressed in a kimono appeared, holding a katana and a paintbrush, accompanied by a black wolf radiating spiritual energy.
"I hear you loud and clear, little girl," said the woman who had just appeared out of nowhere. "But tell me, what is your wish?"
The woman's sudden appearance left them both momentarily silent and motionless.
"My wish," Chiaki said to herself, emerging from her stupor. "Is to survive and live a peaceful life."
The summoned woman turned to face the cult leader. He, too, realized the situation and attacked his enemy with his blood magic.
She simply used her katana, easily destroying the enemy's attack.
"How simple. I don't think you need to do it, Yatsufusa," the wolf nodded at the woman's words.
At that moment, eight small, puppy-like creatures appeared around the woman. Without hesitation, they attacked the man, except for the one perched on her head.
Although they seemed like puppies that could be easily crushed, they began to brutally destroy the cult leader.
The summoned Servant picked up the puppy on the woman's head, approached the man, and threw it at his face.
It shattered the goat mask and began to tear apart the man's face.
In less than five minutes, the man was dead, suffering a brutal death at the hands of the small puppies, fulfilling the youngest girl's wish.
"Now go after the rest," the Servant instructed, and the puppies nodded, going to kill the man's other henchmen.
Chiaki, ignoring the cries of pain, stood up and approached the woman.
"Who—who are you?" she asked.
"Ah, sorry for not introducing myself, Master. My name is Kyokutei Bakin, Rider class, or you can call me Fusehime if you prefer, but you should call me Rider with other people to avoid confusion. It's a pleasure to meet you, Master."
...
*Present Day*
"I see they got rid of that monster," Rider commented as she wrote in her notebook. "All of this gives me a lot of inspiration for my next masterpiece."
Behind her, Chiaki emerged from her camouflage; she gazed into the distance at the temple where the four Servants were fighting.
She wasn't interested in this Holy Grail War; the sooner it ended, the better, but out of fear, she couldn't leave Rider's side.
"Why didn't you go and help them kill that Servant?" the Master asked his Servant.
"I'm not interested in this Holy Grail War either; I only care about completing my new work and ensuring that no injustice is committed, nothing more, and for the former, I need to stay alive as long as possible. Besides, three against one is already unfair enough," she explained to her Master.
"So, are you going to do something about that curse she cast upon the village?" she questioned Rider.
Chiaki might not be very well-versed in sorcery, but anyone who lived in this world could sense the curse Caster had cast.
This made Rider stop writing and stare at her paintbrush. With a sigh, she continued writing to me.
"Perhaps, but it's daytime; let's hope it's nighttime to do anything. Now, with Berserker out of the picture, it's a bit safer to walk around, even with the curse."
...
Akane's POV
I was standing in a place that looked like a palace; it was incredibly beautiful, but no matter how magnificent it seemed from the outside, I couldn't feel comfortable standing there.
"Brother, are you going to teach us how to fight?" I heard a very young boy's voice.
I turned around to see three children: one four years old, one six, and one ten. Of the three, I only recognized one of them, the six-year-old; it was impossible not to. Short blond hair, red eyes; this was Assassin when he was little.
"Teach you? I don't have time," said the oldest of the three. "But if you want, you can watch me fight those slaves and see my greatness as your older brother."
I saw the youngest nod, but Assassin looked somewhat hesitant. After a few seconds, he nodded as well. In response, the older brother quickly patted the boys' heads.
"Follow me, and maybe you can learn from me." With that said, the three left, but Assassin walked slowly, as if he didn't want to go and was only there for a specific purpose.
The scene shifted to show Assassin beating his older brother with a sword almost twice his size; this time, Assassin was about 10 years old.
Leaping toward his brother, he slashed diagonally, wounding his opponent. Assassin's eyes widened at what had happened, as he hadn't expected anything like that.
The moment he went to his brother, the other only pointed at him. Assassin stopped dead in his tracks and threw himself to the ground, only for the armored figures behind him to be suddenly sliced in half.
"What do you think you're doing coming to help me?" the older brother spat, his resentment and hatred directed at Assassin. The older brother's glare from the previous scene was gone; it was now the glare of an enemy he had to eliminate.
Assassin stared, then stood up and left quickly.
The scene shifted to Assassin walking down a hallway with his younger brother and a small girl with blue hair in his arms, whom I deduce must be his younger sister.
Just as they were about to turn the corner of the hallway, there was a loud thud; the two siblings stopped.
"You're a disappointment, Ramses." Hearing the voice, Assassin and his brother froze instantly.
Just as the little girl was about to speak, Assassin covered her mouth.
"You're good for nothing. You're my heir, but I'm increasingly thinking I should give the position to Dante instead of you." An adult man's voice rang out.
"You go around talking about him as if he's better than me. I'm the eldest, the one who should be in charge, not that idiot Dante," the older brother retorted, arguing with the adult, only to be met with another blow.
"You dare speak to me like that? I think you deserve to be punished."
With that, Assassin signaled his younger brother to back away and leave quickly.
The scene shifted again, but this time Assassin, now older, still young, but no longer a child, faced his older brother in a castle.
The brother pointed his fingers, leaving scars all over the castle. Assassin, using his speed, dodged the slashes and, wielding two swords, charged at his brother.
It was obvious that this wasn't just a simple fight but a life-or-death struggle where only one of us would survive, and just as our swords were about to clash... I woke up.
I saw the ceiling of my workshop; I was in my bed. This was a dream, but it felt too real. Why would I dream about Assassin? Speaking of him...
I looked around for him, only to find him in my bed too, but since he was back, I had a foot right in his face; he looked uncomfortable, and I could hear him muttering complaints.
Without wasting a second, I made a fist and punched him in the stomach.
"What are you doing in my bed, you nuisance?!" I yelled at Assassin. He spat as he gasped for air.
"Crazy woman, what the hell are you doing? You don't have to hit; no wonder you're single at 40," Assassin complained.
The moment I heard that from her mouth, I didn't think twice and lunged forward, intending to rip her head off.
...
"You dreamt about me—how sweet—but I'm married; I can't have anything with you," Assassin said, trying to look flushed.
I just looked at him with a face of disgust and distaste, something he noticed immediately.
"Well, it's normal for these things to happen; it's because of the connection in the contract we have, nothing more." He explained it to me quite simply.
I was left thinking about that for a while.
"But I didn't understand why I saw your younger self in a castle, not in the underworld with other brothers; if I'm not mistaken, one of them is named Ramses."
Assassin was about to speak, but he remained still, saying nothing, as if he didn't know what to say, looking at me; he emptied me.
"Well," he said, unsure of what to say, "that was before Olympus; I'll confess that before that I had another life, not as a reincarnation, but in another place. What you dreamed about was that life; once I left there, it almost controlled and manipulated me, sending me to the underworld, and the rest is history," he explained. I didn't quite understand, but honestly, it didn't matter.
But what stuck in my mind was something else: his brotherly reaction, which for some reason reminded me of my own brother, though not as brutal, at least not yet.
"And what happened with your brother Ramses? Are you fighting with him or not?" I asked him, uncertain.
He didn't say anything at first.
"Yes, I had to do it to be free, or at least that's what he told me, but you're never truly free, especially from the chains you impose on yourself. But his hatred was so intense that he left me no other choice; it was him or me, and as much as I didn't want to kill him, I had to."
Assassin's words left me thoughtful.
"So, what's going to happen tonight?" I asked him.
"Nothing for now. I've recovered somewhat from my injuries, but I still need to replenish my mana and get some rest. Let's not do anything tonight; we can use some familiars to see what's happening with the other Servants."
"What familiars?" I asked.
That made Assassin's spirits drop slightly, and he sighed. Neither of us said anything after that.