Kapitel 13: The seventh Servant.
"Master, get back!"
Assassin covered me with his own body.
A chariot was running at us, driven by a tanned guy.
I decided not to wait until it hits us, took the crossbows, shot and rolled to the side. Assassin did the same in the last moment. With the corner of my eyesight I saw how he tried to cut the near (right for me) horse's girth. The charioteer tried to prevent him from doing so but I threw a lightning.
It hit with an explosion. The chariot seemed to move without control but managed not to crush in the nearest building. To my surprise it was either girth that managed to hold, or the tanned guy managed to use the momentum, but he turned the chariot and moved to us. In his right hand was a sickle-looking sword.
Wait, he is coming at me! Trying to take down the Master is my tactics!
Alright, let's try again!
"Cap, the left one!" I roared and threw two knives with both hands to the right animal while Assassin ran to the assigned target.
But the charioteer turned out to be quicker than we thought. In an instant he dropped the rein, took a javelin standing at the board and threw it in Diego. He had to evade and lost his chance.
My knives hit the second animal. The tanned guy didn't have time to protect it and had no barriers around him so the poor horse cried and fell right under the chariot. The heavy thing rode on it with terrible crust.
The chariot jumped up with one wheel and almost crushed. Only with excellent skill and tons of swearings he managed to keep horizontal and not to crush in the building. No, not quite so. It hit a house but rather lightly. As the chariot stopped, the remaining horse froze as if afraid of its fellow's death.
Rider (who else could it be?) jumped off. In his hands there were his sickle-like sword and a shield, big enough to cover him from nose to belt, almost square but with round top side. He had a high copper, or so it seemed in the streetlight, the helmet with snake. Bu gold on his armor that looked as a leather basis with strapped metal plates was clear.
Once again Assassin rushed to me to cover.
"I knew that it wouldn't work", suddenly said Rider. "It is difficult to outtrick the one who lives with trickery."
"Just look at that, it can talk", snorted Diego.
While all that I managed to reload my crossbows and aimed at the charioteer.
"And it can talk back", he grinned angrily.
Instead of attacking he raised his right hand. The blade glowed, the wind blew.
Suddenly the run over horse twitched and tried to get up. Several seconds later it managed to do it. With visible damage disappearing, it went to the chariot, first slowly, but then rather steady. More than that, as it stood at the proper place the burst girth restored!
What the heck?
"So, let us try once again?"
Rider whistled and the horses rushed to us.
I ordered Assassin to take Rider on him and mercilessly shot two bolts to the yet alive animal, dropped the crossbows and took a couple of knives from my vest. They were simple and were sent to the first horse, while the last, exploding ones, were sent straight to the undead beast's head.
I got no more throwings, only daggers. Now it's time to play torero.
Or maybe no. Sometimes short weapon turns from advantage to disadvantage.
As the chariot was turning I thought on something.
Rider's Master hadn't shown himself. Either he was going to show up in the most advantageous moment, or he was not going to show up at all. Both variants were rather disturbing.
Anyway, if he appeared, it would engrave our position. Assassin was deeply busy with Rider. Though the latter didn't seem to be really strong or agile, he was skilled enough. What was more important, he had, as far as I could see, a wide variety of weapon in the chariot: bow, javelins. And also his shield. Diego had to use his whole fencer's skill to outwit him, hitting the shield with eerie and pierce with his dagger.
At the same moment the horses started once again turning to me. I turned my Magic Circuit to maximum and threw a lightning with my right hand. It hit both animals making them cry with pain, stopped and fell to the ground dead.
It took so much power that I could hardly stand, but I made myself take a fallen crossbow, reloaded and aimed at Rider.
"Finita la comedia. Hand up, boy!"
"You dared to hit the king's horses once again, peasant?!"
He blocked another Assassin's hit with his shield and parried his dagger. After that he stretched his hand to the chariot. My finger pulled the trigger…
"You'd better not".
A voice sounded from behind me. I turned around.
There was the last Master. It was obviously a priest, you could never mistake such attire. I could see familiar blades in his hands, famous Black keys. His hands were in such position that he could both parry a sudden shot and throw them at me.
With nothing more prevented him Rider went back to revive his horses. Though, wait, he didn't revive, he summoned someone!
From a hole in ground right in front of the chariot rose two… hippopotamuses?! What the crap?
Anyway, there is no time to wonder. I don't know who this guy is, but we've got to do something.
Pretending to give up I started lowering the crossbow but as my right hand fell on the level of my belt it sneaked into a pouch and took out a small, about inch-wide ball and threw into the priest.
He threw his Keys immediately but it was too late. The ball exploded rather bright then strong but still, the Key that was to pierce my chest flew a centimeter away.
"Cap, run!"
Assassin was not able to see but heard me well and ran on my voice. We have already discussed a possibility of using flashbangs or something like them and what to do.
We didn't run away, it was too stupid. The explosion would give us a couple of seconds and who knows how well it would work on a Servant. Rider, even with such strange animals in his chariot, would eventually catch us unless we met police. We ran to the clashing Servants.
In theory we might have attacked, but Assassin should have known about it. Without it his position was no better than his opponent's.
So there was only one way.
Our catfight must have taken them aback. If we join them all, who knows how it all would end.
The only hope was that those hippos are not magical, run slowly and can't fly. And that we wouldn't be met by a Phantasm beforehand, just in case.
Just as I expected, the battle had died away. If you could say so. In fact, Saber and Berserker froze blade to blade, unable to press down the enemy and unwilling to break status quo until our situation cleared out.
By that time the chariot behind us was getting closer. Though hippos never seemed to be really fast, they were getting closer, maybe because the construction was easy for them.
"Step aside!"
Two of us ran near two and stood a bit behind them as if making them living shields. The combatants were taken aback, even in Berserker's eyes was some misunderstanding.
Archer and Katrine were not seen from this point but I could say that the felt the same.
At that moment Rider and his Master rode to the place.
Alright, the moment of truth.
As I looked around while the chariot was stopping I noticed coming Shirou and, obviously, the last Master.
Ow, sweet mother of dragons, what a girl! High, pretty, sexy, but was more important, though short but flame-red hair. Couldn't say why but redheads had always been my fetish. In this particular case I was not discouraged even by a magical staff, long and heavy enough to crack your head with one hit.
Khe-khem…
So, everyone had gathered except for Katrine and Doc. And fraulein Einzbern and Caster which was rather fishy.
"Well-well, what we have here", spoke Rider, "One thief, one madman and one hell of a muscle…"
He sounded as if he had defeated us all. I wondered whether he had noticed Archer.
And you know, such words in some other place might trigger a fight where you would be alone.
"Nice horses you've got there. Try not to startle them, if they go backwards they'll stomp you down without even noticin'!" answered Berserker's Master rather rudely.
Then the priest jumped off the chariot.
"Gentlemen… and ladies. I thing we can return to the state of events before this… person dared to disturb you."
Oh, if you could hear that "…person" thing.
"Sorry, dude, just your Pussywagon was rumbling so hard that it could call here half of city here. And I don't like thinking that I'd have to slaughter them for your eagerness to get ass-kicked."
"How dare you peasants? If you, lowlifes could know who you are talking to!" roared Rider. and moved to us.
Suddenly, Saber stood in front of him.
"Why are you insulting us, good man? You have fought with this young man, so insult him if you want. Now, I'll finish with the knight and then, if you win Assassin, it will be your turn, foreign guest."
"No need in insulting you. Gods have done it already."
Wow, man, I haven't heard your balls of steel hitting wood of your transport during the ride, so, you are either stupid or sure in your strength.
I wish I could send Assassin scouting. It all seemed like a good play for Caster to take us all in one place and… And what?
"Hey, what are you looking for?" asked Master of Berserker which made me realize that I was actually looking around looking for Elisabetta and Crowly.
"Common sense. But it must have been frightened off by someone…"
Hardly the flame of a new conflict started burning up as one of the combatants stepped in the center between all of us.
"Stop that at once!"
It turned out to be Emiya Shirou. He raised his hands showing that he had no weapon.
No, man, you won't fool me like that once again.
"This conflict has no sense. I beg you to stop the war at once."
The redhead whispered something like "here we go again". I suddenly became highly curious.
"Why should we?" asked the priest.
"Because the Holy Grail you are after is not the thing you are after."
"If you mean that it is not the chalice of Jesus Christ, the Church is perfectly aware of this." Rider's Master shook his head.
"This is not what I mean", stopped him Shirou. "The Grail can grant wished but the price is too high. Originally, it did it in the simplest way possible. But now it is also touched with evil that literally turns your word upside down!"
"What kind of evil?" suddenly sounded a voice from above.
Everyone turned to the crane, shocked.
It was Katrine, Archer's Master. As she stood in the moonlight as a moon princess, her Servant demonstratively aimed each of us.
"All the evil of this world. A Servant that Einzberns once tried to call but dropped later. His influence touched the Grail…" Emiya paused and clenched fists so hard that his knuckles went evidently white.
"Eighteen years ago in a big park in this city half ended the Fourth Holy Grail War. A substance came out of it burning everything it touched. Thousands died, hardly anyone survived. Even now nothing can grow there properly. Only skeletons of trees remained. I myself fought with tentacles of that substance which Kotomine Kirey used in the end of the previous war."
His sight fell on the priest. He didn't even twitch a brow, nodding for Shirou to go on.
"Since that I vowed not to let anyone use its power, even if I have to die. Bu before I ask you to think, whether you want your wish to be granted in such manner, like by the jinn from that old movie? Are you ready to pay with the lives of innocent?"
He waved his hand and his shortswords dramatically came out of nowhere.
"I beg you think. Otherwise I and my Servant will have to stand on your way!"
For some time no sounds except for hippos roar and Berserker's heavy breathing.
And then horse-laugh erupted.
Of course, it was Rider.
"How old are you, boy? Do you know who you tell this to? Here stand those who are eager to obtain the Holy Grail! Those who are ready to give away anything to get it! And to those people you say that we should stand aside because you don't like how your wish may be granted? And for that you called a hero of the past, to help you, the one who doesn't know what means "to catch the luck for the tail"? Then why not to take the final risk, to get the Grail and to wish it would never ever appear again? Is your fear so strong that you are ready to stand on your knees before us? Or maybe this is just a trick for some weak-hearted pussies?" he pointed with his finger towards Emiya. "Or maybe you are so proud that decided to become a Grand Champion of the Grail and can't stand even a thought of being beaten by someone else."
"Rider, take your words back", calmly said Saber stepping forward.
"Or what, gonna fall on me? Ha! I'll be far away to that moment."
"Take. Your. Words. Back." repeated the giant rather menacingly.
The tension started growing exponentially.
"I deeply beg your highest pardon", said Berserker's Master suddenly in a mocking manner, "for my intrusion but we 'ad a fight with that creeper and I wanna continue it. When one of us wins we'll decide who'll be next"
Her Servant roared in agreement.
Yep, with all that bedlam we had all forgotten that originally it was a duel of two Servants and their Masters.
An awkward silence reined. The priest didn't seemed to be eager to leave. Me to. But to start battle royale here seemed stupid. We all knew too little about our enemies (with some exceptions), so nobody knew who was capable of what and who might be in alliance with whom.
For example, Shirou blinked towards me stealthily, as if he believed that one battle together worth something.
I carefully looked at two the most silent people of that play. I wondered who they would shoot first if things got ugly.
And where the hell the girl who had put me into this?!
The priest stood some time silently and then turned to the chariot and said:
"Let's go, Rider."
The Servant got mixed expression on his face.
"Master, what are you talking about? We can destroy them all!"
"One against four each?"
He stressed the first word strangly.
Everyone looked at them stunned.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein