Chapitre 19: War Continues and the Dream about Zero Requiem
Fuyuki City Hyatt Hotel.
Both masters and their servants made their way towards the best hotel in the city. According to Kayneth, it was the most tolerable place to stay in this city and that he had higher hopes for a backwards country. Lelouch almost giggled from how the blonde magi froze when Avenger sent him a deathly glare. The red-haired woman was walking next to him in her civilian clothes. While Lancer decided to stay in his spirit form because he was afraid he would affect women. The former emperor didn't understand what he meant but guessed it was something to do with his True Name.
Soon the three of them, plus the invisible man, were inside Archibald's base of operations. Lelouch wasn't surprised to see Sola-Ui there. When asked, the unhappy bride said that she had to escape the moment Rider showed up. The boy noted that she didn't sound too apologetic about leaving them. Her future husband just let out a tired sigh at his soon to be wife's antics. However, Sola-Ui's expression and attitude changed when another servant appeared.
Lelouch noticed how she started to smile when she saw Lancer...and how the male knight grimaced when he saw her. He thought about it for a moment. It was clear that Sola-Ui was not happy with her fiance but now it would seem she found someone more desirable. Lancer's words about affecting women came back to Lelouch's mind. Now it was interesting. Was it because he was a Heroic Spirit from the past or was there something else? The Master of Avenger couldn't tell.
'Now this is something I might use if I get tired of Kayneth's behaviour. Servants can change masters if they find new ones quickly but for now, I won't change anything. I don't know anything about Sola-Ui's abilities as a magi while Kayneth at least can bring something to the table.' Lelouch thought with a small smirk while the blonde magi ranted to his not so happy partner about their latest adventure.
"Waver Velvet! My own student dared to fight me today!"
"Technically he was standing next to Rider. So neither of you exchanged blows today." Avenger pointed out, who was now sitting on a sofa next to Lelouch.
Kayneth was sitting on a chair next to the sofa and groaned before turning to her. "You know what I mean. Back in the Clock Tower, he was nothing but a naive child with ludicrous ideas. Then he stole my catalyst for summoning Rider, which wasn't cheap, and now he has the audacity to participate in the Grail War. I would have laughed, I should, but it would seem he got lucky with his servant. Rider is covering my student's weaknesses and is able to hinder our plans even with a weakling master at his side."
"Iskandar is an experienced leader who led armies during his life. I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't the first time Rider had to work with someone as green as this Waver," said Lelouch before accepting, with a smile, tea from Sola-Ui. "The King of Conquerors is known for inspiring his soldiers so it's most likely he is doing the same with his master."
"Forget about Rider. Right now we need to focus on the Assassins." Avenger said while putting down her tea. "At the start of the war, I felt the death of one of the servants. I thought Assassin was dead for good. However, turns out there are more than just one Assassin."
Her master nodded. "It must be some sort of skill. Maybe their Noble Phantasm. Still, they were not as strong as an individual servant." Lelouch brought his right hand up to his chin. "If every Assassin was as strong as a regular servant, they would have been an unstoppable force. Not that we need to underestimate them right now either."
Kayneth stayed silent before speaking. "I took a look of Assassin's parameters. Nothing too impressive but expected from the Assassin class. Still, you are right. They have numbers and are still stronger than normal magi...But why didn't they kill you or me when they had the chance?"
"Because we were with Avenger." Lancer confidently said, but Lelouch disagreed.
"No, they were trying to force Avenger to use her Noble Phantasm." Kayneth's eyes went wide while the ruler of Japan scowled at the plan of these Assassins. "As far as I know, there were only seven servants in previous Grail Wars. And yet I managed to summon a new servant. Understandably, other masters want to learn as much as possible about her before making their move."
The Archibald family mage sighed, "It brings a new issue. Since Assassin is still alive, it means that his master is still part of the war."
Lelouch blinked. "His master?"
Kayneth nodded. "Kirei Kotomine."
Lelouch's eyes went wide while Avenger narrowed her eyes. 'So it means that the priest back in the church who gave us information on the location of Saber was an enemy master.' The former emperor started to think about it.
Her ally noticed it and spoke. "I take it you two have already met him right?"
Avenger answered first. "Yeah. Him and his father."
Both Kayneth and Sola-Ui exchanged looks before speaking. "It would seem the Kotomine family is scheming something behind everyone's back. The Supervisor of the Grail War is supposed to stay neutral during the conflict."
"Can you blame him? His son is a participant as well. I imagine someone like that priest would want to support his son." Avenger said while Lelouch thought of such a possibility.
'Not every father is like mine. It's most likely that Risei used his position to help his son. The Assassins are not as strong as other servants so the safest strategy is to lurk in the shadows collecting information before striking… However, if Kirei seeks to win then why not just kill masters while they were in the Church? It's clear that the Kotomine family doesn't care that much about the rules of this war. Unless...'
"Kayneth." The raven-haired master started. "What do you know about Kirei Kotomine?"
The man in question blinked before putting a hand on his chin. "Eh, not too much honestly. The man is considered a prodigy, being able to master any form of art he studied. Former Church executioner. He also was a student of Tokiomi Tohsaka-"
"Tohsaka? Aren't they one of the founding families?" Avenger asked with a curious tone while Kayneth had to stop himself from cursing at her. The blonde man was smarter than to provoke the servant, no matter how irritating she was.
"Indeed they are. Now, after becoming his student, Kotomine spent several years in the Clock Tower before leaving. There was a rumour that the master and student had a nasty fight. Now, years later when the war started Kirei sends one of his Assassins after hid former teacher to end his life." The master of Lancer chuckled. "At first, I thought that he was a fool for losing his servant at the very start of the war but it's clear that one dead servant means nothing to him." Kayneth wanted to say that he envied the young priest but stayed silent. The British noble glanced at his soon to be a wife and narrowed his eyes when he noticed how his dear Sola-Ui was eyeing Lancer.
While Kayneth was busy with his problem, both Avenger and her master thought about what they just learned.
The female servant was the first to speak. "Master, this smells fishy."
Lelouch nodded. "I agree. Kirei being a master is one thing but him being a former student of someone from the Tohsaka family is worrisome. Hmm, this doesn't seem like a mere coincidence that student and teacher met during the war. Not to mention that Kirei's first choice of action was to send his servant to kill Tokiomi only to get his Servant killed."
His servant nodded. "Hai, don't forget that there might be dozens of Assassins. If we put everything together it would seem that Kirei and Tokiomi are allies. However, in that case, it means..."
"That was their plan all along," Lelouch concluded, a little impressed with the entire scheme. Two allies pretending to dislike each other and even try to kill only to take off eyes from one of them. Kirei pretending to be out of war only to collect information for Tokiomi with the Assassins is a sound strategy. "Of course, it makes you think just how loyal Kirei really is to his teacher if he's willing to go such lengths for him."
"Well, it might be just good old blind loyalty? Kami knows such things helped me numerous times." Avenger closed her eyes remembering her loyal friend who managed to become part of her family. Despite how many times she was betrayed he stayed loyal to her. While the redheaded servant was having a nostalgic trip, Lelouch himself remembered someone who was blindly loyal to him no matter what.
'Jeremiah, huh, I wondered how you are doing right now Orange?' The man once known as Zero allowed himself to smile with a pleasant memory of the cyborg. Lelouch wanted to stop himself from thinking about his old life but both his mind and heart started to wander between his memories. Remembering someone else who was loyal. Violet eyes glanced at his servant. Avenger noticed it and slightly smiled while he remembered another redhead. '...I-'
However, both master and servant were interrupted from their moment by the phone ringing. Everyone in the room turned to the modern device. Kayneth was the first to take it. The image professor stayed silent before answering someone else on another side of the phone. "I see, thank you." Before putting the phone down. He turned to look at them with a thoughtful look.
"Something important, my lord?" Kayneth turned to his servant and nodded.
"Yes. It appears the building is currently under evacuation."
Everyone in the room tensed. Sola-Ui was the first to speak. "What? Why?"
"Fire. That's what I was told." He turned to Lelouch. "I think it obvious what is going on here."
Lelouch nodded. "Another master. But why are you so calm?" Ne raised an eyebrow while Kayneth made his way to a chair to sit down. The older man was calm despite the danger of an upcoming attack from another master.
"Why am I calm? Oh, it seems your family forgot to teach another important aspect of the Moonlit World." Kayneth smiled with closed eyes while Lelouch just silently smiled but neither of them noticed how Avenger dangerously narrowed her eyes. Her master might have been not bothered by the arrogant mage's antics but Avenger was. "Attacking magi at his workshop is both foolish and suicidal. I transformed the entire hotel floor into a labyrinth of traps. Spent a lot of mana but I did my best. Even servants would have hard times navigating it." He snorted, proud by his creation. Lelouch made sure to memorize this information.
Avenger walked over to the window and looked down at the street below the hotel. "There's a lot of people."
"At least there won't be unnecessary sacrifices among civilians," commented Lelouch at least happy by this news. "Less dead people."
"Ha! The only one who will be dying today will be the enemy master who dared to enter my domain!" Kayneth declared ecstatically, his fiancee just rolled her eyes while her charming knight just happily nodded at his master's words. Lelouch and Avenger glanced at each other. "No one will be able to defeat me in my territory. That I can guarantee."
The next moment the entire building exploded.
...
Somewhere in Fuyuki.
Far away from Hyatt Hotel among smaller buildings was an unremarkable motel. The old building wasn't big and didn't have a lot of residents. However, it was cheap and the main reason why one specific person lived there. Inside one of the smaller motel's rooms lived an unremarkable person whose only unusual trait was his white hair.
Kariya Matou stared at the mirror, studying his damaged eye. Sometimes he wondered if it was worth it all and if he could do it alone. Could he really save he-However, he immediately stopped that thought as he clenched his fist.
'Stop thinking like this! I will save her as I promised! I must! I can't give up now!' The Master of Berserker screamed inside his head but his hands were shaking. Kariya took a deep breath, trying to calm down.
Ever since his brother helped him, Kariya didn't know how to feel. Byakuya was hardly a kind man, especially after what happened to his wife. Kariya winced. Poor Shinji. However, it would seem that his brother decided to take pity on him. No doubt Byakuya is thinking he won't survive, let alone win this war. Kariya would win, he must for Sakura's sake! His brother and that old parasite can think whatever they want! Kariya won't stop trying to save her!
'...Byakuya might be doing it out of pity but at the very least I can be thankful to him.' Kariya thought while heading to the living room. The motel was cheap but it was enough for him. He needed to rest and prepare for the next fight. Berserker was demanding too much mana, something Kariya had problems with affording. He needed time to prepare and find his next targets. Preferably Tokiomi. Kariya was absolutely sure that Golden Archer was his servant. 'He was just as arrogant as him! My Berserker will kill them all!'
Still, the wild servant was anything but easy to control. During the fight in the docks, the black knight had become uncontrollable when he saw Saber. Kariya didn't know what had gotten into him but his servant was supposed to kill Archer first! Doesn't matter now anyway. Everyone is going after Caster and his master. The white-haired man was sure he just needed to wait for someone to start another fight like one at the docks. The moment it starts he will send Berserker there and kill them all.
Kariya's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden knock at the front door. He glanced at it and heard another knock. Was it a motel staff? Nobody knew he was here with the exception of Byakuya. However, for some reason, he had a bad feeling. When he went to open the door, Kariya's good eye went wide for a mere second then he was glaring at the person standing before him.
"What are you doing here?"
"What? Is that how you treat your father?" Zouken let out a small laugh while Kariya continued to glare at him. "May I enter?"
He wanted to say no but if Zouken really wanted to enter then Kariya won't be able to stop him. He stayed silent and moved from the way. The old monster smirked before entering the room. The old man looked around before turning to him.
"What a shabby place. It does suit you but if you want you can come back home, Kariya." Zouken's smile was one of the creepiest things Kariya had seen in his life.
"Thanks but no. I'm fine with this place. Not to mention I don't want to be a burden at home."
"Too late to worry about it, don't you think? This place was paid for by your brother with family money after all." The old parasite smirked when his son winced.
"Well, nobody asked him for help! I would have been fine without Byakuya trying to play the big brother role!" Kariya lied hoping Zouken would just leave him alone. The last thing he wanted today was to see the old worm. In fact, Kariya wished he never knew him to begin with.
"Hehe, both you and your brother managed to surprise me even after all these years. Still-" Suddenly his tone became more serious. "I'm not here to discuss family issues, well not today at least. It is about the Grail War."
Kariya narrowed his only functional eye. "What about it? I told you, I will win no matter what and you will get your damn Grail."
Zouken snorted. "Your overconfidence aside. Last night things changed and I don't like where this is going."
The master of Berserker blinked."What do you mean?"
The old worm was silent for a moment before speaking. "Last night, the Caster of this war fought with Avenger and lost." He raised his hand to stop Kariya when the latter opened his mouth. "Caster is still alive but he spent a lot of mana. After the fight, he and his master decided to start collecting mana for Caster to use… And it would seem like they decided to go after me." For the first time in his life, Kariya heard Zouken's voice tremble.
If Kariya was surprised before now he was shocked. However, shock quickly turned into joy. The old worm Zouken was afraid of someone? That was enough to make Kariya jump in happiness if he could. Never had he or Byakuya heard their 'father' sound like this! He had to thank Caster before killing him for such a wonderful gift.
Zouken noticed how his son was smiling and with an irritated tone said. "You do understand that if something happens to me you will lose your only ally, right? Byakuya just took pity on you. Kariya, you are smarter than this." Zouken then smirked. "Besides, if I die, who knows what will happen to poor little Sakura."
Kariya froze. In the next moment, his entire body was shaking with a fury that would make even his Berserker proud. The Master didn't pay attention to the crest worms inside his body that started to move. He ignored the pain inside of him and focused solely on his anger. How dare this worm use Sakura to threaten him like this?! Wasn't there anything sacred to Zouken?! Kariya wanted to scream, he wanted to do anything to hurt a man that was mocking him, that was calling himself his 'father'.
"How amusing. It would appear you and your servant are not too different after all, Kariya. This anger will give you more strength, good. You will need it soon."
The white-haired man bit his cheek until he felt the taste of blood inside his mouth. "What do you want, Zouken?" he asked through clenched teeth.
"To get rid of Caster of course! However, I cannot fight a servant on my own. No. To kill a servant, I need another. Do you understand?" Kariya stayed silent, his good eye glaring at him. "I want you to kill Caster and his master as soon as possible. Don't worry. I know you don't have what it takes to find Caster yourself so I will help you in that regard as well." Zouken smirked mockingly. "In the end, I'm your only ally in this war, Kariya."
...
Ruins of Hyatt Hotel.
Lelouch opened his eyes to see the familiar face of Avenger who was holding him in a bridal carry. The red-haired woman winked at him while a pink shade appeared on the former emperor's face before he cleared his throat.
"What happened?" he asked before looking around. Glancing at the side he saw his allies. He and the others were inside Kayneth's mercury shield.
"The hotel exploded, master." His servant answered with an oddly pleased smile. Lelouch blinked but decided to focus on other matters first.
The man who created the shield spoke, "It must be Emiya! No one but that accursed Magus Killer would have done something like this!" He roared with a red face, veins were visible on his skin. Lelouch quickly got on his feet from Avenger's arms, much to her displeasure. "My perfect labyrinth!"
While the master of Lancer screamed at nothing, Lelouch ignored him and turned to Sola-Ui. "How is the situation outside."
"We took a quick peek but there's no fire around us. Luckily, there's no debris above us either."
"And enemy servants?"
Sola-Ui sighed. "Can't tell. All of our boundary fields were destroyed thanks to the explosion."
"Any idea what to do next? My lord seems to be, uh, distracted by other things." Lancer said and quickly glanced at his master who was busy with his temper tantrum.
"Curse you Emiya!"
Lelouch didn't pay Kayneth any mind. He turned to his Avenger wondering if she could feel anything but she shook her head. He nodded before speaking. "It would seem that the enemy tried to take us with a simple exposition but failed. I know little about this Magus Killer but I will agree with Kayneth that it was most likely him."
It didn't make sense for Kirei and his Assassins to kill them right now. Lelouch suspected that it wasn't from any known masters either. Caster and Rider didn't give the impression of being able to do something like this. In fact, it looked like something he would have done, no doubt Avenger supporting his idea. The former terrorist smirked.
'Magus Killer. Now I'm intrigued by you.'
"Master, your orders." Lelouch turned to Avenger before glancing at Kayneth who was still enraged
"No point talking to him right now when he is like this." He murmured to his servant who agreed. He walked to Sola and said. "Your fiance needs to cool down. The enemy must be thinking that he killed or at least wounded us, therefore there won't be another attack tonight." He stopped for a moment for Sola-Ui to think about it before she nodded for him to continue. "Seeing that you lost your base, I would have suggested my place as a temporary replacement but I don't think either of us wants it." While living together might bring benefits for the alliance but Lelouch was careful. Having someone like Kayneth and Sola-Ui under the same roof didn't sound like the safest option for him, mostly because he didn't want to hear the blonde magi's voice longer than it was needed. 'I'm sure Avenger will agree with me.'
"Indeed, we will find another place to hide...Hmm, we need to communicate somehow." Sola-Ui pointed out before pulling out something interesting. Interest sparked in both Lelouch and Avenger's eyes when they saw something akin to a small scroll. "Usually, magi use it to speak at long distances. I will give you mine. Kayneth will contact you using his." Unhappy with her life, the woman handed over to him the magic paper.
Lelouch took it before asking. "How do I use it?"
"We will contact you when we will find a new place to stay. Until then, carry it with you." Lelouch's face stayed neutral but he made sure to be careful of this thing. His understanding of magecraft was limited and it would seem like his new allies wanted to use it. He didn't need to look at Avenger to know that she was thinking the same.
The female servant quickly glanced at Lancer and his master before walking closer to Lelouch. "Very well, in that case, we will wait for your message."
...
It was another dream. And once again Nobunaga was inside this different world.
This time instead of a battle in the sky, she found herself inside a city that looked like it was from the future. Tall buildings that she never saw and modern architecture she couldn't recognize. And yet for some reason, she felt a familiar sensation like she was there before. Then she saw soldiers dressed in unusual clothes who were standing in two rows. However, they were all frozen, not daring to move. Soon something else caught her attention.
In the middle of the street stood some kind of podium with a throne on it. Before it stood a lone figure in black clothes with a black mask. In his hands, Nobunaga saw a red sword...with blood dripping from it. Blood was dripping and forming a bloody trail. Slowly she looked down, following a trail and froze.
Her red eyes went wide.
There, in front of the throne was his body. Lying slouched with blood on his clothes. His eyes were murky. There was someone else near him, someone in red but Nobunaga didn't pay her any mind. Her full attention was on him. Then she heard him say something...something she couldn't comprehend.
"Yes, I have...destroyed the world...and created it...a..new."
These were the last words of Lelouch vi Britannia. Demon Emperor.
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"I don't understand." She muttered to herself after she awoke from her slumber.
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Another chapter done with 4,103 words, hope you enjoy!
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