Chương 14: Prelude Alliance between Masters and Servants

Once he closed the front door, Lelouch allowed himself to sigh. Walking back home wasn't the easiest trip. Police surrounded that area and he needed to make sure no one saw him.

Still, Lelouch had work to do before he could relax. Making his way towards the kitchen, he took documents about Ryuunosuke and one of the Fuyuki city maps. The raven-haired master sat at the table and started to work. Lelouch felt something and raised his head when a familiar figure entered the kitchen.

Avenger smiled at him before sitting in front of him. Her red eyes carefully studied him, noticing small traces of dirt and dust on his clothes. A small smirk appeared on her face.

"Master, don't tell me you fought tonight?" she asked with amusement. Lelouch rolled his eyes before answering.

"Indeed. While I didn't plan it, the situation at that time left me no choice but to take action. However, the outcome wasn't what I desired... Well, to put it shortly I met Caster's master but was unable to kill him." Avenger let out a small laugh.

"It would seem we're at the same position. I met Caster and attacked him. But the ugly bastard managed to escape my wrath. A real shame, I was close to killing him." She looked annoyed before adding." However, I managed to learn something useful."

Lelouch raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"

"Caster and Saber's identities." Violet eyes went wide while a red one gleamed with excitement. "Caster of this war is a weird, dare I say, insane individual. He without second thought told me his real name, Saber's as well...Gilles de Rais and Jeanne d'Arc."

If Lelouch was surprised before, now he was frozen stiff. Gilles de Rais and Jeanne d'Arc, two of the most important figures of the Hundred Years' War. The Marshal of France and Holy Maiden, heroes of France who met a tragic end. Lelouch knew them very well. The Holy Britannian Empire made sure to villainize both of them as much as possible. Not that Gilles de Rais needed help with that. Still, this world's history was similar to his own in terms of the Hundred Years' War.

'If Gilles de Rais is just like history remembered him after the death of Jeanne d'Arc then I can see someone like him working with a serial killer like Ryuunosuke...And the fact that Saber is Jeanne d'Arc herself. One of Britannia's most hated enemies, at least in my world, is a servant in this war. My, how incredible. The Holy Maiden is my enemy, maybe it would explain the strange feeling I experienced when I saw back at docks. This Grail war is a truly unique experience for me. Hm, I suppose if someone from Japan was in my place, they would have been amazed to work with Avenger.' Lelouch thought as he glanced at his servant.

"Caster told you this?" Avenger nodded.

"Crazy fool said it without hesitation. Told me that he and Saber's combined might will kill me. What an idiot...Still, it would appear Saber isn't on friendly terms with him. Caster came to the forest with children, probably to use them against Saber. But I attacked him. Created dozens of little monsters with tentacles." she narrowed her eyes. "Master, if you will be cooking something, make sure to prepare food without squids or anything with tentacles."

"Were these creatures so horrible?" wondered Lelouch.

"Disgusting is the right word to describe them...He used captured kids to create monsters." Avenger said and noted how her master froze.

'Used children?' Lelouch thought about it as the horrifying realization came to him. Ryuunosuke kidnapping kids, Caster creating a monster and him killing one of them at the bar. 'That thing was a child.'

One of his theories was right. Caster and his master used children for some sort of magecraft. However, the fact that they used innocent kids to create something like that horror was wrong. All of it was wrong. 'Magecraft is not so different from geass. Both of them can be used to do horrible things...'

"Avenger. We need to kill Caster and Ryuunosuke as fast as possible. Leaving them alone is not an option." Lelouch commanded with a heavy tone. Before she could say anything, he added. "They can create an army of these monsters. If they were able to stop you from killing Caster than other servants might have a harder time-fighting Gilles de Rais...no Bluebeard." Lelouch remembered this name that was used to describe Jeanne d'Arc's companion after her death. "We don't know the limit of his powers, maybe this isn't all he can create."

"Agree. Caster is no different from a parasite, it must be killed before it spreads. If we leave this Marshal of France alone, he will strike us in the back." she glared at the table remembering similar experiences from her life. "Still, it would appear that Saber isn't eager to join Caster."

"She is Jeanne d'Arc after all." Lelouch pointed out. "She is remembered as a hero who died for her country and its people. I doubt she will join someone like Caster, even if it is her former friend. I don't think they will be allies."

Avenger's eyes sparkled with fire when she heard the last word. "Speaking about an alliance," she said with a Cheshire smile that reminded Lelouch of his old partner. "You will be pleased to hear that I managed to secure one with another master."

Lelouch raised his eyebrows. "Really?" She nodded, Lelouch allowed himself to chuckle. "It would seem while we didn't secure complete victory, we managed to obtain noticeable achievement. Who is this master by the way? Is it Saber?" The idea of working with the famous Jeanne d'Arc was exciting to Lelouch. However, Avenger shook her head.

"It is a Lancer. His master was fighting the master of Saber when I saw him. He was almost killed before I saved his life."

He listened, nodding pleasantly. "Good, you already gained his gratitude." However, she laughed.

"Gratitude? Well, if he is grateful for me placing my katana against his throat then I think you're right, master." Lelouch looked at her with a frown on his face.

"Avenger." Lelouch sighed as he took his head at his hands.

"What? It isn't like I did it on purpose...okay, maybe I did." Avenger thought about it for a second before coming to obvious realization. "Yeah, I threatened to kill him but that blonde magi isn't a complete fool and agreed to team up with us."

"An alliance built on fear isn't the most reliable but I suppose for a short period it will be enough for us. It isn't like we planned to have allies until the end of the war, only for the time being." An ally in the Grail war was a temporary thing. Two masters could be allies only to take down a servant or two. Lelouch expected their ally to attack them the moment their trust stopped being beneficial to him. Well, Lelouch planned to do the same thing. "Lancer, yeah? That's great news. With his magical spears, we will be able to kill Caster without any problems." Not to mention the other servants it might be useful against. The Golden Archer came to Lelouch's mind.

"Lancer and Saber were fighting when I found an enemy castle. It was Saber's master's hideout. Won't lie I thought about killing two masters while they fought but decided to interfere at their fight."

"Good thinking, Avenger. We need someone with good knowledge of magecraft. An ally being the master of Lancer is an excellent bonus. Did he tell you how to contact him?"

Avenger nodded. "He said to look for him in the Fuyuki City Hyatt Hotel. Our new friend is from some sort of noble family from what I understand. He calls himself Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald."

"Noble? Huh." Lelouch grimaced.

"You don't like them?" Avenger raised an eyebrow, curious to learn anything about her master. Was her master from a noble family as well? That might have answered some of her theories.

"I hated them since I was a child but nobles I had to deal with are no longer an issue." The only noble family Lelouch tolerated was Ashford and then it was because of Milly and Ruben. "Still, if this Archibald is anything like people I had the displeasure of knowing then it shouldn't be hard to cooperate. Annoying but bearable for the time being."

"I suppose you are right. That guy reminded me of aristocrats from my time." she chuckled. "Cowards and traitors most of them but even this type has its appeal. But how did such a person manage to become a master of someone like Lancer?"

"Probably used as a catalyst. Before I summoned you I was told it was a method to narrow down several servants you could summon." Lelouch remembered how he was told to either find the catalyst for a powerful servant or summon without it. Since he had very little time and was short on the money he chose the latter option. "I didn't use any catalyst. Well, maybe that temple can be considered as one but it had a lot of magic energy or something like that."

Avenger listened to her master before speaking. "So you managed to summon because we have a similar nature." she eyed her master, now eager to learn more about him. If he summoned her using some sort of catalyst she would understand but Lelouch didn't have anything like that. Hongan-ji Temple couldn't be called a catalyst just because she died there. It meant that her master was just like her. Avenger didn't know if it was a good thing or not.

"Yes. However, I think we need to return to the topic of dealing with Caster." Lelouch said and returned his gaze to the map. "Ryuunosuke and Gilles de Rais are hiding in the sewer system. I managed to find a place they might use as a base." a mischievous smile appeared on his face. "You know, Avenger. This might be a good chance to work with our new friend. You said the master of Lancer lives in Hyatt Hotel?" Lelouch stood up and went to take a phone.

While he was busy contacting their ally, Avenger looked at the table and noticed her master's handgun. Without a care, she took it and examined it. It was used. Her master told her that he had an encounter with the master of Caster but didn't tell her details. "Who are you really, Lelouch?"

From what Avenger knew he was a young man from the west. A foreigner, yet she suspected he knows her real identity. Well, considering all the hints he learned it shouldn't be a surprise. But Avenger knew next to nothing about him. What he told the priest back at the church was a lie. He knows how to protect himself and has skills that normal people didn't possess. Unless they were in the war. Her master might have been a soldier before the Grail war. That would explain some things. Still, Avenger couldn't help but feel like she was missing something important. As if she wasn't seeing the full picture. This feeling aggravated her.

A minute later her master returned. "Excellent. Tomorrow we are going after Caster with Lancer and his master."

"You spoke with this Kayneth guy?" Lelouch shook his head.

"No, a woman answered my call. She said she was his partner but from her tone, I felt like she wasn't happy about it. Still, today we were busy. We learned something useful and gained an ally." Lelouch smiled before heading to his bedroom. "I think we both need to rest before tomorrow. Avenger, please feel free to relax as well. You more than deserved it." he told her before leaving the room.

Avenger sat for a moment before standing up. "Relax? Well, I'm sure I deserve something like that." Not to mention that she didn't try to sleep since she was summoned. Able to sleep again might be a pleasant feeling to experience again.

The two of them had a difficult day after all.

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Another Chapter done with 2,040 words hope you like it!