“Hey yah yah, take this, Saber!”

“Ahaha, not so fast, Archer.”

Hey everyone, it’s Sue again!

We’ve been pushing our imaginary controller for an hour now.

Actually, I created this ridiculous game first, out of extreme boredom, and this red guy just decided to follow my league.

Well, stupid things need to be done with a partner. It is some sort of unwritten universe law, just like Newton’s.

I bet that he must be kind of bored too.

“Ah… that’s it!”

I tossed the non-existent gaming console to the ground.

“When will this battle end?”

“Beats me.”

I silently returned to my seat.

“Dumplings?”

“Do I need to answe… hey! Actually dumplings kinda good.”

Munch munch munch.

**********************

With the landscape of modern cities extending vastly behind its back, the fascinating swordplay which took place in there looked rather contradictory.

Despite that, it did not make the battle any less beautiful.

Like the continuous rush of a flooding river, Archer’s javelins kept emerging between her hands, before they flew off to the air, carrying out their sole and only purpose.

That is, to skewer the target into million of pieces.

All of that ended up in vain as the mysterious coasting dagger obstructed their way, causing those accurate shootings of hers to be entirely misled, and finally evanescing in a dishonorable manner.

Unaware to both of the Servants, was that their struggle to crush one another had turned out to be more or less like a contest, an unearthly exhibition to display each other’s potency.

The grim expression that once filled their faces had been replaced with a smile of delight.

Truly, before they are weapons, before they are slayers, before they are Servants…

They are, unquestionably… heroes.

“Haha… Saber, do you want to continue this till the end of Time itself?”

“Didn’t sound like a bad idea to me, but I highly doubt that our Master would like it.”

Of course, the green warrior knew, that she could not remain in this defensive stance forever.

Her kris is a weapon which apt to be both barrier and a straight-kill offense.

However, assuming both tasks simultaneously would still be impossible.

Thus, a change in her battle approach would be the most likely gateway at this point.

But the cost for committing such action would be extremely steep.

The stance-shifting phase.

A truly crucial moment as it allows the combatant to be completely vulnerable to their opponent’s assaults.

Seeing Archer’s aggressiveness, the word ‘suicidal’ flickered inside Saber’s thought.

Saber’s next action was an unexpected one, as it betrayed all the thoughts that once crossed her mind before this.

The flying dagger, which formed the protective layer around Saber’s figure, had been put into an abrupt halt, causing her ultimate shield to be completely shed.

Then, as if possessing a life of its own, the blade started to place itself between its wielder’s slender fingers.

A dark, reddish aura filled the place where she was standing on, signifying that a colossal amount of energy had accumulated around her.

Witnessing this event, it would only be logical if Archer decided to launch her decisive blow during that instant.

However, none of that ever happened, and the reason behind it was quite simple:

The attack was never meant for Archer in the first place.

A trail of crimson line began to appear across the air, following the release of the kris from Saber’s extended hand.

Unlike Archer’s javelin, which its trajectory obediently abided to the law of physics, the movement of Saber’s dagger seemed somewhat unnatural.

Imagine an eagle that glided itself to the surface of the lake, pursuing from a school of oblivious fishes.

As a creature which is equipped with the sense of predatory, it can completely alter its course of its action, according to the response of the selected victim.

It would not be an understatement to say that the kris does also share such will.

The will of a hunter.

Inside the depth of the night, an exasperated shriek can be heard, signaling the success of the sudden attack.

The weapon returned back to its owner hand in one swift motion.

Without delay, Saber ruptured the quietness of the nightfall with her voice.

She was barely shouting, yet her utterance was as clear as a cathedral bell.

“You… who lurks behind the darkness, reveal yourself!”

After that warning, I waited for a few seconds, giving that Servant some time before fully uncovering himself.

A young man, possibly in his twenties, had materialized around ten meters from me, clearly distancing himself as an act of precaution.

His white hair blends perfectly with the pale complexion of his skin.

The red robe which he wore was left unbuttoned, exposing a cross-patterned tattoo which started from his chest, and made its path all the way to his abdomen.

A grotesque-looking scythe can be seen dangling from behind his back. Its shaft was consisted by a series of disturbing carvings, and on its blade, was an ornament clearly resembling an eyeball.

“Hello, peeping Tom. Watching some girls having fun sure is exciting, eh?”

“Sorry about that. I guess I get a little… carried away.”

He let out a soft laugh, before giving us an elegant bow.

“Good evening. I am Servant Caster of this Holy Grail War.”

He raised his head, causing his eyes to meet mine. His irises were stunningly painted in deep black, that they someway reminded me of a boundless void.

After a short moment of silence, the male Servant finally spoke.

“So, what are you going to do? Kill this harmless man over here right away?”

A condescending smile appeared on his face.

By ‘harmless’, he was clearly referring to the class which he is summoned in.

Unlike the other classes, with the exclusion of Assassin, Caster class is usually non-adaptable for battle involving close combat, considering that their primary forte is the usage of magecraft.

In other words, direct clashes with Servants such as Archer or me would be the very definition of impetuosity.

He is looking for a chance of retreating.

The most reasonable deduction at this point.

But still, I could not ignore the glint of confidence existing beneath his eyes.

“You may leave.”

Archer, who remained quiet all this while, suddenly voiced out her thoughts.

“In such a state, I have no reason to kill you.”

What a display of chivalry. Thinking back, my previous attack towards Caster was a careless one, an emotion-ridden act. If she were to take advantage of that situation, I may not even be standing here right now.

Still, I was left unscathed. Her warrior pride would not allow such dishonorable victory.

I understand her manner of thinking at all.

After all, I used to have that kind of philosophy too.

But that was the thing of the past.

Right now, all I am is a sword… a weapon in order for my Master to retrieve the Grail.

And that is why, regardless to Archer’s earlier statement, I had already placed myself above Caster shoulder, and readied to severe his head in one simple slash.

Just when I thought that the scene of endless red will fill my view…

I was served with the picturesque image of the Southern Cross constellation instead.

Beneath the starry skies, all I could do is to stare aimlessly, as Caster’s willowy frame sent me off the cold ground.

Even after being dumped hard to the floor, my mind still could not grasp fully of the event that just happened.

This is Caster we’re talking about right now, okay?

So what’s with that implausible speed just now?

His hands were still tangled firmly around my left wrist, and with one careful push, my arm had been twisted at an irregular angle.

“Arghh..ARGHH!!”

The crackling sound of bones scraping against each other. The unbearable heat produced from those frictions.

Driven completely by instinct, I placed my unbound hand onto the floor, channeling a large burst of mana.

And with that, a small explosion occurred, causing Caster to lose grip of my hand, freeing me from his frightful grapple technique.

I can feel a jolt of energy travelling along my nerves, and with a slight jerk, the perturbed bones from before had already returned to its former position.

“So that skill can also handle dislocated limbs, huh?”

Yeah, but for your information, it still hurts a lot… thank you very much.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Caster then pulled out his scythe, and began to spring directly towards me.

A really slow assault.

Believe me, this is definitely not one of my usual brag. Compared to his previous move, this attack sure is sluggish.

Disinterestedly, I caught the blade of his weapon with my palm, preventing it from getting any closer than me, while also reducing Caster’s chance of withdrawal to nil.

And that was when it happened all over again.

Caster’s oversized leather boot found its way to my stomach, followed by the sound of twitching muscles being pushed inwards.

“Gurghh!”

A splash of saliva, mixed with a certain amount of blood, gushed out through of my mouth, dripping down to the floor below.

As I fell backwards, his foot still remained attached to my body, causing me to stay passively underneath his left leg.

A position comparable to a serf being trampled upon by his unmerciful landlord.

I tried to get back up, but that effort was halted due to Caster’s sudden yet precise footwork. Shifting from my stomach, he moved his foot sideways and pressed it against my breast.

All I could do was to let out a sharp scream, as, for some unknown reason, even the act of flinching a muscle became totally impossible for me during that time.

I want to move… I want to move… just freaking move already!

No matter how much I struggled, my body just would not budge. It seemed like my whole body was disobeying me.

He intentionally inclined his stature forwards, making sure that the gravitational stress will lie mostly on my chest.

“Urgh…URGHHH!”

My lungs thirsted for air, my heartbeats gone weaker by minutes.

With that, Caster’s sadistic grin had turned into a hysterical laugh of pleasure.

“Guhhehehe… HAHAHAHAHA!”

His sinister giggle turned stronger, along with the pressure he forced upon my body.

A flash of white crossed the area above me, scraping Caster’s cheek as it relentlessly flew to the other end of the building.

Stopped by the presence of a concrete wall, the true nature of the object had finally become clear to my eyes.

It was a shining silver metal, brilliantly reflecting the dim rays of moonlight.

“Ar… Archer?”

While wiping the droplets of blood from his face, Caster let out an agitated moan.

“I still have an unsettled dispute with that Servant. Besides, I wouldn’t approve such act of humiliation.”

Archer slowly approached the two of us. Her footsteps echoed under the silence of the night.

“Accepting murder but not degradation, I can never understand such conflicting ideals.”

Caster rose his feet from my body, and began to take a step backwards, avoiding himself from meeting Archer.

“I granted honor the ones I killed, for I also wished to die in that way.”

“I truly could not fathom you people.”

“No one asked you to. Now, would you kindly remove yourself from here?”

Caster made a deep obeisance and immediately dissipated into tiny shining particles, leaving nothing but an irritating titter.

To my surprise, Archer extended her tiny palm towards me, offering me some help to get back up. I timidly reached for her hand and delivered a weak smile.

“Jeez… thanks, I guess.”

“Aren’t you a carefree one?”

She gave me an exaggerated shrug while turning away from my position.

I was about to call her, but a somewhat obnoxious voice had prevented me from doing so.

“HAHAHAHAHAHA… Saber, that was lame!”

“Shu… shut up, Master!”

Tears were visible on his eyelids. His hands were held closely to his belly.

This is not funny, dammit! I almost get killed down there!

Before I can respond to his teasing with a powerful mana-filled punch, Archer’s Master had emerged behind me. She appeared to be quite restless.

“Well, it’s your fault for fooling around in battle. You sure slowed down a lot when facing that freaky dude.”

Did she seriously took the role as the battle commentator?!

Wait a second, what she said just now…

“What do you mean by… slowing down?”

“Exactly as it means… why?”

I directed my gaze towards Master. He seemed to be genuinely surprised with my reaction.

“I may be underestimating him… but slowing down is…”

A sudden spark of realization hit me hard like a jolt of lightning. I looked back at my Master. Judging from his expression, he must had come to the same conclusion as well.

The ‘World’, as we know it, can be viewed through two different perspectives; the objective World, and of course, the subjective World.

The objective World referred to the concept of the Earth itself, also known as the will of the Planet, the physical world constructed by universal law of nature. Its existence is independent from any kind of observers.

Meanwhile, the subjective World is the world seen through an eye of an observer, and as long as it did not contradict with rules of objective World, it can easily be manipulated for the usage of its observer.

This, later, gives birth to magi, the humans whom managed to reach and grasp such law.

Time is an important aspect in differentiating these two Worlds, as its existence is considered to be relative.

A minute, in the objective viewpoint, is a mere sixty seconds of cycle, and an unchangeable fact.

Meanwhile, definition of a minute can change according to a person’s situation. It may be short, it may be long, it may be an eternity… all relying fully on the observer.

And what’s this had to do with Caster?

Well, let’s just say he had altered my subjective view of Time.

By changing the concept of time in the observer’s head, he can create an illusion that made him looked fast, while, in truth, it was the observer who had been slowed down.

A slick technique, indeed.

But this skill has its limitation, and if I have to guess, it must be that it required a physical contact with the observer.

That explained the earlier provocation, the low agility he had while he was away from me, and also his fear for Archer as a long-range fighter.

“So we just need to avoid dealing with him directly, right?”

I voiced my opinion to Master.

“I wouldn’t be that sure. We did not know about his Noble Phantasm, let alone his true name.”

While rubbing his forehead, he continued:

“Well, this much intel is good enough, as we still only in the first night… and I think we had a bigger issue here.”

He lazily trotted to Archer’s pair, with potato chips crunched between his teeth.

“Hee ho Heh Hud Hu Hip Hunih? (Where on Earth would you sleep tonight?)”

Oh, I forgot. That bulldozed apartment. And by the way, Master, please swallow the food properly before you speak.

He bended his body a little, making sure that he is on par with Archer’s tiny physique.

“Since you were the one who invited that idiotic Servant over there, I assume you have some sort of plan?”

Her expression did not waver even a bit, and she calmly replied:

“I considered of calling all Servants there and beating them up in one go.”

Even with that blasphemous answer, her expression remained calm as ever.

My Master and me could not help but to perform a high-pitched facepalm.

“And I thought I was the one with an airheaded Servant.”

“Hey, Master… I was a great war strategist back in my time.”

“Yeah… strategic enough to get your ass whooped in the first battle.”

“Shu… shut up, Master!”

After a short discussion with my Master, we managed to reach our final decision.

“For now, let’s have a short alliance. I think my house can handle two more people… or spirit…whatever…”

Archer’s Master initially rejected the idea, but finally succumbed due to the lack of choice. As for Archer, well… I don’t think she cares about this stuff at all.

I still felt indebted to Archer, so I patted her shoulder and offered her a handshake.

“Hey, we’re comrades for now. Quit being so tense…here, take my hand.”

“Com… rades?”

She looked confused. My right hand remained unaccepted.

“That’s not how you do with comrades.”

She suddenly spoke in her usual uninterested tone.

“Wha…what do you me… WOAHHH!”

Archer surrounded me with a nicely strung hug, lifting me a little from the ground.

This position was quite awkward, considering I was the one with a larger body frame here. But still, I could not deny the warmness that came from this embrace…

“Hey, Archer… easy there…”

Tighter… tighter… tighter…

“Ar…Archer, I ca… can’t breathe… my… bones… earghhh…”