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Seraphiel wasn't sure how she felt about the current situation. She had been expecting a summons, so that was fine, but there were a couple of issues with how it had happened. Luci and Mother had stuck to the letter of their agreement in that no one from that particular universe had summoned her, but a descendant of the Aeldari that had fled the place had done it instead. On one hand, she'd made the rule to avoid being summoned by one of her old enemies and her summoner wasn't that, on the other, she wasn't happy that they were skirting her terms so blatantly. She'd also been summoned as a Caster, which was a bit of an odd feeling. True, nowhere did it say that the Caster had to actually be able to use magic instead of psionics, but it was sort of implied. She'd manage, no doubt, but it wasn't exactly the most comfortable Servant Class for her. Then again, their team was rather stacked, which sort of explained it. It was likely that Caster was the best her new Master had access to.
She did enjoy having a decent portion of her old powers back though. She also got to enjoy her old body, albeit the one from such a long time ago. Even if she wasn't quick to change, there had been some slight changes since then, so it didn't feel like a perfect fit. It was like wearing clothes a couple sizes too small. Better than what she'd gotten used to in this universe but not perfect. She hadn't gotten all of the power she'd had access to during her time among the Aeldari, but she'd gotten enough to not be too worried. Ironically, she'd been at one of her weakest points in that universe, mostly because she hadn't gained all the various powers and styles from other universes yet. Not that it mattered much, since most of it was a matter of knowledge and utilizing her skills properly, and she hadn’t lost those. No magic, though at least she had access to her original power as a Celestial, even if not quite at full power.
Her Master seemed to have a decent head on her shoulders, although it seemed her position in the pecking order of this team seemed to be at the bottom. Something that she would have to change, as Seraphiel certainly wasn't going to be taking orders from the other Masters, no matter how much they might try. A couple of the Servants she was familiar with from previous experience, even if none of them likely remembered her. One of the oddities of the old Grail Wars was that the Servants didn’t carry their memories from one war to another. Saber was likely an exception, so she would have to keep her mask on when dealing with her.
The Grand Grail War was weird. Seven teams of seven Servants was bonkers. She had very little information on the other teams yet. She'd managed to figure out that there were seven teams in total, so six enemy teams, and that three other teams were similar to the Clock Tower team in that they came from the same world, and likely drew from a similar pool of Heroic Spirits. The last three teams were different, and likely had their own heroes to summon. Truthfully, she was looking forward to meeting those teams more. It would be interesting to see what kind of heroes they had summoned.
“Archer has eyes on two of the enemy teams.” The Master of Archer reported. Her name was apparently Luviagelita, or that’s what her Master silently told her. The benefits of the telepathic link between the two. Most Masters and Servants had some sort of link, but theirs obviously went beyond the normal since Seraphiel’s powers here were mostly psionic.
"Don't keep us in suspense." The apparent leader and the Master of Saber prompted. Seraphiel could sense that the woman was quite powerful. She could’ve almost passed for a Heroic Spirit herself.
“One of the teams is most likely the Academy team, Argus Academy, judging by the gloomy atmosphere and visible corruption. Archer can’t recognize any Servants, but they’re not Human. Or at least most of them aren’t. There’s also a good chance most of them are villains instead of heroes as well.” Luvia reported.
Huh. She kept running into the Argus Academy. She’d fought their students before when representing Mahora. It did make sense that they’d be interested in the Grail though, as they were focused on dark magic.
“The Masters are obviously faculty. And we can expect a lot of summons and corruptive magic from them.” Luvia finished off, confirming what Seraphiel knew.
“And the other team?” Barthomeloi asked.
"A standard Human team like ours. The two are located rather close to each other, just like Caster told us. It is likely the two teams will come to blows sooner rather than later. There is some bad news though. Archer can recognize two of the enemy Servants. Gilgamesh and Karna." Luvia revealed, drawing a sharp intake of breath from the others.
Those two Servants were actually rather powerful even as Champions, belonging to the handful of people actually capable of challenging the top spots in the fights between the gods' chosen Champions. That said, they'd be limited by their summoner, but that was still not good news. Suddenly Seraphiel was just a tad bit less certain of her eventual victory. Those two would likely be able to challenge her to an extent at least. She'd still likely win, but the win was no longer guaranteed. It was certainly good she didn't have to fight the two at her current level in this universe instead.
"I propose we leave someone to hold down the fort here and send our forces out to see if we can get lucky and snag a few easy wins," Barthomeloi suggested.
At first glance, that was a stupid plan. Why spread their fighting power instead of moving and working together as a team? The reason was that that's not how most Heroic Spirits worked. They were prideful heroes. Most of them would disdain working together with unreliable allies, preferring to take their chances alone beyond surface-level cooperation. Many of the Servants, pretty much anyone summoned as Saber, Lancer, or Archer, would never gang up on a target either. The mere idea was shameful. There was also the fact that their powers would likely not work together very well when they went all out.
“Casters usually like to form a fortress of sorts, but…” Lord Germaine suggested, glancing at Seraphiel and her Master. “But I get the sense that ours isn’t a standard Caster.”
"Well sensed," Seraphiel stated simply. "I have no need for such things." Her mask disguised her voice. Out of their current group, Saber was the only one who might be able to recognize her voice, which meant she’d want to keep the mask on while dealing with her.
“In that case, I shall remain to hold down the fort. As the Master of Rider, I can quickly come to your aid if one of you gets outnumbered.” Lord Germaine decided.
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Luthien decided to stick together with Barthomeloi for now. She knew well that Saber would not fight together against a single Servant, but would likely have no issue working together if there were more than one enemy. Besides, Barthomeloi was strong enough to protect her if necessary. The question was, would she? Assuming that would even be necessary. Her own Servant likely would be able to protect her in almost all cases.
They walked deeper into the city, mostly getting the lay of the land. The city was relatively sizeable, but the number of tall buildings was limited. Caster had already pointed out the position of their Archer, Arjuna, while also pointing out the presence of another Archer on top of another tall building. Arjuna had been able to claim the most prominent position in the city, and the enemy archer was likely waiting for an opportunity to contest. It also seemed like a significant portion of the populace had been evacuated, which didn’t sound like a bad idea considering there were currently 49 Servants present, many with abilities that could wipe out the entire city.
“Wonder how they decided the location for this Grail War?” She suddenly asked. “I mean, the collateral damage will be significant almost certainly, so I can’t see anyone volunteering.”
Barthomeloi gave her a quick glance. “They didn’t. They weren’t asked. As so often is the case, the gods decided where the fight would take place. What criteria they used is still unknown.”
"The remaining population. There's something wrong with them." Caster suddenly interjected.
The three others narrowed their eyes. “What do you mean?” Barhomeloi asked.
“I’m not sure about the details just yet, but the people here are…not whole. Incomplete.” That Caster was able to sense that right away didn’t surprise Luthien in the slightest. “I think anyone trying to pull power out of them is in for a nasty surprise.”
It wouldn't be the first time for civilians to be used as nothing but a source of mana. Usually, when such concerns were had, A Ruler Class Servant was also summoned to curb those kinds of tendencies.
“That reminds me, we haven’t heard anything about a Ruler, have we?” Luthien asked.
“So far, no. But that’s not out of the ordinary. Many times the first hint of a Ruler’s presence is when they interfere for the first time. That said, most Rulers aren’t exactly subtle.” Barthomeloi pondered.
“I can sense the presence of a Ruler.” Caster suddenly stated again. “They’re not in the city yet. They appeared outside for some reason.”
“Good to know.” Barthomeloi nodded, already glad of the presence of this particular Caster.
They were purposefully walking in the other direction from the teams Archer had spotted, partly to scout things out, and partly to avoid running into Gilgamesh and Karna so early. They were soon rewarded when they heard the sound of clashing weapons and shockwaves destroying buildings. “Hold on.” Caster said and grabbed Luthien by the waist. The next things Luthien knew, they were both on top of a warehouse overlooking a train yard. Barthomeloi and Saber arrived almost ten seconds later, giving them a glance.
"That's some speed," Saber commented, appreciatively.
Caster didn't respond, instead pointing at the fight going on in the train yard. A male figure clad in ornate silver Elven armor and wielding a long, curved Elven sword was clashing with a Human warrior with a black skinsuit, metal boots and pauldrons, and wielding a large two-handed blade. The Elven figure's helmet covered his face, making it impossible to identify him, but he was currently dancing around the Human warrior with sublime grace and speed.
“Siegfried.” Saber identified the Human warrior. “Master, he’s not a good match for me, as the eponymous Dragon Slayer.”
“Anyone have ideas about the other one? Or their Masters.” Barthomeloi asked.
Caster pointed a finger at a pair of mages exchanging spells around the cover provided on the other side of the train yard. “And both Servants are Saber Class. The Elf seems to have the upper hand, but that could change any moment.”
As if hearing her words, the two combatants disengaged, turning to look towards the newcomers. “Are you planning on interfering?” The Elven warrior asked with a calm voice.
Saber seemed to summon an invisible sword and smiled at the two. "I'd happily cross swords with warriors such as you two."
Caster pulled out what most likely only Luthien recognized as a Singing Spear, and dropped down from the roof as well. “Sounds like fun.”
The Human warrior, identified as Siegfried, lifted an eyebrow at the spear. “A Lancer then?”
"If that's what you want to believe," Caster replied, squaring off against the dragon slayer, knowing that draconic blood famously flowed through the blood of Artoria Pendragon, making Siegfried especially effective against her.
Neither of them could spare any attention to the other people involved in the fracas, as they suddenly lunged at each other. The pair moved at speeds only true warriors could follow, but it only took a couple of exchanges for Siegfried to realize several things. He was the famed Dragon Slayer and one of the most powerful warriors in history, but the one he was fighting against was significantly more skilled than him. The way she moved her spear seemed almost lazy, only making just the bare minimum required effort to deflect all his powerful blows. Her rather fragile-looking spear was also much sturdier than it seemed, able to take blows from his huge sword straight on. The woman was also strong. Usually, Lancers were famed for their Agility, while Sabers excelled more in Strength, but this one was able to match him directly, blow for blow.
This fight started up more ferocious than the one he’d been having against the Elven hero, and it was only growing more intense. Siegfried found himself unconsciously grinning at the challenge, even as his opponent seemed to be picking up in both speed and power as the battle continued, and the train yard around them was destroyed as the shockwaves from their engagement flattened everything they came near.
Suddenly, her spear seemed to slither its way through his defenses, striking at his flank. He had faith in Noble Phantasm, Armor of Fafnir, that would negate all attacks below a certain rank, and reduce the power of all attacks from anything above. He swung his sword in retaliation at her torso, trying to force an exchange of injuries. Two things happened that made his confidence shatter. First, the spear that was aimed at his flank sliced through him, as if the armor wasn’t even there. Secondly, his wrist was grabbed by the woman, halting his own blow in place as the spear wielder stepped in close and delivered a frontal kick to his chest that sent him flying through several containers. It felt like several of his ribs were damaged.
The flying Siegfried forced the other two fighters to separate by jumping apart to avoid being hit. They also barely managed to see the spear-wielding woman leaping above them, thrusting her spear at the prone Siegfried, who only barely managed to roll away from the blow. The landing strike struck the ground like a meteor, shattering the concrete and ground beneath her before she almost lazily stood up from her kneeling position.
Siegfried coughed out in pain as he felt his ribs realign, clearly with some effort. "I underestimated that spear." He admitted. "I didn't think it was a Noble Phantasm powerful enough to overcome my armor."
The Lancer laughed. “I’m afraid you’re mistaken. This is just a normal spear of my people. Well made, yes, but not in any way special.” Her words shocked him deeply. “I’m afraid it’s not my weapon that’s overcoming your resistance but my very existence.”
She was about to say more before her hand suddenly lashed out in a grasping gesture. "Tut-tut. I'm afraid I can't allow you to target my Master." She stated while somehow levitating Siegfried's Master near his Servant. Siegfried noted his Master looked like he was being choked by an invisible hand. Siegfried could tell she could've killed his Master there and then, but let go, dropping the mage in front of Siegfried instead.
“Very honorable of you Lancer. It seems my journey is about to end early. Can I at least have the name of the one who’s about to take me out?” He asked, ready to play one last card.
“She’s not Lancer.” The ever-honorable Artoria answered instead. “She’s our Caster.”
“What?!” Both of the enemy Servants asked in confusion and shock.
"You can call me the Exile if you must." The spear-wielding supposed Caster replied.
Siegfried closed his eyes for a moment. “The Exile, huh? Then I must apologize for this.” He said before swinging his weapon at the ground, power scything from the blade and sending rubble and dust at everyone else. By the time the ground had settled, both Siegfried and his Master were gone.
"Disengage ability, huh." The now-revealed Caster muttered, before turning to her Master. "Would you like me to give chase, Master? Catching them would not be too difficult."
Luthien shook her head. “Not this time Caster. It’s early yet, and while a great achievement, it would be a shame to eliminate a hero at the rank of the great Siegfried so early.”
Barthomeloi was about to argue, but a single look at the Caster’s mask told her it would not be a good idea.
“I believe this is where I make my exit as well then.” The Elven hero spoke while sliding his sword into its scabbard. “The House of Fëanor thanks you for allowing me that grace.”
Barthomeloi was about to argue again, but neither Servant seemed willing to stop the Elf, so kept her mouth shut again. She could already sense the power shift starting in their team, thanks to Caster’s performance. She did wonder what hid behind that almost demonic mask…