“I don’t blame any of you; it was my choice to go as hard as I did. And I’m largely satisfied with how it turned out.” You reply as you steady your breathing after your match against Lancer of Red. The pain aside, you feel something about you has changed from between when you started the sparring match to now. After clashing your strength, speed, and skill against the Lancer’s for as long as you did, you learned a couple new uses for your abilities, but more than that, it’s as though the blood that flows in your veins acquired a new quality. Something like…

[New personal skill unlock: Divinity E-]

As you take a seat to rest, with encouragement from the other three present for you to take it easy and simply observe for the time being, your thought is directed more toward what’s changed about you in the past couple hours. The myriad of revelations from Hecate, in particular the possibility that your body is a vessel prepared for your spirit in advance, and now your tacit understanding that you indeed seem to have at least a fragment of Divinity in your being. Some of the Servants of the Holy Grail War had Divinity; Hecate as well, you suppose. Are you the spirit of a demigod hero, or even a kind of god?

Between your contemplation and the other sparring matches between Rushorou, Ryuuta, and Lancer of Red, some time passes relatively uneventfully from your perspective until you hear the door of the gym open. You spot the large frame of Suzaku, who proudly announces, “Hey guys! Caster, Koko, and I have been preparing a meal for a while, and it’s looking pretty good. Think you can call it a night?”

“Yes, we should stop for now.” The Lancer quickly says, further offering to her Master, Ryuuta, and yourself, “We may resume early tomorrow morning if you’d like.”

“That’s fair.” Rushorou concedes as he wipes his brow, and the group of you head over to a dining area, where an upscale meal comprising a varied assortment of Japanese and Western appetizers, entrées, and beverages is prepared.

You start picking out food from the selection, and open yourself up to some small-talk, though with whom?

For this, each player gets 3 vote-points that he or she can allocate between 2 or 3 characters from the list below to chat with (in short, you can pick 3 different characters to vote for, or 2 with the preferred one getting 2 votes). The 3 characters with the most votes will get some additional dialogue/characterization revealed, the length/substance of the revelation proportional to their relative ranking (most votes get the most revealed).

> Yumigawa Rushorou
> Matsuda Ryuuta
> Truvietianne Edelfelt
> Koyama Komoe (Koko)
> Tachibana Suzaku
> Lancer of Red
> Caster of Black

>>5804760
> Truvietianne Edelfelt (2)
> Koyama Komoe (Koko)

>>5804760
>> Caster of Black (2)
> Koyama Komoe (Koko)

Rolled 2 (1d3)

>>5806057
>>5806115
We have 3 candidates each with 2 votes, let's see who will have the first turn

1) Anne
2) Koko
3) Caster

File: Koko.png (300 KB, 803x641)

300 KB PNG

As you sit down toward an end of a long table and get started with your meal, Koko sits opposite you and asks, “So Anon-san, I’ve been wondering. What do you think of getting put into a Holy Grail War all of a sudden, as a life-experience?”

“Hard to say.” You think aloud, “My memory doesn’t extend far beyond when I entered it, so I don’t have much to compare it with. I’d say having a Servant and reliable allies beats wandering around alone.” As pain faintly shoots through your stomach-wound, you add, “The looming threat of death is getting a bit old, but at least Caster’s magic can let us rest easy for a while.”

“I’m surprised you can deal with it so seamlessly.” The diminutive woman remarks sympathetically, “I’m trying to sit the fighting out as best I can, knowing a stray bullet or falling rubble could be the end of me, but you’ll run into a battle at a moment’s notice.”

“You may be giving me a little more credit than I deserve: our circumstances are pretty different.” You reply with a reassuring smile, “With Avenger watching my back ever since the war started, I haven’t seen much that the two of us couldn’t fight our way through if we played our cards right; though from the events of this afternoon we both know I’m taking it as easy as I can get away with while Avenger’s recovering. But weren’t you alone and in hiding for several hours before Truvietianne and Perseus found you? I’d say you’re doing pretty well for yourself after that.”

Shuddering, Koko whimpers, “Y-yeah… I guess you’re right….”

Crud, you probably reminded her of some uncomfortable memories. Changing the subject, you then remark, “Suzaku told me you helped prepare the meal. I’d say it’s quite good; do you practice cooking often?”

Cheering up a little, she responds, “I do, whenever I have the time. My roommate likes my cooking, so I can get her to get the ingredients and equipment ready so I can get right to it once I get back from work. Her hours are a little more flexible than mine, so at least a couple times a week she can make a shopping trip and get things ready in advance.” An idea dawning on her, she adds, “Oh I know, maybe you can help with tomorrow’s breakfast!”

“Are you sure?” You ask, surprised at how her train of thought got there, “I don’t think it would be a particularly good meal if I was the one preparing it, judging from my lack of experience.”

“Now now Anon-san, once you finish up this Holy Grail War you’re going to want a variety of practical skills.” She lectures, “I know it’ll seem like a meaningless chore at first, but the genuine appreciation from your friends makes it worth it! And don’t be worried about lacking experience: I’ll be ‘watching your back’, as you say.”

Rolled 1 (1d2)

You smile gently when she presents your survival of the Holy Grail War as a forgone conclusion, though when she mentions ‘friends’ you’re given pause for a moment. Do you consider these people your friends? Would it be presumptuous for you to do so? You’ve known them for less than a week, and in the case of Rushorou, Ryuuta, and their Servants, it seems that even if your uprising against the overseer goes off without a hitch, there’s a good chance you’ll find yourself and Avenger opposed to them in some form or other before the end. After what you’ve been through together, that notion is becoming an increasingly unpleasant one to you.

Though before you lose yourself too far in thought, you ought to respond to Koko’s suggestion of helping fix breakfast tomorrow morning:

> “Alright, tomorrow morning I’ll be in your capable hands.” (Agree to her suggestion)
> “I’m open to the idea, but tomorrow morning may not be the best time.” (Indicate willingness, but don’t commit yet)
> “I truly appreciate your consideration, but I need to focus my time on more fitting tasks for a Master.” (Don’t indicate willingness)
> A different response (write-in)

***
Next up:
1) Anne
2) Caster

>>5806929
>> “Alright, tomorrow morning I’ll be in your capable hands.” (Agree to her suggestion)

>>5807034
Well, no objections so I'll go forward with this.

“Alright, tomorrow morning I’ll be in your capable hands.” You tell Koko. Why not give it a try, you slept through yesterday’s group-breakfast so it would be a novel experience. You could probably bring some of whatever you end up making to Avenger too.

“Wonderful! I wonder what we should make…” Koko pondered, “From what the pantry had available, I think we could get away with steamed rice, miso soup, soft-cooked eggs, salted salmon…”

“May I join you?” Truvietianne asks as she stands behind an empty chair next to Koko, “Pardon my tardiness, I was a bit engrossed in what I was doing in the workshop.”

“Of course. What were -” You begin to ask what she was working on, but your eyes are drawn to a necklace that you haven’t seen before around the woman’s neck, with a large diamond-like gemstone fastened in its center. You the phrase ‘diamond-like’ comes to your mind because a diamond wouldn’t be able to shine with the radiant beauty of that jewel; it seemed as though it had a flame dancing inside of it, the color of the flame as it passed from the surface of the gem refracting into an ever-shifting kaleidoscopic rainbow.

Noticing your admiration, Anne smiles as she sits down next to Koko and says with a hint of smugness, “You’re awestruck, I see.”

“That necklace is a stunning sight to behold.” You respond frankly, “You must have a phenomenal sense of aesthetics to craft such a marvel.”

“Whooooaaaa…” Koko gaped as she viewed the jewel, “It turned out so pretty! If you wouldn’t have been mistaken for a princess before, you definitely would be now!”

Rubbing the bandage wrapped around her neck, Anne replies self-consciously, “Maybe once the bruise fades and I can take this off.”

“You needn’t worry about such a slight concern.” You find yourself saying, “Anyone’s gaze would be too captivated by your beauty to notice.” As the words leave your mouth, you realize that there’s a good chance that comment came across as thick flattery. You actually hadn’t intended to phrase it in such a manner, the words just came out of your mouth. With some trepidation, you wonder if there’s something about the jewel on her necklace that’s affected you, similar to how Kiara tried to hypnotize you earlier today. Fortunately, it’s not as powerful or directed in its purpose.

“O-oh, but of course! How silly of me to forget!” She laughs with some initial uncertainty, and Koko briefly gawks at you in surprise.

“At any rate, I recall someone mentioning you have some experience working with gemstones.” You say, “It’s related to the magecraft you use?”

“That it is: my family has a long history of practicing Jewel Magecraft.” Truvietianne answers, “Although in this specific case I have Caster to thank for helping me try something innovative. We were able to catch the light of the setting sun in the gem, and then he enchanted it so that I could channel my od into the jewel to cause the light that it radiates to shine more intensely, which ought to ‘discourage’ a Dead Apostle of the fourth rank or above from getting near me.”

Such as one that has a vendetta against her or her family, you immediately realize, “I’m glad he was willing to help you protect yourself; though perhaps you’d tone it down a little the next time you see Sophia.”

“I wonder how Sophia’s doing.” Koko thought aloud.

“Kuro no Berserker said her Master had a ‘personal interest’ in taking either or both of us alive.” Anne replied with a grimace, “It doesn’t sit right with me, but I’ll hope for the best.”

“It’d be nice if we could ease tensions with some of the opponents we’ve gone into battle with, if nothing else to reduce the chance of Adajio somehow calling on them as reinforcements when we go after him.” You say, “Though it’s no use racking our brains over it when we don’t have much of an idea of their motivations. On another note, what do you two think you’ll do once you get back to the real world?”

“Well, obviously I’ll-!” Koko begins, but blanches and she clutches at her hair as she realizes, “Oh no! I’ve been absent without explanation for two days and counting! How am I going to explain this to the school?!”

“Maybe you could say you were ill, and weren’t able to send word?” Truvietianne suggests.

“That would be a more plausible excuse than ‘I was trapped in another dimension by an evil sorcerer’.” You add. The intensity of Koko’s apprehension surprises you, this may be the most unsettled you’ve seen her become so far.

“Aaaaahhhh… it’s awful…” Koko groaned helplessly, “Please get me out of here as fast as you can before it gets worse….”

Taking your attention away from the schoolteacher’s sudden gloominess, you ask, “Do you have anything in particular you’d like to do, Anne?”

“Well, I would like to give anyone who was working with Triscus Adajio a piece of my mind for getting me into this mess.” She answers, and you realize that you’ll need to be careful with how you respond to this topic if you’re going to avoid accidentally triggering the penalty for violating Hecate’s geas. “After that, I’m not sure. Perhaps before the war’s over Caster will guide me to more innovative ways to develop my jewel magecraft, and I can spend some time creating more beautiful things. Maybe I’ll even find…”

“Find?” You repeat, as she stopped herself mid-sentence.

A little flustered, she replies, “Ah, don’t pay it mind. What about you, Anon? Let’s assume for the sake of simplicity that you find out your name by the time the Holy Grail War ends and you end up on, say, the streets of the real Tokyo. Is there anything you’d like to do knowing what you do now?”

“I’d have to think about it...” You say. It seems like there’s not enough context for you to be able to give a clear answer. Out of those you’ve met in Akeldama, who else would still be around? Would learning your identity reveal a duty that you’d be required to perform? Or could recovered memories reveal desires from your true self that have been suppressed up to now?

“It doesn’t need to be a full-fledged purpose for your life, just something you’d like to do.” Anne reiterates.

Given the chance, what might you want to do:

> You could spend time in peaceful solitude, somewhere relatively isolated from civilization, to come to a better understanding of the natural world and of your true self.
> You could try to get a better understanding of civilization, such as by re-tracing the steps of your experience of the Akeldama war in the real Tokyo, this time as a peaceful observer.
> You’d try to find out what happened to the other survivors of the war and stay in touch with them, as friends.
> Something different (write-in)

>>5810114
>> You’d try to find out what happened to the other survivors of the war and stay in touch with them, as friends.

“I’d try to find out what happened to the other survivors of the war.” You say at last, “And I’d also like to stay in touch with them, as friends.”

“I think I like that idea.” Koko responds, perking up a little, “It’d be nice to talk with someone who understands what we’ve been through. And when I think about it, this ordeal has allowed us to meet people we definitely never would have otherwise. Let’s stay in touch when this is over!”

“I agree.” Truvietianne says with a smile, “But I would ask that you afford me some patience. I may end up back in Finland, and modern telecommunication tools aren’t readily available at my manor, but you can count on me to do my best.”

“Miss Edelfelt, I’m glad to see your amulet is as splendid as I’d envisioned.” Caster of Black says as he walks to your side; earlier he’d been at the other end of the table talking with his Master. “Although, pride in your work notwithstanding, it may be for the best that you not display it all the time. As unfortunate as it is, great beauty can eventually incite envy or resentment.”

“Do you have a low opinion of us, Caster?” You ask disapprovingly.

“I wouldn’t say so, but not even the good-natured are entirely impervious to such temptation.” He answers you, “Though if present company is the exception to the rule, then all the better.”

“I understand your concern.” Truvietianne responds, tucking the jewel into her dress, adding in jest, “After all, continuously drawing everyone’s gaze toward my chest could prove inconvenient.”

Addressing you again, Caster says, “With that resolved, could I speak with you in an adjacent room for few minutes?”

Curious about what he’d want to discuss in private, you stand up and reply, “I don’t see why not.”

After moving with him to a separately-partitioned section of the dining area, he says, “At times you can be a difficult man to read.”

“I could say the same of you.” You answer the enigmatic Caster. “Between your avoidance of revealing your aims, the sparing use of your magic, and masking the signature of your Magical Energy to prevent anyone from getting a read of your status parameters, I’d say you have me beat.”

“Part of that falls under my due diligence as a Servant, but I see your point.” The old, bearded man responds, “To that end, I’ve decided now would be a fitting time to lay some of my cards on the table, since in a bid to rebel against the war’s overseer, you’ll need to understand what your potential confederates are trying to gain from the venture. I’ll require reciprocity from you, however.”

“I already explained why I wanted to do away with Adajio when I proposed to eliminate him, did that not satisfy you?” You ask warily.

File: Caster of Black.jpg (248 KB, 920x674)

248 KB JPG

“It was a sensible reason; however I can’t say I understand the root-purpose guiding you.” He answers, “On what basis does this man without memory decide upon his course of action? That is the question I’d like answered.”

It’s a question that may need a complicated answer. You could tell him that your primary goal is to regain knowledge of your identity, and ideally any of your memories that were lost or sealed away, but the end itself doesn’t explain the way you decide which means to take to approach that end. However, whether you tell him your end-goal or try to explain what’s been directing you down the path you’ve chosen, he ought to respond by revealing similar information about himself.

“You mentioned reciprocity earlier, Caster. If I start explaining myself, will you respond accordingly?” You prod.

“I shall.” He nods without hesitation.

What will you tell him:
> Your end-goal is to regain knowledge of your identity, and ideally any of your memories that were lost or sealed away
> You can’t point to something as concrete as a code of conduct or ideology that guides your actions, you’re simply trying to achieve your desire by the most logical means you can discern, and following your gut when the path isn’t readily apparent. If he wants to know the nature of your gut’s predispositions, it may be beyond your ability to explain them at this time.
> Both of the above
> Something else (write-in)

>>5811427
>> Both of the above

>>5811427
>Both of the above

>>5811427

> Both of the above
> Something else (write-in): "I'm simply trying to follow my self-interest in a way. And I see the only way I'm going to break out is to work with others, it's my hunch other condenders will understand this."

>>5811504
>>5812213
>>5812629
Sounds good, and I can use the write-in as well.

You’ll satisfy his curiosity, and see to it that he satisfies yours in return. You say, “Very well then. To begin, I’ll tell you to what end my actions are directed. My goal is to regain knowledge of my identity, and ideally any of my memories that were lost or sealed away before I woke up as the Holy Grail War began.”

“And you plan to use the Holy Grail to realize that?” The old man asks.

“If a better option doesn’t present itself sooner.” You explain, “Should I regain my memory by some other means before the war concludes, then I wouldn’t have a remaining, personal design to use the Grail to attain; though I doubt the same can be said of my Servant.”

“You may speak truly now, but you ought to consider that the revelation of your hidden past could bring to light desires of which you are currently unaware.” He counsels, but changes tact, “Nevertheless, I thank you for your candor in sharing your objective, and it falls to me to respond in kind. I had an inkling that something was amiss about this Holy Grail War when I was summoned, and as the situation becomes clearer, the duty that I must fulfill too becomes more evident.”

“You act out of duty? To whom, or what?” You inquire.

“Some would consider it a metaphysical principle, others may call it the will of God, for my purposes it’s an imperative that I carry out after being manifested in this form.” He replies, “There is a belief of some in this day and age that the valor and dignity of mankind is spent, but I consider it rather to be ‘dormant’, like embers of a flame waiting to be rekindled. As a Servant, I consider it my duty to provide aid and guidance to those who live, whose destinies are yet to be decided.”

“You’re specifically referring to living human beings, then.” You reason, and he confirms with a nod.

“I have been searching throughout the city, both for the overseer’s whereabouts and for a better understanding regarding the others who are here. I may yet find Masters sympathetic to our cause and make arrangements to overcome the framework of mutual hostility that the Holy Grail War instills. Among Servants, I am far from the mightiest warrior; my aim is to guide and oversee my Master’s development toward becoming a hero in his own right, and that of those he names his companions.” Caster explains, “Now then, I’ve described my objective and given a rough overview of my methods; what may you say of your own?”

“I can’t point to something as concrete as a code of conduct or ideology that guides my actions. I’ve already made my desire known to you, and I’m simply trying to achieve it by the most logical means I can discern, and following my gut when the path isn’t readily apparent.” You reply, then add with levity, “If you’d like to know the nature of my gut’s predispositions, it may be beyond my ability to explain them at this time.”

Mildly amused, he responds, “Perhaps that is the case, but could you name any particular reason why you decided to change your approach from seeking out and destroying the other Servants to instead desiring a cease-fire until the overseer is neutralized, as Miss Koyama suggested?”

“I'm simply trying to follow my self-interest in a way. And I see the only way I'm going to break out is to work with others, it's my hunch other contenders will understand this.” You answer.

“I see. I pray your Servant will come to that understanding when she awakens.” The old man concludes gravely, but softens his tone as he opens the door back to the main dining area and adds, “However, I ought to let you consider such things as you finish your supper. I appreciate your taking the time to discuss matters with me.”

“The feeling is mutual, I think we better understand one another now.” You reply. Assuming he spoke the truth to you, anyway; he didn’t seem to be lying. Perhaps he’ll be able to find potential allies by whatever methods he has planned. After you return to your seat, you spend some time finishing your meal and enjoying a little idle conversation, notably hearing a bizarre anecdote involving the sign-language speaking gorilla who’s frequently spotted at Ryuuta’s high-school, and learning that the pudgy Suzaku is both a husband and father of two.

As things wind down, Koko tells you that you ought to come to the main kitchen to help prepare breakfast fairly early tomorrow morning; as it’s getting a little late, you decide it may be time to get ready to sleep. Which does bring a certain question to your mind: should you sleep in the same room as Avenger? There are two beds in the room, so it’s not as though you’d have to be right beside each other, but you get a sense that there may be suspicions of impropriety regardless. You suppose there shouldn’t be a problem if Avenger doesn’t mind.

When you return to the room, she’s still sleeping, and you decide against disturbing her. Someone conveniently laid down a change of clothes for you on one of the dressers while you were gone; you wonder who it could have been. You may as well take a shower now.

The warm water stings as it runs along the wound on your stomach, but otherwise provides a comforting sensation all over your body. Come to think of it, this is the first time you’ve washed yourself like this, considering you passed out late last night before getting around to it. Relaxing for a while, you take your time washing over various smaller cuts and bruises that are mostly healed at this point. How much longer until your stomach is back to normal and you can fight without restraint? Your Servant may be able to speed the process along when she wakes up.

After you feel sufficiently clean and refreshed, you dry off and get yourself decent, though you leave the shirt off since you don’t see a need to be fully dressed just to sleep. When you exit the bathroom, you spot your Servant groggily opening one of her eyes and mumble, “Welkerm back Mastah.”

“Good evening, Avenger.” You respond; doesn’t seem like she’s Hecate in disguise this time around. You’re hoping she doesn’t feel a need to do that again now that she got you to unwittingly swear yourself to secrecy. “I didn’t mean to disturb you, sorry about that.”

Blinking both of her eyes several times and taking a deep breath, she responds with more alertness, “I shouldn’t be lying in bed for so long to begin with. I’ll plan to start resuming our normal activities tomorrow.”

“Are you sure that’s wise? You got the worse of Diomedes’ spear, and my own injury is still giving me some trouble.” You say, concerned that she may push herself too hard out of pride, similar to how you sparred against Lancer of Red until your wound started breaking open.

“It threw my Spirit Origin out of whack for a little while, but I’ve largely got it under control now.” She replies, “Besides, we can get away with sleeping the rest of the night.”

“Now that you mentioned it, I’d be remiss not to ask,” You say, gesturing toward the vacant bed, “Would you consider it improper if I slept there tonight? I don’t recall any hard and fast rules regarding this sort of thing, but I have a vague impression it might be considered… indecent by some.”

“Haha, it doesn’t trouble me.” She lightly laughs, “Your erotic inclinations being as limited as they are, I’m hardly threatened or offended by the prospect.”

“Huh.” You hum, not sure of what to make of her remark. It’s not as though you don’t find beautiful women pleasing to look at, you just have so many pertinent issues on your mind that it hasn’t struck you as a pressing priority to explore that sensation as of yet.

You wonder if there’s anything you ought to ask about or inform her of right now, or if it can all wait until morning:

> “I’ll be helping prepare breakfast tomorrow morning, so you can save yourself the trouble and rest a little longer.”
> “Before I go to sleep, would it be a bother for you to prepare something to help heal my stomach’s wound?”
> “After some consideration, I’ve decided to shift our priorities in the war for a time.” (Explain your intention of overthrowing Triscus Adajio)
> Something else (write-in)
> You can worry about it in the morning

***
Sorry it's taken so long to update, my day-job was burning me out all week

>>5817640
>> “After some consideration, I’ve decided to shift our priorities in the war for a time.” (Explain your intention of overthrowing Triscus Adajio)

>>5817640

> “After some consideration, I’ve decided to shift our priorities in the war for a time.” (Explain your intention of overthrowing Triscus Adajio)
> Something else (write-in): "I had a spar with Lancer while you were out cold, something happened however that changed me somewhat. When you're feeling better I'd like you to look it over."

Much as I do wanna bring up the Hecate debacle to Avenger I think that keeping it underwraps at least for the time being will be sparing us a headache. But our own new low tier godhood does seem like something she should know

Also I am just about finished up with my own preparations for a Fate quest so wish me luck fellas!

>>5818981
>Much as I do wanna bring up the Hecate debacle to Avenger I think that keeping it underwraps at least for the time being will be sparing us a headache.
pretty sure we cant even try to tell her, did you already forget about the blood geas

>>5819014

I did actually, but point is that telling her is out of the question so we'll have to keep it in mind in general. Geas or no Geas

File: Table_scene.png (1.07 MB, 1079x730)

1.07 MB PNG

>>5817660
>>5818981
Sounds good, and I can incorporate the write-in as well.

Btw dropping an interlude that I wrote a while ago but couldn't find the right time to post.

***
Belly of the beast

“Just to make sure I understand, you were making a scene at a vampire costume-party with that wight and two guys named Jester Karture and Eugene Messerschmidt right before you appeared in the Akeldama world, with the three of them?” Sophia asked as she gestured toward the armor-clad wight. Kuro no Berserker had brought her a couple kilometers away from the site where they met, let her into an office building adjacent to a subway station, and been seated in a conference room with the female Dead Apostle Rusalka Illyuzii, Kuro no Berserker, another Servant who was a heavily-built man with bandaging on his foot, a girl who seemed to be trying to quietly hide behind the injured Servant, and the wight.

“More or less.” Rusalka replied cheerily as she adjusted the collar of her Schutzstaffel uniform, “Lord Vandelstam’s conventions are always amusing events, and the theme of this one was to wear something that you picked up from the world of humans that has a bit of sentimental value.”

“And yours was that you worked for the SS?” Sophia asked incredulously, “Did they offer you as much Jewish blood as you wanted to drink or something?”

“Haha! Would it bother you if they did?” Rusalka laughed as she poured herself a glass of wine from a bottle that she’d placed on the table earlier, “Are real or imagined atrocities from the middle of the twentieth century a sore spot for you?”

“I guess not.” Sophia answered as Rusalka began sipping the wine, “The woman who inhabited this body before me would have cared, but I don’t see much point in getting invested in wars between humans, past or present. Though I am curious what made you step in on Hitler’s side. Your name sounds Russian, if anything.”

Kuro no Berserker moved her gaze toward Rusalka, and their eyes met knowingly for a moment before Rusalka answered Sophia, “You’re new to this, so I’ll explain some things that would otherwise be obvious. First, war is generally a lovely pretext for Dead Apostles to fill up on blood when a large number of disappearances won’t face the same kind of investigation that they normally would. That wasn’t my primary motivation, simply something you should know for the future. Second, existential boredom is a common drawback of being an immortal creature, so when I find something interesting I latch onto it and take it as far as it goes.”

“And what was it about the cause of the German National Socialists that caught your eye?” Kuro no Berserker asked.

“Thematic richness. There was a palpable undertone of tragic determination, as though it were a modern Gotterdammerung. And at the center of it all was a man who could mobilize his entire nation with nigh-supernatural power. Herr Himmler also had a way with words, which sealed the deal for me to become one of his knights and march toward what fate ordained. Ah, those were the days…” Rusalka explained in a nostalgic reminiscence, before addressing Sophia more pointedly, “Though something else you said struck me as odd. Did you have a dissociative personality disorder when you were a human? Because the way you’re describing it makes it sound as though you consider yourself an entirely different entity from the woman, Jennifer Hill.”

“I share her memories, but not her personality or motivations.” Sophia replied, “I assume I’m a new, different type of soul that was born in her body when it was transformed. Isn’t that what normally happens?”

Puzzled by the suggestion, Rusalka answered, “No? Not exactly, anyway. Quite a few of the most powerful Dead Apostles discarded their humanity through their own efforts and retained their conscious will; those who converted the way you did tend to simply have certain aspects of their original personality either amplified or suppressed, along with an added desire to be of service to their parent. Do you really feel as though that isn’t the case for you?”

Leaning back in her chair, Sophia considered Rusalka’s suggestion. She’d been vague in describing the details of how Anon and Avenger altered her transformation when questioned about it earlier, partially to avoid giving away too much information, and partially because she really didn’t know how it worked. Were the shared memories enough to consider herself a simple modification of Jennifer’s soul? It didn’t sit right with her, but she was unable to put her skepticism to words, eventually responding, “I… hadn’t considered the possibility. I’d have to think on it for a while.”

“Sadly, time is a limited resource here. What to do, what to do…” Rusalka hummed, scanning the room before her eyes settled on the girl who was doing her best to go unnoticed, “Oh, we may have a way to speed things along. Miko dear, take a good look at her and tell us what you see.”

The girl fearfully shrank back without a word at first, but collected herself and stood up to face Sophia after the Servant that she’d been trying to hide behind whispered something to her.

Hoping to set the girl more at ease, Sophia stood up with a gentle smile and said, “I haven’t introduced myself to you yet, my name’s Sophia.”

“Saito Miko, pleased to meet you.” The girl answered stiffly as her gaze met the taller woman’s red eyes.

“I don’t blame you for being nervous, but I don’t mean you any harm.” Sophia said to try to reassure the girl. The latter was visibly uncomfortable the entire time Sophia had seen her in the conference room. Why did they even want the girl to look at her in the first place? Glancing to Rusalka, the albino vampire said in a suspecting tone, “I hope you and your Servants haven’t done anything objectionable to her.”

“I haven’t so much as laid a finger on her since we met!” Rusalka huffed in affected indignation, “She’s just nervous around strangers! More to the point, what do you think of our new friend, my little shrine maiden?”

“I don’t know how to explain it.” Miko said in bewilderment, “Isn’t she supposed to be the same kind of monster as you, Rusalka-san? Her aura is a little similar to yours, but there’s something else I’ve never seen before mixed in it.”

“Say what?” Rusalka flatly asked, now genuinely surprised.

“You can see auras? And identify people from them?” Sophia asked, considering the possibility that she knew someone who might be interested in meeting the girl.

“You don’t need to know all of the details.” The Servant with the bandaged foot replied, speaking up for the first time since Sophia had seen him. He then asked Miko, “Even if it’s not a perfect match, have you seen anything similar to what you see in her? Think about the Servant auras you’ve looked at, or perhaps the spirits you’ve seen while working at the shrine.”

“Umm… let’s see…” Miko mumbled as she looked back at him, then at Kuro no Berserker, then at the owl that was quietly perched on the injured Servant’s shoulder. “It’s not perfect, but I think your owl is the closest match, Diomedes-san.”

“So there was something there.” He mutters, taking the girl’s analysis as confirmation of a suspicion he already held.

“Are you sure?” Rusalka asked with her eyes widened in shock. With Miko giving a nod of affirmation, the Dead Apostle and Kuro no Berserker looked at each other and Diomedes in amazement, before facing Sophia.

“You must have an eye for quality Miko, because everyone’s finally noticing how great I am!” Sophia laughed to mask the trepidation she was starting to feel from how even Rusalka’s playful demeanor had shifted to being completely serious.

“Sophia. You’ve captured my interest.” Rusalka said purposefully as she stood up, also addressing her Servants, “Before we mobilize against our next target, let’s move to somewhere with open space. I want to see what you’re made of.”

For a second Sophia considered voicing a quip about having a say in the matter herself, but decided against it. She knew she wasn’t in a position to refuse, and she could possibly play this to her advantage if Rusalka decides to try to take her under her wing. “Sure. You’ve had Dead Apostle powers longer than me, so if I’m missing something do be a dear and explain it.”

Well well well, it'd seem that the divinity bit passed on to Sophia too. Now I'm VERY curious as to how exactly we do have this occuring in the first place, something the Magus who was Anon before definitely had done something for planning a peculiar kind of thing.

Question is now how we boost the rank further I suppose. And what the concequences would be for doing such a thing

>>5821195
If I remember right last thread Judas said something like we(the child of the sun) made Sophia(the daughter of the moon) out of our blood.
So this might be some kind of deeper conspiracy made by meddling divine spirits.

>>5822145

I get the feeling when we blow the lid off of our True Nature shit is going to accelerate for us in terms of conflict. But what divine spirits ars involved besides Odin and Hecate and(to lesser extent) Athena in this war I wonder who else is involved in this whole mess and affecting us

>>5822145
It was the end of thread 8, but you remembered the general idea
>Noticing the overseer sigh in relief, the Servant asked, “What’s the current tally, then?”
>“Twenty-three remain, though I was concerned about an abnormality in the Spirit Origins that were absorbed into the Grail just now.” Triscus said, “The most recent two seemed… incomplete somehow. Not enough to appreciably hinder the ritual’s mechanics, but it merits investigation.”
>“You mean to say something else tried to siphon them off?” The Servant asked as he manifested his polearm into his grip, “That’s sufficient cause to intervene ourselves, and purge whatever’s doing it.”
>“Possibly.” The overseer replied as he cycled through information compiled by virtue of his status as the war’s administrator, “Something of this nature occurring was within my calculations, but it’s happening far earlier than I’d anticipated to be possible. I’ll need a short while to determine what circumstances led to it.”
>At length, the man in priestly vestments learned the context, prompting him to laugh in amusement, “Again my expectations are met and far surpassed!”
>“It’s difficult to work with you when you speak in nothing but riddles and vague hints.” The Servant grumbled, “What exactly are you referring to?”
>“It’s all too fitting: in addition to the Son of Day, this war’s found a way to give birth to a Daughter of Night!” Adajio enthusiastically declared, before remembering his manners and addressing the Servant, “Ah, do pardon me. The short version is the Master of Avenger is indirectly responsible, but it would be out of line for us to censure him given recent developments. The person directly responsible-”

>>5822469
>But what divine spirits ars involved besides Odin and Hecate and(to lesser extent) Athena in this war I wonder who else is involved in this whole mess and affecting us
I'm looking forward to getting there

“Well, on another note...” You begin, deciding you ought to tell your Servant about your plans early on so there aren’t any misunderstandings later, “After some consideration, I’ve decided to shift our priorities in the war for a time.”

“I suppose that’s to be expected now that Sun Wukong is eliminated.” She responds while lying in bed, not quite taking your meaning, “He seemed the most pressing adversary, so we’ll need to decide upon our next mark. Personally, I think we should target Diomedes next, and it’s not just because of hard feelings. Athena tagging along with him is going to become a serious problem if we don’t get rid of them quickly.”

“While I suspect it may come to that, the next target I have in mind is actually Triscus Adajio.” You clarify. “Ideally we’d be able to assemble a large coalition to neutralize him and his bodyguard, and then decide on a path to conclude the war.”

Avenger silently stares at you for a few moments with a slightly perplexed look on her face before asking, “How does eliminating him advance our interest of winning the Holy Grail War? Gratifying as it may be to punish his insolence, I don’t see the real benefit of targeting the overseer at such an early stage.”

“This is to resolve a different issue.” You reply, “We can agree that the guy isn’t at all trustworthy, yes? I’d like to get rid of him and his bodyguard early on so they won’t have a chance to pull something devious at the last minute and screw us over. Adajio’s storing the Holy Grail in some manner as the war progresses, and the sooner we know exactly where it is and how to use it the better.”

“And you want to ignore all of our actively-hostile enemies to pursue that?” She asks incredulously, not enthusiastic of your intended priority-shift.

A little miffed at her unflattering characterization of your approach, you respond, “I’m not ignoring them, but I would think you’d understand we should avoid rushing into more battles until we’ve at least recovered from our injuries. And I don’t mean recovered just enough to pretend we’re fine while our wounds could break open at any moment.”

“Hmm.” Your Servant hums, not arguing against your point. Closing her eyes, she shifts to a different topic, saying, “Large coalition, eh? We’re getting crowded as it is, and you want to expose your back to more potential traitors? Where did that idea even come from?”

Rolled 2 (1d100)

“I’d give Koko credit for being perceptive enough to notice that there’s a good chance some of the other Masters are only participating because they were backed into a corner by the circumstances that Adajio imposed on them.” You explain, remembering that she may have overlooked the fact that unlike the Servants, the Masters didn’t choose to participate with informed consent. You then add a little spin on the situation that you hope she finds compelling, “If we can make contact with them, we ought to be able to at least arrange a non-aggression agreement until Adajio is neutralized; preferably they might be of service to us. And if someone like Diomedes gives us trouble before then, I wouldn’t be opposed to tying up loose ends before we confront the overseer.”

Opening one of her eyes and looking back at you, Avenger sighs, “You underestimate the greed of the human heart. I’m not sure why you have such scant interest in the Holy Grail beyond the prospect of recovering knowledge of your Self, which you might even attain through other means, but you shouldn’t project your indifference onto others. If ‘Koko’ were given a chance to have all of her wishes granted by the Holy Grail, she would have little trouble overlooking the circumstances that brought her to that point.” Closing her eye again, your Servant concludes, “I won’t press the issue again in the immediate future, as we should recover fully before facing opponents as powerful as Diomedes and Athena, but you should reconsider the wisdom of an ignorant child’s counsel.”

It’s a shame she isn’t seeing eye-to-eye with you on this, but this is an early stage. When you have more to show for it she could become more amenable. In spite of being a bit incensed toward her depreciating representation of your position, you decide to diplomatically answer, “I’ll give serious thought to how greed could color the motivations of the other Masters. Now, there’s one other thing: I had a spar with Lancer while you were unconscious; something happened however that changed me somewhat. When you're feeling better I'd like you to look it over.”

“I should be able to do so tomorrow morning.” She replies dutifully, any prior traces of condescension in her tone since vanished, “And I’m glad you seem to be alright. This day was a long one for both of us.”

“That’s certainly true.” You agree as you turn off the overhead lights and move to the vacant bed, “Good night, and rest well.”

You lie down and shut your eyes, and over the next few minutes your consciousness gently ebbs into the realm of dreams.

***

I'll type up a quick dream-sequence to pass the night and then move on to morning.

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>>5819229
>>5819232

You find yourself looking out from the beach of an uninhabited island. In fact, you recognize it as the same island that you beheld in your dream of the previous night, where the girl who was the spitting image of your Servant, save for her personality and a few visual details, had a talk with Hecate, who was in the form of a black dog. The weather is much lovelier this time around, and the warm sun shines from a sparsely-clouded midday sky. Directing your attention into the sky, you do spot one abnormality: a radiantly shining object is flying toward the island, and at an incredible speed if your guess from its apparent size and distance from you is correct.

As the object’s flight-path begins to dive toward the island, you can see that it’s in fact a living creature. As the large, golden, winged reptile descends with a majestic bearing, the word ‘dragon’ comes to your mind. It reaches the ground inland, out of your view from the beach, so you head over to have a look. You don’t seem to have a body in this dream-world, so it conveniently suffices for you to just will your conscious perception to float toward your intended destination.

As you follow the dragon’s path, you find it standing attentively at a shrine in a grove, with a familiar-looking winged girl tucked under one of its arms. Facing the two of them is Hecate, in the same form that she revealed to you earlier this evening. You begin to overhear her say, “You can let her down and be on your way, Drakon. Now then, what exactly did you do, dearie? Helios didn’t explain everything to me.”

Brushing herself off and straightening her dress, the winged girl sourly replies as the golden dragon leaps into the air to fly away after setting her down, “My brother got me into a fine mess. He arranged for me to become queen of the Sarmatians, which didn’t seem so bad at first, until the king revealed himself to be a lout who expected me to turn a blind eye to his drunkenness, debaucheries, and violently ill-temper. He’s far better-looking and better-behaved as a pig, and I really can’t comprehend why everyone got up in arms about it.”

“Quite the conundrum, to be sure!” Hecate laughs, “That’s why Helios wanted you far enough away that none of them would bother chasing you down for revenge. Not to worry, since you’re my best apprentice you’ll be staying at my vacationing-island… permanently!”

“That sounds more like exile than lodging.” The winged girl flatly responds. “Where are we, anyway? I couldn’t follow the Drakon’s flight-path.”

“We’re off the coast of Tyrrhenia. If you want a name, the island’s called Aeaea.” Hecate answers, “And you really should see the bright side of things! It’s not like you’re going to be alone here, the Naiades can show you around to the isle and help with the upkeep. Glaucon drops by pretty often too, you’ll probably get along swimmingly.”

Taking in her idyllic surroundings, the girl resembling your Servant replies, “Mmm… I guess I could get used to this. Beats going along with Aeetes’ playing politics, as least.”

“Now now, don’t be too harsh on him. Your brother has the interests of his kingdom to weigh against his personal feelings.” Hecate rebuts diplomatically.

“If he cares more about his kingdom than his family, then it serves him right to have to go out of his way the next time he wants my help with something.” The girl answers, not budging in her position. But she changes her tone to be more respectful when she gently bows and says, “With that said, you have my thanks for giving me refuge here, Goddess. I’ll continue my studies without further interruption.”

“Aww, you don’t have to be so formal about it.” Hecate says as she steps forward and pulls the girl into a hug. Patting her on the head, the goddess coos, “Whooo’s my best apprentice~?”

“I am, of course.” The girl answers happily as she reciprocates the embrace. The scene begins melting away, though just before the two female figures fade, Hecate locks eyes with you and flashes a grin. How exactly can she use these dreams to interact with you? You supposed they just your Servant’s memories being played back, but could they somehow be tampered with? And would it have killed Hecate to throw out the overseer’s full name before she faded to save you some trouble?

As your eyes crack open, you turn your head to a small clock on a bedside table. It’s a bit earlier than Koko had suggested for you to head to the kitchen, but you feel fairly well-rested regardless. Your Servant also appears to still be quietly sleeping, when you glance over to her.

You decide to unobtrusively get out of bed, wash up in the bathroom, and get dressed in the spare clothes left for you last night.

Come to think of it, you forgot to mention to Avenger that you were planning on preparing breakfast today.

Should you:
> Wake her up and tell her
> Write a note and stick it to the door before you go
> Just be on your way, she can ask over telepathy if she doesn’t know where you are when she gets up

Also roll 1d100 to see how the meal-prep goes Koko may be a little exasperated if you get a nat 1

Rolled 94 (1d100)

>>5825827
>> Write a note and stick it to the door before you go
here it goes, master chef anon go!

Rolled 36 (1d100)

>>5825827

> Write a note and stick it to the door before you go

Now watch this roll for the food

Rolled 7 (1d100)

>>5825827
>Write a note and stick it to the door before you go
Ash is a healthy diet supplement, filled with the remnants of nutrients.

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>>5825851
Pretty good roll, things should go well.

>>5826326
>Ash is a healthy diet supplement, filled with the remnants of nutrients.
I guess it's fitting that your roll was the lowest of the three?

>>5825851
Maybe have that fate protag skill with food huh.

It’s not worth disturbing your Servant as she’s resting, but you decide to stick a note on the door before you go that says, “I left earlier to help prepare breakfast, so you needn’t trouble yourself this morning. Rest however long you need, I’ll save some for you.”

Leaving it as something simple, you then go down to the hotel’s kitchen and find that you’re actually the first one there, so you take the free time you’ve been given to look over the kitchen and get an idea of where the various cooking utensils are located. A couple minutes later Koko enters, looking a little sleepy.

“Good morning Koko.” You greet her.

“Good morning Anon-san.” She replies with audible effort. Rubbing her eyes, she continues, “Sorry I’m a little sluggish, I had trouble sleeping last night. Suzaku’s coming down soon to help too, so we won’t be shorthanded.”

“We can take our time; it would probably help to take things slow since it’s my first time doing this.” You reply. After she stifles a giggle for some reason, the diminutive woman begins giving you a rundown on how to prepare each food-item that she planned on making: steamed rice, miso soup, soft-cooked eggs, and salted salmon. There’s a lot of information being thrown at you all at once, but you find that you can understand the underlying concepts pretty quickly from Koko’s and later Suzaku’s comments after he arrives.

“I like to think of it in terms of things like chemical reactions.” The rotund building-manager remarks, “You can’t cut corners with the eggs by turning up the heat, because you get a different finished-product even though it’s the same starting-material. I never had an ‘instinct’ for this stuff, I just had to get good at following the instructions. My wife usually handles it so I’m a little out of practice, ahaha.”

“I wonder what married life is like…” You think aloud, it being something of a foreign concept to you, if only by nature of your memory being nearly blank. Come to think of it, you don’t have any memories of peaceful life in general.

Responding to your rhetorical query, Suzaku answers, “If I had to put it to a sentence, it’d be that change becomes the norm. Especially once you have kids, your perspective and priorities really shift. It’s easy to find meaning in your life when your family’s relying on you.”

“What if you have a family, Anon-san?” Koko says, “But you just can’t remember them right now?”

For a moment it amuses you how everyone ‘in the know’ of the world of magic assumed you were a member of the ‘Einzbern’ family; Hecate even supported that possibility in her own way, though she implied that your spirit originated from elsewhere. If you ever do meet the Einzberns, you wonder what they’d have to say to you. And what you’d have to say to them.

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Addressing Koko, you reply, “It’s not beyond the realm of possibility. Maybe it would simplify things for how I deal with life after the Holy Grail War’s over.”

As the preparations move along, you’re able to remember the necessary proportions and measurements for each item and cycle between multiple dishes without trouble, impressing your two instructors. Your work isn’t flawless, but the oversights are small enough that either Koko or Suzaku corrects them before they become a major issue.

As the three of you finish preparing the meal, the others begin trickling into the dining area. Your work is met with compliments unanimously, and you do find it gratifying to a certain extent, as Koko suggested you might. Trying it yourself, you judge that if you were to try to quantify how well it turned out, you might give it approximately a 94/100.

Last to arrive is Avenger, who contentedly tells you after trying it, “You know, the fundamentals of my specialty in magic have quite a lot in common with cooking. I’m not familiar enough with your dishes to give useful criticism, but they’re pretty good for what they are. Perhaps you could learn some of my herb-lore.” She then eats quite a bit of everything.

While everyone’s sharing some small talk about their daily lives, Caster announces, “I have good news: I’ve successfully located Triscus Adajio.” Retrieving a map out of his robe, the old man holds it up and explains, “As you recall, our current position is on the leylines in the northeast section of the Shinagawa ward. I’ve spotted the overseer in an eastern section of the Taito ward, on the grounds of a Buddhist temple where he seems to be holding his position. It’s about six miles to the north, as the crow flies.”

“I think that’s the Senso-ji temple.” Koko remarks.

“Then it’s time we pay it a visit.” Rushorou decides, telling Ryuuta, “We’ll head over there with our Servants after we finish breakfast, Matsuda.”

“Sounds good to me Kaichou.” The other young man affirms.

“You boys have a good time, and don’t bother sending him my regards.” Avenger says.

You consider for a moment whether you ought to escort them at least partway over to potentially deter other Servants from attacking them, but the overseer might sense something is amiss if you accompanied them. Your wounds aren’t quite healed yet either.

“My wards to conceal our presence here will still be in effect until at least this evening, but it may be in the interest of safety to have the two of you remain nearby while we’re absent.” Caster recommends to you and Avenger, reminding you that Koko, Suzaku, and Anne could have a tough time of it if a Servant capable of piercing his barriers came by while everyone else was gone. “As before, feel free to tinker about in my workshop if anything catches your interest.

“That’s a fair point.” You acknowledge with a nod.

Not long afterward, Rushorou, Ryuuta, and their Servants set out, mentioning that they’ll avoid combat with other Servants as best they’re able.

Avenger then asks you, “Now that we have some time to ourselves, is there anything in particular that you’d like to begin with? I could actively finish healing our wounds, expand your understanding of the magic you’ve already learned, or introduce you to my herb-lore. Last night you also mentioned something happened when you were sparring with the Lancer.”

> Get properly healed up
> Investigate the change you experienced after sparring with Lancer of Red
> Improve the knowledge of the magic you already know
> Try out herb-lore
> See what’s in Caster’s workshop and tinker with something if it catches your eye
> Something different (write-in)

>>5828304
>> Get properly healed up

>>5828304

> Investigate the change you experienced after sparring with Lancer of Red

Time to get to the bottom of things about physiology

>>5828304
>Investigate the change you experienced after sparring with Lancer of Red

>>5828461
>>5828595
Investigating the divinity has it
I have an outline of the update ready haven't been able to put it to pen yet
One dilemma I'm finding is that I want to write a couple of battles that occurred over the night, but actually writing enough to do the characters involved justice (as opposed to a summary to the effect of 'X jobbed offscreen to conveniently trim down the cast') would be a bit of a time-sink that either puts off the regular updates or takes ages to get finished.
Though maybe I'm overthinking it. I could take my time writing them since in-character Anon wouldn't know about those events until a fair bit later anyway.
WakaraNAI.

“I’d like to investigate how I changed after sparring with Lancer. It may not have given me something as detailed as a memory, but this could be just as significant.” You say, “So let’s try to get to the bottom of that issue first.”

“Very well then.” Avenger replies, “Let’s go somewhere we can proceed without interruption. To be thorough I’ll take small samples of your hair, saliva, and blood once we’re there.”

The two of you return to the hotel room that you slept in, and your Servant conjures a largely-transparent and faintly-scented mist before inviting you to spit into a small vial, ruffle your head to hand over a few hairs, and prick the tip of one of your fingers on a small needle.

Her eyes widen after about a minute of analysis and quiet incantations, and she remarks, “That is certainly new. The blood that runs in your veins is tinged with a Divinity that I’m certain wasn’t present before. You said you felt a change after sparring with Yumigawa Rushorou’s Lancer?”

“That’s right.” You confirm, “So, what does this mean? I’d guess at the very least it narrows down the possibilities of my origin.”

“Perhaps not as much as you’d like, but you’re not wrong.” She replies, “Divinity is a fairly broad concept: Gods, demigods, divine beasts of all stripes, and even weapons or artifacts can possess it. That variety causes the different sources of Divinity to have what you might describe as different ‘flavors’. The flavor of yours isn’t one that I’m intimately familiar with, and my suspicion is that even among divine beings your nature is exotic somehow. Didn’t you recall a memory about leaving ‘the sea of eternity’ previously?”

“That’s correct.” You answer, remembering your experience at the rock-climbing gym with some fondness. Suspecting a potential avenue of investigation, you then suggest, “Could it be that physical trials have a chance of opening up my memory?”

“It should be possible to elicit the same physiological reaction that released your fragmentary memory without putting yourself at risk.” Your Servant replies, “I’d rather you didn’t find yourself motivated to needlessly charge into danger. I should be able to put you into a trance that replicates your mental state at the time, after some experimenting.”

“Mind-affecting drugs, then?” You clarify, to which Avenger nods to confirm. You’re not sure how you feel about manipulating your own mind, but when the benefit is resolving your highest-priority issue, you’re tempted to at least try it.

“Sea of eternity …” Your Servant thinks aloud, “The most likely possibility is that it’s the Inner Sea of the World to which the Divine Spirits and Phantasmal Beasts departed as the Age of Man commenced, considering your affinity to an element that doesn’t exist on the surface of the world any longer. Though I suppose I’d be remiss to not inform you of a more farfetched possibility: a link to the Root, the metaphysical realm of ideas undergirding all comprehensible reality.” With a wry smile, she adds, “Or, if the horror-story my teacher once told me has any credence, there might even be a connection to a nameless abyss beyond the universe, a domain of senseless and monstrous insanity.”

“That last one sounds ridiculous.” You remark incredulously, “You’re not pulling my leg? I’d hate to be an existence devoid of reason and never have a name to begin with.”

“Admittedly, it was a bit silly of me to bring it up.” She lightheartedly replies, “Your mental and physical form is too logical and stable to have a nonsensical origin like that. Anyhow, I suppose you’d like to try to unearth more of your-”

A moment after her abrupt pause, you ask, “What is it?”

Her eyes narrowing and looking out the room’s window, she informs you, “I didn’t trust that Caster’s work to be infallible, so I took a few redundant precautions. And I do believe someone is poking about the periphery of his barrier.”

“Just the periphery… they could be related to the eunuch Rushorou and Ryuuta tried to apprehend yesterday, and are trying to investigate while avoiding becoming ensnared like their associate was.” You deduce as a possibility.

“I don’t sense enemy Servants nearby, but if they had any sense they’d have taken measures to avoid being detected from this range.” Avenger considers, “I could send a few familiars out and force whoever it is onto the defensive…”

“They may have seen Lancer and Caster leave, and assumed that now was a good time to start testing the boundaries.” You say as you contemplate how to respond:

> Gather up Anne, Koko, and Suzaku, fortify the hotel, and wait for the intruder’s next move.
> Send a few familiars out to throw the intruders into disarray as Avenger suggested. Maybe that’ll chase them off and you can move past the interruption.
> Confront the intruder directly, but offer them a chance to parley when you find them rather than attacking right away.
> Confront the intruder and apprehend whoever it is on sight, they can talk all they want once you’ve captured them.
> Something else (write-in)

>>5833034
>> Confront the intruder directly, but offer them a chance to parley when you find them rather than attacking right away.

>>5833034
>Confront the intruder and apprehend whoever it is on sight, they can talk all they want once you’ve captured them.

>>5833034

> Confront the intruder and apprehend whoever it is on sight, they can talk all they want once you’ve captured them.

Well while she may be joking the idea that we're from some Lovecraft nightmare realm is certainly a hypothesis. I'm betting that's the truth to our nature

>>5833050
>>5833408
Neutralize first, ask questions later

Unfortunately my PC konked out and it’s getting looked at tomorrow. Hopefully it was just a bugged OS update that has an easy fix.

>spoiler
If Anon awakens an erotic affinity to mindbreak and tentacles…

>>5833621
Bad news, the hard drive was busted so I’m going to set back for a while. Data recovery may not be viable for how expensive it can get. I may just try to get a new PC from the black-Friday sales, mine was old anyway.

>>5836006

Well damn, now that's a bummer. Hope you can get back at it before long. I need a competitor in order to compete after all

>>5836177
Oh that's right, you started your quest a few days ago. I commend you for your frequent update schedule.
Sadly a fair amount of my notes and plans went up in smoke since they were saved locally, but I may be able to get the next encounter started without accidentally creating a bunch of plot-inconsistencies.

"Let's go out and capture the intruder." You tell Avenger, "We'll get them to give a detailed explanation of their reasons for snooping around once they've been secured."

"Very good, let's go." She agrees, "I'm glad you're taking a forceful rather than diplomatic approach, we won't need freely-given cooperation when I could simply create another potion to force them to tell us everything like we did to that ghoul the other night."

The two of you leave the hotel and quickly walk toward the edge of Caster's territory, following your Servant's direction. Before long you spy a cloaked and hooded figure that you don't recognize slowly pacing around the circumference of the boundary that Caster set up, sometimes stopping for a few moments, sometimes adjusting its path to get a little closer or farther from the edge of the boundary. The figure appears to be alone, at least for now. You and Avenger are currently positioned around the corner of a building a hundred or so meters behind the intruder.

"It's not a Servant." Your Servant confirms.

"I recall you were able to conjure a kind of binding spell when we fought Sun Wukong, can you use it again here?" You ask the woman at your side.

"We'd need to get closer, around a dozen meters." She answers, "Then I should be able to either reel him in or hold him in place, though I imagine we'd prefer to conduct the interrogation within Caster's territory."

You doubt closing the distance will take a significant amount of time when you compare how quickly the cloaked figure is moving against the speed Avenger and you can reach when you put your minds to it, the question comes down to how you deal with the intruder:

> You'll close the distance, reel him in, and drag him into Caster's territory where you can begin questioning him without disturbance.
> You'll hold him in place once you're close enough for Avenger to use her spell, and begin questioning him from the same position outside of Caster's territory. If he's not alone you may draw out his allies and learn more about whomever's been organizing this.
> Avenger doesn't even need to reveal herself, you can handle the intruder yourself while she keeps watch on the off-chance other enemies may seek to intervene.
> Something different (write-in)

>>5836401

I try my best at it.

>>5836684

> You'll hold him in place once you're close enough for Avenger to use her spell, and begin questioning him from the same position outside of Caster's territory. If he's not alone you may draw out his allies and learn more about whomever's been organizing this.

Seems like the best option, if he's alone then great we got him if he's human and have back up in case he's a wight. If he has friends then we can lure them out and get all the more info

>>5836684
>> You'll hold him in place once you're close enough for Avenger to use her spell, and begin questioning him from the same position outside of Caster's territory. If he's not alone you may draw out his allies and learn more about whomever's been organizing this.

>>5837361
>>5837569
> You'll hold him in place once you're close enough for Avenger to use her spell, and begin questioning him from the same position outside of Caster's territory. If he's not alone you may draw out his allies and learn more about whomever's been organizing this.
Has it

“Actually, let’s interrogate him out here.” You voice as an alternative, “If he has any allies nearby we might draw them out and learn more about whomever’s been organizing these incursions.”

“It’s a possibility.” Avenger considers, “Worth a try I suppose, but we’ll need to stay on guard against the unexpected.”

You nod in tacit agreement. Peering around the corner, you wait until the figure turns its back to you and begins walking away again before activating your Reinforcement spell and sprinting after it. You find that the sheer explosive force of your own strength forces you to adjust your posture, leaning forward more to keep your balance. Avenger simply kicks off the ground and takes flight, keeping pace with you. Before the figure even has time to turn around, the two of you closed the distance enough for Avenger to cast her binding spell. Stringy purple bands leap out of the tip of her staff and constrict the person around its shins, thighs, forearms, and upper-arms.

The figure struggles halfheartedly for a few moments before a feminine voice that you haven’t heard before comes from it, asking, “Oi oi, what is this stuff?! Can’t move at all!”

“You don’t need to move at all.” You announce, keeping about 30 feet behind the intruder, “Since you’ve been so shy about knocking on our door we decided to come out ourselves. Care to explain your business here?”

“Haaaahhh?” The voice grumbles in consternation, before composing itself and saying, “Sorry, I’m unavailable right now. Please leave a message after the beep and I’ll get back to you. Beeeeeeeep.”

Clearly she’s trying to stall, perhaps expecting reinforcements to come. You respond, “You’ll save everyone involved, particularly yourself, quite a bit of trouble if you’d not waste our time. Who are you, and what do you expect to gain from skirting around the edges of this boundary?”

“Hmm, I could tell you my name and reason for being here... or we could skip to the part where you openly threaten to torture and violate me.” The voice coyly answers, “But I might have to tell you not to threaten me with a good time if you’re a hunk. Maybe we can make love and not war?”

“Good grief.” Avenger grumbles in a hushed whisper to you, “This one may be the biggest lunatic yet. Truth-serum?”

Truth-serum is tempting, to be sure. You’d also get to see what this woman looks like, since you’ve only had a view of the back of her hood and cloak so far. You carefully observe your surroundings for a few moments; no one else is nearby that you can make out, at least not yet.

“Turn her around and pull back her hood.” You quietly reply to your Servant, “After that we’ll administer it.”

Avenger tugs at her conjured strings by twirling her staff, turning your captive around with an abrupt motion that causes the hood to fall back. What you see causes you to wince in revulsion. A blank, lifeless stare comes from the pale, mangled face that has an empty socket where its right eye should be, and more patches of flesh gnawed away than you’d care to count. It was an animated corpse all along, yet how did it speak coherently?

“You guys are no fun.” The feminine voice whines, and you note that the corpse’s lips do not move in synch with the voice. In fact, as you pay closer attention it seems the voice is coming from somewhere inside the animated corpse’s robes, “That jump-scare is way better up close and personal!”

“I guess that tracks.” You mutter quietly to Avenger, “Assuming they’re the same party that sent the ‘eunuch’ that Rushorou and Ryuuta found, they decided to test the boundaries with something even less capable of compromising them after their first infiltration attempt failed.”

“That’s plausible enough; we may as well destroy this corpse-familiar and call it a day.” Avenger responds, “Unless you’d like to continue conversing with… that.”

It doesn’t seem you can coerce whomever’s been talking to you to give information away, but you may be able to learn something if you figure out the right way to get them to talk.

“…just gonna leave me hanging? Rude.” The voice complains, evidently from some kind of communication device in the corpse’s robes.

Next, you’ll:

> Let Avenger destroy the corpse and then return to Caster’s territory together
> Try to go ‘blow for blow’ against the voice’s playful teasing to see if you can get the speaker to slip up and reveal useful information
> Something else (write-in)

>>5838781
>Let Avenger destroy the corpse and then return to Caster’s territory together

>>5838781
>> Let Avenger destroy the corpse and then return to Caster’s territory together

>>5844090
>>5843902
No bants with a thirsty degenerate today!
You dodged a couple of dead-end options in this encounter, so my congratulations.

>>5844254
woah
good to know

“Let’s be rid of it then.” You answer your Servant, “I don’t see a point in further dialogue.”

“Gladly.” Avenger confirms as she conjures four magic circles in the air at her sides.

The voice hastily tries to dissuade you, “Hey hey slow down hot stuff you’re climaxing way too-” before it falls silent as the corpse is engulfed entirely in flames emitted by the circles your Servant drew.

You wait the for half a minute as the body is reduced to a heap of ash before scattering into the wind. You allow yourself a moment of sentimental reflection, and suppose that whoever the body originally belonged to would be comforted that it could no longer be used as a puppet of evil.

“I suppose the interruption is sufficiently dealt with.” You remark as you return to Caster’s territory.

“Indeed.” Avenger affirms as she accompanies you back, “I wonder what they’ll try next, I doubt this is the last we’ll see of those tiresome ghouls.”

“They haven’t taken a very direct approach so far, perhaps the Servant summoned by the Dead Apostle commander is lacking in attack-power.” You speculate, “Rusalka’s Servant Diomedes had raw power to spare, though perhaps he’d be thrown for a loop by Caster’s concealment spell.”

“Magic Resistance could mitigate some of the ill-effects of his spell.” Avenger replies, “For instance, a Servant with Magic Resistance could resist the distortion to their sense of direction, though if Caster conjured an obscuring mist, the resistance alone wouldn’t let them effortlessly see through it because the mist would simply be cluttering the environment with useless visual information, rather than aiming to directly affect the Servant.”

“That makes sense.” You note, “We may want to brainstorm new tactics to exploit whatever loopholes are in that defense, and review the ones that you’re already familiar with. You mentioned that it becomes a nuisance even for you at A-rank, and I recall Kuro no Archer’s was at that level. He could be a problem if he comes after us, especially since he doesn’t need his Master to be anywhere nearby while he fights.”

“Good catch, and that’s not a bad idea.” She agrees, “Could you remind me what was the last you saw of him? I was… indisposed toward the end of that battle.” You’re able to empathize with her reluctance to revisit that moment of vulnerability in any amount of detail.

“He was fighting Aka no Berserker, who true to his name simply tried to kill everything in sight besides his Master.” You report, “The Archer had taken a beating from Sun Wukong earlier and the Berserker wasn’t pulling his punches either. Caster’s thunderstorm prompted us to retreat so I don’t know what happened to either of them after that, but I wouldn’t bet that Kuro no Archer is dead even from all that.”

“Would be convenient for us if he were, but you’re probably right.” Avenger sighs. This time you don’t find yourself in complete agreement with her sentiment, since you are grateful that Kuro no Archer was able to land the killing blow on the main body of Sun Wukong. Sure you’d have been more pleased to do it yourself, but his assistance was invaluable even if it was largely circumstantial.

Anyway, the two of you are almost back at the hotel as the morning creeps closer toward afternoon. What would you put next on your agenda:

> Get properly healed up
> Improve the knowledge of the magic you already know
> Try out herb-lore
> See what’s in Caster’s workshop and tinker with something if it catches your eye
> No need to restrict yourself to the hotel, you’ll go on a walk around Caster’s territory; you remember hearing there were shrines in this area, you could take a look
> Something different (write-in)

>>5845962
>> Get properly healed up

>>5845962

> Get properly healed up
> Improve the knowledge of the magic you already know

I'm not sure how viable it is for doing both, but I'd like to get some knowledge in once we are healed up. We'll need some more offensive Magecraft to put to use for surprising our opponents

>>5846097
>>5847704
Kewl, now you won't need to worry about your wounds breaking open or causing problems anymore.
It will be a fairly time-consuming process in Avenger's case since her wound was inflicted by Athena too, so the next external development may occur before you'd have time to practice magic. I suppose you could make small talk about it during the healing process though.

“Now that we’re back, we should properly heal our wounds so we won’t risk them breaking open later.” You suggest to Avenger as the two of you enter the hotel’s lobby.

“Agreed.” She affirms. Sitting down on a nearby lounge-couch, she then conjures up over a dozen potion vials on a coffee table in front of the couch before inviting you to sit beside her. “I’ll need to do a little experimenting to make sure we do this correctly; Athena’s attack had some kind of secondary effect that makes healing it tricky. I’ll start with yours since it’ll be easier to get out of the way.”

“I appreciate it.” You reply, and for the next twenty minutes you’re treated with a variety of topically-applied ointments and ingested potions that gradually ease the lingering pain in your stomach from the stab-wound you got yesterday.

“That should do it.” Avenger concludes as you finish drinking one last potion, “How do you feel?”

“A little light-headed, I guess.” You say, the pain having completely receded, “Stomach feels good as new now.”

“Glad to hear it, I’ll see what I can do about my own now.” She replies.

“Anything I can do to assist you? Even if it’s as simple as handing over vials as you need them.” You suggest, hoping to at least in small part give her something back for her help.

“I’ll let you know as it comes up.” She answers, “Even with what I’ve learned from treating you, this could still take me a while so if there’s anything you’d like to talk about, we could do so to help pass the time.”

“I could go over my understanding of the magic I can use and see if you have any suggestions on how to improve it.” You propose, and for over an hour the two of you work on treating her wound and talking about how to improve your skill. You do figure out a few ways to make its use more efficient so that you expend less energy when you reinforce your body, which should increase your stamina while fighting.

A short time into the afternoon, Avenger lets out a sigh of relief and reports, “Alright, we ought to be ready now. Anything you’d like to do next?”

“Hmm, there are a few things that have been on my mind that we could try. Bit of a tangent, but I wonder how the lads are doing, they’ve been out for a while now.” You remark, wondering why they haven’t gotten back yet after all this time. Could they have been sidetracked while they were out, or perhaps set upon by enemies?

“Ah yes, they went to interview the overseer.” Avenger reminds herself, “Perhaps they decided to go on a joyride throughout the city afterward, or encountered other Servants and are plotting something now that you’ve turned your back.”

“Plotting…” You echo, “Well, assuming they decided Adajio isn’t trustworthy, it would probably be good news if they met other Masters who would also be sympathetic to our cause.”

“And if they’re plotting against you?” She asks in a tone casual enough to nearly belie the sinister implication.

“An interesting hypothetical, but I don’t see Ryuuta or Rushorou backstabbing us as being very likely.” You say. Ideally you could dismiss the possibility, but it is true that, however unlikely, it’s still possible.

“Yes, you’d like to believe that.” She answers a little condescendingly, “Well, I’ll be fair and give Matsuda Ryuuta my vote of confidence, at least in the sense that if he were to decide to betray you, he’d probably say as much before trying to run a spear through your heart. Yumigawa Rushorou though, it’s more difficult to tell what he’s thinking. I wouldn’t lower my guard around him if I were you, Master.”

It’s true that you haven’t gotten to know Rushorou very well, but Avenger’s caution regarding him seems a little excessive. “Is there any particular reason he makes you uneasy?”

“Uneasy?” She repeats. “Maybe that is a good word for it. Well, besides the way that he holds his cards to his chest all the time, I just get a weird feeling when I’m around him.”

“Maybe I should try to figure out what makes him tick later.” You think aloud, but hear a booming crash somewhere outside, followed by another, and another, spaced apart by increments of a few seconds each. “What is that? Are we under attack?”

As the explosions continue regularly, Avenger confirms, “We probably are. A rather imprecise method though.”

Running out from the security office, Suzaku’s portly form catches your eye as he shouts, “I’m glad you guys are here! You’re hearing what I’m hearing right?! Are we getting shelled?!”

“Do you know where Anne and Koko are? We can’t risk losing track of them if the hotel gets hit by one of these pot-shots!” You call back at him, your heartbeat increasing and overall awareness of your present situation heightening. So far the hotel’s unscathed, but there’s no knowing how long that’ll still be the case. And the prospect of Koko or Anne getting injured by an explosion or buried alive by collapsing rubble really sets you on edge.

“I think they were in the workshop, but I can’t say for sure. Oh I know, I’ll use the PA-system and tell them to come down here, then we’ll all know where everyone is!” He replies before running back toward one of the hotel’s administrative offices.

“Don’t panic Master.” Avenger tells you reassuringly, “Whoever’s doing this has no idea where we are, and are just shooting at random. It isn’t even a Servant’s attack.”

“Do you think they’re doing this purely with mundane military equipment?” You ask, “If so, I’d have to wonder where the hell they found that stuff.”

“Jealous?” She says with a teasing grin.

“You can be a one-woman artillery division if you’re in the mood, so it would be pretty irrational to be jealous over it.” You joke back.

“People aren’t always perfectly rational.” She rebuts, “In fact, I might say that whoever’s been poking at us like this has abandoned all reason.”

You then hear Suzaku’s voice in a hotel-wide intercom speaker say, “Koko! Edelfelt-san! Anon-san and Avenger are in the entrance lobby, come down there right away so we can figure out what to do!”

Suzaku, Koko, and Anne all join you before long, and Anne observes, “We’re under siege. My supposition is that Caster’s defenses stopped them from discerning our exact location, so they opted to target his entire territory and see what happens.”

“Earlier, someone sent a corpse-familiar to skirt along the border of Caster’s territory. It could be that they were trying to draw up a target area.” You report.

“The Dead Apostles are behind this?” Koko asks frantically, “In that case, go ahead and kill them all!”

“It seems you have a bit of ferocity in you after all, child.” Avenger chuckles in response. “But that is what I was planning to do.”

“Uhh, before you do that, is there anything you could do to make us less likely to be blown up or crushed by falling debris?” Suzaku asks.

You respond:

> “We’ll annihilate the enemy right away. Then there’s no chance of them hitting the hotel.” (Go up to the roof and have Avenger return fire once you have an idea of the enemy’s position)
> “Avenger, let’s do what we can to fortify an area for our friends before returning fire.”
> “This bombardment is a probing attack to provoke us. Let’s fortify an area for the three of you to wait in, then Avenger and I will find out the strength of the enemy forces.”
> Something else (write-in)

>>5852112
>> “This bombardment is a probing attack to provoke us. Let’s fortify an area for the three of you to wait in, then Avenger and I will find out the strength of the enemy forces.”