The Black Faction and Jeanne arrived at the chapel to witness a stare-off between Ritsuka, Karna, Semiramis, Amakusa, Achilles, and Atalanta.
To be precise, it wasn't really a stare-off. Semiramis wasn't staring, but instead glaring at Ritsuka, who had a disturbing expression on her face. It was caught between a grimace and a smirk, with some regret mixed in. Karna was glancing worriedly at his Master, while Achilles and Atalanta were glaring daggers at Amakusa.
Semiramis spoke first, directing her question at Ritsuka. "You meant to betray us all along, didn't you, girl? You've helped out the Black Faction far too many times to call you a loyal Master to the Red Faction."
"Oh? What makes you think that?" Ritsuka replied in a steady tone. She was still holding onto Karna for support, but she stood tall, fearlessly staring back at the Assyrian queen.
"Answer me, girl."
"Who said I was on your side in the first place? I play for one side and that's my side. Our goals happened to coincide so I got you to help me out. I told you I was from the future, wasn't I? Amakusa Shirou Tokisada's wish will bring humanity to ruin, and as a Master who works for the preservation of humanity, I will not let that stand."
"Preservation of humanity…?" Jeanne breathed.
"Assassin, you can eliminate her later," Amakusa said, a pleasant smile on his face as if he was talking about the weather. "As we had said earlier, we had an ultimatum for the Servants on this Greater Holy Grail War. We have control of the Greater Grail. I address the Black Faction here: surrender."
Vlad laughed, a dangerous edge to his voice. "You think we would give up so easily? There is no clear advantage that I can see surrendering to you."
"Oh? Brave words from one who is trapped in a belly's beast," Semiramis commented casually.
"Let's hope it doesn't turn out to be a boulder in its stomach," Chiron retorted.
"Avicebron, let's hear your opinion," Amakusa said.
"How about no," Ritsuka cut in, Black Key portals materializing around her. "Solomon ibn Gabirol, Master of Golems, your wish is to complete your Noble Phantasm, Golem Keter Malkuth. To do so, you will betray the Black Faction and contract with the Red Faction, and betray your own Master by sacrificing him to be the golem's core. You don't need the Holy Grail for your wish at all."
"You know too much, girl," Avicebron replied after a few moments of stunned silence.
"I'll admit this war hasn't been going the way I wanted, but if you die here then one of my headaches will be over."
"Caster, do you really dare to betray us?" Vlad inquired, his voice low and angry.
"I will work for whichever faction will help me achieve my wish."
"Then fall," Vlad spoke simply. His actions spoke louder though, as multiple stakes shot up and impaled Avicebron's body where he stood. One stake, in particular, had gone through his heart to shatter his Spirit Core, and Avicebron fell to his knees, blood pouring out of his wounds even as he began fading.
"So this… is… my end…" Avicebron choked out as he faded. "Let humanity… fall…" He disappeared.
In the silence that followed, Ritsuka closed her portals. "Well, one Servant down." Her voice was detached and hollow. "What do you want now, Amakusa?"
"My earlier wish remains. Surrender or die here."
"I'd rather not surrender or die here, thank you very much. Not when your wish is the subjugation of humanity under the guise of salvation."
"Oya, it looks like my wishes have been revealed to you all," Amakusa said without any shock in his tone. "I have been waiting 60 years for this moment—I cannot die here. Do you really think you can defeat us all here in our own territory?"
"Of course not, but if you'd let me say something—"
"Denied," Semiramis hissed poisonously.
"You didn't let me finish," Ritsuka said petulantly, crossing her arms. " I have the power to end you right here and right now, even without the Black Faction's power."
"What?" Achilles asked in surprise.
"Here's what I'm seeing right here, right now. On Amakusa Shirou Tokisada's side, we have a Ruler-class Servant, an Assassin-class Servant who controls this entire territory, and a Rider and Archer both with great power thanks to their lore and under Amakusa's control thanks to him taking their Masters's Command Seals. On the Black Faction's side, there's a Lancer-class Servant with authority over the land, and an Archer-class Servant with high Divinity and strength. There's another Ruler with no affiliation to any faction. And then, there's my side, and I'll temporarily ally myself with the Black Faction for now. I have a Lancer-class Servant with great conceptual lore. However, I do have a trump card." A wide grin stretched across her face as she held up her hand, Command Seals flashing. "By the power of my Command Seal, I order you. Arthur Pendragon, King of Knights, come to my side."
In a flash of red light, Arthur appeared at Ritsuka's side, Excalibur unsheathed yet still hidden behind Invisible Air. "Master."
Everyone besides Karna gaped.
"Wait, wait, you're the rogue Master?!" Achilles exclaimed.
"You—how are you able to contract to two Servants?!" Jeanne cried. "The Greater Grail would not have allowed this!"
"Yeah, that's the problem: Arthur and Karna here weren't summoned by the Grail. I summoned them into this plane of the Kaleidoscope via the contracts I have with them in my world." And Ritsuka grinned wider, showing off her remaining Command Seal. "I did a little bit of research and turns out I can summon any Servant I'm contracted to back in my own world with just one Command Seal . I have over 100 Servants contracted to me—some who would love a fight. Would you like me to summon Gilgamesh here, perhaps? Or maybe a goddess like Ishtar or Quetzalcoatl? Or maybe a Grand Servant like the First Hassan? And by the way, my Command Seals replenish themselves and my contracts don't break even if I use them all, so I can summon as many as I want. Right here, and right now. I can easily call them here to kill you and wreck this place. Shall I demonstrate for you?"
"All the better to kill you now, girl," Semiramis hissed, chains shooting at Ritsuka. They were deflected immediately by Karna and Arthur before they even got within a few metres of her, and were destroyed by blasts of wind and fire.
Semiramis gritted her teeth, glancing at Amakusa for orders. Achilles and Atalanta continued to stare at Ritsuka silently, something akin to respect in Achilles's expression and shock in Atalanta's.
Ritsuka slowly raised up her hand. "By the power of my Command Seals, I order—"
"Enough," Amakusa interrupted. "I will allow you to retreat here. But bear this in mind—do you really think you will be able to win the war when we have the Greater Grail no matter how many Servants you summon?"
"When there's a will, there's a way. And to quote Murphy's Law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." With that, Ritsuka calmly walked out the door with Karna and Arthur trailing behind her, but everyone could hear an explosion after a few seconds, indicating that she had blasted her way out.
"Lancer, what should we do?" Chiron asked.
"We have no choice but to withdraw here. Will you come with us, Ruler?" Vlad asked.
"It seems I have no choice since the rules for this war appear to have been completely overturned," Jeanne said with a sigh. She turned to Amakusa. "Know this, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada—-I swear by my flag that I will not let your wish come to fruition."
The three Servants rushed out of the room, leaving behind a contemplative Amakusa and seething Semiramis. Achilles and Atalanta faded into spirit form to leave the two be.
***
"Arthur had switched roles with Karna. He was now the one carrying Ritsuka bride-style as he and the Indian lancer flew through the air, heading towards Yggdmillenia Castle. In his arms, Ritsuka stared ahead almost blankly, and Arthur sent a mental question towards Karna. What happened?
She threatened and almost killed Darnic Prestone Yggdmillenia.
Arthur winced. Back at Chaldea, almost all the Servants shared the idea that their Master shouldn't be the one to shed any blood. Sure, Ritsuka often threatened Shakespeare or Blackbeard with her Black Keys, but she had never once injured them. When interacting with humans in singularities, she hadn't lifted a single finger to harm any of them and just told the less scrupulous Servants to dispose of them quietly if they were a genuine threat to her life.
Will she be alright?
I don't know. How were things on your end?
Astolfo was ordered by his Master to kill Sieg, but I intervened and Siegfried kept him safe. I held off Astolfo but was then called here, so I'm hoping Siegfried and Frankenstein are able to hold Astolfo off. They had the idea of killing Celenike and getting Astolfo to contract to Ritsuka, but obviously, she was in the Hanging Gardens and could not do so.
Let us head towards them then. We can talk with the rest of the Black Faction later.
Arthur nodded and with a very small Mana Burst, he changed course to where he had originally been on the battlefield. From his height, he could see Astolfo and Siegfried clashing, with Sieg not far behind at Frankenstein's side. Celenike hadn't approached Sieg.
Ritsuka spoke up then, her voice sounding normal. "Arthur, is Celenike still alive?"
"She was just before you called me," Arthur said cautiously.
"Sieg's obviously going to want to rescue Astolfo from the creepy woman. I'll contract with him and redirect the mana consumption to Sieg."
"Alright."
They landed right beside Sieg and Frankenstein. Ritsuka held her hand out to Sieg. "Glad to see you're still alive. I'm guessing you want to rescue Astolfo. Give me the Book of the False Attendant; I'll handle the rest."
Sieg handed the book over, surprise written in his features.
"Now then… I believe there's an extra guest here. Jackie, there's someone for you to kill," Ritsuka called.
A young girl's laughter was heard in the wind, and Jack materialized in her battle attire. "Onee-chan! How did you notice we were here?"
Ritsuka smiled and rubbed the young girl's head, causing Jack to giggle. "I had a feeling. See that creepy lady over there?"
Celenike didn't even seem to be paying attention to them anymore, instead relishing the desperate fight Astolfo was putting up. For his credit, Siegfried was holding back, trying to draw Astolfo away from Sieg and Frankenstein.
"She looks scary," Jack whispered.
"She is," Ritsuka said. "If you take her out, that's one less creepy Master we'll have to deal with."
"Okay, we'll kill her!"
Jack disappeared, Presence Concealment activated.
Celenike was laughing maniacally as the tired Astolfo begged her to stop, but then he and Siegfried stopped clashing as a pair of knives swiftly dismembered the woman. Jack reappeared, her knives dripping blood. "The creepy lady's gone!" She cheered.
Astolfo dropped to his knees, and Sieg rushed over to him. "Are you alright?" He asked.
"Y-yeah… but… it looks like this is where my part ends… in the very least, I'm glad I got to rescue you." Astolfo smiled, but his eyes were bright with tears as he began fading into motes of prana.
"Then would you take a second chance if you had it?" Ritsuka asked, walking up to him. Siegfried gave Ritsuka a wary glance but didn't move.
"Yes! Wait, who are you?"
"I rescued Sieg over here; you can trust me."
Astolfo looked to Sieg for confirmation and was met with a nod. "What do I need to do?"
"Hold my hand; I'll handle the rest. Sieg, you're fine with maintaining his prana supply, right? I'll give you some apples later." Ritsuka grasped Astolfo's outstretched hand and dropped 3 quartz she had taken out earlier onto the pages of the Book of the False Attendant, her Command Seals glowing brightly to complete the contract. After a few seconds, the glow subsided and Astolfo's body stopped dematerializing, the Rider now back in the world.
"Thank you so much!" Astolfo cried, shaking Ritsuka's hand enthusiastically.
"No problem," she replied as she tossed the book back at Sieg. "We should get to Yggdmillenia Castle; there's some stuff we have to settle." Ritsuka turned to Jack and ruffled her hair. "Good work, Jackie. Why don't you go back to your mommy? I'll visit you soon."
"Okay! Thanks, onee-chan!" Jack dematerialized.
Ritsuka sighed as Jack disappeared, reaching out to latch onto Karna's arm for support. "I'm tired."
"I understand, Master, but we still have to talk with Vlad."
"I just want to sleep," Ritsuka whined. Remembering that Siegfried and Frankenstein hadn't said a single word upon her arrival, she waved to them. "Thanks for taking care of Sieg. Long story short; the Red Faction's broken apart so I'm allying myself with you guys. Vlad and Chiron should be back at the castle with Jeanne, so we should go there and discuss what's going to happen."
"You were the supposed rogue Master after all?" Siegfried asked.
"Yeah. I wanted to trip you guys up a bit, but I guess the cat's out of the bag. I probably shouldn't have saved Vlad if I wanted to maintain my secrecy a bit longer, but I couldn't resist. Oh well. I'll tell you guys everything at the castle. Deal?"
Siegfried nodded. "Thank you for rescuing Sieg."
Frankenstein nodded in agreement. "Uuu!"
"I do what I want; but if you guys are happy, it's fine. Now come on. Karna, carry me?"
"Alright."
Karna lifted Ritsuka into his arms, and disappeared into the distance, making use of his agility to quickly head to Yggdmillenia Castle. After a moment's hesitation, Siegfried, Frankenstein, and Arthur dematerialized, leaving Sieg and Astolfo alone.
"Well, shall we get going as well?" The androgynous Rider asked with a grin.
"Yes."
***
When everyone had gathered in the ruins of Yggdmillenia Castle, Vlad spoke up first. "As of now, the Greater Grail War has fallen apart. The Red Faction possesses the Great Grail but it is entirely controlled by one man: Amakusa Shirou Tokisada. Our main objective is to take him down. Through this incident, though, we have gained an ally formerly of the Red Faction." He gestured to Ritsuka, who gave a tired wave.
"My name's Fujimaru Ritsuka. Most of you I haven't told, but I'm a magus from the future. The easy story is I'm here to prevent Amakusa Shirou Tokisada from achieving his wish since that would bring ruin to humanity, but Zelretch actually sent me here for his amusement."
At the mention of the Wizard Marshall's name, Fiore and Gordes paled.
Noticing this, Ritsuka tried to smile sympathetically. "I'd apologize for messing up your war, but Amakusa's going to mess it up more than me. Zelretch also offered me a reward I couldn't refuse. Also, on an unrelated note. Vlad, how are you still alive?"
"I left Darnic confined in his room and barely alive," Vlad stated simply. "However, there is no other Master to contract with me and I must kill him soon for betraying me."
"Are you going to die then, and regret missing your opportunity to reach the Grail?"
"I would take the opportunity to contract with another Master, but there is no one here, is there?" Vlad asked, gazing pointedly at Ritsuka.
Noticing his gaze, she shot a questioning one back. "What?"
"Was what you were saying back at the Hanging Gardens true? And will you be able to contract with me?"
"No. Complete bluff. I am contracted to over 100 Servants—one of them being you, by the way—but it is impossible for me to call them here with just a Command Seal. I summoned Karna and Arthur with summoning circles, and even then, I've redirected Arthur's mana consumption to Sieg over here since I can't sustain the both of them during a fight. As for me contracting to you, I suppose I could because your Spirit Origin is different from the Vlad III I summoned back in Chaldea, but what would you do once the war is over? I doubt I can bring you back with me."
"That is fine. A temporary contract with you will suffice. I was summoned into this world and I will remain in this world until my end. The Black Faction is still able to redirect mana consumption, but it seems we are lacking homunculi…" Vlad turned to glare at Sieg, who stared back resolutely with no fear in his eyes.
"I will do it," a female voice spoke up, and all eyes turned to a short-haired homunculus with a bandaged leg.
"Tool?" Sieg asked.
"You rescued us, so this is the most logical way to pay you back," the female homunculus replied. She turned to Ritsuka. "What do I need to do?"
"Take this, for one," Ritsuka said, tossing a Book of the False Attendant and 3 quartz at Tool. "Drop the quartz into the book and I'll handle the rest." She went over to Vlad and took his hand, her Command Seals glowing brightly. They faded after a few seconds and she let go, and Tool nodded at her, feeling the slight prana drain.
Gordes eyed the book with obvious interest. "What does that do?"
"It's originally supposed to transfer Command Seals over to an unqualified Master and let the original Master handle the mana, but after I summoned Medea, she reversed the functions. I don't need to use them back home since we have prana generators that can sustain all the Servants during battle, but they have their uses. I believe the original creators were… the Matou? That's what Medusa said, at least."
"Matou? I have not heard of them."
"Uh… I think they used to be called the Makiri? One of the founding families for the Grail, or at least that's what Ishtar told me."
"And just how were you able to summon a goddess? Divine Spirits can't be summoned by the Grail!"
"Uhh… Ishtar's a Pseudo-Servant case. She possessed the body of a magus… I think her name was Tohsaka Rin. Look, you can ask me all you want later. We're here for a strategy meeting, not an interrogation session."
"You're working with us now?" Fiore asked. "Did you betray the Red Faction?"
"I never claimed to be part of them in the first place. Okay, I might have been leeching off them a bit, but I play for my side only. I'm working with you guys for now since that's clearly a better option. Don't worry; I have no desire to betray you. Our goals are the exact same; to take down Amakusa Shirou Tokisada."
"Do we have a concrete plan?" Caules asked.
"No; so we're formulating one. Where's Caster's Master, by the way?"
"Roche? He was pretty despondent after he realized Caster died, so I think he's sulking…"
Vlad subtly shook his head at Ritsuka, warning her not to tell the truth of what happened in the Gardens.
"Alright, so we're missing someone else, then…"
A loud crash caused some to jump, and everyone turned to the door to see a furious Mordred and a resigned-looking Kairi. "The party started without us?! Father! Why didn't you tell them to wait?!" Mordred stomped over to Arthur, causing most Servants to tense as they all knew the legend, but everyone gaped when Arthur simply smiled and ruffled Mordred's hair.
"Sorry, Mordred. I was about to, but they had other business to take care of. Now stop pouting. You're here now, aren't you?"
Everyone turned to stare at Ritsuka and Karna, who simply watched as if nothing was wrong.
"I thought King Arthur and Mordred had… issues?" Jeanne asked carefully.
"Not here they don't. Also, I know you know they're technically the Red Faction, but they're on my side. At this point, how about you guys just accept things as they are? It'll make understanding everything a whole lot easier. Oh, and by the way, Jack the Ripper is Assassin of Black and the cutest little girl you'll ever meet. I'll pass along any plans we make to her so we can include her in the fighting since she likes to dismember people just like she did with Astolfo's former Master."
"I don't think I get anything anymore," Caules groaned.
"Uuu!" Frankenstein agreed.