58 The Legend of Dracula.

Berserker was standing guard over the grail.

She stood there for some time, looking at it I awe. Like her wish was so close, yet so far away. The sheer amount of power that it pulsated with left her breathless. Someone like her who, theoretically, had perpetual energy.

As much of a berserker as she was, she was also very lucid when the situations weren't as hectic. When she just walked around, outside of combat, she didn't lose her mind too much to rage. When she was alone or just doing something casual, she could think very clearly.

Secretly, she could even talk a bit, but she was a bit too shy to say anything to her master.

She was a bit on the fence in regard to him. On one hand he was naive, he didn't have the shrewdness of a regular magi and she thought her chances of winning the war with him were lowered because of that. On the other…..he was so kind to her and he was nice to be around. She felt a bit conflicted. She was not used to someone looking at her like he did.

Just the thought brought a small blush to her face, she hurriedly composed herself less someone see the berserker acting like a little girl.

She was broken from her thoughts as she heard shouting and screams from several rooms away.

The rhythmic sound of footsteps walking toward her as she looked at the person who was approaching.

She tightly grasped her mace as she stared at the strange priest.

"Hello, I don't suppose you would be willing to stand aside and allow me to take the grail?" The priest asked.

"Grrrrr" Berserker replied.

The priest sighed and shook his head. A moment later a servant appeared next to him. A flamboyant man carrying a book and a quill.

"Caster, if you would please?" The priest said.

Berserker readied herself, her main objective to protect the grail, a mindless charge would do no one good right now.

"Now it is time to raise the curtain." He declared.

"Its title is...."

"[First Folio]"

As the words left his mouth, the book began to scatter pages all around in a cyclone as they enveloped berserker.

The room began to change, she was suddenly standing in a flowerly field and as she turned around a figure was standing there infront of her.

She knew him.

The man who created her.

The man who abandoned her.

The man who she killed.

She dropped her mace as she fell to her knees. The scenes of her life playing back in her mind. All her regrets, all the painful moments she suffered.

She lost herself in her emotions, she attacked the figure in front of her. The man she both loved and hated. She killed him as the blood splashed everything.

She could hear it vaguely, the shouting of her master through the mental link, but it wasn't enough.

Shakespeare watched on as the scene had ended. His noble phantasm receded and there sat a broken woman crying on her knees.

She heard something that seemed to stand above all else though. Something powerful was activated.

"Fran, by the power of this command seal, I hereby order you-"

She couldn't hear him finish. She could hear anything any longer. She felt colder than she had previously. The world seemed to turn upside, quite literally as she realized what happened in her final moment.

Her body slouched down, completely hitting the floor, follow by a thump as her head came down and hit the ground a few feet away.

The sound of a blade sliding back into its sheath echoed across the room as the priest walked away from the now dissipating corpse of the berserker.

The priest was now holding a strange katana at his side, the power it exuded would no doubt make it a noble phantasm.

Shirou Kotomine took out a mystic code that Assassin had created in her hanging gardens. Due to the nature of the workshop, it still contained materials from the age of gods and thus an object of such size that contained a tiny pocket dimension wasn't very difficult to create for the purpose of stealing the grail.

Shirou and Caster made their way outside, easily dispatching any enemies they came across until they were outside and waiting for their 'ride'.

A medium-sized wyvern flew down, evading any enemy fire as it carefully landed next to them.

Though there was a moment of stillness as Shirou and Caster turned their heads to see who had just arrived.

"Well, I believe this introduction is overdue." Shirou said with a small smile.

"You.....you are not supposed to be here." Ruler replied.

"Greetings Ruler, I am-"

"I know who you are!" Ruler interjected. "You are the ruler of the previous war, you should not be here!" She exclaimed again as she gripped her flag tightly.

"The dead do not lead the living, that is a rule of the world."

"But I am alive, flesh and blood." Shirou replied with a small chuckle.

"You know that is not enough. You have lived your life and now you are trying to change the course of history."

"I merely want to save humanity. Will you stop me from saving the world, o great saint?"

"You are not saving the world, you are dooming it!" She yelled back.

"If my course is wrong then God will stop me. As all is his will." Shirou replied.

She twitched slightly at his comment, but she had procedure she was required to follow as the Ruler servant of the war.

"As my Authority as Ruler, I declare you in violation of the rules!"

"Oh, what are you going to do about it? Use one of your command seals on me?" He replied with a smirk.

She stared at him angrily before a hand reached out and rested on her shoulder.

"I seems like I have some work to do." Alex stated as he walked forwards.

"The King of Knights makes his appearance, fabulous!" Caster shouted excitedly. "I am oh so curious, what kind of play would you fit in. The young lady from before displayed such a tragedy, will you befall a similar fate...what?"

The eccentric play-write's expression suddenly changed as he stared at the knight before him.

"You....this is astonishing. I don't know what to say."

"Whats wrong caster?" Shirou asked.

"My first folio plays on a servants past regrets by reading into their history, their stories. But you....your story hasn't ended yet."

"You are still alive."

Several eyes stared at the knight who could only sigh. "I guess I should have expected it to come out at some point."

"Arthur….." Ruler said quietly.

"I am excited, I have no idea what will happen if I use it on you now. I can see a few things, a woman…..oh, a woman you care quite a bit for...."

"I would appreciate it if you did not pry into my personal life." Alex replied as dozens of golden ripples opened in the air. They all were pointing noble phantasms at the duo.

Caster shut up quickly as he stared at many blades ready to pierce through him.

"I do not believe that it be wise, King of Knights." Shirou Kotomine stated.

"And why is that?" Alex replied.

As the words left his mouth, a large spell formation formed at the behest of the flying fortress, except it was not pointing towards the castle below, but the city off to the side.

"Would you risk the lives of so many people?"

"You would take a city of innocent people hostage!?" Ruler shouted in disbelief.

"I am willing to sacrifice the few to save the many, yes."

Before the neutral servants had any time to respond, a shout was heard from a nearby balcony.

"KILL HIM, HE TOOK MY GRAIL!"

It was Darnic, shouting out in a rage. He continued to watch as no one moved.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, KILL HIM!?"

"He took the city hostage" Ruler replied.

"THEY ARE EXPENDABLE, MY GRAIL IS MORE IMPORTANT."

Alex just sighed, he waived his hand and the blades retracted and the portals closed.

"Make no mistake, I will have both of your heads before this war is finished."

"If it is God's will, then so be it." Shirou replied.

The two quickly took off into the sky and towards the fortress overhead.

The fortress began to retreat into the air as Darnic just starged in disbelief.

As the fortress got a fair distance away, another explosion range out in the castle.

A few moments later, a figure ran out into the courtyard with dozens of homunculi following behind. He stopped abruptly as he realized he was the focus on several stares.

"....hey Sieg." Alex called out.

"Hello Arthur."

"I guess you're here to rescue the homunculi?"

"That is correct."

"You seem stronger, something good happen while we were away?"

"Yes."

Ruler abruptly walked over to the homunculus and smacked him in the head with her flag. She began to yell at him while waiving her arms about angrily.

Everyone just stared in disbelief at the scene they were witnessing.

Sieg glanced over to Alex, his eyes clearly asking for help.

Alex just shook his head in response, he was all alone in this one.

The awkward atmosphere was interrupted by the maniacal laughing echoing out from the balcony above.

Darnic couldn't stop laughing as he stared off into the distance.

"I think he may have had a mental breakdown…." Alex commented.

"Lancer, by the power of this command seal….."

"NO!" Alex shouted in realization. Truthfully, he completely forgot about that aspect of Lancer. It had been so long since he'd seen the corresponding media that some things just got lost in time.

The master of castle Yggdamillennia began to have his body dissipate as the fragments of his soul were wisped away into the distance towards the fighting still going on.

"Arthur what's going on, something happened I can feel it..." Ruler asked timidly. "I can feel it, the counter force is stirring."

***

Lancer was gnashing his teeth in anger as he received an update on the situation.

The red faction had played them for fools and made off with their grail.

"Whats wrong, mighty king? Is this the strength of your supposed kingdom?" Karna taunted.

"You….."Lancer's word were abruptly cut off as he eyes widened and he dropped his weapon.

Karna just looked on in confusion as it appeared his opponent was in some kind of pain.

"NO! I TOLD YOU NOT TO USE IT YOU FOOL." Lancer shouted. "STOP…..NO STOP IT! I'M NOT HIM, I'M NOT THAT MONSTER."

"I WILL DIE HERE! I WILL CRUMBLE AWAY IN DEATH WITH REGRET! BUT THAT IS THE FATE OF THE DEFEATED! DARNIC! I WILL NEVER TURN INTO THAT UNSIGHTLY EXISTENCE, NEVER, NEVER! I'M NOT A VAMPIRE...…

"I'M NOT DRACULA!" He roared, the sound echoing across the battlefield as his form began to change.

His ears became elongated, his hands turning into claws. Wings sprouted from his back and finally his eyes turned red.