Slashing Fate

I got up after I meditated for about an hour to recover my Aura and Magic after my fight with Iskandar. His army was not that impressive as to put it in FGO terms; individually, they were mostly made up of 1 or 2 stars with the odd 3 star with unimpressive Noble Phantasms and Skills, which I found odd, honestly, because I definitely saw an older version of Waver in his army among the other Mages. If he is recorded in the Throne of Heroes, he would be on bar or just a bit weaker than Iskandar if I base my information on the Grand Order World Line. My best guess is that Rider's Noble Phantasm can't be used to full effect without a massive amount of Mana to support it, which would make sense considering that the young Mage had nowhere near enough reserves to handle an Army of Servants and Iskandar didn't have enough either.

Hmm, if I face Waver again in the next Holy Grail War, I probably won't have as easy of a time as I did previously, more so if he pulled Yggdmillennia by having a bunch of homunculi to support the King of Conquers' Mana expenditure. On that note, I think I know what one of my projects will be in the future after the Holy Grail War. But I am counting my chickens before they hatch. I need to deal with Saber first, then grab Irisviel von Einzbern to manifest the Grail and start the purification ritual.

I made my way to the Einzbern Castle near Fuyuki, and it did not take me long to reach the wards of the castle. I grinned as I was honestly excited to face the original Saber, Artoria Pendragon; well, let's announce my presence. I stepped into the wards and walked to the castle.

***

Kiritsugu Emiya, Irisviel von Einzbern, Maiya Hisau, and Artoria Pendragon, we're at a meeting room within the Einzbern Castle of Fuyuki to come up with a strategy for tonight. The Magus Killer started with the meeting.

" We should face Rider first, as Caster has a penchant for sneaking around and attacking when you least expect it. Even if Rider turns out to be formidable, his Master is another matter. Maiyu or I can snipe him from a distance while you tackle Rider, Iri."

" Master, should we not instead form an alliance with Rider to face Caster?!"

" Saber has a point, Kiritsugu; Caster is a bigger threat, and working with Rider would be beneficial in dealing with them. We can also get Rider to reveal more of his abilities during our alliance to work out a counter for him."

Kiritsugu ignored Saber as usual and spoke to his wife.

" That may be so, Iri, but if we deal with Rider first, Caster has no choice but to come at us, preferably on our home ground over some random battlefield. We need every advantage we can get, as Caster has shown to be the most dangerous out of the other Servants."

" So you suspect if we just hide within the castle like cowards, Caster will just come to us! Master, I know Caster's type; they won't come to us but do everything they can to draw us out on their terms, like the vicious snake they are, and while I may be ignorant of the finer details of Magecraft I do know that the more time you give Caster to prepare the more likely we are to fall into their trap!"

The Magus Killer tuned out his Servant and ordered Maiya.

" Maiya, see if you can get eyes on Rider and his Master with your familiars."

" Yes, sir."

Before Kiritsugu's subordinate could leave, Irisviel alerted everyone in shock.

" We have an intruder!"

The homunculus woman looked into the crystal ball in the room and saw who was invading. Kiritsugu saw him and identified the intruder.

" Caster!"

" Kiritsugu, are you sure? The wards don't identify him as a Servant."

The Magus Killer considered his wife's words and then pointed out a possibility.

" Caster could be playing a trick with a Mystic Code to get us to lower our guard..."

Irisviel nodded in acknowledgment, as that could be a possibility considering they were facing a Heroic Spirit known for their Magecraft. Plus, who else would be brazen enough to face them here if they weren't Rider? Artoria immediately donned her armor and said before going to confront the intruder.

" By your leave, Master."

After Saber left, Kiritsugu ordered Maiya as he made his preparations.

" Maiya, stay with Iri and spread out your familiars to find Caster's Master; if they're here, then they should not be too far."

Maiya nodded, and Irisviel told her husband.

" Be safe, Kiritsugu."

The homunculus woman looked at Caster closely to try and identify them. He was as tall as Rider with pale gray hair and piercing gray eyes and carried a strange polearm that looked like a cross between a poleax and a sword.

***

As Silva strolled over to the Einzbern Castle, he saw a familiar face running toward him, and he grinned. It was Saber; she stopped before the budding Divine Spirit and declared.

" So you have family revealed yourself, Caster! You may be hiding your status as a Servant, but that won't fool me!"

Silva heard her and asked with a confused look.

" You think I am Caster?"

" Who else would you be as only Rider and yourself, Caster, would be brazen enough to come here, and your not Rider!"

The Master of Caster's shoulders started to shake before he broke out in laughter; he could not help it, as Saber couldn't be further from the truth. Artoria demanded as she felt she was being mocked.

" What's so funny?!"

" Sorry about that."

Silva said as he got himself under control and introduced himself.

" I am the Master of Caster, Silva Branwen, and I am here to face you, Artoria Pendragon, before claiming the Grail."

Artoria looked at the Master in disbelief and asked for clarification.

" You, a Master, are here to face me, a Servant?"

" Yep."

Silva replied as he found Saber's dumbfounded expression funny and wanted to see how Kiritsugu and Irisviel reacted to this information. The Master of Caster asked the Servant out of curiosity.

" What made you think I was Caster in the first place, Artoria?"

" My Master saw you kill Lancer's Master and assumed..."

Artoria answered truthfully while looking a bit embarrassed, and Silva nodded in understanding but still found this misunderstanding funny and could not wait to tell Skadi about it later. The Master of Caster decided to tease the King of Knights a little.

" I must admit, Artoria seeing you come at me with such passion over a misunderstanding leaves me a little confused. Seeing a lovely lady such as yourself call out to me with such vigor flatters me to no end but come toward me with such poor information and a hasty misconception reflects poorly on you."

" I apologize, Master of Caster."

Seeing Artoria have a slight blush adorn her face made Silva feel like a shark catching the scent of blood as he could not resist.

" I can forgive you, Artoria, under one condition."

" I will not surrender the Grail or my Master!"

The Master of Caster shook his head in disappointment and said.

" Artoria, I was not going to ask that of you as I think I understand you enough to know not to ask."

Saber felt embarrassed once more at jumping to conclusions and asked quickly to hide it.

" Then what is it you want?"

" I will forgive you if you can do one thing for me that will not harm your honor or pride nor your goals."

Artoria was a bit curious about what Silva wanted from her and looked at him with rapt attention.

" I want to exchange a kiss with you."

The Master of Caster said with a sincere smile and waited for the fireworks. A bomb went off in Saber's head as she never expected such a request and stunned silent for a few moments before exclaiming.

" What?!"

" I want to kiss you and for you to kiss me back in turn."

Silva rephrased the question as he enjoyed Artoria's reaction.

" Wouldn't you prefer to kiss someone beautiful? And I am a king first and foremost."

Saber asked with a self-defecating smile, then declared firmly. The Master of Caster then recalled how Saber initially saw herself before Shirou Emiya caused her to change and to see herself as a woman more than a king. Silva then told Artoria plainly.

" Artoria Pendragon, you are both beautiful in body and spirit, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise, not even yourself. To deny yourself is to deny all that you could be, the good and the bad."

Irisviel was watching the whole interaction from her crystal ball, and she felt like she was watching a drama, which excited her a bit. Maiya alerted Kiritsugu of the intruder's given identity but denied it as he was certain no Master would be foolish enough to try and directly confront a Servant and continued his search around the area to find Caster's Master. At the Master of Caster's words, Saber felt unsure of how to reply as no one had approached her like that before. Seeing Artoria's indecision, Silva decided to move forward in facing her in combat.

" Fight me, King of Knights!"

Snapping out of her stupor, Saber responded.

" As you wish, Master of Caster!"

Silva closed the distance with Flash Step and swung Snærkló, which was met with Artoria's hidden sword as she blocked the strike. Her eyes widened as she felt the strength of his attack and realized it was not foolhardiness or arrogance, leading the Master before her into confronting her. Saber decided to take this fight seriously as she angled her sword to get the Master's polearm to slide off to give her a chance to counterattack.

Silva responded, pulling back his polearm, then immediately thrust, forcing Artoria into the defensive as he took full advantage of his reach. Every strike flowed into the next, leaving little room for Saber to counter-attack as it was a few steps too many to slash at the Master fighting her. However, it did not bother her as she had enough experience facing foes with greater reach and parried the polearm. The Servant tried to close the distance to strike in that brief moment, but before her sword could reach the Master, she saw a black sphere form in front of her weapon's path.

The moment the hidden Excalibur came in contact with that black sphere, a blast erupted that sent her flying. Artoria quickly regained her balance after bouncing once off the ground but was immediately met with Silva swinging his weapon in a wide arc. Saber raised her sword to block and soon found herself digging her heels into the earth as the Master's strength continued to surprise her. However, she relishes being able to face a warrior of his caliber in this era and tries to push back but finds she is outclassed in terms of strength as she was on the backpedal.

Artoria deflects the attacks and tries to get some distance to catch her breath and think for a moment. Unfortunately, Silva had zero intention of easing up for a single instant and went to clash against Saber. The Servant focused on deflecting and carrying the Master's attacks as she knew facing him in contests of strength was foolish. The Master of Caster crosses blades with the King of Knights furiously in order not to give her a chance to use her Noble Phantasm.

Artoria continued to be pushed back and not having any breathing room, as Silva did not just use his weapon but also kicked and punched or rather used his hidden claws under the illusion of the Mystic Code Skadi made for him. Saber felt reminded of Mordred in the way the Master fought with all his body and not just his weapon, but there was a key difference between them. The knight of betrayal was rough and unrefined, but the Master of Caster could smoothly blend his attacks together.

Silva decided to kick things up a notch as he was getting a bit impatient with Artoria's ironclad defense and evasive footwork. He used Dark Wrath to fire a blast of dark energy, which knocked Saber back, and he used Flash Step to move into her flank to attack. The Servant barely managed to block the attack with her sword, but the Master unleashed another blast which staggered her, and he moved to her opposite flank and cut deeply through Saber's armor. The King of Knights was now taking more and more injuries as she was met with dark blasts of energy that either staggered her or knocked her back, which tore through her guard. She was being healed from a distance by Irisviel, but it was not enough as the Master kept on piling the punishment.

Silva was giving Artoria no rest as he kept up a high-intensity offense to keep her from having the moment needed to charge Exailbur. Saber had never felt this cornered before, as she was outclassed in terms of Strength and Agility and had yet to land a decent blow. The Servant grits her teeth as she tries to press ahead, not for herself but for Briton of old, her homeland. The Master saw how stubbornly the King of Knights was holding on and started to draw in clouds above them.

Artoria kept holding on and was surprised when Silva leaped away from her, then heard a crack of thunder. Saber looked up to see the concentration of clouds, and next, a flash of lightning rained down on her. The Invisible Air protected her from the lightning strike as she raised her sword barely in time. The Servant was growing weary from the constant conflict with the Master of Caster but was not given a chance to use her Noble Phantasm. The Master appreciated the challenge but wanted to end the Holy Grail War tonight, so he went all out as he drew on his Divine Spark.

Artoria felt the change in Silva and was on guard but was surprised to find herself falling after the Master disappeared from her sight. As Saber hit the ground, she realized she had been cut down as she looked at her pained torso and saw blood gushing out from her new wound. The Master of Caster thrusts his polearm into Saber's heart and finally defeats her. Seeing the Servant fade away into particles of gold, Silva said.

" See you in the next war, Artoria."

Artoria heard that and was hoping to get the Grail next time. Now Silva went to get Irisviel to manifest the Holy Grail and purify it at last.