131 New Enemies And New Servant

Slowly, the sun made its way out of the horizon, and with it, Seth opened his eyes groggily. 'Agh... What hit me so hard...?'

It took a moment to recollect his thoughts, but he was finally able to remember the past events that led to this situation. Being able to use Longinus properly after a long time, obtaining the Ark of the Covenant, and giving all the Magical Energy he had to power Altera with his Command Spell and ultimately fainting due to exhaustion for having done that.

So many things in so little time, it was honestly more 'action' than he had expected. Aside from a mild headache, there were no lasting consequences he could detect, nothing worrying.

Seth felt he was resting atop of something soft, so he guessed it was his glorified bed. Getting up, and waking Mera in the process, the black-haired man looked around him. Judging by the extinct bonfire not far from him, he was in the same place where he was talking with the two Archers before going in his little quest.

Looking to his right, he saw Atalanta on top of a tree branch observing the ocean for some reason, and to his left, David had a thoughtful expression on his face, frowning every now and then.

'He must be thinking about the things I planted inside his head. Servants don't dream unless they have a Master, so he will believe it easily eventually.' Seth thought before getting down from the Chimera. After last night's ordeal and recovering his lost Mana, he was able to walk properly without looking like a drunk penguin.

Speaking of which, he didn't sense the danger around the rest of the group anymore, so it was safe to assume that the battle was over. That said, he couldn't help but feel a sense of uneasiness. Until they came back, however, he wouldn't be able to do anything.

Seeing movement, both Servants turned to his direction, immediately stopping what they were doing. David was the first to speak, trying to push his thoughts aside for the moment. "Looks like you have recovered, at least enough to walk by yourself."

Seth nodded, fixing his glasses in the process. "Indeed. I would say that it will take just around two days to completely heal. My Mana also stopped being stuck on the same amount and is slowly returning to its normal levels."

"Being a Divine Spirit, your reserves should be astronomical. It's reassuring they are going back to normal, we are going to need you at full capacity." Atalanta also added from the side.

"I don't want to jinx it, but are you good enough to fight in case trouble comes knocking at our door? It might be my paranoia speaking, though." David asked with mild curiosity. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't forget the things that happened last night.

God appeared to him in his dreams as a blinding white light, something that hadn't happened for a long time. He was as confused as he was happy at the events honestly.

He told him that he would be retrieving the Ark to avoid unnecessary incidents with it as falling into the wrong hands could prove to be disastrous. God also told him to trust Sa—Seth for their mission, but only then. Outside of it, he was NOT to be trusted by any means and it was best to stay away from him.

No much was said afterward, just tiny details here and there before the dream ended. Going by what the Pagan God said before, once their mission was over, they would return to their time, so there wasn't any sort of complication that didn't allow them to work together, not one he could think, at least.

Still, he couldn't deny that God taking the Ark was a relief. It was a huge weight being lifted off his shoulders as most of his anxiety came from the fact that he had to protect it continuously. The golden chest always appeared automatically every time he was summoned, so there was nothing he could do about it sadly. At least now, things are different, much to his happiness. However, if God had to take such measures, he wondered if the enemy was more than they originally thought.

Coming back to the three, Seth raised his eyebrows at the green-haired kid's question. Was that a challenge? "Boy, look beneath you. We are on an island with sand all around us, I am almost unbeatable on this terrain. Kicking anyone's ass would be as easy as breathing."

If he didn't know him — not that he knew him much — David would have thought he was bragging. Still, he didn't look convincing, not when he had to carry him out of the dungeon because he couldn't even walk.

"Sorry if I don't sound convinced." He said without much thought and without any sort of malice. As someone who hasn't seen a Divine Spirit in action, he had his set of trouble believing they could beat anyone in such a state.

What the King didn't know was that there are certain Authorities that in the right conditions have no cost in the Mana of a Divine Spirit/God. Poseidon controlling water in the ocean, Seth doing so with sand in beaches or deserts, Geb, Seth's father, controlling the earth in any piece of land, to name a few.

Seth merely chuckled at his words, his lackluster eyes narrowing slightly. He could show the little infant what he was capable of doing, but showing enough power to convince him would leave another emotion planted in the sheep boy's heart, fear. If they were to be allies, such a thing would only hinder them. In that case, "When the time comes, you will know. Aren't you a Christian? Have a little faith in me then. And before you say anything, do it in me as a person, not whatever you think me as."

"Thou are good with sand, right?" At Atalanta's question, Seth nodded. "Then, can you control the one under the ocean?"

If the twitching of his eyebrow was any indication, then he could not.

"How to explain this to you, uncultured human fellas? We can fuck with the world's laws to manifest our Authorities, all right? Creating rain in an arid zone out of nowhere, a blizzard in a tropic climate, or even earthquakes in stable zones where the Earth's tectonic plates don't collide. However, some Authorities are simply above others. The water in the ocean is crushing the sand in a physical and metaphorical sense. For all that is worth, it might as well be orange juice instead of something I can control." Well, someone was sensitive about that topic. The annoyed tone which he used to describe it only cemented that notion.

Quickly deciding to change the topic lest he went ballistic, David went to more pressing matters. "...So. Are you planning to summon a Servant right now?"

They could use the extra help. The green-haired man was begging God for it to be a healer. It was better than something that could be uncontrollable, or worse, a psychopath that would kill his or her Master after seeing him that weakened.

Seth's expression returned to normal, soon materializing the Grail for them to see. "Not yet, I want to hear something from you two first. Depending on the answer, I might try to influence the summoning to search for something in particular. Anyway, we are focusing on Herakles, which is no doubt the biggest threat, but I want to know who are the others. You said they came asking for you to join them, right, Atalanta?"

The said huntress gave an affirmative nod, her brows furrowing slightly a second later. "Yes, indeed. When Jason came to recruit me, he was not alone. As you know, one of the Servants that was with him was Herakles himself."

"Mhm." Seth simply expressed his acknowledgment, waiting for her to continue.

The Huntress stopped for a moment, a sad look appearing on her face before quickly vanishing. Now it was not the time to be moping around. "Then there is Medea, the... Witch of Betrayal."

It was obvious to see she was not happy with the title, and that she had some kind of relationship with her. What type, the Egyptian God didn't know, and neither was he interested.

"She was summoned here as her child version, and is currently working as an Oracle of sorts." Seth narrowed his eyes at this. It was something he couldn't picture. As far as he knew, no matter the stage of your life you were summoned in, you still had all your memories. To work with the man that ruined your life... It was strange. There was also the Oracle part, was she receiving some messages from Hecate, or from someone else? Everything screamed troublesome at this point.

Unaware of his current musing, Atalanta continued giving details about their enemies. However, when it came the time to inform him of the next one, her face quickly turned into a scowl. "Then there is a woman I didn't and still don't recognize. She is someone who casually throws insults at you without even meaning it. What does she mean by me being a freak of nature or that something went wrong with my creation..." Her voice grew increasingly quiet as she continued to vent her frustrations silently.

"Sorry to interrupt your little trip to memory lane, but do you have something that can help identify that woman?" If he was going to fight someone, then at least he wanted to be prepared. The idea is for him to fight Herakles on his own, though as they said, no plan survives contact with the enemy. It's better to have multiple plans.

Brought out of her murdering thoughts against that woman, the Huntress quickly shook her head at his question. "Nothing aside from the fact that she is probably a Caster. She struck me as the scholar type and was wearing clothes on the modern side. She had long brown-hair if that helps. All in all, she is without a doubt a Heroic Spirit belonging to an era not far from the current one."

Seth took a moment to process every word she said. If it was a modern Heroic Spirit, then he knew almost nothing about them. His last reincarnation was about 500 years ago, and despite him not remembering anything particular about those lives, certain types of knowledge were still there. It was thanks to that fact he could identify some Servants they fought, even if as a God he never met them. At the moment, the life he remembered with more clarity was the one where he was Martha's neighbor and sort of friend, followed by pieces of his life as Xerxes. The others were like "Oh, I remember this happening but not how, or what I did then."

Thanks to that inability to properly recollect those memories, he started reading as much as he could about history, so he could identify possible Servants with the details they provided. The Grail always filled them with information about their enemies once they knew their True Name. Sadly, he was no Servant, so that didn't apply to him. Going by the books he read, women that were famous and gave a scholarly vibe were few and far in between. Still, he would need to at least see something to form a decent conclusion.

"...If it helps..." The green-haired woman spoke again, bringing him back to reality. Motioning her to continue, Atalanta gave a quick nod before speaking again, although this time with a worrying look on her face. "...If it helps, I can give you one last piece of information about her. She... She gave me a dangerous feeling. It was...strange. It was like I could kill her with a single arrow, but at the same time, I had alarm bells constantly ringing inside my head telling me to be careful around her. The way she looked at me was not the way one looks at another human. I don't know how to describe it."

"It's okay, no need to concern yourself with it." Seth waved a hand dismissively. Inwardly, though, he was frowning in deep contemplation, again. 'Weak but dangerous? It must be a Noble Phantasm without a doubt, a continuously active type most likely. To produce a sense of danger on a Heroic Spirit of the Age of the Gods being a modern one, it must be a powerful one without a doubt. Which brings the question, what is it capable of? To generate a sense of uneasiness, you must strike the core of their being—Oh... Well, shit. I am as lucky as I am unlucky it seems.'

"I think I know what she can do, but as far as identity goes, I am still in the blank. Moving on, anyone else to look out for?"

"Actually, there is. I didn't meet that Servant directly but I felt their presence inside the ship. They were probably sleeping, I don't know. I just hope they aren't that crazy when it comes to power. However, I doubt my hopes will be rewarded with anything but a disappointment. As much as I loath Jason; he is a man capable of assembling the strongest Heros and make them follow him, albeit barely. There is no doubt the last Servant is powerful in their own right." The Huntress supplied more information with a pensive look on her face, which didn't work to ease her worries.

"If there is anything I got surer of after hearing you speak, is that we need the help of the ones at Chaldea more than ever. And let's not forget about our next incorporation." David said, his characteristical panicked look coming at full force again.

The lioness girl agreed with his thinking. Looking at Seth once more, she asked if he was ready for a summon, to which he gave a positive response.

"Do you need to draw a Magic Circle or something? We could help, although our knowledge on the field is scarce." The King offered, wanting to make sure everything went well and without failure.

"For this? No, just rub it a bit and wait for an old man to grant you three wishes." His sarcastic reply aside — that was becoming a common thing lately — he transformed his Mana into Magical Energy as usual and poured it into the cup. The knowledge of what to do came to his mind similar to when he obtained Skills or Noble Phantasms. Although with it also came something else, making him smirk inwardly. 'So that's how it was, I've got a lot of thinking to do after this is over.'

Without him doing anything, a Magic Circle manifested itself on the sands, releasing a white glow. As it was near midday and out in the open, that particular happening almost went unnoticed.

Magical Energy started condensing around it little by little until suddenly, a flash of light blinded them, only for it to disappear as quickly as it came.

Now, standing in front of them, was a single figure, curiously looking around.

When particularly two of them recognized who that was, they couldn't help but have a single thought course through their heads.

'Well, this is awkward.'