Vol. 1. Chapter 14. Three and a half years later.

I could hear the annoying buzz in my pocket, but it wasn't exactly the best time to take a call.

My hands were a bit busy, what with a half-dozen Inferior Apostles swarming around Lorelei and me.

One particularly nasty Apostle lunged at me with a growl, his sharp claws aiming right for my face.

I reacted on instinct, twisting to the side and slamming my boot into its head.

There was a satisfying crack as its head flew off its shoulders, rolling to a stop a few feet away.

Without missing a beat, I drove my ice spear into its chest, pinning the twitching body to the ground.

It wasn't getting up again—well, not anytime soon, anyway.

The buzzing got louder.

Right, the phone.

I reached into my pocket and fished it out, still keeping one eye on the remaining Apostles who seemed hesitant after seeing their friend's head go flying.

I glanced at the screen.

Of all the times to get a call...

Glancing at Lorelei, I waved my shitty Nokia 101-NMT-900.

"I need to take this; handle the rest, won't you?" I said, before moving the phone up to my ear.

"At least cover my back!" she grouched back before dashing towards the bloodsuckers.

"You were the one who had the bright idea of fighting them on a full moon, not me! So if you can't handle the heat, then get the hell out of the kitchen!" I yelled back before turning around and pressing the accept button.

"Yello!~ Good evening, or is it morning, Mother dearest! A bit late to be calling, shouldn't you be in bed?" I said in an amused tone.

"A fine evening to you as well, sweetie~. But I have some 'good' news." Mother's voice was a bit fuzzy, thanks to the terrible signal I had, but she didn't sound all too happy towards the end.

Raising a brow, I gave a low hum. "Good news? I'm all ears," I said with interest before seamlessly ducking, allowing an Apostle to fly over me.

Standing back up, I glanced at the newly painted wall, decorated in blood and vampire guts.

"A moment, please; Lorelei is being Lorelei," I said, before removing the receiver from my ear and turning around.

"Oi!" I yelled in Lorelei's direction.

She naturally didn't look my way as she shredded her way through a few more Apostles.

"Crazy bitch with the murder fetish!" I yelled aloud, this time getting some reaction, as Lorelei fixed her gaze at me and pointed a finger in my direction.

"Not another word, Alistair," she ground out, making me roll my eyes.

"Sure, whatever," I said dismissively.

"Be careful where you throw the damn things; you almost hit me!" I explained, making her roll her eyes and click her tongue before returning to the massacre.

Seeing that, I moved the phone back up to my ear.

"I'm back; sorry about that," I said apologetically.

I heard an audible sigh from the other side before she continued where we left off.

"Yes, back to what I called you about," she said offhandedly before continuing.

"Altrouge is back and apparently wishes you to come home as soon as possible; something about finally having found the perfect dowry for your hand," she said in a dry and unamused tone.

That's a bit to unpack… I'm fairly sure she said that she'd get me a catalyst with no strings attached… so I'll take it as a joke for now. But knowing her, it probably isn't…

I'll just demand a divorce or something and get half of what she owns because God knows she's definitely richer than me.

But overall, it's good news!

With some careful preparation, I should be able to summon my servant months in advance, meaning that I'll have time to plan with them on how we tackle the war.

"Ah! That's great news!" I said happily.

There was a momentary silence where neither of us spoke.

"Excuse me?" Mother's voice didn't sound happy…

"Um, not the marriage thing—that's a joke—but she's been looking for something on my behalf for a while, so I'm happy she's done," I quickly explained.

"Marriage?" I heard Lorelei's voice in the background.

Removing the phone from my ear, I glanced in her direction.

"It's got nothing to do with you," I yelled back before putting the phone back to my ear.

"Hello? You still here?" I said into the Nokia.

"Yes, but I'll be hanging up now; I have to have my 'beauty sleep,' as you call it," she said before releasing a yawn.

Smiling, I gave my regards. "Alright then, good night; I'll see you in the morning, Mom."

"Good night, Alistair, and good luck on your hunt," she said in a soothing tone. Her words were followed by the beeping sound of the call being ended.

Moving the dog-shit phone into my trouser pocket, I used my now free hand to yank out the spear from the now fully regenerated vampire beneath me.

"Gah! You bast—" His voice was cut off by a familiar satisfying crunch as his head flew off his shoulders, thanks to my boot.

Raising the spear, I cocked it back in a spear-throwing stance before launching it at one of the retreating apostles.

"Bitch, I got some good news!" I yelled at Lorelei, who sent me an annoyed but interested gaze.

"What is it, Alistair?" she shouted back as her riding crop eviscerated some poor Apostle.

"Once we're done with this raid, I'll have six months' worth of vacation starting effective immediately!" I explained in a jubilant tone.

Lorelei did not take it well, as I saw her momentarily stiffen up before snapping her gaze in my direction.

"You're leaving me?!" she angrily spat, making me rapidly blink my eyes.

Why does she sound like a girlfriend that's being dumped? I don't like where this is going…

"And you care, why?" I asked back with curiosity, making Lorelei scoff before kicking another Apostle to the ground.

"Father won't let me leave on hunts alone until I take up the Lordship, and with him having all but retired from hunting, I am stuck with you as my only ticket to get out of the manor," she snapped back.

Of course, that makes so much more sense than her caring about me in any way, shape, or form. Her heart obviously belongs to the art of murder; silly me.

This also explains why she was so eager to drag me into hunts I had no intention of joining.

"And you never told me this, why?" I probed with some curiosity.

She sent me a confused look. "I thought you knew," she responded with mild confusion.

How the fuck am I meant to know shit you never told me?

God, she's dense.

She's going to be a right menace when she becomes Lord Barthomeloi. I already pity the poor bastards who will work under her.

"No, I did not, but that doesn't change things," I said while conjuring another spear.

"Let's take things slow, as this will be the last hunt we have in a while; best to enjoy it, right?" I proposed, making Lorelei give me a contemplative look before nodding.

"Then you must let them regenerate at least thre—no, four more times, then we can call it quits," she demanded, making me shake my head.

This was not what I'd call humane, but that's meant for things we care about, like cute small animals, not bloodsucking corpses.

So I'll indulge her, this once.

"Deal."

~~Fate/False Order~~

Pushing open the door, I walked inside and looked around to see if anyone was going to welcome me home.

"Hello? I'm back!" I said aloud, hoping for some reaction.

The sound of paws running on wood echoed from the hall, and I instinctively knelt down while widening my arms.

Turning the corner, Cath's fluffy tail swished about as he sprinted across the floor before jumping into my arms.

"Fou, fu, kyuuuu," he cooed while wiggling in excitement in my embrace.

Instinctively, I started giving him his daily chin scratches, making him give a low purr.

I'm still not sure whether he is more cat than dog, but my God, if he isn't cuter than the two combined.

Standing up with Cath in my arms, I walked through the manor towards the gaming room, where I assumed Altrouge was hanging out.

She'd become rather enamored with video games, finding a lot of fun in playing single-player ones, like Doom, Link to the Past, and the like.

She played games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat with me, and she was irritatingly good at it, especially when you compare her gameplay with her death toll in Mario.

Knocking on the game room's door, I entered it after waiting a moment and was instantly hit with the smell of wine.

Following the smell, I saw Altrouge lounging on the sofa with a glass of wine in hand and surrounded by three empty bottles.

She turned her head in my direction and flashed me a smile while raising a glass.

"Welcome home, care for a glass?" she probed.

I could only smile and shake my head before walking up to her and seating myself next to her on the sofa.

"Thank you for the warm welcome, but seeing as it's 9 o'clock, I'll have to refrain," I said dryly, earning a shrug from Altrouge.

"Your loss," she remarked before taking a sip from her glass.

Placing Cath in my lap and threading a hand through his coat, I gave Altrouge an eager look.

"So, about that catalyst?" I probed.

The comment made Altrouge perk up with some smugness as she moved the glass onto the table.

"Ah yes, the dowry," she said in a pleased tone while flashing me a smug smile.

"Not what I said," I rebuked, earning a shake of her head from Altrouge.

"Come now, just wait until you see it. I'm sure you'd be willing to bend some of your preferences given what I have retrieved," she said in a cryptic tone, causing me to sigh.

I don't know how long I'll need to drill it into that thick skull of hers that I'm not into jailbait, nor am I a necrophiliac.

Very vanilla, I know. But I'd rather not have the police called on me if we ever went on a date or be labeled a predator. And it's only going to get worse the older I get, as she is stuck as a midget.

Squinting my eyes at her, I tried to convey the most "I don't believe you" look I could without saying it. "Mhm, sure."

"Fou!" Glancing down, I gave Cath's belly a good rub. "Looks like Cath doesn't trust you either," I said on Cath's behalf.

Altrouge seemed to cross her arms while slightly tilting her head up, trying to look as smug as possible.

"I think you have it twisted. I can understand him, and he's saying that you'll marry me," she said eerily confidently.

Raising a brow, I carefully eyed Cath, whose tail was eagerly swishing back and forth.

…

Maybe Altrouge wasn't full of shit… and that's never good.

Having seen my reaction, Altrouge let out a witch-like cackle before standing up and starting to walk around the room.

Following her with my gaze, I watched as she looked expectantly at me.

It would seem she wanted me to ask what she got for me and then go on some smug speech about how great she is or how awesome the catalyst was…

Might as well get it over with.

"Altrouge, my best 'friend,'" I said while emphasizing the word friend, "tell me about the cataly—" "dowry," she interjected, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Yes, tell me about the catalyst," I said while ignoring her words, causing her to give a slight pout before brushing some of her hair to the side, regaining her smug look.

"You see, you didn't make my task an easy one," she said while raising a hand.

"You gave me four requirements." I could have sworn I only gave three…

"One," she said while extending a finger. "The servant should be a saint, or have a reputation mirroring that." She explained before extending a second finger. "Two, they should have no wish, or not have any large regrets during their life."

I'm with her so far.

Twiddling her two fingers, she flashed a smile. "Those two would hopefully guarantee them to qualify for the Ruler class, and not something like the Avenger class, but that was not good enough for you," she said before raising another finger. "Three, ideally, they should basically be a Caster, or at worst, someone with cleansing abilities."

Nodding, I was now curious about 'my' fourth requirement.

"And last but not least, the most important requirement," she said with gravitas. "Four, they must be a man," she said with seriousness.

"Excuse me?" I blurted out.

Like, the fuck? What kind of requirement is 'they must be a man'?

Altrouge didn't even acknowledge my comment before continuing.

"So I thought long and hard, reading through a lot of dusty books, and tortu— I mean interrogating a few priests and magi, before I found my answer."

Slowly she moved towards me as she spoke.

"I was first thinking of finding something connected to Moses, as he ticks all the boxes," she said before taking a knee in front of me.

"But then I got an epiphany after talking to a kind magus, and he told me of someone else that was a far better fit for you. A man known for basically being a saint, not wishing for anything." She moved her hand behind her back before retracting it, holding a small velvet box in her hand.

"A man whose magecraft is still unmatched to this day," she said with a tone full of wonder.

"Now," she said, snapping open the lid of the box, revealing a simple golden band, "will you marry me?" she said while flashing a toothy smile.

What. The. Fuck.

Staring at the ring, I could feel the waves of mystery it gave off, practically licking my body.

Wrenching my gaze from the ring, my eyes met the smug eyes of Altrouge.

"You are an idiot. A fucking overachieving idiot," I said in an annoyed but impressed tone.

"Wha?" My comment made Altrouge reel back a bit while looking a bit indignant.

"I just got you the perfe—" "Who is the main antagonist of Grand Order?" I cut her off in a dry tone, making her frown before giving her answer.

"Goetia," she said with mild irritation.

I gestured for her to continue. "But he wasn't always known as that. In the beginning of the game, he was known as…"

This made her look a bit confused. "He was in Solomon's corpse, right? So Solomon, then."

Ugh, why did I stuff her full of memes? I shouldn't have only shown her Fate/Zero and Unlimited Bladeworks; clearly, I should have shown her all of my information on Grand Order as well…

"He was known as Solomon, the Grand CASTER!" I said while emphasizing the last words as much as possible.

My words made Altrouge give a slow blink before looking down at the ring and then back up at me.

Faster than I could blink, she slammed the engagement ring box on the floor.

"FUCK!" she screeched before standing up and tugging at her hair.

"Kyyuuuuuuuuuu!" Cath jumped up from my lap after the sudden outburst, his fur standing on end.

"Three months of searching, millions of pounds down the drain, and all for a half-baked divine construct that can't even be used as a catalyst!" she spat indignantly.

Slowly, I moved my hand towards the discarded ring, because why the fuck would I not take it, even if it wasn't useful for my summoning?

As I gripped it, Altrouge's eyes snapped towards me, causing me to momentarily stiffen.

I sent her a small smile before I moved the ring up to my eyes, allowing me to look at it closer.

"So, how did you come across this thing?" I asked with genuine interest.

After all, this was one of Solomon's rings. FUCKING SOLOMON.

There has to be a cool story behind it.

She rolled her eyes at my question but seemed to humor it.

"I sent the head of the Department of Astromancy a compelling missive, lured him out of Britain, then I kidnapped him and forced him to continuously use his magecraft in search of a catalyst relating to Solomon. Naturally, he went insane after doing it for a few weeks straight, but he gave me a good enough location to go digging," she said in a bored tone before jumping onto the couch, seating herself next to me.

Did she just admit to being the root cause of Marisbury Animusphere's disappearance… And she apparently drove him to insanity before killing him… Fuck… didn't he have a young daughter?

And what will happen if Goetia pops up in this timeline? I'm not sure how the Grand Order timeline lines up with mine, but not having Marisbury here to make Chaldea will certainly fuck us if Goetia pops up.

"Now we are at square one; maybe I should go looking for something relating to Moses while we still have time," she said while lazily leaning on the sofa.

Slowly, I turned my head to look at her. "Or, we can go with plan B, and just summon for compatibility, and just allow Angra Mainyu to fully manifest before blasting him to kingdom come," I said dryly, only for Altrouge to vehemently shake her head in refusal.

"No, that's a terrible idea. Who knows if you'll pull something weak? And plus, I can't take the chance of you summoning a woman," she countered, making me raise a brow.

"And why would that be a problem? I noticed you mentioned it earlier in the rules as well. What is your vendetta against women?" I asked with curiosity.

My question made Altrouge give a blank face.

"You know a total of five people, six if you include Cath. Four of which are women, but two of them are your mother and her assistant. Leaving me and Lorelei as the ones you can feasibly fall in love with, and with how you describe Lorelei, I feel like it's closer to a matter of time until you fall for me," she said in a dead serious tone.

"So I'd rather minimize the odds of you summoning competition from beyond the grave to even the race," she explained monotonously.

I hate how I can't realistically disagree with her statement, as if she didn't look like a young teen, then I'd probably have already been all over her.

Was it shallow? Perhaps, but she wasn't much better.

The fact that Lorelei, despite her outstanding looks, makes for terrible competition, as her heart and soul clearly belong to the god of Murder, is frankly depressing.

Breaking eye contact, I leaned my head backward on the sofa's headrest.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear any of that, and news flash, I don't care, but I'm still going with plan B," I said tiredly, causing a grunt to come from Altrouge.

"You're going to waste a free wish because you wish to rush things? Stupid…" she grumbled, causing me to sigh.

"I'm confident in doing it in a way where I can have the war start in 10 years, like canon, but less fire and shit," I explained, causing her to give a low huff.

"Fine, but I'll still need you to use a catalyst. It'll be better to at least guarantee something strong rather than leaving it all to your shit luck," she huffed, causing me to crack a smile.

"My luck isn't that terrible," I lightheartedly protested, only for a slight stinging sensation to appear on my cheek.

Altrouge was pinching my cheek while sending me a dubious look. "You use a spear; you officially have lancer-luck, don't kid yourself," she rebuked before letting go of my cheek.

Well, I can't refute that.

Humming to myself, I glanced at Altrouge. "Seeing as I'm now only looking for something strong to kill Angra Mainyu, how about using my blood as a catalyst? It has draconic properties, so I should probably get a dragon slayer or something similar."

Altrouge's brows furrowed before glancing back at me. "It might work… but I'll agree on one condition," she said somewhat reluctantly, causing me to nod.

… It better not be anything stupid.

"Go on…"

"I want to get the blood once you're done with it," she stated matter-of-factly.

I could only squint my eyes at her before giving a resigned sigh.

"Fine, but can I keep this?" I said while raising the ring.

Altrouge mirrored my expression and squinted her eyes back at me.

"Only if we can go on a date or two once the war is over."

Raising a brow in surprise, I cracked a half-smile.

"As long as the date has nothing to do with murder or something similar, then I'm all for it."

After all, that was dirt cheap for a divine construct, and a much better deal than marrying her… Though perhaps this was her goal all along, as I'd probably still have tried to wiggle my way out of a marriage with her, even if Solomon was a Ruler Class servant.

Altrouge shot me a smile. "That is permissible," she mused.

Smiling, I placed the ring in my pocket and scooped Cath back up into my arms.

"Well, I'll be doing some calls, and I'll reserve Stonehenge for the ritual later tonight," I said, earning a wave from Altrouge.

"Sounds like a plan," she said before picking up a nearby Gameboy.

~~Fate/False Order~~

Throwing aside the empty bottle of mercury, I took a step back and gave the formalcraft circle a once-over.

Seeing nothing wrong, I glanced to the side at Altrouge, who was sitting atop one of the large boulders, looking down at me.

"How does it look?" I said aloud, causing her to glance at it before giving a small huff.

"It looks fine, just make sure to place the blood on the pedestal," she said, gesturing at a slightly elevated platform with an empty bowl.

Nodding, I walked over to it and placed my palm over it.

Pulling out a knife, I made a light cut on my palm, drawing a few drops of blood.

"That's not enough," Altrouge's words were followed by a snap of her fingers as the blood from my palm started to pour out like a waterfall.

Quickly, I covered my hand and applied a healing mystery, closing the shallow cut with ease.

Tracing my thumb over the healed skin, I looked up at Altrouge and sent her an annoyed look.

"Was that necessary? I'm fairly sure a drop would have been enough," I said dryly, causing her to give a light scoff.

"Oh please, I'm going to be drinking that later. I'd rather have more than a single drop, thank you very much," she bit back amusedly.

Of course, she was just hungry. Silly me.

Huffing, I walked back to the front of the circle and pulled out a piece of paper with the summoning chant.

Glancing at it, I quickly read it over before looking at Altrouge. "I'd like to start the ritual, but I'd rather not have any spectators see the light show, so could you please set up an illusion bounded field?" I asked nicely.

I could do it myself, but she was a bit better at it than me with such things, and I'd like her to pay me back for draining me of more blood.

Huffing, Altrouge snapped her fingers, causing a feeling of a harmless bounded field to spring up around me.

Nodding at her, I looked at the paper once more before raising my hand over the circle.

"Let silver and steel be the essence.

Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation.

Let red be the color I pay tribute to.

Let my great Master Pendragon be the ancestor.

Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall.

Let the four cardinal gates close.

Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate."

The circle started to emit a silver glow, and I felt my Od being drained at a high rate.

"I hereby declare.

Your body shall serve under me.

My fate shall be your sword.

Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail.

If you will submit to this will and this reason… Then answer!"

At my words, the circles color changed to a red glow, along with the feeling of a brand searing the skin on the back of my palm. Instinctively, I pumped even more Od into the formation, causing it to glow even more.

"An oath shall be sworn here!

I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven.

I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell!"

Three distinct red marks grew on my hand, turning into something vaguely resembling the shape of a six-pointed star.

"From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power,

Come forth from the ring of restraints,

Protector of the Holy Balance!"

The red light burst out, blinding me momentarily. Blinking my eyes, my vision tired and failed to adjust to the evening dark, causing me to frown.

There was a black mist that seemed to be bathed in shadows in the middle of the summoning circle…

Fuck, did I summon an Avenger?

"Oh? What's this?" A soft, melodic voice reached out from the mist, causing a shiver to roll up my spine.

"My, my, aren't you a familiar one…" The same voice echoed out of the mist, followed by a light giggle.

"Oh, where are my manners?" The mist started to slowly vanish from the circle.

Slowly, a head of snow-white hair made its way out of the mist, followed by a veil hiding a glowing pair of green eyes. Soon, the rest of her upper body came out of the shadows, revealing a dark dress with ample cleavage and an odd red tattoo on her chest.

She gave a light curtsy, wily bowing her head slightly.

"I am Servant Ruler, Morgan le Fay."

Shit, maybe an Avenger would have been better…

-----

A/N

Welcome back, my reader Overlords, please add this to your library and give me some comments, stones and Reviews, as it would be much appreciated.

Now that the mandatory begging is done, time to ask the hard hitting questions.

How was the chapter?

Any questions?

What do you think of the servant I chose?

There will be a character sheet for Morgan bellow, but I'll write some info here, before anyone starts asking questions:

Morgan is a closer to that of a Fairy (Elemental) than she is a human, and in Arthurian legends, Merlin is what is called a Cambion, which is either a child of a human and demon, or a fairy and human. Meaning that Morgan is technically the same species wise. And thanks to that, she is granted the same busted strength stats as Merlin. There will be more on later onto why she is so strong, but you'll have to wait and see.

Btw, I have made a Discord server for the fic, come on and chat with me! https://discord.gg/T39uwmxJ

Now I'm tired, so have a nice day, and send me some stones or some shit, I need motivation, or some shit like that.

Morgan Stat Sheet:

True Name: Morgan Le Fay

Class: Ruler

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Parameters:

Strength: B

Endurance: B

Agility: B

Mana: EX

Luck: A

Noble Phantasm: EX

Class Skills:

Magic Resistance (A+): Provides exceptional defense against magical attacks, making it nearly impossible for most spells to affect her.

True Name Discernment (A): Instantly reveals the true identity and abilities of any Servant she encounters, nullifying any attempts at deception.

God's Resolution (—): Grants the authority to issue absolute commands to other Servants, compelling them to obey her directives. This skill has been sealed.

Territory Creation (A): Allows her to create a specialized domain where her magical powers are greatly amplified.

Item Construction (A): Enables her to craft powerful magical artifacts and potions, demonstrating mastery over magical craftsmanship.

Personal Skills:

Double Summon (B): Grants her the abilities and attributes of both the Ruler and Caster classes, allowing her to excel in multiple roles.

High-Speed Incantation (A): Allows her to cast complex spells at an accelerated rate, significantly faster than most magi.

Witchcraft (EX): Access to immensely powerful spells and curses that far surpass modern magecraft.

Charisma (B): Naturally inspires respect and loyalty in others, enhancing her leadership and influence over allies and subordinates.

Fairy Eyes (A): Possesses mystical eyes that can perceive the true nature of things, including hidden magical properties, weaknesses, and truths.

Homunculus Creation (EX): Expertly creates homunculi with advanced capabilities, identical to humans in function and appearance, for various purposes.

Fay Blood (A): Her fairy blood grants her increased magical affinity and physical abilities, especially in environments rich with natural energy.

Noble Phantasms:

Avalon: The Ever-Distant Utopia

Rank: A++ (EX)

Type: Barrier

Description: Generates a nearly impenetrable barrier that provides immense protection and healing to those within it. Though the scabbard's defensive and healing capabilities are only meant for the wielder of Excalibur, but through Morgan's magcraft, she has twisted its functions to work for her, albeit at a rank lower than before.

Prison of Avalon

Rank: EX

Type: Anti-Evil

Description:

Prison of Avalon is an intricate bounded field crafted as an insidious trap by Vivian, capable of being deployed in advance and activated at will. This Noble Phantasm manifests as an ethereal garden, ensnaring those who fall within its perimeter.

Function:

Upon activation, the garden entraps the targeted individuals within a bounded field, followed by a sign with the inscription, "Only those free of sin may pass." The trapped individuals experience a weakening curse, its potency directly proportional to the weight of their sins. The more malevolent the individual, the greater the suppression they endure. This curse is capable of nullifying their abilities, rendering them incapable of breaking free or receiving external aid. Even Command Seals are powerless to extract a Servant from this confinement.

Caveat:

The only respite from this relentless curse is purity; those who bare few sins are granted passage and can leave unscathed.