A debt to pay

"I am angry." I say in a low tone while inhaling the smoke of my cigarette.

"Because of the 'mage-killer' I assume." replied Giorno.

I nodded slowly while closing my eyes. "The more I think about it, the angrier I get." I say. "I suppose it was both a wake up call and an insult all in the same moment."

"A wake up call?" asked Giorno with a raised eyebrow.

"Indeed, a wake up call not to get arrogant." I say. "He has already killed me twice. What if he eventually realises he doesn't have the means to do it, and instead chooses to search for a sealing method or the like."

"I would be there to protect you." replied Giorno.

"I know, but that would mean that instead of me being a risk both of us would be. And forget that bastard, what about those who are actually strong? Those who hold the real power in this universe... if a human can outwit me, how could I ever reach the top? How would I be able to continue taking as I please without fear of being stopped?" I explain while inhaling more smoke. "Then again... it is perhaps a wake up call to remind me that I am not meant to reach the top in first place." I mutter while looking at the moon in the sky, entranced by the beauty of its light.

"Young master..." said Giorno in a low tone.

I turned around and smiled. "Crazy, don't you think?" I say. "Even though I know the top doesn't have a place for me, I will still make my way to it, I will reach the heavens and claim them as my own, regardless of the price. I will build a throne to sit on while tasting everything that there is to taste, while trying everything that there is to try, while taking everything there is to take..."

Giorno smiled a bit at my words.

"The moon is so beautiful tonight..." I mutter. "Makes me want to claim it as my own."

"In that case we should get ready and plan in advance where we will store it should we not?" asked Giorno with a chuckle.

"We should." I reply, chuckling as well.

After a moment of silence, I finished smoking the cigarette and burned what remained of it. "Let's go with Diarmuid and Medea." I say, a smile growing on may calm face as the breeze made my golden hair flutter. "Kiritsugu taught me something valuable, so it's only natural for me to return the favour."

Once I finished speaking, we made our way to the biggest room in the mansion, where we usually gathered together to eat or plan. Medea was already there, reading the notes I gave her on how my alchemy works so she could have something to pass time with. Diarmuid was also there, cleaning his lances with a slightly bored expression.

"Hey there!" I say loudly, making both servants focus on me. "We have a small change of plans, our first target won't be Rider, it will be Saber."

Diarmuid smiled at this, Medea on the other hand remained with the same calm expression as she placed my notes down.

"Before we start with the actual plan however, there is something we need to talk about Diarmuid, I know you want to finish your duel with Saber." I say while looking at Diarmuid. "I won't stand in the way, nor will I tell you to do something else, however you need to keep in mind one thing, her master won't agree to that. Her master will do his absolute best to gain even the slightest advantage, which means you will have to fight while being on guard of petty and treacherous attacks, even from the king of knights herself." I say while continuing my explanation. "She may not want to betray her word and I am sure an honourable duel is what she truly desires, but she is still bound but the command spells, which means her actions may change at any moment as per her master's orders."

"I understand, my master." replied Diarmuid. "I shall then defeat her before she gets the chance to be insulted by her master any further."

"Good." I say while nodding. "Medea, you will be in charge of Irisviel, the white haired woman. She is the lesser grail and the one who supplies Saber with mana, so you have to deal with her carefully. Place her under a spell or something to keep her unmoving."

Medea nodded at my words.

"Giorno, you will take out Maiya." I say. "She is the black-haired woman who is usually with Kiritsugu. While she is not very strong, I am certain she will try to come and help Kiritsugu by any means necessary so do try to keep yourself safe and avoid whatever underhanded methods she uses."

Giorno also nods at my words and remains silent.

"I will take care of Kiritsugu, once you finish with Irisviel come help me, Medea." I say. "Kiritsugu should have something valuable inside him and I don't know wether taking it out of him will be easy or hard."

"Understood, master." replied Medea.

"Now let's go to the actual plan." I say, motioning Giorno to take out the map that has the important locations for this marked. "We will be attacking this castle, it is in the middle of a forest and we will certainly not get in unnoticed, basically we will have to attack a place filled with traps on a terrain our enemies know better than us. That however isn't as important as the interference of other servants, since we will be fighting it will surely attract the attention of others, and that is something we need to avoid."