Escape(part 1)

This was it then…' The young prince could sense his end was near. He tasted blood on the roof of his mouth. His stomach heaved sending vile bile up to his throat. He was not sure if it was cause by fear or his wounds. He opened his jaw slightly, letting a gob of blood drip down his cheek. A deep breath rasped painfully from his bruised lip and the musty odors of the chamber flowed in take its place.

It was a loud place, an enormous, tall hall, with lapis lazuli and velvet covered walls, gold mosaics, auburn carpeting and red bricked hexagon floors. Light flowed freely from the windows on both flanks providing bountiful sunlight, but there was an ancient melancholy that would not go away. diverging views. The masonry was cracked in place, the golden railings haggard and peeling. The drone of the court carried through the tremendous echoing room. Leaves piled on the edges of the window seal, browning pencil pine, that turned the room a perpetual sepia.

There was a heat in this chamber that had nothing to do with the desert outside. The stone floor was cool beneath his knees. His brother sniffs beside him. The prince cranes his neck, and numerous heads follow his movements. None of them are armed, but his fresh bruises show they have no need for such instruments.

Radu's eyes swim with tears, in an embarrassing display of grief. The prince's heart lurches. Shameful though the display is, he is only a child, thankfully spared the same punishment delivered unto him. The sight is too much to watch and the prince wants nothing more then to hold his brother. But he cannot act, not in the position he has been placed in.

He looks at his brother with a gentle eye, the other swollen shut by his beating. He is prepared to offer his life alone, hoping it will spare the younger. 'Forgive me brother… but what sort of man will I be if I do not protect you.'

He spends what he thinks are his final moments in prayer. Stilling the rapid pounding of his young heart, he casts his eyes out the window. He can make out faint smudges of green, and pictures that familiar seaside. There were times in his captivity that were almost enjoyable, and on the rare times he and Radu had excelled in their studies, they would be allowed to the woods under armed escorts. He remembers running through sunken groves, the aroma of the cypresses and the sensation of the Tunca river washing over his feet.

In a flash the room went silent. Radu whimpered and flashed him a panicked glance. He smiled as kindly as he could. 'Beheading was a clean death…'

Slowly he lowered himself into position, lips touching the mat. The footsteps fell methodically, at a pace that was neither leisurely nor hurried. There was no stares upon him now, but he knew the Sultan was aware of him.

The steps are silenced, and there is a soft pat when his captor is seated.

His name was Murad II, and he cut a magnificent figure. A tall, powerfully built individual. He wore robes of green and gold with a perfumed beard of black, that covered his throat. He favored baggy clothing, which made him look plump and shorter than he was. This the young prince knew was disarming display, one many envoys or would be invaders had fallen for.

"My boy… I am sure you understand what this means…" His voice strong and baritone and spoken fluently in Romanian. A humbling act that drew ripples of whispers from his audience.

"I understand. Sultan." He spoke with as much confidence as he could force.

"Look upon your Sultan as he talks." That was Pasha Halim, the Grand Vizier.

The prince did as he was told. Pushing his palms hard on his haunches he rose. Pasha Halim looked surprised, while Murad stood up with a severe look in his eyes.

Who did this to you boy?"

The prince felt a bitter laugh coming along. He was about to be sentenced to death, and his Judge concerned himself which of his courtiers had wounded him. That was just like Murad however. The Sultan was careful to embody the simplicity, piety, and noble sense of justice that was his persona. A front no doubt, but one the man no doubt believed.

"I fell down the stairs my Sultan." In the corner of his eyes he could see some of the Pasha's squirm, but he would not call them out, whatever small revenge he could enact now would not be worth any harm it could bring to Radu.

"You fell down the stairs?" Pasha Halim repeated in an incredulous voice, but any more he said was silenced when the Sultan raised his hand.

"Vlad Dracula, three years ago your Father made me a promise." The prince spine prickled at Murad's heavy words. "He swore upon our God, that he would not take up arms against me again."

The Sultan strode forward, coming between the two hostages. Vlad tried to draw himself up as straight as possible. In his time both in the old court and this one, he had seen many men put to death. He had seen the weepers and beggars, and he had seen those that met their ends with quiet decorum. He knew what he wanted to be.

"Where your Family to take up arms against the Caliphate, then you and your brothers lives would be forfeit." Murad said.

Pasha Halim held out a scroll, that thrice cursed letter that had told the Court of his father's betrayal. Halim read aloud, his every word bringing out the quiet rage from the Court. "Vlad Dracul has broken the peace and made an alliance with the Burgundians. He has razed the lands of Silista, harassed our caravans and captured the city of Giurgu. Under false promise he persuaded the commander of Giurgu's Garrison free passage in return for surrender. But no sooner did his forces leave the gates before they were slaughtered by the Wallachians."

"Murder!" One of the Pashas shouted.

"Blood for blood! Let us return his sons to him in pieces!" Another cursed.

Infidels! Treachery. Retribution. The buzzing cried filled the room.

"Silence!" The Grand Vizier's voice thundered, cutting down the clamor into absolute silence. "Their fates are for the Sultan alone to decide.

"Sultan…" Vlad stood up on shaking knees, his sore body swaying like a reed from his efforts, as he fought to stand upright. "Kill me if you must… But please spare my Brother."

The room is still in the face of his break in protocol. Murad contemplates him with a complicated expression. The break is small, less then a heartbeat, but stretches for an eternity. Murad extends his hand. Clasping it firmly around his right shoulder.

The prince jerks up shocked by this show of compassion. Murad speaks solemnly, "It occurs to me that taking your head will only serve your father. So, sparing your lives will serve me. Prove it to me Dracula. Prove that you are worth more to me alive."

"I will, Sultan." He bows deeply, promising that and more.

"Lord Lancer "

Blinking, the Lord Impaler opens his eyes.

Adrianople had disappeared. He was seated on a throne, in a large lavish room, in a lavish hillside mansion. Homunculi were scattered across the hall, vigorously waxing the floor until the hard marble turns into a near perfect mirror. Lifting up his head, he rests his chin on the sides of his face.

"What a curious memory," He reflects, riding the waves of nostalgia. Loose recollections, normally irrelevant to his part, come freely. That was only the first of his brother's signs of defection, and their disagreements would only worsen as the years went by.

He shook his head. He to be blamed as well. The child he was too biased in his family's favor, then consumed by rage after the murder of Mihea and Father. Murad proved been a decent man in the end, and Vlad had been proud to have fought by his side. He did not hate the Ottomans by the time he took the throne, but they had become the biggest threat to Wallachia's freedom.

No foreign force would rule over his people, never again would kin have to kill for the sake of their foreign overlords. No more crusades, no more campaigns. No wars of ethnicity or culture. No enslavement of the gypsies nor suppression of the boyars. Wallachia would have been one nation, one people. No Ottoman Empire, no Hungary, no Moldovia.

Vlad stiffened, straightening his collar. It chaffed uncomfortably on his neck and looked towards the homoculus who greeted him

" Ruler has made her way into our territory Lord Lancer ,Lord Darnic requests for your presence "

" I see " he replied as he stood up and returned to his astral form

"Are you sure you're not keeping a secret or two from me? You're not a Servant or something, are you?"Rider sighed

I don't think so, the homunculus thought. however, that was difficult even for Rider to believe. After all, why else would they go so far for a single homunculus?

Gordes did not hide his annoyance as he said.

"We cannot allow that homunculus to escape. Remove yourself, Rider."

However, it was obvious that Rider would not willingly accept that.

"Nope."

Rider rejected Gordes' words out of hand, so quickly that he did not even seem to have considered them. Gordes became even more vexed, gnashing his teeth to control his emotions..

"Saber, restrain Rider. You can do that much, can't you?"

As commanded, Saber stepped forward.

"Huh? What? Has your Master lost his mind?"

A blast of electricity hit the space in front of Saber

" Lord Gordes please recall saber or else I will be forced to stop you "

"Y-you insolent " Gordes shook in rage

The act contained traces of both anger and fear.

" Why must I fear a simple homunculus...? It is unforgivable, as a magus... "

Silent as ever, Saber stepped up pointing his sword at them forcing him to the earth.

Rider I will try to distract them you take the opportunity to escape

No way as a hero a palladian and a man there's no way I'll abandoned you

"... Astolfo you are a man ? "

"Of course I am ! "

"Your clothes though"

" I wear them because they look cute"

" ..."

Gordes was livid first they a servent and a homunculi refused to obey him,then that homonculus dares to threathen him and now they are outright ignoring him

" Stop standing there doing nothing ! attack them Sabe!r "

Saber charged forcing Astolfo to let go of the homoculus and defend himself

Having lost his support, the homunculus collapsed like a marionette with its strings severed.

"Wha...?!"

sparkes flew as Saber's sword and Rider's lance clashed however the difference in power was too great between the two Servants. Rider struggle to stand even as Saber pressed down on him.

"W-Wait, stop!, Saber! Let me go!"

A blast of light slammed into Saber distracting him long enough for Rider to retreat back

Saber looked in suprise an attack , containing not thaumaturgy but pure raw force a shot that just now clearly exceeded A-rank, and thus penetrated his defensive ability.

No morden mangus should be able to instantly use such magecraft but again the homoculus in front of him just used one

The railgun (" Super Electromagnetic Cannon") is Mikoto's signature technique, the source of her epithet and her ability name

Operating in a manner similar to its namesake, by forming parallel currents on both sides of her arm with her electricity and utilizing Lorentz force, Mikoto can fire metal objects at three times the speed of soundThe Railgun's primary limiting factor is air resistance and the resulting friction. As the projectile passes through the air at supersonic speeds, the friction causes a loss of kinetic energy and generates heat, building up to levels which cause most projectiles to melt however Misa uses an 27mm steel bar reinforced with reinforcement magecraft to make it more durable longer range but at the cost of reducing the speed to only 2.1 times the speed of sound but in terms of destructive power it can easily blast through a three feet thick solid steel wall but against someone like Seigfield it was nothing more than a minor flesh wound

Saber adjusted his grip this fight was going to be taking longer than he expected

Those words shocked the homunculus out of his stupor. The boy hugged a sheathed sword to his chest like a child would hold their favorite blanket and dashed off into the forest.

"Seriously?" Gordes complained as he gave chase. "How annoying!"

That left only Siegfried Rider and Misa in the clearing, to fight each other

"How dare (huff) Darnic send me on such a menial task..."

The homunculus laid on the ground exhausted as he looked up at Gordes. His eyes did not express hatred or seek pity. Instead, those inorganic, reflective lenses peered directly into the human being called Gordes.

"...!"

Gordes clicked his tongue and grabbed one of the thin wrists of the homunculus. The act contained traces of both compulsive frustration and fear.

"You have troubled me enough... Caster is going to grind you down and use you for a golem. You should thank him. He will turn this frail body into one made of stone."

There was only silence. The homunculus waded through the sludge of his exhausted mind and thought. His wrist was being restricted, so tightly so that it felt about to snap apart; the man before him had captured him. It must have been under the directive of Caster. He did not understand why they were so obstinate about him. Nevertheless, if - as Gordes had suggested - it was his fate to be crushed, then he must make a choice if he wanted to escape this situation.

However, it was a choice that the homunculus simply could not make - for it was a decision that only living beings, with their own clear paths to the future, could take. After all, how could a transient existence such as himself subsist by trampling on the lives on others? It would go against the natural order of things.

Just before he stopped resisting entirely, Rider's shout pierced his ears.

"You fool! What are your thinking?! Don't hesitate! Don't give up! You want to live, don't you? You said you don't want to die! So keep trying until your last breath! You have that right! No matter what anybody else says - I, Astolfo, will accept you!"

His words forcibly pulled the homunculus' collapsing mind back together. Yes... at the very least, had he not made the decision to 'live'? Regardless of the misfortunes that might mire his life, he wished to live - so that he could stand before the one who had saved him without any hint of shame.

Taken aback by the sudden outburst, Gordes turned and shouted down on Rider instead. The homunculus tried to grasp the suitable means; what he needed right now was any form of 'destruction'. He made his decision - to pour every bit of strength he had into his restrained wrist, and kill the magus before him.

His Magic Circuits accelerated to the point of nearly incinerating his flesh. It was much the same as when he had destroyed the reinforced glass. He perceived the composition of the human body, attuned himself to it and aimed to destroy it.

"What...?"

Gordes noticed the excitation of his Magic Circuits and stared at him in shock. The nameless homunculus gripped his arm and prepared himself as he wove the words of the beginning.

"

Straße gehen

Logic path open

...!"

The prana flowing through his entire body converted to a form most suitable for ripping flesh and crushing bone. His palm became the barrel of a gun - the sheath of a sword - and what it fired was a bullet or perhaps blade that would not only destroy Gordes' arm, but mercilessly devour his heart.

"Kuh...

Anamorphism eisen arm

Shapeshift iron arm

!"

Gordes' barked-out spell pierced through the fatal flaw of the homunculus' thaumaturgy, which brought destruction by appropriately converting the form of energy based on the target's composition. Gordes simply needed to change the composition itself, and the thaumaturgy would become little more than a small-scale explosion.

They were simply too ill matched. The homunculus - a failed product casted from appropriated Einzbern alchemy - was fatally incompatable with someone who had actually studied such thaumaturgy.

Gordes cowered in the face of the blast that had been meant to kill him. However, after the long escape, the homunculus had already reached the limits of his endurance.

"You insolent Gordes shook in rage not actually injured; the pain was lessening already and his wound would take mere seconds to heal with thaumaturgy. The issue, however, was that he was wounded by what was supposed to be nothing more than a prana battery - and with an attack that had unmistakably been meant to eliminate him.

It tried to kill me...!

Gordes was correct. In his own way, the homunculus had mustered as much killing intent as he could before unleashing his spell. It was an impossible mutiny. The prey which he ought to devour and expend suddenly turned around and bit him.

On top of all the stress that Gordes had already suffered - this was the worst, final blow.

"Enough! You would try to kill me?! A homunculus?! Kill me?! Never! Never, never, never...!"

Half-crazed, Gordes kicked at the homunculus with all his rage. Darnic's command had already completely left his mind. His voice was grating and shrill, with all the pride and elegance of magi thrown to the wayside.

Gordes went further. His iron fist punched again and again into the withered body of the homunculus.

The homunculus had already been close to death when he utilized thaumaturgy. He had no power left to resist and laid face-down on the cold dirt.

Ah... I'm going to die, the homunculus realized subconsciously. Even if by some miracle Gordes forgave him, he could no longer do a thing. After all, the punch just now had demolished his heart. Judging from the frenzied expression on Gordes' face, it also seemed unlikely he was in a forgiving mood.

Left with no choice, the homunculus gave in. In the end, it did not matter which card he played. The hand he had been dealt was simply too poor...

Even with two against one they could not bypass Saber

Misa's attacks were just minor inconvenience to Saber and valiant as he was, Astolfo simply could not stand up against Siegfried's raw power and expertise, especially when the paladin wielded a weapon meant for mounted combat on a horse.

"Stop him, Saber! Stop your Master! Quickly...!" Rider shouted as they both clashed again

Misa blasted another railgun on Saber's sholder

Saber remained silent ignoring the wound. Rider tried with all his might to throw off Saber's sword, but it did not budge in the slightest. Saber gazed directly into Rider's eyes

For what reason?" Siegfried inquired. "Because he came to you and begged for help?"

That was the reason he had saved many during his life. After it became known that he was invincible, everyone wanted his help. After all, if it wouldn't hurt him to do it, what had they to fear by asking? So, he'd done as he was bid, even when he was asked to perform deeds of questionable morality. If one gave their life to the whims of others, to the ideals of justice, that was the only path.

But even then, he still felt there was something in his life that was unfulfilled, the reason he accepted the Grail's call. Why was he dissatisfied with his path?

"NO!"

Siegfried's eyes widened as his attention was drawn back to Astolfo's defiant stare.

"It was something I decided of my own volition!" the paladin shouted. "We took form in this world to have our wishes granted... but that doesn't mean we can just accept anything that happens! Have you forgotten how to be a hero?! I haven't! I am Servant Rider... but I was Charlemagne's paladin, Astolfo! And I won't abandon him! I won't!"

Saber's hand twitched.

Another shot forced him to withdraw

Siegfried… paused. He closed his eyes and retracted his sword. He felt more than heard Rider gasp at his actions.

The idea… saving someone because he wanted to. Not because someone else asked him to.

Yes. That was it.

"I remember my wish now…" he said. It didn't matter that no one was there to hear him say it.

Misa and Rider looked at him before the two of them raced off in the direction the others had went.

What they found… was less than ideal.

Gordes was standing before a thick tree. His right arm and sleeve were badly blackened, and his entire body was shaking with shock.

And the homunculus was on the ground before the tree, eyes closed and unmoving, a thin trail of blood trickling down his face.

"No "

The smell of dirt and grass and wood filled the homunculus' nostrils. It was not so bad to end up covered in mud, he thought. At the very least, he was going to die with the great sky overhead, and the vast earth underneath. This might be a more pleasant end than the one waiting for those homunculi left at the castle, he thought.

Although drained of emotions towards all other things, carved within him was a singular sense of guilt and regret towards Rider. He felt sorry that all of Rider's help had come to naught.

Gordes stood before him. The homunculus did not make a decision so much as let the flow take him where it would. He opened his mouth and panted as though having just completed a sprint.

The scene clouded over - perhaps from fear, or despair - and he was glad that he could no longer see the fist closing in on him.

And so the nameless homunculus, born into the world with no meaning, would now die in the same fashion. That was how it should have ended.

"Stop, Master."

Saber placed his hand firmly on Gordes' shoulder. Gordes turned around in disbelief. Saber had ignored his command to restrain Rider and was facing him instead.

"What did you say, Saber?"

"I said, stop. If possible, I would like you to heal him and let him go."

"What are you saying?"

Gordes' voice quivered. Such was his anger that he no longer had any expressions on his face. However, he took a deep breath and spoke in the strict tone of a Master.

"Do not utter such nonsense, Saber... why must we heal and release it?"

"I appeal to your good nature, Master. It would not disadvantage us greatly to grant him salvation."

"Enough. Just be quiet."

"Master..."

"Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up! You're my Servant, aren't you? So follow my orders! A mere familiar is not entitled to give me any opinions! Just shut up and do what I tell you to do!"

Having come to this stage, Gordes glared at Saber with clear enmity.

This treasonous worm would defy its own Master!

He truly regretted using that second Command Spell.

What 'hero'? What 'Servant'? It could not even accomplish the simpliest of orders...!

"Will you not save him?"

"I told you to shut...!"

In an instant, Gordes' consciousness was blown away by the fist Saber sunk into his abdomen. Completely ignoring the collapsing Gordes, Saber turned his back on him and looked straight at Rider, holding the hand of the homunculus and Assassin's master

"Saber...?" Misa asked him uncertainty

Without answering her call, Saber approached the two of them while dispelling his woven plates, sword and even armor, baring his chest.

Saber knelt before the dying homunculus. Rider glared at him angrily.

"It's too late... it's too late, damn it! Why did it take you so long?! We could have stopped that idiot of a Master before he did anything!"

It was only natural that Rider lamented. Saber should have stopped his Master as soon as he could. Even he would not be foolish enough to use a Command Spell here. If Saber had done everything he could, he would have prevented the death of the homunculus. He nodded sadly.

"Yes... you are right. Yet again, I have strayed onto the wrong path. In my doubt and bewilderment, I have elected for the worst option."

It was no different from then... he had thought that his acts would be able to end the conflict.

He had always made the wrong decisions at the most critical of moments. Bound to his own desires, he tried to overlook the weak who cowered before him. He did not seek salvation for himself - so he ignored the silent cries of those who had. Such meanness and wickedness were certainly not things he had striven for.

Would he repeat the same mistakes even in a second life? Saber's heart tightened in remorse and self-hatred.

"However... there is still a chance. It is not over yet."

"You think I believe you...?!"

Rider's temper flared again at his ridiculous words. Right away, he made a fist and tried to punch him - but then froze.

"Wha...?!"

The noise was deeply unpleasant, like the ripping of long, thick grass. And spraying in all directions, was blood, blood, blood...

It all came from Saber's chest.

Saber tore open a hole with his own two hands. All thoughts of violence forgotten, a dazed Rider could only watch the alien scene unfold as Saber gouged at his own innards.

"What, are you...?"

"Perhaps this is not enough to atone for my sins. In fact, I may simply be burdening him with the same ignoble fate and untimely end as I. But... this life is something I ought to offer him."

The heart that Saber had scooped out was unbelievably crimson. Raising the homunculus with one hand, he made him swallow the heart.

His act was unreal... grotesque... but it was not irrational. The swallowed heart eventually reached where the heart ought to be and began to beat strongly. He was alive. The homunculus had undoubtedly been resurrected.

However, it was all an equivalent exchange. The price of saving the nameless homunculus must be paid by Saber. He must give up the Holy Grail, give up his second life - and give up all of his desires.

"Why... why did you...?"

Rider asked, dumbstruck. Saber smiled softly at him.

"Thank you, Rider. I have almost lost sight of the thing I was seeking."

Saber's feet began to turn into golden particles. He was not turning to Spirit Form, but into oblivion. As he had lost the pathway to remain in the current world, he must now separate from it and disappear. A Servant's spiritual core exists in the heart and head; having ripped it out himself, he could only fade away.

Saber was suffering a second death. There was no other way to put it. There must be so many things he had not yet accomplished. However, Saber seemed entirely at peace.

"No, Saber... you can't! Saber! Don't leave!"

Rider yelled at him with a mix of disbelief, grief and anger on his face. As he trembled and held back tears, Rider looked for all the world like a lovely maiden. The ones who had fought beside him must have done all they could to impress him...

To consider such trifling things even in such a state... I must be hardier a fool than I had realized.

A bitter smile appeared on Saber's face.

"Why did you do it...?" Misa asked him the whole time she just stood silently until now " sacrificing your life for him…Why would you do such a thing?"

Siegfried grinned at her and Rider. "I wanted to be able to fulfill my own wish, instead of only allowing myself to grant the wishes of others. Perhaps it was extremely self-centered of me, but I could not rid myself of this desire: If only once, I wanted to save someone of my own will, to be able to experience that pride. Even if no one begged me to. Even if my efforts were unwanted. This is all I have been wishing to do for such a long time." He looked at her

"One life is sacrificed to save another. That is an equivalent exchange," Siegfried dourly noted. "Quite fair, is it not, Master of assassin

?"

He knew he was going to die however, there was one thing that Siegfried was certain of.

Yes... this is a good end...

As he murmured to himself, Saber was extinguished. For a moment, Rider sat on the ground in a trance, until the homunculus began to cough. He hurriedly checked his pulse and pressed an ear against his chest. He could feel a real, powerful pulse of life.

"You're alive... yes... thank you... thank you, thank you...!"

Rider pressed the homunculus' hand into his cheek, ignoring the blood and filth. He did not care about what would come. He only wanted to express his relief at this fortunate turn of events. After all, the Rider of the Black did not possess any reason. He did not care at all what would happen in the coming days of the war. More specifically... he forgot entirely about the fact that their camp had just lost its Saber and was now in a highly disadvantageous position.

The innocent Astolfo simply celebrated and cried. He did not think about the attacks to come; even if he had, he would only have come to the conclusion that he should celebrate the homunculus' survival first.

He pulled up the fallen homunculus. His stature, which should have been slightly smaller or about the same as Rider's, had grown considerably. It appeared that, due to taking in Saber of Black's—Siegfried's heart, his body had undergone a radical transformation.

Still unable to believe it, the homunculus clenched and unclenched his hands again and again. The dull pain he felt when his heart was ruptured still remained, but it had already been reduced to a level that wouldn't impede him.

"It seems that Saber's heart is functioning properly." Misa noted

Rider nodded, appearing impressed. The homunculus put his hand against his heart, and indeed felt a strong pulse from it. His blood was so hot that it made him sweat all over his body.

"Yeah—"

The homunculus felt slightly moved as he spoke without experiencing pain. To think that inhaling and exhaling could be so comfortable!

Somewhat excited, he surveyed his surroundings until his attention was caught by a tree.

The homunculus adjusted his breathing and activated his Magic Circuits. He gently placed his hands on the tree, confirmed the tree's material properties, and then released his prana to destroy it. The tree easily broke like a twig, but the homunculus' body magnificently endured the force of operating his Magic Circuits.

Watching him, Rider nodded in a somewhat lonely manner.

"…Yeah. Like this, you'll probably be okay by yourself from here on. Since Saber died, someone has to go back and explain what happened right away, or things will become complicated."

Rider was correct. The Masters at the Fortress of Millennia were probably confirming the status of all the Servants one by one. Saber had been sent to chase after Rider and the homunculus, so there was a high chance that a new pursuer would be sent at this rate.

"I have to take back this guy too."

He lightly tapped the head of Saber's Master… Gordes Musik Yggdmillennia, who was unconscious after having been struck by Saber. The man's physique normally wouldn't make carrying him a feasible feat, but Rider was a Heroic Spirit. Carrying the man on his shoulder was no problem for him.

"Oh, that's right. We don't know what you might encounter along the way, so I'll give you this sword."

Rider casually handed over the slender sword hanging along his waist. Bewildered, the homunculus accepted it. Though it was slender, the steel blade felt heavy in his hands.

"But, this is yours—"

"Yeah, but I have my lance and book besides my sword. And that's not even including my Hippogriff as well. Honestly, I don't use my sword that much."

Rider gave a full-blown smile and a peace sign with his fingers—unable to see a reason to refuse, the homunculus hung the sword along his waist.

He was a bit worried about his balance due to the added weight on one side of his body, but he would probably get used to it before long.

"…I want you to use it with great care. It seems I misunderstood Saber. Umm, how to put it…? I mistakenly thought he was a sullen, straight-laced and boring guy."

"I get it. Thank you. You truly saved me."

"It's fine, it's fine. I wasn't very useful in the end."

That's not true, thought the homunculus. Rider alone had answered his cries for help. He had held out his hand to him, saying he would help him. The homunculus had nothing to repay him with, and yet Rider had unhesitatingly done something that would not recompense him in any way… Perhaps it was precisely because he was such a man that his words had convinced Saber to save the homunculus at the last moment.

"By the way, I've wanted to ask you before. —What's your name?"

"…My name?"

How difficult, thought the homunculus as he folded his arms. Naturally, if he had been specially made to serve as a maid or to fight, he would have been given a name to discern him from other homunculi, but since he was just a mass-produced industrial product, there had been no need to give him a name.

That's why he had to think of a name for himself now. There was no way he could live his entire life under the name 'homunculus'.

Suddenly, he placed his hand upon his heart. This was a blessed gift from a Heroic Spirit. So, at the very least—

"How about 'Sieg'?"

"Not Siegfried?"

"…It would be far too brazen for me to completely copy his name. But, it would be regrettable to completely forget it as well. So, I thought 'Sieg' would do."

Rider nodded his head enthusiastically.

"That's true… Yeah, Sieg is a nice name, isn't it?"

"Thank you. Then, my name is Sieg."

"Ahaha. Nice to meet you, Sieg!"

Rider offered his hand, and, with some hesitation, Sieg grabbed it with his own. They both knew that their final farewell was approaching soon.

"Isn't there something I can do for you?"

Rider made a somewhat painful expression and slowly shook his head.

"—There isn't. You have been freed from this war. You're a free man now. And most likely, your life span has been increased to that of an ordinary person, I think? So you should live normally and die normally. If you do that, the one who saved you, Saber, will probably be happy as well."

With a kind gesture like that of a young maiden, Rider placed his hand on Sieg's cheek and smiled. Then, as if overcome with emotion, he pulled Sieg's head close and ruffled his hair.

After doing that for a while, Rider finally released him.

"All right, get going now. I'll manage somehow or other on my side."

Nodding at Rider's words that seemed to thrust him away slightly, Sieg drew back first one, then two steps. It was slow, but he was certainly increasing the distance between them. Rider waved his hand reluctantly as they parted, but eventually he nodded as if severing himself from something, and then he suddenly hoisted up Gordes over his shoulder and turned his back to Sieg.

Misa's eyes as she grabbed Seig and pulled him back

Two Servants abruptly materialized nearby. The first was a girl in a wedding dress with what looked like a horn jutting out of her head, and the other a tall man encased in golden armor and deep violet robes. The most unusual part of his attire was the faceless golden mask he wore, evidently part of his armor. Moments later, six more figures arrived. Four of them wore the same white and gold jackets as Gordes and had Command Seals on their hands. The Masters of Black.

"Aw man…" Rider whined as he looked around, "They found us."

The other two figures were clearly Servants. One's energy felt like the fresh pine of a forest, and he stood behind a wheelchair-bound girl, his master no doubt. Though the horselike tail sticking out behind him was a mystery.

Still, the final one was the most terrifying, beyond question. He sat upon a clay construct built in the likeness of a warhorse, his deep frown set like a knife. His long blond hair was pale and only added to the regal air about him which only magnified the sensation of menace he gave off. More than anything else, his mere presence commanded respect and fear. But unlike the others, she recognized this one. She'd seen his portrait in history books and encyclopedias her whole life. This was Vlad Tepes III, better known as Vlad the Impaler, son of Dracul. A legend who was not only world-famous but here, he'd also been summoned smack-dab in the middle of his homeland and was backed up by a squad of other Heroic Spirits.

Misa's face paled. They were surrounded. They were surrounded by the entire Black Faction, . She grit her teeth in a ferocious and hopefully misleading sneer, cold sweat beading on her forehead and the back of her neck.

"Uh-oh " Misa dutifully repeat the words that Rider taught her