Vol 2. Chapter 22. Wrath.

Not having a weird ass dream about Morgan's past is a nice change of pace… but something was off…

My back felt warm… surprisingly warm… and it was comfortable, really comfortable, but I was a tad bit apprehensive to open my eyes and confirm what I suspected to be the root cause of this feeling.

The distinct sound of deep breaths and what I believed to be an arm wrapping around my midsection did little to disprove my theory, which might as well have been fact at this point in time.

Waking up while being used as a hugging pillow was not something new to me, as Altrouge had taken many liberties on that front, but I was a bit surprised at Morgan suddenly doing it.

I knew that she had slept in the same bed as me yesterday, but her spooning me like this is a bit of a leap from yesterday…

This was certainly not the reaction I expected after accepting her wish, hell, I assumed she'd be sociable and in a better mood overall, not suddenly becoming as clingy as a koala.

Cracking open an eye, I tilted my head downwards, and there it was. A finely manicured hand was loosely holding my shirt, while the arm connected to it was draped over my side.

Opening my other eye, I turned my head to the side, and was met with Morgan in a blue nightgown pressing up against my back, though her veil was still in place.

I found that it was suddenly a lot more difficult to remove my gaze from her sleeping form… coincidence, I'm sure…

But this was quite the leap in whatever our relationship was. She is either messing with me, which I highly doubt, or me greenlighting her wish was the 'tipping point'... though I didn't think it was to this extent…

Though looking back at last night, she basically forced me to relax with my head in her lap for the better part of an hour, despite barely speaking to me after mentioning the moon…

I was kinda afraid that she had caught whatever 'moon-madness' that Altrouge has, as she can go on quite the tangent when talking about it, so her comment about it looking nice was off putting…

Though piecing together her affectionately threading her fingers through my hair for so long, together with her clinging onto me in bed, I can only suspect that her comment about the moon had a deeper meaning, and a romantic one at that.

Using more will of mind than I would like to admit, I stopped ogling Morgan, and leaned my head back on my pillow.

Morgan being so… affectionate was nice, but I'd rather not deal with this right now. Sure I wouldn't reject any advances, but until this whole thing is over, I'd prefer for this to stay on the low.

As if I got properly attached, I would probably be crushed if she died, or if the Grail had some other failsafe, causing her to forcefully return to the Throne of Heroes.

And what was waiting two, or maybe three more days in the great scheme of things? I highly doubt she'd be crushed by me being thickheaded for the rest of the war, or at worst I'll just say that I didn't want to assume.

Slowly, I wiggled my arm free from Morgan's embrace, and gently started to use it to uncurl her fingers around my shirt, as her grip on it was truly worthy of the B Rank…

Luckily, she wasn't conscious, so her grip wasn't that bad, but it was a tad bit embarrassing at the amount of strength I had to use to pry off a single finger.

But as I got halfway through, Morgan's grip tightened, and her body shifted slightly. "Five more minutes…" she groaned.

That proposition was a lot more tempting than it had any right being… but we had things to do, and Mom needed a translator between herself and Sakura, so I can't keep lounging around.

Patting the hand grasping my shirt, I spoke in a gentle tone, so as to not wake her up more than I already had. "You can stay for another hour if you wish, but Mom needs someone to translate for her and Sakura, so I'll have to hop on over."

My logical reason for leaving didn't seem to hold enough weight with her, as the arm around me tightened its hold, and pressed me more into her. "Ten more minutes…" she said in the same drowsy tone.

Why the hell does she sound like some spoiled teenager?

This time I grabbed her hand, and tugged at it hard, only for it to barely budge.

She was definitely not asleep, or as drowsy as she was portraying herself to be.

"Morgan…" I grumbled with a hint of annoyance, causing said witch to 'stir' and move around, causing her to rub all over my back.

I would not complain, but this was quite the direct attempt at seduction for someone like Morgan. I mean… I know that I am about as shallow as the kid's end of a swimming pool, but this felt like a bit much…

"I need to leave," I huffed out, and I could feel Morgan place her head on my shoulder, subtly leaning her head against my own.

"Fine~" she said in a tone that was far too close to whining, directly into my ear. "But I'll need something in return for you so rudely waking me up," she whispered in a sly tone.

Ah… there it is, maybe this whole spooning me thing was mostly for a favor, though I suspect that that's only a part of it.

"Go on," I said in a somewhat resigned tone.

There was a slight pause, before Morgan responded. "I'd like it for us to have a slow day," she demanded in a pleased tone.

The demand made me raise a brow. "You do realize that today, tomorrow and the day after will be incredibly hectic to make everything work?"

"If Lancer and Saber didn't have their fight as they did this morning, as they did in canon, then things will get even more hectic, as we need to move the war into its final stages," I explained dryly.

Morgan gave a light sigh, and tightened her grip a smidge more at my statement. "You're not wrong, and yes, Lancer is still alive. But I'd still appreciate it if we could take things slow…" she said in a gentle tone far too close to begging.

This was the first time she had genuinely asked for something, and I'm not counting the wish, as that is close to a Servant's right to have, so shooting this down would make me feel a bit bad…

And from what I could tell, it's not like I wouldn't enjoy this, as she was probably asking for a date, in a somewhat dubious roundabout way.

Though I would still need my insurance for me to agree…

Closing my eyes, I took in a deep breath.

"If you can promise that we will complete all our objectives within the day, then I see no issue with us enjoying some time together," I laid down my demands in a composed tone.

I felt Morgan's grip around me loosen, and her slightly tense body relaxed. "I can do that…" her words trailed off, followed by an amused hum. "But I'll need you to stay here for another… twenty minutes," she said in the same drowsy tone she had used just as she had 'woken up'.

You know what? I can deal with that.

"Fine, but we can't waste too much time, I feel bad for Mom and Sakura," I commented, which was followed by Morgan's melodic chuckle.

"I'm sure Rosalind wouldn't mind what we're doing." she mused aloud, before slightly snuggling closer. "Now shut it, I want to relax."

Fuck it, I'm not going to complain, am far too comfortable to even think of such a thing…

~~Fate/False Order~~

I guess fifty minutes was admittedly longer than I thought I'd be able to squeeze out of him, but at least it wasn't Alistair that interrupted cuddle time, as it was the doorbell's insistent ringing.

And I will admit that Rosalind was far more patient than I thought she'd be, so I'll be able to consider this a resounding success.

Walking over to the foyer in my Vivian homunculus disguise, I opened the entrance door, and was greeted with a smiling Rosalind, who was wearing an apron.

"Good morning," I said to the smiling woman, before she quickly checked behind me for Alistair.

Seeing no one, she slightly leaned in, as if about to whisper a secret. "Did you convince him?"

Mirroring her actions, I leaned in as well. "He was tired after running an errand yesterday, so I haven't had the chance to convince him yet," I explained sheepishly.

Rosalind raised a brow, but gave a follow up question. "But it's ten, you should have had some time to ask."

Putting on a fake blush, I averted my gaze from her. "You were the one who got us out of bed… cuddling took up a bit too much time," I said with a hint of embarrassment.

Rosalind clicked her tongue, and looked a bit miffed. "I can't even be annoyed with the answer…"

The sound of footsteps made the two of us straighten up, and look casual. "Oh, if the two of you haven't had breakfast, then you are free to join Sakura and me, as I was planning on making some for her!" She exclaimed in a happy voice.

As Alistair turned the corner, he shot his mother a dry look. "To my knowledge, you are only capable of mixing drinks, and I hope to all that's good, that you aren't slipping one in whatever you plan on burnin— I mean cooking up."

The look on Rosalind's face was both parts amused, and incredibly annoyed. "With an attitude like that, I'll leave you out of the planned pancake breakfast then."

Alistair's opinion took one eighty, as he suddenly looked very interested. "I'll admit, it will take you a lot of effort to fuc—" "Alistair…" his mother cut him off with a dry look. "Language."

Alistair rolled his eyes, and plastered a smile on his face. "I think we'd love to come over," he said in a very obvious over exaggerated tone of enthusiasm, but his mother didn't seem to mind.

Turning around, she gestured at the house. "Put on your shoes and get a move on."

Smiling, I bent down, and slipped on some loafers, and Alistair mirrored my actions, putting on his own set of shoes.

Seeing that we were done, Rosalind moved towards the house she had 'borrowed' from Alistair, and the two of us quickly followed. Alistair was a step behind me, as he had to lock the door.

Reaching the house, Rosalind opened the door, revealing a short purple haired girl standing in the doorway, staring up at her with dead eyes.

Rosalind smiled at the sight of her. "Hello, Sakura," she said in the most English accented Japanese I had ever come across.

But it showed that she had at the very least picked up a book or two on the Japanese language, as I knew for a fact that she didn't speak a word of it yesterday.

The girl nodded her head but didn't respond, only looking at Rosalind as if waiting for orders.

Stepping forwards, I decided to take the reins for a bit. "Please head to the living room, breakfast will be ready soon," I said in a gentle tone.

The girl slowly turned her head to me, and tilted it to the side, before looking at Rosalind, as if waiting for confirmation.

While Rosalind had no idea of what I said, she gave a nod of agreement, causing Sakura to walk deeper into the house.

Stepping into the house, Rosalind gave me a questioning look. "What did you tell her, I only caught the word breakfast?"

I gave a slight shrug. "I told her to wait for breakfast in the living room," I quickly explained, and she gave a nod in return.

Rosalind quickly slipped off her own shoes, and quickly rushed deeper into the house. "I'll need to get started then!" She said aloud, while darting towards the kitchen.

Taking off my own shoes and putting on a pair of slippers, I walked towards the living room, with Alistair following in tow.

{Is your mother a decent cook?} I probed, not wanting to ask aloud for the small chance of offending said cook.

Alistair didn't respond immediately, which was definitely a cause for concern. {I genuinely don't know… but she's fairly good at mixing drinks, but I don't know if that translates over.}

That was certainly suboptimal, but most food in this age was better than my own, so I would give it the benefit of the doubt at the very least.

As we entered the living room, I nudged Alistair towards Sakura, who was sitting alone at the furthest seat by table, while staring down at her lap.

He shot me a confused look, and I rolled my eyes. "Me and Rosalind are going to have a girl-talk, you go and get to know Sakura. God knows she needs more positive interactions," I huffed out, while pushing him towards the girl.

He looked a smidge suspicious, but relented without putting up a fight.

Walking into the kitchen, I scooted up next to Rosalind, who was pouring some flour into a bowl.

"Why aren't you with Sakura and Alistair?" She probed, while not looking away from her work.

I gave a slight shrug. "Ideally, Alistair needs to build some emotional link with Sakura, before I bring up your idea of adopting her," I smoothly explained. "And I might as well lend you a hand in the meantime."

Rosalind gave a slight pleased hum at my explanation.

Scoring some points with Rosalind would always be good, and if I am to ever reveal my identity, I needed as much good will as I could squeeze out of her.

As even if I give her my 'sob story', I'm sure that she'd be far too skeptical to even consider getting to know me better, and would probably involve the Mages Association in large to get rid of me.

'The evil witch that has mind controlled her son', or whatever dubious circular logic she'll use to paint me out to be the bad guy in the situation.

So it would be for the best to get to know her better, while hinting that I am hiding something, but am too afraid to tell her. Which is basically the truth anyways.

"So, how can I help?" I continued.

Rosalind quickly shoved a carton of milk into my hands, along with a whisk.

"You have just signed yourself up to whisking duty," she said with a smile.

Raising a brow, I watched as Rosalind slid a large bowl full of flour and sugar over to me. "Add about four cups of milk, and I'll add a few eggs soon," she explained cheerfully.

Shrugging, I got to whisking, and eyeballed what I assumed to be four cups worth of milk.

Rosalind quickly cracked eight eggs into the bowl, before turning on the stove, and placing a pan on it.

After whisking for a minute, I was starting to get a bit impatient, as Rosalind hadn't started doing something new, seemingly stuck staring at Alistair and Sakura interacting with one another.

"What's the next step?" I asked in a neutral tone, making sure not to sound impatient.

She turned to look at me while looking a bit confused, while slightly tilting her head. "If you're done whisking it, then all that's left is to start flipping a few pancakes."

That's it?

Looking down, I stared at the mix of milk, eggs, flour and sugar with mild apprehension. I didn't want to be rude, but this did not look like it was fit for consumption.

Seemingly not understanding my gaze, Rosalind walked up and snatched the bowl. "You've done well, it seems perfectly ready to be used."

As Rosalind was about to place the bowl by the stove, I felt one of my familiars ping my main body of enemy movement.

Putting the 'Vivian' puppet on 'autopilot', I found myself back in my workshop, and quickly picked up my scrying orb.

The mist inside is swirled, before displaying Lancer carrying a red haired woman, while dashing through a residential district… this residential district.

The feeling of one of my 'tripwire' bounded fields being tripped, only proved the fact that they were coming in our directions… and with clear ill intent, as that was one of the requirements for one to be tripped…

{Alistair, listen to me, get everyone into the house's workshop immediately, bar yourself, the puppet will follow on autopilot. Lancer and Sola-Ui are heading to our position. I'll be in your shadow.} I quickly conveyed, while sinking into my own shadow.

I would not allow anything to happen to Alistair, no, I refused to allow anything to happen to Alistair.

I quickly moved through the shadows, and made my way into the house.

It only took a moment for me to slither into Alistair's own shadow, and I saw that he was following my advice.

He had picked up a confused looking Sakura, and was walking towards the kitchen with a serious face. "Mom, Vivian, you need to enter my workshop, now," he said in a stern tone, causing Rosalind and my puppet to turn to look at him.

Rosalind wore a confused look, before it became serious. "Is someone coming?" She said while turning off the stove.

Alistair only nodded, walked to the kitchen entrance, and handed off Sakura into his mother's welcoming arms.

"Yes, get in now, I should be able to handle them if worst comes to worst," he declared sternly.

I felt another bounded field being tripped…

Rosalind was being too slow…

Rosalind looked torn, but my puppet stepped in, and simply grabbed Rosalind's free arm, and dragged her away.

"Only come out if I come and get you," he said, and Rosalind shot him a concerned look. "Promise me that you'll be safe," she asked in a pleading tone.

"I will," Alistair promised, and with that, Rosalind stopped resisting, and followed Vivian further into the house.

{How long?"} Alistair asked me, his tone holding a slight edge.

I was about to answer, as I felt the third barrier being tripped. {A few seconds at most…}

His frown only grew at the news, and he gave a sigh. {I'll move to the dojo then… it would probably be for the best to have as 'open' an area for this encounter.} He explained.

{Try to stall them for a bit, as I'll need to make sure that they won't escape when I make my move.} I explained calmly.

Alistair gave a slight nod as he moved towards the dojo.

As he entered, he walked to the center of the room, and started to flare his Od, in a move reminiscent of Lancer during the first fight of the war.

His provocative move had an instant effect, as not a moment later, one of the walls was cut into shreds by two spears.

As it crumbled onto the floor, Lance stepped out from the destroyed wall, followed in tow by Sola-Ui, who wore a sly smile.

"Pendragon," Sola-Ui greeted in a mocking tone of voice, while giving Alistair a look that one would give a pig meant for slaughter.

Lancer himself looked rather uncomfortable, but he was clearly ready to spring into action if needed, and his gaze was fixed on Alistair.

"I would have extended you the same courtesy—if your name were worth remembering," Alistair sneered. "But let's not drag this out any longer…" his tone was clearly dismissive, and the roll of his eyes certainly didn't help.

Sola-Ui's face twitched at the tone Alistair was giving her, despite the danger he was in. "So how can I help the unfaithful Master and Servant duo?" He asked with a raised brow.

Lancer's face turned into a scowl, while the redhead only slightly frowned.

"I'd watch my tone if I were you," she bit back, before giving something that could barely be considered a smile. "But to answer your question, you, your mother and your lover will make for excellent hostages."

Hmmm… my anti-scrying fields are impeccable, so I can only conclude that Rosalind was spotted by chance by this filth while on a shopping trip.

Alistair cocked his head to the side, and squinted his eyes at her. "You speak as if you're assuming we'd come willingly," he scoffed, before straightening his head back up, and giving her a look one would reserve for an especially slow child.

"But I wouldn't expect brains from a trophy wife who thinks cheating on her 'Lord' fiancé, over a renowned adulterer, is a smart thing to do."

This time the reactions were immediate, as Lancer took a step forwards, and his face was twisted into a scowl.

"You dare demean our character? You know noth—""You and your worthless temporary Master tripped at least three bounded fields, where the intention of killing, or severely maiming my family are the qualifications for tripping them," Alistair cut him off in a cold tone.

"I believe that that's more than enough of a reason for me to spit on your characters, and assuming that you, Mr.Chivalry himself, does not wish to do such a thing, leaves the ginger as our would-be murderer."

At this, the Foolish spear wielder shut his mouth, while subtly eyeing his Master with slight apprehension.

"My only question is, why would you target us to this extent?" Alistair probed, and the redhead gave a smile full of superiority.

"With the two of you in danger, and under our control, Saber wi—""Do not think me to be as simpleminded as yourself, as I don't need the obvious spoon fed to myself to understand it, I asked for why the hostility, as I don't recall you or your family holding such a grudge against my own family," Alistair cut her off, and shot her a look of disgust.

The redhead had clearly had enough, as she looked as if she was about to explode.

"Lancer…" she called her Servant's name with mild anger.

"Yes, mistress," he replied, while subtly changing his posture.

"Cut off his legs."

This bitch.

Lancer didn't flinch, as he lunged for Alistair with his golden spear. Not that I'd allow him to even touch a hair on his head.

Space folded on Alistair, and he reappeared a dozen feet away from the spot where he had stood.

I had prepared more than enough, it was time to act.

Silently, I started manifesting out from Alistair's shadow.

The sight made both Lancer and the red haired bitch stiffen, though at least the Servant had some sense in him, as he positioned himself in front of his whore of a Master.

Fully emerging, I walked around Alistair, and positioned myself in front of him.

"Caster?!" Lancer yelled questioningly, seemingly drawing his own conclusions, despite our lack of similar characteristics.

Though he was right in a certain sense.

"Not exactly, but you won't live long enough to learn the difference, so Caster will suffice," I said in a cold tone, while glaring daggers at Lancer.

Slowly walking towards him, I set up a few illusions to activate on my mark, before stopping a few feet away from the Servant of the Spear.

"You barge into my home, threaten my family, and proceed to attempt to sever Alistair's legs," I continued with a tone as cold as ice.

Not to mention that he has ruined my day…

"Now tell me, what pitiful excuse would someone like you—a disgrace to knighthood—use as 'justification' for this?" I pressed.

Lancer only readjusted his stance, and gave me a defiant look. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing behind it, other than following my Lord's orders," he explained.

Of course… only following orders… What a simple minded fool.

Conjuring a large orb of shadows, I launched it at Lancer, causing it to block his sight of myself.

Silently, I sunk into the shadows, allowing my illusion to seamlessly take my place.

Lancers red spear struck my attack, causing it to disperse like black smoke, before lunging forwards for my illusion.

His golden spear formed an arc, as it aimed for my clone.

As it sliced through her midsection, blood spewed forth, and my illusion lowered an arm to put pressure on her wound.

Next, Lancer's red spear thrust forwards, and speared through where her heart should have been.

But as it touched the illusion, it started to disperse, and in the brief moment he showed confusion, I sprouted forth out from the shadow beneath him.

In the blink of an eye, I was at his back.

While I wished to use Erosion, his 'B' Rank Magic Resistance was too much for a mystic code, even one designed by me. But that only meant that he needed to take enough damage, so as to weaken his constitution and natural resistance.

Trailing a finger down his spine, I watched as a green line followed the trail of my finger, followed by Lancers body tensing, but it was too late.

Sternum, Ribs, Clavicle, Scapula, Lungs, Esophagus, Trachea were all locked on…

Just as he was about to twist and jab a spear at me, I teleported a few steps in front of him.

I felt a small smile tug its way onto my face, as I raised an open hand.

A green orb formed atop my palm.

As Lancer turned to look at me, I clenched the orb. "Crush."

Lancer's chest imploded. Blood splattered, as ribs and other bones stuck out of his caved in chest.

Lancer coughed out a lump of blood and flesh, before slowly collapsing onto the floor.

Looking down at him, I snapped my fingers, and six black chains sprouted from the floor, each one latching onto either his arms and legs, or his two weapons.

While they would chain him, they would work as life support, and keep Lancer alive long enough for me to patch him back up again.

A curved golden dagger appeared over Lancer slumped form, before it shot into his back, causing Lancer to give a sharp intake of breath.

The lights in his eyes vanished, and they became murky.

I still had some use for him. After all, as Alistair would say, even trash can be recycled.

Turning my gaze at the filthy bitch, I watched on in glee, as she shook like a newborn lamb, and her face had gone as white as a corpse.

Smiling to myself, I sauntered over to the shivering mess, who fell to her knees upon noticing me walking to her position.

Bending down, I flashed her a smile, not that she could see it. "Now what do we have here," I said in a cold tone.

"I-I.. I–" she kept on stuttering, but I was having none of it.

"I'd ask you the same question Alistair had asked you, but I don't believe that you'd be in any mood to tell me the truth, so I shall pry the information from you myself."

The shrinking of her pupils was adorable, but I didn't let that distract me.

Placing a palm on her forehead, she didn't even offer any resistance, as I pierced her mind.

A slew of old memories assaulted my mind, but I quickly discarded them, and started rifling through her newer ones.

It didn't take long before I found out her plan.

After reading it, I had to fight against my instincts to instantly pulverize her head.

Seemingly catching on to my distress, Alistair spoke up. "Morgan, you're shaking," he commented with a hint of worry.

Taking in a deep breath, I let go of her head, and the filthy scum collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

"I'm merely agitated at what I just learnt," I said without turning to meet his gaze.

Alistair's footsteps echoed through the broken dojo, and he quickly made his way next to me.

He gently clasped a hand on my own, and gave a slight squeeze. "What did you learn?"

Taking in a deep breath, I turned my head to look pointedly at the filthy cur at my feet.

"She was going to kidnap your mother, force her into a geass and trade her with herself to become Kayneth's new fiancée," I felt his grip on my hand suddenly tighten enough to cause me a smidge of pain. "While killing anyone else in this house, in an attempt at goading Saber to attack them while not thinking straight."

There was a slight pause, and I didn't need to know Alistair, to know that he was glaring daggers at the vile filth at my feet.

"Did Kayneth sign off on this?" He asked in a frosty tone.

Shaking my head, I clarified. "Kayneth was going to have all of us kidnapped, but he was not against torturing us for information or in an attempt to rile up Artoria, as if worse came to worst, he'd kill us all in the end. As all the Pendragon's are here, so just saying that we got caught in the crossfire could work, as long as he planned it out well."

Pausing for a moment, I gave him the last pieces. "Though, he was planning for our family to become something similar to a hidden vassal house to the Archibalds, as it would be easy to force us to sign a geass by threatening you two with a Servant as backup."

I heard Alistair start taking in a few deep breaths, as if centering himself.

Seeing that he needed a moment, I waited for a second or two, before continuing. "Can I… deal with this as I see fit?" I probed.

I felt Alistair's gaze on me, so I turned my face to meet his eyes.

He was furious.

His face showed very little, as his face looked completely blank, but his eyes gave it away.

"Morgan… I'd prefer it if you did a lot more than just 'dealing with them'," he said in a voice so cold that it was almost alien for me to hear it coming from him.

"I'm sure that you have plenty of experience with punishing scum like them," Alistair continued in the same tone of voice.

I gave a small nod, and I felt a small, cruel smile make its way onto my face.

"All I ask, is that you do your worst."

~~Fate/False Order~~

Kayneth sat alone in his dimly lit apartment, the muted glow of the afternoon sun shone through the curtains and casting long shadows across the room.

The soft hum of medical equipment was his only companion in his crippled state, and an unwelcome one at that.

Ever since Kiritsugu's cursed bullet had torn through his circuits, leaving him crippled and humiliated, doubt started to sink its roots into his mind.

He wasn't blind to the sudden shift in power between himself and his fiancée, whose visits had grown increasingly sparse and brief.

There was a time when her eyes sparkled with ambition, mirroring his own, but now they seemed distant, uninterested, as if blinded by someone else's radiance...

Then there was Diarmuid, the very image of what women looked for in men. Looks, personality, strength, he had it all.

Kayneth's jaw tightened at the thought of the handsome knight.

The way Sola-Ui looked at Lancer did not escape his notice—the lingering glances, the subtle shifts in her demeanor.

The way she hung off him, the way she'd smile at him... it all made Kayneth's blood boil.

Sola-Ui had already stripped him of a command seal, by the excuse of that Kayneth could no longer support Diarmuid alone...

It was true... but he knew that it wasn't the true reason behind her actions.

Perhaps they saw him as a weak link now, a burden rather than a master.

Or the idea of Sola-Ui being swayed by Lancer's charm was infuriating, yet his current helplessness made him understand that there was little he could do to stop them.

Other than using another command seal...

The silence of the room was interrupted by a sharp knock at the door, startling him from his brooding.

He straightened, his senses alert.

It would seem Sola-Ui was returning together with Lancer, and hopefully they had brought their newest bargaining chips with them.

He wheeled himself toward the door, causing that infuriating squeaking sound from the poorly oiled wheels.

He didn't know why, but the distance seemed longer than usual.

As he reached the door, he hesitated, his hand hovering over the handle.

He didn't understand why, but he felt... nervous...

Taking a steadying breath, he pushed aside his apprehensions.

Kayneth grasped the handle firmly and pulled the door open.

The sight made bile instantly rise up his throat.

In front of him hung a mangled Sola-Ui, suspended in the air by two dark floating fish hooks, that had penetrated her shoulders.

Her hands were mangled, each finger joint having been bent backwards and twisted, with her hands no longer having any nails. Her arms and legs were twisted like tie-twisters, with some skin having ruptured due to the strain.

But her face…

Her hair had been partly torn out, leaving patches of bloody scalp clear on her head, along with a few spots where the skull was visible. Her eyes had been clawed out, but the empty sockets had been filled with her red hair.

Her nose had been ripped off, leaving a bloody stump with two slits in its wake. Her mouth was clearly unhinged, and hanging open, but inside it laid a set of brown eyes.

Her brown eyes.

Kayneth let out a soul wrenching scream, and he quickly turned his wheelchairs wheels backwards, in an attempt at making as much distance between himself, and the mangled mess that was his fiancée.

His wheelchair was only able to move a foot away from the living corpse, as it bumped into something soft, causing it to stop its tracks.

The feeling made Kayneth stiffen, and he hesitantly turned his head to see who had stopped him.

His gaze was met by a woman wearing a tightfitting black dress that emphasized her chest, along with a black and blue tiara that had a black veil hanging from it, hiding the woman's face.

"Why aren't you happy to see your fiancée, Kayneth?" The woman asked with a melodic tone, but her words made shivers fall down his spine.

"Ple—""Shh…" The woman cut him off effortlessly, while placing her black gloved hands on his shoulders, causing Kayneth to violently flinch.

"Don't talk, that's my job," she continued in the same beautiful tone of voice she had used earlier.

Kayneth snapped his jaw shut, and gave a shaky nod at her thinly veiled threat.

"You know… Alistair was going to allow the two of you to live," she stated in a calm tone, and Kayneth only felt dread at the fact that she was talking in the past tense.

"He felt that you should be given a chance to be with your fiancée, and have your pathetic little 'happily ever after', not even caring for any potential favors he could get out of saving your hides," she continued in a wistful tone, as if reminiscing about some cute bout of childish naïveté.

Her grip suddenly tightened on his shoulders. "But then… you and your whore of a fiancée thought it wise to kidnap Alistair and his family… hoping to use them as bait…" her tone had turned a smidge frosty, and her grip tightened even further.

"And that filth," she spat, her tone as cold as ice. "Wished to kill my Alistair…" Kayneth saw two green orbs start to glow from behind the veil, at her sudden mood swing, and he felt his bones start to creak at the increased grip.

Kayneth knew that he had messed up… really messed up…

He had no idea that Alistair would have the help of a Servant, which one he wasn't sure of, but everything pointed to her being Caster. Which would explain how Alistair had gotten around the geass, and meant that the one they had been seeing and fighting was a fake.

He knew that he needed to make amends… he needed to do anything to get out of this situation.

Alistair seemed to have not had an issue with him staying alive, maybe he could wiggle his way out of this.

"Please, I had no ide–""I know." That response shut him up, and the cold glowing orbs, seemingly intensified.

"But at this point, I don't care who's responsible," she practically growled at him, and Kayneth turned his head away from her, and started shivering.

He was going to die.

"Please… please don't kill me…" he begged.

The cold, near mechanical laughter from behind him, made the crippled magus hunch forwards, as if putting any distance between the two of them would do him any good.

"My dear Kayneth," she said in a soothing tone. "I won't kill you," her voice was filled with humor. "Much like how I haven't killed Sola-Ui for her mistakes."

The words made him inadvertently look to his fiancée, whom he thought was dead, but to his horror, he could see the barest rise and fall of her chest.

The grip on his shoulders suddenly felt a lot more menacing. "Don't worry, you, like her, will have plenty of time to think over, and repent for your mistakes," the woman's words made a few tears fall down his face.

"Please have merc–""Shhh….."

Kayneth felt a few bounded fields spring to life around him, and he knew it was over.

Closing his eyes, he felt as fingers punctured his shoulder.

"You should not have even tried to touched Alistair."

—

67 Hours, 2 Minutes And 8 Seconds Until Zero 

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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.

Damn, lots to talk about... 6K words.... again....so what did you all think?

How was the surprise? And what do you think of Morgan's methods of punishment? Do you think the lesson will sink in?

Btw, I have made a Discord server for the fic, come on and chat with me!

https://discord.gg/y9HdZ9WN

Now I'm tired and have a fuck ton of Uni stuff to do, so have a nice day, and send me some stones or some shit, I need motivation, or some shit like that.