Paris Holy Grail War: Day 1 (1)

A young woman with tanned skin grabbed the shoulder of a man who covered his body from head to toe in clothes. Once she grabbed him, she spun the man around to face her.

"Wait right there!"

Tonia had sensed this man's mana when she passed by him and noticed that he had a much higher amount than a normal person. It was obvious that he was a magus but she couldn't tell if he was part of the war or not.

The man was about to respond when he felt a knife press into his lower back. Although the small blade did not pierce his skin or even cut through his clothes, he still understood the threat. The man did not move and waited for the woman to continue.

"Tell me honestly. If you lie, I will have Rider kill you where you stand. Are you a Master?"

The man looked confused when the girl asked the question. Tonia saw the look in his eyes and the way his face moved. It was obvious that he didn't understand what was going on.

Tonia signaled for Rider to move the knife away. The magus in front of them wasn't part of the war so they had nothing to fear from him.

When she pulled the blade away, the man let out a breath he had been holding in.

"Do you mind telling me what's going on and why the woman behind me just pressed a knife into my back?" the man asked

Tonia thought about it for a moment and nodded. She decided to bring the man back to the hotel room that she rented out.

The trio walked for a few blocks until they were outside a high-class hotel. The man stopped and looked impressed but when he saw that neither woman stopped with him, he had no choice but to walk/run in order to catch up to them before the elevator left him behind.

The man whistled while they were in the elevator together, unsure of what to say but not good with uncomfortable silences.

Once they reached the 13th floor, the elevator stopped and the group got off before heading to a room at the end of the hall. Tonia and her purple-haired companion sat on the couch while the man sat across from them in a chair.

"I guess I should first inform you of why we almost killed you and why you should leave the city as soon as possible. The woman sitting next to me is my Servant, Rider.

The short version: There is currently a war going on between mages in this city using the souls of heroes of legends.

The long version: There is currently a war going on between a few mages in this city using the would of heroes of legend and myth in order to get a wish as well as a position in one of the 3 Great Families or the Clock Tower.

Currently, an item with unbelievable magical power that can grant wishes is in the hands of the largest 3 mage families in the world. For the past 30 years, they have monopolized it in order to make their mages better as well as get wealthier.

But because the Grail is fair, it made rules that the 3 must abide by. One of those rules allows other mages to fight for the right to use the grail. We do this using Servants."

Tonia then went on to explain all that she knew about the Holy Grail Wars that the 3 families hosted. About Servants, the Throne of Heroes, and the Holy Grail.

"And that is why you need to leave. I am more patient than most but most of the people participating in this war are not afraid to kill every mage they see with no questions asked, especially the representatives from the 3 Great Families. They don't want to give the other person a chance to call out their Servant."

A vibration could be heard coming from the man's pocket. The man nodded before shaking his head in frustration.

"I can't leave though. I came here with a purpose."

Tonia looked at him, her curiosity peaked. Most mages would have already bought a ticket to leave Paris as soon as they heard about the danger they were in.

"The man who killed my master is here. I came here to avenge her!" the man explained

He then stood up and took off his shirt. Rider was about to attack him but Tonia held up her hand and signaled for the Servant to stop. If the man did anything stupid, it would be easy for Rider to kill him.

When he took off his shirt, the women saw his brown skin was covered in various red markings. Some of them looked like letters while others were images. But no matter what, very little of the man's skin was not covered in the markings.

"That man not only killed my master but he also did this to me and all my fellow disciples. These markings do not seal my magic but prevent me from circulating it properly. Basically like having a kitchen full of food but being unable to eat any of it.

Even if I die, I must at least try to kill him or see his dead body with my own eyes as one of you Masters or Servants kill him."

The man's voice was rough and he seemed like he was holding something back. The frustration and helplessness in his voice were obvious though.

Tonia wanted to believe him but she had to be cautious since he refused to leave. Even if he was not a Master, he could still be assisting another Master.

"I'm sorry but do you mind proving it? Just to make sure that you are no threat to me or my goals."

The man nodded. He was fine with giving Tonia actual proof.

The man pulled out a bone knife from behind him. He then began chanting in Arabic. A red light surrounded his body. Tonia and Rider could feel the magical energy being exerted.

But even after chanting for so long and when the light faded, the duo could not see any effect. It seemed as if the spell had failed. The man let out a self-deprecating laugh.

"I'm sorry for asking y..."

Before she could finish speaking, the bone knife in the man's hand had appeared in Tonia's chest. Blood spurt all over the couch and over Rider.

Rider felt the blood touch her body and was instantly enraged. She punched the man in his chest while he did the same to her. Both were sent flying across the room with the man breaking through the front door while Rider crashed into the window.

When the dust cleared, the man stood up and looked completely unharmed. He walked back into the room and saw that Tonia was still barely clinging to her life while Rider wasn't making any moves as she curled on the ground.

"Wh-Who are you?" Tonia asked, wanting to at least know who killed her

The man smiled before pulling his knife out of Tonia's chest and slitting her throat. The seconds she had left were made even shorter by this final act.

The man pulled out a cell phone from his pocket before dialing one of the two numbers saved in it.

"Hey, Boss. I used my Noble Phantasm before killing Rider and her Master."

[I know. Your Noble Phantasm killed Saber when we were about to fight her. This is why I told you to wait until I text you so we didn't waste it, Berserker.]

"You didn't?"

Berserker looked at his notifications and saw that the vibration he felt earlier was a notification for one of his games and wasn't a text he got from his Master. Seeing this, he smiled awkwardly to himself.

[You downloaded some games on your phone and mistook one of their notifications for my texts, didn't you?]

"My bad, Boss."

[Whatever. Meet back in the hotel room. The other 3 have been notified that 2 of the Masters have died along with their Servants. We need to get ready since it will most likely become a 3-on-two instead of a free-for-all like before or a 2v2 as we planned. Who was Rider, by the way?]

"A woman named Martha."

[Hmm. I'll see you back at the hotel.]

Berserker hung up the phone before looking around the room and frowning. He had really screwed up the plan and would need to make it up to 'Boss' if he wanted to be forgiven.

The man walked over to Martha/Rider before slicing her neck and stabbing her chest a few times. He needed to be sure that the woman was dead since Servants had strong vitality and the woman herself had a few unique personal skills.

Once he was sure that she was dead, Berserker turned into his spiritual form before leaving the room without a trace.