Chapter. 17 Fading

"Gilgamesh seems to take the battle seriously," said Kirei. "He intends to open the deepest part of his treasury. To think he of all servants would consider the woman a threat..."

At this comment, Tohsaka Tokiomi grabbed his head, and he could feel the first headache slowly coming up inside him. The sound of the jewel Kirei talked through faded as it was placed on the round table in the church's basement.

Gilgamesh should still be in hiding. That was how Tohsaka had arranged and planned everything. But the boredom of the oldest heroic spirit was something he did not account for. Perplexed, he stared at the jewel in his hand. It was Assassin's task to bring unrest over the battlefield and get important information about enemy servants.

So far, this plan seems to be yielding results. They heard a lot of information about the other masters and their whereabouts and obtained heroic spirits' identities. Tohsaka should be pleased, perhaps even celebrating, since he could now make plans against his enemies. And yet he fell silent. In his wildest dreams, he would never have thought that his servant would be summoned with a particular ability, the root of all his problems.

'Why did he have to be summoned to the role of the Archer and possess independent action as an ability?' With his hand on his head, he tried to suppress the headache. Tohsaka respected the position he held under the great king. For him, it was only natural to bow before a higher being. Even though he was the master, he willingly stepped back and spoke in a respectful voice. He was, after all, only a magus, not a legendary figure from ancient history.

'That my tolerance is being tested so early... It is simply outlandish to believe.'

Only after the first servants were eliminated and he possessed enough personal information to plan counterattacks, Tohsaka wanted to use Gilgamesh to crush the remaining servants.

His hands massaged sleepy eyes that were already underlined by dark circles. He had been trying to entertain the tireless king for several days. He was not pleased to hear Archer reveal the gate to Babylon several times in front of all the servants. However, he tolerated this as long as the nightmare in the white robe was destroyed. What was the matter if they saw his inexhaustible treasury? he had thought. But Tohsaka knew that if the woman died tonight, he would have one less worry.

But in the presence of so many servants, Tohsaka considered it foolish to unlock the innermost chamber and reveal the most sacred treasures that lay dormant within. The weapons and items of the highest rank would undoubtedly be the deathbed for the woman, he did not doubt, but should the five other foreign servants possess similar or even greater strength, he would lose any advantages gained, and Tohsaka wanted to avoid that at all costs.

"Always show pride and elegance!" A way of life that had been passed down in the family for generations. 'To think that I would be the first to use a command spell...'

His gaze wandered to the back of the hand, on which sat the markings that gave the master absolute power over the actions of their servant. One last time, a question crossed his mind. Did he have a choice?

The Archer looked down at the woman. His smile had already turned into an evil demon that wanted to tear his prey apart. Even though it pained him, he had to admit that the woman was a danger he could no longer fight half-heartedly. He realized that conventional methods would not be enough.

Suddenly his expression twitched, and he looked southeast. How many could guess that the Tohsaka estate lay in that direction? The other servants followed his gaze but saw nothing in the night.

"Do you think a few simple words might assuage my royal wrath and make me ignore that malicious behavior? Do not think too highly of yourself, Tokiomi!"

Clear words of consequence, Archer spat into the distance. But the command spell showed its effect. The countless noble phantasms that hung in the sky disappeared. The golden key was stored in the golden sphere from which he had originally drawn it. But the unhappy expression continued to hang on his face.

"... Fortune seems to give you mercy but don't be foolish, as your spider thread has only narrowly escaped the fateful scissors today. But I will not again overlook your awful presence. So next time you'd better stay out of my sight."

Even though Archer was already sending his beloved treasures back to the infinite chamber, he remained mindful. No sooner had he finished his sentence than the scythe also disappeared in a silver light. With closed eyes, the woman looked at Archer. A servant against whom she could not triumph tonight.

The torn fabric that held the dress together only by light shreds began to glow under a silver light. The material vibrated and crackled as countless spiders wove the dress together on her skin. The blood washed out of the threads as the bloody cuts in her skin closed. Barely a few seconds passed, and the dress unfolded again like a flower.

The woman's pale hands moved to the sides of the fabric while her right foot was carefully placed behind her left leg. The gown, shimmering in the moonlight, was lifted as she executed a slow curtsy and bowed her head before the King of Heroes. With the slow rise, the dress glistened, then the hair and skin, before only the silver light remained and disappeared into the waves in the shimmering moon.

Even the thick fog that plagued the sea weakened, and the wind touched the waves for the first time.

A gasp sounded from Archer's nose. For a moment, his eyes remained on the sea, surprised by the respectful farewell. Without warning, his body turned, and he caught sight of the other participants silently enjoying the dying battle. And his eyes focused on Rider.

"Next time, leave the lowly people behind. I will not tolerate such ignorance again."

Without even acknowledging the others, the golden armor lost its luster as Archer decided to leave as well. The woman proved to be a worthy opponent whose dreams he would crush. The curtsy showed him that she considered the battle lost but by no means gave up on victory. How sweet would her face look if he crushed her dreams? Would the emotionless face lose its mask? What her wish was, he could not say, but to be ready to go even against Archer, the most powerful of all servants, he could say that it was something extraordinary. Despite her repulsive presence, it was worth it to him to keep watching her. Only the rotten aura that surrounded that woman he did not understand; it was more the absurd strangeness that made the hair stand on end than a foul stench.

"As an enemy, she is hard not to be underestimated, and it seems to me she has manners worth mentioning," Rider said excitedly. The foreign aura had already fled from his mind. He was the King of Conquerors. So it was only natural that he would conquer her as well. After all, he could always use more people in his army. "But it seems to me that Archer's master is also a grouchy fellow like the Servant himself."

All heads turned to him. A short thread of patience could be seen in their eyes. They all believed it was not the appropriate moment to gossip about the master behind Archer's back.

A cold wind blew across the ruined landscape. The ground was indistinguishable from the dark sky. Soothing thoughts drifted into everyone's hearts. Only one dared to speak them.

"The foreign Lady with the Scythe of Death did not seem to me to possess the skills of a caster by any means, but even the wrath of a berserker did not veil her senses. If I did not know better, I would say she is not a servant at all."

To Lancer's comment, everyone could only nod mutely. The caster class specialized in dealing with magic. Under the circumstances, it seemed impossible to wield a blade masterfully. Especially at the level of the knight classes, who spent a lifetime doing nothing but going the way of the warrior, It was a natural conclusion to which everyone who had observed the battle came. The skills with the scythe reflected centuries of accumulated experience.

The caster class was considered the weakest of all participants in the Grail War, and hardly anyone bothered to gather information about it. Casters could adjust the environment in favor of their magic. An ability that the woman had taken advantage of in the form of the rotting mist that came from the depths of the hell she inhabited. Even if her magical abilities were proven in battle, she still preferred to use the scythe. But because of the circumstances, no one came to this conclusion. In the eyes of magi and servants, such behavior could not belong to any caster.

At the same time, the Berserker class was excluded. Magus, who participated in the Grail War, would realize why. Any heroic spirit who once in his life gave in to rage and stormed the battlefield in a frenzy could be summoned as this class. Spirit and rationality were traded for strength. It allowed a weak servant to gain intangible strength. Despite this, you had to be there already if you did not want to lose your life. With a weak mind, it was impossible to control this raging avalanche. The mana would be drained from the master until nothing but a dry shell remained.

Unable to place the veiled woman, Kayneth scratched the back of his head uncomfortably. Teeth chewed on his lower lip. Hands under white gloves were damp. What would he do now?

Saber and Lancer were still having their interrupted duel. Both had made their displeasure clear to Rider when he entered the stage and the demand of both servants to end the battle still burned in their souls. Kayneth did not doubt that Lancer would listen to the order to retreat according to the circumstances. Especially considering that this move would also be beneficial for Saber. As long as there was the possibility of other servants monitoring the battlefield, this opening could prove fatal for the homunculus.

'Perhaps we should retreat for now?' The information Kayneth gathered was very valuable and would prove to be an advantage in future battles. He accepted Lancer's displeasure if it increased the chances of victory.

"I have to admit you guys are a really fun bunch!"

Just as Kayneth was about to give the order to retreat, a deep voice cracked like lashing lashes across the harbor. The amusement was already evident in the vibration of the pitch, and every master could imagine the smile before their eyes.

In the distance, Kiritsugu and Mayia were still observing the battlefield when they heard the thundering voice.

"Mayia, can you locate the voice?"

There was no mistaking the fear in his voice. His beloved was still on the battlefield. It was hard to imagine what might happen if another monster appeared on this battlefield. But he believed that Saber could protect Irisviel. But the uneasiness still hit his stomach as sweat formed on his forehead.

Mayia shook her head. "No signatures to be seen. Could it be another servant?"

"From what we've seen, it could just be Berserkers," But Kiritsugu was also unsure of this assumption.

"But shouldn't this class be losing its mind? How can it speak, and with such a clear voice at that?"

With a silent look, Kiritsugu shook his head, as there was no answer he could give.