20

Descending from the sky, I can feel Reid tugging at my hand, trying to pull itself back into its sheath. The sword seems to know the battle is over and doesn't want to have its time wasted being drawn. It's a little unfortunate; part of me had hoped I could just avoid resheathing the blade in the first place to get around its unsheathing condition, but I guess I won't be doing that.

As my feet touch the ground, I'm first met by the blood-stained Artoria, Excalibur still visible but not at the immediate ready. She meets my eyes with a strange look, gives me a once over, with especial focus to the left of my chest, where my heart was, before nodding.

"We'll speak later, Master. For now…"

For now, we have other things to deal with.

"Right. Lemme just-"

The War is over, now, so I can afford to be a little freer with my Command Spells, especially in this case.

"Berserker! To me."

A pulse of magic, and Fran teleports before me. Just from first sight, it's obvious she's…not in great shape, to say the least. There's a massive hole right through her stomach, and the only reason the ground isn't covered in her blood is because it's being covered in an oily substance. Wires and cables dangle from the wound like electronic guts. Her face is a rictus of pain, eyes shut tight, teeth clenched and hands tightly gripping her mace with all the force they can, as if that's the only thing keeping her even slightly upright.

Shit.

I don't pause to bother with Water Magic- I'm not sure if it'd work on Fran's mechanical nature. Instead, I return my sheathed blade to my belt, place both hands over the head of the mace and-

"Al Jiwald."

The two lasers are absorbed by her Galvanism, and through my link with her I can feel the pain begin to subside as her rapid self-repair unit gulps down the double A rank spells. I fire again, and again, and after the third time I see that her wound is visibly stitching itself back together, sparking cables reconnecting and spooling themselves back inside her body. Another doublecast and the wound closes completely, Fran managing finally to unclench her body and pull herself upright.

With that issue taken care of, I stand and look up. Jeanne has managed to join us, looking bruised and bloodied but not seriously wounded, while I can feel the approach of my next two Servants.

"Hey, Master! Hey!"

Astolfo hobbles over to us, grinning triumphantly despite his visible wounds and his limp, one arm using his downwards-turned lance as a crutch and the other is helping-

I can't deny my brain, as inappropriate a moment for this as it is, shuts down when I see Atalanta's Altered form, in what I believed to be her Third Ascension outside. The boar's head was gone, her body was partially-clad in black armor and on her lower stomach- I pull my eyes up from that damn tattoo, hopefully before she noticed.

"Master! Can you believe we defeated Achilles? Well, I say we, but-"

Astolfo keeps going, all smiles, but my head turns to Artoria's, who responds telepathically.

'He speaks the truth. My assistance was not required in the end- it seems Atalanta managed to incapacitate and then finish Achilles with only assistance from Sir Astolfo and Berserker.'

My surprise must have been visible because Atalanta cuts in. Her voice is slightly different than before, but there's no undercurrent of madness or obsession. At the very least, it seems that my purchases had let her regain her mind, if not entirely her body.

"You're shocked. You didn't think we could?"

"I'd prefer to say I'm impressed. Achilles was strong."

Her voice, and expression, softens slightly.

"He was. A Hero, through and through."

I'm about to say more, when-

"Get outta the way!"/"You fool!"

There's a moment of general confusion, a burst of realization as everyone works out the voice is from above and approaching fast, a moment of activity, and everyone scatters as an armoured Mordred, with the darkly ornate form of Semiramis slung over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, slams into the earth where we'd been. The instant Mordred is on the ground, Semiramis twists herself off Mordred's shoulder, accidentally-on-purpose kicking the knight in the back of her breastplate as she frees herself, though nothing comes of the blow. Dusting herself off, she looks around, looks backwards towards the still-burning half-Garden, and heaves a single sigh before returning to face me, body language and expression once more the picture of regality.

"Well, Master of White. We truly meet face to face for the first time. I understood from your messenger you wished to speak with me?"

I move to bow, but Artoria's gauntlet catches my hand and so I refrain. I had no idea about what formalities would be appropriate here in the first place, so I guess I shouldn't even put on a pretence of knowing anything.

"I did. With the War over, I would like to make you an offer-"

She waves her hand.

"Yes, yes. Your messenger, eventually and poorly, explained. The offer of incarnation, as well as a world of my own to rule as Empress."

"Not…any world, but basically. It'd have to be a world that would benefit from your rule. And there's more to it than that…"

A single black eyebrow raises at that at the implication that there would be worlds that wouldn't benefit from her rule, soon joined by the other as I go into more detail about what joining up would involve. She stays silent for a moment, before speaking.

"And if I refuse your 'generous' offer?"

I pause for a moment, to see if I can word this diplomatically, but quickly abandon that. There isn't really a nice way to put it, and Semiramis wouldn't appreciate messing around on the issue.

"Then you'd become the last enemy Servant I'd need to kill to end the War."

"Well, at least you are honest, and have a basic grasp of what it means to have and use power." Her gaze turns back to her damaged Garden behind her as she continues. "Still, as long as my Gardens remains even somewhat operation, I'm in no danger of running out of mana. It will be hours before I'm required to make such a decision."

"Master, you want me to speed up that timeline a little? Clarent didn't get much work back there, so I'd be happy to…"

Mordred sounds overly cheerful at taking chunks out of the Garden, and Semiramis' expression darkly twists, restraining herself from replying to the knight as she silently looks to me.

"No. She deserves all the time to think she can have, and we have more important things to deal with."

Jeanne takes advantage of the segue to speak.

"Correct. With the dissipation of Berserker of Black moments ago and the capture of Assassin of Red, this battle has ended. As administrator, I request the assistance of the White Faction in the aftermath."

My eyes track across the damage to the field, my clash with Karna having left a wide trail of devastation capped by a massive glowing lava field, and back to Trifas itself. The Fortress is utterly gone, the Greater Grail exposed from, and the damage to Trifas' eastern wall and houses is now visible after ten minutes for the dust to settle.

"We'll help, as much as we can. Artoria and I can heal, while the others can at least get people to safety."

Jeanne nods

"To begin with, we must aid the people of this town. I will contact the Church for assistance, while you and your Servants should ensure the safety of the civilians."

"Right"/"It might be advantageous for you to use the Masters of Red as leverage."

My reply is covered by Semiramis' voice. I turn to her, head tilted slightly, and she continues.

"The chosen representatives of the Magus Association were left entranced in a secure location in Sighisoara after my Master became…capable of personally supporting our Servants. They may be 'convinced' to assist, or at least used to encourage the Association to assist."

"Could you go with Astolfo and bring them here? He's got a flying mount and could-"

"No. I will travel with you and you alone. I wish to get your measure, to best consider your offer."

I think for a moment, before nodding. Fine. A mental flick, and-

"Ok. I'll go with you to Sighisoara and bring them in. Everyone else, stay here and help Jeanne however you can; Artoria's in charge when I'm gone. Feel free to do whatever have to help Trifas and ignore most of the concealment of mystery stuff- that's already been burnt to hell and back. I've also just granted everyone here the ability to open a portal to the base at will; if one of you leaves their portal open here once we're done in Sighisoara we'll be able to return here instantly. And if Avalon is overwhelmed, let me know and I'll drop this expedition to help right away."

-

Astolfo lends me his Hippogriff for the trip, and my Blessing of Riding Mastery instantly lets me grasp how to ride it. With Sighisoara being around 200 kilometres southeast of Trifas the Hippogriff should get both of us there in less than half an hour, especially with my own Blessing of Swiftness carrying over to my mount, and we'd instantly return via portal. I could have sprinted there even faster, but Semiramis had wanted to talk with me so just leaving her in the house and letting her out at Sighisoara was off the table, and I didn't even bother to ask if she'd let me run there carrying her.

With shocking grace consider the heavy black gown she's clad in, she mounts up behind me, sitting side-saddle on the back of the Phantasmal mount. With Blessing-given skill, I have the Hippogriff launch and we begin to fly towards Sighisoara, passing over Trifas as we do. I can't help but look down, comparing the sight here to my prior aerial view of the city earlier this night. From the air, the damage is…still something I'm not used to. The fireball itself might have broken just before Trifas' walls, but the blast wave had left concentric rings of destruction, with the buildings just on the other side of the wall simply gone, while those slightly further in visibly damaged. Below, I can feel the presence of the Servants moving into the blast zone and pull my eyes away.

I feel Semiramis' gaze on me, and turn my head, my nose catching a faint whiff of her perfume, a dark apricotty smell I can't place. As I express even a passing interest in the topic, I once again feel something shift, as I'm given another Blessing on the level of Salt and Sugar that 'helpfully' lets me identify the scent as Oleander, which tells me nothing. I guess that's another Sugar and Salt Blessing.

"In any other case I would believe you suicidally foolish, to let an enemy approach your back unguarded. After having witnessed your battle with Lancer, however, I can at least understand your confidence. Can you even truly die?"

Ah. She'd seen…that. I had intentionally put that out of my mind and would honestly like to continue to do so and so answer briefly, turning away from her and looking to the horizon.

"I can die, but I can also endlessly revive myself."

"Hm. And you do not fear my poisons either. You knew my identity, and yet drank the water my Master offered you."

"I'm also immune to poisons twice over. Someone tried hydra venom on me, and it didn't work."

"Oh, that was you, was it? I had wondered about the origins of the blade Rider brought me. I would not brag too greatly about resisting such a diluted poison, but I suppose it could be impressive to some."

There's a minute or so of silence before she speaks again. This time, however, the slight idle curiosity that had coloured her previous question has gone, leaving her voice dangerously flat. My back prickles, as if the spikes on her hands were millimetres off the skin on my back.

"Now, Master of White, you will immediately tell me of your connection to dragons."

"I mean, I have something like a dragon's heart, and can turn into a dragon at will. There isn't anything deeper than that."

The sense of…not danger, but general foreboding that I feel behind me deepens.

"An entirely voluntary process, then?"

"Yeah. I could show you, transform back and forth or something once we're done with this."

"That will not be necessary; I saw you do as much before. Then, what explanation do you have for my Master's fate?"

…hold on. What?

"What do you mean?"

This time, the pricking is very real. I manage to hold myself still and not react, though. Semiramis, especially outside her Garden, couldn't hurt me. Not with strength, not with magic, not with poison. Best to just wait and see what this was about than overreact.

"Shouldn't you know, oh seer? My Master begun to be transformed by that black dragon shortly after he met with you, and he was finally consumed minutes before you showed a similar, more controlled version of such a transformation."

"He…didn't do it on purpose? I thought he must have…to get the strength needed to fight us all."

"He did not. Shortly after he met with you, he reported strange dreams about a black dragon to me. Gradually, his mood deteriorated, and behaviour altered until, just as we began to move towards your fight with Black, he transformed into the dragon you slew."

So. Probably around when Siegfried was killed? That lined up with what Jeanne had told me in the underground Grail vault before the battle.

"Do you know the identity of the dragon he became?"

No reply from Semiramis, so I continue.

"The dragon was Fafnir. And the Saber of Black was Siegfried. There's obviously a link there, but I don't know how it relates to Shirou. Did he, I don't know, meet with Karna and take some of the blood from Karna's spear after I met him in the church?"

The prickling pulls away, and finally Semiramis responds to me.

"He did not. But…if that dragon was Fafnir that explains much, and I can theorize the cause."

And she just ends like that, leaving me hanging. I wait a second or so in case she's just gathering her thoughts but when it's obvious no elaboration is coming, I just ask.

"...could you tell me? I'm honestly still in the dark about what happened."

"I don't see why I should. But very well, I will illuminate your ignorance; it comes down to curses, a topic that I have some familiarity with. Fafnir was a mortal cursed by the Rheingold, thereby becoming a dragon. In the leadup to this War, my Master once said that the founding families made the Grail partially out of that same treasure. Therefore, the one who desires the Grail most, if Siegfried is present to act as another anchor for the curse, would suffer a similar fate."

And because Siegfried survived rather than saving Sieg, this happened? So…Shirou's plan was doomed twice over? If Sieg survives things go the way of Apocrypha, and if Siegfried survives Shirou is doomed to become a dragon who would, like Sieg, simply abscond with the Grail rather than make his Wish. Was that just coincidence, or was some greater power messing things around behind the stage to stop his wish and its unintended consequences?

"And why did you not know this with your own foresight, Master of White?"

"...Because without my interference Siegfried dies earlier, shortly after his fight with Achilles and Atalanta."

"But even then, my Master does not succeed." It isn't a question.

"No. I suppose, ironically, another becomes Fafnir in his place, killing him and taking the Grail to the Reverse Side to stop his wish from activating, accidentally saving the world."

For several minutes we both sit in silence, the only noise coming from the wingbeats of the Hippogriff.

"Another topic, then. If you are truly not a dragon, is your hoard simply one formed by the base and primal greed of man rather than phantasmal instinct?"

"My hoard?"

"Your harem. Do not attempt to claim that the fact that all your companions are women of some beauty is mere coincidence. While one as inexperienced as Atalanta might fail to see the pattern, I have more than enough experience with similar behaviour."

From both ends, as I recall. She'd been forced out of a happy marriage to marry the king she poisoned and had later when in power started a war to claim a man she wanted. I don't bring that up and take a moment to form my response.

"First, I'd like to say Astolfo, the Rider who lent me this Hippogriff, is male and I don't swing that way. Second…I won't deny that my Servants are incredibly attractive, but I didn't choose them primarily for their appearance. Like, I offered Atalanta a spot because at that point she had the next best Wish of this War and I wanted her to make it. I've made my offer to men, it's just Astolfo's the only one who accepted it. Chiron was like Karna, loyal to his first master, and Siegfried…was going through some stuff."

"And why do you wish to wield Queen Semiramis, the world's oldest poisoner, if not my peerless beauty?"

"Why wouldn't I want you as an ally? You were a successful ruler, talented in a vast range of fields from warfare and administration to music and dancing. Just off the top of my head, I can think of dozens of worlds that could benefit from your rule and one of my objectives is to improve the worlds I visit, not just collect trinkets and trophies like a dragon. Other than that, you're a brilliant mage and famed for your intrigue, skills that no-one in my retinue possesses. And that's before I get into the skeleton army and your floating castle with siege magic. Yes, you're beautiful, but your talents are worth more than that."

Another pause before she replies.

"A little blunt, I suppose, but even blunt and truthful flattery has its place. Nothing you said smelt of deceit, and so I will continue to consider your offer."

"If you're considering it, is there anything else I could offer that you'd like? I can't promise you everything you desire, but anything I could do to improve the chances…"

I feel her shake her head behind me.

"You truly are inexperienced at these negotiations. I will not help you persuade me- if you wish to present me a gift to sway me, come up with one yourself."

I do have an idea, but it's not possible at this moment. I should be able to get it ready before Semiramis has to decide, though.

We fly on, and soon the lights of Sighisoara are visible.

-

We land on the western outskirts of the city, away from any prying eyes. From there, Semiramis directs me to a small, out of the way country house that looks as if it's set up for tourists or other temporary visitors. Below it, with concentration I can feel swirling dark mana where the house's basement would be. Only because I know to look there, though- it's subtle enough that without focusing I'd have missed it completely.

"The Masters of Red are below, oh Master of White. Now, I will leave you to it."

"You're not going to-"

"Consider it another part of my evaluation."

And with those words, her form fades away as she disperses into spirit mode. Right. I open the door, and the wave of dead air and enchanted incense wafts out, causing my face to clench in a grimace. Not at the magic- the enchantment mixed into the incense wafts over me without finding any purchase, but the smell is awful and a long list of flowers and herbs I don't recognize fills my mind for a moment before I shake the Blessing information away. I part the thin curtain between door and room, and there, seated around a round table with an incense pot in the centre are the ex-Masters of the Red Faction, each with empty teacups before them.

Right then.

With a thought, my Shroud-jacket unravels. My bite would take five minutes, but in the state these Masters are in, with no willpower to resist and being already defeated, the Shroud should be faster even if I can only manage one at a time. Sure enough, it's less than a minute for my first binding to catch, and I instantly disable all access to Retinue perks and defences, leaving them in the exact same state they had been found in as my Shroud moves on.

In less than five minutes, all the Masters are bound. A burst of wind mana clears the air, a thought briefly toggles their Body and Mind Defences and suddenly the room is filled with coughing and grunting, as the poisoned incense and mind-dulling enchantments are at once purged. I wait for them to at least get their bearings before speaking.

"Masters of Red. I'm sorry to say that you missed the War; it's over by now, and the Red Faction lost. I'd like your assistance in calling in the Association to help with the aftermath."

Confused stares meet me; the two twins in confusion at my presence, the bookish woman looks around, the redhaired man with an…unfortunate hair condition stares at me with an expression of shock and mounting horr-

"Who the hell are you?"

And the comparatively well put together man stands, slamming his hands onto the table as he glares at me.

"I'm the Master of the White Faction, and the winner of the War."

"The White Faction? What on earth- Where's that representative of the Church? If this is some-"

"Unfortunately, Shirou Kotomine betrayed you, stealing all your Command Seals and most of your Servants before dying in battle with my faction. Look, I know this is all a lot to ta-"

I feel the flow of mana in the room shift, but it's such a small change that I first assume it's one of the Master's analysing themselves. But no- a glowing wheel-shaped chakram appears in the hands of the now-standing woman as if she's really about to fight, while the twins also move to stand. Maybe my calibration for combat level mana is off. The only one who doesn't stand is the weirdo lizard Master, who rather seems to be trying to dig his way through the back of his chair and escape the room that way. He meets my eyes, and I see utter panic in them, which only grows as he stops moving and actually takes a proper look at me.

With a bang, he leaps from his seat and grabs hold of the back of the well-dressed Master's head, slamming him face first into the table, as if forcing him to bow so low his head touches the table. That's…not expected. The other Masters round on him, but he lets out a yell before anyone else can say anything.

"Idiots! This guy's a dragon! He's got dragonscales on his body and he's practically breathing mana. You know as well as I do the contract forbade attacks against allies; I'm trying to keep you alive, if just to stop him killing us all!"

"You don't have to worry; I wouldn't kill you, or even hurt you. But mostly because you are literally no threat to me. Like; I'm sorry I don't know your name, the lady with the glasses who was the Master of Shakespeare, hit me with your best shot. I swear I won't retaliate; I just need to make a point."

She pauses, glancing between me and the panicked redhead, collects herself and throws her wheel chakram at me, imbuing it with magic as she does.

Slow. It's so slow. I can feel the wind magic propelling it, but…I step forward to meet it, and put my hand in its path, palm slightly curved. My Arrow Avoidance blessing causes the chakram to follow the curve of my palm as it tries to avoid touching me. I keep adjusting my hand in its path, letting the projectile curve a full 180 degrees, before stepping back.

The chakram embeds itself deep in the wall on the other side of the woman. Her head turns towards it and grows pale. They wouldn't have even seen me move.

"Look. I'm sorry you guys lost so badly, but there's nothing you can do about it now. Even outside of me, I have five Servants and enough Command Seals to bring them here- the only reason they aren't is because they're trying to do your job and help clean up the last battle of the War. It got real messy towards the end."

I raise my arm, letting the sleeve of my Shroud-clothing twist away to reveal the long string of Command Seals, of several different designs. The Masters take that in, and blanch further as I let dragonscale run down my arm, just long enough for them to process it.

"In compensation for your…loss of time in this fiasco, I'm willing to give each of you one of these boons; I'll enhance your body to the peak of physical fitness, give you the ability to understand any language, make you immune to all poisons and diseases, or make you immune to either unwanted mental or soul effects. I also maintain the right to retract these boons at will if I sense you doing something stupidly evil, and I feel the need to step in to stop you."

I don't say 'no strings attached', but hopefully these people are smart enough to realize if I wanted to harm them I could just…do that. Gradually, the Masters collapse in their seats, the well-dressed man seating himself last, rubbing his head and glaring at the unapologetic redhead.

"I'd also like you to get a move on. I'm planning on being back in Trifas in a few minutes, so make your choice and then contact the support mages of the Association you have here in Sighisoara to get them over to Trifas to help out."

A moment of silence, and the woman speaks, voice quiet and hesitant.

"The language boon, if you please."

Symbolically, I move over to her and touch her hand while I mentally unlock Communication Talent. Stepping back from her, I hear her give out a sharp hiss, and she turns to the others.

"He's telling the truth. At least about this."

There's another pause, but it seems her words caused the dam to break.

"The physical talent-"

"I'll take the-"

-

I mentally track all the ex-Masters as they head off into the city having made their choices and fled the room. I guess I'll…trust their self-preservation instincts at least, not to try and backstab me or split before their responsibilities are done. Behind me, I feel Semiramis emerge from spirit form.

"I see you were not quite as diplomatic with them as you tried with my Master. But still more than they deserved."

"These Masters…I don't know them, or really care about them, but it costs nothing to be polite. I wouldn't have hurt them because it'd be unnecessary but giving them all the benefits was never on the table to begin with. I couldn't trust them with immortality or infinite mana or the like. "

"Your method of dealing with such trash is your own. While I would have killed at least one for raising their hand against me in violence, I suppose such a show of mercy is a display of might in its own right. Just as a ruler may display their overwhelming privilege through frugality, so to can overwhelming power be displayed through mercy."

Semiramis' comments on the relation between power and mercy stop me for a moment, as I recall Artoria saying something similar.

"If you do join up, you might want to talk with Artoria on rulership. It'd be…interesting, at least."

"I would not join just to amuse you via my eloquence and philosophy. We are headed back to Trifas, I take it."

I pause a moment to check something, and then with my new influx of points, make two purchases before nodding and clapping my hands to bring up the portal. She raises her eyebrow at the portal, before stepping through. I follow her immediately and find myself looking out across a massive seafront island. Life's A Beach was more a purchase for Jeanne than Semiramis, but it still is an impressive sight if unprepared. Still, I can feel her gaze turn towards the grand mansion, nearly a square kilometre itself in size, located just 'north' of the portal.

"Who on earth designed that?"

Well, that isn't…quite the reaction I had planned.

"Well, I did. Just then. I thought up a mansion and made it."

Semiramis turns to me, face incredulous.

"Why on earth would you- I thought from your taste in clothes you had a talent for aesthetics, but that…thing is no more mansion than I am a maid. It's not right at all."

Honestly, I'm a little offended at this point. I feel it's basically just a boring, run of the mill mansion, not some…abomination against architecture that cannot be.

"If you feel it's such a sin against architecture, then you design it. Inside there should be a plan that you can alter at will. I already made a throne for you in it, though."

"I'm tempted to, just to erase this mistake of a building."

"In any case, we're not here for that yet. The portal to Trifas is right there." And I point at the second portal, and head towards it, Assassin trailing me all the way as her eyes lock on my back.

-

We emerge, into a scene of controlled chaos. There are milling people everywhere, and I can begin to pick out where each of the Servants are. Astolfo and Fran are deeper in Trifas, Atalanta is somewhere outside the city near where Black's Fortress had been, Mordred-

"Master, you're back! Good timing. Father's over there, so get over there and help her."

Before I can fully get my bearings, Mordred's grabbed my shoulder, turned me towards where I can feel Artoria is and has given me a push. As soon as she finishes with me, she spins back around to continue assisting, yelling something to Jeanne that I don't catch over the noise.

Behind me, I feel Semiramis' nose turning up at the milling crowds. Right.

"I'm going to be busy now, so I guess this evaluation is over. If you need space and time to think, you can head back into the portal, or wander around Trifas or whatever."

I stop and turn to lock eyes with the Empress. I've been…fairly lenient so far, but this has to be made clear. I didn't expect her to try and steal the Wish out from under us, and wasn't even sure she could, but…

"However, if you head towards the Grail, the deal is instantly off, and I'll have to kill you."

Semiramis' face might as well be made of stone for all the expression she displays at this. Finally, she gives a slow nod and, wordlessly, turns away and heads back to the portal, a flock of white doves taking to the air all at once as she leaves.

With that done, I resume moving towards Artoria. I round a corner I see her, darting around individuals lying on the ground, letting her sheathe lightly rest on each before being pulled away as she moves quickly to another. No time for distracting words. My hands glow blue, pulling on all the Water Mana I can muster while my Divine Protection of Water kicks in. A wave of healing magic flows out, and I see wounds Avalon has not yet touched begin to close. No time to wait and take in the effects, though. Another wave flows out, and another…

-

It's an hour or later, and the flow of people in need of healing, carried in by one Servant or another, finally begins to slow. I've been mostly stationary this time, repeating healing spells over and over, while Artoria and Avalon take care of the most grievously injured, at least to the point they stabilize and can be dealt with by my healing. From the bursts of conversation between Servants I'd managed to pick up on, it seems Artoria had handed the reigns of this effort to Mordred so as to best focus on healing. She had said that a leader was required to be in a position to make quick decisions with up-to-date information, and she was going to be forced to focus all her efforts in this one place. From there, Mordred had gotten to work- Fran had cleared the area for Artoria, Astolfo, Mordred and Atalanta working to get people free of danger while Jeanne acted as a kind of morale standard-bearer.

I'm pulled out of my thoughts as I sense a new magic-infused bird, not one of Semiramis' doves, circling the city. Another look shows no new cases of healing desperately required, so with a leap I'm in the air, casting my flight magic when I'm near the bird. Only, on closer inspection, it's not a bird at all- it's a construct made of chains in the shape of a bird, reminding me a little of the magic used by Iri and Ilya. Several moments after I appear in the sky next to the familiar, I can feel the consciousness in it recoil in surprise. I give a wave, and after a delay it, somewhat hesitantly, responds, before diving from the sky towards the road leading to Trifas. A burst of magic has me follow it, and soon I can pick out several cars filled with what I assume are the mages of the Association.

As the bird lands on the roof of the first car and unspools into a single chain that slithers through the open wind, I touch down on the ground. A short woman with mostly black hair except for a tuft of white, dressed in a dark suit, emerges from the car and bows.

"Greetings, Master of White. I'm Pemetrekis, of the Department of Spiritual Evocation. I understood you required our assistance."

Minor flares of mana ignite across the convoy, as people in it start using magic for…something.

"Thanks for coming. So, the last battle of the War got out of hand, and the city took some hits. My Servants and I have basically handled the wounded, but none of us are specialists at memory manipulation- I'm sorry?"

Something about what I said caused Pemetrekis to grow pale.

"Your Servants?"

"Didn't Red explain properly? In addition to the Ruler and the last Servant of Red, I've got five Servants. You'll forgive me if I don't tell you their names."

Around me, the mana pinpricks cut off suddenly. Pemetrekis doesn't look any more well, but soldiers on.

"No. No that's understandable. So, your request is…?"

"Well, I imagine you guys want to keep this covered up. So, you'll need to do the memory alternations to all the muggles in the city, as well as come up with a cover story for…what happened."

"Muggles?"

Fuck. Right. "Sorry. The non-magic, non-Yggdmillennia-affiliated people."

Pemetrekis says something else, but my ears pick up a low voice from the back of the convoy say…something. I take two steps, faster than the magi can process, and a white suited blonde man finds himself at the front of the 'stage'. Pemetrekis winces; I guess she must know him and has a fair guess what he must have said.

"Sorry to interrupt you. This man felt he had something to contribute. Go on, then."

I gesture to the man, whose eyes widen as he realizes he's no longer towards the back, before pulling himself together and repeating what he had said that had drawn my attention.

"Why can't we just destroy the city. A freak act of nature would be much simpler than having to come up with a way to explain the mess you left behind. And it'd get rid of those traitors and their supporters also."

I take a breath. I guess this is the side of magi I'd mostly managed to avoid.

"Right. So. I could talk to you about the sanctity of life and so on, but even if I had the time for that it'd probably pass over your head. So, let's do this another way."

And then I'm a four-legged dragon, twenty-five meters long, with two wings curving high into the air from my shoulder-blades. The golden glow of the clock-halo behind my head illuminates my white scales, while casting shadows down on all the magus suddenly far below. I flare my mana as high as I can as I speak.

"Because I want it done my way. Does that answer your question?"

No reply.

I shift back down to human, and gesture at the magus who provoked this. He gives a shaky nod.

I turn back to Pemetrekis, who looks like she'd rather be anywhere else right now.

"So. Can you help?"

She can't meet my eyes but manages to twitch out a nod. I let out a sigh. Maybe I went overboard.

"Look. I can take care of the damage to the field with my earth magic, and the floating castle either by just taking the whole thing or destroying it outright. It's really just the memory stuff and the cover story I need help with."

"We'll…do our best." She struggles for a moment, before continuing. "It will likely take some time, but we'll do as you…ask."

"Thanks. In exchange, if you'd like I'll give you something- to speed up your work, I'll let you use my mana pool for the duration of this, and I'll also throw in a permanent boost to put you at the peak of physical health. Consider it, I dunno, payment for helping me out."

"I…don't believe that would be necessary., though thank you very much for the offer."

I shrug in acceptance. I'd meant it, but I suppose they don't have much of a reason to trust me. In any case it doesn't really matter. I wait a little longer, but when it's clear no-one has anything more to say, I give Pemetrekis a nod and then again take to the sky and head back to Trifas and my duty there, passing a white dove that had been in the air overhead.

-

The convoy reaches Trifas' gates as morning begins to break, where they're met by Jeanne, the nun of the Church she'd been staying at and Fiore, Caules and all the surviving homunculi. Atalanta's on overwatch, guarding both Greater Grail and making sure no-one at the meeting tried anything…stupid. From Atalanta's perch, she reports how the magi pair off, each pair joined by one of Yggdmillennia's homonculi, and how Pemetrekis and Fiore effectively become the leaders of these efforts, coordinating everything while the Spiritual Evocation representative throws the occasional glance at Fiore's functioning legs.

Another hour, and the trickle of wounded has finally stopped, letting me heave a sigh of relief. Things had been…bad, certainly. I was sure the only reason I was still operational after number of limbs or chunks of torso I'd had to regrow was thanks to the combine efforts of Stress Defence and my Emotion Shielding Blessing. But it could have been worse. I didn't want to imagine what would have happened had Trifa's walls not been so warded and reinforced; it certainly would not have been the work of 'merely' several hours of non-stop healing.

Still, no rest for the wicked. Once the healing was done, I had earth magic terrain alteration to get to. At least that was simple, if mana-consuming; I just pulled the earth over the top of the scared battlefield. Any geologist or excavation being done in that field would be in for something of a surprise once they broke the surface layer I had made, but honestly that wouldn't be my problem anymore. The castle and the damage to Trifas wouldn't be so simple to just wipe over, but it looks like that wasn't going to be an issue- what little I'd heard of the plan was for the story to be that the castle had been a secret depot for either World War 2 or Cold War explosives, and an unfortunate accident had set off the whole lot. It…seemed a little flimsy, but I suppose the Association and Church probably knew what they were about.

Which left only the Hanging Gardens, still burning with Fafnir's black fire and crumbling mid-air. The way that the outer ring was almost totally collapsed, it looked like Semiramis wouldn't have much longer to think about her options. I turn, intending to head back to the portal just to let her know, but find some unexpected faces. Kairi, and his daughter are standing a ways away. It's the first time I've actually seen Kairi's daughter conscious, given how I've tried to keep contact between us as low as possible to prevent unwanted influence. I give her a small smile that she hesitantly returns before ducking behind her father, and then I turn to at Kairi. He's looking at the smoothed-over aftermath of the battle, as well as the damage to the city.

"Damn. I thought I knew what I had signed up for, but your light display last night was something else."

"I'm just glad the church stayed safe. I thought that it would be, but things…got out of hand real fast. Black was simple enough, though I'm sorry but Archer of Black preferred death to joining, but then Red-"

He cuts me off, reaching into his pocket for cigarettes, only to catch the disapproving look of his daughter before returning them to his pocket with a small sigh.

"Yeah. We got the gist from those two Yggdmillennia kids you sent. And then, after everything went to hell, Ruler came by and picked up the Sister and filled us all in on everything. Looks like you had it rough. I tried to help here and there, but from what I heard you've been healing for hours after you blackmailed the Association into helping."

"I'm not gonna collapse, but that's only cause of all my…extra stuff keeping me upright. As for the Association, I wouldn't call it blackmail. Just…flexed a bit in their direction."

An eyebrow rises behind his sunglasses.

"At the level you're operating now, a flex in any direction is blackmail and you know it. Maybe the Association all together could deal with your little band, but I doubt it. And even then, the damage from pulling that off would destroy them even if they won. The ex-Masters and the cleanup crew here in Romania don't even rate."

I bow my head in acknowledgement, and he continues.

"I also heard you made them your offer. Any take you up?"

"The offer I made them was worse than yours if you're wondering. Just infinite mana for the duration of their work here and the peak physical health part as thanks. But no, none did."

"Not surprising. No real basis for any trust at all, other than 'he didn't kill us when he could have'."

I give him a tight smile. I knew that also, but I still felt I should make the attempt.

"So, how can I help you. I need to talk with Assassin of Red, so…"

"I'd like to take you up on your offer, if I could."

Huh.

"What changed your mind, if you don't mind?"

He glances down to his side, back up and gives me a look.

"Wasn't ever dead set against it, for obvious reasons, and…I'm confident you won't betray me. That, and I might need an exit plan from here real soon. One of the magi here knew me better than I'd like, and he knows that I don't have any surviving family. If word got out…Well, I'd prefer to be somewhere they don't have a hope in hell of reaching, just in case."

"Fair enough. Now?"

"Maybe wait a bit- if we could do it in your house that'd be better. Also, you mind if we camp out in there for a bit? Prying eyes and all."

"It's…not quite the house you remember, but sure. I'm going back there in any case, so you can come with and pick your rooms."

-

The three of us enter the portal, and all our eyes widen at the sight. Kairi lets out a whistle, only to immediately have to chase down his daughter, who makes a break straight for the white sand of the beach nearby. Meanwhile, my eyes are drawn to the great, black castle where my casual mansion had been. It looks almost like the Hanging Gardens turned upside down, with a central spire and buildings along the outside forming two curved wings. Leaving the family to their business I approach the building, the doors swinging open as I near.

The halls inside are all polished black and red marble with gold inlays, with a path leading me upstairs and to a grand central chamber where Semiramis sits on, of course, a large, raised throne.

"Isn't this much better than some premade modern nothing of a building?"

"It's certainly more impressive. Unfortunately, the Garden is coming down as we speak, so I need to hear your choice now."

From the throne, she taps her fingers against the arm rest.

"As for you, there's rust and rubbish all over, and only maybe a spark of potential. But my expectations for modern man are low, and so that will have to suffice. This is, of course, provided you keep your promise of granting me a world of our choosing, within…shall we say, three worlds. I won't be put off by constant delays, nor will I accept a ruined world with no-one to rule."

I nod. "I can agree to those conditions." The three-world limit could be an issue and force me to grab the perks that expanded my selection, but I'd planned on getting that before we left anyways. And I hadn't intended to cheat Semiramis with a dead world either.

With that, she steps down from her throne and makes her way down to me, extending her hand towards me when she's on my level.

"Then the deal is struck, Master."

-

It's an hour or so later, in the new pocket palace, that I find myself sitting at a table with Atalanta (thankfully for my attention and sanity, now dressed in a black and white variant of her pre-Alteration dress), Artoria and Semiramis. Astolfo had passed on a "boring sit-down" and gone off to do…something himself, and Mordred had been obviously disappointed that Semiramis had joined, letting herself be pulled away by Fran to help the Berserker guard the Grail. A moment after we're all seated, Ruler enters, having return to the Church to collect a large stack of papers. Once she takes her seat next to me she speaks.

"To begin with, now that the War is officially complete and one side utterly victorious, I would ask you return the Command Spells of the War."

I pause at this, but only for a moment, before putting my arm on the table near Jeanne, dispersing the sleeve of my Shroud-jacket as I do so. Jeanne traces the Command Spells of Mordred and Astolfo, each red mark disappearing as her finger touches it, leaving me with 'just' my regenerating Seals. The process is over in seconds, and she gives a small and thankful smile once it is done.

"Thank you for your cooperation. I will see that these are properly stored."

That matter handled, she picks up the paper pile she'd brought with her, and hands it to me.

"This is the information I received from the leader of the Black Faction regarding Quantum Time Locks and parallel worlds. I cannot understand the academic portions of the letter, but it does back up your claim."

I'm fairly sure I won't be able to make head nor tail of the actual academic magic sections, but I've had to speedread enough academic papers for university to closely read the abstract and then skim the introduction and conclusion in order to get a gist of the paper. Thankfully, at least the paper structure of magus academia seems the same as my world.

'A world where the future cannot be changed, regardless of choices, can have no parallel worlds. Such a world is nothing but a dead end, solitary and singular, with a past as immutable as its future

…

The World conducts audits of timeline potential, preserving only those Outcomes wherein "the operation of the subsequent era" isn't impossible.

…

In more concrete terms, cumulative audits are conducted every century, to the end of identifying and preserving only those worlds capable of guaranteeing "the preservation of capacity for advancement in yet a subsequent century, at bare minimum."

…

In conclusion, every 100 years the World calculates how many worlds will last another 100 years and supports those worlds only.'

It's…better than I had feared. Shirou's wish would still have been doomed by this, but Atalanta should be able to make her Wish, as long as 'parents abusing their children' wasn't somehow a requirement for all human advancement. I lay the paper down, and breath out a sigh before turning to the still-silver-haired Archer.

"We…this says it should be fine. I'm going to have to cross-reference this with other stuff, to make sure this isn't the outlier paper from a maverick academic and the actual consensus is something else, but if this is right, the Wish should be fine."

Semiramis, seated at the head of the table, looks in askance at Atalanta.

"What exactly is your Wish, Archer, that our Master has gone so out of his way to support, and that you betrayed our original Faction to achieve?"

"To create a world where children will be raised with love and care."

Semiramis' head tilts towards me.

"And such a wish is not impossible? I would have thought it overly vague, to begin with."

"It shouldn't be impossible. There are kinks in it that need ironing out- what 'love and care' involve, but as long as the Wisher has an idea of how the energy of the Grail can be used, the Wish can be made."

Artoria speaks next.

"Then the matter is settled, for now. What is next?"

"I'm gonna make an offer to the surviving homunculi- my binding should cure them of their limited lifespan, and I also want to at least recommend Fiore and Caules try Waver's class, but that should only take a few minutes. In the medium term, I want to visit the Clock Tower to confirm what the paper said, and then check on Blackmore Cemetery and the Isle of Skye."

"Before you meet with the homunculi, I will need a moment of your time in private, Master. There is a matter we have yet to discuss, that I feel you have been putting off."

Her eyes and tone are unwavering; I'm not going to be able to dodge this. Before I can reply to Artoria, Atalanta cuts in.

"A week…that's the limit I'm willing to wait on my Wish. I can't put it off anymore, not with the filled Grail right there."

And Atalanta finds support in an unlikely ally; Jeanne of all people speaks up. Though I suppose in this War they haven't actually been at loggerheads.

"I concur. The Grail War is over, and now a Wish must be made. A week's leeway to form the Wish and no longer; I can hardly justify keeping Laeticia possessed after that."

I meet each of their gazes and nod.

"My plans should take less than a week, and as soon as I'm done with that I'm all for making the Wish and moving on. As for Laeticia…I could probably separate you two, but that'd involve you joining, and…"

"…and that is something I cannot do, not until the Grail is used."

"Yeah. In the meantime, feel free to enjoy the beach here, or take the time off to finish Laeticia's homework."

Jeanne winces at that but seems to agree.

"I suppose I do have that to occupy me. And visiting a beach does have some appeal…"

And that was the plan for the Beach purchase. I look around, but no-one seems to have anything else to add. And in that case-

"Well, I guess this meeting of White is adjourned."

Notes:

Yes, Semi really was utterly powerless in this scene, having lost all her allies, been stripped of most of her magic, all her 'enemies' surrounding her are poison-immune and she's suffering severe stat debuffs for being forced outside of her Garden (not that even her non-debuffed stats would have helped against any of White). Yes, Semi did effectively uno reverse the scenario so Rein was the supplicant and she the one running the job interview (while also poking at things around the edges to check how much was true and what she could push for). Semi is much better and more experienced than Rein at diplomacy and controlling power dynamics, which allows her to at least slightly somewhat make up for the impossibly large actual-power disparity, especially when she works out that he's reluctant to use that power; he truly wants her to sign on of her own will. On the plus side, this does at least slightly temper her "this is just That Fucking King Again" problems with Rein, as Ninus gave no shits about respecting her will.

The Masters of Red, by contrast, get utterly rolled over, except for Rottweil of all people. Body-modification specialist with a lizard focus that he is, he took one look at Rein (and his splotches of Fafnir Armor on face and neck thank you thread) and fucking noped out of any confrontation with the humanoid dragon standing meters away, forcing the rest of Red out of any fight also so as to prevent him getting collateral'd. At least they all get some consolation prizes rather than total humiliation (though Semi would point out that that itself is just a different humiliation to people like that). Rein also again shows that if he doesn't know/care about you he'll be a lot more cavalier about metaphorically steamrolling over you if he feels he has to. Fictional monkeysphere baby! Ditto for the MA support squad, which got a worse hand than the Masters.

With Semiramis joined, we have the final 'main five' I plan to use longterm in Rein, Artoria, Atalanta, Mordred and Semiramis, which I feel is both a good balance of interesting characters and actual utility. Other characters like Fran or Astolfo or Jeanne or others might make guest appearances or join for story arcs here and there, but those five are my current 'main' cast. Of course, this whole fic has basically been me making plans and then throwing them out or having to change them to fit the story that I actually wrote, so who knows if this plan'll last. I'm not going to let the list get too big, though, no matter what.

The sections from the Quantum Time Lock paper are either direct quotes from the Fate Extella section on timeline pruning, or very slightly paraphrased quotes. Next chapter (finally out of Romania!); a glimpse into the mad world of Fate academia, where "this was once revealed to me in a dream" is not necessarily a meme citation and might actually be something to consider if the writer's specialty was divination. Joking, mostly. What isn't a joke is that, now that all the Grail War fires are out, there's finally breathing room for more Artoria interaction. Thank Christ. Probably also the first actual NSFW scene.