GilgaQuest (Nasu/Fate Quest as His Supreme; Magnificent Goldness, The King of Heroes: Gilgamesh)

SNAP. A click of your fingers happens simultaneously as ten golden portals open all around you. Rods and magical staves glimpse out of them, then blast away with various magical energies and elements with no remorse.

Pillars of fire, large ice crystals, pressurized jets of ether-infused water, and even acid all fly toward Assassin. He appears to blink out of existence, darkness sheathing him into the shadow of a nearby car. He then emerges from behind a mailbox and kicks it at your Master like a cannon bolt.

This prompts an instant reaction on your account. A portal opens and shoots a sword at the mailbox blasting it to bits. The only thing that actually impacts your Master is a pile of scattered papers that will probably never be delivered now. Rin hurriedly wipes the 'letter to grandma' from her head and scoffs at you slightly - an unappreciated gesture, seeing that you just saved her life.

But your attack gave Ruler the drop. He leaps forward, crossguard close to his chest, and thrusts. The assassin's chest is pierced, deep. He lets out a bestial growl, like a wild wolf.

Assassin lashes out back and stabs his dagger into Ruler's chest, then hops away, but Ruler seems unfazed and chases after him with the dagger still in his chest and blood slowly seeping from the wound. You hesitate to fire, not wanting to accidentally kill Ruler as it might disqualify you in some way.

Assassin crouches under a horizontal swing of Ruler's sword, then takes out his dagger from his chest and goes for another stab. It almost hits Ruler, but the knight cuts it down, twirls, then finishes the spin with a diagonal cut, hitting Assassin just under the hood. He's thrown back and to the ground.

Ruler points the blade tip at Assassin's throat, slowly approaching to close the distance. "Cease this foolishness," he warns.

Assassin wants to avoid being close to Ruler. He slowly crawls back, adjacent to the length of the sidewalk. You enjoy the sight but then notice something extraordinary.

As Assassin moves close to the shadow of a small tree growing in a patch of grass in the pavement, he smirks. A gesture that you weirdly sense he makes under the hood. He moves further back, just a little, and stops near a trash bin just two meters away from the tree.

Ruler's eyes widen half a millimeter and he makes a blank face. Assassin's hand sunk into the shadow of the trash bin and came out of the shadow of the tree, in midair, carving the dagger deep into Ruler's back. Had the dagger been a little longer, it probably would have gone all the way through his body.

"Tch." The portals aim at Assassin and staves unleash magical might on him. Seeing this, Assassin body rolls aside into the trash bin's shadow, disappearing completely. He then rematerializes behind the chimney of a nearby rooftop and begins to make his escape into the night, jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

Ruler gets down on one knee, incapable of clutching his back, so he instead clutches his stomach. The grimace on his face makes it clear to you that the pain he's feeling is blunt, excessive and shouldn't be delivered by a deep wound from a bladed object. A curse, then.

Indeed, as you and Rin approach, the wound on his back is radiating a tangible, dark smoke, not unlike the one that surrounded Assassin's body.

"Do you need help?" Rin asks as she jogs up to Ruler to examine his wound.

He raises a hand with an open palm and shakes his head. "I'll be fine. Believe me, I've had worse tonight already." Rin stops where she stands, slightly calmer. By her shaking feet, you can tell she's still filled with adrenaline, but not necessarily afraid.

"Rough night, huh?" She closes her eyes with a sigh of relief.

The curse is slowly being dispelled from Ruler's wounds and its effects are not as strong as they should be, although it hurts enough to make a mortal man fall deadened from the pain alone, five times over. A divine aura protecting the body and soul doesn't let it, on top of Ruler's spiritual status as a Heroic Spirit. And his personal protection slowly heals the wound, even faster than a Servant would heal normally. You predict the wound and curse will both be gone in less than two minutes.

Turning your sight to the rooftop that Assassin used for escape, you ask, "Do you intend to chase after him?"

"Yes," Ruler answers not missing a beat. "As soon as the wound has healed sufficiently to let me walk."

"That Assassin is undeniably strong for a worm," you say, changing the topic. You look at Ruler. "That was not even his Noble Phantasm."

Rin glares at you from the side, hands resting on her waist. "You don't say, Caster?"

"Nevertheless," Ruler says, as he slowly stands on his feet. He hides a pained expression as he looks at you. "Thank you for the help. I may have lost the battle, but I will be ready next time."

"Do not attack him in the day," you say.

Ruler remains silent.

"His spatial transportation powers are based on the idea of traveling through shadows, and shadows are simply an absence of light. Weirdly enough, that churl is at a disadvantage at night. There aren't enough light sources to create distinct shadows. The everpresent penumbra of the night is a most excellent protection. When the sun is out, the buildings and various city objects should provide him with plentiful advantages."

"How do you know just darkness isn't enough?" Rin asks.

"Because then all of us would be dead, Master," you answer straightforwardly. "He'd simply have done what he did to defeat Ruler with all of his enemies. A perfect attack."

A moment passes. Ruler looks at you, considers your words, and nods silently. Your Master stands there, convinced instantly, more by your charisma than reasoning.

To add on top of your already excellent argument, you say, "In fact. The only thing that led to this stalemate tonight is that thing." You nonchalantly point at the nearest lamp-post, which shed the light that gave the car, mailbox, tree, and trash bin their shadows.

You turn, handwaving the issue away. "Let us leave, Master."

You freeze in your tracks. Rin, seeing you, does so too. You half-turn to Ruler. "Ah. You wouldn't know his name by any chance?"

"Assassin's? No. He has–––"

"Concealment, yes." You cut him off quite rudely. "His name will remain a mystery he shall take to his grave, then."

Ruler watches as you and Rin leave toward her sanctum.


As soon as you come in, you deny an offer of tea from your Master and go to the basement, where you intend to set up your workshop. You want to spread it over her entire manse eventually, but for tonight, a simple chamber will suffice.

But, as you then learn from her incessant whining, the Red Team has a base in Trifas and she'd prefer you to set up territory there. This mansion was just a place to stay for some time before the Holy Grail War.

"Where is that base?" You ask, lying on a red velvet couch you conjured up and sipping wine from a gem-ornated goblet; the only parts of your workshop you had the time to set up prior to her starting this conversation.

"We'd have to go ask the de facto"–– she strongly underlines the words ––"leader of the Red Team: Shirou Kotomine."

"Kotomine..." you mutter, squinting. "Sounds like the surname of someone who consorteth with men even though they are men themselves."

Rin crosses her arms. You can feel her hiding back a wicked, smug laughter. "That's a fancy way to call someone gay, Caster."

"Do not get me wrong," you say, as you reach out with your goblet-wielding hand. A portal opens and wine pours out, refilling it. "As long as someone is cute, gender nor personality matters not. Laying with them is the right thing to do. You should consider it." You tip the cup in her direction, then take a swig.

Rin's throat squeezes itself at that, as she flushes with red color on her cheeks. Her lips contort in something between being flustered and slightly appalled, but it is psychologically impossible for her to feel disgust when a remark like that comes from you. "W-w... what?"

You look her straight in the eyes, and casually answer, "I said we may have each other if you wish, but only for the benefit, not the love."

She almost mewls with fear, but manages to cover her mouth with her hand. She steps back. The reluctance to admit to her wants is adorable. You sip more of the wine, until the goblet is empty. You then lay it down on the oak table in front of you and stand up.

You pat Rin on the head, walk past her, and say, "Let us go find that priest. I would have words."

She stands there, frozen, for ten seconds straight, until she blinks and follows after you in a hurry. "How do you even know he's a priest?" she asks, when she catches up near the exit of the basement.

"A hunch in my mind is as a certainty to yours."


How do you introduce yourself to Shirou Kotomine?

[] With pride. Spare no expense, use your True Name at the introduction, show no fear of the incoming battles. Throw so much extravagance and opulence around that it will make these peasants vomit gold for forty-four forthcoming fortnights.
[] Casually. Do not introduce your name - if he can't recognize a king of your magnitude, then he does not have the permission to so much as look upon you. Regardless, you will have to cooperate, so introduce your class and give a rundown of your basic abilities.
[] With disregard. Be cold and mean to him and whomever his Servant is. Show off that your duo is clearly the superior one and these mongrels should bow on one knee, kissing your feet and groveling before the overwhelming glory of your personage.
[] Write-in. (Must be remotely realistic, ie: You can't introduce yourself and Rin as an engaged couple looking to get married "for the lolz" just to prank the priest.)