Fate/White Moon (Fate/Nasuverse Quest)

The city of Trifas was eerily silent this particular night however not everyone was content with that. As an angry voice was bellowing out from a lone church near the city.

"That bastard Kotomine has some nerves getting me to watch his church for him, I have better things to do than baby sit nothing at all!" if one took a closer inspection into the church, they would find that the source of the ruckus was a harmless looking young girl in a nuns habit.

Yet looks could be deceiving as this mere girl was actually a trained and deadly executor of the church, despite this Ciel didn't feel like the supposed badass she was supposed to be but instead, a Grade A Sucker. "How did I even wind up in this situation? I swear Shirou conned me somehow."

Now that Ciel thought about it this happened just after Arcueid left…

'Seems like Princess can't take a joke' Ciel thought as she pulled herself up a few moments after Arcueid stormed out, her little Servant struggling to catch up, well her Servant was a joke but that's no reason to blow her top.

Then again if that boy truly was her best match it only makes sense that she's immature, who'd of thought the Immortal Perfect Ancestor was a child at heart? Certainly not Ciel.

Interrupting those thoughts was Kotomine's calm voice "Ciel I believe we have some things to discuss." Those words immediately sobered Ciel as she looked at Shirou's placid countenance.

"Things? That's awfully vague Shirou are you worried about eavesdroppers?" Ciel asked leadingly wondering if he was worried about Arcueid trying to listen in on them.

The mediator merely smiled while pointing to a room further into the church and wordlessly heading there, well it didn't hurt to be cautious in their line of work after all, so she followed Kotomine's annoyingly sedate pace, thinking along the way specifically the target of her earlier thoughts, Arcueid.

Ciel frowned as she thought about the trigger-happy Vampire, she didn't hate Arcueid per se even though she's died by that vampire's hand multiple times. In fact she was even a little thankful for freeing her from Roa, from being Elesia.

That still didn't change the fact that Arcueid was only helping Roa continue his debauchery though, the True Ancestor kept letting the Serpent of Akasha escape with her methods of execution, when there were ways to permanently end the problem; Like the one currently in her possession.

The White Princess was nothing if not stubborn though, taking her self-appointed task of killing Roa quite seriously and not letting others interfere if she could help it, which was only detrimental to her and why Ciel didn't particularly like Arcueid much; because she made herself into an obstacle. Still the executor couldn't get rid of the True Ancestor, not easily at any rate and devoting her time and effort into that goal would be counterproductive as it would only help Roa in the end. So Ciel had to focus on avoiding and misdirecting the vengeful vampire which unfortunately wasn't as easy as her earlier childish tantrum had shown, the Princess could be very perceptive when she wanted to be.

"We're here this room should be safe." Kotomine's words jolted Ciel out of her thoughts as she looked about the room and mystically the room was alive with magic, she was hard pressed to identify but it wasn't weak by any means.

Turning her gaze to stare at Kotomine she knew for a fact he wasn't responsible for these wards, no it was probably that Servant business, ancient heroes from the past and Master's to command them every fifty years or so, in essence a grand big mess that Roa chose this particular event as his stomping grounds.

Ciel was aware that Shirou was appointed a mediator and Master by the church but she didn't know if this was the work of Kotomine's Servant, not to mention the work of even a fellow allied Master, so she didn't trust these wards as far as she could throw them which was not at all but if Kotomine thought they were reliable she would at least humor his choice.

"But first let's have some soothing tea to settle the nerves." Ciel absently took the cup offered to her but refrained from drinking too focused on what news Shirou had to share.

Ciel patiently waited for Kotomine to finish but he seemed to also sit there waiting for her to drink as well, probably to be polite or some eastern custom he had.

Ughh well he Certainly wasn't Shirou with the needless pleasantries, might as well get this business out of the way so they could focus on what's actually important.

Taking a sip from her cup Ciel…

That was as far as Ciel's memory goes as it got quite fuzzy from there, why couldn't she remember again? Something was Wrong.
Everything is okay… Normal, Don't worry.

No, nothing was wrong, Ciel shook her blue locks as she got up from one of the pews, she was resting on, slowly stretching out like a cat. She might as well make herself some curry, that was one of the eastern things Shirou introduced to her that she truly did enjoy.

Training with Kirei and Shirou gave her some insight into Japanese culture and while she could respect it, the culture didn't resonate with her either, well the food did but other than that not really despite it being half her ancestry. Thinking about the two brothers in all but blood she wondered what Kirei was up to anyway?

The three kept in light contact mostly due to Shirou's pestering but even after knowing them both for years it was hard for Ciel to predict what Kirei was doing, since he always shifted to something new every few months after mastering whatever he was doing before.

It didn't make much sense to Ciel, but nothing really did concerning the two Kotomine brothers, but she pushed those thoughts aside as she arrived at the kitchen and focused instead on the greatest food in the world.

"Curry, curry going to make some curry~" Her father was right to warn her away from it, after taking the first bite Shirou unknowingly offered her all those years ago, she's become a total addict to what she would personally call the food of the gods.

"krrstch" and... that was the church door opening, did Kotomine finally come back from whatever was taking him so long? Wait why didn't she know what he was doing!?
It's fine don't worry… everything is alright.

Right she might as well greet him but just to be on the safe side she wasn't going to check unarmed, never knew when Roa might decide to attack or send his goons after all. Luckily, she had kept the seventh scripture here at the church considering the fact that the whole of Trifas was under the watch of the Black faction which was currently hostile towards the church.

Quickly slinking from the kitchen into the room she placed her greatest weapon only taking a moment to admire the beauty she forged the Seventh Scripture into before hefting it up using her reinforced arms. If it was an enemy that invaded the church then they would be sorry and on the off chance it really was Kotomine, well he would understand her caution.

It had taken less than half a minute to fully prepare as she charged back into the main hall, weapon at the ready. Spotting the intruder it only took a glance to realize it really wasn't Shirou suddenly coming back but instead someone she vaguely recognized, it seems her preparation wasn't in vain.

She tried to feel if the invader was either Roa or one of his lackies but didn't come up with much, Ciel quickly glanced at her surroundings wary of being trapped between a mass of dead apostles, a tactic Roa was quite fond of.

"Are you the Church's Mediator?" Ciel focused back on the man, he was well put together and seemed the personification of suave grace but undermining that image was the faint traces of ragged weariness and a certain light in his eyes.

Was she the mediator though? Obviously not, but she might as well be considering Kotomine was unreachable at the moment and she was an official member of the church who did have enough authority to act as a representative, so sure she'll go with it.

Taking her time to respond Ciel looked the man over again trying to find any sign he was an enemy, but after a closer inspection he couldn't possibly be a dead apostle. After all he had stepped onto a ground that no vampire could withstand long with all the blessings safeguarding this church.

Looks like she'll at least have to be pleasant until this sudden… guest showed his true colors "Since Father Kotomine is on certain business at the moment, I would be, mister?"

"Darnic, Darnic Prestone Yggdmillenia but I'm afraid this is no time for pleasantries, I have grave news that I know will concern the church…" Ah, so that's how she recognized him, he was a Master of the Black Faction, she was debriefed on them, but she wasn't really invested in it considering it didn't involve Roa.

Ciel can't help but notice he's struggling to continue for some reason as if he's forcing himself to swallow a bitter pill "The Black Faction has been usurped, by the Serpent of Akasha."

Wait hold on a minute did he just say?

"Wait what!?" Ciel couldn't help but blurt out incredulously after all what this man just stated was a worse case scenario, Shirou had informed her that these Servants vastly outstripped even his own capabilities and Kotomine was a monster of an executor whose abilities eclipsed even her own.

The man, Darnic looked to the ground "Roa's reincarnation was one of our members, we were taken down from within." That… That made sense actually, Roa always liked hosts with either great standing or magical ability so considering all the Magi arriving for the Great Holy Grail War it was obvious Roa was among them, it was so obvious in hindsight that Ciel had to resist the urge to either scream in frustration or facepalm.

No that wasn't what she should focus on right now, what she needed was information "Roa, is he at the Black Faction headquarters?"

At that question Darnic merely shook his head in frustration "No, just awhile ago the whole Castle was destroyed. I'm not sure as to what exactly happened, only that it did."

Troublesome, catastrophic there were many words that could describe the current situation, but to Ciel they seemed to fall short of describing the situation at hand. That is if this Darnic man was telling the truth.

Call her a cynic but Ciel still took the Magi's words with a grain of salt, he seemed earnest that was for sure but there were many skilled at the art of trickery in the Moonlit World.

Still she now had a lead, the supposedly destroyed Yggdmillenia base that... "Darnic"

The man's name was not spoken by herself but by someone else, Ciel immediately looked around for the individual who somehow crept up on her. What surprised her was when a European man in old fashioned, yet luxurious clothes materialized from thin air.

Right Darnic was a Master so it was obvious he would have a Servant. Ciel took a good look at this hero of the distant past, well he was more impressive than Arcueid's Archer that was for certain. First of all he wasn't a child and instead a man of imposing height along with his severe face framed by blonde hair he seemed the very picture of nobility.

"La- My Liege what has caught your attention?" At Darnic's response the Servant narrowed his eyes, but eventually responded "I sense two Servants fighting in the distance, but they don't seem to be fighting each other but something else that feels disgustingly familiar."

At that Darnic widened his eyes before glancing in Ciel's direction "It seems we must cut this meeting short, I now have an important matter to attend to."

Disgustingly familiar? Perhaps the Servant was referring to Roa? Ciel certainly wasn't going to miss the chance to confront that body snatcher.

A normal person would be worried at accompanying what amounted to total strangers, but as an immortal Ciel wasn't worried about her safety in the least. Even if these two were presenting an elaborate ruse, she wouldn't be much worse for wear even if they did literally stab her in the back.

"I'm coming as well, if it is Roa it's my duty to destroy that blasphemer." Darnic's mouth quirked into a grin, he didn't look too surprised, but he didn't seem to be expecting her presence either.

The smug Magi was quick to respond, "It would be my pleasure to have your aid in this endeavor miss?" Looks like he was fishing for her name just like she did his, still it wasn't a big deal; She wasn't a big name outside of the church.

"Ciel, the pleasure is mine Darnic." With those words Darnic twirled around towards the exit and started walking off into the distance his servant right by his side.

It wasn't a choice at all for Ciel to follow them as she barely hesitated yet when she reached the door to exit the church she stopped, why?
STAY, Don't Leave… Protect the Church!!!

No, she had to protect the church that's why… Wait that was all wrong, a lead to Roa just presented itself, why did this empty church matter!?

Ciel shook her head it felt like she couldn't think straight like she was under… Hypnosis! Once she realized it the compulsion suddenly vanished as if it never existed.

'Why that no good backstabbing con! When I get my hand on him, I'll...'

"Miss Ciel are alright?" Ciel was snapped out of her rant midway as she looked towards Darnic it seems he noticed her suddenly stopping at the Church's door.

Shaking her head Ciel didn't give Darnic any more room for concern as she swiftly caught up to the two trailing after them as they lead the way into the night.

All the while silently wondering why Shirou Kotomine, the trusted comrade she had spend years of grueling training and missions together with, had put her under a compulsion.


A/N: Well here's an interlude and quite a long one at that. With length and how fast I cranked this out there are bound to be errors but I'll correct them later probably tomorrow or the day after.

In spite of the fact of their Master just dying the Red Faction Servants showed no signs of stopping their battles, you didn't really hold it against them though as your own team was equally guilty. You could try to help your… friends defeat Kotomine's former Servants, but you feel that would just be unwanted considering the wide smiles plastered on everyone's faces as they fought.

This wasn't really a strange notion to you considering the fact that you also greatly enjoyed a good fight, it was in short, exhilarating. Still you didn't want your friends to get hurt too seriously but also didn't want to get in the way of their fun.

The simplest solution would be to take Kotomine's Seals to become the Red Factions main Master and then make them stop when they went too far either by Command Seal or Force, either one worked but the Seals would definitely help.

Looking down on the cooling corpse of your enemy you couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment, he was just as underwhelming as Roa.

While it was nice that everything didn't blow up in your face, it was still dissatisfying to have everything be so, so… easy. While many would say having everything go your way was a good thing, to you well it was boring, dreadfully so in fact.

Okay so maybe you were still a bit bitter as to how your earlier encounter with Roa went but still why couldn't you get a decent challenge!? You carefully shifted your gaze away from the two Servants you incapacitated, you couldn't help but admit that maybe having your full-strength back wasn't totally a good thing, perhaps you were a bit too strong?

As you leaned down you paused to consider which hand you were supposed to use. On one hand you had a golden ring and on the other you bore a ring portraying a serpent eating its tail. Now you were pretty sure it was the golden ring that you had to press against the dead priests severed hand, which wasn't on his body great.

Luckily it didn't take long to spot where the Command Seal bearing arm was, well that was to be expected with your abilities, you'd be far more surprised if you couldn't find it. It took less that a dozen seconds to spot and retrieve Kotomine's arm.

Now where were you… Right, while you were pretty sure that it was the golden ring on your left hand that let you take another's Command Seals for your own, you just wanted to make sure you got them, on the off chance you were wrong.

It was a bit shameful, but you sort of forgot about these items after all the crazy things that had happened today, storming the Black Faction castle that Roa took over, fighting Arjuna and beating him with a cool toy; Then charging straight at Roa after claiming the enemy Archer as your own, killing Roa and claiming the Black Faction for your own. Until finally going after and now taking the Red Faction as well. It was honestly crazy to think this all happened in just a few hours, so it was totally understandable if you forgot some… minor details on which ring did what, yeah!

You blinked and blinked again well this was awkward, how exactly were you supposed to press both your hands on an arm anyways, well you could always put it on the ground and hunch over it.

That was stupid though, not to mention embarrassing instead you'll just move both rings to one hand but that leaves the question which one?

Your left hand had two Red Command Seals while your right revealed a tapestry of seven Black Seals, you're not sure if it really matters which hand you take the Seals with but just in case, you'll put both rings on your left hand.

Uhhh huh? You… can't pull it off!! Tugging the ring with the snake motif did absolutely nothing at all regardless of how much strength you used, it just didn't budge!

Still that answers that question the ring you want to use, it's definitely the golden one and not this accursed trinket that was stuck to your finger like a lamprey. You hope no one saw that though, taking a quick glance at everyone it seems they're still occupied, good.

Hmm, wait it seems Astolfo and the other pink haired midget have stopped fighting, perhaps it's because of the comradery they share over their ridiculous hair color?

At least they weren't paying attention to you…

Absently you pressed your left hand on the severed arm, it's actually the second time you've done this tonight. By that you mean taking command seals from a severed arm, perhaps it's a common occurrence in these Grail Wars.

You didn't particularly care about that, what did interest you was the items that Gil gave you, why? Well you didn't want to have to ask Gil what they did, only for him to tease you after all!

So first of all you have an immaculate white dress that's indestructible along with dimensional pockets to hold stuff, that's what Gil told you at any rate but you're sure there's more to it. The dress not having any stains is surely a sign that it has more abilities, Gil's just trying to have you figure it out for yourself.

You can't help but think that the dress is related to how you blew through Kotomine's defenses earlier, as executor blades shouldn't have crumpled that easily. There was the chance you could simply be underestimating your returned strength instead.

Next was the golden tracking amulet, the first Item your tiny Archer gave you, it can track things that belong to you, maybe? On second thought you're not exactly sure what is does other than find things somehow. That wasn't a good showing, but you think that's right.

Okay next is… you give yourself a glance and decide figuring out the rings would do. The golden one uhmm it, it did uhhh it took command seals, yup! You're starting to lose confidence in this whole remembering what items did what thing, No! You've got this, the other ring you couldn't take it off because it was cursed, you're sure of that and that it destroyed souls!

You feel your chest swell with pride at that, after all that was right on the money! Well you think it was at any rate, you shift your attention to the bracelet around your right arm.

You didn't really pay attention to it until now, but it also matched your dress however it had large red gems adorning it in a circular pattern, you weren't really an expert on rocks or gems or whatever people wanted to call them. Your first thought was that they were rubies, but they could easily be glass for all you knew but that probably didn't matter, what did was that the item was supposed to conceal your scent or something.

Next up was, you didn't spot anything else but taking a quick peek into your pocket reveals a jagged dagger shaped like a lightning bolt, it had something to do with Servants and you poked them with it to make them yours? This was another item you didn't really get how it worked, only that it was helpful somehow.

Finally there was… you look everywhere on your person but don't find anything else, that seemed to be it, wait now that you think about it there was that pendant that shielded you from arrows until it broke.

That was actually a bunch of stuff, more than you've ever worn before which now that you mention it wasn't a hard feat at all considering you never wore any kind of jewelry before Gil came along with all his shiny trinkets. That's not to say you didn't like them or anything, in fact they were amazing it's just it seemed a bit… much.

Still you felt like you were missing something, but you couldn't put your finger on it, frustrated you ran a hand through your hair; Wait that was it the hat! It was supposed to make you invisible and it… was nowhere on your person, you must've dropped it after your small episode with Roa.

Oops.

You wince at that realization, telling Gil that you lost one of his treasures wasn't a conversation you were looking forward to. Well you had a ton of good news to go along with it, so it shouldn't be that big of a deal or it should at the very least serve soften the blow.

Six bonds snap into place marked by the intricate red engraving of thirteen seals upon your left arm, by this time you were used to the customary feeling of gaining a Servant if by nothing but the drain each one of them took from your reserves. While having a ton of Servants might be cool at first glance, each of them actually took quite a big chunk of mana, while some like Astolfo didn't take nearly as much, it still was enough to be concerning and with five new ones it should've been extremely taxing. What was strange though is that you could feel prana filtering into you at the exact same rate as the drain, making you feel if you didn't have a small army of ancient heroes.

Was this the support of the Grail? That was your first guess, but you didn't have much of an idea of what was helping in fact you could be totally wrong but now that you think back on it, this might've been happening for quite some time. Galling as it was to admit it, you only noticed the filtering energy when you called down your Marble Phantasm which you shouldn't have had enough energy to manifest.

In other words you only noticed the Prana help when It smacked you right in the face, it was subtle in an odd way as now that you could focus on it, there was no denying it was there but at the same time it felt natural, as if it was to be expected.

It was baffling to say the least but honestly you could barely get worked up over it at this point, too many strange events happening so close together has already inured you to the wackiness that came with this Holy Grail War.

Still it would be a hell of a story to tell Uncle Zel, when you met him again, you were betting it would be pretty soon though. Now that you think about it you probably have to unless you wanted some Magi bother you for taking over the Grail war. While that might not seem like a big deal since Magi didn't stand a snowballs chance in hell to actually hurt you in a meaningful manner, they could still be very annoying when they wanted to be.

That was off topic though, you shake your head as you return to the present, looking around it seems Astolfo and the other pinky were still cordially conversing, but your vampiric acuity could pick it up as if you were right next to them.

"-ppogriff even took me to the moon once! Pretty cool huh! Oh there was even that time that…" You tuned out Rider's blathering as she continued on about nonsensical topics that didn't seem to have any significance, you looked towards the two before shrugging, might as well head towards the only pair that weren't fighting.

Astolfo was eventually cut off by her conversation partner "Focus Astolfo, I would say that is pretty amazing and I would love to see your Hippogriff, it would be an opportunity I've unfortunately never had before, as most phantasmal beasts of that rank had either disappeared or become so rare you couldn't find them even after a century of searching when I was alive…" at that the diminutive girl looked forlorn, it was almost as if looking at a kicked puppy, you had an urge to pick her up and squeeze her to death, maybe not that hard.

Pinky two seemed to regain her spirits before the strange urge overwhelmed you continuing "Still it's taken you to the moon? That's an incredible feat, tell me what exactly did you find there?" At that Astolfo's annoying voice started up again but you simply blocked it out this time, didn't want your brain to fry.

It seems both were so caught up in their little conversation that they didn't notice you sneaking up on them until you got a little fed up with them not noticing you and spoke up "Hey Astolfo and other pinky."

The other pinky seemed a bit miffed but then she smiles brightly after a moment "So you're my new master, as well as most every other Servant in this war, I guess it couldn't have gone any other way considering who you are."

You tilt your head; how did she know who you were? did her master tell her? It seems she caught onto that as she answered your unasked question "It's nothing that strange, not every hero is a millennia old legend after all" She points at Gil and Achilles still fighting which they're enjoying a bit too much in your opinion, if their expressions are anything to go by

"I was actually born centuries after you were, where I became a Magi of some repute, so it isn't strange that I actually know about you; The White Princess is well known amongst those in the moonlit world."

Heroes of legend could be younger than you?! That made you feel old, were you old? You'd have to ask Uncle Zel, wait never mind he'd just call you a kid again and spout something, something my cute niece.

Who else could you ask though? The second thought that popped into your mind was Gil since he was so wise, yet he wasn't even an adult yet, of course you'd be old to him, hmmm.

"Arcueid are you there?" Well there was always Arjuna, he seemed reliable enough but then again, he was a human with a mortal life span so that probably wouldn't work either.

"Let me try, HELLO, Earth to Master!" That voice, it was like nails on a chalkboard to your senses, turning to glare at the nuisance you gaze right into Rider's eyes daring her to continue. It seems Astolfo was a bit smarter than she appeared as before your eyes even met, she became suspiciously silent.

"Truly you have a way with our Master, Astolfo but if I may have your attention I would like to apologize." Huh? What did midget #2 have to apologize for? "I Helena Blavatsky am sincerely sorry for attacking you earlier with my Noble Phantasm, it wasn't my intention, but I was under the orders of a Command Seal at the time, since I didn't agree with that errant Servant Kotomine's wish."

Now that she mentioned the Dead Priest's wish didn't Gil say the same thing about it?

"What was so bad about his wish anyway?" You can't help but ask.

At that Helena's face scrunched up in distaste "Only that it was monumentally short sighted and stupid, the Priest obviously didn't have the first clue as to what would've really happened if he got his way, of course when someone just tries to help him make a wish that won't explode in everyone's faces, he uses a command seal on me to make me shut up and follow his stupid plan because he's oh so determined and won't be swayed from his path! What a load of bull, worst Master ever!"

You try to say something, but she figuratively runs over you as she continues her venting "The general idea was good I mean every human transcending into mahatmas sounds amazing but there are reasons why that hasn't happened yet, even with figures that surpass this grail's power. It's because everyone knows that if you tried speeding up the process, GAIA and ALAYA won't simply just lie down an let it happen, no! They'll instead designate this timeline for removal because it deviates too far from the quantum time lock, destroying our reality in the process! How is the supposed to save anyone! HOW?!"

Uhh, Mahawho? The what lock? Sparing a look at Astolfo you could also see that's she's just as confused as you are. You just shrug, all you got from that was the wish was bad which Gil already told you.

The movement of your shoulder's seems to attract Helena's attention back to yourself and it doesn't seem to take her long to notice just how lost both Astolfo and you were.

"Ah, my bad you two aren't Magi unless…" She had the decency to look a bit sheepish there but she suddenly trails off an excited glint entering her eyes "Hey I know it would be impossible for Astolfo, but would you be interested in learning Mage Craft from me!"

Her demeanor does a 180 as all of the sudden she seems to beam at you, brimming with excitement "I mean to teach a nature spirit of your caliber is even rarer than a once it a life time opportunity, I'll be a good teacher I swear Oh! I wonder if you'd be interested in learning about that Cauldron of Dagda since it's close in nature to the Grail… Wait I'm getting ahead of myself, that can come after learning about quantum time locks, yes I have a lesson plan already good to go!"

You learn Magecraft, is that even possible? In the first place did you even want to learn something like that from someone you just met?! You take a quick glance at Astolfo only to find her still mysteriously silent, the one time you need her to be annoying to bail you out and she doesn't deliver!

Well, you look back towards Helena who somehow has sparkles twinkling around her eyes… is that some sort of Magecraft? More importantly how exactly are you going to handle this situation?


Arcueid decides…


[X] Well Magecraft has always interested you a tiny bit, might as well learn some while waiting for everyone to finish their fights.

[X] You weren't touching Magecraft with a ten-foot pole nor would like to be Helena's student, you'll pass.

[X] You'd decide later you had more important things to do like…

-[X] Stop everyone fighting with a Command Seal, it would likely anger some of your Servants and use a Seal up but it's better that they stayed safe.

-[X] Check up on Siegfried to see how he's doing, you're a bit worried about him.

-[X] See how the Elf's doing, she does seem a bit volatile but how to handle her?

--[X] (Write in how do you deal with Semiramis?)

[X] You'll simply go over to one of the fights and intervene if it looks a little dicey but whose?

-[X] The Indian brother's battle.

-[X] Gil's fight with Achilles.

-[X] Try to get Shuten to help out?

--[X] (Write in how and with what)

[X] Write in (Beware a complete write in is subject to veto if I feel it doesn't make sense or is too OOC)



A/N: So this chapter was mostly an inner monologue as to what I'd call a but of a recap chapter for a few of the minor things that might've gotten forgotten in the shuffle and to clarify a few points. Do be aware this isn't everything and only what Arc herself can Recall IC, this is no omniscient POV after all so it's subject to Bias and Fallacies.

Another point to touch on is the votes, a lot of options aren't there? I did it mainly because each vote I see a huge bandwagon on what to do so I hope this makes things a bit more engaging for people to participate in, if you need any clarification just ask me in the comments and I'll be happy to oblige.

Finally point any mistakes, OOCness and inconsistencies and I'll try to fix them to the best of my ability, and that's it I hope you like this chapter, although I feel it is a bit choppy since I rushed it out after only 2 hours of sleep =/ couldn't go back to bed for whatever reason.

Mordred's body was already littered with wounds and the battle with this monster hadn't even hit the minute mark, beneath her helmet she grimaced as a few of her ribs screamed in protest as she backflipped over her opponent's monstrous excuse for an arm.


Landing back on the ground the Knight's instincts blared like a horn being blown, DUCK! Not a moment too soon Mordred followed through as the instant her sabatons touched the ground she rolled forwards, dodging a large fist by a hair's breadth.


That wasn't enough to protect the Knight of Betrayal from the concussive force of her opponents' attack which sent Mordred's form tumbling a few meters away. This encounter only seemed to serve to add to her growing list of injuries, while her wounds were nothing truly substantial yet, at this rate things weren't looking good.


Still being blown away from Nrvnqsr as this beast liked to call himself, was actually a bit of good luck as it gave Saber time to regain her bearings from the one-sided pummeling she has been taking ever since the first blow was traded.


While there wasn't even a single scratch marring Chaos' form, Saber didn't come out of this exchange empty handed. No, Mordred now had a measure of Chaos' abilities.


The man was stronger than that gorilla Gawain was during daylight for certain and his speed in this new form matched that of a typical Lancer, which was saying something.


His durability would've been lackluster if it wasn't for the fact his insane regeneration more than covered for that flaw, making any blow dealt to him near useless.


There was the option to utilize her Noble Phantasm Clarent Blood Arthur once again as it seemed to be able to at least temporarily put this menace down, but it didn't seem feasible as her body still ached from the last time she used it despite how much she tried to hide it and using it would only worsen her condition. There was also the fact that her opponent wasn't giving her the time necessary to utilize Blood Arthur which made striking with Clarent while using mana burst to empower her swings her best option and it just wasn't enough. In other words the deformed grey monster was an opponent that seemed nearly impossible to take down with her own abilities, as much as it galled Mordred to admit it.


That was the thing though, Saber wasn't by herself, she smirked as she watched Jeanne score a deep gash in the Beast's side due to the monster overextending himself by blowing her away. Despite the weeping wound Chaos pushed on Ignoring Jeanne in favor of barreling towards Saber.


This time Mordred was ready, and her instincts guided around the sloppy attack into what could only be called a miraculous counter, Saber spun around the blow while maneuvering towards her opponent's vulnerable backside, ready to deal a grievous blow. Right at the moment Saber was about to cleave the monster's torso in twain, massive jaws emerged from his back.


It was almost enough to give the fearless Servant pause but the knight pressed on, using Clarent to strike the emerging beast down. Mordred's blade bore down at a blistering speed biting into flesh, but just as it seemed to work her blade stopped caught between blackened scales.


The unnatural abomination let out a horrifying shriek of pain, drawing the Knight's attention towards the visage… the draconic visage.


Mordred had only just realized her mistake "Oh Shi…" when bright red flames engulfed her form, dragon's breath aiming to cook her alive!


Saber might've already been dead from the sheer concussive force of the breath alone if it wasn't for her armor but even then, she didn't have much time before she was a well-done steak. Thinking quickly Saber did the first thing that came to her desperate mind, she dematerialized.


Just as suddenly as the heat came, it faded away as the Knight of Betrayal's body disappeared while the dragon head crooned in confusion looking to and fro for its escaped meal.

Nrvnqsr noticed as well, his grin turning into a distasteful grimace "More tricks is it?"


The vampire paused to consider, carefully watching his other adversary's moves, Jeanne returned the gesture and kept still, using this time to catch her breath. All while the magus in the back showed the usual human reaction to his presence, fear.


While Chaos was still giddy from the hunt, he wasn't stupid or thoughtless, he should've heard of humans with capabilities that were on par with the Clocktower's famed Lorelei Barthomeloi!

Something was wrong here, but Nrvnqsr had yet to figure out what.


The Armored Knight and the female warrior had physical capabilities that far exceeded those possible for human that wasn't all as they also had potent abilities that he didn't recognize as magecraft. Which made them unknown variables that he couldn't properly calculate for, yet there was one option that looked all the more appealing.


The magus accompanying the two warriors was a known variable, one chaos knew how to properly account for and take advantage of. At first the Dead Apostle Ancestor ignored the lowly magus due to his obviously negligible threat level, but Chaos wasn't here to hunt. No, Chaos was here for information and that Magus was just as likely to have the information he sought as the two strange warriors if not more so.


Nrvnqsr came to this to this decision in an instant, so fast that the flag bearing woman didn't even have enough time to take a few breaths. There was a reason Memory Partition and Thought Acceleration were the main methods of Atlas.


The very next moment Chaos was charging towards the Magus while his blonde opponent tried to respond to his sudden shift in tactics.

She was slow, far too slow.


Already Nrvnqsr was upon the hapless magus, the vampire carefully slowed down as he reached a beefy hand towards the spell caster, it wouldn't do to pulp him after all the magus couldn't properly be devoured in such a state.


"Saber!!!" Those were the mage's last words? An aria of some sort? Well Chaos couldn't allow that, it wouldn't do to have some spell rob him of his kill at the last minute. Chaos tightened his grasp on the magus choking him to prevent the magus from continuing his aria while lifting him up to his mouth, savoring the terror in the air.


In the corner of his eye Nrvnqsr saw the silver knight that had disappeared earlier materialize right next to the male magus and by extension himself, but the knight wasn't threatening in the least unless she used that attack from their first encounter and even that would only serve to kill the magus, not him.


"Luminosité Eternelle!" The blonde woman cried out as a brilliant light shone from behind the Dead apostle as he saw magus' sunglasses begin to reflect the holy light.

Just as Chaos grasped the man the burning light from behind caught up and threw the Dead Apostle Ancestor away the Magus, he had grasped who somehow was seemingly unaffected by the extreme force that separated the two.


This wasn't how it was supposed to go! Chaos charged again but a barrier of light prevented his advance. It didn't take the vampire long to realize this was an effect similar to the holy ground miracle the church liked to employ, but this barrier was on a level that Chaos had never encountered before despite the numerous centuries the dead apostle had existed.


Still Chaos kept hammering against the golden shell ignoring the searing burns the barrier inflicted as the damage was negligible at best and he noticed…


The more Nrvnqsr struck the barrier the more tears adorned the source of the barrier, that powerful woman's flag. It seemed whatever the woman had managed to pull, it wouldn't last for long.

Chaos grinned in anticipation; So what if these two warriors had strange abilities? That only made this hunt all the better.


In fact since these two clearly couldn't truly harm him, they were easy pickings and once he assimilated them, all their powerful abilities would be his to claim. The mere thought of it was enough to make the beast shiver in exhilaration.


Yes, Chaos could hardly wait and as if responding to his desires the holy barrier shattered when his fist struck it for what seemed the hundredth time. Expecting this outcome Chaos didn't waste any time going for the kill, once again targeting the male magus who was obviously the weakest link.


Yet once again something interfered, this time it was stakes sprouting from the ground spearing through Chaos' arm, all while multiple thorns bloomed inside the vampire's body which stabbed outwards until Chaos didn't resemble anything other than a pincushion.


His eyes weren't usable as multiple thorns had taken their place, blinding him. That wasn't all as more thorns skewered their way through his body, robbing the Dead Apostle Ancestor of most of his other senses.

This kind of damage was enough to kill even powerful Dead Apostles a hundred times over, yet for Chaos this wasn't anything more than an inconvenience. The Dragon on his back once more emerged and Chaos used the powerful phantasmal species' abilities to burn the thorns infesting him from within, along with everything in his immediate surroundings.


When the beast finally regained his senses, he saw what had caused the unwelcome attack, three more individuals appeared before him, three more obstacles in his way.


"More nuisances? You're like rats, constantly crawling out of the woodwork." Nrvnqsr growled out.


The thrill had left him, all Chaos felt at this moment was frustration as more unknown variables appeared out of nowhere. When would this tide of vermin end?!


"Rats? Hmph, even if that were so, it's far better than being a disgusting leech like yourself, vampire." An imperious voice responded back to his statement with a mocking lilt. Chaos identified the one that spoke as a blonde man in an elaborate outfit fit for a king.


Chaos narrowed his eyes focusing on the man even as rumbling blasts started echoing off in the distance. This was getting him nowhere, in fact sparing at quick glance at the commotion in the distance...

That level of power simply wasn't possible, not the sheer scope of it, but the fact that he knew of every being capable of that level of power, that could truly threaten his existence. The powerful blasts destroying the landscape were a threat that was for certain, but what didn't line up is that he hadn't a single clue who was behind that destructive clash; It was a complete unknown and that made Chaos nervous.

Using Alchemical methods Chaos quickly calculated and ran his chances, the blasts he had briefly spotted earlier clearly had enough power behind them to put even him at risk not to mention those huge meteor showers that kept appearing at random that seemed to spell certain doom that made even Chaos feel fear; That along with the fact that these strange warriors he was faced with, while not a threat kept attracting even more powerful fighters to him, with no end in sight.


It was at this point that Chaos acknowledged if variables kept up at this pace there was a high chance even a Dead Apostle Ancestor like himself would be overrun. Another angle to consider was that one of the newcomers was clearly an Executor working for the Holy Church making the possibility of reinforcements from the Church very real. All these factors led to the conclusion his situation was no longer favorable and it would probably only grow worse with time.


Chaos had taken all this in and more running several simulations for his chances at victory with the current variables taken into account. It took less than half a dozen seconds for him to conclude that hunting Arcueid at this moment simply wasn't worth it, Nrvnqsr would pursue her later at least until these strange events died down or Chaos could find out what he was dealing with. A part of Nrvnqsr rebelled at the notion of retreat that he was letting such unique prey escape him especially when they seemed to pose no threat, but his more cautious side won out in the end.


There was no time to waste, Chaos had to leave before even more annoyances arrived!

Wings from all manner of beasts sprung from the monstrous Beast's back while several more of those black stakes that had ripped him from the inside out were converging on his location, but they weren't quite quick enough. As by the time they arrived, the monstrous behemoth had already taken to the skies allowing Chaos to fly away from the Servants below him and the fiery cataclysm unfolding nearby, until both were mere specks in the distance.


Ortenrosse certainly wouldn't be happy with Chaos' decision to retreat and subsequently allowing Arcueid to escape. No one opposed the White Wing Lord lightly for a reason, despite his low ranking among the Dead Apostle Ancestors and this could spell a doom more certain than dealing with those unknown elements, however Nrvnqsr was confident that as long as he pursued Arcueid in the near future the White Wing Lord wouldn't take offense.


It wasn't a guarantee though as there was always a chance that Trhvnm would insist on making an enemy of Nrvnqsr, but Chaos figured he could simply join Altrouge's faction for protection if that was the case, as much as he disliked the Brunestud brat tolerating her existence was better than oblivion.


Still for now Chaos had escaped this mess of a town and was on his way to find out what exactly was happening here.

Next time he would be prepared…



A/N: Surprise! Bet no one was suspecting an update after all this time, but I never entirely abandon any of my works. Anyways this chapter feels a bit flat and the change in perspective felt a tad awkward and long winded(Kinda mentioned that in my other fic), but I hope it's alright regardless. And yes, I know this is an interlude update, but it was already half done so might as well xD

So Chaos is temporarily out of the game as I see him as the type who's only confident when his chances are certain(I mean look how he reacted to Shiki) so when things aren't going his way he simply runs away with his tail behind his legs probably due to all the herbivores he's assimilated.

As always point out any improvements that can be made with the chapter.