"I am sorry, but we are full tonight. There is another motel over there on the next block if you wish to stay in this city.

Have a nice night, sir."

The receptionist waved her hand while smiling as the businessman left the run-down motel. it was the dead of midnight that time. After making sure that the businessman didn't have second thoughts on returning, the receptionist locked the front door and turned off the light from the building. She had lied about the motel being full. The opposite was the truth in fact. She had been ordered to keep the motel rooms empty just for this night, and she simply followed her orders.

Her expression turning blank, the receptionist took a candle from her her desk's drawers, and light it up after putting it on a handle. Using the faint light as her guide, she traversed the darkness that now enveloped the building until she reached the basement of the building. An unassuming onlooker would only see it as a normal basement that was only slightly more packed with boxes than usual, however the receptionist then went towards one side of the wall, and after checking it one last time, uttered some words towards it to reveal a door on the wall. She grabbed a key from her pocket and opened the door to reveal more set of stairs going downwards. A trace of light was visible at the end of the dark pathway, and so the maid blew off the candle as she went down, soon reaching a well-lit room.

"Milady, the premise has been emptied. The other homunculi has been sent to their posts.

It is time for us to start the ritual."

"Oh dear, please, just call me Master. In this body, it will feel off for me to be addressed as Milady."

The man that she was talking to smiled in a cat-like grin. The receptionist girl then turned around to see the preparations that her master had made so far. Surprisingly, it was not much. An outline for an elaborate-looking magical circle was in the middle of the room. A diadem was placed at the center of the circle, the faint red color contrasting its white showed that her master had used her...his own blood on it. She had heard that it was supposedly just a simple ritual as the actual summoning was handled by the object known as the Grail, but how little had her master prepared for this was quite a surprise in itself. She wondered what was her master thinking and what was he going to use to make the summoning circle, and in the midst of her confusion, she was unable to realize that her master was creeping behind her, a ceremonial dagger in hand.

[hr]

"Phew, that took me longer than expected."

The summoning circle in the middle of the room had been drawn now. A bloodied black bag was on the corner of the room, and the man was completely alone now. Just as he liked it. Tianzi didn't bother himself with cleaning the mess she created earlier, which kind of gave him the look of a butcher. Not that it would be something he'd care about. More importantly, she got enough blood to finish the circle even at the cost of one of her staffs, and now the actual ritual could start.

The magus' workshop was drowned in silence for a moment before the blond man started to speak.

[i]"This lone voice shall speak the order.
Steel and silver shall be the essence.
A contract will be sealed.
An oath shall be made now."[/i]

It was only a month ever since Tianzi was chosen to participate in this event. She could say that the first thing on her mind was reluctance, but with how it seemed like an offer she could not refuse, and how it had the potential to help her continue the pursuit of her ideal, it would be nonsensical for her to back down. Her preparations were a bare minimum at most compared to what she had read about any events with similar scale that happened before, but it didn't deter her even by a bit. It would be unfitting for someone like her to be deterred by such things.

[i]"Let the grail be filled, 
let it be filled and filled and filled until it spill.
Let it be filled thirteen times over.
Breaking asunder each time, shall it be filled."[/i]

The summoning circle started to be lit as each sentences were spoken. It was a sign that the spirit Tianzi called upon had responded to her call. Mana started to gather inside of the room, the flow distorted the scenery more and more as each beat increased its intensity, but Tianzi simply continued her chant.

[i]"A declaration shall be made here.
Your body belongs to my command.
Your sword shall be my direction.
For you who abide the Grail
If you accept this will and reason..."[/i]

Blue flames danced around the lines of blood on the circle. Each spoken word intensified the flames just like fuel. The overflowing mana felt strangling, it was getting harder and harder to breathe. Nonetheless, Tianzi continued to speak, his voice filled with confidence.

[i]"Then answer me!
I shall attain the virtues of all heavens.
I shall reign over the evils of hell.
From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power,
come forth from the ring of restraint, protector of the holy balance!"[/i]

The blue flames grew and grew, and it engulfed the workshop completely as Tianzi spoke his last sentence, but by the point he was finished, the flames faded. Revealed from beyond the blaze was a pink-haired woman on a fur coat. Her expression devious, yet a sense of hollowness was also there. Tianzi sported a grin as he relished on his success.

"Hoo, to be summoned in this state...

You over there, are you supposed to be my master?
You don't even look dependable...
That's it! You shall be my vassal instead. As the order from your queen, I shall take no as an answer."

The grin Tianzi sported turn to a scowl for a moment as he heard what the Servant he summoned said. The position of servitude was never something he would ever accept, not even from a morally-broke queen like the pink-haired girl. However, he realized the necessity of it now. Manipulating her would be something that he could do later. For now, Tianzi would be content with just his Servant being comfortable enough with him. 

"I shall oblige to your order, Your Highness. Hereby, I am your servant, and you are my Queen.

And for your sake, I shall win this war with your blessing."

[hr]

The blonde-haired woman that oversaw the summoning process from a hidden corner smiled as red marks of her Command Seal was burned on her left hand. Using the male homunculus as a puppet "Master" to gain easier bond with the summoned Queen was a risk she took so she could operate on her own in this war. It would really be a shame if she had to risk her life while she had little idea of her opposition, after all.

The homunculus spoke with her words. The magic circuit that set alight the summoning circle and brought the Queen forth was hers also. The contract was bound to her. The homunculus was nothing more than a meat doll to stand in for her in the eyes of her Servant. As the Servant parted ways with the homunculus, the partial consciousness transference was done and as she regained the control of her body, she let out a small chuckle.

The fun has only just begun.

[@Slime]

[hr]