Moonlit Sonata

Fate/Empty Providence

Ruler, Church Interior

@DrowsyPangolin

Ruler mused to himself for a handful of seconds before coming to a conclusion. "Given that, were it not for the third-party's interference you would still have a Servant, I suppose I can allow the summoning to occur here. Exit the church and make the necessary precautions directly outside, such as a magic circle and a Bounded Field to prevent detection from any civilians. I will allow something of this nature given the occasion." He explained, sunglasses being placed back onto his face as he spoke. "However, once the Servant has been summoned, preferential treatment like this will no longer apply, of course."

After speaking, Ruler let out a quiet sigh, his mind going to the matters of the other Servants. He would need to call that freak in to discuss this; after all, while this seemed like the work of a third-party, he couldn't rule out the possibility that it had just been one of their pets that did this.

All in due time, he supposed.

---

Demon (Terror), Shinto Streets

@Breo @ConstantlyComic

Falling back, he was falling back, and yet he didn't seem to be abandoning the conflict. The demon let out an almost raucous scream, a harsh buzz as its wings flared up again. While it couldn't be certain what the enemy was doing, it knew that given his speed and aptitude for repositioning, it couldn't match him in his retreat. Chasing him would only allow him to shift the tide of the conflict to being on his terms.

As a result, it had decided on a different approach: it would return to the sky. Yes, even if Siegfried was an exemplary Servant, were he to launch an attack on the airborne demon, he would unquestionably be at a disadvantage. He could certainly leap up to the demon's height, but at that point his maneuverability would become nil while the demon's would be unfettered. And were he to take the opportunity to flee with his Master while the demon wasn't pressuring him? That human contracted to him would be in grave danger were he to move at his maximum speed, while the demon had the advantage of being in the air and not being shackled by some weak flesh-thing.

Of course, the demon's thought process was not anything so intricate. It had merely escaped to the air out of fear for what Siegfried was planning. Buzzing morosely in the air, it simply moved in Marguerite's direction, poising itself over her body as it hung in the sky. Like this, it awaited its enemy's next move.

Fate/Empty Providence

Ruler, Church Interior

@DrowsyPangolin

An odd expression, an almost strained smile appeared on Ruler's face in response to Ernest's reaction. No, he could not say that he had been surprised by the magus's decision, not in the slightest. He also couldn't disdain that sort of choice; were Ruler himself in the lad's position, then he would certainly have charged headlong back into the war. At the same time as that sort of surrogate pride welled in his chest, though, he couldn't help but feel a slight pang of guilt, that by telling Ernest that he could reenter the war, he was in all likelihood sending the boy to his death.

"The Holy Grail's situation in this instance is...different, than it should be. Fundamentally it should have the capability to summon seven Servants, and potentially an exception such as myself. In this case, though, the magical energy that it has accumulated is sufficient to completely overturn that, likely the result of modifications made by those who call themselves this land's Second Owners. I'm no magus, so that sort of thing is outside of my knowledge; all I have to go off of is the gut instinct to such things that the Grail provides me with." Ruler explained. A hand reached up to remove his sunglasses, clear blue irises blinking twice as they were exposed to the light. "In other words, the general limit on Servants and class restrictions don't apply. Even I don't know how many Servants this Grail could manifest, but it shouldn't be more than...say, twenty, as the most liberal estimate. The number of Servants who have been summoned thus far is well below that."

"More importantly, though, is you. After all, while your Servant has perished, you still possess the right to be a Master." He remarked, calling to mind the Command Seals that Ernest still possessed, faded and grey that they were. "In other words, it should be possible to summon another Servant. Ordinarily, a Master summoning multiple Servants should be impossible, but the Grail is more...indiscriminate than it should be, as if it wants this war to be as chaotic as possible while still retaining some reason. If you attempted a summoning ritual and were to use one of those Command Seals as a spark, then while I can't be certain, you may be able to summon a Servant."

Fate/Empty Providence

Demon (Terror), Shinto Streets

@Breo @ConstantlyComic

A harsh keening noise emanated out from the demon as Siegfried managed to step out of the range of its attacks, though one of them managed to strike against the edge of Balmung and-

Ah, no, that wasn't what happened at all. Rather, the claw that had been warded off by Balmung never even struck it, instead stopping just before touching the blade. Was it because the demon had stopped itself before its attack had connected, or was it because that repulsive field of it worked both ways like two identical magnets, and it was just short of the physical strength needed to overcome its own ability? Regardless, the attack failed to connect with Balmung, though the sheer repulsive force at that proximity was enough to send shudders through the blade. At that distance, even swinging his sword in the direction of the enemy's attack would be nearly impossible.

Nonetheless, in spite of the fact that it possessed four "weapons" with which to attack compared to Siegfried's one, the fact that he had been able to avoid three of those attacks altogether was telling. Its movement speed was certainly appreciable, the descent it had initially made spoke to that much, but it seemed that when it came to fine motor control and dexterity, Siegfried was superior.

Of course, that hardly mattered if he wasn't capable of harming it in the first place.

A guttural screech leaving it, the demon continued to press forwards, limbs flying out to attack the same points that they had moments earlier. The difference was that this time, the repulsive force was in full swing from the beginning, weighing against any actions the Saber could take to move forwards; if they began at a distance then he could certainly put his full force behind his sword to swing it at the demon, as he had earlier, but at this distance he simply lacked the capability to gain enough momentum to carry the blade forward after his own strength had failed him.

In other words, unless the tide of battle changed, he would be forced into this defensive role until one side gave out.

---

Ruler, Church Interior

@DrowsyPangolin

So, he was the Master of that Lancer after all. Well, that was to be expected. If it had been anything else, then Ruler would have had far more cause for alarm. The Servant listened to Ernest's explanation, nodding slightly.

So Lancer had fallen in combat with something besides a Servant, then. Well, that was hardly conclusive; after all, some of those things possessed human forms, and the description of the man meant nothing to Ruler, so in all likelihood it was-

“He was... empty.”

The expression of Ruler which had gradually been slackening grew tight once more the second the words had left Ernest's mouth. Those things could certainly be described as "wrong", disgusting, impure, something that should not exist in this world. After all, they are born from the distortions and desires of the human mind, they are the materialization of mankind's wishes.

But it is precisely for that reason that the thought of calling them "empty" was utterly ridiculous.

Could the magus have been mistaken? It was a cursory glance at the figure, after all, and perhaps his observational prowess wasn't anything special. Yes, it was perfectly reasonable that what had struck Lancer down was just one of those, but between the uneasy feeling in Ruler's stomach and the description that Ernest had provided, it was altogether too troublesome.

"There is...the possibility that it is one of the beings brought to this city by another Servant. If this is the case, there is nothing I can do save to give you safe haven here until you are prepared to return to your homeland." He explained, seeming to mull the current matter over with himself as he spoke. "However, the ability to immediately overwhelm a Knight-class Servant in close quarters, the 'emptiness' that you described, those beings shouldn't be capable of that or appear like that to my knowledge. There is the chance that it could be the Noble Phantasm of another Servant, but that feels off the mark. It may be that what defeated your Lancer was something not involved with a competitor of this Grail War, and if that is the case, then such third-party interference is not something I can allow."

Letting out a slight sigh, Ruler shook his head, the now-somber demeanor flowing from him clashing horribly with his attire. "If your Servant was defeated by a third-party, then I suppose...magus, do you still desire the Holy Grail? I cannot promise that what defeated your Lancer will not come for you next, and if you reenter the war then I cannot ensure your safety, but if you desire then it may be possible for you to gain a new Servant."

Fate/Empty Providence

@Breo I'll be holding off for a bit to give @ConstantlyComic a chance to post, say for the next 12ish hours.

Fate/Empty Providence

Ruler, Church Interior

@DrowsyPangolin

Didn't make sense.

It didn't make sense.

A Berserker in Miyama who was fading from this world. A Lancer whose karmic line had been severed in the forest.

This should not be a strange occurrence. After all, Masters and Servants are expected to die in this Holy Grail War. But...why were other Servants not present at the locations of these incidents?

Was it them? Those foul things, a first-rate Heroic Spirit could certainly match them in a fight, but were a third-rate one like Ruler himself to engage in direct combat against them then he would likely be defeated. Yes, it could very easily be those things, those demons crafted from human minds. If that was the case, then he had no room to act. After all, even if that freak repulsed him, its actions weren't against the rules of the Holy Grail War.

But still, even if he had never heard the voice of God, even if he lacked a prescience at the level of precognition, even if his eyes could not see through the gaps between worlds, something at his core screamed at him.

Something is wrong. More than those things, more than that freak, something is terribly wrong.

Something has entered this city that should not be.

The Servant was roused from his thoughts as he heard a voice from outside of the Church, realizing with a start that someone had approached it. Had he been so wrapped up in thinking about this that he didn't even notice the arrival of a mere magus?

He said he'd lost his Servant. In that case, his Servant would need to be that Lancer that had perished in the forest. Yes, if it was the forest then it made sense, one of those things probably encountered the unprepared Lancer and struck them down. But, the more Ruler assured himself of this fact, the more that cold pit in his stomach grew. By the time the doors of the Church opened and the ostentatious figure behind them appeared, his jaw was slightly clenched, a sort of panicked light flashing in his sunglass-covered eyes.

"...come inside, and tell me everything you know about what happened."

Fate/Empty Providence

Killing Zouk

@Berserk Gene

This is now Zouken's official nickname for the RP.

Fate/Empty Providence

@DrowsyPangolin @Breo
Expect a post late today. This is my hell week, so there are going to be some delays at least for the time being.

Fate/Empty Providence

Demon (Terror), Shinto Streets

@Breo @ConstantlyComic

Could it even understand language? No doubt, that "sound" that been emanating out from it during its descend had a certain timbre to it that was reminiscent of language, but truly being able to understand human language was another matter entirely. Regardless, the demon at least seemed able to gauge the intent behind Siegfried's words as it floated above the streets.

Just what was it fighting, for that man to be able to survive being so close to it? There was no question about it, a living being should not have been able to shoulder what would happen upon making contact with its body; even for its siblings, that was an ironclad rule. And yet, this thing with its damned shine had managed it; even if there was the buffer of a sword, it had managed to make contact.

Would he be able to survive outright contact? The thought alone was enough to make the demon shudder, but it couldn't afford to stay focused on musing over such repulsive matters. No, for now it had to hunt. It was neither brilliant nor powerful, it was not capable of controlling the tide of a battle or dominating its enemy, but out of its siblings, it was without question the one with the strongest defense. And given that its enemy's sword, while inexplicably making contact with its body, had failed to so much as harm it in the slightest, the conclusion was a simple one: unless it possesses a hidden strength, this enemy "cannot kill it".

So then, all it needed to do was wear him down.

Without warning, as Siegfried approached, the demon's body rocketed forwards at the Servant, clawed appendages reaching out to strike at him. Throat, heart, shoulder, stomach, the four attacks were launched with a frenzied level of coordination, bringing with them that feeling of repulsion that the dragonslayer had acquainted himself with seconds earlier.

---

???, Forest

@DrowsyPangolin

What had drawn Nimrod's attention to the point where he saw it prudent to leave his Master without a word, blocking off their shared perception as he charged headlong into the forest?

While Ernest had no way of knowing this, it could not have been something of the same make that was combatting a dragonslayer and had nearly emerged at the riverside. After all, while Nimrod could not be called the "strongest Heroic Spirit" of this war, against those beings he possessed an absolute advantage. So long as he was not so prana-deprived that use of his true Noble Phantasm was possible, the thought of a demon born from human wishes and distortions opposing him was laughable.

So then, as the dove flitted into view of where Nimrod had come to a halt, the question was raised of why?

Why had Nimrod left his Master's side so abruptly?

Why had he materialized his spear?

Why was the hand of a black-haired man now piercing his heart?

Its eyes empty, the man's head turned to face the dove as it arrived, almost as if it was looking through the dove and into its owner. The hand that had not been impossibly stabbed into Nimrod was lifted up, palm outstretched towards the dove.

And, no sooner than being able to catch the sight of something crystalline glinting in the palm of the man's hand, was the dove's vision filled with a blinding white. Its karmic line to Ernest was cut immediately, its body presumably destroyed by whatever had just occurred.

A handful of seconds later, the line between Nimrod and Ernest suffered a similar fate.

Fate/Empty Providence

Yes.

CCC event hype.

Fate/Empty Providence

@WildChocobo
Number of generations on the family.

Why would the family bother training three heirs? There's a reason Sakura was sent off to the Matous and why some magus families put a bunch of four years olds into a deathmatch to decide which kid is worth training.

Why does this magus family exist if they have no conceivable theme or path to the Root? The whole point of making a Magic Crest is so that your successor can continue your research.

You can't use other elements besides earth.

Details on Bounded Field capacities.