[h2]Saber[/h2]

For a few moments, Saber stared at the sudden appearance of another Master in confusion. Why would she reveal herself now? What was the purpose? Her Servant wasn't in sight. Did that perhaps mean that it was a long-ranged attacker? Both Rider and Berserker were accounted for, but Archer, Caster, Lancer, and Assassin were all as of yet unseen. Though, certainly, the Master of Assassin wouldn't do anything like this, would they? This was far too forward for anyone who would summon the embodiment of underhanded killing.

And then...

There was a strange creaking sound, and... nothing. Nothing was the best way to explain what had just happened, for even Saber's keen eyes couldn't pierce the fog that had abruptly rolled in. On top of this matter, while she didn't appear to move any more slowly, there was a strange weight upon Saber's body... This fog was suffocating. She could feel it. Not to her, and her Master could likely resist it as a Mage, but it was an oppressive atmosphere that felt as if it sought to choke the life out of anyone trapped within it. Perhaps, for a person without skill in Magecraft, such a terrible, choking mist would lead to almost immediate death. No matter where the black-haired warrior looked, she couldn't see a single thing. As such, she immediately pulled her Master close, and attempted to guard Mira with her body. She had no idea what Servant could be causing this and where they were.

"... Master, stay close. This mist is toxic, and it hides everything," Saber warned, as she glanced back at Mira. And it was in that moment that she glanced back towards her Master that she heard it. The voice of a girl, a young girl, crying out... There was no mistaking that! It was the invocation of a Noble Phantasm!

She could just barely detect the direction in which the assault was coming from, going only off of the sound of the girl's voice. There was no time to seek them out. No time to attempt to counter. The only shield she had for her Master was her body.

And so she moved, placing herself between the sound of that voice and Mira. She wouldn't fail. She wouldn't allow herself to fail. Saber had not been summoned, she had not sought a place in the Holy Grail War as a Servant, she had not responded to the voice of this girl just to allow her to die so quickly!

And her desire to protect her Master was answered by agony beyond anything she had ever experienced before. Not once in battle had she ever felt such excruciating pain, as a set of knives materialized in her body and cut their way through her flesh, tearing her up inside. Her dark green eyes bulged and she let out a strangled gasp, nearly dropping her sword as one hand clutched at her stomach and she bent double. She could feel something rising in her throat. Clasping her hand over her mouth, gurgling, she couldn't stop a torrent of blood from pouring from between her fingers and splattering on the concrete ground. And yet...

[b]Magic Resistance: B[/b]

Saber fell to her knees, spitting blood as she felt her insides torn apart by the knives, but they did not complete their deadly curse. They weren't able to. The final step of their horrific duty was halted, at the last possible second. But in spite of that, the Saber class Servant was still vomiting blood. Had she been human, she would likely have died on the spot.

But she wasn't. She couldn't fail. In her position, now... Her Master was vulnerable! No matter what happened, she wouldn't fail. She couldn't fail again. She wouldn't allow herself to ever fail again!

Blood dribbling from her mouth, Saber gripped her nodachi and forced herself up. Her legs were shaking. Her grip wasn't as tight as it once was. Her body was damaged from the inside. And yet...

"... I... I won't die... not so soon."

Her left hand snapped up and joined her right in gripping her katana's hilt, even as her body trembled with the agony that burned through her entire frame.

"I won't abandon my Master like this!" she cried, even though simply speaking brought her pain, "Reveal yourself, you [i]cur[/i]!"

[hr]

[h2]Estelle Varianbec, Master of Rider[/h2]

Estelle leaned on the side of the chariot and sighed, watching the scenery pass by. She was still angry with herself. How could someone like her, the Varianbec family's greatest achievement, have let herself give in to panic so easily? She felt so angry about it she didn't say a single thing as they returned to her manor. It was particularly a long time until both Master and Servant arrived, passing the bounded field in place around her Mansion's grounds. Quietly, in quite a contrast to her cocky attitude before, Estelle hopped off the chariot and began to quietly approach the doors.

A few moments before she simply entered her home, the tan-skinned girl paused, and turned towards her Servant.

"... Next time I won't allow myself to do something so... so [i]stupid[/i]," she said, simply, frowning, before she turned back towards the doors...

[@Blackstripe][@Raineh Daze][@Feyblue][@Crusader Lord][@WanderingSpirit]