[hider=Reign of Terror]

[center][i][url=https://i.imgur.com/BhGGJyS.png]Justice[/url].
Swift, Blind, Prompt, Harsh.
A gleaming blade, heads roll.
Knife in the dark turned backwards fast,
Just Run.[/i]
[h3]July 18th/Time: 11:49 PM[/h3][/center]

The slow and quiet sound of steel slicing through flesh, blood, and muscle was carried out in the span of a second. Nothing quick about it besides the pain felt at the smallest unit of time in the smallest part of the brain of the man who's blood splattered out so cleanly and spurted for a moment before the corpse sank to its knees, blood drizzling down from the stump of a neck it possessed, the eyes of the man's head stuck in a glazed over look of terror, as he had been beheaded before he even felt himself restrained. Only primal fear had let him know to try and scream. A young man in his early 20s maybe from the sort of youthful gleam to his eyes that were now just glassy orbs that had captured fear in their last second of activity. 

[b]"You were helpful."[/b] the beheader said as the fuchsia colored longcoat that was now splattered with blood vanished, leaving him completely clean as he started writing something down on a notepad and pencil; the names of locations, people at them, and the times they got there. All illicit places of either low social renown or unknown at all in the back alleys of Junyo. Without a further word, the police officer returned to his nearby motorcycle before driving off into the night, slipping the notepad, and the card that had exited his body prior to the gruesome act into his inner breast pocket. He still had work to do...

[/hider]
[hider=The Exiled Heir][center][i][url=https://i.imgur.com/gx7Tb33.jpg]The Fool[/url].
Greedy, Selfish
Stealing, Plotting, Killing,
Purchasing what wasn't his with blood.
Depraved...
[/i]

[h3]July 19th/Time: 2:38 AM[/h3][/center]
He wasn't meant to be there. Or perhaps, he never belonged anywhere in the first place. Regardless, the man now standing against the black of night on a nearly empty highway, seeming to have been left behind by decent folk. However, Highwaymen often struck at such hours, when the light couldn't catch them. An armored car, its cargo seemingly unknown was piloted by two men, one in his late 40s and one seeming to be new based on the fresh look in his eyes and the fatigue evident under those fresh young eyes. Neither however would know that tonight was their last as the headlights of their vehicle caught sight of the young man standing in the middle of the road. Attempting to swerve out of the way of him, the driver narrowly scraped past without hitting him, only for an arrow to pierce through the side window and twist into his temple, then skull, then brain, proving instantly fatal. His companion met the same fate, albeit from an arrow in his jugular causing him to bleed out and suffer a bit longer, as the wound caught fire and caused agonizing burns in his final moments. 

Scarcely containing his excitement, the man ran over to the back of the van and kicked the door down as if it were made of cardboard, the armored steel cash-in-transit vault being like a cookie jar as he peered in, expecting loads of dough before grimacing. [b]"...Are you shitting me? 10 Mill?"[/b] he questioned before shoving the stacked bills of 10,000 yen bundles haphazardly into the rather shabby looking blue duffel bag slung over his shoulder. Then getting out, he kicked the back right tire of the vehicle purely out of spite. [b]"Fucking cheapasses...ah well. I guess this'll get me a couple hours of fun."[/b] he commented before starting to walk down the highway, the fire from the arrows starting to burn more and more, until the transit vehicle was entirely engulfed, the bodies burning to a crisp. [b]"What a drag...man, and I was gonna be set for a DAY...Oh yeah. Thank's [i]Edward[/i]."[/b]

Making off with his ill-gotten gains, the faint shine of a card was present in his hand. It would be two more hours before police were dispatched to investigate the mysteriously ransacked vehicle and the charred remains of the two drivers.[/hider]
[hider=The Delusions of a Desperate Damsel]
[center][url=https://i.imgur.com/QmryiB4.jpg]Tower[/url].
Maddened Lover,
A tongue so sweet it burns,
Burnt by the one who received it.
Alone.
[h3]July 19th/Time: 7:28 AM[/h3][/center]


Her breath was shallow and ragged, a bead of sweat intermingling with the salty tears that coated her cheeks as she saw the three story drop before her. She love him, she loved him, she loved him, she loved him, he didn't, no he did, he did! Her thoughts were a mess of white noise as the vertigo started to set in, her own nausea and unease starting to fade away as she slowly extended her right foot. She loved him, so she will fall.

Feet became minutes and inches became hours as her mental processes slowed to a crawl, her arms instinctivly moving to brace her head against the fall he had set herself up for, all for the sake of the boy who'd told her to. After all...he loved her, right? He had faith in her, right? Regardless of what her delusions thought to be right, gravity cared not for such emotions and had her fall. But, something else did care. Something else had loved him too. And that something had landed right against her heart as she had fallen, before sinking into her body. A flash of power for a brief moment, a serpent in her clothes, and then it was over. As she lied on the ground, the teenage girl opened her eyes after the sound of a soft hiss faded, something resembling some sort of card clutched tightly in the palm of her hand. Shivering and sweating as she realized not only was she entirely uninjured, but her fall had literally cracked the pavement it had landed on, her nervous expression soon quivered into a smile. Yes...she could. She could love him because she did it. She could be his because she did it. Now...now she would make him her's. 

Holding up the card, she made her way away from the crowd of students that had been minutes late from seeing a girl about to take her own life, grinning eerily at the whispering card in her hand. [b]"Daikichi..."[/b] she cooed as she started to head to her classroom...no longer afraid of rejection. After all...he couldn't possibly reject her now. The green haired high school girl of Hideaki High School would silently follow the tedium of her daily school life once more, and after today...would begin her happy married life.[/hider]

[center][h3]July 19th/Time: 9:00 AM[/h3][/center]
[b]"Following the story on the recent robbery and arson attack on a Transit Vehicle south of Junyo headed for the Kazuma National Bank. The police have reported that they have found strange entry wounds on the drivers, as well as the charred remains of what appear to be arrows nearby. We await further information, while this story unfolds. In addition, earlier today eyewitnesses caught sight of a young girl-"

"Last night, two more bodies were discovered with their heads cut off! This is crazy! What the heck are the police even doing out there?
 They need to find this freak fast, or there's gonna be-"

"GOOOOOD morning Junyo-cho, and welcome back to-

"........................................................"

"The Parallel Grail War has started."[/b]

Various media channels, various radio signals, all being monitored and swiftly censored, modified, or deleted on the spot, memories of them altered or transfixed in order to preserve the fabric of society. At the center of that sat the watchful eye of Muninn, which was currently researching methods to combat those individuals bearing the strength of figures from myth and legend; Card Masters. Whosoever was already affiliated with them would be contacted immediately, and the city was unofficially put in a state of high alert.

A company of Magi gathered in organized secrecy from society in order to combat such a threat would of course have already planned countermeasures - One of which was soon to take hold.

[color=00aeef][b]"Director, the bait has been taken. Target Beta has already started spending the bait cash around the city; Local bars, clubs, and the like. The two homunculi have also been disposed of."[/b][/color] A relatively handsome young [url=https://i.imgur.com/GUH6Yfq.jpg]man[/url] would explain, his head bowed in respect as his dark attire and hair stood out and clashed against the entirely white room he stood in. White walls that reflected everything, white furniture that was dulled and rough, and behind his little white desk sat an aged, but not quite elderly [url=https://i.imgur.com/DzSQn8S.jpg]man[/url] bearing an aura of serenity about him. It was as if the world itself wasn't teetering on the edge of oblivion as he stood out like a sore thumb, his gray hair fitting, the completely colorless room, but the sharp black suit he wore along with a strangely...even more out of place pink and yellow tessellated triangular tie. [color=FFFFE0][b]"Nice work then Seamus. Let's keep the pressure on Beta, he can't keep slipping away from us forever. Dismissed."[/b][/color] he said, the younger man Seamus taking his leave at that. 

On his desk sat a beige folder stuffed full of documents on cases of mysterious murders, the very same beheadings conducted by Target Alpha. Flipping through the rather grim coroner reports as well as the police reports of the incidents. Always in alleys, always to criminals, and always quiet. Far too quiet for the precision of the murders conducted. Beta would be simple, but...Alpha was elusive. Smarter. Practically undetectable as well, since if they were indeed using the power of a Servant to conduct these acts, there would be no trace of a murder weapon. Leaning back in his chair, Matias Ansgar let out a deep sigh before shutting the folder, kicking up his feet on his desk and muttering: [color=FFFFE0][b]"Honestly...are we really going to need to throw more Homunculus into this one too? What kind of stunt does the Clock Tower expect us to pull without sending us more funding?"[/b][/color] as he completely dropped the (very slight) guise of seriousness he'd had before. Ceasing his griping to nobody in particular, the Director would instead start spinning in his chair in order to think...and he'd really only stop unless someone came in, or if he couldn't take it any more. Mysteriously sometimes the Targets would just outright dissapear...it seemed as if one of the Card Masters had been busy already and was keeping under the radar. Whether this was friend or foe was currently unknown, but Matias didn't care much as it meant less work for him. 

Calling on Card Masters for this would be troublesome enough already if they were present, but...as far as their intelligence knew, their only available asset was Ms. Kaur. As such, she would receive the call for Beta's location for the time being. A rather sleazy bar known for cheap booze, women with fat asses, and being an overall hole of depravity and human waste. Naturally fighting there would be a foolish action without knowing the extent of the servant, as well as due to the casualties that would ensue. The choice was her's to proceed as she would.

However, the faintest of tuggings could be felt on the hearts of the Class Cards, as even without a proper Grail War to fight, there was a certain...connection between the servants within the Cards that could be used to at least somewhat track one another down. Whether it be the power of the Throne, or of the heroes themselves was anyone's guess. Regardless, the general location of a Master was locatable, but difficult to pinpoint. But, finding a needle in a haystack is far easier once you know which haystack of many the needle is in.