[center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/271031448755109888/452429537993818112/AchBanner.png[/img]
[h2]Hero of the Rushed Life[/h2]
[h3][i]Front Gate, Matou Manor[/i][/h3][/Center]

“Hmm.”

The Servant had not said anything for a while, merely mulling over her words in blissful silence — forgetting about the situation and her age and simply taking them as they were. Certainly, it would be hypocritical of him to say anything about not desiring the Grail, considering he couldn’t care less about the cup himself, but still. . .

To risk one’s life, to stake everything for ‘victory’ was something he himself had done on a regular basis — and would continue to do for however long this second life he had been granted lasted.

But it wasn’t just ‘victory’ in his mind.

“Well, it doesn’t really concern me, but are you sure that’s all there is to it?” He asked. It simply did not sit right with him. “To begin with, there’s only so much you can do with the time you are allowed, Master — you shouldn’t waste it limiting yourself to ‘following orders’.”

After all, what he had gone to those beaches for was. . .

Glory. Eternal and everlasting, all for the sake of that promise he had made so long ago.

For his mother, his father and his teacher — for their sake, so that they could watch on proudly as he lived and died like a proper hero.

And for his own sake, as well — to show the world his proof of legend, to hear his name in every breath, to burn as brightly as possible before his life was snuffed out, the destiny that awaited all men.

It had not changed even now. His life was that of a shooting star, plain and simple.

“. . .Maybe you should start by smiling some more. It’s concerning to watch so serious an expression all the time — live a little, Master. Otherwise when you make it to the end, you might find out you had been dead all along.”

Ah, perhaps he had stepped on more serious matters than he had intended to, considering he was talking to a ki.

“That said, I won’t abandon you over this. To begin with, it’d be very inconvenient to try and find another magus agreeable to a contract, and I’m not one you can get rid of so easily”

A lopsided smile was shot in her direction before the Lancer let the matter rest and turned toward the building in front of them. It had still rubbed him the wrong way, but there were more important matters at hand for the moment and it wasn’t his place to order her how to live her life. Whether she heeded the advice or not, it wasn’t his business.

That sort of outlook, though. . .

It was still much too sad.

[@phonic]

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[center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/308113316696424449/456228281721552898/UmbrellaCorp.png[/img]
[h2]Anastasia Alexandrovna Voronin[/h2]
[h3][i]Between Tombstones, Foreigner’s Graveyard[/i][/h3][/center]

“Ah,” She stretched her arms up after finishing the latest of her preparations, revelling in a job well-done. “Well, that should be it for now, hm? After all, it would not do to spend the opening night without having even called my Servant, would it?”

It was, after all, a perfectly normal concern given the circumstances — the Grail War had officially begun, and although she was confident in what she’d accomplished with her preparations, she doubted it could not be bettered or that she had accounted for everything — or everyone. It would not do to have her fortress fall like a house of cards this early.

Still, what an interesting opportunity this little vacation had turned out to be.

“I hadn’t expected this little backwater to attract so much attention. . .” She mused, running a hand through her hair and brushing some of the red locks out of her face.

Well, it was not entirely true. The factory was practically bound to send someone considering their stakes in this, as well the other two families involved, but still. . .what a gathering it had turned out to be. She had not expected so many magi holding the rank of Fes — or higher — to pop out of the woodwork like this for a backwater ritual.

Perhaps it was hypocritical of her to say so, but she was, after all, a necromancer — they thrived on battlefields and merely followed them to obtain materials for their research. She had thought to take a break, gather some reagents and then go back home, but this was even better than she had expected. 

She smiled down at the black sarcophagus she had deposited in the middle of the graveyard. It appeared that she had not made a mistake when she thought it convenient to bring them along.

Ah, but enough of that. There were matters to attend to.

Her pace quickened as she headed toward the location she’d instructed the corpses to draw the circle in. The job was satisfactory and precise, as expected of her assistants, and she stood at attention in front it.

Raising one hand in its direction, she opened her mouth to recite the words, but at the last moment, she hesitated.

She was not doing something like ‘reconsidering her course’-- far too late for that even if she wanted to. It was just. . .

“Hm, it’s night, the moon shines well enough, the location is suitable. . .but there’s something missing.”

Was she intending to summon at the best possible time? Perhaps she had forgotten a catalyst?

However, all she did was nod to some of the zombies she had risen and stood to the side, holding. . .

—this had to be a joke. A terrible, terrible joke, some would have said as the first notes started playing.

But it was not, and soon, the band she had assembled started playing a soft tune that merged with the background sounds, such as the wind rustling the grass, adding the element she was looking for. This was, certainly, the greatest of her preparations.

There were more, of course, but she did not need the whole orchestra right now. Right, where was she?

“Hm. . .Silver and iron to the Origin. . .”

Right, right, that was the incantation. The marks on her hand began to glow as she went through the lines, but while she maintained an impassive façade, there was no denying the fact that the ritual was quite dull, so she allowed her mind to lose itself to the music, letting her body work on autopilot.

And through it all, the circle began to shine brighter and brighter still— 

[center]”—Come forth form the ring of deterrence, oh keeper of the balance!”[/center]

And the blinding light consumed the graveyard. 

[@Red Alice]