"... That..." Arturia sighed. Why was the matters of... body shape even being discussed? It wasn't important at all. It meant nothing to their capabilities. More concerning, however, was the look that Lancer gave towards the youths nearby... Needless to say, that was something that needed to swiftly be addressed.

"We... should get a meal, indeed," she said, gesturing towards the stands in the middle of the town. After all, there were a variety of different foods on display. From fresh fish to what looked like freshly-hunted deer... surely, if they were offered enough, the people behind the stands would be willing to prepare something for them, would they not? It made sense to the blonde knight, at the very least... and she didn't trust that look that Lancer had in her eyes when she was looking at the those people... She paused for a few moments before approaching them. "Perhaps we should focus on that?"

Lancer seemed like she wanted to be helpful, at least, Saber couldn't be certain how to handle her...

Both the Enforcer and the Saber to his side simply blinked, staring blankly at Skuld's attempts to play herself up before awkwardly coughing to the side. Keisuke himself, though, wasn't completely sold on the excuse that the Caster had put forth. It was fairly obvious that something troublesome would've happened by now if she had been playing something, but he wasn't foolish enough to simply take something like this at face value.

"It's not as if I could accuse you of planning otherwise, but..." he trailed off, glancing at Siegfried before sighing. "What do you think?"

"To be honest, Master, there are merits to believing this Caster's words, at least for the moment. While every Servant at hand can handle the undead that besiege the town every night, clearing them all out until morning arrives means that we cannot pursue the culprits any further. Another Caster at hand, however, might mean that the town might be able to hold out well enough for us to do so. Vouching for trustworthiness, on the other hand..."

"...Is dangerous, huh?"

The Enforcer let out a bit of a sigh before thinking to himself for a moment. Siegfried would be fine either Tomoe or Arturia backed him up, at the very least, and all things considered it wouldn't be too hard for another Servant to simply keep her under watch.

"Well, I think the benefits outweigh the costs," he finally stated, shrugging his shoulders as Siegfried slowly relaxed his body. "Which can probably lead into the next line of questioning. Caster, have you ever heard of anything that can corrupt a Servant's Saint Graph?"


After her (rather fruitless) encounter with the blacksmith, the Archer took a deep breath and resumed her walk around the snow-covered town. All things considered, it was fairly lively—not unlike a small town back in Japan might be during the winter, actually. There were glaring differences, of course—the buildings, the people, and so on—but the atmosphere and mood were close enough for her to feel at least somewhat comfortable wandering about aimlessly.

By the end of it all, though, there wasn't much left for her to do other than regroup with the other Servants under the employ of their Master... Which, if anything, might have been a mistake in and of itself, given how she could see all of the people staring at them from afar. It was to be expected, of course, but the bickering between Caster and Lancer wasn't helping matters much, if at all.

"Erm... Have any of you found anything out about our target here?" she asked, quietly taking note of the fact that Arturia had already begun to speak with some of the townspeople...

And, admittedly, having more progress than she had.

---

The shopkeeper who Saber had walked up to was a well-built older man. With a scar over his left eye and signs of a recently-shaved beard, he gave the knight a quick once-over and nodded, before motioning over to the food up for sale that day—a few rabbits, a deer, a few birds of some origin, all cleanly cut and prepared. It didn't seem perfectly fresh, but the cold temperature and proper handling meant that it was actually in fairly good condition, given the circumstances.

"Sorry about the stuff on display today, miss," he said, shrugging his shoulders in half-defeat. "Ever since all these attacks have started, our hunters haven't been able to get the usual food... At least, not without some trouble. Those undead seem to not attack game, at least, but since it's winter it's not like we can grow anything, either. If this keeps up, people are probably going to start starving sooner or later... Oh, but who am I to gripe, you're a customer, right? Got anything to trade for? All this meat's still pretty fresh, so if you're looking for something to eat today, this should cover you well enough. If you want preserved meats, though, my friend over there should handle your needs quite nicely. More expensive, though, so hope you have wares worth our while."

@Raineh Daze@KoL@VitaVitaAR

"If I take just a bit it won't hurt, you know?" Elizabeth grinned as she noticed both Saber and Caster's reactions. Teasing the blonde duo was easier than she thought, even Nero was taken off guard by the mention of snacks. After all, Bathory had sworn off taking it by force, but if she could just convince someone to give it willingly it wasn't a bad thing, was it?

Nevertheless, the pink-haired Lancer turned her attention away from the street kids and back to her allies just as Saber was trying to barter with a merchant.

"Is that how you show your gratitude for the people who saved your skin and that of your loved ones? The least you could do was giving us some compensation, it's not like you'll go broke because of it," Bathory said in a condescending voice that could only come from the throat of a spoiled noble such as she.

"Thankfully for you, we are good saviors who don't want to impose too much on your way of living, so how about I repay your efforts with a private concert? I'm such your sales will double—no, triple— if become known as the merchant that sponsored the saviors' live concert," she added in a cheery voice as she produced a microphone seemingly out of nowhere and began to do some vocal exercises while waiting for the merchant's reply.

"I won't complain about the lack of trust, though it does hurt me to know that such a wonderful man like Siegfried sees me in such a light~" Skuld replied, with a giggle. It wasn't unexpected, if she was being honest. She knew what to be prepared for when she introduced herself via her true name. Her legend, after all, was one fraught with treachery. However, the small half-elven girl had no reason for treating anywhere here in such a cruel manner. No, what she sought would likely be in their best interests, or at least that was how she saw it. If they agreed... well, that was up to them.

"As for the corruption of a Servant's Saint Graph... hmm," Caster mused, one hand to her chin as she thought it over. That seemed to be a very difficult goal to achieve. Certainly, it was possible to manipulate others and make them perform wicked actions through honeyed words. But even Skuld would acknowledge such a thing didn't work on everyone, and that was a world of difference away from warping a Servant's very being, blackening their existence entirely. "I'm afraid I haven't ever heard of such a thing. It would require a massive outpouring of curses and evil, something that could consume them utterly in darkness."

She shrugged.

"No matter what I do, I could never produce such a sheer amount of corruption~" Skuld added, "... Not that I'd want to. It sounds boring, it's much more fun to tease pure heroes then blackened villains~"

@PKMNB0Y

The force of Lancer's singing came to mind: something where a private rendition for a perfectly normal trader would probably send them flying at the least. That would be... bad. It would be wrong in the utmost to accidentally kill people whilst trying to do something nice for them, but the pink-haired girl did have a point... it would be nice for them to be rewarded for saving the town, and what better way than to pay them in food for the service?

"Lancer, this market is hardly a suitable place for you to sing..." the emperor started, before her attention flicked over to a fishmonger. That was certainly something she was interested in getting. Looking down at the short blonde, the man would get rather a view of Caster's "But a little reward would be earned."

Arturia sighed heavily. After a moments pause, she did her best to gently take both of her fellow Servants by the arm.

"We will be back momentarily," she said, simply, before guiding them a few meters away from the stall. It was best to conduct these matters quickly and without disrupting the man's business any further. Of course, Archer had arrived as well, and Arturia swiftly acknowledged her presence with a nod, and a look that made it clear she needed to remain focus.

"They are providing us with edible goods," she began, simply, "In spite of their own difficulties with food. Given they expect items traded in return, we should not attempt to provide them with a song-"

She glanced at Elizabeth. Her music would be more of a punishment then anything that could be called a 'service', anyway...

"-Nor... nor whatever it is you were attempting to suggest, Caster," the blonde knight said as she glanced towards Nero. "However, there is a simple solution. Caster, you are capable of producing an infinite amount of those pastries, are you not? Simply provide him with those in return for the food he is providing us with. It is an equal trade that will feed his family well, and will will receive the goods he is providing."

"I... I guess that you are right. Such a small venue isn't a place where an idol like me can shine," Elizabeth said in a sulky voice as she acquiesced Caster's remark. The dragon girl slumped her shoulders a bit as she put down her microphone after realizing that this wasn't the proper time for a live performance.

"We should let Saber deal with this one. But, while she does that, why don't we go around and get some spices? We can't have food without spices," Elizabeth said as she clutched Caster tighter when a cold breeze blew past them. Just for a moment, the pink-haired Lancer wondered if she should have brought a sweater with her.

"I just thought some fish would be a fair trade for defending the town..." came Caster's reply, confused. And... trading the pastries? That was unthinkable! "I simply cannot trade a limited supply of potions for enough fish for a meal!"

Lancer clinging to her arm was a pleasant distraction, but Nero seemed to be frowning, "Do you think they have many spices up here? This place would be far from trade routes in my time, and I can't imagine being besieged would help..."

Though seeing two attractive girls clinging so tight to each other in the cold weather, even if the weather wasn't a major issue despite their inappropriate outfits, had to be getting unwarranted attention. Maybe it was for the best that Saber was moving away from the lascivious pair.

The Caster's response was not something Keisuke was particularly happy about, though that didn't mean it wasn't an answer he hadn't expected. It had been fairly obvious at a glance that Brynhildr was corrupted, but if even a Caster-class Servant from an era as old as hers couldn't figure out an answer, then the problem was probably rooted in something deeper.

"Hm... Well, it can't be helped, then," Keisuke remarked, shrugging his shoulders as he turned to Siegfried. "We should regroup with the others now; do you know their current location?"

"They seem to be at the marketplace right now," Siegfried remarked, leading the way as if expecting that might be Keisuke's next question.


"...So, nothing, then?"

The Archer couldn't help but sigh, not only at how things had progressed, but also at her own incompetence. She was a warrior before she was a speaker, but even so...

"Archer. Caster. Lancer. We're back... And with company."

The sound of her Master's voice caused Tomoe to turn, only to see that a young girl with the signature of a Servant was following after both him and Siegfried.

"Have you had any progress?" Keisuke asked, to which the Archer simply shook her head in defeat.

"I regret to inform you that I strayed from my goals and failed to obtain any relevant information. Saber is currently attempting to trade for some food for you and possibly learn of things by means of small talk... Or so I presume. That being said, though..."

"...Nothing to trade?" Keisuke concluded before sighing. "Well, we can talk about our plans for the night over lunch or something of the sort, assuming we can get something to offer..."

@VitaVitaAR

Saber's shoulders sagged, slightly. Had she misunderstood Caster's ability to create the pastries? Was she only capable of creating a small number at once? Ah... she had thought there would be something between the three of them that they would be able to trade with the stall owners here in order to receive some kind of food, but it seemed she was mistaken. There was no way she was about to demand the food from the man behind the stall when they were having their own struggles with getting meals, however, no matter how she wanted to try the fresh fish and meat preserved by the cold temperatures. Frowning to herself, the blonde knight focused on trying to think of some sort of solution. What could they possibly trade?

Perhaps they could collect something valuable in order to trade with them? After all, as Servants, they were capable of fighting far more dangerous enemies then the ordinary humans present here. They could cut their way through the undead and wolves and gather anything that the townsfolk might need.

That made sense, didn't it? There was the matter of ensuring that Caster and Lancer agreed to the matter, however...

It was at that moment, however, that their Master, Siegfried, and... another girl with the presence of a Servant approached?

"Master, Siegfried... and this is..."

---

Well, this was certainly an assortment of heroes from all ages... two somewhat similar girls, though presumably the resemblance was a coincidence, a draconic girl... and an Archer of Japan, perhaps? For a few moments, Caster's vision lingered on certain features of the Archer and the shorter of the two blondes, her eyes narrowing. But now was no time to get irritated, she supposed. She was a Queen, and therefore she had to be above such things.

At least, right now. If she decided to abuse them over it later, they had no right complain.

"I am a Servant of the Caster class," Caster introduced herself, cocking her head slightly to the side, neglecting to mention her identity to the other Servants. She had said who she was only when she felt it was necessary in order to gain the trust of the Master and Siegfried. She didn't want an unnecessary fight, after all. "And... oh, you're in something of a bind, are you~? Very well. I shall graciously extend my generosity to you."

Caster spread her arms wide, grinning.

"Those undead might be trash, but they're all wearing some valuable items, aren't they? I'll send some of my toys to collect from those useless corpses, and bring them here. I'm certain that there will be something among the spoils that the townsfolk will take a liking to."

The sudden "generosity" of the new Caster caused Keisuke to pause for a moment, half unsure of what to make of the act before deciding that looting the corpses of the risen wasn't exactly all that bad of an idea. Sure, it wasn't exactly... Ethical, in any sense of the phrase, but without anything else to do to get them any actual food (and given that the snacks that Nero had packed didn't exactly count for all that much in terms of nutrition), it was... Well, it was better than nothing.

It took a little bit of waiting, of course, but eventually Skuld had managed to get enough weapons and armor (that looked to be of half-decent quality, though getting them into the town without excessive wariness was a trial all its own) to trade for some goods. The merchants, of course, were happy to oblige, as even if they weren't in the best of shape all of what they had been given could be remade into something better. Probably.

---

It had been a few hours since they had finished purchasing whatever it was that they had needed, and given that Siegfried was currently being given a place to stay on behalf of the townsfolk for protecting them, the group had all ended up... More or less relaxing and preparing for the skirmish to come. That in and of itself was fine, at least, but with the sun starting to set it was only a matter of time before combat would begin anew.


As she watched the sun slowly begin to set, the Archer took a deep breath before picking up her bow from where she had laid it down earlier. If what Siegfried had told them held true, then it would only be a matter of time before the undead would come to assault the city's (now reinforced) walls. Of course, this was a siege regardless of how one phrased it, and that only meant that her role as the rearguard was all the more important.

"Master, should we be heading out soon?" she asked, looking towards Keisuke before receiving a slight nod in return.

"It's... Just about sunset, so that'd probably be for the best. Siegfried?"

"My wound from earlier has recovered thanks to those pastries from earlier, so I should be ready for combat. Let us depart."

---

Almost as if on cue, the setting sun heralded the rise of more of the undead from beneath the snow, but what caught the Archer's eyes was the ghastly blue flame that was slowly encroaching upon their current position. The culprit was obvious enough, given what had happened the night before, but what was more intriguing was the fact that the Servant was now being flanked by wolves; not only that, but the undead rising from the earth seemed to be far greater in number than the hordes that they had decimated the night prior.

"Hm. Do you think this is a response to our arrival last night?" Keisuke asked, calmly surveying the snow-covered fields with a stern gaze.

"Almost certainly. In any case, let us begin tonight's trial," the Saber responded, taking a deep breath as he leaped off the town's walls and into the horde of zombies before beginning to cut his way through. As if on cue, the Servant in the distance also began to close in, the wolves by her side in close pursuit.

"No fancy stratagems or trickery? How fortunate," Tomoe remarked, a glint in her eye as she began to fire away at the wolves in an attempt to lessen their numbers before they reached the walls. The zombies, at the very least, she could leave to the others to clean up for the moment.

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@KoL

With another Caster, Nero was determined to not let herself be shown up; her pride simply wouldn't allow her Master to believe that he had summoned an inferior magic user! Unfortunately, that meant taking time away from complicated meal preparation... whilst being able to get fresh fish helped, and she could certainly supply fresh fruit and vegetables--including for some reason a lot of different pears--the blonde could still be overheard muttering about liquamen for some reason. Something about annoying philosopher's disapproving, but he was right that it was troublesome to make...

The result was having considerable time left over before nightfall to start praying for protection--or, from her attitude, demanding it. The result was the same, with near-invisible clay symbols left littering the ground all around the outside of the city in time for the attack. Not a targetted defence, by any means, but as the wolves and zombies came closer its indiscriminate, if steadily ablating via force of numbers, nature became clear.

Every time one of the defensive charms was triggered, a bolt of lightning would strike the creatures from above. And Nero had sown the field quite thoroughly, which would drastically lessen the chance of something slipping past the Servants to the walls. A Caster, after all, excelled on the defence.

The evening came faster than Elizabeth thought it would. Even if that was supposed to be the case during the Northern regions' winter, this was a bit ridiculous on the Lancer's mind. Or perhaps that was the effect of Caster's food, which was better than anything from this backwater corner of the world has any right to taste. Whatever was the cause for this sudden change in atmosphere one thing was certain on Lancer's mind...

"You know what night means, right?" She said, planting her spear on the ground, in front of her Csejte's gate. "It's time for the second act—an encore, that is," Elizabeth said, clutching her microphone. "Are you ready for it, little piggies? My dragon beats are going to rock your souls all the way back to Hell~★!"

Something interesting happened just as Elizabeth began to sing, literally blasting away any targets that were unfortunate enough to get past Caster and Archer's kill zone. A number of targets, especially the wolves were being killed long before they got into any of the trio's range by a combination of black, vicious-looking arrows, and what looked like a black streaking across the battlefield, behind enemy lines.

It wouldn't take long, especially to the eyes of other Heroic Spirits, for the blur to become more visible, revealing a ferocious-looking being, who looked more beast than human, chasing after their enemies. The Huntress raked at them with teeth, nail, and arrows in an absolute state of rage as she cut a path to the source of the pale flames.

"What do we do now, Puppy? If we take this chance we might be able to reach that enemy Lancer without much effort. But, if we do it, the village will be left defenseless," Elizabeth said, turning to Keisuke and asking for his orders.

---

Dinner had been excellent.

But now it was time to shift gears. Once again, the town was under siege by undead and wolves, and in the distance that Lancer once again... Arturia stood atop the wall, air currents swirling around her blade as she stood at the top of the wall.

"I'm going now, Master," she said, simply. They had already assembled the outline of their strategy and prepared for the defense, so it was simply a manner of putting it into action.

The blonde knight leapt from the wall. She careened through the air, cold wind whipping past her, and she landed and put up a great cloud of snow from her impact. Without a moment's pause, she erupted from the icy cloud and cleaved one undead entirely in half, sending both portions of its body spiraling to the ground from the impact of her currently-invisible weapon. The Lancer-class Servant was still quite distant at the moment, but the wolves were in the process of closing in and there were a great many undead. Still, Saber felt quite confident. Darting forward, she took the head of another of the undead almost effortlessly, deflecting a battleaxe from a rather large undead immediately afterwards to slice off its arms in a single blow, before splitting its body down the middle!

With every stroke of her weapon, another undead fell, as she swiftly cleared a wide circle in the undead forces, their corpses dotting the icy land, and then pushed forward immediately, meeting the first of the wolves. It threw itself towards her with a snarl! But swiftly, Saber stepped to the side, raising her armored foot up and slamming it down on the beast's head, pinning it to the ground as she jammed Excalibur right through its neck, ending its life!

But that was simply the first of many, even as Elizabeth's singing killed wolves and undead, and Siegfried, Nero, and Tomoe tore into their numbers. And yet.... another figure had entered the battle. A girl, who looked frenzied and beastlike, tearing through the undead and ripping her way towards the approaching enemy Lancer...!

---

"They're so worthless~" declared Princess Skuld, standing atop the wall, near Elizabeth and the Master, cocking her head to one side as she did. Ah, all those undead... they were completely pathetic and unimpressive. What kind of idiot raised undead who were that worthless and useless? So decrepit, what was the point in them all? No, no, she had to display just what a real, proper undead could do! One that was a proper showing of necromancy, one that displayed actual effort and thought!

She knew just what to do.

"Look, Master, behold what a real necromancer can do!" declared the Caster-Servant, grinning towards the man as she spoke. Slowly, she raised one hand, her fingers tensing slightly. As if following the movements of her arm, something seemed to emerge from the earth, and yet the ground did not split and fracture. What emerged was massive, a huge, tall, pale humanoid. Across its body were numerous wounds, arrows protruding from its back, its ribcage showing through one large gash in its side. A portion of its head was simply gone, likely the blow that had killed it in life.

It was the corpse of a giant, a crude, massive sword gripped in one hand. Without a moment's pause, it let out a bellow, advancing and crushing multiple undead with a single blow of its weapon.

"A single one of my toys against all of those! I think you can see the difference in quality, fufu~" continued Skuld, with a giggle. Calmly raising her hand once more, an arc of green circles appeared above her head. Light flashed, and green mana tore through the night sky and rained down on the battlefield, piercing wolves and shredding walking corpses.

@KoL@Raineh Daze@PKMNB0Y

The constant flashing of blades and the various magic spells firing away at the horde of undead gave off more than enough light for Keisuke to attempt to scan the area for any enemies that might be able to slip through. Of course, given the intensity of the barrage on part of two Casters and an Archer, that in and of itself seemed quite unlikely, if not impossible, for any normal enemy (and especially not these undead). The Lancer and the wolves at her side continued to advance, though, which posed a more important problem—namely, that the fighting would accidentally reach the gates of the town regardless of how they dealt with the horde.

Elizabeth's suggestion was not lost upon Keisuke's ears despite the ringing that seemed to grip his hearing, and the Enforcer took a moment to steady himself before nodding.

"I think that we have enough ways of keeping them at back should fighting break out elsewhere, but the two Sabers are already moving to intercept Brynhildr," he shouted, thinking for a moment before nodding in affirmation. "That being said, if we can eliminate the enemy Servant before whatever's wrapping around her arm gets any further, we should be able to avoid any further trouble. Let's move out!"

As soon as he gave the order, Keisuke sent a message to both of the Servants who were already at ground level to pierce through the enemy lines at meet Brynhildr in direct combat.

---

Siegfried, having received the message, gave a quick shout of affirmation as he rushed forward, slicing his way forward in an attempt to meet up with Arturia before engaging the enemy Lancer. The sudden blur of darkness in the night, though, caused the Saber to temporarily halt his advance in order to ascertain if the figure breaking through enemy lines was a friend or a foe. Given that the wolves seemed to be getting eviscerated, though, it seemed as if it would be fine making an attempt to "coordinate" some sort of offense using the unknown Servant's presence as a buffer.

As soon as he made his way through to the blonde-haired knight, Siegfried brandished his blade and turned towards the enemy Lancer.

"King of Knights, we should push ahead while we have a cha—" he began to say before a sudden flash of light caused him to shield his eyes. Not a moment later, though, Siegfried jumped back and held his blade aloft, barely deflecting a spear of light that had just been aimed at his chest.

"Not a step further!"

The declaration came from a blonde woman wielding a weapon not unlike what had just been launched at Siegfied, with wings that seemed to shine brightly in the midst of the night sky. Of course, what seemed to be more concerning than the being in front of the pair of Sabers was the fact that there were dozens more of them flying in the skies above.

"...Hm. Upon further inspection, you're not Sigurd after all. My apologies, but even so, I cannot allow you to hurt Elder Sister! If you wish to fight her, you will have to get past me first!"


As soon as the two Sabers seemed to be stopped, Tomoe quickly turned and took aim at the woman who had just arrived. Without a moment's delay, the Archer loosed an arrow aimed for her head, only for it to be quickly blocked by another one of the flying beings—this one, with pink hair instead of blonde.

"Master, the presence all of these new enemies are giving off—they're all Servants!" she shouted, quickly leaping to the side as she dodged a spear of light aimed at her last position.

"Yep, all of us here are Servants. You know, you're fairly brave, even though you're facing against all of us. Are you a warrior from the east? I've never seen one before..." she asked, a smile on her face as she raised her arm to throw another spear.

"Yes, that is so. So what of you, then? Are you simply here to assault this town?"

"What? Oh, no, that'd go against a lot of things we stand for. We're just here to help our Elder Sister out. But, well... Hm. Those undead down there are making things a bit more troublesome than I'd like. Ortlinde, go ahead and eliminate them, all right?"

Almost as if on cue, a giant barrage of spears fell upon the undead, with particular focus given to Skuld's giant, and before long the field was littered with the remains of the undead.

"Good job," the pink-haired girl said, giving a thumbs up back towards the other Walkure flying in the air before turning back towards the Servants guarding the town's gates. "Well, with all that said and done, you'd probably go after our Elder Sister with the town secure, right? Sorry, but we're not going to allow that to happen! Everyone! Charge!"

With her spear pointed towards the Servants situated near the town walls, the other Walkure began to rapidly close the distance towards the group. With a deep breath, Tomoe drew her bowstring back and took aim, but not before the Walkure who had been speaking up until now dove in to attack her.

"Nope, not going to let you do that! You're an Archer, right? In other words, if I let you do as you please, you'll just try shooting everyone down... So a duel it is! I hope you're prepared for the worst!" she said, smiling as she swung at Tomoe. The Archer, taken slightly off guard by the sudden interference, quickly parried the two thrusts aimed at her heart before tossing her bow to the side and drawing her katana.

"Very well, then. If you desire a duel, then I shall oblige."

---

As the beast-like Servant tore through the wolves surrounding her, Brynhildr slowed her charge and instead turned towards the source of the chaos. Though it was not her intended target, the Lancer could at least tell that the one charging through the rest of the wolves was most definitely not one of her 'allies'. And so, just as quickly as she stopped, the valkyrie quickly turned towards her new target of elimination and rushed forth, flames cloaking her as she attempted to swing her spear at the Servant's neck.

---

With the sudden change of situation on the battlefield, Keisuke cursed under his breath and dashed off to the side, eyes trained on the Walkure as they charged towards the Casters and Elizabeth. There was no way he could fight any of these Servants on his own, but their numbers seemed far too overwhelming to simply deal with up front.

"Elizabeth! Can you get us to regroup with the two Casters? As we are right now, the possibility of getting picked off one by one is too high for my liking!" he shouted, barely dodging the various spears being lobbed at his location by the skin of his teeth. "We can't hope for an offensive like this!"

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@KoL

Arturia let out a yelled "Very well!" in response to her Master's message, her voice carrying over the din of battle as her sword cut cleanly through a wolf's flank, sending it to the ground with its legs kicking. It wouldn't be much further before they reached the enemy Lancer! Defeating her before that black corruption spread even further was absolutely necessary, and so that was the chief goal on the blonde knight's mind. Another wolf leaped at her, but she stepped back and caught it between its jaws with the edge of her blade, hacking the top of its head off of its body in a single stroke and letting its bleeding corpse hit the ground behind her, hard, crimson staining the white snow. It wouldn't be much further now, and Siegfried had joined her!

But before he could finish his suggestion, he was forced to defend himself from the sudden strike of a brilliant spear! Immediately, Arturia's eyes traveled to the source of thrown weapon... and given how the attacker addressed the crazed Lancer, and the appearance of the girls in the air, there was now doubt in the nature of the many Servants before them.

Valkyries.

However, not a single one of them seemed to exhibit any kind of corruption. They were speaking without madness, as well. In that case...

"The Elder Sister you speak of," Saber began, stepping forward, "Is not herself. Her body and mind are being corrupted by some kind of dark influence. Do you truly wish to allow her to be debased like this?"

If she could convince them to stand down, they could push forward to the real threat!

---

In an instant, her undead giant had been annihilated.

Skuld's eyes widened. Their enemies... the undead had been completely purged, but the girls filling the air couldn't be mistaken for anything else. This was dozens and dozens of valkyries, a massive swarm of them. There was no question of it. There was nothing that her undead could do to an army of valkyries. Even most of her spells couldn't touch them! The ones that could took an insurance that she wouldn't be targeted while casting them... Even with the use of divine words, it wouldn't be so fast that they couldn't respond. Why... why did it have to be such a huge swarm of valkyries!? Fighting off enemies like that...!

"... Aaah... d-damn it, this isn't fair! Master!" Caster almost immediately turned to the man, "This isn't fair! It's not fair at all!"

@KoL@Raineh Daze@PKMNB0Y

Why was it that all the pretty girls were fighting them in this singularity? She had to agree with Skuld that it definitely wasn't fair! All they'd picked up was a man who would be more attractive if his chest wasn't so strange, and a little girl. It was so hard to get to know people when they were trying to kill you!

Especially when you were summoned as Caster and about to be swarmed by people with sharp sticks and magical resistance.

Fortunately, she was no defenceless girl in this instance and even as Caster the blade that she had designed wasn't far away, the crimson sword manifesting comfortably in her hand, already with flames rippling down its length. What did it matter if she'd only had the barest instruction in how to fight? She was the fifth Emperor of Rome, of course she would acquit herself well! Not that this meant she would stop offering prayers to Mars for the strength to actually fight effectively... though of course it would take more. A sword wasn't of much use against enemies in flight, and without assistance, there was no way that she could help hold off that number.

The brief flash of light going so far as to engulf the Valkyries and Lancer was the first clue that she had a better way in mind to equalise things. The second was the scenery no longer resembling a Norse wasteland. Instead, they were all arranged upon the stage of a golden theatre, rose petals seemingly falling from nowhere. A theatre, noticeably, that seemed to reject that any of its inhabitants should fly and leave the stage.

The change to an outfit more suited for moving around in was purely self-interested, though.

"Umu, two singers against so many beautiful warriors... this is a battle worthy of the golden theatre."

“Wa—wait, that’s totally not fair, ganging up on someone else like that!” Elizabeth complained about the sudden appearance of a troupe of flying beauties who referred to the enemy Lancer as Elder Sister. “You are valkyries as well, aren’t you? If that’s the case, you should know that there’s something wrong with her,” the pink-haired Lancer added, pointing her spear at the invaders.

Keisuke’s voice snapped Elizabeth out of the momentary scuffle. “Right! Hold on, Puppy, I’m going to give you a first class seat for the best ride of your life!” she replied, wrapping her tail around him and unfurling her wings. However, before the Lancer could take to skies and regroup with the Casters…

“Wha—!?” Elizabeth yelped in surprise, as her sight was robbed by a bright light.

“Can it… Sa— Saber!?” she said, her voice quivering in disbelief once her vision returned and she took notice of the falling petals and the golden theater that surrounded them. Even if Elizabeth had been summoned to a million different Holy Grail Wars, there was no way that she would forget these walls; not after being on the receiving end of their owner’s offensive so many times.

The Lancer barreled the crimson-dressed blonde, cutting a swath through the enemy lines—dragging Keisuke along with her— once she set her eyes on Nero’s current form. What in the world was she thinking? “How— no, why?” Elizabeth asked while hugging the other girl.


“Laaaancer! Do you know what you are doing!?” Atalanta yelled at the opposing Servant in a feral voice, her face contorted in a feral scowl.

Regardless of her foe’s reply—if there was ever was any— the Berserker never halted her charge, not giving any ground to the Lancer. Once she was within range for the final lunge, Atalanta tackled one of the wolves, throwing it out of balance before delivering a swift kick that would send the massive beast flying toward her target as if it were a mere ragdoll.

Instead of exploring the blind spot she created for a direct charge, Atalanta dashed aside with blinding speed, reaching the edge of the forest in the blink of an eye. The Huntress jumped and used a tree as a springboard to propel herself to another tree laying a little further behind the Lancer. From there, Atalanta went for a presumed killing blow, aiming her claws to the back of her opponent’s neck, hoping to catch her opponent with her guard down before the wolf even hit her.

Though he had called out for Elizabeth to have them both regroup with the Casters, Keisuke did not expect to be grabbed by her tail and be dragged around like a ragdoll--not in the least. If anything, though, being thrown around to and fro as he was didn't coincide with getting skewered like a pig on a spit. Either by sheer luck or actual skill (he assumed it to be the former), not a single spear had so much as nicked him.

Before he could make any further commentary or give any more orders, though, as the sudden light engulfed his vision and dropped those present into an entirely new realm. It took a few moments for Keisuke himself to process the scene, but once the rose petals began to fall the fact that this place was Nero's Noble Phantasm seemed to click.

"But will that really he--Whoa!" he shouted as the Lancer made a beeline for the Caster, who was now notably wearing a different outfit... And wielding a sword.

The loss of flight did, however, catch the Valkyries off guard, and many were now grounded on the area (if not hovering slightly above it). There was a distinct period of time where the group seemed to be disoriented by the sudden change of scenery, but the few Valkyries who adapted to the situation faster than the others immediately began to rally the otgers before charging at the pair of girls in front of them, spears at the ready.

"Okay, I think we can stop with the hugging for the moment. The enemy's about to skewer us," Keisuke quipped, noticing that the Skuld had also been dragged inside the theatre.

Unfotunately, it seemed like a few of the Valkyries were diverging from the main squadron attacking Nero and Elizabeth and going after her instead.

---

The sudden disappearance of her sisters did not seem to bother the Valkyrie in front of Arturia and Siegfried, but she was now showing some degree of irritation on her face.

"You... Do you realize what you are saying?" she asked, pointing her spear at Arturia in anger. "Elder Sister... After what happened with Sigurd, there is no doubt in my mind that she has changed. But after seeing that man now, I feel like I might understand why she pursues his life. But even so, to say something as debased as that... Knight! I will have you pay for that insult!"

Siegfried glanced to the side, muttering a soft apology under his breath to Arturia as the Valkyrie dove at the both of them. It was a fast strike, and in mere moments the Valkyrie had returned back to the skies, ready for another strike.

"I shall defeat you both in her name--no, in the name of Odin himself! I, Thrud, declare it to be so!"


The disappearance of the other Valkyries and Servants didn't seem to faze the two who were locked in combat on top of the wall, given that a single slip in either of their concentration would result in a deciding blow no matter what. The Valkyrie's spear clashed with Tomoe's weapons, be they naginata, katana, bow, or arrow, and the battle seemed to be at something of a standstill. The two pulled back for a moment, still glaring at one another, before the Valkyrie facing Tomoe spoke up.

"Hm... You are an Archer, correct? What's with all of those weapons? Isn't it kind of strange to have so many of them?"

"A true warrior masters all manner of weapons for whatever situation they may find themselves in," Tomoe replied in turn before she took a deep breath. In an instant, Tomoe had leaped off of the bridge and into the air, drawing her bow back as she aimed at the Valkyrie before firing. A few of the arrows were parried, but the flames on a few of them burnt away at the clothing she wore. Not wasting another moment after, the Valkyrie took to the skies and gave chase.

Their battle could continue elsewhere on the battlefield; there was more than enough room to do so now, after all.

---

Without hesitation, Brynhildr spun her spear and cut the wolf that had been launched at her clean in half as she moved in pursuit. She had, of course, attempted to execute a follow-up attack under the assumption that her enemy had been hiding behind the wolf, but that decision proved to be a mistake.

The subsequent attack on part of the Berserker managed to catch Brynhildr from her blind spot, and it was only a miracle that she had been able to turn and attempt to deflect the blow with her arm.

The armor had managed to dissipate the damage, if only a little, but that arm was now thoroughly broken and hanging limply at the Lancer's side. She didn't seemed to mind as much, though, and acted as if the pain fron such a blow did not exist. Without another utterance, she swung back to counterattack, hoping to catch her enemy and return a blow of her own.

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@KoL

All at once, no small number of the valkyries vanished. Drawn into Caster's reality marble, or something of that nature?

Whatever the case was, there was no time to focus on that fact. It seemed as if Thrud had not realized the truth of Bynhildr's condition, that the valkyrie had been unable to notice her elder had been corrupted so thoroughly by something so dark. Saber swiftly darted to the side, sending up a cloud of snow as the valkyrie's charge narrowly missed her. An opponent who could freely take to the air... While Saber could defend from the earth, it was far more difficult to mount an attack at this range. She would be either left waiting until Thrud charged again and attempting to force her down on her next pass, or...

A small smile came across the blonde knight's lips as she glanced towards Siegfried. This was hardly an ideal situation, but she had been able to determine just how she could strike the winged warrior out of the sky.

"Siegfried!" she called, "I need you to kneel, I shall use you to reach the valkyrie!"

Hopefully, he would quickly understand what she meant by that. Indeed, after a moment, he nodded, and knelt, as Thrud prepared to charge again.

Gripping the hilt of her hidden weapon in both hands, angled behind her, Arturia took a deep breath and broke into a sprint. The air almost seemed to explode around her as she crossed the distance between herself and Siegfried in an instant, placing one foot on his back and using the other Servant as a springboard.

Indeed, the King of Knights could not fly. But she erupted through the air, and---

There was a roar as the air concealing her weapon was unleashed, a brilliant gold glow erupting across the weapon as she blasted through the sky, towards her enemy in almost the blink of an eye! The golden sword was lifted over her head, leaving a trail of light as she swung it towards, aiming to swat the valkyrie out of the sky!

@PKMNB0Y

---

With little other choice, Caster found herself watching Lancer launching herself towards the other Caster. Skuld herself could fly, certainly, but it was somewhat more difficult to think of that when you were surrounded by enemies that were capable of countering nearly anything that you could do. For a moment, however, she was able to take in just what surrounded her. It was a... Reality Marble? She wasn't completely certain, to be honest. It was unusual, thaumaturgy produced undeniably by the psyche of the one who had produced it. The other Caster. Perhaps... something similar to...

When Lancer landed, she immediately pulled the other Caster into an embrace.

"... Now, of all times?!" she asked, her eyes drifting to the oncoming valkyries. Damn it all! There was little she could do against enemies so thoroughly capable of resisting her faster spells, and so effortlessly able to destroy any undead she could summon.

So all she could do was to spawn a barrier.

Instantly, from her hand, there spread a circular green shield of mana, spreading out from her palm. Runes circulated around the outer edge of the circle. It would, hopefully, hold long enough for her to figure out some kind of plan.

@KoL@Raineh Daze@PKMNB0Y