Beta read by Shigiya and Paragon of Awesomeness.
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-Kuoh-
Archer had been in the middle of preparing for their journey to the Underworld. After having returned from their day off at the beach, Rias ended up receiving a concerning letter from Grayfia that mentioned their informants getting the possible whereabouts of Diodora. This was followed by a personal message from Ajuka Beelzebub himself, asking for their assistance as soon as possible.
Safe to say, he had suspicions on what that man would want from their presence, but could not confirm anything until they met. For now, he had to make sure that his Master's two "guests" would not die from hunger if left alone.
So the plan was to just grab some groceries and head back home to ensure things were well stocked until their return. A simple task, but fate had once again made things complicated.
One that both gave him goosebumps from the sheer risk and also left him wanting to rub his forehead because of the undeniable ridiculousness.
"Hiss!"
"Meow!"
At that moment, he wondered if everything around him was really just an elaborate illusion of some sort. A spell created by Assassin or even a genuine Caster, intending to trick him into lowering his guard and strike him when he least expected it.
"Mighty brave of ya to steal my food right off my plate ya little thief! Now get back here!"
"Rrrowww!"
The longer this went on, the more he found himself being forced to concede that reality truly was stranger than fiction. The fearsome Knight of Treachery, the Rebel of the Round Table, and the person who fatally wounded the King of Knights, Mordred Pendragon, was before him.
...Chasing a random street cat who apparently stole her food whilst behaving more like a feline herself than a knight of legend.
She ran around on all fours, wearing tight cutoff short-shorts that looked like they were painted on, and a white tube top that barely covered her small chest with a red jacket over that. Not exactly clothes one would expect a Knight of the Round Table to be fond of. Then again, he could somewhat understand if she wanted to be free of the constraints of the heavy armor she wore into battle that covered her completely.
And he'd be lying if he said that she didn't pull off the look rather well.
Still, this was not the first time he'd crossed paths with her, as he had been summoned into Grail Wars where she was the Saber. But this is the first time he'd ever seen her garbed in modern attire, so her taste in style surprised him.
But that was not the issue.
Why was she in the middle of Kuoh in the first place? Much less chasing a random cat with a piece of sausage in its mouth? She was drawing plenty of attention from passersby who were not sure if the girl was just playing around or had escaped from a mental institute... or both.
"Hah," he sighed, not sure what to do anymore. A trend seemed to be rising whenever he ventured out for groceries.. First case was with Xenovia and Irina on the verge of becoming homeless, and now he's run across the destructive young woman who nearly killed Rider and squashed Kokabiel's remains, who was currently chasing a cat while behaving like one herself.
There had to be a joke somewhere in there, but he was too exasperated to think of it.
'Best to not get involved, I have a lot on my plate as it is.' With his mind made up, he turned around and resolved to get the groceries put away and get ready for the mission to the Underworld as soon as possible. Let Rider and Sona deal with this.
Also, he needed to go back right now and make sure Irina would not step foot outside the house with that sword he gave her on her back. He doubted Mordred would care about Durandal, Xenovia was probably safe in that regard. Still best to be careful.
Just as he was about to take a step forward...
Woosh!
A short figure practically teleported in front of him, having a rugged but pretty smirk on her face and both arms crossed under her non-existent chest. And an air that practically screamed trouble if he got involved with her to any degree. Already the people who'd been observing Saber chasing around the cat in the back gasped at her sudden 'disappearance,' some even clapping as if it were some sort of street performance.
"Hey, Flower Geezer."
"..."
That was pretty fast, no wonder Rider had trouble against her.
Still... why even choose that nickname for him? Was it because of his silver hair and the appearance of Rho Aias? In any case, she did not seem to show any signs of familiarity with him like Rider did, so that was a relief. Which wasn't surprising though, since they rarely were summoned in the same instance during a Grail War.
Seeing there was no point in ignoring her or even finding a way to leave this place peacefully, he had no choice but to interact with the troublesome woman.
"What do you want, Saber?" he asked, his tone sounding anything but cheerful or happy when addressing her.
The smirk on her face grew more prominent, leaning forward a bit and looking as if she were about to try and mug him.
"Is that how you talk to the one who took the effort to clean up this little town of its nasty infestation of crows and troublesome toys? I understand that I handled your little problem in seconds when it took you losers days."
To have such a smug expression while looking almost like Artoria was... odd. While he understood she was a homunculus made from her cloned essence, these two just couldn't be more different in terms of personalities.
"I wouldn't call your actions 'cleaning up,' given the locals needed to redraw their maps to include the new canyon you carved through the nearby mountain," he said dryly with a glance at the recently split mountain, ignoring how the girl now started to walk around him and was inspecting him from head to toe with a suspicious stare. "What is it now?"
"...Something's off about you," Saber muttered. "I'm sure I've never seen your ugly mug before, but I can't help but feel like we've met. Bah, you probably just have the same face as some barbarian I killed. You certainly have a punchable face." Saber nodded assuredly to herself, as though what she had stated was fact. The first part of her comment made him feel worried at first, but given how she immediately dismissed the train of thought, he felt himself calm down.
He was not sure if there were any instances where Mordred was summoned and witnessed Emiya Shirou Tracing Caliburn with Artoria's help, but he certainly hoped not. Then again, such instances would have been borderline impossible, since it would mean there being two Sabers in a single War, and he had no recollection of such an occurrence, even if he understood it was theoretically possible due to certain fail-safes the Grail had.
But even if that had ever happened, what happened with Rider proved she'd still need a powerful emotional trigger for any memories of past summonings to return. Even then, unlike Rider's long history with Matou Sakura and Emiya Shirou, Mordred had no such connection to him so far as he knew. Probably it was just the powerful but flawed system put in place not properly sealing certain lingering emotions from different summonings for all summoned Heroic Spirits.
Or possibly because he wasn't exactly a proper Heroic Spirit...
So the feeling of familiarity was probably nothing to worry about.
"I am quite sure we've never met, nor are we even from the same time period or country. Also, you haven't answered my question."
"Tch, I don't like your attitude. Makes me really want to punch yer face, old man."
"Get in line."
"Humph," she scoffed, at least looking like she would not resort to violence in such an open space filled with civilians. "Quite impatient of you, Lance-"
"Archer."
"Ah, right, Archer." She corrected herself, worst of all it genuinely looked like an innocent slip-up. "But don't look so surprised. Didn't I tell ya we would be seeing each other pretty soon? I ain't no liar. Also, I can go wherever the fuck I want!"
"I never said you couldn't. Just wondering why you are even wandering around Kuoh in the first place. Kokabiel is dead, Assassin is gone, and the replicas were all destroyed by your own hand. I don't see you having any reason to stay around here."
This might be a good opportunity to get more information about her Master without making her suspicious of it. All he knew was that the person in question was a woman and one that perhaps did not have any bad blood with the Devils. Or else Saber could have easily gone for both Kokabiel and the heiresses.
A Fallen Angel, perhaps? One loyal to their true leader, Azazel?
They were the ones present in Kuoh last time and had the highest chance of having stumbled or gotten information about the summoning ritual.
"As if I'm going to believe that! I ain't leaving this place until I'm certain there is not even a single fucking shard of those shitty toy swords laying around."
Irina really needed to be warned to not leave the house at any point until he was certain Saber was gone.
"What's with that face? You look like you don't like having me here. Oh, are you mad at me for hurting your little girlfriend back there? She was a pain in the ass I'll admit. It would have been better if I removed her from the game entirely right then," she said with a smirk, most likely attempting to get him to fight her.
Not like he was going to fall for it.
"Listen, you can scout every region of Kuoh as much as you like for all I care, but you'll not find any of those shards around. This territory belongs to the Devils, so you should know their stance against the Church and holy relics already - they hate those weapons almost as much as you do."
Saber scowled, not even denying his words since she clearly already understood them to be the truth. Seems her Master had kept the Servant up to date with this world's history and the bare bones of its standing politics.
"Yeah, I know, tch. Still, like hell I'll go back empty-handed. It'll just end up proving she was right, and I don't want to see that annoying smug smile she makes when that happens. That cat of theirs had also been getting on my nerves lately," she grumbled under her breath, but then her eyes darted back up to meet his. "Hey wait, aren't you gonna fight me or something?"
"Why would I do that?" That was exactly what he was trying to avoid.
"Well, this is a Holy Grail War. So what else do Servants do when they meet other than going at one another with all they've got until there is only one left standing? Hehehe, You must not be confident in your chances of winning against me if you're this afraid. Well, that's no surprise. You are an Archer while I'm a Saber," she said smugly, tapping his shoulders with a look of pity on her face.
His eyes twitched, The longer she talked the more apparent it became that he was dealing with a brat wielding tremendous power.
Which wasn't that far off the mark, from what he saw.
"We are not even sure if there is a Greater Grail in this world, or any wish-granting device. Plus we're in public during daylight."
"Now you sound just like her, annoying..."
He truly did feel bad for whoever her Master was. Not even ten minutes of speaking and already he was getting tired of her. Regardless, at the very least he needed to make sure she was going to leave town before he went to the Underworld.
An idea came to mind, but he was not sure if it would work. Still, if the Knight of Treachery held a single trait in common with her "father," then he could at least give it a try.
"Listen, it is clear to me you do not want to go back to your Master empty-handed. So let me do you a favor. Since you obviously were in the middle of having lunch, you're probably still hungry. I'll also answer any and all questions you may have about this world or about the replica swords."
"Ah, wait!" As if remembering something important, she looked behind and was horrified to find the plate she'd ordered that was piled high with food had now been completely cleaned by passing cats and dogs. "Those fucking animals! I'll catch every one of ya and turn your pelts into dish rags!"
She really did stay over not just for the swords but also to eat... how similar.
"Calm down, it's nothing to be angry about. If you're hungry then follow me, I'll show you a place that serves great food." Which also happened to be on the outskirts of Kuoh, and thus as far as possible from both Rias' mansion and the school.
Saber's ears perked, going still as she gave him a suspicious glare.
"If you think for a single second I'll fall for such an obvious trick and let you poison me then you are sorely mista-"
"-I'll pay, think of it as me repaying the favor for 'cleaning up the town,' as you put it. Also, I doubt any poison could have much of an effect on you in the first place. And I'm not an Assassin."
Her attitude immediately did a one-eighty. "Then what's the holdup? Get moving, geezer! But just so you know, I'm still not leaving this town until I'm a hundred percent satisfied! Also, shut the hell up, Master! I'll be back when I want to be, don't make me break his face again!"
Perhaps having Akeno set up a bounded field to hide the holy aura of Excalibur Blessing would be a good idea.
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(An hour later)
"Damn, I'm stuffed! You weren't kidding about this place!"
Sitting across the table within a local yakiniku restaurant, Archer sat opposite to a certain disgraced Knight who'd managed to inhale the total food portion of at least a dozen people all by herself. The sight was both disgusting and fascinating at the same time. He did not once touch his own food, especially since she had already eaten it.
"You did not need to stuff your face like that, no one is going to steal your food," he couldn't help but say, getting a middle finger in response.
"How about you mind your own damn business," Saber retorted. "Anyway... let me make sure I got all this straight. As far as you can tell, there is no Holy Grail War or even a proper Servant system in place aside from making us stronger. Not a single fucking person has been able to find out how the hell this world got access to the summoning ritual in the first place, something is actively pulling us back to the Throne but the altered Command Seals counter it, which is why my initial summoning sucked a fuck-ton of energy from my Master. Lancer has already joined the party along with Assassin, and possibly other Servants. And finally, the guy who mashed all the pathetic fragments together into that abomination is Assassin's Master who she hated, meaning he's either on the run or dead."
A pretty good way to summarize it, so he nodded his head.
"So basically we know nothing that's actually important."
"Yes," a bit underwhelming, that much he could admit. But he was sure with them and more snooping around they could manage to uncover more. "As for the remnants of this world's Excalibur, I'd be surprised if the Church does not have any records of Valper's research. But even if it's of no consequence, Valper only ever managed to get his hands on six of the fragments. There is still one more Excalibur shard left somewhere out there."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," she said with an extremely irritated tone. "I handled that matter myself before ever coming here. How do you think I learned about those other six embarrassments in the first place? Once I'm done here I'm gonna have to make some stuff nice and clear to the Church and see to it they don't try any stupid crap like that ever again. I'll bust down their front door and-Oi! Oi! Don't use the Command Seals, Master! I was just messing around, you idiot! Learn to take a joke!"
Immediately she started panicking, her Master must have taken her words about storming the Church's headquarters seriously. Truthfully, he was also pretty certain Saber had not been joking at all.
"Damn fucking brat. If she's not smirking or lecturing, you can bet your ass she's crying," Saber muttered sheepishly, though she had clearly calmed down somewhat rather than getting herself worked up. "Anyway... looks like there's not much to do here after all. I'll have to focus on those other idiots at the Church somehow without giving my Master a full-on panic attack. Tch, I'll find a way regardless." With that said, she got up from the table and started walking away with her hands shoved inside the red jacket.
But then stopped midway and looked back at him with the previous smile gone.
"Oi, Archer, I don't like owing someone favors, even if it's something small like this. We're still enemies as far as I'm concerned. If you end up getting in my way or my Master's, Grail or no Grail, you're dead. But I'll at least repay you for the information by getting out of your hair for now."
He rolled his eyes, "Not even a thanks? Gee, remind me not to treat you to a meal next time if that's how you're going to react."
It was mostly said just to poke fun at her, but to his surprise, she actually ended up taking his words seriously.
"...Thanks."
Her face went red as she said the word. From embarrassment most likely, and she immediately disappeared from her spot, leaving him all by himself.
That was surprisingly easy.
With that situation handled, Archer paid the bill and left the place before heading back to the Academy where they would be teleporting to the station from. Because apparently going to the more scenic parts of Hell meant taking a train. But not before he made a quick stop at the mansion to warn both exorcists and give them a whole week's worth of rations.
As the sky started to darken, he arrived at the clubroom in the old school building where everyone was gathered with plenty of luggage.
"Are we going to the Underworld for a month-long vacation or just for a few days? You've all packed quite a lot," he commented.
"Fufufu~! This is the bare minimum for a trip like this, Archer," Akeno said with a smile. "Also it does not matter how much we bring, the staff will handle this all for us. We just need to board the train on time."
Rias finished making a call and came to the main room, "Ah, Archer. What took you so long?"
"Nothing to worry about, Master. I just happened to come across a small problem which I took care of." This was far from an ideal moment to inform her about meeting Saber. Best to wait until they were on the train and she was more relaxed. Last thing he wanted was for her to panic and give out hasty orders.
"Alright people, it's time. Just get in the circle." The ground lit up as soon as the redhead said those words, everyone followed her orders and went into the middle of the magic circle where in a matter of moments, all of them were teleported somewhere else. They soon found themselves in a very lavish train station hidden somewhere in the wilderness.
"S-So this is the train to the Underworld?" Asia asked, both the girl and Servant looking at the regular-looking train weirdly.
He supposed she had the same thought as him.
"It looks quite ordinary."
Rias smirked, "But of course. It may look normal from the outside but that is only an illusion. As soon as we board the train, it will be as if we went into another world. So come on inside everyone!" Like that, the peerage followed her one by one till it was his turn. But as he was about to board, someone grabbed his arm.
He turned to find Akeno standing there with an uncertain expression on her face. "Is something the matter?"
"Rias suspects something." The girl whispered, looking at where Rias had disappeared. "She did not say anything, nor did she make any accusations. But today she kept asking me plenty of questions about the day at the beach. A lot of questions that were about both of us."
"What did you say?"
A mischievous smirk formed on her face, "Enough."
He narrowed his eyes, wondering what she meant by that.
"Say, Archer, speaking about what happened at the beach... Was it just a one-time thing between us?"
Now her face was full of uncertainty, doubt, and even a bit of fear lingering as she awaited his answer.
He gave the question its due consideration. What happened back then was still... difficult for him to wrap his head around. How it even ended up happening still boggled him. Rider's advance had been the last thing he'd been prepared for, the way she boldly came in on the tailwind of Akeno's confession and her own actions completely catching him off guard.
As for Akeno herself...
He let out a breath, giving her a simple answer. "It's up to you. But know that I'm willing to keep going with this if you are."
Her eyes widened, and despite his answer being mostly vague he saw the sheer amount of joy brought within them. Her grasp on his arm tightened as she now refused to let go. "S-So... does that mean you finally see me as a woman?"
"You're not going to let that one go anytime soon, aren't you?" She vehemently shook her head in response, making it clear that he needed to answer that question.
So, he flashed her a grin as they stepped aboard the train together.
"Well, I have to admit you've convinced me quite thoroughly."
Akeno halted in place as soon as they were inside, her mouth hanging open. She took a few moments to recover from her shock, but sure enough, her mouth morphed into a beautiful smile.
Pulling him back to ensure they remained out of sight, she reached up to turn his head towards her as she planted a deep kiss on his lips. An action he made no effort to resist, and even returned her embrace.
"Hehehe, I can't wait to have you shouting those words at the top of your lungs. There's one thing I want to correct though, Emiya," she said while staring him firmly in the eyes. "I'm not just any woman, I'm your woman. Never forget that."
{Break}
-Kuoh Academy-
(Around the same time)
With the aftermath of the Kokabiel incident more or less dealt with, and the much-needed day off at the beach, unfortunately, having concluded but serving its purpose, the overall atmosphere around Kuoh had returned to its calmer self, especially for its resident Devils. The school had been cleaned up, the city repaired, and the fight with Kokabiel and Saber had turned into a memory for many.
A bone-chilling memory though, which for some created a dire need to get much stronger, and quickly. While Rider could understand the impulse, she still found it foolish in many ways. Servants were not entities that served as a level for others to expect to reach. Masters were not supposed to fight them in the first place, yet still, these Devils persisted with this path.
In the end, though, it was their wish, and who was she to say otherwise, especially when the request came from her own Master? Not that they would have listened in the first place - both she and Archer had tried many times to teach them otherwise, yet despite their stubbornness, Rider found herself pleasantly surprised. Who would have thought that spending an entire day teaching a bunch of young Devils how to fight would turn out to be such a fun experience?
If words were not enough to drive the lesson home, then hopefully pain would suffice. Even if the usage of Sacred Gears and spells were allowed for them while the Heroic Spirit used a small fraction of her power, most ended up failing. Except for Tsubaki who managed to repel most attacks. Not surprising given she trained with Archer the most.
"One more other round, Master. We're almost done," she said with a pleasant voice, trying her best to hide any trace of amusement she got from this.
"Hah... hah... hah... You said that thirty minutes ago! We've been running, dodging, and surviving for the past hour without a break!" Reya shouted.
"Let's make it another hour then."
With that said, Rider readied her next attack. This time, her chosen weapon was a large basket filled with rubber balls - steel balls would have been too dangerous, unfortunately. Without hesitation, she launched a volley of them at her "students" with frightening speed, each projectile zipping through the air like a bullet. The training field was instantly filled with startled yelps and pained grunts as the Devils struggled to dodge the relentless assault.
"Argh!"
A lucky few managed to avoid direct hits, escaping with only minor bruises. Spells were useless; the moment she saw any of them so much as try to form a magic circle, several spheres would be thrown at them at speeds faster than sound. Others - like Saji and Ruruko - were not as fortunate. Their bodies were covered in black and blue marks from the countless impacts, each strike leaving a sting that made them wince at the slightest irritation.
"You're worse than Archer!" someone shouted in frustration, their voice barely cutting through the rising dust cloud.
Suddenly a violet glowing line burst from the middle, wrapping around her arm tightly. "Ha! Got you!'"
Absorption Line if she recalled, the Sacred Gear used by the male Pawn, and something she did not have much of an opinion on.
The boy smirked as if he had done something noteworthy. She waited for a few seconds to see what would happen. Much to her disappointment though, nothing occurred, and she stared at the Pawn with a dry gaze as he acted like he'd managed to stop her from pelting them any further. Unfortunately for him though, her hand just took hold of the Sacred Gear's tongue-like tendril, making Saji's face turn completely pale with memories of a particularly painful experience from training with Archer resurfacing.
"Wait! Wait! Nononono! Shit! Not agai-wah!" His body was easily pulled with ease by Rider with a single tug, flying through the air while screaming for his life.
"Hn!"
Wanting to go easy on the boy and not break anything important, she delivered a single kick with her leg stretching effortlessly above her head.
As his face met her foot, the boy's body flew through the air as long as his Sacred Gear's line would allow until he bounced against the ground. "Kuh...!" He remained there, unmoving, frothing from his mouth as he managed to gasp out "Y-You monster..."
"Ah! She killed Gen-kun!"
A smirk twitched at Rider's lips for a brief moment.
Definitely very entertaining.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Did this 'training' serve any purpose? Not really, as far as she could tell. Just an idea she remembered discussing with Archer before to keep them busy and get used to pain and possibly make them better at dodging. Truthfully, training others was never really her specialty.
And with that taken care of, her assault continued on the rest of the peerage. One after another, the rubber balls rained down like merciless artillery fire, until the basket was finally empty. As the dust settled, the battlefield revealed its casualties - namely all of them. Every single member of Sona's peerage lay sprawled across the ground, panting for air, looking as though they were on the brink of death.
"Why... the hell... did Toujou-sensei... put you in charge?" Momo whined, glaring at the purple-haired woman and then at her King, as if demanding an explanation for this torturous training session they'd apparently be undergoing daily.
"Because she is the only one among us with the vast power and experience that we need to compare ourselves to if we're ever to be of any use," replied Sona, trying to maintain her usual stoic composure, yet she winced as she attempted to sit up. "We can't ask Archer for help. Did you forget we're still being punished for our past mistakes?"
"Your mistake." Tomoe corrected, making Sona's eyes twitch.
"...Yes, my mistake."
Despite the exhaustion weighing on her, Rider had to admit - Sona was at least trying to keep morale up, even if she was likely the most battered among them. She didn't like hurting her Master given how kind she'd been, but Sona had asked that she be strict.
"If we hope to one day fight alongside Rider against enemy Servants or whatever else can stand up to her, we must become strong enough that they'll have to at least acknowledge us," Sona continued, adjusting her glasses with a shaky hand. "If Rider, using only rubber balls, can put us down like this, then take a moment to imagine what Saber could have done to us."
At that, silence fell over the group. No one wanted to admit it out loud, but the truth was clear. During Rider's battle against Saber, they had provided no real assistance. They had been nothing more than annoyances to the enemy Servant - slight hindrances, at best.
"We'll only stop holding these sessions every day once Rider thinks we're good enough," Sona declared, determination shining in her eyes. "And if Archer trusts her with our training, then so should we."
To put so much trust in her when she herself was not sure how to help them improve in the first place felt unwise to Rider. Archer definitely dropped her in this scenario to get her Master off his back. In not one moment in her past with his younger self did she at any point mention having any experience teaching others.
'Unless he has Shirou's memories with both me and Sakura when I was teaching her how to...' The woman quickly shook her head. Archer had not been around for that, so there was no way for him to know.
Not that she was against the idea of him knowing of such experiences. Seeing his reaction might just be funny, and could even put him in a rather interesting mood.
Wait, she was getting distracted. And reluctant as she felt, Rider decided it would be best for her to genuinely try to find a way to help these young Devils reach an adequate level of power. If they continued to interfere between Servant battles, someone would die sooner or later if they remained as they were. Trying to think of something useful to help them grow, the Servant's mind wandered to something that happened during the session that had left her feeling a bit confused, and even disappointed.
Going over to Saji, Rider saw the way he trembled at her approach, but she calmly crouched next to the boy and asked a simple question.
"Your Sacred Gear, why do you call it Absorption Line?"
"Eh?"
That question caught not just him, but the whole peerage by surprise as they looked at Rider, wondering what she meant by that. Seeing their confused faces, she asked again. "Your Sacred Gear is called Absorption Line, correct? Why?"
Saji looked back and forth between the woman and his gauntlet a couple of times. "Um... I don't know. It's not like I'm not the one who gave it this name. If you really want to know, you'll need to ask the big guy up there," he said pointing up.
The question clearly flew above his head. Best to elaborate further.
"No. I mean what does it absorb for it to be called Absorption Line? When you had it wrapped around my arm, I felt nothing, not even something struggling against my Magic Resistance."
That raised a few eyebrows amongst the crowd, especially Sona looked like she was trying to remember something important but it kept escaping her mind.
"The Boosted Gear boosts one's power, Sword Birth creates swords, and Divine Dividing divides someone's Magical Energy. So shouldn't Absorption Line naturally be able to siphon energy?"
She held no knowledge of the Sacred Gear, most of what she said was just a mere guess made by comparing it to other similar artifacts in this world, at least two of which were also derived from powerful dragons. In any event, there was an obvious pattern with how the Sacred Gear's names indicated the nature of its abilities, one that was seemingly absent from this one judging from how it was being utilized.
"I-I... I don't know," the blond-haired boy was clearly at a loss, making it clear he was not even certain about what his own powers were capable of achieving. "I guess... judging from the name, yeah it should be able to absorb energy?"
"Saji." Sona's stern voice reached his ears and made his spine stiffen up as much as his posture would allow.
She did not sound pleased.
"Y-Yes?"
"I distinctly remember telling you to conduct your own research on your Sacred Gear in your spare time to get to know its capabilities. Mind telling me what you have uncovered? After all, we are talking about one of Vritra's most infamous weapons." Her face had darkened, and all of the previous pain and exhaustion was completely forgotten as she now stood in front of her Pawn with her arms crossed.
"Don't tell me you failed to complete the assignment I gave you, and as a result know nothing of your own abilities."
"K-Kaichou, I-I-I hahaha... I..." Unable to string a complete sentence together, Saji Genshirou laughed nervously while sweating profusely. "Y-You see, t-there was a lot of work for the Student Council I had to complete! You know, w-what with all the budgeting at the beginning of the year! It made it hard to find time to do any research!"
"Oi, cut it with the excuses!" Momo shouted, "Tsubaki and I were the ones tasked with handling budgeting for the clubs, you were only tasked to deliver some paperwork! Don't drag us into this just to save your lazy ass!"
Somehow, Sona's face became even more scary.
"Your responsibilities as a member of the Student Council are not to be used as an excuse to conveniently ignore the assignments I have personally given you, especially when failure to complete them directly impacts your performance as my Pawn." Sona raised a hand, and a blue aura surrounded it that made everyone flinch. "You know what happens to those in my peerage who fail to obey instruction."
Immediately, Saji started to kneel and kowtow before his King at a surprisingly rapid pace, given the beating he just took. "Please forgive me, Kaichou! I won't ever do it again! It was my mistake! But... But there is also a chance that this Sacred Gear does not have that power to begin with! So mayb-"
"Use it."
"What?"
"I said, use Absorption Line on me right now, just like you did with Rider. But this time, try to take my power from me. If it does work, then you know what that means. If it does not, I may be a bit more lenient. But if nothing happens because you try to fake it or pretend, then I promise your fate will be much... much worse."
Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Saji had no choice but to follow his King's command. Gingerly he resummoned his Sacred Gear and had the tongue-like tendril wrap around Sona's wrist.
"Sacred Gears work in accordance with one's imagination and will. If yours is capable of absorbing energy, then as long as you will it, something might happen if it aligns with the Sacred Gear's nature."
Following her words, he closed his eyes and concentrated. And right before everyone's eyes, the tongue started to glow, and they could visibly see a bright blue stream of energy leave Sona's wrist, traveling through the tendril and being absorbed by the gauntlet with its eyes glowing a bright violet color as it took in the additional power.
While most of the peerage showed signs of excitement over their comrade learning about a useful new ability, Saji's own expression indicated nothing but despair, for he knew what this meant.
"So this entire time... you've had the ability to absorb your enemy's power at your disposal but never used it because you did not even bother to research your own Sacred Gear, which I told you to do as soon as we confirmed you had Absorption Line. You realize this means that the likelihood of there being another ability at your disposal we are unaware of that could have served us in the past is very high."
Absorbing one's energy... Rider had to admit that this ability was very useful in the right hands. She doubted it would work on a Servant, with or without Magic Resistance, and she wondered at the possibility of the Sacred Gear overwhelming its own user if the opponent had too much magical energy for them to even take in the first place. But used under the right circumstances, it would be a very handy device.
They could figure this out later though. Right now her Master had other priorities.
"Saji, lower your pants, and get on your hands and knees," Sona said eerily, a large magic circle forming on her palm, with a clear intention to teach him a lesson surrounding her like a visible aura.
"Noooooooooo!"
He tried to run away but forgot that his Sacred Gear was still attached to his King and was pulled back immediately.
"Trying to run away, that's another thousand spankings."
Bam!
Not even giving him time to respond, she smacked his bottom with enough force to shred the pants in that spot, a pained yelp spreading across the school grounds with each hit. Good thing it was a weekend and there was no one around to hear his futile pleas for mercy and forgiveness.
Well, he was receiving his punishment, and the others took a moment to empathize with him.
"I would much rather take having to spar with Archer or Rider for the entire day than be on the receiving end of one of Kaichou's thousand spanking punishments. At least then I get to go home with my dignity more or less intact."
Everyone agreed with Tsubasa. Another hour went by until Sona was done with him, Saji's cries had died down in the first ten minutes, leaving him completely exhausted even as Sona continued to mercilessly spank him while keeping perfect count until she was all done.
"...Speaking of Archer, where the hell is he?" Momo groaned, rubbing her sore arms as she helped the others get back on their feet. "Some of the students won't stop searching for him and asking where their 'favorite teacher' went - It's getting annoying."
"Rias is preparing to go to the Underworld for an urgent matter," Sona explained, exhaling slowly as she massaged her wrist, steam rising from her palm. "We received word that important information regarding the summoning ritual has been stolen. On top of that, Lord Ajuka Beelzebub's family member is also missing, and what evidence we have indicates that the two incidents are very much connected. The entire situation has been deemed highly suspicious in a manner that calls for a Servant's power, so she and the others went to investigate."
"What!?" Tomoe's voice shot up an octave, her face draining of color. "Then shouldn't we be there with them!? This sounds really serious and freaking terrifying! The last thing I want is to fight more enemy Servants and get my ass handed to me on a silver plate! I don't even want to think of what a whole bunch of them could do if more people get their hands on that ritual!"
An odd metaphor, in Rider's opinion, but she understood the Knight's concern. Saber alone had proven to be a massive threat. Lancer remained an unpredictable factor with unclear motives, and Assassin was another dangerous unknown who may still be lurking around. If multiple Servants were truly appearing without warning, it wouldn't just be Kuoh that suffered - both the Underworld and the human world could be plunged into chaos.
"It's because we cannot afford to leave Kuoh Academy unattended," Sona stated firmly, her gaze steady as she addressed the group. "Like it or not, we do not have the luxury of choice right now. Even though we managed to defeat Kokabiel, Assassin's fate is still unknown. There's no guarantee she won't return - and the same goes for Saber. So while they handle things in the Underworld, our task is to maintain order here. We cannot afford to leave a clear opening for our enemies to take advantage of by being absentee landlords."
Rider smiled slightly.
Sona was thinking like a true leader. Holy Grail War or not, they could never afford to underestimate an unknown Servant - especially one with a concealed Master. The risk of encountering another adversary like Kokabiel, someone who would use a Servant to their advantage, was too high for her liking.
Realistically, the group was still too weak to be much help against a high-level Heroic Spirit like Saber. But against Assassin? At the very least, they could use their magic to prevent the battle from spilling into the city, minimizing the collateral damage.
"I believe that's enough for today," Rider finally said, kneeling beside Sona and placing a hand on her head in an almost affectionate gesture. "You did well, Master. You should rest."
A faint blush spread across Sona's face at the unexpected praise, her spectacles slightly slipping down her nose as she tried to regain composure. She was definitely not used to such treatment - or maybe she was simply embarrassed. Either way, Rider found it amusing.
"I'll go grab some refreshments from the store. Care to accompany me, Rider?" Tsubasa asked, stretching her arms. Unlike the rest of her team, she still had some energy left, despite the bruises she had accumulated. If asked, she could probably go another round.
"You're an angel, Tsubasa," Momo sighed dramatically, flopping onto the ground. "Bring me some ice cream... and some cold packs to help with the swelling."
"I want some chocolate!"
"Mind stopping by the pharmacy and getting me some headache medicine?"
One by one, the group started making their requests, each too exhausted to retrieve anything themselves. Tsubasa laughed, nodding as she mentally noted everything.
"Got it, got it. I'll be back soon."
With that, she and Rider exited the empty training field, leaving behind a group of battered but determined Devils. Along the way, Tsubasa made sure they were far enough from the main group before she looked at Rider with a curious gaze as the Heroic Spirit's attire shimmered and was replaced by her everyday wear.
"Hey, Rider? After we came back from the beach, Saji kept behaving really weirdly - especially around Archer. Any ideas on what happened back there since you two were together?"
A small smile bloomed on the Heroic Spirit's face.
"You could say he just stumbled upon me teaching some... lessons to Akeno."
"Eh, lessons? Hey, what do you mean by that? O-Oi! Don't just ignore me!"
{Break}
-???-
At one point, she finally came to understand what the fire represented.
It was death - an end, absolute and irreversible. The end of what once was a different person, a life that no longer be recalled, a past forgotten with the passage of time, and an open wound that healed over time, with the scar eventually vanishing completely. A scar that, no matter how deep, would eventually fade until not even a trace remained.
She could feel it now, the weight of those flames pressing against her soul. Yet for the one at the center of it all, there was no burden. He let go of a name he could no longer recall, faces of those he once called family vanishing into the annals of history, fading like embers carried away by the wind. No sadness, no regret - only the emptiness of a life burned away by cruel flames.
It was a twisted way of thinking, one she could never fully understand. How could something so profound as family, something so defining as one's own name and past, be treated as little more than a footnote in the story of his existence? But to him, it was nothing more than a forgotten page in a book he no longer cared to read. It wasn't that he denied his past - he had simply moved beyond it, detached in a way that made her stomach twist uncomfortably.
The redhead heiress asked him this before, and all she got in return was a vague reply about how even he was not sure about the details any longer.
If the fiery hellscape accompanied by a crimson moon represented death, then the blue moon that loomed overhead the young boy with empty eyes sitting beside his hero was something else.
A beginning.
A rebirth.
And yet, that rebirth was not his own.
He had taken a dream that was not his and walked down a path paved by the ideals of another. A road defined by borrowed dreams. A dream that, no matter how noble, had only served to poison him. It was on this path that he encountered many faces. Some extended their hands to him, trying to pull him from the abyss, but none had ever succeeded.
A stubborn genius mage whose persistence matched his own, an innocent girl who bore the weight of countless atrocities behind a carefully crafted smile, and a King of Knights who had been the one to appear before him on a particularly fateful night. Each had reached for him in their own way.
Each had tried to save him with their love.
Each had failed.
He had smiled at them all, appreciative of their efforts, but incapable of truly understanding why they even tried. They saw something worth saving in him, but he could not comprehend it. Whether it be out of friendship, love, or even kindness, those emotions extended toward him had always stood out as being misplaced in the deepest corners of his mind.
She understood he was a broken boy from the beginning. One who could neither accept their kindness nor grasp the concept of salvation, for he believed he did not deserve it. And so, with that same fake smile, he had pushed them all away and lied that everything was going to be alright.
Because he had a dream.
To be a hero who would save everyone.
He had pursued it relentlessly, traversing continents, stepping into war-torn regions drenched in death. He had walked through endless dunes of sand, alone except for the countless blades embedded within his soul. He saved lives. Again and again, freeing oppressed people, cutting down warlords, delivering salvation to those in need.
But it was never enough.
For every place he saved, another was lost to chaos. For every life he pulled from the jaws of death, dozens more fell in their place. No matter how many he saved - hundreds, thousands - it was nothing more than a number. One that meant nothing as people continued to cry. And so, he kept walking, pushing forward without hesitation, without rest. Each step stole a little more from him, each battle carved away another piece of his existence.
And yet, he did not care.
Because saving others was the only thing Emiya Shirou knew how to do.
Besides, how could helping people be wrong?
Rias felt her chest tighten. She hated it.
This path - this endless road of self-sacrifice - was madness. A relentless, unforgiving march toward an unattainable ideal. There was no end to it. No reward, no recognition. Only exhaustion, betrayal, and suffering. He was thanked with smiles that would later twist into sneers, given gratitude that would turn to accusations the moment it became convenient. He was abandoned and betrayed, again and again, but he never stopped.
Because he couldn't.
Because he wouldn't.
And then came the moment - the event that changed everything.
He stood before an impossibility. Hundreds of lives hung in the balance, trapped within a nuclear facility on the brink of destruction. And for the first time, the boy who had endured hell could not bring himself to let them die.
So, he did the only thing he could.
He offered himself in their place.
That was when she saw it - the thing that had answered his call.
A light.
A swirling sphere of blue, its presence absolute and undeniable. Even without words or context, she knew what it offered, and she knew the price. To her, this deal was worse than anything even the most cruel of Devils could ever propose. It was ruin - absolute and inescapable.
A damnation from which there would be no reprieve.
Had she been in his place, she would have refused without hesitation. The cost was too great, the consequences too severe.
But he was not like her.
He had never been normal, not since the day he was reborn. To him, the deal had no drawbacks, only a simple trade - a small price to pay in exchange for the lives of strangers.
It was almost laughable.
A man like this had he lived in her world, would have been revered as a hero among heroes. The Church would have venerated him as a saint. Humanity would have honored him as a paragon.
But here, he was just another nameless soul, a wanderer burdened by an impossible dream.
So, he accepted.
"I'll do it. If that's what it takes to ensure no one has to cry."
The moment the words left his lips, dozens of tendrils of light surged forth, wrapping around him in an unrelenting embrace. They wove through his skin, carving intricate patterns of power and subjugation alike, etching their mark deep into his very essence. It was not a gift freely given, but a contract - an inescapable fate that shackled his very soul. The pain was beyond anything he had ever experienced, a searing fire that branded his existence, yet he endured it without resistance.
And then, it was done.
The hundreds of people behind him were saved. They all lived to see another day, spared from an inevitable demise.
But him? He had been altered - fundamentally changed in a way no human should have ever been. The miracle that ensured their survival did not come without cost, and the weight of that cost was one he alone would bear unto eternity.
Did they recognize what he had done? Did they see him as the savior he had fought so desperately to be? He could not tell, nor did it matter. Even he could no longer recall the exact details of what followed, only that he continued forward, walking the same bloodstained path.
Years passed, wars raged on, and he saved countless more lives. With each battle, the death toll rose to levels far beyond anything he'd ever seen before, and yet he persisted. For every village he freed, another burned. For every life he preserved, even more were lost. His efforts never ceased, nor did they waver, for this was the only path he knew.
But the world was not kind to those who walked alone in the name of others.
At first, they praised him. Faces once filled with fear and despair looked upon him with gratitude, their eyes shining with admiration. They called him a hero, blessed him with words of thanks, and smiled at him as though he were the light that banished the darkness. He had believed in those smiles. He had fought for them.
But humans change.
Slowly, their gratitude twisted into something else - something darker. Suspicion crept into their gazes, their whispers growing in number and volume. Doubt took root in their hearts, festering like a wound left untreated. How could a single man endure so much suffering? How could he throw himself into battle time and time again, asking for nothing in return? It was unnatural. Unfathomable.
They began to fear him.
Their image of him, once painted in warm colors of admiration, blackened with distrust. Their awe turned to unease. Their wonder turned to wariness. He was no longer seen as a man but as something else - something inhuman. The very people he had sworn to protect now looked upon him as a threat.
And in time, their fear bred hatred.
Accusations followed. Lies spread like wildfire. Those who once called him their savior now branded him a menace. A deceiver. A monster. It did not matter that he had never once lifted his blade against them. It did not matter that he had never asked for their thanks, that he had never looked upon them with anything but a kind smile. Their beliefs had shifted, and in their eyes, he had become an anomaly that needed to be erased.
And so, they turned on him.
The betrayal was neither sudden nor unexpected. It was gradual, like the slow decay of a once-thriving city, its foundations crumbling brick by brick. He had seen it coming long before the first blade was drawn against him, yet he did nothing to stop it. There was no point. He would not fight those he had sworn to protect.
His hands were bound. Shackles weighed heavy against his wrists. The very same people whose lives he had saved now led him to his execution. Their glares were filled with unbridled loathing, their voices rising in outrage as they cursed his name.
He did not resist.
He did not plead for his life.
They forced him onto the gallows. A noose was fastened around his neck. The rope was thick, and rough against his skin, a tool meant to deliver a fate more humiliating than a warrior's death. A coward's death, delivered by cowards.
The countdown began.
He stood there, listening to their jeers, their voices laced with hatred and betrayal.
And he smiled.
Not out of spite. Not out of defiance. But out of acceptance.
He did not blame them.
Even now, in his final moments, he forgave them.
And then the trapdoor fell.
And the rope went taught.
Yet his suffering... his torture failed to end there. For his death only marked the true beginning of his endless pain. Now for eternity, he continued on the path he set out to accomplish since the beginning beyond his death.
For in the deal he had made that fateful day, he had sacrificed his own afterlife.
She wondered... how long had it taken him to regret that choice?
Years? Decades? Centuries? Millennia? Eons?
Maybe he would tell her if she asked. But deep down, she already knew the truth.
Even if he did remember, he would never say it.
Perhaps it was mercy.
Or perhaps he had simply chosen to forget, to not add another chain to his mistakes.
A fool. A blind, naive, hopeless man who longed for a world without suffering. A world where no one cried. Where no one was hurt.
A world that could never exist.
And so, he kept going.
Again and again, he fought, wielding nothing but the swords that embodied the doomed path he had chosen and what made him a worthy candidate to take that deal. Blades shattered in his grasp, blood stained his being, and yet he moved forward, his dream forever out of reach.
Because there was no stopping now.
Not even the gods could undo the path he had walked.
He himself could not turn away if he wanted to. That choice had long since been taken from him.
He'd become a machine and was just fulfilling his function.
No matter the cost.
And so, he remained.
Trapped.
Alone.
Sitting atop a hill of rusted swords beneath a hazy sky filled with colossal gears, with nothing but his own memories and the blood on his hands to keep him company.
A most wretched existence indeed.
.
.
.
"..."
Slowly, Rias' eyes opened, her gaze falling upon a velvet-red roof adorned with intricate golden patterns. The gentle sway of the train accompanied the rhythmic clatter of wheels against the tracks, a steady clack that resonated softly through the lavish cabin. A soft, ambient hum filled the air, blending with the occasional creak of polished wood and the faint whisper of supernatural wind brushing against the windows.
"Ah, finally awake. You've been dozing off during the entire trip," Akeno said, having been seated next to her since the beginning of the journey with a half-finished novel in hand. "Are you okay, Buchou? You seem to be a bit lost there."
Ah, another one of those dreams.
When was the last time she had one? Rias struggled to recall. No matter how hard she tried to hold onto them, the clarity of these visions always slipped away once she awoke, fading like mist in the morning sun. Yet, some moments - some small fragments - remained seared into her memory, refusing to be forgotten.
His face from the past was youthful and full of hope. That innocent smile brimming with dreams. The crimson moon hanging in the sky, casting an eerie glow over an inferno of hellish flames. And now, this time... that entity.
What was it? What did it represent? Where did it come from? She had no answers.
Its presence though... it unsettled her, stirred a deep unease within her chest. But none of it compared to the sight that left her stomach twisting and her face drained of color.
That smile.
A beautiful, peaceful smile - one she had never seen him wear, not in life, not in battle, not even in his most tranquil moments. A smile he had never shown her, nor anyone else she knew.
Then came the phantom cheers, roaring in her ears as the rope tightened around his neck. The stench of sweat and filth filled the air, the taste of bile rising in her throat. Hatred, thick and suffocating, swirled around her like a storm. Hatred directed at a man who had wanted nothing more than to be a hero. A man who had saved them countless times. A man they had once called their savior - only to betray him in the end because they could not understand him.
The memory struck like a dagger.
The noose.
The cheers.
The sound of a trap door opening.
...And finally... feets dangling in the air...unmoving.
Noticing her strange behavior, a few others approached the redhead. Yuuto walked over with a concerned look in his eyes. "Are you perhaps still half aslee-"
Rias didn't hear the rest of his words. She shoved past him, ignoring his startled expression, and rushed toward another section of the train. Voices called after her - shouts of concern from her peerage - but she couldn't stop. She couldn't hold it in any longer.
Reaching the restroom, she barely made it to the toilet before collapsing to her knees, her body convulsing as she emptied the contents of her stomach into the bowl. Lunch, dinner, breakfast - everything came out in violent waves. Her throat burned, her vision blurred from tears, and a crushing dizziness wrapped around her like a vice.
"Careful."
A gentle voice, full of concern, came from behind her. She did not need to look behind to know that Akeno must have followed her.
She knelt beside Rias, gathering her hair and pulling it back, keeping it from getting dirty. "Let it all out, I'm here for you."
Her voice was soothing and warm. She rubbed slow circles on Rias' back, whispering quiet reassurances, all while weaving basic healing spells to alleviate the pounding in her head.
It helped... but only a little. The anguish she felt from the dream - the horrible memories - was beyond modern medicine's or even magic's means to treat. This was no ailment, but rather her body reacting to the sheer, raw disgust she felt toward people she'd never met, whose names she did not know and whose faces she could not recall.
She was experiencing entirely appropriate disgust and sorrow for a scene that would haunt her nightmares.
Rias gagged again, but nothing more came out, just dry heaving at this point. She slumped forward, panting, arms trembling, legs too weak to lift herself from the floor. Akeno stayed beside her, unwavering, her presence a silent anchor against the storm raging inside her mind.
"I've never seen you like this before," Akeno murmured, pressing a cool hand against Rias' forehead. "You don't have a fever... and it doesn't seem like food poisoning. Did the stress finally catch up to you?"
The Gremory heiress felt a tissue against her lips as Akeno carefully wiped away any remaining traces of sickness. The small gesture helped ground her, making the mental ordeal just a bit more bearable.
But it wasn't an illness nor was it something as simple as exhaustion or bad food. Devilkin in general were born with bodies that were significantly above the average human's in almost every conceivable way, and getting sick was a rarity. Even then, anything this severe only occurred due to the involvement of light or holy elements, or an incurable disease.
"...It's none of those," she whispered, barely audible. She swallowed, trying to find the words to explain it, but her throat clenched around them until she found the strength to force the words out. "It's none of those."
A part of her almost wished it was something ordinary, something Akeno could understand, something she could dismiss with time and rest.
But it wasn't.
"Come on." Akeno's voice was firm yet kind. "Let's get you somewhere more comfortable. You'll feel better in bed than kneeling on the cold floor. Koneko, call Asia so that she can take a look at Buchou. The girl should be with Issei and Gasper in the other carriage."
"Roger."
Her words barely registered, but before Rias could protest, she felt herself being lifted with surprising ease. She blinked, dazed, looking up to see Kiyome supporting her weight as though she were nothing.
"What? Gotta make sure my King is in good health. Plus this is faster " Even Akeno and Koneko seemed caught off guard by the feat.
The train itself, a marvel of Underworld craftsmanship, was designed not for mass transport but for luxury. A mansion on wheels, as some called it. Within its extravagant halls, it housed private rooms - smaller than what she had in the human world, but still just as grand.
As they reached her door, she forced out weak words. "Thanks... I can walk now."
The others hesitated but relented, stepping back as she entered her quarters. The moment she reached her bed, she collapsed onto the mattress, letting her body sink into the soft fabric, chest heaving as she struggled to catch her breath. Even though she had just woken up, Rias felt exhausted. But she feared falling back asleep.
Akeno followed, shutting the door behind them.
"...Did something happen?" she asked carefully.
Rias turned her head, staring at the ceiling, her fingers gripping the sheets. How could she possibly explain this?
"...It's hard to describe." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I think... I saw something I shouldn't have. Another one of those moments where I saw Archer's past. As if I were there."
"Another Dream Cycle."
The words came not from her or Akeno, but from Archer, who had silently materialized against the wall, arms folded across his chest. His sudden appearance startled Rias - for just a moment, she saw not the white-haired Heroic Spirit, but a younger version of him: a redheaded boy whose eyes hadn't yet hardened by bloodshed nor jaded with incalculable regret.
"Can't do much about it," he continued, his voice matter-of-fact. "The longer I'm with you, the more you'll see. Without the time constraints of a proper Grail War..." He shrugged one shoulder. "No telling when it stops. I've existed for... well, let's just say there's a lot to potentially witness."
"Is it that bad?" Akeno asked, a curious light shining within her eyes. "She did not have such an intense reaction before."
He shrugged, "Can't say, my life was not exactly one filled with many joyous occasions. Makes it hard to pinpoint exactly what she saw though."
Both Servant and Queen looked back at Rias, hoping she would say something. When Rias did, it was because she had a question of her own.
"Hey, Archer... back when you said being a hero was a mistake... how long did it take you to come to that conclusion?"
"A long time," he said genuinely. At that moment, she knew even he was not sure anymore.
"Do you... regret saving all those people?" she was barely able to keep her anger in check at that moment. Recalling all those blurry faces he saved and how those very same people were capable of committing such atrocities against him, out of everyone. Blindly hating him and pinning all of their suffering on him for no reason just because they could not or did not understand why he'd even saved them in the first place.
"No, I don't."
Again, another immediate answer without hesitation.
"Don't you feel angry at them?" she asked again, her fists tightening to the point her nails almost dug into her skin. "After... after what they did to you..."
To her disbelief, he merely shrugged. "What's the point of anger? After all this time, those faces have faded. Holding grudges against ghosts I barely remember seems... pointless. Better to just move forward."
"Liar!" The words burst from her before she could stop them. "Nobody just forgets their own execution! Are you telling me you never once hated them? Never resented the people who murdered you? Even as they put that noose around your neck, spat at you, cursed you and blamed you for everything despite all you'd done for them, you actually forgave them!?"
She heard her Queen gasp in shock at that piece of information. Even if she had not seen what Rias saw in her dream, it still was no different from a bolt of lightning to Akeno. The redhead's sapphire eyes moistened, tears threatening to stream down her face until she felt him walk up to her and gently pat her head.
"So that's what you saw... I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. Even so, it's definitely not a sight I wanted you or anyone else to see."
He said it casually, trying to console her more than anything. Not even sounding sad or hurt at his own death.
"Like I said before, my story does not have a good ending like what you might expect from a hero. It is bitter, lonely, and even a joke to an extent. You don't have to think about it too much, Master, for that life was lived by a fool stubbornly clinging to a false ideal. There is not much to be gained from knowing that."
Unable to stop herself, Rias wrapped her arms around him and started crying. Not out of sadness from the horrors she saw, but for him.
"Why did you smile... why did you smile..." Holding him fiercely, she wept for all the atrocities he suffered and all the injustices he'd endured despite having always tried his best to save people and make the world a better place. Even when the people living in that world lacked even the decency to show gratitude for it.
She hated how he accepted it, hated how he thought so lightly of and even belittled and despised his past self as a fool. For she could not help but admire the person she saw before, his tenacity, his courage, and his desire to leave behind a world where people smiled. How could she hate him? And worst of all, how could she just ignore everything she saw like he told her? It was impossible.
Both Master and Servants stayed there, unmoving for what felt like hours. She continued to cry, shedding all the tears she could give while he stayed there, comforting her in silence. She wanted to let him know that he could be happy here, that he could save people and be a hero without having to ever worry about those who he saved backstabbing him or questioning his motives. For she would make sure such sins would never happen.
She wanted to make him understand that he did not need to look down on his past self. That even if he felt shackled, as long as he was with her he could experience as much freedom as he wanted.
Without realizing it, the girl slowly went back to sleep in his embrace. The announcement from the speakers of them reaching their destination in half an hour was ignored but everyone in the room. Archer said nothing else, slowly gently putting her back to bed and wiping her tears away. He covered her with a blanket before leaving the room with Akeno in tow. As they stepped out of the room, the raven-haired beauty turned her attention to him with her eyes also wet with tears.
"Y-You were... hanged? Is that how you died?"
The Servant sighed, knowing that this part of his life would be difficult to digest for anyone. The last thing he wanted was to scare Rias and Akeno with the details. But at the very least he could give them closure over something that happened so long ago that he no longer even thought about it.
"Not a pretty way to go," he admitted with an awkward smile. "I was framed to be the mastermind of a war that took many lives, even though I fought like hell to end it. They needed a scapegoat, and I was the best candidate. You don't have to hate them, for they are long gone, most of the people were not malicious with their hatred towards me. Many lost families and friends, they needed a target for their grief, someone to blame."
"Why are you so nonchalant about it?" Akeno asked again, feeling the same cocktail of emotions brewing within her that Rias had just experienced. "I can't forgive those people for what they did to you, how can you speak on behalf of them!?"
"No answer I give you will be satisfying," he admitted, holding Akeno and rubbing the back of her head just as he so recently had with Rias. "But I'm certainly lucky to have been summoned by such a caring Master, surrounded by people who can become angry in my stead. But I do not wish for you to be angry about my past, Akeno. It is not a burden I want you or anyone else to carry. What has happened cannot be changed, keeping grudges over something like that will only bring you more misery. My best advice for Rias and you after hearing my story is to learn from it, to not commit the same mistake as I did."
"..."
"Tragedy is a factor - oftentimes even a constant - in the lives of almost every Heroic Spirit. Rider herself is another example of this, despite her infamy, and the same applies to Saber. You don't have to look far, many in this very peerage have had similar experiences."
"Then... is being a hero really worth it in the end?" she ended up asking a question that made him freeze for a moment until he started chuckling. His reaction made Akeno confused, and she pulled her head back to look at him.
"Unlike a certain fool whose goal was to become a hero at any cost, most other Heroic Spirits never chose to become heroes. Their actions just happened to align with one, making them forever ingrained in humankind's history and thus making them part of the Throne of Heroes. Suffering isn't a thing that targets certain people, but a fact of life that we have to live with. Those who found the strength to overcome great suffering are seen as a symbol by those who could not, and that is why they are called heroes."
As he said that, Archer felt his hand being tightly held by the woman in his arms. Akeno leaned forward and pressed her head against his chest, staying like that for a good while.
"I don't know exactly what Rias saw in her Dream Cycle, nor can I imagine what manner of terrible, painful things she saw in your past. But whatever those might be, you are here now with us. I... no, we will make sure you won't have to endure such pain ever again. You are one of us and I will make sure nothing... no one will make you miserable." She whispered, swearing by those words. "Sometimes I can't help but be jealous of Rias for having such a connection to you. I also want to know your past. Both the bad and the good, no matter how painful it might be."
Archer felt the train start to slow down as they started to reach their main destination. He smiled at her words, happy to see that the story of his death did not cling too deeply to the young woman.
Archer knew that no matter what, this was temporary. Sooner or later, this will end.
But for now, he was grateful for their care and would do his best to make Rias feel better after helping her understand what she saw... And what she would see in the future.
"I question how a guy with luck such as mine could have ended up being summoned by you people. Being so emotionally attached to the spirit of someone who already died, many would consider you crazy."
Akeno laughed a bit, her voice slightly hoarse. "I think we are the lucky ones here. We could have gotten a raging Berserker out for blood like you keep saying."
He supposed she had a point, without a catalyst Rias really did luck out.
After that, both returned to the main room where the others were waiting for them with worried looks. He told them that everything was all right and that their King just had a nightmare, preferring to let his Master reveal matters concerning the Dream Cycle on her own accord. He asked Asia to visit Rias and make sure the girl was alright while the rest started to prepare themselves as the train reached its destination.
"The train won't be leaving anytime soon, so I'll wait by Rias' side till she wakes up. You can head outside to greet those who came to see us."
"Are you sure about this?" he asked, getting a nod from Akeno. "Alright then."
As he waited in front of the doors, he was surprised to find a familiar silver-haired woman waiting on the other side. She wore the same kind of clothes and had that same stoic, unchanging face as every other time she'd appeared before him.
"It is a pleasure to see you again, Lord Archer. I bid you welcome to the Underworld. So long as you are here, I will be responsible for your care. But before that, there is someone else present who urgently wishes to talk to you."
As she finished saying that, another man appeared from the shadows walking up to him.
Green hair slicked back in a style much like his own, a green and yellow tunic, and deeply haggard eyes that indicated he hadn't slept at all for the past few days.
Already Archer could feel something about him being completely different from any other Devils he'd ever encountered.
A very dangerous individual, this one.
"Good evening, you must be Archer - it's a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Ajuka Beelzebub, I am the one who kept the records of the summoning ritual and... ended up losing them in the end, because I trusted someone I should not have. I will accept any punishment or demands for compensation you or your Master may have, but before all of this, I must beg your aid in helping me save someone important to me."
Immediately to the point, not even wasting a single moment.
Archer had a feeling that things were even more complicated down here than what they were led to believe from Grayfia's letter.
.
.
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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Hound having 3 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.