(Note: For obvious reasons, Dante's name will now be replaced by Caster, but I'm giving this heads-up so you don't suddenly lose track. In some aspects, the text referred to Dante, so you understand they're talking about him, not to mention there will be two Casters in this war.)
"Why do you think I would know the reason why your subordinates don't have command seals?" Caster argued, looking at her master without any emotion.
"Who said we're subordinates? It's just mutual cooperation," Nrvnqsr complained upon hearing that phrase from afar.
"That doesn't matter. You weren't in two Holy Grail Wars; shouldn't you know a few things?" Altrouge questioned her somewhat aggressively, as Caster was getting on her nerves with her way of responding.
"Your imagination is something that should be studied; I think it must be because of how old you are; it must be the years of experience," Caster replied, staring at her intently.
"Your imagination is something that should be studied; I think it must be because of how old you are; it must be the years of experience," Caster replied, looking at her intently.
"I think you want me to beat you up again, brat," Altrouge roared as Rizo stood beside her, trying to restrain her.
"I don't recall anything like this ever happening; you must be senile," Caster said, settling into the armchair where he sat.
Caster had absolutely no respect for Altrouge; he barely considered her his master. He didn't want to be there; in truth, he wanted to end this as quickly as possible. In fact, this was part of her plan to either kill him quickly or break their bond so he could disappear, being summoned for the third time, the final act of her bargain with the Throne of Heroes.
When Assassin opened the door to see her master and fellow servant, she saw Altrouge being held down by two true ancestors, as she intended to destroy Caster, who sat calmly smoking a pipe, watching her without a trace of fear.
The scene before her seemed unreal.
"Relax, my princess. Even if Dante doesn't know the reason, we can still discover it with his abilities," Rizo tried to convince his charge.
"Tell me, Caster, no, Dante, it's not a good idea to be revealing the servants' names; you're revealing potential weaknesses, you idiot," Caster said, opening her mouth and letting a ring of cigar smoke form.
Rizo's eye twitched when he heard Servnat speak, but he quickly regained control.
After their first encounter with Dante years ago, Rizo decided to investigate him in case they met again, whether by chance or if Altrouge wanted to confront him once more. He knew Dante's legend, the things he had likely done, and, above all, his abilities.
"Dante—I mean, Caster—now as a servant, following a legend, shouldn't you have abilities that reflect this truth?" Rizo asked suggestively, giving Caster pause.
On the throne of heroes, there were different versions, depending on the legend or era of a hero.
The Assassin version of Dante was when he worked for Hades, collecting souls that had escaped the underworld; the Saber version was his adventurer or Greek hero persona, if one could call him that. But the Caster version was when he ruled Anakosmo, controlling an entire territory, creating relics, and manipulating magic at will.
With this, he was attributed certain abilities or powers, whether from the Dark Fruit or the Alchemy Fruit.
"I don't think I know what you're trying to get at," Caster said to Rizo.
"I meant that, as a Caster, you should have a certain degree of clairvoyance, specifically those eyes that could see beyond, like the ones you used on Pandora's Box; with that, you could see what's happening, right?" Rizo explained.
Caster snapped his fingers.
"I see. First of all, Casters aren't required to have clairvoyance; that's more of an Archer class. But luckily for you, I do possess it, and now you want me to see what's happening with the Holy Grail right now, to see if there's anything amiss, isn't that right?" Dante questioned.
"Something like that," Rizo confessed.
"Hmm, I could do it." Hearing that, Altrouge relaxed a little. "But I don't want to." Hearing that, she became agitated again.
"Why not?" the vampire princess exclaimed.
"Why should I?" Caster asked.
"Because you're my Servant," Altrouge argued.
"I don't recognize you as my master yet," Caster countered.
Altrouge was furious, her face turning red with anger, but now that she knew this, she couldn't tear Caster to pieces, since she needed him to find out what was happening with the Holy Grail.
"Fine, what do you want in return for doing this?" Altrouge suggested.
"I want to leave. I'm not interested in this Holy Grail War. Return the throne of heroes," Caster stated.
"If everything goes well and there are no problems, then I will grant your request," the vampire stated.
"Now we're talking business," Caster declared, rising abruptly. She approached Rizo and used her clothes to extinguish the cigar. "I'll go and see what's going on with what you've done." With that, Caster vanished.
Rizo looked at his clothes, now scorched by the cigar, and felt an overwhelming urge to be the one to restore the heroes' throne right then and there.
...
Near the tombs where the Holy Grail was hidden, several mages could be seen lurking about.
In the middle of the forest, a red-eyed calico cat appeared. It continued on its way undisturbed, knowing exactly where to move to avoid the mages.
Its path was blocked by a barrier; the cat saw it and didn't proceed. It simply looked at a tree to the side and climbed it.
Once in a strategic position, it closed its eyes, and when it opened them, they changed to a metallic blue with irregular geometric patterns.
The cat peered through all the barriers as if they were air, and with its keen perception, it reached the location of the Holy Grail. There, it saw the artifact's anomaly.
By manipulating the system without fully understanding its theoretical or practical workings and attempting to increase its capacity to grant more than one wish simultaneously, the system summoned at least 14 Servants instead of just seven. This number could be increased, and given its inherent instability, this configuration could lead to the summoning of one or two additional Servants for no apparent reason, simply as a precaution.
Furthermore, they forced the system to be limited to seven Masters, ensuring that only they could be chosen. This resulted in a situation where, instead of 14 Servants with a single Master, there were seven Masters with only two Servants each. Not to mention the absence of the rule prohibiting the summoning of two Servants of the same class twice consecutively. This created the possibility of a Master summoning two different Servants; this was a very poorly programmed feature.
The only thing he knew for sure was that the Grail would summon a ruler, no matter what, in the face of the anomaly.
At that moment, he saw a man he'd only seen once before he left; it was Marisbury, with his iconic hairstyle and a smile that looked fake from miles away.
But what caught his attention wasn't that he was there, but that on the back of his hand, he also had three command seals.
"Altrouge won't like this, meow," said the cat, leaving the place.
...
Kaori was already walking, compass in hand. She had just come from talking with Lorelei about the slim possibility of her becoming a Master in the upcoming Holy Grail War so she could face the True Ancestors.
Once the Grail was in the Clock Tower's possession, they tried to cancel the war, but it wasn't something they could do without the Third Magic or something to neutralize it. The closest anyone could come was Zelrecht, who didn't seem to care about the situation.
This left them with only one option: to force the war. Like the True Ancestors, they tried to remove them from the war, but they couldn't. So they used an old configuration of the Holy Grail system—the use of factions—which allowed them to participate in the war. So far, they only had two Masters on their side.
The current Masters from the Clock Tower are Marisbury Animusphere and a member of the Church, curiously a true Ancestor and enemy of Altrogue, Marem Solomon.
It's odd that they're using a true Ancestor against another of his own kind, but he got himself in here by bypassing the Church, and they only let him, reluctantly forcing their cooperation, something Lorelei doesn't much like, but there's nothing she can do about it.
After speaking with the Church, Marem was left as the sole representative of the war, leaving them short two more Masters on their side, or if they already have four, one more.
"Meow," came the soft meow of a cat.
Kaori instinctively stopped. Not because of the cat, but because of the familiar feeling she always got when she was near that person.
Then a calico cat with red eyes appeared beside her, holding a letter and the necklace that Altoruge had stolen.
"It's not good to have things stolen, Kaori, especially things like this, meow," said the cat.
"Father, is that you?" she asked doubtfully.
"The one and only," said the now-recognized Caster, puffing out his feline chest, making him look incredibly adorable.
"I thought you'd left?" Kaori asked, grabbing the letter and the necklace.
"I had a deal with the Hero's Throne, and with the necklace, Altoruge managed to summon me," Caster explained, leaping onto Kaori's shoulder. "That letter is for your mother."
Kaori put on the necklace and tucked the letter away, then picked up her cat-like father and settled him against her chest. Caster instinctively settled in as if he were a real cat.
"I wonder if you only came to tell me that?" Kaori asked.
"No, meow, I have something to warn you about, meow."
...
"I see. I appreciate your honest response," Lorelei said, hanging up the phone with a sigh.
"I don't accept?" Lord El-Melloi II asked.
"Yes, Kaori said she had other things to do, that she should take care of some true ancestors who are just making a bit of noise," he explained, referring to what Kaori had told him in response to his offer to join her side in the Holy Grail War that begins in two months.
"I see," Waver said simply, lighting another cigar.
Lorelei stared at him for a moment, something the current top detective in the Clock Tower noticed.
"What's wrong?" Waver asked.
"Why don't you join this Holy Grail War?" Lord Bartholomei's question made Lord El-Melloi cough uncontrollably.
"Didn't they only let one lord into the war because of his unique catalyst?" Waver argued.
"Yes, but with your consent and skills, we could try to convince the others to let you join this war as a Master," Lorelei suggested.
"You underestimate me," he dismissed Lord Bartholomei's words. "I'm not as good as they say, and frankly, there are better candidates to be a Master in this Holy Grail War than I am."
"That's a shame," Lorelei sighed.
"If that's all, then I'll take my leave," Waver said, rising and leaving the room as Lorelei waved goodbye.
...
When Lord El-Melloi entered his office, he sat down at his desk and remained still.
He was alone, with no one to accompany him. The clock tower was in a state of emergency, so 40% of the students had gone home, including several of his own students at his own request.
Reinnes was searching for a suitable catalyst for use both in the war and in fighting against true ancestors, while Gray remained in the infirmary.
In his solitude, he took a box from one of his drawers, placed it on top, and began to contemplate it. It was the cloak of an ancient conqueror, a king who had sought to one day find the "Oceanus."
While Waver was lost in thought, someone forced their way into the room, creating chaos and shattering the atmosphere.
"Master, is it true that a Holy Grail War is taking place? If so, do you have any way for me to participate?" Falt asked, brimming with a fervor a thousand times greater than that of Lord El-Melloi II.
Waver, upon hearing this, could only sigh.
...
Altrouge clicked her tongue upon hearing Caster's report.
"Anything else to add?" the vampire princess asked.
"So far, he only has two masters on the clock tower side; I don't know their identities, but seeing as no one else here has been chosen as a master, I can guess it will end up being 3 against 4," Caster commented in her cat form.
That wasn't entirely true, but Caster didn't care who won this war. Currently, Caster was her state; she didn't give a damn about anything.
Altrouge was somewhat bewildered, irritated, and distressed.
This situation shouldn't be like this. It was her fault for leaving the Holy Grail, but the object couldn't be moved, and they couldn't just stand there like this. No matter how strong they were, if they let those mages prepare, they could do some very unpleasant things, so the best option was to get everything ready and leave.
"So, is the plan ruined?" asked Rita, lying face up on a table with nothing much to do.
"Not exactly; the idea remains the same, only now we'll have to fight," Altoruge declared, realizing something. If he wanted any chance of winning, he needed this individual who, however unpleasant he might be, had the power to stand up to him and, being human, in his servant form, should be much stronger. He couldn't let him die.
"With this command spell," Altoruge declared into the air, momentarily startling everyone. "Caster, I prevent you from committing suicide or letting yourself be killed until the Holy Grail War is over."
The cat glared at his master. Now he felt that every time he had suicidal thoughts, his mind immediately calmed down and returned to its original state.
"You damned bastard," Caster roared, rearing up, his fur bristling, his tail raised to its highest point.
At that very moment, a wave of Conqueror's Haki swept through the room, freezing everyone in place as if the world had stopped.
Caster leaped from the armchair, and the cat's shadow began to stretch out, revealing a beautiful woman with pale skin, blonde hair, yellow eyes, and pointed ears.
Instead of attacking, she simply sat down on the armchair.
The wave of Haki gradually faded, and the agitated cat calmed down, turned around, and settled into Kiss-shot's lap.
"I cannot die, but you cannot force me to fight; my wife will do it for me. Do not disturb me," Caster exclaimed, beginning to hibernate atop his beloved wife.
The place fell silent.
"Wait, what?" Altrouge asked.
"Didn't you hear my dear husband? He has no desire to participate personally in this Holy Grail War, so I will," Kiss-shot calmly explained to her daughter's deceitful best friend.
Altrouge was initially a little taken aback upon seeing Kiss-shot, as the only difference between Helena and Kiss-shot was their eyes, but now, with her voice, there were two things that set her apart.
Relaxing herself, knowing that she was indeed Helena's mother, she regained her composure, as it was the first time she had seen Kiss-shot in person.
The shock of Caster's Conqueror's Haki had already passed, and the true ancestors saw how she had been before but remained wary of the Servant who possessed this type of power.
Vlov grabbed his coat and opened the door to leave.
"Where are you going?" Rizo asked the true ancestor with ice powers.
"To find a good catalyst for innovation." With that said, she left the room.
The room fell silent again.
During the time she spent in the room, she continued with her own activities.
Chaos went to sleep until something interesting happened; Rita began creating, or attempting to create, a new work of art. Calhin continued playing on his computer; he had become obsessed with a game called WoW and hadn't stopped until now. Tatari was playing cards with Rizo while Altrouge hid, watching Kiss-shot, who was petting the selfish cat that refused to help or cooperate with the group.
The truth is, Caster had already anticipated this situation; in fact, she had foreseen it, but there was a reason why she had committed suicide, and that was because she had seen a particular Servant who had caught her attention. She had only glimpsed the future, and that was enough to keep her watching the spectacle. Just watching, not participating.
But since they were going to force him to act, Kiss-shot suggested the change, given that in the previous Holy Grail War they both participated in, she hadn't been able to do much for Karna and Ozymandias. She longed to fight and become strong, something Caster granted her. The Conqueror's Haki was just for show, nothing more.
...
*5 days before the Holy Grail War begins.*
Reines could be seen creating a summoning circle with mercury, accompanied by her faithful mercury maid.
"All ready," Reines said excitedly, looking at the command seals on the back of her hand.
After blackmail, deception, conversing with the lords, and ignoring the warnings of one in particular, she had managed to be chosen as the master for this Holy Grail War.
She was in the forest, the place where Camelot fell; she had come here hoping to summon one or two Knights of the Round Table. That was her plan after searching for a catalyst, none of which convinced her.
But after some thought, she remembered she was in England, and the best option was to summon a knight from Britain; it was a guaranteed victory.
With a smile on her face, she extended her hand, ready to begin the summoning.
"Hero of sword and oath, immortal soul etched in human history… May your legend walk the earth once more." The summoning circle began to change color. "I, who seeks the Grail, invoke your name beneath the skies of this age. May our pact be sealed by fate." The circle began to glow with many colors as lightning manifested around it. "Come, champion of ages past! Manifest as my Servant!"
The entire forest was enveloped in a brilliant splendor that blinded every living thing in the vicinity.
When Reines opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a Servant wielding a prototype-like lance and shields for jousting; this Servant had green eyes, short blond hair, and a smile that mirrored Flat's.
"Servant Lancer at your service; you were the one who summoned me, Master," said the one now known as Lancer, but Reines remained silent, feeling somewhat oppressed by the Servant standing behind the small knight.
"A knight so young, what a shame," came a voice from behind Lancer.
She looked back to see a knight very similar to how she was dressed, only he wore a helmet that covered his entire head, a large red cape, and instead of a lance, he carried a holy sword.
This knight walked forward, rolling past Lancer and into the distance, looking out over the wasteland where Camelot once stood.
"I imagine you are the one who summoned us, so you are our master," the servant stated more than asked.
"That's right, I am the one who summoned you both in this Holy Grail War," Reines confirmed.
"If that's the case, then, as a knight, I should introduce myself; my name is Agreth, one of King Arthur's knights, a member of the Round Table," Lancer, now known as Gareth, declared proudly.
"Despite his youth, he has the spirit of a knight in his blood; since you've already given your name, I believe it is my duty, as a knight, to do the same," said the unknown knight, removing his helmet while still turning his back.
Long blond hair, tied in a ponytail, was revealed. At that moment, he turned around. The first to react was Gareth, who gasped in surprise upon seeing the face of the unknown Servant, as it was almost identical to his king's.
"I was king of the once-renowned Camelot; I fought against the very same white dragon, and I defended this land with sweat, blood, and tears. In this war, I am a Saber-class Servant, but on this occasion, you may call me Uther Pendragon," said the now-famous former king of Camelot in his younger form.