On a dark country road, a single pickup truck rolled along, carrying two people: its driver and a teenaged blonde in the back of the trunk. She was dressed in a school uniform and had a suitcase next to her as she stared into the distance, contemplating her circumstances.
Jeanne d'Arc, Servant Class Ruler, was heading towards Trifas to mediate the Great Holy Grail War between the Yggdmillenias and the Mages' Association.
Her summoning circumstances were quite odd, though. Unable to manifest a physical form of her own, she had found a human host, Laeticia Delacroix, who was willing to let her possess her body. However, her skills were unchanged, so she didn't mind too much.
But… what is this uncertainty I feel? This Holy Grail War… is not normal.
Jeanne blinked as she felt a deep sense of danger settle on her. Reaching out with her senses, she felt a Servant a few hundred metres down the road. She quickly tapped the window in front of her. "Please go back. It's dangerous. I can walk the rest of the way."
The driver stopped the truck and stared at Jeanne. "Are you serious, young lady? I can't let a young girl like you go alone in this dark place. We're almost at Trifas, I'll drive the rest of the way."
"Please," Jeanne said firmly. "I'll be fine by myself."
"If you say so…" The driver was clearly hesitant, but he got out of the truck and helped Jeanne get her—Laeticia's—suitcase out of the back. "Please be careful, miss."
"I will. Please, go back. It'll be safer for you."
"You get to a safe place as well, miss." The male got back into his truck and sped off in the direction that they had just come from.
Taking a deep breath, Jeanne picked up the suitcase's handle and began walking down the road, tensing as the Servant's signature got closer and closer…
Karna and Haru landed near a light post on an empty country road. "It was here, right?" Haru asked as Karna set her on her feet.
"Yes," Karna replied. "Ruler is already heading in our direction."
"Well, do your thing then," Haru said. "I'll just hide over there until Siegfried and his Master shows up." She pointed at a random area far, far away from Karna.
"Be safe, Master."
"I will. Don't worry about me."
"Do not be afraid to use your Command Seals, then."
"Yeah, yeah." Haru pulled out a golden apple from her phone and quickly consumed it (in reality, the apples were quite, quite small), grinning as she felt the rush of mana. "Feel free to go all out." Giving her Servant one final smile, Haru used the switching spell on her battlesuit to switch the locations of herself and a small rock in the far distance. She had recently found out that the spell could switch other things besides Servants, and she used it to her full advantage. She ended up around 100 metres away from Karna.
Karna leaped onto the light post, waiting for Ruler to show up. Haru snapped a few photos of him, grinning at the almost uncaring expression on Karna's face. She briefly wondered if she could get Dr. Roman to dedicate a room in Chaldea for her photos of previous singularities and Servants in general. Since her phone only held FGO and a few other mandatory apps, she had plenty of space for photos.
Soon enough, Haru saw Jeanne walking in their direction, and shielded her eyes as Karna stood up, sending a blast of flame from his lance towards the blond Ruler. The resulting explosion blew up the road, and Haru saw Jeanne jump back, now in her armour.
While they exchanged words, Haru saw a limo approaching them. "There's Siegfried's Master… I suppose I should head over?" She quickly snapped some more photos of Karna and Jeanne before she quickly jogged over. Maybe she was lucky or didn't notice it earlier, but there was a rather large bush next to the road. Hiding behind the bush, she waited for the car to stop.
A man quickly got out and yelled for Saber. Siegfried materialized and his sword clashed with Karna's spear, allowing Jeanne to quickly move out of range.
Haru snickered as she watched Gordes try to get Jeanne to fight Karna with Siegfried. Pressing the film button on her phone, she aimed her camera at Karna.
"You want to make this a two-on-one fight? Not that I mind." Karna shifted back into his battle stance. "Come then… Ruler and Saber of Black."
Master, I will try to stay as far away from you as possible.
Go ahead.
Karna leapt backwards as Siegfried lunged at him, and their clash began. Jeanne stood off to the side, explaining her neutrality in the affair to Siegfried's agitated Master.
"Whoa, cool," Haru breathed as she continued to film them. While she had seen much more on the battlefield with her Servants back at Chaldea, she had also been busy issuing orders and making sure no one got incapacitated too quickly, hence missing out most of the battles. Some of the more protective Servants also insisted on keeping her farther away from battles to keep her safe, so she couldn't see much. This was the first time in a while that she had seen a battle between two Servants up close.
Haru heard a shuffling in front of her, and peeked out from behind the bush to see Siegfried's Master start yelling. "Come out, Lancer of Red's Master! I know you're out there! Come out and let us battle as befitting our status as proud magi!"
Haru sighed. "Feeling useless, aren't you." However, she did want some action of her own. Standing up, she called out. "I'm right behind you, so you can stop yelling."
The pudgy blond man started and turned around, meeting Haru's eyes. They widened in shock. " You're Lancer of Red's Master? You're just a girl!"
Ruler turned to observe their exchange, saying nothing as Haru replied.
"Would these prove that I'm a Master at least?" Haru asked as she held up her hand, displaying her Command Seals.
The man sputtered. "You are a dishonourable person then, girl! Sending your Servant to attack the mediator of this war!"
"You should have anticipated my actions if you came here with Siegfried, then, Gordes Musik Yggdmillenia." Grinning at Gordes' shocked face, Haru continued. "Disregarding my age, I believe you wanted an fight with another magus?"
"You—how much do you know about us?!"
"Let's just say I'm well-informed about the Black Faction." Actually, I know a lot about you guys. Vlad and Astolfo told me a lot. "Prepare yourself."
In truth, Haru would probably never match up to Gordes in terms of magical potential. She was a second-generation mage with very low potential, her only specialty being her high compatibility to Rayshift. However, after summoning multiple Servants and battling with them, she had sought out the friendlier ones and asked for their help to train her. The Casters mainly helped her with magecraft, while others gave her training in hand-to-hand combat and some instruction with a few weapons. No one really questioned her ambitions to grow stronger, and many of the Servants encouraged it, although they insisted on keeping her guarded in the battlefields.
Medea, her younger counterpart, and Lord El-Melloi II were the main ones to aid in her magecraft training. Since she had no elemental affinities or Sorcery Traits, they taught her advanced versions of spells she knew already. Emiya dropped in occasionally to help her hone her skills at projection and reinforcement (basic skills come in handy later, he said), and sometimes even Ishtar popped in a few of Haru's training sessions to give her a few tips and gems, all knowledge from Rin Tohsaka's memories. Whether Emiya had asked her to or whether the goddess had decided to be kind to her Master, Haru didn't know, but thanked her regardless.
Medea had also taught Haru a useful spell that modern humans could use to store things in alternate spaces. While Haru didn't really use it actively, it was nice to use as a secret weapon… but for what, she told no one. Ko-Gil knew since he had seen her use it, but the young king simply laughed and told her not to tell any of his older counterparts.
Amakusa was the one who taught Haru how to actually use Black Keys. Usually when a summoning spree went wrong, Haru would march over to Amakusa's room with a disgruntled look on her face and fling them all at his head. After the fifth incident, Amakusa finally told Haru that she should learn to use Black Keys instead of just tossing them at him, and proceeded to teach her how. She still gave the majority of them to him, though, and stored the rest in her alternate space.
Strangely, Kiritsugu always gave her apprehensive looks whenever he saw her tossing around Black Keys during their combat lessons, but he quickly changed the subject whenever she asked.
Drawing 6 Black Keys with glowing green auras, Haru reinforced her body and lunged at Gordes.
Gordes only had enough time to shout a one-count aria, reinforcing his arms so that Haru's blades shattered upon contact. Haru tched and jumped back. "Alchemist… transmuting your own body. I'll make up for my lack of magical potential with bigger guns, then!" She summoned 6 blue Black Keys, her eyes keeping careful watch on Gordes' actions.
Lord El-Melloi II's voice echoed through her head. Never take your eyes off your opponent. One look away and it can be fatal.
Gordes, however, didn't attack, staring at Haru in shock. "You can't be one of the Church's exorcists, so how are you wielding Black Keys?!"
"Now why would I tell you anything?" Haru asked honestly. "I make up for my low magical potential as a second-generation mage with weapons. You're a first-class mage, aren't you? We are enemy Masters in the war, our Servants are fighting, and Ruler is watching us right now. Didn't you want a fight?"
Gordes' expression filled with even more shock and hints of admiration. "Only a second-generation magus and you summoned a powerful Servant… I will fight you seriously, then."
"Come at me then!"
Darnic Prestone Yggdmillenia observed the fight between Gordes and the mysterious red-haired girl on a screen in the Millennium Castle, courtesy of one of Caster's golems who had been brought along with Gordes. She was very surprising.
"A second-generation magus who summoned one of the world's most powerful heroes… she does not wear the clothing of the church but she wields their weapons… interesting."
"She appears to know a lot about us," Lancer of Black, also known as Vlad III, said as he sipped on a goblet of fine red wine. "Darnic, what will you do with her? She may jeopardize your plans. Even from here, I can sense great potential in her."
"I will observe her for now, my liege," Darnic replied. "She has not shown her full skillset yet, and if she cannot hold her own against Gordes while providing mana for her Servant, then we have completely overestimated her and she would not be of any danger to us."
Lancer watched silently as the girl flung three red Black Keys at Gordes, two shattering against his reinforced arms but the third managing to pierce his hardened flesh. The blond shouted in pain, and countered with a spell that caused the ground to rise up and attempt to trap the girl, who reinforced her legs and backflipped out of the way, flinging 3 more Black Keys at her opponent. "How fares Saber?"
Darnic motioned with his hand, and the scene changed to the image of two Servants battling with their all. "Lancer of Red is matching Saber blow for blow. Unsurprising, considering Karna is a demigod and has a divine spear."
"It will be interesting to cross blades with him in the near future," Lancer stated, taking another sip of his wine. "Have them retreat when dawn comes. If Karna truly is descended from the sun, I do not think Saber will be able to defeat him then."
"Yes, my liege."
A few months before the current events…
Haru's frustrated scream could be heard throughout Chaldea.
In the summoning chamber, Tesla and Edison had stopped arguing for once, instead laughing together at the pile of conceptual weapons that had appeared in the middle of the summoning circle. Realizing what they had done mere seconds later, they resumed their catfight. With Helena nowhere to be seen, no one stopped them.
Haru was busy raging.
"10 SUMMONS AND ALL BLACK KEYS?! THIS IS INSANITY, I TELL YOU!" She turned to Tesla and Edison, eyes blazing. "TESLA! EDISON! STOP FIGHTING AND FIND A WAY TO CHANGE THE RATIOS OR WHATEVER! SHIROU AMAKUSA TOKISADA! GET OVER HERE THIS INSTANT!"
"Senpai…" Mashu called gently, but Haru was beyond comfort at this point.
"THIS IS EVEN WORSE THAN THE MOBILE GAME! AT LEAST SOMETHING THAT WASN'T A BLACK KEY WAS GUARANTEED WITH EVERY MULTI SUMMON!"
Unfortunately, Amakusa chose that time to pop his head into the summoning chamber. "Master Haru, did you call me—" He was rewarded with Haru picking up a Black Key and hurling it at his head. He tilted his head to the side and saw the pile of Black Keys on the ground. "My, my, a whole pile of them this time? Shall I take them off your hands?"
Haru had an angry glare on her face. "Did you steal Gilles' spellbook or something and curse the summoning circle? You're the only one who uses Black Keys!"
"I assure you, I did nothing of the sort," Amakusa raised his hands in a placating manner. "I still haven't gone through the 5 buckets of Black Keys you gave me, so why would I need more?"
Medea materialized at this moment, shaking her head. "Your luck appears to have fallen to E-rank, Haru."
"Don't remind me," Haru moaned. "I knew I was spending too much time around Cu and Siegfried, no offense to their E-rank luck."
Medea snapped her fingers and the Black Keys disappeared.
Haru stared at the elfin beauty. "How…?"
"A simple spell to store objects in alternate spaces," Medea explained. "I don't need an incantation, but you do, and I can teach it to you. With this spell, you can store your extra Black Keys and any other things you don't need, and…" Making a gesture, a portal opened up behind her and fired a Black Key at Amakusa, who dodged it again with a sigh. "Fire them as weapons. The least you can do is use them against enemies."
Haru had a strangely blank expression on her face. "You're right…" She said dreamily. "Just like how Gilgamesh fires his weapons…"
Amakusa suddenly sensed immediate danger at the serene expression on Haru's face. He hurriedly dematerialized.
A few days later, Haru was testing her limits in the training area. There were separate rooms sectioned off from the general area for private training, and she was busy perfecting her Black Key firing.
Muttering the aria, Haru thrust her hand forward and 12 portals opened behind her, firing Black Keys into the opposite, reinforced wall. They shattered, but the wall was strong and remained unmarked. She had observed a while ago that the green Black Keys flew the quickest, the blue ones were the most accurate, and the red ones were extremely powerful. Working with different combinations, she could destroy weaker enemies and get rid of the things she hated the most at the same time.
Before she could fire again, a child's disembodied voice was heard. "Heh, so that's what you're working on, Master?"
Haru stopped and smiled at the child Servant, who materialized in a burst of golden sparks. "Hello there, Gilgamesh."
Ko-Gil giggled slightly. "Copying me, aren't you? I don't care what my older counterparts say, I approve. Although your spell will never compare to the Gate of Babylon, it is sufficient for you. I suppose this is a secret from the majority of Chaldea, then?"
Haru nodded. A thought then struck her mind. "I shouldn't tell your older counterparts about this, should I?"
Ko-Gil scratched his head, and then shook it. "Don't. They're annoyed enough with the faker copying our treasures. Caster might be more amused, but Archer will probably be very angered."
"Then I'll have to give it a name, then, to differentiate," Haru mused. "I know… how about Black Key Hell?"
Ko-Gil grinned. "Good idea, Master."
Haru let another barrage fly into the wall. "If I ever reach the Throne of Heroes, this is definitely going to be one of my Noble Phantasms. Sad."
"Black Key Hell… an almost-infinite stream of Black Keys. You're getting more interesting by the day, Master."
"I'll take that as a compliment, thank you."
The fight was going on longer than Haru would have liked.
She could feel herself tiring: Karna and Siegfried were still battling, and it took her all just to avoid the spells Gordes had thrown at her. She was running out of mana, and Gordes' unrelenting spells ensured that she wouldn't have time to consume another apple or switch mystic codes. I have to end this soon… no way am I dying!
She mentally scolded herself as she dodged out of the way of another blast. You're up against a skilled magus who's probably had his fair share of mage fights. He can probably anticipate your attacks. Meanwhile, you have zero experience fighting mages. Haru, you're an idiot.
Her one moment of distraction was a mistake. Gordes shouted an aria, and spears of earth shot up from the ground, circling around her before closing in. Haru reinforced her body and smashed her way through a few with red Black Keys and rolled out of the way of a few others, but some pierced through her battlesuit and lodged there.
To her credit, Haru didn't cry out, only wincing and ripping out the spears. It was a bad idea, as the wounds began bleeding badly. Cursing for not remembering any healing spells on hand, she jumped back, stumbling a bit as her leg had a nasty wound in it. "Not bad for a first-rate magus."
"I could say the same to you, girl," Gordes huffed. "And you say you're an amateur." He was bleeding from multiple cuts and scratches from Haru's Black Keys, obviously tiring as well. However, he had managed to heal most of his major injuries and looked like he could still go on for a few more rounds.
Haru looked out of the corner of her eye and smiled as she saw the faint glow of the sun light up the horizon. Just a little bit more… She reinforced her body once again, calling out to Karna. How are you doing?
You should worry over yourself first, Master Haru.
Indeed, Karna and Siegfried had been tirelessly exchanging blows, razing most of the land but making sure to stay away from their Masters.
"No use… guess I'll use my ace for this." Haru winced as her muscles protested when she raised her arm, her lips forming the familiar aria she had learned months ago. "Black Key Hell—activate!"
Gordes braced himself, but his jaw fell slack as multiple portals (around 20 in number, the most Haru could summon) opened up behind the Chaldean Master, who at that point did look pretty terrifying: all bloodied up and injured but with a dangerous fire burning in her eyes. "A-alternate spaces?!" He stammered out. Each portal had a blade poking out of it—Black Keys, to be precise.
Haru thrust her hand forward, and a rain of Black Keys shot from the portals. Gordes barely had time to throw up a shield before the blessed weapons slammed into the area around him. While the onslaught was going on, Haru swiftly took out her phone and tossed two golden apples in her mouth, as well as switching into her standard Chaldea uniform, casting an Emergency Heal on herself. The worst of her cuts closed, and she sighed in relief, ending the spell as she sensed that her Black Key supply was dwindling.
(Surprisingly, she didn't have as many Black Keys as she thought she had. Maybe, just maybe, she'd have to ask for some of Amakusa's later.)
(In reality, she still had a few hundred left. She just didn't want to admit it.)
On the ground, a weak shield flickered out, and Gordes lay on the ground, unconscious. He had protected most of his body from the bombardment, but Black Keys were lodged into his arms and legs.
"Haa…" Haru let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, and fell to her knees, utterly exhausted. Jeanne ran over to her, a concerned look on her face.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Ruler," Haru said with a pained smile. "I'll retreat for now."
Karna and Siegfried had stopped their battle once they saw their Masters fall and had rushed to their sides. Siegfried watched on with a concerned look as the 2 homunculi carried Gordes into the car that he had come in, and turned to see Karna, who was helping Haru stand up.
Haru waved to Siegfried. "Sorry about taking your Master out. I'm guessing you and Karna want a rematch later when we're not interfering?"
"Master, you should really prioritize your own well-being over our desires first," Karna said reproachfully as he lifted Haru into his arms. Turning to Siegfried, he spoke. "We will meet again, Saber of Black."
"I look forward to it, Lancer of Red," Siegfried replied, dematerializing. The car containing Gordes drove off.
"Anyways, Ruler, no, Jeanne d'Arc," Haru said seriously. "We were under orders to attack you tonight. Stay on your guard." Karna, Mordred and her Master are hiding out in the largest Trifas graveyard. Take me to them.
Understood.
With Haru in his arms, Karna disappeared into the distance, leaving Jeanne alone to think about the words Haru had told her.
Master Haru, are you sure you are alright? Karna asked as he landed in an empty part of the graveyard. Your injuries look quite severe.
I'm fine, Haru said, wincing as pain flared up in her right arm. Luckily Raikou or Boudica aren't here or else they'd be fussing over me like there's no tomorrow. Nightingale would probably freak out. Well, for my first fight with a highly experienced mage, it didn't go too badly. He should be out of the fight for a while.
Are you really sure you can confront Mordred and her Master in this state?
Hm, no. But they should at least listen to us since we're on the same side. I'll just heal myself later. The boundary to Kairi Shishigo 's bounded field is just up ahead. Go and trip it; I know it's just a warning signal.
Karna sincerely wished his Master would stop running head-first into potentially dangerous situations.
His wish would not be granted.
"It's so boring here," Mordred whined as she watched Kairi work on a new bone tool.
"We'll go out tonight if that makes you happy," Kairi said gruffly. He hadn't expected Mordred, the Knight of Treachery, to act so childish when she was bored.
A wave of mana rolled over the place, and Kairi tensed. "Someone's tripped the bounded field."
Mordred sat up, her face now serious. "Who is it?"
Kairi activated his circuits and looked through the eyes of one of his familiars outside. "A Servant… and his injured Master. This is strange. Saber, go check it out. Do not engage them in battle."
"Fine," Mordred sighed as she stood up, summoning Clarent into her hand. "This better be interesting," she muttered.
"Saber is coming," Karna said.
"Good, just who I wanted to see," Haru said. She shifted and accidentally banged her injured shoulder on Karna's armour. "Ow ow ow!"
"You two are either suicidal or have a plan up your sleeves if you deliberately tripped the bounded field," a familiar voice spoke. Mordred materialized, a bored look on her face. "Who're you two?"
"Lancer of Red and his Master. You're Saber of Red, right? I just want to talk to your Master. I'm not with Priest Kotomine, I swear."
Mordred tilted her head, communicating with her Master. After a few minutes, she lowered her sword. "We're only letting you in since you said you're not with that priest. Follow me."
Exchanging glances with Karna, Haru motioned for Karna to follow the Saber deeper into the graveyard.
"Master, we're back," Mordred called as she entered the small antechamber she and Kairi stayed in.
Kairi looked up and saw a white-haired Servant carrying an injured red-haired girl in his arms. "Lancer of Red and his Master. How did you even know we were here?"
"I know a lot of things, Shishigo-san," Haru said. "I came here just to talk."
Kairi appraised Haru with a sharp glance. "Where did you get all these injuries?"
"Ran into Saber of Black and his Master. I incapacitated the latter, but I got some nasty injuries. Do you know any healing spells? I don't. I can give you some information in exchange for your help."
"Hm… fine. Lancer, can you set her down on that mat over there?"
Karna complied, and Kairi moved over to Haru's side and examined her cuts. "These look like spear wounds."
"I got stabbed by a few of them—ow!" Haru yelped as Kairi gingerly poked at her lower leg, which had a barely-closed stab wound.
"You say you don't know any healing spells, but some of them have healed. Only a bit, though." Kairi muttered an aria, and Haru's flesh slowly started knitting itself back together.
"My uniform is a mystic code that can cast 3 spells. One of them is an emergency heal usually meant for a Servant, but they can be cast on the user if needed. But usually I'd need some more healing done before I'm completely fine."
"Interesting…" was the only thing Kairi said before he moved on to a deeper cut on Haru's arm, having completely healed the injuries on Haru's lower body.
"So? What information can you give us?" Mordred asked.
"Saber of Black's identity is Siegfried, for starters. I also know the identities of all the other Servants in this war. It's kind of a long story, but I know you two are trustworthy enough."
"You can start with it, then. I'm done over here. You might need a bit of rest to make sure you're completely fine, but I've stopped all the bleeding and repaired your blood vessels." Kairi moved away from Haru and resumed his position near the fire.
Haru slowly lifted an arm, surprise as she realized there was no more pain. "Wow, you're good. Thanks. I'll tell you my story, then. Karna, make sure Mordred doesn't attack me, okay?"
Kairi's mouth dropped at the casual reveal. Meanwhile, Mordred leveled a scathing glare at Haru, a dangerous aura rising off her. "How do you know my True Name?!"
Karna moved in between Mordred and Haru, spear ready, but Haru waved him down. "The same way I know the other Servants' True Names and the way this war is going to turn out… because I'm from the future."
"So you're essentially saying in the future, humanity is going to be wiped out and you've been tasked with fixing incidents in the past that never happened to reset the timeline?" Kairi asked in disbelief.
"Basically, yeah. The entire scheme's by the Grand Caster Solomon. With seven Holy Grails, he gave them to a Servant or a human of the past and let them wreak havoc with their wish. The results of that wish usually mess up the past we know of and as a result, also incinerates our future. I travel to the past with a bunch of Servants, find the reason why the past is messed up, and destroy it, recovering the Holy Grail and taking it back to Chaldea. We've defeated seven singularities so far, and the final one is supposed to be our last battle with Solomon—if we can find him, of course."
"That doesn't explain how you know my identity, though," Mordred said.
"I'm getting there," Haru said. "With each singularity, I met various Servants and obtained suitable catalysts to summon them in Chaldea. Chaldea's system allows me to summon multiple Servants, and sustain them without my own mana. I don't understand how it works, but there's around 100 Servants in Chaldea right now. You included, Mordred."
"100?!" Kairi gaped.
"Mhm. I know all of them by name and appearance, considering I summoned them myself. Mordred's a case where I met her in a singularity, though. You helped me out greatly in 1800s London, so thanks for that." Haru grinned at Mordred.
"You're… welcome?" Mordred sounded confused, but Haru laughed.
"Sorry, sorry, I forgot that you're not the Mordred that I know. Karna's the same case. I summoned him after the American singularity, where I encountered him and bunch of others."
Karna simply nodded.
"So, who have you summoned so far?" Kairi asked, interested.
"There's a lot… we'll be stuck here all day if I tell you. However, I will tell you that there are cases of Servants with the same identity, although under different classes or even at different ages. An example's Gilgamesh. His main class is his adult Archer form, but there's also Caster Gilgamesh and a child Archer version. Cu Chulainn's another example. He has two Lancer forms, one Caster, and one Berserker."
"That's… insane. How do you even tell them apart?"
"They look different, of course. They also act really different. If I have to talk to them, I usually call out to them telepathically."
"Hey, Haru… is my father in Chaldea?" Mordred asked.
Haru tilted her head. "Which one?"
Mordred gaped. "What do you mean, 'which one'?!"
"Uh… your father is Arthur Pendragon, who has 3 Saber identities, 2 Lancer identities, 1 Assassin identity, and 1 Berserker identity. There's also a Saber identity that said he came from a completely different world."
It was Mordred's turn to fall slack-jawed, although Kairi copied her actions.
"Actually, to clarify, besides the one Saber-class, they're all different versions of the father you know, Arturia Pendragon. And then there's the male King Arthur who came from a completely different timeline."
"Wait, wait, wait," Kairi interrupted. "Arthur Pendragon was a female?"
"Technically a pseudo-male thanks to Merlin's magic, but she is female. The male Arthur Pendragon I'm talking about isn't Mordred's father. Arturia Pendragon, on the other hand, is Mordred's real father."
"You know what, I'm getting confused by all this," Kairi groaned. "Can you just tell me about this war since Saber's all shell-shocked over there?"
"Sure. Priest Kotomine's real identity is the Ruler-class Servant, Shirou Amakusa Tokisada. He wants the Grail for his wish to save humanity. Which, by the way, is a bad idea, so I'm stopping him."
"Wha—how?!"
"The Einzberns screwed the rules and summoned him in the Third Holy Grail War. He survived and decided to carry out his plans in this war. He's pretty nice in Chaldea, but right now, he's still a jerk. I'm currently letting him think I'll stay on his side, but when the time's right, I'm either going to defect to the Black Faction or become a third party."
"…"
"Wanna join me? You guys can have the Grail once we take down everyone. I don't want it."
"This… is a lot to take in…" Kairi finally said. "I can tell that you're telling the truth, though. I'll have to think about this."
"Sure," Haru said. "Mordred told me back in Chaldea that you were a really great person and Master overall, so I know you'll make the right decision."
"Wait, she remembers me? Even though you summoned a different version?"
"The Servants I've summoned have memories of previous Grail Wars. Karna was the original Lancer of Red in this war so he knows what happens, and I summoned him here straight from Chaldea so he's the one I originally summoned and bonded with. Makes things easier, you know?"
"I see…"
"Anyways, I have another favour to ask for you. Can you create a Servant summoning circle?
"… you're going to summon another Servant?"
"Master, please reconsider. We've already had this conversation," Karna said firmly, speaking up for the first time in a while. "You will not be able to provide enough mana for two Servants since we are no longer tied to Chaldea."
"And I said I'd be fine. This is also for Mordred's benefit as well, you know."
"Huh?" Mordred had finally snapped out of her shock. "Are you summoning Father?"
"Yes and no," Haru said with a mysterious smile. "Can you do it?" She asked Kairi.
"Sure. Give me some time, though."
"Master, you do not even have a catalyst," Karna reminded Haru as they stood in front of the summoning circle. "With you summoning directly from Chaldea, you might end up with more Black Keys."
"Please don't remind me about my Black Key summoning hell," Haru groaned. "These should work as a catalyst, right?" She pulled two Craft Essences out of her phone. "One conceptualized piece of Excalibur and a nice photo of Arthur with Paracelsus and Ozymandias. Luckily I have multiples of both so losing those won't do any harm. Excalibur's concept will guarantee Arthur's arrival."
"So you're really going to summon King Arthur," Kairi commented.
"Mhm. He's on really good terms with Mordred back in Chaldea, plus I kinda want to Excaliblast some enemies here while I'm at it."
"A male Father…" Mordred muttered. She still appeared to be quite shocked.
Haru placed the two cards into the middle of the circle and pulled out 3 Saint Quartz from her phone. "That reminds me, I should do a few summons later." Activating her circuits, she sent a burst of mana into the circle, and it glowed, rainbow orbs spinning around and finally converging into a blast of bright light.
When the light died down, a handsome blond male clad in armour stood in the circle, a confused look on his face. Looking around, his eyes settled on Haru and Karna. The former grinned at him, and his confusion melted into relief. "Master Haru! Karna!"
"Hi there, Arthur! Glad to see you're fine."
"Where are we…" Arthur trailed off as he saw Mordred gaping at him, and a grin spread across his face. "Mordred! So this is the war you were in… you're cute as always."
Mordred's face turned redder than a tomato as she spluttered incoherently, and Haru could have sworn she saw steam come out of the embarrassed Saber's ears.
"Well, that's a first…" Kairi muttered.
A few minutes earlier in Chaldea
"I hope Master returns safely," Arthur commented. He was talking with his female Saber counterpart, Arturia Pendragon. "I don't know how much longer we can restrain the more troublesome Servants."
"I'm ashamed to say my altered counterparts may cause some trouble," Arturia said with a frown. "I saw Saber and Lancer conversing with Berserker earlier—they might be planning something."
"It's hard when there's so many different versions of you," Arthur said sympathetically. "I know I'm one of them, but I believe I'm the easiest to tell apart."
Arturia laughed slightly. "We are both versions of the concept of 'Arthur Pendragon', but our genders make it easier to differentiate. I suppose that;s why we agreed on the earlier proposal, brother."
"I could say the same, sister ."
The two shared a laugh before Arturia developed a pensive look on her face. "Have you seen Mordred around, by the way? I don't want the Alters harassing her while Master is gone."
"Look at you, finally concerned for your cute daughter. I think she's with Jekyll, though. The last time I saw them I believe they were playing with the children."
"You make a better parent to her even though you've declared yourself as her uncle. It's all thanks to you and Master that we finally settled our differences though."
"Now if only she'd get along with Lancelot and the others, it would be perfect," Arthur said.
The two were walking down one of the corridors in Chaldea. Up ahead, they could hear voices, and stretching out their senses, they could tell that it was Gilgamesh's Caster form conversing with Enkidu.
"…"
Noticing the slight frown on Arturia's face, Arthur spoke up. "You don't wish to encounter Gilgamesh and Enkidu?"
"Caster is easier to deal with as he is not obsessed with me, but he is still the same person…" Arturia trailed off.
"Well, you could always—" Arthur cut himself off as a summoning circle suddenly formed under him, and he felt his body forcibly dematerialize.
"Arthur?!" Arturia cried out in shock.
Gilgamesh and Enkidu heard Arturia's shout and came running, only to stare in disbelief as Arthur's body disappeared along with the summoning circle.
"… I believe he disappeared the same way as Karna," Enkidu observed calmly, but there was a hidden shock to his tone.
"So Haru has summoned him to her side?" Gilgamesh asked. "She must be having trouble if she's calling for more of us." Not many Servants knew about the true situation with Haru, but Caster Gilgamesh was among the few who knew she was in another timeline.
"… I believe I will go explain the situation to Dr. Roman and Da Vinci then," Arturia sighed.
Darnic Prestone Yggdmillenia's lips were pressed in a thin line as he reviewed the recorded scenes of Gordes' battle with the mysterious orange-haired mage. She had considerable physical prowess. Her magical ability appeared to be nothing important until she had cast a spell that opened alternate spaces revealing more Black Keys. Gordes had been badly injured after that spell and had only just recovered thanks to extensive healing magecraft.
"She makes for a formidable opponent at her age," he mused out loud.
"What do you think we should do about her, Uncle Darnic?" Fiore Forvedge Yggdmillenia asked. Along with the other Yggdmillenia Masters (minus Gordes and Roche), they and their Servants were also with him.
"Saber, have the homunculi bring Gordes in for his side of the story," Darnic ordered.
Siegfried acknowledged Darnic's order with a silent nod, exiting the room.
"Fiore, have you received any information on her from your acquaintances at the Clock Tower?"
Fiore nodded. "She is apparently replacing Feend vor Sembren and was personally recommended by Wizard Marshall Zelretch himself. He claimed her as one of his apprentices."
Darnic gritted his teeth. That damned vampire just had to interfere in his war. "We should upgrade her threat level. She's undoubtedly more dangerous than she has shown herself."
"What about the massive pulse of mana that was felt in Trifas only a few hours ago?" Vlad inquired. "A Servant or something else with the same level of mana was summoned."
At the mention of that incident, all the Masters and Servants tensed. It was unheard of to summon another Servant when all 15 had already been registered. Something with the potential power of a Servant that was summoned after the Holy Grail War had already begun was very bad news.
"A rogue Servant and a rogue Master… the Grail would not allow it," Darnic said. "The Greater Grail would have prevented something like this from happening."
"If that girl truly is Zelretch's apprentice, there is a chance she summoned another Servant," Caules Forvedge Yggdmillenia ventured.
"Idiot!" Celenike Icecolle Yggdmillenia snapped, causing Caules to flinch. "No human would have enough mana to sustain two Servants even if they used a method like we do! It's also impossible for a contracted Master to summon another Servant!"
"Celenike, Caules may be correct. We hardly know anything about the girl, so her humanity should be questioned. However, your statement on contracted Masters and Servants is true."
"Pardon the intrusion, Lord Darnic, but Master Gordes is here," a female homunculus stated as she entered the room. Behind her followed a bandaged-up Gordes and an ever-silent Siegfried.
"Gordes. I want your report on the girl."
Gordes remained silent for a few minutes before speaking. "She is skilled," he said finally. "Even as her enemy, I am forced to respect her prowess in battle. She admitted that she was inexperienced as a mage, but her raw talent and weapons make up for that. Her seemingly limitless number of Black Keys and her skill at wielding them would have made her out to be an Executor, but no Executor would use Black Keys in such an unorthodox way. Not to mention her casting of spatial manipulation… it is impossible without a ten-count aria if you don't possess the Sorcery Trait Imaginary Numbers. Even with it, you'd at least need a few seconds of casting. She did it instantaneously—and multiple spaces while she was at it. We cannot take her lightly. Her Servant is also beyond dangerous in terms of skill and legend. I suggest targeting her first before any other Red Servants. I know I left her injured and low on mana—she shouldn't be too hard to pick off now."
"We will have to see about that."
Just then, Roche opened the door and poked his head in. "We've got a report from one of the golem familiars," he called.
Darnic nodded at the young Master. "What is it?"
"A red-haired girl matching the descriptions Uncle Gordes gave has been seen on the streets of Trifas with some guy who's probably her Servant. We've actually been tracking her since earlier this morning since we knew she was a mage, and she first stopped at one of the graveyards. I would have told you, but someone set up a Bounded Field there and the golem couldn't get in. She just reappeared."
"A graveyard with a bounded field…?"
"One of the Masters of the Red Faction is Kairi Shishigo, a mercenary and necromancer," Fiore reminded Darnic.
"So she knew he'd be there… without a doubt, she's probably recovered and is back at full health."
Gordes grimaced. If only he had time to cast one more spell. He probably would have been able to take down the girl along with her Servant.
"Master Gordes, you should not blame yourself too much for this failure," Chiron spoke up for the first time. "None of us had any idea about the girl's skills."
"Chiron is correct," Darnic said coolly. "You have seen her skills first-hand, Gordes. I expect you to defeat her next time."
"Yes, Lord Darnic," Gordes muttered. Chiron's words were meant to be reassuring, but Darnic had turned them into a hidden threat.
Failure is not an option.
"As for now… Roche, continue to observe the girl. Tell Caster to also modify some of the homunculi to improve their battle prowess. We have to neutralize this girl before the later stages of the war lest she threaten us all. The rest of you, I want you on standby."
"Standby for what, though? There's some action already going on," Roche said with a curious look. "Teacher didn't tell you that Berserker of Red is currently rampaging through the forest towards the castle?"
"… what?"
"I'd give anything to see Mordred's expression again," Haru crowed with delight as she walked down the streets of Trifas with Karna. "The way she reacted to Arthur was so funny!"
Karna nodded silently, but the beginnings of an amused smile was tugging at the corner of his lip.
"F-Father?!" Mordred stuttered.
Arthur gave her a cheerful grin and stepped closer before she could react. He ruffled her hair and then hugged her, seemingly ignoring her embarrassed protests. "Glad to see you're doing alright, Mordred."
Mordred only stuttered further, seemingly unable to form a single word.
Arthur let go of her and turned to Haru. "I'm guessing she's not the one who's constantly bugging me and calling me Uncle Arthur?"
"Sadly, no. You can still bond with her, though."
"Pity… well, Mordred is Mordred. Anyways," Arthur turned back to Mordred. "Have you been eating well? Did you tie your hair up properly? And for the love of God, why are you wearing these revealing outfits?"
Mordred only turned redder. "S-shut up, Father! I choose what I want to wear!"
"There's full-on tsundere Mordred mode and full-on fussy mother-hen Arthur mode," Haru stage-whispered to Kairi.
"…"
It appeared that Kairi was shocked into silence.
Arthur continued to fuss over Mordred, who could only stutter out responses that didn't sound threatening (even though she probably intended for them to be) and blush harder.
Haru coughed loudly, causing Arthur to pull away from Mordred. "Mordred, I understand you're probably overwhelmed, but you should talk with Arthur and understand his point of view. Arthur, for the time being, I want you to stay with Kairi and Mordred. Summoning, you definitely alerted everyone else to another Servant in this war, and I'd like to keep you out of the picture for now."
"I see, understood," Arthur said, his voice now calm. "And what will you do, Master Haru? Chaldea is in a panic over your disappearance."
Haru laughed sheepishly. "I should have anticipated that… I'm going to keep the Greater Grail from destroying this world and go home with 1000 Saint Quartz."
"Master…" Arthur sighed and shook his head in resignation. Haru's obsession with Saint Quartz was not to be underestimated.
"Anyways, do you have a Craft Essence on you? "
Arthur shook his head.
"Hm…" Haru pulled out her phone, scrolling through her list. "What should I give you… Black Grail? Nah. Limited/Zero Over? Nah. Oh, there's my Kaleidoscope!" Taking it out of her phone, she handed it over to Arthur. "One time use to blast Excalibur without taking any mana from me."
Arthur hesitantly took the card when he saw the image. "That man… he spoke to us through this card and then destroyed it later."
"Zelretch spoke to you guys through this card and destroyed it? I'm not going to question his methods, but did he really have to destroy a Kaleidoscope?" Haru sighed. "It's okay, just take it."
Arthur nodded his thanks as he pocketed the card. "As I am not tied to Chaldea anymore, I should go into spiritual form to minimize the draining of your mana, Master."
"Oh, it's fine." Haru popped another golden apple into her mouth. "Go have a nice talk with Mordred. Try snapping her out of her shock while you're at it; we'll need both of you to fight. Karna, let's go explore Trifas."
"As you command, Master."
"… Was it really alright to leave Arthur with Mordred? She is not the Mordred we know in Chaldea," Karna asked.
"It's alright; Arthur knows how to deal with Mordred. Better him than Arturia anyways. It was so tense back when Arthur hadn't been summoned yet… and then he came along and bonded with Mordred so well that it forced Arturia to finally settle matters with her kid. Thankfully I didn't have to use a command seal back then to keep them from killing each other. Unlike some other incidents…"
A dark aura rose off Haru as she remembered the time she had summoned Hector when Euryale and Asterios were in the summoning chamber with her. The latter two had still held a grudge over what happened in Okeanos, and Haru had to spend two command seals to keep them from maiming the new Servant. After her two seals were restored, she forced them to talk out their differences under the threat of yet another command seal, and now they were on civil terms. Other incidents included Atalanta, Jeanne and Jack getting into a major scuffle over the events in the Great Holy Grail War, and Haru had to put off a summoning spree for three days (since she had to use all her command seals) to get the Servants to calm down. Thankfully, using all her command seals didn't sever her contracts with her other Servants.
Karna placed a hand on Haru's shoulder. "Master, do not dwell on the incidents of the past. You do not have time for that."
Haru shook herself. "Good point. Now, I'm pretty sure the Black Faction's tracking me. I've revealed myself to them too early and they've already seen all of my abilities. I suppose it's my fault, though. They probably have a huge target painted on my back."
"I caught a glimpse of your spell… What did Medea teach you?"
"Ehh, you saw Black Key Hell? I meant to keep that as a secret. Well, I trust you to keep it from Gilgamesh. I'm technically copying the Gate of Babylon but I'm only shooting Black Keys, not Noble Phantasms."
"And that is your ace? Master, revealing it so early in this war was a terrible decision."
"I would have lost to Siegfried's Master if I didn't do anything else, though. It's okay, I'll just have to stay out of the battles for a bit… Hey, Kairi's calling." Haru pulled out her chirping phone and hit Answer. "Hello? Shishigo-san?"
"Kairi's fine," the gruff voice said. "We've received some information from the priest. Berserker's currently rampaging towards the Yggdmillenia Castle."
"Eh… what a pain. Spartacus is so hard to deal with. Um… this has happened before. You guys don't have to do anything; he's not going to reach them until nighttime."
"So what should we be doing?"
"Just stay where you are. Karna and I are going to come back and we'll figure out a plan."
"Are you really planning on bringing him back?"
"No. I just want to settle one other incident that's going to happen tonight."
"Well, be careful on your way back."
"Okay."
Kairi greeted Haru and Karna at the entrance to the mausoleum. "Saber and I were thinking about your proposal and Arthur's words about you further grounded our decision. We… will join you. For now, at least."
Haru grinned. "That's good news, thanks for that. Although you're also doing this to get away from Shirou, aren't you?"
"More or less."
"Thought so."
"Are you going to attempt to bring Berserker back here?"
"No, he'll get captured by the Black Faction and be turned into a suicide bomb of some sorts. It's alright; it won't affect us much. How're Mordred and Arthur doing?"
"Well, they talked out their differences. I suppose your Arthur's had some experience with Saber, since he's currently fussing over her again, but she's enjoying the attention… I think."
Haru smiled fondly. "Arthur always did know how to deal with Mordred despite him being from a completely different plane of existence and alternate version of the Arthurian legend."
"… say what?"
"I thought I mentioned it before. Don't worry about it. Shall we go in? I have some plans I need to run by all of you."
Upon entering the small alcove, Haru was greeted with the sight of Arthur braiding Mordred's hair. The Knight of Treachery for the most part appeared to be enjoying the treatment, save for a few grumbles if Arthur accidentally pulled her hair.
Haru quickly snapped a photo. "Looks like you two are doing well." Mordred started protesting when she saw Haru's phone flash, but calmed down when Arthur patted her shoulder.
"How was your trip into Trifas, Master Haru?" He asked, tying Mordred's hair in place. The red knight now had quite a nice braid on the left side of her face, accompanying the rest of her now free-flowing golden locks.
"We didn't do much. I did notice a bunch of golem familiars following us, though. Looks like the Black Faction's on to me. Don't worry, they didn't follow us back."
"You said you were going to make a plan for tonight," Kairi said as he sat down, making himself comfortable. "What is it?"
"Oh, I already thought of one on the way back. We're going to save Siegfried from dying."
"… care to repeat that?" Kairi said slowly. Arthur, on the other hand, simply sighed. Karna remained silent, but there was the faintest hint of exasperation in his eyes.
"Master, I thought we all requested you to not act completely suicidal."
"Hey, this is technically for all our benefits. Well, not the homunculus's, but
honestly, I think the outcome of this war went completely downhill when he got involved."
"What happened in this war?" Mordred asked.
"Long story short, a homunculus—his name is Sieg—escapes but accidentally gets killed, Siegfried gives his heart to save him, and then Sieg gains Command Seals to turn himself into Siegfried for a while. Stuff happens, Jeanne kinda falls in love with him, and he somehow ends up killing Amakusa in the end and taking the Greater Grail to the Reverse Side of the World."
Mordred and Kairi simply stared at Haru. Karna and Arthur exchanged unreadable looks.
Haru raised her hands in surrender. "I'm missing a lot of details, I get that. But it's all true. Point is, keeping Siegfried alive is a better option to change the outcomes of this war. Honestly, the way Jeanne and Astolfo described the later stages of the war, it seemed like everything revolved around Sieg. I'm still confused as to how he survived his battle with Amakusa, because he always avoids the subject when I bring it up."
"So you're saying we should keep an enemy Servant alive longer since it'd be more beneficial in the long term?" Kairi asked. "This sounds more insane than it is, but I'll trust your judgement on that. But how are you going to get that to happen? We're in the Black Faction's territory and actively moving around is a bad idea."
"Arthur, would you be able to delay Astolfo and the homunculus long enough for the Black Faction to intervene and then retreat? I'll give you another Craft Essence and call you back with a Command Seal if things get rough."
"Understood."
"Father, why would you agree so quickly?" Mordred asked.
"No one in this war save for all of you know about my existence and appearance. If Master Haru sent Karna, it would be more suspicious as he is a known Red Servant. I currently appear to be a rogue Servant and unaffiliated with any faction, so my role in this would be to strike doubt into the hearts of the Black and Red Factions alike. Am I correct, Master?"
"Perceptive as always," Haru said with a grin. "Alright, pass your Kaleidoscope over; I'll switch it with Volumen Hydragyrum. Just in case Vlad tries to impale you."
"Speaking of Craft Essences," Kairi said as Haru and Arthur made a switch. "How do they work?"
"Each one has a different effect, so I need to be careful when equipping them on separate Servants. Some give extra mana so they don't use up a lot of their own when casting Noble Phantasms, some allow you to increase your damage, and some even make healing spells more effective. For Mordred, I'd probably give you something like…" Haru trailed off as she looked through her list. "Imaginary Numbers is a good one. You'd get a significant boost of mana once it's activated, and then you can blast your Noble Phantasm after a skirmish or two." She gave the card to Mordred. "It'll activate once you actually enter a battle."
"This looks cool, thanks!"
"Alright, so now all we have to do is wait until tonight."
"What will you do until then, Master Haru?"
"Isn't that obvious?" Arthur flinched back at the burning flames that had replaced Haru's eyes. "Roll the gacha."
"Master Haru…?" Arthur asked hesitantly when he saw Haru's burning eyes.
She didn't respond as her fingers tapped the phone screen, taking her to the summoning section. A maniacal smile curved her lips as a dark, dark aura rose off her. Her eyes were now wide and round, with no sign of white sclerae.
Arthur, sensing a great danger, turned his pleading eyes to Karna. "Karna, what should we do?!"
"Let her roll," Karna replied. "Master Haru has been suppressing her desires to roll the gacha for the past few days despite having 500 quartz. Letting them out now is better than waiting until later."
"Is she going to be alright though?" Kairi asked cautiously. "Her aura feels more dangerous than a Dead Apostle Ancestor's."
"And… roll!" Haru slammed her finger down on the "10x roll" button and the screen loaded.
Inhaling, Arthur watched the virtual orbs spin. Haru excitedly tapped the screen, squealing as she saw a golden Berserker card appear. "My third SR has come to me… wait… what?!" The card froze, flickering between gold and silver before settling on silver, the Servant revealing itself to be… Kiyohime. Tapping the screen a few more times revealed the rest of Haru's roll: 3 Black Key Craft Essences, two of a shirtless Kotomine Kirei, 3 copies of Kiyohime, and 2 mapo tofu Craft Essences.
"…" Haru stared at the screen.
"…" Arthur mentally debated whether or not to dematerialize.
"…" The faintest hint of uncertainty flickered in Karna's eyes.
"DAMN MY LUCK!" Haru's scream reverberated throughout the mausoleum. Kairi had to clap his hands over his ears to muffle the sound, while Arthur and Karna exchanged resigned looks. Mordred simply looked confused.
"Master Haru…" Arthur started. "It's only one roll. You should try again."
"No! I've had similar rolls like this before! Once it starts, I don't even get a 5* Craft Essence! I've had it with this stupid game!" Haru tossed her phone in some random direction and started rolling around on the floor.
(By some miracle, Karna caught the phone and carefully placed it down next to Haru.)
"Hey, if you're going to make such a big fuss over one roll then let me try," Mordred said. "You're going to get nowhere at this rate."
"I've been nowhere for the past few months," Haru said morosely as she handed the phone to the blond knight.
"So I just press this 10x button, right?" Mordred tapped the button and the screen loaded.
Rainbow orbs spun around the summoning circle, and a golden Saber card appeared.
Haru snatched the phone from Mordred. "Did you just roll me a gold Saber?!"
Mordred blinked. "Is that supposed to be good?"
Haru squealed as the card revealed itself. "You rolled Altera! This is the best day of my life! Thanks Mordred!"
"Isn't that great, Mordred?" Arthur said happily before Mordred could reply. "Look at my cute daughter already rolling some of the best Servants for my Master!"
Mordred's cheeks coloured. "S-shut up, Father! I'm not cute, I'm a knight!"
Karna simply watched the two banter, faint amusement lighting up his eyes. "I wonder how you managed to settle the differences between you and Arturia with Mordred, Arthur."
Arthur simply grinned. "A doting father has to keep his secrets."
Haru's squeal drowned out any other noise. "MORDRED ROLLED ME ALTERA, HERSELF, AND ATALANTA IN ONE ROLL! YOU'RE THE BEST!"
"So… two SSRs and one SR. That is quite rare. Good job, Mordred," Karna said.
"Wait, I'm in this game as well?!" Mordred said, scooting over to see Haru's screen.
Haru turned up the volume so she could hear her new Servants introduce themselves.
"My name is Altera, descendant of the Huns and the God of War's warrior." Haru squealed. "My first ever SSR Saber!"
Then came Mordred's. "Saber, Mordred. Is Father here?"
Arthur burst into laughter as Mordred's face burned red. "I wouldn't say that in a regular summoning!"
"So cute!"
Finally, Atalanta. "Are you my Master? Nice to meet you."
"Alright, so priorities are leveling Mordred and Atalanta. I'll have to level Altera later but this is my version of a thank-you to Mordred, I guess!" Haru took out some Saber EXP crystals and gave them to Mordred. "Here's my thank-you gift! They taste really good."
Mordred bit into one, crunching loudly. Her eyes lit up. "These taste so much better than Gawain's cooking!"
"Arthur, Karna, you too." Haru handed Saber and Lancer EXP crystals to the respective Servants, both nodding their thanks to their Master.
"So, are you going to continue rolling?" Kairi asked.
Haru shook her head. "Not me. Considering Mordred managed to roll me two SSRs while I haven't rolled a single SR in months means I'm the one cursed with Black Keys, not my account."
"So then…"
Haru's eyes burned again. "Mordred, keep on rolling!"
"E-eh?!"
In the end, Haru spent a total of 480 quartz. Arthur, Mordred and Kairi alternated rolling to see who got the most rare Servants. Karna declined the offer, deciding to keep an eye on Haru's reactions.
Needless to say, Haru was ready to explode.
Whether from excitement, incredulity, or shock, no one knew.
Arthur: Managed to roll copies most of the better 5* Craft Essences and two versions of his counterpart Arturia: Saber Alter and Lancer. He also somehow managed to roll Jeanne.
Mordred: Rolled Arturia in her original Saber form and Lancer Alter. She also rolled Astolfo, Frankenstein, and Vlad. Also got a lot of SR Craft Essences.
(Haru was ready to hug Mordred after she rolled Vlad but Karna restrained her just in time.)
Kairi: Mostly 3* Craft Essences that weren't Black Keys or Mapo, a few copies of his Craft Essence ("Now that's creepy," he remarked), Siegfried, and Fionn.
It was quite easy to deduce who surprisingly had the best luck in the entire group.