Chapter 38

(Sorry, I wasn't able to post yesterday. I was sick)

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-Town of Fuyuki.

3rd POV*

Everyone was speechless with the sudden intrusion of the Rider Servant. His words spoke of superciliousness, daring to invite the other servants to become his subordinate. Iskandar saw that the crowd was not responding to his offer so he thought that they must have not heard him clearly. "I, the King of Conquerors Iskandar hereby announce that I deemed you three worthy of my ride! Pledge yourself and I shall let you under my rule!" he said.

"Y-Y-You idiot!! What the hell are you doing?!" His master Waver Velvet could not help but exclaim at the sudden announcement. He could not believe that this servant was this foolish, it surpassed his expectations of him. "You're noisy, what is the problem of recruiting them? They are valuable assets to my army" Iskandar picked his ear from how loud Waver was.

The three servants finally regained their bearings as they stared at Rider. "Why would you think a King will bow down to another one?" Saber asked narrowing her eyes at Rider. The mere audacity of this person daring to recruit her like that, she is the King of Knights! "That's right! You who is merely a king does not have the authority to invite an Emperor such as myself!" they started revealing their identities much to the shock of the masters.

Lancer merely stayed quiet throughout the scene but his grip on his spear was already tightening. "King? Emperor? Far more acceptable! Who would have thought that I will have two rulers under my control? HAHAHAHA!" Rider cackled loudly under the dumbfounded gaze of others. "I have trouble putting my thoughts on you, whether to praise your courage or mock your imprudence" Saber said what is on her mind.

The three servants just deadpanned at Rider speechless by his mindset. "Hn? You would not accept my proposition?" Rider asked genuinely confused. He thought that it is a huge loss for them not to accept his proposal. Though he could somehow understand their views because if he were to be recruited by someone else, he will absolutely abhor that person.

"Who do you think you are?! You can't even understand the greatness of Rome yet you dare to invite me?!" Nero was awfully offended by his gestures. She did not experience the hell life of being an emperor just to be treated like this! "Alright, I will adjourn for now. However when your mind is fully clear, I will return this offer to each of you!" Rider said seemingly appearing as a magnanimous person.

"Umu! I'm done with this! If you bunch are really worthy, try catching one of my attacks!" Nero said as the orbs around her body changed in color. She turned the orbs into Wex, Exort and Wex. The spell immediately entered Nero's mind as she grinned happily. This was one of the spell that she hasn't tried before, this is a great chance so she does not mind using it here.

Lawrence who was watching this instantly turned pale, "Shit" he muttered. But alas, it was too late as Nero already opened her hand revealing an energy ball. "No! Nero stop!" Lawrence hurriedly shouted ignoring the fact that he unconsciously revealed Nero's identity. "Eh?" Nero uttered a confused voice however the energy ball already left her hand.

ZOOOOOSH!!

BOOM!!!!

A large explosion occurred devouring every person in the vicinity. Nero was no exception but as the person who casted the spell, she was immune to it. Nero immediately left the place staring at the large crater she created. It would be hard to cover this one, the only logical reason they could use for this was that a meteorite has dropped on it.

The other servants were already called back by their masters via Command Seal. Although they were frustrated losing one of the precious command seal, it doesn't matter as the lives of their servants were more important. Rider also used his honed instinct to instantly leave the place when he saw Nero was about to do something, this fortunately saved his life from being erased in that explosion.

Even the white haired Lancer who was supposed to be immune to external fire was shook sensing that energy ball. Luckily, their master was quick to move as all of them trusted their instincts. That action of them saved the lives of their Servants from the Pure Damage type Energy Ball, meaning that nothing could shield against it.

"Nero… what have you done" Shiki said with pale face, she glared at Nero hatefully for she destroyed Shiki's chance to fight against a servant. "Oops…? Umu! As expected of me! That was a beautifully made art!" Nero changed the subject by praising herself but sadly it didn't really help because Shiki instantly appeared on her side before clenching her whole head.

"O-Ouch! Stop! I'm sorry! I didn't know it would cause that much destruction!" Nero realizing her inevitable end on Shiki's hands directly apologized. Lawrence sighed at the two bantering, he gazed at the huge crater having head ache on how to fix this one. He then remembered one thing as he looked at Anastashia who just raised her chest.

"Ohh! Thank god! You made a great save Ana!" Lawrence did not hold back and just hugged Anastashia directly. The reason? The previous crater was already being patched by something, the time was reversing itself returning the land to what it previous assumed. Anastashia already sensed that something bad will happen in this meeting so she placed a Bounded Field before even the three started fighting.

This Bounded Field was the same one Souren Araya used. Meaning that everything under this field will be in control of Anastashia. With just this Bounded Field, Anastashia could already compete with servants. This also speak of Araya's achievement of being able to create a Bounded Field that touched the boundary of True Magic.

"Master, it is beneficial for us if we leave this place already. Different kind of people are already approaching" Bea informed Lawrence of what she discovered. "Alright, that's our call. Let's leave already" Lawrence said shaking his head. Shiki was literally staring daggers at Nero right now for destroying her entertainment. And here she was hoping to surprise Iskandar by cutting a huge part of his body midair…

???

"…Impossible" that was the only thing that Tokiomi could comment witnessing the previous scene. Even Risei on his side has a grave look on his face. Tokiomi literally saw two things that all magus are trying to achieve. Magic. As a magus from one of the ancient family, he is knowledgeable about many things and among them are Noble Phantasms. He knows that Noble Phantasm might looked unreasonable but it is still within the understanding of humans.

It could be shielded or fended by other means, this is what separates Noble Phantasm from Magic. Noble Phantasms can be negated while Magic are absolute. This is a well-known knowledge among all magus. So for Tokiomi, watching a small yet real magic phenomenon being initiated was reality shattering. 

"Are you certain that it was a magic phenomenon Mr. Tohsaka?" Risei asked in dismay. He just realized that he was just being led by Lawrence in their previous meeting, the guy already know the rules yet he still acted innocent deceiving Risei. Now their perception of Lawrence has changed. They initially thought that he would be easy to handle considering they have the King of Heroes on their side, dangerous might the Sun Magus be, what can he do if he is bombarded with Noble Phantasms? Literally nothing.

That is why their shock is immense knowing that his servant was different from Jeanne D'Arc that he originally mentioned. Now they are becoming even more curious to who that servant as achieving magic is not a simple feat. That person must surely be a famous person in her past. "That is without a doubt Magic. His Majesty also corroborated it" Tokiomi said tapping his chair impatiently.

"Woman who can use magic… is it perhaps Morgan Le Fay?" Tokiomi thought of many famous person but none of them fit that servant's description. To begin with, is there a reason why that servant was using sword when she can literally cast magic? Seemed unreasonable for Tokiomi. "This war has become even more complicated" he muttered.

Add with the fact that the Lancer servant was stronger than both Saber was also mind boggling. Tokiomi feels like he need to change some plans if he wants to win this war. "Worry not. His Majesty will bring our victory, we just need to trust him" Tokiomi's words were faithful yet the contempt on his face could not be hidden.

???

In one of the skyscrapers, a black haired man can be seen smoking cigarette with his servant saber on his side. "Kiritsugu…" Saber muttered not knowing how to face this man. She already know why he is deliberately avoiding her, it is because he does not want to be reminded of how cruel the world is. Seeing the young appearance of Saber made Kiritsugu loathe all the people in the past, to think they handed over a huge responsibility to a mere child was sickening to Kiritsugu.

"Saber… did that feel like Noble Phantasm to you?" Kiritsugu asked Saber's opinion about the last attack Red Saber did. Saber trembled for a second when that thing was mentioned, although she has Avalon, that thing still scared her. She felt like if she were to be hit by that then not even the original Arturia at the Throne of Heroes will survive.

"That was not a Noble Phantasm. It is her own personal skill" Saber said after a second of thinking. She is well aware of how a Noble Phantasm work. Kiritsugu was not surprised by her answer as if he was already expecting it. "Change of plans" he muttered staring deeply at the sky. He feels like the course of war was constantly changing, he can't initiate his plans because of how absurd the events were.

???

In an alleyway, a person can be seen limping on the ground. He was having a hard time moving as the worms inside his body was hindering his focus. Nonetheless, he still continue moving forward because if he stop then the fate of his niece would really end like that. He fought in this war not for glory or power but because he wants to save someone.

This person is the master of Berserker which a challenge for him. Having an insane servant is not an easy task especially for him who is already a cripple, thankfully Berserker can be somehow still be reasoned even if it's just a little bit. When he witness the scene earlier, he was slapped by the cruel reality. That showcase of strength was not something his servant could handle, he began wondering whether there is really a chance for him to win this war.

Despite that small faith in winning, his dedication on saving his niece surpassed his despair. He know he can't stay idle less he wanted her to suffer even more. He slowly stood up only to be stunned when his servant suddenly guarded him for something. He slowly raised his head as he was greeted by a pair of blue eyes. "Matou, would you like to make a deal?" that person asked showing his hands towards the master of Berserker.

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