Ch 154: Disastrous night.

Artoria opened her mouth, and started slowly sucking on the shape she became very familiar with, looking up at Akeno who sighed in pleasure.

She was kneeling in front of a bondage chair. Akeno was sitting on it, although she wasn't the one restrained to it. Artoria had her wrists captured by the leather straps on the armrests, pinning her in his kneeling posture in front of the stout wooden chair. A chair that Akeno's dominating presence almost turned into a throne.

Akeno was visibly liking what Artoria was doing with her tongue, as she used her smartphone again, and Artoria felt the suit vibrate on her crotch. Unlike the first time, however, she welcomed the stimulation.

She still wasn't all that happy about the prospect of becoming a sex slave, but… She had been forced to admit, after several days of being putty in Akeno's hands, that a part of her actually enjoyed it. Enjoyed the humiliation, and the feeling of helplessness when she was bound.

Maybe, part of her rationalized, this was because of guilt. She had made some very bad decisions in her past life, decisions that led to tragic consequences. To her beloved companions fighting each other. Killing each other.

But when she was bound, when she could do nothing but obediently follow Akeno's instructions, she could let go of her guilt, revel in the fact that she wasn't the one making the decisions, and just sit back and enjoy the things Akeno did to her. The scandalous, lewd, but oh so pleasurable things she did to her.

Another part of her realized that something was wrong. That she was falling into the role Akeno intended for her too quickly. But whenever she thought about the possibility of seeing her old companions again, of undoing some of the consequences her bad decisions had led to, she ruthlessly smothered this little voice.

Akeno groaned and put her hands in Artoria's golden hair, both rubbing and encouraging her to go deeper, when they were interrupted by a voice coming from upstairs.

"Akeno? Are you here?"

"In the basement!" shouted Akeno, causing Artoria to panic slightly. She didn't want anyone else to see her in this compromising position!

Akeno had just untied her wrists when the door of the basement swung open, and the Master that Artoria remembered was named Chisato burst in.

"Oh. Kinky!" whistled Chisato with an appreciative glance as she took in the appearance of a blushing Artoria, still dressed in her blue latex bodysuit, black leather collar, and nothing else, and Akeno in a black bodysuit, who was busy removing her strap-on.

"Hi, Chisato. It's been a few days, from my perspective at least. What time is it outside?"

"It's five in the morning. Wow, this room sure is any dominant's dream." said Chisato as she paced around the room, taking in all the toys and restraints.

"Yes. And you'll have your turn in the not-too-distant future. Is there an emergency?"

"Yes, I wouldn't have interrupted you otherwise."

"Do we still have time for a shower? From your behavior, it doesn't seem time-critical." asked Akeno, as she started getting out of her bodysuit.

"Sure. No one's in imminent danger. Assassin, not Aife, the other one, came to find us. She has bad news about Sakura and want us to help her before something really bad happens. Sakura was sleepwalking last night, and came close to killing civilians. Angra Mainyu is starting to act out. Gilgamesh tried to kill her, but got himself devoured instead."

"Gilgamesh is dead? That's one less spine in our flank. And a good thing we got Medea. The timing is so convenient I think a god meddled in our favor."

"That may be the case. If it is, I am grateful to them." smiled Chisato.

"Medea?" asked Artoria, reluctant to attract Chisato's attention on herself while she was in this attire.

"Medea is the Caster-Class Servant who was summoned yesterday by an evil Magus, and who joined our side after we dealt with said Magus and saved the kids." said Chisato. "Her Noble Phantasm is a dagger than can sever bonds and magic contracts. It will be key to solve that issue without injuring Sakura."

"Yes." said Akeno, getting out of her suit. She used her smartphone to unlock Artoria's suit and helped her get out of it after removing the collar.

And she smiled as Artoria unconsciously brought a hand to her throat with a slight expression of longing, as if she missed the feeling of the collar already.

"Well, I'm getting out." said Chisato. "Don't take too long in the shower, we need to act fast before Sakura hides somewhere else."

"Yes, we'll be quick." promised Akeno, and Chisato left.

"Isn't Angra Mainyu sealed within the Grail? How could his evil start affecting the world?" asked Artoria as they headed to one of the bathrooms.

"This is due to a scheme of another evil Magus we killed. One who was willing to do anything, no matter how vile, to achieve immortality. He wanted to somehow make Sakura the Master of Angra Mainyu, and then possess her body. I put an end to it, but it seems that he at least succeeded in creating a bond between Sakura and Angra Mainyu. A bond we will sever."

"I see… Can I help?" asked Artoria.

Akeno started the shower, and looked at Artoria, considering.

"…You training isn't anywhere near complete yet, but… I think you have gotten far enough for me to unseal your powers." Reaching for Artoria's nape, Akeno removed the Stop rune, and Artoria felt her strength return.

"Do not make me regret it." warned Akeno, and Artoria nodded.

"I won't. I am ready to let go of my pride, if it means getting my companions back." said Artoria. Then she reluctantly added, blushing, and her ahoge twitched several times. "And… it's not as bad as I imagined, being your slave. Maybe I am a pervert, too."

Akeno grinned at the sight of the ahoge swaying around. The strand of hair seemed to have its own laws of physics, defying gravity and common sense, and Akeno had quickly learned to take it as an indicator of Artoria's mood. She gave Artoria a quick kiss.

"Still, while I appreciate your offer to help, I do not want you to go anywhere close to Sakura. Britomart and I have an immunity to curses, and the ability to purge them on others. You do not, yet."

"I understand." sighed Artoria.

The two of them quickly showered and dressed, Akeno in her school uniform, and Artoria in her black bodyguard suit. Then they came out of the Sanctuary.

Everyone ha gathered into the living room, which was starting to feel crowded.

"You're here." quickly said Rin. "Please tell me you have a way to stop Sakura without harming her."

"I think so, yes." replied Akeno before turning to Assassin.

"Thank you for coming to us for help. Please bring… me, Medea and Britomart to her."

"I'm coming, too. Don't try to stop me." declared Rin. Scathach nodded, conveying her intent to come as well.

"…Okay." nodded Akeno.

"Yes, thank you." said Assassin, standing. "If you truly can help Sakura, I will repay you in any way you require."

"We'll discuss this later, after Sakura is safe."

Rin was already urging them through the door. As they started running, Akeno asked the purple-haired Servant.

"Assassin, do you know why Sakura decided to leave Rin's house? She was safe here. At least, I don't see any reason for her to leave.

Assassin didn't reply for a moment, then asked a question of her own.

"If you save Sakura, what will you do with her after this?"

"She and I will have a good chat, so I can better understand her. And if she has any issue I can solve, I will. Part of my agreement with Rin was that I would protect Sakura, and I intend to keep my word."

Assassin nodded.

"Sakura doesn't tell me everything, and I had very little contact with her while she was living with you. We barely dared to talk through the bond. But the reason she left, was because of the Rulers."

"What?" exclaimed Akeno. "Could it be she resented them for accepting Rin's invitation? If that's the case, we can work out something..."

"No." sighed Assassin. "She feared that, as agents of the Counter-Force, they might find out something about her… I am not certain, but I think that Sakura… wanted to release Angra Mainyu."

"What?" shouted Rin, echoing Akeno. "Why would she want such a thing? Does she think she can control it? Its utter madness!"

"Your sister may be a little mad." shrugged Assassin. "After everything she endured at the hands of Shinji and her grandfather… I think she craves power. Enough power to never be victimized anymore. I am devoted to her and would die to protect her, but… I probably am not enough for her to truly feel safe."

"…I'm going to kill Shinji." promised Rin, with a tone of utter seriousness.

"It would be well deserved." replied Assassin. "We are still about two kilometers from the cabin we found. Please be very careful when you get close. She can attack you using your own shadow."

"Can you describe to us how the fight with Gilgamesh unfolded?" asked Akeno.

Assassin nodded and related the fight she had witnessed. By the time she was done, she said they had almost reached they destination. She stopped, and pointed to a small cabin in the woods, 150 meters from them.

"Sakura is in there. I can feel her presence through our bond."

"Thank you." nodded Akeno.

"Assassin, Medea, Rin, Scathach, please stay behind for now, and be wary of surprise attacks from your shadows. We do not know Sakura's range. Britomart and I are going to incapacitate Sakura. Once we succeed, Medea, please come in and use your Noble Phantasm to sever the connection between Sakura and Angra Mainyu."

"understood, Master." nodded Medea.

Akeno took from her inventory a pair of black swords with their blades imbued with Stop Runes and gave one to Britomart.

They slowly walked toward the cabin, keeping a vigilant watch of each other's shadow.

When they covered about half of the distance, the door of the cabin slowly opened, and Sakura slowly came out. One glance was enough to understand that she was still sleepwalking.

She turned her vacant gaze toward Britomart and Akeno and slowly extended her left hand toward them.

"…Yummy." muttered Sakura as she absentmindedly licked her lips.

Akeno saw her own shadow darken an immediately plunged her black sword into the ground to stab it. The dark pool that was forming froze its movement for half a second before shattering into motes of darkness, quickly dissipating in the air.

"Okay, the swords are effective." nodded Akeno to Britomart.

The Shadow that dwelled inside Sakura apparently didn't like being thwarted, because a dozen pools of Darkness quickly grew around them, and many wide black ribbons erupted from them to ensnare Akeno and Britomart, focusing on the arms holding the swords, in an obvious attempt to stop them from swinging at the ribbons.

Or at least, that was the Shadow's intent. Some of the ribbons managed to grab Britomart, but as soon as she used Purge, the ribbons holding her were torn apart.

As for Akeno, the ribbons didn't even touch her. They instantly disintegrated as they came within 30 cm of her, as if she was covered by an invisible barrier or aura that shred them apart.

Akeno was frowning when the System sent her a message.

[Akeno, this is the result of the Gods' divine blessing you seven Masters received. Angra Mainyu's darkness will be erased the instant it gets close. If you bring Sakura within your aura, Angry Mainyu will be temporarily suppressed.]

"I see." nodded Akeno. She used Shunpo to appear right next to Sakura and hugged her. As the System had told her, the pools of darkness instantly resorbed, and no more attacks came. Sakura closed her eyes and went limp in her arms.

Akeno looked at Medea and nodded, and Caster flew toward them in a hurry. A red magic circle appeared near her, and Medea thrust her right hand inside. She retracted from it a strangely-shaped dagger with a crooked blue blade.

Without hesitation, she plunged the tip of the blade inside Sakura's chest, and another red magic array formed around the blade for an instant, before shattering.

"It is done, Master." nodded Medea as she took a step back. The blade of the dagger didn't leave a hole on Sakura's chest, as it was a conceptual weapon more than a physical one.

"Thank you, Caster." smiled Akeno.

[System, can you confirm? It seemed a little too easy.] asked Akeno to be sure as she examined Sakura.

[The bond between Sakura and Angra Mainyu and Sakura is completely severed. However, due to Sakura's inborn high affinity for spatial magecraft and the long period of time she spent linked to Angra Mainyu, Sakura can still manifest some of Angra Mainyu's abilities, and her personality has been affected.]

[That sounds pretty bad. Does she risk losing control again, or being possessed?]

[Negative. Is it her power now, and it lacks the corruptive influence Angra Mainyu's power possessed. To put it in simple terms, Sakura can manifest to a limited extent the dark ribbons as telekinetic vectors, create a dimensional barrier to swallow attacks, and store inorganic items inside a personal dimension, similar to the system's Inventory. Or she will, once she learns how to use that power.]

[So, she got an upgrade overall. This is nice. As long as she hasn't gone insane.]

Rin and Assassin had already reached Akeno and Sakura.

"She'll be fine." reassured Akeno, using Healing Magic on Sakura. "But she's exhausted and her mana is partially drained, so she'll be sleeping for a few hours."

"I'm so glad to hear it." sighed Rin. "Let's bring her home."

"Thank you very much, Akeno." said Assassin with a bow of her head. "Please tell me if there is anything I can do to repay this debt."

"I am thinking of having Sakura join my faction, Assassin. Which, by extension, would make you part of it as well, unless you object. What do you and Rin think about it?"

"By 'my faction', you mean Noah's harem?" suspiciously asked Rin.

"Yes. And you would join, too." grinned Akeno.

"What? I agreed to cooperate with you, but this is not part of our deal!"

"Do you not find Noah handsome?" asked Akeno, displaying a shocked expression as they started heading back to the city.

Rin's face reddened a little as she remembered Noah's face, and she looked away. "Being handsome isn't nearly enough."

"I agree." nodded Akeno. "So, what other qualities should a young man possess to catch your interest?"

"…Well, he should be strong, smart, honest, preferably be well established, and he should pamper me."

"Noah checks most of those boxes. Strong? Good luck finding someone stronger. Smart? Not the brightest, but reasonably intelligent. Honest? Well, he very rarely lies. He doesn't need to, since he's already shown us his worst flaws with the harem thing. Established? How about a whole island big enough for ten thousand to live comfortably and a castle? Lastly, the pampering part. He wouldn't have the time to always treat you like a princess, but he would still take good care of you and make you feel loved. And if you join, you gain power and immortality, and you can visit several worlds. Are you really prepared to pass up on all that?"

"…I don't want to be part of a harem." frowned Rin.

"I didn't, at first. But you get used to it. Having many sisters to relate to is a great thing."

"Still No. And I won't allow Sakura to join either."

"Master, we have company. Likely hostile." warned Britomart. She had dematerialized after the clash with Sakura and decided to scout ahead.

The banter between Akeno and Rin was immediately put aside as they prepared for a confrontation. Some distance in front of them, several people appeared. The people from the Church they had seen earlier in Atrum Galliasta's building, led by Caren Hortensia. She was holding some kind of compass, and it was pointing straight at them. Kirei Kotomine was absent, but there was also another young woman with short blue hair among their ranks.

Upon seeing them, Caren put the compass away and the walked closer They stopped about twenty meters from Rin, Akeno and the others.

"We meet again, you poor lost lambs. It must be the Lord's guidance." said Caren with a sad smile.

"Poor lost lambs?" asked Akeno as she raised an eyebrow.

"Indeed. The use of the Lord's gifts and miracles was meant to be used by those who properly honor and worship the Lord. All Magus are, by definition, pitiful and misguided souls, usurping the Lord's gifts for their own personal gains. But you can feel relieved. We cannot use more than words to remonstrate you, due to the agreement with the Association. We are here for that great sinner."

Caren pointed a dainty finger toward Sakura.

"Please remit her to our custody and be on your way."

"Why are you targeting Sakura?" asked Akeno before Rin could explode.

"She has killed an important collaborator of the Church, using heretical and evil magecraft."

"An important collaborator of the Church? That man with short blonde eyes and red eyes?" asked Akeno as she narrowed her eyes.

"I see that you are aware of her crime."

"Is that a joke?" snorted Akeno. "That man was Gilgamesh, a Servant. An arrogant prick who wouldn't bow his head even if facing God. At best, he was using your Church for his own amusement, making Kirei and you all dance like puppets on strings. You should thank her for getting rid of him."

"And anyway, he was the one who initiated violence against Sakura, so what she did is legitimate defense."

"Are you saying that you intend to obstruct us in our mission to arrest her?" smiled Caren. Her six robed companions behind her were slowly spreading on the sides, obviously preparing for combat.

"Are you aware that we are Masters, and that there are Servants around, you zealot bimbo?" countered Rin.

"My companions and I are Inquisitors. We are prepared to deal with two or three Servants."

Akeno realized something as she stared at Caren's eyes. She was a battle freak and a sadist. At this point, a battle was inevitable.

"Rin, would you mind taking care of your sister for a moment?"

Rin understood instantly and nodded as Akeno entrusted Sakura to her.

"Sure. They are asking for it."

Akeno took her smartphone and started an audio recording before she put it in her pocket.

"Caren Hortensia. I am giving you one last chance to back down. Stop obstructing our way and leave in peace. We seek no conflict with the Church, but we are prepared to defend ourselves."

"Do you think a mere recording will stop us from doing the Lord's work?" mocked Caren, looking at Akeno with pity. "I only have to retrieve your smartphone and erase the recording. You guys are too dangerous. Too many Servants gather by your side. This can't be tolerated."

"So, this is the real reason." nodded Akeno, taking her swordstaff from her inventory.

"Start the Sacrament." ordered Caren, and three of the robed Inquisitors began chanting in Latin, holding relics that shone with a golden aura.

The fight, if it could even be called that, lasted all of twenty seconds, and that was only thanks to the blue-haired girl. Whatever this Sacrament was seemed to affect Assassin and Caster badly, forcibly dematerializing them. Scathach, being a Divine Spirit and not just your average Servant, remained corporeal, but held her head with one hand, as if in intense pain. She still threw her spear at one of the chanting priests, killing him on the spot.

She alone would have been enough to deal with all the enemies, but Britomart was completely unaffected and had used Shunpo to appear near Caren, punching her guts. Caren folded but didn't quite go down, and the expression on her face…

The blue-haired girl put a good fight for herself, but was completely outclassed and was knocked down by Britomart.

To the Servant's surprise, the blue-haired girl barely grunted and attacked with thin daggers, holding three on each hand between her clenched fingers like they were the claws of a famous comic superhero, launching a few at Akeno while engaging Britomart in close combat. After a few more exchanges, all in Britomart's favor, she realized that the blue-haired girl regenerated almost instantly from her wounds.

"How could you resist the Sacrament?" gasped the blue-haired girl.

"Do I look stupid enough to reveal it to an opponent? Just go down already!" retorted Britomart, slamming the flat of her huge sword on her head.

The sound of a skull cracking was heard, and the woman fell on the ground, but a second later, she straightened and tried to stick her thin daggers into the joints of Britomart's armor.

Assassin and Caster had rematerialized as soon as two of the three priests were down, the last one abandoning his chanting to draw thin daggers. Assassin furiously stabbed him multiple times before kicking him away and searching for her next target.

Akeno had just finished placing a collar engraved with Stop runes on Caren's neck. It turned out that the girl wasn't just a sadist and a battle junkie, but a masochist as well. Rather, it seemed like she liked to suffer as she performed her duty, maybe as a twisted form of validation, and Akeno felt it was her duty as a representative of Lilith to straighten out that messed girl.

As soon as she was done, she took another collar from her inventory, observing that other girl who just wouldn't stay down. Britomart seemed about to lose patience and test to see if her opponent could come back from being split in half, but Akeno stopped her. She joined the fight, and pinned the blue-haired girl to the ground. Before she could get up again, she snapped the collar shut around her neck, and chopped at the base of her skull. The girl properly lost consciousness this time.

"What a mess." sighed Rin, observing the carnage.

"What do you think, Rin?" asked Akeno. "Do we honestly report to the Association, or do we hide the corpses and pretend it didn't happen?"

"Don't underestimate Magecraft, Akeno. Even if you make the corpses and bloodstains disappear, we can't hide this, and Lord Zelretch may already be watching us. What are we going to do with those two?"

"They have potential. So, I'm keeping them. By the time I'm done with them, the only Lord they will worship will be Noah. Besides, if the Church has decided it wants me dead, I need some information on the Church's inner workings, and they will tell me everything."

"Maybe you could release them as a peace gesture? To convince them to reconsider?"

"That's not how religious zealots think, Rin. If I release them, nine chances out of ten we will end up facing them again. And this time, they may be better prepared."

"…Fine, you've convinced me. We should quickly go home so I can inform the Association."

Scathach suddenly threw her spear, and a crow fell from a distant tree.

"It was a familiar. The Church must be aware of what happened." said Scathach.

"Just great." Groaned Rin. "Let's just go home. I'm ditching school today. The sun is barely rising, and the day is already a shit show.

Akeno nodded, lifting the blue-haired girl over her shoulder in a fireman carry, and Britomart picked up Caren. They started running toward Rin's house, as they wouldn't want civilians to spot the strange cortege.

…

Kirei Kotomine was quite furious when his familiar died. This night had been a disaster.

First, Gilgamesh, a Servant from the previous Holy Grail War who sometimes traded favors with the Church, had been killed. The loss of the Church's strongest ally, even if his whimsical attitude made him quite unreliable and his favor expensive, was a heavy blow.

Then, the attempt to whittle down the number of Masters and their Servants before they could join the Mage Association, if Kirei had correctly interpreted Zelretch's appearance, had failed. And failed spectacularly. The Sacrament ritual they had many hopes for turned out to be flawed, only working as it had been intended to on two of the four enemy servants.

And the Inquisition team had suffered total losses. If that wasn't bad enough, one of the defeated members was Ciel, Burial's seventh member. One of the strongest warriors of the Church, with her ability to heal from almost anything.

And she had been captured.

And worse still, among the dead was one young bishop named Thomas Giovani, favorite grandson of Francesco Giovani, the cardinal who supervised the Inquisition!

When his contacts didn't find any information on Akeno Himejima, Chisato Nishikigi and Asuka Shikinami, Kirei had assumed that Rin's companions were simply civilians chosen by the Holy Grail, and would be inept in battle. Eliminating them would be easy, with the Sacrament incapacitating their Servants.

How wrong had he been. From what he had seen through the familiar's eyes, Akeno by herself would have defeated the whole Inquisition squad, had she wished to. Her movement technique, disappearing from her position to reappear somewhere else faster than one could blink, bordered on the level of Divine Spirits.

And now, this monster likely would be hostile to the Church.

He sighed, trying to find the words he would use to make his report. He expected the other members of Burial wouldn't take this lying down and would come to Japan to make this War even more chaotic. And the cardinal would surely do something as well.