Ch 158: Battle on the bridge.

"There is a strange man standing in the middle of the bridge, and a female Servant is standing beside him." said Rider, returning from her scouting.

"Strange?" frowned Waver. The presence of a Servant, as well as him being up and about despite the city-wide compulsion for civilians to remain home at night, identified the man as a Master.

"He is wearing a metal armor of a strange design. It wouldn't be so out of the ordinary in my era, but didn't you say that the Magus now avoid fighting with their bodies?"

"Maybe this is a mystic code that had been created long ago. Let's go closer, I want to take a look."

Rider nodded, and she preceded Waver as they slowly made their way toward the bridge, using the buildings for cover.

When they reached the buildings closest to the bridge, Rider separated from him and took a sniping position on the roof of another building

[Should we attack, Master?] asked Rider using the bond between Master and Servant. [I do not see any other opponent. We may not have a better opportunity.]

Waver carefully peered over the building's corner. He was about three hundred meters away and had a direct line of sight to the two people. The silver-haired woman wearing a white and red samurai armor over a white sleeveless kimono-like vest and dark blue pants was a Servant, judging from her aura, but her Master, a man with short blonde air, was indeed covered from the neck down by a metal armor of strange design. For some reason, the man had also put on black pants and a white t-shirt over his armor.

[Rider, do you think you can take down the enemy Master from there?]

[To kill him without warning? I probably could, but I'm a Rider, not an Assassin! Please allow me to challenge them to a fair fight.]

Waver thought about it for a few seconds. He wanted to keep a good relationship with his Servant if possible, and, while he accepted that he might have to defeat or even kill other Magus, he wasn't a cold-blooded killer either.

[…As you wish. But immediately retreat if the fight doesn't turn in your favor, and take me with you.]

[Thank you, Master. For not commanding me to act dishonorably.] said Rider with a softer tone.

[Well, yeah. Good luck.]

…

"Someone is coming." said Tomoe as she stepped closer to her Master, ready to defend him. She had spotted a red-haired woman jumped down from a building.

The woman, obviously a Servant from her aura, jogged toward them, slowing down to stop about thirty meters from them. She looked to be around twenty and had a pale skin, ruby-colored hair styled in a braided bun and tied with a black ribbon, and her dark amber eyes shone battle lust.

She was dressed in a white toga tied at the waist by a black cloth,  and an black sash adorned with a complex pattern of golden lines passed over her right shoulder, and kept in place by the cloth belt. She also had a choker made of black cloth around her neck. Black stockings sheathed her legs, and she wore white sandals on her feet.

Her body possessed only average body curves, but showed definite muscle tone without losing any of her feminine charm.

In her hands was a bow with a pair of arrows already nocked. In response, Tomoe had changed her posture to be ready to evade instantly and manifested her own bow, red-colored and adorned with flame patterns, with a single nocked arrow.

"Oh? I presume you are Archer. I am Rider, nice to meet you." said the woman with a small smile.

"Likewise. I am indeed Archer." replied Tomoe with a nod. "Is your Master present?"

"He isn't going to join the battle. Now that we introduced each other, let's fight!"

"Archer, I trust you. I won't interfere unless necessary." said Genos, carefully observing both Rider and his surroundings. He, too, had a warrior's mentality, and understood that he shouldn't meddle needlessly.  He started backing away to leave more space for the two Servants to fight.

"You seem to have a good Master." nodded Rider as she shifted her footing slightly. She was about to attack, when she noticed an abrupt change in her surroundings.

"My Master had taken us in a Reality Marble." explained Archer. "We can fight to our heart's content without having to worry about damaging the city."

"I see. That is convenient. My thanks to your Master." nodded Rider, and her center of gravity lowered slightly. With a quick move of the arms, she brought her bow to bear and released the bowstring.

Tomoe reacted instantly, aiming and loosing her own arrow as she suddenly leaned to her left. The arow she shot impacted one of Rider's two arrows mid-course, deflecting it, and her evasive movement allowed her to avoid the second arow.

Rider was nocking three arrows this time when she had to jump to the side several times. Archer was firing arrows one at a time, but she could nock arrows, draw the bowstring and loose them much faster than Rider could.

As she sent her three arrows, Rider ruefully admitted that she was too arrogant, to try to beat an Archer Servant at their own specialty.

Materializing more arrows and nocking them, she ran forward, exploiting the movement speed Riders were famous for. When she crossed half of the distance separating them, making a few side steps or contorting her body to avoid Archer's arrows, she drew the bowstring and sent three arrows at Archer.  Two were intercepted and the third was evaded, again. Rider's eyes suddenly widened as Archer, instead of falling back to keep the distance open, jumped toward her.

But there was no time to ponder, and when the distance between them reduced to less than five meters, Rider let go of her bow, letting it dematerialize and summoning her spatha. The 60cm long, straight, double-edged sword would allow her to make short work of Archer. Or so Rider thought.

She slashed horizontally, aiming for Archer's left flank, but her strike was stopped by another blade suddenly replacing Archer's bow. A katana.

Surprised, Rider jumped a few meters back just in time to avoid Archer's counterattack.

"Are you really an Archer?"

"Who said that all archers are weak in close combat?" smiled Tomoe, lifting her katana at eye level in a high guard stance, the hilt held with both hands close to her chin, and the blade pointed at Rider.

"I see why your Master is confident. But I'm just getting started!"

Rider jumped forward, and kicked the ground on the side mid-way to change her trajectory, trying to brush aside Archer's thrust and get close enough to reach her body with her spatha. She wasn't quite fast enough, however, and after a series of fast attacks and counters, realized that Archer was every bit as good a swordswoman as she was an archer. And the slightly longer reach of the katana had her at a disadvantage.

However, that wasn't a problem. With a smile, Rider fell back a few steps, and let go of her spatha, choosing another weapon. A spear. Now, she was the one with the reach advantage.

…

Waver watched with rapt attention as the two Servants fought. The fight had lasted for over three minutes already, but none seemed to have a decisive advantage over the other, and they had yet to suffer any injury.

He hadn't really been surprised when Rider freely switched between bow, short sword and spear. They were all weapons commonly used by her people in her era, and as their Queen, and a child of Ares to boot, it was natural for her to have mastered those weapons.

Her opponent, however, was another matter. The bow wasn't a surprise, since she was an Archer, but the katana, and the naginata she produced later to counter Rider's spear, certainly were.

As Archer whirled her naginata around at blinding speed, creating an area around her that Rider couldn't quite penetrate without exposing her hands to a crippling injury, Waver tried to deduce the silver-haired Servant's true identity. If he could find out and transmit the information to Rider, she might get the advantage she would need.

"I wonder…" He mused in a low voice. " Obviously a Japanese heroic spirit. So, Tomoe Gozen, Benkei, or Nagao Kagetora? But all three also use katanas, so…"

"Ufufu, should we tell you?" asked a female voice behind him.

Waver jumped out of his skin as he turned, and he felt his heart jump to his throat as he saw that no less than seven people stood just three meters away without him having noticed. They were restraining their auras, but from their appearances, three of them were Servants, and he could see Command Seals on the back of the hands of several others.

…

"Wow, that was a great reaction!" grinned Chisato as she saw the young Magus's face go pale. The effort they made to snuck up on him were well spent!

"I've seen you somewhere. You're from the Mage Association, right?" asked Rin.

"…Yes. You're… Rin Tohsaka?" asked the young Magus.

"Yes."

"A member of your fan club? Or are you famous over there?" grinned Akeno.

"Or maybe he just did his homework. It's no secret that the Tohsaka family's home is in Fuyuki City. And I don't have a fan club. At least, I don't think so."

"I-I did my homework." said Waver, struggling to keep a straight posture, even if he felt weak in the legs. If he was going to die, he would do so with dignity. "What now? Do you intend to kill me? Maybe steal my Command Seals?"

"I will ask you one question. What happen to you depend on your answer. And please, do not try to lie. You would not succeed." said Akeno, her face growing serious.

"What question?"

"Have you used people as reagents or ingredients for magic research of rituals? Have you killed civilians except in self-defense?"

"No! I never killed anyone! And using people as ingredients is disgusting!" spat out Waver. He knew some Magus were callous enough to perform atrocities, but he refused to ever do something like this, and his research was done using books and simple alchemical experiments."

"That's a good answer. So, let's be friends." smiled Akeno. "I am Akeno Himejima, and it is nice to meet you…"

She pitched the end of her sentence as a question, and Waver nodded.

"Waver Velvet."

[I'm coming, Master!]

Rider had noticed her Master abrupt emotional spike through their bond and disengaged from her fight with Archer, rushing to see what had put Waver's emotion in such a turmoil. When she ran closer to the building's corner, she slowed down as she noticed the number of Masters and Servants standing so close to her Master.

Rescuing him in these conditions would be difficult. On instinct, she suddenly jerked back, and an arrow passed where her heart had been. Archer was in hot pursuit, and her Master was running behind her as well.

Archer also paused when she saw who was behind the building, not sure if she should keep fighting. She decided to wait for Genos's instructions.

"That's, an interesting situation." muttered Ciel as Genos came within earshot.

"Hi, Genos! It's been a while." called out Chisato with a grin and a wave of the hand.

"Hi, Chisato, Akeno. And…"

Akeno quickly made the introductions.

"So, Genos. You're the last one.  Chisato, Asuka, Darkness, Miwa and Bell all acknowledged me as their leader. And so did Rin and two other local Masters. And we liberated Caster here from her Master. He was a scum, and he is now a dead scum, thanks to Rin. Which is to say, I currently have ten Servants within my faction."

Waver gulped, his last hopes of winning the Holy Grail War extinguished. Trying to outmaneuver multiple opponents and gain opportunities from a chaotic, multi-sided conflict was one thing. But from the looks of it, the chaotic conflict in question was already almost over. At least until the Masters under Akeno would start betraying each other for the Grail.

"You have been busy." nodded Genos, impressed. If his math was correct, Akeno had not only secured five of her peers and their Servants, but also gotten her hands on four of the seven local Servants. It had barely been a week since they entered this world.

"That is quite the understatement." chuckled Akeno. "I'm actually using an artifact to get more hours out of each day than normal, and overusing it is mentally draining. What about you, Genos? Are you willing to accept my leadership? Or should I defeat you first?"

"…I am unwilling to surrender to you, when I haven't even seen you fight once. So, Akeno, I challenge you for the position of leader." replied Genos.

"…I see. Can it wait for a minute while I deal with Waver-kun here and his Servant?"

"I do not mind. We have about fifteen minutes left on the reality marble."

"That will be plenty." smiled Akeno as she turned to Waver. "I would like for you to transfer to me your Servant's Command Seals. In return, we will not harm you, and I will owe you a favor. I am ready to sign a Geis about it, if you wish."

Waver glanced at Rider, a pained expression on his face, then back at Akeno and the people behind her. He didn't stand a chance, and he knew it.

"Wait!" shouted Rider, pointing her spear at Akeno. "I am not going to be passed around like a parcel! What am I, a sack of potatoes? If you want me to consider you as my Master, you will need to defeat me first!"

"…Just to be clear, are you challenging me, a Master, to a duel, and not one of my Servants, right?"

Rider nodded as she got a great idea. An idea that might ensure her and her Master's victory in the Holy Grail War in one fell swoop.

"You can ask one of your Servants to act as your representative, but I want to do it according to the old ways! The defeated will become the victor's slave! If I defeat your Servant, you will become mine."

"Really?" asked Rin with a deadpan expression. "And I suppose that in your little scheme, Akeno becoming your slave means that her subordinates, meaning us, also become yours? That you will basically offer your Master victory in the Holy Grail War in a single duel? How convenient."

"I accept that challenge. However, if you defeat me, I'll be your slave, but the others won't. Waver-kun will have to do the work to earn their loyalty or defeat them." smiled Akeno.

Rider glanced at Waver, who only shrugged in acceptance, as he was hardly in a position to demand anything, and when she looked back at Akeno, she grudgingly nodded.

"What do you think you're doing, Akeno?" asked Rin with wide eyes.

"I haven't fought personally since the first day against Asuka. The thing with Sakura doesn't count as a proper fight, and the duel against Darkness, even less so. Don't get me started on the clash with the Inquisition. No offense, Ciel."

"None taken. We did perform pitifully."

"Are you seriously risking everything because you feel a sudden urge to fight?" insisted Rin. "Did you die and become a Berserker Heroic Spirit when we weren't looking?"

"No. It's that a lot of new faces are present here, and if I want people to truly respect me, I should show what I am capable of, not just as a leader, but also as a fighter."

"Well said." nodded Rider with a small smile. Genos also approved of her reasoning.

"Well… I still think it's stupid, but you do you."

"I am glad to have your permission, Rin." chuckled Akeno, and Rin got flustered.

"On the bridge?" suggested Akeno, and Rider nodded.

Akeno started walking toward the bridge, and the others followed. Waver hesitated and followed suit. He now felt confident that he would survive this night, but fervently hoped that Rider would win. Surely she should, as Servants were so much stronger than typical Magus.

But he found Akeno's confidence unnerving, as well as the silence of the Servants. None of them seemed worried.

When they were both suitably away from the others and with thirty meters of distance between them, Akeno took her swordstaff from her inventory, carefully keeping it pointed toward Rider's face the instant it appeared and immediately turning the ring on the shaft to activate its invisible mode.

She hadn't been able to hide the weapon before it turned invisible, but hoped that this little trick would stop Rider from having an accurate estimation of the swordstaff's length.

"Ready?" confidently asked Rider, holding her spear in a resting position against her right shoulder.

"Before we start, I just wish to confirm one thing. Are you Archer, Rider, or Berserker?"

"Rider."

"I see. Let's start then." smiled Akeno.

Rider immediately started to sprint toward Akeno, and saw magic circuits appear on the legs of the Master. In a fleeting instant, she thought that their density and individual width were significantly above what she expected, indicating that Akeno likely was a particularly powerful magus.

As she was about to reach her, aiming for a shoulder as Rider didn't want to kill her opponent while being vigilant about that invisible weapon, Akeno suddenly disappeared.

A shockwave of displaced air told her that Akeno had moved past her, at a speed to great her eyes couldn't follow.

Rider instantly switched to her bow and nocked an arrow as she pivoted.

Akeno was fifty meters behind her, and five shields made of a translucent material, which she assumed was mana, appeared in front of her. A silver-colored formation was appearing under her feet.

Rider fired the arrow, still aiming for Akeno's right shoulder, and the projectile broke through two of the golden shields before it was stopped. She nocked and fired another, putting a little more strength on it, and the three remaining shields shattered, but Akeno had leaned out of the arrow's path. The silver formation at her feet disappeared.

"That movement technique, what was that?" asked Rider, and Aken chuckled.

"Ara ara, you shouldn't be asking your opponent to reveal her secrets in a middle of a fight, Rider."

"That kind of speed, are you really a Master?"

Akeno slightly moved her left forearm, making the eight Command Seals engraved on the back of her left hand and wrist more easily visible.

"I am indeed a Master. I know what you are thinking, how can a Master hope to face a Servant in battle? Servants are stronger, that is the rule…"

Akeno's smile widened a little, but her expression was now that of someone looking at prey. More translucent yellow objects appeared around Akeno, swords this time, and Rider understood that she would have to take this fight very seriously.

"…But every rule, has its exceptions."

…

"Haven't the Gods decided to disallow teleportation techniques? Is she using some kind of loophole?" frowned Genos after seeing Akeno evade Rider's first attack and appear fifty meters away.

"Not at all. That technique isn't really teleportation, even if it looks a lot like it." shrugged Asuka. "It's called Shunpo, and it comes from Akeno's world."

"And that silver formation? She used shields to win some time to use it, right? What does it do?"

"It's called Augment, and more than double her strength and speed. As you can see."

"H-How can she be faster than Rider." muttered Waver on the side, incredulous. Genos easily understood his shock. Akeno had become so fast that she was the one dictating the distance between her and Rider. She was raining stabs and slashes at her opponent, using both her invisible weapon and golden swords that kept appearing around her.

However, she was clearly a lot less skillful in the use of her weapon than Rider was with her spear and spatha, and that allowed Rider to execute a fighting retreat without suffering any injury.

…

"I'll admit, you are very strong, Akeno!" grinned Rider. "Even if the way you wield that strange spear of yours leaves a lot of room for improvement."

"Thank you for the praise, Rider. It's a swordstaff, not a spear. And I started training with it less than two months ago, so..."

"Admirable. You will make a good disciple. And since you are this strong, I should also stop restraining my power. Come, Kalion!"

Akeno saw a black shape escape from Rider's shadow. For an instant, she thought about the evil of Angra Mainyu, but understood it was something completely different as the shape was much bigger and coalesced into a huge black stallion.

The beast pivoted on its forelegs, presenting its rear to Akeno, and tried to kick her with both hind legs.

Akeno evaded the massive black hooves by hurriedly stepping back, and Rider deftly jumped on the horse, crouching on top of its back.

"A Rider indeed." nodded Akeno.

"This is my partner." smiled Rider, "Sorry, but this is probably going to hurt a bit."

Akeno frowned as she was forced to focus on her defense and had to use the length of the swordstaff to keep Rider and her horse at bay.

The two of them linked together fought as one, with perfect balance and coordination, and after a dozen seconds of frantic back and forth, Akeno had a shallow cut on her left arm and a nasty bruise on her right thigh, where she had taken the grazing hit from a hoof. The exchange hadn't been entirely one-sider, however, as both Rider and Kalion had a shallow wound on their left flank.

She wasn't worried, as wounds of that caliber would quickly heal from her passive regeneration alone, but she had lost her speed advantage, and her own energy reserves weren't unlimited. Taking a deep breath, she decided to do something about it. Putting her swordstaff back in the inventory, she instead took a pair of Eclipse katanas. The two weapons put together increased both her Strength and Agility attributes by thirty, and Akeno had an easier time avoiding Rider's attacks, even if she had lost a lot of reach.

…

"What's up with those Servants and Masters who can't stick to a single weapon…" grumbled Rin as she watched Akeno abandon her invisible staff and start using a pair of black katanas.

"I'm not certain." shrugged Chisato. "But, isn't Akeno's swordsmanship a bit strange? There's something in her posture that feels wrong."

"I think I know." suddenly said Tomoe as she watched the fight intently.

"This person seems to have received tutelage from a competent swordsman, but likely for the use of a single katana. She doesn't seem used to dual-wielding."

"Yes, that's exactly how it seems!" nodded Chisato, happy to now understand why Akeno's way of fighting felt somewhat amateurish.

"Those Katanas must be Mystic Codes." said Tomoe. "Despite her lack of skill, Rider cannot seem to injure her. Akeno is even faster than before."

"Archer, do you think you would be able to defeat her?" asked Genos. He was quietly giving up on the idea of fighting Akeno. He just couldn't keep up with that kind of speed. She would be able to run circles around him, who specialized more in artillery duels and brawls.

"I… would likely be overwhelmed, Master, despite the difference in skill. Please forgive my incompetence." sighed Tomoe with a lowered head.

"It's fine."

"Akeno isn't just fighting up close against Rider, she's also preparing something." said Asuka. "Look at the sky."

Genos lifted his eyes. What had been a clear night sky when the duel had started was now a black mass of billowing clouds.

"Akeno has been surnamed the Priestess of Thunder after all." nodded Chisato.

As she spoke, an ominous rumbling coming from above was heard, and lightning fell.

It struck the ground where Kalion and Rider had been just an instant before, and more lightning bolts fell in rapid succession, each of them narrowly missing as Kalion roared and quickly jumped from one spot to another.

…

Rider couldn't believe she was being forced back, despite fighting together with Kalion. This Akeno was a monster in human form, able to go toe to toe against a Servant like her.

She asked Kalion to keep evading as she switched her spear to her bow once again and nocked three arrows. She fired them, avoiding Akeno's vital points, but the arrows were deflected just short of her body by angled shields. Akeno was learning. If her shields couldn't stop Rider's arrows, she would angle them just enough to deflect the arrows away from her body without causing the shields to break.

Rider could feel her own mana reserves steadily decreasing, and decided the fight, however enjoyable, needed to stop. She took a deep breath, and spoke the words.

"Goddess of War." muttered Hippolyta.

The black and gold sash over her right shoulder stirred, moving on its own, and floated behind her, unfurling to form a large halo behind her. That sash was Ares's War Belt, that the hero Heracles had stolen from her during his twelve trials. She felt new power course through her limbs, enhancing her divinity, strength, agility, endurance and mana.

Kalion, too, experienced the change, with thin, glowing red lines appearing all over his body like magic circuits.

"Akeno, I praise you for forcing me to use my Noble Phantasm. Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Hippolyta, the Amazon Queen, and daughter of Ares."

Akeno nodded with a smile.

"Since you are going all out, I will return the favor."

"Balance Break!"

Hippolyta gathered her power and prepared herself and Kalion for a charge forward as Akeno's body shone with a blinding light for an instant. When the light dissipated, Akeno was wearing a heavy plate armor, white with golden accents. Strange large gems were inlaid in the armor in the chest, and on the forearms.

Hippolyta started her charge, spear firmly in hand, ready to strike. She would have to be careful not to overdo it, or the wind shockwave around her weapon would cause a much greater injury to Akeno than she intended.

Akeno pointed one of her katanas in Rider's direction and uttered two words.

"Divide. Divide."

"W-What?!" exclaimed Hippolyta in stupefaction as her mana became sluggish, her power instantly decreasing greatly.

Before she could get over her shock and adapt to her suddenly reduced capabilities, Akeno used that teleportation technique of hers to appear very close and kicked Hippolyta in the stomach, throwing her off Kalion's back. As she was about to crash on the ground, she saw Akeno drop one of her katanas to place a hand on Kalion's flank, and arcs of lightning burst from it, causing Kalion to roar in pain and freeze as electricity coursed through his body, causing him to be paralyzed for a moment.

And a moment was all Akeno needed.

Hippolyta fell with her back on the ground and was about to get up hurriedly when Akeno once again appeared near her, pointing to tip of her remaining katana on her throat.

Hippolita froze in shock, and realization struck her.

She had lost.

And because she had insisted on a duel following the old ways, she now was the victor's slave.

"It was a great fight, Hippolyta. You are strong." smiled Akeno as she put her sword away and offered a hand.

"…Not strong enough." sighed the Servant as she took her hand and got up.

"And now, you are all mine, Hippolyta."

"Yes. I won't renege on the condition of the duel. You defeated me fairly… I think. What was that thing you use to cripple me at the end."

"My trump card." grinned Akeno as she unsummoned her white armor. "And it was quite the mental strain to halve you power not just once, but twice. I have an awful headache right now, and I may have overloaded a few magic circuits."

Kalion had gotten back to his feet and looked murderously at Akeno. Hippolyta went to him, gave him a few pats to calm him down, and the stallion disappeared inside her shadow.

Noticing Akeno's fond smile as she watched, Hippolyta shrugged.

"I know that Kalion is only an extension of my power now, and he isn't truly alive. But I have developed this habit of caring for him from when I was alive, and..."

"You do not need to explain, I understand." smiled Akeno.

Akeno and Hippolyta walked back to the people who had watched.

"Akeno." started Genos. "I retract my request to duel with you. At least, I'd like to spar with you later, but I acknowledge you as the leader."

"I have no objections." added Tomoe with a nod.

"I am glad to hear it. Welcome to our team, Genos, Archer. Can you tell us your true name? I have my suspicions, but I'd like to confirm."

Akeno, Asuka and Chisato, as well as Britomart, Aife and Tamamo, already knew Archer's true identity, as Noah had told them during their first interdimensional chat, but they were playing dumb to avoid giving the other people present an existential crisis.

Archer glanced at Genos, waiting for confirmation, and nodded. "I am Tomoe Gozen. It is nice to meet you all."

"Nice to meet you, too. I have seen you fight against Rider, and I am impressed." said Akeno. "By both of you." she added with a smile to Hippolyta.

Genos deactivated his reality marble, and almost immediately, Akeno heard Artoria's voice in her head.

[Master, did something happened? we were cut off.]

[A Reality Marble happened. But things are fine. Genos, his Archer Servant Tomoe Gozen, and the local Rider joined our cause. If you're done with your chat with Irisviel, feel free to join us or wait for us at home.]

As soon as her short conversation with Artoria ended, she received another message, this time from Lilith herself.

[Akeno, for allowing me to win a major bet against the other six deities, I will reward you with a Reinforcement Ticket. You can use it at any time to bring to this world another member of Noah's harem. That member, however, will not be able to return until the second crisis is resolved, and you cannot choose Noah himself. He has many things to keep himself busy over there. So, choose wisely.]

[That is a great reward! Thank you very much, Lilith-sama!]

[ You are welcome. At the end of the Holy Grail War, if you succeed, you will receive a second one, although I advise you to hang on to it for a while. I cannot predict the future with certainty, but I can imagine a few scenarios where you would want to have one such Ticket available.]

[Yes, Lilith-sama.]

Akeno turned to Waver who was sulking to the side.

"Waver-kun, the Command Seals, please."

"Y-Yes." sighed Waver, extending his left arm, and transferring the Command Seals. "This is how it ends, huh?"

"Yes. But you do not need to be sad about it, Waver-kun. You participated in a Holy Grail War and survived. That is already a notable achievement, from what I've heard. Besides, whatever your wish is, the Grail would have turned it into a calamity."

"What do you mean?"

Akeno gave Hippolyta and Waver a brief explanation about the reason seven additional Masters had been sent, Angra Mainyu, the two Ruler-class Servants currently busy patrolling the city, and a second mysterious crisis to come.

By the time she was done, Artoria had joined them.

"I-I'm not certain I believe you." finally said Waver.

"You can ask for confirmation with the Overseer. He's aware of at least some of it. For now, how about we exchange phone numbers?"

Waver nodded. Even if he didn't necessarily trust Akeno and her group, they were obviously strong, and having a way to contact them might prove useful later.

After saying goodbye and shaking hands with Hippolyta, Waver left in the Church's direction to notify the Overseer of his retirement, and Akeno and her group started on their way back home.

"Three more people in my home, huh? I don't really mind, but some people will have to share their rooms."

"Yes, I'm sorry about that, Rin. Although, with only two Masters left to defeat, it shouldn't last much longer. Should we start using the Matou residence? It would need a thorough clean-up and Sakura's permission, but…"

"It's fine. We all go to London very soon anyway, so..." shrugged Rin. Then she turned her face away, and muttered something about Akeno and food.

"Akeno, from tomorrow onward, I want you to reserve four hours of your day with me." cut in Scathach.

"Come again?" asked Akeno.

"I have seen the way you fought today. And it is unacceptable. If you are to be my Master's Master, you need to receive my tutelage, so you won't bring me shame."

"Was it that bad?" asked Akeno, a little miffed. She had defeated a Servant, did she not? Was a simple 'Good job' to much to ask for from the Queen of the Land of Shadows?

"It is obvious you received training from a competent swordsman, or rather a swordswoman, if I guess from the way you use your hips and waist's flexibility. But it is equally obvious that the training didn't last nearly long enough. So, I will train you. And Hippolyta and Tomoe, as well as Artoria, will participate. I will teach you how to properly use your swordstaff, and they will teach you how to use your swords."

Hippolyta, Tomoe and Artoria nodded strongly, all too willing to help someone with good potential become stronger.

"I see. Thank you, everyone. I will strive to be worthy of your time."

"I'm not sure you know what you're in for, Akeno." shrugged Rin. "Scathach is legendary for training many heroes, but her teachings are equally legendary for their brutality. I guess that healing ability of yours will be put to frequent use."

"You do not need to feel sorry for her, Rin." said Scathach with a rare smile. Rin looked confused for a second, and then she paled and shook her head in denial.

"N-No…"

But Scathach was ruthless.

"You, too, are in need of combat training. You are my Master after all."