Chapter 157: Chapter 150
Is this how I die, suffocated in the bosom of a busty older woman?
[You just take all the joy in my existence and drag it into a dark alley to do unspeakable things to it. I expected a great warrior of legends, and you summoned a dominatrix.]
Oppai~
[Kill yourself.]
Alright, time to be serious.
I had to put a little bit of strength into pulling myself away, and not entirely because I didn't want to move.
I looked up at the woman who I had just summoned, this servant, a being I could feel the power seep out from, and she just gave me this affectionate look.
"It's nice to meet you, Berserker." I introduced myself, though I hadn't expected to have an actual conversation with a Berserker servant. "I'm Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, I'll be in your care."
"My son is so polite" She beamed.
Had I just been adopted?
"Can I have your true name so I know who I'm working with?"
"I am Minamoto-No-Raikou, Leader of the Four Heavenly Kings." She proudly proclaimed.
Huh.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised, I personally knew the female version of King Arthur, and I had a lot of knowledge about other Servants, some of which did not have their gender recorded correctly into the annals of history.
Still, it's pretty neat to meet a hero from my home country.
I used my authority as a Master, knowing her true name now, to mentally pull up her status to the forefront of my mind.
-------------------------------
True Name: Minamoto-no-Raikou
Class: Berserker
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Strength: A+
Endurance: A
Agility: B
Mana: EX
Luck: C+
-Class Skills-
Mad Enhancement: EX
Riding: A+
Magic Resistance: D
Divinity: C
-Personal Skills-
Eternal Arms Master: A+
Genji Arms Mastery: EX
Mana Burst (Lightning): A
Mystery-Slayer: A
-Noble Phantasm-
Ox-King Storm Call—The Inescapable Net of Heaven: Anti-Army A++
--------------------------------
Fascinating. The information of her abilities filled my head. "Berserker, how are your stats compared to a normal summon?" I asked.
"My mana rank is far beyond what I would normally have. Otherwise, my other stats are all higher to a certain extent as well." She happily replied.
As expected, I suppose. My magical energy thoroughly enhanced her upon summoning, and she essentially doesn't have to worry about depleting my own magical energy through the bond.
Her Mad Enhancement is 'Ex' Rank, meaning it surpasses any reasonable measuring system. Yet, she's standing here having a conversation with me, looking perfectly lucid...
Atleast she is obscenely strong if these stats are anything to go by. She also has some interesting abilities, and I can see why she was summoned when I just opted for someone that could match me. If my memory on her story is correct, she's a half-Oni or something like that, the son(daughter) of a god who had ties to Indra, or was Indra that had come to Japan.
And her elemental alignment was lightning.
I would have to be an idiot to not see the resemblances there.
I rubbed my chin as I continued looking them over. Her 'Mystery-slayer' Skill was rather interesting and it should give her a huge leg up against opponents who heavily rely on such things. She's probably the perfect counter to Casters.
"Berserker...." I paused my musing, looking up at her. "What wish do you have for the Grail?"
"Wish? I don't have one." She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Then why did you accept my summons?" I looked at her in confusion.
"You were willing to reach out to a demonic being like me, how could I not accept?" The way she looked both sad and happy at the same time, it was tugging at my heart strings. "I will do my best to support my son and dote on him as much as possible." She gave a little fist pump in the air, like she was encouraging herself.
Cute.
I let out a sigh. "No wonder the Grail chose you as my servant."
"Hmm?" She looked at me.
"If we're going to be working together, I guess we shouldn't keep secrets." I ran a hand through the air. "As far as 'demonic beings' go, I think I have you beat here." I let my wings sprout out of my back, revealing my devil heritage.
She looked at me in surprise, but oddly enough, there was no trace of hesitance nor scorn. "You're not an Oni." She muttered, mostly to herself.
"Devil, actually. Bastard son of Lucifer." I said flippantly. "Mom was a normal human though, so half-Devil."
Wasn't really a point in hiding it, she might see them in the Dream Cycle anyways.
The bond a Master and Servant shared is an odd thing. It's strong enough that when sleeping, each dreams of the other's life, called the Dream Cycle.
With a blink, I was once again being suffocated by her ample cleavage, a distraught Berserker practically crying ontop of me. "Master! It must have been so hard for you. Don't worry Momma is here and she'll take care of you for now on."
I'm starting to think her Mad Enhancement has to do with her clingy personality.
Despite the weirdness of the situation.....this did bring back memories of my own mother...without the face in boobs part, obviously.
I had to forcefully pull myself away again, it seems like she was intentionally using more strength this time.
"Do you know everything that's going on in this war?" I finally asked, I need to get an idea of what she did and did not know to better plan out our next course of action.
"A Great Grail War, two sides of seven Masters and seven Servants, I am Berserker of Red." She nodded.
"Good, that makes things easier." It was a bit odd how the Grail imparted knowledge. Even Artoria had some strange holes in her understanding due to the nature of the transference. "I'm not here for a wish, like you." I stated, earning her apt attention. "I'm going to take the Grail, and I don't plan on letting anyone stand in my way."
"Master, I'll help however I can."
"I have a general idea of where it is right now." I could recall the information that Zelretch gave me quite easily. "The Black Faction, the Yggdamillennia family, they're hiding it somewhere in their fortress. And I doubt I need to tell you how heavily fortified it is." I could easily sneak in, but I had no idea where I was going to find it and I didn't like my chances with being ganged up on by 7 Servants, and to a lesser extent some competent Magi.
Her mood shifted to something more serious. "A frontal assault would be foolish." She paused in her words, looking a little in thought. It was truly strange to see a Berserker servant with such high intelligence and sense of reason. "Do you want form an alliance with the Red Faction?"
"I doubt they'll take kindly to me wanting to monopolize the grail." I chuckled. The battle was a seven versus seven, but once a side was destroyed, it turned back into a regular Grail War, so everyone had to be careful of their own teammates. "Perhaps we should meet with our 'team' before deciding our next move."
"Do you know where they are?" She asked.
"I do not." I blinked in realization. "They should be gathering in the nearby town, which sat a little distance away from the Black faction's seat of power." I tapped my chin. "I'll let my familiar scout." I pulled out my hat, and Sir Wiggles poked his head from within.
"Cute." Berserker looked at him, biting her finger as if to hold herself back.
"You can pet him if you want, he likes the attention." I picked him up. My familiar wiggling his cute little butt in the air.
"Kya~" She happily accepted the rabbit into her arms, immediately loving on the animal.
It never fails.
"Will he be alright?" Berserker asked, already smitten with Sir Wiggles.
"He's fast." I reassured her, and as the words left my mouth, Sir Wiggles crackled with Lightning, zipping out of her hands and darting all over the room to show off.
Berserker clapped excitedly. "A phantasmal species, my son is so talented."
I just shook my head at her antics, it would take some getting used to. "Sir Wiggles, you have a mission." I called his attention, he immediately stopped, waiting for me to continue. "I need you to find the nearest town, and search for the largest concentration of Magical Energy." I commanded, adding in some thoughts through the mental link to better help him understand.
****
Of course it's a church, why wouldn't it be a church?
I mentally groaned, walking down the street.
The town wasn't very far away, and there was a Church that sat on a hill, practically radiating magical energy compared to the remainder of this place.
I looked up to see a dove sitting in a nearby tree, it was staring at me intently as I narrowed my eyes at it and flashed my command seals. At the very least, I don't think I'll be attacked just for approaching, but I was on guard and Berserker was astralized near me.
Getting closer, the old wooden doors of the church opened up and a priest walked out. He had an odd look about him, and the fact that he appeared to be Japanese made me do a double take. I didn't want to make assumptions about people, but it was surprising to see out here like this.
"Welcome." He said politely with a kind smile plastered on his face. But....something seemed off about him, I just couldn't put my finger on it.
"Are you the representative of the Red Faction?" I stopped a dozen or so feet away.
"I am Shirou Kotomine, a Master, just like you." He took off a glove to show off the command seals on his hand. "I'm glad you've finally arrived. Deimlet Pentel was supposed to have come over a week ago, but we were told last minute that he had sold his position as a master without any further information."
"How inconvenient for you." My lips tinned. I didn't know why, but I had a bad impression of him right off the bat. The fact that his family name was 'Kotomine' was throwing up red flags all over the place.
"No matter, you're here now." His expression didn't change. "Why don't you step inside and we can discuss our next step for fighting the Black Faction?" He gestured towards the Church.
"I quite enjoy this night time air, why don't we just speak out here?" I countered.
"Well, you never know what eyes are on us." He smiled innocently. "Magi can be quite the deplorable bunch." Ah, the thinly veiled distaste for those who use Magecraft.
"Eyes?" I questioned, feigning ignorance about the dozen or so Familiars that were watching me from every angle right now. "Oh, I see what you're talking about. Why don't I handle them if it's making you uncomfortable?" I mentally called out to Sir Wiggles.
Shirou was about to speak until a bolt of lightning zipped around everywhere, and he just started at me with a blank look on his face, Sir Wiggles now on my shoulder and chunks of doves falling to the ground all over the place.
"Birds are always an excellent choice for a Familiar, but I prefer Rabbits." I gave him a little pat for a job well done.
{Master, I believe there are several Servants close by in spirit form.} Berserker informed me over the mental link we shared.
Astralization, or spirit form as it's often called. It was an ability of servants, almost being completely imperceptible to the greater world, requiring another spiritual existence to sense them.
"I'm curious." I spoke up again. "Where are the other masters?"
"They're busy." Shirou said bluntly, seemingly unperturbed about me taking out the obvious familiars. "They deemed it below them to partake in such a task." He explained, taking a step forward. "I would be pleased to have a conversation at length with you, but I feel a more private setting is appropriate."
I looked at the church and a small shiver went down my spine. For being such a shabby little place, the holy presence there felt a bit too.....palpable "I'm quite fine where I am."
"Do you not trust the house of God?" He raised an eyebrow. "All are safe inside these hallowed walls."
"Oh? Tell that to all the children your priests have 'sheltered'." I snorted. I don't know why I was being so combative, just something really irked me about this guy. I don't particularly like priests, but I'm not usually so abrasive for no reason....
There was a visible twitch on his stoic face. "Is there a reason you don't want to approach?"
Did he notice...?
"Yeah, there's a priest giving me major 'stranger danger' vibes." I narrowed my eyes at him. "I thought I would alteast be safe since I was a bit too old for the average clergyman."
"I'm afraid, I will have to insist regardless." His smile dropped off unto something more neutral, and his whole stance shifted. "I would prefer to do this without any violence."
Wow, throwing away the charade already?
"Interesting. Here's my answer." I held up my middle finger. "Saber!" I called out, having Berserker Materialize. Let them figure that one out. She in no way acts like a Berserker, and she uses a huge sword....if the glove fits.
"Archer, Rider." The priest responded; two servants appeared by his side. "Don't kill him, but make sure he can't escape."
"Sorry, kid." The apparent 'Rider' spoke. He held a spear in hand, green hair and a cocky smile on his face.
"I don't like being ordered by someone other than my master." The woman, Archer, shot Shirou a sideways glance, clasping her bow tightly. She had cat ears and a tail, I wondered if she was some type of Youkai in life.
Without another word, Archer already sent a handful of arrows flying towards Berserker, who easily deflected them.
Rider moved, and he was fast. It was enough that I saw Berserker's eyes widen in surprise. He slipped by her in that brief moment when she was focused on the Archer servant.
{It's fine, I got this.} I mentally sent towards Berserker. I didn't know if her 'clingy' nature would win out over her more rational side, but she seemed to accept my words and focused on Archer.
I reinforced my body, and cast all the strengthening spells I knew.
"It's nothing personal." The Rider servant said, almost bored, as he got in my face, his spear arching towards me and I could easily see it would be a non-lethal blow, but enough to take me down.
Lightning crackled along my skin, and I sidestepped, the spear passing through the air and missing me. The utter surprise on his face said everything about the situation, and it shifted to complete shock when I gripped his face, and slammed him into the ground, cracking the stones beneath us.
"Nothing personal." I smiled at him, summoning Dawnbreaker from my ring, and stabbed it down at him.
***
Well, the war begins. Sorry about missing a chapter yesterday, was having a hard time writing and just couldn't settle on something I liked. Then it was two in the morning and I just couldn't keep going at that point.
Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my Pat.reon.com/astoryforone
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