Hello, everyone. I wanted to say something before we start the chapter: I'll be using a bit too many coincidences to make the chapter flow the way I want. The goal is to make the initial plot of Fate almost identical (basically, so Shirou can summon Saber), but it will only be this way in this chapter; the rest won't be like this.
Also, I should mention right away that Dante doesn't know if he can defeat Gilgamesh (when I say defeat, I mean that Dante can kill him, not that Gilgamesh can defeat Dante). He knows about Gilgamesh's abilities, but knowing about them is one thing, and facing them head-on is another. He doesn't know if he can stand up to Ea's weapon, which explains his way of thinking.
Finally, since this war is something everyone already knows about from various angles, we'll only see it from Dante's and Rider's perspectives, not anyone else's. This will also help the plot move faster.
That's all I wanted to say. Let's get started.
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Third-person POV
Outside the church, Rider stared at it, waiting for her future husband to emerge, only to sense that aura he had emanated when they fought years ago. But she did nothing and didn't move, as she had been ordered not to interfere, no matter what happened.
She trusted her master, knowing that no matter what occurred, he would be alright.
After a few seconds, the aura subsided, and Dante walked out as if nothing had happened.
"We've done everything we needed to. Let's go home," he said, looking straight ahead.
Rider simply followed him without asking any questions, sensing that her master wasn't in the mood, and there was a reason for that.
Dante had used Observation Haki to see both Kirei's emotions and his future actions. He saw how disgusting and repulsive the priest was. His heart was only alive because of a curse, not unlike an undead creature.
He also saw what the church had left behind—a truly disgusting sight. Not to mention, the dubious priest had planned to attack him, kill him, and steal his servant.
At that moment, he recalled the plot of this world, what had happened after the Fifth Holy Grail War: the time loop, Angra Mainyu, Caren Hortensia, and her deceased subordinate, Bazzet Fraga McRemitz.
That only confirmed that it had been a good idea to come instead of her.
For a moment, he considered destroying the church, but that would bring more problems than solutions. Doing so wouldn't save the person inside.
All he could do was keep watch and prevent any more people from being kidnapped. Once he finished with the church, he would destroy Kirei, that arrogant king, and the church itself, if they were still alive. He didn't know which path this world would take.
Seeing Rider, he realized it wouldn't be any of the default paths.
...
"I'm home," Dante said listlessly, followed by Rider.
"Welcome," Kiss-shot replied, reading a book and closing it to welcome her husband.
Dante smiled at her, only to glance sideways at Rider, who seemed a little uncomfortable. Seeing this gave him a small sense that things were progressing well, since the Rider who had been summoned initially wouldn't have shown this kind of emotion.
"I'm hungry. I'll make something to eat. What do you want, Rider?" Dante asked, walking to the kitchen.
"Hmm, pizza," Rider said, salivating.
"I wonder if there's a pizza place open at this hour in Fuyuki."
...
Dante collapsed onto the bed, somewhat tired from walking and happily using Haki nonstop. The war was still only a few days away, but there might be a servant lurking around. Unfortunately for him, there wasn't.
"Something good to tell you," said Kiss-shot, dressed in lingerie.
Dante stared at her for a moment, his gaze fixed on her splendid figure.
"It's strange that you do this kind of thing. Am I going to die tomorrow?" he said as he lay down on the bed.
Kiss-shot crawled over to Dante on all fours until she was on top of him, wrapping her arms around his and resting her face against his breasts.
"I may not have sensual desires, but you do, and I don't mind satisfying my husband, even if it's just once in a blue moon. But it's understandable that you neglect me, with so many eager women around you," she said plaintively, trying to make Dante feel guilty.
In response, he kissed her on the lips, starting a struggle, with each trying to gain the upper hand.
"I would never leave you behind; you'll always be my number one, my soulmate," I told Dante, making her feel completely at ease and satisfied.
In response, she removed all her lingerie, revealing her skin to Dante, who immediately began sucking on her breasts.
"This restless baby," Kiss-shot teased, starting to unbutton his pants, exposing Dante's member and beginning to pleasure him.
With each passing second, the situation in the room intensified.
Neither of them was paying attention to what was happening outside, not noticing that the bedroom door was ajar.
Through the crack in the door, Rider watched everything, like a pervert, completely absorbed in what Dante and Kiss-shot were doing.
She was inexperienced in this sort of thing, which is why she decided to spy on them; with her notebook and pencil in hand, she was ready to learn from this course on relationships. But while all this was happening, she completely forgot to jot down any notes in her notebook.
...
"I can't believe you did that and wanted to join," Dante complained as they walked through the city.
"I just wanted to practice," Rider tried to justify herself as best she could.
Kiss-shot, taking advantage of Touko's and Aoko's absence, became more affectionate than usual with Dante, but neither of them had noticed that they had a spy watching their training sessions.
Yesterday, bored of just watching, she entered the room with the idea of participating; spoiler alert: she didn't.
Dante grabbed her head, shaking it and squeezing her temples.
"Think before you act; you used to be able to do whatever you wanted, but you're not the daimyo of Japan anymore," Dante said.
Rider winced as her master mistreated her, but she didn't defend herself; she didn't stop him.
Dante knew Rider's intentions, but from his point of view, they didn't make much sense; it was like a summer fling, something fleeting, at least that's what he thought at first. But with time, he realized that the feeling he had was still there, and not only that, but it was growing stronger.
Kiss-shot had long since accepted Dante's idea of having a harem, but that idea never truly solidified. Because, despite having many partners, none had ever become true companions on the level he had with Kiss-shot.
The closest thing to that now was Aoko herself, since her sense of adventure had led her to leave this universe with him.
And with everything that was happening and already growing fond of Rider, he didn't know what to do with her.
His Holy Grail wish was simply to revive Medusa just as she had revived him, but he didn't know if she would be summoned or how to bring both of them back, Uesugi and Medusa.
Dante released Rider, sighed, and stroked her head.
Just like a puppy, Rider forgot that her master had mistreated her and focused on the caresses. Dante could almost see her with her ears perked up and her tail wagging with joy.
"Let's forget about that. Today the Holy Grail War begins, and we already have someone watching us," Dante said, causing Rider to go from pure satisfaction to absolute concentration.
"Don't worry, Master, no matter what stands in our way, it will fall before my spear," Rider declared with a smile.
"I know, and I trust you, but there's still something I want to do," Dante said, showing the back of his hand. "Command Spell, I order you, Rider, to fight with all your might, without regard for the consequences, until I am completely satisfied."
With that, the Command Spell was cast upon Rider, who was surprised by what her master had done.
Some might think it was unnecessary, but for Dante, it wasn't, and this has to do with the Second Holy Grail War.
Uesugi, or Nagao at that time, had gone to the Holy Grail War with the idea of fighting great battles and being able to compare his strength with great warriors from other nations and eras, but unfortunately for him, his master had been a coward, leaving Nagao for several days in the forest, unable to do anything until Dante arrived in his Assassin class.
Rider had told Dante this, and consequently, Dante granted his wish to fight, however, with whomever and wherever he wanted.
"Thank you very much, Master," he said, his tone a little happier than usual, showing that he was finally able to express his emotions more freely.
"It's not a big deal. I'll keep the other two Command Seals in case of emergency. It's getting late; let's see if we can find an opponent," Dante replied, to which Rider nodded as he changed into his combat gear.
Dante had suggested searching, but he had already spotted one. However, he didn't want Rider to fight this enemy, at least not right now.
...
After walking through the city, they both arrived at a school.
"Master, I sense the presence of a Servant here," Rider said, sounding somewhat excited.
"I see," Dante replied simply, a little thoughtfully. "Disappear. Let me examine the waters of this place and the enemy first."
"No problem," she replied, vanishing and seemingly leaving Dante alone.
The moment Dante stepped into the school entrance, he felt a barrier in contact with him.
Sensing this, Dante smiled with satisfaction, as it confirmed her presence.
"Master," Rider said, concerned.
"I know. It's not active, so there's no problem. Let's continue," Dante replied, looking toward where he sensed another presence: the roof of the building.
As stealthily as possible, he climbed onto the roof only to see a young woman with black hair and a red coat analyzing a magical seal, which was surely from the inactive barrier. She seemed to be talking to someone, but she was alone.
"We have to do something; it might not work, but for now we'll disrupt its function," the young woman said.
Dante stared at the magic circle, remembering his student days and the magic the Gogon sisters performed, and he couldn't help but open his mouth.
"There are several counter-seals that could affect the circle, even stop it, but if you don't know anything about them, you can easily find the main one and destroy it using some mystical code," Dante said, causing the young woman to stop abruptly and stare at him.
They stared at each other for several seconds.
"Judging by what you're saying, I imagine it's not yours, or else you wouldn't tell me how to remove it," the young woman remarked.
"Indeed, but I've seen similar things before; you could say I have some knowledge of the subject, since it was the focus of my research several years ago," Dante replied, scratching his neck.
The young woman immediately noticed the back of his hand, looking at the Command Seals, the two he still had, which made her tense up.
"Still, I don't think someone like you or your partner would do something like that; after all, there's no point in destroying something your Servant might or might not do," Dante added, making the young woman tense up even more.
With their identities confirmed, there was nothing more to say. She scanned the perimeter of the area quite quickly.
"Ah, you're going to escape, and it's been a while since I've fought a mage," Dante remarked as he opened his trench coat wider, revealing two pistols in the holster at his hip.
Drawing them swiftly, he aimed at the young woman, but she had already moved. Squinting, Dante fired four test shots at the young master, only for the bullets to veer off course mid-flight.
With the circuits in her legs activated, the young woman leaped after reciting her spell.
"Archer, make sure I land," she was heard saying.
"Master," Dante heard in his mind.
"Yes, prepare to fight, Rider," he replied, leaping into the air as well, but without any spells or anything, just brute force.
The impact created a crater in the ground, leaving a large plume of smoke.
The young woman watched this with a mixture of astonishment and horror.
"What are you supposed to be, a cross between a robot and a magician?" she said incredulously, pointing at Dante.
"Does that even matter now?" she countered, only making him more irritated at his silence. Just as she was about to speak, a dark-skinned man with white hair and a suit of red and black materialized.
"Archer?" she asked, somewhat concerned.
"I see; you've finally revealed your Servant; this isn't a war between mages or mages and Servants but between Servants alone, at least that's how it was created," said Dante as he lit a cigarette.
At that moment, Rider materialized beside Dante, along with Lance, ready to attack.
"Let me handle this, Master," she said.
"That was the idea," he replied, taking several steps back.
"It's a shame we can't introduce ourselves, but at least let me give you a name so we can feel more comfortable in battle," Rider announced, twirling her lance to position herself ready to attack. "You can call me Rider, the one who will defeat you, because when I enter the battlefield, war and fortune will always be on my side."
The one known as Archer stared at Rider, doing nothing.
The young woman stared at her Servant for a few seconds before speaking.
"Archer, I won't help you; right here and now, show me your power!"
The red-clad Servant smiled, a surge of mana coursing through his body for a few seconds. Seeing this, Rider grinned.
"Hmm, I've seen this somewhere before," Dante remarked, only for Archer to vanish in a flash. Rider's eyes widened in shock, but he spun his spear and deflected Archer's sword.
In response, Rider lunged at Archer with a swift thrust, which his opponent dodged. Unfortunately for him, Rider increased his speed, catching up.
Dante watched the entire confrontation, frowning and leaning against a wall.
"It's a shame Archer is a Servant who could hinder Rider's Noble Phantasm," he sighed.
As the fight progressed, Archer found it increasingly difficult to attack Rider. This was due to two of Rider's abilities.
The first was Tactical Genius — B+, which allowed him to analyze the battlefield and assess the enemy's strength, enabling him to counterattack. This ability reflected his skill as a commander when facing his rival, Takada Shingen.
The second was Dragon of Echigo—A, which enhanced both his damage and agility, making him more effective when he had allies on the battlefield. This ability reflected his nickname, the Dragon of Echigo.
Now cornered, Archer used both his swords to try and counter Rider's superior combat skills, but even so, Rider seemed to have the upper hand in every way.
With a thrust, he sent Archer flying back several meters.
"You surprised me, an archer fighting with a sword; I would have liked to see your skill with the bow, but that will have to wait for the next Holy Grail War," Rider declared, assuming a thrusting stance, her body and weapon flowing with a massive amount of mana.
Archer narrowed his eyes slightly at Rider.
"You talk too much; you'd better back up your words with actions." With that, he prepared to receive the attack.
Dante watched as Rider prepared to activate one of her three Noble Phantasms, only to be interrupted by a noise in the distance.
The noise made everyone stop and look in that direction, only to see a young man with red hair start running toward the center of the building, out of everyone's way.
"A student," Dante said, just as he aimed his pistol and fired.
The moment the gun rang out, the bullet pierced the school wall, creating a small hole and, incidentally, a crater about 3 meters in diameter.
The young woman stared at this, as it was very different from the shot she had fired at her.
"What did you do?" she asked.
"There can't be any witnesses, neither to the ritual nor to this world," Dante said. He knew this was all part of the plot, but he didn't care; there was a reason for everything. "I think the moment was lost; let's end the fight here and continue another time. I'll let you clean up the mess."
With that, Rider dematerialized, while Dante used Soru to disappear from the scene, leaving the young woman alone with her Servant, unaware of what had happened.
"Rin," Archer said, looking at his master.
"I know, we'd better take care of that person," she said, running to where the student Dante had shot was standing.
...
Dante's POV
"Master, is it alright to leave things like this?" Rider asked.
"Actually, no, that's why I'm asking you to go and make sure that young man is properly assigned. If that young woman couldn't finish the job, do it yourself, but don't be cruel to the boy," I said.
"Understood," Rider replied, running off to the school, leaving me alone.
Seeing that I was alone, I sighed.
To be honest, I didn't care what happened to Shirou Emiya; for me, it was better if Saber wasn't summoned, but there was a reason why she might appear.
"I see you stayed behind, letting your Servant go off and do whatever he was going to do," I heard a somewhat annoyed voice.
Only to look up at a guy with red eyes and blond hair standing atop a poster, looking down at me with superiority.
"You've been spying on me all day; it's about time you showed your face," I retorted, sounding tired.
"Don't get too big for your britches, god slayer. I just wanted to see what kind of half-breed you were to be capable of such feats. In fact, I like you, being able to do that to those inept fools," the man said, smiling with satisfaction.
"I didn't know your hatred for the gods was so great, king of heroes," I replied.
"I don't hate beings like them; I merely tolerate them, but I admit I like knowing they get their just deserts from time to time, even if it's at the hands of others," Gilgamesh admitted.
"Hmm, I see. So, what brings you here before me, Gilgamesh?" I asked.
"I wanted to see what kind of strength you possess. I've been bored for ten years straight," he replied, and several golden gates opened for his sword.
This was why I stopped Rider's and Archer's fight and why I attacked Shirou to keep the battle going.
If I couldn't defeat Gilgamesh, I would need the power of the King of Knights to defeat the King of Heroes.
"Now, entertain me, half-breed. If you succeed, perhaps I can acknowledge you as one of my subordinates." With that, several swords flew in my direction.
Drawing my pistols, Ebony and Ivory, I fired with Armament Haki, deflecting all the weapons.
"Oh, what a strange ability of yours," Gilgamesh commented with some curiosity.
"It's nothing special. I'm just better at shooting than you," I replied honestly.
This made Gilgamesh frown.
"Don't get too cocky, half-breed." With that, thousands of portals appeared behind the King of Heroes, launching thousands of swords simultaneously.
When I saw the sword coming toward me, I could only think one thing: "Too slow."
Firing and taking short steps from side to side, I managed to deflect and dodge all of Gilgamesh's swords.
The firefight between us didn't stop for a second. We stared at each other without saying a word.
I don't know how much time passed, but suddenly I received a message from Rider.
"Master, a Servant has appeared defending the target, and now I'm facing him and Archer at the same time. " That brought me back to reality.
I stopped firing, something Gilgamesh did as well.
"Oh, it's her," he said, looking in a specific direction, letting me know he was using his clairvoyance. "I think we'll have to continue our fight another time," Gilgamesh said, disappearing.
At that moment, I took the opportunity to contact my servant.
"Get out of there as soon as possible. Finish this for today," I told him.
"Understood," he replied.
At that moment, I was left alone in the middle of nowhere.