While the Servants were busy fending off Spartacus, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon had flown silently into Yggdmillenia ground undetected. Now, it hovered right above a certain area of the castle.
Haruka, Semiramis, and Amakusa stood in a large, empty chamber on the lowest level of the Gardens. Semiramis gestured and magic circles appeared before her. "You may want to hold onto something, girl," Semiramis commented. "I doubt humans would be able to withstand the pressure from this spell."
"Got it," Haruka replied as she reinforced her limbs and grabbed onto one of the support pillars.
With another gesture, a square in the ground opened up. Below, Haruka could see the faint glowing of the Greater Grail, and shivered as she felt its aura of power.
Shirou watched the proceeds go with feverish desire in his eyes. "Soon… soon, the Greater Grail will be ours," he murmured.
Haruka looked with mild concern at the Ruler-class Servant that was a friend back in Chaldea. She had heard stories about his wish and desires from other Servants, but witnessing him like this unnerved her slightly. I think I'll have to summon Edmond or Jeanne Alter here to keep him occupied, mana consumption be damned. Even Jeanne's La Pucelle couldn't stop his Noble Phantasm. Let's see here… Edmond's Mana rank is lower than Jeanne Alter's, so I guess I'll summon him when I can. Or hell, how about both of them? Edmond to distract Amakusa and Jeanne Alter to confuse the hell out of Jeanne. I'll just have to eat like 5 apples.
Haruka snapped out of her thoughts as she felt mana fill the air. A powerful spell had broken through the Yggdmillenia Castle to capture the Greater Grail, pulling it upwards from its confines within the castle. She watched as the Greater Grail floated into the chamber that was prepared for it, keeping a firm hold on the pillars. The wind howled fiercely around her as the hole slowly closed up.
And suddenly, it was silent.
The Greater Grail sat silently, pulsing softly with golden light and illuminating the dark room. Amakusa and Semiramis stared at the construct in silent awe. "This is… the Greater Grail…" The Ruler-class Servant breathed.
Haruka also stared at the Greater Grail in confusion, because it really didn't look like a Grail to her. "It's not a cup?" She asked out loud.
"No," Amakusa replied, having repressed his awe. "The Greater Grail was never meant to be one. It's more like a core than anything else."
"Oh."
Semiramis turned around sharply as screens materialized in front of her. "We seem to have uninvited guests approaching. We must take care of them first."
Amakusa nodded in understanding, and Haruka reached out to Karna.
Karnacchi, get back here! They have the Greater Grail!
Understood.
Arthur, stay with Sieg and keep an eye on Astolfo and Siegfried! I'll call you here with a Command Seal!
Understood, Master Haruka.
Haruka followed Semiramis and Amakusa as they made their way out of the chambers and into the chapel via a secret passageway Semiramis opened in the wall to avoid any Servants.
"Now what do I do?" Haruka complained. "I don't want to hide in here. Not while you guys steal the other Masters' Command Seals."
"You're not going to attempt to stop that?" Amakusa asked.
"As if I could stop you. What's the situation, Queen Semiramis?"
"Rider and Archer are intercepting Lancer of Black, Caster of Black and Archer of Black. Lancer is behind them," Semiramis observed casually. "What shall we do?"
"What happened in this fight?" Amakusa asked.
"Darnic uses his Command Seals to force Vlad to invoke his Noble Phantasm… eh, I forgot the name but he turns into a legit Dead Apostle, and then fuses their souls together. Creepy. Oh, wait, I think I can prevent that! Gotta go bye!" Haruka rushed off before Amakusa or Semiramis could stop her.
The Master and Servant stared at her retreating form. "Whose side was she on again?"
The Black Servants had just begun their fight with the Red Servants in the hallways of the Gardens.
Vlad, his power weakened, struggled to keep up with Karna's strikes. Chiron and Achilles clashed viciously, neither of them refusing to give an inch. Atalanta's arrows took down golems and homunculi each, some of them also aimed at Avicebron, who shielded himself with more golems.
At first, it looked even.
But slowly, surely, the Red Servants were winning. It was their home turf, after all.
"Why am I weakened here…" Vlad growled as he blocked an attack from Karna.
"You are no longer on Romanian soil. Have your subjects abandoned you, lord of the land?" Karna asked.
A human voice, amplified with magecraft, cut through the fighting. "The Black Faction will not be able to win here."
Vlad turned in surprise. "Darnic?"
Chiron and Avicebron turned as well to see Darnic on a balcony overlooking the hall.
"How did he get here?" Achilles muttered.
"Truly, the Black Faction is weakened here… unless you use that Noble Phantasm, Lancer," Darnic said steadily.
Karna watched as Vlad stiffened. " What did you just say to me, Darnic?" He growled.
"Do not make me repeat myself. I am ordering you to release your Noble Phantasm, Legend of Dracula."
"And I said I would never release that Noble Phantasm!" Vlad snarled.
"Know your place, you mere familiar!" Darnic snapped, his voice growing louder with hysteria. "I did not summon you for nothing! I summoned you so you would win the Grail for me! A Servant must obey what his Master wishes! Now, Lancer…"
"DARNIC!" Vlad's voice held a hint of panic.
"With my Command Seal, I command you to—"
"Oh no you don't! Gandr! "
All the Servants blinked as Darnic seized up and fell from the balcony, seemingly paralyzed. The force knocked the Yggdmillenia clan unconscious, but the Servants were more focused on the red-haired girl that ran up to them, out of breath.
"Master, what are you doing here?!" Karna asked.
"Obviously to save Vlad!"
Vlad stared in shock as Haruka pulled out some chains from nowhere and began tying up Darnic. "Girl, what did you just do?"
"I anticipated Darnic would make you use the Noble Phantasm you hated and decided to knock him out. You deserve a fight retaining your own sense of self, not someone else's, Vlad III."
"But he's the enemy…?" Achilles asked uncertainly.
"Believe me, none of you are able to kill a Dead Apostle. Unless you're a saint. Besides, Darnic's wrong. Servants aren't familiars. They have their own selves, their own feelings, and their own wishes. Trampling over all that just for the Master's desire is wrong. That's why I don't care whoever the Servant is. Whether they're an enemy or not, if their Master is being a jerk, I'll do my best to help them out, since they deserve better than that."
Chiron clapped. "Wise words."
Vlad watched silently as Haruka used some Black Keys to pin Darnic to the wall, and spoke. "I owe you my gratitude, Lancer of Red's Master. I had observed you in earlier battles and thought you as a worthy Master, but I now see that you are also a considerate mage."
"Ehehe, no need to praise me. I just like helping out Servants."
Karna sighed faintly, but Achilles heard and gave the lancer a sympathetic look.
Darnic blinked awake, and his eyes settled on Haruka and a normal-looking Vlad. "Girl…" he growled. "Untie me."
"Nope~" Haruka sang, a sudden dark aura rising off her. "Oh, and please don't talk or use your Command Seals or else I might decapitate you with the same spell I used on Gordes." As if to prove her point, a few portals opened up behind her, Black Keys poking out.
This time even Avicebron and Chiron stared in surprise at Haruka's sudden change in mood.
Karna could only shake his head. "She had a grudge against him as well… it was my error in forgetting that."
Darnic only smiled grimly as his Command Seals flashed, a silent order in his mind.
"No you don't," Haruka said stonily as a Black Key impaled Darnic's hand. Blood gushed out, and Darnic howled in pain. "I don't like hurting people but you're one of the most heartless magi I've ever heard of." Three more portals flashed, Black Keys now impaled into Darnic's other hand and legs. "One more word or thought out of you and the next one goes through your throat."
Darnic laughed, staring into Haruka's eyes. "You won't be able to. You've never killed a human before, have you, girl?"
"I won't know until I try," Haruka breathed. A Black Key aimed itself at Darnic's throat, but it was trembling wildly, as if mirroring her uncertainty.
Darnic began laughing. "See? You can't do it, girl. I don't know how you were able to defeat Gordes with a simple mind like that, but you don't have the ability or the mindset to kill me here."
The Black Key shook wildly in its portal as Haruka continued to stare down Darnic. A drop of sweat could be seen rolling down her neck as she breathed out slowly. Karna attempted to make a move but hesitated when he saw the concentration on Haruka's face.
Jeanne, who had just arrived at the scene, stared in shock at the scene in front of her, but Chiron locked eyes with her and shook his head, silently asking her to refrain from interfering.
"Enough, girl." Vlad's voice cut through the stare-off. "You have proven your courage to me. I will repay the debt I owe you now for saving me. This is now a Black Faction problem. I will deal with him myself." He raised a hand, and Darnic's body was flung into the air momentarily as a stake shot through his chest.
Haruka flinched as blood spattered onto her uniform, and stepped back. Karna immediately materialized at her side to support her. "Master!"
"I haven't killed him yet," Vlad said coolly as everyone stared Darnic's prone form. "I might, though, but I would lose my chance at the Grail. However, for the sake of your Master, Lancer of Red, I will order the Black Faction to withdraw here. We are weakened here on your territory and you have the Greater Grail in your grasp." He paused as Achilles and Atalanta suddenly grasped their chests and fell to their knees. "Hm?"
"Our… Masters…" Atalanta gasped.
"What happened?" Jeanne asked.
"Our Masters… something happened to them…"
Semiramis' amplified voice echoed through the hallways. "My Master and I request that everyone, friend or foe, gather in the chapel. We have an ultimatum for all Servants."
"They did it," Haruka mumbled, still in a daze over what happened with Darnic. "Shirou Tokisada Amakusa… he took the Red Masters' Command Seals…"
"He did what now?!" Achilles and Atalanta swiftly dematerialized.
"What did you say?!" Jeanne ran up to Haruka. "What do you mean by Shirou Tokisada Amakusa?!"
"Ruler, my Master isn't in the best mental condition to answer questions—"
"Karnacchi, I may be in shock, but this is more important." Haruka used Karna as a support to stand up on shaking legs, but looked Jeanne in the eye. " Shirou Kotomine's true identity is the Ruler-class Servant from the Third Holy Grail War 60 years ago, Shirou Tokisada Amakusa. He wanted the Greater Grail to make his wish of saving humanity become reality. He's the one manipulating the Red Servants and their Masters. We have to stop him or else he'll rewrite the entirety of human history."
"H-how do you know all that?"
"Enough questions; if you want to stop him we have to go now!" With a silent command, Karna picked up Haruka bride style and disappeared down a hallway.
Ruler turned to the Black Servants. "I want a temporary truce while we figure out what happened to the Red Faction. Will you accept it?"
"We will," Vlad replied as he motioned for Avicebron, Chiron and the homunculi to follow him.
The Black Servants and Ruler went deeper into the fortress.
At Yggdmillenia Castle, Fiore and the other Masters were slowly coming to terms that their most prized possession was now gone.
"The Greater Grail was stolen by the Red Faction while we were preoccupied with the battle… smart bastards…!" Gordes growled as he punched a wall.
"Uncle Gordes, I know how you feel, but please refrain from damaging more of the castle." Fiore tried to soothe the older mage, but her voice was tight with worry. Caules could only stand back as he watched his sister try and reason with the enraged Musik, silently checking on Frankenstein's condition via their mental link.
Gordes growled. "On top of that, that stray homunculus has the gall to return and free the rest of them! How are we supposed to continue our battle after this?!"
On another side of the castle, Roche sighed mournfully as he gazed at all the destroyed golems. "Teacher's golems were no good against Servants… but that's what we anticipated, though. Alright, I'll go make more for him when he gets back! We'll need to replenish our numbers as fast as possible!"
Finally, on the outer field, a very angry Celenike was confronting Astolfo. Sieg could only watch on as Arthur hovered close to him, wary eyes on Celenike and Siegfried. For his credit, Siegfried seemed more cautious of Celenike than Arthur, and was slowly retreating to where Frankenstein was watching the exchange curiously. Surprisingly, he hadn't been ordered to accompany Vlad to the Hanging Gardens, but instead told to keep guard on what was left of the castle with Frankenstein and Astolfo. He hadn't minded the order, but deep down wished he could have clashed with Karna again.
The two Sabers snapped out of their thoughts as Celenike raised her hand, a command seal flashing as it was used. "Rider, I command you to kill this homunculus!"
"Master, please!" Astolfo cried, struggling against the order. "Don't kill him!"
"Good; there's the face I wanted to see! All twisted up with despair!" Celenike shrieked, her eyes wide and crazed.
Astolfo's large lance materialized as he swung it at Sieg, but Arthur blocked and knocked the Rider back. "Saber of Black, get him away from here!"
Siegfried nodded and pushed Sieg behind him.
Celenike tched and another command seal glowed. "I order you once again. Kill that homunculus, Rider!"
"Master, please!"
Boosted by two command seals, Astolfo still wasn't able to compare against Arthur's skill and instincts, and was being pushed back.
Sieg clenched his fists. "Can't we do anything to help?" He asked Siegfried.
Siegfried shook his head. He kept Balmung at the ready in case Celenike decided to approach Sieg herself, but she seemed to prefer watching Astolfo fight Arthur. "The easiest way to solve this would be to kill Celenike, but that would sever Rider's connection with the world. The other way would be to kill Rider, but…"
"He saved me. I don't want him to die."
"Uuu…?" Frankenstein pointed at Sieg.
"What is it, Berserker?" Siegfried asked.
"Ha… nd…" Frankenstein pointed at Sieg's hand.
"Are you asking if I could contract with Astolfo?"
"Uuu!" Frankenstein nodded.
"I would, but I don't have Command Seals…"
"I am curious, though… your Saber considered to be a rogue Servant to us in the Black Faction. If he rescued you, then who is his Master…?"
"The same one who diverted Arthur's mana consumption to me. His Master has the command seals and can contract with Astolfo, but I doubt they would be able to at this moment." Sieg spoke carefully, making sure not to reveal Haruka's identity to Siegfried. While he really did want to trust Siegfried with the information, now was not the time.
"Your rescuer seems to be a skilled magus. What did they want with you?"
"I wouldn't know the full reason why… but you may be able to ask them later."
For now, the homunculus and two Servants could only watch as two other Servants fought with their all.