Chapter 3: Page 3: The first battle of the War
A shroud of darkness draped over the land, and the trees twisted and swayed in the restless wind, their shadows dancing across the sleeping valley that stretched endlessly into the horizon. Faint silver moonlight spilled over the cracked asphalt of the highway, glimmering through the flickering, broken streetlights that dotted the road like scattered stars. At the center of the highway, where the moonlight pooled the brightest, stood a massive traffic sign proclaiming the name of the coming battleground: Trifas. Perched atop it was a lone figure, silhouetted against the pale glow, poised with an almost unnatural stillness. To anyone else, it would seem reckless—mad, even—but to him, it was the perfect vantage, a crown atop the battlefield from which to survey everything, turning height into an advantage no one else could claim. According to the dove's reports, the ruler decided, for whatever reason, on hitchhiking to Trifas instead of going into spirit form. This was strange, but now he can track her down, so it didn't matter, and there was another person traveling with her, but it was inconsequential because he doesn't seem involved with what happened in Trifas. So for the Lancer of Red, all that matters is waiting for the ruler to pass through, so that is why he was in his material form, to carry out his order.
To Lancer there is no such thing as 'liking' or 'disliking' an order given to you; there are just 'orders,' and he will follow them to the best of his ability.
He'll even go as far as not even considering how the order even relates to the current situation. If the order comes for the person who summons him, he will do it with no hesitation. But even he has some slight grievances about his current assignment. He was ordered to not kill the enemy servant nor master nor even kill an innocent civilian for prana but to kill the ruler, the fifteenth servant who has been tasked to preside over the war. He has no choice but to accept it.
The ruler class itself is responsible for maintaining the rules of the Holy Grail War and for dishing out punishment to those who would break them, unless the system falls apart.
It is highly likely that his master gave him this order so as to avoid penalization for rule-breaking from the Ruler... Buying just this was too hasty of a decision to make this early. And yet he couldn't find any reason not to make it. Regardless, orders are orders, and Lancer is not one to raise objection; rather, such thought was purged from his mind.
His order was to kill, and he will carry out the massacre without a shred of mercy.
Then a dove landed on his shoulder with a piece of paper in its beak, and when he grabbed it, the bird hurriedly flew off into the distance. It is probably one of the Assassin of Red's familiars. Similar to Caster of Red's unique circumstances, Red Assassin is also an unconventional servant. Despite being part of the Assassin class, the queen of Assriya possesses the extraordinarily rare skill ofDouble Summon,which allows the Assassin to be a caster as well. Thus, picking up the slack for Caster.
"Hmph."
The message is fully concise—with only one vehicle and a license number on its plate, more than enough information for the task at hand.
Lancer sat down on top of the giant sign of the motorway, throwing one leg out while waiting for the Ruler's arrival. Truthfully, he knows next to nothing about what kind of servant he is targeting, in fact. The greater grail probably has all the information about the ruler under lock and key. Servants under the ruler class are somewhat of the overseers of the Holy Grail War but less significant than a human overseer. But more importantly, however, is that Ruler possesses a special 'privilege' as the overseer of the war, so bringing her down will be the most difficult—all the more reason why such a servant will be worth fighting.
And in the distance, Lancer saw the faint headlight of a vehicle.
"Hmmmmmm... Okay, what if I put this over here and then carry the three... Hmph, wait, okay, okay, yeah, YEAH, JEANNE! LOOK, I THINK I GOT THE QUESTION RIGHT!
"Ummm...Asta I think that is still incorrect."
"WHAT AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH COME ONNNNNNNNNNNN!"
As Asta dropped down to the truck trunk floor, he began to roll side to side with his face covered by his hands. Watching him doing this, Jeanne couldn't help but giggle at Asta's antics ever since he tried to do some of the questions himself.
When Asta got up from the trunk floor with his head held low, he slumped and asked, "Why can't I get a single question right? I mean, with how many questions we did, I was certain to get one question right, but I couldn't get any of them right."
"You know you could always get some help, Asta." Jeanne says, trying to comfort Asta with his admittedly poor aptitude with math. "You don't have to do this alone, even though I have some trouble with this question."
"Yeah, I know, but if I can't stop now, I have a feeling that I'm so close, so I can't back down. Even if it's going to take the whole day, I WILL GET THE QUESTION RIGHT NO MATTER WHAT! Asta proclaimed not only to himself but to Jeanne as he looked at her while sticking his thumb to himself, showing his smile.
She was a little shocked at Asta's proclamation over something as trivial as a math problem. But just hearing him say that so proudly made Jeanne's cheeks just turn the slightest hint of red, but they returned to normal after Asta looked back at the question.
"Alright, one more time, let's do this."
As Asta restarted the question from scratch, Jeanne, on the other hand, was quietly thinking about her circumstances. She was here because of the greater grail in order to be the fifteenth servant, Ruler, in order to mediate the war in Tifas so that it doesn't spiral into chaos. Yet she was summoned not in Romania, where the war is taking place, but in France. Moreover, she needed to be summoned into the body of a French girl to arrive in the modern day in the first place, but why did she have to be summoned in this peculiar way? Was it the plan to protect her from something, or was the grail affected by some malicious force? Nothing makes sense, and as she continually thinks about her situations, desperately trying to find some answer to her summoning, she glances at Asta, and her thoughts slowly shift to him.
He was a curious enigma, a puzzle wrapped in motion. At first glance, she thought he was just a nice, ordinary guy, but subtle details quickly painted a different story. His right arm bore a guard that seemed to hum with an almost otherworldly energy, while strange, cryptic markings etched his left wrist like runes from another world. When they collided again by the truck, she realized there was far more beneath the surface—like the charming paradox that he fumbled through math as if numbers themselves mocked him, yet never let that stop him.
He kept trying, failing again and again, yet never surrendering, as though the universe itself couldn't shake his resolve. There was a gravity in his toothy grin, a storm in his unwavering eyes—a silent promise that no danger, no threat, no obstacle could make him turn away. He was a diamond buried at the base of an impossible mountain, rough and hidden yet dazzling, catching the light of courage and hope in ways few could understand. In his own strange, unassuming way, he was a hero born for this modern age, a force of relentless determination in a world that often forgot what it meant to fight.
"Hmmmm... Okay, I think it's this time. Hey Jeanne, is this correct?"
As Jeanne looked at the question, she looked at Asta and humbly nodded, and Asta smiled from ear to ear while putting both fists in the air and yelling. "WOOHOOOO, see, I told you I can do it; I just need time to figure it out!"
"Good job, Asta. You are a pretty fast learner."
"Hehh, thanks, I appreciate it." Smiled Asta as he went back to the book. "Okay, next question!"
Jeanne smiled as he continued to try and fail to respond to the question in the book.
"You know I would have appreciated someone like you in my life, Asta,"she says as her smile slowly turns into a frown."But I'm afraid that this is the last time we'll ever see each other again."
In an instant, an alarm that was in her head was raised.
Danger, Danger, Servant, dangerous beyond comparison!
"Stop the truck!"
"Huh?" say both Asta and the old man as the old man abruptly stops the truck, causing Asta to fall over and throw the book into the air. Then the old man turned around to look at Jeanne and asked, "What do you mean, stop here?
"Please stop here and wait until morning comes. I will be walking for the rest of the journey.
"Stop here? Lady, it was too dark at this time, and isn't it a better option to drive there instead of walking there?
"I know, but please, for your safety, stay here till morning, and please do not worry about me; I will be fine. She promised the old man as Asta was moving all over the back of the truck, continuously trying to find the place to catch the book until it fell on his head and knocked him out.
The old man was initially hesitant at first, but after seeing her for a few seconds and seeing how assuredly she looked at him, he sighed and caved in.
"Okay, you can go."
"Thank you, sir," she said as she grabbed her bag and her math book from Asta and began to leave. While she was about to get off the truck, she heard a loud "WAIT!" As she turned her head, she saw Asta standing up, looking at her with his arms stretched out like he was just unconscious moments before.
"I'm coming too."
"Asta."
"I mean, we're both headed in the same direction, right, and I need to go there for something too. Plus, if we can be together, we can probably help each oth–."
"No."
One word
Just one word, and just when it was spoken, it seemed like everything in the world stopped. Asta was dead silent, confused even about why she didn't want him to go with her.
"Huh...b-but why?" Asta queried.
"Because it's too dangerous for any normal person to be there, and besides," she said as she turned her back to Asta. "I don't want you to be involved in my situation, so please stand here until morning."
After saying that, she continued to leave as Asta was in a state of utter confusion. Nothing of what she says makes sense to him at all, but he wants to know about what she is talking about, so he instinctively stretches out his hand to try to stop her.
"Hey, wait a minute, Jean—" As she was about to grab her hand to try to talk to her, in the blink of an eye she disappeared from his sight. Bewildered for a second, he goes to the edge of the car trunk to see her sprinting to Tifa's so fast that she was leaving her footprint in the concrete. Safe to say that Asta was shocked that she was able to move that fast when the rest of the people of Bucharest couldn't even move at a fraction of her speed.
"Welp, there's nothing we can do but listen to her order."
"Wait, you suggest we just do nothing?"
"Well, yeah, she seems to know what she is doing, and besides, what can we do to help her?"
Asta was stunned by the old man's action of not doing anything to help her. Sure, she seemed capable of doing what she needed to do—maybe she was—but for Asta it didn't make it any easier to accept it.
Even though they have known each other for a short time, Asta. He was feeling something familiar, something cozy; in that short timeframe, he had already considered her a friend. He wanted to know her—like he knew Noelle, Mimosa, Luck, Magna, and all the others who became irreplaceable in his life. He also wanted to understand why the place she spoke of was so dangerous and how she knew it. But more than anything, he wanted to know why she had to carry this burden alone.
Because the thought of someone he cared about walking into danger by themselves—that hurt more than he expected.
So as he looked at the same place that she ran off to, he gritted his teeth and jumped off of the truck and began to walk in that direction.
"Woah, kid, hold up. Are you seriously planning on going after her?"
"Yes, what about it?"
"Did you hear what she said? She gonna be fi–"
"Just because someone says they're fine doesn't mean that they are." Asta interrupted.
The old man stopped dead in his tracks at the sudden interjection, and then he looked back at Asta. He was still looking at the horizon, but it was different. His face was less whimsical and more determined and stoic, like a lion standing tall against all odds.
"I may not look like it, but trust me, I've seen things that no person could even dream of, so when I say that there is something deeper that she is keeping, I mean it, and I'm going to find out why."
"But why do such an extreme thing for someone you just met?" The old man inquired, genuinely confused, why Asta was so willing to help others, even those he barely knew.
After he says this, however, Asta stops and looks at the old man directly into his eyes. The old man was initially shocked at how fast Asta turned, but he looked into Asta's eyes and saw something, a raging fire that was brighter than anything he had seen before, as Asta began to speak.
"I've met so many people who think they have to handle everything alone—pushed aside "for their own good" or told it's "better this way." But that's not strength. That's loneliness eating you up inside."
"I've seen people bury their fears, doubts, and pain because they think staying strong alone is their only value. They build walls so high even kindness can't reach them... and they believe breaking under it makes them WEAK!"
"I CAN'T STAND BY AND WATCH THAT! I won't watch someone drown in silence when I know how fast people vanish into their own pain if nobody reaches out!"
"That's why I'll walk beside them! Face every fight, every setback, every danger—RIGHT THERE WITH THEM—rather than let them fall alone! Standing together might not guarantee victory... but standing alone GUARANTEES suffering!"
"Even if she pushes me away... even if she's scared, angry, or thinks she's protecting me... I'M STILL NOT BACKING DOWN! I'll fight for her, for her place in this world, for her right to NOT CARRY EVERYTHING BY HERSELF!"
"NO ONE SHOULD FACE THE WORLD ALONE! NOT WHEN THERE ARE PEOPLE WILLING TO SHARE THAT WEIGHT! NOT THEN! NOT NOW! NOT EVER!"
Asta then turns back to the horizon where Jeanne was running toward, thinking that even though she might not like it, he is going to Tifas and her, no matter what.
"So are you going to stop me?"
The man didn't know what to think at this point. Jeanne told them not to go with her until morning, but hearing Asta's words made him realize something. No matter what you say or do, there will always be people that will stay by your side no matter what. And when he looks at Asta, he sees someone that will always be by your side. This causes a smile for the man seeing just how far this boy will go for his friends.
"You know, kid, I've lived a long time and seen countless people come and go. But you... you're different. I've never met anyone with a fire like yours—someone who throws themselves into helping others, even when it isn't their fight, even when the odds are stacked against them. If this is the path you've chosen, then go forward with your head held high! Let the world see the strength of your heart, and leave no doubt that you'll never back down from what's right!"
Asta couldn't help but smile at those words as he replied, "Thank you." as he dashed toward Tifas and Jeanne.
As the old man was sitting down in his truck all alone, he began to think of the two of them, and seeing how the both of them acted with each other, he gave a grin to himself.
"Heh, they did not know yet, but their bond is going to transform into something beautiful."
As the moon continued to shine down off the road ahead, Jeanne continued to rush forward to her destination at full speed. Looking around her surroundings, she sees that there are no cars, no animals, and not a single trace of a living being anywhere for miles. Perhaps it was the doing of the boundary field that blocked the entry of any living thing that wasn't in Tifas at the time of its creation.
Before coming to any conclusions, however, her alarm raised this time even louder than before. Whoever was making her alarm go off—it was getting closer—so she stopped near the big sign where she saw a silhouette of a person on top of it.
Readying for a battle, she put her bag down as she started walking toward the sign. While she was doing it, magical energy started to appear as it whirled around her body until it consumed her. Like an angel appearing before God's disciples, she walks out of it in a new battle-woven armor from the magical energy while the rest of it dissipates into thin air.
"Your servant ruler, I take it."
Stopping at the sign and looking up, she saw the man who made the silhouette sitting on top of the sign like he was waiting for her with one knee on top of the motorway sign. His hair was long, unkempt, and so white that you could also see through it. His gaze was as sharp as a steel blade, and the red gem buried in his exposed chest similarly emanated an enthralled lustrousness. But what drew the eye more than anything else was what was wrapped around—or more accurately, had become connected with—his entire body: a golden set of armor that was seamlessly radiating a divine presence.
While every single part is beautiful in its own right, once combined with the man, they exuded far more ferocity than they did attractiveness.
Truly, what a curious man.
This made Jeanne realize that her situation was more critical than she thought—enough to make her instill the will to fight as a ruler.
But she stood her ground, not lowering her guard an inch, and replied.
"And you are... The lancer of red, yes?"
"Oh, so you can perceive such stuff at a glance. I haven't even taken out my weapon yet?"
Sounding rather intrigued, the man, Lancer, nodded.
"Of course. I also can perceive true names as well—Heroic spirit Karna."
"..."
This name was enough of a reason for the invincible hero in the Mahābhārata known as Karna to not hold back against her as he stood up.
"I see... Yes, it is beyond uncertainty that you are Ruler. You can learn of my true name even though I haven't unleashed any noble phantasms or even summoned my spear."
"That is right. So, Lancer, what are you doing here?"
"...It is unwise to ask for matters that you already know the answer to. My presence here speaks for itself—this is a declaration of war!"
In an instant Karna lunged at Ruler at the speed of light as a bluish light surround his hand, preparing to end her in one strike. As Jeanne realized this, she narrowly jumped out of the way of the weapon that was about to be created, but still in mid-air, she felt an ominous presence as it moved toward Karna. When the two beings clashed, they created a huge explosion as dust and rubble were flung all across the road, and the road itself creaked and shattered from the impact of the clash.
Jeanne was pushed slightly by the wind pressure, but she elegantly landed on her two feet, standing up to see what that being was that went to Karna.
She could see it because of all of the dust around them, but she also couldn't sense it, which was strange beyond belief because her sense was better than the average servant, so who could it be? But when the dust cloud disappeared and she saw the person who went past her, she was bewildered by what she was seeing.
"Asta!"
It was Asta, the boy she told to stay with the old man until morning came, who was suddenly here, and he had a huge greatsword that seemed to have dulled over time and a grimoire that was floating in the air, but the most insane part of all of this is that Asta was holding his ground against Karna. By all intents and purposes, a normal person shouldn't be able to block against a low-servant attack, let alone a high one, but Asta was not only able to block an attack from a servant but also put them in a gridlock, confusing Jeanne on all fronts.
Karna was confused as well, but only slightly, seeing a young boy, not even a heroic spirit, be able to clash with him on equal terms.
"Huh?" This boy was able to block my attack."
"WOAH! This man is crazy strong; strong enough to beat a supreme devil on his own!"
As both Asta and Karna continued to lock weapons, their power of anti-magic and fire, respectively, rose from their bodies and collided with each other as the road below their feet completely crumbled into a small but wide crater around them. Asta was being pushed back by the immense power that Karna was giving off, but he stood his ground even though his skin was being torched by the flames.
After several seconds their energies rises to a boiling point as it produces a large shockwave pushing back the two combatants away from each other. Asta, falling to the ground rapidly, thought fast and plunged his demon-slayer sword hard to the ground, killing his movement as he stopped in front of Jeanne, and Karna effortlessly landed to the ground while the both of them stared at each other like wild beasts.
As Asta began to stand up, Liebe appeared on his shoulder, and Asta whispered in his ear, "Hey Liebe, did you felt that?"
"Felt what?" Asta replied.
"Those flames, they seem to be a lot more mystic and ancient than the other types of flame we have seen before."
Looking at the man in front of them, they can tell that he is an extremely powerful warrior who has decades of experience fighting on the battlefield. The armor as well, even though it doesn't really cover his exposed chest, seems like it is fused with his skin, which is really, really weird for the two brothers. He also has a massive spear taller than the man himself, which has a strange design near the top where the main spike goes through a circular disc to the top, and six other spikes protrude on the side of the circular disc, where a golden ring is attached to the end of the six spikes that make it look like a sun.
The strangest part of all of this is that this man does not produce the same ki like everyone else; he produces a ki that seems so unusual, so bizarre, and so otherworldly in nature.
Well, whoever this man is, one thing is certainly clear.
"He's dangerous."
they both say as Asta finally stands up as he points his sword at the man and yells out to the man, "Hey! What do you think you're doing, and what's the deal with the Weapon!?"
"I could ask you the same thing, but I think there is a more important question we need to discuss first."
"And that is?" Asta inquired.
"How can you, a human, be able to block my attack and stand your ground while we were clashing? I have seen many things throughout my life, but seeing someone being defended from an attack by a heroic spirit like myself is not something you see every day."
"What does he mean by a human being able to block his attack, and what is a heroic spirit?"At first Asta thought that this guy was an elf, but that was immediately crossed off because he didn't have the long ears, nor did he have the mark of a resurrected elf, so that was scratched off too. Before he could think of anything else, he heard footsteps as he turned around to see Jeanne in armor.
"What are you doing here, Asta! I told you to stay back until morning."
"I'm here to help you; that's what I'm doing."
"Asta, I told you before, I can do this alone!"
"Yeah, I know."
"Then why did you come here!? You could have gotten hurt, SO WHY COM—"
"BECAUSE I REFUSED TO LET SOMEONE GO OFF AND FIGHT ALONE!"
Jeanne was silent at Asta's words; he didn't want her to fight alone, but why? They have only interacted with each other for a few hours at most, but now Asta was willing to face off against just Karna; this didn't make any sense.
"Look, I get it. I probably seem crazy to you, some guy you barely know charging in and refusing to back off even after you told me to. But Ican'tjust stand there and do nothing when I know I can help! That's not who I am!"
He grabs her hand, eyes burning with stubborn certainty.
"So like it or not, I'm helping you no matter what!"
Jeanne didn't know what to say as her cheek turned red and her heart beat a little faster at Asta's proclamation. It also didn't help that Asta was also holding her hand very firmly, so she felt the hard but gentle hand of him.
"Asta."
"Besides, I also need to be there for my own reasons too," smiles Asta, turning back to Karna, letting go of Jeanne hand and going into his fighting position. "So I have to get past him in order to do so!"
Karna sighed as he walked toward the duo. "While it is impressive for you to block my attack, I'm afraid that I have to end you here." He replied, pointing his spear at them. "It's nothing personal; I am simply acting on my master's wish.
"Lancer...!"
"Lancer?" Asta replied, confused about the weird name.
As Karna stops a couple of meters away from them, he goes into a fighting stance, and flames appear all around him as he seems to be gathering up power partially in his spear. "Here I come, you two; unfortunately for you, ruler, your 'privileges' will not stop this attack. So let this first attack decide this duel."
Ruler's eyes widened as she saw his prana immediately surge—his plan was not to exchange blows with her or Asta. But when he released his noble phantasm, she couldn't exercise her 'privileges' beforehand, and what about Asta? All he wanted was to protect her, and now he was about to be obliterated because of her.
For Asta...he was rather excited about this.
This was the first time in five months that a fight needed him to fight seriously, and sensing this guy's ki. He could tell that he had to go all out to even have a chance of beating him.
"Hey Liebe, you're thinking what I'm thinking."
Liebe looked at him with a grin on his face and replied, "Yeah, let's do it!"
Getting ready to unleash that 'form' on Karna Jeanne abruptly moved in front of him, blocking his view.
"Jeanne!" Asta shouted.
"I'm sorry, Asta." Jeanne responded as she got into a defensive position, "But I can't let you protect me here. Your life has too much at stake just to throw it away for me." She knows that this decision would most certainly cost her life, but she can't let Asta sacrifice himself, so if she can protect him just enough so he can run away, she will be more than happy with that outcome.
Before anyone can do anything, however, they all sense something coming to them. It was barreling behind Lancer as all three of them heard someone yelling.
"Do it now, Saber!"
Then a person behind Lancer jumped in the air and lunged toward him, swinging what seemed to be a huge greatsword down at Lancer, but he casually blocked the strike as he swung his spear with one arm toward it. As this person roughly landed on the ground as he repositioned himself, almost immediately he swung his sword with such force that he made a gust of wind that lunged toward Lancer, but he effortlessly stopped it by putting the spear in front of the attack. Doing this, however, did not stop all of the attack, as the beam that supported the sign behind them got sliced as the sign started to fall to the ground.
Getting up to face Lancer, the moon lights upon them to see that it is a tall man with silver-grey hair. His body was encased in radiant silver woven plate armor, and he had a two-handed, golden greatsword that was almost as tall as Asta Demon-slayer.
"You..." The lancer mattered; his voice, like a chilled wind, continued to stare at Saber as the big sign crashed to the asphalt, making a gust of wind that moved his hair slightly. "You are Saber of Black, I assume. Because you certainly aren't a Berserker or Assassin—not with such pressure coming from your sword."
The saber in front of me stood up and nodded wordlessly.
"Hmm... so it seems that we have the same objective."
Lancer glanced at Ruler briefly. It does seem that their objectives have some relation between them, but it is highly likely that they are here to aid her, not eliminate her. Whichever side has possession of the neutral ruler would have an unmistakable advantage over the other team, so gaining her trust by helping her out is an effective plan.
Arriving at the scene was a portly man that was wearing white military clothing with gold accents on the shirts, buttons, and even on the shoulders. He was seeming tired after walking a fair distance to get where Jeanne and Asta were, but he tidied himself up and spoke like a spokesman, took a step forward, and respectfully held his hand out.
"You look like you're in some trouble, O Ruler."
Ruler? This was the second time Asta heard someone called her that. Why don't they ask her for her name instead of calling her ruler? This whole situation is getting weirder and weirder by the second.
She nodded lightly at the consent.
"And you are the master of the saber in the black camp."
"Yes... My name is Gordes Musilk Yggdmilliennia. I am participating in this great holy grail war as master of the saber of black and n–." He was then disrupted by the sight of Asta standing right behind Jeanne as his face twisted into an angered look. "And what are you doing here, boy?"
"Oh me I'm just here because I wanted to help her out," he said as he pointed to Jeanne as he put his hand in front of him and replied, "My name is Asta, by the way. Nice to meet you." Gordes looked at Asta for a couple of seconds before immediately turning away from him and to Karna as he yelled out at the top of his lungs.
"Vile lancer of the red fraction! We have witnessed your attempt to steal ruler life! Plotting the erasure of the heroic spirit that governs the rule of the Holy Grail is utter transgression. This will not be forgiven by a mere penalty, so stand and prepare against the might of Saber and Ruler!"
Asta stood there in stunned silence, watching the man talk past him as if he were a misplaced piece of furniture. He glanced down at himself, then back up at Karna, clearly wondering when he'd suddenly become invisible.
"Welp, he an asshole." Liebe commented.
Gordes words were both an accusation and an offer of cooperation. In his eyes, the power that was surging from Lancer's noble phantasm could not be ignored. So, for now, it will be best for his servant to pair up with the ruler, and with her 'privileges,' there is absolutely no chance that Lancer could. Lancer also killed her as well; if it wasn't for that insignificant little pest, she would have no choice but to accept the plan...that's what he thought, at least.
However, in reality, Ruler threw sharp glances at Gordes' words.
"If Saber of Black and Lancer of Red choose to fight each other, then I will stop them. I will not be involved; you can trust me on that."
Hearing those words made Gordes freeze stiff.
"...Huh?"
Ruler coolly announced to a dumbstruck Gordes.
"Lancer attempted to end my life, and the fight between Saber and Lancer are two separate matters. As a ruler, I am duty-bound to remain impartial and only to protect the direction of this conflict."
Gordes gave a low, wordless mumble. He cannot understand why they wouldn't join forces with him to take down Lancer. Was she really just going to wait until the servant that was about to end her finished fighting? That is a reason that he couldn't accept.
"Hmph... So you were going to tilt the situation in your favor by having me fight both Saber and Ruler? Is victory the one thing you care about? How despicable, but I suppose that is one way of warfare. It makes little difference to me." Utterly calm and assured, Lancer declared that he had no issue with facing both Servants simultaneously. His words spoke volumes for his enormous self-confidence.
He speaks not out of haughtiness or arrogance, because to him, it is the simple truth that he cannot be defeated.
Gordes, meanwhile, was at a loss of words, both by Lancer's insult and his calm tone. Even as Lancer stood before the servant, Gordes had every confidence. His shock quickly turned into hatred; Gordes shouted with defiant anger, "Kill him, Saber! Crash that Lancer into the ground!"
Saber, who had never spoken the entire time, nodded lightly at his master's words and walked forward, his steps never faltering.
"...very well. This duel is ours, Saber of Black."
When he murmured this, Lancer saw something on the swordsman's face, a slight smile. A smile so faint and fleeting that hardly anybody could have perceived it. For an instant, Siegfried's lips were curled.
Lancer's vision was suddenly filled with reminiscences. But what could this Saber—clearly from a different age and land—have made him recall?
"I once met a man like you before. He had the same gaze as you do now."
For whatever reason, Lancer decided to waste a few words with him. Saber nodded slightly, as though prompting him to continue.
"It is beyond doubt that he was a hero. And for you to look upon me with the same eyes... This battle between us is not a result of chance, but an inevitability."
Lancer's desire for combat flared like a blue inferno. Some sort of silent pressure began to seethe in the sword of the speechless Saber. A burning smell filled the air, like it was being scorched in the sun. It is hard to say whether it comes from the two's weapons or the intense fighting spirit of the two Servants clashing against one another.
Whatever the case, Lancer can see the one clear truth in this.
I see. So you wish to fight against me as well...
The belief brought great joy to Lancer. Yes... nothing can come between them now. They will fight and kill until the end.
Well, that would be the case if it wasn't for a certain magicless magic knight jumping into the fray.
"HEY, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? ABOUT TO FIGHT SOMEONE WHEN WE HAVE A SCORE TO SETTLE!"
Hearing the boy yell, both Saber and Lancer turned their heads to see where the boy was, but when I looked up, they were slightly surprised at what he said. Asta was in the air, seemingly jumping from his location, and was now falling to them as he stuck the landing, standing on the right side in front of both of them while pointed his giant sword at Lancer's and with his eyes blazes he yell "Don't you dare start without me! I'm not done with you yet, Lancer—we're started this right here RIGHT NOW!
Gordes was absolutely shocked at the kid's brassness to point his sword at a servant and demand that they fight him first. Getting a good look at the kid's sword, he saw that it was a huge greatsword roughly as tall as a saber but twice its size, and there were dirt scuff marks all over it. He initially thought about how the kid was able to hold the sword, but after seeing those marks and how dull the sword was, he thinks that the kid won't be able to even scratch Lancer, let alone hurt them in any meaningful way.
"Look at that sword—massive, unrefined, covered in filth! A child swinging scrap metal dares to stand before a Lancer-class Servant? Hah! He'll shatter his arms before he scratches him."
On the other hand, Jeanne was worried about Asta; seeing him going up against the same person who was going to kill her made her unsure about Asta's safety. It didn't help that Asta's sword was not in a state where it could be viable to be used on anyone, let alone someone as strong as Karna.
"Asta... Your bravery is undeniable, but you're facing someone who nearly about killed me—and your blade can't withstand him. Please, don't risk yourself so blindly. I can't—"
"Jeanne."
She was then interrupted by Asta.
"You're going to have to trust me; I can do this." Asta replied, "If I can show you that I can hold my own against them, then you don't have to worry about me."
He then turned around and gave Jeanne a sincere smile.
"I got this, okay?"
Jeanne's breath caught in her chest the moment he said her name. She wanted to stop him, to shield him, to tell him that no amount of courage could change the fact that these heroes were a force to be reckoned with, not for people carrying dull swords. Yet when Asta spoke—steady, earnest, and utterly convinced—her protest faltered. She heard no recklessness in his words, only a fierce resolve and a kindness so instinctive it almost hurt to witness. This boy, who had no reason to risk himself for her, was still smiling as if he bore no fear at all.
That smile left her torn between admiration and dread. She wanted to argue, to insist he step back, but she also understood that denying him would wound the very spirit that made him who he was. her worry didn't disappear—far from it—but she finally exhaled and let her hand fall to her side. If she couldn't stop him, then she would trust him. Not because the danger was any less, but because his conviction was something she could no longer bring herself to stand against.
"Okay... I'll let you battle. But this will be the first and only time I will bend the rules, you got that, ASTA!"
"I HEAR YOU LOUD AND CLEAR, JEANNE!" He says while putting a thumb up.
Asta quickly went back and focused on Lancer as he sighed, "Are you sure you want to do this, kid? Because if you do, I won't promise that I'll hold back."
"That okay because I didn't want you to hold back in the first place! If I'm going to prove to her that I can fight, then it has to be against your real strength." Then he looked back at Saber. "That includes you to Saber. I don't want you to fall behind either, so let's fight and GIVE IT EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE GOT!"
As both Saber and Lancer heard Asta's furious words to fight each other at full strength, they couldn't help but grin a bit. Seeing a boy who wasn't an heroic spirit at all yelling out with full determination in his voice about fighting them both was like they were seeing a hero at work, and this was his first trial into becoming the pinnacle of humanity just like them, and that made him a worthy opponent in their eyes.
"You know, for a kid your age, I can already see that you possess the heart of a warrior inside. Saber says to Asta.
"Indeed, just your words alone are enough to tell me that not taking you seriously would be a disservice to you." Lancer says as he gets ready to battle both Saber and Asta.
As they get ready to fight Saber's fingers tightened around his hilt, the steel coming alive with a pale blue radiance that pulsed like a heartbeat. A moment later his entire body flared with a deep emerald aura, wind spiraling outward in sharp, whipping currents that tore at the air. The ground beneath him cracked in jagged lines, unable to withstand the pressure of power gathering around him.
Asta, while seeing Saber's incredible power, decides to do the same as he swings the demon-slayer to his side, making a burst of wind as the sword crackles with demonic lighting as it destroys all the mana around it. Then his body radiates anti-mana as it destroys mana around him as well, giving him a demonic stature.
Finally Lancer began charging himself up for the battle as flames erupted from his body as he was slowly enveloped by them. Soon enough his whole body and weapon were covered in flames also, like he was the sun, as air burned and the ground melted from his power alone.
Seeing Saber and Asta's power on full display brought Lancer great joy. Yes, this is it; nothing can come between them now. They will fight and kill until the end.
"We are all Warriors... Madmen who had walked our respective paths toward the bitter end and continued to fight when our end was near. Even gaining a second life and arriving in the modern era won't change our faith!"
As they stood facing each other, there was nothing but silence. They did not roar, nor did they scream or yell. Instead, the spirits turned white-hot as their surging powers scorched the earth around them.
Ruler and Gordes quickly backed away from where they stood—the rising inferno in front of them spoke directly to their instincts, as they were far too close to the battle.
Finally, when Ruler and Gordes retreated to a safe location, all three combatants were ready to begin their duel and with it, the first battle of the Great Holy Grail War in its most irregular form: a free-for-all between a servant and a human.
...His spear roared, cleaving the air apart.
...His sword shrieked, screaming with the wind.
...His sword Howled, shattered the breeze to pieces.
They clashed. Sparks exploded into the night air like lost souls caught in a storm as three colossal forces collided, each trying to overpower the other. Their struggle was so violent that the ground beneath them groaned and cracked, fissures racing outward until the asphalt of the road shattered completely. The relentless pressure continued; the earth beneath them couldn't withstand it anymore and gave way, collapsing into a massive crater far larger than the one Asta and Karna had carved out before. A swirling cloud of dust and debris rose into the sky, yet within it, all three combatants remained, unyielding and unbroken.
The moment they pulled back their weapons, the mere force of release sent the dust scattering, revealing Asta, Lancer, and Saber barreling toward each other like unstoppable projectiles. Karna struck first, swinging his massive spear in a sweeping arc aimed at both of them. Asta leapt over the attack with barely a breath to spare, while Saber planted his sword to his side to block the strike inches from his face. Seizing the opening, Asta slashed at Karna, but the golden armor deflected the Demon-Slayer effortlessly. Karna retracted his spear instantly, thrusting at Asta with lethal precision, yet the boy twisted midair, narrowly evading the strike and landing on the cracked ground.
Karna surged forward again, but Saber intercepted him, their weapons colliding in a violent shower of sparks. Shockwaves radiated outward, shaking the battlefield as the two clashed relentlessly. Saber leapt back a few meters from Lancer, reshaping his stance and pouring an immense amount of mana into his sword until it blazed with a brilliant blue light as he move his greatsword down and rush toward Lancer. A massive beam shot downward, cutting through the ground as he ran, breaking the sound barrier, his sword eviscerating everything in its path but just before he got close to Lancer, he jumped aside at the last moment, leaving Saber unable to stop his momentum, so he redirecting his assault toward Asta.
"Man, they are not playing around! If I was any slower, my head would've been chopped off!" Asta shouted, springing to his feet, eyes locking onto the glowing sword rushing toward him. Saber was mere inches away. "I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO DODGE IT!" With no other option, Asta slammed the Demon-Slayer before him, meeting Saber's attack with a thunderous crash. The impact sent a violent gust tearing through the area, flinging debris and loose rocks in every direction.
Their eyes met, and Saber's curiosity sparked. The energy around his sword wavered, weakening strangely as it pressed against the black blade. "Is that sword... weakening my attack?" he muttered, puzzled. No weapon had ever resisted his mana like this. He surged more mana into his blade, the energy expanding and glowing brighter, forcing the Demon-Slayer backward. Asta struggled to resist, bracing against the immense power, but the sheer force of Saber's strike blasted him across the battlefield, sending him tumbling miles away.
"Asta!"Jeanne thought about worrying about his safety.
"Hmph, what a fool."Gordes thought as he continued to look at the battlefield."No human can ever take on a servant, much less my Saber."
As the energy around Saber dissipates, he senses a large amount of mana, but as he turns, he sees nothing. Standing silent for a moment, he realized what Lancer was doing and immediately turned back and swung his sword down as Karna was right behind him, about to thrust his spear to his back if he didn't block it. Lancer was impressed at Saber's ability to immediately recognize his situation and respond accordingly as he pulled back his spear, and in a flash, he threw hundreds of thrust attacks directly at Saber.
It shouldn't even be said that Lancer, out of all of the three warriors, has the advantage in terms of range with his spear. The head of this fearsome weapon is only over a meter long. However, having a wider range to attack naturally means lower speed. Because of how tall it is, a small amount of time is lost with every thrust as the spear must be pulled back in order to attack again.
Those, of course, with Karna's spear works, it is nothing short of masterful. His name has been echoed throughout all corners of the world. Being nothing more than a master, it is likely that Gordes couldn't even begin to comprehend what was happening before his eyes. Yet this barrage of spear thrusts—seeming to form an impenetrable wall—is being received by Siegfried, the dragon-slayer of the Netherlands, whose swordsmanship surpassed mankind a long time ago. Making full use of the gap in between Karna attacks, he began to close the distance one step at a time.
However, even for a master swordsman, it is not a matter of course that every spear can be defended without fail. It is all the more impossible to fully receive the constant attacks of a spearman that has stepped so far into the domain of gods. Yet in spite of this, Saber still continued his advancement calmly—an act so astoundingly reckless that the ruler, who knew of his legend, wanted to cry out to stop them. She was also worried about Asta, but something told her that Asta would be fine.
'Nothing ventured, nothing gained.' 'Finding life through death.' Those words were simple, brutally so. However, much difficulty lies in actually putting them into practice; those who try end up corpses in the heartless earth. Saber then takes another step forward. Maneuvering his sword with the tiniest possible movements, he wards off the spear's barrage. This, however, was far from enough. Several spear thrusts hit directly at his vitals. His arteries were slashed apart, and his forehead was pierced—but it turned out it was not the case.
"...!?"
Upon seeing something bizarre, Lancer immediately fell back jumping into the air. Still in the air, he gazed at Saber coldly.
"His wounds are shallow."
Lancer has already perforated Saber not once, but seventy-eight times, with each and every one of them being in a vital point. Yet Saber still calmly holds his sword. It isn't as though he hasn't received any wounds, but the shallowness of each is too uncanny. With the amount of force Lancer had put into his spear, his arms should have been torn to shreds and his eyes should have been gouged out. However, thanks to Gordes's healing magecraft, all of Saber's wounds close up fast, proving that they were shallow enough to get immediate regeneration.
But it can't be possible. It would be logical, albeit unbelievable, if Saber had somehow managed to handle his spear's barrage earlier. But receiving so little damage even after being hit directly so many times simply cannot be...
It is an impossibility and, at the same time, a phenomenon that surely occurred—so there must be a reason. A reason why the Saber of the Black cannot be severely injured... Perhaps he is a favorite of the gods, much like the rider of his own side, or has trained his body to become like this, or...
"Ah... I see now; I finally understand."
A feeling of exaltation—something Lancer had not felt in a very long time—took hold in his heart. Yes... this Saber truly is most similar tohimself.
Of course, Saber was just as shocked as Lancer. He possesses theArmor of Fafnir: blood armor of the evil dragon—a cheat of an ability that allows him to nullify any attack B or below. He earned it in his legend when he slew Fafnir and was drenched in its blood. So in other words, it shouldn't have been possible for anyone to be able to hurt him while he was in this state... Not by a spear, at least, which has only been a regular piece of armament and was not fully activated as a noble phantasm.
Yet every single one of the seventy-eight strikes by Lancer did damage to him. The wounds are light enough to be instantly healed by his master magecraft... But that thought alone was enough to terrify Siegfried.
This meant that every one of Lancer's seventy-eight attacks was equal to that of an A-rank attack. While his spear was certainly a rarity, it could have never been able to penetrate this dragon body and land a hit by itself. Lancer's devastating power comes from his immense physical strength and his transcendent technique.
Incredible
Saber leapt into the air, his composure intact yet his joy barely contained, gathering every ounce of mana into his sword. The blade glowed a brilliant blue, energy spiraling around it as he raised it high, preparing a devastating overhead slash aimed straight at Karna. But in an instant, a sudden impact struck his sword—the flat side of a massive greatsword—and before he could react, another object slammed into the black blade, forcing him backward.
"Sorry about this, but it's my turn!"
Asta's voice rang out, and before anyone could blink, he reappeared. The speed was impossible to follow; it was as if he had teleported across the battlefield. Siegfried's sword collided with Asta's Demon-Slayer as a cataclysmic explosion of sparks and shockwaves, launching Asta like a projectile straight toward Karna while hurling Siegfried backward.
Barreling through the air, Asta grabbed his sword from his leg mid-flight, swinging it downward with the full momentum of his launch. Karna reacted, thrusting his spear, but the collision of weapon on weapon produced a sound that seemed to echo for miles, a shockwave that rattled the surrounding terrain. Siegfried, caught in the recoil of his own attack, plummeted like a meteor, crashing into the ground and sending massive chunks of rock and dirt flying in every direction and carving the crater even deeper into the earth.
Gordes could hardly believe his eyes. One of the mightiest heroic spirits in the war, his own servant, Saber, lying in a crater created by the sheer force of his own attack by a lowlife human boy—Asta—who had somehow turned the servant's own power into a slingshot to strike Karna. The battlefield had become a whirlwind of raw energy and impossible speed, and in the center of this chaos was Asta.
Asta and Lancer still locked their place as they began falling down outside of the crater and to earth below as they both looked into each other's eyes. Karna was impressed by Asta's great speed; closing the distance in a short amount of time is a feat that no normal person could ever do, but it also had him wondering. Just what is this boy? In the modern age, living people such as him don't have the magic capacity nor the physical strength to be able to keep up with a heroic spirit like them, but yet this boy can do it even though he has no magic at all.
As they fall to the road, they both disengage and jump away to get some distance, staring each other down. Asta rushed forward to attack Lancer as Lancer did the same thing to Siegfried and launched another barrage of spear thrusts at him. He assumed Asta would crumble under the onslaught, maybe hold his own for a moment, but as the boy charged headlong into the barrage of spear strikes, Lancer's eyes widened in disbelief.
Asta moved with an almost inhuman precision—every thrust and lunge met with a parry or a dodge so exact it seemed preordained. The speed at which he read Lancer's attacks was staggering, as if he could anticipate the flow of every strike before it even left the spear. Each motion was fluid, almost elegant, like a dancer weaving effortlessly through a storm of blades, turning what should have been lethal chaos into a display of skill and timing that defied reason. For Lancer, a warrior accustomed to facing the strongest opponents, it wasn't just surprising—it was extraordinary.
This wasn't merely survival; it was mastery in motion, a performance so flawless it made the impossible look routine.
After parrying Karna's spear by sending it into the air, he began to close the distance to before he could, he sensed something behind him, and sure enough, it was Saber who was rushing toward him when he jumped out of the crater they made. Pointing his sword in front of him, he was just about to stab Asta in the back when Asta yelled out the words.
"Dweller!"
As he says this, his grimoire flies into the air and opens itself toward Saber, then something is shot out from the grimoire downward to Saber's greatsword. As the object was about to smash down at the golden greatsword, Siegfried put back his sword as it smashed down to the ground. Getting a quick look at the object, he sees that it is a sword with black markings on the blade and is mostly covered in dirt, the same with the other bigger sword. The sword also has a heavily ornate hilt with a four-sided guard, a grip with a spiral design, and a sphere for the pommel.
Saber didn't know how and why the sword was inside of the book, and before he could understand it anymore, he saw Asta running toward the sword and grabbed the handle with his left hand. He then pulls the sword right out of the ground, pulls the sword back to him, and rushes toward Saber.
'BLACK SLASH!"
Swing the Demon-dweller at Saber, it sends an anti-magic flying slash toward the dragon slayer, who, having no time to dodge, has to hold the sword in front of him to be able to block the attack. Unfortunately it was too much for the swordsman, as he was sent flying back toward the crater as Asta looked back at him. Seeing this as an opportunity to attack, Karna repositioned himself, put his spear in front of him, and dashed straight toward Asta.
What he didn't know, however, is that Asta knew that Karna would do this, so when Karna was just about to reach Asta's back, Asta backflipped, dodging the attack, and then put more anti-mana into the Demon-slayer, making the edges sharper and longer. He twisted his upper body to strike Karna with the Demon-slayer.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Putting more strength into his strike, he sent Karna flying back as he landed on his feet. Karna, after being bounced off the asphalt a few times, smashed his spear into the ground, killing his momentum and stopping him from going any further. After taking a second to adjust himself, he looks around his body to see any damage. While there was only scuff marks when he was hitting the ground after Asta attack, when he got to his chest, he was shocked, to say the least. He found that he got a small but noticeable scratch mark in front of his chest that was from Asta's huge sword and also saw some particles of the dark energy that was surrounding the sword when he was hit by the rusted Greatsword.
"What is this energy? I never saw something like this throughout my life."Karna questioned as the dark energy disappeared from him. He wonders how those swords work because he has never seen something like those swords; they may look rusty, but they hold incredible power that can possibly rival weapons from the age of gods. While thinking about whether someone can find those weapons, he looked at Asta, who was standing, looking at him with the two weapons, as Lancer realized something.
This boy before him defied every measure of what a human should be. His movements carried a speed that rivaled Servants, not only having a refined swiftness born from battle but also something raw and relentless, as if his body simply refused to acknowledge its own limits. The strength behind each swing of those battered swords was absurd—no magecraft reinforcement, no divine blessing, yet each impact bent the air itself, driven by sheer will and an alien power that isn't something from times long past. Even his techniques were unnatural, lacking the structure of magecraft or the authority of legend, yet producing results that should have been impossible. Karna could not sense mana from him, nor anything familiar—and that absence was precisely what unsettled him most. Batting against Asta, Karna found himself asking a question he rarely asked of mortals: was this boy truly human, or something born outside the laws that governed gods, heroes, and men alike?
One thing about that boy was undeniable: he was someone no hero could ever afford to ignore.
"Well, you're giving up? Because right now I don't have any intention of backing out now!" Asta yelled while pointing his demon-dweller at Karna.
"Heh, well, I wouldn't be a hero today if I did quit. And beside." Karna clarified as he stood and flames erupted from his body. "We're alone just getting started."
"He's right."
Both Lancer and Asta turned in unison as Saber stepped back into the fray, his presence immediately shifting the atmosphere. Power surged around him in rolling waves, wind and light coiling tightly around his form as if the battlefield itself were responding to his return.
"This is only the first battle of this war. So backing out right now won't only dishonor us as heroes but as warriors too!"
After hearing those words, Asta smiles as he gets into his fighting stance with the two swords, the Demon-slayer and Demon-dweller, and the anti-mana rises from his body as he gets right to clashing with the first two opponents in this new world.
"Right, let's DO THIS."
The air grew unbearably tense as Asta, Karna, and Siegfried each settled into their battle stances, three overwhelming presences carving their will into the battlefield. Their auras collided in the space between them—anti-magic grinding against divine radiance, dragon-forged power pressing back against both—sending invisible shockwaves rippling through the ground and sky alike. The world seemed to hold its breath as power built higher and higher.
every instinct screaming that once this balance shattered, nothing would remain the same. And in that suspended moment—where resolve hardened into certainty and fate leaned forward to watch—the first true clash of the Great Holy Grail War was about to begin. But unbeknownst to anyone in this war, as Asta was about to fight in the battle to the death, in his left hand a red mark began to form.
His mark as a master.
Marry Chrismas everyone sorry I haven't post anything this in a while. I have a few things I need to do to so I have to push this chapter back a few times but I hope you enjoyed and I'll see y'all next year.