Finis Chaldea

[Bloodedge]

A presence within? There was something inside, and there was presumably the Grail itself. Perhaps Caster had been mistaken about something. Alternatively, this was all some strange plan to throw him off and take advantage of the moment. "Yeah yeah, that sounds terrifying and all, but I've got a thing about trusting women who throw shit at me as a hello!" he griped. The memories being triggered in Caster's mind were not at all pleasant, and in fact... they were quite traumatizing. Worse yet, was the reveal of Archer's lack of burning.

Oh... damn. Suddenly, Caster's movements came to a screeching halt. One additional arrow swept by his face, dealing him no injury, but cutting through his hair en route to the ground. Why did this have to be his luck? "You... don't burn," he said. A sigh was the next thing to pass his lips, followed quickly by a more upbeat tone thrown Archer's way. "So! You not being burnable makes us a perfect pair to team up, doesn't it?" he asked, even with a bright smile on his face. It seemed the only guaranteed way he had to deal with this one was to let her be eliminated along the way. Otherwise, he wouldn't be touching that cup regardless. "Whaddaya say, huh? Pretty girl like you has to see the benefits, right? Besides, I hate fighting girls in general~" In actuality, Caster spoke truth. His master was a woman, but her training didn't exactly allow much "fighting" her per se. If he could kill two birds with one stone, he'd do so without a second thought. An epic battle was happening not far from their location as well, by the sound of things. Maybe he could let her be worn down over the duration of the war, and get himself a cheeky victory in the end?

[Apollymi]

Artoria was still sitting on that one spot, that ornate dagger dancing over her fingers as she absently waited for her challengers to appear. Why wasn't she moving? The answer was simple, if she ended up having to kill everyone here, she'd rather take it one at a time without revealing fully how it occurred. Beyond that, she'd already laid claims to this cup, so she'd take on the challengers who came for her directly, as they were the ones most likely to sate her desire for battle. Besides that, her ability to feel energy relative to herself would allow her better general strategizing. Patience was not often practiced by Saber, but today... for complete victory she'd sit. Not hiding but hording her specific treasure waiting for the potential thieves to show up. Perhaps, if she'd had less concentration, she would realize that she seemed a lot like the King of Heroes in this moment, but she was focused and not on him. Well, that wasn't entirely true, the dagger in her hand was an ornate one, given to her as a gift a decade ago by that very man. She hadn't been able to part with it since getting it for reasons she didn't properly understand yet.

"I also do not like being trapped in places without my consent. Especially not with people who are trying to kill me to gain a blessed cup," she said as if this was a perfectly normal conversation to have. The last arrow loosed by Archer slid past the face of the man who was Caster. It appeared he was stunned to find she wouldn't be set on fire. She wondered now if he was one of those mages who specialized in a specific kind of magic, and it would seem the answer was yes... though he didn't say so. Even so, she confirmed it by his sudden tone switch and his desire to be partners. "You cannot win in a fight against me," she said as an observation. "I would not mind a partner, it would make my tasks easier. But... if you truly do not like fighting women you are going to have to do some more thinking. The one in this castle is definitely a woman and she by power alone is frightening." Archer's statements were factual. By her own account there were three women in this area and two of them overpowered her by quite a bit.

[Bloodedge]

Caster wasn't trying to kill any specific person for a cup. It was more like... he was trying to wipe out everyone necessary for a cup, which would then give him a leg up over his master. Sadly, Archer came to realize the true reason he offered a partnership. It was true that he had no way of defeating her, at least while they were both at their best. His best hope of besting her in combat would be tiring her out first. Besides, there was no telling what else she had in her arsenal. If she only had arrows, they'd be at a lengthy stalemate. If she had anything with some decent spread to it, however, he was in quite a bit of danger in a proper fight. "Uh, well... no. No I can't. I wouldn't even be a Caster if my damn mentor didn't toss me out here without my spe─" Wait, what did she say? There was a woman here, and she was frightening? Only one woman he'd ever seen registered as such, and it was the very master he spoke of. Oh... Caster had best shut his mouth then, eh? Panic overtook him, the light leaving his eyes and a shiver passing through his every fiber. "I... I... no. Please no. Please stop following me places," he chanted as if from memory. It would have been no surprise to him if his master sent him to this wretched place, only to follow and become his final obstacle. The thought alone was enough to make him think of resigning this war. "Can I quit if it's her? Would she kill me if I quit because it's her? It can't be her, right? There's another monster woman in the world somewhere. . ."

[Apollymi]

Archer was soon made privy to the fact that Caster could not best her as he was. Apparently, he was not normally a magic user, that explained quite a bit. But at the mention of the strong woman within the castle, he immediately went into a panic she had never had the privilege of witnessing before. Whatever his 'master' was she was a scary strong woman that Caster didn't want following him around. He wanted to know if he could quit if she was the one in the castle, that did not bode well. "I mean, I have heard it is possible to bow out of a Holy Grail War, but I do not know what is required to do so..." she said carefully. Poor lad. "We do not know it is her, so please calm down. The one inside is Saber from what I can tell, is your master a sword user of some sort?" It would seem that this Archer was a fairly caring individual, she didn't wish this man any undue distress. She was only involved as it was trying to find her husband, everything else she did not truly care for. "Regardless, if we are going to be partnered you will need to pull yourself together," she said giving the man a curt nod which made those pigtails of hers swing in the breeze. For two people who had been fighting a few seconds ago, they'd calmed down quite a bit. "Your territory, what were you planning to do with it?" she asked calmly. Perhaps if it was built well, she could abuse it to avoid wearing herself out and in turn get them both closer to their goals. She was fairly vigilant regardless, keeping an eye on everyone around them knowing the locations of the other individuals relative to their current position. Whatever they decided to do, they would need to be ready by the time the two big men finished fighting each other.

[Bloodedge]

"Of course you don't. I wouldn't be surprised if she made it impossible to quit anyway, just for me," Caster rambled. There was no end to the troubles in this lad's mind. If his master was anywhere near this war, everything was over. Maybe someone could take her down, but certainly not him or anyone he was capable of fighting! Ah, but there was a shining beacon of hope on the horizon. By Archer's words, the woman inside was deemed Saber. A sigh of relief came from Caster; he knew that abominable woman would not spawn as such. Her own power would go against even her parameters, even if the Grail tried. "Whew! No... definitely not her. She'd be Lancer, maybe even Assassin if she felt extra murder-y. But... what if she's just been hiding stuff this whole time─"

Right out of a spiral, and right back in. Caster's master was one of the most problematic women in this world, by his standards and the standards of many others. He officially wasn't worried about anyone else could appear; that was the extent of her torment. Nevertheless, he did have to calm down. Slapping his own cheeks, Caster squinted. Archer wanted to know about his territory. So, she was agreeing to the partnership after all? Good! "Right, right. OK! I'm calm, I'm cool, everything's gonna be fine! The plan is to funnel. Since I'm stuck being Caster, I don't want to go around dealing with too many problems at once. This territory is one I've been trying to work on for a while now, as opposed to the one I can pull off easily. It should be a misty labyrinth that keeps everybody separate by the time they reach this castle. Here... Kenaz." With this chant, Caster carefully raised a finger to point at the red-haired woman's forehead. She would be granted a superior form of sight by rune, allowing her to see beyond the intricacies of his territory without any additional input on her part.

[Apollymi]

"That seems extreme for training," Archer mentioned. Just because she wasn't sure how it was possible, didn't mean someone's mentor had the power to just change how the Holy Grail worked. It was practically a magical entity unto itself. Still it was fine, apparently his master couldn't be a Saber so all was fine... or not. Actually, it was definitely not. The Caster immediately fell into another depression about the things that his master could have hidden from him. Still if Lancer or Assassin were the best options they were mostly safe. "You are very easily worked up, you know..." she said carefully. It was no wonder he was afraid of his training. But he also seemed to bounce back pretty quickly. As far as she could tell both of these were pretty good skills to have.

How did he bounce back? By explaining what it was he was trying to do, and offering her a rune which allowed her to see within the territory he was creating. This was very good. She'd been a bit worried initially about losing her line of slight. She needed it to be useful as an Archer. But if she could see regardless of the space he put up, she could still be useful and they might have a more reasonable shot at working down the competition. "Yes, now that I can see I don't mind this territory. I am still wary of Saber though... maybe it will be possible to catch her off-guard at some point. Or maybe wait out one of the other strong ones to distract her," she offered as the best possible strategy. Her charged shots could be extremely strong with magical fire behind them, but... getting a clear shot and the time necessary to charge it was dangerous. She'd rather not risk it not working before she could use it properly. Thus their partnership was mutually beneficial.

[Bloodedge]

"Everything she does is extreme." These words left Caster's mouth with a great lack of energy, as if it had been sapped from him by the thought alone. It was no lie that the lad was easily worked-up. In his defense, however, it was also no lie that his master was an absolute menace. Assuming his master had nothing to do with this Holy Grail War was the best route to take, so Caster tried his hardest to do just that. He shared his rune with the Archer, as well as the idea he was working on. They could both benefit from funneling and/or separating the opponents, though she had a point about Saber being an issue. Maybe they could even use the other combatants to have her dealt with, or weakened? If she was such a threat, perhaps Archer could be Saber's final opponent, and he could deal with the weakened winner? "Hmm. Should we take the wait-and-see approach?" he asked while returning to the work on his labyrinth.

Meanwhile, the battle of Rider and Berserker was taking a turn at last. Berserker's undead army was no true necromancy; they were not being restored fully each time they fell. This little war was becoming more one-sided by the moment; few undead warriors remained. Berserker occasionally attempted to reduce the size of his war elephant to bolster the army's numbers, but Rider's soldiers were already in high spirits; those numbers would dwindle quickly again. Between these two, the victor was likely clear already to any who happened to know who they were by this display of overwhelming might.

[Apollymi]

Caster's master was apparently just extreme, Archer could agree, if only because he didn't even have his usual weapon on him in the middle of a Holy Grail War. He went back to work, asking her thoughts on the wait and see approach and she turned her eyes back towards the battlefield. Saber was a frightening power, There were two irregular classed individuals and the pair of them who couldn't easily fight each other either way. "Waiting it out for at least a little while seems like the best option. I think one of the irregular classes might give us a hint about Saber, but I couldn't decide a target when I first drew my bow and that hasn't changed yet," Archer said. Her analysis was astute. Though she'd spawned close to Saber, she was innately worried about revealing her position to someone so strong, no other potential targets even looked like the sorts she'd want to fight. They could wait, she could maybe pick off a few of the others in an opportune moment or two, that seemed like the best strategy for them.

Foreigner stood on the sidelines watching the outcome of the battle between Berserker and Rider. The longer that display carried on, the more obvious the winner became, "Hmpf" just that little noise was enough and rather suddenly that tanned body began moving forward. Red eyes were narrowing as she took steps forward at the edge of the battlefield on the way she picked up a spear. That spear, transformed in her hands, taking on a strange quality only to be thrown immediately through a man that belonged to Berserker and into the one that belonged to Rider. They were in her way and she wouldn't tolerate it. She jumped over a large collection of individuals, those crests lining her body glowing as she landed in the middle of the battlefield. Every person she encountered was killed by her along the way, each time she stopped she picked up a new weapon used it and discarded it as if it were nothing. All the while she was headed for Berserker, if Rider wouldn't put him out of his misery she would so they could continue on towards a more proper battle. What would she do? Well, she'd have to reach him first.

[Bloodedge]

Saber was nothing he wanted to hear about now. If she was such a problem, Caster was content to leave her inside the castle; she could be someone else's problem. Then again, he didn't want much to do with any of the others in this battle either. The only thing that could make him properly interested in this Holy Grail War would be having his spear, and there was no such thing in sight. Worse yet, his parameters were geared toward Caster, so he couldn't even get away with picking one up. With that same Kenaz rune applied to his own sights, Caster took the time to inspect the others outside. Something was off. There was himself, Archer, obviously Rider and Berserker locked in combat, and some strange and weaponless woman approaching the latter two. Saber was inside, but there was one irregular unaccounted for. "Huh? Keep your guard up," he said. "I'm almost done here. Can you see the seventh person?"

Rider's victory was in sight. Sadly, that very victory had a chance of being taken from him by the sudden appearance of a woman. She was not herself armed, taking up weapons from fallen soldiers and plowing her way through Berserker's minions... but also his own soldiers. For a moment, he wasn't sure what to think of this. An enemy was an enemy, but what was this madwoman's intention? "This is beyond absurd! Wait your turn girl; I'll have your head next!" Rider yelled across the battlefield. In the meantime, Berserker's rage enhanced by the appearance of another foe. A mighty roar left the near-mindless male, and the same came from the war elephant beneath him. Corpses and skeletons were launched forth in two waves, both targeting Foreigner and a great deal of Rider's forces. First came the skeletal army wielding bladed weapons, moving as a stream with their blades pointed forward. Behind them was a mass of corpses moving as a wave, hellbent on consuming Foreigner, Rider and his army, and even Berserker's own servants in their path.

[Apollymi]

Ah, there was a question on the table and it was one Archer was not prepared to answer. She'd never actually let her guard down, it was part of her overall strategy to know where every individual was, and pick off the one she thought to take in direct combat. That'd been thrown out the window the moment Caster had started work on his territory but now that they were past that little hiccup everything should be fine right. "I do not want to alarm you but..." she knew exactly where the others were. Clairvoyance along with Kenaz as a rune meant she had literally expanded her own vision by a great deal. But where was Avenger? "I am fairly certain he is above us, do not lift your head though... perhaps we can get away with ignoring him for now..." she said this but she was still charging an arrow, best case scenario she wouldn't need it, worst case scenario she'd need to shoot off an entire shot as quickly as possible in a single moment because Avenger didn't like being observed.

At the same time, more dead began moving straight for Foreigner. Though she had a weapon in hand now it seemed that her pair of opponents did not wish for interruption. For that to be the case they sure were taking a long time to finish each other off. But there was no fairness in war, only death. "I will kill you both," she said as if this was a certainty in her life. She carried on from there, a large group swarming her, would only give her more weapons to take. Those skeletal beings were easy to shatter apart, she could do so even with just her fists and their weapons were easy to handle. A wave or two would be no real hinderance as she approached Berserker and given his roar he was easy to pick out. She stood before him and his war elephant. That short broad sword currently in her hand had at its tip a charging energy blast, one which counted as her Omega Skill. "Scourge." It would release in a beam that would aim to encompass both Berserker and his elephant as well as a great deal of the battlefield behind him, leaving nothing but charred remains and scattered body parts in their wake. Admittedly, doing such a thing would completely shatter this weapon but that didn't matter, she'd simply toss it aside afterwards.