A/N: I LIVE!

The poll on whether I will choose to take on Rani or Rin as a sidekick is still on my profile.


Existing to exploit.

Choosing prosperity.

That deed was savage.

but it was true.

What is won in the abyss of death?


Morning [2nd Floor]

I exit my room after a sleepless night. I can't stop thinking about my last battle with Dan Blackmore. Like with Shinji, I'm filled with guilt over his death. However, there is something else that I can't stop thinking about.

Dan seemed to know Saber's true name. It troubles me that my enemy would know my Servant's true identity before me. If you know your opponent's true identity, not only would you know how they died, but how to take countermeasures against their fighting styles and exploit any weaknesses. This information was what saved us in the last round. I start to walk down the hall as I think.

Dan called Saber the greatest and the worst knight. What would someone have to do to be called that? Could he be a knight who started out as the worst and rose to become the greatest knight of his time? However, Saber's attitude doesn't seem like someone who is proud of his accomplishments. Instead, he seems full of regrets. When we first met, he told me that there was no need to praise his name. Could he have been a great knight who failed at the last minute when he was needed the most?

All of a sudden, the hairs on the back of my neck rise and I stop walking. I'm overtaken by an eerie chill. I don't even have time to call my Servant, or to brace myself. When I look around me I see a bunch of students on the floor. A scene too similar to the preliminary rounds for my liking.

Suddenly I'm flung backwards, as if pushed by an invisible hand. There's a wall behind me. I'm going to crash…! I close my eyes and try to prepare myself for impact.

Surprisingly, there is no impact. I open my eyes and take in my surroundings. Where am I…? Instead of colliding with a wall, I suddenly find myself in unfamiliar surroundings. My head's spinning trying to keep up, but it seems like I was somehow teleported elsewhere.

Wait, I'm getting déjà vu. This is the Coliseum that was used twice! The details are slightly different, but the framework is the same. If this really is the Coliseum, there must be an enemy Servant nearby. My thoughts freeze and my breath hitches when I realize this.

I suddenly feel someone's gaze on me. When I look around, I see a sinister man with red hair that is tied back, piercing eyes, and wearing traditional Chinese clothing that looks aflame. I go numb with fear. He intends to kill me, that much is unmistakable. He's like Death personified. I've only heard of Assassin class Servants from Saber, but I have no doubt that this man is one. If I take my eyes off him for one second, I'm a goner!

"Human life is fragile. Even if you are a Magus, you look like a meat puppet to me. I've grown tired of strangling cormorants. For once, I wanted to feel what I was doing…" He raises his fists and gets into a battle stance. "Want to feel something, girl?"Without giving me time to think, the man lunges forward, prepared to strike me down.

"Lady Ailita, stay behind me!" I'm only saved when Saber appears in front of me and blocks the man's fist with his sword. The man attacking seems shocked, but quickly leaps back when Saber retaliates with a swing of his blade. The look of shock on his face then changes to amusement.

"Ooh, a spirited one. I'm glad you came this way, girl. What a shame, we've run out of time. The system's limits saved your life. Hopefully, we'll fight again someday, Black Knight. I'm looking forward to it."

The Servant before me then fades away. Most likely returning to his spirit form. With the enemy before us gone. Saber returns to his spirit form as well. Suddenly, as if the Coliseum around me was an illusion, the surroundings start to fade away. When I look around I realize I'm standing where I was originally in the school hallway. But I'm not out of the woods yet. Things are still pretty bizarre. Even though the hallway looks normal, there's still an ominous weight in the air…

"How did someone like you manage to evade that? Not only that, but you managed to survive against Dan Blackmore."

Without a sound, the black-clad teacher appears just a few meters in front of me. I recognize him as Kuzuki-sensei, a teacher from the preliminary rounds. He wears a black fur coat with blue gloves, light blue zipper pants, and blue shoes. Sinister, blank, cold dark eyes from under a mop of short shoulder length black hair direct a piercing gaze my way.

"I originally thought you were small fry. Maybe you have a superior Servant or hidden abilities. Either way, you managed to survive the Demon's fist." The man's aura changes. It sharpens, honing into a point as if it were a wicked blade. One directed straight at me. This man's bloodlust rivals that of the Servant we just encountered. "It's ideal to dispatch you here."

He's looking at my neck. A bead of sweat drips off my chin. I'm too terrified to even move. Looking at his eyes makes it feel like I'm being sucked into his killing intent. He takes a step toward me.

"Aha. So, you're the psychopath who's been killing Masters after school. I thought as much." A certain girl in red clothes appeared out of a classroom where none should have been.

"…Rin Tohsaka?" The man stops and turns to face Tohsaka. She just looks at him with a confident smile. With his attention away from me, then tension lightens slightly.

"My reputations precedes me. I see the intelligence network of the Harway Foundation has been busy. Although, I'm pretty hard to miss. You tell me, Julius Berkisk Harway. Since you're from the foundation's counter-terrorism unit."

Kuzuki answers to the name of Julius and smiles thinly.

"…It's risky of you to save an enemy. Do you intend to make this girl your ally?"

"How absurd. She's got nothing to do with this. In fact, why haven't you killed her yet?" With a stoic look on his face Julius just turns away.

"I'll be laughing when you end up stabbed in the back, terrorist." A cruel smile plays on his lips as he continues walking toward the end of the hallway. He sends a cold glance my way.

"So… You are called Ailita Furude. …I shall remember this." His predatory pupils still trained on me, the man disappears into the wall as if melting away. When he is finally out of sight I breathe a sigh of relief.

"So he's been hacking the system's character profiles to his heart's content, I see. With an unscrupulous enemy like that, I better be on my guard at all times in the school."

Tohsaka starts talking to herself after the man has faded away. Then she turns toward me. She has a cold look in her eyes… not all that different from the look in Julius's eyes.

"Tohsaka, thank you for saving me."

"…What are you thanking me for? I didn't come to save you. I just wanted to say hello to the Harway's assassin. Don't forget that you're my enemy too. It's not like I care if you died now. …I'm actually impressed you made it past the second round. I didn't think you had it in you. I mean, you've kind of had a rough time of it. That's why I… Er, what am I saying? Later, then. Be careful not to lose the life that just got saved for you in the third round!" Despite seeming somewhat flustered she smiles briefly before rushing off.

With Tohsaka gone, the tension in the air has finally left. I almost fall to my knees right there in the middle of the hallway.

I'm once again reminded of how weak I actually am. In the first round, I could only stand by helplessly as Saber fought. In the second round, I had to take a gamble and luckily it paid off. However, I can't rely on just dumb luck forever. Compared to the other Masters I'm hopelessly, hilariously, outmatched. If I don't learn how to defend myself by the next round, I'll never make it out alive.


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