A/N: Merry Christmas to you all! I hope everyone is enjoying good time with their friends and family!

Here are some lesser known facts about Fate verse especially the servants:

1. Gilgamesh: Do you know majority of Noble Phantasms in Gates of Babylon are not as OP as few of them. Medea in Fate/Stay Night route was able to block them using magic shield while being concerned about her master safety more. But that doesn't mean all of treasures are useless. In fact, NPs of higher servants hurts. Like a lot.

2. Berserker: Heracles is stated to destroy a mountain with his single blow and Saber was able to trade blows with him. The same Saber, whose attack was effortlessly blocked by magic amped Kuzuki and got hurt by him. Either that statement is clearly a hyberbole or Kuzuki can now destory mountains with his punches lol.

Anyways, let's move to the chapter.

CHAPTER 2: BAIT AND SWITCH

Fate was cruel to him at every turn in his life. He was given a charm to woo any woman, which most men would consider a blessing but to him, it was a curse. He was denied loyalty to his king, declared as a traitor, thought to be forgiven by his king only to be betrayed and left alone to die.

Such was the life of Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, son of Donn and Knight of Fianna.

But thanks to Holy Grail, he has to the chance to fulfill the loyalty that was denied of him in his pervious life. He doesn't have any wish to ask of Holy Grail but the duty to serve his master and win the Holy War for him.

The man who summoned him was silenced for some time when he asked if he was his master.

"You didn't answer my question. I ask of you again, are you my master?" asked Diarmuid.

The man in front of him was still silent. Only looking at him with an unreadable expression.

Could it be that this man is not his master? Did he actually murdered the original summoner?

Looking at the man's hand, Diarmuid saw the command seals, which means this guy was definitely his master. Also, there was no sign of fight or blood to indicate that his guy would have murdered anyone.

That was a relief for Diarmuid. He wouldn't want to serve someone who might have killed and replaced his original master.

"Ah, forgive me. I was just making sure the summoning was a success. Your HP and MP are way high for you to be a magus. You aren't using any illusions either." said the man

"HP? MP? Forgive me, while I am already informed about this time period and how it works, I still don't know what that means." said Diarmuid visibly confused.

"No, it's alright. Pay no heed to it. As for your question earlier, yes, I am your master." told the man.

Diarmuid smiled a little before falling on one knee and bowing down.

"Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, the knight of Fianna, at your service. Your wish is my command." told Diarmuid with utmost sincerity, "May I know who do I serve?"

"Is revealing my name important?" asked the man.

"Yes! In order to take my vow as your loyal knight, it is!" replied Diarmuid looking at him with hope in his eyes.

His master snorted at his answer.

"Forgive me, but the word 'loyal' is very ironic and hypocritical given your status as a servant.", told his master.

"Yes, we servants might be mere dead memories for this world and its people but many of us still hold our dignity and pride." said Diarmuid.

"Is that? Let me ask you what happens if someone took my command seals by force and make you their servant? The answer is simple. You will, by the rules of Holy Grail War, become their servant. Hence, making me your enemy in the process. You will be left no choice to either kill me on own accord or forced through command seals." told his master.

That was true. By nature, servants were mere tools to win war. As a knight, he knew war is anything but fair. However, he is different than rest of the servants. Unlike others, he holds his loyalty more than anything else.

"If that happens, I will kill myself! Even if I'm forced to harm you, I'll kill the one who order me to perform such a cowardly act! Serving my king is what matter me the most!" told Diarmuid.

"I see. While it seems only time would tell how likely you stay true to your words, I admire your determination nonetheless." said his master with a smile, "Anyways, still for such determination I will grant you my name. My name is Ainz Ooal Gown."

A smile formed on Diarmuid's face as he finally knew his master's name.

"I will serve only you from now till the end of Holy Grail War, Lord Lord Ainz Ooal Gown! I promise to bring the grail to you!" vowed Diarmuid.

"I appreciate that but you will call me Suzuki Satoru whenever we are in public or fighting enemies." told Lord Ainz.

"Why is that, Lord Lord Ainz?" asked Lancer confused.

"While I'm certain, no one knows the name of Lord Ainz Ooal Gown here but I still don't want to take any chances. There might be a servant or master who can find about me and my weaknesses through my name alone. That would be a fatal mistake. In short, revealing my name might prove dangerous for us." replied Lord Ainz looking at Diarmuid as if a mentor teaching his pupil.

Diarmuid smiled inwardly realizing that even after death there might be things he can learn. Today, he learned always being cautious is important. Either that or that his master might be paranoid.

"I understand, Lord Ainz"

"Umu. Good. Now tell me, Knight of Fianna, what do you seek from the Holy Grail?" asked Lord Ainz.

"I seek nothing from the grail, my lord." replied Diarmuid.

"Come again?" frowned Lord Ainz thinking he might have misheard him.

"I seek nothing from the grail, my lord. I only exist in this war to fight honourably, serve you and win the grail for you. My only desire is to devote myself to you." replied Diarmuid bowing again.

"Seriously, you sound just like them." muttered Lord Ainz to himself rubbing his forehead.

"What do you mean?" asked Lancer.

"Nevermind that. Just remembering something not relevant to our situation." dismissed Lord Ainz.

"Lord Ainz, I have a request. When we are on the battlefield, please refer me to as 'Lancer'" requested Diarmuid.

"Hmm? Why is that?"

"The reason is that the name of a servant reveals their origin, their Noble Phantasm and also their weakness. Noble Phantasm is ultimate ability of a servant. So if the name is revealed-"

"Then it's half the battle won." Lord Lord Ainz completed the line before, "Thank you for informing me that. It seems I'm a complete novice in this war. I am counting on you, Lancer."

Diarmuid couldn't help but smile at his master's humble behaviour. His master is quite a character. Not only, he is smart but he has a certain aura around him that could impress people. Only certain people has such an aura.

Could it be? Is he really a...? That would explain his gestures he made earlier.

"Forgive me for being direct, master, but I want to ask you something. Are you by any chance a king or a royalty?" asked Diarmuid looking at Lord Ainz who raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Oh? And how did you reach that conclusion?" asked Lord Ainz in an impressed tone

"The way you carries yourself. Your way of speaking. The charismatic aura around you. It's all too similar that of a king" replied Diarmuid.

"What if I am a king? Will it effect your duty to me in any way?" asked Lord Ainz.

Yes! He knew he was right about that! As a knight, he has served loyalties for his entire time. No way he was not going to notice a king when he sees one.

"Not at all. On the contrary, I'm very happy to serve a king again." smiled Diarmuid.

"Is that so? " asked Lord Ainz to which Diarmuid nods, "There is something I like to ask. How strong are you compared to other servants?"

"Honestly I don't know, master. We don't know the identity of other servants so it is hard to gauge them." replied Diarmuid before continuing, "Then there is the matter of my power."

"Is there a problem?" asked Ainz confused.

"I mean no disrespect but as you know, servants summoned are supported by the mana from their masters. Your mana reserves are not very high, hence I couldn't afford to use my full strength without killing you." told Diarmuid.

Hearing this, his master raised his eyebrows as if realizing something important.

"Ah, I see. You used detection magic. Sorry about that." said Ainz as he spread his fingers to show that each of them, on both hands, was wearing a ring. Diarmuid gave him a confused look not grasping what he meant.

"Once I remove this ring, you will understand."

Saying that, Lord Ainz removed a ring on his right hand. Suddenly, Diarmuid felt waves of mana surging through his body. The mana reserves that were left empty were being refilled.

The amount of mana that was transferred to his body was sufficient to bring him to his true strength.

No, it was more than sufficient. With this amount of mana, he was sure he had surpassed himself from his previous life. It seemed his master was purposely surpassing himself and surprisingly, was a talented magus.

Diarmuid sighed in relief. Now he would be able to fight without holding back knowing his master will not be in danger because of him.

Suddenly, another wave of mana passed through him. This one was way more powerful than the previous one. No, comparing the previous ones to this one was as if comparing grass to a castle.

His eyes widened in shock as he realized the source of such monstrous mana was none other than his master, Lord Ainz.

But how?! No modern magus should possibly have such absurd amount of mana! This was beyond the reach of normal magecraft! Not even a normal Caster class servant could compare to this level of magic let alone modern magi!

If one were to describe Lord Ainz based on his mana alone, the term 'monster' would be perfect.

Looking at his life, one could say that Kiritsugu Emiya was not a person who had known much happiness in his life. Right now he was spending his time with his daughter, Illya, before they depart to Fuyuki City. But such brief moments were enough to bring immeasurable happiness to me.

He wanted to see everyone safe and happy just like his daughter was right now and Holy Grail was the only way to ensure that.

"Daddy, I will be waiting for you after you come back from Japan." said his daughter, Illya, with a smile.

However, before Kiritsugu could say anything, his precious time with Illya was interrupted as Saber suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of him.

"Saber, wha-"

"Be on your guard, master!" said Saber in a firm tone.

Without wasting any time, Kiritsugu grabbed Illya and used Time Alter to hide in the forest for extra cover.

Was there a trespasser in the estate? Was there an enemy servant in the area? No, it was both impossible and illogical for the enemy to get here while the grail war is happening in Fuyuki. He had no idea what was going on but since Saber left Irisviel alone means he is in danger.

Looking at Saber, he realized that she even had her noble phantom, Excalibur, out in open. He remembered Saber telling him she won't be revealing her Noble Phantasm unless extremely important.

Were things that bad right now? What kind of enemy were they even facing?!"

Ryuunosuke! Did you feel that?!" yelled Gilles de Rais.

His Master jumped back on instinct by the sudden appearance of Gilles in front of him.

"Oi! Don't scare me like that! What happened?" asked his master, Ryuunosuke, as he recovered from the jump scare he gave him.

Ah, that's right. His master is no magus. No wonder, he couldn't sense it. No, even if he was a magi this presene would be too foreign and entirely on different level for normal magus to sense.

"Oooooh! This is incredible, my master! Such amazing and terrifying power!" said Caster all excited.

"Eh...is it that special?" asked Ryuunosuke not fully understanding what's going on.

"Yes, indeed! It's like God himself has set foot in this world! But such dark and malicious presence! Are they God or a Demon?" asked Caster to himself as he hugged himself.

If it truly is God, then he will finally get his wish to revive Jeanne De Arc! He wouldn't even have to fight this stupid war anymore!

A rare smile full of hope finally appeared on Gilles' face just thinking about that.

"Are you an idiot?! Why would you want to go to enemy right now?!" shouted Waver as he was riding on a war chariot with Iskandar.

"We don't get such invitation often, boy. The enemy is openly challenging us. How could I, as a king, can refuse it? Especially from someone as crazy powerful as this one?" questioned Iskandar back to his master.

His heart was beating faster than it ever had in his life. This was not the thrill of the battle. But the fear of death.

"Really? I didn't feel anything at all." told Waver confused.

"You are a mage, right? Shouldn't you have already sensed such marvelous power?" asked Iskandar.

"No. I didn't, you idiot!"

"That means this person is in league of his or her own."said Iskandar smiling even more widely.

"All the more reason for us not to go there! I don't want to go to an enemy territory knowing our chances of winning is slim!" said Waver as the voice of reason.

"Don't worry, kid! I won't let you die so soon! That I promise you!" told Iskandar.

With a light tug on the leash, Gordius Wheel flew faster creating thunderous sounds and webs of lightning.

"Oh, king of Heroes, I am glad you have agreed to lent me your power to win this war." said Tokiomi Tohsaka bowing down.

"What a pathetic sight." spat Gilgamesh looking at the mongrel who summoned him.

He had no interest in this pathetic mongrel or his precious grail for which he summoned him. Honestly, that thing had no more value to him than a wine cup. A cheap cup, at that.

"It' will soon be the time for us to start the first step of our plan." requested Tokiomi.

"I know what your plan is, Tokiomi. Don't insult my intelligence assuming I don't know about it." told Gilgamesh.

Hearing this, Tokiomi bowed and apologized immediately. This mongrel was too boring and didn't catch his interest. However, his pupil, Kirei Kotomine, was entirely different case.

The man standing along his master was far more interesting to him. This man who had no interest in life. What would he enjoy the most if he were to show him the pleasures of life? Ruling over the weak? Torturing his enemies? Or disappointment with humanity's selfish nature?

However, his thoughts were interrupted as he felt something he never thought he would in this era.

The wave of mana he felt was definitely not what he expected from any servant or magus in this war. Not this one was way different. It was neither divine nor demonic.

Using his skill, Sha Naqba Imuru, he tried to see the source of this power. However, to his surprise, the best he could get that it was not a Servant and that it was someone not from this world.

"How interesting." murmured Gilgamesh to himself as his skill wasn't enough to provide him sufficient information.

In the next instant, all the Assassins appeared in the room and surrounded Kirei to protect him. It seemed these dogs felt it too. It was really pathetic and hilarious to see them like that. To think these weaklings believe they could defeat someone of such power.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked Tokiomi surprised.

"Silence, cur! You are too insignificant to even realizing what is happening." replied Gilgamesh irritated.

"What is happening, my lord?" asked Tokiomi.

"This war has just gotten more interesting. To think such monsters are also included in this war" said Gilgamesh with a smile.

Judging from the reaction of Lancer, it was easy to deduce that he wasn't expecting his master to be that powerful. But there was one thing he wanted to know.

Was that reaction because he is stronger than modern magi or servants? At what level did he stand compared to servants?

He had no idea where his own servant stands when compared to other servants. Not to mention, this fake body restrict his power to mere 8th Tier at best. Putting the ring back again, he hid concealed his mana. However, he made sure to stop the spell that restricted energy drain to allow Lancer keep using his mana as a source.

Still, he needed to find a better body to allow Lancer fight at his fullest. But it was really difficult at the moment considering it was Demiurge who created his body for him and he had no skill in creating one himself.

For now, he could just hope this body will be allow him to use enough mana to escape should be ever face a servant.

"Master, I didn't realize you ever hiding such power." said Diarmuid as he broke out of his initial shock.

"You really think so? Will it be enough to provide with mana if you were to fight a servant?" asked Ainz.

"No." replied Diarmuid instantly.

Eh?! That wasn't enough?! Were servants that powerful?! This was really bad news!

"It is way more than enough! With this amount of mana, I can fight far more effectively than I ever before!" told Diarmuid with a smile.

"I-I see. It's good to hear that you are in full condition to participate in the war." said Ainz as he regained his composure, thanks to to his emotions regulator.

"But master, isn't it dangerous for you to openly show your power to other enemies? They might be able to find our location because of that." asked Diarmuid.

Ainz merely smirked at this.

"That is exactly what I'm hoping for." told Ainz, "I did it on purpose so that an enemy might take this bait and attack us. I want to see how you fair against other servants."

While it was dangerous move to show their location to their enemy, he wanted to see how powerful servants can truly be. This was very crucial for future planning.

If the other servants prove too powerful for him but still om same level on Lancer, then that means he will have to focus more on taking out other masters while Lancer distract the servants. However, if other servants prove too powerful for both of them, then they will retreat and think on alternate ways to defeat them.

What if he is too powerful for other servants? No. You lose less by overestimating your opponent compared to underestimating them.

Suddenly, something caught Ainz's attention. He felt his summoned skeletons disappear one by one quickly.

"It seems the enemy has taken our bait." told Ainz to Diarmuid.

"I see. That's quite a bold move of them." said Diarmuid as he prepared his battle stance.

If this enemy proved to powerful for Diarmuid, Ainz will simply use Teleportation to escape with Lancer while distracting the enemy with Undead Summons. However, if it went the worst possible way, he will have no choice other than to sacrifice Diarmuid and try another way to get servant from other masters.

[Silent Magic: Invisibility]

"So you will be hiding while watching me fight? A wise move, I suppose, since humans are not match for servants and we don't know what enemy is capable of." said Diarmuid to himself as he wasn't able to see Ainz anymore.

Ainz couldn't help but notice a little disappointment in Lancer's voice. It seemed that it was his warrior's resolve. However, such things were practically meaningless to him being a magic caster but that didn't mean he doesn't appreciate traits like honor and pride.

A man wearing skull mask and black clothing suddenly dropped in front of them. While he might be invisible to normal eyes, Ainz was able to see him clearly, thanks to his race skills.

In next moment, Ainz noticed him throwing several knives towards him at high speeds. However, Lancer immediately acted and deflected all of them in an instant.

Wait. That meant the enemy was able to see him?

After that attack, the enemy was clear to normal vision too. It seemed that the enemy's invisibility only remained as long as he doesn't attack.

"I have to admit your master's skills are very impressive. It took me some time to realize he was hiding his presence." told the man.

"The fact you used knife as weapon and were able to see through my master's invisibility spell means you are assassin class servant. Correct?" asked Diarmuid smiling.

The man didn't replied and let out 'tsk' in annoyance.

Ainz was impressed how easily Lancer was able to identify the class of this servant. Though he was confused if Assassin was just telling the truth about being impressed that his invisibility spell.

No, he must be lying. No way, Assassin class could have difficulty with spell of such low magnitude

As expected of Assassin class, lying with such great conviction.

Deciding that the spell was useless in this battle, Ainz decided to show himself.

"While I bear no ill will towards you. I must do what my master ask of me." told Assassin looking at Ainz.

Moving faster than the wind, Assassin covered the distance between himself and Lancer. A cator formed beneath Lancer 's feet as his spear and Assassin' s knives collided with each other. Both of them then started clashing their weapons at incredible speed. Neither one of them able to gain any upper hand.

Deciding to put some distance between them, Assassin jumped back and throw multiple knives at him. Just like before, Lancer deflected them and throw at his spear at Assassin. The force behind the throw was tremendous as the wall instantly crumbled on collision with spear. However, the Assassin appeared out of the smoke unharmed.

To normal eyes, it may seem Assassin had perfectly dodged the throw but Ainz was able to see that Assassin had to kick the spear to redirect it in different direction, otherwise it might be dangerous for him.

Lancer, using his incredible speed, instantly appeared in front of Assassin before connecting a kick to the left side of his waist sending him flying into the wall. Assassin had little time to recover as Lancer summoned his spear and lunged at him.

Barely in the nick of time, Assassin rolled away and avoided from the attack.

"They are quite skilled at fighting." muttered Ainz to himself, "However, they should be much faster than this. Are they simply testing out each other abilities?"

That must explain why they are moving at such speeds. Assassin and Rogues are supposed to be speed based classes. Even a mid -high class who is specialized in speed would be too fast for Ainz to react properly.

Yes, they must be testing out each other. That must explain why he was easily able to follow them.

"Though it seems he doesn't need my help. But as his master, I ought to do something." said Ainz.

Yes, he would take this opportunity to use a spell on Assassin to help Lancer and measure his own strength. He had already set up anti-information spell so enemy master won't be able to see his abilities.

"[Maximize Magic: Hellfire Wall]"

In an instant, Assassin was covered with black flames, potent enough to burn his very soul itself. What happened next surprised both Ainz and Lancer.

As the flames died out, Assassin dropped on the floor completely motionless. It was like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

"M-Mabye he is faking it?" said Ainz himself unsure.

The body of Assassin broke into pure magical energy leaving nothing behind.

SO WEAK!

Soon, emotion regulator started to work again to calm Ainz down.

"I don't believe it. I can't believe a servant was defeated in one hit. I knew you were powerful but not to this extent" said Lancer still in shock.

"Are all servants as weak as him?" asked Ainz.

He wanted to say strong but it was too painful to label a pathetic heroic spirit like him as such.

"Weak?! Based on his abilities, I can say he is as strong as normal servant! You defeated him in one spell!" said Diarmuid.

"I-I see. And how strong you were compared to him?" asked Ainz not very comfortable with sudden praise.

"He was fast but his strength was way lower compared to mine. I would even say his speed was also lower than mine." replied Diarmuid.

"I get it now." said Ainz as he closed his eyes.

"What is it, master?"

"This was a test. Just as we were testing the enemy, we were also put to test by them. Assassin and Ninja class often have many abilities that helps them to extract information. Duplication and shadow clone is one of them. It is possible it would be one of them. " told Ainz.

A sudden realization hit Lancer after hearing that.

"That means we were being watched?" asked Lancer a little worried

"Yes but don't worry about it. I had already put anti-information spell in this place so they were unable to get anything useful." assured Ainz.

"Forgive me for being so careless, my lord." said Lancer bowing down.

"Don't worry about it. You are no caster so you could've done anything about it anyways. Just be more careful next time." told Ainz.

While it wasn't much, Ainz was able to find out that normal servants aren't a threat to him. But there was no guarantee that there are only normal servant in this war. There might be high level servants summoned in this war, for all he know.

Suddenly, there was a huge explosion occurred and the most of roof of the manor was gone.

As Ainz looked up, he saw a golden haired man wearing golden platted armor. For a moment, Ainz mistook him for Jircniv. However, he was too powerful to be a human. The man instantly summoned multiple portals behind him.

"Who told you to look at me, mongrels?" said the man as he shoot multiple different weapons from his portals.

Ainz instantly summoned a magic wall to block the incoming attacks. The weapons exploded as they hit the magic wall but it withheld, protecting Ainz and Diarmuid from any danger.

"You dare to block them, you insolent fools!" said the golden haired man irritated.

What else he expected him to do? Stand there and took the damage for him?

In the next moment, more portals appeared in front of them. There were at least hundred of those portals. As the weapons shot through them, Lancer step in front of Ainz and deflected all of them using this superior speed.

While the sheer amount of weapons were astounding but the speed at which they were being summoned and launched was something Lancer was able to handle.

"Unwanted dog of Fianna! You dare dirty my treasures with your pathetic spear!" yelled the man in anger as he summoned even more portals.

This time the weapons were quite different and not just in shape and radiance. These were way powerful than before.

Before the man could shoot the weapons at them, multiple lightning bolts hit on the ground.

From the sky, a man riding a war chariot with bulls descended down between Lancer and the blonde man.

"Geez. You guys started the fight without me." said the tall muscular man riding the chariot.

"Another enemy servant." said Diarmuid not happy with interference of another enemy in his battle..

"I am Iskandar, King of Conquerors. I am summoned as Rider Class in this war." told Iskandar proudly.

Ainz couldn't believe this guy. He was casually announcing his identity to his enemies knowing well that he is also putting himself at disadvantage in process.

"What the hell are you doing, Rider?" said Waver as stood up angry.

So he has summoned Rider class servant? Interesting. Still it seemed he has very little control over him.

Waver's eyes widened in shock as he looked over to Lancer and then at him.

"Suzuki...Satoru...wh-what are you doing here?" asked Waver looking at him as if he aaw a ghost.

"It's good to see you again, Waver Velvet."

A/N: I hope you guys like the chapter. I hope I didn't make Ainz OOC or weird. Some people asked me why Diarmuid is chosen as Ainz's servant. Firstly, because I HATE Kayneth. Secondly, I have a soft spot for poor lancer class and lastly, Diarmuid acts somewhat like Floor Guardians especially Sebas and Cocytus.

Here are stats of Diarmuid with Ainz as master:

Strength: B

Endurance: C+

Agility: A++

Mana: D

Luck: B

NP: B

Anyways, favourite, follow and do reviews as always.

Eu Saint Draul1 out for now.