Shirou could not comprehend the sight before him. The woman he had harbored feelings for over the past several months—perhaps even years—was currently offering a lap pillow to a man he had met only today, gently stroking his hair with a tender expression.
"Ass... Assassin?"
"Hmm... what is the matter, Kotomine? To enter without so much as a knock is quite the lapse in manners. Is the situation truly that dire?"
"Why... Zod, why is Assassin in your room... and that act, what is the meaning of it...?"
"Ah~ this?"
Zod rose from Semiramis’s lap as if it were of no consequence and offered a nonchalant explanation.
"I asked Assassin for a favor. She seemed like a kind soul, after all."
Zod, instinctively sensing Shirou’s affection for Semiramis, decided to toy with the man's heart on a whim, weaving a lie on the spot.
"You see, I never had parents. I felt a sudden longing for a mother’s warmth, so I acted a bit spoiled with Assassin. She was gracious enough to indulge me."
Semiramis was momentarily taken aback by Zod’s words, but seeing him wink from an angle hidden from Shirou, she took the hint. She played along with a clever wit befitting a Queen.
"The Master of Berserker possesses a rather youthful appearance, does he not? This much magnanimity is within my nature... Or perhaps, could it be that you are harboring a primitive jealousy toward him?"
Shirou bit his lip as Semiramis struck the mark. However, he quickly masked his reaction with a bright expression, acting as though it were trivial. He knew that to show anger here would be to admit defeat.
"So, you are saying our Berserker grew restless and charged into the territory of the Black Faction?"
"Indeed. I have sent Rider and Archer as a retrieval team, but it would be best if you, his Master, were to intervene directly."
"Hmm... sounds like you're telling me to go to the Black Faction's territory and die."
"Perish the thought! I merely spoke of you as the Master, the 'means' required to suppress a Servant."
Shirou denied Zod’s accusation, yet somewhere deep within his heart, a dark emotion welled up—a wish that this man who had charmed Semiramis would simply vanish. He forced his subconscious to suppress the thought.
"By the way, I heard the attempt to ambush Ruler failed?"
"Ruler is an unnecessary existence for the fulfillment of our great cause... therefore, I simply sought to eliminate her."
"Hmm... It would be troublesome if Ruler sided with the Black Faction. Perhaps I should go and kidnap her myself."
"Would that be wise? Going alone would be quite perilous for you."
".............."
As Semiramis voiced her concern, seemingly defending Zod against the idea of going into enemy territory alone, Shirou’s expression momentarily darkened before returning to its neutral mask. Sensing this, Zod decided to provoke him further and grasped Semiramis’s hand.
"Are you worried about me? Wow~ thank you, Big Sister!"
As Zod spoke with a radiant, blooming smile on his beautiful face, the impact was devastating. It was a smile so captivating that most women would offer their entire fortunes just to behold it. Even the legendary Semiramis found her face flushing a deep crimson, flustered beyond measure. Shirou quickly stepped in, urging Zod to go and retrieve Berserker. As Zod reluctantly left the annex where the enemy Masters resided, Semiramis felt a flicker of genuine murderous intent toward her own Master for the first time.
She wanted to kill Shirou for interrupting her view of that exquisite, ecstatic smile. She only let him live because he was, technically, the Master. Shirou, oblivious to this, remained anxious, wondering if Semiramis had already fallen for Zod.
.
.
.
"Hey, hey, Berserker! Let's head back. The order to deploy hasn't been given yet."
"Ha! If you're a warrior, surely you understand? Blood! Slaughter! My body is itching to run wild!"
"Sigh... This is why Berserkers are so...!"
Achilles and Atalante were currently suffering from a collective headache. Berserker’s sudden desertion toward the Black Faction's camp was one thing, but the order from Shirou Kotomine—who introduced himself as the representative of the Masters—to retrieve Berserker as quickly as possible sat ill with them.
Achilles had not yet manifested his swiftest chariot, and Atalante had not yet utilized the hide of the divine boar, but if Berserker continued his rampage... they realized they might have to deploy their Noble Phantasms just to restrain him.
"Berserker!"
"Oh... is that you, Master?"
At the sound of a voice calling out to Cu Chulainn Alter from mid-air, Achilles (Rider) and Atalante (Archer) looked up. There, they saw Zod floating in the sky.
"You are..."
"A child?"
Achilles looked at Zod with a face that suggested he had seen him somewhere before. Atalante, seeing Zod’s youthful appearance, looked concerned about why a child would be in such a place. Cu Chulainn Alter acknowledged his Master, though he seemed far from pleased.
"Have you come to collect me?"
"For now, wait. I'll let you loose later."
"Well now... I don't think I can wait."
"Sigh... (Hummmmm....) You’d better listen while I'm still using my words."
As Zod growled in a low voice, charging his Heat Vision, Cu Chulainn Alter merely gripped his Noble Phantasm—the monstrously warped Gáe Bolg—and let out a bloodthirsty grin. It was a smile that promised imminent death.
"How interesting... That killing intent! That fear I felt when you summoned me! Let me feel it once more!"
"Stop this, Berserker! If you intend to become a Servant who kills his own Master, we are your enemies."
"Do you think I would stand by and watch a ruffian harm a child!"
Achilles and Atalante glared at Cu Chulainn Alter as he pointed Gáe Bolg at Zod, and they prepared to invoke their own Noble Phantasms. However, Zod simply laughed and waved them off.
"It is fine, Rider, Archer... Disciplining a Servant is a Master’s duty... Now then... I won't kill you, but I will educate you until you're a well-behaved puppy."
"Are you insane?! Do you really think a human can fight a Servant... much less a Hero of the Age of Gods?"
"He is right! I do not know what kind of great Magus you may be, but you are under a severe delusion—"
HMMMMMMMMM........
"Back off... unless you want to die..."
Zod growled, his eyes igniting with a flickering red glare as the Heat Vision surged. The sheer intensity of Zod's murderous intent caused even the two Heroic Spirits to flinch and take a step back.
"Hahaha... A Master with strength equal to... no, perhaps greater than a Servant?! This makes the fight even more worthwhile!"
"I am an artificial lifeform born from a US Government Superhuman Project... and enhanced by the Subspecies Holy Grail. Yes, call me a reinforced Homunculus... And I've been wanting to test the limits of my power... Come! I'll go easy on you!"
"Don't you dare come crying for mercy later!!"
Cu Chulainn Alter lunged at Zod, swinging Gáe Bolg, and Zod dived down from the sky, charging directly into the Mad King.
.
.
.
"So... you've come to ask me to investigate the Master of Berserker? Master of Assassin?"
"Yes, Caster... something about that man is dangerous."
"Hmm~ Is that a purely utilitarian suggestion? Or a deeply personal one?"
"There is no need for you to know. Excluding the Masters of Saber and Berserker, I hold the Command Spells to control all Servants... You simply need to do as I command, Caster."
"Oh my, I almost overstepped my bounds. Very well, I shall apply my talents to the task."
"Then I shall leave it in your hands, Caster."
Shirou Kotomine recalled the image once more... Semiramis giving Zod a lap pillow... Semiramis blushing at Zod's false, innocent smile. The thought filled him with a boiling resentment. As he gnashed his teeth, the man who was nearly a saint began to harbor thoughts that no holy man should ever possess.
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