Fate Deified - Chapter 6 (Patreon)

As you approached your motorbike, your eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the beautiful servants words, "What do you mean?" you asked, coming to a stop, "With how this Grail War has become? Did something happen to change it that I'm unaware of?"

Rider cocked her head to the side, "I wouldn't know, I do not know what information you are privy to and what you are not," she replied, "But if you must know, due to an abundance of mana within the Holy Grail, according to the information I was summoned and provided with from the grail itself, an Apocrypha has been triggered, a Greater Grail War. In total, fourteen servants will be summoned, and form two teams of seven, the Faction of Red and the Faction of Black, I am part of the Red Faction, as are you if the slight connection I can feel between your and my masters command seals are anything to go by."

You blinked slowly. An Apocrypha and Greater Grail War? That was the first you had ever heard of this. You didn't even know such a thing was possible.

But, a massive accumulation of mana? That you understood. According to the old pervert, despite four Grail Wars having played out previously, and each having a winner, not once had a wish been made upon the grail.

That meant, it had the magical energy of twenty eight servants already accumulated within. 'Is the grail itself sentient?' you wondered idly. Was it perhaps frustrated that it had been unable to fulfil its purpose all this time?

How interesting. The Grail might have been more interesting than you thought.

A thought occurred to you, "What of Rin Tohsaka?" you asked, "If you've been watching over Sakura, you must have been at school and got a look at her, right?"

Rider's lips twitched, but into a frown or a smile you couldn't tell before it was gone, "She is also of the Red Faction, as is the blonde she bickers with constantly, it was very hard to miss their spats over the past few days." she informed.

Hoh, so the whole offer for an alliance was unneeded in the first place it seemed. And Edelfelt was also a master it seemed and you wouldn't need to put much effort into recruiting her, at least for the initial teaming up.

If she knew what was good for her at least. As great and amazing as you were, even you didn't fancy your chances against seven servants with only one of your own by your side.

Still that was something to take into account. You knew four masters on your side, now you needed to find the other three and bring them together. Then, you could come up with a plan to deal with the other seven servants.

Now that you thought of it, it didn't really change much of your plans. It just meant more hurdles to overcome.

A grin split your face and excitement pulsed in your blood, 'And more fun to be had.' you bared your teeth in anticipation.

Since you had ascended far beyond the limits of normal humans, none had the ability to challenge you. When you could lift a bus overhead without any strain, then what could another human hope to accomplish?

Your growth had slowed because of it. Mostly because, limiting yourself around the normal humans was oh so hard with how great you were now. And the stronger you grew, the harder it became to hide that strength.

There was a reason you hadn't just hunted down a Dead Apostle and taken their blood for yourself. You knew for a fact that your magic could allow you to adapt to the blood and gain all of the benefits from it with no true downsides.

It was what allowed the old pervert to walk out on his family with his family crest and magus rank in the first place after all.

You hadn't, because with how strong the old pervert was, enough to even give you a challenge back then, there was no telling how strong you would become. Surely even the Dead Apostle Ancestors would weep in awe and Bartholomew would come running with all the forces she could muster for your head.

But the grail war, especially this much enhanced version of one, presented not only a massive opportunity for growth, but also to test yourself and see how strong you truly were.

One of the things you wanted after all, was what currently lay under the Clock Tower. Something the old pervert had dreamed of getting his hands on himself after he took your body.

The key to ascending to heights that magi could only grasp and salivate over in their wildest dreams. Possible only thanks to the magic of the old perverts family and your own greatness.

"That's good to know," you replied, swinging your leg over the motorbike and mounting it, before inserting the key and revving it, "I guess it's a good thing I decided to head home then, I can get my servant summoned as well while there."

It was a good thing you'd instructed some of your boys to set up a summoning circle for you while you were out at school now wasn't it? Ah, it was so great having people you could leave the small stuff to and not bother with yourself.

"...You are an odd human." Rider commented.

"I prefer special." you grinned over your shoulder at her, "You should be able to keep up with me on this without bothering Sakura, right?" you challenged. After all, you could easily keep up with your motorbike, you hadn't even had the chance to turn it into a Mystic Code yet.

Her lovely plump lips quirked up into a smirk, "I do believe it's you who will have trouble keeping up with me." she retorted.

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To her credit, Rider was indeed true to her word and could easily keep with your bike, even while jumping up into the air and dashing across buildings to keep out of sight.

A minute into your drive home, a light rain started to fall, wetting your hair and uniform. You could easily conjure a gust of wind around you to keep you dry, but going through town, it would be far too noticeable.

You made a note to add a Bounded Field to your motorcycle to keep normal humans from paying too much attention to it. And a weather warding Bounded Field while you were at it. That would stop rain from falling on you and the bike itself in the first place.

As you were driving though and were about to pass by the road leading up to Ryudo Temple, a familiar feeling washed over you. Mana, powerful thick and dense mana, similar to the feeling Rider gave off, though much much weaker.

You skidded to a stop and looked up at the temple gates in the distance, "Hoh?" your eyebrows rose in interest.

A moment later, Rider gently landed on the ground beside your bike, nary a sound from her feet colliding with the ground and the purple haired girl sleeping within her arms not jostled at all, "I sense a servant," Rider stated, pursing her lips, "I can't feel any tether to our faction, but they feel weakened, on the edge of death."

"Is that so?" you grinned, dismounting your bike.

Truly what luck you had. This was quite the opportunity. A possible opposing teams servant, pitifully weakened and like a lamb to the slaughter, just up for grabs.

"I will not approach them," Rider seemed to predict your thoughts, "Not when master is so vulnerable right now, even a servant with one foot in the grave is dangerous."

Cautious of her. Not that you didn't approve. You couldn't have any risk to your woman now could you?

You waved the purple haired beauty off, "That's fine, it's not like I need your help for just one servant, never mind one as weakened as this." you replied.

After all, as you told Rin earlier, the only true threat you saw in a servant was their Noble Phantasms after all. One with so little energy, well, it was unlikely they could use their Noble Phantasm and you could easily crush them with your strength.

That said, you gave her a nod and began making your way up along the path towards where you could feel the mana coming from.

As you did, you snorted in amusement when you felt Rider approach you from a ways back, keeping an eye on you.

For all her tough talk, it seemed she didn't want you dead at all. Or at the very least, she wanted you to save Sakura.

You'd show her she needn't worry about you. It was an amusing thought that any had to worry about you at all really.

Unless a god or high ranking phantasmal beast was spontaneously summoned into this age, what could truly challenge you on their own?

You made your way up the path to just before the stairs, but instead of going up them towards the temple, you made a sharp turn right and walked into the forest.

It didn't take you long to find the one you sensed, pausing at the tree line of the clearing they lay in.

It was a woman, laying on her back in the rain, her luxurious and finely crafted robes of purple blooded and ripped and stained with the mud of the ground.

'A Caster perhaps?' you mused, idly flooding your eyes with prana and taking in her abilities.

[Strength: E-]

[Endurance: E-]

[Agility: D-]

[Mana: A+]

[Luck: B]

Compared to Rider, her stats were pitiful in everything but Mana capacity and Luck. But then, from weak she was and considering you couldn't see them anywhere in sight, it was highly possible she had no Master.

She struggled as you entered the clearing, sensing your prana, and you saw muddied pale porcelain skin, and plump luscious blue lipstick clad lips grimace, "A...M-magus?" she gasped.

"Spellcaster actually," you corrected instinctually, "I don't have the time to waste on nonsense like searching for the stupid Root."

Seriously, who wanted to get to the sum of all creation, just for knowledge? What a pathetic reason to go after the Root.

You paused, tapping your chin and then grinned as a thought came to mind, "Though I suppose Muscle Wizard fits as well," you mused, lifting your hand and allowing green light to illuminate your veins as you reinforced your body, "My favourite spell to cast is fist after all." you laughed.

Sure, thanks to your element and origin you could conjure massive fire storms, wind blasts, gouts of water and such, but there was nothing quite as satisfying as feeling the raw strength of your own body.

"I.....what?" the servant stared at you, befuddled. Or, you assumed at least, it was hard to tell with that hood over her head.

You shook your head, lowering your fist and allowing your reinforcement to fade, "Nothing important, just a little joke," you shrugged, walking your way over to the downed servant, "So tell me Caster, how did you end up in this sorry state? Alone, no master in sight and looking horribly beaten."

"...I killed my insect of a master, Spellcaster," she replied after a moment of silence, "Then....Assassin of Black attacked me and I barely escaped with my life...for all the good it'll do me. I am destined to fade without gaining anything, as always."

No denial that she was Caster. And by the looks of it, she was either part of the Red Faction, or was chased out of the Black Faction after killing her master by the Assassin of Black.

Either way, she was without a master now, and an opportunity was to be bad here.

Still even with that, you found yourself shaking your head at her words, "Fate, what a useless concept," you snorted, before sitting down with your legs crossed beside the robe clad woman, "Though, your words have caught my interest. Why did you kill your master? And what do you mean you've never gained anything, care to explain?"

Having a great enough legend to become a servant, having carved her name into the annals of history, yet never gaining anything? What a true waste of time that would be. What an utter waste of potential.

A sardonic laugh left those plump blue clad lips, "It is because...it is my nature," she snorted, "What else can you except of Medea of Colchis, even my own master called me a witch in our very first meeting."

"Medea of Colchis huh?" your eyebrows rose. One of the greatest magi in all of history, and a tragic figure, "You Greeks really do have shitty luck Caster, how many of you legends from Greece actually got a happy ending I wonder?" you chortled a bit yourself.

Medea of Colchis was perhaps one of the more tragic figures herself. Just a few steps below that of Medusa. Cursed by the goddess Aphrodite to fall in love, a curse that led to the once princess killing her younger brother for the Argonaut Jason and sailing off with him, only to be left behind by him after giving birth to multiple children of his for another woman and revered as nothing but a traitorous sow that was torn apart by the masses in the end.

If you remembered right, it was one of her own children that had her killed did he not? After she helped secure his rule as a King of...somewhere. Honestly, you couldn't remember. She left the island of Circe to go help the boy if you remembered right though.

How pitiful.

"'Shitty Luck!'" she snorted in amusement herself, "How crass, yet so apt." her snort turned into chortling, before hull out laughter again, that turned into sobs.

And as she did, you felt the energy within her dwindle and dwindle. She wasn't long for this world.

'So, so pitiful.' you shook your head. But, despite that, you found yourself rising to your feet again, hooking your arms under the robed woman as you did.

"W-what are you doing?" Medea sputtered as you lifted her, struggling in your grip, but you were easily able to keep hold of her with your sublime strength.

You looked down at her, her cheeks stained with tears and rain drops, and despite the great legend she had, she felt so light in your grip. Hardly what you would expect of a legendary magic user from the Age of Gods.

"It would be a waste to leave someone like you here to fade away." you declared and shook your head.

Her lips twisted into a scowl, "Leave me be Spellcaster, leave me to fade," strength flared into her words as she bit out at you, "I have no interest in being used by another, every time it turns out the same, I'm...tired of it."

You snorted, "No," you denied her, "You and those fools of your past clearly have no concept of sense, unable to grasp your worth. I'm not so pitiful though."

She gaped at you for a moment, lips going wide before she snarled, "I-I'll betray you like all the rest in the end, I will kill you!" she promised.

You laughed, "You aren't capable of killing me," you denied her words again easily, "It doesn't matter whether from the front or the back from betrayal, I have nothing to fear for you, because I'm the one who will surpass all others in this world, even the pitiful gods that faded away with their age."

"...You're a madman." she gaped at you once more.

You chuckled again, "There's a fine line between madness and genius you know," you retorted, "It is that inherent madness though that has allowed humans to outlive even the gods and the phantasmal creatures and reach into this age, the age of man as the dominant species, the will to survive and grow, the will to evolve and stay and reach for the stars. The mases just don't want to admit it."

Humans after all, were the most greedy race of all you had found. After all, you were a human and none could compete with your greed and desire. There was no species in history that had grown like humans had.

How could you not love your race for the simple fact that humans embodied growth? Not the stagnating gods or phantasmal beasts, it was always humans that reached new heights and desired more and more.

That was why, with your being an Incarnation of Growth you were perhaps, the most human of all humans.

You smirked at the woman in your arms, "That's why I'm telling you, come with me, become my servant, and I'll show you your true worth in this world, none but me can truly appreciate you," you declared confidently, "And if I fail to live up to this promise, then you can feel free to betray me, I'll deserve it like that fool Jason."

Medea was silent, her lips trembling and lithe body beginning to shake in your grasp, "....Just like that, you are so uncaring of my reputation as a witch who will betray even her brother? A witch so hated even her own children would put her to death?"

"I couldn't care less," you nodded your head proudly, "This world is a beautiful place, it's tragic that a woman of your stature and potential had her growth cut so short by the shenanigans of the trash around her and the pitiful useless gods."

And you meant that. The gods, what had they ever truly done for humanity? They caused more problems than they ever did give benefits.

For instance, if not for Aphrodite's stupidity, the woman in your arms would have been free to research and grow her magic without interruption and would have either become a queen, or the beloved advisor of her brother who ascended to the crown.

Instead, she was forced to labour away as the love addled chit of the Argonaut Jason, a useless piece of trash if there ever was one going by the stories of him. A fool who could never accomplish anything on his own and only got by with the help of all the other astounding people around him like Medea herself, Herakles and Atlanta.

And he only got that far because of blessings from the useless gods. Truly, he was pitiful useless trash.

"Ah...Heh," a half laugh, half sob left Medea's lovely blue painted lips, "How amusing...heh, at the very end, as I accept my fate to fade away, a mad young lad like you appears before me, how astounding. The gods work in mysterious ways."

You laughed harshly at her words, "The gods are gone from this world Medea," you rebuked her, the only 'gods' still around were Alaya and Gaia, but they weren't of the same class, "They're trash that have nothing to do with this. Don't forget, those pitiful spirits will be old news compared to me one day in the future."

A sigh left her and she relaxed into your arms, "...Very well...just this once, I'll...I'll believe in the words of a muscle headed buffoon one last time." she said softly.

"Wise decision, one you won't regret," you grinned at her, baring your teeth excitedly. You pinched your thumb with your index finger nail, drawing blood and before Medea could say anything, you stuffed your bleeding finger into her mouth.

She gasped and gagged around your finger, "W-what are you doing!?" she spluttered.

"I've not summoned my actual servant yet," you shrugged, dropping your blood into her mouth to supply her with mana and stop her from fading, "I've got an abundance of prana, so my blood should keep you from fading long enough to summon my own servant and then I can contract with you."

"Ack, stop you buffoon!" she pulled your thumb from her mouth, spitting your blood away, "How inefficient! I can easily keep myself from fading away by drawing from the ley lines even from here!"

You shrugged, "Do that then." you ordered, turning on your feet while carrying her and making your way back where you came from, back towards your motorcycle.