"Let's retreat for now, Saber." Artoria kept a wary eye on Diarmuid, cautious of another attack. "You too, Lancer. Come back." Fortunately, Kayneth chose to recall his Servant. What Waver could discern, Kayneth could see as well... and further. "The Berserker, and the horned girl, likely a summon of the Caster." Kayneth vaguely realized that the greatest variable in this Holy Grail War was the hidden Caster. The proud Clock Tower lord, for the sake of victory, began to consider alliances. Yet his position was awkward. Gilgamesh's arrogance made him an unlikely ally. Artoria's Master was Kiritsugu Emiya, the notorious magus killer. Kayneth despised magi who dabbled in such unorthodox methods. As for Waver... his student, the thief who stole his Saint Relic. Kayneth would rather lose this Holy Grail War than ally with a thief. Leaving the warehouse district, Kayneth sighed inwardly. "Is my only option to join Caster and Berserker?" He could see that Caster and Berserker were already allied. He pondered whether to join them to better counter the other Masters and Servants. Meanwhile, Artoria and Irisviel met up with the retreating Kiritsugu. "Good work, Irisviel." Kiritsugu shifted his gaze from Saber's injured wrist, then shared what had happened and his suspicions about Damien's identity. "A Heroic Spirit who can summon other Heroic Spirits?" That alone was shocking enough. But what stunned them more was Kiritsugu's revelation of Damien's true identity. Artoria and Irisviel exchanged glances. They increasingly felt this Holy Grail War was absurdly over-the-top. Infinite Noble Phantasms from one, Demon God pillar summoning from another. Compared to Gilgamesh and Damien, Artoria felt her King Arthur persona seemed rather plain. "King Solomon commands seventy-two Demon God Pillars." "How many can he summon?" Irisviel asked. "If it's all of them, that's just cheating." The top-ranked Demon God Pillars, like Baal or Amon, transcended Heroic Spirits, bordering on divinity. "There must be some limitation!" Kiritsugu insisted. To claim the Holy Grail, Damien was a hurdle he had to overcome. "Then, Kiritsugu, you and I…" "No." Kiritsugu shook his head. "We stick to the plan. I stay in the shadows, and you maintain the facade as Saber's Master." "But that puts you in danger…" Damien's assassin had found Kiritsugu once; there could be a second or third time. If Damien targeted the Saber team, assassinating Kiritsugu would secure victory. But Kiritsugu wasn't worried. From their brief interaction, he sensed Damien wouldn't resort to such tactics. "The King of Magecraft, Solomon, could kill me anytime." "Since he didn't act earlier, there's no need to worry about him going back on his word." Kiritsugu also considered allying with other Masters to counter Damien. "If it comes to that…" He looked at Irisviel. "Have Saber protect you both until the Holy Grail War ends." Rather than let his wife die needlessly, he'd rather end it there. At Ryudou Temple, Shuna and the shrine maidens greeted Damien's return. "She waited for you all evening." Shuna said with a troubled look. "But she's just a child. She couldn't hold out past 10 p.m. and fell asleep in the living room." Having been gone all night, it was nearly 4 a.m. Damien and his group, as Heroic Spirits, needed no sleep or food. In all of Ryudou Temple, only Sakura had human needs. Damien was quite fond of Sakura. Perhaps fearing abandonment again, her obedience was heart-wrenching. "For the next two days, we'll stay at Ryudou Temple." Damien recalled the plot of the Fourth Holy Grail War. My involvement has changed some things, but the major developments should stay the same. This wasn't a casual judgment. With Violet's real-time monitoring, he could track the entire war's trajectory. Except for minor details that might be overlooked. Souei appeared behind Damien, accompanied by other Shadow Guard. "The serial killer I asked the Shadow Guard to investigate... any leads?" With the Holy Grail War's timeline shifted earlier, Damien wasn't certain if the deranged killer Ryūnosuke Uryū would still appear. "Found him!" Souei reported. "Ho…" Damien marveled. "The world's inertia is that strong?" Even a year early, under the world's will, Ryūnosuke had begun his killing spree. "Should we eliminate him when he receives his Command Seals?" Killing Ryūnosuke now offered Damien no benefit. Souei suggested striking the moment Ryūnosuke summoned his Heroic Spirit. That way, with the Master dead, the true Caster would vanish too. Damien had little interest in the sea monster or that big blue eyes guy. "Leave it to the Shadow Guard. Handle it cleanly." He spared Kiritsugu because a Demon Lord didn't need petty tricks. But Ryūnosuke was different. No method was too extreme for such a monster. Watching the figures vanish into the courtyard, Damien recalled Kiritsugu's earlier speculation. "King of Magecraft, Solomon, huh…" "I wonder what your reactions will be when I reveal my true identity?" A Demon Lord from another world, ruler of countless monsters, humanity's natural enemy! Impersonating another wasn't Damien's style. "Then, at the upcoming Banquet of Kings." Damien declared, "I'll announce my arrival!" The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the N0velFire.ɴet Hi guys, Elenea here! I just want to announce that starting now I'll be trying to focus on my own original fanfic, which I've been thinking about for the past few days (lol I really mulled this over briefly for a few days and decided I'm going to make it a full novel). [Worse Than the Devil (DxD)] An evil and chaotic creature, born from hell, which are often a scapegoat for humans. Blamed for the atrocities they themselves commit. "The devil made me do it." A phrase always uttered by humans after committing crimes, casting blame and responsibility for their wrongdoings onto the devil. But not all humans are like that, for there is one man who would gleefully commit atrocities that would be condemned by all of human history and accept the blame and responsibility for those wrongs with open arms. His name is Michael, but in stark contrast to the meaning of his name 'Who is like God' he is not a devout man who draws near to God's embrace. Instead… he is the one who sends lost sheep to meet God's embrace much faster. Btw, a quick note before you decide to read, if you have a heart as pure as glass, I suggest you don't read this because it REALLY gets dark to early. The first chapter will give you a little idea of what I might explore later on in this fanservice harem-themed world like DxD.