Chapter 7 : Summoning

« Are you ready? » Yukiko asked Hiro.
The two were in a Buddhist temple. The magic circle had already been prepared on the wood and the fan was positioned in the center of it. Sunahara Hiro turned to look at the girl behind him who had an excited grimace, then asked her:
« You're anxious, I see. »
« This is the calm before the storm, my dear Hiro. Can't you feel this warm feeling? It looks like a flame that is ready to burn everything. By now there is little time left, Hiro. The war will break out and we will all be involved. So be brave, evoke the Servant. »
« Okay. »
Hiro opened his hand towards the symbol drawn on the ground and began to concentrate his magical energy on it. The symbol lit up blue, a powerful roar was heard. The magic energy emitted by that ritual could be perceived even in Hamburg.

In the german city, inside a church, Clovis Wolff was with the other members of the Rote Mäntel. The symbol had already been drawn on the stone. The man took a deep breath and approached to put an old tome at the center of the hexagram. He walked away and, opening his hand, began to recite the magic formula:

« Ich rufe dich vom Tod in diese Welt im Krieg. Ich rufe dich aus der Vergangenheit, um in der Gegenwart zu kämpfen. Ich rufe dich an, meinen Willen zu tun! Wir werden im Blut und im Kampf gefesselt sein! Come to me, Servant! » 

The symbol lit up in a white color and after a powerful roar there was a magical explosion that overwhelmed those present.

In Hamburg, Clovis Wolff stood up and saw an old man with a long white beard; he wore a red and black dress that resembled a typical garment of medieval nobility. This man had a book and a goose feather with him and when he saw his Master he bowed his head slightly and said: 

« I am honored to have been called by you. I'm Caster, are you my Master? »

« The honor is mine, hero from another time, I am Clovis Wolff and from today I am your Master. Together we will win this war. »

In Japan, Sunahara Hiro stood up and, still stunned, saw a girl with long black hair in the middle of the smoke, her right eye was green and her left was yellow. This girl wore samurai armor and carried a fan and a katana.
The girl, opening her fan, exclaimed proudly:
« I'm Rider, are you my Master? »
Hiro was speechless, he had never seen a Servant. Yukiko approached the boy and, placing her hand on his shoulder, said to him:
« Now it's time to go to war, Hiro. Don't hold back. »

« I won't. » He turned to Rider: « Yes, I am your Master. »

Meanwhile in Rome, inside a church, Alessandro Serpi was lying on a wooden bench with half-closed eyes; with his legs crossed and his hands behind his head, the boy was resting his mind, he needed to relax. Too many thoughts bothered him. Too many thoughts worried him. He was afraid to go to war. He was afraid of dying for the Holy Grail, he had no desire, he was not interested in anything, yet he was forced to fight because the coven had told him to do it.

At that moment he felt the magical energy emanating from the Servants that had been summoned. He got up from the bench, wiped his mouth from the saliva and stretched. After looking around he headed towards the symbol he had drawn on the ground, in the middle of it the gladius had been placed.

He stood looking at him. He didn't want to do the magic ritual. He didn't want to summon the Servant. Summoning the Servant meant taking part in a massacre, it meant risking dying for a cup of desires. The Holy Grail, the chalice with the blood of Christ which is said to guarantee every magician every desire. 

Was it really worth it? 

Was it really worth fighting the Holy Grail War? Alessandro Serpi sat on the floor in front of the symbol and spoke to the sword:

« You're really heavy, you know? Since I got you I realized that you're really heavy. If I were to do the magic ritual I could never go back. To summon you would mean accepting war. But I don't care about the war. I don't want anything from the Holy Grail. For me it doesn't make sense to fight, the Coven knows it. Yet he chose me to summon you. »
Alessandro almost expected a response from the sword. He started talking again:

« You know, the truth is that I am nobody. They say I'm good, but it's really all luck. I'm a failure who has a lot of luck, that's why I'm here. But I have no dreams, I have no desires, I have no purpose. I joined the Coven just because my mother forced me to do it. If she had been quiet I probably would have been a professor or would have continued to work as a librarian. I'm nobody and I don't deserve to be here. The truth is that I don't want to summon you. The truth is that … » 

Alessandro took a breath, he felt bad about fighting a war he didn't care about. He was distressed, he was tormented by fear and uncertainty. He muttered, putting his hands over his face to hold back the tears:

« The truth is that I don't want to fight. I just want to have a quiet life, I want to be happy, I want to feel good ... I don't want to fight. I don't want that stupid Holy Grail. But nobody cares. The Coven gave me an order and expects me to execute it, if I did not execute it I would pay the consequences. I'm stuck. I have only two choices. How disgusting. That sucks … and what will you do? Will you protect me? Will you help me win and give me a peaceful life? Ah! I'm really an idiot, I'm talking to an inanimate object. »
Alessandro rose from the ground and opened his hand towards the symbol. He took a deep breath, trembling, and finally decided to pronounce the magic formula:
« Deum benedicite mihi, benedicat anima mea, benedicat mihi in gladio, ferrum et sanguine, protegas me, in hoc belli! I invoke the Servant! »

A red light illuminated the hexagram, Alexander moved away as soon as he noticed an alarming increase in magical energy. He knew an explosion would break out. The light became more intense. A strong current of air rose and then, as had been foreseen, a magical explosion was generated. After the bright red the blinding darkness. Smoke and sulfur stink occupied the church.

Alessandro saw a female figure appear with gathered hair, almost silvery in color, red eyes and a Roman military uniform. The girl did not have a helmet but wore a crown of laurels on her head and had a scarlet cloak, with gold decorations, which rested on her arm; the entire armor had golden lines; the girl had the typical Roman sandals and her body was like that of a Goddess. Alessandro was amazed by the vision of that perfect female figure. 

The girl picked up the ruined sword that was on the floor and as soon as she gripped it, the blade returned as new and the handle showed its scarlet and golden colors.

The Servant sheathed her sword and approached Alessandro who was still puzzled. She raised her hand and exclaimed, with the pride of a queen and the fire of a warrior:
« I am the Servant you summoned. I am the most glorious figure in this world and the next world. You will now refer to me with the name of Saber! But now let me ask you a very important question: are you my Master? »