Chapter 103 : Strategy is the watchword

« We must go on without too many risks in this war. »
Alessandro spoke these words to Friedrich. While the two Servants were in the bathroom washing, the Masters were busy studying a strategy to be able to face the different enemies. In front of the dining table above which there was a map of London. Taking a red marker, Alessandro began to mark points on the map:
« The areas where fights are most likely to break out are large parks: Hyde Park, Green Park, St. James's Park, Holland Park and Regent's Park. They are open areas, at night there is less chance of meeting someone. But I'm excluding empty construction sites, abandoned houses and old factories. »
« I see you're focusing on the Westminster borough. Can I know why? »
« Because this is where I located the Masters. »
« In your opinion, will there be no battles on the other side of the Thames? »
« Bettersea Park is a possibility. »
« No, any park in the vicinity of Westminster is a possibility. If we want to fight the Masters we have to do it in areas we know. I've been to London before so I can tell you that the best place to fight could be Wormwood Scrubs. There's all the space needed to fight without difficulty. »
« Okay, it can be done. »
« Do you already have a plan in mind on how to act? »
« We must avoid battles that are too long and against too many Servants. I thought I'd fight those who are generally considered weaker first: Lancer and Assassin. Then we move on to Archer and Rider. And finally Berserker. Devourer, if we meet that Servant, we fight it last. We face them one at a time and in different areas. »
« Are you afraid of being predictable? »
« Exactly. »
« Okay, so I guess you were thinking of facing the different Servants in the different parks. This way you will always avoid having civilian casualties, right? »
« I don't want problems with the Mage's Association, that's all. Some of them don't like the reputation of the magi to be "ruined", so to speak. »
« Ok, so here's what we will do: today we will go out to study the different parks in the Westminster district, we must understand their characteristics and know how we can use them to win the different battles, knowing the place is an advantage in a fight. »
« Perfect! Then we'll do it! »

Alessandro Serpi and Friedrich Wolff by Bikowolf

 

Chapter 102 : The strange couple (part 2)

January 29, 2021 - Day 3
 
Alessandro Serpi and Friedrich Wolff were studying a strategy to manage the various Masters who participated in the Holy Grail War of Yggdrasil, in the meantime their two Servants were taking a bath.

In the bathtub, shared by the two girls, Specter was clearly attracted to Saber's body and with a perverse smile she approached her and touched her breast.
« How the hell did you get such big breasts? I want your boobs, succubus! »
Saber didn't seem to have problems with Specter's act, on the contrary, she said to her:
« Do you like my body? I'm not surprised. I'm a descendant of the goddess of beauty Venus! I was born beautiful. I'm the best wife for every husband and the best husband for every wife! »
« Damn it. You remind me of Marchosias, my sister, that bitch has breasts that are gigantic. She's practically a fucking cow! »
« Who? »
« Forget it! »
Specter released her grip and went to the other end of the tub.
« Saber ... why are you fighting this war? »
« Why do you ask? »
« Curiosity. »
« Actually I don't know. I have many wishes but I don't know which one is the most important. Part of me would like to meet the woman I loved, Cleopatra, but another part of me would simply like to crave an enemy worthy of me. I wish I could conquer the world with my legions but I would also like to have the biggest banquet ever together with my trusted legionaries. »
« Don't you have a bigger wish? »
« Family. I'd like to spend eternity with my whole family in the Elysian Fields. »
« Who's missing? »
« My two sisters and my three wives, for example. Caligula never managed to enter the Elysian Fields and ... »
« Nero? »
Saber had noticed something mischievous in Specter's gaze. Specter knew that it bothered her to talk about Nero.
« Why did you say that name? »
« Well ... » Specter was pretending to have made a mistake in good faith but from her smile it was obvious that it wasn't: « I'm just curious. I know many things, Caesar, I know that you don't like Nero but I don't know why. I'm fascinated by this grudge of yours. »
« Grudge? I have no grudge against Nero, I simply despise her. That's all. »
Saber got up and left the bathtub. Specter leaned against the edge of the tub and tried to continue the conversation, perhaps in an attempt to make Saber nervous:
« Why do you despise her? What did she do to you? Was she really so mean to you? »
« Obsequium amicos, veritas odium parit. The truth hurts. I won't speak. I will say no more about that person who is my relative. »
Saber left the bathroom followed by Specter who was taken by Friedrich who informed her of a plan he had studied with Alessandro Serpi.

Saber and Specter by Bikowolf

Chapter 101 : The strange couple (part 1)

Alessandro and Friedrich had decided to make a truce, their purpose was to get their answers from the same person: Yukiko Kumahira. Friedrich and Specter were welcomed in Alessandro's hotel room. Saber, slightly reluctant to have the enemy at home, took the first opportunity to take her Master and talk to him privately in the bedroom.
« I'm not sure of what you're doing, Master. » Saber commented: « Specter is a Servant who has demonic origins, right? This means that she's not human and therefore may be interested in bringing destruction. »
« If she will betray us then we will fight her, but until then it's useless to make accusations. »
« I'll keep an eye on that demon, Master. »
« Okay, but ... »
Specter kicked the door open and joyfully exclaimed:
« You are Gaius Julius Caesar! »
Alessandro stood still like a stone, shocked by Specter's way of doing things. Then he turned to Saber and noticed a strange light in her eyes, in the girl exploded in a strange enthusiasm:
« Yup! I am Caesar! »
Alessandro was even more shocked.
« I knew you were Caesar! I knew it! When I saw your skill I was suspicious but your Noble Phantasm took all my doubts away. What's the King of Dictators doing in this war? »
« "King of Dictators"? » Saber was confused by that nickname.
« Technically, even if you weren't the first dictator in Rome, you were the most significant and the most glorious. So it's obvious that you are entitled to the nickname "King of Dictators". »
Saber was visually disturbed, she seemed to have some problems with that name but then her expression suddenly changed; Saber went along with Specter:
« Couldn't I be the King of Kings? »
« That's Ramses II. »
« King of Heroes? »
« That's Gilgamesh. »
« Then King of Conquerors! »
« I'm sorry, it has already been taken by Alexander the Great. »
« Rightly so. So can I be King of Rome? »
« There have been seven. »
Alessandro intruded on the discussion and asked, curiously, Saber:
« What's the problem if your name is King of Dictators? »
« It makes me look like an ugly person. I don't want to look like an ugly person. I want an appellation that symbolizes my good and bad nature, I would like to be called ... CAESAR! »
«You are already … »
« No, I want to be called First Caesar! Or King of the Caesars! Or First Emperor! In short, something nice. » Alessandro had a strange feeling, it seemed to him that Saber was playing a part.
He was on the point of consoling Saber but then he saw Friedrich arrive, he nodded to him to follow him into the living room. The two left the Servants in the next room. Friedrich sat on the sofa and made Alessandro sit down too, he was quite dark.
« Something wrong? »
« Alessandro, I believe it's appropriate to share some information concerning the Holy Grail War of Yggdrasil. Before going to bed it would be smart to take stock of the situation. How many Masters are there? How many are alive? How many have died? »
« I heard that Caster is out of the game. »
« So there are eight of us. Do you know anything about the Devourer class? »
« No. The Coven said nothing to me. I have no idea which Servant belongs to such a class. Maybe a kind of divinity? »
« Is it possible in your opinion? »
« Divinities are not like demons and angels. They are creatures too powerful for a Holy Grail War, therefore they are generally evoked through the possession of a human body in this way their parameters reach values ​​in accordance with the rules of the war. »
« This war has rules? Strange. » Friedrich commented in an ironic tone.
« Well, yes, there have always been rules but they have never been very clear because they depend on the Grail not on men. To give an example: in the past it was thought that only heroic spirits present in some mythology could be evoked, but apparently the mythological element can be safely ignored. In the past it was thought that summoning a Heroic Spirit too close to divinities was impossible and yet apparently it's no longer. Heroes like Gilgamesh and Romulus can be summoned even though they are de facto demigods. »
« So there are rules but they are like shortcrust pastry? »
« Yes. So Devourer could be anything, it depends on the rules that apply in this war. We can only hope for the best. » 

Saber, Specter, Friedrich and Alessandro by Bikowolf

Chapter 100 : Being nothing

Alessandro had just heard Friedrich claim to be nothing, it was a very strange statement especially from a magus who had to fight the Holy Grail War of Yggdrasil. Friedrich had said those words with such honesty as to make the blood run cold.
« What do you mean? » Alessandro asked, worried.
«Well, since I was a child I have had the feeling that I'm just an intruder in this life. Parents who forget my birthday or sometimes my name, friends who forget my face and my brother who could hardly accept me as a family member. These are things that have left a mark on my soul. I met a girl, not long ago, who said that all this has already happened, that this world is nothing more than an imperfect repetition of a previous one that has been destroyed. Perhaps she know the answer to this doubt that has been plaguing me since I came into the world. »
A destroyed world that repeats itself. Alessandro shivered when he heard those words. He remembered the nightmares he had recently begun to have, nightmares so real that they didn't seem to be the fruit of the imagination, perhaps the girl who spoke with Friedrich could have helped him to understand the origin of those strange dreams.
« Friedrich ... I need your help. »
« Why? »
« I need to talk to that girl you met, I want to know some very important things about the dreams I've been having for some time, dreams so detailed that they seem real. I'm sure I've already lived some moments that I dream of but I don't know where and I don't know when ... and I don't know if in this world or in another. I want to meet that girl. »
« And what about the Coven? Will they be okay with this choice of yours? »
« They won't know anything. This is a personal matter. »
« You still have to get the Grail for them. »
« I know perfectly well, I will find a way to do that too. Treat this as a request for a truce. I need your help, Friedrich. »
« Do you just want to meet that girl? Doesn't it seem silly to pursue such a goal during a war? »
« I know. But I also know that for now our goals seem to coincide. We both want to meet that girl, why not help each other? »
« All right. »
Friedrich and Alessandro shook hands in alliance. The battle was over. The two Masters returned to their respective Servants and told her to stop fighting, both were alive and well, luckily. With the alliance of the two Masters the Holy Grail War of Yggdrasil radically changed its course and the fate of all the Masters involved.

Friedrich Wolff and Alessandro Serpi by Bikowolf

 

February update

Tomorrow I will publish the new chapter. I'm sorry if I have not made myself heard in these two days and if I'm publishing the update now, but tomorrow I've a fairly difficult exam on moral philosophy and I had to study a lot.
 
What can I say in this update?
 
Well, I'm surprised that the number of readings is increasing, this means that you're enjoying my blognovel and I'm really happy with this, but I have to be honest ...
I haven't been feeling very well lately. I'm facing a very difficult period in my life: I'm studying a lot to recover the various exams that I left behind to dedicate myself to work (and there are many) and therefore I feel uncomfortable and pessimistic about the future. Maybe it's bullshit that will pass in a day or two, I don't know, but I know it bothers me to feel so bad.
The only thing that makes me smile is the fact that you read my story, you're giving value to my work and it's very important for me. Seriously.
 
Thank you.