The first thing Friedrich saw, when he opened his eyes, was the round white face of the moon. He stood up, looked around, and was silent out of caution. He thought he was in enemy territory. He remembered Vergil perfectly and was sure that he would be attacked by the latter. As soon as he heard footsteps behind him, he flung himself against the person.
"Stop, Friedrich! It's me!Benjamin!"
"What …? But how …?" He turned away from the boy. "What's happening? Where are we?"
"I have no idea," Benjamin stood up "but I'm sure we're not in the United States."
"No, the buildings look old." Friedrich noted. "The way they are built is ... primitive."
Friedrich focused his attention on a wall of a house on which his name and that of his friend had been engraved. He opened the wooden door and when he saw crates stacked in the corner of the room he became suspicious. He turned to Benjamin and asked him:
"Why are you here?"
"What kind of question is that? I'm here because I was kidnapped like you!"
"No, you don't understand… you're not a magus. You shouldn't be here. If that madman, who dragged us here, wants to fight a Holy Grail War then he can't involve humans. Humans cannot channel magical energy in any way."
"Maybe I-"
"Stop."
Friedrich touched Benjamin's chest and closed his eyes. Concentrating he could perceive the presence of Magical Circuits, they were few, but there were some. They pulsed with little vigor, they were like dim lights in the darkness.
"You don't have much magical energy," he commented, "but you are a magus, indeed. Did anyone in your family practice Magecraft?" he inquired.
"Not that I know."
"Developing Magic Circuits is complicated but not impossible."
"So I can summon beasts of fire and ice like you?" he asked ironically.
"No, you don't know the Way of the Wolf." Friedrich lifted his hand from Benjamin's chest. "I'll have to teach you to channel magical energy, only in this way can you summon a Servant."
"Why? Wouldn't it be smarter to leave?" asked the confused boy.
Friedrich pointed to the crates and replied:
"Do you think it's an option? By now we've been involved in this war, escape is not-"
"And my mother? I cannot abandon her! We have to go back!"
"Ben, listen to me… we can't go back. I doubt he'll let us escape. That guy… he didn't seem naive to me. If he brought us here, it's to keep us here and make us fight each other."
"But why? Why do such a thing?"
"I don't know. I only know that we are here and we will stay here until the conflict is over."
"Holy shit! Fuck!" exclaimed the furious boy.
"I know, I understand you, but there's nothing we can do about it. We have to survive, complaining will lead us nowhere. Come with me, Ben."
Friedrich and Benjamin began inspecting the crates one by one and eventually found two relics: bear skin and a piece of cloth on which a demonic symbol had been drawn.
"The seal of Marchosias" commented Friedrich seeing that drawing.
"Who?"
"Marchosias is a demon. Apparently it can be summoned in the form of a Servant. Good."
"So can demons be summoned? If my grandmother were alive she would throw her slippers at you."
"Demons are creatures very similar to us, they come from another dimensional plane just like angels, and they are intelligent, passionate and also extremely powerful," explained Friedrich. "Many of them are evil not by choice but because their instinctual nature commands them."
"My grandmother wouldn't agree," Ben commented sardonically.
"Not even the organization I worked for. But the facts cannot be denied." Friedrich took the piece of cloth and looked at it intently. "I had known a demon in the previous Holy Grail War… she wasn't really evil even though she liked to pretend to be. I miss her."
"Were you in love with her?" Benjamin asked intrigued.
"Yes. I was."
"Really?!"
"Yes, I was really in love with her. Maybe one day I'll see her again."
"And, excuse the question, but what is a Servant?" he asked him to derail the conversation.
"In short, it's a spiritual entity. Generally referred to as the Heroic Spirit. Its manifestation preserves the memories of the corresponding mythological or historical hero. They are warriors summoned to fight the Holy Grail War and they are…" He paused. He noticed Benjamin's confused eyes. "I'm sorry, maybe I exaggerated."
"No don't worry. I think that I understand. They are weapons, aren't they?"
"Basically yes. They are weapons that speak, think and feel emotions."
"Not efficient weapons, then."
"Sometimes they can be imperfect, yes."
"And why aren't they always summoned?"
"Because maintaining a Servant requires immense magical effort. I can explain it to you in this way: pretend to have to drag twenty cement sacs, linked togehther, by hand, up a slope; an impossible feat. Trying to do so could be highly risky and you could get very hurt. So you need a vehicle. That vehicle is the Holy Grail. It simplifies the work of the magus."
"In what sense does it 'simplify' it?" he asked puzzled.
"A Servant must be maintained. They constantly consumes the magical energy of the Master who evokes them. The body, the characteristics, the gender, the mentality, the abilities, and all those minutiae that characterize a Servant, need mana. That's what the Holy Grail is about. It provides the magical energy necessary for the manifestation of a Servant" explained Friedrich.
Benjamin understood those words but he wasn't quite sure he wanted to participate in the Holy Grail War. He didn't even know what to do. He had never fought seriously, he had always limited himself to surviving. And now there he is: involved against his will in an anonymous conflict, in a land without a name.
"It's going to be okay, Ben" Friedrich assured him, placing his hand on his shoulder.
"Do you really believe it?"
"Sure."
He was lying. Benjamin understood this immediately. He could almost touch the fear of his friend. But despite the doubts, he finally agreed to summon the Servant.
Shortly thereafter the two boys drew the glyphs, following the instructions in the manual they had found in one of the crates. The two, before starting the ritual, began to read the magic formula to summon the Servants. They had to memorize it.
Finally, in front of the two circles drawn on the ground, Friedrich explained to Benjamin how to channel the magical energy:
"It's about concentration, mostly. Do you feel that heat flowing through your body when you are in the vicinity of the glyph? The magical energy is attracted and you have to let it pass." Then he explained: "My teacher taught me this way: when you breathe in, focus only on that energy you perceive; close your eyes; look for the source of that energy; just because you're a magus you can visualize it as if it were a moon inside you. Now exhale and, with the air, release that energy." The drawing on the ground began to light up. "Gut!"
"And why did we memorize that magic formula first?"
"Because now we have to recite it to summon the Servants."
"Well, then ... er ... let's start: the East is protected by the Bull-"
"Eagle" corrected Friedrich.
"But why should an eagle protect the East? The eagle is in America."
"Minutiae. Recite the magic formula and pay no attention to it."
"Fine. So: the east is protected by the Eagle, the south-"
"Wrong order" Friedrich corrected again.
"Who cares? They are always cardinal indications! Nothing changes if I recite them in one order or another!"
"This. Is. The. Magic. Formula."
"Being a wizard is as fun as punching yourself in the balls" Ben commented nervously.
"The correct term would be magus."
"Fuck you."
"Come on, start over. We have to summon these Servants otherwise we can't-"
An explosion. It came from outside. Friedrich went to the door, opened it a little and saw through a crack that a Master had arrived along with his Servant. He closed the door. He ran to Benjamin who was frightened:
"What's up? What was it?"
"Ben, I don't have much time." Friedrich pushed Benjamin away from the door. "Apparently the war has already begun. Now here's what I will do: I will recite the magic formula and distract him. I'll buy you time. You're gonna have to stay here, clear? Summon the Servant and, if you can, come and help me."
"Wait a minute, you idiot!" Benjamin said terrified. "Do you really want to fight and recite that fucking spell at the same time? Don't say bullshit! Let's hide!"
"If he's here it means that he has managed to locate us!" Friedrich exclaimed. "I'll be the bait, don't worry about me. Recite the magic formula. I go." Friedrich recited the first words of the ritual: "The East is protected by the Eagle, the West by the Bull ..."
The boy left the house in a hurry.
The Master who was looking for him was a tall man, in his thirties, with a scar on his mouth and a bandage that covered his right eye; he had short orange hair and was wearing a black shirt with ripped sleeves.
The man, seeing Friedrich, smiled and ordered the Servant behind him:
"ω Caster, kill that magus!"
The woman, in golden armor, threw a powerful magical ray from her hand.
Friedrich was busy reciting the spell and therefore couldn't summon his wolves to defend himself. He avoided the Servant's hit by rolling. He got up and ran to the other side to be chased.
"… The south by the Lion and the north by the Dog. The Four Guardians chosen by the Seven Sisters grant you ..."
The Servant, with a movement of her hands, created a magical dimension that replicated a desert. The boy was scared but he didn't stop reciting the magic formula.
"… Hero of the past, to prove your worth and to fight to the death under the gaze of Mercury…" Golden chains came out of the sand but Friedrich was able to dodge them without even being touched. "... since the man with the fire in the right and the book in the left and the owl on his head has chosen you, Heroic Spirit, seek nothing but glory ..." A chain grabbed his leg and Friedrich found himself suspended in the air and, subsequently, tied like a salami. "... Use the sword, the bow, the spear, the staff, the hammer, the dagger, the steed and the voice to destroy your enemies and reach the Heavenly Desire! I summon you, my Servant!"
Friedrich's chest lit up.
At that moment someone opened a breach in the dimension created by ω Caster. She was a woman with pointed ears, red eyes and black hair. When Friedrich saw her he mistook her for Glasya-Labolas. However, when she turned around, he realized that she was another person.
"I'm α Specter, it's a pleasure to meet you, Master." Then she turned to herrival: "You're ω Caster, am I right?" The woman cut the golden chains with the weapon that had a crescent-shaped blade.
"So you're my rival," Caster said with a satisfied smile.
"Your rival? You're not even on my level."
"Are you sure? I remind you that you are in my territory and here it is I who have the advantage." Caster snapped her fingers and suddenly soldiers rose out of the sand, similar to Roman legionaries, but made entirely of sand. "Now let's see what will you do, Specter."
"Your pawns will never be able to kill me" she said with a demonic grin.
Specter, without the slightest hesitation, leapt and faced the twenty enemies in front of her. With a few slashes of the blade she destroyed half of them and, with immense speed, defeated the rest. Specter's quick and agile style left Friedrich, who was accustomed to Glasya-Labolas, astonished. Gold chains gripped both of Specter's arms.
"You're mine!" Caster exclaimed in a victorious tone.
More soldiers appeared and approached, ready to deliver the deadly blow.
"Nice chains," Specter said "but they're not like those that can seal gods. So I can free myself with a very simple trick like this one."
Specter's body was covered in fur, her muzzle lengthened, and in an instant the Servant transformed into a black wolf with red eyes. The beast broke free from the chains.
"A really nice trick, Specter. But it's useless against me."
Caster, having said these words, shot two magical rays from her hands. The wolf opened its jaws and expelled a jet of blue fire from its mouth. The impact of the two attacks completely destroyed the sand soldiers who remained in between.
The battle only stopped for a few minutes. An immense cloud of sand had risen. Specter returned to her original appearance and, turning to her Master, asked:
"What do you think, Master? Were you amazed by my power?"
"You look very strong, α Specter, but don't let your guard down" he replied cautiously.
"Do not worry. It's not my intention."
Suddenly a magic ray went off. Specter dodged it and prepared to attack her opponent.
"Finally it's time to end it, ω Caster!"
"Caturix! (The King of the Endless Battle)"
A magical blue slash that came out of nowhere destroyed a good portion of the desert. The two Servants turned and saw a woman coming along with her Master.
"I am ω Saber and I'm here to carry on my rebellion against the oppressors," said the woman with the painted face.
Behind Saber was Benjamin. When Friedrich saw him he breathed a sigh of relief. Caster's Master, seeing that he was at a disadvantage, muttered:
"It's useless to carry on this battle. I was hoping to take out some easy prey but apparently I will be forced to retreat. Let's go, ω Caster, we're done here, for now."
The magical dimension disappeared.
"Aren't you really going to run away?!" Saber exclaimed angrily.
Caster, with a mocking grin, replied:
"Excuse me, ω Saber, but I'm not going to waste my time with plebeians like you."
"Come back here!"
Saber slashed and hit Caster and the unknown magus. However, the blade did nothing but destroy two sand statues.
"What the-?! These cowards used a similar trick on me!" exclaimed Saber wounded in pride.
At the end of the battle, Friedrich headed for Benjamin to compliment him but at that moment ω Saber got in his way.
"The truce is over" she said gravely.
Saber immediately attempted to behead Friedrich, luckily Specter was able to save him by pulling him back. The two Servants collided their blades and Friedrich, shocked, exclaimed:
"Benjamin, order the Servant not to attack us!"
The boy obeyed frightened:
"ω Saber, I order you to stop fighting!" Benjamin used a Command Seal.
"I refuse!" Saber answered.
The two Servants continued to fight.
"It's not possible," Friedrich was shocked "a Servant cannot rebel against a supreme command like that. It's impossible."
As soon as the blades stopped colliding, ω Saber explained:
"For me it is not impossible. I possess a skill that allows me to disobey the orders of my Master: Fire of Rebellion. My Master can't command me to do something I don't want to do." She pointed the weapon at Friedrich. "So it's time to take your head."
"No, stop!" Benjamin exclaimed
"Master, move."
"No I will not do it. I won't let you kill a friend of mine. You're my Servant and you will have to obey me!"
Saber, though annoyed, lowered the blade. The situation seemed to have calmed down. However, the woman turned to the Master in a dark tone:
"I can feel it, you too have suffered from oppression. You and I are the same. Let's join forces to get the Holy Grail, our desires coincide, together we will end all oppression and create a fair world. The oppressors will be eliminated."
These words struck Benjamin. The boy felt as if he were being illuminated by a light.
"Benjamin, don't listen to her!" Friedrich exclaimed. "The Grail of Yggdrasil is not-"
"Don't listen to him, Master, he doesn't know what it feels like to be like you. He doesn't know the suffering you have endured. Rebel with me. We'll fight against tyrants. Together" she held out her hand.
"Don't listen to her, Ben!" Friedrich said approaching his friend. "She just wants to manipulate you. She wants to force you to fight me, don't you understand?"
Benjamin looked at his friend. He turned and hugged him.
"Friedrich," he said "I'm not going to fight you. You are my friend and I'm grateful for the help you have offered me. But if there really is a magical object capable of putting an end to the situation that people like me live there ... then I want to win. I could have died today. That cop was killing me. I never want to suffer like this again. Never again."
"I understand you, Ben, I understand you!" Friedrich returned the hug. "I know what you're feeling, but you have to listen to me!"
"Friedrich," Benjamin distanced himself from the boy "you're a good person and I respect you… but we have to be realistic: you don't know what I suffered. You don't know what it means to be me. This is my chance to do something good."
"Ben, the Grail of Yggdrasil will not fulfill your wishes. It's just a red herring."
"We can't know until we use it." By now Benjamin was convinced. "I'm sorry, my friend, but I promise you that when this is all over the world will be a better place. Take me away, ω Saber."
Saber picked up Benjamin and left with him.
Friedrich, shaken and speechless, was paralyzed by what had just happened. The idea of fighting against a friend was devouring him from within. He didn't want to do it. He didn't even want to think about it. The very idea of fighting a good person like Benjamin disgusted him. And he was even more disgusted by ω Saber's manipulation.
That Servant had clearly manipulated Benjamin's emotions. Friedrich had never seen such a thing, he would never have expected such an attitude from a Servant.
"Master," said α Specter interrupting his dark thoughts. "What do we do now? Do you have a plan?"
"I can't let her manipulate him. She'll hurt him."
"So what do you want to do?"
"I will save him. I have to save him at any cost" he replied with a fiery look.
