Enûma Eliš

With Gilgamesh’s explanation, bits of Hakuno’s memories pop up regarding with that knight that he slain. It was similar to the puppets that Hakuno was first contacted with when she was entering the preliminary rounds of the Holy Grail War on SE.RA.PH, similar but they still spill blood everywhere. However, his comment about her being able to slay them was surely a jest and he knows it, so the brunette couldn’t help but roll her eyes. 

“Yes yes, I would surely be able to slay something that can so easily kill me, Great King.” 

Regardless, if he believed that Hakuno could truly defend herself, there would be no need for Gilgamesh’s treasury to protect her during that moment. Crossing her arms, Hakuno just stared at the corpse and watched the spear slowly disappeared into golden dust. Strange how she was so used to seeing dead bodies yet the sight her surroundings made her feel sick. Perhaps it was part of her missing past, but that wasn’t something Hakuno herself wasn’t too interested in. 

Hearing a familiar voice, Hakuno turned around to see Goro taking off his mask, she won’t question his choice of outfit, in fact, it looked rather good on him. Glancing behind the person behind Goro, Hakuno can only guess that person was his Servant, she could feel his eyes sizing her up, that was only natural. She was a Master who can be a potential enemy and Hakuno couldn’t help but do the same thing, it was something that was an instinct than an actual intention. She could see the clear disapproval on his face as Goro approached them, she couldn’t blame him after all, Hakuno didn’t really tell Gilgamesh about her interactions in the city and how she was getting friendly with other Masters but…no, that was an excuse. 

“Well….I wasn’t expecting to be running into you either, Goro, but I’m glad anyway.” She gave him a small smile and stood in front of Gilgamesh, she’s unsure if she’s shielding her own Servant or trying to cover for her new friend. 

Though Hakuno felt like that was a pointless endeavor, her Servant was too much to even cover up properly. “Well, I’ll make this quick. Gilgamesh, this is my friend, Akechi Goro. Goro, this is my Servant, Gilgamesh.” 

It wasn’t that Hakuno trusted Goro enough to reveal her Servant’s name, no, it was actually the fact that there was no absolutely no reason to hide Gilgamesh’s name, status, and power as a Servant. He was the strongest, a Top Servant one might say. However, Goro’s Servant’s words cut through sharply, his disapproval was still strong. 

Crow? It was a strange nickname yet looking at Goro’s mask it makes sense. Hakuno didn’t really ask what Goro did in his own world, their relationship didn’t pry that deep where they need to learn of each other’s histories. “You have a point, um…Goro’s Servant,” what to call him, “let’s move on to a different loca—”

clank clank clank

A sound oh so familiar to Hakuno, she had to listen to Gilgamesh run around his his own armor after all as the brunette turned her head around to see a large army of enemies coming, not their direction per say but their general direction. Pressing her lips, Hakuno couldn’t help but sigh as she looked at Gilgamesh and then back at Goro. She can’t make Gilgamesh fight without reason and Hakuno cannot force him to do her bidding that easily. 

“Gilgamesh, is my life truly going to circle around fighting trash and Servants?” 

@rexauream​ > @kougaown​ > @unchainedphantom​

⧼ ‟♕’’ ⧽ THE LOOKS OF the two strangers didn’t quite phase gil’s expression as much as expected.. although the sight of the brunette at least piqued his curiosity in that the face was recognizable. someone whom hakuno had spoken with before, and it was in gil’s knowledge to know that he was a master. their reasoning for speaking might have been hakuno’s disillusion that she could make friends in a war setting like this without realizing how far the knife would go if she wasn’t careful. an eye would need to be kept out in that regard but hopefully she wasn’t foolish enough to truly fall for such a thing.

⧼ ‟♕’’ ⧽ THE SERVANT on the other hand was a different story in the look he gave gil. that distrusting gaze that he gave gil as if it was supposed to mean anything was an entertaining sight to behold. it kept his attention for a moment if only because he knew that gil’s presence was one he couldn’t quite stand, and that was normal for commonwealth. to not understand the ideals and motivations of a proper king, and to simply look at his self presentation as a means of judging him, were his ideals worth anything to ponder over, then gil would find himself at ends with him. all the same with many others, there was little consequence to brushing aside what was other grasp-less dreaming. 

“ making friends again during a grail war.. your recklessness truly knows no bounds, master. how fitting he wear a mask, though. what a decadent irony. “ a smirk formed across gilgamesh’s face as he turned around to the sight of approaching knights. all of which were of little value or interest to him in the grand scheme of things. really, just more ants to be burned under the heat of the sun. honestly it was kind of sad to see that this location’s only means of danger was to haphazardly throw pawns like this at them. really, there was no worth getting invested or worried over such trifling numbers. 

“ not the most un-befitting life i would say. however, even i grow tired at the lack of diverse threats coming our way in these lands. if all we’re to do is continuously mow down these nameless soldiers i would sooner find myself relaxing amongst the chaos. “ he didn’t really see a point to opening his gate at this time. maybe he’d toss a few of his swords out, but honestly, the effort involved was only worth it if hakuno thought it was worth it. 

A notice has finally been sent. 

Hakuno debated against herself whether or not she should even go. Was there even a point? To risk her life in something she doesn’t even know where she’ll end up being at. 

In all honestly, going out of this city was probably better than staying stuck here and doing absolutely nothing for herself. This was who she was after all, Hakuno Kishinami must move forward and as a human, she has to follow her instincts for survival. Somebody once told her that there was no shame in what she does in order to live, if she has to grovel on the ground for it, so be it, after all, her Servant was a person to reckon with and also somebody she doesn’t want to be killed by. 

So the choice was obvious, she was going to that distortion that the A.Is mention, yes certain death awaits her there but nothing good will happen if she sits back and do nothing. Taking a deep breath, the brunette pressed the app that has been glowing on her Triplicata, white light clouded her vision until the sound of clashing metal grabbed her attention quickly. 

“….????!?!?!?!?!?!” 

Yes, she was back to her normal lifestyle of life and death once more, the sound of clashing metal that she heard were actually towards her direction! Hakuno would have stay frozen in place from shock but she could feel her Servant’s burning eyes at the back of her head for being so pathetic and that was more than enough to urge her to start running to a safer location. 

However, from Hakuno’s point of view, the person that tried to attack her seems…off. They didn’t feel like a human being nor did they acted like a NPC, no…even an NPC would feel human, so what in the world was that? No first off, why was she summoned in such a distorted village covered in dead bodies and the smell of blood everywhere. 

The whole setting just made her feel sick. 

Finally coming to a stop from her running, Hakuno took a deep breath and took a good look around her. Nothing, blood, corpses, and most importantly the aura of war taking place. No, it was best to describe this as a meaningless massacre. 

“Gilgamesh, was that a Servant that attacked me awhile ago?” 

@rexauream > @kougaown > @unchainedphantom

⧼ ‟♕’’ ⧽ WHAT AN UNUSUAL SIGHT. taken to a land apart from the city they had slowly gotten accustomed to (well, at least hakuno did), the first thing that processed in gil’s mind was the likes of the malevolent ai. refusing to utter her name in even his minds at the idea of seeing her again filled him with disgust and bile built in his mouth, he chose to stand idley by as the chaos amongst them ran amok. bodies littered all over the ground, huts burned, and the smell of burning oak and flesh filled his nostrils. unpleasant, but not uncommon. 

⧼ ‟♕’’ ⧽ TURNING HIS HEAD to his master’s.. unorthodox reaction due to the sights before her, the embarrassment of her actions only served to irritate gilgamesh. for someone who had seen the sights of the blood soaking lancer in all of her ‘glory’ to her legend, she seemed easily distraught by the details around her. that having been said, the knight that attacked her was swiftly dealt with, a single lance appearing next to his head, piercing their throat in an action so clean and swift, the blur of it could cause anyone to go cross eyed. what was before him wasn’t quite what he’d call a servant. no, even that felt wrong as well. 

“ hardly. if one were to stretch their feeble imagination then you could call them that. however, their strength and their legend are non-existent. a better comparison would be what the moon cell offers. as such, i’d sooner relinquish any designation of such if you were to address them in the same manner as myself. “ that having been said, a low laugh did come from him as he crossed his arms at the sight of the dead soldier, watching as his spear phased into golden dust.

“ but, i would call them so weak to go as far as saying they might just be in your league. go on, master. be someone who could be called upon to slay such ‘servants’ as these. a title like that can’t possibly return back at you. needless, my strength will hardly be necessary to deal with such trash. one ant compared to one thousand ants, one leaf compared to a thousand, all but the same manner of destruction underneath the weight of a king. “ 

Cower? Yes that was probably the best way to describe Hakuno’s stance upon this, she was closer to an NPC than anything else, which is why she thought it was a gamble. If she were to step out of their apartment today, there was no doubt that Hakuno could be injured or worse, dead. Which is why she needed Gilgamesh, but she didn’t want to kill these NPCs, they did nothing wrong, absolutely nothing wrong and it wasn’t her place to kill them. Right now, she needed to only gather Saint Fragments, not kill anybody for her own survival. It was really as simple as that. 

Watching Gilgamesh, Hakuno just held her breath and stared at the golden Archer. She finally released her breath as she saw that Gilgamesh only used enough force to shake them off and run away in fear. It made her relieved. It was true that Gilgamesh was a devil of a Servant and that she would have no control over his actions, but something as small as not killing because she request it made the Master very happy. 

“Thank you, Gil.” It was a very small gesture of gratitude that Hakuno would rarely to give her own Servant. Yes, any sort of gratitude that she would give him would only make him prouder and more haughtier. After all, Hakuno’s own goal towards Gilgamesh is to win a single point over. Quickly pressing her lips into a thin lip, Hakuno doesn’t want to face Gilgamesh’s expression so she quickly trotted over to where the Saint Fragments fell and pick them up. 

But still, she told him not to kill but he pinned them down instead. Well, that’s better than nothing. The NPCs will recover, she was unsure if they were able to feel pain here like the NPCs back in the Moon Cell but for now Hakuno has to focus on her goal, gather as much and get that prize money. Why does she desire that much, very simple. So she doesn’t have to rely on her own stupid Servant for her own finances. 

Turning around, Hakuno went back to Gilgamesh. 

“I’m glad to see that your Golden Rule applies here as well.” Holding up the small triangle, Hakuno looked at it carefully. “What do you think these prisms are used for?”

⧼ ‟♕’’ ⧽ THE SIGHT OF the mangled npc’s failed to phase the hero king’s expression. their writhing and moans of pain was white noise to his ears, the only thing slipping through was the expected praise to be had from simply doing what was natural to him: cutting down opposition swiftly. the saint graphs weren’t even important to him in the long run, really. it was all just humoring a girl who needed extra money at this point. when his attention was forced on the saint graph, he sneered for a moment, his arms crossed as his gates closed behind him. 

“ it matters little. they’re the pieces to an over-zealous game brought about to create conflict and madness between masters and servants. all that matters--at least to yourself--is the haste in which we collect these. “ stepping forward and grabbing them, gil would quickly drop them to the ground where he would open up his gates for but a second to take hold of them. once all of the pieces had been lifted from the surrounding parties did his blades disappear from their bodies, forcing them to fall over in hunched pain. whether or not they’d bleed out was irrelevant, but simply hearing them groan constantly over the pain they were in nearly drew him to the point of simply finishing the job. that having been said, this current group was done for. looking off to the side for a moment, the amount of insignificance he could feel in the air from other masters and servants was almost deafening. it’d be too much of a headache for him to really pick out what group of mongrels to go for next. 

Yes, perhaps calling Gilgamesh a weapon was too bold of a move but that was the truth. For Hakuno to admit that Gilgamesh was a person in her eyes, he will gain that right as a person to easily kill her, which is why it’s better to refer to him as a weapon that she will dangerously wield. Pressing her lips together, the brunette just followed the golden king as he gave her that smile. If that was the case, then so be it. If Gilgamesh has to cut down everybody, then let hell run loose but Hakuno prays that wouldn’t be the case, there will be no reason for blood to be shed upon them. 

“The moment they stand before you, I don’t know if they want to live or not.”

Ask that question back right back at yourself, Hakuno. You keep throwing yourself out in front of Gilgamesh in hopes that he will listen to you and comply with your request. 

Once outside of their Room, Hakuno stuck close to Gilgamesh and as her theory was correct, Saint Fragments were slowly coming by Gilgamesh’s way. She wasn’t going to question it or doubt it, but this was the other gamble Hakuno was making after she managed to convinced Gilgamesh to do her bidding. “…!” She was pleased with the results nonetheless. She never thought that stepping foot outside of their home would amass them this much, but like her conversation with Goro earlier, she was unsure how many she would actually need. 

So best to gather as much as she could in a short period of time less the King of Heroes’ goodwill vanished into thin air. 

However, as the duo continued to stroll peacefully in the city and picking up Fragments, Hakuno couldn’t help but feel the tension in the air towards her. NPCs held Saint Fragments. Masters and Servants were advised not to kill the NPCs but if they do, they should keep that event quiet. “…” The Master had a bad feeling as she took a light hold of Gilgamesh’s arm, she could sense her Servant looking at her.

“So….I’m not saying to kill or anything…” Deep breath. “But please don’t let them near me.” 

She knows what they are thinking. They are mistaking her as a NPC and considering how many fragments are in her pocket now, there’s no way Hakuno was going to have a nice and peaceful stroll with her Servant.

“ you choose to cower in face of those before us? raise your head higher than it is before i lop it off and do the honor for you. before us are remnants, beings less valuable than any given life with only one dialect, and that’s to rob us. “ removing his arm from her grasp, gilgamesh stepped forward as he allowed the saint fragments to sink into the floor below. unknown to those keen on the appearance, the ripples beneath sent them into his treasury, isolated for now until they would actually be needed. as for the npcs before him, he let out a scoff at the idea of not killing them. no more were they anything but reminiscent memories of bb’s own viruses that killing them would mean little, if anything in the final outcome.

⧼ ‟♕’’ ⧽ HIS OWN MASTER’S hesitation towards the idea of killing them gave him brief respite to reconsider his stance on the matter, but he thought she was responsible enough to choose how she would die. so be it, if all he had to do was throw them off for their fragments and keep them away from hakuno, so be it. he thought there wouldn’t be any necessity in wasting TOO many weapons, after all. 

Pressing her lips together, Hakuno couldn’t help but feel her annoyance built up as she listen to her King talk. But she was determined to not lose this round. At the very least, he seems to be in a rather cheery mood thanks to her silly request for Gilgamesh’s assistant, but wasn’t he her Servant, her weapon, in this stupid contract. Shaking her head, Hakuno tried to compose herself. She can’t lose her temper yet, not when she hasn’t done anything to earn Gilgamesh’s approval to her plan. 

“The only reason why I want this is because I don’t want to rely on your wealth.”

Only because the great King of Heroes will put a very large interest over her head if she even dare borrow a single penny from Gilgamesh. It wasn’t worth it, she rather earn money on her own and buy whatever she wants. 

“Beside, isn’t it human nature to be at least greedy?” Hakuno couldn’t help but mumbled under her breath as she continued to stare directly at her Servant, their staredown still haven’t broke apart, it was simple a sign that Hakuno doesn’t want to back down from this conversation no matter how much Gilgamesh would want to. Crossing her arms, Hakuno simply watched Gilgamesh pour himself another glass of wine, she wondered whenever will the King of Heroes will get drunk. She was curious.

His comment about her being friendly with other Masters perk her interest. If she was a normal and simple girl, she would have thought that the King of Heroes was jealous, oh but Hakuno knows his nature better that jealousy was not an emotion that Gilgamesh would ever feel, so that comment was simply tossed out the window. Straightening up, Hakuno mustered up all of her determination into her words. 

“First off, Gil, what you promise isn’t a promise, it’s a fact.” Hakuno stated, that was the first thing she wanted to point out. What was the point of promising like that to Hakuno, Gilgamesh is always amused by her antics, even if it’s something simple like breathing. Beside, Hakuno doesn’t want Gilgamesh’s promises, she wants his cooperation. 

“Second of all, I am fully aware of who my Servant is which is why I want to use my Servant to the fullest of his abilities, which is Collector.” Hakuno knows that the skill has no use for the Master. “You, who have no interest in those Fragments, are going to simple walk around with me and hand them off.” 

Crossing her arms once more, Hakuno stepped forward towards Gilgamesh.

“You call it dirty work but I’m simply seeing it as using the most appropriate weapon at my disposal.” One more push. Hakuno can do one more push. “Beside, this is a competition. Do you want these other Masters and Servants to reach the same wealth as you when you can gain more from this!” 

“ life could provide each mongrel residing within this war a thousand lifetimes and over and to even entertain the thought that they could even hope to accumulate any kind of wealth comparable to mind fills me with a unique sense of both entertainment and being insulted. bravo, a new accomplishment even for you. “ despite even that, the look on his face quickly returned to that of a smile at seeing hakuno. the line she crossed was already over into his absolute field of treasures that would rain through and pierce her body like wet tissue without problem. however, that persistence amused even him, going so far to call him a weapon. 

⧼ ‟♕’’ ⧽ SWIRLING THE cup of wine in his hand with some look of interest on his face now, he’d take a small sip as he listened to her speak on that regard. looking back up, he even went as far as putting it down simply to speak. “ very well. you’ve made your case to me how much you desire for me to take part in this. that amicable means of speaking you present to even such as someone as myself shows your worth in seeking something out of this. “ standing up and displacing his goblet of wine back into the gates, he would walk past her and towards the door before stopping in place for but one second. 

“ but, to call me a weapon is a dangerous thing. that would mean you would have me unleash the full front of my treasury to remove the competition. while i would like to preserve my treasures, i suppose you being my master and wielding me like this gives me no choice but to cut down all that stand before us. “ turning back and giving her a sinister grin, he’d let out a quick laugh before turning back and stepping out. it was really more so the irony of the situation, how now hakuno was willing to do what it took to win. internally, he knew that her humanity would never allow him to crush everyone in their path for such a trivial matter, and that she was effectively putting up a front. but, the fact she would do so like that to him gave him at least enough drive to participate in such a meaningless play. 

@rexauream

Desperate times, call for desperate measures. For Hakuno, it wasn’t really the money that she was after, it was the fact that she could land a score on Gilgamesh himself. He can’t call her an Hassan anymore but at the very least he could acknowledge her wallet. Taking a deep breath, Hakuno walked into their Private room to see the King of Heroes himself indulging himself in wine. Biting down on her lip, Hakuno was carefully thinking about how to approach this conversation. There was really no other good ways to do this. 

No, there really isn’t a good way to do this. 

There was no convincing Gilgamesh to help Hakuno in this silly task to collect fragments.

Heck he’ll think that it’s completely worthless as per usual but Hakuno got to try at least. 

“AUO, I need a favor.”

How blunt, how direct. She’ll just go in. 

“Gilgamesh, I need you to help me collect these Saint Fragments.” It was like a first mission but how motivated would Gilgamesh be? Not very.

“ i’m already fully aware of the silly game the grail has conducted for the people outside. nothing of ambient worth is at stake for my involvement. however, i give this, onto you. my promise that if you run around and scramble for those pieces in trying to acquire even the most insignificant amount of wealth, i will be thoroughly amused. “ there was hardly any sense of smug or egocentric motivation behind his smile. it was all cold, cruel amusement. even letting out a laugh himself, gil partook a bit of wine as he leaned back, completely relaxed, as opposed to how he was but several days ago. 

“ you of all people have with you the strongest and most influential beings known to walk this earth. tales are still spurned celebrating my existence, and you find yourself burdened with these little pieces that would promise to bring you wealth were you accrue enough? hakuno, i’m far too amused at your own blatant greed and self nihilism to consider being offended. this might be the funniest i’ve seen you, truly. “