An unconscious Nia slowly wakes up on a bed inside a small room. She was about to move but realize that she couldn't. She inspects her body and was surprise to see that her entire body was wrapped tightly in chains. Both of her feet had shackles on them, immobilizing her even further. She sits up and looks around while she starts to panic.
Nia: W-Where am I...? Brother...? Where are you?! Brother....Help! Help me!
After a few minutes of struggling, Nia tires herself out from all the shouting. But this actually made her calm down.
Nia: I have no idea what happened. All I can remember was being in my room when something attacked me. This isn't the time for me to act scared. I...I need to get out of here. I can't rely on my brother for everything...(thinks to self)
Nia concentrates mana on her right hand. A blue glowing knife slowly materialize but just when it was about to be completed, it breaks into pieces.
Nia: W-What...? It didn't work? But how...? (murmurs)
The door to the room opens and startles Nia a little. Valerie and Victor enters the room with the Servant chuckling from Nia's failed attempt.
Victor: Don't bother, little one. You'll only be wasting your energy. Those chains are sealing your magic right now.
Nia: Y-You...! So you're the one who kidnapped me!
Victor: Are you sure you're a Master? Even your Servant wasn't able to stop me.
Nia: You're wrong! Kuro can--!
Victor: Save it! You'll be dead before your worthless Servant can even save you!
Nia: He's not worthless!
Valerie glares at Victor, which greatly intimidates him. As always, Valerie had an emotionless expression on her face.
Valerie: Victor, stop fooling around.
Victor: U-Understood....
Nia: What do you want from me? Why don't you just go ahead and kill me!
Valerie walks closer to Nia. The mere presence of Valerie was more than enough to send chills down Nia's spine. She couldn't help but tremble a little.
Nia: What's with this woman? She's giving off such a terrifying aura. Brother told me that she was dangerous but...I wasn't expecting her to be this dangerous. (thinks to self)
Valerie: We need you for out experiment. More specifically, we need your mana.
Nia: My...mana?
Valerie: I know all about the Everstones. Your magic specialize in manipulating mana itself and bend it to your will. You're entire body is composed mostly of it, which is something rare in the world of magic.
Nia: W-What are you planning to do?
Valerie: I'm going to extract every mana from you and force the Holy Grail to summon itself.
This came to quite a shock for Nia and was speechless for a moment.
Nia: But that's...that's impossible!
Valerie: There are always loopholes to everything, including the Holy Grail.
Nia: You can't just do something like that! It's against the rules! The Grail will only appear once there are only two Servants left!
Victor: Rules are meant to be broken, little girl.
Nia: My brother will stop you! And I'm sure that Jun and Zerra will help him!
Victor couldn't help but burst out laughing, which confuses Nia.
Nia: What's so funny?! (looks at Victor)
Victor: Your "brother" won't be stopping us. He won't be saving you either.
Hearing that, Nia had a bad feeling but tries not to let it get to her.
Nia: If you're trying to trick me, it's not going to--!
Valerie: Neo Everstone...is dead.
Valerie's words echo in Nia's head. A single tear from her eye was more than enough to finally break her.
Nia: Y-You're lying! He's not dead! My brother is NOT dead! He can't be dead!
Valerie: But he is. We planned on using him as well but things ended up differently.
Nia hangs her head and goes silent. She starts mumbling words that Valerie and Victor couldn't quite understand.
Victor: She's finally losing it. Well, it doesn't matter since all we need from her is her mana.
Suddenly, a powerful force of mana particles burst from her body and travels throughout the entire room. Victor was almost knocked from his feet but Valerie was unaffected by it.
Victor: What's going on?! Those chains should be compressing her magic!
Valerie: I miscalculated. But...it doesn't pose much of a threat.
With a wave of Valerie's hand, a glowing magic circle appears on Nia's forehead. The flow of mana instantly stops as she falls back unconscious on the bed.
Victor: You used your Nullifying magic on her.
Valerie: She's much powerful than I thought. Even with the chains on, once she get emotionally unstable, her magic capabilities are enhanced.
Victor: Emotions? That's nonsense.
Valerie: In any case, shut your mouth whenever you're near her. I know you like it when you psychologically torment your enemies.
Valerie goes to the door as Victor follows her. She turns back and stares at an area next to Nia's bed. There was no one there but she talks anyway.
Valerie: Watch her. Don't let her use her magic.
A dark human-shaped figure slowly appears. It then fully appears to reveal it's identity. It was a teenage girl with black hair that was tied into two twin tails that was braided together. She was wearing a white school uniform with a skirt. But the most noticing feature about her was that she was wearing a white diamond shaped mask with a cross shaped hole in the middle that allowed her to see.
Masked Girl: Yes.
After giving her order, Valerie and her Servant leaves the room. When they were gone, there was an awkward silent as Nia stares at the girl with curiosity. The masked girl doesn't even look at Nia and simply stands there. Nia finally gathers the courage and talks to her.
Nia: W-Who....are you?
The girl slowly turns her head toward Nia, which scares her a little.
Masked Girl: I am Lady Valerie's Servant. My name is Dianna.
Hearing her soft voice was a surprise to Nia for she wasn't expecting it.
Nia: Her Servant? But she already has one.
Dianna: True but I am also hers.
Nia: How can that be?
Dianna: I would prefer not to speak about it any further. You are our enemy after all.
Nia: I...I guess you're right. Sorry if I'm asking too much.
Nia stops talking but notice that Dianna continues to stare at her. This makes her uncomfortable and couldn't help but ask.
Nia: What is it? Do I have something on my face or something?
Dianna: You're a strange one.
Nia: Huh? Strange?
Dianna: You know that I'm your enemy and yet you apologize.
Nia: Oh, I see. To be honest, you don't give off that presence until Valerie and her Servant. Although you look a little scary. (giggles)
Dianna: Nonsense. If I want to, I could rip your head off with ease.
Nia: Yes, you could...but you won't.
Dianna: What?
Nia: I can tell that you're not like those two, even if you're serving them.
Dianna: You...don't know anything about me.
Nia: R-Right. Of course.
Dianna: Stop talking. There's no point in continuing the conversation.
Nia: I understand. But can I ask one more thing?
Dianna nods her head.
Nia: My brother, please tell me the truth. Is my brother...really dead?
Dianna: It's true. He's dead. Valerie's other Servant killed him.
Nia: I see. Thank you.
Nia turns away and face against the wall. She tries to hold it but in the end, she starts crying silently. She wipes her tears from time to time but they continue to shed from her eyes.
Dianna: Hey. Girl.
Nia: H-Huh?
When Nia turns around, she sees that Dianna had gotten closer to her and had a handkerchief in her hands. She then gently wipes the tears from Nia's face, who was surprised by her actions.
Nia: D-Dianna? Why are you...? (murmurs)
Dianna: Keep quiet.
Nia does what she was told. Up close, Nia tries to catch a glimpse of Dianna's face but her mask was making it hard for her to take a good look. She gives up when the Servant was done wiping her face.
Nia: Thank y--.
Without giving her the chance to finish, Dianna suddenly moves back and walks to the other end of the room. She leans her back against the wall, crosses her arms and silently observes Nia. The young Everstone simply smiles back as she lies back on the bed. Meanwhile, Jun and Zerra had just arrived back home. They were having a conversation by the front door while Jun was searching for his keys. At around this time, it was early in the morning as the sun begins to rise.
Zerra: We've been searching for hours and yet we couldn't find Nia. Jun, I can still keep searching while you get some rest.
Jun: You shouldn't push yourself either. Your fight with Neo's Servant took a lot from you. You barely have mana left.
Zerra: But his sister could die at any moment!
Jun: I know how you feel but searching aimlessly is a waste of energy. If what Neo said was true, they won't take her life so early.
Zerra was annoyed by Jun's decision but doesn't say anything else.
Zerra: F-Fine. But after breakfast, we go and continue looking, alright?
Jun: Yeah. That's fine with me.
Jun finds his keys but before he could use it, someone from the inside opens the door first and that someone was Erica.
Jun: Erica? You were here the whole time?
Erica: I just got here myself. We had an emergency meeting back in HQ regarding the Holy Grail.
Jun: Emergency meeting?
Erica: Since you're here, this is the perfect time to talk to you about this. Come on in, I already made breakfast.
Jun and Zerra enters the door and follows Erica to the kitchen.
Jun: By the way, do you happen to know where Nia's Servant is?
Erica: Ah, you mean Kuro. He followed the two of you last night but that was the last time I saw him. Why do you ask?
Jun: It's nothing. He never actually showed up.
Erica: I'm sure he's searching for his Master as we speak.
Some time later, the three were in the kitchen and had just finished eating. Zerra sets aside the dishes on the table as Erica place some documents on it. Jun takes a few of it and scans through them
Jun: What's all this?
Erica: All the information I could get about the remaining Masters. Normally, I shouldn't be showing you this but the higher ups made an exception since things aren't looking good.
Jun: Why? What's going on?
Erica: The Holy Grail only appears once there are only two pairs left. But three hours ago, HQ's intelligence Division found out that the Grail has started to appear.
Zerra: What? But that's impossible! There's three Masters left!
Erica: The only way for this to be happening is that someone is summoning the Grail by force.
Jun: Valerie.....(murmurs)
Erica: That's right. It has got to be her since at this point, only she is capable of doing something like this.
Jun: So, what's the plan?
Erica: HQ has been trying to pinpoint the location of where the Grail is going to appear. Although they still haven't found it as of now. I'm sure that wherever the Grail will appear, Valerie won't be too far from it.
Jun: This is good. Instead of me and Zerra wandering around the city, we can just wait until they find it for us.
Zerra: But what about Nia? She could be dead by the time we get to her.
Erica: Don't worry. The guys over at HQ can predict the exact place where the Grail will appear. Before Valerie can do anything to Nia, you'd already be there.
Jun: What does Valerie intend to do to her anyway?
Erica takes a piece of paper from the pile of documents.
Erica: According to HQ's information, the Everstone family specialize in mana manipulation. Its a very rare kind of magic.
Zerra: Mana...manipulation?
Erica: To put it simply, Nia's entire body is 90% composed of mana. She's like a walking reservoir of mana. We believe that she'll be using the mass amount of mana from her to summon the Grail.
Jun: But if that happens, she'll die!
Erica: That's where you two step in. You must prevent Valerie from successfully summoning the Grail. If she does, who knows what she might do with it's power.
Meanwhile, back in the room where Nia was being held. Nia was awoken from her sleep when the entire room starts shaking. She quickly sits up in confusion.
Nia: W-What's going on...? (looks around)
Dianna was still silently watching Nia from the other side of the room.
Nia: Dianna, what's happening? (looks at Dianna)
The masked Servant walks toward Nia and unexpectedly punch Nia on the stomach. The force of the attack knocks her unconscious.
Dianna: The Grail awaits you, Nia Everstone.