If you're going to complain, do it yourself
If you're going to complain, do it yourself
Spoiler:
Wandering on internet
Girls Frontline seems to be a good game.
Something
waifu shooting game
Spoiler:
Wandering on internet
Echoes crackled across the courtyard. They came from the colliding of two long wooden weapons, shaped like a halberd and a greatsword respectively. Although their clash generated no sparks, the intent between the two was clear.
Expelling a short breath, Sieg leapt forward to bring himself within arm's length. Both the range and the speed at which you could wield a spear was different from that of a sword. Not even a greatsword could match the halberd's length. As such, his first move was to penetrate her defenses.
However, that was a textbook response against a polearm user, and predictable as such. With a disinterested sigh, the homunculus whirled her halberd and fell back, increasing the distance between them and warding off Sieg's attack with ease. The wooden weapon struck Sieg directly in the abdomen, and he was blown backwards by the monstrous strength of the combat homunculus - the leader who had been named "Tours" by Gordes.
Tours thrust her halberd upon the earth and said.
"It has been one hour already. Perhaps it is time for you to give up?"
"..."
Sieg stood up again and retrieved his sword without a word. There was no spirit in his expression at all.
"It is true that you have a Heroic Spirit dwelling within you, and the swordsman's heart has granted you an abnormal amount of lifeforce for a homunculus of your type. But your combat abilities are merely average. Run of the mill. Insignificant."
"When you put it like that..."
Sieg's shoulders sunk, and Tours laughed.
"You cannot defeat a homunculus calibrated for battle such as myself, much less a Servant."
"But still... I need to be fighting on the front lines."
"Do you want to fight while remaining in this form? Give up, or find a place to hide. It is inconceivable to fight a Servant, someone whom you would not be able to reach even in a hundred years. Even the weakest, most frail-looking Servant is specialised in warfare and carnage to a terrifying degree."
Both Astolfo and Jeanne were worth a thousand soldiers alone, and even Chiron - ever the calm intellectual - became a matchless marksman when he held his bow. They were Servants - the smallest yet greatest miracles called forth to pursue victory in the Holy Grail War, replicas drawn from the heroes worshipped by the peoples of the world.
"Yes, I know that."
"Do you now? Well, perhaps it is not my place to speak of this, but..."
Suddenly, she stopped. The two glanced around the courtyard that they had picked as the sparring grounds. What had been fair gardens only yesterday - from where Frankenstein had picked many a flower - were now crushed, suffocating under mountains of rubble. However, Sieg still felt it gave off a sort of haunting beauty as the last rays of sunlight stained their surroundings orange.
It was nightfall, and the Servants should return soon. He hoped that they had managed to find some clues concerning Assassin.
"I'll be frank. How much longer do you have until you die?"
Sieg asked offhandedly, and Tours replied without hesitation.
"Speaking frankly, another two to three months."
"I see," Sieg murmured as he gazed at the courtyard. So she would continue to fulfill her duty until the moment death came for her.
"Now that I think about it... I do not think I thanked you yet."
Tours said, without warning. Sieg could only tilt his head at her sudden words.
"Thank me?"
"Yes. Thanks to you, we were saved. Because you came. Because you escaped. Because you had thought to escape. We were able to choose freedom. We were able to run, and to fight... like you."
Tours said, seeming somewhat proud.
"But I..."
The words he wanted to speak did not come but faded away, blurred and uncertain. The choices that were made, were theirs alone. All he had done was stand behind them and pushed slightly. He understood that, but...
"...is that really something I can be proud of?"
"I think so, yes."
Tours laughed, and said softly as she looked up towards the sky.
"A mist approaches. Perhaps some cold weather is settling in. We both worked up a sweat, what say we head back in?"
As Sieg accompanied Tours towards the castle's interior, her face suddenly paled and she collapsed. Sieg tried to reach her side but it was not a moment later when a whirling sensation brought him to his knees.
"What's... going on?"
Sieg understood right away - that there was something terrible seeping through his skin. There was something unnatural about this mist.
"We need to get inside!"
Sieg managed to recover and dragged Tours back into the castle by the shoulders. Slamming the doors shut, he began to slap Tours' cheeks.
"Hey! Can you stand?"
"I'm fine... the others...!"
Tours said weakly as she closed her eyes. A chill ran down Sieg's spine before he realised she had only fainted. Following Tours' instructions, Sieg called out to various homunculi within the castle to stay indoors as he headed to save those that were working outside. However, the mere act of putting a hand out the window made pain run through his arm and his skin crawl. Heading back outside without taking any precautions would be suicide.
"You, homunculus! Wh-What's happening here?"
Hearing Gordes' panicked cry, Sieg became overcome by frustration and raised his voice.
"How am I supposed to know if even you don't know?!"
"Curse it... is it a Servant, or a magus from the Association...?"
"Gordes! Gordes Musik Yggdmillennia! Are there any Mystic Codes in the castle that can ward off poisons?"
Sieg held Gordes by the shoulders and shook him until he finally calmed down.
"We have a piece of Arachne's cloth that was discovered while searching for a catalyst for Chiron...! It should be kept in the storeroom, come!"
The storeroom was tightly packed with various items that were deemed unnecessary for the Holy Grail War for the moment. This was where a piece of a tapestry said to be woven by Arachne herself was kept. Made to a level of quality worthy of offering to the Gods themselves, it was capable of warding off a certain amount of impurities. Sieg took the fabric from Gordes and wrapped it around his head, covering his nose and mouth.
"This might be able to let you breathe, but we have nothing to help you see. You understand?"
"Yeah, got it...!"
Sieg raced up the stairs, knowing that there were homunculi on the roof hanging laundry to dry. When he stepped out, he found that the mist had become abnormally thick, the air appearing almost silky in texture. He got on his knees and began reaching out with both hands in the hopes of finding someone. It was all he could to keep crawling forward as the pain increased and his vision narrowed with every passing second. Sieg began to understand the sensation that washed over his entire body - it was overwhelming terror. Calm down, he told himself. Within his chest rested the heart of the dragon-slayer. Nothing could stop its beating.
After a while, Sieg's arms managed to find the body of a homunculus. Luckily, it seemed that they had also noticed the abnormality and gathered in one place. He found the other two close by.
"Hang in there...!"
None of the three fallen homunculi responded to his voice. Unable to determine who required his attention most, he decided to pick up two of them. Their reduced muscle mass meant they were lighter than regular humans, but he could not manage to carry all three.
His sight was beginning to blur. As the cloth did not cover his eyes, it took little time for the fog to congeal in his vision. Rubbing his eyes with a hankerchief, he managed to regain his sight enough to drag the two back into the castle. The homunculi already present received and began to revive them.
There was one more homunculus outside. He dove back in the fog - and this time, it was not only his vision but his sense of direction that began to fall apart. He barely retraced the last few metres of his previous journey when maddening agony assaulted him both inwards and outwards. His brain and spine felt like they were spitted on burning spikes and being jumbled about. Every breath he took scorched his lungs, and every cough grated his throat. He could only keep crawling forward with searching hands, praying and cursing as he did.
His hands touched something soft. It was no time to be on all fours any more, and he summoned all the strength he had, standing the comatose homunculus up on his feet. However, when he turned around, dragging the homunculus - he could only see deep, impenetrable fog.
Urgh...!
Gnashing his teeth, he moved on, guided by his indistinct memory. His skin was beginning to liquefy and melt, as his entire body felt as though it was being run through by so many blades. Blood welled and seeped around the edges of his eyes.
"Here... over here... hurry!"
Relying on the faint calls of the homunculi, Sieg desperately dragged himself forward. He threw out a hand, felt someone grabbed it - and was forcibly pulled back inside the castle. Cold water splashed down on him and the homunculus he was carrying. The pain began to recede in short order, and as a towel was pressed onto him, his mind recovered and he could process thoughts again.
"We should all be inside the castle by now."
The female homunculus said blandly. Sieg sighed in relief and asked.
"Is everyone all right?"
"That last homunculus you were carrying... he's already gone."
Sieg looked at the homunculus and could see that she spoke truly. The thing that he had tried so hard to save was already a corpse.
"Damn it...!"
He covered his face. Flakes of skin began to fall.
"But thanks to you, we managed to save the other two."
Perhaps she had mentioned this to comfort him, but Sieg could feel only disgust for his own powerlessness.
Suddenly, there was a scream and the sound of breaking glass. Sieg scrambled to his feet. It was too filled with emotion to be the cries of a homunculus - so it must have been Fiore's.
"I'll go."
"Hey, wait!"
He could not sit idly by. Forgetting the physical torment and everything he had felt, he raced forward. Now, there was rage, and the sorrow and regret of failing to save another. Before he realised it, his body no longer hurt and his vision was clear. Doubtless the pain would return once he dove back into the fog, but for the moment, he must keep his mind focused on this one emotion - fury.
Magus, Servant, it did not matter. He would kill them.
* * *
"Hello? Caules...?"
The call ended. Fiore looked at her phone's display and saw the "No Service" symbol. Even though it was only dusk, the sky appeared to be darkening more quickly than expected.
Instincts were an important asset and aptitude for magi - and the alarms were already blaring inside Fiore's mind. The peace she had been enjoying was now in the distant past, and every moment's decision would lead to survival or death.
There was no one else nearby. A homunculus had brought in tea earlier but left right away. Besides, a non-combat homunculus staying by her side would be no help at all.
Oh, calm down, me!
Fiore took a deep breath and bumped her fists against her cheeks, regaining her composure.
First, I need to equip my Mystic Code. This is Grandfather's library, and I left them in my room. And there are plenty of ways I can defend myself in my own workshop. All right then...
Fiore set off down the hallway slowly, taking care to reduce the sound of her wheelchair as much as she could. Her room was about thirty metres away. Without knowing whether Assassin had discovered her or not, she could not utilise magecraft.
She needed to stay calm, and move carefully - but quickly. It was only thirty metres - a distance she would not even pay attention to it normally. The corridor was quiet, lacking the murmurs of conversing homunculi or clamour of Servants that would always permeate the background. This was not strange in itself, as none of the Servants were in the castle at the moment, and the number of homunculi had been significantly reduced.
There was nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing was out of place about this silent hallway. And yet...
...were the wheels always so loud, scraping against the floor?
...why wasn't anyone cleaning this hallway?
...had this hallway always been this long?
...had this hallway always been this dim?
...where was this smell of fresh blood coming from?
...faster. Faster. Faster...!
Gong! Her heart skipped a beat at the sound. But it was only the sound of the clock ringing out from one of the rooms, signalling that it was four in the afternoon. An Assassin would be skilled enough to approach without making a sound. Fiore resisted the urge to look back. If Assassin was already there, it would only be a waste of time anyway.
I need to move my arms...
The command travelling from her brain to her arms felt slower than it should have. Gong! The clock sounded again. As it was four o'clock, it would ring four times. So that was the second. Second? Was it only the second strike? No wonder she had not moved at all. Time seemed to stretch before her like eternity.
Yes... stay calm... Gong! Oh, quiet down! You're distracting me! It strikes once every second, so it's only been three seconds.
How long did it usually take to cross this distance? If she were in a rush, she could reach the door on the far left and enter her room in two minutes or so. As it would take time to open the door while on the wheelchair, she only needed to speak the unlocking word.
Gong! The fourth strike, and it became silent as Fiore sat in the dark.
"Wha...?"
Fiore swiveled in shock. It was dark, too dark for when the sun had only just set. Looking outside the window, she could only see - white.
"What's this...?"
Everything beyond the glass was a uniform white, as though painted over by a brush, but it was dim and unlit. No matter how hard she tried, she could not see past the pale wall.
At first, she thought it might have been snow - but it was fog.
'...it burned the lungs of people...'
'...like breathing in sulfur...'
'...during the period in which Jack the Ripper was active, the hazards posed by industrialisation had entered the public consciousness...'
'...city of fog...'
'...the Smoke...'
...London!
Time itself seemed to have been removed from her mind. Finally, no longer caring about the noise, Fiore moved as quickly as she could down the hallway.
It was hard to imagine mist gathering around Trifas in this season, even in some freak weather event, much less in such volumes around the castle. As such, it should be considered a magical phenomenon.
Ten metres left.
Sounds from her wheelchair could be heard clear down the hallway from how quickly she was moving, but it was no time to slow down. Just the thought that someone could sneak up behind her at any moment was driving her mad.
Six metres.
Due to their Presence Concealment, a skill tailored for killing Masters, Assassins could stand right next to their targets and remain undetectable except by sight. However, that would not prevent a Servant from tripping one of the many alarm boundaries set upon this castle.
Two metres.
But... if Assassin were so skilled as to be able to avoid them all...
Fiore arrived and whispered the unlocking word, Aperio. As the door opened, her eyes flicked towards her left. It was an involuntary response, something that anyone would do in the same situation. Even if you did not hear any sound. Even if there was none of that unique sensation you felt when someone stood behind you. Even if your base instincts told you that you were safe and sound. Anyone would want to look back and make sure that the thing scaring you was not truly there - to take comfort in realising that the white figure had been but a fluttering sheet, and the rappings on the windows were but the wind.
So it was by chance that Fiore had managed to see her, a nearly imperceivable small girl who had melted into the background, not a single footstep to be heard even as she charged towards her like a sprinting cheetah. Fortunately for Fiore, there were no means of concealment along the long hallway. Before she could even think to scream, she had pushed herself off the wheelchair and dived into the room.
"Claudere!"
It was hard to gauge if the door's defences would last even ten seconds, but that was all she needed. She had to get to the desk. Move!
"Aperio."
The door opened before she had crossed half the distance. Turning around in shock, Fiore could clearly see the girl at last. And it was a girl, one so small she could not imagine her being a Servant, much less an Assassin. Fiore could see lightly tinted hair, an innocent-looking face, clothes that wrapped around her like bondage - and ice-blue eyes seemingly devoid of any emotion.
"How...?"
"How? But you just said it! We're good at listening, you know."
There was a curious haze to her voice. Fiore felt she could hear the same words passing into her ears two or three times at once.
"You're... Jack the Ripper...?"
"Yep!"
The girl nodded vigoriously, an almost endearing gesture. Then she began to twirl and play with the knife in her right hand. Blood dripped from the blade. Had she killed someone along the way?
"You're a Master, aren't you? Yes, um... Chiron's, right?"
Fiore began to back away in fear, as the girl peered around the room with great interest. It filled her with shame to realise that her enemy found their surroundings more curious than herself, seeing in her less an opponent and more cornered prey. She was completely laid bare before those invasive, searching eyes.
"Do all magi make their rooms the same way?"
The girl pointed to various objects around the room with her knife. The amulet that organised the flow of mana in the room. Jewels used in creating bounded fields. Her evoker's clothes. Partially assembled prostheses. Countless grimoires. A familiar beast that watched Jack with impassive eyes.
Fiore distanced herself further. There was a desk at the corner of the room, upon which laid a case.
"The Holy Grail isn't here, Assassin... it's already been taken from us."
"We know that. The Red people took it."
"B-But, then, why are you attacking us?"
"Everyone knows you beat the weakest ones first."
The case was within Fiore's reach. She only needed to grab it, open it, and attach it to her back. How many lives would she need to accomplish such a feat, she wondered. But it would be better than lying here on the floor and being killed regardless.
"Hmmm? Oh, do you want this?"
Fiore cried out as a surgical scalpel flew past her outstretched hand and implanted itself in the case. Jack had known from the start what she was trying to reach.
"Ahh..."
It was not an act on Fiore's part. The case contained the latest model of her Bronze-Link Manipulators.
"Is it something important? Your Noble Phantasm? Sorry, we won't let you use it."
That's fine by me...
"...I'll just use this instead!"
"Huh...?"
The hand she had stretched out was her artificial hand - and what she had been trying to reach was not the Mystic Code locked in the case, but the older model already laid out in the open.
"Educere!"
Syllables weaved together to form a. The Mystic Code slithered over, automatically detecting her body heat. Attaching themselves to her back, they quickly spread into four limbs.Gate-wordactivation spell
"Mars!"
One of the limbs released a bullet of light, which Jack deflected with a slash from her knife. However, Fiore had already grasped the Servant's skills, not to mention knowing her true name. Even a regular magus would have more resistance against magecraft than her.
The limb continued spraying out bullets at Jack, who stood next to the door leading back to the hallway. The fact remained that as soon as she decided to move, Fiore would die. Fiore could not stay in this room, but heading outside into the fog would be dangerous. Either she waited for death - or she stepped forth to face it herself.
"All arms, autonomous mode. Set destination for outside this fog!"
Fiore covered her mouth using a hankerchief with minor anti-magic properties, and closed her eyes. Per her command, the limbs moved by themselves and broke the glass window, plunging her into the fog.
"Ugh...!"
Every patch of exposed skin felt as though it was being peeled back. Despite shutting her eyes, there was a constant prickling on her eyeballs. The air she breathed through the hankerchief felt cold and biting.
Following the Industrial Revolution in London, the soot and smoke caused by the development of the manufacturing sector polluted the air. Gases such as carbon dioxide reacted with the atmosphere and gave birth to sulphuric fogs. This was the air of London from when Jack the Ripper lived - and the boundary Noble Phantasm that had concealed the unidentified killer:.The MistThe Dark Misty Capital
Every breath she took caused a seeping pain in her lungs. The fog was corrosive, melting her from the inside. In place of her tormented body, the prostheses on her back moved smoothly and efficiently as they plotted a way out.
And yet, despite surely having traveled both far and long enough to have cleared the area - she could escape neither the fog nor the tinkling laughter echoing around her.
"Threee!"
Cried out a voice that sounded positively upbeat. Fiore shook off the feeling that it seemed to have come from right next to her ear.
"Twoo!"
It was a countdown - to various unpleasant things, she could only imagine. The limbs carried her every which way, searching for an exit to no avail.
"One!"
A scream began to rise in Fiore's throat. The voices felt like it had come from behind her and in front of her at the same time. One of the limbs reacted automatically to hostile behaviour and fired. With heat-based detection capabilities, this Mystic Code was effective in combat even with poor visibility.
"Zero!"
However, it proved powerless before this Servant. The fog itself was her Noble Phantasm, and only she was capable of operating as normal within its range. Other Servants would find their agility reduced, while magi and normal humans would take continous damage.
Fiore could not hear the slash that broke two of the artificial limbs, easily shutting down their functions. In the same beat, Fiore lost her balance and collapsed to the ground.
"Ahh...!"
The two remaining limbs continued to struggle but could not right her, having been damaged themselves.
"Bye-bye, then."
Jack thrust the knife towards Fiore, who still kept her eyes shut. Knowing that the blade was closing in, she turned the scream bursting to be let out into a call for her own Servant.
"Archer...!"
Jack simply needed to cut through her throat, and she would fall silent like the rest. In one sleek motion, she pressed the knife against her flesh and pulled - but felt no response. Fiore had disappeared from before her eyes. Instead, a deadly intent pierced her, causing her to recoil slightly.
"A Servant...?"
"Indeed."
More arrows were released, but the agile Assassin leapt into the air and landed on an elevated position close by.
"That was fast. We thought you would take longer."
The scene was truly balanced on a knife's edge when Chiron arrived. He would not have reached Fiore in time even at his full speed, and any arrow fired would be sensed and warded off. The only method left would have been to use a Command Spell, but Fiore did not do so. She had not even considered it, the entrapping fog having robbed her of her reason. But she could still cry out, not through any clear thought, but by an instinctual urge. Her voice reached Chiron, who understood the situation immediately and made his decision. Instead of Jack, he would shoot Fiore - but rather than a tipped head, the arrow carried a spell that would throw back his target.
"Let us decide the duel this time, then... Jack the Ripper."
"No way. There's another Servant coming too, isn't there? We're not that stupid, you know."
The girl's innocent voice rang clearly through the air as she analysed the situation and came to an accurate conclusion.
"So, bye-bye."
Not even Chiron would be able to catch her once she disappeared into the fog. Jack began to fade away - but then came a raging strike that neither Chiron nor Fiore had predicted.
"Huh...?"
It was only natural for Jack to be stunned. Just before she could completely cover herself with the fog, someone had cut her arm off.
It was not a Servant, whom Jack would have sensed one coming. It was not a human, who would not be able to function in this fog. And it was not a magus, who would not be able to harm her with a mere blade.
"Who...?"
All of her words up to this point had invited an incongruous fear, but now her child's voice was dripping with a thrist for blood.
"..."
The boy kept his silence as he covered his eyes with a hand. He seemed unable to see clearly, and powerless to resist the fog. However, the boy had hurt her. He hurt us a lot. Just like them. Just like those women. We won't ever forgive you.
"We'll... kill you...!"
"I could say the same... Assassin."
Jack narrowed her eyes, but the boy simply glared back without backing down. Their wordless clash threatened to spill into a confrontation, but time was not on her side. Astolfo was about to join the battle. However enraged she felt, Jack did not have any intent on entering a battle she had no chance of winning.
"We'll get you. Next time, for sure!"
Jack quickly vanished and the fog followed, clearing away in a short while as the sky became a hazy dusk.
"Thank you."
Chiron said as he lifted his Master, who appeared to be fine despite having faced no small ordeal in confronting Assassin.
"That was Assassin?"
"Yes, that was Jack the Ripper... but unfortunately, even their face is becoming a blur now."
Despite facing the Servant directly and even speaking to them - Sieg found that he could no longer recall Assassin's face. That was the power of the Information Erasure skill, causing all knowledge regarding Assassin to be lost. Although Assassin's attack and their battle remained in their memories, all details had been cleared from their minds.
The ****** **** *****ing ****** who *****ed the castle in **** *** - that was the identity of Servant Assassin.
"We have two days remaining to put an end to this Assassin."
Sieg agreed. If there was one thing that he knew about Assassin - they were far too dangerous to be allowed to run amok.
Absolutely based. Thanks a ton Canon
Thanks, Canon! I didn't know you were from the Commonwealth, though.
May I just point out a small typo in "inconcievable"?
Tuur? I thought it was Toole.
Thanks, Canon; it's good to see more of Sieg and his efforts, as well as his grief over the lives that weren't saved.
Originally Posted by Arashi_Leonhart
Does this count?
You used it at the least.
Toole is her name in the English version of the anime like Savepoints linked yea
(I'm like 95% sure they took it from the wiki, so its from whoever the wiki based it on)
Localizationing stuff
Thanks for the translation, Canon.
"His sight were beginning to blur."
"was"
"it was hard to imagine mist..."
Just the capitalization on "It"
I thought it'd be funny since トゥール・フラガラック
But now I think about it O'Toole is an irish surname huh.
So then it's probably Tours, like the city in France.
Cos Gordes is also a city in france.
Though abandoned, forgotten, and scorned as out-of-date dolls, they continue to carry out their mission, unchanged from the time they were designed.
Machines do not lose their worth when a newer model appears.
Their worth (life) ends when humans can no longer bear that purity.
a a a a a a a a well good thing I don't work with Netflix
Localizationing stuff
So, what a joke translation created a mistranslation?
since when did toole have fragarach
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
