Somewhere underground...
>Maris-Billy: Well done, Caster. With this all of the other six Masters have been eliminated. The Holy Grail War has ended with our victory. What's left is to use my Command Spell to order your suicide, and then the ritual will be complete. The Greater Grail will be filled with the souls of seven Heroic Spirits, and the magic furnace meant to connect to the Root will be lit. By doing so, the Third Magic will take shape.
>Maris-Billy: The Third Magic materializes the soul. The humans that escape the shackles of their earthly flesh are freed from all the suffering borne of 'limitations', and move towards a new stage.
>Maris-Billy: You are a sacrifice for that purpose. You should understand that, don't you, Caster?
Of course; the Caster nodded. Whether it is the salvation or the growth of mankind, this was not a task given to him. Should the humans of this age desire growth, there was no reason for him to stop it either. Like he was in life, he will just do what is requested of him. At the very end of this Holy Grail War in the town called Fuyuki, all Servants are to be disposed of. Even in victory, he will be ordered to commit suicide by his Master.
>Maris-Billy: ---no, that was a joke. It was just a joke, Caster. I'm sorry, I may have spoken too lightly. I have no intentions of offering a helpful collaborator such as yourself to the Greater Grail. Nor will I use a Command Spell. In the first place, it wouldn't work on you.
>Maris-Billy: I won't activate the Greater Grail. I don't particularly care about the Third Magic either. I, no, we Animuspheres who reign over astronomy, must reach the Root by our own unique approach.
>Maris-Billy: We would never piggy-back on the theory of other magi. This miracle advocated by the Einzberns... From the beginning, I've had no interest in going along with these wishful dreams, like the materialization of the soul or the growth of mankind.
The Caster was surprised. Though Maris-Billy himself seemed unaware of it, this was the first and last time he had made a joke. That Maris-Billy's thoughts were different from what the Caster had seen and interpreted was something unexpected. The Caster asked a question: "Then, what."
>Maris-Billy: What I desire is this Holy Grail as a wish-granting machine, that's all. My wish is already decided. It's the completion of Chaldeas. To tell the truth, that thing in Chaldea is yet incomplete. It was built and established as a model of the Earth to convince the sponsors, but that is far from its original function. It is the same as this Greater Grail, Caster. Although the theory is complete, it is lacking that crucial 'fuel for movement'.
>Maris-Billy: This Greater Grail requires the soul of a Heroic Spirit, but my Chaldeas faces a problem more grounded in reality. In order to spin Chaldeas, we must monopolize the output of a power plant able to supply an entire country for about half a year. This requires an amount of money on par with a national budget. But the wealth I have on hand is insufficient. The hidden oil platform Serafix, the base for the French nuclear reactor we bought some days ago. This alone is already out of the question. My funds just aren't enough, y'know.
>Maris-Billy: ...ah. You can laugh at me if you want. After all, even when standing in front of this Great Holy Grail created by nigh-divine geniuses, I am wishing neither for eternal life nor to reach the Root. Instead, I'm wishing for "great wealth" like some commoner!
Saying that, Maris-Billy laughed. The Caster didn't find anything strange about this. The practice of miracles was his vocation. It was not something to be granted by the Holy Grail. In return, he had wished for time to be shortened. It was probably because Maris-Billy himself had a short life-span. In the ten or so years left to him, Chaldeas would not be activated. That is why, for the sake of hastening that activation, he joined the Fuyuki Grail War. He did not put himself in debt with the other Lords that are his rivals, and afterwards, without any noticeable disturbances to his funding, using methods that would not leave any traces or signs, he threw himself into this 'shortcut'.
>Maris-Billy: ...thank you, Caster. I believed you would understand. If you say so, then this ending shall be a secret only we know. It'll be fine if it is made known that the victor of the Holy Grail War that arose in Fuyuki was Saber and their Master... it's a pretty cowardly, sneaky way of concealing things. But if I don't do so, the other Lords would try and trip me up.
>Maris-Billy: No matter what I have to sacrifice, Chaldeas must truly activate. In order to protect the Human Order, no matter what that thing is necessary. Then, Professor Lev's Shiva will be able to observe not only the future, but also the light of the past. Pseudo-spiritron conversion projection--- the Rayshift theory will then no longer be a mere armchair theory.
>Maris-Billy: Why did the Age of Gods end. Why is the humanity foundation unstable ever since the Common Era began. As long as you can perform a Rayshift, those mysteries, those causes, all can be investigated with our own hands.
He was a man who possessed that danger inherent in all magi. Every word of his lacked morality. But, that smouldering enthusiasm in his chest, that boiling love for humanity, that was something unshakeable. The Caster expressed his agreement. This Holy Grail will not be used as a tool to reach the Root, but as a means of granting a 'personal' wish.
>Maris-Billy: Granting my personal wish, huh. Yes, that is ironic. It ended just as the organizers of this ritual propagandized.
The Caster laughed and agreed, as Maris-Billy too was laughing without being particularly annoyed.
>Maris-Billy: Well then, how about you, Caster?
The Caster was puzzled.
>Maris-Billy: Come on, didn't we just agree it is just as the Einzberns advertised? The Holy Grail War will grant the wish of the victor. That will be the Master, as well as their Servant. I wished for great wealth. So, what about you? What do you wish for?
>Maris-Billy: Changing the past is impossible, but re-interpreting it is probably doable. Or do you wish to incarnate into flesh and receive a second life?
'My wish. My wish. My wish.' The Caster pondered it. He had no freedom to wish for a thing such as his own wish, therefore, he had no wish; that is how he should answer.
>???: No---- I too, have a wish. Can I---- truly wish for anything at all, Maris-Billy.
>Maris-Billy: Yeah. Anything besides the life of me, your summoner, Maris-Billy Animusphere. My contractor and sole friend, Caster. No, the King of Magic, Solomon. If it is your wish, then it will be something that is right. Boldly wish for it.
The Caster fell silent. The corners of his mouth were raised, or so he remembered.
And the world darkened there.
Originally Posted by Polly
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
