Illya's yandere instincts are coming to the fore.Originally Posted by Walnut Sparks
Thanks! It's good to know that people like my characterization of them.
- - - Updated - - -
Ugh… a number of typos snuck in. Well, I can iron them out as I find them.
Not Magus! Magic Emperor Magus!
The next chapter is going to take some more planning… I need to settle on the precise set of circumstances for the fateful chapter in which Servants are summoned.
In contrast, I pretty know how Dojo #2 will go, even if I haven't written it yet.
Not Magus! Magic Emperor Magus!
Chapter Two: Night of Fate
Ayaka awoke, her mind restless. She had the impression that she had been having some sort of vivid nightmare followed by a more… bizarre… dream, but the details of each had already slipped out of her grasp, leaving her with only a sense of foreboding.
As the morning progressed, she found that she was barely able to touch her breakfast, and she had a feeling that even if she went to school today she would be unable to focus on any of the lectures. So instead she decided to visit her family’s graves and pay her respects. Yet even as she walked alone through the rain, she had a strange sense of déjà vu.
The graveyard was devoid of visitors when she arrived, and the only sound was the steady cadence of the rain landing upon the tombstones and her umbrella. She was glad for that; she didn’t want anyone else to see her when she was so miserable.
There was her mother’s grave, and next to it her father’s. She tried not to think about the mangled state of his body, even though it was probably long since decomposed anyway. And then there was Manaka’s grave, though of course it was empty.
Her sister had been about six years her senior, and could have been away studying at the Clock Tower by now had she survived. She had certainly been talented enough for it. And Manaka had been so young when she summoned her Servant, only 14 years old, the youngest Master to ever participate in one of the Holy Grail Wars. It was no wonder then that her abilities had been underestimated. Of course, their father, Sajyou Hiroki, had fought alongside her throughout the war, and from what Ayaka had gathered when she asked Kotomine Kirei, who had himself been a Master in the War before the defeat of his Servant and the death of his father, the former Supervisor, most of the other Masters had believed at first that Hiroki was the true Sajyou Master.
But in spite of his ambitions for elevating his family his fervent desire to reach the Root, her father had not coerced Manaka into becoming a Master. He was foremost a Magus, but he had still tried to look after his daughters’ wellbeing, especially after their mother’s early death, even as he raised them as mages as well. While he knew that Magecraft may not have been the path that Ayaka would have chosen for herself and would have most likely arranged a marriage for her to another Magus family, he still would have made sure that the match was acceptable to her, instead of just sending her away to join them without her consent, as others mages with more than one child might have. And in his own way he had been a doting father who had never expressed disappointment with her for failing to display the same talent for Magecraft that Manaka had. But then again, Manaka was a true prodigy, and it hadn’t been long before she eclipsed Sajyou Hiroki as a Magus, through the gifts of her superior Magic Circuits and the intuitive way in which she was able to grasp complex thaumaturgical principles. Indeed, while he was happy for her, at times he seemed worried about how his eldest daughter seemed to be growing up and embracing the role of a Magus so quickly.
Sajyou Hiroki had also liked telling stories to his daughters, and Manaka had always loved hearing tales of heroes, particularly stories of King Arthur, his knights, and the legendary sword Excalibur. Ayaka remembered that Manaka had cried so much when she learned of the ruin that ultimately befell his kingdom in spite of his best efforts and just reign. And when Manaka heard of the Holy Grail War, the idea that she would be able to meet such heroes in person was like a dream come to true to her. Hiroki had already been hoping to join the 4th Holy Grail War himself, but Manaka begged him to let her participate. In the end, he knew that there would be no dissuading her and that her ability as a potential Master vastly outstripped his own, and so he relented. And accordingly, it was Manaka who received Command Spells from the Grail. Of course, Ayaka had been too young to understand the significance of the project that her father and sister were working on at the time, knowing only that they were doing something very important in his workshop and that she was not to interrupt; it was only as the 4th Holy Grail War dawned that she learned its true nature. Indeed, she’d at first thought that the dark-haired man who had suddenly appeared around the house was simply a foreign Magus visiting her father on some sort of business, not a Heroic Spirit summoned as her sister’s Caster-class Servant.
And then somehow Ayaka had gotten caught up in the climax of the 4th Holy Grail War, though to this day she had no memory as to why she was at the Civic Center, amid the carnage there when she was only eight years old, and her father and sister had both been killed.
“I thought that I might find you here,” a voice said, startling her. “It is good to see that you are paying your respects, but I cannot approve of your truancy.”
It was Kotomine! When had he snuck up on her?
“But since you are already here, I can say that just two Servants now remain to be summoned, and then the 5th Holy Grail War can properly begin. I can only assume that Rin summoned hers last night, but she has not even had the courtesy to inform me as her guardian and the Supervisor.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Ayaka asked, an edge entering her voice.
“I merely wish to ensure that you make all necessary preparations. I would be lax in my duties as your guardian if I did not.”
“I’ve told you before, Kirei!” she snapped. “I have no interest in fighting in the Holy Grail War!”
“I’m not so sure of that. Do you not have a wish to see your family again? Do you really want to leave the Grail to those whose wishes may be… twisted, allowing them to unleash another catastrophe upon this city?”
“I- I would love to see them again! But… I’m too afraid to fight! The last War destroyed my family and Manaka was a greater Magus than I could ever hope to be! Even next to Rin, I’m nothing! If I fight, I will die, without making any sort of a difference!”
“Such hysterics reflect poorly on you, Ayaka. In any case, as I have told you before, whether you become a Master or not is not truly your decision to make – the Grail chooses those who have most need for it and yearn for it in their hearts, even if they are not consciously aware of it. Perhaps the Grail has even placed the stigmata of potential Command Spells upon you already. Of course, you are welcome to seek sanctuary at my church at any time, and as the Supervisor I can guarantee your safety there. But do not take long to decide, or someone else may choose for you.”
A sudden sense of dread passed through Ayaka. Kotomine’s insinuation was that she was a target. The stigmata marking her as a possible Master could appear at any time! And even if they didn’t, certain Masters might want to kill her anyway just so that she’d never have the chance to become a Master after seeing how her sister had dominated the last war. The death sentence that she had tried to ignore for so long now was now plain before her! She needed to hide, at least until the seventh Master had summoned their Servant. Only then would she be safe.
And so Sajyou Ayaka turned and ran, fleeing from the graveyard and back to her home without a second thought.
Kotomine grinned.
---
When Shirou arrived at Homurahara Academy that morning he felt slightly nauseous upon passing through the gate. But the sensation quickly passed, so he dismissed it. More troubling was the fact that Ayaka was absent. Had her anxiety caused her to fall ill, or worse, decide to skip school? In any case, the result was that the normally diligent Ayaka missed receiving several assignments. And thus Shirou volunteered to bring them over to her. Maybe someone like Tohsaka could have done it, for he understood that she lived nearby Ayaka, but something didn’t sit right with him about the situation, and he had to find out what it was for himself.
He got sidetracked helping out a few other people after school, and the sun was starting to set when he finished. But he then managed to leave without further incident, carrying the papers with him as he began walking to Ayaka’s house.
---
Unbeknownst to Shirou, Tohsaka Rin remained at Homurahara Academy, examining the Bounded Field that someone had erected over the campus – and it was a nasty piece of work. She couldn’t allow it to be fully activated, or it would claim the lives of everyone within. Whoever was responsible for this outrage would face her full wrath as the Second Owner and a Master.
Yes, she was officially a Master now, though she had summoned Archer instead of Saber as desired – and conducted the ritual at 1 a.m. instead of 2 a.m. because her house’s clocks were still off. And worse, he was insufferable, and she had already wasted a Command Spell to enforce his obedience. Though to be fair, Archer himself had admitted that the order, while normally too vague to have any meaningful effect, would impose stringent penalties on his parameters should he defy her will, a feat that he attributed to her own skill as a Master. So that made her feel a little better, and the two of them were getting along better now too.
“You’ve noticed the Bounded Field over this school as well,” a voice said from behind her.
Rin turned around, while Archer swiftly moved in front of her, prepared to defend her at a moment’s notice. And now that she was facing the speaker, she could see that it was a young man, his face concealed by a brownish-gray mask with black markings on the side, and with a dark mantle covering his body. She could see a mess of red hair on his head, but that wasn’t important to her at the moment – he had to be either an eccentric Master or a Servant. But the strange thing was that she couldn’t be sure which he was just by looking at him.
“Who are you?” she demanded.
“Your enemy, at least in the end of this contest called the Holy Grail War, the Master of Lancer. But I have no desire to fight you here. No, what I am interested in is seeing that this Bounded Field is dismantled as soon as possible. It will be much harder to defeat the Servant responsible for establishing it if it is activated. And of course, I trust that you do not wish for your friends to perish, Tohsaka Rin. It would be a most painful death for them.”
“And why shouldn’t I just have my Servant deal with you right now?”
“There will be time for that later,” the mysterious Master replied. “But beyond denying our opponent prana, I have a grudge to settle, and so our interests align… for now.”
When Rin did not reply, he continued, “I’ve had a chance to examine the Field more closely, and it appears that it is maintained by a number of sigils. If you destroy them, you should be able to forestall its activation, but it is strong enough that I believe only defeating the Servant will allow you to shut it down for good.”
“You seem to know an awful lot about this Bounded Field. How do I know you aren’t the one who set it up?”
“You’re to the point. The short answer is that you don’t, but I assure you something of this magnitude is far beyond my capabilities as a Magus. And with that I will take my leave from you, Rin.”
He leapt over the fence and off the rooftop. With proper Reinforcement to the legs, leaping as high as he had was plausible, but the fact that he landed without ending up as a bloody mess on the pavement suggested either the use of some other Magecraft to slow his fall, a Mystic Code, or the presence of a Servant in spirit form. And after that it wasn’t long before he had vanished into the night, heading in the direction of Shinto, the newer, more urbanized eastern half of Fuyuki City across the Mion River.
“Rin, shall I pursue him?”
“He could be leading us into a trap. I certainly don’t trust him, Archer. Did you sense a Servant with him?”
“No, he was alone. But – ”
“Yes, something’s suspicious about him. I should have been able to tell right away if he was a Master or a Servant. I suppose we can force the answer to that question from him later. And he seemed almost familiar with me, but he doesn’t match the appearance of any Magus I know at school. But for now I want to keep looking at this Bounded Field and see if there was any truth to those sigils he was talking about.”
Yet before she could investigate any further, she saw a bright flash of light in the direction of Fuyuki’s western-style houses, where the Magus families of the Tohsaka, Matou, and Sajyou lived.
Could it be? Either Ayaka had just summoned a Servant in spite of all of her claims to renounce the Grail, or there was a battle going on near there!
“Change of plans, Archer! We’re investigating the source of that light immediately!”
If Ayaka had lied to her for all these years… she wouldn’t forgive her!
---
Ayaka had still been in a panic when she got home and hastily locked the door behind her. Pausing just for a moment to catch her breath, she ran to a mirror and began inspecting her body for any stigmata. Usually, Command Spells appeared on a hand, but it wasn’t unprecedented that they could appear elsewhere. For example, the Supervisors of the Holy Grail War usually bore excess Command Spells from previous Wars on their arms. She didn’t see any upon her in the usual places but…as she pulled off her blouse, there, between her breasts, was a long, thin bruise that hadn’t been there before. But of course, it wasn’t an ordinary bruise:it was the stigmata from the Grail. Her fears had been realized!
No! She wouldn’t fight! Hurriedly putting her blouse back on, she ran back and forth, making sure that the house was secure, checking that the Bounded Field that served as its security system was still operational, and dimming the lights. Almost as an afterthought, she grabbed a small stone rune fragment that her family had collected many years ago, marked with Algiz, the rune representing protection. Though Ayaka didn’t specialize in runes herself, she had been taught some of their basic meanings and understood that they constituted an old yet potent system of Magecraft, capable imbuing magical effects into the objects that they marked. And while she didn’t know how much power it still held by itself, simply having it on her person made her feel a little safer. And at last she grabbed a blanket and hid herself under it. Now she just had to stay very quiet and still, and pray that she would be left alone tonight.
---
“Kill Sajyou Ayaka before she can become a Master. And make it look like an ordinary break-in; that should simplify the subsequent cover-up. With the recent crimes in Fuyuki the authorities won’t think twice of it.”
Those were Assassin’s orders from her Master, an ambitious man backed by the Mage’s Association for the Holy Grail War. Assassin rather disliked him; he was arrogant and thought that his wealth could buy his way to victory and thus greater prestige within the Association, financing the construction of a state-of-the-art alchemist’s workshop within Fuyuki dedicated to optimizing his family’s brand of sacrificial Magecraft, as well as allowing him to indulge in more frivolous pursuits, such as surrounding himself with a harem of beautiful women. At least he would never dare to strike her, for he would die if he so much as touched her bare skin. Such was the power of her Noble Phantasm, Zabaniya – Delusional Poison Body. On the other hand, she couldn’t deliberately kill him with it either, for as soon as he had realized the peril he was in he had used up one of his Command Spells, forbidding her from touching him. Still, there were other ways to kill a man or make them abandon caution, throwing themselves to their deaths. But for now she would cooperate with him, at least until she could find a more suitable Master.
Thus Assassin approached Sajyou Manor, easily bypassing its Bounded Field through her Presence Concealment class skill. And had the order to kill Sajyou Ayaka not been enforced with a second Command Spell, she would have just passed through the door in spirit form and quietly snuffed out the girl’s life, but no, her Master required her to make a scene. For all of his talk of taking the War seriously unlike a certain Lord El-Melloi, was he stupid, nullifying her best advantage like that? Well, at least if he was this wasteful with Command Spells she would be free to do as she pleased before long.
And so Assassin, under the compulsion of the Command Spell, momentarily abandoned subtlety and kicked down the door.
---
Ayaka jumped in fright as she heard her door being knocked in with a bang. They were here to kill her!
“Just pretend that I’m not here… Just pretend that I’m not here.” But she could hear her heart pounding in her chest, surely giving her position away, and then there was a strange, sweetly intoxicating aroma drawing closer to her. No, she realized in a moment of clarity, that aroma was poison itself! If she stayed where she was any longer it would start to overwhelm her and then she would be killed!
And thus she leapt from under the blanket with a cry, running prana through her Magic Circuits to drive out the poison, and firing a burst of cursed feathers at her assailant, a lithe woman who looked only a little older than her with short purple hair and dark skin, clad in only slightly darker black fabrics cut to favor mobility and a white skull mask. Yet Ayaka instantly knew that this was no mere woman, but the Servant Assassin.
Assassin nimbly leapt backward, but even she could not fully avoid Ayaka’s attack at that range, and several feathers grazed her, causing her to pause for a moment as the weakening effects of the curse set in. Such an attack was hardly enough to slay a Servant, but as Assassin lacked any meaningful Magic Resistance she was still fully susceptible Ayaka’s Magecraft. Meanwhile, Ayaka seized the opportunity to flee further into her home. What was it that her father had said? “If all else fails, take shelter in the garden.”
---
Recovering, Assassin swiftly moved to follow her target, closing the gap between them while Ayaka haphazardly fired more volleys of feathers over her shoulder. But then Assassin heard something from behind her – a witness!
No matter. The rules of the Holy Grail War were clear – the witness had to die. And once they were disposed of she would be able to fulfill the order given to her by the Command Spell all the same.
---
When Emiya Shirou arrived at the Sajyou Manor, he was shocked to see that the door had been broken down. That could only mean one thing – Ayaka was in danger. And so he ran in without any thought for his own safety.
Of course, if there was some sort of burglar, or worse, the serial killer who had been stalking Fuyuki in there, he needed a weapon. Seeing an old-fashioned lamp near the entrance, he grabbed it, cleared his mind, and said, “Trace On.” Focusing, he quickly analyzed the lamp’s structure and poured prana through it, Reinforcing the metal. The Magic Circuit that he had activated burned, but if he could help someone…
And then, the intruder emerged out of the darkness, a pale skull-like visage gleaming in the moonlight, radiating killing intent and filling the air with a strangely sweet smell. As the figure came closer, he saw that she had the body of an alluring woman and appeared to be unarmed, but she was clearly not human.
What was he waiting for? Raising his improvised weapon, he charged forward.
---
So the witness was a Magus… and an idiot. Easily sidestepping the blow, Assassin delivered a powerful kick to his chest. It wasn’t a fatal blow as his jacket had insulated him from the killing skin of her exposed toes, but it had surely broken a few ribs and sent him flying back into the corridor that Ayaka had retreated through. And she continued to push him back, even as he tried his hardest to defend himself in spite of the poison emanating from her slowly taking its toll. She didn’t manage to land a killing blow, though she came tantalizingly close to brushing his hand, but forced him to give ground with every step and eventually shattered the lamp he was wielding, knocking him through the glass behind him into the greenhouse where her target awaited. There, she would eliminate them together, first the girl and then the boy. She thought that she would use her favorite method of killing on him – a kiss on the lips.
---
Ayaka had tried blockading herself in the garden, using her Magecraft to cause vines to rapidly grow over the door and imbue them with a curse that she hoped would slow Assassin. But then she heard a commotion back in the corridor. What was going on?
Suddenly, Emiya Shirou came crashing through the glass, holding the remnants of one of her lamps in his hands as if it were a sword, colliding with her and sending them both down to the ground in a heap.
What was he doing here? Was he Assassin’s Master? No, that made no sense. Had he been fighting Assassin? Why? But it didn’t matter. They were both going to die! If only she could fight back!
----
He had lost? And as the woman with the skull mask drew near, Shirou knew that both he and Ayaka were going to die. No! He couldn’t die without saving anyone, especially when he could still defend her!
---
But what neither of them had noticed was that a magic circle inscribed into the ground behind them had begun to glow. Assassin saw it and lunged forward in a last attempt to fulfill the order she had been given, but was pushed back by a sudden gust of wind from the circle as a pair of figures materialized within it – a blue-haired, red eyed man wielding a heavy wooden staff etched with runes and a beautiful blonde female knight. The Grail had answered Sajyou Ayaka and Emiya Shirou’s desperate pleas to survive, and they had just unwittingly become the sixth and seventh Masters in the Holy Grail.
Confronted by two Servants, Caster and Saber from the looks of it, Assassin knew that victory had slipped from her fingers. But now that she had failed and Sajyou Ayaka had summoned a Servant, the conditions of the Command Spell were invalid. And thus Assassin made an immediate retreat, choosing to preserve her own life. There would be other opportunities to kill the new Masters without facing suicidal odds.
---
But even with her departure, two hostile Servants remained in the garden.
“Master, get back! The enemy is upon us!” the blonde knight shouted while Shirou looked on, dumbfounded.
“Well, this is unusual,” the blue-haired man chuckled, observing the scene before him. “I take it that the young lady is my Master.”
Trembling, Ayaka could only nod, but she retained enough sense to scramble to her feet and to her Servant’s side before aiming her Mystic Code at Shirou.
“Wait, Ayaka, what’s going on?” he asked as he realized that she was preparing to attack him. However, the knight did not waste any time in coming to his defense and swung an invisible sword at Ayaka, only to be intercepted by the man’s staff, the runes along its length glowing with prana.
“I was right that you were a Magus, Emiya Shirou!” she shouted. “Just like your father, who killed my sister! So tell me, why are you at my house? Did you come to kill me too, and just ran into Assassin first?”
“My father… killed…” Shirou murmured in horror.
“Are you telling me that you didn’t know that Emiya Kiritsugu was the Magus Killer?” she pressed, while her Servant continued straining to push back the knight’s invisible sword, not noticing that the knight’s eyes had grown wide for a moment at the mention of Kiritsugu’s name.
“No… Look, I just came here to help you…” He looked up to the knight. “Please, just stop! I don’t want you killing one of my classmates! Can’t we just talk this out? I don’t know what’s going on here!”
The knight froze as a Command Spell flashed red on Shirou’s hand before vanishing and involuntarily relaxed her stance, allowing the man to give her a hard shove, pushing her out of striking range of his Master.
“You… really don’t know anything?” Ayaka murmured as she saw Shirou waste a Command Spell on her behalf. Her mental image of him as the devious heir to the Magus Killer, hiding behind a helpful façade was thrown into doubt. She couldn’t bring herself to fully trust him yet, but perhaps she could listen to what he had to say.
Turning to her Servant, she sighed and said hesitantly, “Caster? Please stand down as well.”
“Heh. Fine. I’m interested to know what led to such an unusual summoning too. Just don’t think to interrupt me once I’m enjoying a really good fight.”
Looking down to Shirou, she continued gloomily, “We’ve both just been caught up in the 5th Holy Grail War, a battle to the death between seven mages and their Servants, Heroic Spirits summoned to the modern world.” And now hatred entered her voice once more. “Your father fought in the last War and at its end he shot my sister before my eyes! And then…” She paused, struggling to regain her composure. “I don’t exactly know what happened next, but someone had made an evil wish on the Holy Grail… and it… caused the Great Fuyuki Fire.”
Last edited by Magus; August 9th, 2015 at 10:49 PM.
Not Magus! Magic Emperor Magus!
Taiga Dojo #2: Forfeit/Apocalypse
“I renounce my rights as a Master in the 5th Holy Grail War. I never wanted this,” Ayaka declared firmly.
“That is disappointing,” Kotomine replied, “but it is your decision to make, and the Church’s offer of sanctuary still stands. If you are sure about this, I can perform the spiritual surgery necessary to remove your Command Spells now.”
“Yes, I am sure.”
“Very well.” He paused. “It seems that your Command Spells are not in the usual place.”
Ayaka could only blush with embarrassment.
“I understand,” Kotomine said knowingly. “We shall perform the operation in private then.” Turning to the other Master in the Church, he said, “You may go now, Emiya Shirou. Rejoice, my son! You have a chance to make your dreams come true.”
That was the last time Sajyou Ayaka ever saw Emiya Shirou, as he walked out of the Church to rejoin Saber, firmly committed to stopping the Grail Wars. If only she had his strength.
Afterwards, she joined Kotomine in a back room of the Church. She removed her blouse again so that the priest could access her Command Spells – direct contact was necessary for this sort of spiritual surgery. It was embarrassing, but at least Kotomine was nothing if not professional in his conduct during the procedure.
But the procedure itself – it hurt far more than she had imagined it would. As he plunged his fingers into her chest, it felt like he was ripping out her nerves, her Magic Circuits, causing pain to flare throughout her body. It only took a moment, and no real harm was done, but the pain didn’t fade as quickly.
“The operation was successful,” Kotomine announced. “I have removed two of your three Command Spells. Now simply use the last one to abolish your contract with Caster.”
She nodded, and then pronounced very clearly, “I, Sajyou Ayaka, order you Caster to sever your contract with me and seek a new Master.”
The last stroke of her Command Spells faded, and the faint connection she felt to Caster vanished from her mind.”
“It is done,” Kotomine nodded solemnly. “Will you now seek sanctuary in the Church, former Master?”
“I will. I had enough of a scare tonight. And I have the feeling that Caster would kill me if I dared show my face out there.”
“As many Servants would if you trampled their pride.”
For a moment, Ayaka was gripped with uncertainty in her decision. But it was too late now.
And thus Ayaka began her asylum within Kotomine Church, confined in it for the duration of the war with one of her least favorite people, but at least she was safe.
Kotomine gave her little news on the events of the War, as she was no longer a Master, but he seemed to enjoy telling her the most morbid bits of it, such as when Shirou was killed a few days into the War. Rin still seemed to be alive though. But she soon noticed that Kotomine’s demeanor seemed to be changing to one of concern, and then even… excitement?
Eventually, Kotomine informed her that he would be leaving the Church to investigate an anomaly that had arisen in the War, and gave her strict instructions to remain in her quarters.
Kotomine never returned.
And then it happened.
The ground itself seemed to shake, and looking out of her small window Ayaka saw… a great void in the sky above Mount Enzou, and a torrent of the black mud she had seen ten years ago pouring ceaselessly out of it. And then…. something was rising up, a vast Beast growing, incarnating, being born into the world, surely heralding the end itself.
She was terrified, but there was nowhere to run now as swarms of what seemed to be living yet mindless Shadows came forth as its emissaries, driven by pure malice. From the church on the hill, she saw them devour Fuyuki, and then they came for her.
DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE.
As they enveloped her, taking her into their dark embrace, she was made to bear witness to All the World’s Evil.
War. Murder. Theft. Hate. Gluttony. Deceit. Greed. Bigotry. Terrorism. Spite. Lust. Rape. Torture. Wrath. Envy. Narcissism. Sloth. Pride. Suicide. Insanity. Cruelty. Indifference. Despair.
It was a virulent curse, specialized for exterminating humanity with its own worst impulses.
DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!
DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!
DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!
DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!
DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!
DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!
Her consciousness was fading rapidly now; she could barely withstand any more of it, and she knew only pain and misery as her body melted agonizingly away.
This was the result of an evil wish upon the Grail, an Apocalypse. If she had chosen to fight, might she have helped prevent this ending?
DEAD END
…
…
…
Ayaka blinked, opening her eyes to the mysterious Dojo once more.
“Look who’s back!” Ms. Fujimura yelled. “Our new heroine!”
“I told you she would be,” Illya replied smugly. “Did I do her in again?”
WHACK!
“What a cruel thing to say, Student! In any case, Ayaka is here because she tried to run away from her fate again!”
“So… there’s no way for me to avoid fighting?”
“Nope, not if you want a happy ending, that is!”
“Wait… you knew the last time that if I stayed home that I would pick up that rune fragment… and that it would be a summoning catalyst…. You tricked me!”
“I prefer to call that just one way of giving out helpful hints so that you can avoid your Dead Ends!” Taiga grinned. “Come, on, don’t look so glum! We’ve even invited a special guest for you!”
“A special guest?”
“Yes, you’ll love him! Meet Proto-Saber!”
A handsome blonde man with a vague resemblance to Emiya Shirou’s Servant walked into the Dojo and waved.
“In another world, this guy would have been your Servant! He’s got a much more lighthearted personality than the Saber you know, but his own dark secrets!”
“It’s good to see you, Master,” he said before reaching out and removing Ayaka’s glasses.
“Hey! Give those back!”
“But you’re so cute when you’re flustered like that.”
Ayaka felt her cheeks burn, but he relented and returned them to her.
“Now some of you may be wondering why both Sabers didn’t appear earlier,” Ms. Fujimura continued, entering her “lecturing mode”, pulling up a chalkboard and drawing a variety of figures detailing character relationships, timelines, and who knew what as she addressed… no one in particular. “But as you can clearly see here, having both Saber and Proto-Saber in the same Grail War is a fundamental violation of the rules! And this route is quite unworkable unless Shirou has Avalon, allowing him to survive the fire, summon Saber, and acquire all of his usual skills!”
“What was that?” Ayaka asked.
“Nothing! Nothing! You didn’t hear that!”
“SABER!” a voice called from nowhere, interrupting Ms. Fujimura. Ayaka’s eyes widened. She knew that voice!
“Hey! Watch we’re you’re…” Illya screamed as she was bowled over by none other than Sajyou Manaka, also dressed in gym attire.
“Sister! And before Manaka could realize what was happening, Ayaka had wrapped her in a big hug.
“Oh. I didn’t see you there, Ayaka. I just heard that my perfect knight was here, just as described in the stories, instead of turning out to be a girl! But I love Arturia too. And you too, sister,” she added, almost as an afterthought. Ayaka frowned. It was her first time seeing her older sister in years, and she was greeted like that?
“Well, it looks like that’s all the time Mr. Pendragon has for today!” Ms. Fujimura announced, and as the sisters looked up they saw that he was gone.
“Oh well,” Manaka said dreamily. “There’s always next time.” Her eyes brightened. “And to make sure I don’t miss it, I’m going to be your new Student, Ms. Fujimura!”
“Hey! What about me?” Illya cried.
ZAP!
Illya collapsed as she was struck with a beam of raw energy from Manaka.
“Oh my!” exclaimed Ms. Fujimura. So that’s the fearsome power that slew a Servant in the last Grail War.”
“Don’t worry,” Manaka said with an innocent smile. “She’ll get better. Besides, this Dojo isn’t big enough for two girls like us.”
“I’m 18,” Illya groaned.
ZAP!
“You don’t look it,” Manaka cheerfully replied.
“You’re 24!” Illya snapped back.
“Biologically, I’m still 14. I stopped aging at the end of the last Grail War.”
Stepping between them, Ms. Fujimura said, “Well, we’re getting off track here. And yes, Manaka, we’d be glad to have you as our Student while Illya recovers.”
“How come she gets away with it?!”
WHACK!
“So where were we?” Ms. Fujimura wondered, trying to recollect her thoughts after all of the excitement. “Ah, yes!” She turned back to Ayaka. “So what you need to do this time is simple – just go back and choose to fight this time! And don’t worry – you have plenty to fight for, so believe in yourself!”
“Hey, Sensei,” Manaka interrupted. “Isn’t it supposed to be called the ‘Tiger Dojo’, not the ‘Taiga Dojo’?”
“DON’T CALL ME TIGER!” Ms. Fujimura erupted as the image of a ferocious tiger appeared behind her,.
“Well, I suppose it will be fixed for next time,” Manaka shrugged. “See you later, sister,” she said with a wave.
And once again everything started growing indistinct, and the mysterious Dojo faded from view.
Last edited by Magus; August 9th, 2015 at 10:48 PM.
Not Magus! Magic Emperor Magus!
Yay, Kotomine finally got his wish!
I must admit I find these sorts of lines:
superfluous and kind of overwrought.
I'm imagining "lecturing mode" Taiga in her suit from Carnival Phantasm...
O walls, you have held up so much tedious graffiti that I am amazed you have not already collapsed in ruin.
Well, more like Kotomine got to witness his wish coming true rather than bringing it to fruition himself, sort of like what he wanted to do in Heaven's Feel. And I don't imagine that he survived the aftermath.
Fair criticisms of my style… I won't go back and change them now, but I'll keep your point about "overwrought" language in mind as I go forward.
Last edited by Magus; July 19th, 2015 at 01:31 PM.
Not Magus! Magic Emperor Magus!
And I really should do a more thorough proofreading of this… that's three more errors I just found and corrected.
Not Magus! Magic Emperor Magus!
Huh?
It got updated.
"......"
Miscellaneous Info
Yes, it got updated. And then I went back and fixed a few typos.
Or is the "Huh?" expressing confusion about the story itself?
Not Magus! Magic Emperor Magus!
Thanks to NuclearConsensus for the new cover art.
Not Magus! Magic Emperor Magus!
Oh hey, so you're the one who did this!
I rather liked it. As far as alternative 5th War fics go, I'd follow it. Now I guess I actually can do just that!
My Fanfics. Read 'em. Or not.McJon01: We all know that the real reason Archer would lose to Rider is because the events of his own Holy Grail War left him with a particular weakness toward "older sister" types.
Thanks! Of course, much of it has been significantly rewritten from the version I submitted for the 2014 contest, but hopefully those changes are making the story better.
Though I have a broad idea of how the next chapter will progress, I still need to set aside time to start plotting it out in detail. And given that I was busy submitting the paperwork needed to finish up my Master's degree yesterday and that I'm working on cleaning out my office today I haven't really gotten around to it yet.
Last edited by Magus; July 21st, 2015 at 03:00 PM.
Not Magus! Magic Emperor Magus!
I'm most of the way through writing a rough draft of the next chapter. I've just been a bit slower at it lately because I've been preparing to move back to my home in Massachusetts after earning my degree.
Not Magus! Magic Emperor Magus!
Pretty good story, I have to say.
Can't wait to see what you do with Proto!Saber.
Proto!Saber himself will probably appear mainly in the Taiga Dojos as his presence in the main story is not consistent with Arturia's (which was itself needed to avoid major alterations to Shirou's backstory and abilities). However, I do have a number of Fate/Prototype inspired twists coming up, and I am nearly done writing the next chapter.
Not Magus! Magic Emperor Magus!
Alright. Can't wait! I'm planning the first few chapters of a Campione/Fate Prototype crossover featuring Proto!Saber as the main character. It's somewhat inspired by The Once and Future King by RealmOfEmptiness on FF.Net, but we've discussed this and he's okay with it.
Chapter Three: The First Night
Everything still seemed surreal to Emiya Shirou, from the revelation that Sajyou Ayaka was a Magus, to that of the Holy Grail Wars and the summoning of Servants, to the grim role that his father had allegedly played in the last War. A part of him wanted to deny her words, but her grief and hatred seemed all too real.
"It’s unfortunate, but being a hero is a limited-time thing. When you grow up, it becomes hard to call yourself one. I should have realized that earlier.”
Kiritsugu’s words on that fateful night, under the silver moon, echoed in his mind. Was that what he had meant? A hero of justice was supposed to save everyone, but… Kiritsugu had been forced to kill Ayaka’s sister? Why? But it wasn’t just that… Ayaka had called his father ‘The Magus Killer’, practically spitting the epithet at him. How many had his father killed? He knew so little about Kiritsugu’s past, but he had never imagined it was something like this. Had Kiritsugu saved Ayaka out of guilt then? After all, it had only been after he found the boy who would become Emiya Shirou that life and joy had returned to Kiritsugu’s eyes.
But no matter what his father had done, that didn’t change Shirou’s promise to him. He would live up to the ideal his father had given him and save everyone, so that no innocent victims would be left behind to grieve for their loved ones as Ayaka had been.
At least it no longer seemed like she was ready to kill him. After he had unwittingly used what she called a ‘Command Spell’ to compel his Servant, who had since introduced herself as Saber, to not harm Ayaka, she had asked that her Servant, Caster, similarly refrain from violence against him for the time being. But even if they had worked out a truce, Ayaka still seemed wary of him, and she was obviously terrified by everything that had occurred, a fact that only became more obvious as her rage faded away. She had managed to say that they should head to Kotomine Church but she had pretty much clammed up after that.
In spite of how badly Assassin had beaten him up he felt well enough to walk – his injuries must not have been as severe as he first thought, so he saw no reason to refuse Ayaka’s suggestion if Kotomine could explain the rest of this War he’d gotten himself into. Ayaka was also the proper Magus of the two of them, so he deferred to her judgment. She inadvertently made the difference in their abilities clear when he saw her cut a finger on one of the shards of glass his unexpected entrance into the greenhouse had created, and then used the magical energy contained within her blood to repair the hole in less than a minute while Caster was busy examining the Bounded Field that protected her home.
“That’s amazing!”
She gave him a funny look, as if she thought he was making fun of her, and after a long moment she spoke. “No it’s not. Rin would have managed it in a few seconds.”
It took Shirou a moment to understand the significance of what she had just said. “Wait! You’re telling me that Tohsaka is a Magus as well?”
“Her family’s one of the three that founded the Holy Grail Wars,” Ayaka replied wearily. “And she’s the Second Owner who presides over Fuyuki. Of course she’s a Magus! Anyways, we should get going. Have Saber assume spirit form.”
“Unfortunately, I cannot do so,” said Saber.
And thus they had to waste a minute grabbing one of Ayaka’s extra coats and draping it over Saber, so that passerby would not see her armor underneath.
They hadn’t gotten far away from her house when they encountered a familiar and very cross-looking face: Tohsaka Rin. But there was also tall, tanned man with silvery hair a red coat by her side, another Servant, and Shirou could not help but feel that the man was someone he would never be able to get along with. At the same time, Caster materialized at Ayaka’s side, which only caused Rin’s ire to grow.
“Do you care to explain this to me, Sajyou?” Rin snapped. “For years I hear that you want nothing to do with the Holy Grail War, and now you’ve gone ahead and summoned a Servant? And why is Emiya here, with his own Servant from the looks of it? Don’t tell me that you teamed up with him!”
“I didn’t mean… it was an accident… Assassin…” Ayaka stammered while Caster looked on disapprovingly.
“Both of us got caught up in this,” Shirou cut in. “I had come over to drop off the papers she missed earlier today and check on how she was doing. When I arrived, the door was broken down and I ran into a Servant who was trying to kill her. We both got thrown into a magic circle and we ended up summoning Servants. Beyond that, I don’t know what’s going on, so we were heading to the Church to see the Supervisor.”
“Hmph. Sajyou, is what Emiya says true?”
“Yes.”
“And he managed to summon Saber?” Rin asked incredulously. “Did you know he was a Magus?”
“No. I suspected that he might be due to who his father was, but I had no proof and I was too scared, so I said nothing. I’m sorry, Rin.”
“I’m not even really a proper Magus,” Shirou continued. “My father just taught me the basics, like how to use my Magic Circuits and Reinforcement, and the only spell I’m really good at is Structural Analysis.”
A vein was practically throbbing in Rin’s forehead now. “Have you no common sense?! Why would you tell me what Magecraft you’re capable of? We’re enemies!”
Saber shifted in her stance, prepared to act in an instant, and for a moment both Shirou and Ayaka were convinced that they were going to have to fight Rin and her Servant.
But Rin just crossed her arms and huffed, “Fine! Go see Kotomine! I can’t just attack an amateur who doesn’t know what he’s gotten himself into. And you, Sajyou, I’ll let you off this time for the sake of our friendship, but if you’re still a Master by tomorrow know that we will no longer be friends! Besides, though I’m sure Archer would prove quite capable, I’m not so reckless to order him to fight two Servants at once, especially when one of them is Saber. Do you understand?”
Ayaka nodded nervously.
“Good! Archer, we’re leaving.”
“As you wish, Rin.”
And then they departed.
“What did she mean by `if you’re still a Master by tomorrow’?” Shirou asked.
Ayaka said nothing.
---
“Sajyou…” Archer, also known as the Counter Guardian EMIYA, wondered. She was a friend of Rin’s, apparently attended Homurahara Academy, and had just been involved in an accidental summoning with his younger self, or at least an alternate version thereof. Yet her name was unfamiliar to him, and while his memories were imperfect, he thought that he could say with confidence that he had never met one with that name before.
Of course, that wasn’t the only change. There had been that strange masked man at the school, who was also unknown to him, and he was sure that it had been Lancer whom Emiya Shirou had a run-in with, not Assassin… to say nothing of the fact that the one he remembered as `Lancer’ was now Caster.
Well, at least his summoning by Rin was a constant, and she was every bit the prideful yet teasing and easily flustered Magus that he remembered. And of course, there was still Emiya Shirou, no doubt still clinging to that fantasy of becoming a hero. Archer held few illusions that killing Shirou would do anything to erase his own accursed existence as a Counter Guardian, for such a hope seemed only slightly less than futile under the best of circumstances. But at the very least Archer looked forward to venting his frustration on Shirou if the fool remained committed to the ideal that would damn him, given the proper opportunity.
And so he would wait for that opportunity.
----
After Rin’s departure, Shirou, Saber, Ayaka, and Caster in spirit form at her side began the long walk through Fuyuki’s less-developed Miyama Town to the urbanized Shinto across the Mion River, which Kotomine Church laid on the far side of. Ayaka had once again become very quiet and rebuffed further attempts at conversation or otherwise kept her responses brief, and soon Shirou could not help but feel awkward himself.
After about an hour they arrived at Kotomine Church without incident. It wasn’t a particularly large building, as Fuyuki only had a small Christian population, but it still had a certain grandeur to it and loomed over its surroundings. Ayaka recalled that before the 4th Holy Grail War it had seemed to be a welcoming structure, back when the pious Kotomine Risei ran it, and she had come there regularly with her family. Indeed, it was where she had first met Tohsaka Rin, who was also attending services there with her family, but they hadn’t come to know each other beyond being acquaintances until after the War. Now that it was under Kotomine Kirei’s jurisdiction it was a place she preferred to avoid when possible, lest she be forced to spend more time than necessary with him. In contrast, Shirou had never set foot inside of a church, at least not within the ten years that he could remember, and, given that she had said nothing about Kirei’s character to him, he was left with his own naïve first impressions.
At last she spoke again, trying to sound authoritative but with a trembling in her voice betraying her true feelings. “This is Kotomine Church. The Supervisor will be waiting inside.”
“If you are heading inside Shirou, I shall wait out here,” Saber spoke up.
He seemed hesitant for a moment, but nodded. “Okay. Just try not to get into a fight with Caster until I know just what’s going on here.”
“I shall respect your wishes,” she replied. “It would be dishonorable for me to break the truce that you have established. Of course, should Caster do so first I will fight back, and I encourage you to remain on your guard.”
“Heh. Don’t worry about me,” Caster said as he materialized across from Saber. “Though I expect a good fight in the end, I’d be foolish to just rush in against Saber and her Magic Resistance. Plus, it’s not wise to anger a lady,” he continued, glancing at Ayaka.
"Thank you," she replied. She then took a deep breath, opened the church’s doors, and led Shirou inside.
---
Meanwhile, in the penthouse that he had bought near the core of Shinto, Atram Galiast was furious.
In spite of using one of his three Command Spells to ensure that she’d get the job done, Assassin had still failed to kill Sajyou Ayaka before she could summon a Servant. What kind of Assassin couldn’t kill a young Magus living on her own before a witness arrived? And she even had the gall to report back in a form that she knew would infuriate him further!
For Assassin now looked quite unlike how she appeared at Ayaka’s home, no longer wearing black and a skull mask but a short white dress, and while her skin could once blend into the night it was now fair. Indeed, she had affected the appearance of an innocent yet beguiling maiden with bright eyes that matched her hair, though the latter was still cut in a similar style to that of her “Assassin” form. Such was the power of her Shapeshifting skill, to hide her true nature while putting forth a serene façade, and that was why she was known as `Hassan of Serenity’. And one who enjoyed the close company of beautiful women, Atram had to exert all of his discipline as a Magus to keep himself from approaching her, lest he inhale that sweet poison that surrounded her too deeply or touch her and meet instant death. After all, the power of his first Command Spell only prohibited her from deliberately touching him. And now it took his every instinct of self-preservation to keep himself from slapping her in anger, which would also spell his death.
“We could not have foreseen the boy’s interference,” Assassin soothingly lied, “nor that he was a Magus and a potential Master.” Of course the scene she had been ordered to make would draw unwanted attention; only the nature of witness had truly been a surprise to her. “Do not be so hard on yourself, Master.”
“According to the survivors of the last War, Sajyou Manaka was a true prodigy of Magecraft! If such gifts manifested in her, who knows what talents might lie dormant in her sister?” Atram snapped. “And even Sajyou Ayaka truly is just an average Magus, she’s long been expected to be chosen as a Master. If you had eliminated her, then the Grail would have been forced to choose another, less qualified Master. But it’s too late for that now.” He paused, gathering his composure and once again reining in the urge to strike her. “You said her Servant was Caster?”
“Yes. And the boy seems to have summoned Saber.”
“That’s very interesting, Assassin. At least your mission wasn’t a total waste. What did he look like?”
“Auburn hair, golden-brown eyes, reasonably well built. He seemed impulsive and used Reinforcement Magecraft to improvise a weapon.”
Atram raised an eyebrow at this. “That hardly seems like the behavior of proper Magus. In any case, I do not know of any mages who match that description. But as an unknown and the Master of Saber he merits further investigation. Find out who he is, what his weaknesses are, report your findings to me, and then kill him when an opportunity presents itself. Do not risk a direct confrontation with Saber, and do not fail me again.” Confidence reentered his voice. “In the meantime I will be making preparations in my workshop for the day that I challenge the Tohsaka Master or whichever Magus the Einzbern have sent this time. If I can defeat them and claim the Grail my family’s prestige will increase immensely in the Association, and with the capital I have put in place here I should be able to secure a decisive advantage.”
Assassin allowed herself a smile that looked simply dazzling on her false face. At last, her foolish Master was giving her reasonable orders!
“As you wish, Master.”
---
“I thought I might be seeing you tonight, Sajyou Ayaka,” Kotomine Kirei said as they entered the church, already standing by the altar. “But who is that with you?”
“I’m Emiya Shirou.”
The priest’s eyes lit up, and his smile grew wider for a moment. “Emiya…” he repeated. “Do you mean to tell me that you are Emiya Kiritsugu’s son?”
“I am.”
“You wanted each Master to report to you after summoning their Servant, and he didn’t know what was going on,” Ayaka blurted out. “And he…” Her cheeks flushed and she found it impossible to continue. It was true that Emiya Shirou had probably saved her life by distracting Assassin for a few seconds, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to openly admit it, especially in front of Kotomine. Yet she disliked the idea of being indebted to an Emiya, so she had rationalized that establishing a temporary truce with him and guiding him here would help her clear that debt. And if she was honest with herself, she would have come to the Church anyway; unlike Rin she didn’t have the courage to simply flout Kirei’s directives.
Kirei nodded understandingly, but that only sent a chill down her spine. “I have clearly taught you well, Ayaka. You are to be commended for putting aside your grudge against Emiya Kiritsugu to bring his son here, and you responded to my summons when my other student, Rin, did not. Has she indeed become a Master as well?”
“Yes. She summoned Archer. We crossed paths with her on the way here.”
“Thank you.”
Then Kotomine’s tone turned more severe. “That being said, Ayaka, I am disappointed that you made no mention of Emiya here before now; surely he goes to your school and you suspected that he might be a Magus like his father. If so, you should have promptly informed the Second Owner or myself of this fact.”
“I understand,” she replied sullenly.
He shook his head. “You curse your fate, Ayaka, but you should rejoice that the Grail has chosen you; with it you can make your dearest wishes come true. And as I told you this morning, you have much to fight for.”
He paused. “But I suppose I should instruct the son of the Magus Killer in what his father apparently did not see fit to mention about the Holy Grail Wars first.”
Both Ayaka and Shirou stiffened at the sound of the epithet, one in distress as it conjured terrible memories in her mind, and the other as his vision of Emiya Kiritsugu was challenged once again.
Besides just telling Shirou the rules of the War in detail, Kotomine was relentless in impressing upon him the lengths that mages would go to win, lengths that Emiya Kiritsugu had gone to.
“Emiya Kiritsugu committed all of these atrocities for the sake of what he foolishly believed to be a better world,” Kirei concluded. “And to that end anything could be sacrificed, be it the lives of countless civilians caught in the crossfire, or those of the Masters who stood in his way, including the young Sajyou Manaka. Yet imagine, Emiya Shirou, what would happen if the Grail were to fall into the hands of a man with even fewer scruples than your father, those motivated purely by their own base interests?”
Shirou’s fists were clenched. “I won’t allow that to happen. I’ll fight, but I won’t let anyone die because of this stupid War! And even if my father lost his way like you say, he saved me and what he believed in was right!”
“So what the Sajyou believed in was wrong?” Kotomine asked. “By all accounts, Sajyou Hiroki, Ayaka’s father, was a good man as mages go, and from the Grail he sought a path to the Root so that he could gain knowledge and an understanding of the world, a desire he surely shared with his eldest daughter. Of course, such an achievement would have also vastly increased the prestige of the Sajyou within the Mage’s Association.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Shirou replied after a moment. “And if someone I can trust ends up winning the Grail I’ll be happy for them. There’s nothing that the Grail can give me that’s worth killing for!”
“Then tell me, Emiya: do you think you can reason with those Masters who are willing to kill all those in their way and sacrifice civilians to achieve their goals? Can you persuade them to surrender or do you have the skill to apprehend them? And what of their Servants? You surely cannot defeat them yourself, and even with Saber they remain formidable foes.”
“Are you telling me to kill the other Masters?!”
“That is merely the simplest solution.”
“Then I’ll find a better one!”
For a long moment, Kotomine’s gaze bored into Shirou, and for a moment the young man feared that the priest had seen through his bravado, for in truth he didn’t know how he would stop such enemies. Was that why his father had become the Magus Killer and failed to become a hero, because killing was expedient?
But Kotomine did not press the point further. Instead, he simply smiled and said, “In any case, Emiya Shirou, your noble desire to protect others brings with it the base need for there to be a clear evil for you oppose. So you too should rejoice at being chosen to fight as a Master in the Holy Grail Wars.”
And then at last Kotomine turned his attention to Ayaka, causing Shirou to feel as if an oppressive weight had been lifted from his shoulder. “And what of you, Sajyou Ayaka? Will you take part as a Master in the Holy Grail War and perhaps bring your late father and sister’s dreams to fruition? Or will you throw away the blessing that the Grail has given you?”
For a moment, Ayaka was sure that she was going to refuse, to renounce her rights as a Master. She had never wanted to get caught up in the War. But no, she was tired of running away and living in fear. She would stand her ground and strike back against those who would try to kill her. And she would make sure that nobody unleashed the same sort of horrors from the Grail as someone had ten years ago, even if it meant fighting Rin or Shirou along the way.
“I’ll…” she started. The words threatened to get choked in her throat, but she steeled herself and forced them out before she could second-guess herself again. “I will be a Master in the Holy Grail War!”
“Then I declare the 5th Holy Grail War to have officially begun.”
---
Upon exiting the church, Ayaka and Shirou were both relieved to see that their Servants had kept their word and hadn’t started a fight while they spoke to Kotomine, but the air seemed tense between them. Saber remained quiet as she looked over to Shirou for a sign of his decision, leaving Caster to break the silence.
“So you decided that you’re going to keep being my Master,” he stated.
“Yes,” Ayaka confirmed.
“That’s good. If you had come out here and severed our pact I probably would have killed you myself. I don’t like cowards or those who would trample my pride. I’ll admit that I was worried for a bit, but it seems that you’re made of sterner stuff than I first gave you credit for, Master. So what are your orders?”
She turned to Shirou. “We should part here. Since I’ve committed myself to the Holy Grail War, that means we’ll have to fight each other eventually, but I’d rather not do so now.”
“That may be so, but I meant it when I said that I don’t want to kill any Masters, Sajyou. Besides, we’ll both have to cross the bridge anyway to get back to Miyama Town. We can stick together until we get there. Besides, it’s dangerous for a girl to be walking around the city at this time of night.”
“I can take care of myself!” she shot back. While he probably meant well, she didn’t want to show any more weakness in front of him now that she had resolved to fight. “I’m a far more capable Magus than you are and I have Caster with me! You should worry more about yourself.”
“That’s true, but won’t it be safer if we go together?”
Why was he so insistent about this?
“Look, Sajyou, I now know that you have every reason to hate what my father did as the Magus Killer. I didn’t even know about any of it until tonight… But he still saved me and me taught me the importance of helping others. And before he died, I made a promise to him, to live up to the ideal that he couldn’t reach in his stead. So please, let me help you.”
“Or maybe you like her, kid.”
"What?” Ayaka felt her face turn a deep red at her Servant’s impertinent remark. That couldn’t be! They were barely more than acquaintances… albeit acquaintances who had both happened to survive the Great Fuyuki Fire and then gotten thrown together into the 5th Holy Grail War. Surely he’d be more interested in a girl like Tohsaka Rin, or that underclassman he seemed friendly with, Matou Sakura (whom she knew to be Rin’s biological sister, for the Sajyou had moved to Fuyuki prior to Sakura’s adoption, though she never spoke of this as Rin had made it clear that the topic was not to be brought up).
“It’s not like that,” Shirou affirmed to her relief.
“If you say so,” Caster shrugged.
And now she was tired of arguing, so she told Shirou, “Fine. You can come along. Let’s get going.”
---
The trip back through Shinto was uneventful, and both Shirou and Ayaka were quiet. The tension between them had eased somewhat, but they were both still somewhat embarrassed from Caster’s antics and ruminating on what had been said inside Kotomine Church
But when they reached the park on the Miyama side of the bridge, where they would have split up, they found that someone was waiting for them, a small girl with pale silvery hair wearing a warm purple coat and hat. She looked harmless at a glance, but Ayaka nonetheless felt gripped by a sudden sense of déjà vu and fear. And when she saw the girl’s red eyes, she knew at once what the girl was – an Einzbern homunculus.
“Good evening, brother. And good evening to you too, Sajyou Ayaka. I didn’t expect to find both of you together. My name is Illyasviel von Einzbern.”
Ayaka’s instincts were screaming at her to run, but she couldn’t do that. She had committed to being a Master, and with a thought Caster materialized at her side.
“I’m pleased to see that you’ve both summoned Servants,” Ilyasviel continued, sounding genuinely happy. “It wouldn’t be much fun if you couldn’t fight back. But even so, both of your Servants at once will be no match for Berserker!”
And then it appeared, a hulking figure wielding a massive stone sword, surely capable of cutting them in two (and for a moment Ayaka saw a vivid image of her bisected corpse lying on the pavement in her mind’s eye) or even smashing or crushing them with its bare fists. It wore little armor, save for tassets around its waist and what looked like manacles around its wrists and ankles, but its skin seemed quite tough, like it was armor itself. And its wild mane of hair and glowing red eye were testaments to its madness, as was the overwhelming killing intent that radiated from it, somehow held in check for now by Illyasviel.
“Get them, Berserker!”
“________________________!” Berserker roared.
The monster lunged forward, moving faster than a truck, and for a moment Ayaka thought that it was the end for her and Shirou, but his Servant moved swiftly, meeting Berserker’s huge sword with her own invisible blade, straining with all of her might against it.
“Let’s go, Master!” Caster urged. “Saber will keep Berserker occupied for a few minutes. Use that time to strike!” And with that he quickly traced the rune Algiz into the air, followed by Ehwaz and a third rune that she didn’t recognize, and held out his staff, using it as a Mystic Code to amplify their effects. The runes glowed briefly with power for a moment before fading, and Ayaka felt that power settle upon her, creating a defensive Bounded Field around her person and Reinforcing her body, granting her increased durability and agility.
“It’s crude, but I don’t have time to fashion some more permanent protection for you now.” He turned to leap into the fray. “Just stay clear of Berserker, Master – the Field won’t last long against his blows, and while it will soften them, they may still be strong enough to seriously injure or kill you outright if you’re unlucky.”
And then Caster was off. But he called his Bounded Field and Reinforcement crude? He had accomplished in moments something that would have been a complex task for her, if she could even create a Field remotely of such quality at all, and Rin would probably have to use up some of her precious jewels to make something comparable, which would probably still fall short of Caster’s work. It just went to show how much greater the mysteries of old were to the Magecraft of the modern era. As Caster’s Master, she could sense that there was Divinity within him, and during the Age of the Gods Magecraft had been even more powerful still, coming close to True Magic. Yet Caster himself seemed to be but a demigod, and from what she knew of the rune-using cultures, their most famous heroes had lived around the twilight of that age or shortly after it had passed.
“________________________!” Berserker roared again as he saw Caster moving toward him, snapping Ayaka’s attention back to the fight at hand.
Right. If she could beat Illyasviel while Saber and Caster kept Berserker occupied, they could pull through this. On her own, she had no doubts that Illyasviel could beat her in a straight fight, but she was protected by Caster, and that gave her hope. And so she darted forward and to the side with supernatural speed, leaving Shirou behind to helplessly look on as the three Heroic Spirits fought, with Saber weaving in and out of Berserker’s range as she tried to land a decisive blow, and Caster conjuring a wall of flames and displaying impressive agility as well to deliver some heavy strikes with his staff, though they barely seemed to faze Berserker.
“So you’re bringing the fight to me?” Illyasviel asked as she saw Ayaka’s approach. “Then let’s see how you deal with these!” she shouted, conjuring a pair of silvery bird familars.
Ayaka was ready for a trick like that, and quickly fired a storm of feathers at them. It was a direct hit, shredding one of the familiars and causing it to explode. The other counterattacked, but Ayaka swiftly leapt to the side and then destroyed it with another volley.
“Impressive. I guess I’ll have to add some more,” Illya said, pulling some more strands of hair from her head and creating four familars.
Now Ayaka found herself hard-pressed, even with Caster’s enhancements. With the amount of crossfire coming at her from the familars, she was forced to seek cover. The Bounded Field around her absorbed what would have been several deadly hits, but she knew that it couldn’t last forever, and whenever she managed to shoot down one of Illyasviel’s familiars her opponent simply made another one almost effortlessly. It was clear that Illyasviel remained on a completely different level than her as a Magus, and that she would eventually wear her defenses down and triumph when Ayaka tired and depleted her prana.
“________________________!” Berserker bellowed in pain as Saber managed to run him through and Caster followed up by leaping high into the air and crushing Berserker’s skull under a strike empowered by his runes. Ayaka couldn’t believe it. Had they won?
“You managed to kill Berserker two times?” Illya asked in annoyance. “Well it doesn’t matter: my Berserker is Hercules, and he has one life for each of the twelve labors that he performed. Now get back up and kill them, Berserker!”
And already, Berserker was regenerating, the hole in his chest sealing itself and his skull rapidly reforming. And then he was back into the fight, and launched Saber back with a savage blow, causing her to land with enough force to put a small crater into the park’s brick path. And now it looked like Shirou was about to do something incredibly stupid, as he moved to put himself between Berserker and Saber. Didn’t he realize that he would just get himself killed and that Saber would then disappear shortly thereafter?
But suddenly, a knife flew through the air, seemingly from out of nowhere, heading directly for Illya, only to be shot out of the air by one of her familiars at the last moment. And then there was another, and Berserker immediately returned to Illya’s side, protecting her from the attack with his massive body. The Masters could sense killing intent all around them as Illyasviel’s attackers moved from the their concealment, white skull masks gleaming in the night.
Assassin?
It had to be Assassin. But there were now dozens of Assassins around them, and none of them looked the same as the one who had tried to kill Ayaka earlier that night. But something else was wrong, for malevolently glowing red veins were etched across their dark figures and their once pristine masks.
Saber was even more dumbfounded than Ayaka and her Master. She recognized these Assassins: they were the same ones that she had encountered during the 4th Holy Grail War. How could they have persisted for ten years? Incarnation? But she too sensed that there was something terribly wrong with them, that the Servants before her had somehow been corrupted and bent to the will of an evil power.
One of the Assassins, a female with long hair, emerged from the group while the others engaged Berserker, forcing him to keep defending Illya, and stepped toward Shirou. But the Assassin did not attack, and began speaking.
“Master of Saber and his ally: retreat now with your Servants if you value your lives. It would displease our Master greatly if you were to die here.”
Last edited by Magus; August 9th, 2015 at 10:51 PM.
Not Magus! Magic Emperor Magus!
wait what
why are the 4th war hassans cocking around still
That's an influence of Fate/Prototype on this story… in which the Servants from the last war were around still, in a state similar to the blackened / Alter Servants in Fate/Stay Night. So say hello to Hassan Alter / Dark Assassin!
Last edited by Magus; July 31st, 2015 at 10:29 AM.
Not Magus! Magic Emperor Magus!
I'm shivering in anticipation now.
Can't wait for the next chapter now you cheeky bastard :^ )
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