Blades of Fate
The only thing that wasn't part of the calculations was— that the Heroic Spirit EMIYA, had come to the present time in the Archer class.
Fate/stay night or Fate/zero does not belong to me.
I am the flesh and bone of my own sword.
Steel flows through my body, and fire is what courses through my blood.
I have created over a thousand blades.
Unknown to death.
Nor known to life.
Power uproot the mountains, blades divide the waters.
Many times I have withstood enormous pain to create thousands of weapons.
And yet, those hands that have braved so much will never hold anything.
So as I pray now, I call forth 'Unlimited Blade Works'.
When I came to. I was in a burning field.
I guess there was a big fire.
The familiar town had turned to ashes and itlooked like the remains of a battlefield from a movie.
But that didn't last long either.
The fire had died down by the time the sun rose.
The fall wall of flame had shortened, and most of the buildings had fallen.
...It felt strange, being the only thing in that place that still had its origional form.
I was the only one still alive around here.
I must have been really lucky, or my house was built in a very lucky spot.
I don't know which it was, but the point is, I was the only one left alive.
I felt that since I survived. I should live on.
I started walking aimlessly, because I thought it would be dangerous just to stay there.
I wasn't really concerned about getting burned up like the people lying around me.
...Probably because, over and above not wanting to be like them. I had a stronger geeling in my mind.
But still, I had no hope.
It was already a wonder I was still alive, so I couldn't expect to be saved.
I won't survive.
Whatever happens, I won't be able to escape from this red world.
It was such an absolute hell that even a small child could understand it.
And I collapsed.
Was it because there was no air? Was it because no function was left in my body?
Anyway, I collapsed and started up at the clouded sky.
Everything around me was burned up and I could see many shriveled people.
The dark clouds loomed overhead, telling me it would rain soon.
...That's good. The fire will be put out once it rains.
In the end, I sighed deeply and looked up at the sky.
I say to myself that it hurts.
I say so on the behalf of all the people who couldn't even say so.
That was years ago.
After that, I was miraculously saved.
My body survived.
But I think all the other things about me burned up and were reduced to ashes.
If you take away a child's parents, home, and all such things, there's nothing left for him.
That's why there was only my body.
I think it's a simple story.
In other words, in order to let my body live...
My heart died.
Act 1
In the underground workshop of the Tosaka residence...
Now thou cloaked in the three great word spirits hailing from the seven heavens, come forth to me !
With this as the end of his prayers, Tokiomi felt that the acceleration of the prana that raced in his body had reached its uttermost limit.
Beside him were the Kotomine father and son Risei and Kirei.
In the pressure of a gale that wouldn t even allow onlookers such as Kirei to open their eyes, the patterns of the summoning circle glimmered with brilliant light.
Finally, the Magic Circuits connected from the dazzling light that endlessly shone forth, a red silhouette of a dark-skinned man emerged. Awed with such solemnity, he muttered amused despite himself.
" Fantastic that's just my luck. I've been summoned by a peculiar master. "
The wish was passed onto them like this.
Leaning over the shadow of the vegetation, Assassin returned from spirit form to physical form, exposing his bony mask and tall, lean figure. He can feel many "eyes" all over him from afar, different from the bounded field of the Tosaka residence. The familiars of other Masters must be observing the Tosaka residence from outside the barriers. As long as he remains unnoticed from Tokiomi himself, there is no need to worry about any Peeping Toms. Tokiomi's rivals disputing the Grail would never warn him of Assassin's infiltration. If one competitor drops, the others should remain unconcerned spectators.
Snickering without a sound, Assassin extends his hand at the first keystone that binds the barri
The next instant, that hand was pierced through by an arrow flying from above, shining like a flash of lightning.
"... h!"
An intense pain, terror, and above all, shock. The simple spear strike was completely unexpected, and Assassin swung his head upward, looking for the thrower.
No, there is no need to search.
On top of the roof of the Tosaka residence, stands a red shadow.
The rage of being wounded made Assassin forget the pain, but he could only fear the overwhelming coercion.
"Must I remind you of my class?"
The man asks indifferently to the Assassin hidden on the ground, looking down at him with a pair of gray eyes.
Around the red shadow, two glows appeared as an intricate work of art.
Archer used one hand to grasp and softly raise the sleek black longbow that had appeared, reaching for Caladbolg with the other.
The sword believed to be the source for King Arthur's sword Excalibur had twisted to become a blade of which the sword coils into a spiral that can penetrate any target.
It had twisted to become aerodynamic.
It had twisted to become Caladbolg II.
"I am the flesh and bone of my own sword."
Once he chanted the spell that activated the magecraft, the treasured weapon about to be mounted within the sleek black longbow twisted again.
The blade crackled with power from its bow-mounted position as its energy output increased.
It had twisted to become broken.
And it was aimed at Assassin.
Slashing through the air in a howl, the broken blade propelled towards Assassin accompanied by a mighty windm.
Assassin felt the eyes. The familiars observing from outside the place. The first Servant to fall in the fourth War of the Holy Grail meets an unsightly end without even a retort, witnessed by the other Masters.
And at the last moment, Assassin understood. The true intention of his Master, Kirei Kotomine, and... of the leader, Tokiomi Tosaka.
Relaxing in a comfortable chair of his room, Tosaka Tokiomi listened to the roar of the Broken Phantasm drilling the ground, tearing flesh to pieces.
"After all that, I wasn't able to summon the king amongst kings."
The magus muttered to himself.
"You need to let this go."
Just by its presence, the red figure stands out in the dimly lit surroundings, like the one on the roof that just executed the invader. Turning into spirit form to come back to Tokiomi's room, then again in physical form, the Servant Archer stood beside his Master, who bore a satisfied face.
The figure looking around is tall and dark-skinned, wearing holy burial cloth as a red cloak. He is a young man with white hair. His eyes, gray like thunder clouds.
"It's not like I'm disappointed in you or anything it's that I'm disappointed in myself for not obtaining what I wanted."
Tokiomi stands up from his chair and bows respectfully, yet elegantly.
Always keep your elegance this is a family precept handed down for generations for the Tosaka family.
As a Master to the summoned Servant, those were manners more humble than expected. But Tosaka Tokiomi expressed his gratitude without reserve to the heroic spirit he had summoned.
Tokiomi took a small sip of tea, and immediately complimented it with wide open eyes.
"You do know how to make tea, it's excellent Archer."
At Tokiomi s apparent evaluation, he did not feel insulted at all.
"Well I'm glad that you liked it."
Refusing to reply, Tokiomi merely laughed and finished his delicious tea in a single gulp.
"...Archer isn't your name, it's just the class that you're from."
Confident, Tokiomi stated without fear.
"Mm."
"As your Master, it's essential to know as much about you as possible that includes knowing which particular Heroic Spirit you are. It's not possible that what you're telling me is that you still don't remember what your own personal history is"
"I don't know, I just know that my memories are still a bit jumbled but don't worry, I don't seem to be missing anything important. It'll be fine."
His statement that his memories were vague was halfway true and halfway false. He no longer possessed his although he can still remember some key events such as being saved by Kiritsugu Emiya and that he once was in love with a girl named Saber. He reasoned out his situation and realized that he may have the opportunity to achieve his goal. This was affirmed when the man who summoned him introduced himself as Tokiomi Tosaka.
"It's not fine, if I don't know who you were it will make formulating a strategy incredibly difficult."
With a tone of abject annoyance, Tokiomi spat in a suppressed voice.
"There's only one thing I can say to counter that..."
"And that is?"
"That you are an excellent Master with both spells and sheer power I'm sure you're the strongest candidate... and as the Servant summoned by such a Master how can I be anything less than the most powerful of my ranking."
Although he didn t know why, at least he knew Archer was complimenting him. Tokiomi coyly deflected it.
"Flattery will get you nowhere."
"I am just simply letting forth the facts."
"I guess the upside is that our enemies won't know your true idenity either."
Tokiomi conceded.
"And the outcome of tonight's event will save us a lot of complications. Having witnessed the power of Archer, no stray dog will try to bite in vain."
"Mm."
Archer appreciated the truth in Tokiomi's words. Tokiomi and his upright attitude, also has no hope in this era. The Counter Guardian could understand that.
"In a little while, the field beasts will understand who the hunting lion really is. Please have patience until then."
"Very well. I will just walk off my boredom."
At Archer's words, Tokiomi glossed over his slight irritation with a sour look.
Certainly, the Servant he has contracted with is strong. But he gives him headaches when he wanders away for his curiosity. In the present world, he hasn't spent even one whole night quietly in the Tosaka mansion. Tokiomi devoted much effort to keeping Archer inside the mansion for Assassin's raid tonight.
"... So, what do you think of the city?"
"It's a great spot."
With that declaration, Archer turned his heels and cancelled his physical form, vanishing like a mist.
"Well, this is fine. For the time being, I will do as you say. I will leave the details to you, Tokiomi."
Tokiomi dropped his head at the shadow voice without a shadow. He didn't stop his reverence until the presence of the heroic spirit had disappeared from the room.
"... Well, well."
The magus sighed deeply when the pressure from the golden man went away. Servants receive certain skills when a class is attributed for the heroic spirit in the present world. Those skills are abilities such as Assassin's "Presence Concealment", Caster's "Territory Creation", Saber's and Rider's "Riding". By the same way, a Servant being assigned the class Archer in the present world possesses the unique skill of "Independent Action".
This ability means he is capable of being severed from the Master supplying prana and act in autonomy; this is useful, for example, if a Master needs to concentrate all of his prana for a single large spell, or if the Master is injured and unable to supply enough prana. Yet on the other hand, it becomes harder for the Master to have the Servant accompany him and be completely under his control.
Archer's skill of Independent Action is ranked B. With this alone, he can use Noble Phantasms at will in battle and remain in the present world, without the Master's back-up... But by having this, he was able to ignore Tokiomi's inclination and stroll around in Fuyuki City as he wished. Constantly apart from each other, Tokiomi can never be aware of his own Servant's whereabouts, or of what he is doing.
"Anyway, for now, I can have Kirei handle it. Everything is going as planned for the moment."
Snickering, Tokiomi looks down at the garden through the window. The excess of destruction gouged when Assassin crept in made the scene look like it had been bombed.
Disappointed by how quickly it had ended, Waver Velvet opened his eyes.
Until a moment ago, he was spying over the complete turn in the scene at the Tosaka mansion.
How could he have understood anything in that instant?
For starters, the attack that sent Assassin into oblivion is probably a Noble Phantasm. Even through the eyes of the familiar, he had perceived a huge burst of prana.
Yet the weapon that poured down on Assassin?
"... Hey, Rider, Servants usually have just one Noble Phantasm, right?"
"Generally, yes. Sometimes, there are heroic spirits who managed to get two or three. I myself, for example, am one of this case."
That's right, the night he arrived in the present world, Rider showed Waver a Noble Phantasm and said it wasn't his only trump card.
"Eh, there's no sense in considering the number of Noble Phantasms. As you must know, Noble Phantasms are the crystallization of the historical facts and anecdotes that made the heroic spirit famous, but that doesn't have to be a weapon; it can be a specific ability or a unique mean of attacking."
"... So, turning a sword into an arrow could be a "Noble Phantasm"?"
"Alteration, eh? That could happen. It has the potential of being one "Noble Phantasm", yes."
Still, what defeated Assassin is yet again something different. That wasn't a Alteration.
"Oh well, that's fine, we'll know when we figure out the true identity of the enemy."