Greetings Internets. I wrote this as a birthday request from a friend. Their birthday is technically tomorrow, but its July 4th and all, so I'm releasing it today (If you're not American, July 4th is basically a holiday where Americans get the day off to act disgustingly American).
I was originally planning on doing a oneshot, but than I started getting ideas so...how I proceed will depend on you guys and gals. Any future updates will depend entirely on how the poll at the end does.
If you read Ashbell, then yes, unfortunately the next chapter was delayed because I was trying to get this in time for my friend's birthday.
Much of the text is based on the F/GO translation site. All credit to them for their wonderful work.
Also, obvious F/GO spoilers are obvious.
Well, regardless, enjoy and review (or don't)
Prologue
"What did you think of my father?"
The girl with distinct, red-orange hair and amber eyes asked the woman with long, black hair. In response, the woman gave a bitter smile.
"He was a fool. One who gave up what was most precious to him for the sake of his justice…I suppose he could have been called a hero as well. There isn't much difference between the two after all"
It wasn't the first time the girl had asked the question, nor was it the first time the woman had given that response. Normally the conversation would end there, but—
"No, that's no right…"
—Today, the girl continued to speak. She expressed what she had been thinking ever since she had fallen into the care of the dark haired woman.
"…I could forgive a fool. But I'd never forgive a hero"
A girl trudged through the thick snow with minimal effort. Even though it was in the middle of summer, the ground upon which she walked was covered in the cold, cotton-like substance because of the altitude the girl was currently traveling in.
"According to the map, it should be a few more kilometers north…"
The orange-haired girl paused for a moment to check her map. Despite the temperature hovering around zero degrees, she was dressed in a white long sleeved shirt and a black skirt, the uniform and mystic code that had been provided to her in the mail one month ago. In such attire, one would normally freeze to death in a matter of minutes, but she kept her temperature in check with some simple magecraft.
"…Ah, there it is. As expected of the prestigious Animusphere family, it's huge"
Huge it was. A hulking structure of metal that seemed to have no place in the remote mountains was built into the side of the tallest mountain in the range. Perhaps more impressive was the first rate Bounded Field that surrounded the facility. Even in Clock Tower a field superior to this one probably couldn't be found.
But that was to be expected. The Chaldea Security Organization worked to prevent the end of the world. If their headquarters were left vulnerable, they couldn't hope to prevent the apocalypse.
"Tsk, I'm late. I guess I better hurry up then"
Seemingly talking to no one, the girl enforced her legs with magecraft and hopped toward the facility with agility and speed that would put a mountain goat to shame.
*Step Step*
The soft sound of the girl's footsteps rang out as she walked through the halls of Chaldea. After entering the facility, she had been instructed by the staff to head for the control room, since the director was apparently making announcement in a few minutes.
"Where the hell is the control room though?"
"I memorized the map earlier. Take a left here" A rasping voice told the girl.
No, that was not quite right, for no sound had made. Rather, it was a voice that reverberated directly to the girl's brain.
"It's surprising to see you in a good mood gramps. Something good happen?" The girl asked blandly as she headed down the left corridor.
"One of my long desired dreams is about to come to pass. Or rather, you will fulfil that dream for me"
"Yes, yes. I don't really have any interest in this dream of yours, but I suppose a deal is a deal" The girl rolled her eyes, only half listening to the voice.
"Fou! Fuu! Fou!"
'The cry of some animal?'
Before the girl could fully process that thought, a white blur leapt at her.
"Fou—gh!?
Reacting purely on instinct, the girl caught the animal midair in a death grip. It struggled violently in her hands and yet looked strangely pleased for some reason. The animal was white with a blue cloth wrapped around its neck. It looked like some sort of bizarre cross between a fox, a squirrel, and a sheep.
"This isn't a natural animal…some sort of familiar?" The girl muttered aloud as she examined the strange beast.
"….."
"Hm?"
Having been distracted by the white animal(?), the girl was slower than normal to notice that there was someone staring at her from behind a corner. It was a glasses-wearing girl with short, purple-pink hair which covered her right eye. She was dressed in a lab coat, suggesting that she worked in the research sector of the facility.
"…."
"….You are?"
"That was a hard question right off the bat, so I'll pass on answering. I'm not someone whose name is worth mentioning…or something?" The lab wearing girl replied
"That's just going to make me more curious…"
"Oh, I apologize. It's just I rarely have a chance to use my name…So like, I can't really make an interesting introduction or anything like that…" The lab wearing girl trailed off.
"?" The girl only tilted her head in confusion.
"Ahem. Either way, is that all, Senpai?"
'Senpai?' The girl's confusion only grew.
"Fou! Kyu, Kyuu~!" The cries of the strange white creature in her hand distracted the girl from the conversation.
"I forgot. We've yet to introduce you haven't we, Four. This squirrel-like one is Four. He's a Very Important Creature (VIC) that freely strolls through the halls of Chaldea." The lab coat wearing girl said blandly.
"I-Is that so? Sorry, I didn't know he was so important" The girl said as she gently let Four onto the ground. He circled around the girl a few times before running off.
"He usually doesn't approach anyone but me, so he must like you. Don't worry about it senpai"
"I-I see…" The girl said, looking in the direction Four had run off in. 'It likes me after I crushed it in my hand? What a strange creature…'
"Ah, that's where you were, Mashu. That's no good, you have to make sure you get permission before you move…" The girl's thoughts were again cut off when a man in a green suit walked into the corridor. With a top hat and cane, he looked like some rich nobleman.
'Considering where this is, he very well might be…tsk, this might be troublesome'
"Oh? Looks like there was someone here already. You're…I see, you're a recruit who's been assigned here today aren't you?" The man turned his slitted eyes toward the girl. "I'm Lev Reynolds. I'm one of the technicians working here."
'Lev…sounds vaguely familiar. Affiliated with Clock Tower if I'm not mistaken. Must be fairly well known if even I've heard of him.'
The man seemed approachable enough, but something about him seemed a bit off for some reason.
'No, it's the fact that he's approachable that's off' The girl realized, remembering something that had been told to her some time ago:
"Magus are inherently selfish. If you meet a nice-seeming magus, it's probably because they want something from you"
"…and pray tell, what is your name miss?" Lev asked politely.
"It's Illyasviel" The girl replied with frost in her voice.
"Ah…then that means you must be…hmm? Pardon me, but you are Japanese, are you not? From your name, I had assumed you would be…" Lev trailed off.
"I'm named after my aunt, who was German. Disappointed?" The girl asked scathingly. It was no secret that magus looked down upon those of the Far East.
"Certainly not. Your track record matters more than your pedigree here" Lev answered.
'He's definitely suspicious. I'll have to keep an eye on him' The girl thought. No magus, especially one from Clock Tower, would ever say that. Unless they were an especially peculiar case.
"Besides, not everyone here is a fully fledged magus" Lev continued "There 38 people from noble magi families, but 10 are just civilians with aptitude to quantum spirit dive. You are certainly not the worst off here in terms of lineage"
"Oh?"
That certainly piqued the girl's interest. For a magus organization to involve civilians was extremely rare. Normally the Association would forbid such a thing.
"Ah, but we can't just stand here talking. I'm sorry to rush you when you've just got here, but the chief's briefing is starting. You'll need to attend quickly too" Lev said with an apologetic smile.
"Yes. It's a form of greeting to all Master candidates who, like you, Illyasviel-senpai, were recruited here" The girl in the lab coat, Mashu, said.
"Pretty much, this is tutorial number one from the organization's boss to all the restless newcomers." Lev clarified
"The chief's the kind that'd not forgive the slightest fault after all. If you make a mistake, you'll have eyes on you for a year, so listen to her instructions carefully" Lev said as he turned to leave "The briefing will start in five minutes in the central control room. Head straight through this corridor. Hurry up."
"Professor Lev. Am I allowed to attend the briefing?" Mashu called after the retreating magus.
"Mm? Well, if you stand in the corner I'm sure they'd look the other way…Why?"
"I just thought that I should guide her to the control room."
"Well, if Mashu wants to do that then it's fine. Are you okay with that, Miss Illya?' Lev asked
"It's Illyasviel" The girl said coldly
"My bad. Miss Illyasviel do you have any complaints or questions?" Lev asked apologetically.
"Hmm….Why does she call me senpai?" The girl asked, looking at Mashu.
"…"
"Oh, don't worry about that. For a girl like her, any old person around your age would definitely be considered a senpai" Lev said cryptically.
"As I expected then. That girl is…" A voice rasped in the girl's mind.
"Though she doesn't call anyone else senpai…I'm starting to wonder myself too. Hey, Mashu. Why do you call this girl senpai?" Lev asked
"A…reason? I'm not sure but…senpai seems to be very reliable" Mashu answered.
"I see, that's very important! I agree with Mashu though. Even if we put your prior accomplishments aside, you seem like a fine young woman. We'll get along great here" Lev said with a laugh. The girl wasn't sure if that would be a good thing.
"Anyone Professor Lev likes is the type of person the chief will hate, though…" Mashu said carefully "…At this point, what do you say to hiding yourself in the toilet and boycotting the meeting?"
"Is the chief really that scary?" The girl asked.
"Olga isn't that bad. Just try jumping into the lion's den, Miss Illyasviel. She's a charming enough person if you get used to her." Lev answered as they entered a massive room.
It was lit with neon blue lights and in the center was a large, spherical device of unknown purpose. Around the sphere were several chairs, most of them already occupied by individuals of varying nationalities. The girl could tell from their uniforms that most of the people were from Atlas, but there were some from Clock Tower and even one from the Sea of Estray.
'Well I suppose it's only natural that Atlas is the most heavily involved in an organization seeking to stop the end of the world' The girl thought.
"Quite. You should steer clear of them. They'd love to dissect you if they knew what you were"
'Acknowledged gramps'
"This is the central control room. Senpai, your number is...based on this, you have a front row seat. Please head to the open spot in the front row" Mashu said, guiding the girl to the front of the chairs.
"Thanks" The girl headed to her seat, leaving Mashu to stand with Lev.
*Step Step*
Just as the girl sat down, an elegant woman with white hair strode in front of the seated crowd. She looked to be in her twenties, and had a haughtiness about her that was typical for magus.
"Good, it seems all members are now present" The woman declared in a strong voice
"Chaldea welcomes you all. I am Chief Olga Marie Animusphere. Each and every one of you here possess a unique set of talents, and have been handpicked from all around the globe. The talent refers to your aptitude in performing Spiritual Dives, as well as the possession of Magic Circuits, making you Master candidates. You are a new batch of Magi with the unprecedented mix of scientific and magical aptitude alignments"
'Soooo boring' The girl thought to herself 'Hey gramps, how about I sleep and you tell me anything important that gets said?'
"Zzzzz"
'Oh, come on! I know you don't sleep!'
"….Chaldea is under my jurisdiction. Your birth status and past achievements do not matter here. My orders are absolute" Olga continued.
"What is this, this is not what we were told! Weren't we chosen for our outstanding talent and expertise!? We were buttered up, and agreed to come all the way here to the middle of nowhere, and now you demand our absolute obedience? Stop kidding yourself!" One of the recruits complained.
"Exactly, this is crossing the line! A Mage's bloodline is what defines them, yet you expect us to ignore it!?" Another recruit complained.
"Silence, I did not permit you to speak!" Olga shouted above the complaints "Those that are unsatisfied, feel free to leave Chaldea! We don't have the resources to send flights back, however, so I hope you're fine with trekking through kilometers of alpine tundra!"
At that, all signs of unrest disappeared from the recruits. Except for the girl, who had a slightly bitter look.
'They had flights to Chaldea? Why the hell did I hike up then?'
"Today is the day. The day where Chaldea will leave the mark of a grand achievement in humanity's history. We will not be a mere stepping stone in the development of civilizations. We will be the hands of God whom protects them." Olga continued her speech
"Chaldea has achieved countless breakthroughs to date, such as the magical device used to monitor the past, Laplace. Chaldean Projection, which displays a model of Earth's environment. Completion of the Future Observation Lens, Shiva. Heroic Spirit summoning system, the Fate Construct, and the launch of the Spiritual Computator, Trismegistus. With the help of these technology, we at Chaldea have observed humanity's progress hundreds of years into the future. Whatever the future holds, our job is to ensure that even hundreds of years later, humanity will continue progressing. Please look up. This is Chaldea's greatest achievement to date" Olga said, pointing to the device in the center of the room.
Turning on, a globe was projected in the center of the device, with lights glowing all around it.
"Created with the use of advanced magical theories, a projection Earth's environmental model, this is Chaldea. Its current state is set to reflect hundreds of years from now. This Chaldea may very well be the future of Earth itself. As long as the light of civilization remains lit within Chaldea, humanity's presence for hundreds of years to come is guaranteed. I mean, as long as the lights are lit, it would mean that cities are functioning, people are living, and that civilization is progressing" Olga explained. "But-Lev, normalize Shiva's polarization angle"
At Olga's instructions, Lev fiddled with a control panel and the light's on the projected globe suddenly went out.
"What?!"
"H-How can this be!?"
Panicked whispers broke out amongst the crowd upon seeing this.
"Hmm. Nice response. I'm glad you catch on quick. There being no light means that civilization has stopped functioning. According to our observations, the last observable civilization activity is only a few years from now" Olga said.
At her words, the whispers turned into shouts of dismay.
"Silence!"
Olga's calm order was enough to silence the crowd.
"If I may continue, this collapse of society should be impossible. There is no notable economic collapse, nor is there any major seismic activity. Humanity just stopped functioning one day."
"What?"
"Then how could—"
"…"
"…"
The murmurs were quelled by a fiery glare from Olga.
"The cause, as it turns out, is in the past. We have looked for events which didn't match up with our current history, events that shouldn't have happened on our current Earth. As a result, we have observed some anomalous events taking place here" At Olga's words, the globe zoomed in on a certain location.
"Spatial Singularity F. Year 2004 AD, in a city within Japan." Olga declared.
"Fuyuki City…?" The girl mumbled aloud, recognizing the location.
"2004…hmph, that Holy Grail War huh? How unpleasant" A voice rasped in the girl's mind.
"Chaldea labelled this as a potential cause of humanity's eradication, and have carried out Rayshifting experiments to reach it" Olga continued, not noticing the girl's dismay "Rayshifting is the process of converting a human into spiritual form, and transferring them into the past to intervene with certain events. In other words, time travel"
'Oi oi, this is starting to sound like some science fiction novel'
"I believe everyone has gotten a gist of the situation. Your mission will be to investigate this Singularity Point F. Traverse into the Japan of the past, locate the anomaly which will cause humanity's extinction, and destroy it" Olga said with fervor
"This is an unprecedented mission. However, this shouldn't be an issue for all of you who have been chosen from across the globe. I place all of our hopes on you as week work together as fellow heroes"
"Hmph…ha ha….AHAHAHAHA!"
Disdainful laughter began to echo through the control room. Naturally, its source was the girl.
"You! What do you find so amusing!" Olga stomped up to the girl and demanded an explanation.
"I came here expecting some professional, but you just seem like a girl trapped in her own fantasies of grandeur"
"W-What!?"
"If you want us to clean up a mess, that's fine. But leave this talk of being heroes behind. Quite frankly, it's disgusting"
"Y-You…What's your team!? Let me see your ID!"
At Olga's words, the girl took out her ID card and handed it to the chief.
"Illyasviel E.T. Makiri…total training time….What is this, this must've been a mistake! You're merely a standard cooperator, and you don't even have education in physics nor any virtual training! Do you think Chaldea is a joke!? There is no way an amateur like you could make it in!" Olga exclaimed.
"Ah…director? This one is a special case" Lev said as he walked up to the two women.
"Lev! Lev Reynolds! Get this amateur out of my sight immediately!" Olga yelled.
"Please calm down director. While she doesn't have any virtual training, the girl has plentiful practical experience being a Master. She was the victor of the Sixth Holy Grail War after all"
"…W-What…?" Olga stammered.
"Should I mention I was seven at the time?" The girl asked with a smirk. Of course she hadn't won the war without a lot of help, but she choose to keep that unsaid.
"Right…Miss Illyasviel also has experience working as a Sealing Designation Enforcer and has briefly worked with the Burial Agency. Honestly, I doubt anyone here is more capable than her for this kind of work" Lev continued.
"B-But…!"
"She also has received recommendations from several notable magi, such as Rin Tohsaka and—"
"Ahh, I get it! But at least put her through basic training! The work we do here is unlike anything else!" Olga said with a huff
"...Ugh. I loath to do this, but there's nothing else I can do. Let's follow her orders for the moment" Lev said apologetically as he guided the girl out of the room.
"It's fine. If I had to hear any more of that speech I'd probably fall asleep" The girl whispered.
"Is that so?" Lev said with a wry smile, before turning to Mashu "Mashu, can you assign Miss Illyasviel a private room?"
"I understand the situation. I just need to assign Senpai a private room?" Mashu came up to the pair and asked
"I'm counting on you. I have to oversee the Rayshift preparations" Lev said "Don't worry, this experiment will only take two hours at most. I will pay you a visit in your room afterwards"
"Professor Lev is really thoughtful, aren't you? By any chance, is Professor Lev Senpai's Senpai?" Mashu asked
"No, no. I'm just doing what I should. After all, I believe it is important for me to cherish our fated encounter. Ah, but you have done some work for Clock Tower so I suppose I could be considered a senpai in that regard?" Lev wondered aloud as he headed back to the control room.
"This way, Senpai. I'll assign Senpai a Senpai room exclusively for Senpai's use" Mashu said.
"I feel like you're enjoying this a bit too much…"
"You must be mistaken. Anyway, I shall guide you to your—kyaah!?"
"Fou!"
Mashu let out a yelp as Four charged at her and leapt up to her face.
"Are you…okay?" The girl asked
"N, no, this happens all the time, nothing to worry about" Mashu replied "Four-san's surprise attacks on my face always finish with him wrapping around my back and calming down on my shoulder."
"You seem used to it" The girl noted
"Yes. After all, it's been a year since Four-san's settled down here in Chaldea."
"Fou, Fou!"
"Fu fu. It seems as if Four-san wants to help show you around too, senpai"
After walking for a few minutes the trio came to a stop in front of a nondescript door.
"This will be your working quarters from now on, senpai" Mashu said, handing the girl a keycard for the door
"I see. Thanks for everything then"
"It was nothing. If you request it, senpai, I'll even do things like bringing you a boxed lunch if you want." Mashu said with a nod
'How very…kouhai-like'
"Kyuu...Kyu!" Four cried out from Mashu's shoulder.
"Yes, Four-san will be watching over you too, senpai. From here on you'll be in good hands" Mashu said with a light smile, before turning to leave "Well, this is as far as I go. If we're lucky, maybe we'll be able to meet again"
"I look forward to it. See you later Mashu" The girl waved the self-proclaimed kouhai good-bye.
"Child…I wouldn't get too close to that one" A voice rasped in the girl's mind.
'Really? I didn't sense anything suspicious about her' The girl replied
"No, it's nothing like that. It's just…you won't get anything good out of getting close to someone like that. Take it as advice based on personal experience from an older magus"
'I don't really get it but…okay?' The voice usually never gave advice about anything besides magecraft, so the fact that it brought up Mashu meant it was probably important.
Still mulling over the voice's advice, the girl opened the door before her and—
"Eeh, ueeeeeee!? W-Who're you!? Why are you here!?"
—Almost ran straight into a young man. He wore a lab coat and had light red hair, olive green eyes, and a girlish face. He looked only a few years older than the girl.
Startled by the girl's sudden entrance, the man dropped a stack of magazines he was carrying. With bright, bubbly, pink covers, it was clear that they were—
"Ah…AAAAH!" With a yelp, the man quickly leapt over the pile of dropped magazines, covering them with his prone body "T-T-This is a vacant room, it's my break spot, isn't it!? S-Shouldn't you warn a guy before coming in!?"
"…No, this is my room. Who the hell are you?" The girl responded with a glare that would put an ice age to shame.
"Your room? Here? Ah...right, finally, the last of those kids showed up...W-Well then, pleased to meet you miss…?" The man looked in askance to the girl.
"My friends call my Illyasviel. You can call me Makiri-sama" The girl said, her cold gaze not letting up an inch.
"Uwaah! E-Even scarier than the chief…b-but this feeling…it's not bad…" The man mumbled to himself.
"…" The girl's glare grew even colder, bordering absolute zero.
"Yeek!...A-Anyway, I'm the head of the medical division, Romani Akkiman. For some reason everyone just calls me Dr. Roman, though" The doctor introduced himself "Well, I say that, but you can feel free to call me Roman too if you like. Roman has a nice ring to it. Somehow it's got this sort of sweet, cool, careless feeling"
"A pleasure to make you acquaintance" The girl said in an extremely insincere manner.
"Yep, likewise. I'm looking forwards to working with you" Roman replied, completely oblivious "…Oh? But what are you doing here Illyas—"
"Makiri. And get off the floor, you look ridiculous"
"R-Right, Makiri-sama!" The doctor got up (making sure to hide his dirty magazines behind his back as he did so) and then continued "Isn't there a briefing right now? Did it get let out early or something?"
"Since I was lacking training, the chief decided it was best for me to get some" The girl said diplomatically.
"You just got here today, and yet you've already drawn the wrath of the gods from the chief? In that case you're just like me!" Roman said, a bit happier than what was polite.
"My job happens to be everyone's healthcare. Frankly, I never really have to do much" Roman said, explaining to the uninterested girl "So the chief said 'When Roman is on-site, the entire atmosphere itself slacks off!' and drove me out, and I ended up sulking here"
"Mmm" The girl said, having totally stopped listening
"But, then you showed up. It's like getting an email friend to deal with my loneliness!"
"Right, right"
"Fellow idle friend, feel free to stop by anytime! Here we can relax and chat and bond!"
"Indeed. In what was my room to start" The girl said sarcastically.
"Yep. We could say I'm just dropping in at a friend's room! Yahoo, new friend acquired!" Roman declared, ignoring the girl's sarcasm. Or perhaps he hadn't noticed it in the first place. The girl couldn't tell.
"Dr. Romani, the Rayshift experiment is starting soon. Is there any chance you could come here to help with the preparations?" Lev's voice, coming from a communicator in Roman's breast pocket, suddenly cut through the conversation (much to the girl's relief).
"A-Ah…What appears to be the problem Professor Lev?" Roman said, his demeanor turning remarkably professional
"Some of the newer recruits seem to have trouble settling in. This is likely because of anxiety for things to come. The insides of devices resemble coffins after all" Leve explained.
"That's unfortunate. I'll go to give them a little anesthetic" Roman said
"Ah, you should hurry. You're in the doctor's office right now, right? You should be able to arrive from there in about two minutes" Lev said, and then cut off communication.
"Oh? So this is the doctor's office is it?" The girl snarked with a smirk.
"Awawa…I didn't want you to say that….well, from here it'll take about five minutes..." Roman said, clutching his head pathetically "Ah, the man just now is called Lev Reynolds. He was the mage who created the telescope for observing the pseudo global environmental model Chaldeas—the future-observing lens, Shiva"
"Yes, we've already met" The girl replied curtly 'Does this guy use exposition as a way to escape reality?'
"I-Is that so? W-Well, thanks for putting up with my rambling, Makiri-sama. When things calm down, come visit me in my office. I've got some great cake we can—"
In the middle of Roman's sentence, everything went dark. It was a blackout.
"Huh? The lights went out, what—?"
Almost immediately after the blackout, the alarm rang out, filling the pitch black darkness with flashing red emergency lights.
"Emergency. Emergency. A fire has started in the central power plant and central control room." A mechanical voice announced over the intercom "The central division bulkhead will be closing in 90 seconds. All personnel, please quickly evacuate from the second gate. I repeat—"
*BOOOM*
The voice was suddenly drowned out by the sound of a distant explosion, which shook all of Chaldea.
"W-Was that an explosion just now!? What the hell just happened!?" Roman leapt up and moved to a computer terminal in the hallway "Monitor, project the control room! Is everyone safe!?"
The computer immediately brought up an image of the control room. Blast marks scorched the walls and the floor and a blazing inferno roared all throughout the room. It was like a scene of hell.
'High-ordinance explosives...this was done by an amateur though. To maximize damage, you'd put the bombs…' The girl assessed the damage calmly.
"T-This is…Makiri-sama, find shelter immediately. I'm going to the control room. The bulkhead will be closing soon. Before that happens, you need to get out of here!" Roman shouted
"Roger. Good luck Roman" The girl waved off the young doctor as he dashed off to the control room. Moments later, she headed off in the opposite direction
"Oi! Where do you think you're going!? Our goal can't be achieved if you leave now!" A voice roared in the girl's mind
"You mean your dream. Under the current circumstances I won't be able to accomplish it here anyway. The necessary components have gone up in smoke just now after all" The girl responded.
"Hmmm…" The voice growled in irritation.
"Don't worry, I have no intention of going back on our deal gramps. It's just that I won't be able to fulfill my side of the bargain if I'm dead, right?"
"…Very well then. I've already waited this long. A bit more won't hurt"
"Right? Then let's get out of—"
"Fou, Fou!"
A white blur suddenly ran in front of the girl.
"Oh, it's you? Want a ride out of here?"
"Fou! Kyuu…" The small animal looked at the girl pleadingly.
"…What? You want me to go back?"
"…." Four remained silent, just staring at the girl.
"Forget about it. It's none of my business" The girl replied.
"Fou…" Four looked down despondently.
"Even if you do that, I won't…"
"Kyuu…."
"…Aah, fine! We'll go help Mashu! But only her, got it? I don't intend to play hero or anything!" The girl relented, placing the animal on her shoulder and running off in the opposite direction.
"Oi! What happened to leaving this place behind!?" A voice called out in her mind.
'We'll extract as much info out of the control room while we're there. Starting from scratch would take too long, no?' The girl answered.
"…Soft. Far too soft. You're nothing like your father"
"If it were him, he'd probably get himself killed trying to save everyone. You should thank the stars it's me you're dealing with here" The girl replied out loud.
Enhancing her running speed with magecraft, the girl caught up to Roman in a matter of seconds. Grabbing the young doctor by the scruff of his lab coat, she dragged Roman along with her without slowing down for a moment.
"Uwaaah!? Oh, it's just you…OH! It's you! What are you doing!? You're going the wrong way, the second gate is in the opposite direction, you know!?" Roman cried out.
"I'm headed to the control room, same as you. It is this way, right?" The girl replied calmly.
"Y-Yeah it's…Wait! You can't seriously be thinking of following me!? An extra set of hands could help save others but—"
"I have plenty of experience with disaster sites. Don't worry about me" The girl said.
That wasn't strictly true. Battlefields? Certainly. Dead Apostle purges? More than she could count. Insane magus incidents? So many some were calling her the second Magus Killer. When it came to search and rescue missions though, she really recall anything off the top of her head.
"O-Okay then. I'll be counting on you!" Evidently she had convinced Roman though. With no further objections, the girl redoubled her efforts, shooting off to the control room like a rocket.
When they reached the control room, Dr. Roman did a quick scan of the surrounding, trying to find some signs of life.
"….No survivors in here. Only Chaldeas is safe" Roman said with a sigh "It seems like this was where the explosion originated. This was no accident. It has to be sabotage."
"Indeed" The girl nodded in agreement, paying no heed to the stench of charred flesh which permeated throughout the room.
Suddenly, a static filled announcement rang out over the intercom.
"Suspension of the power department confirmed. Power generation insufficient. Automatic switching to reserve power currently impossible. Personnel, please manually change the power source. The bulkhead will be closing in 40 seconds. All remaining personally please quickly—"
"I'll go to the basement power plant. Right now, stopping Chaldea's fire is impossible without power. You should evacuate. With your speed, you can still make it if you hurry!" Roman shouted as he dashed off to the basement.
"Well then child? Shall we head out?"
"No, let's see if we can't take some information about Chaldeas before it goes up in smoke. I can break through the bulkheads by force if I need to" The girl said striding to a computer terminal.
Suddenly, the intercom began broadcasting another announcement.
"Transferring to the final stage of the Rayshift system. Coordinates 2004 AD, January 30, Fuyuki, Japan. Materializing Laplace's transfer protection. Guaranteeing additional singularity factor frame. Unsummon program set. Masters, please enter final adjustments"
"The transfer is starting when even in this condition!? Shit, there's no way it will work in this state! Who knows what might happen if it tries to transfer now. We're getting—"
Just as she was about to turn and leave, she heard a sound behind her. She turned around and found Mashu, in a critical state.
"…Ah…Sen…pai…"
'Those wounds are…' The girl could tell with just a glance that Mashu's injuries were fatal. Even were the girl to begin treatment now, she couldn't be saved.
"…Yes. You understand quickly, you'll be saved. So, senpai, hurry, escape.
"…Sorry" The girl said, looking down. It wasn't the first time she had abandoned someone to die and the girl doubted it would be the last. However, that didn't mean she enjoyed having to do so.
All of a sudden, Chaldeas emitted a strange sound and changed color, the globe in the center turning a bright orange-red, like the surface of the sun.
"!?"
"Warning to all observing staff. Chaldeas' current status is changing." The intercom rang out "Shiva's observed near future data is being overwritten. Detecting no traces of humanity on Earth in the next hundred years. Unable to confirm humanity's survival. Humanity's future is not guaranteed"
"Chaldeas' is….becoming, deep red….no, that's—" Mashu gaped in despair.
*SSSSHHHHHSSS*
"Center bulkhead sealed. Beginning cleansing of internal structure in 180 seconds"
All of a sudden to bulkhead sealed shut, trapping the two of them in the control room.
"Aah…...the bulkhead, has shut….it's already too late" Mashu let out a despairing sigh.
"Unable to access values of vitals of coffin Masters" The announcement continued to drone
"What are you doing girl? Break the bulk head!"
'I know! I know, but…' The girl thought, looking at the injured Mashu.
"Unable to reach minimum persons required for rayshift. Seeking eligible masters...eligible masters discovered"
'I should be able to abandon her! Pointlessly risking my life for no reason; I hate that the most!'
"Reestablishing with Number 48 as a Master. Unsummon program start. Beginning Heroic Spirit conversion"
"Umm…senpai?" Mashu asked, looking up with wavering eyes.
"Y-Yes…?" The girl answered, dreading what the injured girl would say next.
"Rayshift beginning in 3"
"Can I…hold your hand?"
"2"
'Aah…it's no good after all. I can't abandon her now…'
"1"
"Yeah, of course Mashu" Illyasviel said, grasping Mashu's cold hands tightly.
"Process clear. Beginning First Order demonstration"
Illyasviel felt something pulling her, as if she were being dragged into a great vortex.
And then all went black.
"Kyu...kyuu…"
Illyasviel dimly felt something lick her cheek when consciousness returned to her. She also vaguely felt a stinging pain in her right hand.
"Senpai. Please wake up senpai"
A somewhat familiar voice could be heard beside her, but Illyasviel's consciousness remained hazy.
"She won't wake up… Maybe I should call him by her formal title?" The voice continued "Master…Master, please wake up. If you don't—"
'Uugh…let me sleep…'
"—I'll kill you"
"!?"
That got her attention. Illyasviel leapt up in an instant and drew her blades against the one speaking to her.
"…Mashu?" Illyasviel exclaimed in surprise.
Indeed it was the bespectacled, lab coat-wearing girl. Except now she wore neither glasses nor a lab coat. Instead she was garbed in a black and purple bodysuit and an armored skirt. In her hands was a cross-shaped shield taller than she was, with a line of runes inscribed into the front. More than the change in apparel, however, was a change in presence. Originally she seemed rather harmless but now she radiated an aura of power.
'It's the same kind of presence that Heroic Spirits give off…'
"Thank goodness. It's good to see you've woken up, Senpai. More importantly, you're safe" Mashu said with relief in her face
"Didn't you just threaten to kill me?" Illyasviel asked, her eyes narrowing.
"That was my mistake. If you don't wake up you'll be killed, is what I was meant to say"
"That's…a pretty big mistake to make" Illyasviel said in disbelief.
"Sorry. In our current situation I am unable to think straight. I'd like to be able to calm down, but first please take a look at your surroundings" Mashu implored.
At Mashu's words, Illyasviel finally noticed the bizarre environment around her. It was a city consumed in flames, with the charred husks of skyscrapers dominating the skyline. All around her was fire and smoke. It was a horrifying sight that shocked even the battle-hardened Illyasviel into silence.
"What…happened?"
"It seems that—"
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
A piercing roar interrupted Mashu's answer. Rattling as they moved, a horde of walking skeletons clutching varying pieces of debris marched toward the pair.
"This language is unknown. Communication isn't possible. It must be an enemy"
"Way ahead of you" Illyasviel said with a smirk.
And she meant that both figuratively and literally. With just two steps, the girl rushed into the horde of skeletons with blades flashing through the night. She cut through the living skeletons in a raging storm of steel.
"Ha! Even the Dead made by Dead Apostles are stronger than you guys! I don't even need to reinforce myself for this!" Illyasviel shouted with savage glee as bits of bone flew every which way.
"Amazing…" Mashu let out an astounded sigh as she watched Illyasviel slice through the skeletons "….Ah! No, I have to help!"
With those words, Mashu too leapt into the fray. Swinging her shield wildly, she crushed several skeletons with ease. The skeletons were unable to keep even a basic humanoid shape after being annihilated by Mashu's giant shield.
With the two fighting together, they destroyed the horde of skeletons in a matter of minutes.
"Hah…hah…I was nervous, but we somehow managed through it"
"Hmph. Weaklings like these are no problem" Illyasviel said confidently.
"Yes…you were magnificent master. What are those blades you're using?" Mashu asked.
"These? These are Black Keys. They're standard fair for Executioners. More importantly, were you…always that strong?" Illyasviel asked in amazement. Though she was clearly inexperienced, Mashu's current physical abilities surpassed her own by a wide margin.
"No, I always needed to work harder in combat training. A researcher that couldn't do a bar flip; that was me"
"What?"
"What!?"
Illyasviel and the voice in her head both exclaimed their disbelief simultaneously.
"It's true. I can only fight like I did because—"
"Ah, it finally connected! Hello, this is the Chaldea Control Room, can you hear me!?"
Suddenly, the image of a very concerned Doctor Roman was projected before the two. Somehow or another, it seemed that he had managed to establish communication through a device in Mashu's possession.
"This is Mashu Kyrielite. Right now, I have completed shifting into Singularity Point F. With me is one other person: Illyasviel-senpai. No problems to report"
"So even Illya—Makiri-sama got involved…" Roman said sadly
"It's fine. I'm more than willing to take responsibility for the consequences of my actions" Illyasviel waved off Roman's concerns.
"I see. You're such a good kid…Ah!?"
"Is something wrong!?" Mashu whirled about, startled by Roman's sudden exclamation.
"Mashu...your appearance…It's too shameless! I don't remember bringing up that kind of girl!?"
"…" Illyasviel glared at Roman that seemed to say 'don't waste my time with stupid things'
"This is the result of my transformation doctor" Mashu responded without skipping a beat.
"Transformation?...Did you hit your head or something?"
"Please check my current condition. I think you will understand the situation"
"Your physical status? Oh….ooh, OOOOOOHHHH!?" Roman let out an amazed cry "Physical ability, magic circuits, everything is maxed out! These aren't human, they're—!"
"Correct. They're that of a Servant." Mashu confirmed
"What? That's impossible. People can't just become Heroic Spirits all of a sudden!" Illyasviel exclaimed.
"Indeed. No matter what breakthroughs Chaldea may have made, there's no way they could have differed that much from my system. This is absurd!"
"I don't remember the details, but it seems I escaped death by fusing with a Servant" Mashu began to exclaim.
"You…fused?" Roman asked in amazement.
"Right. That Servant, having lost their Master in the recent explosion, was fading away. But just before that, it offered to contract with me. In exchange for a Heroic Spirit's ability and Noble Phantasm, he wanted to eliminate the cause of this singularity" Mashu finished.
"A Heroic Spirit and a human combining…that's Chaldea's sixth experiment, the Demi-Servant! So now the consciousness of a Heroic Spirit lies inside of you?" Roman asked
"N-No… he left me with his combat ability and disappeared. I never got his true name either, so what kind of Heroic Spirit and what kind of Noble Phantasm I have in my hands…I have no idea"
"This is ridiculous! A complete perversion of the original system!"
'As if the original Holy Grail Wars didn't have their own rule breakers' Illyasviel rolled her eyes in response to the voice's outrage. Her eyes drifted to her right hand, which she just now noticed had a red symbol carved into it 'Command Seals…so it seems I've become a Master yet again'
"Well the most important thing is that Mashu seems to have become your Servant Makiri-sama. You're the only one who successfully shifted, so I'm sorry to say this, but you can only rely on yourself and Mashu right now" Roman said apologetically.
"That's one more than normal" Illyasviel said, playing with a set of Black Keys.
"R-Right…a-anyway! Since Mashu has become a Servant of sorts, you shouldn't run into too many problems. Adding in your own abilities, I have full faith in the two of you!"
"Doctor, the connection is unstable. Ten seconds until connection loss" Mashu suddenly declared.
"You two, there is a strong leyline two kilometers from your location. Make your way there. That should help make a more stable connection. And don't do anything too reck—"
"Connection has been lost senpai" Mashu announced.
"Can't be helped. Let's get to that leyline" Illyasviel said, already heading off.
"Yes…" Mashu nodded in affirmation and followed after Illyasviel "…You're reliable, Senpai. I was actually really scared, but you saved me"
"It's nothing. Since it's just the two of us, we have to look out for each other, right?" Illyasviel said with a rare smile.
"Kyu. Fu, Fou!" Suddenly Four started running between the two.
"My bad, three of us" Illyasviel said, giving Four a pat on the head.
"Yes, thank you for your support Four" Mashu said with a smile "…oh, but I forgot to report this to the Doctor"
"You can tell him Four's here when we get to the leyline. More importantly, hurry up, or I'll leave the two of you behind"
"Yes, senpai!"
After walking through the destroyed cityscape for a few minutes—
"Senpai. We'll be at the point the Doctor gave us soon" Mashu declared thus.
"Good. How are you holding up Mashu?" Illyasviel asked.
"Yes, my condition is fine. Still…the flames go as far as you can see. This is completely different than the Fuyuki in our records. What could have happened here?" Mashu wondered aloud.
"These are no natural flames. They're born from the curse that was held in the Holy Grail during the Fifth War. Or rather, since the Third War"
'Curse…but wasn't that destroyed at the end of that war gramps?'
"Indeed. However, this is an anomaly of time. It wouldn't be strange if this were a world where the curse had not been dealt with"
'Hmph. In other words, a world where he messed up' That thought made Illyasviel a little happy for some reason.
"Kyaaa—!"
Suddenly, a loud scream pierced through the air.
"That was certainly a girl screaming. Let's hurry, Senpai!" Mashu said
"Fine. Let's go" Drawing her Black Keys, Illyasviel ran toward the direction of the scream and found—
"Wha-what the heck are these!? Why am I the only one that has to suffer like this!?"
—Olga Marie Animusphere cowering from a menacing crowd of skeletons. The sight made Illyasviel more than a little satisfied.
"No, please come save me Lev! You're always the one saving me, aren't you!?"
"Chief Olga Marie—!?"
"Pfft, hahaha! Where's your heroism now Animusphere!?" Illyasviel cackled happily
"Y-You two!? Ahh jeez, I have no idea what's happening anymore!"
"Ah, just sit tight. I'll save your 'heroic' ass" The girl said as she rushed the skeletons, her Black Keys gleaming in the firelight.
"We have won the battle... are you hurt, Chief?"
Mashu and Illyasviel defeated the skeletons with ease. Before Olga even had the chance to realize what had happened, every single skeleton had been utterly annihilated.
"…What…the hell….is this?" Olga said slowly
"Chief? …ah, it's me, Mashu, isn't it? I'm sure it's hard to believe, but I—"
"—Fused with a servant; a Demi-Servant, right? I could tell. What I want to know is how the hell you could fight like that!" Olga shouted at Illyasviel.
"It's no big deal. Even a third-class magus could deal with a few walking skeletons. Someone who couldn't…" Illyasviel said with a smirk "…why, they'd have to be even less than third class, right?"
"Y-You insolent—!"
"I'd choose my next words carefully if I were you" Illyasviel said with a smile, casually bringing up her Black Keys.
"Guh…w-well you did save me, so I suppose I can let that go. But don't misunderstand! I'm not scared of you or anything" Olga pridefully crossed her arms across her chest, though Illyasviel could see her legs were trembling.
"Yay. I'm so happy for your forgiveness chief" Illyasviel said in a deadpan "More importantly, why are you here?"
"The same as you lot. I must have been Rayshifted by accident when the experiment went haywire" Olga answered.
"Hmm…" Illyasviel definitely didn't recall seeing Olga in the control room when she had been transported, but it was possible that she had been buried under rubble.
"Anyway. Makiri. From here on you'll be taking orders from me…First, we need to build a base camp" Olga declared.
"Oh? You're surprisingly reliable once you calm down" Illyasviel noted.
"What do you mean by that? Are you saying I'm always agitated?"
"Haah, I was giving an honest compliment you know?" Illyasviel sighed.
"R-Really?" Olga asked blushing ever so slightly "W-Whatever! Right now we'll need to find a leyline terminal with an abundance of mana. From there we should be able to contact Chaldea"
"Ah, Chief…you're standing on a leyline terminal right now" Mashu said.
"Eh? Ah…it seems so. I know that. I knew that all along!" Olga declared with a strange confidence, as she took a step to her right.
"Yes, certainly. As expected of you chief" Illyasviel said, deciding it would be too much trouble to argue with her.
"Indeed. Now Mashu, put your shield on the ground. I'll need a Noble Phantasm as a catalyst to establish a summoning circle" Olga ordered.
"…Is that okay, Senpai?" Mashu turned to Illyasviel.
"…"
Olga looked a bit miffed that Mashu had turned to someone else for confirmation
"Yeah, go ahead Mashu. I don't like the idea of you putting down you weapon, but if it's just those skeletons I can handle it even if we're attacked" Illyasviel gave an affirming nod.
"Then I'll start"
Saying that, Olga poured an enormous amount of magic energy into the shield.
"Establishing space-time coordinates…Spatial Singularity F…Point of contact…Chaldea…" Olga mumbled as three rings of bright blue energy surrounded Mashu's shield.
"…"
Illyasviel silently observed Olga's impressive demonstration of Thaumaturgy from behind.
'Oh? The ojou-sama is pretty good after all. I guess combat just isn't her specialty. Or human relations'
"…CQ, CQ. Hello! Great, it connected again!"
Soon the holographic image of Dr. Roman appeared in the center of the rings. Upon seeing Mashu and Illyasviel, he broke out into a relieved smile.
"Good work you two, I successfully locked in your spatial location. We should be able to communicate now, and even supplies—"
"Haa!? Who put you in charge, Romani! Lev? Where's Lev? Go get him!" Olga roared.
"Uwaaaah!? Ch-chief, you're alive!? Even inside that explosion, and with no injuries?! How in—?!" Roman babbled in bewilderment.
"What do you mean by that!? Whatever, where is Lev?! Why are you in high command!?"
"E-Even if you ask me…right now I'm of the highest rank amongst the surviving staff. Currently, no more than twenty Chaldea staff members are still alive, including me"
'That's more than I was expecting' Illyasviel thought to herself. Most of the staff were present when the control room exploded after all. Perhaps there were some who had skipped or banned like Roman.
"T-Then Lev was… No, wait, hold it, stop" Olga put a hand over her head, unable to take in what was being said "T-There's only twenty left alive? Then what of the Masters? What happened to the coffins?!"
"…..All 47 are in critical condition. Our medical supplies aren't enough. Even if we had people to help them, they're all—"
"Don't joke with me, put them into cryofreeze immediately! Worry about resuscitation later, your priority is to make sure they don't die!" Olga yelled.
"Ah, right! The transfer pods had that function!" Roman's image instantly disappeared. It seemed he ran off to put the Masters on ice.
"An instant decision…I misjudged you chief. You're a respectable professional after all" Illyasviel nodded in approval.
"…Please, don't die…!" Focused in quiet prayer, the chief did not respond.
"Currently, Chaldea has lost 80% of its functionality. The remaining staff is doing all it can…."
As soon as he had finished freezing all the Masters in Chaldea, Roman returned to give a progress report.
"…The twenty of us are split into three jobs: controlling the rayshifts, repairing Chaldea, and maintaining Shiva. We're holding on as long as we can until we repair communications and call for help" Roman concluded.
"Good. I'd do the same in your position" Olga gave her approval "Personally I dislike you, Romani Akiman, but I'll leave Chaldea to you until I return"
"Y-Yes…um, what will you be doing in the meantime chief?" Roman asked nervously.
"We'll continue the original mission. We'll investigate this Singularity—"
*Whoosh*
Suddenly the sound of something rushing through the air could be heard!
"Get down chief!"
"Eh?"
Illyasviel quickly pulled Olga toward herself.
*Thunk Thunk Thunk*
An instant later, three black daggers pierced through the wall Olga had been leaning on with force comparable to bullets.
"It's the enemy!" Illyasviel declared, bringing forth her Black Keys.
"This reading…it's…it's…an enemy servant!" Roman declared
` "W-What!?"
"Makiri-sama, Mashu, don't fight it! It's still too early for you to fight a Servant!" Roman shouted.
"Right!" Illyasviel knew all too well what it meant to fight a Servant and she didn't like their chances. This was completely different from fighting a few measly skeletons "Mashu, get your shield! We have to run!"
"Yes!" Heeding her Master's instructions, Mashu rushed to the summoning circle when—
"Kyaah!?"
—A rain of daggers fell upon Mashu from above, gouging deep wounds all over her body. Looking up, Illyasviel saw their assailant watching them from atop a ruined three-story building.
The Servant was covered in an all-black cloak, save for its face, which was covered in a skull-like mask. A thick, mud-like substance dripped from the Servant's body, as if it had just been tossed into a marsh.
'I wasn't able to notice it until now…it must be Assassin!' Illyasviel thought to herself, her body tensing. Even though Assassin was the weakest class, that thought gave her little relief.
The black-clad servant lightly leapt from the building and landed a several meters away from the group with nary a sound. Now that it was closer, Illyasviel could see that wherever the mud-like substance touched the ground, it let out a noxious 'hiss', as if it were a potent acid.
"This Servant is one of the Hassan-i-Sabbah. It seems the Fifth Holy Grail War in this singularity followed the rules regarding the Assassin class" A voice echoed in Illyasviel's mind.
"Old Man of the Mountain…" The girl said to herself, recalling stories of her past "…Hey chief. Do you have some sort of secret weapon or something? Now would be the time to use it"
"T-This isn't what I've been trained to do! W-What about you!? Aren't you supposed to be some sort of amazing fighter!? You do something about this!" Olga yelled hysterically.
"Your high expectations are flattering, but against a Servant I'm afraid it might be a bit difficult…" The girl said with a strained smile "…And Mashu's condition is…"
"…"
Mashu was laying unmoving in a puddle of her own blood. It seemed the Assassin's ambush had taken her out of the fight.
"Ha ha, this is quite a pinch…"The girl said with a hollow laugh 'Hey gramps. Got any ideas?'
"Your Blade Wing Worms are ready to hatch but…against a servant, they probably won't help much"
"Can't hurt to try!" Opening her mouth wide, the girl—
"UGGUAUAUAUUUU!"
—Vomited with extraordinary force. However, what came out was not gastric acid or half-digested food.
"W-What…?"
*Bzzt Bzzzt*
The girl had expelled a swarm of vicious flying bugs. With gnashing teeth that would never be found in a naturally occurring insect, the bugs swarmed at Assassin.
"Hmph"
In response, the black-clad servant deftly flicked its left wrist a few times, sending a volley of daggers cutting through the bugs. In an instant the Blade Wing Worms were shredded into bits of chitin.
"I was expecting as much!"
Suddenly, several sets of Black Keys flew at the Servant at great speed. While Assassin was dealing with the bugs, the girl had thrown her own projectiles, using the insect swarm to conceal her blades.
"!?"
Assassin immediately arched himself backward and the blades narrowly passed over his mask.
"An Assassin would have high agility…!" The girl mumbled as she launched another fan of Black Keys at Assassin.
*Whoosh*
"…"
Assassin silently but skillfully weaved his way through the blades as if he were performing some sort of esoteric dance.
*Whoosh*
"Shit!"
Distracted by Assassin's movements, the girl noticed a second late that the Servant had thrown some of his daggers at the girl while he was dodging.
"Damn! Trace O—"
*Thunk thunk thunk*
The girl tried to invoke her magecraft but it was too late. A trio of daggers pierced through her body, sending her flying into the air.
"Gaaah!" The girl let out an involuntary cry of pain as she struck the ground.
"Illyasviel!" Olga cried out in concern.
"Oww…huff…aah…"
The girl gasped for breath as she tried to push herself off the ground with trembling arms.
'These wounds aren't fatal. You can still fight!'
Encouraging herself, the girl tried to stand up when a pair daggers stabbed through her leg, knocking her back to the ground.
"AAahHH!" Laying on the ground, the girl writhed in pain.
"…"
Looking up, the girl saw Assassin walking slowly toward her. Though Assassin was supposed to be the weakest of the Servant classes, to her now, he was little less than death itself.
"Damn…I shouldn't…have hesitated to use Projection…" The girl mumbled in regret.
Indeed, even if the girl was caught off guard, she should have been able to complete her invocation. However, she had hesitated. Hesitated to use the same magecraft used by the one she despised. And that hesitation had cost her dearly.
'In the end, I just couldn't let it go…'
Cursing her own foolishness, the girl turned away from the looming specter of death. And then, she saw it.
Mashu's shield, still laying in the center of the summoning circle with three humming rings of power circling around it, just within hands reach.
"Trace…On!"
Illyasviel didn't know what compelled her to trace the shield at that moment. Perhaps it was because she wanted something to protect her, no matter how futile it was.
Judging concept of creation
Perhaps it was curiosity; a desire to at least know what spirit had merged with Mashu before she died. Or perhaps it was stubborn pride; an insistence that her past was not impairing her judgement.
Hypothesizing basic structure
Regardless of her reasoning, Illyasviel failed to consider one thing. The fact that the shield was still being used as a base for the summoning circle. It was still tied to the leyline, the veins of the dragon.
"Guuuuhhh….AAAaaaaAAAHaaaaAHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Her brain was overloaded as her tracing followed the flow of the leyline, a circulatory system tied intrinsically to the planet itself. Inadvertently, Illyasviel had attempted a tracing of the World.
Duplicating the composition material
Imitating the skill of its making
Sympathizing with the experience of its growth
Reproducing the accumulated years
Excelling every manufacturing process
"ITHURTSITHURTS ITHURTSITHURTS ITHURTSITHURTS ITHURTSITHURTS ITHURTSITHURTS!"
Illyasviel screamed in agony as the entire history of the planet was replicated and played through her mind. Unable to stand the strain, her brain was reduced into little more than slime and then pulverized again and again and again. However, for each time her brain was decimated, it would reconstruct, leaving her unable to escape her agony through death. In a span of a few seconds, this cycle was repeated over a million times.
"AAAAAAaaAAAaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?"
And then she saw it. A fundamental truth. An incomprehensible existence. The dream of all magi. The plane beyond the world. The Root of all things.
"Please…somebody…anybody…help…me…"
With her sanity only just intact, Illyasviel let out what should have been a meaningless prayer. It was a plea that should have been consumed by the void, for words had no meaning in the Root. However—
"Very well. My flesh shall serve under you. And your fate shall be with my blades"
—Her words reached. They had echoed through the Throne of Heroes and reached the ears of the one to whom those cries for help mattered most.
A former Ally of Justice [Seigi no Mikata]
The girl saw a brief dream, a memory of the World.
Of a man of steel and fire standing alone on a hill of swords, his fragile heart of glass broken.
Crushed by the weight of his ideals, he lived a life of no meaning, and thus now held nothing in his hands but regret.
Truly, his life was—
With an explosive burst of light, he arrived. Snow white hair and tanned skin, the results of the over use of his thaumatology. A bright red jacket, a gift from a nun. A stern expression, as if cast of wrought iron. And a broad back, which seemed to carry the weight of the world.
"Y-You…why…?
Still kneeling on the ground, Illyasviel let out a disbelieving sigh as she stared at that familiar, sad back. How could she not? Sure the white hair and tanned skin were new, but there was no way she wouldn't recognize him. After all, he was her—
"Stand back Master. I'll take care of him"
Charging forwards with inhuman speed, he rushed at Assassin.
"Trace On!"
Chanting a familiar invocation, he projected partner blades of white and black, Kanshou and Bakuya. With twin swords in hand, he closed the distance between himself and Assassin in an instant and slashed.
"!?"
Though taken by surprise, Assassin managed to barely avoid the assault by jumping back.
*Whoosh*
Upon landing, Assassin jumped back yet again. Twisting mid-air, the black specter flung a volley of daggers at the red-clad Servant.
"Divine strength, flawless and firm"
*Whoosh*
*Cling Clang Clang*
In response, he threw his ebony and ivory blades at Assassin. Twirling in the air, the swords easily knocked the daggers aside and rushed with incredible momentum toward the black specter.
"Geh!"
Even with his great agility Assassin was unable to escape completely unscathed while still airborne. Kanshou and Bakuya shredded through the Servant's black cloak and sliced viciously at his right arm, which under his cloak was revealed to be completely wrapped in a black bandage.
"Trace On"
Immediately following up, he projected the same twin swords he had thrown and ran at the wounded Assassin with a cold glare. Closing the distance in an instant, he slashed with Kanshou
"Hee Hee"
Assassin's mask showed nothing, but it seemed like he was smirking. He flung out his right arm, which burst out of what remained of its bandage, in what seemed to be a desperate attempt to ward of the red-clad servant and—
"That arm is—!?" Illyasviel let out an astounded gasp upon seeing Assassin's appendage.
The arm was grotesquely elongated, almost as long as Assassin was tall. Because of its great length, it would reach before his blade hit. However it was thin and bony, seemingly just a strange but harmless mutation, nothing that could possibly harm a servant. However—
"A powerful curse resides in that arm…" A voice rasped menacingly in Illyasviel's mind.
"I know! Hey, watch out—!"
"Too late"
Now Illyasviel was sure the specter was smirking. The arm began to glow an ominous red and a clump of…something appeared in its grasp
"Zabani—!"
"—Strength moves mountains"
"!?"
Just as the glowing arm was about to touch his chest, an attack came from an unexpected direction. The Bakuya that he had thrown earlier flew back at Assassin, drawn by the presence of its partner blade.
*Schink*
"GAaaaAAAaH!"
The spinning black blade completely cut through the thin arm, severing it in one go.
"Blade cuts—"
"Damn you…"
Before he could launch his next assault, Assassin disappeared into the night, leaving behind only a curse.
"As if I would let you go that easily"
Disappeared from Illyasviel's eyes at least.
Having never lost sight of Assassin, he projected an ebony bow and turned to aim at the retreating black-clad Servant, who was trying to escape by leaping across building rooftops.
"I am the bone of my sword"
He held out a hand and a sword materialized before it. It had no edge and instead spiraled into a point, much like a drill. Yet the blade continued to twist inward until it was no longer a sword but an arrow. Nocking the arrow, he pulled back on his bowstring and took aim. Golden energy span around the arrow in a spiral as he pulled it back further and further. As his bow creaked with tension, he invoked the name of the sword-arrow.
"Caladbolg!"
With blinding speed the arrow cut through the air as it was released from its string, leaving behind a spiraling jet stream to mark its passage.
"Impossi—!?"
Before he could even finish even a single word, Assassin was pierced through. The force of the arrow rent his body leaving nothing but torn flesh behind as it passed through. Soon, even those remaining giblets disappeared into golden light.
And with that, the battle was over.
"Amazing…so that's a Servant" Olga gaped in awe as the red-clad servant casually strolled back to the two young women.
"Yeah…that it is. A real hero" Illyasviel growled through gritted teeth.
"Hm? Why are you in such a bad mood?" Olga tilted her head questioningly
"Ha? As if I could be happy about summoning—!?"
Before she could complete her sentence, Illyasviel felt all strength leave her legs and she fell forwards.
'Ah. Right, I was still wounded…'
Illyasviel braced herself for impact. But it never came.
"—Servant: Archer. I've come to answer your summons"
Before she hit the ground, he had caught her. With a gentle but firm grip he helped her back on her feet as he introduced himself.
"So then. You are my mas…ter…?"
Seeing his Master face-to-face for the first time,Heroic spirit EMIYA gaped in amazement as his daughter's scowling face changed into a smile.
"Heeeeeeey dad. There's something I've wanted to give you since we last saw each other…" Illyasviel said sweetly.
"Wha…how…but…no…?" Losing all semblance of composure, EMIYA could only spout out gibberish.
"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUU!"
*Boom!*
Reinforcing her fist with magecraft, Illyasviel gave her father a magnificent uppercut with a roar. Taken completely off guard, he was sent flying into the air.
"Ha ha! That felt grea—ah?"
Before she could finish exalting, Illyasviel began pitching forward. That punch of hers had consumed what little remained of her energy.
As she felt her consciousness fade, she recalled something one of her previous guardians had told her:
"Heroes are slaves to fate. Chance encounters, impossible gambles, rather than being improbable they are guaranteed for a hero because their destiny dictates as such. No matter how unlikely or absurd they are, the events of a hero's journey are predetermined. So when you're dealing with heroes you have to put up with all sorts of ridiculous, unavoidable bullshit"
"As expected…heroes…are the worst…"
And with that quiet curse, Illyasviel fell into unconsciousness.
So now for the poll. Here are some basic outlines for opinions you might be expressing. Please vote via review which one best describes what you feel would be the best way to proceed:
1. Quit. Now.: "This was the worst thing I've ever read. Just stop writing. And jump off a cliff"
2. Okay, but Ashbell is better: "Focus more on your main work. Don't continue this mediocre story." [Note:Even if I were to continue this fic, I wouldn't drop Ashbell. It would just update once every other month instead of once a month]
3. Do more: "It's pretty good. Please do more just like this (i.e. cover the story)"
4. The fights are good...: "Just do vignettes of all the cool fights. Like vs. Seiba Alter and vs. Solomon. Don't bother with anything else"
5. The characters are good...:"Just do vignettes of cute interactions like Mordred and Seiba or Cu(s) and Scathach. Don't bother with anything else"
6. Do 4&5: "I don't need you to explain this option, I have a freaking brain you know"
7. Moar Waifus: "Just do romance scenes with Illyasviel and the female servants. Yuri FTW~"
8. Moar Husbandos: "Just do romance scenes with Illyasviel and the male servants."
9. Other: "I'm smarter than you and you know it so do what I tell you to"
Well whatever you decide, I hope you enjoyed this little prologue.
P.S. No matter what you vote I'm probably just gonna do what I wanna do because I'm a tyrant. The poll is really just to gauge your reaction.