Disclaimer: I do not own Type-Moon or any of their novels, as well as the ideas I borrowed from other manga/stories/anime/etc, and I am borrowing them purely for entertainment purpose only.
Second Encounter
Waver Velvet could not help but admit it: he had never been so scared in his entire life. He was a magus, that much was true, but he was more of a scholar type than of an offensive type, and thus, despite being a magus, he had never been in a battle before.
Granted, he had seen movies that showed violence, as well as seen duels fought between magi, but even then, he had never experienced a war first hand. He had always been on the sidelines, uninvolved in any conflict, save perhaps for intellectual ones.
No matter how dire the situation was, he had always just been an spectator.
The events earlier that night had changed all that. He had joined the Holy Grail War, and this time, not only did he have a front row seat, he was also part of the conflict... and it had been too much for him. He thought he had already been prepared for it, yet as it turned out, he was not.
To be exposed to such amounts of pressure and killing intent, to see beings of enormous power far beyond his own clash in front of his eyes, to be there in person, knowing that these particular powerhouses may as well come for his head, was indeed a terrifying to Waver Velvet.
Having just witnessed a clash of epic proportions first-hand, Waver Velvet, who had been a nervous wreck, would have probably passed out, and would not have woken up for a long time.
That is, if it weren't for the fact that he was currently riding on the same vehicle with two enemies.
Waver could not help but feel angry at his Servant, Rider. True, in Waver's eyes, he had just proven himself that he was strong, and that he was not all talk, not to mention the fact that he was touched, at the fact the Mounted Servant had praised him, but still, to allow an enemy Servant and Master pair to ride with you, is just downright suicidal.
However, the reason why Waver was angry with Rider was not because they were enemies, nor was it because he had allowed them to hitch a ride. In fact, the two had not shown any hostility towards them, and if Waver's gut feeling was correct, Berserker and his Master, Hibari Fuyu, were trustworthy.
Having seen the battles, Waver knew full well that he and Rider were at a disadvantage. Alexander may be a Servant, but Waver was not, and to make matters worse, Berserker's Master could fight at the level of a Servant. Given these precarious circumstances, it would have been pretty easy for them to eliminate Waver and Rider with ease, yet they did not do such a thing. Thus, although still suspicious, Waver was starting to believe that the two sincerely wanted to be their allies.
However, even though this was the case, it was not enough to abate his anger.
Declaring your true name in front of your enemies is stupid. Showing your opponents your abilities is stupid. Allowing your opponent to ride with you is stupid. Showing your opponent your back is also stupid. However, none of these moves that was made by the King of Conquerors was as stupid and suicidal as...
Giving the reins of the Gordius Wheel to Berserker's Master.
"Hahaha! You've got some impressive driving skills, girl," the King of Conquerors commented in a booming voice. "Though I have to admit I'm surprised. Even if you held the reins, I never would have thought that you would actually get them to obey you." By them, Rider was talking about the lightning bulls pulling the chariot.
"It might be because I have experience dealing with wild beasts, Rider-san," the girl replied with a shrug.
Waver, however, was hardly listening to their conversation, and was instead, staying silent, not because he wanted to, but because it was all he could do.
He was angry, furious in fact, at their current situation. Yet, he could not utter a single word of complaint, for his anger was dominated by his fear, a feeling of sheer terror that he had never felt before, incomparable to anything else which happened that night.
However, the fear which he felt, was not because the girl was powerful, nor was it because of the impressive fact that she was able to make the bulls obey her. No, the real reason why Waver was terrified was because...
"Hey, watch out for that building!"
"Ooops..."
She was a terrible and reckless chariot driver. Rider, by the looks of it, seemed to be enjoying himself as well, but his Master certainly was not.
To Waver's mild surprise, he felt a hand tap his shoulder, which belonged to none other than Berserker. Berserker, the Insane Servant, who at the moment, appeared to more sane than his own Master.
The Mad Warrior did not look that much different, and was still wearing his shrouded armour, but from the way he was slightly hunched up and the feeling he could sense coming from the Servant, it was obvious to Waver that Berserker was not having a good time either.
Still, while it may not have been enough to abate his fear, it was a slight comfort to Waver, knowing that he was not alone in misery.
And as the minutes passed, all Waver could do was close his eyes and pray, pray, that he could fall asleep. Pray, that by the end of it all, they were still in one piece. He did not know why, but for some reason, he could not help but feel that if things did not go well, two Servants would fall that night.
I wonder when we will land so that we can start with the negotiations? thought Waver Velvet bitterly to himself.
xxxXXXxxx
Looking down from the 32nd floor, the top floor, of Fuyuki's Hyatt hotel. There is no building taller than this in all of Fuyuki.
This title of the highest building will soon become that of the soon-to-be-completed Shinto shopping center. But because the Shinto shopping center is still under construction, this Hyatt hotel is top for already completed buildings.
Accompanying the unstoppable growth of Shinto, there will be more and more new hotels. But the Hyatt hotel, which has the most advanced facilities and best service standards, will not give up this status to anyone else. It's not only the hotel's managers and staff who think so; even the hotel's customers are amazed by Hyatt's high quality service and management.
And yet, this particularly popular hotel was destined to become nothing but rubble that night, as part of the plan of Emiya Kiritsugu, the Magus Killer, to eliminate one of his opponents.
Two weeks before even the Heaven's Feel started, Maiya, Kiritsugu's partner, who had acquired information that one of the rooms in that hotel had been reserved by Lord El Melloi, had planted a bomb in the Hyatt Hotel. The bomb itself was not that powerful, but having been placed strategically at the structure's foundation in an area that no one would suspect, the small and weak explosion would ensure that the sturdy building would collapse upon itself once detonated. The best part, however, is that since bombs and explosives did not involve the use of prana, someone like Kayneth Archibald, who was a traditionalist magus, would not be able to detect it, not even with the strongest Bounded Fields.
Of course, it was not only in the Hyatt Hotel that they had planted a bomb, but also in the other three hotels, all of which were luxurious, that the magus of the Association had made reservations to.
Thus, this was indeed an effective plan.
Kiritsugu was still worried, but it was only by a small amount. Being an experienced soldier, he was one who made sure that his plans did not have any holes, or if they did have holes, he had something in place to compromise for its weakness.
Or at least, he thought all holes had been filled.
The Magus Killer should have known that something was up, when the fires he had been expecting did not come into existence. He had set up several minor explosives to cause fire and panic around the neighbourhood to serve as a distraction, yet there no signs of a fire starting. There was not even any smoke.
Despite being aware that something was wrong, he decided to push on with his plans regardless, knowing that his intended targets were inside the building.
The acts of arson which did not work, were originally intended so that the people in the area would evacuate, and thus, would minimize the number of casualties. True, it was destruction of property, but at least human lives would be saved.
Now, however, they had no other choice. If they took to long, add to that the fact that the arson part of their plan was compromised, the entire operation could fail if they lagged on any longer. It was painful choice on Kiritsugu's part, but there was no other way.
"Maiya, how are things on your end?"
Said assistant, however, did not respond.
"Maiya, do you copy? Maiya, I repeat, do you copy?"
All Kiritsugu got as a reply was static.
Regarding the bomb they had planted in the Hyatt Hotel, unlike the time bombs that were to be used for arson, this, due to the importance of timing, had to be detonated from the distance, and there were two detonators. One was the cellphone detonator held by Kiritsugu, while the other was a remote held by his partner Maiya, as a precaution in case one of them did not work.
Even though he was worried about Maiya, Kiritsugu, who was currently in his machine personality, decided that the mission comes first.
Kiritsugu sighed lightly, dialing a set of numbers on the cellphone in his hands... an analog signal to detonate the C4 bomb implanted in the building.
The horrifying sound of reinforced concrete splintering and collapsing resounded through the night, as the once famed Hyatt Hotel was reduced to nothing but rubble, burying around three hundred people along with it.
The Magus Killer, however, was no longer watching this, and instead, the deed done, his attention was now focused on what had become of his unresponsive partner, who he knew was somewhere on the upper floors of a nearby building that has no yet been completed.
Thus, ignoring the chaos and destruction he had caused, ignoring the cries and screams of innocent people, children crying for their parents, parents crying for their children, friends crying for their friends, believing that it will all be redeemed once he reached Grail and ask it to grant his wish to save everyone, he turned around and started walking into the unfinished Shinto Shopping Center.
?
At the moment he entered the building, the Magus Killer noticed a trace of abnormality.
Not a typical abnormality, but a hard-to-detect subtle change of atmosphere. To an experienced soldier, it is an easy matter to clearly detect this kind of killing intent.
Despite being away from the battlefield for almost a decade, Kiritsugu's senses was still sharp enough to notice it, even if nothing could be seen or heard.
Now on heightened alert, Kiritsugu, calmly pulled out his weapons from his cloak and armed himself, and now held a Calico M950 submachine gun in his right hand.
?!
Suddenly, without warning, something in his pocket suddenly started ringing.
Almost automatically, Emiya Kiritsugu's free hand reached for his pocket and pulled out his mobile phone.
"Hello? What happened?" The man inquired as he answered the call after seeing the caller id.
"So it was you..."
In truth, the Magus Killer was not unfamiliar to tense and perilous situations True, Servants were indeed powerful, but from his point of view, Heroic Spirits were just instruments of war, no different from tanks and planes. And it was for this very reason that he was not fazed that much by the Heaven's Feel Holy Grail War. The Magus Killer remained calm and collected.
Even if the unknown he was facing turned out to be a Servant, he always had the option of using a Command Seal, which he had already prepared just in case. He did not want to use it, since he would be leaving his wi- no, the vessel of the Holy Grail unprotected, but even then, he was sure that the Masters who knew the role Irisviel would play would not allow any harm to come to her.
For his partner to be compromised so early in the War, was something he was not prepared for.
When he answered the call, he had already half expected that someone else would answer, thus he had carefully made sure not to give any information when he spoke, while at the same time, tracing the call to pinpoint the location from where it came from. At the same time, however, he realized that doing so was pointless.
While it was true that the voice which replied came out of the mobile phone, that same voice, as he realized, came from another source, which could only mean one thing...
The owner of the voice was inside the building.
It was not a wise decision, he knew, entering the building when he was half-certain of what had transpired, but due to nine years of being away from the battlefield, the well-oiled machine known as Emiya Kiritsugu had become rusty, and thus made that mistake.
No, it was not really because he had become rusty, but because he was presently still more human than machine. While he refused to admit to himself in his current machine-like mind state, he actually entered the building, not because he wanted to save Maiya, his 'tool,' but because he wanted to save Maiya, his 'partner.' True, unlike with his wife Irisviel, Kiritsugu has a relationship with Maiya purely on a sexual context, yet even though the former was the woman in his heart, he still saw the latter as someone important, someone like family.
At that moment, something was tossed at Kiritsugu's feet from the shadow of some pillar.
He immediately aimed his Calico at the object and after making sure it was not dangerous, he pointed it back towards the place where the object was tossed from. But even so, he could not help but feel disturbed after he realized what the object was, confirming his suspicions.
It was a mobile phone... which belonged to Maiya Hisau.
"Emiya Kiritsugu..." The voice spoke, now coming from the person herself, who has emerged from shadows and was now standing in front of him.
It was a girl, around fifteen years of age by the looks of her, with short brown hair, wearing a striped shirt and a green skirt, her brown eyes ablaze, and was currently emitting an aura of pressure that had been subtly suppressed until that moment.
Despite his many experiences in the battlefield, never before had he felt such intense killing intent directed towards him.
However, that was only half of the problem. Even if an enemy was a force to reckon with, so long as he had information on them, their threat level, in the Magus Killer's eyes, would become greatly lowered.
Unfortunately, he did not have any information on the person he was facing. And thus, as of present, he was in grave trouble.
Realizing this, the Magus Killer decided to take the initiative, and immediately fired a volley of bullets at his adversary with his machine gun.
?!
Yet not a single one of those shots managed to hit the target, who deflected every single one of them... with a sword, a Japanese samurai by the looks of it.
There was no doubt about it. The girl in front of him was dangerous.
"You have ruined the lives of innocent people for the attainment of your selfish objectives...For that, YOU ARE GOING TO PAY! YOU MURDERER!"
The girl screamed the last phrase of her sentence, and before Kiritsugu knew what was happening, the brown-haired female was already upon him, closing a distance of about five meters in an instant, a speed which was impossible for any normal human, a speed which even an experienced soldier like him could not match... at least, if he were simply an experienced soldier.
Time Alter: Double Accel!
?!
Instinctively, he used his own version of the Emiya Magecraft, a spell which manipulates time within his body, thus allowing him to move at greater speeds. Using it, he managed to jump backward just in time, narrowly avoiding getting his head chopped off by the girl's blade.
Realizing he was at a grave disadvantage, he decided that it would be best to retreat for the time being. Taking advantage of his adversary's brief moment of surprise, the Magus Killer immediately fumbled in his pockets, pulling out and uncorking a smoke grenade before tossing it to the ground.
"OH NO YOU DON'T!"
Only for his means of escape to be compromised, as his smoke bomb was literally sent flying out of the window by the girl using the sheath of her sword, like a baseball player hitting the ball with a baseball bat.
The Magus Killer could not help but curse mentally, as he started firing bullets at the girl once again. He could not hit her, that much he now knew, but at least, the bullets were slowing down her advance, buying the Magus Killer just enough time to use his last resort.
Come, Saber! The Magus Killer shouted mentally, as one of the three red sigils on the back of his hand glowed brightly.
xxxXXXxxx
In a certain location in Fuyuki City, in one of the less damaged abandoned buildings which no one knew about, a man wearing simple garments with a golden cross tied around his neck, was currently busy at work, humming a prayer song to himself, as he...
"Sakitani Dojima... six counts of arson..."
"AAAARGH!"
Set the hands of his victim, who was tied securely to a hospital bed, on fire.
"...eight counts of rape..."
"Please... have merc-AAAARGH!"
Before cutting off that organ which could be found in the place where the sun don't shine.
Most people would have been terrified, or, in the case of the braver ones, disturbed, if they hear blood curdling screams. To this man, however, it was music to his ears.
He still believed that there was a God. That there was a supreme existence, although he didn't have the maturity to perceive it.
He lived believing that one day, the holiest word of God would lead him to the supreme truth and save him. Betting on that hope, clinging to it.
But in the depth of his heart, he already knew. That salvation would no longer come from the love of God for a man like him.
Being confronted to such anger and despair drove him to masochism. Under the pretense of penance for moral training, he simply kept wounding himself repeatedly. But those tortures forged in his body like iron, and when he realized, he had risen to the top of the elite of the Holy Church as an 'Executor', where nobody had followed him.
Everyone called that 'glory.' his self-control and devotion were praised as a model for the clergy. His father was no exception.
He understood very well why his father had so much faith and admiration for him, but that was a misunderstanding so far off the point; for in reality, his heart was shameful. A whole lifetime's worth would probably not be enough to amend that misunderstanding.
It is a simple story. There is nothing that brings him happiness. It does not matter, let it be believing in people or having people believe in him. What other people called happiness did not bring him any joy.
He is someone similar to a void. He did not have any wish nor any desire, and did not know what he should do, and thus he simply followed suit with the ethics and protocols that was thrust into him. No, the truth is that he subconsciously knew what he wanted to do, but his true nature was contradicted by the ideals that had been instilled into him.
He was a flawed person who had a good background, yet from his own point of view, it was a tragic past. For he was someone who, by nature, took pleasure in the suffering of others, yet who was unfortunately born to a righteous person, a man who had instilled in him the ideals of justice and set him on the path of righteousness, which contradicted his truth self. He was someone who was born flawed from the very beginning.
No one who has come to understand how much he lacked, not his 'friends' and acquaintances, not his father, not even the woman he was to love. No one knew what he truly was, someone who was not supposed to exist, and thus, he was conflicted. He did not really have any direction in life.
But all that changed when he met them... when he met her.
"Good and evil, Priest-san.. it is all a matter of perspective. You might think that someone who slays a monster or saves a damsel in distress in fairy tales as a hero, but did you ever come to think what their true objective might be? A man who is evil at heart, yet performs heroic deeds, is still a hero, regardless of his purpose."
Even now, he remembers it, the words which that particular girl, who was only half her age, who had somehow managed to get him to talk and open up, and who had told him words, words which penetrated deep into his heart and soul.
"You are beyond salvation? Pfft. Don't make me laugh, omnivore. If your actions are heroic, even if your purpose is evil and selfish, that does not make you any less of a hero, does it? Your actions take more credit, far more than any thought or feelings you might have. Not even God could deny that."
Yes, it was true. He believed himself beyond salvation, he believed himself vile, evil, flawed, and it is for this reason that he had tried to redeem himself, tried to seek salvation, for sins he desired to do, yet in fact he had never committed.
When his wife died, he thought that it was another proof, proof that he was incapable of loving someone. For at the time, tears flowed from his eyes, not because he loved his wife, but because he wished he could have been the one to kill her himself. And yet...
"No, Priest-san, you are wrong. You loved her, you loved your wife, and even now, you still love her. You may not realize it, but I can see it in your eyes. No being in this world is incapable of love, Priest-san, Even if they do exist, you are not one of them. I can tell. You wanted to kill her because you did not want to lose her to anyone, not even death. Killing her with your own hands would have let you believe that she had not been taken from you, that you had let go of her yourself."
He realized he was wrong. He did know how to love. He did know how to care for someone. It just so happened that he was as loving just as much as he was possessive.
"Priest-san, you are a man who revels in the suffering of others, yet the suffering you enjoy witnessing the most is the suffering of your own kind, of those who have evil hearts like yours... and you find it most enjoyable if it is suffering which you yourself inflicted. But there is nothing wrong with that, Priest-san. After all... good and evil, they are just a matter of perspective. People believe what they want to believe. What is important is that you do what you want and live the way you want."
The path of a punisher... the path of an avenger... or simply put, the path in which he derives pleasure and enjoyment, by killing black-hearted creatures like himself.
On the bed beside him, his victim was nearing his inevitable death, after being subjected to several tortures related to the sins he had committed. Next to him, set in a row, were five other beds, where other sinners were also strapped securely. Sinners who thought their money, influence, or their ability to hide evidence had saved them, sinners who thought they were too smart to be caught.
Yet now, they were trapped, and were waiting in line for their judgement. They were still unconscious at the moment, but once he lifts the spell on them, they would wake up, wake up, to their final moments.
In truth, what he was doing right now was not really that different to what he had been doing as an Executor of the Church. He had always been a punisher. He had always been an avenger, he had always upheld justice as he had seen fit. Their main targets may have been the undead, heretic magi, and Dead Apostles, but with the sense of justice that had been stilled into him, he had also gone after unscrupulous individuals who were technically ordinary humans.
The only difference this time, is that unlike before, when he saw what he was doing as a punishment to himself... he now saw it as a pleasurable activity. To feel happiness. To derive enjoyment from his work. To feel joy... it was an emotion which he had never felt before.
Yet now, he had it. The feeling of happiness. The feeling of enjoyment. The mundane things in which he thought he could never find pleasure in, the things which he did to cause himself torment, now that he knew what he was missing, with a simple change in perspective, he was finally able to derive joy from them.
He had now found what it was he was lacking.
He was no longer lost.
He had finally found himself.
"May God have mercy on your soul." He muttered solemnly, at least in tone. In truth, he did not really mean the prayer that he muttered, and he had only done it out of habit.
Having finished reciting the incantation, he materialized one of his Black Keys, then stabbed it into the man's heart, which instantly burst into flames. The Cremation Sacrament, after all, while normally used against the undead, can also be used against human beings. Thus, the man who had caused the misery of so many innocents, died screaming in pain and agony.
After a few minutes, the fire finally burned out, consuming the entire body and turning it into ashes, but leaving the wooden frame it was on relatively unharmed. The priest, after all, had considerable control over his spells, and thus it burns only what he wanted to burn.
His eyes full of malice, the priest turned towards the other unconscious sinners strapped helpless into their beds...
?!
Suddenly, his attention was diverted, as he felt something vibrating in his clothes.
"Who could it be at this hour?" The man groaned in complaint, feeling irritated at being interrupted, as he took out the cellular phone in his pocket which was the source of the vibration, and opened the text message he had received.
"So that man is the true Einzbern Master... just as I suspected," he muttered disdainfully to himself as he finished reading it, replying with a message ordering the sender, who happened to be his Servant (Eight out of the priest's eighty scouts were given and taught how to use a mobile phone for communication convenience purposes), to tell the others to continue with their surveillance duties, particularly on a Master who is also known as the 'Demon of Fuyuki City,' who was happily hunting children together with his Servant, and who the Executor intends to add to his list of victims, before turning his attention back to his current one.
Of course, he did not really care about the lives of the innocent, since despite discovering himself, there were very few people in the list of those he truly cares for, but it does not change the fact that it was fun bringing about the demise of wicked wretches.
As for the news from the text message he received from his Servant, he regarded it with little interest.
He had once thought, about going after a particular man, an infamous mercenary who had been silent for nine years, but had now come out of retirement, to participate in the Heaven's Feel. He wanted to meet him, he wanted to confront him, for he believed that he was the one who had the answers he needed.
But now, it was no longer necessary. For the girl he met... the girl had shown him, the girl had given him the answers which he had been seeking so desperately.
Thus, the Executor no longer felt the need to confront him directly.
Truthfully, due to the man's current actions of slaughtering countless innocents, he would have been interested in facing him for a different reason. Unfortunately, since she and her group had already set their eyes on him, he decided to concede, although he could not help but sense a feeling of loss at losing his potential prey. Thus, he decided to settle to content himself with targeting the 'Demon of Fuyuki City' instead. The man was nowhere as good a target as the slayer of mages or the old worm vampire the priest discreetly disposed of three months before, but he supposed that the target will do for now until a better one presented itself.
He did not know exactly how that fight would turn out, since he was busy and had no intention watching it through his Servants' eyes, but knowing that that person is one of her companions, as well as the fact that he had seen for himself that person's beast-like skill with the blade, he knew that even someone like the King of Knights, and her Master, even without the Servant of the Sword's injury, would have a hard time dealing with her.
Of course, if things started becoming unfavourable for her, the priest's Servants, who are on standby and observing the fight, would step in. He may not be planning to eliminate the slayer of mages and his Heroic Spirit, but even so, he would not allow that person, who is also known as the Tiger of Fuyuki, to die. She was, after all, a member of her group. And every single member of that group of teenagers had become his friends, had become important enough to him that 'he would never allow any of them to die except by his own hands.'
Now that the interruption was over, the Executor turned his attention back to his work. Even up to this point, even though he did not have any interest in the Grail, he had not withdrawn from the Holy Grail War. However, it was not because of the original role he was supposed to play.
Unknown to his father, he had actually not been truthful to them, and the scouting information he had been relaying to his mentor was fabricated and lacked plenty of details. He had already shifted his priorities and objectives, and he was no longer set about on going with the original plan. True, he would not let the man who was his teacher and mentor die out of a tiny shimmer of respect and gratitude, but he had no intention of letting said person, who had abandoned one of his daughters, his own family, due to petty magus beliefs, get his hands on the Grail either.
For the loyalty of the man, whose name is Kotomine Kirei, already lie with someone else.
Unknown to the Executor, however, as he continued his leisure activity, a certain Golden-haired Heroic Spirit was eyeing him with interest.
xxxXXXxxx
To be continued...
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Alright, another chapter out. Now, I must admit that I'm having fun with this particular fic. It actually has a minor bit of semi-insert, and I think I'm finally getting the hang of this method which I originally thought I could not do.
Now, as I think you can tell, this particular fic, despite the semi-inserts, is gonna be diverting from canon soon, although there will be some major scenes which I will use, probably the highlight battles, only that it will happen differently. Confrontations will soon arise, and the identity of protagonists and antagonists in my fic, as you may notice, vary. No offense to those who hate Kotomine Kirei, but I plan to make him a sort-of-protagonist here. Yeah, I hate Kotomine too, but I also find him really cool.
Don't forget though that Archer/Gilgamesh was the reason why he became twisted in the first place. In my story though, someone else got to Kirei before he came into the picture, so Goldy's influence will be very minimal.
As for the next chapter, it's gonna be featuring more battles, and this time it's Saber against (I'm sure you can guess who she is, so there's no need for me to mention her name.).
But enough about that...
And like always, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter...
Later then, people...