CHAPTER 3:

OF MONSTERS

Medusa, the most infamous of the Gorgons, wasn't sure what to make of her Master. True, he was irritating, but there was something strangely endearing about him, in spite of that. However, she was more confused than anything, if only by the contradictions he seemed to embody.

The Grail had given her some knowledge of this modern era, including key organisations involved with magecraft. He had admitted himself to be an Executor of the Burial Agency of the Catholic Church, but when he discerned her identity (shortly after she found out, to her shock and his, that he could speak the serpent tongue), he had promptly given her a hug out of sympathy. He was flippant and rather rude, and yet, the next morning, he offered her breakfast, despite her being a Servant, and thus dependent on his mana reserves to exist. He seemed mildly deranged, not helped by the burn scars on his face, but he was keenly intelligent.

Still, his mana supplies were very high, and judging by the way he acted, he would be a good fighter on top of it, able to protect himself from enemy Masters…and possibly even other Servants. Certainly, when she asked, he had stated he had fought against other Magi, as well as Dead Apostles. That, plus the fact that he was actually sympathetic towards her, treated her as a person rather than a tool, made her think that she had certainly gotten lucky with her Master.

"So, Medusa," Hadrian said as he cleaned up the dishes, "what are your Noble Phantasms? I'm going to go out on a limb and say one of them is your Mystic Eyes, right?"

Medusa nodded. "That is somewhat obvious, but yes, you are correct. The blindfold I wear blocks the effects of my Mystic Eyes, Cybele. I can 'see', after a fashion, very well without them using all other senses at my command."

"Well, we'll use that as a last resort. Any others?"

"I possess a Noble Phantasm for gathering large amounts of mana, the Blood Fort Andromeda, but I do not need it. You do not seem like the sort to target innocents."

"No. I admit I'm bloodthirsty, but I don't target civilians, not unless they've done something wrong. And enemy Masters I will spare on a case by case basis. Sakura may be one of them, a Master, anyway. I'll have you two meet each other later, I think you two will get along. Now that I come to think of it, I don't think of your myth and think of a Rider Servant."

Medusa allowed a small smile to touch her lips. "I can summon the Pegasus as my steed, for it is my child, born of my blood. However, it is not my last Noble Phantasm. Rather, the bridle I use to spur it to attack my enemies is: Bellerophon. An Anti-Army Noble Phantasm."

Hadrian whistled, impressed. "Nice. Okay, so, here's how things are going to work. I'm not a nice person, but I'm not going to use these Command Seals except for an emergency. One, they're limited in use, as you know, and two, I don't like the thought of mind control…unless it's against someone I don't like. As mentioned earlier, civilians are off-limits, and enemy Masters are to be treated on a case-by-case basis. While I intend to have you Astralize most of the time, we should come up with a cover story to explain your presence if someone sees you. Maybe a bodyguard, considering I was recently kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?" Medusa asked. "Is this something I should be concerned about?"

"Hopefully not. I set the kidnappers on fire," Hadrian said with a nonchalant shrug. "But I did annoy quite a few people. They're on another world, so hopefully they won't be coming over to spoil things any time soon. Though I've probably jinxed things by saying that. So, if you see any idiots in robes, especially with tacky skull masks, and they fire a green spell at you from a wand, avoid it. Especially if it comes with the words 'Avada Kedavra'. I dunno whether the Killing Curse would affect a Servant, but I don't want to take that chance. Anyway, later, we should spar. I mean, I've never got to fight a Heroic Spirit, even one that holds back."

"…You'd spar with me?" Medusa asked, confused. Surely a human would go out of their way to avoid fighting a Servant directly.

"Look, Medusa, I face off against Dead Apostles for a living," Hadrian said. "To do that, you've got to be sharp, and stay sharp. I spent months out of any real training. Speaking of which, I should contact Mr Kuzuki, see if he's up to helping me refine my skills." Hadrian must have caught the question in her expression, because he clarified, "He's one of my teachers at school…but he's also an ex-assassin who's been teaching me his martial arts style, 'Snake' style. I'm nowhere near his level, but I'm adept enough at it to blend elements with my guardian's form of Bajiquan." He frowned as something occurred to him. "Also, while we're on the way to school, I want to stop by the park. I want your opinion on something."

"What is that?"

"The last Grail War took place only a decade ago," Hadrian said. "Normally, it should be another fifty years before the next one, something about the leylines recharging or something. Not only that, but for some reason, one of the remaining Masters ordered his Servant, a Saber, to destroy the Grail with her Noble Phantasm. The resulting backlash caused a fire that killed hundreds. I'm one of the only survivors."

Medusa realised that must have been where he got his scars from. They certainly looked old enough.

"Anyway, the area that got burned down got redeveloped into a park, but it's a bloody dismal place. It's like there's a curse or something there. As Servants are more sensitive to such things, I thought you could give me a second opinion."

Medusa inclined her head. "I will try, Hadrian. But I cannot say whether I could identify what curse there is, if any."

"Yeah, I'd need a Caster for that, but that's fine. I just want your feeling on this. Because if I'm right, and I hope I not…Saber's Master may have destroyed the Grail for a reason other than to spite his opponent…"


As he made his way from his apartment to the park, en route to school, his mobile screamed, "I AM THE GOD OF HELLFIRE! AND I BRING YOU FIRE!" He chuckled softly. Arthur Brown, singing Fire. Caren was really nice to mention that song. Caren was the closest thing he had to a sister, even if they weren't related by blood, and while she was an acerbic thing, the two of them got along well enough, in a bickering sibling sort of way.

He answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Ah, hi, Hadrian!"

He knew that rather chipper voice. Arcueid Brunestud, the White Princess of the True Ancestors. Another sister figure of sorts, even if he had only met her a few times. The first time he had, it was during a rather messy saga involving Ciel and Arc in Misaki Town. Arc had apparently settled down with some guy called Shiki Tohno. Still, Hadrian had managed to come out of that with Arc as a friend, and when you had one of the most powerful vampires in existence as a friend, one of the progeny of Type-Moon, Crimson Moon Brunestud, you knew you had a strange but charmed life.

"Hey, Arc. Any occasion?"

"No, just a social call, Hadrian. I heard from Grandfather about your little misadventure. Merem confirmed it."

Ah, yes. Merem Solomon. Another Dead Apostle, one who, like Arc's sister Altrouge and Zelretch, along with the Beast of Gaia known as Primate Murder, was one of the elite vampires known as the Dead Apostle Ancestors. Merem, like Zelretch and (as long as you weren't an incarnation of the Serpent of Akasha, Roa) Arc, was one of the vampires more kindly disposed towards humanity. Then again, Merem was also one of his bosses, being a higher-up in the Burial Agency. He looked like the young boy he had been before he was turned, and it was easy to forget that he was one of the oldest Dead Apostles in the world.

"Yeah, it was a bit of an experience. I wish Zelretch got us out of there sooner, though. Listen, long story short, I've been selected as a participant in that bloody tournament your Grandfather had a hand in setting up with the Makiris, Tohsakas, and von Einzberns. I might not have time to socialize for a while. Hopefully, we can catch up before this saga begins in earnest."

"Huh? Oh, that's right, Grandfather said the Holy Grail War was starting up again early. Weren't the Magus Killer and that priest who pretends to be your guardian the last Masters left standing? I mean, aside from Waver, obviously."

"Yeah. Kirei doesn't like talking about it much, Arc. I don't think it's out of PTSD, either. I just think he likes withholding stuff from me for shits and giggles. Quite frankly, I'm only staying in this mess to help Sakura get away from that cesspool she's forced to call a family…"


He continued to talk as he walked to the park, hanging up once Arc and himself had finished speaking. They were near the park by now, and Medusa then said, through their mental link, "You're friends with one of Crimson Moon Brunestud's progeny. That is probably the strangest thing I have ever seen."

"Arc's fine," Hadrian responded. "As long as you're not Roa, anyway. Of course, her sister and her pet are another matter entirely, given that said sister has the leash of Primate Murder, the Beast of Gaia."

Medusa, currently Astralized, couldn't help but shudder, despite not currently having a physically-manifested body. But as they entered the park, she felt another urge to shudder, one somewhat more profound. Hadrian felt it through their link. "This park…I already feel the malice and despair within it," Medusa said.

"I know," Hadrian murmured, taking in the bleak park. There was nothing actually wrong per se that was overt, more than there was a sense of atmosphere, oppressive and cloying, like even in broad daylight, there was something watching from the shadows, ready to reach out and snatch you away into oblivion. "In a perverse way, I was born here. In truth, I was born on another world, as Harry Potter. But something in me called out to be freed from my plight. I was an orphan, you see. My parents were murdered by a wizard terrorist, and I survived an instant death curse, the one I warned you about. I was famous before I turned two, thanks to a protection my mother gave me with a ritual. But…some meddling old goat decided to leave me at my relatives. He claimed it was to protect me from my fame, use some blood relation-style barrier to repel any of the terrorist's followers…but it didn't protect me from my relatives. They treated me like a servant and a punching bag. One day, after school, my uncle and my cousin started beating the shit out of me.'

"Why?"

Hadrian scoffed. "I got better grades than the piglet. They didn't want me to be any better than them, or indeed to approach their level of mediocrity. Then, my magic burst out. It reached out to something…and I was brought here. Only, it was an inferno. The Fuyuki Fire, they call it. Officially, the cause was unknown, but to those in the know, the fire was caused during the climax of the previous Holy Grail War, when the Master of Saber, Kiritsugu Emiya, ordered his Servant to destroy it. And even then, it's doubtful that would have caused that, not without something else being involved. I learned that later. I just staggered through the flames, before I stumbled across two men. My guardian, Kirei Kotomine, and a naked man who called himself Gilgamesh. Kirei adopted me. Perhaps he saw something in me. For you see, the fire twisted me out of shape. It was like it was alive. At first, I think it tried to curse me…but then, it found something else to do with me. It brought me to Kirei, I think. Maybe to try and make me a monster like he was. And I am one, to a degree."

"I'm surprised you don't call him father."

Hadrian laughed bitterly. "I did once. But I grew to see what kind of man he was. He's a monster. He even admitted as such. Oh, he raised me quite well, even as I became an Executor for the Burial Agency…but he doesn't love me…unless it's the same way someone loves a pet, and that's being generous. But…the point is, whatever that fire was, I was left touched by it. So was a friend of mine, Shirou. He was adopted by an enemy of my guardian's. Kiritsugu Emiya, the very man who caused the fire. He probably adopted Shirou to assuage his guilt. Whereas Kirei adopted me on a whim, presumably for his own amusement."

Medusa was silent for a time, before she finally said, "I don't like this place. Whatever the fire was…remnants of it and its victims linger, like grudge-filled ghosts. I believe in this country they're called onryo."

"Yeah, I understand. I won't linger any longer. Come on, Rider. Let's head to school…"

CHAPTER 3 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Harry and Medusa have had a heart to heart. This wasn't in the original version of the story by any means. The next chapter will have Shinji's comeuppance, and (maybe) Sakura summoning Assassin…

No numbered annotations this time.