Fate: Beyond Reach –ch 3
Location: Singularity F -14 hours before prologue
"It was supposed to be the standard kind of grail war, seven servants summon by seven magi, fighting each other until only one master and servant left to claim the Holy Grail." Caster explain to us after Koutarou arrive with Olga-san at our temporary cover, a beaten down family restaurant. Archer still hasn't arrive yet due to making sure we didn't leave any obvious tracks that will lead enemies to our hiding spot. Koutarou, being an assassin with a high presence concealment was able to utilize his skill to bring Olga-san safely without having to trouble himself in taking precaution like Archer.
"Let me tell all of you something." Moving his eyebrows up and down, caster is definitely going to go off topic for a pointless talk. "Other than berserker who could give me a tough fight, I can proudly say that I've got this grail war in the bag! Archer, lancer, rider, and assassin of this war ain't got nothing on this man blessed since birth. Even if lancer is my best class, my runes can make any servant wet their pants if I want to. Heck with enough time I could just-" Yup, pointless and stupid.
"Caster, focus. What we need to know is what did this? For every grail war there will always be rule to prevent, if not lessen the damage from a battle between servants. This city is so ruin that not a single living thing can be found anywhere! This can't be the work of a magus or a normal servant. We need to find the source of this mess before we could think of a way to end it, as soon as possible." I stated how serious the situation is right now. How could I not? If we don't fix this mess it will be a permanent one, and I'll be damned to leave Fuyuki city in this state without sacrificing all I have in putting an end to this catastrophe.
Caster and the others were silent after witnessing the raw anger I was exuding. Sighing, caster speak with a solemn face. "My bad, kid. Should've known this is personal stuff for you. Guess I should've think first before trying to lighten the mood for you youngsters." Caster change his sitting posture from leaning on the food counter to straightening his back.
"Ah, no. I apologize for taking my frustration on you, Caster." I bow myself as a sign of sincere apology after my head cools down. Caster agreed to help us without gaining a single benefit, the least I could do is to respect him and not to push him around like most old magus with their so called 'pride', or what I like to call being a pompous idiot.
"No, no. I definitely deserve the scold. It's time a moron like me learn to read the situation before deciding to open his mouth. If I can't even accept a hard wake-up call from someone younger than me then I couldn't possibly call myself Cu Chulainn, child of light could I?" to reveal his identity to us without thinking twice, I could feel myself smiling together with this hero of Ireland. A man who lives with a carefree attitude, I can definitely respect his way of life. "Now then, let's continue to where we left off."
Before Caster could continue, he notice Ritsuka, who is sitting close to Mash and Olga-san raising her hand to get his attention. "Excuse me mister Caster. You said that seven servant is summon for a grail war, but from the classes you mention including you that will be…" she begin raising each finger, counting the class that has been stated by Caster. "6 servant! What about the 7th servant? Did the Holy Grail only need 6 servant this time or was it too lazy and just went to heck with it! Six is plenty enough, or something?"
...
I will have been mad at this girl for being this ridiculous at such a time if she wasn't so cute when expressing her confusion just now.
"*Cough*, no missy. The seventh servant did manage to be summon normally, but what was summoned wasn't normal in the literal sense." Caster's eye hardened from this point on. "A servant power is directly connected by the master that summons them, meaning the prana they obtain must be from their master. A modern magus has a limited prana that they could provide their servants with, preventing the said servant from exploiting their noble phantasm willy-nilly. Yet Saber, the final servant is a beast given limitless energy with how she bust through the entire war searching for her enemies. All the servant were directly beaten by her own hand, never satisfy with each one she took down. The collateral damage she done each night was so high that panic spreads across the city like wildfire. Believing it was done by group of lunatics that were ruining their peaceful days when in truth all of it was cause by a single person."
Caster's grip on his staff tightened as he describes the aftermath, 2 days before we arrive into this singularity. "Besides me, Archer and Berserker were the only ones left that manage to hold our own from being slaughter during the early stage of the war. My master decided that forming a truce with the remaining masters is the only way to end Saber from participating the war. On our way to meet Archer master, that intolerable woman and all the servants that had already been eliminated suddenly ambush us. Surrounded at all sides, my master was dealt a fatal blow while I could only protect her like a desperate dog stuck in a corner. Heh, remembering back I really am useless. As my body was wounded heavily, my idiotic of a master out of nowhere decides to use her final command spell. Giving her servant a chance to escape alone. Lying all bloody back at our base, the only thing that's on my mind was that ass of a woman staring me down like a prick while her new cronies did all the work, and my master's last order she gave to me while smiling as her death came." Caster stare at me and Ritsuka, his final hope in redeeming himself to his last master who had sacrificed herself for him. "Find the other masters and end that snobbish servant hard."
Let it be known that the Fujimaru siblings is a sucker for brave and heroic story. Hearing Caster's master selfless act, our spirit were burning with passion to avenge her death. In that moment without both of us noticing it, our servants were beaming with pride after discovering their master is someone with the sense of justice as equal as those in the throne of heroes themselves.
Seeing all of us is too preoccupied to continue the discussion, Olga-san calls for Caster's attention to answer the question that's been bothering her. "Caster, from your recollection of the war you did say that Saber is merciless even to the innocent people oblivious to the war. But even if she goes on a rampage I doubt she could leave the city in such a horrible state without obliterating the entire buildings together with the dead bodies sprawling around. What befell this city is more like a plague rather than the works of a servant noble phantasm, at least the normal ones." Now that Olga-san mention it, servant that had been eliminated coming back, skeleton warriors across the city, and dead bodies having many wounds from blunt trauma or slash from a cut does sound impossible to be the work of a lone saber class servant.
Caster told all the things he saw after his encounter with Saber and the corrupted servants. Large sphere appears on the sky of Fuyuki, bringing down vile curse that burns the earth with no exception. Human, animals, plants. None was left alone. With Archer and Berserker had already been consume by the same filth as the other fallen servants, Caster was the only one left to witness the destruction of Fuyuki city. Even with the hopeless scene around him, he never give up for that chance. That small impossible chance to avenge his fallen master by his hand, if he was not fated to be that person at the very least he must witness it with his own eyes. He would not accept any other outcome, not until he give his all for his pride demands it. With the all the information have been shared, I began discussing our plans of getting through this singularity with Olga-san, Ritsuka and Caster while the other servants waited patiently at the side.
"Ah, Archer. I'm glad you were able to return safely." Rider welcome Archer as she notice the bowman's arrival. "Caster had just share his knowledge with us as you were busy with your duty. The masters and caster are busy in planning our next move. If you like, I could share the detail with you while we wait for them to finish." As Archer had only just arrive, rider found it to be her responsibilities to help inform him. Seeing how thorough he is in his duty as a servant, it brought the memories of her childhood to the front of her mind. 'His act and personality does remind me of that man...'
"That will be helpful rider. You can just give a rundown explanation, knowing the gist of it is plenty enough for me." Settling at the table where Rider is seated, Archer listen quietly to the short summary of what had happen. "A curse coming down from above, huh. There's only one obvious culprit that has the mana large enough to affect the entire land with curse in a single night, the Holy Grail itself. Looks like our next fight will decide the fate of this singularity. Heh, seriously. The boy that summons us does know how to exhaust his servants as much as he could." Archer said jokingly, knowing it fully that a servant is meant to face that is consider impossible for the sake of their master.
"Hush Archer, you shouldn't say something like that even as a joke. Besides, this will be the perfect moment to showcase each of our strength and abilities in front of our master. As they say, the earlier the better." Rider said with a smile. Noticing the 2 assassin class servant walking towards them, she greeted them properly. "Greetings, please have a sit you two. With how busy the masters is, this will be the best time for us to know each other before facing our next battle. I'm actually quite excited to work together with heroic spirits from the east."
Sitting at the same table, Kotarou replied the greeting politely. "Indeed Rider-san. Properly knowing your allies of the same cause is an important step to ensure our battle in the future will be victorious. Isn't that right mo- I mean Danzo-san." He smile nervously, knowing how close he is to spilling the beans.
"That is right young Fuuma. Even if I may lack the experience of being a human in my life, I too was taught that knowledge of one's ally is a weapon waiting to be use." Danzo express her agreement. 'Becoming a Heroic Spirit and now a servant. Perhaps this is a blessing given to me, to be more than just a karakuri doll that only utility is to kill.' Every servant sitting at the table saw the small smile forming on Danzo face without the person noticing it herself.
"Now then." Standing up, the positive aura exude by this famous saint causes Archer to sweat in discomfort, Kotarou staring with awe, and Danzo for the first time discovering how it truly feels to be a believer. "This shall henceforth be the first official gathering of The Astounding Heroes!" Rider spreads her arms wide after declaring the 'official name' for the four of them whos was summon by the same master. Danzo and Kotarou starts to clap with eyes filled with admiration, fully charm by the presentation given by the one known as a saint. Archer, who stay silent after Rider's declaration slowly raise his hand. "Yes Archer, do you wish to be the first to share us about yourself?" Rider ask Archer, fully showing her motherly appearance when talking with the common people of her time.
"No, I just have one minor problem." Rider awaited for the question from Archer, ready to listen and answer any confusion he has no matter how little they are calmly.
"The name you've made for us….. Is utterly horrendous."
Scene break -Archer
"Uaaahh" The girl who just became a demi-servant falls to the ground. Looking at her legs, roots can be seen tying her feet. Caster lift his hand from the ground, causing the roots to let go of their holds on the girl, named Mash.
"Come on, girl! You've got to focus more if you wish to protect your master. You can't just rely to the strength of the servant inside of you, that brains of yours gotta share the burden as your other body when fighting, got it! That one goes to you two missy. Support your servant by giving any commands that may help her getting the upper hand in a battle. Let's do this once more." Caster wait for Mash to form her battle stance before resuming the training.
"For a minute there I thought my first servant decided to abandon me after making a woman depress with just a single line. Came here to hide the embarrassment?" Looking at my side, my master, Fujimaru Shirou, watched with interest at the mock battle on the street. "To have Galahad, one of the knight of the round table inside her, that must have been the biggest jackpot if I had to sum it. A servant that might lies in its defences is the most ideal servant for such a kind girl. Don't you think so, Archer?" Looking at me with an expectant for an answer, I raise both of my shoulders as a sign of 'I guess'. A frown appear on his face, unsatisfied with my lack of cooperativeness to discuss the topic further.
"…..fine. Preferably he is the servant most fitting with that girl. Having an impenetrable noble phantasm in her disposal would surely help her and her master in the long run. Too bad it may take some time for her to develop it fully with how she is still clueless to the identity of said servant. Are you sure you want to keep this to yourself? This does concern with the safety of your sister." The boy grip his hand tightly, eyes still on the training ongoing down below.
"I really do want to tell them, Archer. It took all of my will not to spoil everything I know for my sister with how much danger she'll have to face without me being there. But I can't interrupt any further or I'll risk it going too different from what it should be. Saving Olga-san will definitely change a lot of things, some bad but much more good than what it should be." He smile confidently as if some past memories help him to find the confidence in his action. "That girl down there never stop chasing me to wherever I go, abandoning the comfort for a burden that I had picked up. She can be really annoying sometimes but that quirk came from her great interest to the things she cared for. With more servants to aid her and some time, she will definitely go far, much further than me to be honest. That's why I should just do what she had asked me before our arrival at Chaldea, to watch from the side as she made her own mistake and learn from it, as any independent person of her age. That's why if I can't trust what I've been told, then I could definitely trust the strong girl that is my sister."
"Wicker man"
A man made of woods came forth in front of caster. Even if we were standing from a high place, the size of the wooden man and the heat it gave out intimidated my master watching with me. The towering giant move slowly towards both of the girls down below, tension fill Ritsuka knowing the danger that will befall her should Mash not be able to use her noble phantasm. Yet she will not back down from her position. She will rather be in pain with Mash rather than the living her servant alone. 'She is indeed strong.'
"Calm down Shirou, she'll definitely be fine. If it's Mash then there's nothing to worry about. I hope." The boy face my way, probably to avoid his worry growing with each step Caster's noble phantasm take to reach Shielder and her master. "Archer, about the question you asked me before."
"Hmm, so you still remember huh? I've actually forgotten about it already, thanks to my master taking his time to answer it. Don't worry, just focus on the problem on your shoulder before worrying about the little things around you." Shielder raises her shield high, determination is set, all its left is to re-enact it, the noble phantasm that was given to her by the servant residing in her.
"….Thank you Archer. I promise, after this is all over I'll definitely tell you my story." Glancing at the boy who is my master, he is smiling contently. "Oh, one more thing. That servant archer you just face, is it really another you?"
"Hmmm."
"So that version of you lost, huh? I know I'm not the one who should tell you about how to fight, but." Showing a cheeky smile while scratching his head. He gave the most ridiculous order I've ever heard of. "Archer, as I am your master, if the situation calls it be a little more reckless Alright? Because that's how an existence called Shirou shines the most."
"Lord Chaldea"
As a giant blue shield protects Ritsuka and Shielder from the flames of the giant, the time for us to commence the attack has finally begun.
Scene break –Fujimaru Shirou
Moving at high speeds with Kotarou carrying me while Mash and Danzo hold Ritsuka and Olga-san respectively, we manage to cross the bridge to enter Miyama Town, the suburban part of Fuyuki without confronting any corrupted servants that is confirmed to still be active. Jumping from roof to roof, Caster lead us away from the area where Berserker, Hercules himself resided. 'We've about to reach mount Enzou, keep your attention on your assign viewpoint. Alarm me if there is any enemy servant presence is detected.' I order my servant telepathically. 'If what Archer speculate is true, than we may face multiple enemy servant in the next moment. Prioritize the safety of Ritsuka and Olga-san first, sooner or later we'll definitely be able to take them out.' A corrupted servant is significantly weaker than their original container, following the plan made ahead of our time should be enough to make us the victor from the fight with the said corrupted servant.
Arriving at what seems to be a large old style building at the northern part of Miyama, 10 knife hidden by the darkness fly towards me and Ritsuka. Sensing the danger coming towards the master, Archer and Caster parry all the attacks coming to us. Halting our progression, a neigh from a horse can be heard above us. A fierce black horse carrying a grinning boy with a red ponytail came down on our position with high speed. "Rider!" Hearing her master call, Rider stood tall. The presence of a beast surrounded the area as Tarasque materialize. Jumping with all the strength from its legs, the dragon counter the approaching horse servant by using its snake-like tail as a whip.
KTOOOM
"Guuuukkhh!" both the rider and its steed slam down hard on the ground. Recovering instantly, the servant stagger back to form a distance from his enemy. As caster form a barrier with his runes to block the incoming projectiles from the servant wearing a skulled mask, Archer dismiss the twin blades in his hand before summoning his black bow. Aiming for the hidden assassin behind the trees of the estate, a burst shot is released targeting the dark servant with insane precision and power.
"Huuaargghh!" the servant fell in pain after dodging and deflecting some of the arrows, before inevitably being shot through from 4 different part of his body. Shoulder, right arm, torso and right knee. Archer release another shot straight to the down servant, killing it instantly as it head is pierced by the arrow.
"Aaah, maybe we should have waited for mister archer to return before attacking them. Guess mister assassin is right, heh." The servant whom I believe to be a rider smile with a blank eye. His young body and pretty look is spoil by the red veins covering parts of his body. "No matter. All I have to do is just to kill you back for mister assassin isn't that right red arch- eh!? What are you doing joining the enemy side mister archer! I thought you said to us to stand on wait while you go fetch mister berserker. Don't tell me you decided to join them rather than to conquer the impossible odds that is our enemies. "Disbelieve of the servant seeing Archer is instantly replace with murderous stare. "If so, then I'll cut your cowardly head with the rest of them. Bucephalus!" the large horse stomps the ground hard. Forming craters from the impact of its foot.
"Man Archer. No matter which version you are you really do know how to get under everyone's skin." Caster mock Archer as he casually swing his staff before standing in combat mode. Archer frown in annoyance as he notch a single arrow fill to the brim with prana.
"Behind us!" Mash warn us before standing straight with her shield defending us from behind. Red arrow struck the shield with strong force, causing her to grit her teeth as the vibration went through her entire body. The much weaker shot that came around from different angle is easily taken care of the barrier made by Caster."
"Mister archer, Is that truly you!?" The corrupted rider exclaim loudly, joy spreading his face seeing the white hair servant standing on top of the gate wall of the estate. "Wait, if you're standing there, then who could that identical archer be? Your twin brother?"
Jumping over us to land besides his companion, the corrupted archer sigh before berating the boy for his performance. "Rider, didn't I tell you to wait for my arrival before engaging the enemy. If you hadn't been so impatient, assassin could have been a big help in taking down the master." The enemy rider smile sheepishly after being scolded by the older looking servant. "Who is the enemy and what he looks like means nothing, rider. As long as you see one, kill them without hesitation got it?"
"Got it, mister archer!" The boy reply happily. Sighing, the enemy archer face us with the intent to kill.
"Besides, the party is about to begin rider." Smirking, the ground around us begins to shake as a monstrous roar came towards us. Closer and closer. Looking behind us, our bodies tense as the monstrous black giant leap above the other side of the wall, It large stone blade held high for an overhead blow.
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅▅▅!"
Chapter end -11 hours before prologue