Einzbern Castle, Night 3
Artoria Pendragon stood near a patch of burnt grass, it was the place where she fought against the five Servants yesterday night. Even though it was a brief battle, the area surrounding the clash between the personification of legends and myths were completely destroyed.
Holes littered the ground, trees were toppled, and scorch marks were everywhere. The damages proved how intense the fight was when legendary figures were involved, despite the Servants only possessing a fragment of their main body's true power.
The Servant of the Sword came to the Einzbern Castle with Rider and his Master. Waver Velvet and Iskandar wanted to inspect the aftermath of her fight against the Dragon Tooth Warriors and the Servants of White after listening to her recount of the incident at the Fuyuki Church.
She agreed to their request and brought them here after the holding of their war council. Tohsaka Tokiomi returned to his mansion in order to increase its security and call his contacts, while the priests stayed in the Church.
In spite of her objections, Kiritsugu went off alone. She didn't believe when he said that he was going to one of his weapon cache when he had brought enough ammunition for an army. Her Master treated her as if she was a familiar and he seemed to lost all his trust when Irisviel and Maiya were taken away last night. Normally, she would go with Kiritsugu. But the man definitely needed some alone time right now.
The sound of leaves rustling caught her attention. The floras parted, revealing the towering figure of Rider. Iskandar, or Alexander the Great was massive. She had no idea why he was called a midget, when the man was over two hundred centimeters in height.
Rider wore jeans and a white T-shirt with the words "Admirable Tactics" on it. The T-shirt wasn't big enough and it showed his muscular frame. He seemed to be proud of his current attire, though Saber found it mortifying.
"Rider, what are you doing here?" She had a strange expression on her face due to his choice of clothing. It was said once upon a time, King Alexander took the lead in wearing Asiatic clothing due to his interest in the cultures of his conquered land, and caused his followers to avert him like the plague.
"You can't tell by looks? I'm gonna drink with you- oi, stop standing there like a stick and lead the way. You should know a place fitting for a banquet, right?" Iskandar carried a red wooden wine casket under his arm and grinned at Artoria.
"You..."
"Stop being so stiff, Saber. You and the boy have been restless the whole day." Rider shook his head. "Let's take a break, nothing can be done by being anxious. Take this as an invitation from the King of Conquerors, alright?"
"...Fine." Saber breathed. She have been on edge since the fight last night, a short break should help relax her nerves.
Waver Velvet was searching for prana signatures in the forest, he suspected that there were two Servants of the Caster-class present during the assault on the Einzbern Castle yesterday.
There are two main points leading to his suspicion of there being two Casters. Firstly, the systems of Magecraft performed were different. The one which was used to attack the castle was of western origins while the Caster who attacked Saber used eastern Magecraft.
According to Saber, she was dressed in a blue kimono and had fox ears, her appearance clearly of eastern descent. If he is not wrong, from the description of her uses of talismans, there is a possibility that she was using Witchcraft, a branch of oriental Thaumaturgy.
Secondly, news came from the church a couple hours ago. The priest stated that Ruler went after Caster of Blue and lost her when she teleported away. However, Ruler was able to catch a glimpse of her appearance. She had long pink hair and elven ears. She also had a pair of wings and was dressed in greek clothing.
'Greek clothing.' Waver mused.
If he's not wrong, then he had probably solved the mystery. Caster of Blue originated from ancient Greece and was the one who destroyed one-third of the Einzbern Castle. While the fox woman, Caster of White, was the one who fought against Saber last night.
'Yep, now I just need to confirm it with the prana signatures. I should be close to where Caster of Blue launched her attack, according to the amount of prana shown on th-'
"Oh hey, boy. Come with me!" Rider appeared out of nowhere and dragged Waver off, ignoring his screams of protest.
'Why does it always happen to me?!'
The place of the banquet was chosen to be the parterre in the castle's central courtyard. Debris littered one side of the courtyard, but the scenery was still better compared to the other locations of the castle.
Rider brought the casket to the central courtyard, and the two Servants sat opposite each other with ease. Waver was dragged off from his experiments by Rider, displeasure filled his face.
Rider shattered the lid of the casket with his fist, the musky fragrance of red wine immediately filled the air of the courtyard.
"Isn't this great? I found it in the wine cellar beneath the castle!" Rider shamelessly proclaimed the act of blatant thievery, ignoring the looks Saber and Waver gave him.
"Although this is shaped oddly, it's the goblet unique to this country." He scooped up some red wine with a long bamboo ladle, which was definitely not made for the purpose of drinking. Waver recalled his dream and finally started to understand why the man's subordinates acted oddly sometimes.
"Not bad." Rider passed the 'goblet' to Saber and closed his eyes to enjoy the taste of the wine. "Not bad at all."
Saber accepted the bamboo ladle from Rider and filled it to the brim with wine.
Gulp She downed it in one gulp. Seeing this, Rider praised her.
"Since we are having a banquet, why don't we talk about the Grail?" Rider opened his eyes, he gazed at the young girl in front of him sternly. "Saber, why do you want the Holy Grail?"
"Why do you ask, Rider?" Saber turned solemn.
Waver flinched at the sudden change of atmosphere. 'Is this the aura of kings?'
"I would like to know the motive behind your desire for the Holy Grail. This is not a question from an ally, but from a fellow king." Rider accepted the ladle back and drank another spoon of wine. "If possible, I'd prefer to end this peacefully between the two of us. We can discuss which of us is more suited to be the king of the Holy Grail, the victor shall receive the Grail as the prize."
"I agree." Saber said after contemplating for a few seconds. "I also favor ending this war peacefully. The lesser the blood shed, the better."
Rider nodded and smiled at her response. "Since I started it, I will go first then-"
"Oh? How impudent for you to start without inviting me."
A blinding light flashed and eight beings stood in the central courtyard. Rider recognized five of them from Saber's report, but the other three were totally foreign to him.
The first was the woman who spoke earlier. She was wrapped in a dress as dark as midnight and possessed peerless beauty, with long black hair and black eyes along with pointed ears.
The second was a young girl who stood at the back of the group. She had pale green hair and yellow eyes, and she was wearing a kimono.
The last was a young girl with long pink hair and elven ears. She also had a pair of wings and was dressed in greek clothing. Definitely Caster of Blue since she matched the appearance Ruler described.
Saber stood up and glared at the Servants of White. She really wanted to use Excalibur, she could practically win the war easily with all of the White Faction present. Even though she wanted to do so, her sense of honor will not allow it. This was a banquet meant for kings, not a place where fight should happen.
Semiramis seemed to understand Artoria's plight and snickered inwardly. She gestured her fellow Servants and proceeded to sit down alongside Rider.
Medb, Nero, Scáthach and Nobunaga followed her and sat down as well. Tamamo, Kiyohime and Circe didn't follow, they stood a distance away instead.
Although Tamamo was related to Emperor Toba of Japan and Circe was related to Odysseus, the Greek king of Ithacar. Tamamo was merely a prized courtesan while Circe was only Odysseus' lover. They were neither queens nor rulers despite their brilliant minds.
Rider wasn't fazed at the sudden arrival of the White Faction, but his Master sure did. Waver stood rigid with both his mouth and eyes wide opened.
'They're all here!'
In a hotel room, Kiritsugu eyes widened.
He started watching the two's conversation since he was slightly interested in Saber's wish for the Holy Grail, but he didn't expect this.
'What to do... Although ordering Saber to use Excalibur might work since it's an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm, the time required for her to charge it would allow them to teleport away.'
After a brief contemplation, he decided not to use his Command Seals.
If Saber somehow managed to launch Excalibur successfully, she will definitely turn hostile against him. Even if she didn't, Rider definitely will.
'Pride, huh?'
"Hahaha! Welcome, fellow kings, or should I call you queens?" Rider grinned. "I am the Iskandar, King of Conquerors! May I know your names?"
Artoria sat back down, lamenting at Rider's nonchalant attitude.
Rider offered Semiramis the bamboo ladle, which she accepted.
"I am Semiramis." She said promptly and downed the wine.
"I welcome you, Wise Queen of Assyria." Rider eyes twitched. For someone who died by poisoning to meet the world's oldest poisoner...
Semiramis frowned at the taste of the red wine. She snapped her finger and a violet magic circle appeared.
Artoria tensed at the magic circle, but relaxed after seeing goblets and wine bottles coming through the created portal.
"This is a banquet of kings, the cheap wine you're drinking isn't suited for such a grand event." Semiramis handed the wine to Rider, the goblets floated to the seven rulers. "Try this instead."
"This is good stuff!" Rider uncorked the bottle and was surprised at the fragrance it gave off. "I can tell just by the smell!"
"Of course it is, these were gifts from my Master." Semiramis seemed proud.
Rider poured the wine into his goblet but stopped close of drinking it. He wasn't afraid of poison, a ruler wouldn't disgrace themself by poisoning a fellow king in front of so many others.
"Here." He lowered his cup and grabbed the bottle. He filled the other Servants' goblets with wine. "Shall we?"
Rider raised his goblet and clinked it against another six. He downed in all in one gulp, so did the others.
"Good wine!" Rider exclaimed and Saber nodded with a satisfied face.
With the taste of good wine, the Servants started introducing themselves. Medb was the first one to speak.
"I am Medb. I have heard of your deeds, King Alexander. I hope you are as great a warrior as a king." The young girl with long pink hair looked excited.
"Scáthach." The purple-haired beauty said straightly.
"I am the Devil King of the Sixth Heaven, Oda Nobunaga!" The young girl with dark hair stood up and exclaimed.
"I am Nero Claudius!" The blonde-haired young girl in a military-styled red dress stood up beside Nobunaga and declared haughtily.
"Q-Queen of Connacht?" Rider winced. "Ha, haha... I am not as great of as a warrior compared to being a ruler." He definitely didn't want to be tied down by someone as, uh... passionate? as her. A number of heroes from Celtic Mythology died because of her, and he sure wouldn't want to join them.
"King Alexander, as the host, why don't you tell us your wish for the Holy Grail first?" Semiramis interjected and Rider gave her a grateful look.
Rider took a sip from his goblet and smiled shyly. "I wish for true incarnation." He looked very embarrassed.
"W-What's with that wish?! Didn't you wanted to conquer the world?!" Waver cried out at the ridiculous wish and Saber was surprised as well, though the Servants of White seemed unperturbed.
"Idiot, why would I want the Holy Grail to conquer the world for me?" Rider flicked his Master away and shrugged his shoulders. "In the end I am but a Servant. I wish to be reborn as a living human. And with my own body, I shall defy both heaven and earth. That is what the act of conquest is all about. It is how it begins, proceed and is finished." Rider finished downed the entire cup. "Such is my path of conquest."
Saber wanted to rebut Rider's wish but Nobunaga voiced out first. "You have a great dream, King of Conquerors!"
"Many thanks, warlord of Japan. As a fellow conqueror, why don't you tell us your dream?"
Oda Nobunaga, also known as the Devil King of the Sixth Heaven, was the conqueror of the warring states during the Sengoku Period and is regarded as one of three unifiers of Japan. She is the most famous Japanese historical figure due to her being the biggest factor and the key to the unification of Japan.
"I do not particularly have a wish for the Holy Grail." Nobunaga rubbed her chin. "Though I would like to see what the ultimate bomb will be like, those creations of modern people sure are fascinating!"
Her words caused the faces of the more lawful Servants to change.
The ultimate bomb? Does she intend to detonate that thing somewhere? If she did, the damage would be unimaginable.
They definitely can't allow the laughing girl to win. The Servants of White know it is very likely that due to her tendency for unusual ideas, she may use the Holy Grail itself to make some sort of mess. Her wish just confirmed the idea as well.
"Don't you think bombs are great? The explosions would definitely be quite a view!"
"I-I get it, warlord of Japan." Rider coughed and turned to the young girl he tried to avoid earlier. "What about you, Queen of Connacht? Will you share your wish with us?"
It was wiser to ignore Nobunaga. If they gave her any strange idea, she might just attempt to turn the Holy Grail into a bomb. What would happen if the ultimate wish-granting device was turned into a bomb? He wouldn't want to find it out anytime soon.
"My wish is to make all superb men of past, present, and future into my lovers!" Medb beamed, ignoring the stunned expressions of the other Servants. "I love men, warriors, and people who are stronger than anyone else! That is why all strong men should fall in love with me!"
As expected of Queen Medb. The young girl of affairs who built engagements, marriages and, at times, nothing but carnal relations with many kings and brave warriors.
She was also the ringleader who caused the greatest war of the Ulster Cycle. It might be true when they said that she is endowed with the aspect of discord and conflict, as a Divine Spirit that rules over insanity, evil and royal authority.
'But I wonder... what is love? I have been in love many times. But, what I had, was it truly love?' She had realized it long ago but she didn't want others to know her true wish. She knew that she wouldn't be able to obtain the Holy Grail of this war. 'Should I start searching for the meaning of true love? What about Master? He seemed wise and is a capable warrior himself...'
"Ahem. It is indeed an interesting wish." Rider scratched his cheeks. "Will you enlighten us with your wish, warrior queen?
"My wish..."
Author's Note:
Cliffhanger? :D?
Anyway, Fate/Zero is coming to an end and should end before 40k words.
I changed the glossary, it will be updated alongside the story.
See you on the next chapter then, ciao!
