Fate's Way
Chapter 10 - Normal Days
Inside a large western-style mansion laying down on a couch at midnight was Saber, the Servant of the Sword of this war, his true name being Emiya Shirou and soon to be Counter Guardian EMIYA.
His head was still going in circles trying to figure out why a certain King of Mongrels had changed so much in comparison to the one he had met.
It doesn't help either that he couldn't actually remember much of the war and his past as a whole other than vague memories that barely contributed the necessary information to get a slight advantage.
His six decades of travelling hadn't left his mind completely intact, he had forgotten most of his past beyond the important points that changed his life forever and a vague recollection of memories that only survived due to their repetitiveness.
To put to point of how much he had lost, he had even sacrificed his emotions to the bare necessary amount to be able to sympathize with other lifeforms.
At one point in his search for the distant Utopia and chasing his ideals to become a Hero of Justice, his heart had transformed into steel, whether it was a gradual transition or something life-changing that forced it to happen he didn't know, but beyond that point, his Reality Marble took its current shape.
He had forgotten most faces he met, if it wasn't for his encounter with the Rin in this war, even he would've had a hard time recalling her face. The reason he could recall the Servants well was that he had remembered their Noble Phantasms and sparked his long-forgotten memories back into his mind.
But the Masters, however… Beyond those he had already met, the most he could remember were nearly indiscernible memories which they were a part of.
Rin's summoning of Tristan instead of Archer had already raised some flags, but he shrugged it off as Rin stumbling upon a catalyst for said former Knight of the Round Table,
His impression of the man was relatively decent, he seems to be an honourable and honest man, and he had understood that the one time the man attacked him while he was fighting against Berserker wasn't really intentional, more that he found the timing perfect to try killing the mad warrior.
Either way, that must've been the case as there were absolutely no possibilities that Rin could've summoned anyone except Archer if she had used the gem as a catalyst as she did during his own war.
The changes of the Servants may seem relatively minor, however, he wouldn't be able to trust his knowledge of the previous war entirely this time, as chances are even if their identity remains the same, they might have been summoned from a different part of their legend or from an alternate universe entirely similar to Gilgamesh's case, in which case he should try scouting more seriously.
His plans were going to need to advance faster to guarantee that they were still keeping up with the changing environment.
Adapting to the ever-changing battlefield and their battle conditions is key for any warrior, and that happened to be one of his specialities.
Saber thoughtlessly nodded to himself as he got up to scout the other Servants (from his memories) by himself while his Master was resting. He has a couple hours to do exactly that.
Speaking of his Master, he needed to find a way to convince her to stop acting on impulse, what happened with Gilgamesh, in the end, worked out well, it wouldn't always be so.
He finally understands what Seiba had to go through when handling his younger stubbornness to his ideals self. In which case it was also now his responsibility to nurture the boy.
Perhaps he should take up Rin's offer to drink Coffee, even if it was decades-long overdue.
He dryly chuckled to himself.
It was a night with a beautiful moon.
Artoria was at a Japanese styled home that seemed to irk recognition in her, but couldn't recall anything of sorts.
She saw a red-haired boy sitting alongside a man with messy black hair.
The boy's face was vaguely visible, it was blurry as if someone had forgotten something.
The air was a little chilly, similar to the transition phase to the winter season.
The man and the boy were watching the moon together in peace.
"When I was a child, I wanted to be a superhero." The man says as if yearning for it
The child was confused at his father's words.
"What? What do you mean by 'wanted'? Did you give up?" The red-haired boy looked up angrily and asked
The man looked up to the sky whilst laughing apologetically.
Artoria got a better look at the man's face, then suddenly recalled the last dream.
The man was the same one that had appeared to save her whilst in the nightmare filled with fire.
Compared to back then, he looked sickly and could fall ill anytime.
"Yes, unfortunately. Being a hero is a time-limited thing, and it becomes hard to call yourself that when you grow up. I wish I'd found that out earlier."
She found herself agreeing with the man even if she was merely an outside observer.
While certainly there was the alternative of ascending to the throne of heroes, in the modern age such a thing is impossible as any miracles would be called hoaxes, and…
Few actually possess the capabilities of heroes of old, whether it is a normal human or magus, and that could be partially blamed on the decline of the Age of Gods which severely reduced the ambient mana in the air.
"I see. Then I guess it couldn't be helped." The boy thoughtfully said
"Yeah. It really couldn't be helped." The man answered
"Yeah, it can't be helped, so I'll take your place. It's impossible since you're an adult, but it should be all right for me. Let me take on your dream-" The boy determinedly said with the naivety of a child
His innocence and ignorance of the real world make him unbelievably cute, it was something Artoria had experience with as her younger brother was and is of the same case. Now if only she could see his face.
"-I'll definitely make it come true." Before the boy finished, his father laughed
He didn't need to hear the rest as he had already pieced it together.
After breathing in, the man said…
"Yeah…. I'm relieved." The man quietly closed his eyes, his face looked peaceful in this state.
The man entered a long slumber. His life has ended
The boy teared up when looking at his father's state.
Artoria's instincts as an older sister sprung up as she walked to comfort the boy.
However… Upon attempting to reach out to the boy, her hands sank, going completely through his body.
Ah, that's right. She can't truly interact with the world before her.
She felt bad that she couldn't do anything to help the boy before her, but such a thing is outside her control.
As such, she sat beside the boy below the bright moon, even without being able to interact with the boy, the least she could do was accompany the boy till the end, mourning the loss of his father.
Actually… When she thought about it, she felt a twinge of sadness in her heart too.
She had never known the father, but he too had saved her by ending the nightmare a few nights ago.
The fiery landscape, cries of the people begging to be saved yet no one did, the tremendous pain of walking through hell itself etched to the back of her mind as the flames licked her body, threatening to consume her whole.
The man had appeared before her when she was about to give up, effectively ending the nightmare as that was the last thing she remembered before waking up.
The boy cried for hours unend, unaware of the teenage girl sitting beside him mourning the man's death alongside him.
It wasn't until the moon sunken below the horizon that the boy had stopped crying.
The world around her slowly dissipated. It seems her time here was up,
Looking down at the boy once more, she gave him a goodbye even if he didn't hear her as she knew that it was about to end. The boy no longer has to suffer as he was just a product of her unconscious imagination.
Before long, nothingness returned to her mindscape as she drifted back into unconsciousness.
"I wonder who that man and that boy were." Even if they were simply products of imagination, she wants to at least remember their names.
She doesn't dream often and usually, it wouldn't be as peaceful as this one, so it is why this was a good experience for her.
That was the last thought she had before she completely slept in for the rest of the night.
A sudden poke to her sides startled her, her body stood upright in response.
Upon opening her eyes she was met with the same smile she sees every day recently apparently.
"Wakey wakey! Breakfast is going to be served soon!" Her annoying but great energetic friend told her as she did the last several days since Artoria broke her alarm
Her eyes were being assaulted by the rays coming from the scorching sun, so she was a little annoyed by her rude awakening, but who could blame her friend? Certainly not her.
"Right, right…" Artoria responded lazily as she rubs the tiredness off her eyes
Gwen gave her another morning smile that surpasses in brightness compared to the sun outside her windows over there. It also felt more comfortable too, her eyes felt like it was being roasted just by looking at the Sun.
"By the way, Arty, do you know where Saber had gone?" Gwen asked her expectantly
"Saber?" Shouldn't he be near the house right now? He would've at least left a note on what his intentions were.
Artoria gave her friend a look asking to continue.
"Well you see, Saber was nowhere to be found in the house, and he didn't leave any notes or anything so your dad was a bit concerned, as he had brought Saber in last night," Gwen explained,
"Wait what? How am I supposed to know? You woke even earlier than I did." Artoria was still tired and cranky this morning to deal with surprises
"Don't be such a dummy Arty! You said you had a pact with him, remember? Shouldn't you be able to talk with him right now?" Gwen pouted
Artoria's mouth went wide agape in response, her brain finally catching up to her.
"Ah ah, I forgot about that, give me a second." Artoria embarrassedly responded
'Saber?' No response came
'Saber? Are you there?' Again no response came, by this time she subconsciously started speculating the worst scenarios that might've happened.
'Saber!-" Artoria tried talking through the connection she had felt with Saber, but still, no response came
With a grim look on her face, she went back to face Gwen.
Her friend immediately understood her message
"So no good?" Gwen had a small frown on her face
"Could it be that he's just too far away?" Her friend offered
"That would be the best-case scenario, but I'm not too optimistic considering our luck in the last few days." Artoria nodded with hesitation
Servants can't operate by themselves as they would need an anchor to this world and a mana supply to sustain their existence, and the further they go away from their anchor the lower their connection would be from the Master.
For that reason, only the Archer class could usually operate without being close to their Master due to their class skill Independent Action as they would be able to sustain themselves.
If the connection to their Master was too weak, the limited the Master could actually do with the Servant, in which case… It might be the cause of their problem…
However it seems a little suspicious that she was completely blocked off from her Servant, it makes her worried that Saber might've accidentally got himself in a situation.
"We could skip school today and try finding him?" Gwen offered her again
Honestly, Artoria felt bad that she actually wanted to accept her friend's offer. It felt like she was taking advantage of her friendship, as the things that she had pulled Gwen into by accident or not was
Her friend was willing to put importance on her priorities instead of herself, and that doesn't sit well in her. She hasn't even returned the favour back, but she doesn't know what to do, teaching Magecraft would just drag her friend to a deeper hole.
"How about you just go to school, Gwen? This doesn't involve you, so it's better if you stay back." Artoria tried dissuading her friend,
If she had to pick between telling Magecraft to her friend or not, then she'd reluctantly pick to tell. However, to drag her friend deeper into a conflict which has a high chance of risking their lives.
She surely would rather have her friend stay aside. She was the one who had the power and decided to join the death game when she had the opportunity to opt-out while at the Kotomine Church.
She couldn't bear losing her one and only friend due to her own actions. She'd rather take the fall alone than together with someone she cared for.
This brings her to a dilemma as to whether she should move out of her house entirely to ensure her family remains safe.
She didn't like thinking about it, she'd rather not imagine the possibility that she might actually die, but… She was not stupid, if she continued to stay at this house, chances are there might be a Master who located them and… The rest brings a grim look upon her impulsive actions.
Was it really worth it to join this death game to just wish for something now that she looked at as far less important than what was at stake?
"Of course I wouldn't do that, you're my friend and friends help each other," Gwen responded cheerily
"I'm having second thoughts about this entire thing." She finally spewed those foul words out of her mouth
How could she not? It was entirely her idea to join the thing, so just having thoughts of backing out just two days after is…
"Eh? Why so? Didn't you say you wanted to get something you lost back?"
"I did, but… I don't think it's worth it anymore…" She slowly admitted
While she knew that her friend wouldn't judge her for it, it's just that she felt that she failed to live up to her expectations, and her family's too if they had known about this entire ordeal.
"Come on, Arty. Don't think like that, you're probably overthinking things right now." Gwen pulled her head to face hers
"Even if I am… The fact still stands that I had risked more than I could've gained for this…" She averted her eyes
"I agreed without any of your consent for that matter." She silently added though Gwen likely had managed to catch that from their distance
"I'm sure this will all end up being fine, don't think about it too much. Besides, we have two more friends to add, don't we?" Gwen reassured her doubtful friend
"Maybe… But what if it doesn't end up like that? I just… Don't want any of you to get hurt…" The rest is clear for her long time friend
She doesn't want anyone to get dragged into this secret war. She doesn't want anyone to grief if one of them(or both) didn't make it through, just her imagination of their reactions makes her realize that she didn't think this entire thing through.
"Then tell me Art, do you intend to lose?" Gwen asked a question that should be obvious
"Of course not!" Artoria decisively responded
"Then you won't lose, the only thing that is stopping you right now is your self-doubt. What you should be facing isn't the unknown Masters and Servants, instead think of your enemies as yourself. As long as you don't lose to yourself, then your victory is surely guaranteed." Gwen a long and wise speech that rendered Artoria speechless
Truly, her friend's reputation of being wise beyond her years wasn't unfounded. Although…
"Ehm… Arty?" Her blonde-haired friend leaned forward to investigate why Artoria was still not responding
Her friend is truly a blockhead as wise as she may come off sometimes, though Artoria's awe and respect for her friend did not reduce a single bit. Though when her friend was starting to pull on her cheeks she finally gave her answer.
"A-Ah! Okay, I got it already." Her hands went up to pry the offending arm from her face, which caused her to wince in more pain due to Gwen's surprisingly firm grip at that moment.
"That's why don't be sad anymore okay? I don't like it if you're sad." She pinched her friend's tender cheeks even harder to prove her point
As much as her skin sensitivity was a blessing in practical situations, it was certainly not earning her any appreciation points in her punishment by her friend.
"Ow ow, okay stop please!" When her friend finally released her throbbing cheeks, Artoria went and put a hand over it
Her cheeks were throbbing with agonizing pain as she attempted to soothe the pain.
It was red as day, and it made her particularly cute (As horrible as that was), though the hands of the Queen (wait, Queen?) beside her spares none for those it punishes.
"Eh? Sis, are you alright?" A wild Bedi suddenly appeared in the hallway in front of their room
"Yeah, I'm fine." Her younger brother approached her form curiously…
And poked her still reddened cheeks. She restrained herself from showing any reactions as much as it pained her to endure it. She just couldn't bring herself to tell her brother to stop due to how cute he looks up close.
So she stupidly sat there being poked around by Bedi, meanwhile, Gwen was watching the scene with amusement.
"Bedi, your sister is going to be fine, as much of an idiot she is," Gwen reassures Artoria's brother
"Mhm," Artoria added in,
"Okayyy then. Oh and also, Nilrem is going to be here today." Bedivere said
"Huh, alright then." She had just now remembered that she did ask her brother to tell her whenever that womanizer comes
It's been a while since she had met with that wizard, and she very much expects a very good explanation from the man.
Artoria proceeded to go to the bathroom to prepare herself for today.
As much as she didn't feel like going out today in general, even if she could skip school (She never did before), she certainly has to find out where Saber is at.
Artoria very much trusts her Servant's ability to take care of himself, no but the problem is that her Servant hasn't told her whatever he's doing right now, and the fact she could even talk through her connection with Saber worries her even more.
But for now, she has to act like everything is still normal in her house and not have anyone catch on to a single thing of what she has been doing as of recently.
Her attention was stolen by that same golden sword that according to Rin had chosen her as the wielder.
It was a sword belonging to the legendary King Arthur from Arthurian legends from her father's home country on the British Isles.
It held many titles, but the most well-known one is the Golden Sword of the Victorious and the Sword that Chooses Kings. Its title doesn't exaggerate, this legendary blade had slain Heracles, one of the most well-known heroes in the entire world.
It has also for some reason chosen her, a random girl in Japan, as worthy to become the King of Britain.
Even if she has direct British ancestry, it still seems totally random that it would pick her of all people, though it's not like anyone would recognise the sword as legitimate, so she couldn't claim to be the true monarch of the isles even if she wanted to in the first place.
Either way, this sword has become a great replacement for her old (still broken) katana, actually she didn't know why, but she had managed to adjust herself to this sword to the point that she might actually be more skilled in wielding it than the one that she had since childhood.
Which was sad honestly, she had years of memories with her Katana, and all of that is gone in a single impossible battle, but then immediately after she received a replacement by accident and it happened to suit her as if it was hers from the beginning.
She sheathed the golden sword in its equally as beautiful scabbard which she had asked Saber to project, the scabbard holds no special properties, so it would be able to last for a few weeks, and she could just feed it some small bits of her mana to sustain its existence.
Then moving on to her Mystic Code, Carnwennan. She hadn't had much chance to use it aside from that one time with Lancer at the beginning of this all for her. Its concealing ability was impeccable, and she should probably try using it more, but certainly, she won't attempt to utilize its homing ability, she couldn't afford to lose such a tool right now, so she'd have to limit the ways she uses it
There's then her Azoth Sword, actually now that she thought about it, it's really weird as to why it had been able to store all of her mana, especially when it was the only mystic code she uses for as such. Perhaps knowing that she wouldn't bother buying expensive jewels, Nilrem had modified it to have a larger mana capacity?
But in any case, she's still contemplating whether she should bring it with her or not. It is by far her ultimate trump card, even comparing it to Caliburn. That is because the amount of magical energy in it was outrageous that she had to craft her own mystic code to conceal its mana signature, or else with the amount of energy it has accumulated, it would've probably alerted the Magi inside the city of her presence.
Good thing she had asked to learn about crafting Mystic Codes or else the old magus wouldn't have gone over the subject as it isn't particularly important for her considering her type of specialization, and Runecraft isn't a popular brand of magecraft either.
On the subject of Mystic Codes, she had seen some success in crafting them, although the ones that she had succeeded in making were often the oddest of what she had planned to make.
For example was that round metal table she crafted which she had appropriately named the "Round Table", which acts as a defensive mystic code that could create a barrier up to 10 meters from the table itself that could repel virtually any attacks as long as the appropriate mana was fed.
Of course, that was in theory, she had never actually tested its defensive capabilities out of her workshop, so she doesn't know how effective it is against other Magi.
It also gave her dad a good kick when he had stumbled upon her while she was in the middle of assembling it at the time, he didn't expect his daughter to take up an interest in making tables out of all things.
That's just one among a few she had made, but that's a story for another time. Actually, why was she retelling her story to herself?
But in the end, she didn't dare bring out her Azoth Sword as she had yet to find any need to tap into their reserves, and losing it would spell disaster.
With a satisfied hum, she put her dagger in her bag as usual and grabbed her sword to proceed to go down for breakfast.
Arriving at the breakfast table, everyone has already taken a seat waiting for her, with the additional member being the magus.
Nilrem was talking to her father at that time, but when he had turned to face her, he was suddenly fixated on the golden sword in her hands… Oh crap, how could she forget that Noble Phantasms are the pinnacle of mysteries, borderline magic if you will?
She mentally faced palmed, just by being in the Grail War for just 4 days had screwed her perception of what was normal, and what wasn't. It was great and all her mentor wasn't like other Magi, but certainly, even he would be shocked if he saw her holding a Noble Phantasm out of the blue.
She pretends to act as she would normally do, which is to set aside her items and start gouging into the feast before her… Although it was mashed potatoes again, they tasted very inadequate after Saber started cooking for her.
Though she couldn't help but notice the odd looks her mentor was giving both her and her sword, and it seems… nostalgia? Maybe her eyes were playing tricks on her, but it seems like he had a subtle nostalgic expression on his face.
She decided to not think too far deep and devoured the dishes before her while everyone talked together.
"Art, were you perhaps doing naughty things with Gwen while in your classmate's home?" Lancelot teased
"Oh don't worry Lancey. Arty and I weren't doing anything that bad." Gwen with her usual energetic expression spoke for her
"Hmm? "That bad," you say? So you did do something bad!" Lancelot caught on to a mistake in Gwen's wording and grinned wildly
Even though Gwen was the one to who it was directed, Artoria couldn't help but sweat a little.
"No, we definitely didn't do anything wrong. You're just letting your wild fantasies run wild." Artoria hastily dismissed Lancelot's claim, but it made her look even suspicious
"Art, or should I call you by your nickname Lily? Swinging that way isn't wrong, you know?" Lancelot said teasingly
"Oi, Lance, don't bother our little sister too much, she's already embarrassed at it is." Indeed Artoria was beginning to redden like a ripe tomato at the thought of how many times she and Gwen happened to be in situations in which they were intimate, even if they weren't intentional at all.
"Eh… Sis is that true?" And now her Bedi was in the process of being tainted by the two older brothers
"Of course not! Don't believe them!" Artoria responded, taking additional measures to cup her younger brother's ears so that he wouldn't hear any more of Lancelot's impure thoughts
"That sounds like a confession Lily~" Lancelot nearly sung the last part
"Lancey, don't be mean to Arty." Gwen pouted
"Oh Gwen, you're too pure for this world. Art probably initiated impure acts onto you, but you wouldn't know that." Lancelot said with a dramatically sad tone
"Lancelot!" Artoria growled at her brother, who was still overdramatizing all of these
Meanwhile, Gawain sat there ignoring the current ongoing war on the dinner table and conversed with Artoria's former tutor.
Truly, another bizarre day in the "Noble" Household of Pendragon, additionally there was a glowing stick that nobody notices due to how distracting the conversation was becoming.
Caliburn was glowing a dim golden light, as if in recognition of all the men (and women) in the room, although Nilrem noticed… And became confused as to how Artoria obtained that certain golden sword that chooses Kings that he had crafted for her (King Arthur) over a millennia ago.
After breakfast, as usual, Kay accompanied Bedi to school. The difference is… Artoria was pulled aside by Nilrem.
"Artoria… Where did you get that Noble Phantasm?" Nilrem asked with a frown plastered on his face
"Really? You just told me a war was looming a few days ago, and now that's the first thing you ask of me?" Artoria asked unimpressively
"Now now Artoria, why are you upset all of the sudden?" Nilrem questioned the girl
She obliges, "Well, you could've warned me that the "War" you were talking about involves Heroic Spirits and all of that at least? No?"
"If you were upset about that, then it would be a mistake on my part to think you're ready as a Magus." Artoria's brows narrows
"Well, how would I NOT be upset that I almost died several times when you could've prevented it all together by informing me the full details?" Gwen entered the room right after
"Uhm, is everything alright?" Gwen asked with a little concern
"Everything is fine Guinevere, just leave us alone for a few more minutes." Nilrem requested
"No no, it's fine. She already got dragged in all of this already." Artoria dismisses Nilrem's request
"By that I mean, she also almost died from a Servant, so I told her about the moonlit world." Artoria with a hint of anger informed her teacher
"While that is unfortunate, I believe it is still right to erase her memories to prevent her from getting more involved." Nilrem apathetically said
"Y-You-" Artoria was getting pissed off at her teacher's callousness to their situation
"It's alright Arty, don't get angry, I'm sure your teacher has his reasons." Gwen restrained her friend's anger towards her teacher
Throughout the recent days, out of her stress of dealing with the Grail War, she had found her memories with her teacher to be enjoyable. But when she finally met with her teacher, she remembered that he was one of the causes, indirect or not, that she got into this conflict in the first place.
"Well, now that I took a closer look at it, it seems to be a well-made projection? Perhaps the Servant you summoned was a specialist in projection?" Nilrem raises his eyebrows while questioning at the same time
She held herself from spewing out curses at her teacher and just admitted.
"Yes, Saber did make that Noble Phantasm, now if you just get to the point? Surely you had a better reason to come here?" Nilrem nodded in response
"Indeed, in the shadows lies a silent voice who walked with death, while in the skies, a small drop brought Heaven and Earth together once more." Again the magus cryptically said
"Could you use normal worlds for once, please?" Artoria begs her teacher
"No can do, that would be too easy." Nilrem's demeanour suddenly turned into a playful one which he had only occasionally displayed
"See! You're doing this intentionally!" Artoria barks at the magus
The enraged girl went in with the intention of cutting her mentor into ribbons but was once again held back by her apologetic friend.
"If nothing else, I shall take my leave now." The magus turned around
Wait, she still hasn't asked him to help yet!
"Wait, not yet!" Artoria yelled out, but the magus had already teleported to wherever that bastard lives probably
"Damn it." She curses out
"We'll be fine Art." Gwen softly pats her friend's head
They soon left in search of a certain man by going in the general direction Artoria felt their connection.
Meanwhile… A shadow watches their every move, scheming on ways to eliminate their competition.
Author's Note:
Ahaha, I got lazy in the last part (Actually I was pretty lazy writing the whole chapter). Sorry for that, but I'm pretty burned out today to actually write more things. I had already written most of my author's notes and omakes before I actually completed writing the chapter.
Also, this entire chapter is an infodump chapter, so sorry if you were expecting anything interesting to happen.
Today's chapter is around 5200 words, pretty low compared to what I've been writing as of recently, but hey it's good enough. Everything below this point is written before I completed the chapter :/.
Looking back now, some parts that I wrote earlier in the story didn't seem as realistic as I had thought they would be at the time. But the past is the past, to reach the point I am now I would need to take the leap of faith.
Artoria could generate the amount of prana equivalent to a first-rate mage I hope since Rin's was 1000 units while Artoria in this fic could generate 1250 units. It isn't necessarily much compared to her previous incarnation, but it is a generous amount considering her Dragon Core was artificially implanted in her.
Her Dragon Core is equivalent to hundreds of magical circuits, so I assume that means it could generate the same amount as dozens of mages, and considering she could power something like Excalibur probably multiple times a day, it goes to show you how powerful Magical Cores are.
I guess you could say that the weight of her soul as the pseudo-Heroic Spirit version (Since she hasn't ascended yet) of King Arthur made it so that even going through the cycle of reincarnation couldn't completely wipe her out into a blank slate, which is why her memories are intact but sealed up, and whatever was left of her Dragon Core projected itself as her Magic Circuits.
It doesn't really matter whether her circuits were in the shape of a magical core or just plain old normal, as adding unnecessary details which I'm not even sure of would overcomplicate the matter.
I also have this opinion that Excalibur could reach EX rank under the right circumstances. I admit Excalibur is weaker than Excalibur Proto that's for sure, however, remember that this same weapon is forged by the planet to repel Aliens.
Considering Excalibur too underwent the Restraints of the Round Table though it was less limiting compared to Excalibur Proto's, maybe after all thirteen seals are lifted, its power as the Divine Construct to save the world would appear and actually be able to kill the Aristotles.
I'm basing this assumption on the fact that Excalibur Proto too needs seven or more seals open to having the strength to save the world, otherwise it would act as a powerful Anti-Army Noble Phantasm.
Considering it seems awfully suspicious that it starts at C rank, I made the assumption its strength for each seal released goes like this: C, B, A, A+, A++, A+++, EX, EX+1, EX+2, EX+3, EX+4, EX+5, EX+6. As you can see, at precisely the seventh seal its strength reached EX level.
So going by that, to be able to defend against Aliens it would need to be a Noble Phantasm at EX rank, therefore even the original Excalibur after whatever amount of seals lifted has to gain the strength of an EX Noble Phantasm.
I may be thinking too deeply, but considering the strength of the Ultimate Ones which one of them was only able to be killed by Zelretch but at the cost of permanently crippling his ability to use his magic, remember folks this guy could literally draw power from an infinite amount of parallel universes. I can't picture any normal Noble Phantasm being able to actually kill them.
Ah crap, I just discovered something that changed my world view of Fate as a whole, it turns out the Dead Apostle Ancestors only exists in the Tsukihime Worlds, worlds where Human History are unaffirmed, or in other words the Throne of Heroes can't be called upon, so Servant summoning is impossible (Counter Guardians though should still be able to manifest).
And there's a ton of Fate fanfics with the DAA existing, which puts into question whether I should support it in my fic or not. In any case, hopefully, I haven't mentioned DAAs in the story because I like to try staying as close as I can to the rules of the canon world, which in this case is the Fate Worlds or worlds in which Human History is Affirmed.
Although Saber Shirou did still manage to hunt down a few Dead Apostles (Ancestors in the Tsukihime World) because of Hero of Justice and all that stuff. I won't specify which of them… yet… only if I ever needed to, probably for some powerup if need be…
He should be able to pull them off since Noble Phantasms are broken and if used properly, even Kanshou and Bakuya alone could kill things like the Ancestors just because of their anti-monster properties. I'm also thinking about adding Nine Lives Blade Works (The true Shooting Hundred Heads) into his arsenal of abilities, though not really sure what to even use it for other than… Oh… Yes, this is a half-decent omake idea, I'll certainly write one after this author's notes.
I'm also going, to be honest, that I haven't made any progress in watching UBW beyond the 3rd episode, can't seem to get any motivation to and also partially blamed on that I'm writing this fic before I had even watched it.
I honestly forgot whether I watched the 2006 version before writing this or when I started writing this, time flies fast without noticing it. I find reading the source material easier than watching or reading the anime/manga adaptations. Like hell, fanfictions seem easier and interesting to read than the actual adaptations altogether.
Also, any suggestions on what we could do with Gwen's character? Someone brought it up, and I admit I have yet to build up any important plans for her character yet, so I might just take in the suggestions.
Saber can into Archer Class
In a particularly silent woods full of greenery, with the warm sun up ahead, it made the environment perfect for people to lay down and enjoy nature.
Certainly, with the birds chirping in the background, the gentle breeze going through the woods, and the leaves falling to the ground. It was as if nature was playing a soothing song.
Surely in these calm woods, nothing could possibly disturb the atmosphere.
In a certain remote area, a redhead calmly drew his bow.
With patience, he adjusted his grip, and calmly went through the steps of Kyudo, his preferred way of archery.
Becoming one with his bow, he surely would hit the target regardless of the situation.
"Trace On!" He muttered, using his newly obtained level of proficiency with the Reinforcement spell, he empowered his arm and bow.
Taking a silent breath and making sure that his trajectory was of the utmost perfection, he finally knocks the arrow.
A dim light tore through the air, pulling incredible feats of turning mid-air to avoid its obstacles, and landed its mark perfectly in a marked part of a certain tree several hundred meters away.
"Wow Emiya-kun, I know that you could do archery the best in the club, but that was impressive for a human no less!" Rin was slightly awed from the performance,
Though the feat was nowhere near what her Archer could create, it was amazing in its own right.
"You certainly have potential, perhaps if you trained deeper into the art, you may be able to rival an Archer Servant in the bow." Archer approvingly praised the Emiya
Shirou accepted the compliment although he didn't think it was too impressive after what he had seen Archer do before, and he never really thought he had worked as hard to obtain his skill in the bow, as Ayako had put it, he was a complete natural.
"That's nothing compared to a true bowman. Archers would've been able to hit that far without using magecraft to enhance their performance. It is like congratulating an athlete who won by taking in performance-enhancing drugs." Saber dismissively said
"Saber Sensei, you really have to find faults in everything I do, don't you?" Shirou annoyedly responded to his second teacher aside from Tohsaka
Saber was always a little grumpy for some reason whenever they conversed together. It was as if he hated Shirou's guts, especially when his training methods always seem to seek to draw blood out of Shirou.
Although after the time they spent together, Shirou had managed to at least deduce that the Servant had no intention to kill him, even after the close calls to death Shirou had been put in training.
'Hell, it seemed that Saber's training had almost killed me more times than the Holy Grail War itself.' Shirou inwardly thought
"It is your fault that you weren't able to train your body to match real warriors. To overestimate your capabilities in magecraft to think that it could actually compensate for such a thing will lead to your downfall." Saber shrugged it off
"Saber," Artoria says before things could escalate "I don't think it's fair when all you've done with your bow is firing city levelling sword arrows that don't require you to aim at all."
Saber gave her a smile.
It was a smile that her normally kind servant wouldn't put on, as it promised to bring hell to the world they were standing on.
"Allow me to rectify your mistaken conception of my skill, Master." Saber had a devious smile on his face
"Trace On!" Oh, that's right, It weirded them out when they had discovered both Saber's and Shirou's chants were the same, but they got used to it.
A primal looking bow emerged in his hands, it doesn't seem to fit Saber in her opinion due to its size and caused Artoria to wonder why he hadn't projected his normal bow.
"Set." Numerous arrows were manifested into the world, while Saber pulled one of them and drew it on his bow.
They were honestly curious as to what Saber would do afterwards.
And they certainly got what they came for.
"Nine Lives Blade Works!" Saber yelled out before…
Artoria could hardly believe her eyes as they widened in shock and surprise.
Even after reinforcing her eyes with her magecraft, what happened next finished nearly in an instant.
The numerous arrows that were floating around just a moment ago, disappeared from the air as they were all knocked at the same time in the eyes of everyone except Archer himself and Artoria.
The servant created arrows that rained upon the forest, each and every one of them perfectly landed on the trees with a precision that was unreal for someone who was supposed to specialize in swords.
The trees were all felled by the arrows due to just the sheer strength of a Servant, without even being infused with any magical energy.
Everyone fell silent as the aftermath was as they counted the number of arrows and compared to the trees felled.
It turned out, all a hundred arrows landed their marks with no deviation, as unbelievable it was, Saber might actually surpass Archer in archery just by this feat alone.
"Wow… That's amazing, Saber!" Gwen was the first one to speak up, her eyes were as bright as the star in the sky.
Wait… The sky? Artoria turned her gaze up to a light that isn't supposed to be there in daylight.
She swore that the star wasn't there just this morning, but her attention was pulled back when she was greeted by her Servant's smug smile.
"You're good," Artoria says, softly, admitting her Servant's skill
"I beg your pardon, Master? I'm afraid I couldn't hear you with the trees still falling in the background." Saber says playfully
"I said you're good at archery." Artoria sharply said, her Servant chuckling at her reaction
Shirou looks annoyed. Once more his suspicion that Archer could do anything he does far more proficiently was once again confirmed.
Given that sometimes they look nearly identical, their hobbies, methods, and etc were all the same, Tohsaka started speculating if Saber was actually Shirou's Heroic Spirit self, but she shut down the thought that an idiot like him could actually become one.
The Emiya couldn't even do projection considering that he had never once used it or mentioned it in their lessons in magecraft, which happen to be Saber's true speciality. So it's probably just a huge coincidence that all of these match up.
"If only I had gotten Saber instead of Archer, even with his parameters we'd have put this war in the bag already," Rin complained not caring that her own Servant was right next to her
But as the chivalrous knight, he was, Archer decided to ignore his master's remark, though he put keen interest towards a certain emerald-eyed girl.
Note that Nine Lives was initially a technique where Heracles spams 100 arrows at the same time to kill a hydra with 100 heads, so yes the full name "Nine Lives: Shooting Hundred Heads" was actually a technique to shoot a hundred heads.
Extra Notes (11/06/21):
Hello fellow readers, you may have noticed that I haven't uploaded on my usual schedules, and i'm here to just inform you that i'm taking a few days off writing which I would start continuing tomorrow.
I've been kinda lazy and also been reading some other novels, so... yeah. Don't expect any updates until at least Wednesday as I want to try making up to you guys with a longer chapter if possible and hopefully it turns out half decent.
I also want to try introducing a new/different servant other than what I already had revealed and the canon ones, but I'm not feeling the right set of motivation to be confident of pulling it off decently as i'm already having trouble of finding places where Tristan would fit in as he's mostly a side character at this point alongside Rin.
The only parts I felt i've been doing right were Saber, Artoria, and also Shirou as they were and has always been the main cast of this fic (Shirou is defaulted to be a main character in all universes in the Kaleidoscope if he exists).
So here I have two options here. Option #1 being that I start picking up the pace of this fic and have more frequent and decisive battles which would work better overall in my head and I could get the ship sailing faster because fighting scenes creates easier parts to implement drama in it. Option #2 is to continue at the current pace and let the relationships between the characters develop in a more natural pace and let it continue being a semi-lighthearted fic and continue with occasional fight scenes that would take several battles to finally eliminate the enemy servants.
I intended to do Option #2 since the beginning, but I'm starting to question if that would be the right choice, as much as I like this franchise, its starting to feel like a chore that i'm semi motivated to do, but my perfectionist side is screaming at me to write 2 chapters for each days passes in this fic. We're currently on day 6 right now... Hmm, I think I shall stop writing chapter long fillers as it would probably turn you guys off if I keep doing that.
I'll... Probably try covering the rest of day 6 in the next chapter, maybe I could write up to 10000 words if I try hard enough, anyway if everything goes the appropriate pace I think we're going to reach the halfway mark of the story pretty soon.
Again, thanks for sticking in, another 3-4 chapters and we'd reach the 100,000 words mark which would be quite an accomplishment in my opinion to do within less than 2 months. I want to try experimenting on other fanfiction ideas, but I'll be putting that off for later until i finish this current one as i have a mentality of a student to finish tasks as fast as possible so that I'd be guaranteed to submit it in time.
Meh actually i think after finishing this i'd be off the site for a month or two to actually finish watching the animes and VNs. I want to watch Carnival Phantasm really bad but i've been telling myself to watch it after finishing the originals consisting of Zero, UBW and the HF movies, and guess what? I haven't even finished watching UBW's 4th episode even though i've told myself to watch it since last month.
Novels somehow seems easier to progress than watching animes. Not even just last year that I thought reading 200,000 words fics were insane when I was just discovering fanfiction websites exists, but these days i could finish million word fics within a few days. And what I originally could stomach 12 episodes of anime in a day every day, i couldn't even finish an episode unless i tried hard enough.
I'll see you all in the next update!