Guest(s): Well, I'm not going to reopen the pseudo-debate on "Does Archer Hate Himself or Hate Himself?" The answer is in Unlimited Bladework.
More important are your condemnation of Medusa without appeal and the more moderate condemnation of Medea.
You are hard! And in addition, you show clearly that you have not understood Servant invocation.
First statement: "Medusa is bad because she was invoked by Shinji who is bad".
To begin with, Medusa was invoked by Sakura. She was chosen as a Master by the Holy Grail and received a Command Spell. However, Sakura did not want to participate in the Holy Grail War, she withdrew in favor of Shinji. Aided by her "grandfather", Sakura sacrificed one of her Command Marks to create a Book of the False Attendant, a Mystic Code that allows control of a Servant as if one had received a Command Spell. As for Medusa, her alignment is "Chaotic Good". I also point out that the idea that the alignment of a Servant reflects that of the Master is true only if the Servant has been invoked without any link object (like the fragment of Iskandar's cloak used by Waver in Fate/Zero or the Excalibur's scabbard which allows the Magus Killer to invoke the paragon of chivalry). According to the manga, Sakura uses a link object to invoke Medusa.
Second statement: "Medusa shows no remorse."
Medusa is a quiet type. She is not the type to portray her moods or brag (like Gilgamesh). How do you deduce the moods of a person who does not talk about it? I'm the only one who's noticed that after Shinji proposed an alliance with Shirou, in Fate Stay Night route (novel and anime), she warned Shirou to be wary? You never paid attention? When she walks him to the gate of the Matou property, Shirou tells her to watch over Shinji. She replies "You are very nice". However, given the context and Shinji's real projects, her words sound rather strange... Perhaps Medusa's words must be interpreted as "You are too nice", like she's warning him about his naivety. I agree that this my interpretation and is only a possibility, but the words of Medusa have always seemed to me to have two meanings, especially with the outgoing tone of the Servant and the strange half-smile that she has at this moment.
In the Heaven Fell route (in the original game, the scene has no equivalent in the film) after Medusa saved him from True Assassin and Zouken, Shirou stops in front of the pool of blood which is all that remains of Saber. Medusa then offers to take him home. Shirou asks Medusa if it is her Master who wanted to bring him back to safety. Medusa tells him that, now, she acts of her own free will. She also told him some nice words on the theme that Saber was lucky to have a Master who cared about her.
In Fate Hollow Ataraxia, Medusa tells a bit about her past... she is far from being without remorse. It is even the opposite.
Third statement: "If Medusa was a nice one she would have refused Shinji's orders".
Shinji's False Attendant Book works as a Command Mark, with a limitation. Indeed, unlike a true Command Mark, it cannot be sacrificed in exchange for an absolute order reinforced by the power of the Grail. However, the Book of the False Attendant has the primary function of a... Command Mark. Remember the relationship between a "Servant" and a "Master" is the relationship of the one who serves towards the one who is to be obeyed (hence their names). The system of invocation is supported by a curse (materialized in the Command Spell) weighing on the Hero. This Curse creates a powerful compulsion for the Servant to obey his Master, with the exception of the Archer-Class Servant (and other Servants who have the Independent Action Skill). Master's orders don't have that much impact on an Archer-Class Servant.
Thus, Medea can only resist Atrum Galliasta's orders by using Rule Breaker on herself and only after having obtained by a ruse that he uses two of the Command Marks (anime version of UBW route).
On the other hand, some Servants have Skills that help them to resist orders, like Artoria who has a Magic Resistance A rank. Resist, of course, but not completely cancel the power of an order. Remember, in the Unlimited Bladework route, Artoria is struck by Rule Breaker and is transformed into Caster's Servant. However, she stubbornly resists... do you remember in what state of exhaustion Rin and Shirou find her?
Admittedly, Medusa has Independent Action C Rank (Since Medusa can also obtain mana by drinking blood, she can prey on humans as the situation demands) but that does not reflect an "independence of thought" but only her ability to survive in a prolonged way without a Master, and her Magic Resistance is only B Rank (Originally a Greek goddess that turned into a monster, she possesses extremely high Magic Resistance).
We could debate all this for a very, very long time. But, more importantly, what do you know about Medusa? "It's a monster that transforms humans into stone". True. And what else?
Let me tell you her story (very) succinctly. (If you want to know more about the conflict between Titans and Olympian gods, I suggest you read the Theogony of Hesiod, in particular, the Titanomachy's part).
Like her sisters Euryale and Stheno, Medusa is the daughter of the Titan Phorcys, son of Pontos and Gaia (or Oceanus and Tethys according to another version of Phorcys genealogy). Medusa (and the other Gorgons) therefore belongs to the third divine generation... like Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades (the eldest of the Olympian gods). On the other hand, unlike her older sisters who are the daughters of Ceto, Medusa's mother was a mortal. Originally, Medusa was an Earth Goddess and a beautiful woman, she and her sisters were hated by Poseidon's wife (Amphitrite?) because of his love for them. Athena, jealous of Medusa's beautiful hair, transformed them into demons.
According to another version of the story, Medusa was raped (by Poseidon?) in the temple of Athena. And the latter would have taken this as a pretext to punish Medusa like this was Medusa's fault!
Secluding herself in a lightless temple on the Shapeless Isle, the "monster" Medusa only attacked humans for a reason. You have to understand this. Shapeless Isle is not a place that can be reached by ordinary means. Its position varies according to the version of the legend of Perseus, some versions even saying that the island is on the Styx, between the world of the dead and the living and that only Charon (the ferryman of the dead) can lead mortals there.
Yet hundreds of petrified warriors were on Shapeless Isle when Perseus arrived. Why? Because Athena and Hermes sent warriors to cut off Medusa's head... on the pretext that he was a monster. Remind me who turned Medusa into a monster...
Finally, in her monstrous form, Medusa had sunk into madness.
I suppose you have no knowledge of ancient Greek. So you must ignore the double meaning of the word ύβρις (hubris). This is the term that gave "hybrid" in English. Satyrs (men with goat legs) and centaurs are "hubris". But "hubris" also means "madness inspired by the gods", because most of these beast-men are struck by a divine curse, they become as beastly by the mind as by the body, as Gorgon (Avenger-Class version of Medusa in Fate Grand Order). Medusa (child, Babylonia) as Lancer-class Servant or Medusa Rider-Class are sound-minded.
Nevertheless, I agree with you on one point. Medusa is an anti-hero.
If the Grail had not been corrupted by the presence of Angra Mainyu, she would never have been invoked.
And there, I imagine you looking at the screen with a confused look, asking yourself if - after all this time trying to convince you that Medusa was "nice"- I had not lost my mind.
And that's proof that you don't understand Greek mythology...
Greek mythology is pre-Christian. Christianity is based on duality Good/Evil. A hero like King Arthur fights the agents of Evil.
In Greek mythology, the gods are not "good". They are amoral, selfish, cruel, but they embody Order. The trials of the heroes: Jason, Perseus, Ulysses, Heracles, etc... are always to kill monsters and bring Order where Chaos reigns.
Medusa is under the curse of "hubris", a monster incarnating Chaos. She, therefore, embodies the disorder fought by the Heroes. She is therefore an anti-hero.
Author note: First of all, I beg your pardon for this long digression. But some "Guests" take the comment page of Invincible Girl Return for a free forum... ie the place where we talk about Shirou Emiya. The fact that he has only a minor role in IGR seems to have escaped them. Usually, I just don't answer because it's irrelevant. However, for a change, they talked about Medusa which is an IGR character. So I answered them by quoting my sources since I've been made to understand that I don't know what I'm talking about...
Pennates Superi
"The four bodies were created, namely heaven, earth, water, and air, for, as the [holy] Scripture says, [God] first created heaven, then earth, then others. For Him, fire is only a matter, a product of heaven, but not an element, because fire only destroys, while an element is defined as the mother of things that preserve the human being."
Paracelsus, De Meteoris
Immutable cycle, the day had given way to the night.
The streets of Fuyuki were now empty of inhabitants while the cold February wind had spread between the houses, swirling the papers abandoned on the ground and cracking the trees of the great forest.
The silence was almost total.
A small, slow and weak rain had begun to fall. The rain slipped on the roofs, drained into the gutters, and covered the roadway.
An ordinary night...
—at least for ordinary eyes.
The most discerning could have discerned a man dressed in blue spandex bouncing from building to building. And in the forest, an inhuman cry awakened the nests of birds which flew away with chirping as a colossus broke its chains.
Sitting on a bench in a church, redeye's' man smiled, when night fell... his game resumed, relieving his eternal boredom:
"This incorrigible ugly world will amuse my heart."
Arthur Pendragon jumped to the top of a telephone pole, remaining motionless to watch the city extending at his feet. In the light of the streetlights, he detected no movement. His other perceptions and instinct assured him that no one was a witness to his presence. Rare were the windows still illuminated and sleep guaranteed his anonymity.
[Merlin? Where are you on your research?]
After Pyrrha, Taiga and Sakura fell asleep, the magician had detected Caster's actions. After the battle that had ravaged a skyscraper of Shinto, the Servant had disappeared. However, Merlin had felt that the Servant was manipulating the leylines to draw Mana in large quantities... probably for a formidable formalcraft's ritual. Given Caster's abilities, Arthur had not hesitated for a moment to leave Emiya residence to interrupt the ritual. It would have been too dangerous to let Caster finish what he was planning.
An immaterial screen appeared in front of Saber, showing a plan of Miyama Town centered on the traditional district. At the same time, Merlin's mental voice was heard:
[Caster must be in the hills.]
Several other screens appeared showing charts and a diagram of the leylines crossing Fuyuki region. It was clear that something was tapping into the Mana flow.
[I think Caster is using the fallen leyline that runs through Ryuudou Temple.]
Mechanically, Arthur's face darkened as he turned towards Mount Enzou. The temple was at the top of a long staircase and near a lake where a legend told that a dragon was sleeping. It was the heart of Fuyuki's spiritual ground. More importantly, it was one of the four points where the Grail could appear at the end of its invocation through Heaven's Feel ritual.
A strategic place, especially for a Magus able to make good use of the particularities of the place... and that, there was no doubt that Caster was among these initiates.
Really worried, now, Saber leaps on a telephone wire, then on the roof, moving faster than the wind.
The entrance courtyard of Ryuudou Temple was a quiet place of quiet beauty, surrounded on three sides by a wall crowned with glazed tiles. The traditional pavilion of the main temple was opposite the entrance. It was a raised wooden building with curved roof ends.
A quiet place...
I mean... normally.
The monks slept deeply... a powerful Magecraft had spread a veil of darkness over their minds, plunging them into sleep almost as deep as death. Artillery shot... What am I saying? ... an aerial bombardment would not have awakened them.
No doubt that a monk who left that night would have been amazed by the changes that affected the entrance courtyard.
A large luminescent circle covered the smooth stone's slabs. Within this pale ring of fire appeared concentric geometric figures, signs that were to be writing, seals, and symbols within the center a vast six-pointed star.
Above the star, a flame-like form of energy twisted, radiating blue-white clarity.
Paracelsus, Caster-class Servant, held his sword in his hand. The pommel of Azoth, inlaid with a gem as red as a ruby blazed. Before Caster floated the most powerful book he had ever written: the Archidoxes of Magic. He smiled at the other participants of the ritual. The Homunculi circled the pentacle, their hands extended forward, trying to control the energy that their master sought to give shape to.
"People always associate fire with hell. Poor ignorant, the hairs of my beard are wiser than all of them (1)... the four elements exist both physically and spiritually. God created living beings for every element. Thus the fish are creatures of the water, the flies are creatures of the air, the moles are creatures of the earth... but no being lives in the fire, because of all the elements it's the most spiritual. So it is not the hell that is made of fire, but heaven. But the spiritual fire of paradise is not a destructive fire like the physical fire that burns and consumes. It is a spiritual fire, the fire that burns in the soul of man, a creative fire!"
Caster turned to his Master. Atrum Galliasta had brought an armchair and was the only one seated, surrounded by several of his bodyguards with their weapons in hand. Barely recovered from his poisoning, the Magus was sullen... and especially the endless and abscond discourses of his Servant irritated him.
Insensitive to the annoyance of his Master, Paracelsus continued his solitary logorrhea, speaking of paradise, of the elemental creatures, of the fire of Mars which produces the iron, of the solar fire which produces the gold, of the lunar fire which produces the silver and of digression into digression, of the number three, of the salt, sulfur and philosophical mercury. He spoke most often in Arabic (the language of his Master) then went on to Latin to make quotations, before exalting himself in a German full of incomprehensible neologisms... which he obviously did not explain.
He was bombastic... naturally!
Because he was Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim.
Servant and Master.
They were both Magi.
Yet they could not have been more different. The practice of Magecraft was their only common point.
Paracelsus was a mystic starved for Absolutes who saw in Magecraft a form of miracle, a path leading to God.
Atrum Galliasta was a man of cogs and machines who reduced the Mystery to the use of computers and who practiced Formalcraft's rituals by pressing buttons! For him, only the result mattered.
Arthur Pendragon suddenly stopped.
He was standing in the middle of an asphalted road along the base of Mount Enzou. On its right extended the houses of Fuyuki and on its left... there were trees covering the side of the mountain and a torii (traditional Japanese gate) surrounded by stone lanterns that marked the beginning of a steep staircase.
He approached and reached out.
In front of him, there was nothing but air. A human would have made the same gesture... nothing would have happened.
His fingers slipped on a slightly shaky glass wall-like obstacle and generated bluish sparks.
Merlin's mental voice resounds:
[A Bounded Field... but it was created specifically to stop a Servant. A human would pass through it without even feeling it.]
Arthur frowned and said:
[Is this Caster's work?]
[No] replied the magician [It is too complex and too specific to have been raised in a few hours. This kekaii bears the mark of its creators... the same hands that assembled the Great Grail! It is a protection of the spiritual site of Mount Enzou.]
[So I can't cross this kekaii? Yet Caster came in!]
[My king, a complete spiritual barrier would also stop the flow of Mana which is used by the Grail. There must be an opening in the Bounded Field.]
Without further hesitation, Saber advanced towards the torii and passed without being held under the symbolic door that led to the sacred space.
King Arthur immediately began to run towards the top of the steps. But the Servant felt anxious. He had summoned Excalibur, always surrounded by its wind sheath, and looked around him ready to counter any trap or attack that would threaten him.
Suddenly, when he must have been halfway to the temple, the ground rose in front of him... the stone steps and the earth formed a mound that rose rapidly, gradually changing to a humanoid appearance... a colossus nearly six meters high!
"A Tectonic Entity!"
This monster was a puppet created by an earth elemental, a gnome! Having already had the opportunity to confront one, Saber knew that the creature would reshape itself if it was broken into pieces. The only way to destroy it permanently was to kill the gnome that was hiding somewhere inside the puppet that he controlled.
Arthur put himself on guard, holding Excalibur with two hands.
He was facing an alternative.
Either he cut the opponent into pieces until he found the gnome... which would be a long time.
Or Arthur released some of Excalibur's power.
The choice was obvious... he couldn't afford to let Caster finish his ritual.
As the Tectonic Entity lifted the construct of stone and earth that formed its arm, King Arthur made a side leap, dodging the attack.
The fight started and, fortunately, the enemy was slow. This was largely compensated by its resistance, regenerative ability, and strength.
Pyrrha Nikos awoke the heart beating full throttle. Oppressed chest, struggling to breathe, she felt bad, on the verge of fainting.
Feeling such a sharp and sudden pain in her hand, Pyrrha touched her Command Spell... and saw that the tattoo radiated red light.
This oppressive feeling was communicated to her through her bond with Saber. The Invincible Girl straightened up in the futon where she was lying. In the darkness, she heard the breathing of Taiga and Sakura. She could even guess their elongated silhouettes on both sides.
Pyrrha smiled, her friends had kept their word to stay close to protect her if Arthur sought to take advantage of her. It was ridiculous, they had the wrong enemy... but it was an act of affection.
The Spartan Girl lost her smile. If her real enemies attacked her friends would be the first victims.
As a new tension in her heart made her carry a hand to the breast, Pyrrha sighed.
Her enemies... Arthur was fighting them at that very moment and where was she? Safe at home, doing nothing. The redhead girl wanted to get up but a mental voice echoed in her mind:
[Pyrrha stays here, safe!]
[Merlin] she questioned.
[No, the Pope on an extraordinary visit, entrust to me the torments of your soul. ] The magician replied mockingly. [Who do you want to talk to in your head?!]
Leaving time for Pyrrha to reflect on what she had just said, Merlin waited until the redhead agreed:
[Arthur cannot give all his strength when you are there, for fear of putting you in danger. Pyrrha, trust him. He does not face an adversary who can defeat him. If you are going to join him, you will only get in his way. Do not leave the house!]
Humiliated, Pyrrha clenches her fists:
[I can look after myself. Where is Saber?!]
[I wouldn't say anything.] Merlin was humming in a mocking tone.
[Please!]
[No way, forget it! Redheaded Masters are too prone to chasing their Servant to "help" them during the Holy Grail Wars. And you know how it ends most of the time? Well, in the end, it is the Master who is saved by the Servant whom he put in difficulty by rushing into a fight that exceeded his capacity. I won't make this sort of mistake! I know my classics!]
The silent argument continued for a long time. For both girls were equally stubborn.
The Tectonic Entity plunged its stone fist into the ground. And Arthur only had time to jump back to avoid the stones stakes that came out of the ground where he had stood. This creature was in control of the earth. The gnome could make his attacks come out of the ground.
In an almost nonchalant gesture, King Arthur cut several stone spikes and then rushed forward, dodging the assaults, a true forest of stone stakes that the elemental earth had just set up around him.
Despite the power of his opponent, Arthur clearly had the advantage. His fighting instinct prevented him from any enemy's attacks and his speed allowed him to avoid any injury.
He came into close contact and emptied his lungs in a loud cry. Pushed with two hands, his invisible sword penetrated the monster's leg.
The latter raised its fist to crush Saber on the ground.
But an aura of golden light enveloped the Knight of the Sky Silver. The Barrier of the Wind King fluctuates, revealing the guard of the Sacred Sword... and a blue light filtered along the blade.
The moment after a dazzling ray, the waves drifted away, creating a hole where the stars could be seen.
As for the Tectonic Entity, almost half of its body was disintegrated, while the rest fell back broken into several pieces surrounded by golden flames.
Excalibur again invisible, Arthur looked at the charred debris. The puppet did not reformat. It meant that he had managed to destroy the gnome.
About to resume his climb, Saber stopped and pointed his invisible sword at the trees that bordered the stairs:
"You who hide in the shadows show yourself and decline your identity or I will consider you an enemy and act accordingly!"
There was a brief moment of silence, then a shadow moved, a crouching form unfolded and advanced to the stairs.
Recognizing the classical skull mask, Arthur's eyes narrowed:
"You are the Assassin-Class Servant of this Grail War".
The young woman in a form-fitting black outfit bowed, her hand over her heart:
"And you are Saber."
Arthur nodded slowly without lowering his blade:
"You're a Hassan, one of the followers of the 'Old Man of the Mountain', aren't you?"
"I was about to praise your sharp senses, Saber, but you seem to be just as clever."
Arthur wanted to shrug his shoulders, she looked so much like Hassan of the Hundred Faces that he has not difficult to understand that he was dealing with one of the zealots of Alamut. The advantage of having already participated in another Grail War...
"All right, now that we've introduced ourselves, would you please decline your intentions?"
Assassin bowed once more:
"The same as yours, I think. My Master doesn't appreciate Caster's Master having children kidnapped. So my Master sent me to fix the problem."
Arthur stiffened himself again... he had never really liked hired assassins and the conditions of the death of Diarmuid Ua Duibnhe during the Fourth Grail War had definitely sickened him from their unfair practices whether they were Servants or... a Magus Killer.
Seeming to guess the knight's reluctance, Assassin went on to say:
"Saber, we don't have time to argue. Caster is planning something, fighting among ourselves would be the worst decision possible. I promise not to interfere in your fight against this Servant."
Obviously, since Assassin's target was Caster's Master.
Arthur did not answer, but lowered his blade and ran back to the temple.
Assassin disappeared as if she had been only a shadow...
The next moment, Arthur crossed a new torii of redwood and reached the courtyard of the entrance of the temple.
His gaze covered the small crowd gathered around the invocation's circle, but Saber paid no attention to the homunculi, the Master who had risen and retreated, his face pale, and even less to the bodyguards who covered his flight. He had come to face the Servant, and the others were only negligible for him.
Caster immediately turned to him.
Saber had never seen this Servant before. Since he participated in the despicable practices of his Master, the knight had prepared to meet a sinister character similar to Gilles de Rais. On the contrary, the man was handsome with his long grayish-blue hair. And his long coat with a raised collar made him look dignified. In his hand, the black book closed by thick ironwork reflected the weight of his knowledge. Caster smiled and greeted him:
"Welcome! I am sorry to welcome you with such little decorum, but this Holy Grail War does not live up to previous iterations of this famous event. The Masters are particularly below the standard ."
In spite of the terror that inspired Saber, Atrum Galliasta could not restrain himself from striking his Servant with the gaze, understanding that this reproach was first addressed to him.
Arthur frowned and said:
"You don't seem surprised to see me, Caster."
"Let's see..." Paracelsus rubbed his chin, pretending to consider. "I drew large quantities of Mana from the leylines without hiding my action... Do you think I'm stupid enough to do this if I don't want to attract a Servant into Ryuudou Temple?"
[I am unforgivable] sighed Merlin. [I just thought that the Master or the Servant was too rushed or too careless to take precautions. But it's a trap. The Bounded Field prevents entry but also exit! It's the ideal place for setting a trap!]
Arthur quickly glanced around him. A trap and no retreat possible? This did not affect his resolve to triumph. Holding his two-handed sword, he turned to his enemy, clearing his mind to concentrate his Mana.
But Paracelsus had not finished speaking:
"Unfortunately, I regret that we don't have time to discuss, but a Saber-class Servant has the best resistance to magic among the seven classes. A prolonged fight would not be in my favor. Also, I will end this with my best shot!"
Paracelsus points Azoth towards Saber:
"Let me show you... my light."
Bright particles of all the colors of the rainbow appeared around the Servant and headed towards the point of the Noble Phantasm.
"The True Ether guides me... my obsessions, the form of my thoughts."
The elemental light began spinning to form a multicolored circle around the tip.
"Azoth!"
A wave of True Ether formed at the end of the blade. It was a surge of incredible power that formed a tunnel adorned with all the colors of the Rainbow.
But Arthur had dispelled Excalibur's wind sheath. Without even uttering the True Name of his Noble Phantasm, he had released part of his power... a small part.
However, where the two forces met the struggle between the True Ether wave and the star power of the Sword of the Planet gave birth to a luminous sphere from which were born lightning's that struck the trees several tens of meters away. The ground was being dug by blows. It was a real cataclysm that was going off!
The eyes enlarged with fear, Paracelsus vacillated:
"Impossible!"
But the worst was yet to come. Slowly, the golden light repelled the rainbow swirl. Then suddenly, the unleashed energy leaped towards the sky where it disappeared causing a violent blast that illuminated the night for miles.
Paracelsus rose up slowly, his clothes were torn and burned. Nevertheless, he had succeeded in protecting the Homunculi who stood behind him. Gathered around the circle, they continued to recite their incantations with calm forcing respect.
The Servant was still in shock, he turned to Atrum Galliasta who was rising up:
"Master, this sword... is filled with the light of the planet. This is Excalibur! It is a great subject of research, and... This Servant is King Arthur, naturally. Who then could hold the Sacred Sword, except its rightful owner the legendary King of England?
Arthur firmly agreed:
"You recognized me, good for you. Alas, it also means that I have no reason to hold back my true force."
Paracelsus smiled, he didn't seem really impressed:
"You resisted my most powerful attack, King Arthur... so I have no chance against you. However, I never claimed to be a great fighter. When I was alive (and drunk) I would sometimes start fights in taverns... and wake up covered in wounds and bumps. I have rarely won. But I have never claimed to be a great warrior! In fact, I hate wars. I was a military doctor, and I saw horrors."
Caster turned around, knowing that the King of Knight would never hit an enemy in the back, and then pointed the knob of his sword toward the circle:
"I must confess something to you. I have only allowed this invocation to continue for one reason... to attract a Servant here! Now that it's done. I have no reason to continue this game."
[Arthur stops him, quickly!] Merlin shouted.
But before the legendary king decided to act, Paracelsus concentrated:
"Pennates Superi!"
And the philosopher's stone inlaid in his sword began to sparkle. Caster laughed as the circle began to radiate a formidable blue light:
"I own the High-Speed Incantation Skill and I'm able to perform High-Thaumaturgy at the speed of a Single Action spell".
A creature made of pure blue and white light had emerged from the circle. It was not really material, but made of magical energy. It was a titan with a height of about fifteen meters, with an almost human silhouette, but without distinct features.
Caster continued to laugh, intoxicated by his success:
"See what my knowledge, the power of my philosopher's stone can do when I associate them with the Mana Reserve that provides its power to the Greater Grail!"
In Arthur's mind Merlin's dreadful cry resounded:
[A Pennates Superi!]
[What is it] asked Saber.
[A spiritual elemental corresponding to the element 'sky'... and as the spiritual sky is in paradise... a sort... let's say an angel!]
[An angel?]
The half-succubus seemed completely panicked:
[Arthur... these creatures forge the divine weapons in the 'sublimation vessels', that is to say, the stars that they use as mortals use an ordinary flame to forge steel! It is even said that it was a Pennates Superi who provided God with the rain of brimstone and fire that served to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah leaving only smoke that comes up out of the earth, as the smoke of a furnace, and transformed Lot's wife in a pillar of salt! (2) No one since the end of the Age of Gods has managed to call such a creature on Earth's plane of existence!]
Under the Matou residence was a vast dark and sinister hypogeum from which converged multiple concrete galleries. A swarm of hideous insects covered the ground, slowly they clung together and, hardly, took on a human form.
An old man appeared dressed in a kimono and leaning on a cane. His eyes were nothing human.
He smiled with an exalted air:
"Paracelsus!"
He recognized him without difficulty, having met the Servant during his lifetime.
His chest rose tumultuously, never in centuries had he felt so alive. His greatest desire was at hand... the pommel of Azoth, the sword of Paracelsus was an A rank Philosopher's stone! And a photonic crystal of this degree of purity can bestow immortality upon any given target!
"Immortality!"
Zolgen Makiri, or rather the monstrous undead knew as Zouken Matou exulted.
He was one of the three creators of Heaven's Feel ritual, he had created the seven containers called "Class" for the invocation of the Heroic Spirits, he had also created the curse known as the Command Spell which obliged the Servants to obey the Masters.
He would find a way to compel the Caster of this Grail War to offer him immortality!
(1) Paracelsus used that swearing a lot while he was alive... and he shaved closely, which makes the line even more offensive.
(2) I am not making anything up, it is a summary of chapters 4, 5, and 8 of Paracelsus' De Meteoris.