A/N: For that short chapter last time, I decided to compensate it with a longer one. Although I think this is not really long enough.
And yeah, I shifted from Clinical Instruction to Nursing Administration, seeing as the latter can give me more chances to land jobs rather than focusing on a single area alone.
Also, I now saw the movie and OVA of Kara no Kyoukai: Mirai Fukuin, and those were AWESOME! As for Madoka Magica: Hangyaku no Monogatari… I will leave that as it is. It left me speechless. XD
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Credits go to Gen Urobuchi and TYPE MOON for Fate/Zero, and Hiroshi Shiibashi for Nurarihyon no Mago.
Chapter 14: Consequences
As they escaped the Einzbern forest, Irisviel has stopped for a moment. Maiya turned around to see her madam now looking back at the mansion that they left.
"Madame, let us hurry, before someone else catches us." Maiya told her in a monotonous voice. Irisviel just smiled at her, to which she is curious about it. "Madame?"
"Ah, you're right, Maiya – san." Irisviel commented off – handedly as she briefly remembered her joyful times with Kiritsugu when she felt another prana signature within their range. "There's another one coming…" She tried to recognize the prana that is left in the Bounded Field, and her eyes widened slightly at the revelation. Her expression is now unreadable, to which Maiya took it as a sign that there will be a big trouble brewing in their midst. She found her assumption horribly right when her lady told her the name of the one who intruded the Bounded Field.
"It's Kotomine Kirei."
The clicking of the gun has been heard.
The trigger is now pulled at a fast rate.
The firing pin now propels the bullet head attached to the shell to its freedom, and now the hot and sharp bullet head sings in a shrill tone as it makes its way to freedom outside of the confines of the barrel.
Some Magi have opted to put defenses against nine millimeter bullets just in case someone brings a gun in the middle of a Magecraft fight and they thought that their shields will suffice against an onslaught of nine millimeter bullets coming from a machine gun.
By this event they will be proven wrong.
The Springfield rifle bullet is designed to pierce even tanks. A normal human who will receive it at close range is guaranteed to have his or her inner organs destroyed at the impact itself. Even if there will be a shield to protect or even lessen the impact against it, it will still serve its purpose by damaging the organs from the inside out. In other words, putting up a shield will not help them in the slightest.
Volumen Hrdragyrum has lessened its impact, yet the Springfield wins by a landslide as it manages to make its way through the El – Melloi's left shoulder and still have time to make it out. The searing of the hot bullet through his shoulder does very little to coagulate the pierced area. This left the El – Melloi wincing in pain at the strong impact of the bullet.
"Fervor, mei sanguis!" He angrily chanted as his Mystic Code responded with the same ferocity as that of the user to defend itself once again from the automatic firing of the Calico. Meanwhile the Magus Killer kept him busy as he makes his escape. The El – Melloi's face has now contorted itself in a feral anger. He did not expect for that kind of event to happen and it only served to fuel his rage more for the Magus Killer. He held his left shoulder in pain as he walked professionally through the corridors.
"I never expected this to happen. I let my guard down just because he has a machine gun. Fortunately Volumen Hydragyrum can withstand anti – tank bullets if I focused on my defense. Even so, this is a Holy Grail War, and he desecrated it with him using guns of all things. He is a complete disgrace to every Magus family around the world." Kayneth grumbled as he let Volumen Hydragyrum loose in its confines and letting it go wild, chanting Scalp as they pass through the corridors. "I will make sure to make him revisit all of what he has done today by a thousand fold!"
Meanwhile, Kiritsugu is now panting as he hid in one of the walls. He removed the now cold empty shell of the Springfield out of the Contender Custom's chamber as he mused on his next move.
Now that he knows how powerful that gun is, he will pour his prana more on his defenses. He pulled out another bullet that is also of a Springfield type, only which it will prove much worse for the Magus who will receive it. He now loaded the mysterious bullet in the chamber as he breathed in deeply.
No, that is just what I want him to exactly do.
Meanwhile Saber is now having a hard time dealing with all of Caster's creations that shows no sign of their numbers diminishing. Her left hand is still not healed from their earlier battle with Lancer. Caster cackled in laughter at the vain attempts of his virgin to exterminate every single creation of his with her blade.
"So, what can you say about my creations, Jeanne?" Caster manically inquired while still holding his book. "These are the creations of my friend Prelati and this book is now passed down to me as an inheritance!"
His laughter now turned into anger as he saw Saber's still defiant emerald eyes as she defeats the abominations. "What is wrong, my virgin? Don't you remember the Battle of Compeigne? I am the only one who is left to serve you loyally when your friends have all turned away!" He now grasped his hair tightly in his madness as he spoke. "Do you not remember all of that, Jeanne?"
She is now getting sick and tired of all the rants that Caster is now saying. Unfortunately, with her mental fatigue, her body has chosen a wrong time to be fatigued too. She is now caught up in the assault of the tentacled abominations, and for a moment, she thought that it will be her last breath. She now gritted her teeth at that thought.
Fortunately, someone chose that moment to show her his chivalry.
"I am strictly under Kiritsugu's orders to protect you, Madame." Maiya sternly told her, although her voice is now slightly giving way to what she really wants.
"I know that, but your heart tells you to protect that man, am I right?" Irisviel replied cheerfully in an I – know – it – all kind of tone. She stood there dumbfounded as her sentence had hit the spot. How could a homunculus like her have such a wide range of emotions in a span of just nine years? Is this what the real emotions of a Magus Killer had underneath that cold and ruthless exterior?
"No need to worry, Maiya – san. We will protect Kiritsugu from that man." Irisviel replied as she waltzed forward. Maiya tried to regain her focus and her objective, when Irisviel told her this.
"It's curious, isn't it?" Irisviel chirped. From there, Maiya saw in her eyes that she really loved Kiritsugu too, and so maybe that's the reason why she has emotions like this. Also that little expression explained how her instincts acts like so.
"How the human heart works."
Did he find an answer to the purpose of him living that life as of now?
His interest is now piqued by this man, and so he must find out how he has found his answer while he lived in the Einzbern Mansion in Germany. As he jogged onwards, he reminisced about his conversations with the King of Heroes. He rationally thought that out of boredom, the Servant decided to find a talking buddy with him. But what bothered him the most is that he let the Servant play with his thinking and emotions. For goodness' sake, this is a freaking Grail War, not a philosophical enlightenment session. Servants are supposed to serve their Masters, not the other way around.
For him, a Servant is a Servant, nothing more, nothing less. But a treacherous thought has entered his mind once again. It drives him to seek that kind of pleasure that Archer is talking about. And by that pleasure, it means seeking answers to the questions that has been bothering him for so long. That man has left him thirsting for answers, and only that man can answer him.
He got distracted by those thoughts for a half - second, which led him to be left slightly unprepared for the nine – millimeter bullet barrage that a certain person gave him. Thankfully, his robes are enforced with Kevlar, just in case things get awfully awry. He now produced a single piece of paper, turned it into a thin saber with a red hilt, then threw it at the one firing the sub – machine gun. More shots came from everywhere, and so concluded that the shots serve as a distraction for an ambush. He now decided to play something on them too.
And by that it means faking his own death.
As the bullet barrage came once again, he let his body limp and fell down to the ground, to let his attacker know that he is now dead. Maiya unfortunately took the bait and she ceased her firing. She now reloaded her machine gun and approached the dead body closely.
"Maiya – san, be careful, he might…" Her warning is now cut short as the priest now caught Maiya's attention. Now they will know the reason why Emiya Kiritsugu fears this man the most.
He bashed her Calico aside with only his bare fists as Maiya took out a combat knife. He then took out six pieces of paper, filled them with prana, then turned them into thin sabers, three on each hand, as she tried to fight the man off. But the priest is much stronger and faster than her, as he waved off her attacks as though it was nothing. Finally, Maiya took the opening that the priest gave as an opportunity as she smashed the Black Keys with one swing of her knife. But he has something else up his sleeves, and she did not like it even one bit.
She retrieved the knife and is about to stab him, when he purposely evaded that stab for his Ba Ji Quan move. He held her forearm that held the knife really tightly, and with a stomp of his left foot on the ground, he simultaneously redirected the energy of the stomp to the force that he will apply to his elbow, and he aimed its powerful force precisely on the solar plexus of the attacker, leading to the attacker's shortness of breath. Maiya now fell almost unconscious, but she is not given a chance to fight back as the priest saw it fit to drive his sole of the foot down upon her diaphragm hard enough to almost kill her.
Fortunately, Irisviel cannot contain herself to be protected anymore and decided to stand up for herself. She now appeared from the shadows, to which Maiya is now more concerned about Irisviel's safety. After all, Irisviel is the wife of her superior, so if anything happens to her, she will not forgive herself for it. Failing to protect her also means failing to follow her superior's orders.
Saber and Lancer both saw the vulnerability of the Noble Phantasm of Caster, and for this she needs Lancer's help. She now asked Lancer cryptically "Can you ride with the wind?"
Lancer smirked at the opportunity to finish Caster once and for all. He understood what Saber is talking about, as he saw from the way Saber has fought with him. He now made his Gae Buidhe disappear from his hand, as he only needs Gae Dearg for the purpose of nullifying Caster's Noble Phantasm. After all, a crazy Caster is a vulnerable Caster. He should have just stayed in his lair so he will not face the ferocity of Lancer's Noble Phantasm.
"I think I can do that." Lancer smirked as he twisted his spear quickly with his hand. With Saber now activating Prana Burst, she now poured all her power on the sword to her magic sheath of air. With a loud shout activating the sheath, the air now turned into a tornado focusing on Caster.
"Strike Air!"
"I have found you, worthless rat." He gloated once again as he now found his prey. Emiya Kiritsugu only stared at him with dead but calculating obsidian eyes as he now prepared his guns.
"I will let you live, but I will tear out your heart apart piece by piece, healing it again and again with my healing spells to make you suffer!" He now exclaimed in a prideful voice, to which Emiya Kiritsugu is now tired of the same theatrics used by Magi again and again to show their superiority, but still he kept his business – like demeanor. "And as you suffer, you will curse the names of the ones that hired you, the Einzberns, for letting you face a Magus as great as I am!"
Kiritsugu wasted no time for such babble, so he aimed his Calico that is set to automatic once again and he pulled the trigger to attempt to bring him down in a continuous fire. Kayneth's top is now blown off as he saw that the assassin did not even care one bit. He is about to face death, yet his expression only fueled his anger even more.
"Fervor, mei Sanguis!" He chanted crazily as he held his left arm tightly to keep the bleeding to a minimum. He now heard the clicking of his antiquated gun once again and he anticipated him to fire it.
"You are going to use that trick on me once again, will you?" He now prepared himself, and sure enough, he fired another shot of it on him. "You are too naïve to think that this trick will work on me once again!" He then put up his defenses in a spiked formation, each spike as hard as titanium, and Volumen Hydragyrum aimed to catch that bullet approaching him.
Unknown to him, the Magus Killer now smiled as he went right through his own trap. The next thing that he heard is now an anguished scream that only the one who feels it can actually feel what kind of pain coursed through their body just now.
His former mentor, Natalia Kaminsky, a half – succubus and also a hunter of heretic Magi, found Kiritsugu's Dual Origin a very valuable asset when used with the right weapon. In order to maximize the efficiency, she had a custom guns maker from the black market modify the Thompson Contender that is normally used for game practices in order to shoot rifle bullets with a little amount of recoil. The result is a partial success. The recoil is still strong, but not strong enough to fracture the arm of the holder of this weapon. The guns maker told her that it can even shoot Springfield rifle bullets, a type of bullet that has been shelved long ago after the Civil War of the Americans. From there, she also inquired about the whereabouts of the Springfield rifle bullets. When she found what she is looking for, she is now overjoyed at the prospect. She paid for the shipping and the actual bullets. Of course, she cannot give this to Kiritsugu without a price, to which Kiritsugu reluctantly agreed despite his meager pay as opposed to his mentor.
Origin Bullets. Sixty – six of these bullets contain the Dual Origin of Kiritsugu, which is Tearing and Binding. Ordinarily, they look just like any other Springfield rifle bullets, but the color of the bullet heads gave the difference away to the Magus Killer, at least. At least thirty of these bullets are used for different Magi who he thought he can't fight with normal guns and knives at all. For a human, it will only cause serious damage just like a rifle shot. But to a seasoned Magus who foolishly pours his or her prana on all their Magic Circuits, its effect is more devastating as the effect is akin to short – circuiting an electrical wire. Used at the right timing, the Magus that will be shot by it will fall dead, the first factor being the overload of the circuits, and the second factor being the Origin Bullet that cuts and poorly repair the said Circuits.
Kayneth is in so much anguish that he can't maintain the shield properly, leading the shield to burst by itself, and showing the suffering of the supposedly esteemed Clock Tower professor. Kayneth cannot describe how tortuous that condition is to his body. Like any other foreign body part, his body now rejects the Circuits that are now impaired, leading to the El – Melloi now passing out of fatigue.
Emiya Kiritsugu is now preparing his submachine gun, as he sets the firing settings to manual. He is about to finish him off when something felt wrong. He backed away by a few calculated inches and fired two shots at the intruder. The intruder shook the bullets off thanks to his Agility stat and his spears.
It turns out that the one who intruded is a Servant. Yep, someone had the nerve to reveal his Master's and his whereabouts. If he has no professional control over himself, he would have berated that someone over and over for her actions. Moreover, the one who intruded is of a class of a Knight, Lancer. He then took time to study his stats while Lancer gave his warning.
"So, I take it that you are Saber's Master?" Lancer quipped, his orange golden eyes staring at the man's form. He cannot believe that an honorable knight such as Saber will be paired off with a shady assassin. He now carried the professor in his shoulder.
"I would have killed you right at this moment, but be thankful that I am moved by Saber's chivalry." Lancer ominously warned. "I will not kill you like this, and neither will Saber do likewise." He then jumped out of the window of the mansion, leaving the man to his thoughts.
At least I got his stats. He thought as he now came up with a brilliant plan. Although Lancers are enjoying the privilege to be of the class of a Knight, every Lancer in the history of the Grail War has an E – rank in the stat of Luck, no matter how fast they are. So he will wait for the appropriate situation to pop up where he can kill both Master and Servant.
"Madame…run…for your life." Maiya implored with difficulty, as her diaphragm is pressed on even more by the priest's foot. Irisviel's eyes now held a defiant stare at the priest that is about to claim Maiya's life.
"I can't leave you here, Maiya – san." Irisviel replied, her eyes still having that stare that only humans supposed to have. "We have to protect him, remember?" She now released a thread, which shone in the moonlight as the priest looked on.
"Kiritsugu not only taught me about driving cars." Many more threads appear as she now stretched her left hand. "He also showed me…how to live!" The threads are now all around Irisviel, and her one single chant left Maiya amazed at the one who is supposed to be a homunculus.
"Shape ist lieben!" Irisviel chanted as her threads formed an eagle that flew around Kirei. Although Jubstacheit disapproves of this kind of usage of Magecraft, Irisviel found it relieving that their superior alchemy has its uses after all thanks to her husband, Emiya Kiritsugu's tutelage. Although Kiritsugu's field of Magecraft is not of that kind, he knew that every Magecraft can be amplified with physical effort and mundane utilities, which led to the production of this kind of technique.
It will now be Irisviel's victory as she now saw that her Magecraft has bound Kirei to a tree. Although the alchemy is only applied to threads, those threads are guaranteed to be as strong as titanium, not enabling the one bound by it to escape. Those kinds of threads can buy them time for up to an hour before its effects will break completely. She then helped Maiya up to her feet.
"Maiya, it's now our chance to…"
Sadly, that victory will be short lived.
Caster now stopped Kejoro in her tracks and they now hid in the bushes. They saw Assassin there, staring at the empty space of the forest. She just hopes that the Assassin will not see their hiding place, otherwise, she will have to do whatever she has to do.
"Alright, I'll take out Assassin, you take care of the priest." Caster instructed in a monotone, cold and whispery voice. "If anything happens to us, one of us can break this bracelet."
She then wrapped the bracelet around Kejoro's wrist, and the same goes to Caster's wrist. Kejoro now got what Caster is now implying, and frankly, she did not like it in the slightest.
"I don't have any much choice, do I?" Kejoro frowned as Caster put up her happy – go – lucky attitude while still maintaining that cold façade, making her lines look like a dry witty remark.
"Well, this is not a visual novel where you can save all of the bookmarks just in case one gets a bad end." Caster prepares herself for the confrontation as Kejoro now prepares her Dirks. The priest is now leaving the grim scenario to take care of other matters. Kejoro's thoughts now stopped for a half – second wondering whether what Caster said is a joke or not.
Is her Servant a fan of visual novels? Then how did she know what a visual novel is? Heck, visual novels are only introduced in their year, and the games itself consists of pixelated images and tons of words guaranteed to bore the gamer, unless the gamers are certified readers. Servants are not supposed to know of that since the Grail only provides limited information about the world. Unless…
She can put that information for later, as there are more pressing matters to attend to. Assassin released her first Dirk aimed to kill at the bush where they are hiding. Looks like they are being heard and Assassin indulged herself too much in listening to them talk about the plan. The dark figure listened for signs of pain, but no one winced in pain, which means her Dirk has been caught. She then approached the place to find out who is the one who dared to observe their actions.
Unfortunately for that black – clad skull – masked woman, she sealed her own fate from the moment that she stepped out of her comfortable zone of observance.
"Irisviel!" Saber rushed in to her Master's aid, but she now thought that it is too late as she saw Irisviel lying down, the sheer amount of blood now staining through her clothes. On the other side, she also saw Maiya in a weak state. Thankfully, as she asseses her pulse, Maiya is only unconscious. But what she is worried about the most is Irisviel, since she has taken the most damage. She saw what seems to be stab wounds on her stomach, and an amazingly large amount of blood.
But at the mere touch of her hand over her shoulder, Irisviel woke up as if nothing ever happened. Saber now wonders what the heck has happened back there. For a moment, she clearly saw Irisviel is almost dead. But as she touched her shoulder, the white – haired lady got up immediately.
"Are you…really alright, Irisviel?" Irisviel only nodded as a reply. Saber cannot find the words as to how she got up just like that. Unknown to her, it is because of her Noble Phantasm that is concealed in Irisviel's body that immediately repaired the damage long before Saber ever came to their place, speeding up the process only when Saber came near to her.
Avalon: The Everdistant Utopia.
Kiritsugu has seen it fit to conceal to Saber that they had her Noble Phantasm that is dug up from Cornwall as a secret. Irisviel protested at first, but he reasoned out that he will give it to Saber when she needs it the most. As of right now, they saw Archer as the only threat in which they will give the Phantasm to Saber. But as of now, it is not the right time to do so.
Thank you, Saber… Irisviel felt it wrong to keep a secret from their Servant, seeing as the sudden healing means stealing Saber's immense prana reserves. But since this is all part of Kiritsugu's strategy, she will go along with it, and so far, Kiritsugu's assumptions are not yet been proven wrong.
As much as Saber hated to admit it, their actions have all played in the part of Kiritsugu's even greater plan. Also, he is right at the assumption that this is all part of Tokiomi's plan to regain his Command Seal.
So, it all goes according to your plan huh, Kiritsugu? Saber mused as she now carried the two back home to the Einzbern Mansion.
A/N: Yeah, about the visual novel bit. I don't have any bias with regards to visual novels, since I myself am a recently turned visual novel fan. Just re – played Kagetsu Tohya on PSP to complete the CGs, and man, I got tons of laughs with that one, especially the line where Shiki said "Ah, nose came out of my water…" XD
I just wish Fate/Stay Night is on PSP, so that I can play the Heaven's Feel route already. They only made the game exclusive for PS Vita.
Well, enough with my rants, and please rate and review. I will edit this if I have the time. XD