Chapter 8 - Reality Check
Summoning a Servant
In preparation for the war, Irisviel had acquired a few potent catalysts. She felt reasonably certain of her capability to summon Artoria Pendragon, Medea, Medusa, and Heracles. But she refused to summon Artoria on the off-chance that her tampering with the Blackmore Cemetery Ritual was ineffective.
That left her with the three Greek servants, and while they were all pretty good servants, she leaned towards Heracles. He was capable of a lot, if she managed to summon him as anything but Berserker. If not, Medea was still a solid choice if she could earn her trust. Not to rain on Medusa, but compared to the other two options she was just not as viable. She'd set up a summoning circle in her storage room, which may as well be dubbed a treasury considering all the valuable materials and artifacts present within, to invoke her servant.
So imagine her shock when she went to her storage room and her catalysts were sabotaged. An ancient piece of literature, from Colchis, lay in ashes. A chunk of rock from a temple of Heracles, melted into glass and transmuted beyond repair. Only a pristine mirror lay there undamaged, as if mocking the other catalysts. Someone had broken into her storeroom. Someone had destroyed the catalysts of Medea and Heracles. That same someone had not robbed a single thing from her treasury, nor had they damaged the catalyst of Medusa.
Her hair felt like it was standing on end, goosebumps trailing down her skin. She'd never been caught so unaware in this new life of hers. Not once. This break-in…it was a taunt, a threat, and a trap. They taunted her, showing her riches and resources meant nothing to her. They threatened her, showing that if they could break into the most secure room in her residence, then they could have taken her life or anyone else in the manor. It was a trap, because they clearly wanted her to summon Medusa over her other options.
And the most damning thing about it all was that she had to play along. They might still even be here, watching. If it was just herself, she would still try to fight back. But everyone in the manor was also effectively held hostage. Well played, mysterious attacker. Well played.
Still, she couldn't puzzle who would do this, or why they would do it this way. If it was someone trying to win the grail, they could have likely killed her already. Or at least stolen her arm with the command spells. Hell, she would have cut off her hand willingly to protect any of the members of her makeshift family. So whoever it was, winning the grail was likely not that important to them.
Could it be Prelati? He was a powerful magus, but she doubted he was capable of bypassing her every defense like this. Doctor Heartless maybe? With the right mystic eyes, it might be possible to pull this off. There were not enough clues to determine for sure though.
She tried to use her class card Ruler, Sherlock Holmes, to help her solve this mystery. But as with every instance she'd used the card prior, she fell victim to a burst of bad luck. She tripped over the melted glass chunks and a piece dug into her cheek, narrowly missing her eyeballs. Warning received. The world had given Holmes the class of Ruler, because it determined that he would solve all the mysteries in the world if he was left to his own devices as a Caster. Mysteries even the world did not want him to solve.
Even with him in the form of a class card, the world was warning her not to use his powers. Every single instance she'd tried to use his class card she'd been afflicted with bad luck of wildly varying degrees. What was the point in receiving a card the world wouldn't let her use? Was she not ready? Was it not the right time? Did she need to become stronger?
Either way, she wouldn't be surprised if she died if she pushed her luck and kept trying to use his class card. So unfortunately, she'd have to solve this mystery with more normal means. Seeing no way out, she sighed. It was time to do what the intruder had wanted.
She performed the summoning ritual, intending to summon Medusa as class Rider, but in her haste she missed how her stumbling had messed up her summoning circle just the tiniest bit. "Come forth from the ring of restraint, Protector of the Balance!" As she finished her chanting, the circle glowed and a familiar purple-haired figure appeared.
"Servant Lancer, at your service Master." She greeted, looking down at the ground. Wearing a simple dress and a hood, her skin marked by tattoos, she refused to make eye contact.
"Hello, Lancer. My name is Irisviel von Einzbern. You are Medusa I presume?" She inquired. Medusa nodded, but then got into a combat stance, materializing a scythe that emitted a dark aura. "There's another servant in this building. Stay back." Medusa warned, and then her scythe blocked a dagger that had been aimed towards Irisviel's heart.
Irisviel had equipped her assassin class card, and observed the newcomer with a keen gaze. Purple-hair, a skull mask, dark clothing. It was an Assassin, and one she recognized at that. "Hassan of Serenity, why have you broken into my home?" She asked.
Serenity remained silent, likely still looking for an opening from which to strike. "I can defend myself now, don't hold back." Irisviel ordered Medusa. Irisviel then materialized her hair into needles and shot them towards Serenity's points of death.
It looked like Serenity was about to flee, but then the door burst open to the storage room. Oh gods, it was Sakura. Irisviel leapt to defend the girl, while Serenity seemed to be leaping to attack her or maybe hold her hostage.
"STOP FIGHTING." Sakura screamed, and to her shock Serenity stopped rushing towards Sakura. Medusa took the opportunity to hold her scythe against Serenity's neck. But Irisviel was frozen in horror. She was unable to take her eyes off Sakura's glowing left hand. There were three red marks inscribed, her proof of being a Master. Sakura had been chosen as a participant in the Holy Grail War.
Negotiations
After clearing up some misunderstandings, everyone finally lowered their weapons and agreed to talk it all out. "There's no one else present right?" Irisviel asked Medusa.
"None that I can detect." Medusa agreed.
Turning her gaze towards Sakura, Irisviel asked. "How did you manage to summon your own servant, Sakura? I doubt I ever taught you that."
"Rin showed me." Sakura said in a soft voice, she looked nervous, and afraid.
Irisviel face-palmed, then put a reassuring hand on Sakura's shoulders to help her relax. "Let me guess, you two were getting into an argument again about who'd beat who in the next grail war, and somehow she wound up showing you her dad's summoning circle?" It's not like the summoning circle was some huge secret, and Irisviel possessed it too. So Rin probably didn't feel like she was revealing anything dangerous. Sakura nodded. It looked like tears were about to well up in her eyes.
"Look, it is upsetting that this happened. But it's not your fault that the command spells chose you. You should have just come to me. This war is nothing children should be participating in. I don't want you getting hurt." Irisviel confided.
Sakura hugged her tightly, apologizing for keeping it a secret. "I was scared, I knew you were fighting in the war. What if we became enemies? What if you hated me? I'm sorry."
Irisviel patted her back gently. "It's okay. I would never hurt you like that. What did you hope to wish for?" Only those with a wish could be chosen by the Grail.
"I wanted to kill my father." Sakura responded.
Irisviel froze. "What? Why?!"
"The day you adopted me. You told me how if my father died, I could be with my mom and Rin. I don't want to leave this house, so I thought if I kill him they could come live with us." Sakura admitted.
Irisviel felt immense guilt weighing down upon her. Getting down on her knees so she could look at Sakura at eye level, she cupped the girl's cheeks in her hands. "Oh I'm so sorry Sakura. I should have thought more carefully about what I told you. I never wanted you to kill your father. No child should be faced with that kind of choice. If he somehow survived the war, I would have tried to find some other way you could be with your family. But killing him was never the goal. Please, promise me that unless he tries to harm you or someone you care about, you won't try to kill him?" She pleaded, with tears in her eyes.
'Way to go Iri. You've managed to raise a child you were the guardian of, into wanting to murder her father.' Irisviel derided herself.
"But you said-" Sakura started.
"No. Ignore what I said before. I just meant if he died because of the war, that was one way you could live with Aoi and Rin again. Just, promise me? I promise I'll find a way you can be with them even if your father survives, and you promise not to try killing your father. Deal?" Irisviel said.
Sakura nodded. "I didn't really want to kill him either. But he just…he sold me. Like I was barely worth anything to him. It makes me so sad." She broke down sobbing, and Irisviel hugged her once more.
"He thought he was protecting you and giving you a good future in his own way. That doesn't make what he did right, but he didn't do it because he hated you." Irisviel said.
"It's not fair." Sakura said.
"I know." Irisviel responded.
"I would have been fine with never learning magecraft if it meant I could stay with them." Sakura said
"I know." Irisviel understood.
"Being a magus sucks." Sakura said.
"I know." Irisviel accepted.
"I lied. I love being a magus." Sakura said.
"I know that too." Irisviel said with a smile.
"Thanks for being a terrible magus. You're the best aunt I could ask for." Sakura said with a faint smile tugging at her own lips.
"You're welcome my dear." They stayed in a companionable silence for some time.
Breaking the lull in conversation, Irisviel spoke up. "I'm glad we've got that sorted. Now, let's figure out how we're going to deal with the war. I don't want you in danger."
Irisviel stood up, turning her gaze towards Serenity. "What is your wish for the Grail? If it is possible to grant it without using the Grail, perhaps we can come to an agreement." Irisviel asked.
"Can you find a way for me to be able to love and touch another without killing them?" Serenity asked. She'd been staring at the exchange between Irisviel and Sakura very intently.
"It depends. If you merely wish to lose your poisonous attribute, I can probably do that right now. But if you want to be able to selectively turn it on and off, it would take more work. Still, I'm fairly confident I can assist." Irisviel proclaimed.
Serenity scrutinized Irisviel's figure, trying to find any hints of deception but coming up short. "If my master defers to you, and you can help me, then I will tentatively assist you for now." She said. What was left unsaid but clearly conveyed was her threat that she would kill Irisviel without mercy if it seemed like she couldn't complete her side of the agreement.
Turning towards Medusa, Irisviel asked. "Since we're all here, I may as well ask. What would your wish for the grail be?"
"I suppose it's not really much of a secret. I don't want much. I just wish to be able to reunite and live with my family in peace. I don't think it can be done without the grail though, so no shortcuts master." Medusa said with a wink.
"What do you want from the Grail, aunt Iri?" Sakura asked.
"I just want the Third Magic. But the Grail is cursed, so we can't just wish on it haphazardly. An apocalyptic scenario could occur if a wish is made without purifying the Grail. So the first priority is uncorrupting the grail." Irisviel explained, recounting the circumstances of the Third Grail War and Angra Mainyu.
"A device that can grant any wish? It did seem too good to be true. I'm not too surprised the Grail is twisted, I'll take caution in making a wish just in case." Medusa accepted. Serenity also gave a short nod.
Irisviel nodded gratefully. "I appreciate it."
"Now, I doubt it was the case, but let me just confirm. Sakura and Serenity. Did you have anything to do with the broken items in the storage room?" Irisviel wondered.
They both nodded no. Irisviel sighed despondently. "I figured. So let me tell you what happened right before we fought." She explained her suspicions about someone rigging things so that she summoned Medusa, how the residents of the mansion might be in danger, and her guesses on the motive and culprit.
"Your bounded fields work well against the mages of the modern era. But I think they're not up to par with servants and other powerful beings. I'll assist in establishing better defenses, but you shouldn't be so shocked that someone managed to bypass your precautions during a Grail War." Medusa explained.
Irisviel flushed red with embarrassment. She'd been pretty proud of her defenses, so those criticisms stung. Still, it meant there was so much more to improve on, so she relished the challenge.
"Yes, I agree with Lancer's assessment. It was easy enough for me to stay hidden here. I could have destroyed those catalysts myself if I was so inclined. I'll keep watch for any intruders. Let me know if you need anything else." Serenity said, and then disappeared in a flash. Medusa also took her leave, in a more casual manner.
Sakura giggled. "Assassin's just shy. She didn't think you'd be so confident in being able to help her."
Irisviel looked towards Sakura with a raised eyebrow. "You two are awfully chummy. How long has she been here anyways?"
"Just a week. But she's really nice when you get to know her, I promise!" Sakura defended her new friend. A week. Another stinging reminder of how unprepared she'd been. To not notice a home invader for a whole week. She'd been getting complacent.
"Don't worry, I believe you. There are worse things than having a servant as your friend, I can trust your safety to her. It's relieving really." Irisviel admitted.
She walked out with Sakura holding her hand. It was not going to be fun explaining this to Magdalena and Kariya.
