FATE/CATBOX FICTION
Chapter 23: Shrine of Tiahuanaco
Ritsuka, Mash, and all of the other Servants backed themselves into the center of the shrine in a circle formation. The many Enforcers stared at them with cold expressions. Mash kept Ritsuka behind her at all times, yet couldn't help but exclaim, "This is insane! Are these all supposed to be copies of Connla!?"
Machiavelli clicked his tongue in frustration and groaned, "Damn it. They finally found me."
"Were they looking fer ya?" Earp wondered.
"They've been wanting to assassinate me for the last few years due to the information I possess. I needed Leonidas' cooperation to help keep my location a secret, but now a change in plans is required."
"What made ya realize they were on t'ya?"
"Assassin's bullet. If an Enforcer gave it to her, then they definitely would've planted a tracking device inside it, knowing that she would want to show it to me."
Quintrala visibly grit her teeth and snarled at 15-M, "You reprehensible worm! How dare you use me like that!"
The child Servant vapidly retorted, "Thank you for your assistance, Assassin of Akakor. Mother was certain that your lack of foresight and penchant to care only for your own welfare would come in handy someday."
"Khhhgh… I'll… I'll kill you, you little demon!"
"Don't let her get you riled up!" Leonidas tried to stop Quintrala by blocking her way, but the Assassin was too furious to listen to common sense. He suddenly yelped as her whip slashed against his back. The livid woman screeched at him, "Get out of the way, you big oaf! That smarmy little bitch is mine!"
"Ah ha ha ha! Look at them go! They'll kill each other before we have to do anything!" 18-U laughed. This just served to infuriate Quintrala even further.
"Now's not the time for infighting, Assassin! They're coming!" Machiavelli warned her.
The red-haired Chilean shrieked at the top of her lungs, "SHUT UP! I'll kill all of them myself!"
She initiated the battle by brandishing her whip and cracking the sharpened tail straight for 15-M's head. The Enforcer immediately leapt above the assault, while the girls flanking her rolled away and chose their opponents to barge in on. Quintrala focused entirely on 15-M, enraged that she had been tricked so easily by the stoic child. The Assassin deftly coiled her whip into a circle, then let it crack. A pair of bright red, flower-shaped magical chakrams sailed through the air for 15-M, but she calmly countered by firing some Ansuz Runes at them, making them explode harmlessly. The Enforcer broke through the smoke and lunged herself at her foe.
Quintrala's eyes widened in shock as she realized that she had seen 15-M's placid expression before. During the Akakor Grail War, she had once attempted to fight Lancer of Akakor on her own. The child Servant's blank gaze was exactly the same as 15-M's as she wordlessly accepted her opponent's challenge. Needless to say, that fight did not end well for Quintrala – she was forced to retreat and heal the worst wounds she ever gained during the conflict. Not even her greatest rival Maupin was as vicious as Connla was, and Quintrala came to learn just how brutal it was to be a Celtic soldier from ancient times. Those frightening memories came swirling back in her mind, distracting her for a moment as the Enforcer closed in. Quintrala slashed her whip at the girl in a panicked frenzy, fearful of suffering another humiliating loss.
Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
The whip flailed about with no discernible pattern for 15-M to analyze. She couldn't advance without enduring some deep whiplashes to her cheeks, shoulders and upper body. Since she was programmed to be a combat Enforcer though, she was already used to dealing with such pain. She ignored the onslaught and grabbed Quintrala's face, then continued rushing forth until she slammed the woman's head against the wall. The stunned Assassin slumped to the ground in a daze, leaving her vulnerable to 15-M's spear. Before the girl could slaughter her, several bullets whizzed between them, causing 15-M to leap back for safety.
"Dang, that was too close fer comfort!" Earp exclaimed.
"Hnngh… S-Stay out of this, Archer…" Quintrala groaned.
"Well yer bloody welcome, madam. Next time I'll just stand back an' watch ya be shish-kebabbed."
"Ungh…"
Meanwhile, two Servants leapt above Ritsuka. Mash batted them away with her shield, and both Maupin and Machiavelli engaged them before they they try to attack the Master again. A third Enforcer jumped high behind Ritsuka and attempted to perform a deadly drop kick on the teenager's neck. Maupin ran past the surprised Master and did a rising kick of her own, making both attackers' feet slam into one another. Both Servants elegantly flipped back to the ground on their feet, then engaged in a duel. The two Servants that Mash knocked away had to spin their spears to block a barrage of Machiavelli's spikes that he created using a limited form of Projection.
While half of the Enforcers were scattered about the shrine, the remaining were approaching Leonidas as he kept taunting them over to him. One girl told him in a flat tone, "We have no interest in fighting you, Caretaker. Surrender now, and we will overlook your transgression of hiding Caster from us."
The Spartan king laughed, then exclaimed, "Surrender, you say? Foolishness! If you seek my death, then earn it the hard way! Now, come and get me!"
Instead of his usual Noble Phantasm, Thermopylae Enomotia, Leonidas possessed a different ability to reflect his status as a Shielder Servant. A red aura surrounded his shield, and he raised it high in a triumphant pose as he shouted the name of his second Noble Phantasm:
"Molon Labe!" †
Ghostly images of the 300 soldiers who fought alongside him in the Battle of Thermopylae surrounded him, then were absorbed into the shield to boost his defensive powers beyond human measure. He couldn't be considered invincible, but if anyone wanted to defeat him, they would have to unleash Noble Phantasm after Noble Phantasm upon him. Not only that, his combat aura served as a potent distraction for the Enforcers to turn their attention toward him. Without saying a word, most of the Servants rushed at him and attempted to jam their spears into his toughened flesh.
"GRRAAAAGH!" Leonidas screamed in pain. Copious amounts of blood spurted out of his body, yet he maintained his stance and managed to run his own lance through an unsuspecting girl's chest, killing her instantly. The Enforcers continued jabbing their blades into him in eerie silence, completely ignoring their sister's death.
"You fools!" 15-M shouted. "Don't focus on Shielder! It's Caster of Akakor and the foreign Master that we want!"
They obviously didn't listen to her. While they had their backs turned, Earp and Maupin were able to close in on two of the distracted girls. One Enforcer spotted Earp coming from behind and attempted to cut his head off with her glaive. He ducked under and instantly jammed his gun right into the surprised Servant's mouth, then pulled the trigger. She dropped dead over a huge pile of her blood and disappeared.
At the same time, Maupin dueled another Enforcer who carried a long, thin type of spear known as an ahlspeiss, which made for a decent ranged fencing weapon. The fight was fervent and fierce as they blindly danced and clashed with each other. Soon, the Enforcer bashed Maupin's rapier aside, then performed a jumping roundhouse kick to her face to knock her several feet backwards. The girl leapt high over her and threw her spear at the woman's chest. Maupin managed to roll out of the way, but the weapon was energized with Runes that exploded, carelessly launching her toward the ceiling. The Enforcer used a platform Rune to reach her, then kicked her back to the ground. The dazed fencer tried to get back up, but the Enforcer leapt onto her shoulders and hopped off like a bunny, forcing Maupin to stumble. The girl then did a drop kick to the back of Maupin's head, causing her face to painfully smash against the wall.
The silent spearman was about to run her weapon through Maupin's back. That was when a large black object caught her peripheral vision, and she looked aside to notice Mash leaping over her with her shield raised like some kind of blunt hammer.
"YAAAH!" Mash screamed, then smashed the base of her shield upon the startled Enforcer's head with a mighty crash, turning the skull and its contents into a bloody heap on the ground. As the dead Servant faded away, Mash helped Maupin to her feet and asked, "Are you all right?"
"Oooh… Sacré bleu… That kind of skill is inhuman for a child her age…" the fencer moaned while covering her bloody nose.
"Be more careful next time. Despite her appearance, Connla's abilities are not to be trifled with."
"Never mind me. What about the mademoiselle Master?"
Mash looked over to find Ritsuka standing near Machiavelli, who was doing his best to protect her from 15-M's barrage of attacks. He continuously projected and fired a fusillade of long thin spikes at 15-M. She rolled, dodged, and parried as many shots as she could while closing the distance between them, but some projectiles wound up piercing her skin at various non-critical spots like her arms and legs. 18-U broke out of Leonidas' hypnotizing distraction and saw that her sister was in trouble.
"Hold on, I'm coming!" 18-U shouted, leaving her remaining sisters to deal with Leonidas.
He noticed this and warned Machiavelli, "Watch your right flank!"
The philosopher saw her coming and snarled. He wasn't used to fighting battles in the first place, and having to handle two Servants at once was going to be extremely difficult for him. Luckily for him, Ritsuka positioned her right hand to form a gun with her index finger, then shouted, "Gandr!"
A flash of deep red light blasted from her finger and ensnared 18-U with a short-term paralytic effect. The incapacitated girl tried to take a few steps, but a terrible pins-and-needles feeling agonized her every time she so much as twitched. Machiavelli saw this as an opportunity to use 18-U for cover, so he grabbed Ritsuka's wrist and forced her to hide behind the incapacitated Enforcer with him. 15-M found her approach blocked by 18-U's stumbling, and Machiavelli kept shooting more needles at her from above, eliminating her chance for an aerial strike.
Nevertheless, 15-M wasn't perturbed. She simply thrust her hands forth and conjured a Hagalaz Rune. A vicious spray of hail stones relentlessly shot for the trio. 18-U was completely defenseless and wound up being nearly disintegrated into an unrecognizable pulp of blood and guts. Machiavelli and Ritsuka were rooted to the spot with horror as they saw the terrible hailstorm approaching. Their view was quickly blocked by Mash's shield as the Demi-Servant rushed in front of them and blocked the spell with her impenetrable barrier. 15-M canceled her spell once she realized that no amount of hail was going to pierce the shield.
Fury welled within Ritsuka's chest as she stared at 18-U's remains. She stepped next to the equally surprised Mash and shouted at 15-M, "You… Do you understand what you've just done!?"
"My assigned objective is the silencing of any entities who would oppose Mother's will."
"Even your own sister!?"
"18-U was directly in my line of fire. Any changes in my firing position to avoid her would have resulted in a 35% depreciation of my offensive capabilities. With her death, it was only a 0.5% drop in efficacy. My protocols permit me to choose the best options for eliminating my opponents. Furthermore, 18-U's data will simply be transferred and restructured into a new Enforcer."
"How could you!? Are you really supposed to be Connla!? Do you have no conscience whatsoever!?"
"I am the facet of Mother representing the loss of her humanity so that she could be forged into Aife's spear of revenge against Cuchulainn. I am a child with the mind and capabilities of an adult, trained to be a tool for killing… In other words, a weapon. To apply human traits such as conscience and affection to a weapon is a grave error on your part."
"You can't be serious…"
"Hah!" they heard Quintrala laugh nearby. She had recovered enough from 15-M's earlier attack to rejoin the battle. She stood tall and held her whip taught, glaring fiercely at the Enforcers as she barked, "Now who's the one harming their own allies!? If your sisters really are going to be an encumbrance to you, then you shouldn't have brought them here in the first place, devil!"
"…"
"Well, no matter! This works out perfectly for me! Enjoy a taste of humility, and remember what your place is, whelp!"
The whip shone red, and she held it high above her head. While the Enforcers' collective attention was on her, Machiavelli saw this as an opportunity to open the book strapped to his belt. A steely blue aura surrounded the book, in stark contrast to the bright crimson glow on Quintrala's whip.
He chanted in a firm tone, "If you cannot be feared and loved at the same time, then go forth and strike terror into the hearts of your enemies. The balance of excessive mercy and inhuman cruelty… Il Principe." ††
The book's aura transferred into Quintrala's whip, causing it to shine even brighter than usual. Il Principe functioned as a booster for another Servant's Noble Phantasm, by transforming his words into 'inspiration' for his allies to inflict the most amount of damage they could. Similarly, these words would inspire later generations of leaders who read The Prince, so Machiavelli transformed that concept into his Noble Phantasm.
Quintrala widened her eyes with rage, then shouted, "La Quintrala!"
The lighting inside the shrine turned red everywhere. The eerie ambience served to obscure the gross amount of blood flying everywhere as the Assassin flailed her whip so quickly that it could have been mistaken for hundreds of flying knives. Although it was a single weapon, the whip was practically everywhere at once. All of the remaining Enforcers were butchered into indiscernible chunks of meat, effortlessly cleaved through by the whip's blinding speed and razor-sharp tail. While Leonidas' Noble Phantasm protected him from serious harm, everyone else had to take refuge behind Mash's shield.
15-M felt herself breaking apart. She wanted to run toward the livid woman and kill her, but one of her legs instantly detached itself from her thigh, and she collapsed face-first onto the ground. The whip kept dissecting her and her sisters, and her eyesight became blurry.
No… I can't go yet. I haven't… avenged 15-N yet.
She lost so much blood that she no longer had the energy to move. She felt nothing but burning pain striking her over and over again.
Mother… help me…
Suddenly, she noticed a strange figure lurking within her bleary vision. The girl, who looked nearly identical to 15-M, leaned over her and gently extended her hand. She likewise tried to reach up.
Is that you… 15-N?
Those were 15-M's final thoughts as her hand plopped onto the floor, and she dissolved into shining particles along with the other dead Enforcers. The red light surrounding Quintrala's whip dissipated, and the Assassin stood confidently in the middle of the shrine. All of the blood and gore vanished along with the Servants, leaving no trace of what just happened that could cause Ritsuka or Mash to get sick.
"Hmph," Quintrala scoffed. "That's what happens when you cross me."
"Phew…" Mash sighed in relief and lowered her shield, then said, "That was rather dangerous, but we managed to pull through. Good work, everyone."
"Not a casualty on our side. What a splendid result," Leonidas grinned. "Many thanks for your assistance, fellow Shielder. I never anticipated that I would meet another Servant with the same class as I, considering how rare it is for Servants to specialize in the shield."
"N-No, I'm still just learning. Even though I'm a Demi-Servant, I only just recently found out which Servant I'm fused to. I'm trying to get a grip on his abilities, but I feel like I'm falling short of everyone's expectations."
"Worry not. So long as you continue on the path to betterment, I'm certain those doubts clouding your soul will clear like a sunny day after a storm."
"Yeah… Thank you."
"So then," Ritsuka said to Leonidas and Machiavelli, "are you two still suspicious of our intentions?"
Machiavelli sighed a little, then replied, "I am a man who relies on facts and evidence, not myths and beliefs. The fact that all of you assisted in defending me from the Enforcers is proof that you wish to know more about the conspiracy surrounding Lancer. Whether or not you all intend to leave me alive after I divulge my secrets is another matter."
Roman's visage appeared on Ritsuka's transmitter, and he told him, "I assure you, we have no intention of causing harm to you. As the Acting Director of Chaldea, I will personally have Ritsuka and Mash see to it that your safety is ensured."
"Hoh. So you're Fujimaru's superior?"
"Yes, I am. I was the one who authorized this mission after our Connla made contact with your Connla."
After a short pause to contemplate his response, Machiavelli said, "I have my reservations about her meeting our Lancer face-to-face, given what her condition has been for the last 50 years. Nevertheless, if you're willing to go that far to defend me, then perhaps it may not be necessary for me to find a new place to sequester myself. After all, time is running short."
"We heard from the other Akakor Servants about the prophesized end of your world. Do you know what the catalyst is going to be for such a massive cataclysm?"
"I do not. All I can speculate is that Lancer harbors an immense grudge against this world, and that she has somehow gained the capacity to be a threat to humanity. Perhaps the original source of the apocalypse that Atlas predicted was different, such as a severe depletion of Earth's mana, or a meteor striking the planet. Turning Lancer into the Grail Terminal may have staved one disaster, but the Mages might have inadvertently created a new one with her. I have no evidence to support any such theory. All I know for certain is that the situation is desperate."
"I suppose so," Roman replied grimly. "All right, I'll ask a different question then. Do you know the circumstances behind Lancer having two Masters?"
"Hm…" Machiavelli grumbled to himself. "It took me some time to unravel that nasty business. I had some insider knowledge due to my Master and I infiltrating the Extremists, but the details that I uncovered still disturb me."
"Could you be more specific?"
"Tell me something, Doctor. Do you not agree that turning Lancer into the Terminal is extreme in its own right?"
"Sure, I agree with you. Both Giselle and Luise were supposed to be Conservatives, yet the Extinction benefited the Extremists."
"Well, what if I told you that Luise was actually an Extremist herself?"
Ritsuka, Mash and Earp's hearts all seemed to stop simultaneously. The gunman had to take a moment to compose himself before uttering, "S-S-Say that again!?"
"Luise was an Extremist."
"Y… Yer… Yer kiddin', right?"
"Do I look like I'm fooling around here?"
"That can't be right! 'Ow can that be possible!? Giselle woulda never 'llowed that to 'appen!"
"Sure, if she had been alive."
Earp became visibly distraught when he heard this. "G-Giselle… died?"
Machiavelli nodded. "Very early on, I may add."
"What d'ya mean!? We Conservative Servants met 'er multiple times throughout the war!"
"That was Luise's Magecraft at work. She was able to cloak herself so that she looked like someone else."
"A disguise? Y-Yer sayin' then…"
"Yes. Luise disguised herself as Giselle beginning around December of 1925."
"An' we were all summoned in September! Ya mean Giselle was alive fer only three bloody months!?"
"That's correct. All the other times you saw Giselle, that was actually Luise pretending to be her mother."
Earp grabbed Machiavelli's cravat and pulled the stoic man close so they were staring eye-to-eye with each other. The gunman fervently shouted, "Where's yer proof, huh!? 'Ow can ya be so sure that Giselle was dead!?"
"I'm not explaining anything if you're going to be this belligerent."
"Cut the crap an' start talkin'!"
"Whoa, whoa, calm down, Earp!" Ritsuka yelled, then raised her hand with the Command Spells. "Do you want me to use one of these!?"
"Ungh… Gaaa~aaah!" Earp shouted and shoved Machiavelli off him before thrashing his arms about in fury. "What the 'ell is this!? Are y'all tellin' me I was the only one who didn't know any o'this!? None o'ya were able t'trust me whatsoever!?"
"It's not that we didn't trust you…" Maupin moaned sadly. "It was just… well…"
"Good God, you're so pathetic, it hurts to look at you," Quintrala muttered. "Flying into a rage and beating up your opponents may be fine in comic books, but this is the real world. Evil sows itself in any and every facet of society it can find, and it will squeeze the life out of ignorant plebs like you without a second thought. We figured it would be a waste for you to be destroyed by these sinister forces, so we've been working in secret to make sure you last long enough to actually be useful. If it were up to me, I would have killed you to save myself the trouble, but Caster wanted you to survive. Since he's the boss of this little outfit, Saber and I have been doing things his way."
"Damn it all!" Earp cried out. "Why!? Why would you guys go through so much trouble fer my worthless 'ide!?"
Machiavelli sighed a little. "Don't you realize it? It's because we didn't want to devastate Lancer with the news of your death."
"Wha-?"
"We were walking on thin ice. Not only would the truth behind Lancer's demise destroy you, but then you rushing into things and getting yourself killed would cause her to live in constant guilt. That would affect the Gates, which would then alert the Mages, putting even more pressure on Lancer's fragile state of mind. That kind of chaos and anguish would have ultimately benefited Rider, would it not?"
That made Earp shut up. All he could do was stand there in crestfallen silence.
Satisfied that the gunman had calmed down, Machiavelli continued, "In any case, I was quite intrigued by this discovery. Due to my affinity as a Caster, I was able to see through Luise disguising herself as her deceased mother, though I obviously didn't confront her about it. I immediately had Giselle's biological samples covertly sent to me for analysis, and I discovered traces of arsenic in her blood and hair. The amount of arsenic in her system told me that Luise had been poisoning her ever since Giselle summoned Lancer – probably around the same time Rider had his confidential conversation with Luise and her lover Alfred Rojas, who was Berserker's Master."
The three Akakor Servants were stunned to hear this. Maupin blurted, "Mon Dieu! Rider was in collusion with Luise and Alfred!?"
"Ever since the beginning. Giselle was an obstacle to Luise's plans, so she slowly poisoned her to death."
Earp's heart sunk when he realized what this meant. If Marquis de Sade was working behind the scenes with Lancer's second Master, whom he never even knew existed until now, then all of Earp's efforts to keep Lancer away from Rider could potentially have been for nothing! Even worse, Berserker's Master was in on it as well? Earp couldn't forget how boisterous and unpredictable Berserker was, constantly switching sides at their Master's whim. The more he learned, the more disillusioned he was becoming with everything he had known up to this point.
Without thinking, Earp yelped, "'Old yer 'orses, mate! We all know how Berserker behaved 'round Lancer durin' the war. No matter which side that maniac was on, Berserker always seemed rather clingy with Lancer. I thought it was 'cause they were friends, but is there actually a deeper meanin' to it than that?"
Machiavelli raised an eyebrow. "Friends? Them? Surely you jest. Berserker's Master ordered his Servant to keep tabs on Lancer so that she wouldn't try to escape, confide in any of us, or commit suicide. Berserker would switch sides not because their Master wanted to 'be on the winning side', but in accordance to how convenient it would have been to watch over Lancer. On top of Luise commanding Lancer to keep silent, and it's no wonder the girl practically retreated into her shell during the war's later months."
"God damn it…"
Mash asked the philosopher, "Do you know what Rider and the two Masters had discussed back then?"
"I'm afraid not. None of the involved parties ever dropped so much as a hint to what their plans were."
"So we have no way of knowing what they were plotting…"
"Not necessarily. I tried asking Lancer and Berserker about it. Separately, of course. Neither of them would affirm nor deny that they had been present. Although Berserker's whereabouts are unknown, we still have Lancer to ask. There's also Rider, but my affiliation with him has been extremely poor, to say the least."
"I wonder if Lancer would be willing to tell us at this point, considering that she's ordered the Enforcers to kill you, Caster. Not to mention that Rider is still somewhere inside Akakor, which would put her on high alert," Maupin murmured.
"If it comes to it, I can ask Chaldea's Lancer and see if she could convince our Lancer to confide in her. All I can say is that Rider is the only one who knows what was being discussed, and that Lancer is a potential witness."
"I kind of find it strange though," Roman wondered. "Where was Rider's Master for this top-secret meeting? I haven't heard any mention of them whatsoever."
Machiavelli shook his head in dismay. "Rider's Master was practically a nonfactor during the war."
"What do you mean? Rider would have needed a Master to help him anchor his Spirit Origin to the world."
"Have you forgotten what Rider's ability is?"
"To jump between bodies that match his wavelength… AAAAH!?"
Roman's jaw dropped when he realized what Machiavelli was trying to say. The doctor cried out in disbelief, "Did Rider possess his own Master!?"
"Indeed, he did."
"But… But… T-This is crazy! Are you telling me Rider's been hopping between bodies right from the beginning!?"
"That's practically his specialty. The moment Rider's Master summoned him, he was doomed. You would know, right, Archer? Every time you killed one of Rider's vessels, he would just inhabit another person that the Family Tree Mages would kidnap on his behalf."
Earp scowled darkly. "Damn, do I know all too well. Is it possible that the first body of 'is I killed was 'is Master's?"
"Most likely."
"As if I dun 'ave 'nough reasons to 'ate that coward's filthy guts."
"It gets worse," Machiavelli said, putting Earp further on edge. "There was something else I found particularly strange that happened very early in the war."
"Strange?" Maupin wondered.
"Do you remember towards the end of December 1925, when Lancer was absent for about a week?"
"… Oh! Oui, je me souviens! I recall her being missing in action during that time! Do you know where she was then!?"
"It was extremely difficult for me to investigate that matter, but I found out through some connections that she had been taken to the Wandering Sea."
"The Wandering Sea?" Ritsuka wondered.
"The third branch of the Mages' Association, alongside the Clock Tower and the Atlas Institute. The Wandering Sea is supposed to be an island from the Age of Gods, capable of moving through the World's Texture to position itself between the World of Man and the Reverse Side."
"Uh… Texture? Reverse Side?"
"Think of it like hopping from one dimension to another. The specifics will have to be saved for another time."
"Good enough for me."
"Anyway, the Wandering Sea hides itself in secrecy, only showing itself on December 31 of any given year to allow extremely limited access. Lancer was absent because Luise took her there to be examined on December 31, 1925."
"Examined for what?" Mash wondered.
"I'm not sure what Luise's intentions were. It's an absolute miracle that I was able to obtain this information in the first place, considering that the Wandering Sea has cut all ties with the other two organizations. This is just my best guess, but I believe there's a crucial connection between Lancer and the Grail Terminal that Luise was looking into, and she needed the Wandering Sea's help. You have to remember that there was a real scramble to find a way to counter Atlas' prophecy. Luise must have somehow realized that Lancer was the solution, and was investigating in secret. What that solution was has eluded me for all this time."
"Well, it took us some digging into our Connla's past here, but we managed to figure out that she possesses cranial Runes. Her mother planted them on her in order to artificially accelerate her intelligence," Roman said.
Machiavelli raised an eyebrow. "Cranial Runes?"
"Yes," the doctor replied, then explained everything about Connla's Runes on her brain and how they gave her the ability to witness events in parallel worlds.
"I see… I see…" the philosopher murmured darkly. "That was not something recorded in Lancer's personal history, so of course I would have never known about it. Considering that her aunt is Scathach, who can also use Imbas Forosnai, it would make sense for Lancer to inherit such an ability. I should have considered investigating Lancer's family tree rather than just Lancer herself. This opens up a whole new berth of possibilities for me to explore."
Earp glowered, "This is gettin' mighty serious now, ain't it?"
"Don't be asinine, Archer. It has been this serious the moment we were all summoned as Servants. You're only starting to see how disastrous things actually are."
"An' whose fault is it fer keepin' me ignorant o'the truth, huh!?"
"I couldn't trust you with all the facts. If you knew that the Grail War was a total farce meant to veil the Mages' efforts to turn Lancer into the Terminal, I have no doubt that you would have gone mad with the revelation. On top of that, I strongly suspect that Rider was playing the Mages for his own gain. What his goal was, I couldn't tell you."
"Gh… AAAAA~AAAA~AAAAGH!"
Earp let out the most epic scream he could muster, then faced the nearest wall and started punching it repeatedly.
"Rider, Rider, Rider, RIDER! Everythin' ALWAYS points back to Rider! God damn that bastard! God damn him to HELL! Things woulda been SO much better if he hadn't been summoned! Why did he 'ave t'show up an' ruin everythin' fer everyone!? Why!? Why!? WHYYY~YYY!?"
"That's enough, Earp!" Ritsuka shouted and used up one charge of her Command Spells to force him to stop.
"Hah… hah… guh… God… damn it!" he screeched and started sobbing.
"Archer…" Maupin moaned and held his shoulders.
"Saber," Machiavelli said to her, "you should take him aside for now. Assassin and I will discuss our next plan of action with Fujimaru and Leonidas."
"C'est une bonne idée. Come on, handsome. Let's get some rest, shall we?"
She helped him walk back into the labyrinth so they could sit down together without disturbing the others. Quintrala shrugged nonchalantly and grumbled, "So much for him keeping his cool. I seriously can't stand emotional men like him – they wind up breaking too easily."
Ritsuka and Mash both gave her flat gazes, noting the hypocrisy of her words. Machiavelli said, "You can't blame him. He's close to Lancer and despises Rider. That kind of reaction was to be fully expected."
"Still, I find it rather odd that you finally decided to come clean with him after evading him for so long. What's with the change in heart?"
"It's because of his contract with Fujimaru. Now that he has a Master who can keep his impulses under control, and is similarly aligned with our cause, I have little reason to play coy with him any further. Besides, we need all the assistance we can get if we're to set Lancer free from the Grail Terminal."
"I suppose so. I can't imagine how helpful Archer's going to be, but if you have faith in his abilities, then I can at least regard him as a meat shield."
"Good enough. Now then, Dr. Archaman," Machiavelli said to Roman, "my understanding is that you Chaldeans wish to lower the Tradition Protection surrounding the Preservatorium."
"Yes, we do," the doctor replied, and told him of the groups heading to Manoa and Salazere.
"Excellent. You've already taken care of the first step. What do you say to this, Leonidas?"
"Hm…" the Spartan grumbled. "Though I am hesitant to put the Little One to the sword, it is clear that she has suffered far more than I could have ever imagined. Call me cruel if you wish, but the Mages have discarded so much of their humanity that destroying this world may actually be for the better. It would at least keep the enslaved parallel worlds safe from any further tyranny."
"How can you say that!?" Mash cried out in anguish.
"Believe me, I do not say such things lightly. I truly understand your anger – you all must be fighting hard to protect your world because there is still something inherently beautiful and precious about it. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for this world. The discovery of the Second Magic has warped the Mages' logic beyond recognition, to the point that you can no longer call them 'human'. You have not been around as long as we have to witness so much evil permeating their minds. They reap the rewards of countless parallel worlds like tyrants, then abandon those worlds to die once they are no longer useful. Perhaps seeing so much corruption and apathy has caused my spirit to become disheartened over this world's future."
"Well…"
"But I digress. I am in agreement with Sir Machiavelli that this madness must be stopped at once. I would never forgive myself if I allowed the Little One to succumb to hatred on my watch. Consider me an ally to your cause, Chaldeans. Upon your signal, I shall lower Tiahuanaco's anchor to the Tradition Protection."
"Thank you, Leonidas. I know this decision must not be easy for you," Roman said. "We should be getting word from the other teams about their progress anytime soon. We've organized it so that all three shrines would be attacked simultaneously."
AUTHOR'S NOTE #1:
† - Literally means, "having come, take", loosely translated as, "come and take", or "come and get me". This is Leonidas' defiant response to Xerxes' demand for Sparta to surrender to the Persians. In the Battle in New York event in FGO, this is a skill given to Leonidas for a challenge quest, tremendously boosting his defense relative to the number of allies he has remaining.
†† - Italian translation of The Prince, Machiavelli's most infamous book. He specifically refers to Chapter 17, "Cruelty vs. Mercy", as it's the most well-known chapter.
AUTHOR'S NOTE #2: Well, the Battle in NY grind is over. It was really lucrative, but the challenge quests were the absolute WORST. I managed to clear all except for the Romulus one since it would have been impossible to do with the characters and CEs I have. Seriously, that CQ must've been designed only for hardcore whalers, which I am not. A real shame since I had to miss out on a Crystallized Lore.
But enough grumbling from me. As you can see, I decided to take a short break from writing. I guess writing fight scenes while exhausted would not have been a good idea. Now we can finally move on to Kiritsugu and Irisviel, whom I'm sure you're worried have fallen into limbo. Don't worry, I've got some real surprises in store for them, so stay tuned.
