I type away on my laptop in silence.
After yesterday's free-for-all in the city, this is a welcome change of pace and gives me time to gather more info.
No activity at the yacht outside the city, the Tohsaka, or the Matou mansion. The Einzbern castle continues to elude my attempts at spying on them. Rider and Caster's hideouts remain a mystery.
Everyone's probably recovering their strength and preparing for the next battle. The same goes for us.
Problem is, how do we get out of this stalemate? Hoping for them to kill each other and then us swooping in to take down the last one standing is wishful thinking at best. Going on the offensive carries the risk of getting blindsided by another Servant.
I suppose the safest thing right now is to play defensive and wait for an opportunity. With all that said...
I steal a glance at Jeanne. She's sitting on a couch across the room, reading a book. Can't see the cover from this angle though.
My thoughts go back to last night's dream. Actually, I think dream is the wrong word here. It's far too vivid and detailed to have been one. It felt as if I were there when it happened. It felt real, even though it happened six hundred years ago.
Those must have been her memories of when she was alive. I remember reading something about a Master being able to glimpse their Servant's past through the contract that binds them.
Over the years, I've seen so much suffering and death. To see it inflicted on a person as kind as her is just too cruel.
"Is something the matter?" Jeanne says.
Our eyes meet for a moment. Crap. I've been staring at her without realizing it.
"No, it's nothing," I say. "Never mind."
I turn my attention back to the screen before it gets even more awkward.
Where was I? Ah, right. Information on Caster's Master: Nicolas Hawthorne.
Born to a middle-class family of mages some fifty years ago, he joined the Clock Tower in his youth where he made a name for himself. After finishing his studies at the Faculty of General Fundamentals, he moved on to the Department of Spiritual Evocation where he graduated top of his class. He spent a few years abroad afterward before returning to the Clock Tower.
And... that's it? His profile just ends there. Not the first time I've seen something like this though. The Clock Tower's probably covering something up. Again. What a pain in the ass.
But there's one thing that strikes me as odd.
Status: Deceased
Could it be an impostor?
No. Walking around as a dead mage would only paint a bigger target on his back.
Assuming the Clock Tower knows he is alive and is just covering for him, then they wouldn't let him walk around like this, much less allow him to participate in the Holy Grail War. Did he manage to fake his own death and convince the Clock Tower? I'm impressed if that's the case.
Still, I'd like to know what happened to him in that classified timespan. Knowing your enemy is key to formulating a strategy on how to defeat them.
Regrettably, there's nothing more to be gained from these old files. I look outside the window, only to realize that it's already gotten dark. Good a time as any for a break, I suppose.
I get up and make my way to the kitchen. Once there, I open up a cupboard and rummage through its contents. Coffee or tea? Wait, there's some hot chocolate left. Let's go with that.
Should I make one for her too? Eh, might as well.
Today has been quiet so far. Jeanne's been quiet. Maybe something's on her mind or yesterday's battle took more out of her than I thought. Or perhaps I'm just overthinking it. There are days when I don't feel like doing anything either.
I put the cups on a tray and make my way back to the living room.
"I made some hot chocolate if you're interested," I say, putting the cups down on the table.
Her eyes remain glued to the book and she doesn't respond. Must be that interesting of a read, huh? I walk up to her and check the cover.
"European History: The Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance Period"
Isn't that the era she lived in? Curiosity gets the better of me. I lean forward just a little to get a look at the current page.
I can see a couple of dates and make out some words that are upside down from my position-
Jeanne flinches and lets out a yelp. "Wha- How long have you been standing there?"
"I just got here," I say. "But you weren't reacting, so I thought to check what had you so captivated. Didn't mean to startle you."
"Ah, my apologies," she says, tapping the empty spot next to her. "Here, let me show you."
I sit down next to her and get a better look at the contents of the book.
"The end of the Hundred Years' War, huh?" I say. "You were reading up on what happened after you... uhm..."
"After I died, yes," she says. "There is no need to be so apprehensive about saying it, but I appreciate your concern."
She says it like it's no big deal. I know I wouldn't be so calm about it if it had been me. Especially since I saw the actual events as they transpired in my dream last night. It left a bitter taste in my mouth if I'm being honest.
"I am truly glad to know that the effort and devotion I gave to my Lord and country was not in vain," she says. "The same goes for all those who fought beside me."
"Yeah... I imagine it must be a relief to know that the side you fought for continued to fight and win in the end," I say.
Jeanne nods and goes a few pages back. "Unfortunately, not everyone received a good ending."
I scan the page she shows me. It doesn't take me long to figure out who she's talking about.
Gilles de Rais. In this book, he's just a mere footnote in the grand scheme of things, but that doesn't make his actions any less disgusting.
"The past cannot be reversed, but I can still pray for the salvation of his soul," she says.
"I don't want to sound rude, but I think that's a lost cause," I say. "He might have been your friend once, but I think the man you knew no longer exists. People change. That is the reality we live in."
Jeanne looks up from the book and faces me. "But they can also change for the better. Only by giving up on them will they be well and truly lost."
Honestly, sometimes I feel like she's too kind for her own good. Then again, that's one of her defining traits.
"Alright, I won't argue with you on that," I say. "Anyway, I-"
The doorbell rings.
Neither of us move. My eyes dart to the clock on the wall. It's 8:14 PM. I'm not expecting anyone. No one I'm in contact with even knows I'm in Fuyuki.
The doorbell rings again.
My bounded field hasn't gone off. That means our visitor is at the gate outside the premise of the house.
"Get ready for a fight," I say, getting up and grabbing my gun. "I have a bad feeling about this."
Jeanne and I slowly approach the door. The bell rings for the third time.
I peek through the spyhole. His outfit changed into a fancy black suit with a blood-red tie, but I couldn't forget that face and his sadistic smile after the last encounter.
"It's Caster," I whisper. "He's just outside the bounded field."
Why would he just show up like this? This must be bait.
"It is very rude to keep a guest waiting, you know?" he says from beyond the front gate.
Or maybe he's just insane. Plain and simple.
"I sense no other Servants nearby," Jeanne says. "I think we should go out and confront him. Rest assured, no harm will come to you as long as I am by your side."
Magic resistance. Right.
I give her a nod and open the door. Jeanne goes first, banner at the ready, with me closely behind her.
"Finally. I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to come out," Caster says. "How are the two of you doing on this fine evening?"
There's no way he would fight Jeanne one on one. He's at a huge disadvantage, but he's not stupid enough to leave himself vulnerable like this.
"Whatever you're selling, we're not buying," I say. "Now, get lost."
"You wound me!" Caster says, clutching his non-existent heart. "And here I came to offer you an opportunity."
"You will have to forgive us if we do not think that you have our best interests in mind," Jeanne says.
"Very well, I shall get to the point then," he says. "My Master sent me out to collect more souls while he is busy with other matters. However, taking souls from these mundane, utterly boring people is hardly worth my effort. So, I thought to spice things up a little."
I don't like where this is going.
"Not too far from here is a playground for children," he continues. "There, I will convert a not insignificant number of souls I have taken into raw magical energy for myself. You are welcome to try and stop me."
He vanishes in a brief pillar of fire before either of us can respond.
Jeanne turns to me. "Shall we head out?"
"What do you mean, head out?" I say. "This is obviously a trap."
"I am well aware," she says. "But I cannot stand idly by while the innocent suffer."
"I agree he has to be stopped, but think about this logically," I say. "If we just go in blindly and die, no one will be there to stop him in the future."
It pains me to say this, but it's the objectively correct choice. For all we know, there could be someone else there with Caster waiting to ambush us.
Judging by her deadpan expression though, Jeanne doesn't share my sentiment.
"Then you stay here, I will deal with Caster," she says.
"Oh great!" I say. "And what am I gonna do when Rider comes knocking on the door while you're out? Or Berserker?"
"You can use a Command Seal to recall me in an emergency," she says.
I'm not at all surprised how determined she is to go through with this, but it makes things so much more complicated. I'd rather not use a Command Seal unless there is absolutely no other choice.
"You're hopelessly optimistic, you know?" I say.
"And you are hopelessly pessimistic," she says, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Listen, innocent people who have nothing to do with this war are getting caught up in it. We have to put a stop to Caster before it gets out of hand."
Stopping Caster before he gets more powerful is about the only argument in favor of this. I guess I have no choice. There's no convincing her once she set her mind on something.
"Alright, fine, we'll do it your way," I say. "But if the situation isn't salvageable, we get out of there, alright?"
She gives me a firm nod with the slightest hint of a smile on her face.
A chilling breeze sweeps past us as I look to the cloudless sky above. The moon shines in its full splendor as we approach the designated location.
My instincts as a freelancer have so many gripes about this. No recon, no intel. Hell, even the people Caster took might have been a lie to lure us out.
"At last, you have arrived," Caster says, clapping slowly. "Just as I knew you would."
He's casually sitting atop a climbing frame with his legs crossed.
Jeanne steps forward with her banner pointed at Caster. "I am only going to say this once. Release the souls of the people you have captured or face your punishment."
"My, how scary," Caster says. "Let me suggest an alternative arrangement..."
"Pakt mit dem Teufel!"
[Deal with the Devil]
Our surroundings begin to twist and warp out of shape. Jeanne leaps toward Caster for an overhead strike. He vanishes moments before the attack connects. Only the climbing frame is cut cleanly in half.
Massive white walls erect themselves around us. They have huge, old-fashioned windows with plain curtains accompanying them. A ceiling falls down like a lid to seal the room.
"You should have listened to your Master, Jeanne D'Arc," Caster's voice echoes around us. "But you could not help yourself, could you? Hahahaha!"
Next, the room is outfitted with rows of wooden benches behind us. At the front, an elevated platform with a partial enclosure constructs itself. Right behind that, a comically large scale rises from the ground, easily six meters in height.
"Is this... supposed to be a courtroom?" I ask.
"Some kind of bounded field? Or a Reality Marble perhaps?" Jeanne says.
"This is my Noble Phantasm in all its glory!" Caster says, reappearing behind us.
Jeanne and I instantly trade places as she runs her banner through Caster. He didn't try to dodge. There was no resistance. It simply went through him as if he were air.
"If you are quite finished," Caster says with an annoyed expression. "Let me get two things out of the way. First, you cannot harm me in here. Second, escape is impossible. You are in my domain now."
Even for a Noble Phantasm, that sounds a little too strong to me. There's got to be a caveat to this, but I doubt he's just going to tell us. Deception and manipulation are his greatest weapons.
Jeanne assumes a defensive position between me and Caster, who slowly circles us.
"What sort of twisted game are you playing here, Caster?" Jeanne asks.
"I gave you a chance to rescue the souls I have captured and I stay true to my word," Caster says.
He comes to a halt in front of the judge's seat, then motions to the left side of the scale. Dozens upon dozens of small, white lights appear on it and each of them forms a humanoid silhouette around its center.
"And what's the catch?" I ask.
"I was getting to that part," he says. "You are starting to irritate me. Ah yes, speaking of-"
He snaps his fingers. My eyes dart around. What did he just do?
A thud, right below me. It's-
My body. I'm looking down at my own body from above?!
"Up you go!" Caster says.
Maybe I can reverse this and return to my body. That's it!
Time Alter: Reverse Flow!
It's not working... It's not working! I'm moving further and further away from my body.
Jeanne looks up to me in disbelief, then turns to Caster again who is now sitting on the judge's seat.
"Release him, now!" Jeanne says with anger in her voice.
She draws her sword, but holds it by its blade this time. "This is your final warning."
"Go on then, I dare you!" Caster says. "I can end your Master's life as easily as snapping a twig before you can burn me and my Noble Phantasm to the ground. However, there is a way for him to walk away from this unharmed."
Seeing my own body motionless on the ground like a spectator feels surreal, but I'm powerless to do anything against it. Jeanne can't fall for whatever this bastard is going to suggest next.
I yell over to her to not trust anything he says, but the words won't come out of my mouth. I can't even control my flight path as I'm guided to the right end of the scale behind Caster.
"It is quite simple, really," Caster says, extending both arms to the side. "You must choose!"
I see it now. This was the trap he wanted to spring.
"Your precious Master on one side of the scale. Dozens of lives, innocent lives, on the other side," he says. "Whichever you choose will be set free and returned where they belong. The other side will be broken down into magical energy, never to see another day again!"
Jeanne says nothing. Her face remains completely stoic. Her eyes momentarily dart between me, the civilians, and Caster.
"Oh, why the hesitation?" Caster says. "The choice is between the life of a single human against several dozens. The great Saint Jeanne is supposed to love all of humanity equally, am I wrong? There is no way you could develop feelings for a single one. You, who have dedicated yourself to the Lord above all things!"
It was never about winning in a battle of strength between Servants. He wants to beat her on a psychological level, by putting her in a position where she has to decide between upholding her belief or me.
"I am no Saint," she says.
"It does not matter what you think of yourself," Caster says. "Humanity sees you as a Saint, thus you are one."
Silence settles over the courtroom again. Each passing moment feels like an eternity. If only there was something, anything I could do now, but I'm nothing more than a helpless spectator now.
"Still struggling to make a decision, are we?" Caster says, breaking the silence. "No decision is a decision in itself, you know?"
Actually, what is the purpose of this Noble Phantasm exactly? It seems to put its target into a dilemma, but to what end? Mephisto is all about stealing people's souls from what I've seen so far. Even in the book "Faust", he tempts people with their heart's desire to lead them down a dark path. Then that would mean depending on the outcome of the target's choice, he will obtain their soul.
If I'm right about this, then everything ends here. If she chooses the civilians, I will die, my fight ends here, and she will disappear soon after, but her character remains intact.
If she chooses me, the civilians perish, and she would betray herself by acting against her belief and come under the control of Mephisto.
"I..." she says.
I guess this is it. It doesn't matter if she figured out how his Noble Phantasm works. There's no way she will choose me over them.
"The answer is simple," she says. "I will take my Master's place and then choose the left side. That way, all of them may be saved."
What?!
"What?!" Caster says.
As if on cue, the entire place starts rumbling. I feel a pull at my ethereal body, like a vacuum sucking me towards my physical body. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the other souls shooting out through the ceiling and leaving my sight.
My soul glides back into my body like a glove. I regain control of my motoric functions, feel the ground below me, and take in a deep breath as my eyes shoot open.
"Zayne, are you alright?" Jeanne asks, helping me up.
"Yeah, I think I'm alright," I say. "Though I definitely do not want to have another out-of-body experience like that ever again."
I get back up just as the environment created by Caster's Noble Phantasm collapses. Just like that, we are back on the playground, surrounded by a sandbox, a seesaw, and a couple of swings.
Caster stands a little further away from us. His brow is furrowed, his right eye twitching, and his hands clenched to fists. Yep, he's royally pissed right now.
"I lost the moment you chose to sacrifice your own life for others," he says. "I find this extremely vexing."
"Your schemes will never come to fruition if I can help it," she says, readying her banner.
"As much as I would like to blow off some steam in a fight, I shall withdraw instead," he says. "If you do not fall from grace, then the only other choice is for me to lose."
Magical energy surges around him. He's trying to teleport away!
Jeanne breaks into a dash. Caster's spell intensifies. Her banner rips through the air as a blinding flash emanates from Caster.
And he's gone. However, a small amount of blood trickles to the ground from the tip of her banner. She landed a hit, but damn shame it wasn't a fatal wound to his core.
I'll hold off for now on telling her 'I told you so', even though everything worked out in the end. Still, I'm relieved and somewhat happy that she saved me there, despite not having any personal stake in this war.
"Unfortunate, but we'll get him next time," I say. "Let's go h-"
I manage to keep my balance when a strong wind nearly knocks me over. It's then that I notice it.
A massive wave of fog floods the area like a tsunami. It's so thick that I can barely see my own hand in front of me.
"Saber, where are you?" I ask.
She shouldn't be too far from me, but this fog makes me lose my bearing. I don't know which way she was anymore.
"Stay where you are," she says. "I am on my way!"
I swallow. Just when I thought the worst was over, Assassin has come out to get a piece of the action. He's watching us right now, I just know it.
I steady my breathing and listen for sounds. There are footsteps, probably Jeanne, but I can't make out her direction.
This is bad. Jack the Ripper isn't here to just watch, he's here to kill. But when is he going to attack? From where? And who?
The footsteps stopped. The complete and utter silence was deafening. I kept turning my head for any possible movement within the fog. Cold sweat runs down my face.
For only a fraction of a second, I lay my eyes on it. A pair of red-glowing eyes, staring at me like a predator that found its prey.
"Maria the Ripper!"
[The Holy Mother of Dismemberment]
Last night
"Ah, now that I think about it, you can call me by my name instead of Master if you like," he says.
He isn't much for formalities. To her, he isn't a stranger anymore, so this is a nice gesture.
Jeanne smiles. "Very well. Good night, Zayne."
At that moment, a bright light flashes before her mind's eye. The world around her grinds to a halt. This feeling is all too familiar to her.
A revelation from heaven.
The environment's blurred, but the two people in the center are shown to her crystal-clear.
Jeanne sees herself, kneeling on the ground and cradling her Master in her arms. Tears are welling up in her eyes.
Her Master isn't moving, just vacantly looking upward to her. His clothes are torn in some places and covered in dirt and blood.
He's dying, if not dead.
The vision vanishes as quickly as it appeared and Jeanne finds herself back in the present.
After the promise she made and all her talk about protecting her Master, she's given an image of her complete and utter failure.
Her Master turns to face her again. "Are you alr-"
Jeanne fears that he saw her shocked expression, so she tries to play it off. "Is something wrong?"
There's no way she could tell him about what she just saw. Her revelations have never been wrong before.
But even so, if there is even the smallest hope to somehow change or avoid the outcome she foresaw, she will do everything in her power to realize it.
"N-No... it's nothing," he says, walking back inside.
She offers a silent prayer in hopes that the Lord will guide her on the right path, then follows him back into the house.
Jeanne dives in front of me before the Ripper can reach me. He holds two knives. One is parried by her banner, the other connected to the armor on her abdomen. It didn't pierce her, but...
Not again. Not like this.
She coughs up blood and nearly keels over.
Assassin hops backward.
"How... How are you still alive?" he says.
That moment of confusion is all the distraction she needs. She roars through her pain, closes the gap, and delivers a swing with her banner. A thwack resonates before Assassin flies far, far away.
The fog vanishes along with him. Jeanne loses her footing and falls to the ground.
I rush to her side. "Hey, you alright?"
"A-Are you unharmed, Zayne?" she says in a strained voice.
She's obviously in pain, but I can't see any visible wounds on her.
"Don't worry about me, what about you?" I say. "Where does it hurt?"
Hand shaking, she reaches for her abdomen. The spot on her armor Assassin hit with his knife. I hold my hand over it and cast a basic healing spell. The expression on her face isn't getting better. In fact, her condition seems to worsen by the second.
"I am... glad that you are alright," she says. "And... I am sorry for... c-causing you so much trouble."
I don't like where this is going. For a moment, I'm taken back to that rainy night in East Africa where I lost Ryoken. She threw herself in front of me the same way he did.
And at this rate, she's going to die the same way he did...
I have to remove the armor plate to take a closer look, but not here. Assassin might come back to finish the job.
I pick her up into my arms and break into a sprint. Jeanne is unresponsive, passed out from the pain. I don't have a second to waste here.
Time Alter: Square Accel!
I've never gone beyond triple acceleration because of the huge strain it puts on my body, but I can worry about the side effects later. I won't lose her the way I lost him.
I reach the house and practically kick the door open. Once inside, I quickly set her down on the carpet in the living room.
The big piece of armor around her waist comes off first before I toss it aside. Next, I roll up the piece of clothing under it and... there it is. A black spot, no bigger than the palm of a hand. The veins around it begin to darken, like a disease spreading over her body.
It seems to be some type of curse by the looks of it. Assassin expected her to die instantly judging by his reaction earlier, but she's holding on, fighting it. Must be her high resistance to magecraft.
There's a chance that she can stave this off on her own in time, but that's not a risk I'm willing to take. I don't know how to remove curses per se, but there's something else I can try.
I put my hands over the dark spot on her stomach. Her skin feels cool, probably due to the weather outside.
The last time I tried this, it ended in complete failure. I ran countless scenarios in my head on what I could have done differently that day. This time will be different. It has to be different.
Focus. Take a deep breath.
Time Alter: Reverse Flow!
In principle, I turn back time in a small, controlled area within my own body whenever I use this to set whatever part of me back to how it was before it got wounded. This time I have to manifest that field outside my body.
I keep my eyes closed the entire time. I can't lose my focus under any circumstance, even though I can feel the fatigue from my earlier acceleration catching up to me.
I can feel a large amount of Od being released from my body. The moment of truth. Slowly, I open my eyes.
The black spot. It's... gone. It's gone!
I haven't even realized that I've been holding my breath until now. The relief washes over me like a breeze on a warm day.
I stand up and-
Woah. The world around me is... kind of spinning...
I reach out to the table to stabilize myself, but end up stumbling backward onto the ground. Everything's a blur. My piled-up exhaustion is tugging at my consciousness.
My eyelids close and I drift off to sleep.
