Warning: This fanfic dealt with probably controversial themes and you may find it not suitable for you. If you still decide to read, then stay strong and brace yourself for what you are about to read. This story here happens in Arc 2 and thus may contain some spoilers.
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Chapter 15: Shadow of the Past
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After a long while and things managed to calm down. Everyone soon reconciles with each other and all of what just happened.
"So... this is everything we managed to retcon about her..." Shirou said.
From all of the facts and the stuff that they managed to pick up from her behaviors, her sweet-tooth, Volkswagen, the love for arts, the majority of her weapons being German in origin, the vendetta hatred against cigarettes,... Everyone can say without a shadow of doubts that Alfin is indeed Hitler. They knew well that a Servant's appearance can't equate to their identity immediately but the revelation of her identity is just straight up asspull.
"I'm very sorry but I guess that all of you won't like me any more right? All of our interactions from this point onwards are just teeth-clenching teamwork and you will probably dispose of me after you reached your objective right?" Alfin said as she tried to convey through the mess of her emotions.
The rest of the Chaldeans looked at each other and then they look at their Master, waiting for his judgment.
"Sigh... You know... Us Chaldeans aren't exactly as exemplary when it comes to good morals or whatnot. We have no less amount of Servants of bad known history records and ones that would be criminalistics. Like Jean d' Arc Alter, Ereshkigal, Okada Izo, Carmilla, Edmond Dantes, Jack the Ripper, Ibaraki, Abigail William, whatnot... And even I aren't exactly without blood on my hands either. Before I have reached this place, I committed 6 genocides on multiple timelines, all by my decisions so that we can find a way for our Proper timeline to survive.
Alfin doesn't know how to respond to that, never would she face another person who also committed genocides like her.
"Our Master isn't a type to bear a grudge either, he is compassionate and understanding. That's why so many Servants, even ones that are known to be evil in history always follow him entirely out of respect. That's just our Master, you know." Shirou said.
"As long as you are fighting for humanity's survival and future, we won't judge your past or backstory, nor your atrocity committed although that would warrant some supervision of others. But nonetheless, you are welcomed no matter what." Gudao says the rest of his words.
For the first time, Alfin managed to genuinely smile. For there is a place where she is accepted, nobody would care about the crime she committed. That smile of her is contagious for anyone who sees it can't help but to smile. A place where they are accepted and redo what they failed at their previous life is no doubt a paradise beyond what they could think.
"It is a place where you can finally resolve all of those regrets when we carried when died. Trust me, every hero has some form of regret and nobody is exempted from it, even normal people. It is just that we are fortunate enough to immortalize ourselves into the passage of history so that we can persist in some forms. Those who died without contributing anything significant are only to be sent to a place where everything includes their regrets is too lost in oblivion." Kiritsugu said as he addresses his opinion.
"And trust me, keeping a grudge only serves to exhaust oneself even further. If I kept a grudge towards even one-fourth of the Servants I have, I would be dead long ago." Gudao said.
Alfin then wipes her tears away. For the first time, she felt hope... To see the light once again when she was forever plagued by her own darkness of the past. Those sins she committed can't be erased but never would she ever beg for forgiveness nor forgetting them. What she did can't be changed anymore but that doesn't mean she will allow history to repeat itself. She has to let go of her past but also never forgetting them, that is the necessary step in order to better herself.
"Let me just change myself into something more comfortable, something that I can allow myself to reach my full potential without having much inner struggles," Alfin said as she moves toward the back of the closest building.
"You know, I would shit myself a fucking house if she turned into actual Hitler". Larry said jokingly although that possibility is not too farfetched.
A minute later, she came out of the building. Her outfit this time completely changed, of course, no actual Hitler. She is still a little girl with blond curly hair. The difference here is that her hair is longer and reached her waist. She is wearing a short dark orange dress with white frills inside of it. On her head is a black military captain hat with some feathers attached to the side.
She looks a lot more majestic than a lot of people willing to admits and looks a lot proper like a princess than before. It is quite a shame that they got so used to her wearing WW2 soldier's attire since the beginning of their meeting and only recently right now, a dress.
Arnold's heart beating rapidly as he tried to control his feelings from going haywire at just her sights alone. Alfin then looked at Arnold and he then suddenly turned away in shyness while his face is red like a beetroot. Alfin can't help but smile then turn away from him.
"You sure are a weird one for having feelings for a genocidal maniac right there? Are you sure that you aren't some sort of masochistic person?" Larry said jokingly.
Arnold looks hesitantly at Larry as if he wanted to deny doing so but it is already too apparent that any of his actions would only be used against him.
"Boi, I'm just joking, okay? But either way, I am not understanding how your mind works at all and what you did was surely unorthodox. But nonetheless, all well is end well. I'm just sort of glad that you did it on your own." Larry adds more.
And so they continue their hike towards the fourth wall and soon they will enter the fourth ring. There is only more challenge ahead and they will have to strengthen their wills if they wanted any hope of surviving. Roughly 15 minutes later, they reached the fourth wall.
"Alfin, you have the honor..." Arnold said to her.
Alfin nodded, no longer letting her own identity to hold her back. She used the full power of her Soulburst Forge and created a vast amount of blazing portals at once. In each of these portals is high-caliber artillery. Each shot is capable of punching a huge hole through a large mountain. And along one of them is the 800mm cannon that was used in P1500 Ratte. It doesn't take a genius to tell how powerful it is.
Alfin took out her golden pistol in which Arnold examined it, he realized that it has ornate carving and the words "AH" in it.
"Should have known earlier..." Arnold thought as he put two and two together, it surprised him that things could have been revealed way earlier if she has been any careless.
"Fire!" Alfin said as the whole array of artilleries open fire on the wall itself.
A massive explosion soon occurred, as the shockwaves soared through the land itself. When the dust finally died down, an entrance to the next ring is there for everyone to go. However, before they actually enter it, they wanted to shake one thing away from their minds. Alice's whereabouts. That girl is a divine in mortal's flesh. With her disappeared to nowhere, she has become an arbitrary factor that whether she would bring good or not is an answer that only God seems to know.
"You know, she gives me the creep. No Servant should be that powerful and what she just displayed can't be even passing off as a Servant anymore..." Desmond said.
Pretty much everyone agrees on that. Although she really is a reliable ally, they really shouldn't have relied too much on her despite the fact that they would have been in far deeper shit without her.
"All we can do is really... just face it head-on. The next time we meet her... It will probably as an enemy. I just can't fathom the power needed to even have a snowball chance in hell against her." Arnold said.
Everybody thought but all they can do is move forward. There is no use waiting around and do nothing, all he can do is to move towards the next frontier.
And so they walked through the gap on the wall, what greets them is truly no words to describe.
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Fourth Ring - Cloudburst
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The rain fell heavily, it is ceaseless and nonstop. Like standing beneath a waterfall for eternity. The Chaldeans have now made it to the next frontier, a land completely subjugated by the rain. It is irritating, the rain felt like needles constantly puncturing you slightly and you have thousands of them falling on you directly. Servants can shrug off the rain like nothing but to their Masters, it is very tedious for their performance and focus can be hampered.
"Let us find shelter, assuming there's anything that can withstand this rain anyway," Kiritsugu said as he went ahead first.
"The moment we managed to find a shelter, I'll ask Da Vinci to built something a barrier so that I can block the rain. If I am going to fight under it extensively, might as well deal with it." Gudao said.
Every of Gudao's Servant looks at him warily which Gudao quickly follows it up in order to broke out of everybody's stare.
"Why do all of you look at me like this? This Mystic Code also created a thin barrier that can be used to protect its user against the weather. Of course that it won't be much use against a Servant but that's why I have all of you, right?" Gudao said to his Servants.
"Even if you have that Mystic Code on, it would be counterintuitive if we walk underneath this any longer. A shelter is required..." Shirou said.
Gudao sighed, just is there anything that could withstand this rain? That might as well be finding a specific needle in a needlestack.
And once again disproven by the sheer chance alone, they managed to find decent shelter. A mansion situated on a hill that overlooks the abandoned city below, nearby it is a park which is weirdly overgrown despite being covered by rain for all of the time. The squad made its decision to stay here since it allows a huge vantage outlook and there are even sufficient accommodations.
"Man... It has been a while since the last time I actually get a place to properly rest." Pierce said as he tried to find a room for himself.
"Yeah, Servants can fight a whole day without exhaust but us Masters are the ones that have to take on the most burden. Our Strength is as different as heaven and earth and thus I too would like to take a very long nap." Gudao said as he follows Pierce.
The Servants watch as their Master search for the resting room. Soon, they have gone from their sight and they are now allowed to do anything they wanted.
"So... what do we do now?" Illya asked.
"What else? Until our Masters wake up, we are sitting duck. Might as well do something useful or have a good time yourself." Kiritsugu said.
And so everybody split up, doing what they wanted to do. Each has their own plans, this is, after all, a good day to clear up all of those pent up stress.
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The Flander Poppy
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Arnold walks upstairs to the highest floor, and he enters the balcony that overlooks the city, the rain fell on him but it doesn't make him feel annoyed at all. The whole scene before him felt serene like a requiem of silence.
He embraces it, the rain reminds him of the wartime that he was thrown into. A land that was forsaken to never see the light of the day, just like how this place is.
The sky is full of dark clouds, the chilling winds permeate the air, each raindrop as cold as permafrost. Arnold only looks out toward the ruined city where there is nothing but the sounds of raindrops splatter on the ground.
Arnold decided that this is a good place to take a good look at what he managed to achieve so far, his backgrounds and the arsenal he has. Shifting his consciousness into that forgotten memory, the armory that is lost in time.
Appeared once more in it, he made a checklist of all the things he has. The full modified Artillery Luger hanging on the wall, the magnum revolver that is placed on the table and...
A poppy flower? Why is something like that is placed here out of all things? He remembered clearly that all of what happened in that memory, the landscape is ravaged and muddy. The sun never reached the forsaken world, just what exact hope is there anything left to foster in that world filled with endless bloodshed?
Arnold sighed, the thing at least is a beauty in a world filled with blight and despair. He picked it up and admired its beauty, he wonders where it came from and how it appeared on the journal desk. After he decided to take it along with him back to the real world and hope somebody might have some clue about it.
Shifting his consciousness back to reality while on his hand is a poppy flower. He enters back to the room and stares at it. Just what does it mean?
"Hey, buddy... What are you doing?" Desmond came into his room and then asks him.
"Oh... it just... do you know the flower language of poppy?" Arnold asks before giving him the poppy flower.
Desmond sits down on the bed and checks the poppy that Arnold gave. In a few seconds, Desmond chuckled before giving the poppy back to Arnold.
"Dude... This isn't about any symbolic meanings or anything. This poppy here is about the memorial of the veterans..." Desmond said.
"War is war and hell is hell, war isn't hell. Because in war, there are no innocents in it. War is a cesspool of death where us young people are thrown into it for the profit of those who hate each other when we not even sure why we are fighting. You are a soldier, so you obviously understand it very well, right?" Desmond said.
Arnold simply nodded, the latest memory of his has already given him the vision of the horror of war itself. And thus he knew full well of what Desmond means. The guy fights a war without a weapon and serves his purpose to save as much life as he could without harming anybody else. If that guy wasn't given the title of the saint. The world doesn't deserve him.
"But what does it have to do with poppy?" Arnold asks.
"Let me tell you though. After the Great War ended or WW1. The vegetation was decimated to the point that hardly anything could grow in the ravaged landscape. In a war that took a massive toll on human lives and changed virtually nothing, something managed to grow from the devastated landscape of the battlefield. It takes the most tenacious of all plant species to ever grow on it, the poppy. Due to its blood-red resemblance, it was thus considered the symbol of remembrance." Desmond said.
Arnold listens carefully to what Desmond has to say. Something about this would be without a doubt important to him. Something at the end of WW1, is he dead or alive? Did he struck gold or left forgotten? There has to be something especially important about poppy that it managed to exist in his armory.
"When the soldiers raze the land, tearing up all of the trees and plants and wreaking havoc the soils beneath. But after the battle took place and no longer have anyone fight on it anymore, these bright red flowers peek up across the battle-scarred land and soon what came to know as Flander Field came about. The poppy by technicality is a weed and thus it can be explained for some of its tenacious nature."
Tenacious, something reborn from the ashes of the past. From the destruction into rebirth.
"It was through the poem "In the Flander Field" in which its writer channeled the voice of the fallen and buried under the ground where the poppies grow. Struck by the sight of bright red blooms on broken ground, the poem eventually came out this way and soon its fame reached far and wide and became widespread to the point that it was used in many memorial ceremonials. Too bad that the guy died at the end of WW1 though." Desmond said.
When he heard it, it is not just simply remembrance but also sacrifices. The blood that shed became the flowers of remembrance so that no one would forget the sacrifices required to so that this madness can come to its conclusion.
He then realized the fact that Alfin intentionally used her NP despite the fact that it would unveil her true identity. Even then, she still used it no matter what despite she would be ridiculed by her own allies for being an incarnation of Hitler. It was only for her NP that she managed to have something powerful enough to overpower the barrier and left the Overwatcher exposed and thus Kiritsugu's final attack can take it down. If she didn't do so, nobody would have made it this far. Sacrifice... And she did so valiantly regardless of what would happen to her sooner or later.
"Desmond... Do you know why this poppy managed to manifest in my inner world?" Arnold asked.
"Dude... If I were you, I would know that it wasn't just her either..." Desmond said with a smile on his face.
"Huh?" Arnold said in surprise.
"At that time when Alfin pushed herself to her limit and descend to her death? None of us really have the idea of saving her since we were stuck with perceived notions that Alfin is evil because she is Hitler and thus we just up and forget about who Alfin is prior to the revelation. But only you are willing to save her. Because after all, you chose to remember what she did, and her own decision that wasn't under any perceived by anything that you self-presumed. You are the only person who truly understands her and after all, it is only your own commitment that she managed to survive to this point." Desmond said after he gives his analysis
Arnold thought for a while and then Desmond exits the room. Before he did so, the medic said good day to Arnold before leaving.
"You're right... It is only my remembrance of her that is the proof of her survival." Arnold thought while turning his eyes on the poppy on his hand.
His hand is twitching around the poppy, he doesn't know if he is just grasping at nothing and overcomplicating stuff. What if there is really no special meaning and he just tried to find a nonexistent meaning in something so mundane?
Even so, the poppy in his hand is a treasure far more valuable than anything in this hopeless and bleak world.
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Vall-Halla
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"Hey, son! Guess what I found?" Kiritsugu said as he found a stash of alcohols shelved on the wall, the contents inside are unharmed as far as he concerned.
"Jii-san... I don't think it is a good idea to drink something that was left abandoned from like 5 years ago. I know that we are Servants but the taste might put you off. At least let me check its content for itself." Shirou said in order to persuade his father from doing something he might regret.
Kiritsugu reluctantly giving the bottle to his son. Shirou used his Hawkeyes on it and check if there are any anomalies in it.
"The bottle was sealed to the point that it is airtight. This bottle of wine isn't even opened at all and so we can confirm that he can drink it without any problem with taste." Shirou thought as he analyzes it.
"So... can I drink it?" Kiritsugu asked.
"Yeah, it's fine. You can drink it all you want." Shirou said as he gives the bottle to his father.
Kiritsugu snatches the bottle out of Shirou's hand and quickly grabbed his Swiss Army Knife in his pouch and quickly opened it. He then sniffs its fragrance and aroma before commenting on it.
"Damn, feel like witnessing the star and nebula itself. Must have been some special type of wine to have this kind of effect." Kiritsugu commented on it.
Kiritsugu then turned around to see if there is anything wine glass so that he can pour this thing in. Shirou noticed what Kiritsugu is trying to do and thus he checked alongside him. In just a bit later, he opened a shelf and find an array of glasses of all kinds. Wine glasses, beer mugs, martini glasses, shots, hightail glasses, so much more... that is collecting dust.
"Damn... This place is oddly well prepared, there are ingredients although spoiled and glasswares. Must have been a self-service bar." Shirou said as he checks through the glassware.
And now that they realized it, there are barstools and stuff that make an essential part of a bar but they just have to notice the alcohols first.
"Guess I will clean the glassware first, you wait for a bit, Jii-san". Shirou said as he takes some glasses with him to the outside.
Kiritsugu then plugs the wine bottle and then situates himself on a barstool while waiting for some clean glasses. While he is waiting, he takes a look at the cursed sword that his son has given him.
"Damn... Just when did I got so comfortable around the fact that I have a family?" Kiritsugu said as he smiles for one of those really rare times.
He remembers back then when he first summoned to Chaldea. He was some really anti-social and a lone wolf kind of person, he ignores the help and caring of the others adamantly during those first hours. Well... that was until he received the memory of his alternative self that completely changed who he is. Now, having a reason to fight for has probably allowed him to attain much greater performance over begrudgingly accept any orders and dirty jobs that he thought no one ever would care about who he is and bats an eye about it.
Over the course of his stay in Chaldea, there were no less amount of happy moments and tragedies that shook his spirit like an earthquake. The acceptance of the dilemma between the life of other Lostbelts and then his world, he knew that his world is far more important because there are others who are waiting for his return. But he knew that the hardship and the culmination of other lives there are also real but he got no choice to destroy it for the sake of his world.
The Alien Gods really know how to torture people with ideals like him, the sacrifice of others for one singular world. That is what he truly hated during the time as Counter Guardian, who knows the number of lives lost that resulted from his action back then? For greater good humanity? At least in Chaldea or its second base... he has a clearer goal right now...
He looked at the blade again, the name "Natalia" echoes through his mind. He can't help but wonder, what would his mother think of him right now?
"Mom... If you are watching over me in some form of ways although I know that you not exactly having the means to travel between worlds. But if you are watching me right now... I wonder if you are proud of what I have managed to reach this far. You used to say that no dream is too ridiculous to attain although I don't know if you were joking back then or not. But nonetheless, I am with Chaldea right now. An organization that fought for humanity's future and their safety, I am happy that I managed to reach for this place and not suffering any longer for my own dream and ideal. I also have a lovely wife and five children and they are also partaking in the duty to protect humanity too." Kiritsugu whispered for himself.
"Shirou... Kuro... Illya... Miyu... Sitonai... They may not be exactly the best in Chaldea's line up but they are doing the best they could in their capabilities and expertise. It is the heart that matters..." Kiritsugu continues to say for only himself to hear.
"Jii-san? Are you talking to yourself?" Shirou said as he enters the place back with cleaned-up glasses.
"Oh. It just... there is nothing wrong here." Kiritsugu said in surprise to notice Shirou came back a bit earlier than how he expected.
Shirou already knew what his father is talking about here, he knew just how much he loved his family that he will prevent any possibility that might potentially split the family apart again.
"You know... Since we are in a bar right now, it would be a waste to just drinking stuff straight like that. We have all sorts of alcohol there and we can ask for stuff from Shadow Border in order to make some cocktails. We have gin, vodka, tequila, rum, champagne, whiskey... etc. We have a huge plethora of possible combinations we can work with. Just imagine what we can possibly make." Shirou said as he quickly walks toward upstairs to his Master's room.
Kiritsugu sighed, his son has always had a knack for culinary and cooking. Although it was partly because of his cooking always turn into a disaster that Shirou quickly have to take it up to make him stop back when both of them were alive as a normal person. He thought it was hilarious as it was when he was alive but needless to say though, it really sucked for his son.
"Father! What are you doing here?" Illya enters the bar and said to her father.
The little magical girl then jumps at him and Kiritsugu embraced her. That little bundle of joy that he swore to never let go is once again near him.
"Illya, I was just waiting here so that your brother can make some cocktails with me," Kiritsugu said.
"Oh, you mean like those bartending mixing game on the fully downloaded internet in the library? To be fair though, there is too much combination to work around and I am not exactly allowed to keep hogging the computer for myself so I really never know." Illya said.
Kiritsugu simply nodded, while the computers in the library are still working and people can check on them, they are pitifully slow compare to the supercomputer used as interfaces and controls of Shadow Border. Those things are lightning bolts compared to a snail and thus they were used more for information search and calculations than the library's computers.
"Hey, you're here too, Illya?" Shirou said as he comes downstairs wearing a gray shirt, black khaki pants, and a white apron. In his hand is the communicator that is connected to the Shadow Border.
"Wow! You look so cool, Onii-chan!" Illya said to her brother.
"Well, gotta make myself looks like a proper barista, right? I am going to make a supply rayshift point right at this bar so that we can have more stuff to work around with." Shirou said to his father and sister.
"Yes! I am going to taste my Onii-chan's cocktails made by himself!" Illya said cheerfully.
"Illya, the only cocktails I would make for you is the non-alcoholic ones. I ain't risking it like the last time." Shirou said to her as he gets to the other side of the bar table and grabbed a 'mana chalk' on his pouch before drawing something on the table.
"Aww... come on... What uses is cocktail without the alcohol?" Illya said to her brother.
"The last time I did so in the cafeteria when we celebrate Sitonai's birthday and you went down on multiple alcoholic cocktails at once. You eventually overplayed your liquor tolerance and let your own drunken shenanigans to dictate what you should do. Not only that but you decided to mistook intoxication-curing pills with aphrodisiac and chuck down a mouthful of them at once. Let me tell you though, things turned into a complete mess and devolve into chaos as you tried to do the 'snu snu, wink wink, nudge nudge' with me, your own brother! Do you know how close I was to receive the ridiculed ire of everyone?!" Shirou said as he rants about his sister.
Kiritsgu sits as both the siblings argued with each other. He remembered that day when he was there to see Sitonai's birthday party but he was tired on that particular day and decided to stay until Sitonai blows out the candles on her birthday cake and then hit the bed soon afterward. When the following day comes, nobody wanted to say anything about that particular night, no one which makes him wondered what exactly went down that night. Now that he received the answer, he doesn't know how to respond about it but to remain tight-lipped.
"Sigh... Anyway... I get really thirsty after arguing with you and anything that can quelch this thirst is fine by me. If you have done so, I'll forgive anything that transpired between us until now." Illya said as she gasps for breath after arguing non-stop.
"Yeah, shouldn't have waste time just to argue about stuff we can't change any more. Okay then, I shall make one for you." Shirou said after he gasps for breath like her.
Shirou then gives the magic circle that he drew on the table some mana and suddenly all of the bar ingredients appeared right in front of him. Ice, sugar, lime,... all of them are freshly laid out in front of him.
"Boy... this will take a while." Shirou said as he tries to find the correct stuff to make the right cocktail.
He grabs those bottles of cream, specifically the green and white chocolate one, and placed it separately so that he doesn't grab the others by mistake. Both of them are written 'green creme de menthe' and 'white creme de cacao'. He fills the cocktail shaker with ice and then pouring the required ingredient including the light cream into it. He then proceeds to reinforce the shaker and then shakes the thing repeatedly so fast within a split second and the thing has already chilled the moment he is done with it.
After that, Shirou grabbed a martini glass then he strains the content into the glasses and then he garnishes a sprig of mint into it.
"Woah! This is something I never saw before, you didn't even use any alcohol at all! This green creamy texture is so satisfying to look at." Illya said to her brother cheerfully once again.
"This is the Grasshopper cocktail, the guilty pleasure of any people who loves a nostalgic childhood treat. Why don't you try it?" Shirou said to his sister.
She takes a sip out of it and then the nostalgic feeling kicks in. It really does taste as if it was chocolate mint candy converted into a liquid form and it felt like some sort of pleasure that can only be found when you eating some treats secretly from your parents. It's sinfully sweet, creamy, and delicious. Much like the guilty pleasure of having a bowl of ice cream or a rich dessert on a hot summer day.
"I... This is so great!" Illya said cheerfully.
"You sure have a ton of experience when it comes to anything that involves food, and your skills are surely belonging to an experience one. Hell, you are looking like one too" Kiritsugu said.
"Thanks, Jii-san. What cocktail do you want?" Shirou said.
"You know, surprise me?" Kiritsugu said to his son.
Shirou smiled, he knew that while his father may try to keep on his face a tough exterior. Inside, he has a love for sweet treats that he isn't willing to admit to anyone but his family members. He remembered back during Valentine's day, his mother baked a chocolate cake that she tried the damn hardest to give to his father. Not wanting the others to know what a bleeding-heart he is, he deliberately run away and stay out from his mother as long as he could. Too bad that the rest of the family caught up and cornered him back to his room.
Although he isn't going to say it, he loved that cake to every bite of it. And now, Shirou will surprise him with what he will come up with.
Grabbing that same bottle of white creme de cacao, the unopened bottle of brandy on the shelves, another bottle of gin, and what he guessed is lemonade tea. The only reason he can trust it fully because he supervised the whole process it was made. It is definitely not Tomoe or Kiyo who made it because he couldn't trust them enough to somehow mess the most basic up.
He then grabbed a pony glass and then poured the creme de choco bottle into the glass, he then pours some gin and brandy into it and then whips it off with some heavy cream. After that, he started to do the finishing touch with a cherry on a toothpick and placed it on top of the cocktail. Not even using any cocktail shaker.
"Hey, catch!" Shirou said as he pushes the glass of cocktail over to his father.
Kiritsugu catches the glass of cocktail and checks it at his first glance, he then has a small sip before commenting on the taste.
"Don't know if you intentionally pick on the fact that I like sweet or not, but this thing has a really sweet and uniquely piney and flowery taste, the heavy cream does make it have a rich and thick flavor to it. What is this cocktail's name may I ask?" Kiritsugu asked after tasting it
"Wanna know?" Shirou said to his father.
Kiritsugu nodded. He wanted to know what is the name of this cocktail that he is given right now since he is interested.
"Angel's Kiss, just something simple I managed to cobble up from what I know and your preference". Shirou said.
Kiritsugu became speechless for a little while before he chuckles as he pieces them together.
"Haha... You literally use a drink with a name that makes me reminded of your mother. And you know, she would also pull the same thing if she knew about something like this." Kiritsugu laughed as he carefully placed the glass back.
Both the father and the son have a good laugh with each other while Kiritsugu enjoys the drink himself. That's until another guest has come to this place, Larry. The Servant that fought alongside them who just learned of this bar.
"Hey, welcome to the bar.". Shirou said as he welcomes his new guest.
Larry simply sits on the barstool with a slightly annoyed expression on his face. It felt like the guy is in a perpetual state of constantly pissed off without dying down. The guy is good at heart but something about him just straight up tells that he is unsatisfied with everything in his life.
"Give me something kicks harder than a mule. Something really hard..." Larry said to Shirou.
Because the further they are in enemy territory, the higher the mana density. This place is left abandoned for 5 years in the fourth ring and thus the mana here might have seeped into everything in this place. The only reason that stuff can work on Servants is because of the mana within, the higher the mana, the higher the potency it can affect Servant. A cocktail made entirely out of stuff here would knock a Servant out cold.
But still, Shirou decided to oblige anyway.
"Okay then, a cocktail that kicks harder than Mordred on her mother's face." Shirou tried to say it with a straight face but failed, especially after personally witnessing his 'wife' getting kicked right on her face because of his "daughter"'s impulse.
"Uh? Her? Her mother?" Larry asked confusedly because even if he knows of Arthurian Mythology, he didn't know King Arthur is a woman nor even his supposed son is actually a daughter.
"It's a long story but I'll get on with your drink right now," Shirou said before he focuses himself back on.
Grabbing a bottle of gin, a whole lemon, a bottle of simple syrup, and the bottle of champagne, or more specifically, the brut version. You either love it or hate it, no exception, no middle ground.
Shirou then pours gin into the cocktail shaker then shaking it vigorously. The speed he did so is ridiculous that even Illya can tell the change in the airflow of this place.
"Onii-chan, if you keep shaking like that, you might as well replace the electric fan above us, although assuming it even worked at all." Illya said with a 'WTF' expression on her face.
When he has done doing so, he pours the shaken gin into the hightail glass, and then follows up with simple syrup, squishing a whole lemon in it and filled the rest with champagne then grounded ice. Shirou then decided to add a finishing touch by putting a slice of lemon on the edge of the glass. After that, he pushes the glass across the table to Larry.
"Here you go, that drink is when you felt like strapping yourself to an artillery's muzzle and then fire that thing while you're at it.". Shirou said to Larry.
Larry catches it with his left arm and then he checked its content. After doing so, he chugged the whole thing down in one shot. Kiritsugu baffled at what Larry just did as if he has no sense of self-perseverance. Considering what he just did back at the battle against Severloh, that might have been something to be expected no matter what given time.
Larry stares at the empty glass for a while before uttering a single word.
"You know, I have drunk something kicked harder than this, but this thing is still good no matter what so I give it a passing grade.". Larry said before he stood up and proceeds to walk out of the bar.
At least, that is what he tried to do...
Larry's movement started to become more sluggish and then he just came to a complete stop. The others started to notice that something is wrong and seems to only go even worse.
"Onii-chan, what did you do with that cocktail?" Illya asked for she felt something is going to go wrong.
"I don't know but I think I probably shouldn't have reinforced the gin. Reinforcement tends to also increase its target's effectiveness and potency after all." Shirou said before something happened.
Larry then falls face flat into the ground and no response was detected afterward.
"Onii-chan, I think you just killed him." Illya said with a 'WTF' expression.
Before Shirou tried to approach him and check he is okay, Larry suddenly picked himself up and then suddenly moves toward the center of the room they are in.
"Shirou, what is he trying to do?" Kiritsugu asked his son.
"Beat me..." Shirou said as he shrugged.
Larry then started tapping his foot to the ground while also clapping his hands at the same time. They seem to follow a rhythm of sorts, one that felt distant yet familiar. Shirou looked directly into Larry's eye and noticed that he is completely drunken out of his mind. His own action from this point onward might just as well be the impulse of his mind. And then Larry suddenly said.
Ievan Polkka
And at that moment, Shirou's mind just went with one single word: "Mother of-". Back when Chaldea was at its temporary peace, he fucking heard that song for nearly every day in his life when he worked in Chaldea's cafeteria. A certain group of Servants played that song literally any given moment and while it is not bad or anything. The sheer times he heard it imprinted straight into his mind even if he doesn't want to hear it.
Nuapurista kuulu se polokan tahti
Jalakani pohjii kutkutti
Ievan äiti se tyttöösä vahti
Vaan kyllähän Ieva sen jutkutti,
Sillä ei meitä silloin kiellot haittaa
Kun myö tanssimme laiasta laitaan
Salivili hipput tupput täppyt
Äppyt tipput hilijalleen...
What Larry is singing sounds like complete gibberish in itself. The Finnish language completely filled with so many words with different phonetics that it is plain impossible to tell what it actually means unless Finnish is their mother tongue. To the others' ears, Finnish sounds like what a washing machine would make if you threw a brick into it while it is still functioning.
Even then, Kiritsugu, Illya, and Shirou can't hold their laughter back when they watch Larry dancing like a maniac while singing this gibberish. The whole sight can only be described as completely hysterical.
"I... I can't... " Illya tried to hold her laughter back but she just completely failed the moment she attempted to do so.
And time passed as this whole hysterical scene still going on, but there is no doubt that this is the happiest they ever been in a while.
"._.""._.""._."
Slumbering Wrath
"._.""._.""._."
Words of God: For this part, you know the Melancholic Voice song that you got from chapter 10? Play it for this part.
Alfin slightly brushes her pencil lightly at the paper she created, how ironic that canvases, painting tools, papers, pencils are considered a weapon in her NP. Even if it isn't a weapon in itself, she finds it useful that she can satisfy her own artistic desire by herself without carrying it everywhere. One might say that the pen is mightier than the sword.
Sitting on the balcony that overlooks the whole city blocks right in front of her, the rain doesn't even bother her at all. Comparing it to the swirling feelings inside her, it is so insignificant that she can't even remotely care.
"Ugh..." Alfin grunted as she held her chest.
Just because she accepts who she is doesn't mean the overbearing guilt wouldn't go away, she has to burden her own sins even through eternity as long as she persists in some form. It is only when she received back her whole full memory that she has full access to her power but it might have also unlocked something that should have been sealed.
"I have to stay strong, what happened can't be changed but I shouldn't ever forget it either." Alfin said to herself.
The painting she draws is mostly just sketches of the city below, it looks complete but just lacking for some reason. Like a person who looks fine but completely broken inside. A perfect analogy of her drawing and herself.
She keeps on drawing, the rain could have made the paper completely wet and unusable but the thing remains the same no matter what. She just keeps drawing, ignoring everything as they flow through the river of time. That's what would things going to be if it weren't for someone who comes to interact with her.
"Hey! Why are you drawing right beneath this rain?" Kuro said to Alfin.
Alfin broke out of her thought and she turned back only to see Kuro standing behind her. She is having a mischievous smile on her face as if she is taunting her or something but also out of her own care.
"Sigh... What are you doing here?" Alfin said to the tanned little Archer behind her.
"Come on, why do you think that drawing under rain directly is a good idea? If your paper isn't going to be soggy, your clothes would have already so wet and saturated with water! Trust me, you don't want to clean up the mess that resulted from your own wet clothes so come inside please." Kuro said to Alfin.
Alfin sighed once again as she reluctantly enters back the room. Kuro thought that the floor is about to get wet from the water dripping from her clothes but Alfin just simply used a little mana of her and the heat emanated from her instantly dried her clothes up.
"That's... fine? I guess?" Kuro said to Alfin.
"Okay then, what are you here for?" Alfin said as she looks at Kuro.
"Oh? I am here just for a talk with you. There aren't much things I could do but to try around and wasting time until our Masters wake up and-" Kuro tried to strike a conversation but only for Alfin to get to the balcony once again.
"Wait! Just listen to me. okay?" Kuro said as she tried to convince her from disconnecting from her.
Alfin shrugged once again and then sits on the bed while Kuro sits nearby her. Both of them wanted to start the conversation but oddly enough, they don't know what to start first.
"You seem to be oddly calm to sit near a genocidal dictator like that." Alfin said to Kuro as he finds her calmness around her presence strange.
"To be fair, staying with dozens of Servants with no less amount of killstreaks like you probably already making me numb of that already. While the prospect may not be something I liked, I have pretty much got used to it." Kuro said to Alfin.
"Still though, your sister said that your birth was an abnormality, isn't it? You weren't born directly from your mother but rather a creation of an alter ego born from your own sister. A suppressed potential, meant to never see the light of the day. For some reason, that sounds sad to me." Alfin said to Kuro.
"So... Illya told that about you huh? Guess I should have known that considering what she did." Kuro said to her unsurprised.
"But still, what was it like for you? Do you have a form of consciousness before then? Or you just kinda exist out of nowhere when the time is right for you?" Alfin asked.
"Have you ever got thrown into the pitch-black darkness, like being thrown into a box that you virtually can't break it. There are two holes on the one side of the box and you can observe the outside through it. However, you can't move the box by yourself, you are just stuck there with that two holes being the only windows that lead to the outside world." Kuro said.
Alfin for the first time hearing what Kuro said of her story, she got interested in what does Kuro has to say. It is a bit better than what she originally thought and she seems to be interested in what she will be hearing.
"The box would be moved to a different location and that's the only moment when things changed. That's how things were like to me, to look at everything only through Illya's eyes. Incapable of making any decision, I just sort of existed like my whole existence held no meaning at all." Kuro said as she tried to unfurl all of her feelings.
Alfin attentively listens to what Kuro has to say, to hear it from another person's second-handed tales and to hear it directly is completely different to her.
"Actually, scratch that. It is more like I sitting on completely even ground and the sky is always night. There is no star but the two moons hanging completely above me always illuminating the barren landscape of the surroundings. I always looked up to it, like a dream that was too distant. It was the only way I actually even know what is happening around the girl I was sealed in. When the chance came to me, I quickly jumped out of her body like a butterfly completing its metamorphosis." Kuro said to Alfin.
Now that is something new she actually hearing from Kuro, she thought she just simply sees the world through Illya's vision and has no control over her action. But this is something entirely new to her.
"Well... Ever since then, I got quickly accepted as Illya's sister and even then, we are always at odds. It is until much later would we get along with each other and not deliberately putting each other in danger. See this mark on my belly? This was a deterrent used by my brother's friend, Rin and she used this so that whenever I make Illya felt pain, that same pain would be applied to me. That Rin has now been summoned as Ishtar and also fighting alongside us, too bad that she can't join us this Singularity though." Kuro said
Alfin swallowed her breath. Chaldea sounds completely stranger to her every time she heard more about it. A bastion of Servants driven by one single objective, the safety of humanity's future. To have such a united place like that while maintaining such a high amount of unity with each other makes it looks like a safe haven.
"Hey, so what is Chaldea is to you?" Alfin asked.
Kuro suddenly then stops, as if she is pondering about what Alfin just said. "What is Chaldea is to her?" She spent so much time around her family and fighting against humanity's threat yet never have any time left to slow down and wonder. What was Chaldea truly is to her?
"Chaldea... was like my second life. Many Servants said the same, they were heroes, died with lingering regrets and stuff they wished that they have done better. This place is their redemptions, another attempt to fix what they did, another attempt to pick other choices. Another attempt... to reattain what was previously impossible for them. To me... it was a truly loving family, a family that will never be separated, always together with one clear target in mind. It was only thanks to Chaldea that dream was possible for me. There's truly no amount of thanks can I ever repay them." Kuro said with a bit of tear flow from her eyes.
A second chance, she remembered how her life went down and how she became the monster she is right now. Redemption, a notion that was so distant to her that she never considered herself to be deserved one at all. But with Chaldea being a place for every Servant to have another chance at life, she truly wanted to be there. To live without being discriminated for her past, to live without being discriminated for her own sins. It was a heaven that Alfin finds it completely out of her own reach.
"Either way, I explained about my life story for you so what about yours?" Kuro said to Alfin.
Alfin became flustered, while Arnold knew about her entirety like reading the back of his hands, that is partly because Arnold is someone she can trust with everything no matter what. She can't help but feel anxious when she is about to disclose her past to someone who isn't him at all. Soon, she let her defensive stance down and started to tell part by parts of her adolescent till teenagehood.
Telling parts of how her father's abuse of her of a very early age that went on for a long while, the time that her brother died because of an illness and her father decided to blame it all on her dog and then killing it in cold blood. Her own upstarting of art careers and its early end. Her murdering her own father and her mother's violent death. And finally, her departure into Germany where she will leave the past behind her.
"You know, I should have known that karma will always intend to stack up until moral bankruptcy. And a person who was raised by a complete monster can only either become a saint or another monster although unfortunately, you became the latter. And the detail of how your mother died and that Dead Apostle, boy... to say I am extremely morbidly disgusted at what you just described and what I imagined is a supreme understatement in itself." Kuro said as sweats just can't stop forming on her head while listening till the end of the tale.
"And that's the end of what I know, I hope that you will now understand what happened during those pasts that I can't ever return to change them". Alfin said before she gets off her bed.
"Hold up!" Kuro tried to tell Alfin to halt for a second.
Alfin then stopped moving and turned around to Kuro only to see the expression on her face turned serious. Kuro knew something about her that she didn't even know. That calling out is unnerving her, she supposed to know all about her memory, wasn't it?
"There's something I wanted to ask, what happened after that?" Kuro asked seriously.
Alfin's heart beats repeatedly and only shows signs of going even faster. She tried to dig them up within her mind as she wanted an answer to that but nothing is turning up, like... it was left unintentionally blank. Alfin started to sweat profusely as the possibility that not all of her memory are present or revealed at all. Within that beat of moments, she lied.
"I simply went on and build the foundation that led to the creation of the Nazis, simple as that." Alfin said although it was technically half-truth.
"That's what I would have believed too. If it wasn't for something that would have otherwise caught you into it." Kuro said as she about to take something out of her skimpy attires.
A piece of paper but something is written in it, Kuro then started to read it out loud.
"After your departure for Germany, the turmoil between Hungary and Austria started to reach the breaking point and thus WW1 was declared. Due to the treaty between Austria and Germany, Germany was roped into that war and thus many people were drafted into it. And among all of them including you... Alfin..." Kuro said as she brought out the words.
Alfin knelt, she started to realize that massive glaring hole within in her memory. She jumped straight from her 18 into 22 with absolutely no memory about it. She never questioned it because she thought she jumped straight into world domination right off the bat. Considering how much she loathed the world at that time, she never gave a second thought about that glaring gap in the memory. She held onto her head, as if she started to question herself why she have no memory regarding that.
"Wah! I'm sorry, Alfin. I just tried to affirm your backstory that you're actually Hitler but I didn't think I would push you in the wrong way like that. Snap out of it!" Kuro said as she tried to calm her down.
After a while, Alfin managed to pace her breathing and then stood on her two feet. Kuro apologized to her for being too pushy and almost pushing Alfin to the boundary madness. Alfin accepted her apologies although she wonders about one thing, the paper on Kuro's hand.
"Kuro, I wonder about one thing, just why do you have something personal about me? What did I do in WW1?" Alfin asked.
"First off, there is too little information about you in WW1. The person who did the research here is my sister and she just sent this over recently. I don't even know what you did in WW1 other than the fact that you were there and made it out to the end, although even in a worse mental state." Kuro said.
Kuro's sister, did she meant it is Illya who did so? Alfin can only guess based on what she knows.
"I'm very sorry to make your mood sour after having such talk like that, I shall then concede." Kuro said before exits her room.
Alfin tried to pace her breathing back to normal, she looked at the outside and realized that the sky started to turn really dark, not that it wasn't already this dark in the first place.
"I don't know if I have ever been in WW1 myself or not... But I knew what it looks like, it is muddy, unforgiving... Once you entered, you never come out the same..." Alfin said to herself.
She knew something, even if it was insignificant, it is bound to be crucial and she needs to find a perfect time in order to tell what she knows
*thud*
Her heart ached, she knew something is wrong but she can't put what it is at all. She placed her hand on the chest and tried to calm down, she knew that she need to remain steadfast if she doesn't want to meet her end too soon.
"._.""._.""._."
The Chain That Binds Us
"._.""._.""._."
"Damn, this rain is really starting to drag on. Not that it already is." Arnold said as he walking along the hallway.
He keeps walking along the hallway while looking at the windows along the hallway, the rain fell endlessly outside and the splatter on the rooftop keeping things from ever going quiet. That is until he heard the sounds of metal clashing somewhere.
"Huh? He already built his workshop already?" Arnold thought as he decided to check out.
Walking downstairs and heading closer to the source of those sounds, he quickly found out where Richard's workshop is. The basement, again. Richard is working on Pierce's Adamantine Armor and seems to find any possible way to upgrade it.
"Hey, are you working on that armor?" Arnold asked.
"Yeah, just blocking ranged ballistics alone isn't enough. I have to somehow turn Crisis Core into something that is capable of withstanding even greater attacks not limited just ballistics alone. It needs to withstand stabs, slashes, explosions, forces, heat, so much more that I could somehow keep finding loopholes in it. Guess that the work of an inventor just never end." Richard said.
Arnold decided to stay around for a bit and look around the place. And then something caught his eyes, it was the Hookshot installed into the right gauntlet of the armor.
"Hey, what is this?" Arnold asked.
"That's the grappling hook that I installed for Pierce so that he can increase his possible mobility options. What I am intending to do here is to make sure that my Master can survive the continuous onslaught of Servants." Richard said while he is still focusing on the armor.
Arnold looked at the grappling hook for a while and then he suddenly has an idea, he quickly takes out the sawn-off shotgun from his imaginary weapon racks as it manifests into this world.
"Richard, can you modify this thing with a grappling hook?" Arnold asked Richard.
"Not right now, if I could get this thing done in time. I may consider doing yours too." Richard said.
Arnold sighed, this thing took Richard his whole night just to make it sure to withstood against Servant without being too overly encumber to use. Considering the streak of bad lucks when it comes to how long they can rest. He might as well forget about it since one day is too little for anything, he turned around and decided to exit the workshop since there isn't anything left worth to do here.
Well, that's until he bumped into someone on the way out.
"Woah! Didn't see you there, wait... Did you change your clothes?" Arnold apologized as he also realized that the man in front of him is also wearing much different than before.
"Well, I just heard the sounds of metalworking and so I decided to come here and found you two. And you two didn't see me wearing this thing the whole time so I can forgive you for that." Shirou said while holding the communicator in his hand.
"That clothes and scents of alcohols, were you just tending a bar just now?" Richard said as he picked something up.
"Yeah, but considering that you are working on the armor, I simply decided that giving Chaldea's assistant to you is the best decision that I could make right now". Shirou said as he activates the communicator.
The communicator in his hand blared up to life and it also created a hologram of a person right ahead of it a meter away. Richard knew exactly who is that person in front of him because it is she that helped him with forging this armor in the first place. Medea.
"So, you wanted me to help him with something, again..." Medea said unamusedly.
"You know that whenever our Master is out of commissions, the burden of responsibility is placed on me and I have to make the right decision especially in the time like this. Any decision that helps us with reaching Berlin with the highest amount of success is extremely helpful, you understand?" Shirou said to her.
"I already understand that. By the way, you look really handsome in that barista outfit, aren't you?" Medea said.
"Whatever... Just focus on your job because this old man here is going to really need it. By the way, Richard, do you want a drink or something? I can serve one for you" Shirou said to him.
"Well... Guess I could use one, I guess?" Richard said.
After hearing what Richard has to say, Shirou went upstairs and head back towards the bar. Arnold meanwhile is still staying, partially because he has nowhere in mind to go to.
"So, what is that brushy stache soldier there doing?" Medea said with a bit of contempt towards Arnold.
Arnold shrugged but then he decided to ask truthfully of them. He felt that he really need to do this.
"Medea, I have a request for you. Can you add in an underslung hook shot into this shotgun?" Arnold said as he presents his sawn-off shotgun to the hologram of her.
"You want me to do what?" Medea asked as she processes his request.
"An underslung hook shot? Like the one that I used for Pierce's gauntlet?" Richard asked so that he can clarify things up.
Arnold nodded, out of all his arsenals, the sawn-off shotgun is powerful at close-range but good luck getting anyone near it. Servants would get away as soon as possible and mostly overkill on Azure Soldiers. And thus the shotgun is made redundant in most situations.
"You know, I could actually make that, especially with the stuff I have right now. Just give me a good look at it and I will send over the modification that I will make for you." Medea said after she inspects the shotgun.
Deciding to place his trust in Richard and Medea. He decided to overseer the whole operation process. The communicator is also able to project the surrounding of the other side into this place and thus he could have a much better view of the esteemed Chaldea he heard so much about.
The workshop of the other side doesn't seem to be much bigger than how he thought but considering it is a mobile base, he shouldn't have expected a grandiose workshop filled with everything that is capable of making the impossibility real. But even then, the tools there are much better than Richard's improvised workshop.
"Okay then, because of these chain links are going to be made out of Adamantine, a metal that is so durable that not even a Servant can break it with normal attacks alone. The process will be long and tedious due to just its own innate durability and thus we will going to be resort to a lot of tools just to make it." Medea said as she describes the characteristics.
"But still, how did such a metal like this were gone in the first place?" Arnold asked out of curiosity.
"This metal was abundances during the Age of God but only those of greatest of blacksmiths is capable of discerning and forging a powerful weapon out of it. Otherwise, it is a lump of useless mass to others. Ever since the declination of the Age of God, this metal was soon phased out and then exhausted before mass minings were a thing. The only way to obtain it is through the alchemization of mana and we will need a decent amount of it each time. Although there is far more expensive stuff we usually work with, it is still something to not waste if possible." Medea explained.
Arnold simply nodded as mystical stuff like this just not sticking at all to his mind. Age of God? Declination? All of this mumbo-jumbo just not simply stuff to swallow down in one single moment for a person like him.
"But either way, first we cast molten Adamantine into this mold so that we can turn it into a rod." Medea said as she pouring the liquified Adamantine into the mold.
The red hot liquid then flows into the cast and soon cooled down, Medea then using her magecraft to carefully lift the rod out of the cast and then placed it on what looks like a ritual circle.
"We don't have the kinds of automated manufacturing machinery but we have the magecraft on our side so why don't we just utilizing it to the fullest." Medea said before she channels her mana into it.
The circle then started to illuminate and the rod then begins to cut itself into multiple parts and then bent themselves into chain links and automatically connected with each other. A rod of Adamantine as long as her height turned into a chain with the length not even reaching her waist.
"You know this isn't the end yet, right?" Medea said unamusedly.
Arnold already knew that. What is the use of a chain that can't even reach more than even a meter? He knew that Medea is probably one of the greatest mages in the entirety of humanity's history. He isn't wrong to think it that way because how else did she become the leader of Chaldea's Magecraft Division?
"You wouldn't be wrong to assume that way. She is on the top five of the most powerful magus in the entirety of humanity's history, her talents would have easily made her the leader by everyone's decision regardless of what she does." Shirou said as he is carrying a tray with a bottle of bourbon and a glass with ice cubes in it.
Shirou then placed the tray on the workshop table and then lean himself against the wall. Richard decided to pour himself a glass of it for himself.
"Hah, bourbon, just like those good old times when I still going to the tavern of those Wild West Era. Those pleasant notes of vanilla, oak and caramels, they were surely the stuff that every working-class people needed just to forget that deplorable life they were in." Richard said as he sips on the glass of bourbon.
Arnold then turned around to the hologram projection and suddenly shuddered that the chain has already reached 10 meters long. He noticed that she used speed coolant and then the whole spells just automated the process. She didn't even need to lift a finger for this whole job. In just a little while, the whole process is completed
"Done, I shall then send this over now so that Richard will finish up the underslung hook shot. If there is anything you wanted me to do, just simply contact me." Medea said.
"That's if our Master would just lend us this communicator. Now, I shall then draw the rayshift point so that the Adamantine chain can be sent here." Shirou said as he grabbed a piece of mana chalk within his apron's pocket and draw a rayshift circle around it.
And then a pile of chain connected to a dual bayonet shaped like a claw formed in the circle. Arnold shudders at the idea of being at the receiving end of this thing.
"Just in time, I just got done with the internal mechanism and the improvement of the smoothbore system of this thing. Now I just need to somehow hammer this entire 30 meters of chain..." Richard said.
"Shall I lend you a hand then? I got some trick in regard to spatial... how do I put this?" Medea tried to remember the rest of the name of the spell she intended to invoke but for some reason, it slips out of her mind. A genius doesn't mean they are immune to mistakes and mishaps.
"Sigh... Guess I shall return to the bar then?" Shirou said as he walks upstairs so that he can exit the room.
Arnold watches Richard and Medea working together in order to turn the sawn-off into a weapon of mass destruction. The smithereens flying off and the mana residual flying in the air, Arnold can't help but feel the powerful aura of itself lingering in his surroundings.
"._.""._.""._."
Grip of Steel
"._.""._.""._."
"Jump, now!" Richard said to Arnold as he overseers the whole process of Arnold's proficiency with the improved sawn-off.
Arnold quickly jumps off the buildings that he is running on. By running on, he meant that he is running on the wall itself. When he almost reached the edge of the wall itself, he quickly jumps off it and rebound to another building's wall.
Richard is overseeing Arnold's test. After the modification is completed, they decided to test it in the abandoned city that the mansion overlooked. There are many tall buildings around here and this whole place was densely populated until everyone just suddenly decided to be up and vanished. What's left behind is just abandoned buildings, desolated and empty and rotting down to its inevitability.
Arnold continuously jumping from this wall to another wall. With the speed that he moves at, his own steps cracked the wall on each building itself. Soon he found a section ahead of him completely collapsed and he can't just simply jump towards there while running horizontally against a wall. Knowing what to do, he drew his improved sawn-off.
This thing is still very much like the same, wood furnish, steel compartments. But there is one thing different about it, the underslung grappling hook launcher made out entirely out of Adamantine. The claw acts like a grappling hook and can extend itself to reach anywhere within 30m from where it is fired. To fire the Hookshot, Arnold has to press the secondary trigger on the top right behind the barrel selector.
"Now!" Arnold thought as he pressed it.
The Hookshot extends itself and the metallic sounds of chains unfolding can be heard. The thing then eventually caught into a building across the collapsed area and clung there. Arnold then let his body go, not pulling the gun towards him or anything, just do nothing and let the gun do the rest.
The improved sawn-off then pulled him towards the building across the collapsed area with unusually fast speed. Within nearly a second, he completely cut that distance and landed his feet on the vertical wall itself and continue his sprinting across it.
"Good job! You got down the basic already!" Richard said as he ran across the buildings along with him on the roof.
Arnold then proceeds to calculate his path carefully and then slowly but surely made back towards the ground. Richard jumped straight from the rooftop to the ground without cracking the ground at all. It depends on a Servant's strength and if they applied too much force, the ground will shatter like a rock into fragile glass.
"Okay, since you have got down the basic already. We shall then move into the firing of this gun. I shall throw at you some target and it is your job to fire them at them accurately. Get it?" Richard said to Arnold as he quickly getting away from the distance from Arnold.
Richard then grabbed a huge chunk of cemented bricks and hurled it at Arnold. Arnold quickly drew his shotgun and fired both barrels at once the chunk of bricks get closer to him. The result, the chunk of bricks was blasted straight into dust. While he is at it, he quickly breeches open the shotgun and reloaded it with the 12 gauge shells with a single twirl. All of them were done so fast that his actions can be compared to a lever-action shotgun.
"You got it down alright? Now let's see how well you would do this?" Richard said before he grabs even more stuff up.
Arnold braced for whatever Richard might do. In the next second, Richard threw five huge chunks of them at Arnold at a speed that it broke the sound barriers in a mere instant from the moment they left Richard's hand. Arnold's distance from Richard was just roughly 20 meters away and those chunks of cemented brick are being hurled at him at hypersonic speed. Pushing his reflex to the limit, he fired the sawn-off with one shell for one chunk.
When he has to reload, he has quickly done so to the point that others would see him completely skipped it. When the last chunk is about to land him right on the face, he pressed the secondary trigger and destroy that rubble right in the instant with the hook shot.
"Too close, aren't ya? Either way, the next step is that you try to strike down this boulder before it lands on me." Richard said as he lifts up a huge boulder that he picked out of nowhere.
Richard then proceeds to throw it up in the air vertically by 600 meters high. Arnold's next test is to pick the right timing to catch that boulder with the Hookshot so that it won't flatten Richard like a pancake.
"Okay, I just need to calculate when I should firing the Hookshot, I should be able to figure out the remaining distance so that I can fire it right at that time. 30 meters reach, I am away from him about 20 meters. Utilizing Pythagoras, I have to use it right at roughly 22 meters." Arnold calculates the moment he should fire it just within a one-tenth of a second.
However, he also realized something, something at falling at such a great high will without a doubt falling extremely fast. It might not even be a second remain for him to do so. It is not just picking the right moment but also patient and level-headed no matter the tension and stress. That's true, he is a soldier back in WW1, he managed to make through that torturous hell and thus he should be able to keep calm no matter what.
He keeps waiting while the air just getting stiffer overtimes. Base on his calculation, he has roughly 11 seconds before the boulder would suddenly crush Richard. Richard looks oddly calmed despite the prospect of getting killed by his own test, yet he doesn't show any signs of anxiety at all. Richard has placed his conviction entirely on Arnold.
Arnold is still waiting while counting the number silently in his mind. His finger on the secondary trigger is twitching although it is completely indiscernible by mortal eyes. When his countdown reached the number "1", he quickly fired the Hookshot right above where Richard is. Surprisingly, the grappling hook did catch the boulder right before it crushes Richard. Mustering every fiber of strength he has, he yanked the chain right back at him and pulled the huge boulder along with it.
With the boulder now flying towards Arnold, he quickly counted his blessings and quickly fired both barrels at once the moment the boulder is now closed to him. In the next instant, the boulder shattered into particles.
"Good job! You know how to keep a clear mind even in the highest of tension." Richard said.
Arnold breathed in heavily, that moment was so stressful that the sense of relief washing over him is nothing short but divine to him. But he knew this isn't over for him yet. There is still one more test before it is declared complete.
"Now, this will the 'make it or break it' moment. This will be the final test you have to go through, once you have done so, nothing will be able to stop you from reaching greatness." Richard said,
Here it is, the final test. What will Richard do? What kind of test will Arnold be subjected to? This yearn-to-be-answered question will soon reach its conclusion in just a short amount of time.
Richard decided to move away from Arnold into a distance. Arnold meanwhile just stood there and braced for whatever may be thrown at him. Just as Arnold decided to wander his mind a bit, the ground started shaking to the point Arnold has to brace himself in order to avoid being staggered.
He then looked into the distance and realized that something is wrong. In the next moment, something jumped up into the air and carrying something. No, it isn't just something. It's... a whole large building itself. And it is Richard who is carrying it. It is really easy to forget that Richard is a Servant despite having the appearance of an old man. Also, the fact that Servants are a force of nature that nothing made by human hand can even be compared to them. Carrying a huge building like that on his shoulder to him is the same amount of difficulty of carrying a stick.
"Now! Show me what you are capable of!" Richard yelled with all at the top of his lung as he threw the buildings at Arnold like a javelin.
Despite its colossal size, the thing doesn't move any slower even when air resistance was accounted for. From a distance of roughly 100 meters away, this massive building is going to collide with him at Mach 50, how on earth that he has the strength to do such a throw is forever unanswered but Arnold knew that he needed to do something about this, now!
Fortunately for Arnold though, Richard makes all of these tests because he knew there is always an answer to each of these. And Arnold is holding an answer to it in his hand.
The speed it is flying is near-instantaneous, Arnold's mind focused itself to the point it tries to splitting even milliseconds into micro, micro straight into nano. Adrenaline overflow like Noah's flood, time has come to almost a standstill in his perception. The building that it wouldn't take even a one-thousandth of a second in order to flatten him like a paper is now moving slower than a slug to him.
Arnold doesn't understand why he has time perception manipulation like this but he wouldn't question it at all. It probably has something to do with all of his miraculous survival as a soldier back in WW1 but other than that, he got nothing else in order to link together.
The 12 gauge barrels won't be enough to blow this building apart, much as his dismay. He needs something even more powerful and fortunately enough, he has an ace in his sleeve. Or more exactly, the ace that is given directly by Richard first hand before this training.
The sawn-off in his hand actually has a secret feature in it directly, its barrels are interchangeable and capable of changing quickly. But with what exactly? In the next moment, Arnold takes out what looks like the same sawn-off barrels from before but with a few differences. The color is silver-gray like Adamantine, it is full of ornate carving throughout the barrels itself. Unless one examined it directly, they would mistake it for steel. The bore diameter is significantly larger than the 12 gauge version which can only mean a bigger caliber.
Changing the barrel quickly for the Adamantine version, he takes out the far bigger shells for the Adamantine version. It is irradiating with destructive power that is unbelievable. Loading them into the Adamantine sawn-off, he quickly finishes the reloading process and aimed it towards the building that by some sorts of miracle haven't crumbled by its own sheer speed. Like a bidding farewell, he silently said.
Blasphemy...
He pulled the trigger and a massive torrent of ballistics tore the whole building apart with force greater than a hurricane. The sheer destructive impact went on for a huge distance while tearing the terrains and any remaining infrastructures on its path. It didn't even stop even when the ballistics are already hundreds of meters away from its firing.
Richard who was in midair when all of this happened and thus was exempted from being at the receiving end. Directing his falls toward somewhere safer, he landed on top of a building that wasn't disturbed. On his face is a smile, a smile that came from knowing that his weapon managed to surpass his expectation.
"How do you feel about it? Really powerful isn't it?" Richard said to Arnold who is checking the gun's condition,
The muzzle of the gun is burning hot to the point it warps the air around it. Arnold then proceeds to breach the gun open and seeing the burning smoke came out of it. Any raindrops landed on the heated part turned into steam immediately
"Unreal..." Arnold thought as he sees the gun's aftermath for itself.
"That's the power of the 4 gauge shell for itself, too powerful for safety uses of it. But when the pushes come to shove, then this buddy here is your best bet." Richard said.
Of course, the 4 gauge here isn't just Servants modified, they were broken charged and filled to the brim with mana. This thing's power can reach the scale of NP easily. Due to manufacture difficulty, this type of shells should be used sparingly unless necessary.
The Blasphemy, a shotgun with a huge amount of power. Once the claw of this thing latched onto you, pray that your death is instant. If not, you will be yearning for death while missing a huge chunk of your body as the agonies will make you too distraught to have any rational thought.
"And so the test is completed, you have such a natural performance and mastery for close-quarter combat and have a talent decent enough for long-range. If you were a hero from an old era, you will be a force to be reckoned. But of course, if you were, you won't be here and I just glad to see such a talented soldier like you." Richard said as he departs for the mansion.
Arnold stood there beneath the rain while looking up towards the sky, he wonders when did he want to become stronger in the first place, when did he became obsessed with wanting to enhance his capability. Was it because of the pretense and envy of everyone else? Or because it was his inferiority complex? He realized why he shouldn't even question himself and going philosophical like this.
Arnold sighed and tried to check whatever is in his clothes, he found something in his pocket. The poppy flower from before, it stuck inside there for who knows how longs right now. When he finally sees it, he realized why he was so obsessed with getting stronger in the first place.
It is to protect Alfin, the flower of sacrifice in his hand reminded him why he started acting like this. Alfin... her identity, she is a Servant with the identity of Adolf Hitler, with all of the sins she committed, there is no way she could act fine naturally when having all of those burdened her. He knew that she is putting on the brave face to not worry everyone but that slumbering wrath of her is going to be unleashed one day. It is not now nor anywhere near future but definitely during their quest. He just hopes that he is strong enough in order to stop her from descending into madness once again like the last time did so that the world and she paid the price.
Arnold took a deep breath, he is thinking too much on his mind right now to think logically. For the best of his sanity, he decided to return to the mansion, knowing that he got a reason to do so.
"._.""._.""._."
Everlasting Feelings
"._.""._.""._."
"So... we are installing these mana lamps?" Kiritsugu said as he examines the one on his hands.
"What else can we do? There is no electricity here, these cost-effective mana lamps are the last thing we can use so that we won't have anyone to stumble needlessly in the dark" Shirou said to his father.
"Whatever, guess all I can do is to set them up as fast as I could around this place". Kiritsugu said as he takes a few lamps with him.
"Guess I will install this in the kitchen then". Shirou said as he brought one with him.
And so the father and son split up and do their own things, leaving the box of lamps right at where they split up. Needless to say though, it is only bound for someone to take a few of it when left alone like that
"What's this?" Arnold said as he picks one up from the box.
Arnold checked the functionality of the lamp itself, he then turns the screw knob and the lamp begins to illuminate depends on how much he turned the knob.
"Hmm, so it is like an oil lamp, the more I turn the knob, the brighter its light," Arnold thought as he turns the light intensity in order to test its function.
He then noticed that there is a switch nearby the screw knob. He switched it and the light turned from white to warm yellow. Finding it fascinating, he decided to bring one around with him and placed it in his room.
The night approached and the rain outside doesn't stop either, the warm light that the lamp gives off makes him felt at ease. The warm feelings stir up inside make him felt satisfied just by in its presence alone. Also, the surroundings felt like completely fantastical that it is like another world to him.
And if you really think about it, this lamp is made by an organization that involves saving humanity itself. It is more than obvious that quality would be top-notch since they had to accommodate many Servants. There are so many ways to use and appreciate this thing that he can't help but be thankful for Chaldea.
Lying on his bed while basking on the light, he relaxed and try to not overthinking about things. He closed his eyes for a bit and then he heard something.
"Piano?" Arnold thought as he opened his eyes again as he heard something from the room above him.
From what is being currently played, he could make a guess that it belongs to no sorts of pre-recorded piano songs, not even Mozart or Salieri or even any renowned musician in the first place. Just something created entirely original. The melancholic feelings it evokes are very much real as if conveying the feeling of its writer.
"Strange, I don't even remember if anyone here really knows how to play piano". Arnold said
He decided to check out what that person is and so he exits the room he is in, only to bump into someone on the way out. It was Shirou and he seems to be startled.
"Woah, didn't see you there, Arnold". Shirou said as he encountered Arnold at his room's doorstep.
"Didn't see you there either for a second. By the way, do you know what is that song being played on the piano right now?". Arnold said as he points to the piano sounds on the upper floor.
"I wish that my piano skill is as half as good as my culinary skill, even if I haven't ever played a single piano. I can still able to make an educated guess. Just because simply having Mozart and Salieri as your fellow Servants and always hearing their competitions between each other for every day makes me pretty much knowledgeable when it comes to music. Trust me, even if I am not paying attention, those music notes still somehow drilled into my mind". Shirou thinks for a little while before he said it straightforwardly.
"So can you tell me what it is?". Arnold asked
"Whatever it is, that thing is definitely an original composition. Even Mozart and Salieri can staunch on that fact". Shirou said.
Arnold decided to move towards the next floor but before he took a step, he doesn't remember that there was a piano right above the room he chose and thus decided to ask about that.
"Wait, I don't remember to come across the room with a piano in it or at least, know that there is a piano here in the first place.". Arnold said.
"To be fair, the room above you were locked. Servants have the strength that is simply unfathomable by even human's standard, that is simultaneously a blessing and a curse. I could have easily forced open that room but decided to go against it because I might also create a huge hole in this only shelter we have. Us Servants aren't exactly the type to make a balance in our power output, we either be a normal person or annihilate this one particular spot for no reason." Shirou said as he scratches the back of his head.
"Wait, when was the last time you checked that room?" Arnold asked again.
"I spent my entire afternoon in that self-serving bar and testing out the cocktail combinations, I just recently have done with kitchen duty right now so I am not even sure.". Shirou said.
Arnold decided that he have enough information and so he went upstairs to check it out. Just when he arrived at what exactly guessed to be above his room, he noticed that the lock is showing signs of being picked open. At least it is definitely not someone who forcefully destroy it, that is what he could tell for sure. He then reaches for the doorknob and hearing those melancholic piano sounds even clearer.
Words of God: You know the drill, Melancholic Voice for this part.
He opened the door and inside the room was dimly lit with that same mana lamp he uses, there are some empty decorating pots that he could tell used to have a plant in it but withered away long ago and a large window that is built to illuminate the room with sunlight during daytime. In the middle of the room, is an old piano and one person who is playing it, Alfin...
Her hands' movements are graceful as it presses the notes with the perfect tempo that only serves to increase the moodiness effect of her song. She keeps playing, not letting anything around her affecting her performance. Arnold stood there watching the performance befitting a prodigy being played in front of him. He isn't exactly the type to be art savvy but he still appreciates a good performance no matter what, especially when it is due to be so.
And when the performance is completed, Arnold can't help but clap his hands for the fantastic performance she just gives. Alfin noticed and suddenly turned around to see him giving her his congratulations.
"Arnold?" Alfin said in surprise.
"Did I barge in this place at the wrong time? If so then let me apologize and I shall leave." Arnold said in courtesy as he takes a step back.
"No, it is alright. I just wanted to vent my feelings in some way that doesn't involve causing destruction. I have to say though, I just simply letting my mind fill in the blank page of the song. I just simply got the inspiration and then just let it flow like that. Guess that I will just become a paradox in itself, a warlord with a love for something completely opposite of her.
Arnold sighed, after all of those times with her. He understood Alfin's psychology like the back of his hand after witnessing her memories, after fighting alongside her for so long. Seeing her deny herself like this, he knew that he has to step into action.
"Alfin, you are using self-depreciation as a mask to hide your desire for happiness. I know that you are yearning for those feelings, those emotions that you are deprived of for so long that you forget what it felt like. You desire them but at the same time, you tried to keep on a brave face that is saying you can still keep going but you felt too exhausted to keep up with the facade itself." Arnold said.
Alfin sits there on the piano stool for a moment and then she smiled wryly.
"Guess you see me through clearly then... That's true, I yearn for happiness more than how you could possibly imagine. For every second that I could fight alongside you, my heart blossomed with more happiness more than how you could even think of, because after all... you are the only person who chooses to believe in me, not the identity that I was forced to carry along with." Alfin said with acceptance in her voice.
Arnold breathes a sigh of relief, seeing that Alfin opens up with him makes him felt much better right now. Well, that is until she started to ask this one particular question.
"Arnold, is the part where I killed my father is the only memory you witness? Because all of the actions leading to this point show that you seem to be far more knowledgeable about me more than how I would assume". Alfin said to him.
Arnold's body became stiff, he started to feel anxious when she noticed something doesn't feel right. But he also knew that there is no point in trying to lie to her and thus he decided to come clean about how he knew her so much.
"I first came to aware of your earliest memory of being an adolescent being constant beatdown by the very person that you used to call as "father" and then your brother's death during an outbreak that you have virtually no control over who die or not and your dog also got caught up in it because of your own "father"'s vanity. And then when you thought you finally find a way to express your feelings in a way that can't possibly be thought wrong but still get trampled over anyway. That's when you decided to take the matter into your own hand and kill him yourself but your suffering never ended there and still go on until your departure for Germany." Arnold gives a summary of what he witnessed in Alfin's memory.
Alfin sits there while closing her eyes and thinking about what Arnold just said before proceeding with the conversation.
"That's true, you very much describe the memory of my adolescence time". Alfin said to him.
Arnold glad that things don't suddenly blow up but he didn't realize he still haven't off the hook yet.
"How did you observe my memory, that's what I wanted to know.". Alfin said.
Arnold once again decided to come out truthfully with all he knows. Despite the anxiety gripping him harder, he still decided to speak it to her.
"Like a wraith that haunting someone, I simultaneously exist and not at the same time. I just simply an observer over oneself, incapable of interacting with anything at all in anyone's memory." Arnold said.
Alfin thought for a while but this time, she seems to think deeply in solemn as what Arnold said. A little while later, she then turned towards him and said.
"You know, that is also the same to me too.". Alfin said.
Arnold suddenly in shock of what he just said, she also looking at someone else's memory? Right after hearing what she have to say, he knew he needs her to give him an answer to what she just meant.
"Alfin, what do you mean it is the same to you?" Arnold asked in concern
"Arnold, what would you do if you realized that there is a massive gap in your memory, one that you can't even make a guess of what it was like?" Alfin said to him.
Arnold doesn't understand what she meant, because even he doesn't have all of his memory at all. Not a gap but rather just one small fragment that somehow managed to avoid erasure. But he could still see the seriousness of the implication she meant.
"I don't really know what to feel but losing it can be a huge implication if that is what I could guess." Arnold makes a wild guess with all he knows.
"Arnold, a proper human don't go suddenly lose one specific fragment of their memory, they either lose them all due to amnesia or not. The only memories I have are my childhood and WW2 and trust me, you don't want to see my memory of WW2's event. You don't want to see the atrocity I committed during those times and so I will spare you from details. But you realized something is missing between those events right?" Alfin said.
Arnold can only nod, he knew he is about to enter a forbidden area if he still going on but he has already made it this far anyway, might as well braving them.
"The missing part is what I believe is the memory of WW1, anyone who lives through it will never forget how catastrophic it was and will never forget the pain and sorrow it caused that time as long as they lived. Think about it, such a major event like that and I having absolutely no memory of despite clearly matched up with the time. But even then, I knew about it because of one thing, I witness it unfold through your perspective, your memory." Alfin said to Arnold.
Arnold's eyes widened, hearing that she also sees his memory too shocked him that she could do the same to him but it only bounds to make sense. She never noticed him when he watches her memory unfolded and the same might have also applied to him. He might have never able to notice her witnessing him because neither of them can interact physically nor even spiritually. She might have been following him to every step ever since the first one even.
"The ceaseless rain, the muddy terrain, the lives died and returned to the soil, the evermoving gears of the war machines... To see the marvel of humanity's progress turned the world into a living hell, I truly have no words to describe how it actually felt to me. And even if there were less life lost in that war compare to WW2, it is still one nasty cesspool that should never be allowed to repeat. And yet here we are, in the aftermath of WW2 despite having already seen the pointlessness of it." Alfin said while she started to be tearful as if she regrets letting her own madness caused such destruction of a huge scale like this forever scar on this earth.
Alfin then started to cry as if her own existence is just simply to bring about needless hatred and destruction, the fact that she could have potentially become something much better than this, someone who would bring good into this world but the world decided that she has to be dealt with the worst possible hands and turned her into an incarnation of evil itself. Arnold looking at her being pitiful at herself, not knowing what to exactly do. Should he leave her alone or should he try to comfort her?
While the sky outside roars with thunder, the sounds of each drop of tears of her held more weight than the rain outside. She wanted redemption but the world has already forsaken her long ago, nobody in their right mind would ever accept her knowing what she did. Arnold sits nearby her but stuck in a dilemma of what to do, seeing her crying and mule over herself, he decided that he will choose one final decision. He has no regret left, he will choose to save her while she is still within his arms reach.
He held on to her as tight as he could, letting his embrace to calm her down. Alfin feeling his warmth as she started to stop crying, Arnold tried to keep the conversation so that he can draw her away from the darkness within herself.
"Alfin! Don't try to shoulder everything yourself. Even if the world may turn its back against you, I would still be here for you no matter what. You tried to make yourself appeared brave, you tried to make yourself a monster so that no one would ever try to make you suffer anymore but in truth, you are still very much a gentle girl who desired love.". Arnold said as he tried to encourage her.
Arnold knew very much one thing, while Hitler's crime was unquestionably undeniable, he still very much cared about it during the earliest years in power. Volkswagen is the very proof of that, the ban on cigarette consumption the moment it was linked to lung cancer. Perhaps... if he became her supporting pillar, her fate will be averted from reaching that same end. But that requires a very demanding dedication on the border of sacrifice. It will be an answer that ultimately resting on him alone, is he capable of doing it?
Gather the spirit that he can muster, trying to convey these simple words to her is harder than carrying the world itself to him. Because after all, a Servant can easily overcome physical obstacles but a mental barricade? That requires a whole new level of mental strength. But Arnold still steps forward in order to do so, because to him, she is entirely his world.
"Alfin... I... I love you..." Arnold said albeit there is hesitation in it, the feelings are what truly matters.
Those words reached the depth of her soul. For the first time, she felt something that was too distant for her to reach. Like a sliver of light illuminating the depth. They may not have any meaning to anyone else but to her... not even all of the treasure in this world can ever have as much worth compare to it.
Happiness... much like how Kiritsugu reexperienced love after the hardship that makes him devoid of any emotion but loath and disgust, it completely rejuvenates him and turned him into a different kind of person. A man that is a cold-blooded assassin in the frontline and a loving and caring father during the time at peace. Love is, after all, a drug of pure emotions that can change a person entirely. For a tortured soul, reaching it is nothing but short of Heaven's Feel.
Her eyes started to become teary, but those tears of not of sadness or sorrow but the tears of genuine happiness. To finally feel at peace, she will never trade anything for this feeling that she is experiencing. She smiled for finally having someone that she can truly call her beloved.
"I... I love you too..." Alfin admitted it truthfully, even if she finds it embarrassing to say so, she glad that she can finally let those words out of her chest.
They together embraced each other for who knows how long, the world around them keeps moving and never stand still but those are meaningless to them as they indulge their newfound love of each other.
"._.""._.""._."
Reaching The Bottom of The Truth
"._.""._.""._."
"Eeeeeiiiii... How long did I do this? Why am I still so deadset on trying to find the potential Nazi's Servants? I mean they can still handle whoever it is themselves, right?" Sitonai said tiredly as she is buried beneath a ton of documents she tried to analyze the potential enemy they might going to fight through.
Sorting out the documents again, cross-referencing even with a personal laptop is still a massive pain in itself. She has read over 8 books with the thickness of a foundation brick when averaged by the total amount of pages. The amount of data she put into the laptop started to reach GBs in just text alone. Not even counting the amount of data that consists of pictures and edits. Despite having the internet completely downloaded into Shadow Border's database, she still struggling to find any information regarding the enemy-turned former ally of theirs, Alice. An enigma in itself.
"Someone like her would be an unfathomable threat to be faced, what she capable of, not even Gilgamesh could probably deal with her..." Sitonai said in worry as she sorts things out.
Sitonai sighed, there is too much stuff going on right now for her. Trying to tackle a problem alone probably not gonna do anything much but she knew that she can't just rope everyone into this without a reason at all.
"Still trying to fight things head-on alone, aren't you?" A dignified voice said from right beside her.
Sitonai startled as she heard that voice and almost swung her sword at him. Fortunately for that man though, the Mystic Code he has on him all the time allowed him to dodge repeated barrages of attacks while still remaining calm and rational.
"Wah! I'm sorry!" Sitonai said as she realizes who she just swung her blade at.
"No worry, I don't blame you for acting so. So what's the matter here?" Waver said to her as he sits in the seat right next to her.
"And don't worry about it either, Onee-chan. I'm still here to help you, I just don't feel like being sidelined when all of our family members are at stake." Miyu said to her eldest sister.
"You two... Thanks..." Sitonai said gratefully to them when they willing to give her support.
They then together situate themselves in the most comfortable position they could find while not hampering their performance. Waver then asks for Sitonai to give him the laptop so that he can search for information faster which Sitonai obliged without asking for anything.
"By the way Waver-san, aren't you the most veteran Servants out of everyone here?" Miyu asked the tactician.
Waver simply nodded, searching for precise stuff on the internet is no simple task and he doesn't wish to waste more time on needless chatter unless he may find it useful for a break.
"Well, I can't blame you for not knowing him well. The man would accompany our Master in all missions no matter how minor it may be and thus you may not see him all the time. And you know that I hear it from my father that he is among one of the earliest Servants if not the first. You know the first ten summons that carries our Master at the beginning of his quest? He was among one of them." Sitonai explains to her sister.
Right after Sitonai has done explaining to her sister, Waver finishes up with a loud press into the enter button. He then breathes heavily as if he holds his breath in the entire time while continuously typing.
"That's true, my time serving your Master stretched back to the first day of Chaldea itself although the beginning wasn't exactly what you called a good start. But even then, while I am just a pseudo-Servant with Zhuge Liang's spirit origin, I very much inherited all of his power and Servant's parameter. The rest is ultimately up to me. I simply giving our Master my advice while he is the one to execute all of them flawlessly, that is all there is to what I do.". Waver said to Sitonai.
"Yeah right, simply what you do. Simple enough that you were one of the chosen to remain so that the Chaldea staff can make it out of the facility in case something disastrous happened. Not that anything managed to change though if Onii-chan told me correctly." Sitonai said to Waver.
"It was my fault that I can't predict something disastrous like that would happen, but Da Vinci's death... although she has a backup plan which she is in the little girl version of her right now, it was my fault that I can't save her in time back when that happened." Waver said.
"Waver-san, neither anyone could really save her. Onii-chan could have done so, Cu-san could have attempted, even Jii-san too but none of them are able to attempt when humanity's fate was at stake in that very split second. You have nothing to blame on yourself." Sitonai said as she sympathies with him.
"Jeez, when did this become a blame game? But anyway, look at what I found." Waver said annoyedly until he directs everyone's attention towards what he managed to dig up in the database.
Apparently, he managed to obtain access to the dark web although there is no risk of hackers because pretty much everyone except Gudao is dead and thus making their Master the last human if he failed to stop the Lostbelts from altering humanity's timeline.
"All of the information I obtained may come from conspiracy theories so take all of them with a grain of salt, OK?" Waver said as he quickly decrypts a page address to reach the site.
The Wunderwaffe, or translated into "Miracle Weapon". They are weapons that might capable of huge destruction should they managed to get out of the prototype stage. They might even change the entire face of war the moment they entered the fray. Due to reaching the end of the war, most of them although invented, were incapable of changing the tide due to too little or still remaining in prototype stage.
"Damn, just imagine what if they were to become real, the whole war would have resulted in a huge amount of destruction that might permanently impact the world if it managed to drag on". Miyu said in worry that something like this might have happened in the Singularity.
"And that's not all, I will have to break into classified information bank in US Government's database, the fate of the world is at stake and thus I got no choice to do so, all gloves are off and here I go." Waver said as he started.
While the classified database is not connected to any external sources, Chaldea having connections with the UN and thus allowed some clearance and connection at some levels but not the fullest. When the pruning happened, the Shadow Border downloaded their entire database, including the encrypted data due to cyber network protection system completely collapsed. What Waver is doing is that he will break into the most classified area will warrant trouble if caught in any circumstances but now.
Sitonai sits there while Waver focuses on breaking through the defense system, she keeps thinking about one certain person that is currently fighting alongside her family. Alfin, or more exactly, Hitler... Her ability to recreate anything that was made by Nazi Germany during WW2, even the P1500 Ratte which was just a concept that has no hope of becoming real and yet... here they are... watching it fighting against the shadow of London's past.
"To hammer the nail of fallacy into reality..." Sitonai whispered for herself and no one else to hear.
If she could do so, even Wunderwaffe won't be too out of her capability. In fact, they might be the strongest cards within her assets. One that is capable of turning the tide once they were deployed.
"Okay, let's see what is in here..." Waver said as he about to read the classified information.
The first words and he already has his suspicion confirmed, it was a file about a bell that is capable of instantly killing anyone who heard of it. It seems that Hitler has also dipped into occultism at some levels and having this bell created. The bell has that same jet black color much like Alice's one is. But there is a catch...
"The sizes compared between them is a discrepancy in itself. Alice's bell was small enough to fit on her palm but the one we know is extremely large to the point it has to be fit into a church hall." Waver said in worry.
This proves that Alice is related to the Nazi in one way or another, the fact that she has that bell proven that her betrayal was an inevitability in itself. Who knows the whereabouts of that bell in normal history but they knew it has to be confiscated by the US Government after WW2 ended.
"Looks like we are about to descend into a rabbit hole. As if there is a choice to remain in the first place. Sitonai, Miyu... Prepare your notebooks and documents, we are going to the deep end of this madness." Waver said encouragingly as he furiously types on the laptop.
Sitonai and Miyu nodded, this isn't simply concerning them anymore. This is about the fate of humanity on balance, they made it this far and they won't turn back no matter what.
"._.""._.""._."
Onwards to Execution
"._.""._.""._."
A new day shined through the window with the dim-lit light through the window. Arnold is back in his room, sleeping soundly on his bed like nothing has happened the night before. He opened his eyes and sees the white ceiling greeting him first. He turned around to his side and sees... Alfin, in his bed with him. She is half-naked with her skin exposed for him to see with the only covering her is the blanket that he is also using.
He then looked at himself and also realized that he is also naked like her too, he looked at his well-toned body and the steel-hard abs which only make sense given that he was a soldier in one of the nastiest war in human history.
Alfin then woke up and scratches her eyes with one hand while the other held onto the blanket that is still covering her body. She then looked at him and suddenly jumped out of the bed while still holding onto the blanket when she noticed that both of them are naked. The result... she just completely revealed Arnold's private part when she took the blanket that is covering him.
"EH!" Alfin yelled in panic as she sees him completely naked.
"Alfiiiiin!" Arnold yelled as she just completely took off his only cover of privacy by a single whim.
After a little while, both of them leaning on the bed, still naked and letting the pure white blanket cover their private parts.
"I guess that we got too passionate last night, huh?" Arnold said as Alfin covers her face in shyness.
Guess that they have done what any passionate couple would do, there is nothing surprising here but they still feel uncomfortable by that fact.
Alfin sighed before letting her hand go and embraced the fact that she might have done it with Arnold but at the same time, she felt happy just to be closer with a person she loved.
"Arnold... Promise me that we will never separate from each other, okay?" Alfin said cheerfully to him once again.
Arnold wanted to say that he agrees with her but he then noticed something outside the window, it was Alfin's hawk and it tried to say something to them. Alfin also noticed it and quickly heads toward the window without caring that she is completely naked. She opened it and the hawk quickly lands on her shoulder.
"Scree scree scree" The hawk tried to say something to her.
"Silbern? What do you mean?" Alfin said to her hawk.
"Scree scree..." Silbern tried to speak to her about something.
The moment she deciphered what Silbeern is saying to her, her expression changed. It was full of happiness now suddenly become serious as she noticed that something bad is approaching them. Right after she learned of that, she quickly donned on her combat attire which is the same dress that she used after achieved her resolution. The proof that she has changed for the better.
"Arnold, I'm sorry but I need to act now". Alfin said before she jumps out of the window.
Watching things abruptly turned for the worse, Arnold also quickly get out of his bed and quickly formed his combat attire on him. It is plain simple for a Servant to recreate their clothes that it is the cheapest thing a Servant can spend their mana on. Suddenly, the mansion shook as he tried to get a hold on the situation and the room he is in started to collapse. Using the split second he has left, he jumped out of the room and burst through the door. The room then completely collapsed as he managed to escape at the last second.
Arnold stood up once again, he knew that the new enemy is going to be more unforgiving than before. Although he still haven't reached his resolution yet, he still going to fight with all he had.
Taking the sawn-off from the imaginary weapon racks that appeared beside him. He took out the sawn-off and aim at the wreckage ahead of him. The moment he pulled the trigger, a torrent of ballistics burst through the rubble and cleared the path for him.
Looking at the sky above, there are so many planes that he can't even count quickly at all. Wasn't their entire air force supposed to be crippled right now after Alice's devastation aura? But thinking back again, he never actually knew the actual size of Nazi's air force, what happened at the two nights before may have just been the vanguard and this is the actual army they are facing against.
Steeling his determination once again, rushing out towards the raining sky with the sawn-off in his hand. No one would be willing to head towards their execution but he nonetheless will face it to its very end.
Servants Profile
Class: Assassin
True Name: Kiritsugu Emiya
Parameter:
Str: D | Agi: A+ | End: C | Mana: C | Luck: E | NP: B++
Passive Skills:
Presence Concealment A+: Hides one's presence as a Servant. Suitable for spying. It is possible to disappear completely and become almost impossible to be detected, even against a Servant's perception. However, efficiency will decrease once preparations to attack are taken.
Independent Action A: It is possible to take action even without a Master. However, to use Noble Phantasms of great magical energy consumption, backup from the Master is necessary. At Rank A, it is possible for a Servant to stay in the world for about a week without a Master.
Personal Skills:
-Magecraft B: Capable of using magecraft. In return, because of having knowledge about magecraft, he is good at the art of killing magi, being notoriously known as the 'Magus Killer' back when he was alive. The ranking of this Skill primarily works as a bonus to his various checks when fighting against Casters.
=}(Strengthened) Chronomaturgy B+
Using his inherited Emiya clan Time crest or to be exact, part of what remains. Kiritsugu can use Time Alter to boost one's performance and speed beyond what originally is. It can be applied to objects like bullets, guns, vehicles, and allies, but using Time Alter on allies or himself will cause time dilation which will begin to harm said Servant from inside due to enforced time flow recorrection. The higher the accelerating speed is, the deadlier the side effect. One can reduce the side effect by using passive healing Noble Phantasm.
-Affection of the Holy Grail A+:
He is being deeply loved by the Holy Grail from some era.
Such love is just like the greatest curse in the world.
Due to the existence of this Skill, his Luck Rank will be flipped up when activated. It is possible to even breakthrough the abilities of enemy Servants that cannot be overcome except in specific conditions.
However, this good fortune mercilessly steals the happiness of others.
=}(Strengthened) Married Fate EX
Thanks to the FATE summoning system, the memories of his alternate past self have brought back what was lost to him. The ability to feel, the memories of being loved. He used to deny it at first but the memories were all too real that if he felt almost like his own, soon he came to accept it and became dedicated to the cause of Chaldea, to protect the world from any calamities that can destroy humanity itself. Like a hardened soldier returns home from his time in service to see his lovely family and being a father for his children, thanks to the acceptance of his newfound memory, this skill eventually changed as it allows a greater extent even if it's only by a slight margin and the demerit will be removed as long as his wife protecting him or nearby his vicinity.
-Scapegoat C:
This is the accumulation of cunning techniques designed to escape the battlefield in one piece.
=}(Strengthened) Diversion Ambush A
A combination of all his cunning tactics and techniques in order to lure his enemies into his traps. If he managed to land a surprise attack or ambush, said attacks will increase a full rank in strength, Noble Phantasm included.
Noble Phantasm
|Chronos Rose|
Pick Ye Rose Bud While Ye May
Rank B+ | Classification: Anti-Unit |
"A rose that bloom today shall wither away tomorrow"
Chronos Rose.
Time flows, and the flower that smiles today shall wither away completely tomorrow.
The ability to manipulate one's own time flow.
It uses the ability he had while alive "inherent time control (Time Alter)" as a basis.
|Phantasm Punishment|
Mystery Bisection
Rank C+ | Classification: Anti-Unit |
This weapon is a knife that has the double attribute of "Severing and Binding", its power put into a knife and sublimated as a Noble Phantasm of the Counter Guardian. It is the same knife he uses for his usual time manipulation attacks, his Origin made form and the knife being the embodiment of it. It inflicts fatal damage towards enemies that possesses magic circuits and magic crests or anything similar inside their bodies. The ability is invoked according to its True Name release.
|Natalia|
Blade of Severing
Rank B+| Classification Anti-Unit | Wise up!
Named after the woman who raised the magus killer and considered as his mother figure, shot down by his own hands in an unfortunate mission.
Natalia's power is the actualization of severing, or cutting something completely into two separate parts. So long as what it is cutting has a low enough magic resistance, it will be instantly bisected along the line of the blade the moment it makes contact regardless of whether or not it is finished swinging. Due to the curse imbued into it focus on destruction and corruption of humanity, anything living things or made by human hands are granted bonus effectiveness against it. In short, if it cuts a person or any manmade stuff, it will require a full rank higher in terms of magic resistance in order to avoid the actualization of severing of any part on their body.
"._.""._.""._."
Class: Archer
True Name: Shirou Emiya
Parameter:
Str: D | Agi: C | End: C | Mana: B | Luck: E | NP: ?
Passive Skills:
Magic Resistance D: This Servant is immune to any magic attack of rank D below
Independent Action B: Even if Emiya received fatal damage upon his spiritual core, he can still survive for a short time.
Personal Skills:
-Eye of the Mind (True) B:
Insight cultivated from training and learning.
The "logic of battle" to calmly grasp one's situation and the abilities of the enemy, and find out a mean of escape when in
dilemma.
If the possibility of a reversal is 1%, a chance can be pulled out by putting this strategy to practice.
Something falsely similar to the skill Instinct.
=}(Strengthened) Seven Rings of Heaven (Near-absolute Defense) A+
A Noble Phantasm that Emiya got his hand on and capable of projecting said thing. A seven-layered Bounded Field with each layer as powerful as a fortress wall. It is shaped in the flower that blooms from Aias's blood upon his death. In order to keep the shield up, its user must provide it with magical energy to keep its form up. If a layer got destroyed, its user will also receive damage and pain in correspondence. Emiya usually uses it with a purpose to protect everyone around him.
-Clairvoyance C:
Can keeping track of fast-moving target within a range of four-kilometer. Emiya acquires this by applying Reinforcement to his eyes.
=}(Strengthened) Hawkeye B+
Perfected combination and mastery of Advanced Structure Grasping and Clairvoyance, Emiya can easily find the enemy's weak points or openings. He can land multiple fatal blows or crippling strikes consecutively in quick succession by the uses of this skill in CQC combat.
-Magecraft C-
Capable of using orthodox thaumaturgy. Emiya can use Reinforcement to increase the essence of the tool he uses temporarily and Structure Grasping to grasp the structure of the substance including living beings. Most of other magecraft, if used by him, would just have dissatisfaction results against any other Servants.
=}(Strengthened) Projection A
Emiya has been using Reinforcement and Structure Grasping ever since he was young and do so repeatedly for 10 years with only those spells. Combined with "Sword" origin, he can near-perfect tracing and projecting blades, melee weapons and Noble Phantasm. Shields and other defensive measurements would cost more mana. Projection can only go so far if Emiya doesn't have the bond or understanding of its original wielder and rely completely on one sense. Without it, all NPs he traces would suffer a rank down.
Noble Phantasm:
|Unlimited Blade Work|
Infinite Creation of Swords
Rank E-A++ | Classification: Reality Marble. Anti-Army |
"I am the bone of my sword
Steel is my body and fire is my blood
I have created over a thousand blades
Unknown to Death,
Nor known to Life.
Have withstood pain to create many weapons
Yet, those hands will never hold anything
So as I pray, Unlimited Blade Works."
Emiya has no true Noble Phantasm, but if a Noble Phantasm is what represents the entirety of the hero itself then this would be what he called his true Noble Phantasm. An open, barren desert with monolithic black gears gyrating in the distance, with thousands if not countless blades littering the landscapes, anchored to the grounds like a grave marker of an unknown battlefield, it was where his path as human life truly end as it forever etched in his mind. But after seeing the conviction of his younger self. He continues to walk this path even if there's no happiness to be found.
The reality marble grants him the ability project swords instantaneously and effortlessly and fires them as large barrages and allows him to be able to project Divine Construct but usually at the cost of his life as it would drain all of his mana without the use of Command Seals. The reality marble has a large mana cost to maintain it from collapsing upon itself.
|Avalon|
Rank '?' | Classification: Regeneration?| Wise up?
Due to the true NP wasn't activated but rather its secondary effect was used, the data regarding this NP was incomplete. Other than granting extreme regeneration when it came to close the proximity of Excalibur, nobody can tell what is the other use of it.