SentinalSlice: The blood of Rift dragons has no special properties. As for the limits of Unlimited Bladework, I did not invent their existence. There are images of this wall of fire in the original game. In fact, despite its pretentious name, UBW is limited space... by definition no Reality Marble is unlimited. These are pocket universes, after all. By principle, Unlimited Bladework expands as Shirou memorizes new blades. Even if Shirou memorized all the blades ever forged... his Reality Marble would not become larger than the space needed to contain them all.
Lord Duscon
It had been three months since Fuyuki had been Rifted into this strange and futuristic world. The lives of the inhabitants of the small town had been turned upside down. Fortunately, their familiar environment had been preserved, as had their close families, neighbors, and friends. Of course, there were people who had lost their jobs and the businesses had just reopened. In addition, unrest in the Takamatsu shogunate just across the Bungo Strait prevented the use of the oil port. As for the container port, it had been damaged during the Horunes attack just after Fuyuki arrived on Rifts Earth. Repairs were in progress and this did not prevent the use of 80% of the port. In fact, many state-of-the-art container ships from Kure and Hiroshima are unloaded every day... not to mention old cargo ships from the Otomo Shogunate. Things were getting better. Food, clothing, electronic gadgets, furniture, and computers but also dismantled factories, and nuclear generators were delivered at a steady pace. Fuyuki was about to enter the 22nd century. The new school year had been set for next month, with a new school program.
Near the ruins of the Einzbern Castle, the armed forces of the Republic of Japan were building a military base. The inhabitants had become accustomed to seeing giant robots patrolling around the city or seeing Samurai Power Armors stalking hostile yokai or confronting the elemental and demons that emerged from random Rifts.
In fact, that was the most brutal change in their lives.
The people of Fuyuki were born in Japan in the second half of the 20th century, a peaceful, non-violent nation where the crime was almost non-existent.
Now, there were fighting noises in the city almost every day.
Unless the biggest change was all those strangers they met in the streets of their little town. Some were Japanese... or at least humans... but not all.
Foreigner?
Non-human?
Demonic?
All these terms corresponded admirably to Medusa Gorgon, Rider-Class Servant of the Sixth War of the Grail of Fuyuki (and also of the previous war, although she does not keep this particular memory).
The tall woman with sculptural forms was dressed in blue jeans and a black sweater that closely fitted her... uh... just say that unleashed female jealousies and male dreams when Rider walked the streets.
The Servant's long purple hair, magnificent in its brilliance and texture, was gathered in a heavy mat that fell on his back, almost reaching the level of his ankles.
But the eyes of the legendary Medusa were hidden by a mask. Rider 'saw' thanks to the magic sign inscribed on her forehead - which actually allowed her a form of perception at 360° - but also by a combination of her other senses: smell, hearing, and especially touch. Her epidermis was sensitive to the almost imperceptible movement of air.
Although the curse of her famous gaze capable of turning flesh into stone condemns her to never be able to see the world, Medusa 'saw' better than you and I.
However, let's bet that the Gorgon would have preferred not to have this asset and really see flowers and birds, mountains and trees.
But she certainly did not regret not being able to see the humans. She hated humans after what happened to her... after what Poseidon did to her... after Athena turned her into a half-woman-half-snake monster... after she went crazy and killed her sisters... after Perseus.
Yes, Medusa hated humans. As a child, she was afraid of them. But after what happened, she couldn't trust them. She was the enemy of humans. Summoned in a class as weak as Rider, she must have expected to be despised by her Master who would use her... and probably end up betraying her.
It was in any case what her distrustful mind kept repeating to her.
But the fallen goddess had trouble staying suspicious... Medusa was cold and cynical because life had hurt her. What she had 'seen' in the basement of the Matou Residence made her sick with disgust. Although she shows nothing, Medusa was mad with anger... and for the first time in a very long time... she felt empathy for someone. It was easy for her ... very easy... to put herself in the shoes of her Master.
Goddess or Demon? Good or bad? Woman or Monster? It didn't matter... there were just things that Medusa could not forgive or turn a blind eye to because she was Medusa.
But her inner torments were not visible on her face. After all, she had gone through the Servant had become incredibly stoic. The youngest of the Gorgon sisters never showed emotions.
Unaware of what was happening in the heart of Medusa, Matou Sakura turned to her friend and smiled.
"Now that we've finished dressing you, we can go home. You come with me to the Emiya Residence, of course."
Sakura did not really ask the question. And Medusa confirmed with a simple nod. The Servant had to protect the Master in all circumstances, although the Sixth Fuyuki Grail War had not yet officially begun.
Shirou and Saber had been absent for two weeks. Nevertheless, Sakura continued to come every day to clean up.
"What do you want for lunch, Rider?"
"Tonkatsu (1)"
The immediate response made Sakura laugh, a sound a little like the sound of silver bells. The girl always had the reflex to hide her mouth when she laughed like that. This shyness made her particularly charming. Sweet, shy, polite, Sakura was kind of the perfect girlfriend... for the one who only looked at appearances. More sensitive people would have noticed her blank look.
She had received a special 'education' that had transformed her into a perfect machine, capable of locking her mind to protect it and enduring humiliation, suffering, abandonment, and loneliness. For the most part, the iron will of the Matou's Master had managed to safeguard her mental health. This was much more than could have been expected when - at five-year - she had been sacrificed for the first time to the monstrous insects that were the particular Magecraft of the Matou family.
Since the invocation of Rider, five days earlier, Sakura's life was divided between the Emiya residence and the Matou one. The school was always closed. The repair work was completed and there was no remaining sign of the damage inflicted by the Servants clash at the Homuraha Academy. However, the teachers had not yet returned from their training in Hiroshima.
The students were all idle. Another of Fuyuki's many problems awaiting resolution.
The bus crossed the Mion River through the famous red bridge bridging Miyami Town and Shinto. The two women descended near Mount Miyama. Sakura used to do the shopping in the various stores in this shopping district. She was well known in the little supermarket as well as at the fishmonger.
However, the presence of the tall silent woman beside the teenage girl made ordinary people uncomfortable.
In his own way, Rider was just as uncomfortable.
First of all, she wasn't used to the crowd. Then...they were followed.
This was not the first time. The arrival of the Servant had not gone unnoticed... Medusa Gorgon had already had the opportunity to fight twice. The first time against an air elemental that had begun to destroy all around him and the second time to contain minor demons that had arisen from a wandering Rift opened in the middle of Fuyuki Central Park.
The soldiers of the Republic of Japan were courteous and thanked Rider for her intervention... but it was visible that they were afraid. Since then, discreet people, probably agents of the Public Security Investigation Agency (PSIA), the Japanese counter-espionage service, have been following them and spying on them.
Ruder had of course informed her Master. However, Sakura was not alarmed. "Good, if they are watching us, they see that I want to protect Fuyuki." There was nothing wrong with such optimism and Medusa didn't want to be the one to remind her Master that humans feared what they didn't understand and always ended up hating what they feared.
Rider followed Sakura to the vegetable section of the Mount Miyama supermarket. Not having to turn the head to watch around, the Gorgon took the opportunity to watch the spy.
Well... this time, whoever was following them certainly wasn't a PSIA agent because she wasn't Japanese.
In fact, she was a tall woman, muscular and sculptural, with very short hair, and... Medusa could not help but smile at the irony of the situation... blind!
Like Rider, the woman was hardly handicapped by the absence of one of her senses. She moved with controlled movements, fluid and without hesitation, avoiding easily the users busy with their shopping. However, for a spy, the woman was a bad choice because she attracted too much attention... Apart from Rider herself, she was the most beautiful woman present. At least for those who love big muscular Amazons able to crush a human head with bare hands.
After completing their shopping, Rider and her Master left Mount Miyama and Medusa asked Sakura to take them somewhere discreet.
The young Matou looked strangely at her servant and nodded her head.
There was a children's park between Mount MIyama and the Emiya Residence. With the danger in the streets of the city, the fear of the unknown, and the strange monsters that appeared. The children stayed inside the houses. Moreover, even the adults no longer went out after dark.
Since Fuyuki's arrival on Rifts Earth, the swings have been abandoned.
With some hesitations, Sakura sat on a bench and turned to the entrance of the park. The strange blind woman had followed them. She was dressed in a normal way. She was European-type with light brown hair. The resemblance to Rider was striking... It was not so much a physical resemblance, but both belonged to the same kind of cold and calm beauty, with an impassive face. Jane Doe's eyes weren't moving. Rather than a real person, Jane Doe looked like a statue that would have come to life.
Arriving in front of Sakura, the blind woman bowed slightly.
"My name is Dallali, I've come to warn you."
The Matou's Master frowned, surprised by this introduction.
"Warn me against what?"
"What you call the Fuyuki's Grail. Inside this golden cup lies a monstrous spirit formed of all the sins of mankind."
"I know that... but how do you know?"
"My master, my god, saw it in a dream."
Sakura blinked several times... Ok, it was now official. The world of Rifts Earth was a strange place...
"Your... your god?"
"Lord Splynncryth Supreme Ruler of Atlantis."
Sakura had never heard this name, but she shuddered. An instinct warned her that the arrival of agents of this... Splynncryth... was not good news.
Dallali had a message to deliver and she did it in a monotonous voice, without emotion or feeling.
As she said in her introduction, Lord Splynncryth had dreamt of the Grail of Fuyuki. He had seen the reality of this cursed cup and understood that if ever a human-made a wish, it would result in the worst catastrophes... for this world and especially for the humans.
"My respected lord and master greatly appreciate humanity and do not wish to see your interesting species annihilated itself out of ignorance and impatience. My superior, the High Lord Ksiem, was sent to Japan to prevent such a thing from happening," said Dallali.
Sakura Matou shuddered, noting that the blind woman had said 'your species'... despite her human appearance she did not consider herself human. That worries her and she cannot help but ask the question.
"Are you not human?"
"I'm an Altara Warrior. That's all I'm willing to reveal. The rest is not your business. Anyway, I'm just a messenger. There is much more important."
The Altara pointed to the Command Mark on Sakura's hand.
"A very dangerous man has recently received a sign identical to yours. No doubt he has already summoned a Servant. If he wins the Grail War... it will probably be the beginning of an eternal dictatorship."
For the first time, Rider spoke. After all, acquiring information about another Master was a necessity in a Grail War.
"And who was chosen by the Grail to become a Master?
"Lord Duscon. You've probably never heard of him. He leads the Federation of Magic in North America. It is one of the most powerful Magi in the world, perhaps the most powerful among humans. Those who have met him say that he is a despotic, megalomaniac, and a cruel madman. His main advisors are demons and he runs a cabal of necromancers, summoners, and witches."
Dallali began to tell the story of Alistair Duscon's life with her monotonous voice.
The opening of the Rifts was like the prophetical apocalypse.
Nevertheless, North America had been relatively untouched by the phenomenon. In a strip of territory between the former Canadian state of Saskatchewan and western Quebec (in the north) to Texas (in the south), the man had remained the dominant species.
Why?
The tidal waves had swept from east to west but had not penetrated far enough inland, and volcanic eruptions had mostly occurred in the Rocky Mountains. The strip of land between the two areas of devastation had been relatively spared.
Above all, before the Rifts opened, the USA, Canada, and Mexico had formed a confederation. All three states had created a state-of-the-art police force. Equipped with Giant Robots and Power Armors, the NEMA was the equivalent of an army, having to fight terrorist groups armed with nuclear weapons or drug traffickers with tanks and combat helicopters.
NEMA HQ was in Chicago.
At the time of the opening of the Rifts, Lieutenant-Colonel Sawyer had sufficient NEMA troops to protect the Chicago area. It was one of the only strongholds of the Golden Age of Man to survive the fall of mankind.
With the help of the first magicians and psionics, the NEMA even managed to prosper and expand.
Finally, after centuries of chaos, the Black Age of Humanity came to an end.
By the year 5 of the Post-Apocalypse Calendar, most of the population of Chicago had been moved to a fortified city resembling a huge concrete pyramid. Chicago Fortified Town... more commonly known as Chi-Town.
Nevertheless, the magicians continued to live in the ruins of old Chicago.
With the return of prosperity, internal divisions reappeared. Magicians were led by Nostrous Duscon, known as "the Great Duscon". Ordinary humans by General Joseph Prosek, hero of conflicts against demons.
Initially, their opposition focused on certain magical practices and the presence of many D-Bees in the ruins of Chicago, while the population of Chi-Town was only human.
Both parties had their flaws. Ordinary people in Chi-Town were racist. Magicians invoked demons and resorted to necromancy.
But the real reason for the conflict was that there could only be one supreme leader and there were two candidates with their own dedicated supporters.
Who shed the first blood?
There is no question more devoid of interest because avenging that first crime was the justification for the second bloodshed. The massacre took on appalling proportions and after several years of monstrous crimes perpetrated by both sides... General Prosek killed Nostrous Duscon.
Nevertheless, the son of the Great Duscon, Alistair Duscon, survived. He disappeared for 45 years and returned to reorganize the Mages of North America. By force, cunning, diplomacy, and betrayal, Lord Alistair Duscon brought together his friends and enemies, giving birth to a vast Federation of Magic.
His purpose?
Shoot down Chi-Town, which had passed from city-state status to that of Empire extended to half of the former USA and led by Emperor Karl Prosek... the son of the murderer of his father.
The city of Brass was a gloomy place.
It was an underground city set in a vast cave partly submerged in black water. As in Venice, most of the traffic was done by boat. But it was the only common point between the two cities.
Brass had nothing of a romantic destination. It was an inhuman city, built by unknown people through incomprehensible magic.
The city was entirely made of strange bronze buildings with organic shapes, rounded, like ancient Chinese vases. The domed faces of the buildings were covered with rounded discs or protrusions of the same unknown bronze-like metal.
If the place was strange and uncomfortable, it was nothing compared to the locals.
Apart from the horribly abused slaves, the residents were a mixture of summoners, necromancers, demons, dragons, and witches. Almost twenty thousand of them lived together in the bronze city, living a blasphemous life alternating between various political plots and horrible rituals to increase their magical knowledge. All inhabitants were obsessed with power in all its forms.
The largest building in the center of the city was the palace of the master of this evil little kingdom.
He was a man who didn't seem to be thirty years old. He was as handsome as a Greek god with a face that kept a bit of adolescence and long black hair that fell in waves on his shoulders. Nevertheless, this first positive impression was wasted by his eyes. It is often said that they are the mirror of the soul. Then the Lord of Brass had a serpent's soul. He was forever unable to feel the emotions of ordinary people. He was a cunning manipulator with a heart of ice ready to sacrifice anyone or anything to ensure his victory.
He was sitting on a throne whose back represented a dragon with wings spread apart. His clothes were sumptuous: a large scarlet cape, a gilded knitted vest, bracelets adorned with gems. He was holding a jade Rune Staff resembling a pair of intertwined snakes ending with the two heads turned in different directions.
Few had seen his face but his name was known throughout North America, Lord Alistair Duscon was the de-facto leader of the Federation of Magic.
Around the lord of the place stand his counselors.
On his right was Bloodmist; he was a Rashasha Lord, a demon lord with the body of a man and the head of a lion, dressed in sumptuous mage robes.
To his left, a woman in armor armed with a halberd, Mestoph Denali.
Behind his throne, a mountain of red flesh embodied an absolutely palpable threat. This humanoid demon had an almost human head except for a pig groin and ram horns. On his shoulders, bat wings. That Bal-Rog was called Brok Redman.
Nestled at the foot of the throne, one hand on the thigh of the Lord of Brass, a lovely young woman entirely naked... two short horns were protruding from her forehead. She also had a forked tail and bat wings. Cracius the Cunning was a succubus.
Lord Duscon showed the strange sign that had appeared two days earlier on the back of his hand.
All his attention was focused on the old man with a shaved head who was prostrate at the foot of his throne, visibly terrorized.
"Tell me about this sign, what is it?"
The Grey Seer, a mystic endowed with the power of foreknowledge, acquiesced to the request of the Lord of Brass, swallowing as he reflected on the tyrant's reputation for cruelty and madness. He had better give answers that would satisfy the tyrant. Otherwise, he would not leave the mad mage throne room alive.
The mystic concentrated and had his first vision.
"I see a golden cup... seven heroes summoned by seven magicians... a ritual to summon the golden cup... The sign on your hand, my lord, is a Command Mark, a mark designating you as one of the seven Masters destined to summon a Servant, a former hero."
The man on the throne had a smile as cold as ice.
"A ritual to summon a cup of gold... I guess it's not an ordinary cup."
"No, my lord. This is the Grail of Fuyuki, an object capable of fulfilling the dearest wish of the one who obtains it."
Lord Alistair Duscon had a cruel smile as his eyes sparkled with hatred and violence.
Finally, the opportunity that he was waiting for! He was going to be able to make pay this usurper, this 'Emperor' Prosek, the son of his father's murderer. Everything was the fault of these traitors. He lost everything because of General Joseph Prosek, the murderer of his father the Great Duscon. He - Alistair Duscon!- had been forced to flee! He had wandered for decades while his father's murderers were founding 'the Coalition States'! But he would have his revenge! He would take everything from them like they took everything from him and this 'Grail' was the perfect tool to achieve this goal. Yes, Emperor Duscon, it sounded good... the Fuyuki's Grail would make him the Emperor of America!
In spite of the excitement that had taken hold of him, Duscon was still able to control himself. He replied in a smooth voice marked by a little disinterest.
"That sounds interesting... talk, old man, explain to me what I have to do to get this Fuyuki's Grail!"
The man with the shaved head nodded nervously.
"My lord, you must summon a Servant and have him fight against the Servants invoked by the other Masters. The ritual is a Battle Royal. You have to eliminate the other competitors. A single duo formed by a Master and a Servant will be deemed worthy of the Holy Grail of Fuyuki. The Master will receive a wish, as will the Servant."
Alistair Duscon burst out laughing, a demented and cruel sound.
"There is a ritual as I like. I hope there will be a lot of people to kill!"
It was not surprising that Angra Mainyu chose such a man to take part in the War of the Grail. He was as sick as Kotomine Kirei... a Kirei Kotomine at the head of an army of demons.
Japan, the Zone, north of Lake Biwa.
He was looking at the other side of the Hayatsuki River.
The wind was playing with his signature Red Plain Mystic Code and messed up his white hair. His colorless eyes were staring at the other side. He was attentive, focused, his hands were along his sides, his hands open... but he stood ready to Trace his black bow or the Married Blades.
They had been trying for a week to cross that damn river. All their attempts had failed after difficult fighting. A Kraken, an army of giant spiders, samurais on horseback, and even a flood. Nothing had been spared them.
"They are coming!"
EMIYA turned to his Master.
Toshaka Rin was looking southwest.
Indeed two silhouettes had appeared on the road. Archer recognized Saber immediately. The young woman had not changed since their last meeting but...
Was that Emiya Shirou?
It took him a moment to recognize the redhead.
He was now wearing Japanese silver-plated metal armor and a red silk band was holding his hair back. He looked like a samurai.
An ironic smile appeared on the Servant's lips as he shrugged his shoulders.
You could change the container as many times as you wanted, an idiot in armor was as much an idiot that an idiot without armor.
Try to offer an empty tin can for Christmas. Even if you wrap it in a pretty package with a pink ribbon, you won't make a happy one.
Seeing the amusement on the face of her traitor Servant, Rin frowned.
"Archer?"
"Oh, I forgot you don't have the vision of an Archer-Class Servant, Rin. Expect to be surprised."
"Surprised?"
"Well, I didn't pay attention to the calendar. I didn't know it was the carnival."
The Tohsaka Magus looked at her Servant with suspicion and sighed. She knew she would get nothing more. She had become accustomed to Archer's sarcastic behavior. He amused himself in anticipation of her reaction when she saw Shirou.
"Well, that's not the most important thing. Now that we're together, we're going to be able to cross this damned river."
Rin kicked a stone, passing her frustration on the first innocent object within her reach.
"I have no doubt that Saber can be useful," replied EMIYA, leaving the rest implied.
Rin turned to her servant and put her hands on her hips:
"But not Shirou?"
Archer had a smirking smile while shrugging his shoulders.
"Only you can point out what is obvious to everyone."
(1) Tonkatsu ("pork cutlet") is a Japanese dish that consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet. It involves coating slices of pork with panko (bread crumbs) and then frying them in oil. The two main types are fillet and loin. It comes with Worcestershire sauce as well as sliced cabbage and karashi (mustard seeds). It is often served with rice and miso soup.