Day 6: Luvia — Parallel
With the assistance of False Caster Lina Inverse, breaking and entering was surprisingly easy.
Lina had pledged to aid Luvia against the serial-killing Berserker in exchange for saving her from attack by the golden Archer, and this break-in was part of her plan to accomplish that. Lina had a spell to unlock every door in her path, and another to make them undetectable. Luvia could have achieved the same effect with her own magecraft, but only with extensive preparation of the proper gemstones. Lina needed nothing more than to briefly chant a few poetic verses of alien-sounding syllables that Luvia could neither understand nor stood a chance of imitating. This, then, was the power of the Caster class's High-Speed Divine Language: a the ability to speak the spellcasting language of the Age of Gods, long lost to mortals.
"What era are you from, anyway?" Luvia asked.
"I don't think that's quite the right question." Lina said. "The Grail War does seem at first glance to be set in the far future relative to me, temporally-speaking; but I'm starting to think that it's an inapplicable comparison. You see, there are enough differences between the magic system and cosmology where I'm from and here that I can't just reconcile my home and yours being two different eras of the same world. The only conclusion I can draw is that we are in fact from entirely different worlds; or perhaps it would be better to say, two parallel but distinct dimensions."
Luvia looked at Lina in puzzlement. Modern magical theory did indeed stipulate the existence of parallel worlds, but interaction between them was beyond the bounds of ordinary magecraft. She'd certainly never heard of anything like that relating to the Holy Grail or the heroes it summoned.
"It's common knowledge among sages that there are at least four worlds." Lina said. "That much is certain, since my Noble Phantasm works by drawing power from the Demon Lords of those four worlds. Some, however, speculated that there are more worlds than the four known ones – infinite worlds, in fact, embodying all infinite possibilities. These worlds are like islands on the Sea of Chaos – they're separated by vast gulfs, but it's theoretically possible to travel between them using sufficiently powerful magic. The way I figure it, your Holy Grail was supposed to summon spirits from your world's history as Servants, but somehow ended up reaching across the chaotic void to snatch me up instead. Which, well – your world's been interesting to visit, but I wouldn't want to live here. Being surrounded by so many millions of people would drive me crazy – I'd never have a single moment of peace and quiet. Give me the quiet countryside and quaint grape orchards of Zefilia any day."
"What about you, Rei?" Luvia asked. "Do you think you're from the same world as Lina?"
"My education focused mostly on combat rather than world history." Rei said. "But there is no record of the type of magic which is commonplace in her world ever having existed in mine, so I believe my world is distinct from both hers and yours."
"So I suppose all of the extraneous Servants have been summoned from their own different parallel worlds." Luvia said. "I've never heard of anything like that happening in the history of the Grail Wars. I suppose it's not outside the realm of possibility, given that the Grail is a True Magic... though interaction with parallel worlds sounds like it'd be in the domain of the Second Magic, Kaleidoscope, rather than the Third Magic, Heaven's Feel. The Grail must be even more powerful than I thought, to be capable of such a thing. Are you sure you don't want to try and claim the Holy Grail for yourself? Since it was the Grail's magic which summoned you here, the wish granted by Grail could probably just easily send you back to your own world."
"Eh, maybe I'll take a look at it to see if it's really all it's cracked up to be, but my gut instinct is telling me no." Lina said. "I've always placed more trust in my own magical abilities rather than any sketchy wish-granting device. In my experience, the more grandiose the reward you're promised for a job, the less likely you are to actually receive it."
"The original formulae for the creation and summoning of the Grail were devised by the world's most respected Sorcerer, the Great Lord Zelretch." Luvia said. "I'm sure he wouldn't have created a malicious system designed to deceive people with false promises."
"I've never met the man, so I'll have to reserve judgement." Lina said. "But if this Holy Grail's so great, you have to wonder why he's content to sit back and let everyone else squabble over it rather than trying to keep it for himself."
"Hmm." Luvia said. "And you still have no wish for the Grail either, Rei?"
"I have no right to desire such a thing." Rei said. "I am only a weapon, to be used and then discarded once my purpose has been fulfilled. Such was the nature of my life as a human, and such is the nature of my existence as a Servant."
"But even if you don't want the wish, something must have motivated you to answer the Holy Grail's call and accept the summoning." Luvia pressed.
"It was mostly the promise of treasure and adventure, for me." Lina said.
"I am a Counter Guardian sworn to defend the Earth from destruction." Rei said. "When the continued existence of human life on the planet is threatened, it is my responsibility to fight in the world's defense."
"And you believe such a threat currently exists?" Luvia asked.
"I know little of your world, but the knowledge implanted within me by the Grail indicates that there is a Counter-Force which calls upon Counter Guardians when they are needed." Rei said. "I was called to serve, and I answered. I do not know what danger to the world this Holy Grail War could pose; but if the will of the Counter-Force called to me and made me accept the summoning, I am inclined to believe the World is aware of some grave danger which will require the intercession of Counter Guardians to prevent the destruction of all life on this planet."
"Cheerful, isn't she?" Lina asked. "Well, if these is some kind of world-threatening disaster looming, you two are going to have to count me out. This isn't even my world, you know? So I'll help you finish your independent Servant serial-killer problem, but then my debt to you is repaid. Any further danger you want to get yourselves into, you'll be doing it on your own."
Lina paused in front of locked door and looked at it appraisingly. Skillful infiltrator she might be, but she was understandably ignorant about the layout of modern architecture. They must have opened a dozen wrong doors already. Luvia would have complained, save for the fact that she didn't know the building's floorplan either. It seemed that there was nothing to do but try doors at random and trust Lina's assertion that a sleeping spell she'd cast over the area would prevent any inconvenient security guards from barging in on them at an inopportune moment.
"Reckon this ought to be the one." Lina said, holding her hand over the doorknob. "I'll just pop this lock and – gyaah!"
Lina let out a cry and jumped backwards. Startled, Luvia nearly stumbled and had to inelegantly grab a doorframe to steady herself. Even Rei reacted noticeably, shifting her lance from casually draped over her shoulder to facing forward.
"What?" Luvia demanded.
"Sorry." Lina said. "Just lost another pigeon."
Now there was a subject which Luvia did feel comfortable criticizing Lina about.
"Not to cast aspersions on your magical prowess, but those bird familiars you summoned are not proving to be the perfect surveillance net you claimed they'd be." Luvia said.
"Well, I could've summoned gargoyles, but I was under the impression that we were trying to be inconspicuous." Lina said huffily. "And I wasn't aware that so many people in your world keep cats as pets."
"I'd be more forgiving if they'd managed to actually provide any useful information." Luvia said. "As it is, they go down so fast that half the time you aren't even sure if they've found a powerful bounded field protecting an enemy hideout or if they've just slammed into a closed window."
"Recording and replaying magical images is an entirely different spell; I haven't yet figured out a way to combine it with the familiar-link." Lina said. "Given enough time for magical research, I'm sure I could find some way to... but never mind that, this new plan is much better. Instead of trying to track this elusive Servant down, we'll get it to come to us. All I need is a sample of magic residue in order to isolate its unique energy signature "
Lina opened the door and walked into a room which was much colder than any other in the station.
"Here we are." she said with satisfaction. "The morgue."
She walked over to one of the refrigerated lockers lining the room's wall and pulled one open, Though the metal tray within was covered by a white cloth, the shape of the outline against the fabric unmistakably indicated that it contained a corpse.
"The Servant we're hunting always kills using his Noble Phantasm." Lina said. "That means the bodies of his victims are sure to carry a large amount of magical residue. A few samples from this corpse are all I'll need."
Luvia was surprised how calm Lina looked as she threw back the sheet and examined the body. The rogue Berserker's method of killing was extremely brutal, blasting the victim's head apart into a pulpy soup of brain meat and bone fragments. Luvia had been raised as the heir of the Edelfelt family, trained from a young age to know that being a magus meant sometimes having to use magecraft to inflict grotesque death upon one's enemies – and even she had been hard-hit the first time she saw first-hand the grim reality of the Grail War. Lina appeared younger than Luvia by several years, if not more, and yet she regarded the corpse with the indifference of one who had long grown used to the sight of brutal death.
"It doesn't bother you?" Luvia asked. "Handling corpses, I mean."
"Not at all." Lina said. "I've killed tons of people. Bandits, mostly. Plus, you know, zombies. You learn to get over your squeamishness real quick when you've got a horde of them trying to disembowel you."
"I see." Luvia said. "I suppose it makes sense that Heroic Spirits would be more comfortable with this sort of thing, coming as you do from more savages time... or I suppose a more savage world, in your case."
"You can step outside if you're not comfortable." Lina suggested.
"Don't be ridiculous." Luvia said. "I will not shy from my responsibilities as a Master in this war, attempt to shield myself from the unpleasantness by hiding behind my Servants. If this is necessary for your spell, then I will stand beside you as you do it."
"Your choice." Lina said.
Detaching a fabric pouch from the multitude hanging from the inside of her cape, she began sifting through the wreckage of the cadaver's skull and picking out pieces to take.
"How does this spell of yours work?" Luvia asked.
"It's a spell that I originally invented for the purpose of hunting and fishing for food." Lina said. "It's basically a magical lure, which attracts the attention of animals and draws them towards the caster. Once I've acquired the Servant's magical signature from these remains, I can tailor the spell to specifically target him. Now, normally a weak compulsion spell like this wouldn't stand a chance of affecting the mind of a Servant. However, we're dealing with a Berserker – one who's lost all capacity for rational thought and is operating on pure animal instinct. Any mental defenses it may have had are being suppressed along with its sanity by its Mad Enhancement. In its current state, it's more akin to a predator than a person – and that single-mindedness will render it vulnerable to the spell. Like a shark being drawn to blood in the water, or a moth to a flame, the Berserker's natural instinct will compel it to seek the source of the spell without ever consciously comprehending why or realizing that it's walking into a trap. Alright, done."
Lina tastefully pulled the sheet back over the body's face, then slid the metal slab it rested on back into the morgue's freezer. With another of Lina's numerous useful spells disrupting any recording devices, nobody would ever know about their intrusion.
"How soon can you have the spell prepared?" Luvia asked.
"It'll be done by tomorrow night." Lina promised.
"Excellent." Luvia said. "We have our bait; now all that's left is to set the trap. Come tomorrow night, the mad serial killer who has terrorized Fuyuki will no longer pose a threat. And with my task complete, I'll be ready to enter this war in earnest."
==Author's Note==
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