FATE/IRREGULAR SUMMONS
Chapter 20: Inevitable Discovery
After Sakura guided Rin to her room, Medusa decided to leave the others and headed for the roof to patrol outside. This left Shirou, Artoria and Connla in the lounge to discuss a few more things.
"Haaah…" Connla exhaled an irritated sigh and plopped her head against the back of the couch. "What a mess this is turning out to be. I never thought Holy Grail Wars could be so complicated."
"This is ridiculous," Shirou scowled. "It's like the Grail is laughing at us while we put on some morbid show for its amusement."
"Yes, it is. That is the one unchanging factor in this whole thing. The Grail remains in the background, quietly observing the bloodbath that is propagated by the wish it grants. That's why I was summoned here as a Servant – to ensure that thing's destruction, and to eliminate anyone who has become irrevocably twisted by it."
"But I thought Servants could only materialize because of the Grail. If you're going against it, then how were you summoned, Lancer? Is there a different method for summoning Servants that exists?"
"Um…" the girl murmured, then glanced away. "It's kind of hard to explain…"
"Looks more like you don't want to tell me," he said, recognizing her aversive behavior.
"I'm sorry. I have to keep that knowledge confidential until the time is right. It must be frustrating for you to put up with me and my secrets."
"It's okay. It's not like we need to know to survive the battles coming ahead, do we?"
"Correct."
"Okay. But I just want to ask one more thing about that, Lancer," Shirou leaned in and became serious. "Were you the only Servant summoned via this 'other method'?"
"Huh?" Connla raised an eyebrow.
"No, let me rephrase that… Are you aware of any other Servants who might be allied with our cause still running out there?"
"I don't think so. I believe I was the only one called forth."
Artoria interjected, "If there had been more Servants like Lancer, we would have found out about them by now."
"Good point," Shirou admitted, then sat back and wiped his forehead. "I know this is going to sound silly, but I've been having these dreams lately where I see a hammer striking steel over and over again. My body is in excruciating pain each time that hammer is swung, yet when I wake up, it's like I feel better than ever."
"That's the first time you've ever mentioned that."
"I know. But have you noticed how much I've been improving my sparring matches with you?"
"Yes, I have. Your learning pace, resilience and strength are so impressive that I'm starting to believe I have nothing left to teach you, especially since you adapted to Archer's fighting style rather than mine."
"I thought Lancer might know something about it," Shirou groaned, "but I guess not, huh?"
"My apologies, but I really have no idea," Connla shook her head in disappointment. "But as far as the image of a hammer striking steel concerns me, that sounds reminiscent of a blacksmith working at his forge."
"A blacksmith?"
"I concur," Artoria agreed. "If Shirou really is seeing that dream repeatedly, and he's feeling pain from each of the hammer strikes, then maybe some kind of outside force is actually tempering his body while he sleeps."
Now the teenager was starting to feel spooked. He swallowed hard to shake off the eerie sensation. Connla noticed his discomfort and blurted, "That's just a theory, though! You really shouldn't take too much stock in our opinions! Shouldn't you be more worried about your duel with Archer? You can put off worrying about your dreams or whatnot after you settle your score with him."
"You're right," Shirou calmed down. "I need to think about taking that bastard down for good. He's the one who's putting Caren in such unnecessary danger."
"Mm. I know she's valuable to him as an insurance policy, but I can't stop feeling uneasy for her. However much Ms. Hortensia and I might bicker with each other, I still owe her my gratitude for taking care of my Master. I feel like I put her in this situation by agreeing to let her act as my false Master."
"Do not blame yourself, Lancer," Artoria said. "You have been fighting such a lonely battle commendably, struggling to convince all of us not to be deceived by the Holy Grail War's lies and false promises. Though your voice may not each everyone, your conviction has at least swayed me. I shall raise my sword to strike down the root cause of these tragedies and bring closure for everyone."
"I don't think my duty is as noble as you think. I'm just following the orders my Master gave me when I was summoned. Besides…" Connla stared down at her lap. "It might not be obvious, but… I have a bit of a stake in this too…"
Her mind wandered to her battle with Cuchulainn. Her father's angry scowl as he was forced to heed a madman's bidding weighed heavily on her heart. She then murmured dejectedly, "That must sound so selfish of me. I'm a Heroic Spirit. I should only fight for the people of today, not for any personal gain."
"Don't say that," Artoria told her. "It's okay to have something or someone to fight for. If you don't, then you're just flailing your weapon around in the name of empty violence."
"You think so?"
"Of course. Even if Shirou isn't my Master anymore, I'll still fight for him, Rin, Sakura, Illyasviel, Caren, and everyone I've come to know in Fuyuki."
"Huh…" Connla paused, surprised to hear such a powerful Servant being so humble.
"Oh right," Shirou interjected. "Saber, you actually don't know what Lancer's True Name is, do you? Tohsaka figured it out while you were in captivity."
"Really? Is it fine with you if I find out, Lancer?" Artoria asked the girl.
"It's okay. There's no need for me to hide it from all of you anymore. But this knowledge has to remain top-secret so that my father doesn't find out for as long as possible."
"Your father?"
"The other Lancer, Cuchulainn."
Ever since the battle between Heracles and Gilgamesh, the Einzbern Manor remained as a deserted mansion. Bits and pieces of framework gradually fell off from the wreckage caused by the fight, though it would take centuries before the entire place actually collapsed from natural erosion. Inside the foyer, Archer sat in a dark corner. Since he had Caren unconscious and tied to a chair in the wine cellar, there wasn't any need for him to watch over her. He needed to stay at the mansion the entire time so that he wouldn't miss out on Shirou's arrival. Therefore, he had nothing to do except brood in silence.
His first thoughts involved Caren, and how he initially thought she was Connla's Master. After a quick investigation however, he realized that she didn't any have Command Spells whatsoever.
Looks like I screwed up, he thought bitterly. This woman and Second Lancer really aren't Master and Servant. They were simply pretending to be in case something like this happened.
Normally, he would have gotten rid of Caren since she had no intrinsic value as a Master, and could therefore be treated as a witness that needed to be eliminated. However, he knew that Shirou would come to rescue her. Once upon a time, when Archer lived as Emiya Shirou himself, he would have done the exact same thing. With that knowledge in hand, Archer was certain that Caren's safety would still hold sway over the other Shirou. That was why he decided to keep her locked up rather than kill her.
Archer closed his eyes and contemplated on many other things, particularly about the course of his original life, his reincarnation as a Guardian, and the many battles he had to fight to preserve humanity. None of these thoughts brought him any joy. Just as his Noble Phantasm was a Reality Marble representing a barren world, his ponderings were as equally hollow and pointless, yet he had nothing else to do to pass the time.
As he closed his eyes and was about to drift off to sleep, that was when he sensed something unusual, and he became fully alert once more. Without a word, he stood up and summoned his bow into his hand before striding through the manor.
From one of the side entrances to the dilapidated mansion, a dead-eyed man in religious garb quietly approached. Indeed, Kirei had finally come out of hiding and had Cuchulainn bring him to the mansion after hearing his reports. Ever since his confrontation with Caren, Kirei had been treating his missing arm after Connla severed it. He had to individually transfer the numerous Command Spells from the lost arm to the remaining one so he didn't lose his rights as a Master, and that process took up quite a bit of his time and energy. Not only that, but his partner-in-crime Gilgamesh had gone missing, and any attempts Kirei made at contacting him were met with empty silence. Kirei could have forced Gilgamesh to appear via Command Spell, but that risked revealing him to Cuchulainn, and the two Servants could wind up fighting each other out of pure animosity.
Kirei had no choice but to go to the mansion with just Cuchulainn, essentially abandoning Gilgamesh. Once the spearman informed him about Archer bringing Caren here as a hostage, Kirei didn't want to miss this opportunity to see his daughter again without Second Lancer interfering with him. The thing was, he had every intention of keeping this reunion as short as possible – the dagger in his pocket was proof of this.
He opened the door and quietly stepped into the hallway, then gazed around at the numerous entrances leading to either various rooms or basement stairways. He didn't care about the mansion's grand splendor. In fact, it seemed to hinder his progress of finding Caren, since he didn't know where Archer had stowed her away. Eventually though, Kirei came upon the door leading to the wine cellar, and after taking a few steps down the stairs, he found the white-haired priestess tied to a chair unconscious. He stood in front of her and stared long and hard at her for several minutes.
Caren's sleeping face reminded Kirei of his wife, Claudia. The nun was practically a spitting image of her lovely yet terminally ill mother. Kirei's life had been so devoid of joy that he thought that marrying a woman would help him overcome his innate evilness and find the normal life he had always yearned for. Yet it only resulted in Kirei wanting to savor Claudia's suffering, and she fully understood his twisted nature. She had taken her own life in the hope that Kirei would awaken to love after losing her, but the reality was that he grieved only because he couldn't kill her himself.
He had almost forgotten what Claudia looked like until he saw Caren's face. Just as he didn't truly love Claudia, he had no interest in taking care of Caren, and thus abandoned her. Now that he had fully allowed his malicious intentions to dominate him, he wouldn't have any trouble murdering Caren. In fact, this would probably be recompense for him not being able to kill Claudia.
Kirei reached into his pocket and withdrew the gleaming dagger, his eyes focused on Caren the entire time. Before he could take a step toward her though, Cuchulainn materialized into physical form and firmly demanded, "Wait."
"Do you have an objection, Lancer?" Kirei asked, refusing to turn his gaze upon the blue-garbed spearman.
"This woman is not Second Lancer's Master. It's obvious that they were putting up a front to mislead everyone else."
"What of it?"
"What I'm saying is that you're wasting your time."
"Not at all. Witnesses have to be silenced, no matter what."
"Even though she's your own daughter?"
"What part of 'no matter what' do you not understand?"
"Tch," Cuchulainn snorted. "Sorry, but I'm gonna have to take a stand on this one. I don't know about you, but I want to know who Second Lancer's real Master is, and Hortensia's our only lead to finding out."
"I fail to see the point," Kirei muttered. "The real Master should be with the resistance movement, which means that the other Masters should know who it is."
"Even so, she'd still make for a decent bargaining chip, right?"
"Give it up, Lancer. I can already tell that you don't want such a beautiful lady to die. I am aware of your penchant for enjoying female company."
Cuchulainn scratched his head and grumbled, "Damn, you saw right through me, huh? Granted, she's not exactly my type since her crude attitude reminds me of Morrigan, but I find it difficult to raise my hand against a lady all the same."
"Even so, you're the type of warrior who will do his job regardless of the opponent, right? Then if you don't want me to kill Caren, I shall thus command you to do it on my behalf."
"Hah. If you want me to do it, you'll have to waste one of your Command Spells."
"I see," Kirei murmured. He unfurled the sleeve off of his remaining arm and raised it, showing the surplus sigils tattooed on his flesh. "Then I order you, Lancer."
"…"
"Kill yours-"
He stopped in mid-sentence. The dagger grasped between his fingers slid out and clattered on the stone floor. After a tense moment, Kirei fell forward and collapsed with an unceremonious crash, his eyes bulging and his mouth gaping wide. Cuchulainn was amazed to discover around 15 arrows puncturing the man's spine in a neat row. It had happened so quickly that he barely understood that Kirei was actually dead.
A pair of footsteps broke the silence, and Archer appeared from the stairway wielding his bow. He glanced at the corpse in disdain and muttered, "For once, the clean-up actually feels good."
"Archer!" Cuchulainn exclaimed.
"What's the matter, Lancer? I thought you would be more appreciative of me destroying the shackles binding you."
"Piss off. Just what the hell are you up to? Why'd you go and abandon the little lady Tohsaka to join Caster's side? Why did you abduct this Hortensia woman? From what I can tell, you're just running wild at this point."
"That's rich, coming from one of the wildest Heroic Spirits that ever existed. Well, never mind that. You don't need to know anything other than I've got some personal business with Emiya Shirou, the boy you failed to kill twice."
"Huh… You're right about one thing. I don't need to know what's going on in that rotten skull of yours."
"Fair enough. So what do you plan on doing now? Kotomine's dead, and you have no reason to save Caren Hortensia. Furthermore, you have no Master, and the resistance group will soon make their move against me. Since they don't know that I killed Kotomine, they'll assume that you're still his lapdog and try to get rid of you."
"You make it sound like you've got some bargain that you want to hawk at me."
"You're quick on the uptake. This makes things a lot easier for me," Archer smiled. "I'll be as succinct as possible about it then. I want you to join sides with me."
Cuchulainn's eye twitched as he spat, "You have got to be joking."
"I am quite serious."
"You think I'd switch sides like you did just because you offed Kotomine? Don't be stupid. You already know what my principles are."
"Aren't you the greedy one? Then I'll sweeten the deal a little more," Archer said. "I'm sure you've been curious as to who Second Lancer is. From my understanding, she hides her form and alters her voice solely while in your presence."
The Lancer snarled a bit. "So you're saying it's a woman?"
"No mistake about that. It is a girl who fights the same way you do."
"Probably Scathach then. She's the only woman who could fight on par with me."
"Oh? Then you're saying that you had a child for a teacher?"
The moment he heard the word 'child', that was when the irritated Irish hero's countenance changed into something fierce. "Are you making fun of me?"
"Not at all. Second Lancer is a little girl."
"A little… girl…!?"
"Yeah. She has short purple hair and wears a green suit similar to yours. She doesn't look to be any older than seven or eight. Other than that, she's practically a miniature version of you in combat, though her range of skills is much more versatile than yours. Must be her way of making up for the lack of strength that you possess."
Gae Bolg clattered upon the concrete floor, then disappeared in blue particles. Goosebumps practically swelled all over Cuchulainn's skin, and a horrid chill crept through his nervous system.
"… You're fucking with me, aren't you?" he demanded darkly. His eyes were wide with shock, and his skin visibly creased in response to his anger. "If you are, then I'll slaughter you without remorse."
"What would I gain from lying to you?" Archer asked, unperturbed by the other man's boiling fury. "I'm telling you because she is the most capricious factor of this war. Originally I was uninterested in the Grail, but with the alliance that has been building up between the other Servants, I had to fall back on it to fulfill what it is I seek here. Caster didn't know where the Lesser Grail was, and Kotomine was not the type of person to divulge such sensitive information, so I had no choice but to dispose of them. Unfortunately for me, challenging the likes of every other Servant in this war along with their Masters would be tantamount to suicide. That's why I needed an insurance policy."
"That sharp-tongued little lady, right?" Cuchulainn glanced at the unconscious Caren.
"Yeah. Not only are they holding off from pursuing me, but the only other Servant who either isn't dead or allied with them – namely you - has come to have a nice chat with me."
"Get to the point already."
"Of course. Should we work together, we'll have a better chance of obtaining the Lesser Grail for ourselves. I've given you everything you could ever ask for – Kotomine Kirei's death, and a clue to Second Lancer's identity. As a man of honor, you can't find it in yourself to refuse my offer when I've gone out of my way to accommodate you."
"Tch. You make me sick."
"I probably do."
"But…" Cuchulainn trailed off as he put a hand on his hip. "Since this entire war itself is devoid of honor, I'm starting to feel like the odd one out. If this era allows for discarding needless things to be the norm, then who am I to not go with the flow?"
Archer didn't like where this conversation was heading. If Cuchulainn could throw away his pride so easily, there was the possibility of him immediately killing Archer and going off to do his own thing now that he was completely and wholly free from Kirei's control.
"Heh. You look nervous, Archer. Are you starting to understand the flaw in your logic?" the smug Lancer retorted. "Well, relax. I'm not so reprehensible as to thank someone by thoughtlessly piercing their heart. You've got a deal. You don't need to worry about sharing the Grail with me. Knowing who Second Lancer is has finally made me glad to be summoned in this era."
"So you know the child's True Name?"
"Yeah. She's proven to be a handful for me, but I am the one who possesses her weakness."
"Gae Bolg? But in your legend, you never killed a female with it."
"Actually, I did."
"Hm?"
"You sound curious. Do you want to know who she is that badly?"
"Couldn't hurt to have that info."
"Right… There's no mistaking it now. Second Lancer is my daughter, Connla."
"Daughter?" Archer raised an eyebrow.
"She's remembered as my 'son', but that's who she really is."
"That makes sense. I had assumed that Scathach only took in male pupils, but if your 'son' was really a girl, then that fact must have been lost to history. It's the same with Saber being a woman despite being portrayed as King Arthur."
"Exactly. Scathach would have never accepted the kid if she didn't have potential as a warrior. Just the kind of opponent I've been waiting to test my mettle against."
"You're in quite the situation, though," Archer said. "With your Master dead, and with you unable to feed off of the mana of others like Caster and Rider could, how do you intend to go about sustaining yourself? If your intent is to fight Second Lancer, you won't last long without a source of magical energy."
"As much as I don't want to say this, I've got a contingency plan," Cuchulainn replied coolly.
"You mean there's someone else you can make a contract with?"
"Yeah."
"That's pretty funny," Archer chortled. "I thought you were the type to never switch sides."
Cuchulainn shot him a chilly glare. His tone of voice turned frightfully dark as he muttered, "I'm already teaming up with you. I don't have any pride left to throw away now."
"Heh," was all the red-garbed Guardian could retort with. He couldn't blame the Celtic hero for such biting remarks.
"If you're done haranguing me, I'll rendezvous with you after I got my shit sorted out," Cuchulainn said, then scooped Kirei's body under his arm. "I'm gonna borrow this for a bit."
He turned away before fading into azure particles. Archer turned his attention to the sleeping Caren and replied to the empty air, "Yeah. I'll continue to scope the other Servants from a distance."
After Shirou, Artoria and Connla finished eating lunch, the trio sat at the dining table. Before eating, Connla had something she wanted to suggest to Shirou, but opted to wait until he was ready. Once he finished, he said to the child Servant, "All right. So what is it that you wanted to talk about?"
"Well, this might sound rather crazy," Connla admitted bashfully, "and I understand if you might not agree with it, but I've been having this idea brewing in my head over the last while."
"An idea? About how to fight Archer?"
"No, I think I'll leave that up to you. This is about bolstering our own numbers."
"Interesting," Artoria said. "What do you have in mind?"
"The thing is, you're now Ms. Tohsaka's Servant, and Shirou isn't a Master right now. At the same time, Caster has died, which has left Assassin without a Master to sustain himself."
"Assassin…?" the Saber murmured, thinking of her duel with the samurai.
"Hey, you're not going to suggest what it is I think you are, are you?" Shirou wondered in bewilderment.
"I am," Connla replied. "I think you should forge a new contract with Assassin and have him join us."
"You're right – that is crazy."
"But think about it. Now that Ryuudou Temple is no longer being occupied, Assassin is guarding the gate for no reason whatsoever. Don't you think it would be a waste to just let him disappear without utilizing his skills for our purposes?"
"True," Artoria said. "It would be easiest to just let him disappear on his own. However…"
She closed her eyes, and her expression took on a serious tone.
"That won't do me any good. I made a promise with him that we would duel once more, regardless of the outcome of the War. My pride as a knight would not allow me to abandon that promise so callously."
Shirou sat there, deeply contemplating on Connla's suggestion. The girl noticed this and said, "You don't have to if you think it's too risky."
"… No, I see where you're coming from. I'm just wondering if Assassin would agree to such a thing, since Saber told me that he was following Caster unwillingly."
"Then I will make him agree," Artoria declared. "I will make it the condition for his defeat. Knowing how invaluable of an asset he will be to us, I will make him fall to my sword and have him become Shirou's new Servant. I'm sure he will have no complaint about such an arrangement, seeing as he is as noble a warrior as they come."
"But we need to talk with Tohsaka about this first. I wonder if she's calmed down by now."
"I will speak with her. You two wait for me for in the meantime," the swordswoman said, then headed for Rin's room.
In the basement of the nearly-abandoned Matou residence, a most dark and foul secret was being kept withheld from public attention. Even though the house was situated in the suburbs, the family somehow managed to keep this horrid chamber hidden for generations. The basement wasn't so much a proper room as it was a concrete hive for housing thousands of demonic insects known as Crest Worms. These were familiars that took on the shape of worms and would consume magical energy from their victims even after the person was long dead. From there, the worms could confer this energy onto someone else, forcefully granting them the ability to use Magecraft at the expense of allowing their body to rapidly deteriorate.
Standing alone in the dark hive was an extremely old man who had black sclera and ominous yellow eyes. He wasn't particularly tall, but something about his withered visage could spook even the strongest of men. The old man, garbed in a plain green kimono and hakama, along with a black jacket, stared intently at his unholy insects while keeping himself balanced with his walking cane.
All throughout the Fifth Holy Grail War, the man had dispatched some of his flying insects to act as scouts. They would periodically return to him and transplant the visions they had directly into his mind by attaching themselves to the back of his bald head and temporarily fusing with his brain. This process would kill an ordinary person, but this man was no longer human. His body was comprised entirely of Crest Worms, which allowed him to live for hundreds of years for the sole purpose of winning the Holy Grail himself.
As Sakura said to Caren and Connla, the old man's desire was to create a utopia where all the evils of the world would be eliminated. However, when one lost their original body and transplanted their soul into another vessel, the soul would wind up rotting and cause the person to become unimaginably twisted in nature. This was exactly what happened to him. His soul was so decayed after centuries of living beyond a normal lifespan that his wish for a utopia corroded into merely a quest for immortality. He used and discarded everyone, even his own family, in his single-minded pursuit for eternal life. This was precisely why Sakura was afraid of going against him initially; he had implanted Crest Worms into her immediately after she was adopted into the Matou family, and had fed his son Kariya to the insects after his failure in the Fourth War.
Now the old man was certain; Sakura had betrayed him. He didn't know where she was, but judging by her prolonged absence, he knew that she was hiding from him somewhere else. His grandson Shinji was dead, but he wasn't interested in a family member who had no aptitude for Magecraft. The only reason Shinji survived to his teenaged years was because the elderly patriarch found him useful for manipulating Sakura. Unable to use both of his grandchildren to further his ambitions, he was left alone in this cold, dark basement to ponder what to do next.
He barely moved a muscle when he heard a distinct pair of metal shoes clap on the stone steps leading to the dungeon. After a moment, Cuchulainn muttered, "Are you Matou Zouken?"
"… What of it?" was the old man's terse response.
"I heard about you from Kotomine. Granted it's not much, but I know about your family of distinguished Mages, and of the methods you use to breed your successors."
"Hoh," Zouken grumbled and slowly turned to face his guest. "So you must be aware of how my lineage has been dwindling over the last few generations."
"Yeah. He claimed that your rightful heir was too incompetent to be a Master, so you adopted a girl from another family and bred her into a Mage. Thing is, that girl is already Rider's Master, and they've become part of the group that seeks to bring a permanent end to the Holy Grail Wars."
"Charming as it may be, it is a futile effort. Unless they find a way to destroy the Heaven's Feel system that myself, Justeaze and Nagato developed, the Wars will continue until a victor emerges."
"Maybe, but that's not what I'm here to discuss."
"What is it? What does the pilfered Servant of two dead Masters seek to speak with me about?"
Cuchulainn's chest flared with anxiety, and he grit his teeth in disgust while conjuring up the courage to make his request. Eventually, he grumbled, "If I'm gonna survive to the end of this war, I have no choice but to contract myself with a competent Mage."
"What about Kirei?" Zouken raised one of his wrinkled eyebrows.
"He's dead."
"Oh ho. So you're sustaining yourself through sheer willpower, hm? Indeed, your fangs are still sharp, Hound of Culann, but they are meaningless when your existence is on the verge of returning to the Throne. Unfortunately for you, Shinji was killed, and Sakura has betrayed me."
"That means you have no successors left to furbish into pawns anymore, do you?"
"So it would seem. But I am a patient man. Once the Sixth Holy Grail War occurs, I will be prepared for it."
"Look, stop dodging the issue, old man. I'll come out and say it plainly – you want a Servant to help you win the Grail, and I need a Master to provide me with magical energy. The only one you have left to fulfill your ambition is yourself, am I right?"
"Hah hah hah hah…" Zouken's laugh sounded deep, throttling as if there were a bevy of pebbles jiggling around in his throat. "After centuries of remaining in this world, expecting my descendants to obtain the Grail for me, I am forced to rely upon my own skills once again. Though it may be a basic lesson for others, it is quite the harsh one for me after allocating so many precious resources to my failure of a family."
"So it's a last-ditch gamble for you."
"As much as it is for you."
"Got me there."
Zouken raised his hand out and curled his bony fingers beneath the palm while muttering, "Tell me, Lancer. Though you are aware of my desire to claim the Grail, what is it that you are so desperate to accomplish?"
"Nothing more than fighting a worthy opponent with everything I have. I don't need the Grail to make that wish whatsoever – there's already a particular Servant I want to face off against."
"How convenient. Then it is settled. Lancer, Cuchulainn, your cursed crimson spear shall be the blade that cuts down all who stand opposed to me. In return, accept this pledge and utilize my resources to achieve victory."
Cuchulainn leapt down the stairs and stood before the hovelled old man. Then, Zouken began to murmur the chant for summoning Heroic Spirits:
"I hereby propose. My will shall create thy body, and thy sword shall create my fate…"
After Artoria made certain that Rin had calmed down after learning about Tokiomi's death, she told her new Master about Connla's proposal and asked what she wanted to do. Rin was worried about Shirou's magic circuits, so she took a look at them first.
"Amazing…" she murmured while running her hand along his arm. "They look stronger than ever before. It's like you're the cream of the crop in a Magus bloodline."
"Then I should be able to act as Assassin's Master?" he asked.
"Yeah, more than enough. I'm not sure what's going on here, but if your magic circuits weren't so healthy, I probably would have transferred some of my own magical energy to you to compensate."
"So then…"
"If you want Assassin to be your Servant, then you need me to have Saber fight him, right? Just as Second Lancer said, it always feels like we have our backs against the wall, so adding to our forces would be a good idea. I'm just surprised that we're considering Assassin, but given the circumstances and the remaining foes we have to face, he is the best option thus far. It really would be a shame to just let him disappear without approaching him with such an offer first."
Artoria asked her, "Does this mean I have your blessing to duel him?"
"Naturally. I will accompany you so that you have a strong source of mana nearby. Emiya will have to come as well so that he can make the contract."
"Very well. I would like to get this affair over with before Assassin winds up disappearing."
During the discussion, Connla stared at Rin with a deeply concerned gaze. The Mage noticed this and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Well, I… About your father… I know I said that news would be difficult for you, but…"
"Don't fret about it," Rin patted the girl's head. "I'm glad you told me. It answered a lot of questions for me about how Dad fought the Fourth War."
"Oh. It's just that when you screamed out loud like that, I thought for sure that I had done something wrong."
"You're always worried about such things, aren't you? Best not to waste your energy like that. You need to be alert and ready for tonight, 'cause I have a feeling things are going to get serious from here on out."
"You're right. As long as you're okay, then I'm satisfied."
"Excellent. All right, Emiya, Saber, let's get going," Rin told her partners. "Lancer, we need you and Rider to hold the fort here. Once we have Assassin, we'll come back to get you, and then we'll go deal with Archer at the Einzbern Manor."
"Understood."
Nighttime cloaked Fuyuki in darkness once again. Yet in terms of the Holy Grail War, it was like the sun was rising on a new day of bloodshed and cruelty. If there really had been a sun rising, this one would be particularly crimson in color, as if signifying that this would perhaps be the worst day of any thus far.
Cuchulainn stood tall upon the Matou residence's rooftop, vapidly gazing at the city with nary an expression in his eyes. His appearance had changed somewhat, particularly that the top portion of his bodysuit was gone to reveal his tattooed chest and arms. The skin bulged and throbbed on its own volition around his veins and arteries, indicating that something else was living inside him like an infestation of parasites. His azure hair had darkened slightly, though the blue tint still remained prevalent. However, the biggest change was that his entire back had some kind of pulsating, insect-like creature affixed directly to the spine, running along the flesh and bone like a centipede.
This was one of Zouken's Lust Worms, which were capable of feasting upon human beings for energy and sustenance. When planted on a Servant's vertebrae (after the original had been ripped out), these unholy creatures were capable of controlling the Servant's actions. Zouken had granted Cuchulainn a degree of freedom so that he maintained enough reason to hunt down the other Servants. Other than that, the aged Magus could willingly penalize his new familiar should he stray from his designated mission.
None of that mattered to Cuchulainn anymore. Now that he had the means of maintaining his Spirit Origin within this world, he could chase after the one thing he always wanted; an intense battle against an opponent who was worthy of pushing him to the absolute brink. No more impotent Masters restraining him with ridiculous commands, no more duels against Servants who were not up to par, no more bullshit like honor and pride bogging him down… Here he stood as the unrestrained Hound of Ulster, baring his fangs against everyone so that he could challenge his most desired target without hindrance.
Wait for me. I'm coming to see you once again…
He crouched for a moment, then shot high into the night sky.
Connla!