Chapter 56
She had already discussed this before with Kuzuki, so his face didn't change at all. Emiya had just been introduced to the War, though he could still tell that this was a special occurrence, but his face was only vaguely confused. The only person who seemed to show any real reaction to this was Saber, turning her gaze downwards as she remembered the black armored knight riding the horse that had served her faithfully through the years, and the girl clad in futuristic armor wielding a sword of plasma.
"We have made contact with Assassin and Berserker, and we managed to observe Lancer and Archer a short time ago, then you, Saber, were summoned. Including me, that makes five of the seven Servants so far that we can confirm are Artorias, with similar faces and recognizable weapons. Although Lancer may hide her face under her helm, her status as the King of Storms, and the lance that she uses coupled with the horse that I'm sure you'll have recognized all but confirms her identity. Archer is an exception, and the only other Servant we have had yet to see is Rider, though she has been summoned."
She paused and tilted her head, remembering the golden servant she had fought when she first arrived.
"There's also an irregular Servant, but I'll talk about him later."
From their battle, she could largely tell he was most likely content to be a spectator to the War, showing an arrogant attitude and rambling on about "testing" her to see if she was fit for the War. Thinking about him still made her head ache sometimes.
Her words all but confirmed Saber's suspicions ever since she had seen Llamrei when Shirou had summoned her, and interest was piqued by the irregular Servant as well.
"But why would this happen?"
Shirou asked the question that was on everyone's minds.
Caster paused, then shook her head, a bit disappointed at herself for not being able to find out despite sitting right on top of the Greater Grail as she looked downwards, avoiding eye contact.
"Um, I don't really know. The best I can tell is that some sort of corruption is infesting the Greater Grail, and I have some theories regarding an outside force influencing the War through the system, but that's all I can tell. I'm sorry, my magecraft isn't really good at that kind of thing…"
She trailed off, Saber sympathizing with her as she realized who her mentor must have been. There was only one person who could have taught her magecraft, and even if they were from different timelines, she was absolutely sure that damn womanizer was in every single one of them. Despite how his character was, there was no denying his overwhelming ability that would qualify him for the title of Grand.
"Ah, don't worry, we'll figure it out together now since we're allies. Though I might not know much about magecraft, I'll do my best to help."
Seeing her embarrassed at her inability, Shirou couldn't help but give his piece, promising to help her as much as he could.
If it had been a normal magus, they would've scorned his help as a complete novice in the field. Some certain magi could tolerate him, and a rare few were able to take a liking to him. But Caster, or Artoria Pendragon, was no conventional magus, and she was taught by an even more unorthodox person.
"Ah, thanks." Being so worried for Kuzuki had been tiring, so having someone like him smile at her and offer his help really was reassuring. It seemed like her gamble to make an alliance with him wasn't wrong after all, despite his lack of knowledge or skills.
Kuzuki silently noted their exchange, his eyes reading their lips, eyes and body gestures. While he had indeed seen Emiya-san a lot at school, and was his teacher, he hadn't realized he was this open of a person. It was almost like he couldn't stay guarded against people, a naivety that was rare for his age, especially when he had just been dragged into a war between mages and talking with people who had only just declared themselves as his ally mere hours ago.
Although, he couldn't say that he disliked that about him. Even he could tell that Caster was worried about him, though she might try to hide it, which was understandable given what happened to her last Master. If the boy could calm her down, then all the better. He would simply watch over Caster in his own way. Which probably involved fists and lots of blood.
He did have his questions regarding the matter at hand though, and he voiced them.
"What kind of impact will this have on our strategy against the other Servants?"
"Why is there a version of me wielding a lightsaber?"
She couldn't help but ask it in her heart.
It was a practical worry, and one that Saber was already thinking about, her eyes narrowed as she thought back to what she had seen of the other Servant's abilities earlier.
"From what we've witnessed, I believe we can identify and counter several of our opponents, though we still remain in the dark about the others."
She picked up the staff lying next to her, channeling od into it to activate the framework embedded in the crystal and the pure white wood, a fresh scent of flowers invading the room as the magecraft was cast. While Shirou couldn't identify it, both Kuzuki and Saber could tell what it was. A fragrant, subtle aroma that refreshed the air, bringing to mind the white trumpet lilies.
In front of Kuzuki, Saber and Shirou's eyes, images formed out of nowhere, white petals coalescing from thin air to form three dimensional models of each Servant.
"For the first regular Servant that me and my Master faced, it was Assassin."
The white model of Assassin enlarged, taking up most of the empty space on the table. The petals fluttered about until the statue changed shape, turning into the blue jersey wearing servant with the sword behind her back, instead of the generic Assassin model it had been earlier. Saber took a closer look at the sword behind her back, and confirmed that it was indeed a very close to her own, at least in appearance.
"She has excellent agility and combat ability, though her strength is most likely lacking due to her class container. While she didn't seem to have Presence Concealment, unusual for her class, she had other abilities to make up for it. Blasts of energy coming through portals, and some type of damage magnifying as well."
"Damage magnification?"
Shirou hadn't heard of anything like this before, though his father had taught him that magecraft had many different schools.
"Yes, she was able to inflict wounds disproportionate to the actual blow, turning mere scratches into grievous wounds. However, this effect hasn't been observed with any other Servants yet, so we aren't sure of the specifics. There was an obvious difference between when she fought my Master and when she fought Berserker, though she only exchanged blows with him for a few moments."
Shirou nodded, satisfied with the explanation. Caster then tilted the staff, to the left, the model on the table moving off it and hovering in mid-air for a moment, before dissipating into a swarm of white petals that floated off on an unseen current of wind, disappearing as they tumbled in the air.
Another model came up to take its place. This time, it was the hooded Berserker, clutching a double-bladed lightsaber.
"She was the enemy we have the most information on, though the question of how far off her timeline is from ours still bothers me. Anyways, she most likely has high agility and strength, as well as excellent sword skills that are on par with Assassin's, allowing the two of them to go blow to blow on equal ground. Furthermore, she has telekinetic and electrokinetic abilities, and she thoroughly understands how to use them. Her unique weapon is also a dangerous, and difficult to deal with when compared to a normal sword. In addition, after Kuzuki told me about the fight you had with her earlier, it seems that she too has damage magnifying capabilities, as your wounds prove. However, we can't be sure if she has the same ability as Assassin, or if they're different in some way despite the effect being the same."
Saber touched the smooth skin hiding the deep hole in her body, acknowledging the fact that if it wasn't for Kuzuki's plan, she would have lost right then and there. Against Berserker, she was far from being able to go toe to toe with her.
"I'm sorry."
The sudden telepathic message surprised her, but she managed to resist the urge to look at her Master. He had seen her touch her wounds, and knew she was still recovering, yet he had done nothing to help her earlier, and was most likely holding her back as her Master, so he couldn't help but apologize.
As this happened, Caster waved her staff once more, sending Berserker off as the rest of them were introduced. One by one, Shirou became familiar with his opponents, and after that Caster helped to solve his confusion regarding some of the finer details in the War.
The moon still hung in the sky, but soon the sun would rise in the east and bring light to the city of Fuyuki again. Noticing the time on his miraculously undamaged Casio watch, he asked Caster.
"We should let them rest now. They've been through a long night."
Caster widened her eyes, finally realizing how long they'd been speaking for.
"Ah, sorry, I should have stopped our talk and let you two rest first. After all, both of you went through a difficult battle earlier."
"It's fine, I'm used to staying up late." Shirou often stayed up in the shed practicing and trying to fix the broken appliances.
"I concur with my Master, there's no need to worry about that."
Saber replied lightly, her face never betraying the pain of her wounds that were still closing at an agonizingly slow rate.
Caster smiled, but she still had one last thing to ask Shirou.
"Then let's get you to your rooms. But before that, Shirou can you give me Avalon?"
Immediately, Saber looked up in shock at her Master as her hands on her lap tightened, gripping her dress in surprise.
"Master, you have the scabbard?"
On the other hand, Shirou was genuinely confused, left in the dark as to why Caster seemed to look at him expectantly, while Saber was so surprised at what Caster had said, questioning him instantly.
"What are you talking about?"
Ever since Kiritsugu had implanted the Avalon, the Everdistant Utopia, into his body to heal him from the damage sustained in the fire, he had never mentioned or thought about retrieving it, even when he tried to go back to the Einzbern castle to save his daughter. In the end, he had simply left it in Shirou's body, the passive regeneration keeping him healthy all his life up til now.
Seeing Shirou tilt his head and scratch the back of his head with a confused smile, Caster decided that he'd need an explanation.
"Perhaps it would be easier if I just showed you."
She moved forward after standing up from the table, pressing her small hand against Shirou's chest and focusing on her mental image of the golden scabbard, decorated with blue enamel and glowing with its own light.
To Shirou's surprise, golden motes of light left his body, assembling into the shape of a sheath as more and more appeared, eventually culminating into a golden sheath that was not the work of man, but something else entirely.
"W-what's this?"
Having a sheath pulled out of their body would confuse anyone, but to Shirou it felt familiar, warm even.
Caster gingerly held the sheath in her hands, the item reacting to her and creating a soft, warm light that made even Kuzuki relax a little.
"This is Avalon, the scabbard that made King Arthur immortal." Instead of Caster, it was Saber who replied to his question.
"It made him immortal?"
"Yes, and it was one of the main reasons he died, because he lost the protection of this sheath."
Caster traced a finger along the blue lines adorning the surface, her mana poured in the scabbard through it. As expected, it was the real thing. However, it didn't seem like it would fully work with her, despite the fact that she was also Artoria Pendragon.
"May I?"
Holding her hands together to Caster, Saber asked to hold the scabbard. Caster nodded, carefully slipping the sheath into her waiting hands. The moment Saber touched it, the sheath brightened for a moment, the glow lighting up the room, before it died down, the sheath the same as always on the surface, but possessing a different glow than before.
"It seems that it recognizes you as it's true owner."
"That does seem to be the case."
Saber agreed with Caster, as she could feel the link between her and Avalon now.
"In that case, the regeneration ability should be active. Then, can you borrow it?"
This time, Caster went into a full dogeza, actually bowing her head to the ground on top of her two hands as the staff was set aside, her knees tucked into her body as her blond hair laid on the ground, the twin tails trailing on the ground beside her.
Saber was a bit taken aback by her actions, taking a step back unconsciously.
"Why do you need to use it?"
"My Master lost his arm, and I've been looking for ways to restore it, but I haven't found anything yet. But if Avalon is as powerful as I remember it to be, then it should work."
Shirou glanced at Saber, and she met his gaze. A moment passed between them, words unneeded as the look in their eyes said everything they needed to say.
Saber turned back to Caster, still on the ground with her face facing the floor.
"If it's only this much, it's fine. Take it."
Saber knelt down and lifted Caster up, pushing the sheath into her embrace.
Clutching the golden artifact to her chest tightly, she bowed down from her waist once again.
"Thank you very much!"
Then she rushed out of the room, Kuzuki standing up to follow her.
"Ah, your rooms are next door. I'm sorry I can't show you around personally, but you should be able to get there easily."
With that, he left the room, shutting the sliding door behind him, leaving Saber and Shirou alone. Saber watched the two of them go. Deep down, she really wanted to ask Caster how she had stepped onto the path of being a magus, but she decided that could wait.