Chapter 84
"Archer, how are you feeling?"
In the magic circle inscribed on the concrete floor, Archer manifested in response to his Master's call. On the surface, everything seemed to be fine. His red coat, black trousers and sleeveless shirt all fully repaired, with no tears or rips visible. His white hair was slicked back as usual, just like when he was first summoned.
"I'm as fine as I'll ever be."
The prompt answer assured her that he was alright, though she was sure that the wounds were still healing. They were pretty serious, and even with the help of a magic circle, they weren't just going to disappear overnight. They didn't have much to do for today though, so it should be fine.
"Archer, we'll be taking the day off school to go scouting. I'll be relying on you today."
"As you wish Rin."
She had discussed it with Gray and El-Melloi earlier. According to the intel they had, they already knew the identities and locations of the Masters of Berserker, Saber and Caster. Including themselves, that only left two other Servants who were unaccounted for, Lancer and Rider. Gray and El-Melloi were convinced that one of the two Servants were under the Matou family, but Rin wasn't so sure since she had been in contact with them for years, and hadn't seen any evidence of them being mages at all. Sakura didn't give off a meaningful magical signature, and Shinji was just a regular human. The Matou family's ability had atrophied until it was gone.
Nevertheless, Gray and Assassin were still going to monitor the Matou's, while she and Archer were in charge of looking for the whereabouts and identity of the other Master. There was no point in going to school since they already knew who the Master's there were, though she was reluctant to break the perfect attendance record streak she had held ever since she enrolled in the academy. It couldn't be helped though, the Holy Grail War was the priority now. She had spent her whole life preparing for it, and compared to that her attendance record was unimportant.
They left the El-Melloi's mansion after a quick breakfast, with Flat seeing them off as they left.
"Bring back some taiyaki if you can!"
Rin ignored him as she was lifted by Archer, the two heading for the city to search for clues.
Seeing Emiya Shirou last night with Saber as his Servant was a shock, and so was having her Servant beaten so easily by Berserker, the Einzbern's Servant. How did a guy with no Magic Circuits support the (supposedly) strongest Servant in the war? And Berserker didn't even act like a Berserker, with a calm, almost cool attitude that she just wrecked Archer with.
Gray had also told her that a gaunt, thin man was likely the Master of Caster, and after seeing a photo that Kairi had managed to take unnoticed, she was sure it was her teacher, Kuzuki Souichirou. Seriously, what was wrong with this war? There were so many Master's that she was acquainted with, and while she didn't have to kill them, having them as her opponent left her with a bad taste in her mouth. Emiya Shirou in particular, was someone she didn't want to fight. She had just saved the guy using her most precious resource, the family heirloom her father left her, and then he just jumped straight into the Holy Grail War. What an ungrateful bastard.
Actually, on second thought she might as well just kill him for wasting her magical energy. It was the least she could do for his ingratitude.
Feeling slightly better, she realized they were approaching the Shinto district of Fuyuki, the modern business sector where skyscrapers and tall glassy buildings stood aplenty.
The two of them glided through the air, Archer's red coat flapping behind him as he jumped from building to building, making sure to keep his Master in a firm hold. Soon, they reached the tallest building in the district, and in Fuyuki, Center Building. Rin couldn't help but think of the area as artificial, looking down at the glass and steel structures that filled the area from the top of the building.
"Are you sure we won't get noticed, jumping like that from building to building?"
Rin looked at him in annoyance.
"Are you doubting me? From below, people will only think we're birds."
With the jewels she'd received, she'd managed to make a charm that prevented visual detection, taking advantage of the height they traveled at to refract light underneath them to make it look like a bird-like shadow. Landing on the rooftops made it easy for them to spot, but it was fine since even if someone saw them on the rooftops, it wasn't all that strange. Archer jumped so fast it wasn't like anyone would catch them anyways, as he was almost constantly in the air.
"Just making sure you're considering the possibility of it failing."
No matter how good of a magus she was, there was always the possibility of failing. Better be safe than sorry, particularly with the enemies they were facing in this war. Still, if any enemy Masters spotted them, they most likely wouldn't engage them in broad daylight and risk exposing the entire war.
"I'll be careful. Anyways, let's start setting up the Bounded Field."
Bending down in the center of the roof, she marked out the lines of the magic circle while Archer kept watch, standing on the edge of the roof looking down at the masses with his Reinforced eyes.
Fuyuki…
To think he had been given a chance at fulfilling his wish. It wasn't that hard, actually it was almost guaranteed that he'd be summoned back here, but he had no idea how long it would take him.
From battlefield to battlefield, he had fought over and over again. With his swords slashing left and right, cutting a path for him through the walls of flesh that blocked him from his objective. All he could remember was blood, and the bodies that littered his path, leading all the way back to his very first deployment as a Counter Guardian.
It was almost like a break of sorts, to be summoned into this Holy Grail War, though letting his guard down here would also get him killed. He had almost been killed last night already, with the combined power of Rider and Berserker doing him in. Frowning, he folded his arms over his chest as he remembered the power they had displayed, and their appearances. Though he didn't remember the Holy Grail War from his own timeline that clearly anymore, he was still damn sure that Rider and Berserker weren't like that. For one, Berserker was definitely way smaller than he remembered.
It was hard to forget a roaring giant that ripped out his guts with a big fucking stone sword after all.
Nevertheless, this Berserker still displayed strength on par with him, and while she almost certainly didn't have the pesky Twelve Labours Noble Phantasm, she could very likely conceal other abilities that could be equal to it.
Rider, on other hand, was much stronger than the original one he encountered. While she was nowhere near as fast as Medusa, she definitely packed a punch, and her firearms gave her a strong advantage at ranged combat as well, which should have been his forte. He still hadn't seen her mount as well, but going by how her weapons and appearance looked like, he guessed it was probably some type of modern vehicle, like a car or a motorbike.
But the biggest question of all was why they were both Artorias.
Seriously, was the paradox even going to work here if it wasn't the same Holy Grail War? He was worried about that point, and he would completely lose his motivation to kill Emiya Shirou if that was the case. The only thing he would have left was his duty to Rin, which he would gladly do either way. He could still try to kill Shirou, but he highly doubted it would work when the timeline had already diverged so much from what he knew. Every Servant they had met had been an Artoria, with only Lancer's identity concealed behind her helm, though he was mostly sure that he was the King of Storms manifestation of Artoria after their confrontation at the school.
He wasn't going to complain though.
Being able to see Rider in a risque maid outfit was a blessing for his eyes that he would remember just as vividly as Saber's summoning. It now had a special place in his heart, though whether he could bring out the sniper rifle Excalibur Morgan and pistol Secace was in question.
"As I thought, maids are great."
It was only after he grew up and matured that he was able to appreciate the various cultures he couldn't when he was young.
"What are you muttering about?"
He almost jumped, but managed to clench his muscles and stop his body from moving an inch.
"Ah, it's nothing Master. Are you done?"
His poker face gave nothing away to Rin, who just shrugged it off as one of his quirks.
"Yes. Let's head to the next spot for the Bounded Field."
They left the rooftop, with the magic circle inscribed fading from sight once they left.
The idea was to plant magic circles around the city to create a massive passive Bounded Field that covered the entire city. It would be able to detect a Servant once they materialized, creating a response that triggered the dormant Bounded Field, allowing Rin to narrow down which area they appeared in. It was only possible with the resources, the gems, that El-Melloi provided, but it was certain to prove useful, since Archer and her could instantly respond and track down the Servants no matter where they were in the city, instead of flooding the city with familiars to keep track of everything. It would also help them track down Avenger, whenever the Servant appeared.
Half the day passed by, with the Shinto district already fully covered. By the Bounded Field.
"Phew, I guess we're half done. This side of the city should already be functional, so let's head to the other side after lunch. We'll probably get some results at night-"
The jewel in her pocket linked to the Bounded Fields grew warm in her pocket, the yellow gem glowing with light.
"Eh, already?"
She placed her hand on the gem and sent her energy into the gem, speaking out loud.
"Beleuchten den Weg."
Taking out a map, she stared at the circles lit up on it, the Bounded Field linked to it as a Mystic Code.
"That's...Verde? The shopping mall?"
"Shall we head there?"
Archer looked at his Master for a decision.
"Hmm. I suppose so. It doesn't seem like anything big is happening there right now, but it wouldn't hurt to check."
Lancer sat in the M**onald's, looking at the menu and wondering what she should order.
"Big Mac...Big is good, so perhaps those, and then large fries?"
Unknown to her, Archer and Rin were steadily closing in on her location, tracking her down with the aid of the Bounded Field.