Chapter 103
Under the shade of the trees covering Mount. Enzo, numerous insects slithered through the undergrowth. Birds chirped on the branches, one or two occasionally stretching their wings to fly off. The monks in the temple swept the floors, prayed and meditated, as per their usual routine.
At the gates, an old man appeared, clutching a cane with his bent back. Casting his lightless eyes at the temple, he spotted a man wearing a business suit walking towards the gate.
Kuzuki approached him, stopping a few meters away from the small, elderly figure.
"Good Afternoon. Are you here to see someone at the temple?"
In all the years he had lived at the temple, he had never seen this old man before. He was certain that the man wasn't a regular visitor, and could only be coming here for the first time, at least to his knowledge. Considering the circumstances, his position as a Master and the fact that his instincts were warning him to be wary of the old man, it was likely the stranger was linked to the Holy Grail War in some way. Perhaps a magus, or even a Master. Mentally preparing himself for a confrontation, he alerted Caster to the man's presence, telling her to come while he tried to discern the newcomer's intent.
To Shirou, it looked like she had just stopped in her tracks without warning, her face hidden from him as he was following behind her.
"Emiya-san, let's go!" Her voice carried a note of urgency that was absent from her tone up until now.
Rushing forward, she went ahead of Shirou, the boy struggling to catch up behind her as she utilized the speed the Saint Graph gave her.
"That is correct. I have come to see a boy called Emiya Shirou. He's an acquaintance of my granddaughter."
The information was relayed to Caster, who in turn told Shirou.
"Do you know who he is?"
Shirou furrowed his eyebrows, struggling to control his breath as he ran down the dirt path behind Caster, heading towards Ryuudou Temple. Caster was worried that Kuzuki could suffer a preemptive attack by the mysterious person at the gates, even though her reinforcement was constant when under her Noble Phantasm tied to the Ryuudou Temple leyline. There was no telling how powerful the intruder was, or whether he had allies such as Servants.
"I think he might be Matou Zouken, but I've rarely interacted with him before. Why would he come to see me?"
Gathering his thoughts while running, he managed to come to such a conclusion, but he wondered what was his motivation. Could something have happened to Sakura?
"I see. I'm sorry to say, but Emiya-san is currently away from the temple, though he will be back soon. Would you be willing to wait for a few minutes?"
Kuzuki didn't sense any hostile intent, but nevertheless, he could feel that something was wrong with the old man. The man hadn't moved once, his feet, hands and torso all seemingly frozen in time. The only thing in motion was his mouth, when he talked. The white skin felt like it was plastered against his skull in a grotesque manner, the bones clearly poking beneath the tightly stretched skin.
So he's a Master too. Zouken stared at the man standing in front of him, clad in a modern business suit without a crease in sight. Though he couldn't sense any magical energy coming from the man, it was obvious to him that Kuzuki was a Master from the Command Seals that he could detect. He was after all, the creator of the Command Seals, and could easily sense their presence if he was in their vicinity.
I see, so this must be Caster's Master.
The pseudo-Reality Marble set up around Mount Enzo that was passively running could be sensed by his familiars, protecting the temple within the Bounded Field that he, Justeaze and Nagato had set up long ago to isolate the Greater Grail from Servants and magi. Considering the fact that Assassin and Archer were based in the Edelfelt mansion, with Berserker at the Einzbern mansion and Lancer unknown, that left Saber, Caster and Rider. Rider was under his granddaughter's control, so Saber and Caster were here, and Saber was that boy's Servant, after seeing him with her at the school when Ruler first showed up and made her announcements, so this must have been Caster's Master.
Why he didn't show up before, he wasn't sure, but he could at least ascertain his identity hereafter. For a moment, he wondered if he should attack him and usurp his right as a Master, but then the fact that he was standing in Caster's territory dissuaded him. He had no idea what kind of defenses she had created here, so there was not much guarantee of a successful attack. In addition, he didn't have Ruler by his side.
Dismissing the idea, he focused on the link with Ruler, the bug within her spine tied to him as one of his familiars. Only to find that the link was severely weakened, the connection between him and the Servant almost gone.
Teleport and heal.
These were the two commands he gave Ruler, two absolute orders that her entire will was bent towards obeying. The crimson Command Seals emblazoned on her exposed back lit up, the symbol of Casino Camelot fading away as sections disappeared, the single-use trump cards disappearing in a single stroke. Her body disappeared, sent to a far-off location where she could temporarily recover. Golden motes were left behind, quickly disappearing into thin air in front of Ayaka's eyes as the cloth doll resembling Ruler crumbled to dust in her hands.
Hrm, doesn't look like she'll last long.
The damage to her Saint Graph was extensive, the curse-type witchcraft combined with formal craft to provide energy and a suitable 'sponsor' to strike her core doing irreparable damage to it. Even with the assistance of the admittedly powerful Command Seals, at best she only had two or three more days of existence left. There were only three Command Seals left, and if he used those too, he could probably extend her life by a few hours, give or take. Still, the limited time she had left was more than enough for his purposes.
The two stood at the gate, staring at each other in silence as they waited for Shirou to arrive.
Running from the sides of the building, Caster appeared, followed by Shirou, who was sweating and breathing heavily from trying to keep up with her. Despite his daily training, when Caster ran seriously, he still had difficulties keeping up, and she was already trying to slow down to accommodate him.
Going up to the two, Caster's attention zoomed in on the decrepit old man standing at the gate. Her senses tingled, the Noble Phantasm she harboured in her heart failing to recognize the man as an ally.
A few pink petals went past Shirou's field of vision, one of them lightly brushing against the back of his neck, almost making him feel ticklish. Then his breathing suddenly turned even again, the exhaustion he had been feeling earlier washed away as he seemed to gain a second wind from out of nowhere. Still, his clothes felt damp and sticky against his skin, but he was no longer heated from running earlier.
He spotted the old man after Caster did, walking up to them to talk to him as he immediately recognized his face. It was quite unforgettable after all.
"You came here to talk to me?"
Zouken nodded.
"I have urgent news for you. Ruler is being attacked by the Clock Tower mages. I would like you to provide assistance for her."
Shirou immediately reacted to that, his back getting a little straighter as he clenched his hands into fists, just about ready to rush off to her aid.
"Where is she?"
The haste in his voice was unmistakable, with both Caster feeling like they had to restrain him before he ran off by himself.
"She's at a mansion in Miyama, in the foreigner's district. I'll guide you there, time is of the essence."
Taking advantage of his hot-bloodedness, he turned around, ready to leave with Shirou in tow.
"Wait, how do we know we can trust you?"
Caster barred Shirou's way, his chest bumping into her arm as she questioned Zouken. The fact that he had come directly to Shirou was strange.
"I had been keeping an eye on the Holy Grail War, to ensure that nothing would happen to affect my own family. Ruler's appearance that night alerted me to the fact that something strange was going on with this war, and when the Clock Tower mages started attacking her after luring her to the mansion, I knew I needed to contact one of the other Masters to help her. Their battle destroyed the Bounded Fields that preserved the secrecy of the mansion, so I was able to detect their conflict."
"Why come to him then? Also can't Ruler defend herself against mere mages?"
"The mages must have prepared a trump card to deal with her if they were confident enough to purposefully lure her to their base. As for Emiya-kun, I came for him simply because his Servant, Saber, is supposed to be the strongest class in the War."
Zouken provided legitimate reasons, some true, some false, some a mix of both. Caster narrowed her eyes, but Kuzuki's words stopped her from questioning him further.
"Caster, if Ruler truly is in danger, then we need to hurry. Losing her would mean losing her assistance in investigating the Greater Grail. In addition, with the company of Saber and you, it should be a relatively safe affair."
The telepathic message made sense to her, causing her to turn to Shirou.
"Go get Saber Emiya-san. We're following him."
Shirou, who was about to try convincing her that they needed to help Ruler, was relieved that he didn't have to argue with Caster, rushing off to fetch his Servant.
Zouken didn't show any emotion on the outside, but on the inside he was certainly grinning.
"Sakura, tell Rider to get ready."