Chapter 4: Mas* Mas** Mas***
It had been a short walk on a lovely night. The moon was near full, the air was brisk but not terribly cold, and there were no sudden bouts of violence. A calm walk, a peaceful walk. Ernest led the two of us towards the Fuyuki Church. "Echo, I want you to go with Ernest. Make sure no one interrupts him." Echo shot me a thumbs up. Her grin flashed with joy, the kind that seemed to twinkle in the moon's rays.
"You got it Seth!" She cocked her head to the side. "Will you be ok alone inside with the overseer?" My arrival was unannounced, unplanned, and overall, the only reason it wasn't unallowed was my own rank. My presence would be suspicious and would become obvious if Ernest lacked discretion. I did not know Kotomine personally, but his reputation preceded him. Talented, dedicated, a healer, a fighter, he was one of the executor's best and his inevitable retirement left many of his previous partners lamenting. I would not think, even if my interference were to be revealed, the two of us would come to blows, but I felt a strange unease made all the worse by Echo's concern.
Kotomine's reliability was frightening. Whether the opponent was a rogue heretic or a vicious vampire, Kotomine would see them dead. His track record for "successful" missions was not perfect, but it was at about eighty-two percent, and his likelihood for completing a given mission was easily over ninety. No other executors I knew of could boast a similar feat. Having Kotomine on your side for a mission dramatically increased the likelihood of both it being completed, and you making it out alive. If this man found a reason to kill me, he would likely do it, and come for Ernest without batting an eye.
This was not to say he would not care about my death. As a Brother in Christ and fellow executor, I imagine there would be some semblance of sympathy and regret for my passing, but the act itself would be far too easy to end both Ernest and I. Even approaching his fifties and having retired for almost a decade now, I did not doubt he could do it.
"No, go ahead Ernest. Even if this is neutral ground, a watching master may see this as an easy opportunity to get rid of him early. I will talk with Kotomine and see how his retirement is treating him." The church was made of white stone and appeared more gothic than modern. The man stationed there, Kirei, was a master in the previous grail war, and his father had been the overseer at the time. According to the Church's reports, all but two of the participating masters had been killed, and many of those related to them had been crippled or worse, and that was not to mention the many innocents caught in the crossfire.
Bodies mutilated, his father dead, buildings bombed, the appearance of some giant squid monster straight out of a horror novel and even a devastating fire that destroyed a good portion of Fuyuki itself. The only other known surviving master was a young magus that likely only escaped thanks to his servant dying early enough to make him flee before the Magus Killer decided to blow the grail up.
Kotomine's servant he attested himself had died early. An assassin that had no chance at matching the war's archer, Kotomine had been set up to fail from the start. Never having really taken part in the war, it was no wonder Kotomine managed to avoid the same level of injury as the other masters. It made sense, but even still I couldn't help but wonder.
Would such a zealous servant of God really allow so many dangerous heretics free roam of the city? Would he really sit back and just allow children to be kidnapped? Would an executor of such great strength and renown really sit idly by and let such dangerous people try and claim a magical wish granting device?
I knocked and pushed open the doors to the church.
Whatever had happened in that violent war…
Ultimately…
Kotomine had come out unscathed.
And that was enough to make my heart stop.
The man kneeling at the altar was a not a man in his early fifties. It was a young man that looked about my age. Even underneath the frock we both wore I could see his muscles bulging. Unmoving, he seemed more like a statue of devotion dedicated to the worship of The One True God than an actual human. I took a few silent steps towards him and sat in a pew. A minute passed and he stood.
"Hoh? I did not expect a fellow member of the Church to be joining me tonight. What brings you here, my brother?" The priest smiled as he awaited my response. "I am surprised, I did not realize the father here had an apprentice." His smile did not waver, but something seemed on his mind as he stared back at me. "Hm? I wonder, I am not sure what it is you had heard, but it is strange to see a foreigner here so late at night. Did you come here for some guidance or housing?"
If this man was Kotomine's apprentice, it definitely showed. He was likely asking me if I was here about the grail war, or if by some odd twist I was actually a master looking to register. The charade was for unsuspecting missionaries and the uninformed of the nightly activities that would be happening soon. I was no stranger to such things, but should I let him know? There was the off chance that he was nothing more than a regular priest, but his manner of walking held too much grace. "I could use some guidance, yes."
It was slight, but his eyes widened. "What could I help you with, my fellow brother? Have you a sin you need confessing?" I shook my head. "No my brother, I have a friend who has yet to know The Lord. I am utterly at a loss as to how to show him the Way and came here for his sake." His eyes lowered in sadness. "Ahh I see, lost lambs often cause their shepherd much stress. I did not know there was a fellow brother such as yourself here in Fuyuki, but rejoice, I will do all I can to offer you fellowship." I smiled back at him. "Thank you, brother."
I was grateful for his consideration. Truly, Kotomine chose a good man. My head sank at the thoughts I held. "I truly feel at a loss though." I looked up to the apprentice. Maybe this man in this far-flung eastern land would have the wisdom I lacked? "How do you save a man with no love of others?" Throughout the room a tight, cracking noise rang out. The sound of bones grinding against each other. On the young priest's face was a look of sheer, vicious anger. The noise, from what I could tell, was from his rock-like body wholly constricting in on itself. His pained response lasted only a moment before his whole demeanor shifted back as though it were a sandcastle having been flattened underneath a wave of water.
"I am sorry if I disturbed you, that is a trouble I myself have been trying to answer as well." I felt sympathy for him. Why were there those out there cursed with such empty hearts? "It is alright, I did not come here expecting an easy answer. Haah. I am sorry to hear you have your own friend with such troubles. They say God only gives us the battles he thinks we can win, that's some solace I guess, right?" The man's eyes were flat dead. He smiled but no joy could be found behind it. I got up from the pew.
"Brother, I thank you for your worry, I can see that your own battle has been wrought with challenges. I am sorry if I have offended you. I had made the journey here because I believed a man named Kotomine was the priest here. I take it you are his apprentice; do you know if he is in or awake at this hour? I wish to speak with him."
A hand breaking the sound barrier rushed out. A lash that shattered breath, bone, and heart alike. A type of super kung-fu that no human could hope to keep up with, let alone survive. With the sound of static burning my ears and my vision flashing, a blow that could kill ten men was thrust into my chest. Denying what my eyes saw, no pain was felt, nor did death ever come. My vision cleared and Kotomine simply held out his hand. "It is good to meet another believer with such strong faith. Here, take my hand, I am glad to have met you." I took his hand and shook it. "I as well." He nodded. His eyes held no warmth.
"Come, I will take you to where he sleeps."
Ernest surveyed the cemetery. He sought the corpses of the victims from that great fire. Of all the corpses here, they would surely make for the greatest catalysts. "Which plebian do you think would serve my purpose best, Echo?" It was a kind gesture by Seth, having Echo accompany him. The two were partners in battle, though she could hold her own against the worst of the creatures and magi we faced, Seth was far more fragile in comparison. Even still, his decision was beneficial to him by a large margin. He entered a dragon's den while Ernest was given his greatest weapon. Even if she had an empty head, Echo was no plebian, and had a wisdom of her own.
"Hmmmm…. Making me choose a dead person for you to use, Ernest? That's pretty gross. Well, I came here with Seth to guide you, so I can tell you this much." She pointed her finger to a nearby grave. "You were on the right track, it's that one." Ernest chuckled to himself. After walking over to the gray stone, among the less elaborate tombstones, all it had was a death date. "A victim of that great fire, I presume." In Fuyuki there were two major places of worship, and by extension two major graveyards from which Ernest could pull from.
The Ryuudou temple was great as a base. With connection to a leyline and the numerous corpses held in its graveyard, in time Ernest would be able to convert it into a veritable fortress. A servant that would fit the purposes he sought, likely would not appear if he used a body there. From his understanding of Buddhism, any servant connected to the religion and reincarnation would ruin his chances. What he needed was a servant that would be a martyr.
With his will, the scant remains of the fire's victim surfaced. All that was left was half a skull and what looked to be a rib. With further direction, more bones surfaced, small ones, not human but those of animals that perished in the graveyard. "I had a brother once, Echo." The bones of the animals slowly began knitting themselves together. Skulls, femurs, wings, thighs, sternums, they all aligned themselves around him in a perfect circle, more bones rising to form intricate patterns. "His name was Victor." More bones rose to form a second, creating space between the two circles that held the patterns. "Compared to him, my parents considered me no better than a plebian." A third smaller circle of bones arose around him and the remains. "He could, after all, truly resurrect the dead. Their memories, their bodies, so long as he had mana, no one could tell the person before them was actually a corpse."
"He didn't make it." Echo solemnly declared…
Echo and Seth both knew what magi families were capable of, knew what I should be capable of. Secrets and discretion were part and parcel with staying alive in a culture of death and envy. It was ironic, even though my brother could bring others back to life, he could do nothing to save himself from the poison his favorite servant gave him day after day. Resurrection after resurrection, that plebian had been tortured and killed over and over, and again and again my family failed to bring my brother back fully, even I who had surpassed them in my own necromancy could not truly bring back his memories, the genius he held. For both my skill and being their last son, it was only then with no other choice that my parents recognized me as being anything other than a plebian.
Energy swelled within me. The bones burned alight with a ghostly green flame. I started the chant.
"Be gone, shadows."
"Thou of the unseeable."
The energy surged and my breathing hitched. The smell of rotting bones filled the air.
"Fade back into oblivion, if of darkness."
"Be returned to the immaterial."
The flames began to swirl around me. No longer crackling flames, they became three solid rings of ghastly green light.
"Answer me now, I must know your response."
"In my left hand is death, in my right hand is light."
The earth, hardened by the winter's cold, cracked.
"I seek the truth of creation."
The cemetery shook. Loose graves for the wayward and unfortunate shifted and fell.
"Come forth, guardian of the weak!"
The light engulfed me, and I lost strength in my legs. Before I could fall, my bleary eyes caught sight of a gloved hand grabbing the scruff of my suit. The figure wore a skintight leotard of black, accented by glowing red lines. Layered overtop her legs and chest were hunks of metal molded around the curves of her body. Faintly I could see traces of red hidden underneath, illuminating their edges with that soft red light. Her hair was black and her eyes glowed just as red as her armor. With one hand she held me from falling, with her other she wielded a large black hunk of metal. The light from the flames gone, only the servant remained.
The hand let go of me. The servant looked herself over, and then the graveyard around us, before finally settling her eyes on me. A serene smile graced her face. "So this is what it's like to be summoned. I ask of you, were you the one who called me into this girl's body?" This was my make or break moment. If I was going to convince the servant, I had to do it fast and before it could decide to settle. "Yes, I am." On my right hand, my command seals flared, sealing the contract. "I hoped to summon a servant of great character, one that would help the weak and needy. This is my request servant, with my magecraft and your cooperation, I could return that girl to life. She would have your strength, and your skill, and given the chance she could win this war and secure her life. If you do not decide soon, the window will leave and I will be unable to ensure her soul remains. So, answer me, servant, will you give up your wish and sacrifice yourself for the sake of a single, worthless, plebian? Will you willingly give up your strength and glory to the hands of a worthless good for nothing?"
The servant stared at me. The smile lowered but didn't truly fade. Her eyes closed a moment in contemplation and snapped back open, filled with resolve. "You've told me everything I wanted to know about my summoning. For that I thank you and will save this girl with no further questions asked." At the servant's allowance, the mana around the servant shot out sparks as I brought the corpses' soul to the surface. With all my might, I funneled the power of the servant into the girl's soul. It did not budge, it did not change. "You seem to be struggling, summoner. Allow me to help."
"Knight of the Empty Heavens: Slumbering Galahad."
The servant's presence weakened considerably. Rather than forcing it, the soul of the corpse seemingly sprung to life itself. "What kind of noble phantasm is this!?" There was no light nor explosion that accompanied the change. Instead, it was the final extinguishing of the girl's smile. Her eyes half-lidded and her mouth neutral. "Servant, are you alright? Is this girl now alive once more?" The servant's eyes lazily swayed to me. Her voice monotone, she declared herself. "Servant Shielder, what are your orders, master?" I bit back a scream. Had I failed? Had whatever the servant done ruined the plebian's soul? I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Relax, Ernest." It was Echo. "I take it you're not going to put her back in her grave, are you?" I turned to her. "No, but I feel I failed." She shot me a smirk. "Hey, have a little faith here, that servant did something special, I can feel it. Maybe she just needs time to adjust?" A large grin blossomed on her face.
"After all, performing a miracle is pretty tiring for everyone involved."