Prologue 3: Lancer
"…" The man named Kayneth 'El Melloi' Archibald was utterly speechless. He was given a catalyst by the Mage's Association and was promised that he would be able to summon a legendary Heroic Spirit.
Not only that, but Kayneth was a 'Lord' among Mages, the highest title that a Mage can receive. He was well known throughout the entire Clock Tower as a prodigy among prodigies. Even still, he trusted the words of his fellow 'Lords' out of the respect he had for them.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Kayneth expected the catalyst to summon a strong warrior. So, of course, the fact that he summoned a child instead utterly baffled him to no end.
"Nice reaction. Hahaha!" The little girl with long red hair laughed in delight over Kayneth's reaction. Since she was a child, she took everything at face value. So, she didn't sense any of the animosity that Kayneth had hidden deep in his heart for her.
Because Kayneth was surprised. But much more than that, he was enraged.
"Is that some sort of joke?" Kayneth asked with a blank expression as the red-headed girl approached him.
"Not at all. Greetings my Master. My name is Kyoko Sakura!" The girl named Kyoko announced as she pressed her fist against her chest showcasing how proud she was.
"…" Kayneth said nothing.
"… Oh right! My Class! That would be Lancer! Take a look at my awesome spear!" Kyoko yelled out as she materialized her gold spear and showed it off.
"…" Kayneth still said nothing.
"… Uh… wanna see some tricks? I can do this! And this! And this too! Oh, but this is my favorite move!" Kyoko yelled out as she spun her spear around showcasing excellent use of it. Regardless of her age, she was clearly a master of handling a spear. This proved that the girl named Kyoko Sakura was undoubtably the Lancer-Class Servant. However…
"…" Kayneth remained silent. Not even a whisper escaped his mouth.
"Not impressed? Well, I'll be sure to show you some even cooler tricks when I fight some of the other Servants. Mark my words, I'll massacre them all! That I promise you, my Master!" Kyoko spoke with confidence as she extended her hand toward Kayneth. But those words didn't make him feel any sort of gratification. The truth was…
"…" Kayneth was not amused. Not. One. Bit.
'Bam.' Kayneth harshly slapped Kyoko's hand away.
"Eh?" Kyoko replied with a shocked expression. She didn't understand why her Master would slap her hand like that. Did she say something wrong? No, she made sure to properly show him respect. Kyoko believed in her heart, that she did not do anything wrong…
… That belief only made her angry.
"Huh? What was that for?!" Kyoko snapped back.
"Do I have to spell it out for you? Every foolish mistake that you made just now?" Kayneth asked his words only further infuriated the girl.
"Are you calling me an idiot?! What the hell did I do wrong?!" Kyoko snapped back again as Kayneth rolled his eyes in response.
"I see that I do have to explain it to you. I'll be crystal clear. First, you revealed not only your class but your true name so casually. To the point that I didn't even ask you to do so. You just ran your mouth like an arrogant buffoon." Kayneth replied.
"W-What? What did you just call me?!" Kyoko snapped back once more but Kayneth cut her off swiftly as a knife cutting cheese.
"Furthermore, you proceeded to spin around that lance of yours like a human billboard, even though I was in close proximity to you. You could have injured me, perhaps even killed me." Kayneth continued.
"I-I-I would never hurt you! You are my Master for crying out loud!" Kyoko yelled out as she closed her eyes and gripped the hem of her skirt.
"And that is the one and only 'truth' that you said tonight. I'm your Master. However, it appears that my Servant is nothing more than an arrogant child who vastly overestimates her worth." Kayneth finished as those words made Kyoko's eyes shoot open. She couldn't believe it.
'Those words are the same as-' Kyoko thought internally until she remembered a memory that she did not want to ever remember again.
It was a night like any other. A night where her Father had run out of alcohol. He was too busy resting on the couch to buy another bottle. And since her mother and little sister were out of the house, Kyoko was the only other person there.
"Here's some money." Her father said to her as he threw her some coins without caring if they hit his daughter. Thankfully, Kyoko caught them with ease. As she stared at the coins, Kyoko wondered-
'Why? Why did it turn out like this? I became a Magical Girl because I wanted to help you. That is all I wanted. But even now, you reject my feelings. I… I can't let things become any worse than th-' Kyoko thought internally until her thought process was cut off by her father.
"Now be a good girl and buy me some booze." Her father instructed. But Kyoko didn't move an inch. She was tired of her father wasting his life away like this. She just couldn't hold back her feelings anymore.
"Father. Please listen to me." Kyoko asked as she bowed toward him while the latter didn't look at her for a second. Instead, he stared at a wall that was slowly decaying before his eyes.
"Why are you still here?" Her father asked.
"I beg of you! You need to stop this horrible lifestyle! Drinking alcohol all day and night… it's scaring Mother and Momo! It's scaring m-" Kyoko yelled out with tears in her eyes as they dripped onto the floor below her until she was cut off-
'BAM!' By her father driving his fist into her face.
'Drip. Drip. Drip.' Blood dripped from her nose. It hurt so much to the point that it might have been broken. But that pain didn't matter to Kyoko. Instead, the pain deep inside her heart hurt her much more than anything else could…
… Or so she thought.
"Don't you ever say those names ever again. My wife is not your mother…" Her father spoke as his words hit her like bullets.
'Please stop!' Kyoko screamed out but the words wouldn't come out of her mouth.
"… My daughter is not your sister…" Her father continued as the pressure almost made her collapse fully onto the ground.
'No more! Please just stop!' Kyoko attempted screaming out again, but her vocal cords did not listen to her.
"… And I'm not your father. In fact, I've always thought you were fucking worthless. My life would have been so much better if you were never born." Her father finished as those words made her heart shatter with glass.
"…" Kyoko couldn't say a single word in response. Her limbs did not move an inch as she was stuck in place like a statue. Kyoko stood in that position as her father's words played on repeat over and over again as she cried.
"-" Words that were inaudible made contact with her as she slowly raised her head up.
"Didn't you hear me? Just-" Her father spoke once more as the words he said next were-
'Get the hell out of here already.' Those words were the final nail on the coffin. Kyoko left that house and vowed to never return again. She committed herself to her duty. The role she had to play from now on…
… To slay witches.
"AUGH!" She killed…
"AUGH!" … One after another…
"AUGH!" … The screams of the witches she annihilated from the face of the earth pierced her eardrums again and again. However, Kyoko kept killing…
… Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. All while she thought to herself…
'Am I worthwhile now?'
'Hey, Kyoko!'
"Huh?" Kyoko replied only to realize a few girls around her age were looking at her.
"It's been a while! Did you move to Mitakihara? Is that why you stopped attending school?" One of them asked.
"Y-Yeah." Kyoko replied. That was a lie. She did not want to interact with anyone else anymore.
"Eh? I'm so jealous! That outfit looks so cute! Did your parents buy it for you?" Another asked.
"Y-Yeah." Kyoko replied. That was a lie. She gained this outfit after sealing her Fate as a Magical Girl until the day she died.
"Lucky! I wish my parents bought me nice things! Well, if you want to hang with us, there's a restaurant with some really good Tenmusu." The third girl spoke.
"I-I'm good. I ate a ton of food just an hour ago. But thanks for the offer." Kyoko replied. That was a lie. She didn't have any money and was barely surviving on the food she managed to find lying around in the garbage.
"I wish I was as spoiled as you are. Your parents must really love you." One of the girls said. It didn't matter to Kyoko which girl said it. Because in the next moment…
'BAM!' She slammed her fist into the face of the girl who was closest to her.
'BAM!' And then the next one.
'BAM!' And the next one.
'BAM!' Even with no girls left that she hadn't already punched, she still-
'BAM!' Blow after blow.
'BAM!' Without stopping for a second.
'BAM!' She just kept punching.
'BAM!' Punch, after punch, after blood-soaked-
"STOP IT! YOU'LL KILL HER!" Someone shouted as the next thing she knew she was tackled to the ground.
"Y-You're insane!" One of the girls shouted.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" The second girl shouted.
"What did we ever do to you?!" The third girl shouted. And then…
"JUST GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE ALREADY!" Kyoko screamed at the top of her lungs with the voice of a demon from the pits of hell.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" The girls screamed as they ran away.
"W-What the hell is this-" The man that tackled her to the ground yelled out as even he was afraid until-
"OW! My finger!" The man shrieked in pain as the demon was biting his finger to the point that blood was dripping from it.
"Why you little bitch!" The man shouted as he-
'BAM!' Punched her in the face.
"…" Kyoko fell to the ground like a puppet who had their strings cut. She looked so lifeless, and the man noticed this. As well as the fact that this girl was a child since he only saw her back before he blindly rushed in to help the girls who were getting pummeled.
"Oh my god." The man muttered to himself as sweat dripped from his face. Only now did he realize the mistake that he had made.
"I-I'm sorry! I don't know what came over me!" The man spoke as he panicked and tried to wake her up. But then…
"…DIE!" Kyoko shouted as she stood up. No. That was wrong. Kyoko wasn't in control of her body anymore, instead, the demon was.
"AH!" The voice of the demon caused the man to gasp in horror. But the demon didn't stop there.
"… DIE!" The demon shouted again as random passersby were immediately petrified out of an overwhelming amount of fear. And then…
"… JUST DIE ALREADY!" The demon shouted at the top of its lungs as it wasn't even fazed by the pain coming from her cheek and proceeded to-
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Let out a primal scream that shook the heavens and the earth.
Sometime afterward, Kyoko came to her senses. Only now did she realize that the pain of her Father's complete rejection of her existence had caused deep wounds that would never heal. Unless…
… She would confront them. One. Last. Time.
"… Hah… hah… hah…" Kyoko breathed in and out as she steadily made her way back to the place that she used to live in alongside her family… the place she used to call home… and the place that had vowed to never return to…
… Sakura Church.
"… Damn it." Kyoko muttered to herself as she noticed that the condition of the church had not improved in the slightest. In fact, it had somehow become worse. Broken glass windows. Walls that looked like they could crumble with the slightest touch. And worst of all…
… A revolting smell that made her want to projectile vomit.
How long had it been since she left? A few days? A few weeks? A few months? Kyoko couldn't remember. Ever since that night, Kyoko had been so focused on killing any and every Witch she could that the passage of time did not concern her.
'But no longer how much time has passed… if I could just apologize for what I did… then maybe… father could forgive me… and then maybe… I could forgive myself.' Kyoko internally thought to herself as she slowly approached the front door of the church.
Her knees quivered with every step.
Her teeth chattered every time she moved an inch.
Her eyes blinked uncontrollably to the point that she felt like she could pass out at any moment.
Even still, she moved forward. And after what felt like a millennium of time… she-
'Clack.' Twisted the door handle open and returned home at last. Kyoko believed in her heart that what she had to endure up to this point was hell. Except, she was wrong. Because nothing, nothing at all, could prepare her for this moment.
"… What… the… hell?" Kyoko muttered as she noticed what had become of her living room. All over the walls was blood. The blood was smeared into the shape of satanic symbols. What was once a proud sanctuary that promoted Christianity…
… Had become a place where the devil had resided.
"COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!" Kyoko started coughing uncontrollably as the nauseating smell became much, much worse. And it was coming from…
"… Father… what… what have you done?" Kyoko muttered to herself as she crept toward the basement as her-
'THROB! THROB! THROB!' Heart beat uncontrollably. Almost as if her very soul was trying to tell her not to go into the basement. Even still, Kyoko moved forward. She had a really bad feeling that she would regret this. But if there was a chance… that her family was still alive down there…
… then she had to take it.
Kyoko made her way to the door that led to the basement. Her palms were drenched in sweat as she tried to twist the knob. But then…
'BAM!' The hinges of the door broke, and the door proceeded to slide down the stairs and-
'BAM!' Crash against the wall and break into a million pieces. There was no source of light in the basement. Only pitch-black darkness and nothing else. Though Kyoko had one thing in her possession that could become a source of light. The thing that had become her very essence after she had decided to become a Magical Girl…
… Her Soul Gem.
The light source wasn't very bright. However, it was enough for it to shine onto the stairs that led toward the bottom floor of the church. Once again, Kyoko moved forward and rejected all of the possibilities of what she would find there.
'Step. Step. Step.' Kyoko stepped onto each floorboard as slowly and softly as possible in order to not break the fragile platforms. But even with as much carefulness as she could muster…
'Crack.' One of the floorboards still cracked into pieces.
"AH!" Kyoko gasped loudly as she fell into the depths of the underworld. Though it only took a second for her to-
"Ow!" Groan in pain as she came into contact with the stone floor below her. Before she fell, she had managed to put her Soul Gem back into a safe spot. However, even without the source of light, she could tell that she was bruised and bleeding due to the fall.
Kyoko was approaching her limit. She hadn't eaten anything in a few days and if she didn't eat something soon, she would die from starvation. The fact that her home had become unrecognizable from the place that she once cherished didn't help either. And now, the fall that made her body black and blue. All of these have taken a toll on her mind. She was just about to break. Even still…
… Kyoko moved forward as she grasped onto the few remnants of hope that remained in her heart. But she would soon learn…
… That the only thing that awaited her down here was hell itself.
"… Hah… hah… hah…" Kyoko breathed in and out and materialized her Soul Gem. The dim light was enough to use as a flashlight and shine onto the dark room. And then…
"… Drip… Drip… Drip…" Something dripped onto her shoulders.
'Huh? Did one of the pipes break?' Kyoko thought internally as she used the light from her Soul Gem to see what was above her. Which was…
"A-A-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kyoko screamed at the top of her lungs as she projectile vomited all over the floor. What was above her was chickens, pigs, goats, and all sorts of farm animals that were impaled with pitchforks onto the roof above her. It was such a ghastly sight that she wanted to do nothing but run away. But then she remembered-
'Big Sis Kyoko!' Her little sister, Momo.
'My sweet Kyoko.' And her Mother.
'I-I-I must get them the hell out of here. I can't let them suffer anymore at the hands of what he has become.' Kyoko thought internally as she had already deduced the culprit behind these mass murders. Since her younger sister and mother would never hurt a fly that meant her Father must have performed all of this carnage. That meant only she could save her family now.
"MOMO! MOTHER! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Kyoko shouted at the top of her lungs. But then…
'I told you to never say their names ever again.' The words of the culprit went through her eardrums and a second later-
'BANG!' A bullet was fired at her.
"AH!" Kyoko gasped as she barely managed to dodge the attack as-
'BAM!' The bullet hit against the wall behind her.
"Damn. I missed." Her father spoke as Kyoko turned her head to face him. The source of light from her Soul Gem revealed a skinny man with an abundance of hair and utterly reeked. He didn't even look human. In fact, he resembled the living dead. If it was not for his voice, Kyoko wouldn't have ever guessed that this thing was her Father.
"… Where are they?" Kyoko asked.
"Right behind you." Her father replied. It could have been a lie. A trick that her Father conjured up on the spot in order to have another chance at assassinating his daughter. But Kyoko believed him. Simply, because she thought her Father would never tell a lie. Unfortunately…
… Her belief was right.
"N-N-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kyoko shrieked at the top of her lungs as she noticed something even worse than the ghastly sight she saw before…
… Her little sister and Mother were crucified onto the wall. They had metal nails pierced into their corpses. Her mother's face showcased a look of absolute horror on it that tore Kyoko's heart to shreds. But that wasn't even the worst part…
… The worst part was…
… Since she dodged that bullet…
… Her little sister's face…
… was utterly disfigured to the point that part of her skull was visible.
That was the straw that broke what little sanity the girl named Kyoko Sakura had left.
"… You… you… you… YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Kyoko yelled out as the feeling of rage overwhelmed her completely. There was only one thing that she wanted to do… just one thing…
… to kill this abomination.
"I'M. GOING. TO. KILL. YOU." Kyoko was no more as the demon inside of her heart had once again regained control of her.
'CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!' With every step, the demon cracked the floor below it as it inched closer and closer to its target. All the while the only other living thing in this room craved it.
"YES! KILL ME! BRING ME TO THE DEPTHS OF HELL WITH YOU DEMON! SO THAT SATAN CAN REWARD ME FOR EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE DONE!" The monster begged with a smile on its putrid face as saliva drooled from its mouth.
"RRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The demon roared as it made its way to the monster, materialized a golden spear, and-
'STAB!' Stabbed it deep into the body of the monster as it-
"MORE! MORE! GIVE ME MORE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The monster laughed in ecstasy as-
'STAB! STAB! STAB! STAB! STAB! STAB! STAB! STAB! STAB! STAB!' It was stabbed over and over again. Even though it didn't take long for the monster to be killed. The demon kept stabbing it again and again and again and again without stopping for a single second. All while it roared one word. That word was-
"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!"
JUST!
DIE!
ALREADY!
Sometime later, Kyoko managed to regain her sanity and decided to burn down the church, the home that she cherished for all of her life to the ground.
"…" With an expressionless face and without saying a word she stared into the that destroyed her home completely. All of her clothes, pictures, stuffed animals, everything that reminded her of that place…
… she wanted nothing left of it to exist within the world.
Once the fire subsided, Kyoko made a thorough search making sure that nothing remained. However, one thing did remain. A picture of her younger sister, Momo. She always thought her sister's face was adorable and would tease her about it. But now all she could see…
… was the disfigured look of horror that had a bullet in it.
Kyoko put the picture of her sister into her pocket. As a reminder of all the damage that she caused by becoming a Magical Girl. The lives that she ruined because of it. And the belief that she was without a shadow of a doubt…
… Worthless.
There was a bit more to Kyoko's story than this… however… that was for another time. Now was the time… to return to the present.
'Bastard.' Someone's voice made Kayneth stop in his tracks.
"What was that?" Kayneth spoke as he turned around and saw that it came from-
"YOU BASTARD!" Kyoko shouted at the top of her lungs as she leaped toward Kayneth but it was no use…
'Drip. Drip. Drip.' Kayneth that already spilled the contents of a small bottle onto the floor. What was contained within it was a silver liquid. It is a Special Mystic Code that only Kayneth possessed. Its name is-
"Volumen Hydrargyrum." Kayneth spoke as the silver liquid materialized into the shape of a silver ball that completely protected him from anything that Kyoko could dish out. Even still…
'BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!' She attacked it again and again. Even though it was futile, she didn't stop attacking. Because if she didn't, then she would be betraying her words-
'You are not worthless. You are strong and kind. Let's be friends, Kyoko.' The words of her treasured friend Mami echoed in her head over and over again. That's why she couldn't stop. That's why she-
"Don't you dare call me worthless! I'm not worthless! I will never be worthless ever again!" Kyoko declared but after attacking nonstop, there was a brief pause between her next attack…
… And that was what Kayneth was waiting for.
"Ah!" Kyoko gasped as the silver liquid changed shape and a hand reached out of it. It was Kayneth's right hand. And it-
"A-A-A-" Started choking Kyoko's neck. Kyoko attempted to use her spear to stab her attacker but before that-
"I think not. By my Command Spell, YOU WILL NOT HARM ME IN ANY WAY!" Kayneth declared as the golden spear fell from Kyoko's hands-
'Bam.' And onto the ground.
Even though Kyoko could not and would not attack Kayneth ever again, he still choked her. As he intended to snuff the life out of her for even attempting to attack him. And he would have if it wasn't for…
"DEAR! PLEASE STOP! SHE'S JUST A CHILD!" Sola-Ui begged her husband to stop. And then…
"… Fine." Kayneth replied as he let go of Kyoko's neck as she fell to the ground.
"… HAH… HAH… HAH…" Kyoko gasped for breath while sweat dripped from her face and onto the ground.
"I've had enough of your childish tantrums, Servant. Take this learning experience to heart because if you dare disobey me ever again…" Kayneth spoke as he leaned in and whispered-
"… I will make sure that your end is a Fate worse than death. That I promise." Kayneth declared.
"You better make sure to show results in battle because that pathetic display of strength has done nothing but make me consider you even more worthless than you already are." Kayneth finished as he exited the room. Knowing that the coast was clear, Sola Ui approached Kyoko.
"Sorry about my husband. He's not that bad of a guy, he can just be a bit impulsive. I-Is there anything I can do to make you feel any better?" Sola-Ui asked.
"…" Kyoko wordlessly nodded.
"What is it?" Sola-Ui asked.
"… Just… leave me alone." Kyoko replied.
"… I'm… sorry." Sola-Ui muttered as she left the room. Kyoko remained on the floor as that feeling of worthlessness that she hated feeling had returned. The result was her not wanting to do anything whatsoever. Except, for one thing and one thing only…
'I'm sorry… I'm sorry for being so worthless Mami.' Kyoko internally thought to herself as she shut her eyes and rejected this new world that she has found herself in.