Author's Note: My apologies for the delay, I had a lot of trouble with motivation and pacing, even more than in previous chapters. Making Gilles a competent villain was harder than it seemed. I also brought in a single new character, albeit a very minor one. It was on a whim and she won't have a real impact on the War. Maybe I'll use her in the future, or maybe I'll just give the poor girl a chance to live in peace. I'm not sure. The first two-thirds of this chapter were proofread and edited by rhomanion1. Complete proofreads were made by JAUNE117 and JGreen039.
Due to conflicting plans I initially had and the length of time between Chapters 15 and 16, I had Gray's planned sacrifice be 'discovered' and reacted to when it had already been learned of through Dan Blackmore. Chapter 16 has been adjusted to reflect this, alongside some far more subtle housekeeping adjustments to various chapters for consistency. Virtually every chapter has been gone through and had minor corrections here and there.
Also, I looked at the birthdays again. If I understand the dates and math correctly, Irisviel was pregnant with Illya three weeks (most likely) to three months (most conservative) after her own birth. That's pure madness and I'm surprised more stories don't call Kiritsugu out on that. This assumes a birthdate of February 1, 1985, for Irisviel. There is a semi-canon birthday of November 20 for F/SN Illya stated by an author that was later retconned as "unknown". Even if this weren't accepted as canon, my calculations would still say that her birthday would have to be between November 1, 1985(nine months after her mother's birth) and January 31, 1986(minimum date for her to be 18 at the start of F/SN) under the absolute least restrictive of terms. As the retcon did not say that the previously stated birthday was false as much as that it was simply 'unknown', I accept November 20, 1985, as F/SN Illya's birthday.
Before people start telling me that it is actually on July 20, please recall that birthdate is explicitly for Prismaverse's Illya, who was stated to be born at a different point years later(probably 1993) due to differences in the timeline. Trying to force F/SN Illya to have a July 20th birthday, no matter the year, simply doesn't fit.
Chapter 18: Down to Zero We Go
Fuyuki Hospital, Third Floor
Fuyuki City, Japan
109 hours and 16 minutes to Zero
While Kirei strode through the hospital's passageways, people stopped and stared at him. Even to those ignorant of the Holy Church's Executors, he carried a commanding air that demanded the attention of those around him. What they failed to see, however, was the heroic spirit traveling invisibly by his side—though that was by design. The pair arrived at their destination, the ward's stressed-looking head doctor, and greeted him calmly. "Hello, Doctor Miyano. I am Kirei Kotomine. My father sends his regrets that he couldn't immediately come himself."
"It is for the best, Father. I would not want to expose Father Risei to this situation. Thank you for coming in his stead. This way, please..." He spoke with a measure of relief, but it was only for a moment—his facial expression soon returned to displaying a stoic determination. The doctor turned to walk down the hall, and was joined by Kirei, the pair stepping into an isolated area. He provided gloves and a facemask to Kirei for his safety. "This odd ailment quickly claims the elderly, the young, and the infirm. Exposing an eighty-year-old man would be ill-advised, no matter how healthy Risei may be for his age. I thank you for taking on the duties for our Christian patients. With Ryuudou Temple's staff away from town, our chaplain is barely able to cover the Buddhist workload alone."
"It is my sacred duty to tend to the needs of the faithful. Thanks are not necessary, Doctor," Kirei said, wearing an empty, practiced smile designed to put others at ease...at least until he donned the surgical mask and let his default expression take hold once more. "Please take me to the ones in imminent danger of death."
The doctor complied, and brought Kirei to a hospital room with an elderly occupant who had lost consciousness while clutching his rosary in prayer. The patient did not rouse when Kirei approached him and began to administer the Anointing of the Sick. While the priest touched the dying man's head and hands with oil, he also used his spiritual senses to covertly check the man's condition. Kirei's eyes widened slightly when he took note of something supernatural within the man, sapping his strength. Something foul and familiar...something also found in a small cup of water at his side.
It felt like the power of Caster's familiars.
Proceeding with the anointing, Kirei focused his power on the prayer. "Through this holy anointing, may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up." With this, Kirei anointed one more place on the man's body. When he made the sign of the cross on the man's chest, the oil began to radiate power. Doctor Miyano wasn't equipped to perceive this light, but he did react when the heart monitor connected to the patient detected a rising heart rate and an increase in oxygen levels. The doctor was stunned when the old man opened his eyes and took notice of the priest at his side.
"...F-father...is it my time?" The old man asked, looking up at Kirei.
Kirei did not need to wear his false smile behind the mask, but at the very least he had to convey hope. "...though many have not been so fortunate, it seems that the Lord has seen fit to answer the Anointing of the Sick by healing you. Walk with God and praise Him for sparing you today, and drink not from the tainted tap water in that cup."
After calling his father to convey the new information about the toxic water, Kirei Kotomine would spend the next several hours delivering salvation and healing to those in the hospital. He brought them from the brink of death by purging them of Caster's influence and warning each not to drink the tainted tap water. Some who were conscious initially showed signs of being remotely controlled. This manifested in a manner that outwardly appeared to be possession or mental illness until Kirei conveyed the Lord's blessing. Doctor Miyano strongly considered converting to Catholicism by the end, and agreed not to give his patients any more tap water for the time being. As they walked down the halls after one session, he and the doctor would pass a pair of men in surgical masks carrying away a child in a body bag. The empty priest's eyes narrowed as he passed the pair, sensing something amiss...both the men and the 'body' they carried had the same traces of Caster's Magecraft as those Kirei was healing.
"Where are they going?" Kirei asked Doctor Miyano.
"Ah, the body removal technicians? There are too many bodies for the morgue to hold. Because of that, all the dead from the various hospitals are being moved to assorted warehouses and incomplete buildings. It's hoped that we can help contain whatever illness this is by doing so," Doctor Miyano explained. He disliked the fact that the death toll was already so high, and it showed when his nose wrinkled in distaste.
Kirei processed this information. He sensed that the child in the body bag was not yet dead, so something suspicious was underway. With a telepathic command, he sent Okita to follow the men. The pair would soon see just what the body removal technicians were up to...
Emiya Residence
105 hours and 39 minutes to Zero
Shirou worked to complete his task to perfection. The merry crackle of hydra meat simmering in a pan nearly drowned out both the conversation the adults were having in the living room, and the nearby radio. He had already finished making a late dinner for everyone else because of how busy the other cooks were, so he was left to his own devices. As he Projected ingredients, Shirou made sure he created them inside a cupboard or fridge before pulling them into view so that none of the Mages called him out on it. His new family, Lancer, and both Sabers had carefully told him to do it that way if he had to do it at all. It was some sort of big secret that needed to be kept. Tokiomi occasionally looked his way, seemingly attempting to catch him in the act, or otherwise analyze what he was doing. Whatever secret was being hidden probably wouldn't last for very long.
This was doubly sure because Atalanta had taken it upon herself to observe his processing of the hydra meat extremely closely. She was clearly worried that he'd poison himself or others with the hydra's toxic blood. The lion-girl would occasionally sniff gently, confused by the vanishing and appearing of ingredients that Shirou was responsible for causing. Sometimes Shirou would put an ingredient back in a cupboard after using it, the smell would vanish, and Atalanta would open the cupboard immediately after to find nothing. The poor woman had been thoroughly confused by the time Shirou sealed the vial of hydra blood that was a byproduct of the meal preparation.
Atalanta picked up the vial and inspected the red liquid inside with concern and an odd expression of melancholy. She looked at Shirou with worry. "I acknowledge that you can safely cook hydra meat...but you need to be careful every single time you make this meal. Arrows dipped in hydra venom have felled many a Greek hero, user andvictim alike. You need to make sure it's destroyed by a trustworthy adult any time you have even the smallest drop of leftover hydra blood. If anything, detoxing and cooking hydra meat is not worth the risk of poisoning yourself and others to begin with...so please don't make this meal in the future if you don't have to." She pocketed the vial.
"Hnn..." Shirou responded, taking her words seriously. Maybe he could Project hydra meat that was pre-drained? Not that he knew he was using the First True Magic yet. "I'll be careful, Atalanta-nee...but I have to cook this now and then during the War. He won't be happy if I don't!"
Atalanta blinked in confusion. "...'he'?" Rather than answering her question, Shirou made his way over to the radio.
"-we repeat, citizens should not drink or otherwise use the water in or around Fuyuki City. The contaminants cause illness that is most pronounced in the ill, the elderly, and the young. The particles are small enough to pass through filtration and boiling does not have a sufficient effect to make the water safe. The matter is suspected to be related to the burned corpses previously found in an underground water storage tank within the city. The Japan Self Defense Force and the United States Navy have both sent forces to provide medical care and relief, giving bottled water at the following locations-" Shirou turned off the radio when he finished the meal he'd been working on, and moved to serve it.
He wasn't ignorant of the city's plight. If anything, he felt an urge to go out and do something about it just like the adults and Servants planning around the living room table did. Saber Artoria's watchful eyes, however, never left her young Master when he went to the walkway overlooking the yard that served as a patio, and set up the meal. She knew exactly how he felt about the matter due to her previous experiences with his distorted nature, while Shirou knew he wasn't allowed to get involved. Shirou's soul may have been less distorted than before his reincarnation thanks to being able to grow properly from birth, but he still felt an urge to help people. Maybe that had just always been a part of him.
The boy was somewhat mollified by the fact that the curative bottles of water being shipped all over town by hypnotized soldiers were duplicated from the initial cure by way of his power. He may not have been fighting, but at least his father had allowed him to secretly help save lives that way. Shirou had no idea that the reason he'd been asked to make that water instead of EMIYA was simply to make him feel like he'd contributed, and keep him from running off to impulsively do more. The adults conversed nearby, none but Saber Artoria and Atalanta paying Shirou any mind for the moment.
"It's all badly contaminated." Waver scowled as he studied a map of Fuyuki City that was covered in notes and red markings. "We knew that it was wide-spread due to the Magic Circles all over town, but I thought we'd at least be able to find a place that had more contamination than the rest, some clue of where to look. Instead, there's too much contamination everywhere! We can't make heads or tails of it! Now all we can do is keep searching near Fuyuki's leylines and water sources, hoping to stumble across something in time!" Waver clenched his teeth, disliking what he'd learned. Caster's monster from the other timeline had been described by Saber Artoria, Kiritsugu, and Irisviel. Everyone was worried that something similar would soon appear.
Sola-Ui remained calm, in direct contrast to Waver's frustration. This was in part because their words were being recorded for the Clock Tower's later review by Tokiomi Tohsaka's phonograph. "Zouken Matou is clearly partially responsible for this. His family's Magecraft of behavioral modification and energy draining is not only a fundamental part of those Magic Circles, but can also be found in the tainted water that Kirei Kotomine identified. It either controls a person's body or drains a victim's prana to the point of death, sometimes both. Between that and the testimony of his own son and adopted grandchild, we have enough to prosecute Zouken Matou for recklessly endangering the secrecy of Magecraft." It was worth noting that the phonograph was also communicating with its counterparts. In addition to the one already at the Fuyuki Church, a third had been made with Shirou's aid and was sent to the RMS Galehut. This was the ship at Fuyuki Harbor responsible for shipping Kayneth's materials and also served as the current field headquarters for the Mage's Association's assets in the area. Doctor Albion was listening in on the group while directing resources and personnel to help manage the situation.
Waver slammed his fist down on the table in irritation. "With what we know about the Matous, why hasn't someone labeled Zouken Matou a Dead Apostle and hunted him down a long time ago? None of this had to happen!"
"Politics," Doctor Albion's voice responded over the phonograph. "Aside from Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg and his minimal role as a witness, Zouken Matou is the only person alive to have been involved with the Grail since its construction. The Einzberns may copy the memories of Justease Lizrich von Einzbern and other notable models into each new batch of homunculi, but no one has as much hands-on experience with the Grail as Zouken. The Clock Tower wants to retain the path to the Root that the Grail War represents, so they tolerated Zouken Matou's presence as long as he kept his feedings low profile and maintained the Grail. It wasn't like he was threatening the secrecy of Magecraft or otherwise breaking their laws until now. The Church also tolerated him, if only so they wouldn't lose the right to supervise the Grail War." Of course, this meant that Zouken had a motive to hide any corruption of the Grail. If it had been deemed unsuitable for reaching the Root, he would have outlived his usefulness and become a liability to the Mage's Association.
Doctor Albion continued speaking, "The bottled water is helping to cancel the effects of Caster's contaminants among the populace. The Bounded Fields seem to be out of commission now, at least the ones that can be reached from the surface. My compliments to First Rider and Second Archer for that." He was referring to when Iskandar had used his chariot to transport EMIYA around the Fuyuki City sky earlier in the day, the latter raining down copies of Anti-Thaumaturgy Mystic Codes and Noble Phantasms onto the city to break the various Bounded Fields. It was progress...even if reactionary. "We're trying to pinpoint more with the Galehut's magical sensors, but the local Texture exploded in size and consumed another Texture. It was likely due to the influence of the War. Searching with our normal procedures is like trying to detect a flashlight when you're staring into the sun. We're stuck with old-fashioned legwork."
Iskandar crossed his arms and looked over to Waver. "Boy, lamenting over the how and why is meaningless. It's our problem to deal with. If you can't think of anything else and we have to search home-by-home, then that is simply what we have to do."
"Truly, there should be a limit to your collective incompetence." A bored and recognizable voice abruptly made itself known. Golden particles appeared as none other than Gilgamesh emerged from Spirit Form. He then had a seat on the walkway to eat the meal provided for him by Shirou. While Kiritsugu reeled from the fact that his Bounded Fields had detected nothing, every Servant present drew their weapon and protected the humans present. Shirou was pulled back by Atalanta, who placed herself between him and Gilgamesh. The King of Heroes did not dignify the combatants with his attention, still criticizing the planners instead. "You have all the knowledge needed to find your foe's location. One of you even knows in his heart where it is already. He is simply too much of a coward to return to that particular battlefield." Gilgamesh gave Kiritsugu a small glare as he said this but promptly turned his attention to the offered meal.
"Hn. I see you once more failed to provide any wine," Gilgamesh observed. He was now paying the others very little mind as he inspected the meal.
"I can't get any. I can make some, but it'd just be a copy of something else." Shirou said from behind a confused Atalanta. The boy at least provided a cup that Gilgamesh could drink his own wine from.
"Don't. I could tolerate your copying the best of nature's bounty as ingredients, making tools as needed, or using existing references to advance your knowledge; but skip no part of the process when improving yourself or crafting something for my discerning eye. One who copies things from others and calls them his own is little more than a Faker." Gilgamesh looked at Shirou with a stern expression. "Human growth is to master and ultimately improve upon what came before through skill and effort. Even if the gods would deem a 'perfect copy' that was achieved without effort to be adequate for their tongue, I would not."
"I'll remember that, King Gilgamesh!" Shirou said, understanding what the man meant. He wouldn't want to just make copies of the same food forever even if it tasted good. That didn't mean anything. He wanted to get better at cooking for himself. Gilgamesh, on noting that Shirou seemed to understand, turned his eye toward the Servant standing with him. "So this is the mongrel that the Tohsaka sought to replace me with?"
Atalanta bristled slightly and glared at the King of Heroes, the insult 'mongrel' apparently irritating due to her animalistic nature. Shirou watched as the lioness of a woman quickly fought down the urge to fight in favor of employing tact. Shirou remembered when the whole group been told how to answer this man in case he ever appeared. She instead responded with a level voice conveying mild displeasure, but not rudeness. "My goal is to protect my Master and the other children, not to take your Grail. I don't think our roles are comparable."
"We are by no measure comparable. You even fail to notice the weight of the gift you've received from my cook. But as your reason for being here suits my needs, I will permit your existence. Try not to be culled from the War's ranks before your duty is concluded." Gilgamesh smiled smugly with the full awareness that he was irritating her. He then addressed the small crowd watching him not as enemies, but as subjects that were his to command. "I have come not for war, but simply to partake in the meal made by my cook. I expect you all to allow him to continue his duties and train his skills without hindrance in the future. Fail in this and I will be less tolerant of you all." With that, Gilgamesh poured some wine from the Gate of Babylon into his cup and started to eat his meal.
"...Gift?" Atalanta's query carried a confused tone. It wasn't long before she shook the thought from her mind in favor of addressing the young cook. "Shirou, how did you know he was watching us?"
Shirou looked a bit confused at the question. "I...didn't? He's got Clairvoyance, though. I figured he'd know when I made the next meal and be mad if I held off if I didn't have to," Shirou said as if it was perfectly reasonable for him to still make food for an enemy. Sadly, Gilgamesh also subscribed to the idea that he was entitled to such consideration.
"Endeavor to learn proper speech, cook. I would be 'angered', not mad. 'Mad' carries the implication that I would have taken leave of my senses like a Berserker at the weakest of provocations. That description may be similar to a certain shameless and contemptibly useless goddess I have had the displeasure of meeting, but it is not something that I resemble." A small smirk found its way to Gilgamesh's face as he covertly fired that shot, ignoring the hypocrisy regarding his own thin and prideful skin.
Shirou's Reality Marble
105 hours and 30 minutes to Zero
Ishtar suddenly aged up to adulthood and screeched in rage as her young sister hurriedly tried to placate the enraged Sumerian goddess of war. "Get in here and say that to my face, Goldie! I'll shoot a me-blessed planet at you!" Ishtar's iced coffee swiftly became a casualty, the cup thrown violently against a nearby wall of the Copenhagen and shattering. EMIYA stepped away from her, not wanting to be in arm's reach of the screeching woman.
Emiya Residence
Fuyuki City, Japan
Shirou didn't fully understand EMIYA's wince, but Gilgamesh' widening smile indicated that he had missed something important.
"Okay, King Gilgamesh..." Shirou pondered for a time, waiting for Gilgamesh to finish his meal before hesitantly saying something else. "Speaking of goddesses, I was wondering...is what I saw and read about Sumerian history true? That Ereshkigal was just some lonely girl trapped in the underworld? Is she still there today?"
The King of Heroes pondered his response before responding not with overt displeasure, but an unexpected level of restraint. "To answer that question in detail would be to give modern man too much information. Instead, I will say this; you should not be so quick to feel mercy for deities. They are existences that often killed humans as readily and thoughtlessly as you would step on a blade of grass. They will lie, deceive, bargain, and steal while holding you to a standard they themselves will only superficially follow. Ereshkigal is a rare exception that attempted to conduct herself properly and mercifully to humans, but even her hands are not clean of blood." Shirou, unaware that he had already saved Ereshkigal, assumed the worst and hung his head in disappointment.
"It doesn't seem fair to her..." Shirou observed.
Gilgamesh scoffed as he rose to his feet. "It is not. Fairness is not the natural order, but a human invention that nature and the gods are not governed by. Any King that has struggled to enforce fairness during their rule knows this." Gilgamesh glanced to Lancer Artoria as if to prod her into defending her previously stated ideals. When she did not do so, he adopted a disappointed expression before turning away and fading into golden motes of light. It seemed that the group had survived the encounter this time.
Shirou felt himself in the care of Saber Artoria and Atalanta immediately after, Atalanta hugging the boy while Saber Artoria came to a guard position and watched to make sure Gilgamesh was really gone. While this was happening, the remainder of those present shifted their glance towards Kiritsugu. It was then that Kiritsugu put his head in his hands.
"I...am an idiot." Kiritsugu's self-deprecating comment was quite out of character, but he continued speaking before anyone could comment. "I was blinded by the assumption that whatever Caster is doing needed to be close to water. Or maybe Gilgamesh was right and I was looking for a reason to reject the site from my considerations. Either way, it's obvious now. Caster's actions manufacture two things. Prana and bodies. If we look at where those two things are most likely to be found, it will be at leylines and morgues. Or rather, large and empty buildings that can be repurposed into morgues. There's only one readily accessible site in Fuyuki that meets both criteria. The same place the other Fourth Holy Grail War ended." Kiritsugu gave a tired sigh as he remembered the place where his whole world fell apart.
"The Fuyuki Civic Center."
Fuyuki Civic Center Underground Parking Area
105 hours and 26 minutes to Zero
A van formerly allocated to delivery duty was used by the body removal technicians to transport the bodies to the parking garage of Fuyuki Civic Center. The bodies were profoundly close to death as far as modern medicine could tell, their weak pulse only a beat per minute at most, but it was clear to Kirei and Okita that at least some were wanted alive for whatever Caster had in mind. Kirei and his Servant had been able to ride on top of the vehicle using Okita's Coat of Broken Oaths to grant Presence Concealment, but they had to jump off of the vehicle as it went into the parking garage due to a lack of sufficient vertical clearance.
Kirei pulled out a radio provided to him by the Church's Enforcers during his time with the group. It would transmit to another such radio that had been entrusted to Risei. He spoke quietly so as not to break the Presence Concealment. "Young Father to Elder Father. Investigating Fuyuki Civic Center. Will transmit continuously under stealth. Relay contents to recording." He knew that Tokiomi's Mystic Code was recording things of note for the Mage's Association and that his father was making a copy of communications for the Church as well. He and his Servant would ideally just do some recon of their own before withdrawing and regrouping with the others, but it would at least be on record and the circumstances known if they got into a difficult situation. Okita wasn't suited for long engagements, especially in a Caster's workshop.
The van parked next to a doorway connecting to the Fuyuki Civic Center proper, the smell of blood permeating the air already giving Okita and Kirei a clue as to the likely fate of those within. The men who had loaded the corpses onto the truck stepped out of the vehicle and opened the back door to unload it. What they found inside gave them pause...a shivering black-haired high school student with blue eyes was conscious and had managed to leave her body bag in her weak struggles. Her thin, light blue hospital gown gave her little protection from the autumn air.
"Please...I'm s-still...alive...don't..." The girl pled only to find corrupted hands reaching towards her, unheeding of her words. Her request was honored instead by the figure who struck the two men from behind with the back of her sword. The pair's bodies fell away from the vehicle and into crumpled heaps onto the concrete floor of the garage. The girl's unfocused eyes regarded Okita Souji standing behind their forms, her blade gleaming with a hint of reflected moonlight.
Kirei inspected the men while Okita prioritized the girl and spoke to her. "It's okay...I'm here. You'll be fine, just focus on me. What's your name?"
"T-Tachie..." The girl managed to stammer out, crying slightly and weakly embracing her savior.
"It's nice to meet you, Tachie. I'm Okita, and we'll help you." Okita promised the scared girl.
Kirei felt a strange tinge of momentary pleasure in the girl's suffering but pushed that out of his mind in favor of practical concerns. Kirei quickly verified that these men had already been killed by the parasites inside them and were now mere puppets. A couple of Black Keys impaled the bodies and ensured that the pair would never again cause a problem. The grim task concluded, Kirei climbed into the back of the van and began to check the girl over. She had a parasite like the others, but the girl also had twenty-seven Magic Circuits according to his quick examination. One of them had been opened in a stress response to the intrusion of the parasite, allowing her to narrowly regain consciousness and control of her body. It was tenuous, however. She also seemed to be the oldest victim in the vehicle, if the apparent size of the people in the other body bags was any indication.
"Here," Kirei said, providing the young woman a small vial of Holy Water. "Drink this and it will cure you, though you'll still feel aches for a day due to forcing yourself awake. We don't have much time." Claiming the vial with a confused expression, the high school student drank its contents while Kirei said a brief prayer. She immediately felt better as the parasite was killed and faded away, leaving nothing behind. She carried a look of surprise, but Kirei spoke before he could answer her questions. "Good, everything seems fine. Are you able to drive?"
"W-what?" The girl asked, surprised by the question.
"My associate and I have to tend to those responsible for causing all of this. I am asking if you are able to take this van and drive these children to safety. They're still alive, but can't wake without help." Kirei's false kindness was absent due to the need to get back to his investigation as soon as possible.
"I don't have a license yet...but my cousin lets me drive his car on the mountain roads during the weekends. I should be able to do it." The girl responded, realizing the weight of what she was being asked to do.
Getting out of the back of the van, Kirei went to the corpses of the men and pulled the vehicle's keys out of the pocket of the driver. He tossed them to the girl, who narrowly managed to catch them. "Then take this van and drive to the Fuyuki Church to the east of town. The priest there will be expecting you and be able to treat the others. If you wish to survive the night, do not delay."
Still slightly shaking and trying not to look at the corpses, the nervous girl took a brief moment to draw strength from Okita's reassuring smile. She nodded after shoring herself up as much as possible. "Alright...I'll do my best!" The girl climbed between the seats to the front of the vehicle, temporarily forgetting about her flimsy state of dress, and started the vehicle after seating herself. She promptly turned the heat up to full blast to warm herself up while Kirei and Okita left the vehicle and pulled the corpses out of the way of the van's tires. In well under a minute, the inexperienced driver had pulled out of the parking garage and was driving off into the night.
"Sorry," Okita said to Kirei, "but I just couldn't ignore that." Kirei knew what Okita was apologizing for. In saving the girl, Okita had discarded their stealth and potentially revealed their presence by casting aside her Coat of Broken Oaths. Kirei picked up the discarded Shinsengumi haori and gave it back to the Servant.
"I doubt that the Lord wished us to ignore her. We will simply have to deal with the consequences." Aside from this statement, the former Executor of the Church elected to say no more about it. His Servant took on a determined expression, putting the coat back on and taking Kirei under its protective umbrella of stealth once more before heading through the blood-scented doorway.
People less accustomed to death would have vomited on seeing the connecting hallway beyond. As if the smell wasn't bad enough, the walls and ceiling were smeared with blood and viscera in a twisted display of frenzied artistic discretion. Bloody trails on the floor showed where corpses were dragged away from the area after their contents were spent, to be discarded like they were merely emptied tubes of paint. A push broom soaked in blood rested against a nearby wall, clearly used as an oversized paint brush. Kirei and Okita, each familiar with the more cruel aspects of death and slaughter, simply steeled themselves against what was to come and walked onward.
The radio link with the Fuyuki Church was lost partway through their trek. Kirei percieved this with concern and suspected to one of two possibilities. Either Caster's Master was tach-savvy enough to jam radio signals, or they were playing with magical energies strong enough to interfere with the electromagnetic spectrum as a matter of mere consequence. There was nothing that could be done about it, so they pressed onward for the time being.
A recording of Church organ music was heard over the built-in speaker system as they walked into the largest room of the Fuyuki Civic Building, and the sight even made the worldly eyes of Kirei and Okita widen in shock. Unconscious people in body bags were carefully arranged around the rim and interior of a massive multi-tiered Magic Circle that had been drawn in blood. Once-empty walls meant to eventually have murals placed on them had been painted instead with nightmarish depictions of beasts with the flesh and blood of the freshly killed. Symbols related to heresy, Outer Gods, and Great Old Ones were included; mixed in with symbols from various death metal albums of Ryuunosuke's preference. Heaps of corpses were in the corners of the room, some of which were 'artfully' positioned. In the center, as if in a grand parody of a Church service, Francois Prelati stood in Catholic attire from his time as a fifteenth-century cleric. His robes were stained so red with blood that he could pass for a cardinal. In the hands of the man was not a Bible, however, but the unholy spellbook he had once transcribed before giving to Gilles during their crime spree in France. It had been returned to him by the mad Servant and glowed with power in the hands of a man far better equipped to wield its dark powers. Gilles stood next to him, smiling in glee. Sitting in one of the many amphitheater-like seats was Ryuunosuke Uryuu, who was positively beaming even though he was covered in blood as well.
"My brothers, we gather here today to celebrate and worship. I am Francois Prelati, and it has been over 550 years since Gilles and I have had the pleasure of partaking in such a service. But I assure you...it shall be the greatest yet! We welcome our new brother, Ryuunosuke, whose heart is so like our own in its search for the joys and pleasures of the world." At Francois' words, Ryuunosuke beamed in pleasure in direct contrast to the physical proof of his evil deeds dripping red from his form.
"Ryuunosuke has observed for himself a secret of this world. That God is a great playwright who takes pleasure in the successes and failures of man in equal measure! The cruelties and the mercies. The just and the lawless. The pious and the heretical! The good and the evil! The Lord loves all!" The arms of Francois spread wide to express the breadth of his message while Gilles' expression took on a manic smile. The latter rose and walked to the center of the Magic Circle while Francois looked towards the concealed Master and Servant pair. Okita's B-ranked Presence Concealment was not enough to hide them from the eyes of one of the world's foremost researchers of Illusion Magecraft. "Kirei Kotomine! This sermon speaks to your soul as well! I can see it in your smile!"
Kirei was stunned, his hand quickly moving to touch his face. He was surprised to find that he was indeed smiling widely. More widely than he ever had. Okita looked on in horror before finding the words to interject. "Don't listen to him, Kirei-chan!" Her hand went to his shoulder and pulled her around to look at him. "Why would the Bible have laws if his words were true! I may not be a Christian, but even I know that your God loves you in spite of your sin, not because of it! These are just self-serving lies! Excuses to give up and act no better than animals!"
Francois continued to speak. "Don't dismiss my words so easily! I know of you, Kirei. I still have connections in the Church and I've watched you closely. You're so much like I was. A man born with darkness in his heart trying to be pious. Unable to find appreciation in anything but the unclean to the point where we deemed pleasure sinful by default! Ignoring that the greatest pleasure we know is to observe or cause the suffering of others. To see them struggle, suffer, and fall short. I tried to be pious and just until the day came when I finally accepted that was simply not how the Lord made me! Even the Grail knows your nature, your most devout wish, and has called you away from the lie that was your life to start anew!"
"So you want to use the corrupted Grail to cause suffering? To end humanity simply because it brings you pleasure?" Kirei asked, struggling not to agree with this man.
"Of course not! If we killed them all, the show would be over! Where's the fun in that?" Francois' words surprised Okita and Kirei both. "My wish can wait for another day. I'm just here because my friend showed up and I want to celebrate his return by painting the town red with blood! We don't need complicated justifications for it!" The spellbook opened of its own accord and began to glow while a multi-layer Bounded Field of immense power filled the room. Three of Ryuunosuke's Command Seals glowed an ominous crimson, power being drawn from them to assist in the ritual. "Don't worry, Kirei! We accept what you are. I'll give you an orgy of bloodshed and carnage that will make you weep with joy! And once you've accepted who you truly are, I'll show you how to carve out a place for yourself in this world without need for compromise or shame!"
With a high-speed incantation, Francois spoke in an alien tongue and directed the energy of the Magic Circle towards Gilles' form. The body bags popped like so many blood-filled balloons as their occupants were sacrificed toward the machinations of the mad ex-priest. Francois started laughing in amusement before he called out to Kirei once more.
"Rejoice, young man! Your wish will finally come true!"
Emiya Residence
105 hours and 7 minutes to Zero
Rin and Sakura were sleeping relatively soundly in Illya's bedroom with Illya and Gray, the Dream Cycles of the former two artificially adjusted by Avalon Nocturne. It was for the best. They would likely have dreampt about Shirou dying in various permutations of reality or other horrible things otherwise. As it was, Rin was exclusively seeing Atalanta's past instead of EMIYA's and Sakura was limited to seeing Medusa's lifetime. Sadly, this rest wasn't meant to last.
Sakura's eyes snapped open as she woke from her sleep to find something trying to tear into her being from Imaginary Number Space. Alien words she should not comprehend, but did, whispered into her mind. They demanded to be let into her soul. To merge. To empower. To destroy. Medusa responded to the girl's waking wimper instantly, hand on Sakura's shoulder and magical senses searching for the entity that was assailing her young Master. Rin awoke next to her sister and looked on in confusion at the terror on Sakura's face.
Fortunately for the would-be victim, Avalon Nocturne was designed to shield Sakura from such intrusion and change. It was how she had been protected, mind and soul, from Zouken Matou's efforts for so long. A pulse of its energy through Imaginary Number Space drove away the assailant. Sakura let go of a breath she didn't know she was holding, the hope of the scabbard promptly calming her.
"Sakura...what just happened?" Rin asked in confusion.
"Something bad was trying to...it wanted me to..." Sakura's efforts to parse what she felt into a child's vocabulary were interrupted by the sound of a loud explosion elsewhere in the city.
Fuyuki Civic Center - Epicenter
105 hours and 7 minutes to Zero → Zero Hour
It is common for different timelines to share various key events. Without notable effort and the guidance of a clairvoyant, and sometimes even with these measures in place, they will trend towards sharing common aspects even if the timing or details of the events may differ.
One such common factor in assorted timelines was the Fuyuki Fire that typically happened at the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War at 6:00 AM on November 28, 1994. In most timelines, it was caused by a corrupted Grail spewing curses out onto the world. In this one, however, different events transpired to cause Zero Hour to come almost four and a half days early. At 8:53 PM on November 23, 1994; a large part of the Shinto District of Fuyuki City vanished in a burst of dark magical energy tinged by blue electrical discharge. Between the illness that struck earlier in the day and the death toll at ground zero, over a thousand people perished rather then the five-hundred in the typical event.
But what was the cause of this destruction? A mass human sacrifice that called the power of a Great Old One to Fuyuki City. It appeared in other timelines as a gigantic regenerating monster under Gilles' control. But here, with Francois Prelati providing power and guidance alongside Ryuunosuke Uryuu assisting with his Command Seals, the process was far more complete. The resulting explosion of magical power caused untold destruction and promptly created a magic sinkhole full of tainted sea water a hundred meters deep. The affected area, roughly mirroring that taken up by the Fuyuki Fire, was so departed from common sense that it functioned much like an overpowered Reality Marble. It had a component of eldritch madness to it that threatened to strain the minds of those within it beyond the scope of sanity. Ryuunosuke, Francois, Gilles, Okita, and Kirei found themselves standing on an algae-covered platform at the very bottom of the sinkhole, within the protection of a massive underwater bubble. The bubble was held intact by Bounded Fields of completely alien construction. There were ancient sunken buildings surrounding them, made of stone and lit by bio-luminescent green and blue algae. What few other people in the area survived the initial blast found themselves suddenly contending with a mix of mental strain, high water pressure, and being savagely torn to pieces by Lovecraftian sea creatures. The deranged priest who had called forth this madness enjoyed the display, but was temporarily distracted by something else.
"Huh...it felt like it almost didn't work. It was as if the power went somewhere else for a few moments. Was there another compatible host nearby?" Francois asked himself briefly before he pushed the curiosity out of his mind with a shrug and observed the others present. He amused himself with their reactions to the change.
"Sooo cooool...it's like feeding time at the aquarium!" Ryuunosuke watched the grotesque happenings out in the water with a childlike glee. No surprises there, though Francois did appreciate the honest enjoyment on his face. Ryuunosuke was also sufficiently protected from the nature of this world to prevent his mind from cracking under the strain of it. It wasn't a sure thing whether or not the young man was ready to experience the full splendor of this place without safeguards. He held promise though.
Kirei Kotomine also stared out at the destruction and bloodshed, but it was with a stunned look on his face. He gazed upon the nightmare and tried to parse the reality-altering scene in his strained mind. It was only his experience, the mystical protections of his vestments, and the already semi-warped nature of his being that kept his mind from breaking long enough for Okita to grab him and shove him under the Coat of Broken Oaths after removing it from herself. She also used the coat to obscure his eyes. "Don't look, Kirei! Something's very wrong. A human mind can't handle this place!"
"What's wrong, not a fan?" Francois asked with a smirk on his face. "It's everything his twisted soul desires, you know? No ethics, no morality, no condemnation...just the strong preying upon the weak for their own sustenance and enjoyment, as God intended before man partook of the apple and gained knowledge!" Francois spread his arm dramatically while gesturing to the carnage around them, as if to compel Kirei to look upon the 'wonders' of this place.
"This...is not Eden," Okita responded through clenched teeth. Her nature as a Servant gave her a certain measure of protection from the madness around her, but not a great deal. She was not as magically empowered as Servants from more ancient times.
Francois gave an unconcerned shrug and a smile. "You're not the one I want to convince, Assassin. The longer Kirei is here, the more sure he is to recognize its charm. A shame he's missing the rest of the feeding frenzy though. Oh well!" With that, Francois turned his attention to the man of the hour. "How do you feel, Gilles?" Francois happily inquired of his empowered friend. A friend who had become something far more dangerous than a mere Caster.
Gilles de Rais flexed an arm of his newly restored body. It was a form that mirrored his prime while fighting alongside Jeanne d'Arc, analogous to his Saber form, and some of his military acumen and intellect from life had been restored as well. But he was no less insane. If anything, he'd gone so far off the deep end that he'd looped back around with something...greater. The man whose legend spoke of efforts to summon a demon had merged so effectively with the foreign entity empowering Prelati's Spellbook that he had become more of a monster himself.
This was no longer a mere Servant. This was a Threat to Humanity.
"I feel wonderful, old friend. I am myself again...and more. So much more. Tell me, though...surely you knew that the woman I was chasing wasn't truly Jeanne. Why did you not correct me, Francois?" Gilles asked with a warped lucidity that had been absent from him as a Caster.
Francois simply gave a wider smile. "And ruin your fun bringing her to despair? Why would I do something like that? If we're going to torture that British saint either way, I'd gladly let you believe in a delusion if it let you enjoy yourself more! Madness can be fun too!"
The sentiment seemed to move the dark Servant's heart to the point where he gave a hearty laugh. After several moments, this progressively transitioned into a maddened cackle that petered out only after several long seconds. "Oh, Francois, you were always looking out for me! But worry not. We won't be lacking in amusement on this day. For I can finally hear it now! After all these centuries, I can hear the word of God!" Gilles gave a toothy grin to Francois, Ryuunosuke, Kirei, and Okita. The carnage around him only served to further elevate his mood. "Yes...yes! He praises us and desires more! The Lord calls for more sacrifices! More blood! His will be done!"
Kiritsugu had come up with a plan to attack Caster's tentacled horror if it appeared. Four Servants were split into two flight-capable mobile assault teams, each with a Reality Marble user and an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm user. One was comprised of Iskandar and Lancer Artoria riding the former's chariot, while the other was made of EMIYA and Saber Artoria standing atop a copy of Lancelot's Magecraft-enhanced Mitsubishi F-15J. One or the other was meant to draw the horror into a Reality Marble bereft of civilians and obliterate it all at once – a streamlined version of the tactic used against it in the previous Fourth Holy Grail War. The other Servants would remain behind at the Emiya Residence to protect those staying there against sneak attacks. Kiritsugu, Waver, and Maiya would take to the field in Leysritt's Reinforced 1993 Suzuki Carry Van, which was stocked with drones and field control systems from EMIYA's lifetime to help monitor the situation from a distance. Each of the trio was concealed by copies of Carnwennan.
It was a shame that all their planning was thrown out the window not only because they arrived too late to stop the attack, but the scene was quite different from what they had expected. A large section of the Shinto District of Fuyuki City was deep below sea level and submerged by tainted water. It was pitch black in the dark of the night, save for a series of structures deep on the bottom that glowed a blue-green—their likely target given the sheer energy output that was detected— and smaller red dots that moved freely in the abyss. The source of those red dots was made clear when a five-meter-long tentacle monster with glowing red eyes lunged out of the water into the open air at the slower target – Iskandar's Gordius Wheel.
The initial instinct of the bulls to be spooked by this monster was fought by Iskandar's solid grip on the reins. "Trample onward, Children of Zeus!" Iskandar called out. The tentacled creature attempted to grapple and cling to the chariot and its bulls from below, but it was through the power of magical lightning that the bulls charged across the sky. The bulls trampled the tentacle beast, frying it with purple-blue lightning. It let loose an incomprehensible death-screech, and tumbled into the foul waters below. It was only the first of many to strike.
Similar creatures launched themselves at EMIYA's jet, but the fighter was simply too fast and agile for the creatures to reach. Saber Artoria leapt from the jet's wing with Carnwennan in hand, and donned her Shadow-Treading Air: Wings of the Dragon to fly. As they had in her battle with Gilgamesh, 'feathers' in the form of disconnected teal jewel javelins formed wings behind her and launched prana lasers at and through anything that attempted to come close. EMIYA used various swords launched through the air, magic-boosted AIM-7F/M Sparrow missiles, magic-boosted AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, the 20mm M61 Vulcan auto-cannon, and a weaponized flare dispenser to lethal effect in support of his allies. The air was filled with lightning, rotary cannon fire, explosions, prana lasers, and the shrieking of dying tentacle monsters.
As Lancer Artoria watched her more experienced counterpart use what was supposed to be her weakest armament to fly and rain death down upon her enemies, she contemplated her own relative weakness against multiple targets. She was largely a one-on-one fighter aside from using Rhongomyniad to leave a massive crater in an enemy army at a high energy cost. Resolving to practice with her Traced copy of Carnwennan later, she chose to wield Add in its bow form, and launched prana arrows at attacking targets.
Iskandar, rather than feeling inadequate, gave a deep laugh. "So this is modern warfare! Glorious! It is everything I dreamed it would be! We can't allow ourselves to be outdone, Lancer!" When he wasn't firing lightning from his sword at his foes or trampling them with his bulls, he eyed EMIYA's jet with desire. Perhaps there was a way to mount those missiles on the sides of his Gordius Wheel? Oh, the possibilities...
After piercing the eye of one of the larger launched horrors to both kill it and alter its trajectory to miss the chariot, Lancer Artoria asked Iskandar a question. "Why do we not use a Reality Marble as planned? Even if they are not the creature from the other War, it would restrict their movements!"
"You must not feel it as strongly due to the protection of your Holy Lance," Iskandar responded to the query, "but there's a strange pressure on my mind just from being in this place that's going so far as to strain my connection to my Master. A normal human might be unable to think here. It almost feels like we are already inside a Reality Marble, and I can't fully manifest mine to overpower it. I'm sure Archer's noticed it too. We'll just have to win this with what we have!" Lancer Artoria knew that this wasn't a good prospect. The body of water had magical properties that seemed to cushion or even reject attacks that tried to penetrate it, save for those of Carnwennan due to its shadow-traversing power. Even with Carnwennan being spammed liberally by Saber Artoria, the creatures seemed to replenish themselves faster than she could destroy them alone.
Saber Artoria wanted to just use Excalibur on the thing and be done with it, but that would displace a great deal of tainted water and possibly flood a massive portion of the city. This fight had to be contained somehow, and without a Reality Marble...
"Bombards, formaaaa-tion!" Gilles called out from his sunken platform, ordering his monsters to stop blindly sacrificing themselves. The beasts dove back beneath the waves...only to briefly surface and use their powerful tentacles to fling rocks and debris at their targets in the sky before diving once more to rearm. A select few fired blasts of energy from their eyes, also diving when attacked. The inclusion of ranged attacks and self-preservation would make things that much harder for the gnats circling above the water.
"That's better. Ah, to command an army again! I'd almost forgotten-" Gilles was interrupted by a loud squelch, the Servant's eyes turning to see Okita standing in front of Ryuunosuke. She had rapidly crossed the distance to him and plunged her sword directly through his chest. However, it was Okita's eyes that were widened in surprise as a black-purple ichor poured from the wound rather than blood.
Ryuunosuke looked down at the blade impaling his chest while the same dark liquid started leaking from his mouth. "A new...color? Cool...hurts like hell, but-" Okita didn't let him finish, tearing the sword from his body sideways through his torso and leaping back to dodge a burst of dark purple energy from an angered Gilles. Okita bore witness as the creature she killed briefly shifted back into a tentacled familiar before fading away into a dark mist. She assumed a stance prioritizing mobility, keeping Gilles and Francois in her sights.
Francois gave a laugh before speaking in an amused and teasing tone. "Did you think he'd bring Ryuunosuke here for real? One of the Command Seals made Gilles send us someplace else we could safely watch this from. Beating Gilles won't be as easy as just killing his Master. Sorry about that~"
A familiar from outside swam to the edge of the Bounded Field behind Gilles and, being permitted entry, slid through the barrier into the air before falling bonelessly to the dry ground with a wet slap. It then shuddered as its body transformed, the outer appearance of the creature shifting back into the familiar orange-haired freeter that she had just cut down. The now-bipedal avatar, now serving as a new link between Ryuunosuke and this place, stood and shook his head. "That was weird...wait, is that what it feels like to die? Huh...that's a new one."
Gilles was clenching his teeth with rage. The very water around them bubbled and churned with his displeasure, straining against the Bounded Field that shielded the one survivable location within a hundred meters as he began to yell and screech. "How dare you! You are a guest to this realm and seek to murder my Master? My friend? Oh...I will deliver unto you the most exquisite of sufferings! You shall be a canvas like no other!" Familiars started to enter the area in the same manner as Ryuunosuke's new body had, and Gilles drew a double-edged sword from his hip that had a fang-toothed decoration as part of its guard. A singular red gem in the hilt glowed with malicious power, compelling the creatures to transform into armored soldiers like those that were once under his command. These weren't human as much as tentacles coiled into parodies of the human form, all covered in black carapace shaped like fifteenth-century armor. The carapace had a purple sheen that added to the alien appearance of the newly-crafted troops. Their weapons were of the same material. One carried a long spear that doubled as a flag pole on which hung a black and red war flag made of scales, a parody of Jeanne d'Arc's own standard. Still other creatures waited outside the Bounded Field, ready to supplement their comrades and obey the orders of their dark master. Orders he screeched in fury without ever breaking eye contact with Okita. "Soldiers! Flay the skin from her bones and cast her into the salty brine to squirm and thrash to her last! Then display her corpse atop the tallest building of R'lyeh only when no more pain can be drawn from her dead..and pickled...fleeeeeesh!"
Upon that order, the monsters moved towards Okita in a wave of eldritch madness...
As if things weren't bad enough when the artillery started to act in a more intelligent manner, the Servants fighting above found the situation getting worse. Armored human-shaped monsters started to come out of the seas as armed infantry while some riding tentacled parodies of horses emerged from the dark waves as cavalry. They then moved to spread themselves out and conquer the parts of Fuyuki beyond the range of the water.
"We should have brought Atalanta." EMIYA couldn't help but ponder in hindsight from within the cockpit of his jet. Her Noble Phantasm was explicitly meant for clearing out massive numbers of enemies with the blessings of Artemis and Apollo. Figuring that he too could use it if Artemis was compliant, he phased out of the jet's cockpit and stood on the wing while projecting two bows. After all, there was someone else who could probably use this technique due to having Artemis' favor. "Saber! Think fast!" With that, he tossed the bow to the woman who floated on segmented wings of teal. Saber Artoria was briefly confused, but watched Archer notch an arrow and soon followed suit. "With our bows and arrows, we respectfully ask for the divine protection of the sun god Apollo and the moon goddess Artemis. We offer up this calamity..."
Copenhagen
Shirou's Reality Marble
9:04 PM
"...and this order of dango." EMIYA said, setting down a freshly made order of the treat in front of Artemis. An amused Ereshkigal looked up from the spirit cage she was building to take in the scene while Ishtar gave a sideways glare as if to ask 'really?' of the Wrought Iron Hero. Artemis was of a similar mindset to Ishtar, but she could tell that the treat was of the highest quality. She still considered playfully delaying an answer and making the man sweat a bit first. Oh, she knew Artoria was someone she owed a massive debt to that she could never fully repay. She also knew that they were fighting an invader from beyond the planet, the sort of thing Artemis protected against in her days as a Machine God. It had also been long enough since she had been called upon to smite something that she had to admit to some boredom. It was a matter of pride, though. Pride that vanished with the first bite of her dango. EMIYA knew he had her when she smacked Ishtar's hand away when it got too close to Artemis' plate.
"...I accept your offerings. Lay waste to our enemies in my name and keep the dango coming!" With those words, Artemis granted her power to the two Heroic Spirits.
Former Site of Fuyuki Civic Center – Epicenter
Fuyuki City, Japan
"Phoebus Catastrophe!" EMIYA called out as he and Saber Artoria fired their arrows into the air in a 'complaint to the gods'. It needn't have been done with Atalanta's bow, as the Noble Phantasm was more the act and blessing itself rather than the weapon, but it solidified the connection allowing the blessing to take root more effectively. Artemis' much larger contribution overshadowed Apollo's weaker one and ensured that the dual attacks were every bit as strong as they would have been during the Age of Gods. Rods of light descended from the sky en masse, plunging into the enemies on shore and destroying the advancing army with impunity. What hadn't been expected by most was when those rods of light also tore through the black waters' magical defense as if it were nothing...
Okita stood breathing heavily in front of the army of monsters, bleeding from a number of cuts on her body. Between being so outnumbered and this place's insanity being so distracting that she couldn't focus to use her best techniques, she was fighting a losing battle. Whatever units she killed were readily replenished. It also didn't help that whenever she would forget that the humanoid forms in front of her weren't bound to the constraints of human bone or musculature, one would attack or dodge at an impossible angle and throw off her rhythm. She'd been cut a few times due to that tactic. For one such as her who had spent her life fighting human opponents, it was a distinct disadvantage that was hard to fight due to the instinctive assumptions she made about her enemy's basic range of motion.
"Run, run, run little mouse! Make it more entertaining!" Gilles taunted, his earlier rage having transitioned into a level of amusement shared by Francois. The mad Servant commanded his forces from the back, not out of fear but simply because he wanted to watch the show. "Or perhaps you've run out of bravado? You wouldn't be the first, and you shan't be the last! Now, yield to your fate and make peace with whatever heathen gods you-"
Rods of white light suddenly tore through the area around them from above, cutting through the Bounded Field and the enemy creatures like it was nothing. Screeches filled the area as Okita desperately leapt over to Kirei's now-unconscious form and used both blade and body to protect him from the unexpected assault. She took a solid strike to the shoulder from an errant bolt of light, but this paled in comparison to the damage that her foes had endured. There were massive casualties both within the Bounded Field and in the waters outside of it.
Gilles' expression took on a shade of rage once more. "Can they not see that I am busy? It is bad enough that these...pretenders move about wearing my beautiful Jeanne's face, but can I not even enjoy the slaughter of one before the others get impatient?" Gilles had an idea and his anger shifted into glee at a speed the sane would have a hard time justifying. "Fine...if they can cut through my defenses, then I shall show them my offense! They desire war and that is what they shall have!" Raising his sword on high, he called out his command. "Corpse-city of R'lyeh! Rise to the surface and awaken from your slumber! Cast judgment upon this world!"
"...how did that just occur?" Lancer Artoria inquired back above the surface. EMIYA gave a smug smile.
Iskandar also smirked while contemplating the possibilities behind the attack. "It may be due to Artemis' legend. She unerringly pierced the head of Orion with her arrow while he was swimming in the sea. Perhaps I too should pray to her for such power."
"It also helps that she was born as a means to fight against alien threats that exist Outside of the World. Her attacks are even more effective against enemies like this." EMIYA clarified, much to the stunned King of Conqueror's surprise.
"Truly? It seems that, in my time, we couldn't even guess at the true scope of the gods..." Iskandar mused.
Saber Artoria's expression was stern, a face she wore to conceal her frustration. "Excalibur was created to fight a threat against the planet. It too would work were it not for the risk of spreading the contamination by displacing the flood waters."
Lancer Artoria heard the words spoken amongst her peers and looked down at the abyss. The lights were repopulating and moving once more. The bottom itself seemed to be shifting and moving slowly towards them. Whatever was happening, they had little time left. Knowing that she would have to display a level of power beyond that which she had ever used before, and mindful of the risks of such, she drew out her own timeline's copy of Rhongomyniad. She then looked to the bow in her other hand that served as Add's current form. "Thank you for your company and service, Sir Kay, but your proper master has need of you. It was...nice to hear my brother's voice once more." She then threw Add towards her observing counterpart.
"Artoria?! whyyyaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Add yelled out before being caught by a somewhat puzzled Saber Artoria.
Lancer Artoria called out to clarify her intentions. "Prepare your strike, my other self! A lance's thrust is better than a blade's slash against this foe, and I shall use my own Lance to contain this corruption. Observe a technique that you, who favored the Sword over the Lance, may never have known! Rhongomyniad's true nature as the anchor that binds the World! Sacred lance, removing restraints!" With those key words, both Holy Lances analyzed the situation. They required at least seven of thirteen criteria to be met before their full power could be unleashed.
CHECKING CONDITIONS AGAINST RESTRAINTS 1 THROUGH 13...DONE.
"The enemy must be more powerful than oneself" – APPROVED
"The battle must be one-on-one" – DENIED
"The enemy must not be an elemental" – APPROVED
"The battle must be one against evil" – APPROVED
"The battle must not involve personal gain" – APPROVED
"The battle must not be against Humanity" – APPROVED
"The battle must not be inhumane" – APPROVED
"The battle must be for truth" – APPROVED
"The battle must be to live" – DENIED
"The battle must be to defend human order" – APPROVED
"One's comrades-in-arms must be courageous" – APPROVED
"The battle must not be against one pure of heart" – APPROVED
"The battle must be an honorable one" – APPROVED
11 OF 13 RESTRAINTS RELEASED, THRESHOLD ACHIEVED
100 PERCENT POWER UNLOCKED
Eleven of thirteen restraints released from each of the lances. While the one within Add transformed into the standard Rhongomyniad and found itself in Saber Artoria's hand, the one in Lancer Artoria's care shifted into something new. The Divine Construct began to disassemble in her hand into helical ribbons of shining silver-white, soon spinning above her palm with growing intensity and glowing with a golden light reminiscent of dawn. She had only ever used this against a single target before, rather than as an Area of Effect ability, but there was little choice now. She would have to use the Lance's ability to seal all Mystery non-compliant with the World on the area below to let her allies even reach Caster. Even with the full unlocking of the Lance, Lancer Artoria knew that attempting this course of action was what the modern world called a 'Hail Mary'. She cast aside her doubts and reservations to hold the Lance aloft over her head from her position in Iskandar's chariot. Lancer Artoria called out for all to hear: "Seal away that which conforms not to the World! Tower of Dreams Founding the Ends of the World, Rhongomyniad Mythos!" Golden light emerged from the Lance, spiraling outward into a barrier that stopped the tainted water where it lay before vaporizing and purifying it. This circular barrier then extended upwards into the sky in a golden pillar, mimicking the form of the Tower anchoring the World to its Reverse Side.
As the water level lowered and the imposed world started to shift and fade away, Lancer Artoria visibly strained. "Go! I am unable to hold this level of output for long!" She would be helped along by Avalon's regenerative abilities healing her from the excess Magical Energy it was dumping through her body, but the faux scabbard would do nothing for the pain that flooded her body and Magic Core.
To her credit, Saber Artoria only lingered long enough to provide a nod before rushing to fly into position. She soon found out that the Mystery-sealing abilities that Lancer Artoria placed on the area were working on her as well. Carnwennan and her flight abilities were canceled out first, placing her in free fall, and even Excalibur's shine began to dull. Fortunately, the power of her Lance still held. With the wind rushing against her face as she descended toward the evaporating waters below, Saber Artoria aimed her lance at the densest area of magical energy and let out her battle cry. "Light, may you be released from the ends of the world. Split the heavens and tether the earth, anchor of the storm! Rhongomyniad!"
The world was bathed in blinding white light.
Okita Souji could read on Gilles' face the moment when he realized that he was in true danger. It was surreal seeing his eyes widen and his jaw drop on seeing the massive white light descending closer and closer to them. The water was barely even slowing the attack down as it pushed through the very building blocks upon which this place was constructed. Not that Okita knew any of the mechanics. All she knew was that it was getting easier to think...and there was still nothing she could think to do to save herself and her Master from what was coming.
"G-Grandmother? Kirei asked, consciousness having returned to the man as the pressure on his existence and mind lessened with the weakening of Gilles' otherworldly space. He snapped back to awareness, taking a fighting stance. "W-what happened? This is-"
"Kirei! Stay behind me!" Okita called out, standing between her Master and where she predicted the blast to be aimed—at the Servant in front of them. The Executor's eyes widened as comprehension dawned.
Both Okita and Kirei expected to die within the next few moments. Teleporting away with Command Seals never occurred to either of them and, given Lancer Artoria's sealing of the area, would have failed anyway. It was fortunate that the Command Seals were even functioning at all. Kirei acted impulsively, ignoring the apparent futility of the situation. "Assassin! By my Command Seal, block that attack!" A flash of red light bathed his hand to emphasize the empowerment of the command, one that Okita had no problems accepting. She needed all the additional power she could get for this nigh-impossible task.
The wounded hero of Japan took a stance while ignoring the pain in her pierced and bleeding shoulder. Her sword was pointed forward in preparation for the critical moment. Gilles wasn't even paying attention to her, his arms outstretched upward towards the light in a futile battle to keep it from descending. Okita said what might be her final words to the man she considered a grandchild. "Kirei-chan...don't let the words of that filth and the taint of this place consume you. If you die, meet your God as you are. If you live, talk to Risei-kun about everything. It's okay to rely on your father sometimes, you know?" Without waiting for a response, she rushed forward towards the blinding light and screamed in defiance. "Receive the brilliance of my concealed sword! One silent step! Two steps infinite! Three steps, a sword absolute! Lightless, Three Stage Thrust!"
Okita's blade surged forward at the same moment the attack finally hit and silenced a screaming Gilles. She ignored the deafening roar of the explosion that she fought to keep at bay on the tip of her sword. Her eyes and ears were rendered useless while she struggled to stab a tiny wake into one of the most powerful of all Noble Phantasms. By all accounts, it should have failed miserably and she and Kirei should have been consumed by the heat and light...but Okita's technique also exceeded the constraints of reality, if only barely. The small spark of the Second Magic she employed was boosted by all three Command Seals into something that would otherwise not have been possible. Spacetime itself distorted and curved on the tip of Okita's white-hot blade, diverting the attack around herself and Kirei. The sensation she felt in her mind was one of clarity and possibility.
Then her sword Kojiki Kiyomitsu shattered like glass, and Okita Souji's body was taken fully by the light...
Copenhagen
Shirou's Reality Marble
9:05 PM
Artemis took a moment to look down at her hastily finished plate of dango and wondered if scarfing it down so quickly rather than savoring it was a mistake. Sadly, there wasn't much time to linger. "Ereshkigal," Artemis spoke, grabbing the attention of the younger Divine Spirit. "Your savior doesn't know to ask for your aid, but there is something you can do for him. No...something only you can do for him. Will you come with me and do as I instruct? I may need EMIYA or your little hero's help later, but you're the most vital part of this~"
Ereshkigal was surprised. She was needed? "I...can help? It won't be something that he or I will regret, is it?" The girl had been betrayed before by the gods, so she was wary.
Artemis didn't get angry, instead speaking as she would to a child. This was easier because Ereshkigal was both a younger being and in the form of a seven-year-old child. "If you don't like what I suggest, you don't have to do it. That shouldn't be a problem, though. He'll really like it, too!"
"...well, okay. I'll listen, Lady Artemis." Ereshkigal said, getting up and leaving with Artemis. Merlin tagged along, seemingly deeming this to be either a meaningful use of his time or a pleasant time-waster.
EMIYA got up to follow, only for Ishtar to call out. "Hey! Where do you think you're going? You've yet to make my dango!"
The ex-Counter Guardian looked back to Ishtar. "Do you really want to leave your contact-starved sister to the machinations of those two without any supervision?" This comment sent a chill up Ishtar's spine, leaving her unable to do anything but grumble as she rose from her seat and hurriedly followed as well.
Former Site of Fuyuki Civic Center - Epicenter
Fuyuki City, Japan
Lancer Artoria's pillar of light yielded to reveal that nothing remained of the watery scene that Gilles had attempted to force upon the world...though to be fair, there wasn't much left at all. The main feature of the land was a vitrified crater that was reminiscent of that of a nuclear blast. The force of Saber Artoria's attack was thankfully, and barely, contained.
Saber Artoria looked down upon her work and felt conflicted on the realization that she'd become progressively more reliant on heavily destructive attacks to win her battles—the same sort of attacks she had previously condemned Kiritsugu for employing.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw signs of life. A few small bursts of Wind Magecraft adjusted her vector and slowed her free fall. Saber Artoria managed a graceful landing near Kirei. The man stared down at the hilt of a shattered sword that rested in front of a small, undisturbed patch of ground that Kirei stood within. Artoria had just enough time to recognize it as Okita's before it faded away into motes of gold...at the same time the Coat of Broken Oaths that Kirei had been wearing did the same.
"She managed to shield me from that white light. At the cost of herself and all of my Command Seals." Kirei spoke these words with a few tears in his eyes, alongside an odd smile. The dichotomy was something Saber Artoria did not even notice due to realizing that she had killed her own friend and ally.
Saber Artoria's hand grasped the handle of her Lance more tightly, all excuses for the act dying on her tongue. "That...was my attack. I am sorry..." Saber Artoria maintained a stoic expression because she refused to show any more vulnerability than absolutely necessary to someone like Kirei Kotomine, but she felt the urge to grieve.
"We wouldn't have lasted much longer without your intervention either way. I'm certain that she has already forgiven you. Perhaps she even thanks you for making my survival possible." Kirei commented, pushing down his urge to see Artoria lament over the blood on her hands. There were other issues to consider at the moment...such as the charred upper half of Gilles de Rais that was struggling not to fade away into nothingness.
"You...British...sow!" Gilles weakly screeched as he tried to cling to life. "I know you now...Artoria Pendragon! A so-called patron 'saint' of Britannia! You're nothing compared to my dear Jeanne! You who get to walk the Earth while she was punished, condemned, and hated! For her vengeance, and for the amusement of God, I spit upon this world and plunge it into madness!"
Artoria stoically looked down at Gilles and readied her blade. "You think that God or Jeanne would want this? Jeanne d'Arc was not abandoned by God to begin with, Caster. Her martyrdom was a necessary part of her duty...one I tried to spare her from, but could not." Gilles' expression took on a puzzled look, so Artoria began to elaborate. "In the name of your taking this back to the Throne and no longer allowing yourself to be summoned to cause such bloodshed over a misunderstanding, I will clarify. I told you when we first met that I remembered Jeanne d'Arc as she was in life. That is because I sought her out the night before her death..."
May 29, 1431, 11:38 PM
Keep of Rouen Castle
Rouen, France
Jeanne d'Arc lay resting in the castle keep while awaiting a distant-feeling dawn. She gave silent prayers and hoped to remain undisturbed in what was shaping up to be a sleepless night. While the silence and solitude were bad, it was worse when she had visitors. The British were cruel captors who were willing to cast aside the warnings of their King and patron Saint to invade France and terrorize its people. Still, she prayed for their souls as was her Christian duty. From the kinder guards who treated her with respect and pity when no one else was looking, to the cruel ones who took advantage of their position to abuse her, and even to the corrupt clergy and British nobility that had condemned her to death.
"You are as kind as they say," a female voice spoke from somewhere within the room. Somewhere close. The blonde farm girl sat up ramrod straight and started looking for the source. The room appeared empty, but she knew she had heard a voice.
"Is this...the voice of an angel?" Jeanne inquired, hoping that this wasn't a cruel trick by the British. The odds of that vanished when, in a display of golden motes of light, an armored being appeared in front of her from empty air. An immaculate blue battle dress and white armor were clad around the frame of a girl with blonde hair and green eyes. Illiteracy did not prevent Jeanne from recognizing the being before her from the descriptions held within her religion's canon.
"S-Saint Artoria..." Jeanne breathed, eyes wide as she looked upon the patron saint of Britannia. Was she to be saved as a believer? Was she to be killed as an enemy of the British? The pressure on Jeanne was slightly diminished when Artoria looked slightly bashful at being referred to in such a way.
"Indeed," was Artoria's reply. To her credit, she did not stutter as she had first done when learning of her unexpected canonization. "Please be at ease, I mean no harm to you. Rather, I must apologize for the sins of my kin both to France and to you. I am here in hopes of making things right with you, at least to the degree I am able."
Jeanne's heart was filled with hope and relief. The Lord had not abandoned her. Though she had maintained her faith, the whispers of doubt sent by the devil were like a siege army waiting out the fortress that was her resolve. It was not without effect over these long months of being tried and condemned. "Thank you...thank you..." Jeanne whispered, compelling Artoria to kneel to the seated woman's level and place an armored hand on her shoulder.
"You are welcome, Jeanne." Artoria said with a gentle smile. "Sadly...you cannot go back to your old life. 'Jeanne d'Arc' will be executed tomorrow as a heretic. That is not avoidable. What I can do is take you to safety and give you a new name. It would be a number of years at best before you could return to your family, but you would live on in peace."
Jeanne was confused by this at first. "Wait...I am still to be executed and remain as a heretic? But who will take my place at the stake? Please tell me someone isn't volunteering their life in my stead!" Horror began to set in at the thought of someone throwing away their life for her. She remembered soldiers on the battlefield who had chosen to do just that in the heat of battle.
Artoria's armored hand gently squeezed the shoulder of the condemned, reclaiming the young woman's attention. "No one will die, Jeanne. After I help you escape, I shall return to this room. This temporary body of mine will be that which burns at the stake in the morning. They will not know the difference." Artoria's form then shimmered and shifted to match Jeanne's own. The rags they wore, their bodies, their faces; all were identical. Having Merlin as a teacher of Illusion Magecraft was rather beneficial.
Jeanne's expression was that of shock as she looked upon her own face. It wasn't merely from the appearance, but the idea of what Artoria was proposing. "You...must endure in my place? S-surely, you needn't do so! We could both simply leave if you have such power! Is it so important that one of us remains behind to die? Forgive me, Saint Artoria, but I do not understand..."
"Jeanne..." Artoria shifted back into her birth form and wore a sad expression as she tried to explain. "Destinies are not easily broken without consequences. Though I protect what I can, where I can, I cannot avert this entirely. Part of what God needed of you for the sake of France...was your martyrdom." Jeanne's eyes widened further at what Artoria told her as the King of Knights' other hand went to Jeanne's remaining shoulder. Artoria continued to speak. "You may be called a heretic now, but it is not a stain that your people or the greater Church will allow to remain. Just as it rallied around your flag in life, France will rally around your memory as it pushes onward to victory. Once that is done, your good name will be cleared and your story will inspire generations of people across France and around the World. People who will themselves do good works and stand against oppression in their own eras. I cannot simply wipe all of that from history."
Jeanne always understood that God's work was paramount. She was also not a fool. Being able to endure as long as she did against men trying to trap her with questions and arguments designed to force her to give a heretical response was proof that the illiterate girl had a clever mind. What she had never understood was the sheer scope of her contribution. The weight she had truly carried. Rather than feeling pride, she was humbled and frightened. But above all, she came to a realization. "...just as I can't let it all be a lie."
"Jeanne?" Artoria asked, eyes widening slightly as the Frenchwoman took one of Artoria's hands from her shoulder and placed it between her own.
"It hasn't been easy to keep the faith, Saint Artoria. I've stumbled a few times. But...you've confirmed that this isn't being done to abandon me. This is being done...because my death is important, isn't it? A death that must happen." Jeanne gave a sad smile. "I hesitate to accuse a Saint of this...but is the kindness you've offered me something God told you to give?"
Artoria's expression did not turn to anger. Rather, there was a small amount of grief visible as Artoria lowered her head. "...no. It is my own desire to protect. My own feeling of responsibility for the sins of my people. No matter what I tell them, my people continue to cause suffering to your own in this war..."
Jeanne reached forward and wrapped her arms around Artoria in a strange inversion of who should be comforting whom. "It is you who is kind...but stand not against God. Your deception may be discovered by someone, at which point God's plan will be in jeopardy. My...martyrdom...must be honest and true. Grieve not for sins that aren't yours to carry, Saint Artoria."
Artoria relaxed slightly into the hug and awkwardly returned it. She had not expected to be the one in need of support. "You must be disappointed in me. For being so imperfect." Artoria wanted to claim that she wasn't truly a Saint at all. That it was just an excuse by the Church to explain her presence. To do so, however, might strip away one of Jeanne's few comforts. Her certainty.
"You are human. In truth, it's...somewhat of a relief that you're this way? It shows that we still remain us, just with the Lord closer at hand to guide us directly. You simply need the same reminder you've given me; that there is a larger plan we are not meant to shoulder on our own." The hug broke in time and Jeanne's smile looked slightly less sad. She was not necessarily happy, but she was content and at peace.
Artoria was not able to save Jeanne d'Arc...but she was able to better prepare her for the final step of her journey and ensure that the Maiden of Orleans' last night on Earth was a pleasant one.
November 23, 1994, 9:06 PM
Former Site of Fuyuki Civic Center – Epicenter
Fuyuki City, Japan
Artoria looked down upon a stunned Gilles while completing her tale. "Jeanne's death rallied France to beat back the British, and the British people soon after deposed their own King to guarantee that peace. She freed both nations from tyranny with her passing. The Church then reversed the results of that ignoble trial, recognizing her as a martyr. Jeanne d'Arc is now among the most famous and well-loved of saints as a patron saint of France. Her death served a greater purpose...while your death culled you from the Earth early when you would otherwise have had closure within the span of your own lifetime. You, who resented God for never punishing you for your sins and wrongly believed that your end came exclusively at the hands of evil men, were too maddened to see that you were punished by God. He simply chose to use such men as the means of your destruction."
A stunned and dying Gilles could only stare at Artoria as his body started to fade away, insanity warring with hope. "Jeanne...was vindicated?"
Artoria's expression was stern, but her tone was level. "Seek her in the Throne of Heroes, Gilles de Rais. Then go to your knees and beg forgiveness for doing so much evil in her name." With this statement from the King of Knights, Gilles finally faded away into golden motes of light.
Kirei quietly walked up next to Artoria. "He won't remember any of this if re-summoned, will he?"
Artoria glanced at Kirei and pondered her response carefully before speaking. "Even if not, the original soul in the Throne will remember. If he finds Jeanne d'Arc in the Throne with him and thus does not need to answer the summons of the Grail to wish for her presence, the madness that was Caster might never again appear in a Grail War. Though I must confess that we will probably never truly know." Artoria's words ceased as she looked around at the devastation that mirrored and exceeded the Fuyuki Fire...alongside Jeanne's death, it was yet another reminder that not all things could be averted.
She was distracted from such thoughts by EMIYA's fighter jet landing on the vitrified ground nearby, followed shortly by Iskandar's Gordius Wheel doing the same. Iskandar smiled widely, though Lancer Artoria looked more than a little winded from the exertion of creating and holding that barrier on a Servant's energy reserves. "oooh, so the priest is here? How did he even manage to survive?" Iskandar asked in mild surprise. EMIYA hopped down from his jet in time to hear Iskandar's question, and gave Kirei a telling look. It was as if the priest was something displeasing on the bottom of the Wrought-Iron Hero's shoe.
Kirei looked to Iskandar with tired eyes, choosing to answer his questions and ignore EMIYA's glare. "Grandmother and I realized that the infected dead were in a form of magical stasis and carried off by thralls. We followed a 'delivery' here and arrived too late to stop a mass human sacrifice, after which my mind...nearly collapsed under the strain of the changed world the spell created. I thankfully passed out first. Grandmother seems to have resisted Caster long enough for Saber to purge the area, though she died in the process of shielding me from the final blast. Unfortunate...but it couldn't be helped." Iskandar was a bit disturbed by the tone Kirei carried regarding his grandmother's passing, though the now-drying tears were still faintly visible and dulled the impression of callousness into mere stoicism.
Saber Artoria nodded. "We will have to deliver Okita's Master to the church for asylum and inform Father Kotomine about our success. Archer, your jet is the fastest form of transport we have and these two must stay near their Masters. Would you mind if he rode in the cockpit while we stood upon the wings?"
The Wrought-Iron Hero gave a somewhat odd smile that Artoria couldn't quite place. It was related to the smug smile he wore when he had Rin at some embarrassing disadvantage during the War, but slightly darker. "...that would work fine, Saber. Let's get going." After a taking moment to inform Kiritsugu of their actions over the radio, the pair were off to escort Kirei to the safety of the Fuyuki Church. Kirei rode in the cockpit of the F-15 while EMIYA and Saber Artoria stood on its wings. Unrealized by Artoria, EMIYA made sure to spitefully employ a few more G-forces of acceleration to Kirei's body than was necessary under the excuse of 'getting back as soon as possible'.
Shore of Mion River
9:07 PM
As the truth of their loss set in, two people sat on the shore and stared in silence at where the pillar of light had previously held back the sunken corpse-city's encroachment upon the World. Neither person could be perceived by mundane people because they were hidden from sight and sound by Francois Prelati's Illusion Magecraft. It was the same location as where Ryuunosuke watched Gilles' tentacled horror in the last timeline, but the area was currently empty of other people.
"Two Rhongomyniads? That's just cheating!" Francois yelled while mentally kicking himself for not considering that the Rhongomyniad of this timeline was accessible in this War as well, allowing for what he had just witnessed. It seemed that there were still things that were successfully hidden from him about the participants of the War and their assets. That lack of intelligence had cut off Gilles' ascension and ended his new 'life'.
"Big guy..." A depressed Ryuunosuke uttered, clearly feeling bad for Gilles' death. Francois could understand. It was a warped sort of grief, but camaraderie and friendship could exist even between guiltless killing machines.
The centuries-old cleric decided to cheer the fellow madman up and patted his back. "Hey, he wouldn't want us to be sad, you know! He'd want us to keep going and having fun. Besides, we can always summon him again during the next Grail War! Age doesn't mean as much when you can just replace your body with someone else's now and then, so we can try again as many times as you want! I can set that up easily enough." Indeed, Francois tended to simply jump from his current body to a hidden and already-prepared replacement with his Magecraft whenever he died. Arranging something similar for Ryuunosuke wouldn't be a problem. The freeter was just the sort of person that Francois liked to have along with him on adventures.
"Really? You'd help me with that? That sounds great! I can't wait to see him aga-!" Ryuunosuke was interrupted when Francois' world erupted in sudden pain and both fell to the ground.
The next thing Francois knew, he was laying on the ground in pain while staring into Ryuunosuke's lifeless eyes. The freeter had been struck in the head by a silenced bullet and killed instantly. Francois, meanwhile, had been hit in the torso. He felt panic through the pain. Not only was his Illusion Magecraft inactive, but his ability to transfer into a new and waiting body on death had been cut somehow. The centuries-old cleric didn't know how it was done, but his fury grew as he guessed who was likely responsible.
"E...Emiya! You cheating fu-" Another bullet cut off Francois' rage-filled scream by drilling into his skull and pulverizing part of his brain.
Fuyuki City Rooftops
Waver looked on in shock as Kiritsugu and Maiya took down their targets with a pair of sniper rifles. Seeing the Magus Killer operate like this was to witness an odd mix of Magecraft and technology that was heretical in the eyes of the Mage's Association, but fueled entirely by practicality. A Bounded Field prevented the sound of the gunshots' initial discharge from escaping the immediate area. The infrared scopes on the rifles were used because Francois Prelati's Illusion Magecraft didn't work on insects―implying that the ability did not cover the entire light spectrum. Still, it didn't allow them to see the faces of their targets before the initial strike...
"How did you know that you had the right target? I mean...I know that Illusion Magecraft is what we're expecting, but what would you have done if you'd killed someone else by mistake?" Waver asked nervously. He was intimidated by the apparent willingness of Kiritsugu to make the assumption that he was attacking the right people without confirmation.
Without looking at the student, Kiritsugu swapped rifles with another one that he had previously zeroed-in. The new rifle's Magecraft-powered scope was one that better displayed the visual spectrum at night rather than being reliant on infrared light. It was like a tiny circle of carefully dulled daylight. "The white bullets we just used were Projections of Carnwennan that Archer used Alteration on. They not only hinder Magecraft, but will also adjust themselves in mid-flight to hit their target. So if we aim our shots' trajectories to miss the probables, but keep the people we truly seek to kill in mind as our targets..."
"The bullets will change their direction to hit the person you really want to strike...you used that feature as a safety measure." Waver finished in realization. Kiritsugu gave a small nod, not clarifying that he was confident enough to take the shot either way. It was the same place he shot Ryuunosuke at in the previous timeline, after all. History wasn't repeating, but it was determined to rhyme―in spite of all efforts to the contrary.
It was also a good thing an enraged Morgan le Fay told Kiritsugu about Francois Prelati and his reincarnation ability when she asked him to make sure the troublemaker stayed dead this time. Carnwennan's Anti-Thaumaturgy attribute would hinder that power nicely. In certain situations, it was a more useful tool than his own Origin Bullets. Using intentionally flawed Projections also meant that the bullets had a finite life and that the evidence could simply disappear after use even if recovered by the local police.
Still, Carnwennan had limits. It was with these limits in mind that Kiritsugu took hold of a bullet with a pronounced mother-of-pearl finish that he had set aside. It was loaded into his sniper rifle and Kiritsugu carefully took aim at Prelati's Spellbook which had been dropped onto the ground. The shot was fired and the bullet traveled downrange, penetrating the evil tome. It did not go all the way through―as the bullet's concept was not one of causing physical harm―but Rule Breaker was an Anti-Thaumaturgy weapon from the Age of Gods that made Carnwennan's own nature seem shallow. Using Rule Breaker was the best way to be sure that such an old Mystic Code was destroyed. A violent dark-purple flash and the book crumbling apart into black dust signaled the permanent severing of the book's connection to its source of power.
Kiritsugu and Maiya each chambered one more round into their rifles, these bullets being yellow with a red stripe, and fired them almost casually into their dead targets. Blue-hot flames immediately ignited the bodies and everything within five meters of them, leaving not even bone behind...
Author's Note: Well, that's it for Gilles and his group. That was very tough for me to write, largely because making Gilles competent is rough. For those of you who guessed that Kiritsugu would ask EMIYA to turn Noble Phantasms into bullets for him to use, you each get a cookie. The last set of bullets weren't Noble Phantasms though―just Magecraft-augmented high-incendiary rounds meant to eliminate evidence.