The Dumb Grail
Three years after the holy grail and a little more than two years after "that" event where Bazett and Caren ended up taking residence in my home for a week.
I still can't make sense of what happen at that time, I don't remember anything but I vaguely recall I repeated same days over and over for months! It was such a weird event I still kept reminded of it even now.
Caren has been called back by the church and Bazett is… still here, for some reason. Well, we worked together as a sword-for-hire… somehow. I learned a lot from her regarding this jobs and other stuff related to this field. Mundane battlefield and the moonlit related mission, hired by either the church due to his connection with Caren or the magic association, I gathered a lot of experience.
Today, I'm back at Fuyuki again on the familiar road I patrolled together with Saber years ago. This thick feeling of dread also gave me a feeling of déjà vu…
…
…
…
…what?
My body immediately tensed at sudden realization at the unnatural thickness of mana in the air. My body didn't detect any dangers despite strangeness of the situation on the contrary there is some pull that telling me to go somewhere.
This could be a trap.
My instinct told me, but I can't just ignore this anomaly. What if, this anomaly could put innocent people in danger if left alone? I would never be able to live if I know I deliberately left people in danger I know the existence of.
Following what the invisible compulsion told me, I let my body dragged it self to the similarly familiar place, the field at the back of Ryuudou temple near the lake.
The time was 23:40, close to midnight so no one was up while I sneak into the temple ground to investigate the anomaly. Usually, Caster would surely intercept me if I sneaked into the temple ground, but a few weeks ago she left with Souichirou sensei to vacation. Though, there should be some kind of bounded field left by Caster, there has to be. But ever since I step my foot into the temple's territory, I hadn't felt anything except this dread.
Looking around, I cocked the mental trigger and activated my magic circuits, while preparing my usual chant at the tip of my tongue ready to summon the yin-yang twin blade.
…here…
…there…
…over here…
…over there…
…right here…
…right there…
The uncomfortable feeling of something telling me something and my body unconsciously adhering to it.
The unknown force led me to the edge of the lake, the full moon reflected perfectly on the lake calm surface.
And there… at the very edge between the land and the body of water, a golden cup half buried, slightly covered in mud. But despite its dirty appearance my mind by instinct immediately knows what it is.
"…A holy grail?"
What is it doing in this place?
Why is it there?
Why does it still exist?
Saber destroyed it at the end of that war, I see it with my own eyes.
(hey)
I heard someone spoke straight to my brain. Telepathy?
(I am the grail)
The grail spoke!
(You see, I should have been destroyed, I should have. But against even my expectation, I'm still here. I've completed a girl wish and even had a tear-jerking farewell. Turns out, I haven't fulfilled my purpose yet. To the winner and to the body I borrowed.)
"To the body you borrowed? …you mean the vessel?"
(No, your body to be precise.)
"My what? Don't talk nonsense, if a grail really borrowed my body, I should have known and Tohsaka, Illya, Sakura, or any magic sensitive person near me would notice right away."
(But, they didn't. Anyway, I make this certain girl wish come true and no, I don't destroy anything, after your blonde girlfriend sword trick, I've become the purest being in the world.)
"Don't joke around, what do you want? And who this is girl?"
(Eh, no fun. So, you know, I use a lot of magical energy to make miracle but you and your friends broke me. But before that I saved this one girl on the death door and preserved her life and body. With the last of my little power, I granted her wish have some fun with your body and stuff and the wish completed and we part ways, me and that girl. You follow?)
I just nodded silently, listening to tale from the grail in front of me. The dread I felt before wasn't around anymore, or to be exact I realized that it wasn't directed to me but the very nature of itself is already evil. But it was being kept inside the temple ground vicinity. I also felt no animosity from the golden cup, though I don't believe it even a little about his purity bullshit.
(Good, so after our parting I was supposed to dissipate into the void, but I haven't granted your wish so my existence can't allow me to die peacefully yet. I know your wish, but you are always away I can't come in contact with you at all. Because, you know I'm still broken so I can't spread my sense to contact you lest I exploded all my stored mana outside, you the consequence if that happens right? To the previous grail war before the fifth.)
Of course, I know, the image of a city covered in cursed fire reappeared inside my mind, the first memory of Emiya Shirou, born in the vile flame that kills everyone except himself.
(Of course, you know, heheh. You know that this temple was built on a fallen leyline right? In the time I was helplessly buried here while trying to hid myself from that purple witch, I gathered, or more exactly having a lot of mana shoved in me by the fallen leyline. Right now, it is already near a breaking point where my broken body cannot contain it any more without leaking it outside little by little to avoid the worst-case scenario.)
(And ha! The witch is gone and you're in town a perfect chance for me to grant your wish! Shh shh shh… I know your wish, believe me I know, I possessed your body after all.)
I-I can feel it smirk! I hate that I can imagine it
(Haha! Don't be mad! You know you also make that face a lot, especially when you're messing with that Tohsaka girl.)
"Krgh!? I also hate that I can't refute that statement"
(Okay now, enough, she already a minute away from getting here.)
She?
(In summary, I want to grant your wish but I had too much mana stored in me so I went for the most expensive mana cost way to grant your wish, even that still have a lot of left-over and by my calculation it is enough to carry one more person on the ride! So, I'm thinking of getting the girl I mentioned before in this ride.)
"Wait! Wait! What is this ride you are talking about?! And don't bring other people in to trouble!"
I can feel the mana in the air doubled in density even the grail is already lifted itself off the ground and hovering mid air on my eye level.
(Oh, you do know that your wish in and of itself is a trouble, and about the girl…here she is.)
"Shirou! What happen here?!"
A woman's voice can be heard from behind me, laced in wary and worry. When I looked who is it behind me, I saw Bazett in her black working suit complete with her battle armament, a bit dishevelled but that is not the point. She is the girl it was talking about?
(Hey, nice to meet you again, ready for another ride?)
"A-Avenger?! Why are you-"
(Aatt tat tat tat, I can't hold it anymore, any question? Ask the guy over there or refer to the piece of paper I left in his pocket. The passanger are all here, so let's go! See you guys never! Bye bye!)
"Wha?! Wait! you stupid avenger! What do you mean a ride?! You dumb grail!"
"Whoa?!"
While Bazett was yelling profanities at the grail I was inspecting the change in vicinity in high alert. When the ground below us suddenly disappear I immediately reached for Bazett pulling her in embrace before bracing the seemingly limitless fall into the void the grail put us through.
0o0o0
I didn't remember any impact but I woke up and found myself at the dirt surface surrounded by trees. Bazett is still unconscious in my embrace, at least she is safe.
I pick her up in a princess carry while trying to make sense about where did the grail sent me to. Her stuff I sling it on my back.
"This forest… Europe? The air… The mana in the air feels different."
Its morning, the sun is from my right, So I'm now facing the north. There is a mountain range on the left, west, the only landmark I can pin point right now. So, I walk in that direction while carrying Bazett.
The walk was uneventful thankfully and the day is already close to noon, Bazett is still out, but I know she was fine based on her breathing. Maybe she was tired, we were just back from a work after all, she went back to her hotel and me to my house and it was also midnight. Anyway, I let her sleep until she woke up by herself.
It was half and hour later, when I suddenly sensed a killing intent from multiple direction, even Bazett sensed it and promptly woken up from her slumber.
True to her experience she didn't make a fuss upon her awakening, instead she looks around for a second before asking for situation report.
"Shirou, what's the situation? Where are we?"
"Hostile from every direction, probably demonic in nature. Our location is still unknown, phone reception is nil, unusual mana saturation on air but usable."
"Shirou, put me down and immediately exterminate the hostile forces"
I put her down and then flared the magic circuit that has been on stand by since the temple's event.
"Trace on"
Sensing the hostility in the air and the vile aura coming of the our soon to be attacker I counted dozens of offenders, 24 of them to exact. Thus, I projected 24 anti-demonic low rank noble phantasm.
"Target lock, Fire!"
And fired it faster than the speed of sound leaving the air cracked.
Bush swayed violently by the shockwave, trees pierced mercilessly, but the sword won't miss the target. I make sure of that, unless the target has enough reaction time and speed to dodge it.
After making sure that there is no more hostile around, I briefed Bazett to my general plan and in change Bazett asked the context about what happened in temple ground.
"So, he can't go away unless he granted your wish?"
"That is the gist of it, I never told him anything, but he said something along the line of possessing my body so he knows what I want- "
I caught Bazett flinched at what I said about I was being possessed.
"Bazett-san? Do you know something?"
Bazett was looking away from me.
"Wait, that time when you and Caren dressed me in that strange outfit and tattoos, was that it?"
I was about to push her for answer when a crack in space beside us appeared out of nowhere.
This throws us in the highest alert until, Caren Hortensia popped out of it unconscious. The crack also spews out a piece of parchment before closing immediately. Well, at least we know how we got here looking at the similar feeling emanating from the crack and how Caren came out of it, but why?
Bazett walked pass the priestess unconscious body and went to the dropped parchment having no inclination to help her at all, so the responsibility falls to me to make sure that she was alright.
Heartbeat, okay. Wound, none.
She is fine.
I picked her up and lays her against the tree in a more comfortable position.
"So, Bazett, what does it says?"
I inquired Bazett about the parchment from the… Avenger?
"Oh uh, he says this is more or less the same with the paper he left in your pocket, though there is something more so wait I'm still reading it."
Oh yeah, it did say about leaving something in my pocket before we departed. I reached into all my pocket and found a piece of folded paper in my breast pocket.
"Yo! I'm the grail! Or Avenger call me whatever! We will never meet again. As you know, I granted your wish. I sent you and Bazett in a world full of danger. Humanity raise and fall everywhere every time. I chose the closest world that is not earth because it will be boring if it is earth, in my opinion. If you didn't notice, your command spell is replenished so you can call your blonde friend over here, mana sustenance? This world has its own system for its residence, so when I sent you there you will receive that world system in your body while still retaining your old-world system. I don't understand the details, being a convenient holy grail, I changed both of the new system you two are supposed to receive from directing the world mana for the user benefit to powering the command seal and sustaining her existence. Keep in mind, it is just enough to keep her existence, any mana for battle usage you have to replenish it yourself, you know how it is, hehehe… or you can just force her to eat or snort in the colourful crystals from this world. They're the crystallization of the mana in this world and each colour has different element. Remember booth of you are needed to sustain your blonde friend existence so I hope none of you died or the massive extra effort that I spent years on will go to waste and I hated it, so much so I may comeback to life from the void just bash your face. I believe that is all. See you never!"
It's surprisingly wordy and written in proper language, although the writing is like a pre-schooler but readable. Avenger, that was his name? he must be really putting a lot of work into this or he really just want to die and get it over with but already put too much effort to see it fail.
"Shirou, your command spell."
Bazett grabbed my hand to inspect the renewed command spell.
"We need her so we can keep your servant around and having positive upkeep of mana."
"Positive upkeep?"
"I mean if we want saber to still be able to replenish mana because two of us is just enough, with her we have surplus to restore saber's mana and to restore the command spell."
"Restoring command spell???"
"Avenger said he don't know the detail- "
The same reasoning with me.
"-but he is able to make the command spell replenishable overtime, though when used, Saber's mana recovery is halved and it take a week to replenish one. This ability to replenish command spell is big advantage we have in this otherworld."
Right, he did tell us in the letter that he specifically did not choose earth when he sent us. So where are we?
"Ara, leaving me out of the conversation? How cruel."
I heard the supposedly unconscious priestess remarked from her seated position.
"Shirou-kun"
She sticks out her hand towards me flailing it up and down. What does she want?
"Shirou-kun, your hand, hold me. Goodness how dense of you. I'm still powerless from the rough treatment of that brute."
"Ah, sorry"
I gently helped her to stand up but she immediately fell into my chest, her feet folded without power to stand by herself.
"Sorry, Shirou-kun, my feet still feel like jelly, let me stay in this position for a second, I will be able to stand by myself soon."
Looking at her trembling feet I sighed and also heard a sigh from my back.
"Hey you, don't act tough when you're not. Shirou, carry her, we will go with your current plan to scale the mountain for vantage point after you summon saber"
"Right"
Holding Caren in my left hand, I stick out my right up in the air.
"By the authority of this command spell, I call you! Saber!"
After finishing the last chant, the first part of the command spell tri-pattern lit up and the air around twisted again for the second time. The boundary of the world being violated under the miracle that cut the space and time itself.
As soon as the twisting feeling dissipated. Saber in her full battle armour also appeared.
"What is the situation, Shirou!"
Saber urgently asked me while keeping her sight onto the surrounding and Excalibur at the ready.
"Ah, Saber. There is no more danger at least for now."
At that Saber lowered her guard and then faced me after looking at Bazett and the powerless Caren on leaning on my hand.
"What happen here, Shirou? I felt our connection cut but immediately connected again when you called me"
"Aah, that…"
"Shirou, let me"
Bazett grabbed my shoulder, offering herself to explain the situation to Saber and Caren.
0o0o0
Since Bazett has the updated version of the information, she is the one who explained most of the current situation, since I also don't know some of it too.
It seems that Caren was around the Fuyuki when she saw Bazett in her full battle form running the night street in apparent hurry. Why she was there? It seems that the exchange priest in Fuyuki's church got sick and unable to fulfil his duty so the previous overseer was sent again to substitute.
She was curious but generally doesn't care what happen, but when she thinks about it again. Something that can make someone at Bazett's level worried, other than being jobless, must be a danger worth investigating and since she will be overseeing the city after she make a report to Tohsaka tonight, why not follow her?
When she arrived at the scene, she saw me and Bazett being swallowed by the ground while she felt the same aura as the one that possessed me 2 years ago. Seeing us disappeared she changed targets to try seal the grail with the holy shroud which sounds stupid even to herself after she retells it to us. She was swiftly defeated by the grail and sent over to us as an extra battery for saber.
That… was a lot to take in, I was actually possessed and no one noticed. Apparently, Bazett wished for something and the whole Fuyuki was stuck in repetitive 4 days for months.
This really was a shocking news, look, even saber is shocked.
"I already struck that thing down in the fourth then the fifth and it's still alive?"
Saber murmured quietly to the side, still in her armour because her normal clothes are destroyed when she dons her battle armour.
It seems that it hurts saber's pride when she knows something survived or more like still come back around to receive her noble phantasm strike a second time and still coming back again after that.
"Another thing, Shirou-kun, can you drop me down already? Even for someone like me this is embarrassing when I'm the only one like this."
"You feel shame? Ah, sorry I didn't mean that."
That was dangerous. I accidentally make an inappropriate remark, years of holding it in from her constant teasing back when I got contracted by the church through her, it seems I got influenced by her.
Putting aside Caren offended face, I put her down gently. She seems to be recovered enough to walk but she still can't keep up with our quick pace, because we are chasing for the mountain before dark or any of those monsters comes out and also for a better vantage point. With this, I picked her up again without much resistance from Caren side.
Caren soon fell asleep around half an hour later…
0o0o0