I would like to take this opportunity to thank the readers.
Thanks to you, for the first time, one of my Fanfics has exceeded 100,000 readings. I am very grateful for your support.
Author Note: Due to problems in my real life, I could not spend six hours doing research, finding the right FGO or Fate Stay Night text explaining things like Magecraft's inherent limitations or the fact that Gate of Babylon contains the prototypes of the weapons used later by the heroes (which explains why the Caladbolg of Fergus mac Róig does not look like the version used by Gilgamesh or why the gem in the pommel of the Durandal possessed by Roland is red while the gem in the pommel of the Durandal inside Gate of Babylon is white).
Since I can't spend six hours answering people who won't change their minds anyway... I'm giving up. You're always right, I'm always wrong. You know everything and I'm a moron who can't even read. Are you happy?
The Witch of Brittany
Compiegne, France.
Seventy kilometers northeast of Paris, there was a small town of 40,000 inhabitants called Compiegne. Too close to the capital, it could not grow and gain population. Moreover, for a French city, its history was quite recent. In fact, in the Middle Ages, the kings of France had built a castle to serve as their residence outside Paris and the city had gradually formed around this royal residence.
If there were several important historical events that took place in Compiegne, the city was especially famous because it was in a clearing, a little outside the city, that the armistice of 1918 was signed between the Germans and the French, Ending the First World War.
That day, it rained on Compiegne.
The fine rain formed like a brilliant film on the asphalt of the streets. The umbrellas of the passers-by waved, forming colorful bouquets where the crowd gathered. One could hear laughter and music coming out of the open windows. In spite of the darkness created by the black clouds that veiled the sun, lights came out of the shop window's display.
Among the crowd, a man distinguished himself by his clothes. Indeed, his suit was custom-made by an Italian tailor, while his hand-painted natural silk tie came from the same supplier as the Prince of Wales.
He was a young, handsome man, though rather haughty in appearance. His eyes were as black as his hair and his skin was pale. His name was Alexander Gascoigne... the British Campione.
Black Prince Alec stopped for a moment. He lifted up his black umbrella to look around him. He had bought a map of the city and spotted himself. The large building of recent construction was the Benjamin Franklin University of Technology (1).
Alec crossed the Pont Neuf, crossing the Oise River, and continued. He was no longer in Compiegne itself but in a neighboring town called Margny-lès-Compiègne. He was heading towards a housing unit called 'Les Étangs'.
He looked at his gold watch and nodded.
Patiently, he began to wait.
'Les Étangs' as its name meant in French (the ponds) were a group of modern houses built on the banks of the small lakes north of the Oise River.
They were residences for the middle class and their families: computer engineers, department heads at the Colgate-Palmolive plant, sales representatives...
However, one of the houses had been bought by a 'family' who sought to blend in the anonymity: a man, his supposed wife, and an adorable 12 or 13-year-old girl... with red eyes.
And it's true that she was adorable, but she wasn't a little girl... she was a Divine Ancestor.
The Witch Queen Guinevere wore a white and pink Victorian dress with purple ribbons and lace. Her blond, smooth hair released her forehead adorned with a gold headband adorned with a single ruby. She also had a light golden crown.
Sitting on a sofa a little too luxurious for the bourgeois interior of her house, she did not give a look to her 'father' (actually a member of a French magical association straight with her) when he filled her cup of tea.
Guinevere was tense and, even if she hid it behind an affable smile, worried.
The young woman sitting in a chair on the other side of the table COULD not exist. The Witch of Brittany had felt her arrival before even seeing the woman. How could she not feel such a concentration of magical energy?! The being in front of Guinevere was not flesh and blood; her whole body was formed by magical energy woven together by a powerful ritual. Despite the Divine Ancestor's knowledge of magic, unmatched even by the most powerful Campiones and the Heretic Gods, Guinevere had never seen anything like this over her long existence.
Her guest was very beautiful and had purple eyes. Her blond hair reached the line of her jaw on the front but was tied in a mat that ran down her back to her hips. She was dressed in the school uniform of a Catholic high school with a jacket, tie, and pleated skirt.
She had introduced herself to Guinevere under the name of Jeanne d'Arc and claimed to have been sent by someone she called Altera.
Jeanne thanked Guinevere's 'father' who had just served her again in tea and then turned to the Divine Ancestor.
The Pure Maiden spoke again.
"As I explained, Witch of Brittany, I have come to offer you our alliance. We have common goals. You want to wake up King Arthur... a Heretic God known to exterminate the Campiones at each of his awakenings and Altera wants..." Jeanne hesitated. "Let's say she exists to judge bad civilizations. Our objectives, far from being opposed, are therefore complementary. Through my voice, Altera offers you her help."
Queen Guinevere remained silent for a few moments.
"May I, Guinevere, ask something Jeanne d'Arc? I have heard about you, the National Heroine of the French. Isn't that right? But, There's a statue of La Pucelle in front of Compiegne Town Hall... you don't look anything like her."
Ruler smiled.
She also saw the statue. In bonze, on a pillar of stone, the Jeanne of this world brandished her standard as if to guide an army to the assault.
"I am not the same Jeanne d'Arc, Queen Guinevere. I belong to a group that came from another universe where history took a slightly different turn but..." Ruler's smile now betrayed a certain discomfort. "I wouldn't be able to explain to you how we got here, I'm a simple shepherdess. Before I was summoned by the Moon Cell, I couldn't even read or write."
"I beg your pardon if the question does not seem appropriate but... what does it feel like to come back to Compiegne?"
Guinevere's question startled Jeanne who spilled a few drops of tea. Coughing in her fist, she breathed in...
Ruler remembered the siege of Compiegne. She had assembled an army to help the city threatened by the Burgundians. Alas, her forces were too weak. Wounded while trying an exit, she had been captured by the men of Duke Philippe le Bon. The Duke of Burgundy was an ally of the English and he handed her to Henry Beaufort, Cardinal of Winchester. The latter had her tried for witchcraft and burn at a stake...
"It brings back many bad memories... "
"Hereby, I, Queen Guinevere praise your spirit" murmured the witch in an undertone "I know that serving a king can lead us to the ultimate sacrifice. I am all that remains of the mother goddess Gwenhwyfar after she created the Holy Grail by sacrificing herself.
Alec again looked at his watch. There were two minutes left...
At 2:30 p.m., the sirens began to ring throughout the city. The firefighters but also the gendarmes left their barracks while loudspeakers asked the population to evacuate in peace.
A dangerous chemical leak had occurred at Lamotte Industrial Park. In France, the memory of AZF (2) was still vivid and panic spread in the crowd.
Guinevere's 'father' turned off the radio, which continued to broadcast calls for calm and instructions for the evacuation of the city. His 'wife' entered the room. She had taken a bag prepared for such an occasion. Besides some magical objects, there were also I.D. cards (fakes capable of deceiving the most perceptive policeman) but also a large amount of cash.
Meanwhile, Guinevere had given an order to her 'father'. The Magus obeyed without discussion, lifting up a carpet to reveal a magic circle drawn on the ground. Around it were written words in Latin, pentagrams, and other smaller magic circles connected by lines forming a complex geometric figure.
The Witch Queen smiled at Ruler and bowed a little.
"'It is likely that this was just an industrial accident. Nevertheless, I, Queen Guinevere consider it better to be cautious and act as if we were under attack. There is no question of abandoning a guest to danger. So I hope you will agree to follow us, mademoiselle d'Arc. This teleportation circle will lead us to another of my homes, far away from here."
Jeanne d'Arc replied with a simple nod.
"Thank you, Witch Queen."
She was of course able to leave the place by her own means. Nothing could affect her in astral form or even locate her. However, following Guinevere would allow continuing their conversation.
The circle was large enough to contain all four. The Witch of Brittany concentrated for a moment. When she opened her eyes, her decisive expression made a particularly adorable contrast to her little girl's appearance.
She raised her hand, spreading magical energy in the circle while reciting the command words that released the spell it contained.
"In nomine Apollonius Thyana et Hermes Trimegistus, Porta Smaragdina aperta."
A swirl of green energy enveloped the four silhouettes that began to become translucent. But... Something strange happened. Violet energy mingled with that of the circle, interfering with its functioning. Guinevere, Jeanne, and the two Magi disappeared... but did not rematerialize at the place they wanted.
The Prince of Black Lightning could not hide his smile as he saw purple energy surrounding the talisman he was holding in his hand.
Alexander Gascoigne knew his enemy well. He knew how the Witch reacted. After years of war, fighting had become a kind of routine. After finding the witch, Alec had to fight her allies, her guardians, triumphed over her traps, crossed the magical barriers she had built to protect herself, and, finally, ravaged her lair, all this to discover that Guinevere had already fled... with the Holy Grail. Guinevere was very cautious, always preferring flight to combat. As soon as something abnormal happened, she disappeared.
It was incredibly frustrating. Going after Guinevere was a Sisyphean task you had to start over and over again.
The worst was the loss of life on both sides. Members of the Royal Arsenal who were looking for Queen Guinevere sometimes fell into traps and were the target of the Witch's retribution, while the Magi that worked for the Witch of Brittany died defending her.
In the magical world, there were many blood feuds. Some hatred between factions had lasted for centuries. Nevertheless, very few had degenerated into a war without rules or restraints like King Alec and Queen Guinevere conflict.
After so much bloodshed, it was time to end it.
When it came to magic, Gascoigne was no match for the Witch of Brittany. After all, one of the witch's nicknames was 'Queen of the Divine Ancestor'. Indeed, no other Divine Ancestor could be compared to her in terms of knowledge and magical power.
Nevertheless, Gascoigne was a first-class wizard, and - as a Campione- he had much more magical energy than Guinevere herself...
So, this time, it was Alec's turn to make a trap.
Rather than attack the witch near a pond where she could summon Lancelot du Lac, and cross her traps by force... the British Campione made good use of Guinevere's propensity to take flight at the slightest sign of danger.
She used a teleportation circle, the fastest and safest way to escape. Predictable.
In an excellent mood, Gascoigne burst out laughing, looking again at the piece of ivory engraved with runes that he held in his hands. One of the countless magical objects he'd collected.
This object had interfered with the teleportation spell.
Oh, in a minor way. It had actually changed only one thing... the destination.
Guinevere probably wouldn't be too happy to find out she wasn't back in one of her dens. The Witch of Brittany would probably be even less happy to discover that she was not the only one who could create traps, and magical barriers or summon dangerous creatures. For a change, let her taste her own medicine.
The British Campione took his mobile phone and dialed a number.
"Louis, everything happened as expected. Ring the end of the alarm! The toxic leak has been contained, people can go home."
Alec smiled.
Tonight, the Holy Grail would be his. His father had been looking for it all his life and that had killed him. On his grave, Alec had sworn that he would find the sacred cup.
Tohsaka Mansion, Tokyo, Japan
Ereshkigal raised her eyes for a moment from the art book she was holding open on her lap, listening to the noises coming from upstairs. Since Shirou's return, her sister was almost hysterical. At times, she cursed Luo Hao while at other times she got angry with Shirou 'moron' Emiya.
Knowing the character of Ishtar, Ere had concluded that the smartest thing was to settle as far away as possible from the room of the moronic redhead, find a good book... and wait for her sister to calm down. It would take another two or three hours. But even Ishtar would run out of inspiration.
Ereshkigal returned to her contemplation. She had found a collection of landscape photographs by an Australian artist. Some photos showed streams and waterfalls covered with ice pendants in the middle of snowy landscapes. Others, on the contrary, showed the red deserts of central Australia. There were also many pictures of rocks polished by the wind in rounded shapes or cliffs made of layers of rock of all colors.
There were so many wonders in this world.
Ereshkigal would never understand people who passed by such wonders without being full of admiration... let alone the stupidity of polluters. How could anyone think of damaging such a beautiful world?
After looking at a photo for long minutes, trying to imagine the movement of the stream, the sound of the water drops on the rock, the Queen of the Underworld moved on to the photo that formed the next page. It was Ayers Rock, a rock formation revered by Australian Aborigines. The area was arid and grew only yellow bushes. Of course, the huge rock (also called Uluru) was in the center of the photo. Its angular and rounded forms as well as its high ochre-colored cliffs made an extraordinary contrast with the almost cloud-free blue sky.
It was so beautiful... Ereshkigal always marveled at seeing bright colors, birds in the sky, or rivers. All things that did not exist in Aralu.
"Ere?"
Surprised, the Goddess of the Netherworld looked up at Hakuno. The teenager had entered the room without being noticed.
Kishinami showed little emotion. But on her doll's face, her huge caramel-colored eyes reflected a question.
"Hakuno?"
"Why is Ishtar screaming?"
The question made Ereshkigal laugh.
"Because she's Ishtar."
After all, it was a bit like asking "why is the water wet?"
Hakuno blinked and the Goddess of Death stopped laughing. The irony was lost with Hakuno...
"Shirou has just returned wounded and poisoned."
This time, the reaction of the Inheritor was a little more vivid. She clenched her hands on her chest as her expression became anxious.
"Poisoned is perhaps a little exaggerated... "hurried to add Ereshkigal, seeking to reassure her friend. She paused to think." What do you know about how to get stronger?"
"Alteration of the Soul?"
Ereshkigal, the Rin Tohsaka who had been the Master of Lancer during the Moon Cell Grail War, agreed.
"Indeed, but do you know of any method of this world?"
Hakuno Kishinami simply shook her head.
"Well, Luo Hao sent Shirou, Godou, and his..." she interrupted before saying 'harem' and corrected "...his friends fighting a kind of Korean dragon. After they killed it, they brought back its Core."
"Core," said Hakuno, with a head tilt.
You really had to know Hakuno for a long time to understand that she had just asked a question.
"Let's say an organ in which the magical energy of certain mythical creatures accumulates," replied Ere. "And Luo Hao cooked this Core in a medical broth for Shirou, Godou, and the girls."
"Poison?"
"Yes and no... Let's say you can't claim the power of a dragon without combat. Shirou's Magic Circuits fight this foreign magical energy, much like antibodies fight microbes and viruses. For now, Shirou is bedridden with a fever. It will take a while for him to get better."
"The school tomorrow?"
"No, I doubt he can go to school, Hakuno. But the real reason for Ishtar's anger is the medical broth. This is an ineffective method and a waste. It is unbearable for my sister who is the incarnation of greed."
Upstairs, Ishtar had just started screaming again.
"You hear the result."
One could make fun of Ishtar's (real) avarice. But to her credit, the real reason for the Mistress of Heaven's reaction was Shirou's wounds and poisoning. She had been frightened by the young man's condition when he returned. And the story narrated by the redhead had not really helped to defuse the situation.
Even if sending Shirou to hunt down an Imugi for training was a bit exaggerated, Ishtar could close her eyes to this.
She accepted much less easily the beating that the Chinese Campione had given to Shirou.
The (mis)use of the Imugi core was the straw that has broken the camel's back.
Not only was Shirou in a dismal state, but it was not even an effective way to use the Core... If the goddess seemed to care only about this aspect, it was an effect of her pride. The Queen of Venus could not admit - even inside her own home- that what a mortal had suffered could be more important to her than her own gains.
Shirou has finally fallen asleep despite the tantrum of the goddess. Having no one to argue with, she calmed down and finally remembered that the Faker had brought back strange crystals... Oh yes... he called them Geumkang Crystals.
After descending into her 'temple' (workshop), Ishtar discovered the bag placed near her work table and opened the zipper.
Ishtar's reaction was... spectacular. After a long moment of silence, with her eyes wide open, she suddenly pressed the bag against her.
"My Precious One!"
The Geumkang Crystals were literally crystallized magical energy! Many, many, many magical energy...
With a thrill of ecstasy, Ishtar-Gollum stroked the bag... it was her bag, no one would take it. It was hers, hers, and just her...
The Goddess of Venus remained to cradle the bag full of crystals against her until a ring disintegrated the little pink cloud on which she floated and made her suddenly fall back on Earth (ouch). Again in a bad mood, Ishtar looked back at the central table.
The sound came from some disk-shaped metal object. On a control panel, a red diode flashed. Ishtar approached and pressed a button. The signal went out. Above the disk of metal appeared a holographic image of the Earth. Although the 3D image is a bit fuzzy and bluish, the goddess could easily discern continents and seas.
A red light flashed over England.
Manipulating a few commands, Ishtar focused the image on southern England.
"Oh... oh," she said.
Indeed, the Servant detector that she had painfully developed with the help of her sister had reacted to something that was in the center of London, just south of the Thames.
In the Woolwich Dockyard district.
Everyone knew this area because of the famous football club 'Arsenal' which owes its name to the Woolwich Arsenal also called the Royal Arsenal. Nevertheless, in the magical world, the Woolwich district was best known because the headquarters of an organization serving the Godslayer Alexander Gascoigne was located there. The organization, of course, was called 'Royal Arsenal' as it occupied this ancient gun foundry.
And a Servant had just made his appearance at Woolwich. Ishtar did not doubt the involvement of Black Prince Alec... This Campione had a gift for attacking the people he would have done better to leave alone.
At the same time, London, under Woolwich Dockyard
The labyrinth created by Alec Gascoigne, thanks to King Minos' Authority, was completely underground. It was a succession of masonry corridors decorated with plate armors, and collections of tapestries showing scenes of Arthurian legend. The rooms were modeled to resemble the rooms of a castle with chimneys where a fire burned, tables, chairs, a floor strewn with straw, and walls lit by torches where you could see knights' shields and weapons. The fact that these shields were adorned with the coat of arms of the Knights of the Round obviously could not escape Guinevere. This kind of mockery was quite typical of King Alec.
The real danger was the tunnels that changed direction without warning, the doors that appeared and disappeared. This changing labyrinth rendered all plans obsolete in just a few minutes. The Witch of Brittany could not even pierce the walls. Created by a god's authority, they were too resistant.
The most important rooms were trapped or protected by magical barriers. Since the teleportation circle had been hacked by Alec Gascoigne, Guinevere had constantly used her magic, exhausting her reserve for self-protection. Of course, that was the goal. Black Prince Alec would only attack the High Priestess of the Grail when she was no longer able to defend herself. This Campione was famous for manipulating his enemies and creating situations where his victory was assured.
One could say that Alec's specialty was to win without risk... and therefore without glory.
If Guinevere was trapped in this maze with only the two Magi who had impersonated her parents, the situation would have been desperate.
Fortunately, Jeanne d'Arc accompanied them.
Created by the Magi of the Royal Arsenal, the steel golems looked like knights in shining armor, holding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. Had it not been for their mechanical movement, the illusion would have been perfect.
A group of five golems had just appeared at the end of the hall.
Jeanne leaps forward. In her hands, Luminosité Éternelle, her banner adorned with a golden fleur-de-lys- turned into a wheel of light similar to the propeller of an airplane.
Struck more than a hundred times in a second, the first golem exploded into twisted metal fragments. Two of the steel golems advanced to attack. But their swords whistled in the air without touching anything. Striking the ceiling with both feet, Ruler fell back behind them. Dancing swiftly, La Pucelle swirled her banner, passing it from one hand to the other. Too quickly so that the eye could follow, she attacked the two golems striking their backs and joints.
With the sound of crushed metal, they collapsed forward in clumps of twisted steel.
The fight was in its thirtieth second...
There were only two opponents left.
Unable to feel fear, the animated armor attacked again...
More quickly, Jeanne took the initiative away from them. The first enemy was hit by rapid spears stroke that pierced its chest plate and helmet.
The last animated armor had time to give a sword stroke that La Pucelle stopped with the pole of her standard. Drawing the Sword of Fierbois, she counterattacked.
In a shower of sparks, the golem collapsed, cut in half from shoulder to hip.
In an infantile reaction, Guinevere clapped her hands, thrilled by the prowess of her new ally.
Tohsaka Mansion, Tokyo, Japan
Ereshkigal was looking at the red dot on the London map projected by the Servant's detector.
"Okay, the detector reacted. But I remind you that the calibration is still faulty. Just yesterday, the sensor reacted because Shirou has Traced a sword while training."
Ishtar sighed.
"I agree that detector calibration still needs to be adjusted. But we will never be able to calibrate this machine if we do not check the presence of Servant where it signals them."
"Maybe it's just the result of a spell. The Royal Arsenal recruits powerful Thaumaturgists."
"And he may be a Servant," insisted Ishtar.
"This is the headquarters of a Campione," replied Ere. "I doubt it's a good idea to join without being invited."
"And, twice, the heroes in Velber's service attacked Campiones. Iskandar killed Duke Voban! Should we just let Alec Gascoigne die because you don't like him?"
The real reason for Ereshkigal's hostility was not to look very far. The Campione had brutalized Hakuno to steal the Regalia from her. He had also sought to kill the goddess.
Silent, the Sovereign of the Moon Cell had listened to the two sisters' argument without intervening. But several translucent windows were floating around her. Hakuno had asked the Moon Cell questions... and got an answer.
"This is Ruler. Jeanne d'Arc."
The two Mesopotamian goddesses turned to Hakuno.
"Sorry?"
Kishinami pointed to the glow that continued to flash south of the Thames.
"This is Jeanne d'Arc."
The Moon Cell was an alien supercomputer of unimaginable power. It never asserted anything without checking. And the Divine Automatic Recording Devise was rarely wrong.
Ereshkigal crossed her arms on her chest looking away and waddled from one foot to the other.
"It's not fair, if you take my sister's side, I can't argue with her anymore."
Ishtar pressed her hand against her lips, suppressing a strong desire to laugh. She had the wisdom to keep her triumph discreet.
"Then I'll summon Maanna. We'll be in London in a moment."
She turned towards Kishinami.
"Hakuno, you stay here. But use the Regalia to stay in touch."
(1) Benjamin Franklin was a scientist and a diplomat. He was the first US ambassador to France and it was he who convinced Louis XVI to go to war alongside the Insurgents.
(2) On 21 September 2001, the AZF agricultural fertilizer plant in Toulouse (France) exploded, killing 30 people and injuring more than 2,500 people. Since the events took place 10 days after the World Trade Center attacks, it was initially thought to be an attack, but it was an industrial accident. The material damage was enormous.