Here we are again with a new chapter, thanks to Old man of the mountain!
unfortunately, i haven't found a beta reader to fix the pronouns yet though. so far they either show up and then disappear, or they come forward to ask for something else, so be patient a little longer. sooner or later i'll find someone who can fix the pronouns, i swear! i hope...
anyway, i haven't done it in a while, but now it's time for the review corner! let's start with:
akihitotheexiled: I'm glad you were interested enough in the story to check it out here too!
Laplase: Well, if you think about it, Jack is at the beginning of his 'legend'. Before, he mostly operated under a pseudonym and rarely showed up in person to meetings in general, unless he was important or didn't trust the client, which was more unique than rare. His time at UA was the one that started to move things in the company, shaking it up, and then he also showed the world his combat skills on the night of the raid with All for one. He caused the 'first' strong impact with that. Before, he could be considered a rather precocious and eccentric businessman.
The embodiment of Weirdness: yeah, that's how i thought of it, more or less. the result is the same as what merlin did in the singularity of babylon.
unseenurge: Well, since the grail war has started, it's mostly going to be bloody battles now. So..yeeah?
Castle Einzbern was burning.
The homunculus had fought and tried in vain to resist the invaders, but nothing helped to stop the advance of the machines. Anyone who could fight had been mobilized, but it had been to no avail, both combat models and alchemists somewhat more oriented to offensive support. Einzbern homunculus exclusively dedicated to combat would surely have put even high-class devils in trouble if well-coordinated (considering the average level, not monsters like Sairaorg Bael), they were really no match for a heroic spirit, especially an unknown one about whom there are no records since the state-of-the-art equipment was a clear indication of future provenance.
The Homunculus tried to bar the Gundams' way, but there was very little they could do; they all fell under the blows of the state-of-the-art weapons, although at the very least Veda had given orders to make the executions as painless as possible, as I had requested while I went about my business.
Five Gundams had been more than enough to wipe out even the smallest shadow of resistance.
"Why...?"
"Because you are in my way," was the only response I gave Jubstacheit, as he tried to move his mutilated body in vain.
Honestly, there was not much humanoid left in him. His body is torn to pieces; his innards are on the floor, bone fragments protruded from his body, and he has also lost most of his blood (or its equivalent), soiling the burned and ash-covered carpets.
It still works only because to extend its lifespan, it replaced most of the original body with less organic golem parts; otherwise, it would have been exhausted long ago. Honestly, it almost looks more like a magical cyborg than a normal homunculus.
"I GIVEN YOU EVERYTHING YOU ASKED FOR!" he shouted, in a voice hoarse from the heat of the burning castle, spitting out the blood that was slowly clogging his airways "EVERYTHING TO REJOICE THE MIRACLE! THAT'S WHAT YOUR SUMMONING WAS FOR! TO WIN THE WAR!"
"There is no miracle to redeem," I reply indifferently to the desperate cries of 'betrayal' "The Angra Manyu curses, which you foolishly conjured up in the other war, still persist in the Greater Grail and have irreparably compromised it, destroying any chance you had of regaining the third sorcery. Now any attempt to conclude the ritual will pour billions of curses on the world, destroying all life on earth."
"LIE! DIRTY TRAITOR-"
I was not going to waste any more time on him. I pointed the command core's rifle and fired a bullet into his head, blasting his skull without an ounce of hesitation. Any dialogue with this buffoon would have been useless anyway.
With the last enemy killed, I walked toward the exit, ignoring the corpses that littered the corridors, slumped on the ground or against walls stained with blood and ash. Walking out the front door, I observed Astrea 1.0 and Astrea type F, who had a metal sphere in her arms. Inside it was the basket where Illya sleeps on a soft mattress, completely unaware of what had happened because of the soundproof structure, which also served to recycle oxygen, prevent her from inhaling toxic substances, and protect the infant from any stray blows.
On the side, the second-generation Astrea instead had Sella and Leysritt under her arms, both unconscious. They were guarding Illya and since they wouldn't listen (pretty obvious, considering I was the aggressor in this scenario and they had strict orders), I had to knock them both out to retrieve them and get them out of that hole in the snow.
Sadalsuud and Pluto arrived just two minutes after I had finished cleaning up, while the 0 Gundam had retrieved the documents related to everything about the little girl and those concerning the Justeaze model homunculus. I would need them to create new bodies or modify Irisviel's, Sella's and Liz's current ones, since they have a rather short expiration date because of their tasks, and I had decided to either lengthen their lifespan to at least the same as that of a human, or directly create new bodies that could last at least that long and move them there.
With all goals accomplished, I relinquished control of the vehicles to Veda, who loaded them onto the Pelican directed to Musutafu, while I returned my focus to my body that should have landed shortly in Japan, ignoring the burning castle collapsing in on itself, bringing down the curtain on the long history of one of the world's oldest wizard families.
I watch Irisviel walk along the shoreline of Miho Matsubara (Shimizu Coast) in Shizuoka. We had a good part of the day, so I more or less acted as a tour guide, flying her from one part of the city to another to show her the most famous sights in the area. She wasn't very happy about not being able to enjoy the sights or drive herself (I would never , ever get in a car with her behind the wheel), but even the view from the air after a while fascinated her; so, the complaints died rather quickly as she enjoyed the sky.
I had given him a tour of the Kunozan Toshogu Shrine, Shiraito Falls, Shimizu port, Shizuoka Sengen Shrine, and most of the most recommended sights to see. Needless to say, she had a great time.
We ended the trip with this beach, as it is in itself a lovely place, full of pine trees and with a great view of Mt. Fuji. For those who had no problem seeing at night, the view is breathtaking, partly because there were no clouds or bad weather obstructing the view.
"I must say it was a lot of fun seeing all these places accompanied by a gentleman," says the albino woman, wearily inhaling the ocean air after a long day of leisure.
"Did I play that part well? Because it was my first time too," I admit amusedly, surely not thinking back at all to Kuro's half-insult about not knowing how to relax a few days earlier "I was pretty out of character if I'm being honest."
"Perfectly!" she confirms cheerfully "You were an outstanding knight today."
"I am not a knight, although I wear armor," I remind him, making her chuckle.
"Foreigner, do you like the sea?" asks Irisviel suddenly, watching the small waves come to her feet.
"I'm more of a mountain person," I admit, "I always preferred colder climates and snow as a child, even though I was always terrible at skiing..."
In my previous life at least. I went a few times to the mountains, but to my embarrassment, I was uncoordinated as hell and couldn't ski although I liked it, not even if my life depended on it. Then again, I was...ten years old, I think? Not that I had ever been athletic to begin with anyway. Unfortunately, because of the climate change and the difficult financial situation of my old family, I couldn't do those kinds of outings anymore until I died.
Nor did I ever think of doing it again here.
"That sounds like a fun thing to do too!" she agrees vigorously "In Germany such activities were forbidden. It's bad enough that I could play with the gifts Kiritsugu brought me from his travels..." she finishes with a pout.
"I-I understand..." I simply reply, biting my tongue when it almost came out of my mouth that the root cause in all likelihood was his...free spirit (complete lack of self-control). Definitely too free.
"I'd like to take Illya there though...it would be fun to all ski together..." his voice trailed off a bit, causing me to frown as I quickly realized what he had just thought.
"And Chloe. She would hardly like to be sidelined for her sister again," I admonish her lightheartedly, making her blink.
"Chloe? Will Kiritsugu have a second daughter?" she asks pleasantly surprised.
" You will have a second daughter," I correct her, only confusing her more.
Unfortunately, an encroaching pressure pervaded the area before I could explain further. It was remote, in an isolated area far from populated areas. A...construction site nearby? No one should be there at this time, but it's still in the city...
I wasted no time in hijacking the local cameras to see who it was that was throwing that signal, and to my not too much surprise it was El-meloi and Karna.
"An enemy servant?" asks Irisviel, losing all her mirth for a more serious attitude.
"Yes, it seems we should postpone the end of this conversation until later," I confirm, conjuring up the Astrea F2 and wearing it as a precaution in case he gets impatient and rushes in here "It almost sounds like he's calling us."
"How frank. Does he want to choose the battlefield?" asked Irisviel rhetorically, almost defiantly, "Shall we accept his invitation?"
"...If I'm being honest, I don't see the point in doing this," I admitted, nearly tripping her as she stepped out of the water to retrieve her boots, "Why would we throw ourselves into what is blatantly a trap? Not to mention that if we felt it, the other servants must have felt it, too. If we engage in a confrontation so recklessly, surely someone will take advantage of openings to attack me or Karna, and I don't want to concede gratuitous, potentially fatal blows to anyone for any reason."
Irisviel stares at me like a freshly kicked puppy who was being scolded for doing something damn stupid despite being explicitly told not to.
"But...but I wanted to see you fight..."
She had tried puppy-dog eyes, even using crocodile tears and biting her lower lip, trying to make her pouty frown look more pronounced and... I don't know, sweet? Cute? Arousing compassion? Or something like that to prompt me to agree, but I held firm on what to do.
As much as I had racked my brains to find a solution, I didn't like my odds against Karna and Vasavi Shakti, not to mention that I hadn't found a way to convince him not to fight...
"My answer remains unchanged," I reply impassively.
"Mphf!" he puffs up his cheeks and snorts, turning toward the enemies' direction "Fine! Then I'll go, so you'll be forced to follow me!"
She took a step, but then I grabbed her by the collar of her jacket, lifting her off the ground enough to keep her from touching, leaving her suspended at my height.
She looks at me shocked, and I don't blink.
"Bully!" he accuses me, wiggling in a decidedly childish way.
"No, I'm responsible, which is different," I reply, not at all offended or impressed by how he was throwing a tantrum "For starters, why the hell do you want to see me fight so badly? No offense, but realistically if I fought someone without holding me back you wouldn't even be able to follow me with your eyes. Your reflexes and reaction time are too slow for that."
She pauses, still pouting.
"Well...you are a heroic spirit! One of the highest peaks humanity has ever reached! Why wouldn't I be interested in seeing what a legend incarnate can do!" she asks, waving her arms as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Why wouldn't I want to see a clash of legends from different eras!?"
My eye twitched, although I tried to keep a neutral face.
"Do you realize that this is a fight to the death and not a real movie?" I ask, barely holding back a sigh "There's nothing exciting about watching two leggy calamities fight to the fullest. It's like watching an atomic bomb explode and saying 'Hey, at least it was a good firework!' or something like that! How did you come up with something like that to begin with?"
Yes, I could not understand at all what was going through Irisviel's head...
In the end, she sighs in defeat.
"All right. All right, then let's not fight-" she whines disappointedly, hanging limply from my grip.
I stared at her in silence.
What should I do? Despite having thought about it since my summoning, I cannot think of a way to safely destroy the Grail. There was nothing in the documents I stole from the Einzbren before destroying them that gave me any clues as to the possible location of the Greater Grail (which is strange, since even though the territory was provided by the Thosaka, the three main creators actually went to the place to start the ritual and all). It could have been under a famous temple as well as buried under an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere, so much with the amount of ambient mana it would have made no difference. In the sixty years that normally elapse between wars, even if it is not placed on top of leylines to facilitate energy harvesting, it would still manage to accumulate enough power to power seven servants for at least two or three months at the very least, if they fight their fights to their full capacity even every night.
I had no way to find it without clues.
The Einzbern would not cooperate so I eliminated them, and I could not prove with certainty the corruption of the Grail; therefore, the church and the Tohsaka would not cooperate under any circumstances in its dismantling, despite Tokiomi being relatively 'reasonable' for a magus. More or less. Simply showing the flaws of the evocations would not have convinced them, so it was pointless to even try.
El-Melloi is the classic noble magus with a stick stuck so deeply in his ass that he cannot even hear what others will have to say; therefore, having Karna's magical lie detector will do little to convince him. He will simply accuse me of talking bullshit and throw his servant at me.
Waver is too immature and has no useful information for my case.
I don't even count caster, which I will have to kill as soon as possible. Possibly in the next few days, if no one bothers me, although I am undecided whether to do it right away or try to capture and eliminate it once I am sure the grail does not absorb it somehow, although it will be extremely difficult and perhaps unlikely the latter idea.
Kariya would be of no help to me. He is not a wizard and does not have access to the grail-related documents, which Zouken surely keeps under lock and key. However, if I killed the worm, I could try to search his archives for something useful.
The first move to make would be to ignore Lancer and look for Berseker's master, but I have to think hard about how to approach him...
'Foreigner'
An icy voice calls to me, booming in my head as echoes would in a cave, making me blink.
'Well, now that's a surprise. Hello to you too, my dear master. What good wind brings you?' I ask sarcastically.
I felt irritation running through our connection, as well as a considerable amount of anger and distrust.
'Where is Illya?
'Straight to the point I see' I snort telepathically, realizing immediately that Maya had relayed my message to him, although she had taken her time evidently 'he is in a safe house I had prepared in Musutafu, guarded by Sella and Leysritt, the guardians the old Act had prepared to take over for you while you are here. Their instructions have remained unchanged, even with the elimination of the rest of the Eiznbern. No one will find them there, nor will they be able to do anything with them anyway'
'...'
'You may as well thank me now'
'what is your goal? Why attack the Einzbern?'
I raise an eyebrow at the question, but I shrug.
'With their mentality they were or would have become a problem; therefore, I eliminated them before they became an actual threat' you reply indifferently 'Aren't you happy? They would have slammed the door in your face anyway and kept Illya to use as research material. I simply skipped the part where they irreparably damaged her body, more than they already had, and killed them all before they could do anything, so that a later raid would not endanger her'
'What is your goal?" he asks again, now seemingly calmer, though with considerable wariness.
"Destroying the Greater Grail'
'!?'
"Foreigner?"
I look at Irisviel, who stares at me in confusion.
"Kiritsugu was talking to me," I inform her, surprising her for the umpteenth time that evening, "Yeah, I didn't expect that either. Who thought he could actually form meaningful sentences instead of being silent all the time?"
The woman chuckles, despite the fact that I had basically insulted her husband.
"You're really bad, you know that?" he comments with a wry smile.
'...go fight Lancer'
'Ah? I have no reason to do that' I immediately deny, before checking the nanosuit's signal and finding that it was about four hundred meters from the harbor 'Rather, shoot that idiot El meloi. With the Storm PSR in addition to the fact that you can see him on the roof of that shed with the scope, even with that scrappy spell that's supposed to camouflage him, he's in your range and you can kill him easily even from twice the distance. You have the perfect line of sight to take him out without raising a fuss; so just do it and don't waste your time'
'How-'
'Do you really think I would have you running around with equipment decades, maybe centuries more advanced than current time without monitoring you or Maiya? I 'm young, not retarded' I inform him rather annoyed, implicitly asking if he was stupid 'Not to mention that I've been keeping an eye on all the participants in this shit since I was summoned. How do you think-'
'You have your orders. Execute them,' he interrupts me in a tone of finality.
.
.
.
"...That asshole just hung up on me!" I growl, extremely irritated by the way Kiritsugu refused to cooperate just because I proposed the idea.
"Um...? What?" asks Irisviel hesitantly, seeing how I was warming up.
Ignoring that thorn in my side, why the hell does he want me to fight Lancer? He has no independent action, and the Grail will not provide him with mana without a master to act as a conduit; therefore, unless he has some equipment or technique to independently absorb the environmental one, he will last a few seconds before being repelled by Alaya. All he would need to do is get a little further away and he would be out of her range, even for her eventual retaliation...unless he starts shooting lasers from his eyes if he finds it even with concealment active.
And we are talking about Karna, after all. She may or may not actually make it, depending on her luck given her track record, or pull some bullshit out of thin air and directly save her master...
"Sigh. Nothing, let's go fight Lancer..." I sigh resigned to the fact that I couldn't avoid him for a few more days and look for a solution.
"Yes!"
"Don't exult in my misfortune!"
"Quick, Rider, let's get off!" a pathetic voice whines terrified, unbeknownst to all passersby, crouching on one of the bridge pillars and far out of sight from anyone "Quick, this is too much here..."
"What are you talking about? Isn't this a perfect place to observe?"
"I'm getting off! I mean, let me down!" cries Waver Velvet in reply, trying desperately not to cry from nervousness "N-I can't do it..."
"You are too restless! In war you must know how to be patient," the servant admonishes him, drinking what in one hand looks like a half-liter bottle of wine, because of his rather unusual size.
"I want to go home..." murmurs Waver, completely ignoring his evocation "I want to go back to England..."
"Didn't I just tell you to quiet down?" sighed Iskandar, almost exasperated seeing the pathetic excuse of a Master that had happened to him.
Waver is not courageous by nature and somewhat short-tempered, cowardly, and whiny. In contrast, his servant Iskandar, the king of the conquerors, is noble and physically overbearing. Much to Waver's chagrin, the huge man has little interest in the Holy Grail and is more concerned with conquering the world again, especially now that he realizes that it is far greater than he was aware of during his lifetime, and he is particularly fascinated by the ordinary aspects of modern life rather than the 'miracle' he took part in.
He is not the least bit interested in the mages' association or why Waver decided to join the war; on the contrary, he is decidedly disappointed by how unambitious he is with his goal. His arrogance and inexperience has made it impossible for him to control a chaotic figure like Iskandar, since he has not even earned his respect yet, which has brought them over that bridge.
The only way to force him to obey would be command seals, but he does not want to waste them in case they are needed for emergencies (and not because he is scared to death of what Rider might do to him. Absolutely not!).
"Oh! Finally things are starting to get lively!" announced Iskandar, extremely interested as he stared in Lancer's direction when an opponent finally stepped forward "AHAHAAHAH! I'm getting mad!"
Waver stares rather astonished at the behavior of the king of the conquerors, when a sudden pressure that would have staggered anyone who was not among the mightiest warriors nearly crushes him even at that distance, causing him to faint on impact.
"...We really need to work on that puny ass of yours, kid," sighs Iskandar with muffled enthusiasm, seeing the soft of a summoner faint like that "Well, though you're excused for this one time. Those two seem to be real monsters! I can't wait to face them!"
"I guess you are the servant Saber."
In all his glory, India's Golden Soldier stands in the middle of the road between the port containers, his spear in hand, watching me with keen eyes as I walk into the Astrea holding the Proto-Buster sword.
"No, I'm Servant Foreigner," I correct him, stopping about 20 meters from him.
This actually raised an eyebrow at the demigod.
"This...is not a regular class," he helpfully points out.
"No. Blame the Einzbern," I confirm just as usefully.
"Foreigner, be careful," Irisviel warns me, now a bit worried, feeling on her skin the pressure Karna exudes by simply standing around doing nothing "I can use some healing thaumaturgies, but nothing else that will help you..."
"Pardon me for saying this bluntly, but if someone like Karna hits me with a noble phantasm, your cures won't do any good anyway," I reply bluntly, making the enemy servant contract almost imperceptibly "Now put yourself at a safe distance, things are about to get hectic."
I open a portal to bring out a Jegan who approaches the woman.
"...so you know who I am?" the charity hero asks as the homunculus walks away from us with an automated drive "An ability to discern a servant's real name with a glance? No, it should not be an ability unique to the Ruler class..."
Have I awakened any memories for him?
"Simple data collection," I inform him with a shrug.
"...I understand," he simply replies, probably perceiving the answer as 'true' since in a way it is. I had read the wiki in my old life to get a better understanding of what he was capable of after seeing him in Apocrypha, which I don't remember much about, but also all the vaguely reliable historical sources I could find about him and everything about him in this world "Get ready"
A red halo covers as the temperature rises dramatically and his spear is covered in flames.
I stand on guard, holding my two-handed weapon.
Karna disappears.
I move without hesitation.
GN particles flow through the Power Lines like a raging river, drastically strengthening the physical capabilities of the Astrea and the GN field, allowing me to intercept the incoming golden flash with a swipe.
I am pushed back a couple of meters, but Lancer's charge, so fast that I could barely follow him, is abruptly interrupted. The clash of our blows splits the earth beneath our feet, causing the entire harbor to shake.
Karna, who retreated a couple of meters because of the backlash does not blink and continues his assault.
And it's fucking fast!
I cannot see his spear clearly, but I could anticipate the points of impact from the way he moves his body, despite the difficulty, thanks to Alaya-Vijnana and Veda supporting me as he analyzes his fighting style to prepare countermeasures.
I deflect as many lunges as I can, noting that his spear in its sealed state is unable to pass through my defenses and at best scratches away the paint. When I see an opening in the whirlwind of metal and fire, I plant my foot on the ground and with a GN burst hit Karna full force.
The charity hero crashes, almost breaking the sound barrier, smashing through several stacks of containers for nearly a hundred meters, but he does not falter and balances almost unharmed, despite having just hit him with the equivalent of a grade-A noble phantasm.
"Of course, it wouldn't have been that easy," I murmur, feeling a drop of sweat roll down my forehead from the slight nervousness and sense of anticipation.
"The first blood is yours. That hit was truly noteworthy," he compliments, touching the scorched cut on the previously pristine skin that runs from his left shoulder to the top of his abs, almost curiously, "There aren't many that can hurt me."
I take a breath to calm down and concentrate.
"It seems that your armor negated almost 90 percent of the damage taken, or so," I note curiously "I wouldn't expect less from a divine construct, but even without that, I doubt that anyone ordinary could surpass you in pure firepower or technique anyway."
"Yes. You seem to be on that list anyway," says the obvious Karna, before getting back into position and charging.
With the chattering time over, I also shoot and we collide halfway a second time. Striking with all our might, when our weapons cross the earth is violently shaken and the shock wave sweeps away everything around us.
In an instant several trails of gold arrive in every spot that would have caused mortal wounds. Many I deflected them with my sword by looking for other openings, but I must admit that without the trans-am I can defend myself from every attack de have to rely on the GN field. Of the 78 attacks Karna executed in just three seconds, I managed to deflect only 50 of them. All the others were stopped by my armor defenses.
In the midst of that storm of blows, I manage to hit him a second time with another GN burst, hurling him away.
Karna, however, did not flinch at all after being hurled into the air. flames blazed fiercely around his golden weapon.
"Brahmastra Kundala!"
A fiery star falls on me, as fast as lightning, leaving me only a few seconds to react. Even inside the watertight armor, I could feel the insane amount of heat radiating from that noble phantasm without the need for indicators or sensors of any kind.
With the emission of particles tripled by the Trans-am, I detached the bit-staves attach to the proto-buster sword in sword form and release a full-power anti-fortress attack.
The greenish-white blade cuts the fire star in half, causing it to lose its compact form. In a matter of moments, the entire area is filled with flames, liquefying everything around us.
But I was not finished. With the GN power lines reinforced, I released a second anti-strength attack, swinging my weapon downward. The sea of fire dispersed, while Karna, still in midair, used his armor and sheathed himself with mana burst to cushion the blow when I took him down. He was dragged to the ground, and on impact with the ground, the blade deflagrated, causing another explosion that violently shakes Shizuoka and all surrounding areas.
"Consecutive attacks with a noble phantasm...in life you must have been a praiseworthy warrior" the cloud of dust and ash that had risen during our last exchange is dispelled by Karna with a movement of his weapon. He was wounded by the last blow, but he does not falter in the slightest. His tenacity and incredible defense have held on "I can feel it. Your determination, your will to fight to protect something...our meeting cannot be a coincidence. It is a feeling I have felt before, against another person."
"...eh" I could only utter an amused sound at Karna's sincere praise "Scathach would disagree. I am without a doubt the ineptest student he has ever had as far as I know. So inept that I have to rely on equipment I've created to compensate for my lack of talent in pretty much anything. To her, I'm probably the furthest thing from a valiant warrior when compared to her brightest students, even among the most recent ones," I reply just as sincerely, honestly delighted and surprised that such a figure as the warrior in front of me has such high regard for me, despite the situation "Although I must say I appreciate the compliment. I probably wouldn't have minded drinking with you in a different situation."
"You should not belittle yourself. Your creations grew out of your abilities, so they are an extension of your power, not unlike a noble phantasm for a heroic spirit, a bloodline or craft for a mage. The fact that you are here fighting this war is proof of that," he chides me while praising my engineering and martial skills, again putting himself on notice.
While the Foreigner clash shook the city every time one of them struck, the other participants had not been idle.
Kiritsugu, as much as he would like not to admit it, could do nothing but watch the teenage servant fight and think back to the nightmare he had in Germany. Now his candidacy as a heroic spirit definitely made more sense, no matter how much he still disliked the undisciplined brat.
The problem, however, was a different one.
"Maiya, do you see it too?"
On the roof of a warehouse behind the crane, northwest of where they were fighting the two natural disasters with legs once stood Lancer's master, who fled in panic when the servants started in earnest.
What now worried the magus killer cloaked in the nanosuit is a figure cloaked in a skull mask.
"Yes. There are three figures that fit the generic description of 'Hassan-i-Sabbad'...two, one was shot down by one of the foreigner drones when he got too close to Irisviel-sama."
Kiritsugu frowns, observing the storm PSR situation and pondering what to do. According to the brat, with the nano suits, they should be able to deal with it, but they don't know how many of the Assassin bodies are still lurking there; there could be more than two. Eliminating them might draw the attention of the other corpses to them, but neither he nor Maiya have yet adapted to the new superhuman performance; therefore, if there are more of them and they attack them as a group, they might be overwhelmed even with the new equipment by sheer numbers.
Eliminating the lancer master is also out of the question. The two servants were causing too much chaos, it was virtually impossible to hit him accurately while he was somewhere in the vicinity of the clash, and trying to assassinate him at close quarters might prompt El meloi to recall Karna with command seals. He was not sure he could kill him before he could do so, so the risk is not worth the gamble since he never relies on luck to work. Assuming and not assuming that he could summon foreigner before Karna could kill him, it would have just been a waste of precious and limited resources that could have come in handy in another emergency.
"Was that why you didn't want to fight Lancer here?" murmurs the man thoughtfully, almost distractedly.
"Kiritsugu?"
"For now let's just observe the situation," Kiritsugu orders his assistant, "Keep an eye on assassin while I observe lancer."
"I can draw the attention of the assassins to give you time to eliminate the Lancer master."
"No, Maiya" immediately refuses the magus killer "It would be an unnecessary risk to try now that we don't know if there are only two lurking. Just monitor the bodies you see and keep me updated."
"Copy."
Kiritsugu's attention returns to the fight that had come to a standstill.
"This is no good," Raider announces as he stands up.
"W-WHAT'S GOING ON THIS TIME!" cries Waver, terrified.
Iskandar almost pinched the bridge of his nose at the younger boy's reaction. He was undecided whether to give him a scolding or ignore the outburst for a moment.
The battle between the two servants had caused quite a ruckus. Even with the field cordoned off around the area where they were fighting, it was virtually impossible to ignore the battle between the two servants. The heat emanating from Lancer had melted everything around them, even though they were trying to stay in the same area to limit the damage to the environment; the water around the harbor had evaporated, leaving only scorched earth for nearly three hundred meters toward the sea; and even a couple of kilometers away, above the bridge where they were observing the battle, the air was so hot and thin that the young English magus was sweating like a fountain and struggling to breathe...although in that last case, the overwhelming presence of the two enemies is probably also to blame.
"Neither of them can prevail over the other. If they continue like this, they will be forced to use their strongest noble phantasm," Iskandar informed him, deciding to ignore the pathetic wails for a few moments.
"Isn't this better? They might even end up killing each other!" points out Waver hopefully, not wanting to deal with either monster. Raider slams his foot on deck, making the metal squeak "EEEEK!?"
"Fool! What are you ranting about?!" the big man admonishes him harshly "I wanted to stay and observe, waiting for a few more people to make an appearance, but at this rate they'll attract local government soldiers too, and you wizards like to keep things secret, don't you?"
This stopped Waver's whining for a few moments before they remembered the strategy they had decided (that Iskandar had decided) to adopt.
"A-even so, didn't you decide to attack them if they fought each other?" the master (in name only) reminds him, rather confused by the change of pace.
"Of course, I hoped that other servants would also respond to Lancer's provocations. Shooting them all at once is better than looking for them individually. Wasn't it obvious?" the servant asked rhetorically, "However, if they keep fighting like this, local soldiers will come too, and I don't want to involve local people in such a fight."
"Your goal was to conquer the world, right...?" asks Waver suddenly confused by the servant's reluctance to engage in combat with someone from the mundane side of the world.
"Of course, when I start my march there will surely be resistance, since not everyone wants to submit to one flag," raider confirms, "However, in this case it would not be a conquest, just useless bloodshed. There is no glory or purpose in killing individuals who are not involved in this war."
"..." Waver, if possible, was even more confused by the explanation obtained since collateral damage and civilian casualties were considered a 'minor' evil in large-scale rituals or in the struggles of high-level supernatural beings.
"Moreover, the opportunity to confront in battle the heroes of other eras rarely happens. Having the opportunity to fight six of them, I cannot allow one to fall now," the king of conquerors continued, "Consider Saber and Lancer! It would give me immense pleasure to face two warriors of that caliber. It is a shame to let them die now."
"So in the end it's about your entertainment and not about strategy!" he immediately accused Waver, who had almost fallen into his charisma "In the Grail War you have to kill each other; so who cares if one of them dies or there is some collateral damage!"
Iskandar frowns upon hearing this, and stoops down to give him a slap on the wrist, which nearly knocks the young magus off the bridge.
"Win, not destroy. Conquer, not humiliate. This is the very essence of conquest!" the ancient king admonishes him as he draws his sword to summon his chariot. Electricity sparkles around the area as he swings his blade and his mount appears with a rumble of thunder "The advance is over! We'll participate too, boy!"
"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" cried Waver in despair as he clung with all his might to the beam from which he would probably fall at any moment because of his pathetic physical condition. "You're doing something crazy!"
"If you don't agree, you can stay and observe from there," the raider mocks him with an extremely amused smile as he gazes at his summoner's tear-stained, mucus-stained face.
"All right!" he immediately relents, feeling her grip loosen "Take me with you, you fool!"
"Good! That's the spirit my master must have!" replies Iskandar vigorously, hearing Waver's exasperated cry as he desperately tries not to fall.
Yet another power struggle ended in a draw, repelling both Karna and me.
As the battle went on and I was able to observe the Indian hero, I collected data and prepared countermeasures adapted to his fighting styles, allowing me to reduce the blows he took and inflict hundreds more in return than at the beginning of the clash only in the last fifteen minutes. However, none of them was enough to defeat him.
Between his experience and his defensive noble phantasm, I could not land a single decisive blow, and with time, no matter how many wounds I inflicted on him, he still recovered too quickly to impact his rhythm in any way, even if very slowly beginning to overwhelm him.
For my part, however, I am still as fresh as a daisy. The paint on the Astrea is a little worn, but there is no real damage to the armor itself or the bit-staves thanks to the GN field and reinforcement.
"You've played enough, Lancer," Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald's voice booms in what was once the harbor, "Don't let this battle go on any longer. That abnormal servant is dangerous, take him down quickly. I allow you to use your last noble phantasm."
"Roger that, master," Karna simply replies.
A spike in mana and the temperature rises exponentially as the golden armor fused with his skin ignites.
'Shit, he's going to use Vasavi Shakti. Kiritsugu, Maiya, if you're still around, leave immediately or you'll be vaporized instantly!' Not knowing how telepathy works, I opened a channel to communicate with the nanosuits while Veda used the Jegan to further drive Irisviel away from here.
Was I supposed to use Excalibur? How many restrictions does it take to stop that noble phantasm? Will I get them lifted in time or will I attack him while he is trying to use it? Can he move while he is doing it?
The second of panic I had as Lancer and I prepared to launch our attacks, lightning crashes on the cracked and burned asphalt right between Karna and me, raising a fuss.
"ALALALALA!"
"A wagon? That must be Raider," murmurs the albino woman, as the wagon pulled by two phantom beasts lands with a heavy thud.
More than two meters tall, with muscles as big as All Might's and chiseled features, he wears bronze armor with white fur fringed cuffs and greaves, which leaves his arms and thighs unprotected. He wears a thick red cloak with a soft white fur collar. It is luxuriously decorated and looks like a curtain wrapping around a theater stage.
"Lay down your weapons, you are in the presence of a king!" he announces loudly, spreading his arms proudly "I am the king of conquerors, Iskandar! In this holy grail war, I belong to the Raider class!"
Karna and I were silent for a few moments at Iskandar's presentation, and the background sound of Waver made a high-pitched choked sound when he simply revealed his name like that.
"What the hell are you doing, you idiot?!" he finally asks after he recovers from his shock.
The only attention the newcomer gave him was a tap on the forehead, which, because of its force, causes him to fall backward with a pathetic little cry and leaves him writhing from probable head injury...or maybe she's just a drama queen. It really doesn't make much difference as far as I'm concerned.
"Fate has brought us together here for the struggle for the holy grail, but to begin with I would like to ask you one thing," Iskandar announces, still elated at having descended onto the battlefield, "How about joining my army and surrendering the grail to me? I thought I would treat you both as my comrades, and share with you the immense joy of conquering the world!"
"Nonsense" declines Karna immediately "The only person I would grant the grail to is my master, not to you, Raider."
"I have no reason to want to conquer the world, nor do I care," I reply completely unconcernedly, "Besides, the only reason I took part in this charade is to destroy the greater grail. Nothing more, nothing less."
My statement drew the attention of the servants, but I could tell that the masters who are watching the scene were also quite astonished by my words.
"What is the point of attending such an event if your goal is to destroy the prize?" asks Iskandar rather confused "Are you one of those guys who enjoy ruining other people's parties? That's not nice at all, Saber."
My eye twitched at the meaningless admonition. I could also feel Karna's gaze fixed on me with almost curiosity.
"I am not Saber, but Foreigner" I correct him impassively "And the reason I want to destroy the Grail is simple: it has been tampered with by the Einzbern and has become a danger that cannot be ignored. The fact that I have been summoned to an Extra class and the various divine spirits summoned here are more than one indicator of this malfunction."
My statement makes Rider frown and surprisingly so does Karna.
"Oh? And do you have proof of that other than your word? In war it is not unusual for unforeseen situations to arise, after all," Iskandar asks a little more seriously, taking my statement surprisingly seriously.
Perhaps I could convince him not to bother me while I dismantle the system? Even if it won't help me, it will still be a better result than I initially hoped.
"The Grail system has, or rather, had several limitations on summonable servants until the third war, which-"
"Now enough of this nonsense!" thunders Kayneth, sounding rather irritated "This is a ritual created by some of the most notorious wizards of the past, from families with a long pedigree behind them! Not something a lowly engineer can understand, especially if he doesn't even belong to the caster class!"
"Typical of a magus. From the lowest of bastards to those who get too carried away because they are privileged, they just never listen. And then they wonder why they don't accomplish anything good or useful in their lives," I snort scornfully at the interruption.
I could practically hear his teeth grinding from here, ready for another outburst, though he stopped almost surprised for some reason.
"I was wondering what delusion could have ever induced you to steal my relic, but I could never have imagined that you might be one of the contenders in this war Waver Velvet" the brat beside the huge servant freezes upon hearing the teacher's voice, growing smaller with each sentence "I suppose it's appropriate to give you, on a very occasional basis, an additional lesson. I'm going to teach you what a real mage death struggle is, what the fear and pain of such duels are. You should feel honored."
Regardless of how pathetic Waver was to stoop to some empty threats when right next to his servant, from someone extremely proud who talks about duels but doesn't even have the courage to show his face to begin with, I couldn't help but find Kayneth's behavior ridiculous to the point that I almost burst out laughing (and not in a good way).
Iskandar pats his summoner on the back, never losing his cheeky smile the whole time.
"Hey, wizard! Apparently you should have been my master instead of this guy. But don't make me laugh," she admonishes him with her swaggering attitude, "Only a man brave enough to enter the battlefield at my side could be my master. A coward who does not even have the audacity to show his face will never be up to the task."
While rider is laughing and sneering at the Lord of the clock tower, I too wanted to put my two cents in at the end.
"It would be easier to open a hole to get to the root than to ask a magus to behave like a normal person," I point out usefully, making the bearded servant laugh louder, who after a few moments continued his speech anyway.
"Hey, is there anyone else watching in the darkness?" asks Iskandar loudly.
"What are you talking about, Rider?" asks Karna, finally joining the conversation in curiosity.
Red raises a thumb toward him, decidedly satisfied.
"Lancer, and you too Foreigner. Your duel was undoubtedly splendid, and it is impossible for me to be the only heroic spirit drawn to your majestic exchange of blows," announced Iskandar, raising his arms as if addressing a large crowd from a stage "Heroic spirits summoned from the holy grail, gather round! Those who sin in cowardice will inevitably earn the contempt of Iskandar, the king of conquerors!"
His voice echoes like the echo in a cave on the scorched earth that was once a port area.
A golden light, accompanied by an incredibly pressing presence, manifests itself on the half-loose crane, higher than all present.
Gilgamesh presents himself with a variation of his golden armor. He wears black gauntlets that reach to the middle two-thirds of his biceps, with gold gloves over them and lacking shoulder straps. The torso is modified to accommodate a full female body and leaves the perfect skin of his waist exposed. Over his shoulders, a red cloak is moved by the wind.
Unfortunately, the incredible beauty with the golden hair and crimson eyes is ruined by being...well, Gilgamesh.
"In a single night, you dared to call yourself king twice in my presence," Gilgamesh contemptuously announces, addressing Iskandar as if he had committed the most heinous of sins and was passing his sentence.
"You are mistaken, for I am the legendary king of conquerors, Iskandar himself," he replies by introducing himself a second time, only irritating the self-centered blonde more.
Although, I have to admit that I don't know whether he is just provoking her to push her to reveal her real name, or he really didn't understand what Gilgamesh's attitude is, which I highly doubt given his long experience with other enemy kings.
"Nonsense. Only I alone can be the king of this heaven and earth," announces the woman in a tone of contemptuous finality, "All others are mere emulations."
"If that's the case, why don't you introduce yourself?" taunts Iskandar, completely ignoring Archer's attitude "If you really are also a king, I should have no qualms about saying your name."
Unfortunately, his provocation only irritates Gilgamesh more.
"You dare address a question to me, mongrel? To me, the king?" the king of heroes proclaims stymiedly, tapping her foot on the metal, making the entire structure on which she stands creak as a pair of golden portals open behind her, bringing out a rather fanciful broadsword and spear "If you are unable to grasp my person, through the glory and investiture that connote me, then there is no point in a yokel like you continuing to live!"
"I see, so Assassin was killed like that," murmurs Iskandar, carefully examining the phenomenon that just occurred with a critical eye.
A black mist, followed by a howl, erupted from what remained of the asphalt and scorched earth, interrupting Gilgamesh as he took aim to shoot Riders.
I look interestedly at the black knight with armor furrowed with countless marks and scratches, and a rustic helmet with a subtly carved slit showing the ghastly glow of his eyes. Because of the black mist that is one of his noble phantasm it was impossible to tell by eye who that armor belonged to, even with structural analysis since the scanning process was being disturbed, but from my memories I knew that the Berseker in front of me is Lancelot.
"Hey, king of conquerors, don't you have any invitations to address him?" asks Karna pointedly.
"To him? He doesn't seem very interested in negotiations," replied Rider amusedly, "Boy, how are that servant's skills?"
"I have no idea. I can't sense anything..." replied Waver rather astonished and very intimidated by the newcomer's presence.
"But how? You are also a master, roughly. You should be able to perceive his strengths and weaknesses," Rider commented to his master's incompetence, although it was not all his fault in this case.
"I can't," Waver repeats, trying to sharpen her gaze to see better, as if it might help "That black thing is definitely a servant, but I can't read its parameters at all."
"You can't because of his noble phantasm," I suggest, making the two master-servants turn toward me for a moment.
"How annoying," grumbles the big man annoyed.
I could only agree with Rider. No one with any salt in his noggin would throw his servant off the deep end like that when there were already four of us probing the ground, ready to fight at the slightest hint of aggression. Kariya was just wasting extremely limited energy in a desperate attempt to take the Thosaka out of the war, in the stupidest possible way I might add, despite the fact that Lancelot was an excellent counter to the gate of babylon.
"Who gave you permission to set your gaze on me, you rabid dog?" asks Gilgamesh rhetorically, irritated when Lancelot, once he perceives the greatest source of hostility present, sets his gaze on her "May your remaining shots be my solace, mongrel!"
The golden portals change targets and fire the two unnamed noble phantasm at Berseker, while I take the opportunity to copy them.
Unfortunately, it was nowhere near enough against someone like the lake rider, who wasted no time in intercepting the attack, causing an explosion.
"Oh?" Karna observes interestedly.
"The guy is far too precise and skilled in his maneuvers for someone who has lost all sense," comments Iskandar, examining Lancelot to get an idea of what kind he is.
"Huh?" squeaked Waver, not having realized what had happened.
Not that he would have succeeded in any case. His reaction times are too slow to see objects move at that speed clearly and firsthand.
"Didn't you notice?" he asked rhetorically, knowing that no, he hadn't seen anything, but he still took the trouble to explain "That black guy intercepted the first sword that was thrown at him, using it to destroy the spear that came right afterwards."
"How dare you soil my treasures with your filthy hands!" spits Gilgamesh, with an outraged expression that grows angrier and angrier as the seconds pass "Then you really wish to die quickly, you dog!"
Dozens of portals open behind Archer, from which sprout a variety of weapons from different eras and places that would later become the foundations of some myths known only later throughout the world.
I, as before, copied again all the weapons he brought out for later use, ignoring the choked gasp of the only human present.
"Let's see how much longer you can trudge on with your vulgar kleptomania," snorts the blonde contemptuously, "Come on, prove it to me!"
Weapons are fired forward at incredible speed, but that was still considerably less than assassin arrows during class card hunting or Scathach shots.
Lancelot grabs a halberd on the fly, despite being pushed back several dozen yards, and then uses the two weapons at his disposal to deflect incoming ones, until he is forced to lash out at a pair aimed at his legs. The armored servant snaps out of the cloud of dust that had risen and throws one of his weapons at an incoming sword, while grabbing an axe and deflecting another pair of weapons that crash around him. He stabs the stolen halberd to the ground and grabs a cleaver that flew in his direction, using the double handle to deflect a bulky chariot spear.
The force of the two blows opened a small crater under his feet, but still did not prevent him from aiming at Gilgamesh and throwing his weapons at him.
Mankind's oldest ruler jumps from her post when the half-melted Crane is sliced into several parts by the noble phantasm, forcing her to land in the street.
"Fool..." she snarls, this time truly enraged, as the output of her mana soars, almost crushing poor Waver on the spot as heavy as it was, while hundreds of portals open behind her "To look at me I need to turn my gaze to the heavens, and you would take me to your own plane?! Your blasphemous insolence has marked your doom! Of your body not even ashes will remain, mongrel!"
I stared impassively as he put on a show, beginning to be annoyed by all the airs he put on. He had made it clear from the start that he wanted to kill him. To keep yelling at him as if he was changing anything while throwing toys at him to use, when by now it was quite obvious that he could take possession of them with his unusually high parameters for a berserker, was the height of stupidity.
But Gilgamesh is simply too proud to try to change her strategy against someone she feels is inferior, or who otherwise does not attract her interest/amusement, so even if ineffective she will not do anything differently because it would be like admitting that she was wrong for her. She would probably rather die again than do it openly in front of someone.
Or at least he does until he winces. And if possible her mood becomes even more sour.
"With such flattery you dare tell me, the king, to stand down?" the woman growls angrily, as her presence fades "You're getting a little too brazen, Tokyomi" a wave of her arm disperses the gate of babylon "You've escaped death, you stray dog" she spits scornfully at Berseker, before turning to all of us "And you half-breeds! For the near future see to thinning your numbers. Only a true hero is worthy of my attention."
And so it disperses into gold particles, returning in spiritual form.
"...Apparently the archer master is not as persistent as you are," Iskandar says after a few moments of silence.
A spike in homicidal instincts, however, marks that the evening was far from over.
I bring my attention back to Berseker, who was staring at me crossly for some reason-well, more than is perhaps normal for him?
"GRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Some...tentacles? They emerge from his back as he screams as if possessed. He snaps to the side grabbing a metal beam that was once part of the crane he had destroyed, and several red veins pulse on his frame as he launches himself at me faster than he had moved against Archer.
GN particles cross the power line and our weapons collide as he crashes into me. I don't flinch, despite his strength, since it was only slightly less than Karna's with a mana burst, even as the worn-out terrain cracks further beneath our feet.
I deflect his weapon and turning on myself to give momentum to my blow, as the sharpness of my blade increases dramatically when charged, I strike Berseker. He parries and although the beam has been converted into a pseudo noble phantasm, it is almost completely cut in half and the knight pushed back several feet.
'Why did he attack me if I was the farthest away?" I ask myself, frowning.
He lunges toward me snarling like a rabid animal, but despite his attitude, the control of his body is exceptional. There are no wasted movements, every swing is perfectly balanced, and behind every strike was his full strength with utmost precision. He leaves no opening when he attacks or moves.
Unfortunately, a random piece of rubble, even converted into a temporary noble phantasm, is still a piece of rubble.
A pair of well-placed slashes slices it in half, before hitting him with a GN burst in full piece. A plasma blade hurls him violently away as he plows through the ground, shattering his armor and leaving a gash in his chest as he rolls for several dozen meters.
However, he gets up again, growling faster than before.
"Tch, you're annoyingly persistent, you know that?" I snort, not understanding why the hell he was picking on me specifically like that.
I have no connection with the original Lancelot, his legend, any descendant or his weapon. Nor do I have any ties to House Pendragon, the Round Table or any other affiliates...except Excalibur. Is it a fluke or can he sense his presence and therefore is attacking me? How I hate not having information...
At that point, Karna also comes forward.
"You have joked enough, Berseker," Karna announces, putting herself between me and the other servant, "Foreigner has a duel to finish with me. If you do not retreat at once, I will shoot you down without further delay."
"What are you doing, Lancer? This is the perfect opportunity to get rid of that nuisance," thunders Kayneth out of nowhere, after being forgotten for a while.
"I intend to do it regardless," Karna replied, pointing her spear at Lancelot, "However, first I will get rid of Berseker. I do not want him to interfere in our duel."
"I command you, through this seal of command-" announces the magus, still on speakerphone.
"Master-"
"-collaborate with Berseker and kill that servant."
Ignoring any protest from the Indian hero, Kayneth wastes one of the command seals to force him to obey. There is a moment of stony silence as the albino man turns to me, with something akin to an apologetic look, getting into position as Lancelot flanks him slightly staggering from the wound that had opened his chest only moments before.
"Foreigner, for what it's worth, I'm sorry about what's going to happen," Karna says, as flames begin to burn around him.
Honestly, I didn't necessarily need to fight, at this point I might as well leave. Although seeding Karna in the air might be a hassle, since I don't know how fast he can fly.
"Trans-am!"
"ALALALALALA!"
"EEEEK!?"
A thunderclap, followed by a war cry and a very unmanly shriek start as the new tag team tries to advance. Karna, who was paying more attention to his surroundings, takes the opportunity to jump away, but Lancelot with his obvious tunnel vision (and perhaps also because of the injury I inflicted on him), does not move and is swept away by the two Phantom Beast Riders.
Electrocuted and hurled away, berseker rolls away for several dozen meters.
"Oh? He's quite resilient despite his injuries," notes Iskandar, losing his amused attitude as he watches the black servant stagger up. Eventually, however, he disappears, probably recalled by Kariya "Well, as you can see, our guest has retired for the evening. I say to you, master of Lancer. I don't know what hole you're looking through, but don't you dare spoil the clash between two warriors with your games! Make Lancer withdraw, for if you intend to humiliate him further I will fight alongside Foreigner to crush your servant."
The provocation was not taken willingly. Everyone could hear the said master grit his teeth at the ancient king's rebuke, but after a few moments of tense silence, he finally relents.
"Stand down, Lancer," orders Kayneth irritably , "That's enough for tonight."
And with that, the presence of the bounded field disappears.
"You have my thanks, king of conquerors," says Karna, dematerializing his weapon.
"And what about" laughs the big man good-naturedly "Watching the clash of two rivals is always a good show."
Lancer turns to me as I turn off the trans-am, and I nod to greet him, which he returns, before retiring for the night in his astral form.
I stared for a few more moments at the spot where Karna disappeared, before turning to the other servant.
"King of conquerors, for what reason did you intervene?" I ask rather curiously "The best course of action would have been to wait. If I had been forced to fight those two, I might have lost unless I could retreat, but I would have killed at least one of them and exhausted the other, giving you the opportunity to eliminate one or two servants at once, as well as their masters hiding nearby. I find your approach rather counterproductive if your ultimate goal is to win the war."
Of course, that was if Kiritsugu had not killed Kayneth or Kariya while I resisted against their servants. If he had killed the first one, I would have struggled much less to take down the other one right away, but then I would have had to deal with Rider who was as fresh as a rose, which would have forced my master to restore me with a command seal, and that was if assassin had not attacked him in the meantime.
In almost every scenario I can think of, if Rider had not moved to break up the confrontation, I would have had a hard time.
"I don't really pay much attention to these details," Iskandar admits, massaging his beard, "However, I wasn't lying before. The duel between you and Lancer was really wonderful. The juxtaposition of an ancient myth with the technology of the future was a truly beautiful sight to behold," he continues, reflecting on it a bit more "Foreigner, conclude your duel with Lancer. Once it is all said and done, I will face the winner. So this is goodbye. I hope our next encounter will be just as exciting!"
He takes a look at Waver and sighs, seeing that he is unconscious.
"The G-force applied on him by your wagon during the charge against Berseker cut off the blood circulation to his brain and he fainted," I inform him, "Be more careful, it could potentially be fatal to an untrained human being that kind of stress. Lift his ankles to get blood flowing to his brain. He will recover on his own then."
"Huh? Really?" says the big man surprised by the quick explanation, before grabbing him by the ankles and putting him upside down "Couldn't you be a little more lively? It wouldn't hurt you, you know?"
"He should probably get more exercise. His arms look like noodles," I agree.
"Yeah, it's pretty much a stick put up," sighs the servant as he takes back the reins of the wagon, "So, goodbye!"
"Ehehe, my berseker made him run for his life!" in an alley not far from the confrontation, Matou Kariya, leaning against the wall as he spits blood laughs, pleased with himself for what had happened "I humiliated that arrogant bastard! Aah, how I wish I could have seen Tokiomi's upset face..."
"He didn't run away, you idiot," I admonish him, causing him to wince and fall on his ass in surprise.
"W-what! The servant from before-!"
"Don't bother calling Berseker," I warn him, "I'll kill you before a syllable even comes out of your mouth if you do. For my plans I don't need you alive anyway."
Veda found him with the security camera of a store, far from the confrontation, and saw him enter a causal alley of this street. While no one was watching, my master body rejoined Irisviel, while I used the command core remotely to eliminate the familiars and bodies that Assassin used to spy on the enemy master before they noticed, so that I could talk privately with him.
The night had not gone in the best way since no one, except perhaps Iskandar of all people, took my warnings seriously, but neither had it gone in the worst way since I am still alive and can do something about the Grail. Or at least try. Ergo, I wasn't going to pass up the chance to get information, kill Zouken, probably Berseker, and save Sakura while I was at it. And to do that, I didn't need the man in front of me to be alive to do that. Not getting rid of him now would have simply saved me from the trouble of finding a new home for the child later. Otherwise, I have no other business with him.
"W-what do you want?" he asks, quickly losing all his bravado as he stands up.
"Matou Zouken," I say, making the worm-invaded man wince, "He has information I want, but since he won't part with it I will eliminate him to get it from his files. Maybe I might even save the little girl he bought recently while I'm at it, if you do something for me in return."
I would have done it anyway, but he doesn't need to know.
Kariya gasps.
"Sakura...? If you even dare to touch her I-" He was is interrupted by himself by a rather violent coughing fit, spitting out blood and some rather thin and thin worms.
"You're not going to do anything. You are a corpse holding together practically by miracle" I remind him of his condition and he looks at me grimly for that "Besides, I said I would save you if you cooperate. Do you perhaps have a hearing problem?"
"...that damn old man will leave her alone if I win the war for him," he replies coldly, trying to sound tough, making me snort with amusement, "What are you laughing at?"
"Besides the fact that you won't win the war anyway?" I ask rhetorically, "Just because Zouken will leave her alone doesn't mean he will leave her alive."
My answer confuses him.
"W-what do you mean?" he asks trying not to sound too hesitant or unsure.
"I gathered information about all the participants in the war, about possible allies, about families. Of course, I also found information about Matou Sakura," I reply impassively, "That unclean being has altered his body with familiars so much that he is now more of a monster than a human being. He is practically a self-propelled insect swarm."
"I don't need to explain what that bastard looks like," she replies scornfully, "What the hell does Sakura have to do with this?"
"His soul is contained in a main body, guarded near Sakura's heart," I reply, causing him to freeze "Beyond those are dozens of worms in her body, clinging and partially fused to her nervous system and other organs as pseudo magic circuits. Removing them normally is impossible, even for Zouken, so what do you think will happen if you eventually deliver the grail to him and he 'frees' Sakura?"
"N-no...Sakura...she..."
The more I spoke, the more horror broke through the mask it was desperately trying to hold together.
"If he forces the removal of the worms he will rip out organs, nerves and magic circuits," I continue, ignoring him and turning the knife in the wound, "he will die slowly and in excruciating pain, but Zouken will have kept his word and 'freed' Sakura from the worms."
"n-no...I...have to save her..."
"Magus do everything to curb the rules for their own gain," I reply impassively, "This is just one of the many ways they do it. You should have thought better of it before condemning her to death with a false hope."
Kariya collapses like a stringless doll, slumping to the ground as if the world had just collapsed on him.
"Aaaah...aah...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah-!"
I watched him impassively screaming about his helplessness in the face of harsh reality as I unceremoniously revealed to him that it would happen even in the remote event he won. His knowledge of that pest Zouken, in every sense of the word, had done the rest as the man despaired that he could do nothing.
.
.
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.
.
.
"...Please..."
"What?" He asks, when after almost ten minutes when he had finally stopped screaming his frustration.
His voice is hoarse from all the yelling, plus the fact that his jaw was moving badly, eating away at the words, made it difficult even with my hearing to understand what he was saying.
"Save her, please...I will do anything...please..."
I watched impassively as he pleaded in despair.
"OK. You'll have to trust me on this," I warn him, pointing the rifle at him.
"Huh?"
I fired without adding another word.