Remaining Days: 0
I don't know why I even bothered setting an alarm. Naturally, with what's at stake today, I wake up before the alarm. Sure, I could get another hour or two of rest, but I don't think I can really fall back asleep.
Today's the day, huh? The one day I worked towards, for which I trained, worked hard and tried my best and beyond to make up for what I'm lacking.
Trying to calm my nerves seems hardly possible, though in a way, I feel calm just as I feel nervous. Maybe it's that in this foreign situation, neither my body nor my mind really know how to react.
"You're awake early, Master," Saber notices.
"Yeah, I don't think I can sleep more. I'll work on some strategy."
Saber sits up on her bed, watching me intently.
"What do you have in mind?" She asks.
Hmm. That's a good question. Though this isn't something I should ruminate over by myself; if I'm having the wrong impression, it's better if Saber can correct me at the root of potentially wrong conclusions.
"Judging from the one encounter, Rider seems to be quick on his feet. He'll likely rely on his speed for attacks. I don't think he's the type to follow any complex strategy… But I can't account for Shinji's influence on the battle."
Saber nods.
So far, I seem on the right track; or at the very least, she agrees with me. Shinji is a bit of a wild card, though. I have no idea what kind of strategy he might follow, what he'd prioritize. I can't rule out any option, as much as I can't settle on one I believe fits him.
"According to that book, there's more than one Noble Phantasm Astolfo could use, but… Given he was summoned as a Rider, I'd think he'll rely on Hippogriff."
A fantastical beast. Well, that much should be expected of a Rider class Servant. I should be more surprised of a Rider summoning something like a motorcycle instead.
"I'm not really sure how we should deal with that… Well, if Rider does use it, it's probably the best idea to take out Hippogriff first," I suggest.
"Yes, I agree. That airhead is fast and surprisingly strong for his build, but holding him off is easier than that beast."
We agree on that at least. Though having our priorities line up doesn't mean we can pull off that feat. A Noble Phantasm is what makes a Servant a Servant, beating a Servant's Noble Phantasm would, more or less, require to use one of your own. Which begs the question…
"What about your Noble Phantasm, Saber?"
Saber is already strong to begin with, even with a Master as incapable as me. I'm sure her Noble Phantasm would be a lifesaver.
"Do you think it wise to use, Master?"
Huh? Why not?
"Aren't we expecting Rider to use his?"
"That much is true. But a Noble Phantasm is nothing that should be used carelessly. Using it would reveal a Servant's true name."
That much is probably true… Just like you can conclude the Noble Phantasm from the Servant's identity, it would work the other way around. They're deeply connected and rather unique, after all.
But the upcoming battle will be our last one ever against the team of Shinji and Rider. Even if they figure out Saber's identity from her Noble Phantasm, they wouldn't be able to tell another Master. Would they?
However…
"…you're saying if you use yours in battle and it's not the finishing blow, it could become our weakness to have used it at all?"
"I'm glad you understand, Master."
Yeah, that angle makes sense. Even if Saber's Noble Phantasm — whatever it is — is strong, if Rider isn't taken out by it and Shinji figures out Saber's identity, in the worst case scenario, they will be able to retaliate, taking advantage of a weakness even I'm not aware of and it's our loss.
"In that case, we should see your Noble Phantasm as a last resort, I take it."
"Yes. Also, using it requires a great amount of energy, so you should keep that in mind as well."
"Got it."
As usual, I suppose I'm the bottleneck here. That's just great… Though it can't be helped.
"In terms of strength, would you say Rider is equal to you, Saber?"
Personally, I doubt it.
"With a capable Master, he wouldn't even come close."
Ouch. That stings.
"As things stand, I would assume we are about equal. He may be a bit faster, but there's more strength behind my attacks."
Yeah, that would add up.
"We have the healing Code Cast, too. That should help your endurance," I add.
"That's true."
Hmm… I thought I learned a lot about Rider, but now that I'm trying to make use of that knowledge, I realize how much there is I still don't know at all. As risky as it would've been, what hurts is that we haven't faced off against them more than once.
Reading the tales and talking to Rider had their own use for information, but the only way to get a grasp on someone's fighting style is to see them fight. And to do so closely, you need to battle them yourself.
But it's too late for such regrets now, that can't be changed anymore.
"I want you to focus on countering Rider's attacks for the most part," I tell Saber, finalizing my strategy. "Whenever there's an opening, strike, too. But I think Rider will go pretty offensively, so we should try to use that against him."
"Understood, Master. I don't have any problem with that strategy."
With our plan settled, we make our way to the cafeteria to have a much needed late breakfast. Replenishing whatever energy we might have used up in strategizing, so that we'll be in top condition for the Elimination Battle.
The cafeteria isn't empty, there are a few Masters here. Just like me, they probably have their Elimination Battle time slot coming up soon and don't want to go into it on an empty stomach. I don't see Rin here, though I'm not too surprised. If anything, I hoped just a little bit to see Shinji here, but evidently if he's having any breakfast today in the first place, it's either not here or not right now.
Though it's a bit late for 'breakfast' anyway. But as the first meal of the day, the term still applies just fine.
After I get a decent enough meal for Saber and me — picking the sandwiches, though Saber seems a little disgruntled at that choice — we sit down at an empty table. I already got the hint that Saber prefers more savory, if not to say greasy, food; but that doesn't seem like an ideal choice so soon before physical exertion.
Though with what Sakura told me, it probably doesn't actually matter physically. But the mind is just as important, so as a Master it's my job to try and make sensible decisions when I can.
"How long until we need to get to the Elevator?"
"We have a bit over an hour left," I tell her.
Only now I'm noticing that I barely have any appetite. It must be my nerves, I suppose that's normal. I eat the sandwich anyway, it's light enough, so it's not taking too much effort despite my lack of appetite.
It's 12:15 now. Time to head for the Elevator, it's only minutes before my fate will be decided; the same goes for Shinji. That thought feels unreal. Like it's a joke, or an exaggeration. A dream that I'm seemingly not waking up from.
At the Elevator, I meet Kotomine again.
"Welcome, Master. I see you successfully obtained both Triggers."
Seems like as an NPC he can tell that much by looking at me. Or maybe not any NPC can do so, just one with a role related to the Elimination Battle.
"Yeah."
"Simply touch your terminal to the Elevator's doors to register your Triggers and it will open."
I do as Kotomine says. The doors react to the Triggers in my terminal and, just as he said, open to a pitch black elevator. I swallow. This is it, that's all I can think.
Calming my nerves, I step into the Elevator.
"I wish you good luck, young Master."
Kotomine says with smile that makes a chill run down my spine. Creepy, in every way.
The Elevator starts descending and before I can wonder where he might be, the pitch black makes room for illumination, and I see Shinji as well as Rider in front of me. With Saber by my side, and a barrier between us. I guess we aren't supposed to start the battle preemptively.
"You made it, Kamiyoshi," Shinji notes.
"Yeah."
It's strange to see him this calm and collected, completely serious. His arrogant behavior wasn't something I appreciated, but Shinji doesn't feel like himself without it. I'm not sure how long this ride will take, but either way this ends, this would be my last chance to speak with Shinji, right?
"Why did you come here?" I ask him.
There must be something he wants so badly that he's risking his life for.
"Huh? Why the sudden interest?" Shinji is taken aback by my question. "This is a game with a big prize. Isn't that good enough of a reason?"
… a game? That's certainly one way to put it. And calling the Holy Grail a big prize isn't exactly off, but… Honestly, this doesn't really answer what I've actually been wondering about. I suppose I need to clarify.
"What do you plan to wish for?"
"Wish for? Don't tell me… You seriously believed that crap? Yeah, no way. They call it Holy Grail, but no way that thing exists. The winner naturally gets some prize money, and how hard they make it to get in, it must be an amazingly high sum."
Rider is fidgeting. Like he wants to say something about that, but it takes everything to not do so. Is Shinji right? Did I completely misunderstand the stakes and everything here…?
"It's hard to get in?" I wouldn't know. I just more or less woke up here, in a way.
"Obviously. You're pulling my leg, right? That whole shtick of hacking into the moon to get here, then the preliminaries. That amount of weeding out people is no joke. Though it wasn't that hard for me, of course."
Ah. Yeah. Shinji isn't nearly as incapable as me, is he? I knew that before, but still. With him, it's hard to tell what's fact and what's just bragging. I'll have to take his word for this, not that it makes too much of a difference.
"Aaaanyway," Rider cuts in. "You two are friends, right?"
… where did that come from…? I wonder how Shinji would answer this question.
"Me and Kamiyoshi? No way, Rider."
"I do consider Shinji somewhat of a friend," I answer Rider.
"I'm glad to hear that, Hakuno! I know, Master can be a handful at times, but I'm happy there's someone who considered him a friend despite that!"
"Rider..!"
I can't help but chuckle at that. It's like a kid thanking their older sibling's friend for taking care of them. Though that's not exactly the sort of relationship Shinji and I had, part of me wishes it would be. Maybe if we would've been able to spend more time with each other.
Though this lighthearted moment doesn't last long. The Elevator stops and on each of our sides, a door opens, leading to the Coliseum: an open field in an underwater area. More than enough space for battling without having to hold anything back, no need to worry about causing any damage to the environment.
"Kamiyoshi," Shinji addresses me for what almost feels like the last time. "I won't hold back."
That feels like such a cliché thing to say.
"Neither will I."
Both our teams; Shinji and Rider, Saber and I; stand in the Coliseum, facing each other. The time has come to determine our fate, the winner and the loser.
# SERAPH NOTICE
# Both participants are present.
# Begin battle!
Right on cue, Rider loses no time, charging at Saber, who deflects his attack with her sword. It's true, in terms of speed, Saber can't quite keep up with the quicker Rider, but as he's mainly using his sword, which is thinner and smaller than Saber's, he has a natural disadvantage when they clash weapons.
Saber puts more power into her sword and blows Rider back, following up with another strike, though Rider dodges it on swift feet, the sword's edge just barely missing his side.
"Whoa, that was close," he comments. "Master!"
"Yeah, got it," Shinji responds, completely focused.
He types away on a materialized keyboard as Rider charges at Saber again.
Shinji is setting up a Code Cast to be used, I know it. The frustrating thing is that I can't do anything to prevent it, at most I can heal Saber's wounds should they inflict any on her. For that reason alone, I have to stay extra alert, any wound would slow down Saber enough to potentially be the deciding factor in this overall evenly matched battle.
"Master," Saber calls out to me, though I've already been thinking the same.
"I'm ready," I tell her.
With the typing, Shinji is surely the type who adapts his Code Cast in real-time to a given situation. I've read about that technique in the book, though it's something only really skilled hackers can use efficiently in battle. Far from my own skill level.
Though even if that's a superior technique, a compiled Code Cast can be run almost immediately, so my casting beats his in speed.
Just as in the last battle, Shinji sets off a small explosion, though this time not in front of Saber's face, but directly on her right hand with which she's holding her sword. Her grip loosens, the explosion not only damaging her, but also having a paralyzing effect.
Dammit, I can't recover debuffs like that yet…! That was a pretty clever Code Cast usage.
"Rider, now!" Shinji commands.
Rider sheathes his sword, materializing a lance instead. Yeah, we shouldn't have expected Astolfo of all people to rely on just the sword he's used in the one battle we had before, not after reading of his tales at least. He charges at Saber.
heal(16);
I cast my single available Code Cast on Saber's right hand, but it'll still stay almost unusable for a good while. I can't fix that.
To even my surprise, Saber lets go of her sword to simply grab it with her left hand instead. With a grin, she charges right towards the approaching Rider, clashing with his lance. Though she's not aiming at the lance itself with her blade, but at Rider's hand holding it.
He winces and drops the lance, which dematerializes and disperses into multiple black particles.
"Geez, you're ambidextrous?" Rider stares at her in awe.
Yeah, I didn't know that one either. It's been a real trump card in this battle.
He tries to close his hand, but it appears that Saber must've cut deeply enough to render his right hand useless. There's a few drops of blood hitting the ground, which isn't a surprise.
"That's cheating..!" Shinji complains.
I get where he's coming from, but really, this is nothing but Saber's combat prowess. Though that's easy for me to say.
"Leaves us no choice, huh?" Rider says. "Come, Hippogriff!"
He calls out, putting all his energy into it. Saber readies her stance, preparing for their trump card. Though, even after a moment, nothing happens.
That wasn't a bluff, was it? No way. Not with how shocked Rider looks.
"Huh? Hippogriff? What, don't tell me you're napping!?"
… I don't think that's the case… And for a few minutes Rider almost seemed like a reliable Servant, too.
"He won't come, Rider," Shinji tells him. His keyboard disappears, too. He's the only one here who seems to be not surprised at all, just dejected.
"Eh? Why?"
That's what I'd like to know, too. Saber doesn't let her guard down, but she seems just as confused as I am.
"The penalty notice wasn't just a fluke, huh? What a pain."
The penalty…? For skipping classes?
"Why didn't you tell me, Master!" Rider complains.
"What would that change, huh!?" Shinji punches the ground with all his might. "Dammit, I thought that shit's just a scare. Even the notice, I thought they can't be serious!"
"Master…"
It's as if they lost all fighting spirit. Though I don't think I can blame them. We were evenly matched at first, but it seems that since that injury to Rider's hand, the battle was almost decided. If Shinji had any recovery Code Cast available to him, he surely would've used it by now.
The last trump card they could've relied on would've been Rider's Noble Phantasm… but even that one didn't work out.
Without waiting for any order, or letting them continue, Saber stabs her sword through Rider's chest, making him cough up blood. I stare in shock at the cruelty of her action. Shinji's eyes widen in shock just like mine must have, and he seems to have a hard time to keep himself from throwing up.
Our opponents weren't even up for a battle anymore. Hell, anyone would feel bad for them. How could she, just like it's nothing…?
"It's your loss," Saber tells Rider.
"Yeah…"
Saber pulls her sword back out, returning to my side.
"Hey, Hakuno's Servant," he calls out to her. "Do you like your Master?"
"I don't hate her."
"I see… Well, I really liked my Master, you know." Rider coughs, losing blood not only from the hole in his chest, but running down his face as well. "I really, really wanted to protect him, too."
"In that case, you should've become stronger," Saber says coldly. "You can't protect anything if you're weak."
I know she's right, but does she really have to put it like that in such a moment?
Braving the sight and the feelings of disgust and grief overcoming him, Shinji crawls over to Rider. For some reason, his strength seems to leave him.
"I'm sorry, Master… If only you would've summoned a stronger Servant," Rider laughs bitterly.
"No way… It's not your fault, it's mine. Fuck, if only I hadn't…! I failed you as a Master. But next time, we'll—"
Suddenly, a barrier, or more like a red wall materializes between us. There's no way we could reach out to Shinji or Rider, and neither would they be able to reach us now.
# SERAPH NOTICE
# The Elimination Battle has been concluded.
# The victor is Hakuno Kamiyoshi.
# The deletion process will begin now.
Deletion process… Right. Shinji lost. So…
Parts of both Shinji's and Rider's body start to simply dissolve into particles, disappearing into nothingness. This isn't just an effect. The horror on Shinji's face says it all.
"What the hell is this!?"
I can only watch in stunned silence.
"We lost, Master," Rider repeats what SERAPH already concluded. "That means we'll die."
"No way, no fucking way! This is just a game! Dying in a game doesn't mean shit, why does this feel like I'm actually…!?"
He really thought this is a game…? A game with no real stakes, none besides losing and not getting the prize, maybe retrying the next time. Though if the stakes are your life… you only get a single chance. That goes for all of us here.
"Master, this isn't a game… It's real. I tried to tell you, but…"
"No way, that can't…! Kamiyoshi! You gotta help me!"
I wish I could. I really, really do, but… What can I even do? I don't even understand what's happening. How am I supposed to stop something like that!?
"I was happy to have you as my Master, you know," Rider tells Shinji in what seems to be his dying breath. "It's a shame I could never take you on a ride with Hippogriff. That's the only… only regret I…"
Before Rider can finish his last words, he dissolves into black particles completely. Though Shinji by now is missing more of his body than is still present as well. It can't be long until he, too, is gone. Rider must have been faster to die because he was already mortally wounded to begin with, or maybe Servants are generally faster to delete.
"Rider…"
Shinji cries, though I'm not sure if it's about Rider or his own impending death. He's bawling his eyes out over a fate that he can't change anymore. That he brought upon himself, for no other reason but his own flawed decisions, making too light of a situation that couldn't be any more serious.
"Fuck…! I shouldn't…! I never should've come here! I'm only eight! How can I d—"
My heart drops. Though Shinji, much like Rider, doesn't get the luxury of finishing his last words. Without leaving any trace as soon as the particles disperse, Shinji is gone. Gone from this world, his future an unreachable pipe dream.
"Master, we can leave now," Saber takes me out of my trance. "You should wipe your face."
Huh…? I touch my cheeks, feeling they're warm and wet. Since when have I been crying…?
I wipe my eyes with the sleeve of my uniform and follow Saber back to the Elevator. I take one last look at the Coliseum where I just killed another person — one who turns out had been a child at that. Though there is no trace of anything left. Not even the blood of Rider remained after he disappeared. The Coliseum looks as clean and empty as though nothing happened at all.
The Elevator moves up in silence now that instead of four, we're only two people riding it.
"Master," Saber addresses me. "You're overreacting."
I'm what? If anything, it'd be Saber whose reaction isn't normal. Not by human standards at least.
"Aren't you underreacting, Saber?"
She doesn't seem to understand what I'm getting at.
"You just killed him, like… like it's nothing."
"There was no avoiding it. Either I would have taken his life, or he would have taken mine. The battle doesn't end until one Servant is mortally wounded and as good as dead."
Still. Still! The way she went about it was so cold and cruel.
"Everyone here is willing to take lives, Master. They knew the stakes."
"Shinji clearly didn't!"
What Saber said might apply for most Masters, maybe even every single other Master. But definitely not for Shinji! Until the moment of his demise, he didn't realize the stakes at all. He had no idea what he'd gotten into. He was even less prepared than me!
"That is the fault of himself," Saber says.
There is not a single shred of empathy in this woman, it seems. Unbelievable.
"Did you want to die in his place, Master?"
That question takes me aback. Do I…? Of course not! I want to live. If I wanted to die, I could've given up before I even really started. But that doesn't mean I'd be fine with someone else dying so that I can live.
Shinji may have been an insufferable prick for the most part, immeasurably arrogant, but that's not deserving of a death sentence. Heck, even Shinji dropped that smug act once he got faced with the penalties, didn't he? He was just too unprepared. Too naive…
"Do you plan to give up as soon as your enemy is pitiable enough?"
Saber's question holds an edge to it. I hate her for only allowing one answer to be correct, and I hate myself even more for that answer being the one I'd be giving to that question.
"Good. Should the day come that you will change your mind, I will be the one to behead you."
I swallow. Saber isn't joking, and that's not a threat either. It's a promise.
She dematerializes, leaving me alone with my thoughts and grief.
The Elevator ascent feels like an eternity, and I can't wait to get back to my room to get this day over with. In front of the Elevator, there's Rin waiting. She must be here for her own Elimination Battle.
"Kamiyoshi? So you actually won," she comments surprised to see me return from the Coliseum rather than Shinji.
I don't register her enough to stop or even deem her remark with any response. All I want is to get out of here, I'm just rushing towards the dormitory, locking myself into my room.
Dropping myself onto the bed, I can feel the tears flow down my face again.
Am I sad about Shinji's death? I'm not sure. In some way, we were friends, I think. If we'd have been able to spend more time with each other, I'm sure we could've gotten along fine. But that was never an option, not since the match-up for the first round was determined.
From that moment on, there were only two choices for both of us: to kill the other, or to die. We both chose to aim for the first, but I was the one to succeed. It doesn't feel like a victory. Such a thing can't feel like a victory.
The SERAPH is cruel for pitting two of us who are unprepared against each other. The other Masters must be better prepared to watch someone else die by their hands. Not just prepared, they chose to go through this, for some ambition of their own.
While haunted by these thoughts, I eventually cry myself to sleep, only to be awakened a few hours later by the beeping of my terminal.
# SERAPH NOTICE
# Congratulations to all Masters winning their Elimination Battle.
# A few Masters decided to ignore their academic responsibilities.
# As announced, they have been penalized.
# To discourage Masters from further violation, the penalties will now be disclosed openly.
# 1 Day Absence: Strength Limiter (90%)
# 2 Days Absence: Noble Phantasm Seal
# 3 Days Absence: Strength Limiter (50%)
# 4 Days Absence: Servant's Information Reveal
# 5 Days Absence: Skill Seal
# Masters who wish to not be riddled with debilitating penalties should follow the regulations set in place.
Shinji was completely handicapped. If not for those penalties, if not for Shinji's childish arrogance and naivety, we probably would've lost.
I grip my terminal tightly in frustration.
Why couldn't those penalties been made clear from the very beginning?
The worst part is that this is far from over. This was only the first round, there's more of those just waiting. Shinji was the first person dying to ensure my survival, but he won't be the last.
All I can feel at the thought of that is disgust and frustration.
AN: Aaaand round 1 is finished, whew! Little bit of an afterword for the first round, since it's kinda a bit of a milestone.
When I started planning the basics of this story, I also estimated how long it will probably be in terms of word count. I knew how I want to lay out the chapters from the very beginning (I'm a pretty serious planner when it comes to such basics), and I knew roughly how much I tend to write, and how much of a hard time I usually have writing long chapters. Long story short: I was more or less worried that I can't put EXTRA in 100k or more words. I was pretty sure I'd end up with less for EXTRA's story. However, now, at the end of round 1 (+ prologue) we're at roughly 30k. Needless to say, my estimate was entirely off from the very beginning. I don't think it's a bad thing, though.
This round very much served as introduction to concepts I'll be using in this story - the dormitory, the school life, the penalties, how Code Casts work in this story, and the likes. At the same time, it showed that I'm willing to change up more than Hakuno's Servant and some basics.
To be honest, when coming up with the concept, I struggled a bit with the idea of who to replace and who to use instead. Replacing Masters is an option I could take, so is replacing Servants. Because the amount of interesting things to write is quite low with keeping everyone the same, for a short while I considered mixing up things completely. I ended up not doing that, obviously. Instead, I went for an approach of what I feel could be interesting, and what I might want to explore in a way. On top of what could work well in terms of interactions with/development for Hakuno.
As for Master-Servant pairs, I considered dynamics and plausibility of Hakuno and Salter beating them. Astolfo was chosen as a Servant for Shinji because I think they'd be able to have a pretty interesting dynamic. Shinji being a kid and Astolfo being the one who acts more like a kid - feels like Astolfo is just the Servant Shinji needs to have a good influence on him. Though I couldn't really place them in much of a later round... Partially because I wanted the first round to be emotionally crushing for Hakuno and killing someone you're at least somewhat acquainted with who then also turns out to have been a kid? Yeah, that's rough. I couldn't top that, and it becomes pretty hard to justify Shinji + Astolfo making it too far in the HGW anyway, so they became the first round opponents. Or rather, stayed in that position lol
In the end, the good influence and their dynamic couldn't really shine that much thanks to that, but oh well.. At least nobody can say I'm not putting thoughts into decisions, but my execution can very much be criticized.
Salter turns out a more interesting choice for Hakuno than even I initially thought. She's the reliable Servant Hakuno definitely needs to make it anywhere at all, but at the same time, she can't be relied on for a moral compass or even a shoulder to cry on. In that way, she can help Hakuno grow in some ways, but in others, Hakuno would need someone else. Sadly so far Rin has mostly been a bitch, but gotta get through the tsun to reach the dere... eventually.
Enough of my rambling~
Anyway, I don't exactly mean to ask for attention so obviously, but I'd appreciate feedback/opinions, if you have any to share. Don't feel forced to give any, it's fine if you're just a silent reader. But for me, personally, any kind of comment regarding the story is nice to see and a great source of motivation, so I'd appreciate it!