As always, thanks to Old Man of the Mountain for the translation and I also have news: I've re-uploaded chapters 4-16.
I opened a poll on QQ, since it's relatively easy to do that kind of thing there, and the vote for the corrections for Grammarly was so overwhelming that I didn't see the point in waiting until the end of the week before updating the chapters.
Now, about the review corner:
-AkihitoTheExiled: I'm happy to be back too, even if lately I've been going a bit crazy because I have a ton of ideas for fics in my head that, for one reason or another, don't lead to anything even though I'd like to write them.
-aguastar: to be honest... I don't know. I put fem-Gil just to fuck with the mc, and not in a good way. It seemed like a good idea to have him have the same morbid interest in Jack as Ftn-Gil had for Artoria who used Excalibur. The only difference is that Jack will be harassed by various versions of fem GIl, while Enkidu enjoys the show in the background munching on snacks. Hopefully.
-UnseenUrge: np, this is something I wrote months ago and since all that nastiness against Sakura, even though I'm not a big fan of the character, seemed like gratuitous cruelty to me, Jack did something about it.
Anyway, happy reading and leaving reviews, they help a lot with motivation!
"So what do you have to report about the task I gave you?"
"Your desire to learn the motives behind the different masters' desire for the Grail?" asks Kirei, noticing how the king of heroes holds a glass with fine wine, swaying the contents slightly "That investigation was almost over, but when I sent assassin-"
"Fool, that information is of no value to me unless it is uttered by you," snorts the blond woman scornfully, taking a swig of the drink unceremoniously stolen from the former enforcer's private collection "In the meantime, tell me what you have discovered."
Gilgamesh barely has any interest in war at the moment. A few interesting characters appeared, such as the Rider who dared to call himself king in her presence, the lancer who had treasures missing from his collection, and the foreigner who impudently intruded into her garden to do his bidding. Each of them has its charms in a way, but nothing that has so far prompted her to intrude on a matter that did not interest her to begin with.
That's why to distract herself from her boring summoner, she decided to entertain herself in other ways, like with her disciple. Finding his inner conflicts amusing, he attempted to guide Kirei to find true pleasure in his otherwise empty life, suggesting that he should determine the backgrounds and motivations of other Masters and Servants as to why they wish to obtain the Holy Grail.
In the meantime, she sampled the pleasures the modern era had to offer among other entertainments, which, however, were abruptly interrupted by Tokiomi's alarmed plea, begging her to save her foolish pupil from certain death at the hands of the stranger in armor, who was not foolish at all and ordered her toys to step aside when she showed up.
She is irritated, but interested in what she has to say. For the moment.
"As far as the Raider and Lancer masters are concerned, they have no particular desire to ask of the Grail, they seek victory as a means of gaining glory as mages," Kirei begins, sitting in his office chair, leaning back "The caster master does not even understand what the Grail is. He is taking part in the war as an extension of his enjoyment of killing. The Berserker master...was eliminated too quickly from the war, so it is not clear to me what his ultimate goal was."
"Never mind, tell me what your considerations are," the blond woman urged him, curious as to what conclusion the priest had come to.
"...he is immature and seemed to be seeking absolution," ventures Kirei, once he gets his thoughts back in order "For a time he severed ties with the Matou family, yet he had requested that the Thosaka's youngest daughter be freed, even though she was being raised to be the next breadwinner after he ran away from his duties."
Finishing his glass, Gilgamesh pours himself more wine as he listens.
"To complete his part of the bargain, he must win and deliver the Grail to the Matou family" Kirei pauses for a second, but then shakes his head, deciding to add some information whose usefulness he is not sure of anyway "Also, he seems to have some sort of past relationship with Tokiomi's wife. You could say that of all the participants, he was the one with the most trivial reasons for participating in the war."
Seeing that the priest remains silent, the blonde gives a curious look, studying his behavior.
"What's going on? Continue, Kirei."
"As for the master of the extra servant...I have not yet gathered all the information to conclude the investigation," admits the former enforcer "All the clues seem to suggest that the master is the homunculus, but the movements of Emiya Kiritsugu and his associate make me believe otherwise, that fact Einzbern is a decoy to avoid suspicion of who the real master is, allowing him to act almost undisturbed while striking opposing masters."
Kirei had studied the magus killer's cases extensively over the past few years, down to the smallest detail, again and again, to be sure not to leave out any information about such an unpredictable enemy once he had secured his participation as a mercenary affiliated with the Einzbern, but there were still many questions I had about the man and his true intentions.
For what reason does he fight? Why did he quit at some point? What had he found in the Einzbern that caused him to retire? Why did he decide to return? And, most importantly: is he also an empty being with no purpose?
"It doesn't seem to end there though. Even putting aside the fact that the doll is not the real master, what do you think of their moves?" urges Gilgamesh, wanting more details.
"...Emiya Kiritusugu puzzles me, but Foreigner's actions worry me," the former Assassin master finally admits. "From what I have seen, he observes and analyzes both his opponents and the terrain, exploits their weaknesses, and then strikes with disruptive firepower. He is an individual who thinks rationally and does not do unnecessary things when he has to eliminate his targets. On paper, he is extremely compatible with Emiya Kiritsugu's modus operandi, which supports my doubt as to who his real master is."
"Something is troubling you, though," ends The King of Heroes, saying the words not spoken by the priest.
"Once again, I cannot understand some of the actions taken by Foreigner," admits Kirei "Engaging Berserker's master when he was exhausted and away from any potential third-party problems was an optimal strategic move, but why didn't he finish him off? What was the purpose of killing only Berseker? What did he do with his master? Why attack the Matou mansion immediately afterward? What plans could he possibly have for the heir-apparent and the second Berserker? No matter how much I think about it, I cannot understand his moves and the motivations behind his actions, which I am sure are not Emiya's orders. And that doesn't even count the fact that, according to Tokiomi's accounts, he eliminated the entire Einzbern family in Germany for some reason, leaving only scorched earth."
"Did you attack Magus's family in Germany?" the blonde asked curiously, raising an eyebrow, amused by all the questions Kirei was asking, and how she was racking her brain for an answer, even though on one hand she was interested in that question mark as well, curious about how the mystery was thickening.
"Yes. By his estimation, it happened the same day he arrived in Japan. In all likelihood using the same way he killed Assassin," Kirei confirms. "The Einzbern provided and delivered substantial resources for his use, judging from what little Assassin found out about the shipments leading to the base in the woods, so why eliminate suppliers even if he doesn't consider them allies? He didn't strike me as the kind of egomaniac who tries to blackmail or promises extortion if someone disrespects him, so again, there is a reason I can't understand."
After some silence, Gilgamesh finally sighs. For Gilgamesh, the reason Foreigner is moving is quite simple all things considered from what he saw at the dock, from his statements, and recent actions.
And it is precisely because the uses actions are driven by such a simple reason that individuals like the magus or the priest in front of her cannot understand him. The invader had even confessed on the first day of the conflict what his goal was, but no one took him seriously, except perhaps Lancer, who, however, would do nothing because as a good soldier, he follows his summoner's orders.
That's why she decided to let him live to begin with. He didn't feel like getting his hands dirty to pull weeds, so he would let Foreigner do it, after which depending on his mood he would decide what to do with him.
"In the end, almost everyone is a mere bloodsucker aiming for one of my treasures, huh? Disappointing," snorts the woman, leaning against the back of the sofa as she crosses her legs, drinking another glass of wine.
This irritates Kirei.
"Is that all you have to say after putting me through all those headaches?" the priest asks almost insulted at his words, "you should also think a little about those who have toiled for nothing."
"Toiled for nothing? What are you talking about, Kirei? Your hard work and that of the assassins have been amply rewarded," Gilgamesh amusedly informs him, as if watching a puppy do something stupidly comical.
"Are you making fun of me, King of Heroes?" the priest asks, rising from his chair as some vein of anger begins to show in his voice.
Gilgamesh looks at it curiously, before realizing what the problem is.
"Don't you get it? I can't blame you. You are a man who doesn't even know what gives him pleasure," notes the blonde, speaking as if explaining a new concept to a child "The soul is always seeking pleasure, consciously or unconsciously. This inner desire manifests itself in the individual's interests and concerns," informs the blonde calmly, settling the priest's irritation instantly "In other words, Kirei, getting you to talk about what you think about what you saw and heard had deep meaning. What you talked about most fervently is what is of most interest."
The king's words left Kirei, who had not even remotely thought of his task as something like that, but as a mission to be accomplished, rather, even though it was the wayward woman in front of him who had proposed it.
"Of all those you have described, which one did you describe most fervently? Berserker's master, the outsider's master, and the outsider himself. Kariya and Kiritsugu if I'm not mistaken?" asked Gilgamesh rhetorically "You made many assumptions about the last two, but to me, it seems more like obsession than anything else. You have, however, spoken in detail about Kariya."
When it was pointed out to him, the priest quickly thought of the most rational response for that remark.
"The circumstances surrounding him are complicated, so he needed some additional explanations."
"You're wrong," proclaimed Gilgamesh, sweeping aside the response with no small amount of amusement at the way he tried to save his mask of indifference after being discovered "He and Foreigner are the only cases in which you ordered Assassin to investigate to such an extent, to understand the 'circumstances,' as you called them. All because of that unconscious desire."
His words seem to shake Kirei a bit, who almost recoils at the remark, which for reasons he cannot explain irritates him.
"I admit that I made an error in judgment," says the priest, after a few moments of reflection, "I recognize that Matou Kariya poses no long-term threat, and therefore was not worthy of my attention. It was only an overestimation of his capabilities that drew your unnecessary curiosity on me."
This made Gilgamesh chuckle, seeing how he was trying to get away from the conversation not so subtly. But the blonde was having enough fun leaving crumbs to form some sort of path to lead his interlocutor to the answer, so he didn't let him get away so easily.
"Eheh? Then try to imagine the case if, by sheer luck, Berseker had survived to the end," the semi-goddess asked as she raised her glass toward him, watching his reaction with curiosity "Would you be able to predict what might happen?"
"..."
The priest remains silent, thinking about the answer for a few moments, before refusing to continue on the path to give satisfaction to Archer, who upon seeing his reaction cannot help but smile amusedly.
"Come on, Kirei," Gilgamesh urged him, "Isn't it time you understood the real meaning of what I asked you?"
After a few more moments of silence, in which the priest leans back in the back of his chair after sitting down again, he addresses Gilgamesh again, more calmly.
"Tell me, Archer: what would be the point of imagining a scenario in which Berserker's master wins?" he asks rather confused.
"No one. Absolutely no one," the king of heroes replies unceremoniously, causing the former master to frown for the umpteenth time, "Hey, hey, don't be so angry. Think about it for a moment: why didn't you consider such speculation unnecessary from the start? Don't you think there is a clear, unassailable reason behind it?"
Once again, Kirei is completely lost as he crosses his arms and thinks about it, without finding an answer.
"Explain it to me, Archer," the man finally asks, when for the umpteenth time he cannot think of anything to convince him.
"If the question had been asked about another master, you would have immediately realized its futility and judged it a waste of time," the woman patiently explained, taking a pawn from the chessboard in front of him, which had custom pieces depicting the seven classes and their master "But with Kariya it didn't work out that way. You put aside your usual ingenuity and wasted time on useless thinking. You forgot that it was useless. You didn't care that it was a wasted effort. That is to say, it was a source of delight for you."
Gilgamesh lazily throws the piece toward Kirei, who reflexively catches it on the fly.
"Rejoice, Kirei, you have finally understood what fun is."
The priest stares at the piece with different emotions.
"Pleasure? In other words, pleasure?" he asks, as a slight agitation begins to emerge.
"That's right," simply confirms the woman sitting lazily on the sofa.
"There was nothing in Matou Kariya's destiny to give anyone pleasure. His life is punctuated by suffering and tragedy," Kirei replied, getting up from his chair to go put the piece back in the chessboard as he reviewed what he knows about the former master, not understanding what he missed so 'funny' that the king of heroes had seen instead "For him, a quick death would be a blessing."
The answer makes the blonde sigh almost disappointed, and she shakes her head.
"Kirei, why do you think of the pursuit of pleasure in such a narrow way?" asks Gilgamesh, as he begins to back away "Where is the contradiction in treating suffering and tragedy as forms of pleasure? Pleasure does not come in only one form, and it is because you do not understand this that you are confused."
"This is not something that can be forgiven!" snaps the priest, when something clicks inside him for a moment that made his heart flutter, but he vehemently rejected it and for a moment was almost disappointed in himself. Not because he had any idea what that feeling was, but because of the disappointment in driving it away "King of heroes, a demon like you may take pleasure in the suffering of others, but this is the soul of a sinner! An evil that must be punished! Such a thing cannot exist in this life of mine, lived in the path of faith!"
Despite the outburst that probably would have led Gilgamesh to write off the person who addressed him in that way, his only reaction was to calmly drink another glass of fine wine from Kirei's collection.
"So that's why you consider pleasure itself a sin," notes the woman, chuckling at the priest's anger, "it's amazing how twisted you are. I must admit it's rather interesting-?"
He pauses, when a red flash shines on the priest's hand, making him gasp in surprise.
Gilgamesh smiles in amusement with renewed interest when the Grail once again declares a master, giving him back the command spells he had not used.
After Kirei's attack and Gilgamesh's appearance, I was tempted to go back and kill her last night since she was out of town, and a confrontation between us would not have claimed too many lives despite the scale of a servant battle, since there was only vegetation for miles around the castle.
Veda had the Jegans retreat, however, finding it the most tactically 'valuable' move for some reason, letting it go before I could get out of yet another disused caster's shelter without even killing at least Kirei. I still went back to check the situation, and frankly almost wish I hadn't.
Kiritsugu and I again argued about what to do.
He wanted to change bases since he wanted to operate in the shadows without giving anyone a chance to reach him or find out where he was hiding, while I even so did not want to leave because not only would I be playing at home but we were also far from any population center, which would allow me to unleash without any restrictions in case of an attack.
The discussion went on for a few hours when under Maiya's request, Irisviel had asked me to humor her husband. Honestly, I would have refused, but while Kiritsugu was too pissed off at me for not obeying him, I quickly noticed that something was wrong with Iri. A glance at my 'master's' colleague had also inadvertently confirmed that yes, she had noticed it too.
Since two servants had died, surely the deterioration of the albino woman's bodily functions had begun, so I agreed to the move, as long as we went to the reserve base I had prepared with the resources Old Jeb had so kindly provided.
The killer magus was not at all happy that I had for the umpteenth time twisted plans, or that I had refurbished a disused bunker with my skills, turning it into a kind of base that had enough firepower to withstand a servant, but that was the compromise below which I would not go.
A not-so-subtle threat to what would happen to him if he even tried to use a command seal to make me obey, plus some pleading by his wife backed by his assistant, had forced him to agree this time, even though anyone who could have seen would have much rather shot himself with a bullet origin than go along with me.
This brings us to my workshop, albeit improvised.
"As in, this place is..."
"Bare, mostly," I agree with my protégé as we walk deeper into the structure, "It once belonged to a noble guy during World War III, but it fell into disuse after his death. They killed him before he could get there, along with the rest of his relatives in the months that followed, and it was forgotten here. I got it back up and running and modified as I could in the last 72 hours, however, I focused more on my workshop once I fixed what needed maintenance."
Irisviel hums as she looks around. Unlike those used during World War II, this one is decidedly more 'modern' and branches off underground as if it were a military base, since in addition to about 20 civilians, it was also supposed to house about 80 armed guards. It is located halfway between Sakamato and Ashitsuki Shrine.
"How come we are going there?" she asks curiously.
"To fix your body," I reply, causing her to stop in her tracks. I turn to look at her with a serious face "I don't know too specifically about the mechanisms of the lesser grail, however, with two dead servants, I'm pretty sure your bodily functions are compromised. You probably won't even be able to maintain your humanoid form when there are only two or three living servants left, right?"
Irisviel stares at me, with an amused but also sad smile.
"You don't miss anything at all," states the obvious "Yes, you are right. The burden of carrying servant power is heavy, so I had to turn off my sense of touch to continue functioning as an individual. If Maiya had not been there to help me, I would have struggled to even get dressed this morning."
"I thought so," I reply, distractedly recalling a similar conversation that took place with Saber "However, I can solve that problem. It's a procedure I've used on others before, so even though I'm not an expert, between the notes I took from the Einzbern and the tests Veda did when I entered the data, you should have in the new body a lifespan of about 100 years."
Irisviel stares at me with a complicated expression.
She, too, knew about the complete extermination of her clan, but she didn't seem to care much once she found out that Illya was safe with two guardians I had brought with me from Germany, the only two homunculus I had spared. He hadn't told me anything about the whole corrupted grail thing and my goal in destroying it, but I didn't care. I wouldn't have stopped even if she had asked me, but again, she didn't seem to care at all. The only thing she cared about was that her husband and daughter were safe.
That is why he is looking at me with happiness, hope, doubt, fear, anticipation, and a bunch of other mixed emotions when I simply tell him that he can continue living his life even after the war.
"That...that would require a rather intimate knowledge of the third true sorcery," she points out.
I shrug my shoulders.
"I'm just that good," I reply as if it is the most obvious thing in the world and explains everything.
"Pff-" she covers her mouth to keep from laughing, perhaps relieved or because she is amused. Perhaps for something else "Was that the reason you were so sure that Kiritsugu and I would have another daughter in the future?"
"Maybe yes, maybe no. Does it matter?" I ask rhetorically, without explanation.
"No, I don't think so," Irisviel admits, smiling sweetly, "It's okay. I will undergo this operation if it will allow me to live with my family even after this war ends. Take care of me, okay?"
"Yes"
"This is terrible! I can't take it!" cries Ryuunosuke Uryuu crying, as he falls to his knees "How could they?! We had worked so hard to make those works of art...how could they do such a thing?! And they call themselves human beings!?"
That was Caster's largest shelter, which Foreigner had destroyed first during the previous night.
"Ryuunosuke, only the chosen few can understand true harmony and true beauty," says Gilles de Reis, kneeling beside the weeping master and placing a hand on his back, trying to comfort him "For most ignorant people, beauty is nothing but a thing to be destroyed. That is why we must not become too attached to our work. Everything we have been given is bound to break sooner or later, so we creators should rejoice in the very act of creation."
Ryuunosuke, still confused and crying looks at his servant.
"Whatever they break, we should make more of it, right?" perplexedly asked the killer, if that was the summary of the speech.
"That's right! As always, Ryuunosuke, understanding is one of your best virtues!" compliments Bluebeard elatedly.
The unsuspecting master wipes away tears and sighs, looking around.
"Maybe we had too much fun and God punished us?"
That generated an instant reaction in the caster, who grabbed him by the shoulders, lifting him back up.
"I'll tell you something, Ryuunosuke!" the magician begins with extreme seriousness, confusing the summoner with the sudden eagerness and change of attitude "God never punishes human beings! He simply pokes fun at them!"
"S-sir?"
"At one time I committed, I believe, more atrocities and blasphemies than were ever committed in this world," his story begins, "But no matter how much I killed or defiled, I never received divine punishment! And before I knew it my pursuit of the evil one was ignored for eight long years. But in the end, it was not God who destroyed me, but the selfishness of human beings. The state and the church condemned me to death solely because they coveted my lands and riches! What ended my evil deeds was not justice or the like, it was simple theft!"
Ryuunosuoke, despite being confused by the story without the context, responded anyway.
"But God exists anyway, doesn't he?" the human asks confusedly.
"You are not a believer nor have you witnessed a miracle, why do you think so?" asks Gilles sincerely curious.
"Because the world despite being so boring, the more you try to look the more interesting and off-the-wall things you find!" explained Ryuusuke as he stood up and opened his arms "I always thought of it that way! A world so full of magnificent things could never have existed by accident. Once you decide to enjoy it, you won't find better fun in this world! There must be an artist out there who is writing a novel about seven billion people! If you wanted to describe such a person, well, you could only call him God!"
"So, Ryunosuke, do you think God loves human beings?" asks Gilles, almost bewildered by his summoner's...unique worldview.
"To die for!" affirms the human without an ounce of doubt "Without love, he could never continuously and uninterruptedly write the novel of this world! I am sure that by writing he is having a blast, and enjoying every moment of his work," Ryunosuke continues, imitating a possible writer tapping on the keyboard "God loves human virtues such as courage and hope, but he equally loves screaming, blood, and despair! If he didn't, fresh innards wouldn't be so colorful! That's why I think the world is filled with God's love!"
"In an age where people no longer believe and the state has abandoned God's will...I had no idea that there could be a new and invigorating faith like yours!" commented Gilles at the end, moved by his master's pep talk, making a formal bow "Ryunosuke, my master, you have my admiration!"
"Come on, don't make me blush," chuckles the assassin, scratching his head, embarrassed by the reverence the servant was showing.
"But in this theologies, wouldn't my blasphemies be a farce?" puzzled Gilles asked at the end, curious what he thought of his legend.
"Duh. Only the best artist can crack smiles while playing the role of the villain, can't he?" the psychotic murderer reassured him "If you ask me, I think God loves to play along with your jokes!"
"Eheh...eh...EHAHAHAHAHAHAAH" The caster bends almost a two from laughter hearing it "Blasphemy! And celebration! Are you saying both are forms of worship for you! Ah, Ryunosuke! If no doubt the bearer of a vast and profound philosophy!" exalts Bluebeard even more "A god who for pleasure makes men into puppets is nothing but a court jester himself...now I see. Thus, his cruel ways would acquire meaning."
Ryunosuke watches an amused and anxious caster, wanting to know what answer he has arrived at, like a child waiting for a Christmas present under the tree.
"So be it," Gilles concludes, "Then all we must do is stain the garden of the Most High with brilliant colors of despair and terror! We must show the director in the heavens that he is not the only one who knows what a show is!"
"Are we about to do something else cool, sir?!" the human asks almost jumping on the spot "How cool! How cool!"
While Irisviel rests in her quarters after being transferred to her new body thanks to a Cortical Stack, I left as usual the Command Core and other armor, along with some Jeghan, to stand guard while I immediately fly against the sudden spike in mana cross the Abe river, exactly between Toshiden and Nakano Shiden.
Needless to say, I found Caster there, even though a putrid fog had invaded the area in front of the bridge on both sides of the river. I could also see from the sky a few dozen unconscious Pros, policemen, and civilians in the two banks.
I projected more Jegans and Veda sent them immediately to retrieve the victims of whatever that purplish mist was.
"Gather here, O you forgotten ones," calls Caster, as his voice booms in the area, "I will lead you! I will command you! The deep resentment we oppressed feel will reach the Lord!" a colossal being emerges from the water "O god of heaven, with words of condemnation I exalt your holy name! Arrogant god! Cruel god! We are here to dethrone you!"
Ignoring the mad howl of Gilles de Reis, I was more focused on the results of the appearance of the Lovecraftian creature than on the beast itself. The mist it emanates is not normal, but cursed, though my armor is still processing the data.
"Oi, Foreigner!"
I turn my head and see Iskandard on his wagon, with Waver peeking out almost shyly from behind the big man.
"Rider" I greet him with a nod of my head "Keep your master away from that fog, besides being toxic it is cursed."
He blinks at my warning but nods.
"I wasn't going to take him that close to that thing anyway, but thanks for the warning," he replies a little friendly, before getting more serious "I was going to propose a truce to defeat that monster, are you in? No one can fight in peace while that thing is rampaging anyway."
"All right," I reply simply, "Are there other servants who will join?"
"No, Lancer was going somewhere else with his master, so it's just the two of us" I move my gaze to the monster again, scanning it "That creature seems to have three cores, all clustered in one spot. It looks like Caster used himself for that ritual and acts as the main feeder, but the other two cores can feed him even without him enough to give him time to feed himself."
"I see, it needs to be fixed before it reaches a bank and starts eating," Iskandar summed up with a frown, "But all three cores are hidden behind those thick walls of flesh, so how do we do it?"
Just then, Veda finishes the analysis.
"If that was the only problem I could solve it in a jiffy, but that's not the worst thing we have to worry about," I warn him gloomily, reading the results "I just finished analyzing that cursed mist, and there are two main problems we have to worry about: besides being an extremely toxic mist, viruses and bacteria that permeate it are spread by air and by contact; while once it enters the bloodstream the curse starts converting the infected organism into something like the giant monster. Probably to make smaller versions that serve to bring more food to the main body."
"Egh...that's disgusting," comments the young wizard with the almost green face who looks like he's about to vomit at the idea of smaller versions of that creature starting to roam around and infect people like zombies. Or maybe ghouls for the supernatural?
"Heh, maybe I'd better leave you somewhere safe boy, otherwise you might become a tentacled monster," Rider jokes to ease the mood.
"Does that sound like things to say? Do you want to bring it to him now?!" cries the magus in horror, making Iskandar laugh loudly.
"I'll leave the little guy safe and come back, you can have the first blood in the meantime," Rider warns me as he leaves.
Fortunately, Veda hacked into the government's computer systems and issued a signal for a chemical emergency regarding the mist emitted by the monster, so law enforcement at the edge of the lake immediately began evacuating civilians. Soon pros and sidekicks will also be here to help in the effort, so at least until they establish a security perimeter no one will approach the contaminated area. Veda has also recalled prefabricated Jegans to the Bunker and is sending them here in case anyone is stupid enough to approach anyway, allowing me to deal with the caster and his monster safely, at least for an hour without interruption.
It is fortunate that right now All Might is in America to get the 'Golden Age' costume or whatever it is called, otherwise, he would have already intervened and I would have had to find a way to dissuade him, which is highly difficult given the situation.
I also sent a Jegan to find Gilles' master, although, for the current objective, it is useless because of all the mana that thing has available since I didn't want to leave an assassin on the loose.
Although I had to wonder why it was just me and Rider here. What happened to Lancer and Archer? Gilgamesh wasn't going to take part in the fight anyway, so I don't particularly care, but Lancer? Sola Ui-ah, no, wait, Kayneth didn't fight Kiritsugu, so his wife didn't ghi steal the contract under Diamurd's charm effect...though she probably would have done it anyway, just for a different reason. She is simply so mean to that woman. However, it makes me wonder, again, why she is not here to stop Caster despite church orders and the servant's impossible-to-ignore presence. Given his attachment to tradition and decorum, I didn't think he would pull out of this.
I wielded the proto-buster sword and launched myself at the monster.
Hundreds of tentacles erupted from the water and launched themselves at me, each equipped with toothed mouths, eyes, and other smaller tentacles, but it did not matter. A GN burst release instantly vaporized all the organic mass directed at me. The Bit-staves, once subjected to reinforcement fire at all the other tentacles that try to hit me from behind or surround me, while I switch my main weapon to rifle mode and fire off more GN burst shots as if they were bullets. The plasma shots break through the monster's body again and again, leaving holes the size of houses all over its body, but it regenerates in seconds despite its enormous size.
Several blobs of flesh form on the torn body wounds, which multiply until they close, further deforming its tentacles.
"Tch..."
I can't help but snort upon seeing him. I can eliminate it in one fell swoop by releasing anti-fortress attacks, but that would do nothing for the cursed fog it has left around it. If it were to disperse, both the bacteria and viruses permeating it would spread unchecked until they were eliminated, which could reap a flood of lives in the meantime because of the slowness with which supernatural factions usually move.
"That's great, sir!" shouts Ryunosuke exaltedly from the bridge, shielded from the cursed gas by a caster-created object, which after just five minutes had polluted much of the river "Destroy them, Bluebeard! Crush them! This place is now God's toy box!"
Ignoring the psychopath's insane screams at the massacre his servant intended, Veda, using a Jegan that Jack had built throws grenades at the bridge, which explode, engulfing the human in flames and shrapnel as the bridge collapses.
The monster paused for a few moments before it began to rampage and agitate more fiercely, wanting revenge for the death of its master.
"Foreigner!"
The Bit-stave swarm fired in Rider's direction, riddling the tentacles that had trapped his wagon with bullets, allowing him to start up again.
As I fought and examined the Lovecraftian monster it had become more and more obvious that anti-army weapons were not enough on him. Even by spamming them, I can't destroy it fast enough, and as fast as Iskandar is, it was almost no help in doing significant damage to the thing. Lightning and chariot simply have too little range.
"Damn, I have no other choice," I lament to myself as I avoid for the umpteenth time getting caught or hit, gaining altitude, and though a bit annoyed, I finally decide to reveal another of my skills.
Making serious use of my mana reserves for thaumaturgy for the first time since I was summoned, I projected a hundred noble phantasm, converted them into Broken Phantasm, and fired them as bullets, dropping them on the abomination created by the caster as if it were rain. Despite the sheer size, since they all had anti-monster, anti-magic, and similar effects, they caused considerable damage, cutting, piercing, or tearing the Lovecraftian creature to pieces before exploding with a roar, further inferring it.
Despite the surprise bombardment, Caster at least had enough brains to protect and move the three cores, preventing me from destroying them along with 70% of its body...not that it lasted long. That thing took only seconds to rebuild itself, getting even bigger than before to the point where it could compete with the bulk of All for One at the end, releasing more fog in the process.
"So we're not making any progress," Rider notes as he approaches me with a serious expression.
The only achievement in those ten minutes, other than killing the master was to prevent Caster from feeding on the civilians, but neither side exchanged any more vaguely useful blows. My carpet bombardment had, because of the broken phantasm anti-magic, dissipated some of the cursed fog, although it had expanded a bit. That was also the reason why I did not use anti-fortress attacks. The shockwave would have pushed the fog around Shizuoka, turning people into infected monsters, which I would then have to kill to prevent whatever they had on their backs from spreading, and the idea of slaughtering civilians doesn't excite me.
"I know, the only thing I was able to do was to keep him away from the two banks, but that won't stop the fog from spreading further," I agree rather annoyed by the stalemate that had formed "If..."
I would need a sacred weapon, but I would not want to use Excalibur given the rather controversial history of this world. What would be the other choices?
Balmung? I have no idea which attribute I am more inclined toward, but if it is demonic it is useless.
Ascalon? It has sacred attributes and remarkable defensive capabilities, but it is also a noble phantasm anti-unity that will not get through that monster's defenses, despite the power it would have if used against something so malignant. If it had been a dragon though, things might have been different.
Arondlight? Even used as an anti-army Broken Phantasm after altering it to make it into vibranium, rather than the face material to keep it from losing degrees, it does not have enough range to completely wipe out the cursed fog, which would propagate because of the shockwave caused by its use.
Galatine? It would have been a good choice if that bastard Gilles went wild during the day instead of waiting until evening. The sacred attribute would exorcise the cursed fog, while the extremely high heat would kill viruses and bacteria. The attack would be wide enough to obliterate everything if aimed at the river, if used in the daytime its firepower would be almost equal to Excalibur as a noble phantasm anti-fortress with six restrictions released.
However, it is now night, so it is downgraded to anti-army with a smaller radius.
"Do you have a plan?" asks Iskandar as he watches the monster reform.
"Yes, but I need a few seconds to release the restrictions on my noble phantasm. Can you hold it in the meantime?" I ask, resigning myself to the fact that the only weapon that can safely stop that thing is Excalibur. In the end, I always go back to that sword.
"Mn. How much time do you need?" he asks with a raised eyebrow.
"To get rid of that thing I would have to lift at least seven or eight restrictions since the fog also needs to be cleared, so I would say thirty to forty seconds," I inform him with a somewhat heavy heart.
I made a fucking mistake, I should have sent one of my armor or jeans to follow Ryunosuke from the beginning to have him killed as soon as Caster appeared, that way they wouldn't have made all this mess. I was too passive in my diplomatic attempts to defuse this war. I've been overthinking it.
"Huh? So little? Then it's so easy!" laughs the redhead, almost relieved "With my Noble Phantasm I could have closed him up, but I couldn't have destroyed him completely. If I just need to stall, let me do it!"
"All right. I'll land on that road and get ready," I say before turning around.
"As soon as I activate my Noble Phantasm I will send a messenger to you. When you are ready, let him know and he will inform me when to release him," Iskandar warns me as I make my way to the Minami-abekawa Bridge.
Landing on the deserted deck because of the ongoing evacuation, I set aside my main weapon.
Just as I do, a flash illuminates the night in the center of the fog and the Lovecraftian monster disappears.
One presence quickly made itself known, however.
"I am Mitrene, a vassal of my king," announced a man in decidedly ancient armor, "I have come here as his ears in the outside world."
"I'm starting the countdown," I warn him, "Seal Thirteen: Decision start!"
Excalibur materializes in my hands, and the sacred aura wastes no time in flooding the place, exorcising some of the cursed fog around us simply by its presence.
"Lancelot, Mordred, Galahad, Gaheris, Gareth, Kay, Arthur, Percival!"
"The battle should not be against an elemental. Approved."
"The battle must be against evil. Approved."
"The battle must not involve personal gain. Approved."
"The battle must not be against humanity. Approved."
"The battle must not be inhumane. Approved."
"The battle must be for life. Approved."
"The battle must be to save the world. Approved."
"The battle should not be against those with pure hearts. Approved."
There is a huge spike of power as Excalibur is engulfed in light and I raise her, ready to strike, while her aura intensifies wildly as the seconds pass, as I wait for the critical point.
"Release Caster," I warn the messenger, raising my sword over my head, ready to let loose the slash.
"Roger that!"
Mitrene, who had been distracted for a few moments staring at my noble phantasm, recovers and quickly disappears.
A purplish light flashes for a moment as fog appears around it, a sign that the monster's body has reappeared even though it was not visible in the middle there. Not that it was a problem in any case. Astrea's sensors sensed it. I also saw Iskandar's energy signature moving away from that kind of misshapen Kraken, so, I do not doubt that it is indeed out.
"Excalibur!"
Swinging my blade, the golden light of Last Phantasm cleaves through the cursed fog, obliterating it and exorcising everything with its aura, instantly dissipating the cloud covering the Minami-abekawa Bridge. The blade of light collides with the Lovecraftian monster, mowing it in half with little or no resistance.
The waters of the river open as the creature is engulfed by Excalibur's blow and explodes, releasing a torrent of light toward the sky, scattering the gold particles as if they were fireflies.
"Did you see that, King of the conquerors?" asked Gilgamesh, looking at the mostly pitiful spectacle in his eyes that had just unfolded "That was the radiance of a fool with dreams too big who does not realize his impending downfall."
If she is, to be honest with herself, Gilgamesh had no desire to come here that night. Caster was such an insulting individual that even the suggestion that she should get her hands dirty to deal with him made her indecisive about whether to punish Tokiomi with death or laugh at the absurdity. Was she trying to give him abdominal pain through laughter?
Meanwhile, the aforementioned master remains silent, tense as a violin string while Iskandar is a few meters away on his chariot, having pulled away early so as not to get caught up in Excalibur's wake. He had noticed the Vimana by chance and had gone to browse, having never seen such a vehicle before.
"...I'm not so sure. How does a hero from the future have that sword after it was returned to the lady of the lake when the king of the knights died?" Iskandar wonders, rubbing his chin rather intrigued by the sudden turn of events, wanting to know more about the circumstances that brought the blade into Foreigner's hand.
Red does not believe that there is even a heroic spirit who would not recognize that weapon at first sight, so he does not doubt that that was Excalibur, and that is what confuses him, given the discrepancies between the Grail information and what he has just seen.
"...If I may" politely calls Tokiomi's attention, who continues after receiving a distracted nod from the King of Heroes to continue "Excalibur is currently in the hands of the church. It is unclear how, but the sword was destroyed and in the following centuries through alchemy was rebuilt into seven fragments-"
"Fuahahaahahhaahah-"
Tokiomi stiffens when the blond woman bursts out laughing, while Iskandar raises an eyebrow at the sudden interruption, so they both turn to the cause.
"-Ahaha! Tokiomi, do you think that the imitations in the hands of Vatican charlatans are the real Excalibur?" asks Gilgamesh, wiping a tear from his eye after the fat laugh "Aaah, that was a good joke, but no. The true holy sword is only one."
Although the acting leader of the Thosaka was always true to his lofty demeanor, he could not help but feel his jaw slacken as he stared in amazement at the king of heroes.
"W-what?"
"Are you deaf or what?" the blonde asks irritatedly when she clearly should have repeated herself "I just told you that the real Excalibur is the one you just saw in action, mongrel. The rest is all propaganda for a fake that doesn't even remotely stand up to scrutiny."
Tokiomi remains silent, too shocked to think of anything to say. He didn't want to call the King of Heroes of All Beings a liar, because he was simply asking to be killed painfully on the spot, but the prospect of the church lying about something as important as Exaclibur's existence leads to so many ramifications about what revolves around the ultimate sacred sword that his head spins.
"Ahahahahahahahah, now that's interesting! Now I'm even more eager to confront him!" laughs Iskandar noisily, giddy at the idea of fighting such a mysterious opponent.
An explosion, along with a significant spike in mana attracts the attention of the two kings.
A sonic boom occurs soon after as Foreigner takes off at full speed in the same direction.
"Lancer, huh?" notes the Golden Archer, looking in the direction where the second big fight of the evening was about to break out "Looks like going out tonight wasn't a waste of time in the end. Maybe he'll have a few more surprises to round out the night?"
There was a hint of interest in the blonde's voice that made the two men contract uncomfortably. He had not expected the stranger to possess such a trump card, or to possess a treasure that was not in his collection. The rarities that the Gate of Babylon did not contain could practically be counted on the fingers of one hand, but that sword...that glow...
It made his heart flutter.
The only time she felt a similar sense of excitement was when she fought her one and only true friend. Nothing else in the world made her as exhilarated as when she met Enkidu, even though that same feeling, inevitably brought back memories of his last moments.
"A fool who aims at dreams beyond human reach" spoke the blonde, looking in the direction Foreigner had headed "I, Gilgamesh, am the only one in heaven and earth who has the right to love him in his destruction."
After all, even if every single being in this world could not have understood Foreigner, she understands him just fine. His gift, that twisted drive that makes him different from everyone around him, that light that makes him so inhuman...it fascinates her. He wants him for her. She is even willing to overlook the fact that he has invaded her garden if he will eventually be hers.
While Tokiomi feels her skin crawl when she sees the lust-filled look in Gilgamesh's crimson eyes, Iskandar frowns.
"From the way you say it, it sounds like his life will end in tragedy."
"It can only end like this," Gilgamesh confirms, relaxing on his throne, "A life spent chasing a dream too big for one person will eventually only destroy the dreamer himself."
She had seen glimpses while dreaming. As annoying as they were, over time he learned to ignore or interpret them depending on what made the unwanted information more comfortable for her while suppressing Sha Naqba Imuru. Those that leave impressions, such as when he blinks were more problematic to ignore since they were unpredictable and too fast to do anything with.
But they had shown him that heath of black metal.
It will inevitably end there if history takes its course. It can only imagine how sweet will be the wail of the steel beast that stands over it at the end.
"...I thought it was just a first impression, but as I imagined, you and I could never get along, Hero King of Babylon," Iskandar announced, seeing the ambiguous smirk Gilgamesh was making as in the distance the battle between Foreigner and Lancer began.
"Oh? So you finally understood?" amused Gilgamesh questions him, seeing the almost grim look the redhead gave him "So what are you going to do, Rider? Are you going to let your steel shape your anger?"
Tokiomi, who stands between the two kings, virtually forgotten by all, pales at the provocation made by his servant.
"I would love to, but after tonight's battle I am not fit enough to face an opponent of your caliber" The king of conquerors, however, does not jump into such an obvious trap and declines the offer of a confrontation "Of course, I will have to fight if you refuse to allow me passage"
"I don't care, I'll let you escape King of Conquerors" the King of Heroes 'reassures' him "It would not satisfy me to annihilate you at anything less than the height of your strength"
"Eheh, don't complain if I can beat you later," Rider jokes.
"I respond to provocation with death," flatly replied Archer, not at all amused by the enemy servant's insinuation.
"We will decide that next time, King of Heroes," greets Iskandar, as he moves the reins of his chariot "Our battle will be the one that determines the winner of the Holy Grail War."
One pop and Iskandar flies off under the golden king's impassive gaze, quick as lightning, to retrieve his master.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Gilgamesh snorts, looking back in the direction where Foreigner was meanwhile fighting "I have yet to decide if there is anyone worthy of receiving my treasure, Rider."