Emiya Shirou found himself contemplating the sheer impossibility of the day's events.
While cleaning the archery dojo at Shinji's request, a sudden commotion had led him to discover two armed men engaged in a lethal duel.
—'Well, since you have seen us, I'll have to ask you to die.'
Discovered by the combatants, he had been hunted down by the man in azure and had his heart pierced by a spear.
—'There is still a way.'
He had been brought back from the threshold of death by the magecraft of a stranger he did not even know.
—'I thought it a kindness to spare you the sight of it, thinking you would feel no pain... to think I would end up killing the same man twice in a single day.'
Upon returning home, hoping for the solace of sleep, he found the man in azure waiting once more to finish the task.
—'I ask of you: are you my Master?'
In the very shed where he had sought refuge, a magic circle had erupted in light, and a girl calling herself Saber appeared to deliver him from death.
Within a single day, he had endured more than an ordinary man could imagine in a lifetime. Finally, he had learned the full truth of these events at a place called the Fuyuki Church, guided by his classmate, Tohsaka Rin.
"The Great Shinto Fire from ten years ago... its cause was the Holy Grail War? That horrific tragedy was brought about by an omnipotent wish-granting cup?"
If that were so... this Holy Grail could easily become a chalice of poison depending on the character of its wielder. Should it fall into the hands of the wicked, the outcome required no imagination.
Shirou clenched his fists. He could not allow this power to be seized by anyone else—least of all someone of ill intent.
'I cannot let this world return to that hell. If that is the case...'
'...Then I must claim the Grail. If the tragedy of ten years ago was truly caused by this war, then I must!'
His resolve hardened, Emiya walked the dark path toward home, accompanied by Saber—now his Servant—and Tohsaka, who had served as his guide.
Under normal circumstances, he would have simply parted ways with Tohsaka and returned home with Saber. That should have been the end of the night.
Indeed, that would have been the case had Saber's keen intuition not detected an impending crisis. Sensing a sudden threat, she spun around with practiced haste, taking a defensive stance. In that same moment, a voice drifted through the cold air.
"—So, is your little talk finished?"
Shirou's eyes widened as he looked toward the source of the voice. Bathed in the silver moonlight stood a young girl—the same girl he had glimpsed upon the hill while returning home earlier.
Yet, it was not the girl that Saber watched with such trepidation. Her gaze was locked onto the knight who loomed behind the child.
Clack.
As the figure raised his head, the subtle rasp of metal grinding against metal echoed from his armor. Shirou stared at the knight.
He was the very image of a fallen warrior. Cloaked in the shifting shadows of the roadside trees, his blackened visor and plate armor evoked the somber majesty of a knight who had lost his way.
Tohsaka, witnessing the figure, whispered under her breath in a voice thin with tension.
"—Berserker!"
"Good evening, Big Brother. This is the second time we've met, isn't it?"
The girl stepped forward with an innocent smile, offering a polite introduction.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Rin. I am Illya. Illyasviel von Einzbern. Surely the name Einzbern means something to you?"
"...Einzbern."
At those words, Rin's guard rose even higher. She focused her senses on the Berserker standing behind the girl.
'Every parameter save for Agility and Luck is Rank A...?!'
Using her privilege as a Master to perceive a Servant's status, Tohsaka was horrified by numerical values that eclipsed even Saber's.
"...This is unbelievable. That monster's raw ability alone exceeds Saber's."
"A truly formidable foe," Archer's voice joined her, grave and heavy. "That one alone could likely face the other six Servants simultaneously."
Tohsaka's expression soured at Archer's assessment. "...Which means he isn't an enemy we can simply overwhelm with force. Archer, this is the moment for your true style of combat."
"And what of our defense? You lack the means to halt such a charge if it targets you."
"...There are three of us here. If we simply aim to hold our ground, we will manage somehow."
"Understood."
Agreeing with her logic, Archer immediately began to withdraw, putting distance between himself and the enemy. Rin then turned to Shirou.
"...Emiya-kun. Whether you stay and fight or flee is your choice. But if you can, find a way to escape."
"..."
Shirou exhaled a ragged, tense breath. Just as he was about to answer her, Illya spoke once more.
"—Is your talk finished? May we begin now? Very well then... I'll have you die, okay?"
"Kill them, Berserker."
The moment that command left the child's lips, the atmosphere surrounding the knight underwent a violent transformation.
The sheer discharge of magical energy was so immense that the road beneath him cracked and a gale-force wind erupted, centered on his frame. Prana bled from his body like a physical weight.
The knight readjusted his grip on his blade and lunged. Saber's voice cut through the air.
"Shirou! Fall back!"
In a single leap, the knight bridged the distance, raising his heavy sword to cleave Shirou in two.
Suddenly, a crimson-streaked arrow whistled through the night, surging toward Berserker. Packed with devastating magical energy, the projectile struck the knight squarely.
BOOM!
The arrow's internal prana detonated upon impact, creating an explosion that swallowed Berserker whole.
Shrapnel from the paved road rained down amidst a churning cloud of dust. For a moment, it seemed no Servant could have survived. But as the dust settled, the knight remained standing, his armor merely scorched by the heat.
Tohsaka gasped, her eyes wide. "You're lying... only a slight scorch mark?!"
With a casual sweep of his hand, the knight brushed the debris from his shoulder and leapt once more. Tohsaka turned her head in alarm.
"Emiya-kun!"
"...!"
But in that fleeting moment, the knight had already reached the space between Shirou and Rin. As he brought his black-and-crimson blade down in a lethal arc, a silver flash intervened.
Saber had narrowly forced her way into the gap, parrying the strike with her invisible blade just before it reached Shirou.
CRACK!
"Urgh!"
The sheer shockwave of the colliding steel threw Shirou backward. He scrambled to look up at the confrontation before him.
Saber and Berserker stood in a deadlock, yet it was clear to anyone watching that Saber was the one in peril.
"...Guh!"
K-kk-rack!
Saber's hands trembled violently as she held the block. The concrete beneath her boots fractured under the colossal pressure. With a desperate effort, she angled her blade, allowing Berserker's sword to slide off to the side.
She immediately counterattacked, her movements reinforced by a burst of prana, yet Berserker parried her strike with terrifying ease.
As Saber fought, a sense of dissonance grew within her. His swordsmanship was refined—too refined. Despite being a Berserker who should have been bereft of reason, he wielded a sword with consummate skill. Even in a state of madness, his martial prowess rivaled or perhaps exceeded her own.
CLANG!
"...Kuh!"
She jerked her head to the side just as his blade whistled through the space where her skull had been. Stray strands of her golden hair were shorn away, dissolving into motes of mana before they could hit the ground.
Power, speed, and technique—she was being outmatched in every category. Realizing that a prolonged battle would lead to her defeat, Saber summoned her full strength, triggering a massive burst of prana to shove Berserker back.
Simultaneously, another crimson arrow sought Berserker's head at impossible speed. Yet, the knight reached out with his bare hand and caught the projectile. The resulting explosion failed to move him.
"...Is that man... immortal?" Shirou whispered, watching in horror.
The knight was unscathed even by an explosion at his very face. Seeing him retake his stance, Saber spoke, her voice ringing with grim respect.
"...You are strong. Truly, you must be a Heroic Spirit of great renown. Even consumed by madness, your bladesmanship has not rusted. You have my admiration."
Saber steadied her posture and leveled her invisible blade at him. "...Between a soul with no mind to speak and one who has lost the freedom to even speak her name, the only dialogue left to us is the clashing of our steel. Therefore, I shall answer you with an ultimate strike."
A whirlwind began to spiral around her as she concentrated her prana. She glared at the dark knight.
"—Prepare yourself. This road shall be your grave, Berserker!"
Saber charged with the force of a gale, and Berserker met her with equal ferocity. His blade swung in from the left, a killing blow aimed squarely at her. Saber watched it come.
She knew that, in any standard exchange, her sword would never reach him before his reached her. Thus, she would have to give up her flesh to take his bone.
She twisted her body at the last possible second, allowing his sword to graze her forehead—a shallow but bleeding wound—just to keep her momentum. She thrust her sword into the opening his swing had created.
Grip.
Yet, her lunge toward his face was caught. Berserker's gauntleted hand clamped down on the blade itself, stopping the strike mere inches from his visor. However, that was exactly what Saber had intended. Whether he blocked it with steel or hand mattered not.
Saber released the compressed air that shrouded her blade. A hurricane erupted from her sword's center.
As the boundary of her Invisible Air dissolved, the legendary blade began to manifest, its golden radiance hidden beneath the storm she unleashed. An iron mace of condensed atmosphere was discharged point-blank at the knight.
"—Let the winds be scattered! [Strike Air]!"
The tempest was finally liberated, devastating everything in its path. The road was pulverized, and the aftershocks of the gale snapped the trees nearby like twigs. The sheer power left the immediate vicinity in ruins.
Tohsaka and Emiya were certain that no one could survive such a Noble Phantasm at point-blank range. It was a logical conclusion.
Yet, as the dust cleared, the sight that greeted them was one of sheer disbelief. Berserker stood before Saber, alive. Tohsaka's voice cracked with shock.
"...He dodged it? A Noble Phantasm triggered at that distance... and he evaded?"
Indeed, Berserker had reacted just before the air expanded, jerking his head aside to narrowly avoid the brunt of the strike. He had not escaped completely, however; half of his visor had been shattered, exposing the face beneath.
Tohsaka turned to look at Saber, expecting her to be preparing a follow-up, but the King of Knights stood frozen in profound shock.
Rin assumed Saber was surprised by the evasion, but the reason for her paralysis was something far deeper.
"H-how... how can it be you..."
Saber's hands shook upon her hilt, and her eyes were wide with a frantic, agonizing recognition. She stared at the man behind the broken mask.
She knew him. She knew him better than anyone in this world or the next.
How could she not?
The one who had always believed in her. The one who had always sacrificed himself for her. The one who loved her—and the one she loved in return.
Forgetting for a moment that he was an enemy, Saber spoke his name in a voice that trembled with heartbreak.
"—Elius..."
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A bit of banter with a friend today.
Author: Hey, friend.
Friend: Yeah?
Author: You mentioned before that Elius might be a lolicon.
Friend: Yeah, and?
Author: If that's the case, then what about the original Artoria? When you consider the actual age difference between Emiya and Artoria...
Friend: ........
That's what happened today.
I'm uploading the exam paper sketches so you can understand what I mean. I'll post more next time!
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