[Fate/ninth heaven] Forgotten Wings; validate [route I, day 3]

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Masterlist and readme are here.

validate

  —It’s morning.
  …How ridiculous. The sun is already up, from what I can see from my window, so it must be around eight or nine o’clock, and yet no one came to wake me up.
  I lie still in bed and try to analyze the situation with a confused head.
  …I feel as though I didn’t have a very good night. That’s right, my body kept aching and I couldn’t spend very long asleep even though I was exhausted. So I would wake up, roll over, go to sleep, and then the pain would wake me up again. How stupid.
  If we were going to school, I would already have missed homeroom. As it is, Rose will probably yell at me.
  Gah, I’m a failure even as a magic user.

  After I’ve washed my face and put clothes on, I can remember what I’m supposed to be doing now.
  Surely enough, after that night of torture, I can feel a little something in the air circulating, and flowing faintly into my raw Magic Circuits.
  This must be the “mana” in the air.

  It doesn’t even need to be said, but magical energy has components.
  “Mana” is the large source of magic in the air, that can be manipulated by skilled magi, and “od” is the smaller source that resides within any living thing.
  Up until now, I had trouble absorbing and manipulating mana, so whenever I use spells it’s always using my own od.
  This works well for some magi. For instance, one of the five sorcerers in the world, the famous Aozaki Aoko, is said to be able to work the Fifth Sorcery and accomplish miracles just using her od and one Magic Circuit.
  But it also doesn’t need to be said that I can’t possibly compare to a sorcerer.
  I practice magic because my master willed that I should hone the skills I have. I may not be very good at it, but the skills I have are all because of that.

  Because of Rose’s help, I should now be able to use a little bit of mana.
  It wasn’t anything I was fit to learn before, but now that I’ve the ability, Rose pounded the knowledge of how to do it into my head.
  Even so, my Magic Circuit has been on for a long time and it still feels sore and irritated (although nowhere near as bad as before), so I reverse the switch and head gingerly into the living room.
  My nausea and pain disappear, and I’m left only feeling groggy.
  Well, it’s better than nothing, so I head to make myself some breakfast.

  …Rose isn’t anywhere around.
  I wonder where she went.
  …Um, when I first woke up I could feel something strange, but I’m not sure if it was my imagination or not. In any case, the only place I can imagine her hiding in is the basement.
  That’s the place where I’m supposed to summon my Servant, after all.
  And from Rose’s lecturing last night, this should probably take a large magic circle to accomplish.
  The only place to put that is the basement, Rose’s workshop. It’s the most spiritually advantageous area for such a ridiculous summoning, too, so I should go down and join her. She did say something about there not being many Servants left to summon.
  And that there are certain Servants it would be better to summon than others.

  As I head for the staircase, I see the clock.
  It’s eleven thirteen.
  How long have I been standing around with a useless sleepy head? Or have I really been lying around sleeping for that long, even though it feels like I barely got a few hours of rest?
  …I think it would be better not to worry about such things.

  “Oh, you’re awake.”
  As expected, Rose is down in the basement.
  The electric lights are on, but the space is transformed.
  This is Rose’s workshop and her study, so she usually has carpeting here as rugs, and a number of bookshelves and desks. But she’s shoved all the furniture against the walls, and rolled up the carpeting. She’s balancing a book in her arm and holding chalk, and a large circle is already halfway inscribed on the bare stone.
  “Good timing. I thought you were going to leave me to do all this myself, you ingrate.”
  “Hey now. You don’t need to go so far as to say something like that, I wouldn’t make you do all the work if I’m going to be the Master now.”
  “That’s nice to hear. Come over here and help then, would you?”
  Rose gives me a second piece of chalk and, with a lot of checking back to make sure the circle is diagrammed correctly, we reproduce the glyph in her book.
  “This should do it for the form. Now to actually make the glyph, we have to trace this out in blood. …Well, melted-down magical artifacts would do too, but we haven’t got the funds for that kind of thing.”
  Rose holds up a syringe and a cord.
  “Give me your right arm.”
  She asks for the one that has no so-called holy bruise on it, even though it’s usually the left arm that you take blood from.
  She fills up a couple of syringes, then takes blood from her own left arm and pours our blood into a small bucket. Then she takes out a paintbrush.
  …Um, there’s something a little weird about using something so mundane for a magic circle this important, but if I complain about that out loud, she’ll probably hit me.
  I don’t want to die. Frankly, it would be a waste to die for such a small thing, too.
  …It’s hard to reconcile in my still-sleepy brain how someone can exude the full majesty of a legitimate magus while diligently tracing the chalk outlines of a magic circle with a paintbrush and blood, but I suppose that the willingness to get one’s hands dirty is also an essential part of being a user of magic.
  In the olden days, every magus had to perform rites like this to use great magic like this kind of summoning. That was before Magic Crests were used to pass down a family’s magic and the need for big rituals was reduced.
  …This really is a piece of a past that’s two hundred years old.

  “Done. Okay, now we have to wait for this to dry.”
  Rose stands up and puts her hands on her hips, puffed up with pride.
  “Well, I have to say I’m happy with how it came out even though somebody was just standing around being useless. Come on, we should have some lunch while we wait. Both of us need something sugary around now, anyway.”
  She takes my shoulder and leads me away from this place, back up to the living room.

  …Well, I’m surprised.
  Rose really did mean it when she said she was giving us sugary food.
  …She probably emptied out half her secret stash of chocolate, and the rest of the fruit buns we haven’t finished yet are on the table too. It would be almost laughable if I didn’t know Rose well enough to know that she guards her chocolate zealously.
  “If you have any more questions, now would be the time to ask.”
  I think about it for a while, then nod.
  “Um, you said before that I want to try to summon Lancer or Saber, but how do I do that? Is there some particular way to determine which Servant you get?”
  Rose frowns.
  “Well, since Servants are Heroic Spirits, they’re heroes from the past or present or future, right? So ordinarily, if you’re trying to get a particular hero, you need to have something connected to them with you when you do the spell.”
  “Something connected to them…?”
  “Yeah, like a bone or a piece of their armor, or a piece of jewelry they always carried. But obviously we don’t have anything like that, so when you summon a Servant, you’ll get one that’s suited to you. And as long as the other Servants haven’t gotten summoned already, I don’t think that’ll be Assassin. Hiding in the shadows and waiting for the chance to strike—in other words, setting up sneaky strategies instead of fighting head-on—isn’t really your style.”
  …Um, does she mean she doesn’t think I could do that? Coming from Rose, I don’t know whether that’s a compliment or an insult.
  “One more thing. You said yesterday that ‘the winner gets the Holy Grail’, but how does that even happen? I can’t really imagine a magical cup popping out of the air when all the Servants but yours get defeated, after all.”
  Rose nods and sits back.
  “Well, the Holy Grail in this land isn’t actually a cup. Um, in the past, the Einzbern family always made a vessel to help draw it down, and none of the vessels were ever cups. Think of the Holy Grail as kind of a magic-run wish-granting machine… but then, I don’t know what the Holy Grail actually looks like, so I only understand the theory of it.
  “You’re making a face like you don’t get it, so let’s skip the complicated stuff.
  “You’re wrong about the Holy Grail just popping up in front of the victor. This is a ritual, so the place that the Holy Grail appears is always one of the four magical compass points in Fuyuki. The first time, it was in a cave under the Ryudou Temple. The second time it was in the Tohsaka workshop. The third time it was at the church, and the fourth time it appeared at the burned field in Shinto. That’s how the field got burned, anyhow. The fifth war it returned to the cave, so this time we know it’s going to manifest in the Tohsaka workshop again.
  “From what I hear, the Grail fills up in proportion to how many Servants get defeated, so usually by the time that four or five are dead, it might start to manifest. It won’t reach its magical peak until at least six Servants die, though, so it’s useless trying to call down the Grail and use it before then.
  “But because we know where the Grail will appear, of course we’re going to go there when it’s almost time so that we’ll be ready. Because of that, the final battle in the Grail War tends to be at the altar before the Holy Grail. Do you understand now?”
  “…Kind of. Um, but now I have another question.”
  Rose nods again.
  “We should have time for one more. So, what is it?”
  “This is a pretty twisted ritual. The three main families that started the war—what kind of wish did they want badly enough to start slaughtering Heroic Spirits for?”
  It seems like a ritual where the purest and best of souls are used as sacrificial lambs is a terrible sin or a sacrilege. I’m starting to feel a little queasy just listening to this.
  Rose gives me a soft smile, like she understands how I feel.
  “It was the Einzbern family’s idea to start with… well, it’s said they sought the Grail for a thousand years. Can you imagine? The Makiri magus wanted to use the Grail to create paradise or something ridiculous like that, and the Tohsaka magus just wanted it because their land was used. The Einzbern family wanted to use the Grail to achieve the Third Sorcery, though, or at least their particular brand of it, a performance called the Heaven’s Feel. The Grail War’s proper name is still the Heaven’s Feel because of that.”
  “That’s complicated. But none of those families are competing anymore, so only outsiders can have the Grail now, right?”
  “Yep. The Makiri magi died out, the Tohsaka head isn’t here, and Einzbern finally won, so they’re satisfied.”
  “What happened to the Einzbern magus? You’d think they’d be a worldwide sensation if they can do the Third Sorcery now.”
  Rose shakes her head.
  “…At the end of the Fifth Grail War, the Einzbern magus achieved the Grail. She performed the Heaven’s Feel, reached the Origin, and disappeared from this world.”
  In other words, she died.
  I try to picture it—an unknown grand magus performing a miracle with the prize she won, purchased with her own life as well as those of her enemies. It must have been beautiful, terrible, and sad.
  I wonder how her Servant felt, and the friends and allies she left behind.
  “What a selfish ritual.”
  “Isn’t it, though? And to think we’re in it for bragging rights. …Well, that and to keep any crazy people from laying hands on the Grail and destroying the world with it.” Rose says it like a joke.
  “But, Ein. You mustn’t think that Servants are just unwilling sacrifices being laid on the altar and having their throats cut, you know? The Servants come willingly and respond to our summons because they have wishes too. If you don’t like the picture of the Grail War I’ve showed you, all you really need to do is win. Not for your sake, not because Hector-sama ordered it, but to make your Servant’s wish come true.”

  —To make my Servant’s wish come true.
  To grant the wish of someone I don’t know yet—it’s a risk deciding that’s what I’ll fight for, but it’s better than just fighting because someone told me I had to. Rose is right.
  We walk down into the basement, and I stand in the magic circle.
  I can feel Rose pouring her magical energy into the circle, and as I think about the Servant I haven’t yet met, I switch my Magic Circuit on.
  The connection is sore, so it feels even worse than usual.
  Like I’ve stepped into water that’s boiling so hot, my skin is freezing and withering away.
  Like molten lead is being poured into my veins.
  Like I’m being stabbed with a thousand needles over and over again.
  Like a desert wind is sanding the flesh off my body with each passing second.
  The key turns in the latch, and my violated nerves turn inside out. From now on I, Ein, am a magic user even before I am a human.

  The magic circle glows brightly with the power Rose and I have put into it.
  I can feel it pulsing, and despite the immense pain of being at odds with the world, I feel as though I am holding all the power in the world.

  Rose gave me a piece of paper with the words written on it, but I don’t need to look. They’re carved into my heart the way that the magic is carved into every cell of my body.

  “Ye first, O silver, O iron.
  O stone of the foundation, O archduke of the contract.
  Hear me in the name of our great teacher, the Archmagus Schweinorg.
  Let the descending winds be as a wall.
  Let the gates in all directions be shut, rising above the crown, and let the three-forked roads to the Kingdom revolve.
  Shut. Shut. Shut. Shut. Shut.
  Five perfections for each repetition.
  And now, let the filled sigils be annihilated in my stead!”

  —The sensation of a gate being opened in front of me.
  More power than I have ever touched in my life is flowing through me.
  I’m not stupid enough to think that I’m controlling it. Rather, it is using me, and if I resist it will kill me.
  To practice magic is to abandon common sense and embrace the death that is always beside you, so if I make a wrong move I’ll be annihilated before I can even complete the contract.

  I swallow hard and wait for the power to fill me up.
  This is my magic, Rose’s magic, and the magic of the world.

  “Set!
  Let thy body rest under my dominion, let my fate rest in thy blade.
  If thou submittest to the call of the Holy Grail, and if thou wilt obey this mind, this reason, then thou shalt respond.
  I make my oath here.
  I am that person who is to become the virtue of all heaven.
  I am that person who is covered with the evil of all hell.
  Come past thy restraining rings, and be thou the hands that protect the balance—!!”

  Light.
  Light and power are streaming into this underground room, and the power leaves my body as well as the circle. There’s nothing here but waves and streamers of light like mist.

  And through the light,
  comes a strong but quiet voice.

  “—I ask of you. Are you my Master?”

  The light begins to clear, and I can’t breathe.
  Black, wings.
  Black wings and skin like white marble, blood-colored robes and a brilliant scarlet cloak. A single spot of white in all the red—a cravat, carefully tied. Hair the color of gold dust, and garnet-colored eyes.
  In his hand,
  there is a trident-like weapon that is too brilliant to be bound by the laws of this world,
  a spear like the ones in a half-forgotten dream.

  But I hardly notice it.
  I cannot take my eyes off the creature—the man, who seems barely older than me—standing before me in silent expectation.

  “—I ask again, are you my Master?”

  Pain.
  Sharp pain like a burn rips down my arm, and I clutch it with a cry. As I look down at it, I see that the bruise is gone, replaced by three entwined marks like lightning strikes. This must be the Command Spell, but I’ll worry about it later.
  “Y—yes. I am—I’m the one who summoned you here,” I manage at last.

  The golden-haired Servant bows his head once, in acknowledgement.

  “I, the Servant Lancer, have come forth in response to your summons.
  From this time forth, my spear shall be with you, and your fate shall be with me.
  Now, our contract is complete.”

  —I don’t know how long we stood there.
  Rose must have been waiting for me to do something, but I’d almost forgotten she was in the room with me as I couldn’t look away from the one calling himself Lancer.
  Lancer keeps looking at me steadfastly with an expressionless face, as if waiting.
  I’ve forgotten what plans I might have had for this moment, as I am struck speechless by the sight of Lancer. His spear, his wings—beyond a Heroic Spirit, there is no possibility that he isn’t an angel, and I can’t believe I’m sharing the presence of something so holy.
  —What is it, though?
  It isn’t just his holiness that keeps me unable to speak, but what is it?
  This is a feeling that I don’t have words to explain—

  “Master, I await your order.”
  And I realize I’ve forgotten something incredibly important.
  “Um—Lancer, right? Can I call you Lancer?” He doesn’t reply, and it would feel strange adding an honorific to a name like that. “My name is Ein.”
  All I really know is that since he’s introduced himself, it’s only polite to do the same, no matter who or what he is otherwise.
  Lancer tilts his head slightly to the side, as if this is unexpected.
  “…Master, have you any orders for me?”
  Uh.
  …This is going to take some getting used to.

  “Ein, hurry up. Are you going to bring Lancer with us to the church, or what?” Rose asks at last, breaking the awkward silence.
  Lancer turns to her as if noticing her for the first time.
  “Is this my Master’s objective then, magus?”
  “—Wait just a second, all right? First of all, Lancer. It’s not ‘Master’, it’s Ein. I’m not anywhere near a skilled enough magus to be comfortable getting called something ridiculous like Master. And, um, this is Rose, and she’s helping me—us.
  “About the church, though, we have to report to our master—Hector-sama—right away. It’s across town, but do you want to come with us, Lancer?”
  …Oh. Lancer is frowning.
  I’m not sure what I said that was strange, but now I’m a little worried. Am I already making a fool of myself when I’ve just summoned a Servant…?
  “…If that is what you wish, then. …Yes, I shall call you ‘Ein’.”
  Whoa.
  Suddenly my heart is trying to jump out of my chest.
  “And of course I shall accompany you, as it is a Servant’s duty to protect its Master from all possible danger.”
  Um, I’m not sure what possible danger there is in going to report to the church, but if he says so. I think it’s a bad idea to contradict Lancer, who I’m starting to realize is the stubborn type.
  Rose sighs. …She has a hand over her face, and her expression is the same one she always has when she’s thinking something like “You’re really stupid”.
  “Uh… are you going to keep this up for long? ‘Cause introductions and things can wait until later, but Hector-sama’s gonna get pissed at us if we keep him waiting. And it’s a really bad idea to piss him off, Ein. So—we’ll eat when we get back, but we need to head over to Shinto right away. Are we going to take a taxi, or are we going to walk?”
  Um. I think about it for a moment, then turn slightly so that I can answer her without turning my back to Lancer, which would be rude.
  “If we take the shortcuts, it should be okay walking, right? Leaving aside that it would be a problem explaining Lancer to a taxi driver, wouldn’t it be best to let Lancer see the town firsthand? This is going to be the battleground of the Sixth Grail War, after all…”
  Rose puts her hands on her hips.
  “Wow, I’m impressed. You actually gave an answer that made sense. Well, what do you think, Lancer?”
  Lancer inclines his head.
  “As you suggest, observing the battleground before the battle occurs would be advantageous. You need not worry that my appearance attract undue attention, however, as I shall assume spirit form while we are in public.”
  Oh. Rose explained before that Servants can switch between being spirits and using physical vessels at will, and that in spirit form Servants don’t need as much of their Master’s prana. It’s a good state to use for stealth, or if their Master is having trouble giving them magical energy.
  “That’s a good idea, Lancer. Um—shall we go, then?”

  It’s sundown, and the town is dyed red.
  Not many people are around, and no one is paying attention, so we’re freely able to talk to Lancer and no one will notice that anything is strange. Furthermore, Lancer doesn’t speak much, so it’s really just Rose and I explaining different parts of the town.
  Lancer, the Servant that I summoned, does not seem to be all that talkative.
  However, Rose has relaxed around him and is acting like she knows him well enough to just chat away at him.
  …Honestly, I’m impressed by her confidence. I still don’t know what to say to Lancer, and I’m the one that’s supposed to be his Master here. Even when he isn’t visible like now, he’s still a little difficult to deal with.
  I hope things will get easier in time.
  Finally, we manage to reach the church, and with a ripple, Lancer reappears.
  …There’s no mistaking it, his face is creased with dislike as he looks up at the church.
  “Um. Is something wrong, Lancer?”
  “—I do not trust this place. It has known evil.”
  With a tense face, he says something ridiculous.
  Rose crosses her arms and nods.
  “Certainly, this place was a battleground once, but…”

  …According to Rose, the Holy Grail appeared here once and was the site of the final battle in the Third Grail War.
  Also, since the Third Grail War, this has been the place where the war’s supervisor has stayed. Because this is a battle between magi, there is a high potential for ordinary civilians to get involved, so eventually the Magic Association and Holy Church sent someone to keep an eye on the Masters and take care of any damages caused by their fights.
  And, of course, with something like a Holy Grail being the prize, the Holy Church wanted confirmation as to whether or not it was anything like the Holy Grail that received the blood of the Christ.
  In the last Grail War, the supervisor was a priest named Kotomine, but apparently he was one of the casualties. He was replaced by an old man that helped sort out the damage and then left, and from what I hear, a young nun lived in this church for a few years after that.
  She left, and now the supervisor of the current Grail War—Rose’s and my master, Hector-sama—is staying here.

  “If this is where your business lies, it is inadvisable for you to enter such a bloodstained place. I must ask you not to linger here.”
  I glance at Rose, who looks as perplexed as I am.
  “…There really shouldn’t be anything wrong with this church. Our master, the supervisor of the Grail War, is here, after all. If there was something wrong with it, he’d definitely know and fix it.”
  Lancer still seems very anxious. This is the most agitated I’ve seen him since he first appeared.
  “I see. Then I cannot persuade you any differently. I suppose it will be all right for now, though, as Rose will be with you.”
  Um, Rose looks surprised about this, but I’m sure Lancer can tell that she’s a strong magus. I’m more worried about something else.
  “Aren’t you coming in with us?”
  “—I will not. I would not enter such a place unless there were truly no other choice. …Be careful, Master.”
  Ugh. He’s back to calling me Master again.
  I don’t know what he’s worried about, but Lancer is concerned for our safety, so I smile to reassure him.
  “We’ll be back soon, Lancer.”
  Leaving the scarlet knight standing outside with a torn expression, Rose and I push open the heavy doors and walk inside the church.

  “You two have certainly taken your time in arriving.”
  Standing at the pulpit is a familiar man staring at us from beneath the cowl of his heavy blue robes, radiating a crushing presence of power.
  …This is Hector-sama, my master. The one who directed us to come here for the Holy Grail, the one who assigned Rose to help me, the man who raised me.
  I don’t know all the details, but he became the supervisor for this Holy Grail War. And as the supervisor, it would be inappropriate for him to try to take the Holy Grail, so he sent Rose and me here so that one of us would become a Master and win. Hector-sama said that now the main participants in this war are no longer active, outsiders seeking the Grail for personal gain will be the only people becoming Masters, so we have to win to keep it out of the hands of anyone who would use it with evil intentions.
  It’s a shame that Hector-sama can’t become a Master and must rely on someone like me, though. Just by sensing his immense magical presence, it’s easy to tell—
  If I’m not even the equal of an adult magus, and Rose is equal to about two or three, Hector-sama is worth ten magi.
  He is much older than he appears, and has studied magic for decades, amassing more than enough power to easily crush everything in this demanding presence of his.
  —So if Hector-sama were to have become a Master, he would absolutely and without question win this Grail War.
  However, the Magic Association and Holy Church felt that it would be more appropriate for such a massive power to protect the mages and civilians who have nothing to do with the war, but might be drawn in.
  Even though I’m uneasy about fighting, I agree.
  Hector-sama is the best choice for a supervisor there could have been, other than one of the sorcerers themselves.

  “It’s my fault, Hector-sama. I wasted time before we left, and we were slow arriving because I wanted to show my Servant the town.”
  Hector-sama nods. There’s no change in his expression, but the immense pressure on my body lightens a little bit.
  “…So you were indeed successful in summoning a Servant, I see. That Servant would be the presence I can feel outside, then?”
  I nod. …Hector-sama is really amazing, as not even I can sense Lancer outside, and I’m his Master.
  …Well, it might just be my lack of ability that’s the cause.
  “Although Rose is definitely the more skilled of the two of you, other magi will likely not be able to sense that you are a Master. With the proper support, you should do well in this Grail War. It is regrettable, but of course I cannot aid you now.”
  I nod again. It wouldn’t be fair for Hector-sama to help us, even though we did enter the Grail War because he said so. He’s supposed to be neutral now.
  “However, if the time should come when you lose your Servant, you must come here if you wish to be protected from other Masters.”
  …Um, I don’t know that that’s ever going to happen, because as far as I can tell, I’ll definitely die before Lancer does no matter what.
  I think it would be a bad idea to say this to Hector-sama, though, so I just nod again to show that I understand.
  “This means that the Grail War has officially begun, however, as your Lancer was the last Servant to be summoned.”
  “You can tell which Servant Ein has without us saying?” Rose asks.
  Hector-sama smiles very slightly.
  “As the supervisor, all I can tell is when each Servant is summoned. The only Servants that had yet to be summoned when we spoke last were Saber, Assassin, and Lancer; Saber and Assassin were summoned too early to have been called by Ein, as I know that you would have reported to me sooner had that been the case. Lancer, however, was summoned slightly less than an hour ago. You waited until there was only one Servant left; as I stated before, you certainly did cut it close.”
  …Whoa.
  I’ve never noticed it before, but Hector-sama’s smile is even scarier than Rose’s.
  Uhh. I did something bad.
  Rose, however, gives a long annoyed-sounding sigh and plants her hands on her hips.
  “Well, it’s not like we could help it. The sign only appeared yesterday after all, and I had a lot to explain along with the setup. If I’d been the Master, I could have summoned my Servant yesterday, just after the sign appeared.”
  …I was wrong.
  Rose is definitely much scarier. She’s even confident enough to stand up to Hector-sama, so she’s terrifying.
  “So? Can you make it up to us by at least telling us the order the Servants got summoned? Anyone could ask you that, right?”
  Hector-sama’s smile grows, and I give up on trying to decide which of them is scariest.
  “Certainly.
  “Caster was first, summoned as soon as the opportunity to summon a Servant became available. Rider was summoned a few days later, and all the other Servants were summoned within the past few days. For instance, Berserker was summoned yesterday morning; Saber was summoned last night, and Assassin was summoned after midnight, meaning this morning. And as you know, Lancer was barely an hour ago.”
  “So then, it’s really…”
  “Yes. The sixth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City has officially begun. Once you have left this church, you may not return unless you are seeking my protection. So if you have anything else to say, now is the time.”
  Rose draws herself up, and I look from her to Hector-sama.
  “You don’t need to worry. We will definitely win.”
  “I see.
  “Then there is nothing else to say. I will see you again when your Grail War is at its end, then. Take the greatest care from now on. You are Masters to Lancer now; from now until the Grail is won, you will always be at the point of kill or be killed.”
  We turn our backs on Hector-sama and walk to the exit of the church.
  For a moment.
  The magical presence that fills this building becomes so intense that I can barely muster the strength to breathe.

  “Are you finished, Master?”
  Lancer is waiting when we’re outside.
  “…Yeah, we’re done. And you can relax, because we won’t come back unless we can’t think of anything else.”
  Some of the tension in Lancer’s body disappears, and for a moment I think he almost smiles.
  Instead, the scarlet knight turns, spreading his wings wide.
  “Then, let us return. The battle begins from here, correct?”
  “…Yeah. We’ll go home first of all. Rose has a boundary field set up there so that other magi will have trouble breaking in, so we can make our plans there. Um, I’m no good with magic, so we shouldn’t move recklessly.”
  “…It is as you say, Master. So then—”
  Lancer stands and waits, and I realize he wants us to lead him.

  …We walk in silence through the neighborhood, as the sun has set almost completely and the town is bathed in deep blue.
  By the time we’re over the bridge, the town is dark.
  …It’s unusually quiet even though it’s dark. Usually there still might be people moving around here or there, but tonight there aren’t any.
  “Ein, we should hurry.”
  Rose is looking around as she says this, her body as tense as Lancer’s.
  “Huh? Why’s that?”
  “—On the news lately they’ve been talking about vandalism incidents where the outskirts of town have been damaged. There might be Masters that are already active, even though the war didn’t technically start until right now.”
  …I remember Rose watching TV the other day.
  I remember the harsh look on her face and I wonder if this is what she meant then.
  “Wow, you’re pretty smart, Onee-chan.”
  —I look up.
  In the wide empty street ahead of us,
  stands a familiar pair of girls.

  White dresses and blue cloaks.
  The moon shines down, giving them white hazy haloes like a silver corona.
  The girl with pink hair is standing in front of the girl with red hair, giving us a big confident smile.

  There’s something,
    …red,
        …on her right hand.

  “Pri…mea,” the girl behind her says softly.
  “It’s okay, Nana-chan. There are more of us. And Master will be happy, the sooner this ends—right?”
  The girl called Primea is still smiling as she holds up her right hand, with its Command Spell burned in red.

  “Ein—”
  Rose breathes out, tense, and Lancer steps past us to stand before us.

  “Is this your Servant, Onii-chan?”
  The girl called Primea smiles happily.
  “Are we going to fight now, Onii-chan?”
  As if nothing would make her happier.

  …I feel power gathering to Lancer.
  Without a word from me, his Master, Lancer unleashes his killing intent and raises his red spear.
  “If you intend to threaten my Master here, then you will die.”
  …Primea is laughing.
  “Okay! You have a funny Servant, Onii-chan. This will be fun!
  “Come out, Rider!”

  With the same ripple in the air,
  an armored woman appears beside the girl.
  She’s much taller than me, and is carrying a lance. …Her lance isn’t a spear like Lancer’s, but rather a javelin meant to be wielded from horseback. It is heavy, but is covered in engravings of flowers. Rider herself has several blue roses in her long brown hair.
  She has a commanding presence like Lancer, and although she looks human, she is clearly far more than human.
  …I can understand why she’s called Rider as she seems like a knight that would fight from horseback.

  I want to ask why.
  I want to ask why Lancer is so eager to fight.
  I want to ask why such a small girl has to be my enemy.
  I want to ask why I’m not even allowed any time to think before I have to start fighting for my life, but—!

  “Ein.”
  Rose, next to me, has lit up her Magic Crest and is glaring at the two girls.
  “I want you to listen to me.
  “You can’t underestimate them. These two are top-class magi, no matter how young they are. And since we can’t tell who Rider is just by looking at her weapon, we’re at a really big disadvantage here.
  “…Lancer and I will be fine, so when we start fighting, you’ve got to run for the house. Start running and don’t look back. You don’t stand a chance here, and if you die, Lancer will too.”
  “But—”
  “Just do what I tell you! Damn it, we don’t have time for you to be stupid here!”
  I grit my teeth.
  I don’t want to just run away—

  “…Jumping into battle this way is hasty, Primea.”
  Rider speaks in a melodic voice, looking at the girl with the concerned eyes of an older sister.
  “The magus isn’t the Master, and she seems powerful. Also, Lancer is a Heroic Spirit from the age of the gods, so my Noble Phantasm may not be very effective.”
  “What are you talking about, Rider? You know we have the advantage here, so it’d be bad if we didn’t use it and let them get away.”
  “You’re right, of course.
  “—Lancer, my Master wishes for us to fight. Will you accept our challenge?”
  I can feel Lancer’s intent to kill growing stronger.
  “I shall not retreat. One such as I knows no surrender.”
  “—I see, then there’s no need to hold back! Prepare yourself!”

  A clash of steel.
  A clash of steel that looks like a thunderclap and sounds like a ringing bell.
  My eyes couldn’t even track the movement, but the spear and the lance have collided, and Lancer and Rider are striking at each other with a furious intent to kill—!

  I can’t move.
  I’ll die if I move.
  Even though Rider’s only target so far seems to be Lancer, even though Rider’s Master and the other girl are only watching the fight, I know with absolute certainty that I will die if I move.
  I can’t move—

  Beyond being unable to move,
  I am captivated by the impossibility of this battle.

  I understand now that Servants are not human.
  They look human, they speak and act like humans do, but the way they move is too insane—no human could ever move his body so quickly.
  And no human could take in or exude that sheer amount of magical energy—

  Rider, who is slightly taller than Lancer and wearing heavy armor, is moving just as fast as him and does not seem to be exerting herself.
  Her lance sweeps from side to side at Lancer, who deflects her weapon with his own, and makes stabs for his body, which he sidesteps. He uses that kind of opportunity to attack her, but she in turn avoids and deflects his attacks.
  A spear can follow a line or a point. A line is easy to track, and a point less so, but when feints are thrown in to attempt to outwit the enemy, it is even more difficult to trace.
  So far, no blows have been landed upon Rider or upon Lancer, and neither of them seems concerned about taking one.
  Their level of skill is so impossibly high that dodging and striking must be second nature, as Rider speaks out above the clamor of their weapons.

  “I’ve never seen a Noble Phantasm like yours, Lancer. Just what manner of spear is that?”

  Her expression and tone are casual as though this is a taunt she expects no answer to.

  “As you were mortal when you were alive, you would not have seen such a thing,” Lancer replies, his voice as even as ever. “Your weapon is proud, but can it compete—?”

  Their movements, already faster than the human eye can easily track, speed up even more—!

  Beside me, Rose grits her teeth.
  …That’s right, shouldn’t she—?
  “Rose, can’t you do something to help Lancer?”
  “—Don’t ask impossible things, idiot!”
  She glares at me.
  “First of all, Rider has strong magic resistance! And I don’t know if I could perform some kind of great magic that wouldn’t hit Lancer too, but in the first place, I don’t have that kind of magical energy right now!”
  …Oh. How stupid of me, I actually forgot.
  I wasn’t the only one working to summon Lancer. Rose gave me—gave us everything that she had, so she can’t cast magic unless we’re really in danger now.
  Damn, so Lancer really is our only way out of this…!

  The long whirling blades are clashing and sending off sparks in every direction.
  Even I can feel that an immense amount of magical energy is contained in every blow, and from what I can see, the faces of both fighters are creased with concentration.
  But Lancer is moving forward steadily.
  Meaning that—Lancer is driving Rider back…!

  There’s a flash,
  and a loud clang.
  Lancer and Rider jump apart.
  Lancer doesn’t even seem winded, but Rider is looking at him in consideration.
  “—Master, it may be unwise to continue like this.”
  The girl called Primea nods to her Servant, and then turns to the girl behind her.
  “Nana-chan, you heard her. If we wanna win, you guys can’t just hide, and Rider wants to fight too, right?”
  …The girl called Nana looks down and nods her head.
  She seems uneasy, but I guess she’ll do what she’s told.
  The silver knight is watching them from the corner of her eye with a smile.
  “…Master, what are your orders? Shall I press the attack, or do we need to leave here quickly?”
  Primea smiles again.
  That same innocent smile, with that same murderous intent.
  “Yeah, it’s okay, keep fighting! ‘Cause—you’re the Servant that I summoned. I believe you can win. So it’s not even a problem.”
  “—You heard my Master, Lancer. Will you back out while you still can?”
  Lancer stares her down steadfastly.
  “This is not an amusing jest. You and I are both aware that you are outmatched. Shall I take this as a declaration that you wish to perish for these foolish sentiments, and abandon your right to the Holy Grail?”
  Rider narrows her eyes at this cold statement, and smiles a smile that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
  “—We’ll see which of us is the foolish one, angelic Lancer.”
  And with a rush like speeding wind, Rider runs forward and attacks Lancer again—!

  “Rider!”
  The girl called Nana lets out a cry.
  It doesn’t seem like she shouted in fear, so I don’t understand at first until Rose curses next to me.
  Without warning,
  Lancer is fighting on two fronts—!

  “Guh…!”
  …Lancer is struggling.
  It’s not surprising.
  Lancer is easily more powerful than Rider on his own, but now when the knight of roses slashes at him, another knight in silver-blue armor strikes from his other side…!
  It doesn’t seem as though Rider has duplicated herself or something ridiculous like that.
  No, while the other knight has a similar build, this is a woman with black hair and a blue lance with an ominous pulse…!

  I see now.
  It’s impossible and I don’t understand how, but I get it.
  These girls are both Masters,
  and there are two Riders…!

  Damn, why didn’t Hector-sama say anything about this?
  As the supervisor, he should know that the rules were broken and two Riders got summoned into this Grail War.
  He should know, but he didn’t say anything, so either he’s set us up to fail or he thought it wouldn’t be a problem somehow—

  But I can’t think of such things.
  I don’t have the time to think of such things, as Lancer is being cornered before my very eyes…!
  There has to be something I can do, but damn, I need some kind of a weapon before I can even fight, and there’s nothing around here like that!
  “Rose…!”
  “I said run, Ein! Hurry up and get the hell out of here! The house isn’t far now, and you’ll be safe in the boundary field!”
  …Oh.
  I can feel magical power gathering to the enemy Masters, Primea and Nana.

  “Oh. Onee-chan, are you going to get in our way?”
  “Keh. What do you think I’m doing, you stupid little girl? Stay away from us unless you want to get hurt!”
  Primea leans over, smiling angelically.
  “—I like you. You’re a brave Onee-chan, saying things like that. But we don’t have to fight, you know. Our only target is the one behind you.”
  She means, me.
  She means that if Rose surrenders and lets them kill me—she won’t be hurt.
  …And Rose is telling me that she’ll lay down her life to give me a chance to escape.
  No…, way.
  The Grail War has only just started, and we’re already in this ridiculous of a situation…?
  “I’m telling you to scram, kid. Scram when I tell you to!”
  Rose is standing firmly in front of me, with mana pouring into her Magic Crest and a feeling of danger radiating from her.
  But her fists are shaking slightly.
  Either she’s afraid or she’s exhausted, and both of those things are bad signs.
  …It means that she’s not going to be able to last for very long against these two enemy magi, and Lancer is too busy trying to fend off the two lance-wielding knights to come help us.

  “Ugh…!”
  Pain stabs through the Command Spell on my arm, and I look over to the battle.
  Lancer has been wounded.
  He cannot afford to falter or stagger, and so he doesn’t, but I can hear blood splashing onto the ground.
  The two Riders know this, and they press their attack even harder.

  …If this keeps up, Lancer will die.
  Lancer will be torn apart by the two enemies he faces, and he’ll die.
  Just like Rose will die trying to protect me, and then with their blood all but on my hands, I too will die.
  Making their sacrifices meaningless.
  …This is ridiculous.
  I only just became a Master a few hours ago, so this is ridiculous.
  First of all, it’s unbelievable that the first enemy Masters I face are cheaters that summoned two Servants when there should only be one.
  That’s against the rules and someone should have done something.
  …So aren’t we supposed to be “someone” here?
  Aren’t we supposed to win this battle, as the representatives of the will of the supervisor?
  And it would be more than ridiculous for Lancer, an angel, to lose to heroes that were mortal when they lived just because he’s worried about us.
  And it would be even more stupid if Rose died here, as she’s going to go to the Clock Tower in a few years and become a brilliant magus and help a lot of people.
  …And it would be the stupidest of all for me to cost my allies their lives in such a wasteful way…!

  I raise my right arm and open my Magic Circuit.

  At that time.
  Thin bolts of light rain down from the sky.

  …Arrows.
  These are arrows of magical energy, that disperse when they hit the ground.
  The enemy Masters, Nana and Primea, run back to where they were standing to avoid being hit, and even Lancer and the two Riders stop fighting to look for where those arrows came from.

  …There, on top of the high wall that frames the side of this walkway, stands a young man with an ornate bow.
  He’s exuding an insane amount of magical energy, and looking down on our battle with ferocious green eyes.
  A little behind him is a familiar silhouette, but all my attention is on this new Servant, who must be Archer as he’s carrying a bow.

  “Ah—so we’re not the only ones,” the black-haired Rider says simply.
  …What does she mean?
  Archer says nothing, but turns to his Master, who raises a hand and points.

  Archer shakes his head.
  “I don’t really want to fight you, but it’s my Master’s order. And besides—shouldn’t it be beneath knights like us to gang up on others?”

  The first Rider smiles.
  “We have our orders too—I suppose I should call you Archer, now.”
  I see, so Archer and the Riders know each other somehow.
  This is probably important, but even if I had the capacity to pay attention to something like that and try to figure it out right now, I’m interrupted again.

  “Saber, go!”
  …Like a rushing wind.
  Or like a commandment from a god.
  Something, or someone, with massive magical energy rushes past me.

  …When I say “massive”, I mean it exceeds Archer and the Riders, and of course exceeds we magi. This kind of power is at or near Lancer’s level.
  This power crackles in the air in the wake of the girl who runs past me to attack the two Riders who have drawn back slightly.

  Such a,
  beautiful,
  girl.

  …That’s all I can think now.
  She is not dressed for battle, but is rather wearing a heavy-looking white dress, and there is a gleaming silvery tiara resting atop her bright gold hair.
  …And she’s carrying an immense sword.

  Saber rushes down the Riders with a war cry like fine music, swinging her sword.
  …I can see the trail of holy energy the sword leaves as it knocks aside the Riders’ weapons.
  I can see the trail of holy energy without trying.
  …It is an impossibly concentrated blow of magical energy, truly what one would call a phenomenon rather than magic.
  Leaving aside the power of the girl, the aura of her sword alone could probably crush me.
  And on top of that, it’s such a large sword, but she’s swinging it as though it doesn’t weigh anything at all.

  …Um, I think we’re all in shock, as the Riders aren’t parrying very well and even Lancer is staring at the girl as she fights.

  “…We can’t stay here now…!”
  Nana rounds on Primea with a pleading face.
  “Hmm, I guess so.”
  Primea looks disinterested now.
  “Rider, this is boring. Let’s go back home.”
  The Rider wearing roses in her hair draws back, rejoining her Master. The black-haired Rider follows warily, but Saber doesn’t chase them.
  “Onee-chan, Onii-chan, we’ll come back for you guys later.”
  The words are friendly, but have a distinct undertone of “next time we meet, I’ll kill you”.

  “Do you want me to follow them?”
  Asking this, Saber turns back towards us.
  …Incredibly, she’s a girl my age.
  “No, it’s all right. Chasing those four back to their home base would be a bad idea, as we don’t know what they may have planned.”
  I whirl around.
  The one Saber was speaking to, a magus who’s probably her Master, has come up behind us.
  …Actually, he was probably nearby all that time, but as we were concentrating on Saber and what the two Riders were going to do, we didn’t notice him.
  He’s a man a few years older than me, maybe in his twenties, with long hair and a kind face. As Saber walks back towards him, I get the feeling they’re well suited for each other when they’re standing next to each other.
  …Yeah, unlike the two girls we were fighting, Saber and her Master feel like they’re good people who know and understand the difference between right and wrong.
  “Are you all right?”
  ““Huh?””
  Rose and I are both confused by the question. Lancer, who is moving to join us while holding his wounded side, doesn’t speak.
  “…I guess it’s only natural to be confused, since technically we’re opponents.”
  Saber’s Master smiles.
  …It’s a gentle smile that only makes me more convinced that he’s a nice person.
  “We were walking around town, exploring and making plans, when we sensed the magical energy of your battle and decided to see what was going on, and help if we could. We’re not supposed to start fighting until the supervisor gives his or her word, after all.”
  Oh.
  “Uh… actually, the starting bell just got rung an hour or so ago,” I explain. Rose gives me a glare, but somehow I feel like I need to say this was a legitimate battle, no matter how unfair it was.
  Saber’s Master frowns and crosses his arms.
  “…Hmm. I thought there would be some sort of signal and we would be able to tell when all the Masters were here, but I suppose I was wrong. …Then again, today was supposed to be the last day that summoning a Servant would be possible, after all.”
  Saber pats her Master’s shoulder, and it looks like she’s trying not to laugh.
  “It’s okay as long as no one got hurt too badly, right? …I see that Lancer was injured, but the wound should heal quickly as long as he rests.”
  …Wow, they really are both nice.
  We’re probably going to end up fighting each other at some point, but Saber and her Master are genuinely concerned for our well-being right now.

  Beside me, Rose crosses her arms.
  “Why did you help us? We’re enemies, aren’t we? If the Riders and their Masters had killed us, that would only make it easier for you—we’d be one less fight to face, and you could have attacked those guys when they were worn out. It doesn’t make sense.”
  Saber and her Master look at Rose blankly.
  “It wasn’t fair,” Saber’s Master says at last. “They deliberately waited for you and attacked you with superior numbers, at a time when your strength and Lancer’s Master’s is low. That kind of cheap victory over an unprepared opponent that never had a chance to compete is dishonorable, even cowardly. And I know that most situations in this war won’t be fair, but we had a chance to help, so we couldn’t pass it up.
  “Besides, Vienya was pretty insistent about it too.”
  There are hurrying footsteps, and Archer comes up to join us.
  “Those girls and their Servants are headed for the forest. From there it’s gonna be really hard to track them, so we’re giving up finding out where their base might be.”
  Saber’s Master nods.
  “All right, then. We’ve seen each other and gained some information, and no real harm was done here, so I suppose that’s good. Where’s Vienya?”
  Archer laughs. …It’s not a mean laugh, and he’s not glaring at anyone, so he seems like a pleasant person too. Actually, he seems about Saber’s and my age, too.
  “She’s coming. She wanted to get down from the wall by herself, after all.”

  Rose is still making a face like she wants to protest.
  It’s only natural, I suppose, as she doesn’t think this is a smart move from Saber’s Master. But she can’t complain because it doesn’t look like we’re being attacked, either.

  There are more footsteps,
  and Archer’s Master arrives on the road.

  …It’s another face I know.
  I shouldn’t even be surprised by now.
  The girl from yesterday, who was having trouble at the vending machine, is standing there with a red Command Spell on the back of her right hand and a ragged black bird on her shoulder.
  Instead of saying anything to Archer or to Saber and her Master, she walks right past them and up to me.
  She’s scrutinizing me from behind her hair, as if checking to make sure I’m really okay.
  When she straightens up, she smiles like she’s going to say something, but the bird on her shoulder flaps its wings and opens its beak, letting out squawking words.
  “EVEN NOW! EVEN NOW!”
  …Even now?
  She must mean she’s paid me back for my help yesterday.
  …How stupid.
  As if something trivial can be paid back by saving my life. She doesn’t understand that now I’m the one that owes her.
  Either she was really grateful, or she’s really still a kid.
  That’s funny.
  I don’t know how it’s funny, but it’s funny.
  …First of all I’m tired, so how should I be able to explain why I’m thinking something this irrational…

  …Oh.
  There’s a sharp pain in my knees, and then I’m looking up at everyone else.
  “Wha—Ein!”
  Rose turns around with a worried look on her face, and everyone else I can see looks startled.
  Why are you all up there when I’m down here? That’s not fair.
  …The next moment, everything is going warm and dark, and I can’t keep my eyes open anymore. Not even when I hear something I’ve been waiting for all day, a raised voice that tells me Lancer is done being angry with me—