The moment curiosity broke through its shackles, the man named Ryunosuke Uryu found the meaning of his life.
It was time to introduce him again—
Ryunosuke Uryu, an animal lover; a good young man with boundless curiosity and thirst for knowledge, who earnestly enjoyed life.
At the same time, he was also the serial killer causing trouble in the Alps, in the town of Lauterbrunnen.
Mind's Eye (True): B
An insight cultivated through training and discipline.
Even when driven into a corner, he could calmly assess his own condition and the enemy's abilities,
and find a way to survive. So long as there was even a 1% chance of turning things around,
he had to find a way to seize the opportunity and act.
Clairvoyance: C+
His eyesight was excellent. Both his static and dynamic vision had been enhanced.
It was effective at tracking distant targets. At higher ranks, it could even achieve x-ray vision and future sight, but at rank C, it could not reach that realm.
Reinforcement Magecraft: C
Though introductory, it was a magecraft with an exceptionally high degree of specialization. It infused an object with magical energy to "enhance its existence." Enhancing existence meant increasing a blade's sharpness, food's nutritional value, or a maid's cuteness(?).
Projection Magecraft: A+
A magecraft that materialized mirror images or imitations of objects that existed—or had once existed—in reality through magical energy. Since they were formed from magical energy, they could not remain manifested for long. Once a flaw appeared in the fantasy, they would disperse like mist. It was regarded as an extremely inefficient practice—or at least, it should have been.
Unlike ordinary Projection Magecraft (Gradation Air), which could only create empty shells with the right appearance, Projection Magecraft in this man's hands was essentially a weakened form of Unlimited Blade Works. It violated magecraft's principle of equivalent exchange, creating fantasies from nothing and becoming forbidden magecraft that eroded the world.
The moment he pushed open the door, Ryunosuke Uryu sensed the young man's blade-cold killing intent and the bloodstench so thick it could not be dissolved. He could not help but rejoice, a wide smile spreading across his face.
That had been three days ago. He had been hiking through the Alps, admiring the scenery while searching for the passion and freshness that had gradually faded from torture and executions, when he unexpectedly discovered this young man leaning against a slope, surrounded by blood.
That overwhelming air of tragedy had allowed Ryunosuke Uryu's drifting ship to find its harbor.
"Ahh, this is..."
The joy in his heart nearly robbed Ryunosuke Uryu of speech. After standing there dumbly for a long time, he finally spoke, deeply moved:
"Too cool!"
In his eyes, although the young man was weak, terrifying killing intent still clung to him, as though he had just passed through life and death, personally witnessed the scenery of the Sanzu River, then turned away without the slightest attachment and returned to the mortal world.
Like a cheetah—proud and cold.
Never in all his life had Ryunosuke Uryu encountered such a noble being. Even when he had traveled through the war-torn Middle East, all he had seen were war hyenas devoid of any beauty. Anyone who picked up a gun could become that nauseating sort of creature.
He had thought he would never find another of his kind in this world.
He had thought he could only enjoy this unique beauty alone.
Yet the existence of this young man allowed him to find the joy of meeting a kindred spirit.
Ryunosuke Uryu could hardly wait to share his joy with his "companion"—by devoutly performing his coolest methods of torture, murder, and corpse disposal upon that very "companion."
Yet the instant Ryunosuke Uryu made a sound, the white-haired youth snapped his head up like lightning. A chill glinted in his golden eyes, and his terrible killing intent nearly drowned him.
Only when he saw that the person before him was merely a harmless-looking hiker with a backpack did the white-haired youth's killing intent fade. He muttered:
"Those decorations... are you a cheetah lover too...?"
The youth's final words changed Ryunosuke Uryu's mind.
Perhaps before they both enjoyed their final "death," they still had time to discuss aesthetics a little longer.
With that thought in mind, Ryunosuke Uryu bent down, carried the Sakutsuki who hovered on the verge of death onto his back, and headed for the hospital in a nearby town.
This was the origin of the serial killer's appearance in that town.
Let us return to the morning three days later.
Not long after Ryunosuke Uryu pushed open the door and discovered that Sakutsuki had awakened, the two young men left the town together and headed toward the Alps.
Ryunosuke Uryu had proposed the hiking invitation, and for some reason, the not-yet-recovered Sakutsuki had accepted the abrupt request.
After introducing themselves, the two young men seemed to quickly become acquainted.
"Come to think of it, you said 'a cheetah lover too,' didn't you, Sakutsuki?" Ryunosuke Uryu said casually as they climbed. "I'm curious—does that 'too' refer to you, or someone else you know?"
He did not care why Sakutsuki had appeared there, nor did he care how Sakutsuki had suffered such severe injuries. For Ryunosuke Uryu, knowing this much was enough.
Sakutsuki, who had been strolling unhurriedly behind him and enjoying the scenery along the way, slowly shifted his gaze at the question and looked at the young man who could be considered his savior.
Male, orange hair, called himself "Ryunosuke Uryu," liked leopard print.
If two or three of those conditions had matched, it might still have been dismissed as a coincidence. But with all four matching, there was no longer any doubt.
"Fate Zero..." Sakutsuki murmured, finally understanding the Fates Codex's prompt.
Condition 2 unlocked. Reward obtained: Leave this world and travel to Origin of Fate.
Origin of Fate, Fate/Zero.
The secret tale of the Fourth Holy Grail War, a brutal story of seven groups of magi slaughtering one another in battle.
Heroes of the past reappeared through the workings of mystery, gathering together to fight.
The solitary king, the bold king, the holy king;
The mad knight, the noble and unfortunate knight;
The blasphemous Marshal, the assassin of a hundred faces;
The seven Masters fought in their own ways, throwing themselves into slaughter for their wishes.
A killer who dreamed of saving humanity, a priest who pursued pleasure;
A calculating family head, a reckless young mage apprentice;
A dying man seeking revenge; a prodigious genius seeking honor; an innocent serial killer who stumbled into this war.
Seven pairs of Masters and Servants raced, fought, and clashed across an entire city, all to seize that supreme miracle—the Holy Grail.
This was the origin point of the Fate series, from which countless World Lines, countless events, and countless miracles were born.
—Never again would there be such prosperity.
Sakutsuki came back to his senses and looked at his "savior," Ryunosuke Uryu.
He was one of the Masters in the Fourth Holy Grail War—the disruptor, the hedonist, and the sacrifice of that war.
Faced with the orange-haired youth's question, Sakutsuki merely smiled and answered lightly:
"Someone I know."
"What kind of person is he? Can you tell me?" the innocent serial killer pressed, the anticipation in his eyes utterly genuine.
Sakutsuki obediently answered:
"He is cheerful and lively. He can perceive the subtleties of other people's feelings, but he does not sweat the small stuff."
"Oh!"
"He stays optimistic and constructive at all times. He never admits defeat because of failure."
"Ohh!"
"He is also an animal lover and greatly enjoys safari parks and nature documentaries. But it seems his preference for cruel subjects is limited to the human order and family. Although he admires sharks and carnivores, he has never wanted to become one."
"Ohhh!"
With every sentence, Ryunosuke Uryu's eyes shone brighter. In the end, he simply ran over and grabbed Sakutsuki's hand, shouting as if afraid he might run away:
"Who is he? Where is he? Can I visit him?"
Sakutsuki smiled politely and smoothly withdrew his hand. "Unfortunately, he cannot come see you, because—"
"Because what?" Ryunosuke Uryu's face twisted with tension.
"The time has not come yet." The white-haired youth smiled faintly again. "He asked me to tell you that once you reach the mountaintop, you will be able to meet him."
"That's so cool!" Sakutsuki's concealment did not anger Ryunosuke Uryu. Instead, it made him cry out excitedly:
"That's exactly what I wanted to say! Good Lord, is he a tapeworm in my stomach? How does he always know what I'm thinking? Cool, so cool! Let's go! Hurry, hurry!"
In a joy so overwhelming it nearly made him faint, the killer forgot almost everything and pumped his legs with all his strength, his eyes fixed only on the summit radiating an enticing gleam.
And because of that, he failed to notice the utterly peculiar look in Sakutsuki's eyes as he followed unhurriedly behind his savior.
It was the look one gave a strange, soon-to-disappear object.
002: Ryunosuke Uryu Character Information: An innocent serial killer, extraordinarily sensitive to the truth of death; a mad performance artist who wished to understand death and was proficient in death. Hidden Information: Unavailable Record Conditions (1/1): 1. Kill Ryunosuke Uryu (Incomplete)
—Never again would there be such prosperity.
It did not mean other works could not reach such heights. It meant that such a story could never be repeated. This was a story belonging solely to Fate/Zero.
Alps summit
"So, you can tell me the answer now, right?" Having just reached the summit, Ryunosuke Uryu ignored the ache in his legs and turned to ask.
"Of course." Sakutsuki casually glanced at the pile of grass beside the orange-haired youth.
The partially concealed black travel bag there, along with Ryunosuke Uryu's all-too-familiar hiking route, undoubtedly proved his suspicions.
Thanks to that, Sakutsuki's smile became completely cold and merciless.
"Trace On."
Rather than Shirou Emiya's beloved black-and-white twin swords, Kanshou and Bakuya, it was an utterly ordinary dagger.
Before Ryunosuke Uryu could react, Sakutsuki closed in at a speed that, though weakened, still surpassed that of an ordinary person. Then he reached out—and thrust the dagger forward.
The blade pierced Ryunosuke Uryu's abdomen and remained there, cold and still.
The wind atop the mountain seemed to freeze. Only the sound of blood helplessly leaving his body was so clear.
"Look." Scooping up a pool of clear red spring water, Sakutsuki held his palm close to Ryunosuke Uryu's eyes and whispered like a demon, "This is my answer. This is what you have been searching for, Ryunosuke Uryu."
Ryunosuke Uryu's eyes widened as he stared without blinking at what slowly flowed away in Sakutsuki's palm.
"Wow..."
Red. A vivid red without the slightest impurity.
It was the primal color he had always sought, dazzlingly bright.
This is it. Ryunosuke Uryu suddenly understood, and a smile spread across his bluish-purple lips.
This was the true "red" he had searched for everywhere, digging through countless places without ever finding it.
The red gradually faded. Not only from the palm, but even the white-haired youth—the demon—had already walked away without the slightest attachment.
But Ryunosuke Uryu had found the answer.
Tenderly, he lightly embraced his blood-soaked abdomen.
"I see... no wonder I never noticed..."
They said what was far away lay close at hand. Who would have thought that the thing he had pursued for so long had been hidden so close to him all along? As the substances continuously secreted within his brain intoxicated him, Ryunosuke Uryu knelt on the ground as if he had ascended to heaven, trembling as he pulled out the travel bag hidden in the grass at his feet.
Before you continue