My name was Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. Perhaps you had heard this name before, perhaps you even knew the history behind it, but all of that had already become the past. Now, I had answered the Holy Grail's summons and entered the grand war being held in an island nation far from my homeland as a Lancer.
For someone like me, who had failed to serve his lord loyally in life, being able to offer his martial skill to a master once more was already nothing short of a miracle. So when my master asked what wish I had entrusted to the Holy Grail, my answer was none.
But that seemed to have angered my master.
Though I did not know what I had done wrong, I was willing to make up for it with achievements in battle. My master, I would bring you victory—
That was what I had said.
If everything had gone as I imagined, it would naturally have been fine. But one point had to be mentioned:
Recently, my master had been a little strange!
He had never been a normal person to begin with—no, no, no, I absolutely did not mean to slander my master. I was merely stating facts—but lately, his behavior had become even more bizarre. Even if Miss Sola-Ui had not noticed, I, whose heart was linked to my master's, could still sense it.
For example, this was clearly supposed to be a battle to eliminate Caster, yet my master had asked me to invite Rider along. Rider's master had just been thoroughly humiliated by my master. Would cooperating with them really be all right? And besides, if several parties joined forces to defeat Caster, who would receive the final reward? Even stranger, though we had clearly found Caster's trail, my master had ordered me to patrol the forest and avoid exposing myself as much as possible, while he himself headed for Saber's base.
Was he planning to turn on them while everyone's attention was focused on Caster? Such a strategy did not fit the knightly way. But my master had not ordered me to kill any masters. He was personally conducting a duel between Magi, so although I was dissatisfied, I could not say much.
Still, my master's order for me to patrol all over the forest was truly asking too much. Even though he could summon me at any time with Command Seals, I could not leave him alone in the enemy's stronghold. In truth, I was merely moving around the castle, ensuring that I could reach my master's side at once.
My worries proved justified. My master's skill in magecraft was indeed not to be underestimated, but war was not so simple. Even I was greatly startled by that earth-shaking explosion. Fortunately, my connection through the Command Seals told me that my master was still alive. Yet while hurrying to rescue him, I encountered a magus who seemed to belong to the enemy camp.
What should I do? I should let him go. Attacking someone without the ability to resist violated the knightly way. Besides, Servant against Servant, Master against Master—that was the proper order. I would leave him for my master to deal with next time. Finding my master as quickly as possible was more important now.
I walked past him—wait, what was this?!
A powerful surge of Mana suddenly appeared above me, accompanied by soaring killing intent. Before I could look up to confirm the situation, I instinctively raised my twin spears over my head to block—
"Clang!"
That sensation was a sword—Saber! That man had summoned his Servant with a Command Seal!
This was troublesome. Saber was not someone who could be dealt with easily. I had wanted to avoid unnecessary complications, only to fall into an even worse situation. Judging from that killing intent, words likely could not resolve this either. Was battle my only option? But my master—
The Saber before me gave me no time to hesitate. Sword strikes descended like a raging storm—damn it, I had to finish this as quickly as possible.
No matter what Heroic Spirit you were, the spear of the first knight of the Knights of Fianna was not so easily received!
"After Caster escaped, the remaining familiars all became less active and lost their ability to regenerate. Rider cleared them out and left the forest. Kiritsugu Emiya and Kayneth have yet to determine a victor, while Lancer and Saber are facing off."
Irisviel, who was being escorted by Kirei toward the edge of the forest, was startled by the Assassin who suddenly appeared before her. After hearing the violent disturbance earlier, she had been sent to investigate, and the news she brought back was anything but good.
"Can you assassinate Kayneth?"
"Right under Saber and Lancer's noses? Master, are you sure you want me to go?"
"Then can you track Caster?"
"That would be easy enough. He caused such a huge commotion this time that even if there were no lingering Mana traces, I could follow the tunnel he used to escape."
"Then first confirm the outcome of the battle here, then track Caster, but do not act rashly. Finding their hiding place will be enough."
"They may not finish fighting anytime soon. If I waste too much time here, Caster may get too far away and become difficult to find."
"Then tracking Caster is the top priority. Leave the rest to your judgment."
"Understood, Master."
She had not gained much useful information from the exchange between that Master and Servant, but a faint light still appeared in Irisviel's eyes—Assassin had left. Now that she had fully recovered, could she possibly escape from the priest, who was not in perfect condition?
The glow of magecraft quietly lit up in Irisviel's palm. Several silvery-white ribbons gradually took shape, slipping into her hair at her command and slowly extending toward the man behind her. He, meanwhile, appeared completely unaware.
It has to work!
Saber was extremely displeased.
Ever since the day she had been summoned into this world, that uncomfortable feeling had weighed upon her heart. Only the time she spent alone with Irisviel had brought even the slightest relief.
Being at odds with her Master, the unfavorable battle situation, her conflict with Caster—any of these could have affected her state of mind. Yet none of them compared to the unpleasantness brought by the current situation.
She had been moments away from cutting down that blasphemer. Moments away from making that sinner suffer the punishment he deserved. She had finally encountered a Heroic Spirit who could barely be called an honorable opponent, only for a Command Seal to block the outlet for all the resentment in her heart.
Even worse, despite being filled with displeasure, she could not blame her Master for any reason—I was about to kill Caster, so what were you doing?—and had no choice but to devote all her strength to protecting that hateful man.
Sword and spear clashed in the forest, and the force of their collision left cracks across the ground.
Damn Lancer—unable to vent her anger on her Master or Caster, the only remaining option was Lancer, who had happened to appear in the wrong place at the wrong time. Saber's blade was therefore colder and fiercer than ever. Relying on that momentum, she, though already fatigued, actually suppressed the fully rested Lancer. The knight of the spear could only frantically fend off her hurricane-like assault, finding no opening at all to strike back.
This would not do.
A calm voice spoke within Saber's heart. It was likely the voice of experience she had gained through so many years as a king and a knight. Though she seemed to hold the advantage, she knew her own condition well. She was relying entirely on the momentum she had built up in preparation for slaying Caster. The first burst of spirit was powerful, the second weaker, the third exhausted. Once fatigue wore down her momentum, the only outcome would be defeat at her opponent's hands.
She had to find a way out of this predicament—though saying so was easier than doing it. Saber had already reached a point where she could neither advance nor retreat. The knight of the spear was no ordinary opponent. The slightest opening now would inevitably lead to a string of counterattacks that would defeat her.
Was death inevitable either way? Was this the fate destined for me, King Arthur? Never able to pursue the Holy Grail, whether as a human or as a Heroic Spirit?
Her sword was knocked aside by the twin spears once again, but unlike before, this time the recoil sent Saber flying nearly ten meters backward. Lancer, meanwhile, stood firm, completely unmoved. Yet he did not seize the chance to pursue. Instead, he also wore an astonished expression.
It seemed he had not expected that strike to have such an effect either.
But Saber had no time to celebrate her opponent's mistake, because she knew that her "spirit" had already been exhausted.
"What a... absurd Holy Grail War..."
After letting out that sigh, Saber struggled to raise her sword before her and glared at Lancer—though defeat might be inevitable, the Knight King would not let herself be dealt with so easily!
But at the very instant before their blades met, the two Heroic Spirits suddenly withdrew their weapons and leapt backward in opposite directions, both tensely scanning their surroundings—there could only be one reason to act like this with a great enemy before them.
A dense and unfamiliar Mana presence suddenly erupted within the forest. That level of power could never have come from a human magus—another Servant had arrived.
The situation immediately grew more complicated. If Saber and Lancer continued fighting here, then even if Lancer won, he would certainly be severely injured—and the newly arrived Servant would reap the benefits for free. Neither of them could accept such an outcome, which was why they had temporarily ceased hostilities.
But who exactly was this newly appeared—or rather, this person who had been hiding here all along and had only now chosen to reveal himself—individual? And what was his purpose?
PS1. Happy Girls' Day, and Happy Lantern Festival as well. I will not say anything about tomorrow. I believe all you girls are eternally youthful and beautiful sixteen-year-olds, far removed from that rotten-woman stuff!
PS2. The new semester will at least guarantee weekly updates. As for more than that, it will depend on the circumstances.
PS3. When people first asked me to come back from the dead, I refused... because you cannot just say I am resuming updates and expect me to resume. I still had so many galgames to clear, and even more where I had only finished one route. Gu Ming and Pencil also dragged me into the pit of 300 Heroes, and there were still so many anime series I had not watched—actually, I had watched almost none of the new anime from the past few years...
PS4. I stopped watching Parasyte when I went home for the Lunar New Year break and still had not caught up. As for Tokyo Ghoul, I was following the manga. I heard the anime's plot was different, so I planned to watch it through to the ending. I did watch Gundam UC a while ago, though—it looked like they planned to quietly erase ZZ as black history. But without ZZ, where would Ple come from? Without Ple, where would Twelve come from? Not that 450 one, though that one seemed more famous... Still, Unicorn truly deserved to be called the haunted Gundam. Amuro and Char showing up as ghosts was one thing, since 0093 and 0096 were not that far apart, but Lalah could come back from the dead too... She died in 0079!!! She was definitely the strongest Newtype, right? What the hell was Kamille compared to her?!
PSP. I impulsively bought Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax. The lines in it were full of parody. In a conversation between Kuroyukihime and Railgun Girl, one said, "Let me show you the power of Level 5," and the other said, "Let me show you the power of Level 9." Then Railgun Girl was stunned... And Shana and Taiga too, hahahahahahahaha!!! Long live Rie Kugimiya!
PSV. Why will Kami no Rhapsody Workshop not get translated? Why, why!!!!!!
.I want to learn Japanese... Is it hard?
Before you continue