Summoning the Heroic Spirit / Mikaela

Type-Moon: Card Servants Author: Gugu Gugu Gugu

Synopsis

Death was not the end. When he entered the darkness, a flash of light pulled his soul into an unknown world.

"You're... King Arthur?!" Emiya Kiritsugu stared at the black-and-white-haired maid before him in disbelief, utterly shocked. King Arthur couldn't possibly be a girl!

"So cute!"

Irisviel was equally stunned by the other's appearance.

"King Arthur? Me? I'm not King Arthur." The black-and-white-haired boy slowly opened his eyes, a trace of confusion flashing through them.

Prologue

Inside a dim room...

A beautiful black-and-white-haired boy sat naked, as pure as though he had just been born into this world.

Why? Why am I sitting here?

As though something was waiting for him to do it, he sat on the bed, staring vacantly into the distance.

Why am I here?

As if realizing that his situation was strange, he got off the bed and stepped onto the floor. Though he was standing on the ground, he felt as if he was not stepping on anything at all.

But this was not the time to worry about that. The black-and-white-haired boy felt that he had some especially important mission to carry out, and he walked toward the door.

It was a plain wooden door. Without hesitation, the boy opened it.

Beyond the door was not the world he remembered, filled with all manner of things. Instead, there was only darkness, like the abyss of hell itself, enough to make anyone feel fear and despair.

Yet the boy felt no fear. His gaze remained vacant. He did not understand why he was here, nor did he know why he had opened the door. His body moved as if by instinct. It seemed he heard someone calling for him, and his body moved subconsciously.

He wanted to leave this place and find the voice that was calling him.

"You cannot leave this place."

Just as the boy was about to leave the room, an unfamiliar female voice rang out. A red-eyed girl in a kimono stood quietly watching him.

She had appeared in the room like a ghost. She had not been there just moments ago.

"Who are you?"

The boy looked at the girl in the kimono with blood-red eyes in confusion.

For some reason, the boy found the red-eyed girl strangely familiar, as though he had met her before. But the voice outside the door was growing stronger and stronger, leaving him no time to dwell on that feeling of familiarity as he prepared to step outside.

"You... are already dead. I merely came to take you away."

The kimono-clad girl looked at him calmly and spoke those merciless words. Slowly, she extended a hand adorned with prayer beads, seemingly intending to seize him.

At that moment, a dull bell tolled, making the kimono-clad girl halt!

Perhaps sensing danger, she turned toward a certain direction. Her kimono seemed to come alive as countless magnificent kaleidoscopic flowers bloomed across it, blocking the blue flames that burst from the ground.

Someone was stopping her from taking the boy away.

"..."

Eerie blue flames rose from the shadows, while the dull bell tolled once more in the darkness.

A green radiance, like the sun itself, illuminated the entire room, as if guiding someone away from this place.

The sound of hoofbeats rang out, and something seemed to be slowly approaching.

"Could it be?!" The kimono-clad girl seemed to understand something. She stretched out her prayer-bead-adorned hand toward the boy, intending to seize him by force and leave this boundary between life and death.

Because she could sense that the boy before her seemed to be the person she had always been searching for... or rather, a soul needed by some great figure in hell.

At that moment, the boy did not leave the room. Instead, golden light spread from his body. Watching his body fade away, confusion flashed through his eyes. What... was happening to him?

Before long, the black-and-white-haired boy vanished from the room. The kimono-clad girl had no idea where he had gone, and a trace of confusion appeared in her emotionless red eyes.

The three figures lurking in the dark also seemed to realize that their target was no longer here. They slowly retreated, temporarily leaving the place.

"Xiao Ai, Xiao Ai!! Wake up!! Stop sleeping!!"

In a certain hospital, a green-haired boy lay sprawled over a hospital bed, crying bitterly as he repeatedly called the other's name, hoping he would open his eyes as before and give him a gentle smile.

But the black-and-white-haired boy lying on the bed did not open his eyes. Like a sleeping beauty, he remained asleep forever.

Heroic Spirit Summoning

"I never expected us to truly find the legendary Holy Sword's scabbard. There isn't a single mark on it. Was this really dug out of the ground after more than fifteen hundred years?"

In a solemn room resembling a prayer chamber, Emiya Kiritsugu, the cold-blooded man known as the Mage Killer, stared seriously at the scabbard lying in a box before him. Lost fairy script was engraved upon it, proving that its owner had been anything but ordinary.

Standing beside Emiya Kiritsugu was a beautiful woman named Irisviel von Einzbern. She was Emiya Kiritsugu's wife, as well as a homunculus.

She looked at Emiya Kiritsugu with great tenderness and explained softly.

"After all, it is a conceptual weapon. It probably would not weather away like ordinary matter. Simply equipping this scabbard allows it to heal its bearer's wounds, just as the legends say, and halt his aging."

"Of course, that requires its original owner to provide it with magical energy."

Emiya Kiritsugu nodded and continued, "In other words, if it is used together with the summoned Heroic Spirit, it can itself be used as the Master's Noble Phantasm."

Hearing that, Irisviel could not help but smile. Looking at Emiya Kiritsugu, she teased, "That really sounds like you. Tools are always just tools?"

Emiya Kiritsugu moved away from the scabbard and silently found a place to sit. In an even tone, he said, "If you put it that way, Servants are the same. No matter how famous a Heroic Spirit may have been, once summoned as a Servant, he is no different from a tool to his Master. Anyone harboring strange fantasies about that will never win this war."

Irisviel, who knew Emiya Kiritsugu well, said nothing more and simply continued with a gentle smile. "That is why the old man believed this scabbard suited you best."

"Is that really so?"

Emiya Kiritsugu asked in return, an indescribable emotion mixed into his voice.

"Are you dissatisfied with the gift the old man sent?" Irisviel asked mischievously.

"Of course not." A trace of amusement entered Emiya Kiritsugu's voice as he looked at Irisviel. "Ahad did very well. No other Master has probably received such a powerful trump card."

"Then what is the problem?" Irisviel asked, somewhat confused.

"With such a perfect Holy Relic serving as the catalyst, the Heroic Spirit who answers the summoning will surely be the one he wants." Emiya Kiritsugu averted his gaze, his tone complicated. "The legendary King of Knights, Arthur Pendragon."

"My compatibility as the Master was only considered second."

At that point, Emiya Kiritsugu felt a headache coming on. His instincts told him that he absolutely would not get along with the legendary King of Knights.

"But as the bearer of Excalibur, he must be the strongest Heroic Spirit among the Saber class." Irisviel saw Emiya Kiritsugu's worries and softly comforted him, telling him not to think too much about it.

"True. I should obtain a Servant stronger than anyone else's."

Emiya Kiritsugu nodded. He had no doubts about the combat power of the legendary King of Knights, but he sighed. "The problem is how to make proper use of that strongest fighting force. Honestly, in terms of ease of use alone, Caster or Assassin would suit my temperament far better."

"There is no point worrying before the summoning. After all, we do not know what kind of person the King of Knights truly was." Irisviel continued smiling as she comforted him. As for those heroes whose names were recorded in history...

Modern people like them could only use the history left behind by earlier generations as reference.

In truth, many things were likely nothing like what had been recorded. The countries of the East possessed five thousand years of history, yet they surely would not dare claim that they had perfectly recorded the experiences and personalities of every hero either.

"Besides, no matter what your tactics are, as long as he understands your dreams and ideals, he will surely understand you as well." Irisviel placed her snow-white, jade-like hand atop the scabbard, gently stroking it as though sensing the will of its owner.

"Just like I do."

A flicker of emotion passed through Emiya Kiritsugu's eyes. At last, a faint smile appeared on his rather gloomy face. He stood and smiled at Irisviel. "Just now, I thought of a good idea."

"A way to keep the strongest Servant in peak condition."

Time passed second by second, and before they knew it, it was already late at night.

"Let it be known—"

"Thy body shall be under me, and my fate shall be under thy sword. If thou dost submit to the Holy Grail's call, and obey this reason, this will, then answer me."

Emiya Kiritsugu began. He had already started summoning the Servant. Once the ritual began, he could feel his magical energy slowly draining away, and his body felt slightly unwell.

But such minor discomfort was nothing to a mercenary like him, one who had fought across countless battlefields.

As long as he could summon the strongest class, Saber! The legendary King of Knights! For the sake of his long-cherished wish!

"I hereby swear that I shall be all the good in the world. I hereby swear that I shall be all the evil in the world. Thou, encircled by the seven heavens, clad in the threefold word of spirit, come forth from the ring of restraint, guardian of the scales—!"

As Emiya Kiritsugu spoke the final line, the ritual was finally complete.

White smoke rose. A rather slender figure stood at the center of the magic circle. The turbulence of magical energy had completely vanished, and the Servant in the center of the circle slowly turned around.

"This is?!"

Emiya Kiritsugu's eyes widened in shock. As the white smoke dispersed, a "woman" wearing a maid outfit stood at the center of the magic circle. She had a lovely face and hair divided into black and white.

"You're... King Arthur?!" Emiya Kiritsugu stared at the black-and-white-haired maid before him in disbelief. His expression was utterly stunned. He had never imagined that King Arthur was a woman.

"So cute!"

Irisviel, watching from the side, was also stunned by the other's appearance.

"A Servant? Me?" The black-and-white-haired boy slowly opened his eyes. At this moment, he felt that his body had become strange.

This was not a living body at all... but an illusory body that could disperse at any moment. Was he already dead?

Emiya Kiritsugu looked at him. As the Master, he could now see the other's status panel.

Servant: Mikaela.

Class: Saber

Strength: C

Endurance: C

Agility: B

Mana: E

Luck: B

Class Skills:

Magic Resistance: E

He possessed Magic Resistance as a Saber class skill, but because Mikaela himself did not possess the ability of Magic Resistance, it remained at the lowest rank, E.

Personal Skills:

Card: C

Creates an utterly ordinary transparent card that appears capable of storing many items.

Psychometry: C

By touching items used by others during their lives or in the past, he can see all of their memories. However, this process cannot be interrupted. Once activated, the ability cannot be stopped.

Thoughtography: C

Can manifest the thoughts and concepts that arise in his heart onto paper or other objects.

Noble Phantasm: None.

After reading the status panel of this "King Arthur," Emiya Kiritsugu felt that something was very wrong! Something had definitely gone wrong somewhere.

The legendary King Arthur! How could his status panel be this pathetic?! The strongest Servant?! He was probably the weakest Servant instead!!!

PS: "New author, new book. Please show your support. Thank you."

Mikaela

Masters could see a Servant's status panel, but they did not know his true name. If the Servant did not voluntarily tell the Master, there was nothing the Master could do unless he used a Command Seal to force him to reveal who he was.

However, no Master would be stupid enough to use a Command Seal to force a Servant to reveal his true name, because that would anger the Servant.

"What is your name?" Emiya Kiritsugu looked at the Servant before him, whose status panel could only be called pathetic beyond belief. Ever since the summoning began, he had maintained an icy expression, but now, no matter how stiff his face was, it could not help twitching. What was he even supposed to say?!

According to his expectations, the Servant he summoned should have been the legendary King Arthur, the bearer of Excalibur. His status panel might not have been exceptionally strong, but he should at least have been a first-rate Servant.

But this one... not only did he lack any so-called Holy Sword, his attributes were far too low in every regard. He was even dressed in a modern maid outfit! No matter how one looked at him, he was not Arthur Pendragon, the King of Knights, but more like an ordinary maid.

Still, Emiya Kiritsugu could clearly sense that he had formed a contract with the other. Otherwise, he would have suspected that the summoning had failed and that he had summoned an ordinary modern person instead.