-a day before Atrum and Caster's arrival in Fuyuki
*scrrrch, skrch*
The mage scrawled out the magic circle out on the concrete floor, marking the correct symbols and inscribing various lines that cut through the circle and intersected with each other. All this was done by heart, the entire summoning ritual securely memorized in his head. All that was left was to place the catalyst into the circle after it was complete and say the words.
The warehouse he had chosen was by the docks, emptied for the time being of the crates that usually filled it. Few people frequented at this time of the day, and he had set up Bounded Fields to detect intruders and repel them. One couldn't be too careful in the Holy Grail War.
About a month ago, he had noticed red marks appearing on his skin, and after consulting with various Lords in the Clock Tower, he had learnt about their significance in the ritual held in his homeland. Convinced that this was his chance to make it big within the Clock Tower, he had traveled to this land in the Far East, hoping to use the Holy Grail to reach the Root, the ultimate goal of mages. Even if it wasn't able to do so, he was sure it would help further his research in some way.
*SSSSKRRREEEEEEEE*
The warning sounds of the outermost Bounded Field sounded as it screeched in the warehouse, alerting the owner to the presence of one intruder that had readily crossed the perimeter into the vicinity. Upon further analysis, he realized it was just a bird, the sparrow hopping on the ground as it looked for food.
"Hmph."
Thinking that he would be fooled with the sparrow was naive of the intruder. True, most other mages would be tricked into thinking the Bounded Field had simply been faulty in some manner, and proceed without any worry. However, he was a true master of Bounded Fields, having completed himself. Bounded Fields were that which separated the inside from the outside, and to completely master them, one must construct a complete world within their own body, the distinction of the inside and outside with one's own body as the boundary. After years of practice, trial and error and sheer determination, he had reached the pinnacle of his field.
"Rokudou Kyoukai" could be activated at any time to trap them, all that was needed was for them to enter into range of its effect. For now, all he had to do was play the fool and lure them in by pretending to start the ritual. Making the last marks on the floor, he stood up and proceeded to walk out of the circle, placing the faded piece of torn fabric in the circle before he did so.
The intruder was edging closer, almost at the doors of the warehouse now. With a grave countenance, he raised his arm and began the chant, his voice ringing loud and clear off the steel walls of the warehouse.
Shut (fill).
Shut (fill).
Shut (fill).
Shut (fill).
Shut (fill).
Repeat every five times.
Simply, shatter once filled.
At this point, the intruder had circumvented the miniature Bounded Field he'd placed on the door earlier by surging mana onto the surrounding steel walls, causing the door to inwards as the steel corroded and aged. The door's fall was muffled with magecraft, the air stilled before it could pass on the vibrations of sound. Inwardly, the man who was still chanting raised an eyebrow. Clearly, the intruder was a mage with some innovative ideas, or at least was willing to think outside the box. Most magi would have tried to directly disarm the Bounded Field, or brute force broke it, but instead he focused on the surroundings to create a path that simply ignored the Bounded Field.
Silver and iron to the origin. Stone and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone.
My ancestor is the great master I pay tribute to.
The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate.
――――I announce.
Your self is under me, my fate is in your sword.
The intruder was stealthily approaching him now, almost within range of his "Rokudou Kyoukai" now. He seemed to be waiting for the second last line of the chant to strike, when he was the most absorbed in the ritual and would fail to react fast enough to most attacks. Unfortunately, the Bounded Fields that he had constructed were not so easily foiled. When the Yin was destroyed, Yang would surge forth to take its place, until the Yin repelled it in an automatic response to restore balance. When Yang was destroyed, the Yin would creep into its former territory until it was repulsed by Yang again to harmonize the system. His Bounded Fields were based on Taijitu, an ancient philosophy originating from China that he had learnt about from his time as a Buddhist monk wandering the country, seeing countless deaths occur in front of him while being powerless to stop them.
In essence, if one part of his boundary were to fail, another would cover for it until it recovered, and vice versa. The taijitu represented the supreme ultimate, a limitless infinity, or some would say a primordial universe. It was an entire world contained within the circle, and anything disturbing that balance would automatically be detected. In addition, in accordance with the nature of the circle, the balance would be "corrected", in various ways depending on the nature of the intrusion. If the intruder was a magus and entered from the Yang side, their mana signature would upset the Yang by increasing above the natural state, and thus a flood of Yin would seek to quench their mana signature, effectively "blocking" their Magic Circuits, though not outright destroying them. If they entered the Yin side, they would reduce the Yin, thus forcing the Yin to flow towards the Yang side and it would flow towards the formerly Yin side, creating something like a convection flow of heat, disturbing the mana and making it almost impossible to cast spells, unless you wanted it to go horribly wrong.
This was the most common variation he used, but there were others with different degrees of lethality and utility. This one however, was the easiest and fastest to construct, though it did require the use of stones made of a rare material that were made to exacting specifications to represent the two points of symmetry within the Yin and the Yang.
Slowly, the intruder approached the back of the chanting man.
In accordance with the approach of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer.
I hereby swear. I will be all that is good in the eternal world. I will be the disposer of evil in the eternal world.
The air whipped into a frenzy as shimmering walls of mana fluctuated around the circle, lights fading in and out within it.
*WSSH*
A ball of fire shot towards his back after the intruder traced a rune in the air, Kenaz blazing for a moment in the air before fading away.
"Fugu. Kongou. Dakatsu. Taiten. Chougyou. Ouken." Even before the rune was traced, right after he said the word "world", he was already reciting the mantra under his breath rapidly.
"W-wha?!"
The startled cry of the intruder sounded from behind as he turned around to face him, letting the mana in the circle dissipate as he turned his full attention to his would-be assassin, bound in black and white tendrils of energy as three circles rotated around him.
"It was a good attempt, but nowhere near enough to kill me. I'm intrigued though. You knew enough about my magecraft to bypass the outer Bounded Fields easily. You must have done your homework."
Theoretically, if one completely shut off their Magic Circuits, and had something on them that corresponded to the Yin or Yang side, it would let them travel to the center of the Bounded Field without being detected. Of course, the object couldn't be something that was a nexus of Yang or Yin energy, it had to barely give off enough energy to let the person blend in with the field while not disturbing it. In this case, the intruder had come in from the Yin side, and had simply stuffed several cucumbers under his red coat, as cucumbers were considered to be Yin, did not give off too much Yin energy, and were readily available, not to mention cheap.
Of course, having to warm up the Magic Circuits before casting spells was a demerit of this method of sneaking in, since the caster of the Bounded Field would easily be able to get the first strike in. But with the aid of stealth, the intruder could take as much time as he needed to reactivate his Magic Circuits and then strike. Unfortunately, the master of the Bounded Field was already well-aware of what he was trying to attempt, and was prepared for him.
"Hoh, wait a second. I recognize you from the Clock Tower. Are you not Lord El-Melloi of the Modern Magecraft Theories Department? I had heard rumors of you participating in the last Holy Grail War, but what could possibly possess you to throw yourself into another one?"
The magus trapped in the Bounded Field was indeed Lord El-Melloi the Second, also known as Waver Velvet, Professor Charisma, Great Big Ben London Star and many other names.
"It's Lord El-Melloi the Second, please." Is what he would have said if he had been able to move his mouth. His earlier cry of surprise had been cut off midway by the paralysis as well. The Bounded Field "Rokudou Kyoukai" paralyzed his whole body, preventing the external layers of muscle from moving. While the man's origin of "Stillness" could ostensibly stop even the internal muscles, stopping the heart from beating and blood from flowing in the veins, this instant kill method took a large amount of concentration and mana, and he wanted to keep the intruder alive for questioning.
The fireball was still hovering mid-air, frozen in place, until the man waved a hand at it, and it vanished to return to the state of still air.
"Amatsu."
The focal point corresponding to the throat in the meridian system suggested by Chinese medicine that corresponded to the five elements and eight meridians, all held to be within the taijitu of the human body.
"Gahk! Kuh, koff!"
He spluttered as his throat suddenly contracted, before his lips and mouth were unsealed.
"Did you come here of your own accord?"
The Lord with long black hair dropping straight to his chest tried to nod his head, then realizing it was futile, simply answered.
"Yes, I came here to take your place in the Fifth Holy Grail War."
The man stared at El-Melloi, slightly surprised at his straightforwardness. He searched his eyes, looking for any sign of falsehood. Seeing none, he nodded.
"At least you're honest. The rumors about you being an eccentric among the Lords was quite true."
"I prefer to think of myself as quirky, though I suppose when compared with other mages, especially the Lords, I would be eccentric."
"Returning from the Holy Grail War with your life and body intact, then buying the El-Melloi class and taking over your former teacher's position, who had died in the same War you participated in. Now, you boast the position of being one of the youngest Lord's among the twelve, as well as immense popularity among the younger generation of magi. Quite an interesting person indeed. You must have been severely changed by the experience of the last War you participated in." The man's face didn't change, maintaining the face that seemed to be carved of grief, his face gaunt as many wrinkles and lines marred his forehead, cheeks and chin.
"Before I kill you, would you mind telling me the reason why you want to participate so badly in this War? I confess to being a little curious, to go so far as to forsake your responsibilities at the Clock Tower when you weren't chosen by the Mage's Association and sneaking into Japan to assassinate me." It was true that outside of being chosen for the War like Kayneth El-Melloi was, sneaking away to take part in it was difficult for a Lord in charge of one of the twelve departments, let alone one with such popularity like Lord El-Melloi II.
Waver looked at the man and his face riddle with grief, hesitated, and then spoke.
"I want to see him again and fulfill his wish."
The man standing before Waver didn't know who he was talking about, but at any rate he could understand that he was willing to kill and die for this man he was referring to.
"Very well. Then, let your death be added to my sins."
Saying so, he pulled his fist back and prepared to punch him.
*sCHWOOM*
Without warning, his Bounded Field collapsed. He immediately went on guard, abandoning the thought of killing El-Melloi, and raised his fists while surveying his surroundings, prepared to intercept any attackers.
*KRSHANG*
The corrugated steel roof of the warehouse caved in as a gray blur burst through, aiming straight for the man.
*WU-TANG*
The massive scythe was barely blocked by his two hands, his palms sandwiching the blade and preventing it from lowering onto his head. Suddenly, the scythe began glowing, and he immediately let go of it, jumping far back to distance himself from the new enemy. El-Melloi was released from his paralysis and fell to the ground, the cucumbers falling out of his coat and rolling across the ground.
"Master, are you all right?"
The new arrival asked him in worry as she clutched her staff, a gray hood covering her head and gray cape hanging down her back. Her legs were clad in black tights and leather boots with wide openings, while a black jacket with fur lining around the collar wrapped around her body warmly. Black gloved hands clutched the scythe, her knees bent slightly even as she stared at their enemy.
"Argh, it's kinda sore...well I'm mostly fine though."
He rubbed his back as he stood back up, free from the Bounded Field once more.
"So you had accomplices. In truth, I was wondering whether the famed Lord El-Melloi II could have gambled on the slight chance that I wouldn't notice you, but it seems you had everything planned out after all."
He assumed a fighting stance, feet shoulder-length apart as his fists rose to his chest.
"Still, what an interesting weapon you have there. It seems that you've managed to acquire someone with special skills. Even my Bounded Field couldn't affect her." He cast his eyes down to his fists.
"For a moment it felt like od was being sucked out of my body. I will have to be careful around it then." No more words were said as he suddenly pounced forward, his body blurring with the sudden motion as he crossed the distance to Gray in a second. She barely managed to raise the scythe in time to block the blow, getting pushed back slightly as she left two trails on the floor. Without even giving the scythe a chance to absorb his mana, the man withdrew his fist, twisted and struck with his leg, a full-body rotating kick coming from the left to cripple her ribs and lungs.
But by pure instinct, the scythe was already there to intercept the leg that could be described as an iron battering ram. The force threw her back as she did a somersault in the air and landed back on the ground, and her hood flew open, exposing her face to the world.
"A rare beauty even in this day and age. Why do you hide your face with a hood?"
Her gray hair tied into a bun, the golden yellow eyes and the face were all incredibly similar to a certain Servant that had taken part in the last Holy Grail War. It was to the point that one would wonder if they were long lost twins separated at birth, if they were put side-by-side.
The girl ignored his comment, fully focused on the fight. While she normally would pull up her hood again, in a fight she was fully committed to her opponent, and would remain undistracted no matter what they said. These were the ingrained fighting instincts given to her from the body of King Arthur.
Sensing no reaction, he decided to continue the fight, wholly ignoring the Lord behind him.
"Get ready to have the grief beaten out of you monk! IHIHIHIHI!"
Suddenly, a voice rang out from the scythe, metallic and loaded with sarcasm. Gray's hands tightened their grip on the scythe, and it responded with a howl of pain.
"Owow, OOOWWWW! Ok, ok I'll shut up."
The man instantly dashed forward without pause the moment it stopped talking, legs breaking the floor with each step. The body he was using had immense strength, able to punch through concrete and dodge bullets after they had been fired. He had lived within many bodies over the centuries, each container more stronger than the last, until he reached the pinnacle of human physical ability. Now, his puppets were capable of standing toe to toe with Dead Apostles and Enforcers, even with his rudimentary combat skill. In addition, the Bounded Field he had cast on himself enhanced his body in a way similar to Reinforcement, but on different principles. Where Reinforcement forced mana into the cracks of an object, such as a body, his Bounded Field instead constructed a world within himself, and rearranged that world that he had complete control over within him as he saw fit. As such, all the normal human limiters were released, adrenalin could be pumped whenever he wanted to, and his muscles could contract and expand to their utmost limit, far surpassing what a normal human could do.
*BANG*
The fist collided with the scythe again and again and again, shockwaves pulsing from the point of contact with every blow.
A left hook. A right haymaker. A straight jab. A poke aimed at the eyes. Six lightning fast fists in quick succession at her chest. A roundhouse kick to the temple. An axe kick straight from above. Not a single blow landed on Grays body, even as he dashed around her to strike from various angles, while Gray ducked and twirled between some blows and blocking the rest.
Despite his efforts to retract his fists and legs to avoid prolonged contact with the scythe, he could feel his od being eaten by it bit by bit. Sooner or later, he would run out of od, and the Bounded Field would collapse, and he himself would suffer a sudden loss of speed and strength. Meanwhile, the energy absorbed by the scythe strengthened it, turning it more and more powerful. Without his more elaborate Bounded Fields in place to enhance his combat ability, the outcome was clear.
With a cry, she charged forward as the monk retreated as far as he could, the rosary beads around his neck clicking against each other.
"Please, Add!"
"Alright, here it comes!"
The scythe suddenly enlarged, extending its reach as Gray swung it with all her strength. Caught by surprise from the sudden extension, he barely managed to get away with a deep slice wound across his chest, blood spilling out of it. Then he stepped on one of the cucumbers that had rolled onto the floor earlier, crushing it, and slipped on its pulp. Gray took the chance to leap into the air.
"Ouken!"
As a last ditch effort, he poured all his od into the personal Bounded Field, hoping to freeze her in place for a second.
"Grave me."
The scythe instantly glowed, sucking up all the magical energy in the form of tendrils as they reached out to her, utterly destroying the Bounded Field. The man simply had bad compatibility against her, the weapon being strong against Bounded Fields as it ate up magical energy.
"Grave for you."
The oversized scythe slashed through the air, cutting through the man's body and into the concrete floor below, a golden beam of light following its path.
*splrach!*
His body was split into two as the spirit was consumed, the Anti-Undead conceptual power of the scythe consuming the soul as it was the product of 300 years of festering in different puppet bodies, qualifying it as an undead monster, even if the puppet body was fundamentally similar to a normal humans. The Bounded Field flashed once or twice, before disappearing completely.
"GAHAHAHA! Job well done little Gray. Now go to your Master to get a pat on the head!"
The scythe's annoying voice grated on their ears, and she quickly returned him to the birdcage he usually resided in. Then she seemed to notice her face was out in the open.
"Ah!"
Quickly, she pulled down the hood and looked away from her Master, clearly embarrassed. For his part, El-Melloi opened his mouth to speak up, but then gave up and sighed. For now, he should just congratulate her.
*BzzT*
"Hey, how's it going down there, you got the puppet dude yet? Over."
The voice of a young boy filtered in through a walkie-talkie clipped to El-Melloi's belt, crackling slightly with static. He pulled it off his belt to reply.
"Yes, we killed him. Is there anyone approaching the warehouse?"
A moment passed before the boy responded.
"Nope, don't see anyone. It's pretty cool though to be able to fly in a helicopter, the open air's pretty nice! Over."
The man rubbed his temples as his most flippant student talked without a care.
"Look, focus on the job. Despite the Bounded Fields erected around it, somebody could still spot the helicopter and target it, or realize something's going on at the docks. Just keep a look out. And stop saying "over" every time."
"Roger that Professor Charisma! Over."
He sighed in defeat.
"Oh, and good job on being the decoy for us on the ground! Must have been quite exciting, over."
He declined to respond any more and simply clipped it back to his belt, the walkie talkie remaining mercifully silent after that. He turned back to Gray.
"Anyways, good job for defeating Souren Araya. He would have been a troublesome opponent to defeat, but as he couldn't summon a Servant within his Bounded Fields at his base since they were too perfect, he had to come out in the open to do so, giving us our chance. You were our best weapon against him, and you did admirably well."
The girl peeked at him from the side, before looking back away.
"Th-thanks, Master."
Seeing her continue being embarrassed he decided to divert her attention with something else. He turned to the magic circle undisturbed by the previous fight, kept in perfect shape by his magecraft.
"Let's get to summoning the Servant then. Gray, here's your chance to call up a familiar that surpasses any others you've seen before."
Gray hesitated, before walking towards the circle, eyes still looking at the ground.
"Since you have the best circuits here, you'll be able to support your Servant much better than I did before. You've memorised the lines right?" El-Melloi gave her a few words of encouragement before the summoning, smiling slightly as he recalled his own experience.
"Don't worry, it'll be something for you to remember long after the War."
Gray nodded, then took out the birdcage containing Add, and placed it in the middle of the circle. When it came to catalysts, few were better than the holy spear that shone at the ends of the world.
"Relying on me once more? No problem, I'll get it done, IHIHIHIHI!"
Waver cut the hand with the red marks off the corpse and took it to Gray, inscribing several symbols on her hand and the cooling corpse's hand. The marks glowed, then transferred over to Grays ungloved right hand.
"Alright, you can begin whenever you're ready."
Gray took a deep breath, and then held up her right hand towards the magic circle, focusing her Magic Circuits.
Shut (fill).
Shut (fill).
Shut (fill).
Shut (fill).
Shut (fill).
Repeat every five times.
Simply, shatter once filled.
Silver and iron to the origin. Stone and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone.
My ancestor is the great master I pay tribute to.
The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate.
Strong winds started circulating around the warehouse, mana gathering in one spot. The birdcage that held Add started shaking vigorously, the cube sent back and forth across the limited space inside.
"Ouch, OW! This better end qui-OW!"
On the sides, El-Melloi grinned vindictively at his predicament.
――――I announce.
Your self is under me, my fate is in your sword.
In accordance with the approach of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer.
I hereby swear. I will be all that is good in the eternal world. I will be the disposer of evil in the eternal world.
You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance ―――！
The mana reached its peak, the lights glowing to the climax as wind howled like a miniature tornado on top of the magic circle.
*FWOOSH*
And then it was all gone, the cage containing Add rolling away across the floor after being blown out of the circle by the final burst of energy that had surged out.
Slowly, the two people opened their eyes to look at what they had summoned.
"Code Name: Heroine X. I am a Servant summoned to deal with the recent problem of the ever-increasing number of Sabers appearing. Nice to meet you."