Fate/Zero:Act 6 Part 1

-132:23:03

Head straight westward from Fuyuki’s busy streets for about thirty kilometers.

There is an east-west orientated state highway that cut through tall mountains far removed from villages and devoid of human presence. A stretch of dense forest occupied both sides of the highway, and this piece of forest seemed forgotten by the torrential upsurge of land development.

Maybe this land is state-owned, but based on its register it appears to be owned privately by an overseas company; moreover, it is yet unconfirmed whether this overseas company truly exists. If someone insists on investigating this land, then the first baffling thing would be this legendary urban myth.

It is rumored that in the deepest part of this dense forest, there exists a ‘legendary castle’.

Of course, this myth is only a boring telltale. Although the forest is undeveloped it is only about an hour’s drive away from Fuyuki city. If there truly is such an outlandish castle then everyone would know about it. In fact, people have conducted land surveys in this primeval forest numerous times and have not once found any traces of human structures.

But after every few years, someone would bring that myth up again.

A group of children once walked into this forest half-playfully, half-exploring, and there was also a lost hitchhiker. They saw an ancient castle suddenly appearing out of the dense fog; it was built out of rock and immensely spectacular. No one lived inside the castle and it appeared to be abandoned. But within it there were all sorts of utilities and everything was in perfect order, and people couldn’t help but have the illusion that humans indeed live here. It is said to be an extremely uncanny ancient castle.

Obviously no one would believe in this rumor. The best it can be is a story told by tabloids that have ran out of news material, which used one page in their summer special edition devoted to strange tales to pass it across.

Only a very small amount of magi know that this castle truly exists.

This castle only welcomes the owner that enters here to participate in the war every sixty years; all in all, it is a castle of the way of magecraft.

This castle is enveloped by multiple layers of illusions and bounded fields, and would never be exposed to the outside except in rare accidents. This is a strange space of existence. The people who know of the castle’s existence call this dense forest ‘the Einsbern forest’.

When Fuyuki held the Heaven’s Feel Jubstacheit, the head of the Einsbern family, felt that it is an inappropriate move to establish an outpost on the land directly subjected to their archrival Tōsaka family. Therefore, he fully used the financial power of his clan and bought all the leyline covered grounds closest to Fuyuki as the Einsbern family’s headquarters. That was near the beginning of the third Heaven’s Feel, which also coincided with the tense and dangerous times just before the onset of the Second World War.

This broad primeval forest is covered with a bounded field and completely isolated to the outside world, and the Einsbern family transferred everything in their original castle into this forest. From this act, the Einsberns’ immense financial power and their extraordinary persistence in pursuing the Holy Grail can be seen. Compared to the Einsberns, the various negotiations the Tōsakas had to make in order to purchase land at Fuyuki and the pains they put in to concealing it all would be a mere laughing matter.

　　※※※※※

The dense air made Irisviel sigh numerous times.

“– Are you tired, Iris?”

Kiritsugu asked. Irisviel hid her melancholic expression and shook her head with a smile.

“It’s nothing, I’m not tired. Keep going.”

Irisviel urged Kiritsugu. Kiritsugu continued to talk about all sorts of intelligence concerning Fuyuki city. A map portraying the entire Fuyuki city was spread on the table in front of Kiritsugu.

“– Two locations are the heart of the entire area. One is the residence of the Second Master, Tōsaka. The other goes without saying; that is Mount Enzō. All the leylines in the surrounding area gather at Mount Enzō. The details are just as Head of the Household Acht had said – “

Servants arrived at the castle before Irisviel and company did and had prepared everything appropriately at the meeting place before leaving. Therefore, the meeting place where the meeting was being held is immaculate. Not a speck of dust gathered anywhere from table legs to tea cups, and vases were filled with lively flowers. It’s impossible to imagine that no one has lived here for sixty years.

It’d be a lie to say that she’s not tired. But Irisviel at least rested in bed for a little while. Kiritsugu, on the other hand, didn’t rest for one minute. It was already near noon when Kiritsugu and his assistant Hisau Maiya arrived at the castle. However, as soon as they arrived at the castle they received the summons from Fuyuki church, controlled familiars, confirmed the notice from the supervisor and such, and Kiritsugu busily dealt with all these hassles without a halt. Last night, after the battle at the warehouses, Kiritsugu and company attacked Lancer’s Master Kayneth, and even encountered Kotomine Kirei. Another fierce battle ensued. Yet, Kiritsugu didn’t even show a sliver of exhaustion, then there’s no reason for Irisviel to complain of tiredness either.

No, there were other, hidden reasons for Irisviel to sigh.

“– A powerful bounded field was established with the Ryūdōji temple on top of Mount Enzō as its base. As a result, apart from Servants, all other natural creatures can only enter the bounded field through the mountain path. Saber needs to be careful of this when she’s moving.”

These words advising caution to Saber can be directly said to Saber face to face. However, Kiritsugu still didn’t even once look at the girl dressed in masculine attire and stood behind Irisviel.

There were two reasons why the air became stagnant and heavy. One was that Saber displayed an attitude of absolute refusal towards Kiritsugu. This attitude of Saber’s didn’t form just now, but it only became more obvious since they arrived at Einsbern castle.

“Also, apart from these two locations, there are two more key positions in Shinto where leylines gather. One is the Fuyuki church on top of the southern hill, and the other is the new housing development to the east of the CBD. To conclude, there are four key spiritual grounds in Fuyuki where it is properly equipped to carry out the Holy Grail’s descent.”

“If so, in order to face Caster more safely, don’t we need to defeat Lancer first?”

However, faced with Irisviel’s continuous questions, Kiritsugu shook his head.

“We have no need to confront Caster directly when he appears. All you need to do is to use the advantage of the terrain to the maximum. Saber can just run away and confuse the enemy’s line of sight.”

Irisviel was shocked. When Saber heard this from Kiritsugu, she was gaping with anger.

“Not… fighting Caster?”

“All the other Masters have set their aim at Caster. Someone is bound to deal with Caster without us lifting a finger. Therefore, we have no need to commit this extra act.”

“Caster is rich picking for all those Masters who are chasing Caster with bloodshot eyes. Caster’s sight is locked on Saber. As long as Caster makes a move, then one or two of the Masters pursuing Caster would definitely set foot in this forest and we can attack these Masters sideways. The Master who gave pursuing Caster all their attention would never think that they would change from the role of the hunter to the hunted.”

That was it; such was creditably Kiritsugu’s strategy. In Kiritsugu’s eyes there are no human morals or the pride of being a magus. He is only a predatory machine deducted from the formula of the survival of the fittest.

Kiritsugu originally didn’t plan to come to this castle. Irisviel finally understood Kiritsugu’s intention in suddenly changing his plans and joining forces with her.

“Master, you… just how despicable do you want to be?!”

Saber rebuked loudly and angrily, and Irisviel also felt a faint pang in her heart. Saber’s indignation right now was different from the anger she had last night due to Rider’s mockery and Caster’s boosting – in some ways this was an even more furious anger.

“Emiya Kiritsugu-sama, you’re insulting Heroic Spirits.”

“I only joined this war to avoid spilling rivers of blood. Fight for the Holy Grail, no meaningless bloodshed, minimize sacrifices, one person taking up the mission of fate instead of armies of men and competing here… this is what we Servants should do.”

“Why don’t you give me the responsibility of joining the battle? You were just like that when you attacked Lancer’s Master last night. One misstep had resulted in a disaster. I have already made a deal with Lancer to fight again! You don’t need to use such despicable means – or is it that Kiritsugu-sama doesn’t have faith in me, who is a Servant?”

Kiritsugu didn’t reply. He kept an indifferent silence as if Saber’s furious words were mere trifles. Irisviel hated that mask-like expression of indifference on Kiritsugu’s face to no end.

That man was not the husband she knew.

She indeed knew that the person Emiya Kiritsugu has dual personalities. She detected that on the one hand Kiritsugu invested all his emotions to his wife and daughter, and on the other hand he hid the scars of the past in his heart. Irisviel knew something about what kind of life Kiritsugu lived before he entered the Einsbern family. But was that the decisive factor that caused the split between them?

Also, the factor that helped Irisviel to realize this was that black-clad woman present in the meeting. That woman didn’t speak a single word, and silently entrusted everything she has to Kiritsugu. That woman was the other reason why Irisviel was feeling melancholic.

It wasn’t the first time she’s seen Hisau Maiya. She had seen Hisau Maiya a few times in the Einsbern castle. It was Hisau Maiya who managed all of Kiritsugu’s worldly businesses outside during the nine years of Kiritsugu’s seclusion.

The woman who acted with Kiritsugu before he met Irisviel. In the duration of this meeting, she didn’t have a sliver of doubt towards Kiritsugu’s words and kept her adamant silence. Perhaps, for Maiya, the Kiritsugu right now was the Emiya Kiritsugu she knew.

Suddenly, a faint aroma drifted into Irisviel’s nose. It was the smell of tobacco. That scent of tobacco was remaining on Kiritsugu the first time Irisviel met Kiritsugu. Irisviel still remembered that she detested that smell a lot back then.

She hadn’t smelt that scent for a long time after she married Kiritsugu. Now, the scent of tobacco again emanated from Kiritsugu. Perhaps that is the gunpowder smell of the battlefield.

The current Kiritsugu had undoubtedly returned to the Kiritsugu nine years ago. Back then, in order to win the Holy Grail, Acht took Kiritsugu in. Kiritsugu was like a cruel and merciless hound.

And the Irisviel back then was merely a doll guarding the Holy Grail. As she reminisced Kiritsugu’s past, it was almost as if Irisviel was remembering her own past. As if the nine years the two of them lived together no longer existed. Irisviel’s heart started to become fretful and restless.

Right now, the person closest to the man Emiya Kiritsugu was not her, who is his wife, but Hisau Maiya…

Irisviel did not say what she was thinking of, but asked a completely irrelevant question:

“… How should we deal with the new rule of the war the supervisor had proposed? Didn’t he want us to enter a ceasefire with all enemies apart from Caster?”

“Ignore that new rule. The supervisor only provided the rewards for abiding with the new rule, not the details of the punishment you’d get if you break the new rule. If the supervisor really buggers us about it, we can just pretend we didn’t know about this rule.”

Completely different from his attitude when treating Saber, Kiritsugu replied to Irisviel’s questions thoroughly.

“– Besides, it just doesn’t feel like the supervisor of this war can be trusted and respected. Hiding Assassin’s Master as if he knows nothing about it; he’s probably on Tōsaka’s side. Before we figure out everything about him, we should temporarily regard him with some doubt.”

“…”

Saber was so angry her body was shaking, and countless thoughts roamed in Irisviel’s heart. For a moment, the two of them both sank into silence. Kiritsugu took such a silence as the sign to end the meeting.

“Then the meeting’s over. Irisviel and I will remain in the castle and prepare for Caster’s assault. Maiya is to return to the city and gather intelligence. Report it to me if there are any changers there.”

“Yes sir.”

Maiya nodded unhesitatingly, stood up, and left the meeting room. Kiritsugu stood up a while later, gathered the map and documents on the table, and also left the room. Kiritsugu didn’t look at Saber even once until the end.

Saber, completely ignored by Kiritsugu, bit her lip tightly and angrily and stared at the carpet beneath her feet. Irisviel and Saber remained in the meeting room. Right now, Irisviel didn’t know what words she could say to soothe the fuming Saber.

No, the proud King of Knights, Saber, wouldn’t expect others to comfort her with useless words. Currently, for Saber, the necessary thing to do was to resolve the current problem at its root. When she thought of this, Irisviel put a hand on Saber’s shoulder to show her gratitude towards her, and immediately chased after Kiritsugu and left the meeting room.

That overwhelmingly deliberate ignorance Kiritsugu showed towards Saber – it wasn’t just because the two of them had different beliefs. If Kiritsugu didn’t harbor emotions such as extreme hatred or anger towards Saber he wouldn’t be able to act so ignorantly towards her. All in all, Kiritsugu had overdone it this time. No matter how much the strategies of the two differed, they were still companions fighting for a common goal. Although they don’t have to respect each other, they shouldn’t humiliate each other either.

Irisviel soon discovered Kiritsugu’s figure.

Irisviel soon discovered Kiritsugu’s figure. He stood on the balcony that could overlook the front garden of the castle, leaning on the railing, and looked out into the night forest. Fortunately, Maiya’s figure wasn’t beside Kiritsugu.

“… Kiritsugu.”

Irisviel spoke as she slowly walked up to Kiritsugu’s back. She didn’t think that her voice would suddenly become severe. Kiritsugu must have also felt her presence. Because Kiritsugu didn’t appear surprised at all, but turned slowly around.

Irisviel was already prepared. Just then, when Kiritsugu confronted Saber in the meeting room, a look of such cruelty seeped out of his eyes. Irisviel prepared to stare straight into Kiritsugu’s cruel gaze. However, when she saw Kiritsugu’s expression when he turned around, she couldn’t help but feel helpless and stood rooted to the ground.

Kiritsugu’s expression was like a hurt and helpless child, forcibly holding back his tears. Kiritsugu looked as if he’s been driven up against a wall. The Kiritsugu standing before Irisviel right now was so very remote from the figure of that powerful magus killer; he is only a weak and cowardly man.

“Kiritsugu, you –”

Kiritsugu didn’t speak, hugging the confused Irisviel tightly. His chest was shaking. In Irisviel’s eyes, her husband’s shoulders were always strong and powerful, something others can rely on, but now her husband was as helpless as a baby sheltering in the arms of his gentle mother.

“If I –”

Irisviel felt that her husband hugged her tighter, even hurting her. Then, her husband’s weak question sounded beside her ear.

“If right now I decide to throw away everything and run away from here – Iris, will you leave with me?”

Probably, Irisviel would never be able to imagine that a man like Emiya Kiritsugu would ask such a question. She was so shocked she couldn’t speak for a while, and asked back only after a long pause:

“Ilya… that child is still in the castle. What about her?”

“We go back to the castle and bring her out. All who stand in our way will be killed.”

That was a short and crisp sound – but also full of despair. Doubtlessly, Kiritsugu wasn’t joking; he was serious.

“After that – I’ll give everything I have for our family. I’ll protect Ilya and you with my life.”

“…”

Now Irisviel finally understood the feeling of this trapped man in front of her. Kiritsugu, the partner of her life, was facing the greatest battle in his life, and he’s already been forced onto a road of no return.

He was no longer the Kiritsugu from nine years ago. No longer that cold and emotionless hound, no longer that killing machine who endlessly chastened himself.

Kiritsugu had changed. He’s gone very weak, even forcing himself into such a situation to achieve that very cruel ideal. The key that made Kiritsugu change was none other but Irisviel.

Wife and daughter. They weren’t meant to be swept into Emiya Kiritsugu’s life.

Originally, Kiritsugu had nothing to lose. He couldn’t even feel pain. It was precisely because Emiya Kiritsugu was such a man that he can be extraordinarily strong, he can pursuit the immense ideal of saving the world, unhesitatingly sacrifice everything for it, and become a soldier whose cruelty knows no bounds.

The current Kiritsugu wanted to go back to the past, to be the man he was before. But – at the same time that he remembered the past, in the depth of Kiritsugu’s current soul an inconsolable dilemma formed. These nine years completely changed Kiritsugu. Kiritsugu was already enduring a huge amount of pressure and pain just to maintain the look of cruelty and heartlessness he had before.

Kiritsugu’s ignorance of Saber was exactly the exposure of Kiritsugu’s weakness. Currently, Kiritsugu was already exhausted trying to preserve himself. He had no energy to accept Saber, even with no extra energy left to communicate to the King of Knights.

Irisviel’s heart hurt terribly. The man she loves with all her heart was been tormented, but there was nothing she could do. That’s because the person that caused all of Kiritsugu’s anguish is herself.

The only thing Irisviel can do now – was to weakly raise her doubt to him.

“Are we able to run away? We…”

“We can. Now there’s still a chance.”

Kiritsugu replied immediately. But that wasn’t believable. Kiritsugu only said that to allow his own heart to still cherish that illusionary hope.

“– You’re lying.”

So Irisviel pointed that out, gently, cruelly.

“That’s impossible. Emiya Kiritsugu, it’s impossible for you to run away.”

“Give up the Holy Grail, give up the ideal of saving the world; you will definitely not forgive such a self. You will definitely be the final judge and declare the death penalty for yourself.”

Kiritsugu finally cried out. He understood that too. He had no choices left since a long time ago.

“I’m so scared…”

Kiritsugu sobbed, and spoke of what was in his heart like a child.

“That guy – Kotomine Kirei locked his aim on me. Maiya told me that. That guy used Kayneth as bait to lure me onto his hook. He’s already guessed all my plans…”

“I may lose the battle. I sacrificed you, and left Ilya aside, but still… that most dangerous person had already aimed his weapons at me. That guy is the enemy I least want to meet!”

Emiya Kiritsugu, not a hero nor a warrior, but a killer. He doesn’t have the courage and the pride to battle others with his life on the line. He is a coward. Therefore, his goal is to cautiously and with the least risk ensure his victory and the right to survive. For the hunter, the worst nightmare is to be hunted by another.

But even so, if it was the Kiritsugu nine years ago, he wouldn’t so much as lift an eyebrow and would calmly think up the best solution. That was the terror of Kiritsugu when he had no loved ones to lose. But now, when the Kiritsugu who is afraid to lose his loved ones faces battles again, the fear of losing those he loves became his fatal weakness.

“I won’t let you fight alone.”

Irisviel said gently as she caressed her husband’s shaking back.

“I’ll protect you. Saber will also protect you. And… Maiya will also be beside you.”

Irisviel was forced to admit which woman Kiritsugu needs the most at the moment.

Only one person can reawaken the tenacious toughness sealed away in the depths of Kiritsugu’s heart, and recall the cruel and heartless personality Kiritsugu had many years ago. But Irisviel would never mention these to Kiritsugu.

If Irisviel still had something she could do, then that is to embrace Kiritsugu, and let Kiritsugu have some temporary solace. However – Irisviel prayed silently in her heart.

It wouldn’t matter if her prayers don’t work. She prayed that the time she’s allowed to embrace Kiritsugu would be lengthened, even for a minute or a second. Then, she can cure Kiritsugu’s pain the best she can with her limited strength.

– Such prayers and the embrace of the two simultaneously disappeared without a trace.

Irisviel’s chest suddenly throbbed intensively, and she couldn’t help but tense up her entire body. Repeating and intensive vibrations appeared in her magic circuits as soon as she held the forest’s bounded field within her own magecraft.

That was the alarm.

“– Here already?”

Her husband muttered beside her ear. Calmly – he returned to the resolute and cruel tone she still hasn’t gotten used to.

Kiritsugu detected that something had happened just by seeing his wife’s expression. Irisviel nodded silently and left her husband’s embrace. The cruel countenance of that ‘magus killer’ once again emerged in front of her eyes.

“Fortunately, he came before Maiya left. Now we can smash him face on – Irisviel, prepare the crystal ball used to look into the distance.”

“Right.”

Events were happening much quicker than expected. The whirlwind of battle began to blow in the forest.

Back to Act 5, Part 5

Return to Main Page

Forward to Act 6, Part 2