Fate/Zero:Act 14 Part 1
-37:02:20
When it was almost dusk, it vaguely occurred to Saber that today’s ambush might once again be a waste of effort. She was frustrated and unsettled by the thought.
Following the intelligence gained from Tōsaka Tokiomi, master of Archer, Saber arrived at Miyama Town. There she indeed found the residence of the Glen Mackenzie couple. On hearing the doorbell, the old woman appeared in front of Saber; according to the words of this old woman, her grandson and his friend had indeed stayed here these few days. The old woman seemed to have mistaken Saber for her grandson’s friend as well, and so had told the whole truth without hesitation.
Saber persuaded the old woman to tell her of the appearance and clothing of the two people; undoubtedly, those two people were Rider and his Master. It was regrettable, however, that she could not feel the presence of any Servant. A house of such proportions—if there was a Servant hiding within, it should be possible to sense his presence even standing at the entrance.
According to the old woman, those two people had left in the morning and not returned since. The exact methods they had learned of Saber’s arrival and fled were worthy of suspicion, but it was truly difficult to imagine that the haughty King of Conquerors would actually resort to tricks of such cowardice as flight. If he intended to seize victory he would definitely attack head-on.
In the end, the conclusion Saber arrived at was that this ‘miss’ was only a chance coincidence; courteously taking her leave of the old woman, she decided to keep watch from an area slightly further away from the house, and wait for Rider to return.
Of course, she would hide all of the truth from the old woman. Though she had been deceived by Waver Velvet, after all this family were normal people who had nothing to do with the whole event. Rider must have considered this as well.
To stop Caster’s atrocities, and prevent Fuyuki City from falling into dangerous circumstances, Rider had been able to temporarily set aside the fight for the Holy Grail. Thus Saber made the judgment: those deeds, worthy of pride, that a true Heroic Spirit would do—the King of Conquerors would absolutely not go against them. After Rider returned and discovered Saber, he would definitely choose a location worthy of a Servants’ battle and carry out a showdown that was open and aboveboard.
Aware that even just walking around she was already very conspicuous, Saber decided to sit on a chair at the closest bus station and wait. Henceforth, she began keeping intent watch, but a few hours passed without any movement, until now.
Though she was not in a position in which she could directly see the Mackenzie house, upon Rider’s return he would definitely sense the presence of a Servant, and seek out Saber. He was not the sort of opponent who would use methods such as running away or sneak attacks. He would definitely welcome Saber’s intent of challenge, and lead her to a suitable location for combat.
Though it seems a little strange to say it, toward this Servant-Rider, Saber professes a hundred percent trust. Though their respective viewpoints could not be reconciled, the Heroic Spirit would take action on the basis of his pride as a King—this point was incontestable. He would only challenge openly, and would definitely not make secret plans or commit acts of betrayal. Because Rider would never choose despicable tactics or strategy that would damage his reputation.
Saber’s unease, it could be said, originated from her allies rather than from her opponents.
Her Master, Emiya Kiritsugu, was eyeing the Master of Rider with intentions and combat goals completely opposite of her own. Even at this very instant, it could even be that he had used Saber as bait to lure Rider, and was now keeping watch from afar—there was nothing wrong with thinking like this. Truly she had to make this mental preparation. Kiritsugu probably believed that the instant at which Rider went all out to confront Saber was the optimal opportunity to assassinate his Master.
Thinking this, Saber’s heart could not help but be weighed down. Kiritsugu might as well carry out a showdown between magi, with the masters of Berserker and Archer as targets. It was actually all right like this. Saber did not completely reject a victory obtained not through reliance on Servants but only through strategy and power play. It was for his own legitimate reasons that Kiritsugu wanted the Grail. It was not unreasonable to desire victory that could be obtained through more reliable means.
But in this showdown with Rider, Alexander King of Conquerors, Saber also had a bottom line which she was absolutely not willing to concede.
If there could not be a fair showdown between them—not as Servants, the tools by which to fight for the Grail, but as Heroic Spirits who possess strong pride—Saber would be forever unable to undo the knot left in her heart by the ‘Grail question-and-answer’ from several days ago.
Alexander revels without restraint in his tyrannical kingship; he revels in the violent way of the Ionian Hetairoi, and takes pride in it. If she were not to fell him with a similar symbol of the ideology of the King of Knights, the ‘Sword of Promised Victory’, Arturia’s kingship would be broken, and thus ended.
Rider’s Noble Phantasm was strong to the point that even just thinking about it would cause one to tremble all over. Even if Saber were to exert the strength of her own Noble Phantasm to the greatest extent, it could not assure victory.
What result would come of a showdown between an anti-army and anti-city Noble Phantasm, was already beyond the capacity of human imagination. If such a large price had to be paid as the stakes for victory, Emiya Kiritsugu would definitely think this a foolish cause of action, and pay it only a perfunctory smile. But to Saber, the Holy Grail should be a thing to be fought for on the premise of sticking to one’s ideals. Since there was someone who threatened the basis of her kingship, it was definitely intolerable to Saber to even consider using methods that sidestepped this problem.
Only by assuring the Kingship that is the pride of the King of Knight, will the Holy Grail choose the King of Knights.
Precisely because of this--- for example the battle with Lancer the previous day, if Kiritsugu had interfered in the showdown with Lancer, to Saber this Heaven’s Feel could be considered completely void. Even if the final victory was obtained through those despicable methods, Saber would definitely not be willing to take the fruit of victory, the Grail.
If Rider were to set up a Reality Marble to protect his Master in, then carry out the battle, then it would not be interrupted. But Kiritsugu was also very clear of Rider’s techniques. If he were to play any tricks before the activation of the Ionian Hetairoi…
Saber sat curled up on the chair, teeth gritted. She felt very frustrated at herself, who could not read Emiya Kiritsugu’s intentions. In the face of a strong adversary, she yet could not concentrate her full strength.
At the same time she was waiting uneasily, the bone-chilling north wind became even colder, making Saber even more anxious.
Just like Saber had worried, Emiya Kiritsugu was indeed there.
Approximately eight hundred metres from where she was, one street away, on the rooftop of a six-storey apartment of a public housing estate.
Different from the haphazardly arranged edifices, the rooftop of the apartment was structured somewhat strangely, because it was not necessary to consider that the residents would use it. Though it was somewhat difficult to enter, once inside, one could hardly be disturbed. After hiding behind the water tower, even from downstairs one could not be seen; it is an excellent position suited to sniping or setting up an ambush.
Even the smoke and smell of tobacco could not be noticed here. To be able to enjoy to his heart’s content the cigarettes that could bring vitality and energy—Kiritsugu’s mental burden here was much smaller than Saber’s.
The sniper rifle sighting device propped on the scaffolding was directed at the front door of the Mackenzie home.
And another specially prepared portable sighting device could clearly see every action of Saber, who was sitting in front of the bus stop.
It was fairly difficult to observe while switching between two telescopes without any break in between, but this could not be helped because he was unable to rely on Maiya’s help. Since she had been entrusted with the job of guarding Irisviel, until the end she could not leave. From this day on, ‘hunting’ adversaries could only fall to Kiritsugu alone.
Kiritsugu had begun observing the Mackenzie house slightly later than Saber had; he saw that Saber, who could definitely feel the presence of Servants, was doing nothing, which indicated clearly that Rider was not at home right now.
In which case then the Master was definitely not around either. The Master was not bold enough to stay home alone under these circumstances. Once he discovered that the enemy’s Servant was pacing at the door, he would definitely summon Rider at once.
Kiritsugu was different from Saber; the situation in which the targeted prey did not remain at the stronghold seemed more serious. Precisely the day after Kiritsugu had learned about the existence of Glen Mackenzie and family, they had left home and had yet to return; this timing was too much of a coincidence. Though there was no concrete evidence, there was still a relatively high chance that Waver Velvet had discovered the enemy’s attack and fled in a hurry.
Even thus, Kiritsugu nevertheless continued waiting there with a thread of hope, thinking that this was also an issue worthy of thought.
If Waver returned again to the Mackenzie house, it was definitely necessary to blow up the house. If he had already fled, then he must have already found another stronghold. The probability of his returning to this house was very low.
It looked like it would no longer be appropriate to use that old couple to lead Waver into a trap, in the same way that he had used Sola as bait to lure Kayneth.
Waver’s method of being indifferent to the security of the fortress, and choose an ordinary household as his stronghold—Kiritsugu regarded it highly. In comparison to the three families of the beginning and Kayneth, who had built extravagant strongholds where they could easily be found, Waver’s strategy was much better. It was difficult to conclude that a magus who could make this judgment would show sympathy for the household he was temporarily living in. To Waver, the Mackenzie couple were only pawns to be abandoned.
The impatience that wasted precious time, and the taboo of acting with undue haste—these two thoughts crossed swords in Kiritsugu’s heart.
On one hand he had given up hope of Waver’s return; on the other , he was unable to completely abandon the possibility that his departure was only coincidence. The important reason for this was—it was very difficult to imagine that the young magus would actually be one step ahead of Kiritsugu in a battle of information.
At the start, Kiritsugu had never treated Waver master of Rider as an opponent. Though he had later learnt of some of his background through additional investigation, even then he had only treated Waver Velvet as a novice magus who had become a Master by chance, and made the conclusion that he was a layman who was no different from ordinary people who did not know magic.
Of course, Kiritsugu was not the sort of person who directly correlated ability and experience. Kiritsugu still remembered that he had already been a ruthless assassin when he had made his debut, and he did not think himself a rare example.
But he had observed Waver Velvet’s performance on the battlefield several times; it was still very difficult to say if he could become a strong opponent who could surpass Kiritsugu.
Having never gotten an answer, at the time when he was beginning to feel an inexplicable anxiety…
Suddenly, intense pain burnt at the base of Kiritsugu’s last finger; his back stiffened.
“…?!”
Ever since he had started truly treating Hisau Maiya as his assistant, Kiritsugu had put a spell on a strand of her hair and embedded it in the subcutaneous tissue of his last finger. At the same time Maiya had also embedded a strand of Kiritsugu’s hair in her finger. If one of their magic circuits was in a state of extreme stagnation, the stage in which the life force was weak to the point of being on the verge of the impasse of death, the strand of hair given to the other person would burn, warning the other and notifying them of the existence of danger.
That was a measure implemented for a worst-case scenario in which it was already impossible to use the wireless network, or familiars, to convey information; that is to say, this is only a signal to inform that “it is already too late’. Now, that it would be activated at this occasion—what exactly it meant…
Before wavering, one must be first caught in a quandary. Kiritsugu mobilized all his brain cells and began to ponder the situation at hand as well as formulate response plans.
Maiya was on the verge of death—in other words, this meant that Irisviel, hidden in the underground storage, was in danger. The sequence of events and its cause could not be determined now.
Now the absolute priority was to carry out help as soon as possible—the only method that could be chosen was the fastest—a miracle that would be made to happen by the command seals on his right hand.
“In the name of the Command Seals I order my puppet!”
Kiritsugu clenched his fist, at the same time reciting the spell as quickly as an automatic machine.
“Saber, return to the underground storage quickly! At once!”
The magic awoke in one of the command seals carved on the back of Kiritsugu’s hand, projecting light.
It is definitely not an overstatement to say that Saber was very surprised by this.
What was immediately understood was that she had been subject to a strong magic. In the next instant, she had been stripped of all recognition of the surrounding space, and sent into the midst of ’transfer’ that did not have an existence or direction.
That was probably the legendary ultimate spell specific to ‘commanding Servants’. An ultimate speed that almost caused the laws of cause and effect to break down, in a ‘moment’ a fraction of the speed of light, she had already broken the distance of space, and completed the instantaneous movement between two different points in space.
Though it was like this, she was not without reason the sword-wielding Heroic Spirit that had undergone special treatment. Though she had just been ‘transported’ from a chair beside a bus stop to a completely different place, after becoming aware that this was the underground storage that was so familiar, she immediately understood that the strange phenomenon just now was caused by the activation of Kiritsugu’s command seal. Also, there must have occurred some emergency situation that caused the Servant to have to immediately hurry to the guarded stronghold. In the few milliseconds between completing the space break and arriving on the floor of the underground storage, Saber had already completed the transformation from her suit disguise to her platinum armor.
The situation, without the need to ask anyone, was clear at a glance.
The metal door that had been broken down by a crude strength. Irisviel, who should have been lying in the middle of the magic circle, had vanished; in its place was the body of Maiya, covered in blood, writhing and discarded.
“Maiya!”
Saber quickly ran to her side; she could not help but furrow her brow on seeing the depth of her wounds. The injuries sustained in the Einsbern forest could not begin to compare with this. What she had sustained now, were injuries that would cause death if not given emergency treatment as soon as possible.
As if feeling the Servant’s radiant presence, Maiya slowly opened her eyes.
“Sa…ber…?”
“Maiya, pull yourself together! I will bind these wound immediately. It’s all right—“
But Maiya pushed away the hand that Saber stretched out to her.
“Quickly… go after him, quickly, outside... Rider, he…”
“…”
Compared to having been sent to this place by the command seals, Saber was even more surprised at Maiya’s reaction.
Maiya must already have known the extent of her injuries. She must have fully understood that she was on the verge of death. But this silent assistant to an assassin—compared to her own life, she cared more for the safety of Irisviel who had been kidnapped, and was urging Saber to prioritize consideration of the matter of helping Irisviel.
“But, then—“
Just as she was about to ask a question in reply, Saber suddenly understood.
This woman was also a knight. Though different from her own expressions of pride, this courage to be willing to abandon life for the duty that she had taken up—was precisely the way of the knight that Saber so firmly believed in.
I must protect Irisviel in the underground storage until the last moment—Hisau Maiya had certainly already made an oath to Kiritsugu and Irisviel. In order to entrust to Saber that agreement she could not carry out till the end, she was willing to diminish her own life.
“I… it’s all right… very soon, Kiritsugu will come… so… you must, quickly…”
Saber gritted her teeth and shut her eyes.
Reasonably reckoning—every minute and every second that Saber now expended on worrying about Maiya, Irisviel who had been taken away could be moving toward a hopeless situation.
That Maiya could be saved by Kiritsugu who would quickly rush here—this thread of hope still remained. But the fate of Irisviel who had been taken away—if Saber did not give chase immediately there would be no guarantee. According to the marks left behind in the underground storage, undoubtedly that was a Servant’s doing. The follow-up attack could only be carried out by Saber who was likewise a Servant.
“—Maiya, you must hold on till Kiritsugu arrives. I will bring Irisviel back safely.”
Maiya nodded, and shut her eyes as if reassured.
Saber had used a new vow to continue Maiya’s vow—there was no way to hesitate further.
She ran out of the underground storage like a hurricane, leaping too the roof in a single bound, gazing into the darkened, faraway sky in search of the enemy’s silhouette.
Since it was a godspeed instantaneous transfer caused by a command seal, surely the attacker must not have left here very long ago. The enemy had not yet gone far. Even unable to sense him through his presence, it was still possible to find him by sight alone.
Saber stood on the rooftop, and using the paranormal vision of servants, glanced through the surroundings—effortlessly capturing the sight of the enemy.
A distance of about half a kilometre… majestically standing on the roof of what looked like the apartments of the business district.
A robust physique, curly flame-colored hair and a crimson mantle. No doubt that was Rider, King of Conquerors, Alexander, whom she had met many times before on the battlefield.
“It wouldn’t be—unless it really was Rider?!”
Saber still held on to a strand of suspicion of Maiya’s eyewitness statement.
That the King of Conquerors, whose name had been unyielding all along, would employ such base methods—it was indeed difficult to believe. But his thickset hands were indeed holding up the unconscious form of Irisviel; after seeing this sight there was no way to doubt further. Though it was not known how they had guessed Saber’s new stronghold, undoubtedly this was Rider who had just now ambushed Maiya and seriously injured her.
Rider showed himself openly as if luring the enemy to venture in deep; immediately after meeting Saber’s gaze he immediately turned and vanished to one side of the edifice.
“Damn…!”
Saber took her stance and intended to continue pursuit, but the adversary was that Heroic Spirit of the Rider—Saber could not but purse her lips.
It would be easy to continue like this, leaping through the streets in pursuit. But that was assuming that the other part was also travelling on foot, like her. If Rider fled on his Gordius Wheel. No matter how good Saber’s legs, she would not be able to catch up.
But Saber also had the skill of Riding. Compared to utilizing a Noble Phantasm that could fly in the air to reach his destination, it was necessary to utilize a long-distance cruiser that could surpass the mechanical energy of walking.
If this had been in the past, Saber would definitely have given up the pursuit because she had no way to catch up. But luckily or unluckily, the previous day Maiya had given her a new ‘steed’.
With a deep gratitude to Kiritsugu’s foresight and meticulousness in preparing for every eventuality, Saber leaped onto the ‘horse’, removing the magical armor that impeded riding the ‘horse’, and got onto the steed that was parked in the abandoned courtyard.
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