Fate/Zero:Act 6 Part 4

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-130:45:08

It was pure luck that Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald captured Caster’s figure in his sight in Fuyuki.

Although he was dumbfounded upon discovering that figure in a inky black cloak, obviously from the wrong era, strolling casually along the suburban streets at dusk, Kayneth began his chase when he saw Caster stopping a small truck that passed by, gave hypnotic suggestions at the driver, and then sat in it with the children as if it was a kindergarten trip.

A battle between Servants can only be conducted away from other people; however, the truck carrying Caster was incidentally driving towards the remote mountains far from the city. Kayneth snickered as this suited his purpose perfectly, but began to hesitate when he realised their destination is the Einsbern forest.

He’s already heard of the Einsbern territory near Fuyuki when he conducted investigations beforehand. Since it is a territory of mages, it would therefore have its matching bounded field, making it a location where others would find it hard to battle with an advantage. Despite that, leaving aside the true reason for Caster to specially travel here – his intention of challenging the power of the Einsberns is obvious. If so, then maybe there’s a chance to gain something in the battle. Kayneth made up his mind, and stepped into the forest with Lancer.

Just as he thought, Caster began fighting Saber, who materialized to counter his assault. From his fuddled speech and acts it can be seen that Caster, already roaming, is acting alone, but Saber’s Master still didn’t appear. He probably deduced that he can protect himself alone even if he doesn’t stay beside his Servant since this is in his territory, and decided to observe the battle in his headquarters away from the frontline.

So Kayneth decided on his own strategies.

He ordered Lancer to assault Caster. For Kayneth, who has already spent one Command Seal, the reward the supervisor brought up concerning defeating Caster is something he’d do anything to obtain. However, even if he defeats Caster here, it would seem that he’s on the same side as Saber. The Einsbern Master would also be given the extra Command Seal. It’s something that Kayneth definitely doesn’t want to see.

Therefore, Kayneth decided to leave Caster to Lancer, and he himself would secretly enter the Einsbern castle alone. If he wants to claim Caster’s head as his own, all he has to do is to get rid of Saber’s Master at the same time.

Although it is a bold challenge, Kayneth has unshakable confidence in himself. No matter what defences Einsbern had made, he’s willing to bet the title of Lord El-Melloi that he is able to break it apart. He’s got to show this kind of courage if he wants to amend the defects Sola reprimanded him about last night. For Kayneth, the most pressing problem for him right now is to have his fiancée take back her insults.

Kayneth moved toward the depth of the forest as the seething vigor boiled inside him. Although illusionary magecraft has been cast upon the forest of the bounded field, Kayneth’s outstanding knowledge and instincts allowed him to make precise deductions, and easily found the location of the central axis of the bounded field. It wasn’t for nothing that he has the mighty title of the greatest genius of spirit invocation.

“If the magecraft of the Einsberns is only to such a degree, then just how the castle is defended is very clear.”

Kayneth still had enough ease left to snicker. Although many magecraft artefacts he brought from England were lost when the hotel collapsed, his strongest trump card, his Mystic Code, has always been by his side. Therefore, he didn’t feel that his strength in battle weakened at all.

The trees hindering his sight suddenly disappeared, and the antique stone castle appeared before Kayneth. So that is it, one would expect no less from these prestigious northern mages; even a relocated castle is a building whose size deviated from normality. But Kayneth is also the son of the prestigious house of Archibald. Even if the castle’s majesty can overwhelm others, the only sentiment it rose from him was a snort.

“Not bad. After Einsbern is dealt with, it wouldn’t be bad to take of this castle and make it the new headquarters…”

After Kayneth lost the Hyatt hotel suite he had obtained an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city as his temporary base, and hid Sola there. Obviously, his fiancée’s mood couldn’t be worse. After all, it’s an environment that Kayneth’s pride won’t tolerate.

If he’s decided on this, then he has to keep the destruction of this building at the minimum.

Kayneth laughed presumptuously and placed the large porcelain vase he carried under his arm on the ground. Once it left his hand, the vase sank deeply into the earth. This vase, which was under a spell of weight reduction to make it easier to carry, has a true weight approaching 140 kilograms.

“Fervor, mei sanguis.”

Once he chanted the spell that activated the magecraft, the thing in the vase oozed out from the mouth. That liquid, giving off a mirror-like metal sheen, is a large amount of mercury. Flowing out of the vase as if it is a disciplined primeval creature, the ten-kilograms-or-so mercury, shivering, formed a ball.

This is the “Lunar Marrow Soul” that Lord El-Melloi took pride on – the strongest Mystic Code among the many of them in his possession.

“Automatoportum defensio; Automatoportum quaerere; Dilectus incursion.”

Following Kayneth’s low chanting, the surface of the mass of mercury vibrated and rustled as if answering him, and followed his feet on the ground to approach the gates of the castle.

Kayneth, who possesses the two attributes water and wind, a feat rare even among mages, excels in the art of manipulating flow, which is shared between these two attributes. He thus created this unique Mystic Code, using mercury filled with magecraft as his weapon, and controls it at will.

The shapeless mercury, can also be sculpted into any shape –

“Scalp!”

As Kayneth yelled, a part of the mercury ball suddenly became a long and thin ribbon extending upwards. Then, the mercury ribbon savagely thrashed towards the door like a whip.

As it was about to hit, the mercury whip suddenly compressed itself into a thin edge of only a few millimeters thick, becoming a mercury blade as sharp as a razor. Attacked by this mercury blade edge, the heavyset bolt was cut in half as smoothly as if it was a piece of tofu. The great gates collapsed inwards with a heavy groan.

Mercury is a heavy liquid in room temperature; when it moves rapidly under high pressure it would possess a mighty kinetic energy. Moreover, mercury can change into shapes such as whips, spears, and blades at will. Its sharpness can even overwhelm laser rays.

Perhaps he carries with him the confidence of an assured victory. Because, in front of Lord El-Melloi’s Lunar Marrow Soul, even the most stolid defence won’t stand a chance. Be it titanium alloys or diamond, nothing is unbreakable.

Kayneth walked leisurely towards the great hall of the castle after he’s finished with the obstacle in front of him. The crystal chandelier in the hall emanated brilliant light and the marble floor, polished extremely smooth, had not a single flaw. Even the air felt extraordinarily still, with only Kayneth’s presence – of course, not a single person came out to greet him.

“The ninth head of the Archibald house, Kayneth El-Melloi, asks for an audience!”

Kayneth, with an air of command, proclaimed loudly in the deserted hall.

“Oh the Einsbern magus! For the Holy Grail that you seek, betting your life and pride, come out to meet me!”

Despite Kayneth’s taunting declaration, no one responded. It was as if they weren’t looking forward to duel with Kayneth. Kayneth sighed contemptuously, and walked toward the center of the hall with heavy steps.

The moment Kayneth arrived at the center of the hall, the four flower vases placed at the four corners of the hall suddenly exploded with an enormous roar. However, it wasn’t porcelain fragments that flew out from the explosion but countless metal beads. Those metal beads sprang toward Kayneth like bullets.

This machinery was constructed free from magecraft. Kayneth didn’t sense any scent of magecraft activation. Therefore, it must be machinery Kiritsugu set up in the vases. It is an anti-unit mine called Claymore, a cruel pre-set bomb. When each bomb explodes they will release, simultaneously, 700 or so steel beads with a diameter of only about one or two millimeters. These steel beads would radiate outwards in all directions in a fan formation, a terrifying weapon that people say is made to completely destroy infantry units with one strike. When it explodes, one won’t even have time to escape; the only thing the target at the center of the bombs can do is prepare to be beaten into a sieve.

– Of course, provided that the target isn’t a magus.

In the split of a second before 2800 steel beads reached Kayneth, the spot he was standing on became enveloped by a silver semi-circle. The mass of mercury lying recumbent beside his feet suddenly became a semi-circle.

Although the tight, thin mercury membrane wrapped around Kayneth was barely one millimeter thick, its surface tension reached the strength of steel sheets when supported with prana supply. Out of the rain of beads that the Claymore mines dispersed not one of them hit Kayneth. All they did was getting reflected back to the hall and hammered the setups in the room into smithereens.

This is Lunar Marrow Soul’s “Automatoportum defensio” mode. This pre-set magecraft can automatically respond when Kayneth is threatened, forming a powerful protective membrane in a split second. This kind of reaction speed can even defend from bullets. It was also this defence system Lunar Marrow Soul created that protected Kayneth and Sola when the Hyatt hotel collapsed. The malleable mercury is a perfect weapon that gathered attack and defence all onto itself, being Kayneth’s sword and also Kayneth’s shield.

“… Hm.”

Kayneth, after he removed the protective membrane and saw the tragic scene around him, snorted with derision at the baseness of the machination. Even Kayneth, who doesn’t know much about military equipments, understood that it wasn’t magecraft that assaulted him but ordinary weapons full with dynamite.

Kayneth’s mind finally had some idea about the truth concerning the unpleasant experience last night.

He doesn’t even need to analyze it. Among the other six Masters, the only one who wants to destroy Kayneth more than everyone else is Saber’s Master, the Einsberns. However, how could the magus of the Einsberns, being such a high-born house with eminent prestige, use such a base method? Kayneth, who takes pride in being also from a prestigious family of mages, found this impossible to believe.

However – now he has to believe this. The one who used explosives to destroy Kayneth’s workshop last night with absolutely despicable methods is hiding in this castle at this very moment.

“… Fallen so low, Einsbern?”

Kayneth mumbled, with more lamentation than anger in his tone. It probably isn’t Saber’s Master himself who used such despicable methods, but some lowly guy they hired somewhere else. But even so, it is still a very corrupted thing to do. How could they hire some irrelevant guy on this holy battlefield? This is utterly unforgivable.

“– Fine, then it’s not a duel anymore, but my crusade towards you.”

Arousing his intent to kill once again, Kayneth walked deeper into the enemy’s formation.

Through the CCD cameras concealed in the main hall, Kiritsugu meticulously observed the power of Lunar Marrow Soul, Lord El-Melloi’s pride.

Using spells to manipulate mercury for automatic protection – although he’s heard about this before, he never thought that the real thing would have such powerful abilities. Even the impact wave of Claymore Mines wouldn’t beat its defence in speed. If that’s the case, then he can’t expect to use firearms to obtain victory.

Although Kiritsugu was very annoyed, he had to admit that this magus indeed possesses first-rate skills. Actually, when his machination at the Hyatt didn’t succeed, he should have known of this already.

In other words, this is an opponent that Kiritsugu must confront as a “magus”.



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