Fate/Apocrypha - Volume 1

by Yuichiro Higashide

  No... their faces were too expressionless for humans. In fact, their faces were all so similar to one another that they might be mistaken for siblings.

  "They're... not humans. Homunculi, huh."

  "..."

  Saber stirred slightly at Shishigou's muttered words.

  "What's the matter?"

  "It's nothing... Your orders, Master."

  "My thaumaturgy isn't quite powerful enough to take on those golems... Leave the homunculi to me. You take care of the rest."

  "As you command!"

  Crushing the tiles beneath her feet, Saber charged at the golems like a speeding bullet. The golems' stone and bronze bodies were shattered as though they were paper and wood. Another golem attempted to crush Saber with its immensely large body, but Saber simply roared and launched her sunken body upwards, blowing the stone puppet aside.

  Her motions contained none of the elegance of knights or the beauty of swordsmanship - she was closer to a berserker or some wild beast. Saber swung her two-hander sword with one hand, leaving her other hand open. But rather than throw a punch, she instead threw her sword - the very heart and soul of the knight - at a golem coming from above, skewering it. Stopping the punch of a second golem, Saber gave a shout and threw her attacker away - sending it on a collision course with the skewered golem above and causing both to be shattered. Plucking her sword out from the raining debris, Saber resumed her onslaught.

  Against the homunculi, Shishigou took out a large shotgun. Even the emotionless homunculi, slowly edging their way towards him, paused reflexively at the sight of the fearsome weapon.

  It is an unbranded side-by-side sawed-off. With both the stock and barrel shortened, it is highly portable and suited to room-clearing, but the effective range is extremely short.

  However, the parameters of the actual weapon meant little to the necromancer.

  "Boom."

  Turning the weapon towards the homunculi, Shishigou casually pulled the trigger. He was not aiming for anything to begin with - the key was that he was holding the gun. The firing pin and other components of his shotgun were treated with thaumaturgical rituals. The shots being fired, not the weapon, were the most important part.

  The projectiles that were loaded into this weapon would freeze the blood of anyone who saw it. 'Disgusting' would be an understatement - they were human fingers.

  There is a technique called 'Gandr' in Scandinavian runic thaumaturgy which placed a curse on the target by pointing at them. The curse can exhibit a physical force - becoming like a bullet - if constructed using great amounts of prana.

  These finger 'bullets' created by combining Gandr and Shishigou's necromancy can only reach subsonic speeds, but they can adjust their course by detecting body heat like a snake. When the projectile burrows into the body of the target and reaches the heart, the curse ruptures - it is a true 'one shot, one kill' demon bullet.

  The projectiles traced gentle curves through the air and killed several homunculi in the blink of an eye. But the shotgun only had two shots before it had to be reloaded. Not missing this chance, the other homunculi charged forward. Shishigou, still reloading, paused and took out a bizarre object - something slightly shrivelled and of a dark-red hue. It was a magus' heart.

  Shishigou tossed the thing at where the homunculi were most concentrated. With a wet sound, the heart landed beside them - it rapidly expanded and then exploded. The teeth and nails of the magus that had been concentrated inside penetrated the homunculi. They soon died with expressions of agony, as though having been force-fed some kind of poison.

  Of the many necromancers in the world, it is likely only Shishigou Kairi who have managed to turn the bodies of magi and magical beasts into such brutal killing devices.

  While the homunculi certainly possess some combat ability, to the bounty hunter they are but simple prey. And that seems to be have been the case for Saber as well.

  "It's over, Master."

  "Yeah, well done."

  Having crushed the last golem, Saber returned. She looked around at the corpses around him and let out a breath, sounding impressed.

  "Not bad for a necromancer."

  "I've seen my fair share of carnage."

  As he spoke, Shishigou tore out a piece of parchment from a piece of a shattered golem. There were commands written all over it.

  "This is old... over eight hundred years old."

  Time was of exceedingly high value in thaumaturgical applications. A mystery strengthens the longer it has existed. For example, a family's thaumaturgical crest becomes strong by having new accomplishments added to it by every generation to have received it. With eight-hundred-year-old parchment, one may forge a golem that can easily destroy one or two experienced magi.

  However...

  "How were those golems, Saber?"

  "This was my first time facing these stone puppets... but they did better than I expected. The last one managed to endure three blows."

  "A golem made by a modern magus couldn't possibly last even two hits from you, not even if he spent his entire life working on it."

  There are exceptions, of course. The world is a big place and it is possible that a magus exists who can create golems on par with Servants. However, it does not seem likely that one would exist among the Yggdmillennia. The best golemancer within their clan is Roche Flyn Yggdramillennia and as good as his golems are, they will not be able to withstand even one of Saber's swings.

  This means that the creator of these golems is not a modern magus.

  Just as Shishigou was taking a closer look at the parchment in order to examine it in further detail, a great heat washed over his face.

  "Ouch!"

  He recoiled and let go of the blazing parchment. It was not only the piece that Shishigou picked up - all the parchment in the area around them were going up in flames. The remains of the golems quickly weathered and turned to dust.

  "You all right?"

  "Yeah, it just stung a bit. Careful bastards - there goes our clue. Looks like we can't set up here, not if they were ready with an ambush."

  The Yggdmillennia had obviously considered the strategic importance of this place. Trifas is, after all, a small city. It would be best to think that the enemy already has some presence at every single location that could prove useful in the assault on the castle. And they did not simply send one or two defenders but a deluge of highly engineered homunculi and golems.

  If they stand around looking confused for any longer, the Yggdmillennia may just send a Servant out to meet the attack. For now, it seems their only choice is to send familiars into the air to observe from a distance.

  "I suppose we have no choice but to head back now?"

  "Well, we did learn one thing."

  "And that is?"

  "Their Caster - or one of the other classes, but it has to be a Servant - is a heroic spirit skilled with golems."

  That lowers the number of possibilities by a fair amount. Golems themselves are hardly rare, but there cannot be many individuals who were so deeply involved with them that they would become heroic spirits.

  "By the way, Master, did you get the feeling that we were being watched?"

  On the way back to the workshop, Saber suddenly said this as though she had just remembered it. Shishigou nodded in agreement. It was likely a magus utilizing some sort of far-sight thaumaturgy or sharing the senses of one of their familiars. Essentially, he and Saber had been watched in order to judge their combat strength.

  "Well, as long as you wear that helmet, the information that we don't want anyone to know can stay that way. You can take it off now, right?"

  One of Saber's Noble Phantasms, Helm of Hidden InfidelitySecret of Pedigree, is able to hide certain sections of her parameters. While general data such as statistics and class skills cannot be hidden, this useful piece of armor can keep her true name, Noble Phantasms and unique skills a secret.

  While her strongest Noble Phantasm cannot be activated in this state, it
is an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm - it should be used when it is certain that the enemy will be destroyed. Once it is revealed, the target must disappear from the world.

  "It's all right if I remove it out of combat, yes?"

  "Yeah, go ahead."

  A happy Saber began to whistle. Obviously, Shishigou is not permitting her to reveal her parameters. It seems that her statistics and data are only released for the first time when she 'takes off' the helmet while it is 'set' in the armor. Even if she were to remove her entire suit of armor and clothe herself in her modern costume, as long as she does not hold her weapon, the concealment continues to function even without the helmet.

  As such, Saber immediately changed back to her clothes from before and sighed.

  "That armor really is uncomfortable, isn't it?"

  "It's only a matter of becoming used to it... but I feel much more free with it removed."

  Saber gave a big stretch and skipped to the middle of the street where she spun round and round. The battle might have improved her mood, Shishigou thought faintly.

  Stopping herself with one foot, Saber turned back to him and asked.

  "Oh, yes - how did I do, Master?"

  "Hmm?"

  "What I mean is, what do you think of my fighting abilities? Well, the enemy was not a Servant, so I could not use my full strength..."

  "Ah, that... Well, I'd have to say that you were incredible. You definitely showed me why you are a Saber-class Servant."

  Saber puffed up proudly, looking satisfied.

  "But throwing your sword at the end there? Really?"

  "Don't be a fool, Master. The only thing that matters is that I win - nothing else. Swordsmanship is just another option in combat. I will punch, kick and bite if that is what it takes."

  "...I agree completely."

  Her mentality is so very close to his own that he almost wanted to shield his eyes from it.

  ---

  Chapter 2-5

  ---

  In the throne room of the fortress of Millennia, the Caster of Black used the flame of a Menorah to display the battle fought by that dog of the Association and his Saber of Red. The images were being projected onto the wall - like a movie - and watched by the Masters and Servants of Yggdmillennia.

  All the Masters apart from Darnic looked crushed by Saber's fierce assault - one can feel overwhelming battle lust merely through the visuals on display. Despite being of short stature, the knight - a solid metal mass - sped around like a cannonball and disintegrated the golems.

  The golems created by the Caster of Black are beyond comparison, possessing the power to fight evenly against low-ranking Servants. Yet they barely lasted one attack - three, at most - before being cut down.

  "I suppose this is to be expected of Servant Saber."

  Lancer said and Darnic nodded at his lord, unmoved.

  "Strength rank B+, Endurance rank A, Agility rank B, Prana rank B... aside from Luck, all her parameters rank above C. Truly fitting for a Heroic Spirit of the Sword."

  In particular, the Strength rank is extraordinary. A plus is a rare modifier that allows the particular value to multiply for an instant. And then there are the Anti-Thaumaturgy and Riding skills, both at B-rank - making Saber tenacious enough to only be damaged by A-rank thaumaturgy.

  In the three Holy Grail Wars of Fuyuki, only the Servant of Saber ever manages to survive to the end - owing to their multifaceted strengths allowing them to cope with any situation, it is said. Anyone who witnessed the battle just now certainly cannot doubt this.

  "What is particularly of note is that a certain section of her parameters are hidden."

  As he is a Servant, Lancer did not understand, but Darnic can read the statistics of Servants as a Master. Yet he finds himself utterly unable to gain information on Saber's innate skills or Noble Phantasms. Despite feeling that he can recognize Saber's abilities or the design of the knight's sword, it seems as though he is prevented from recollecting.

  Most likely, it is some kind of manifestation of a legend where Saber's identity was kept secret - perhaps an innate skill or a Noble Phantasm. In any case, this Red Saber is sure to be a formidable foe.

  "And what of our own Servants? Saber, do you believe that you can defeat this knight?"

  Saber nodded wordlessly at Lancer's question. As Gordes had commanded, he continued to maintain his silence even before his lord.

  "O sage, how do you view this?"

  Archer's smile was as calm as the windless sea when he replied.

  "Certainly, this Saber is a difficult opponent. However, once we have determined the nature of the Noble Phantasm, I believe it will not bring us great trouble."

  Lancer nodded, looking satisfied.

  "Do you know who that Master is, Grandfather?"

  Fiore asked.

  "Yes, I have acquired information from our kin who infiltrated the Clock Tower. He is Shishigou Kairi, a necromancer and bounty hunter... a freelancer who takes any job."

  "Earning money with thaumaturgy...? Filthy little peddler."

  Gordes spat. To him, thaumaturgy is a field of research and not something that one should ever use to earn a profit. The other Masters feel much the same. There is great disdain - and in some cases, bewilderment - in their eyes. Only Darnic, having lived over a century on the path of thaumaturgy, and Selenik, who employs curses from the dark arts as part of her work, were coldly analyzing his actual strength.

  "He is powerful."

  "...Looks that way."

  Necromancy is a thaumaturgy developed through corpses. Naturally, this craft - which raises simple zombies or gives birth to cobbled monsters - requires a large amount of dead bodies. And where does one acquire such an amount? No, not in the graveyard or the morgue - but on the field of battle. The greatest of necromancers flock to war. It can be said to be the fate of a necromancer to take the greatest of joys in gathering their resources after revolutions or coup d'etats... anything that results in genocide.

  Since ancient times, there has never been an end to war - and necromancers have never been unaccompanied by danger. They experiment at the risk of putting their own lives on the line. They may even end up fighting their own rampaging creations. Still, there are few magi who would gladly throw themselves onto the battlefield - it was beyond irrationality.

  The Shishigou family is already in its seventh generation of magi despite hailing from the Far East, where thaumaturgy can hardly be said to be flourishing. The treatise written by the sixth generation head, Shishigou Touki, had been highly praised at the Clock Tower so it was expected that his son Kairi would naturally pursue the path of a Clock Tower researcher. However, he was gone before the end of his third year, leaving his education behind.

  Since then, he has trawled battlefields for corpses and stepped into the life of a bounty hunter, suppressing heretical magi for money.

  His motives are unknown but, apparently, his skills and personality fitted the job. In ten year's time, the name of Shishigou Kairi had spread to the ears of even the thaumaturgical underground.

  Of course, he had not completely cut off ties with the Association - doubtless he has been hired this time as well, working for some sort of great compensation. In fact, practically all of the Masters sent by the Association are of this type. The only exception is Shirou Kotomine, the priest sent by the Church.

  There is absolutely no information on the priest aside from the fact that he belongs to the Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament. Of course, the Yggdmillennia has kin within the Church itself... but there is still little to no history concerning him. This means either his curriculum vitae is truly blank, or he is placed very deeply within the organization.

  Regardless, aside from this unknown element, every single one of the other six Masters are elites among elites. Only Darnic and Fiore would be able to oppose them in a match of thaumaturgy.

  But, unfortunately for the Masters of the Red camp, they must pay the price for using Servants by providing their own prana.
That is not the case for the Yggdmillennia - although they are Masters and possess the Command Spells, the prana pathways supplying the Servants bypass them and lead to another. The Servants use up none of the Masters' own prana.

  Of course, as a safeguard, they do provide the minimum amount of prana necessary - that is to say, the Masters are still the ones allowing the Servants to exist in this world. But aside from this core requirement being provided by the Masters, the prana that the Servants expend - using Noble Phantasms, auto-recovery or thaumaturgy - will all be shouldered by something else.