Yet at the same time, he had stagnated, in every respect.
He knew that it was an imitation of the ritual once carried out on
does not matter. As long as it yields the same results as the original, it
No proud mage would rely on the fruitâs of anotherâs labor. Such a
three founding families created the Holy Grail War. He, however, was
options were reasonable, in a sense.
War, there were none as determined in every respect as he; none as
From the very beginning, he was prepared for anything that might
When he first heard the rumors, he laughed them off as mere gossip.
News spread from mage to mage until it reached him.
his lineageâs power was on the decline. As the head of his family, he
He had formulated his fair share of magical theories in his time.
lacked was raw power, of the sort that should have been built up over
The standard thing to do in this situation would be to spend many
that knowledge, along with his Magic Crest, on to a sufficiently-able
There were many families whose magical natures grew weaker and
I will not allow myself to fall like the Makiri.
method for producing powerful, thriving successors.
Snowfield, and put all of his chips on the table.
I have nothing to fear. Everything will go smoothly.
He felt nothing for her, a woman who could not bear him thriving
Even so, he found it shocking that she understood nothing of what
It must have been her fault that his son was lacking.
Even if this Holy Grail were a counterfeit, the mere act of winning
mage. He could even find a path to the Root by winning this war.
No matter what, he was bound to be in a better position by the end
What a splendid gamble that was.
the things he risked in entering the war.
warâbut not once did he consider the possibility of his defeat, and the
There was a good reason that he didnât consider the possibility.
Or at least, he had a good enough chance to justify having done
So... these are the Command Spells, I take it?
Even so, he gazed at his right hand, a loving smile stuck to his face
The seals took the form of a loop of chain, and served as proof that
But if these have appeared....
As the one who shall control that Heroic Spirit!
A grand ravine, north of Snowfield.
now served as the mageâs atelier. He had established a Bounded Field
A lamp lit the space around the mage. He picked up the parcel and
It was exceedingly ornate, and about the length and weight of a
It seemed to him that the jewels that ornamented it were extremely
I have heard tell that it was summoned in a previous Holy
And using this relic, there is no doubt that I shall summon it.
ancestors wagered everything, much like he had just done, to obtain
What his ancestor sought was the treasury of the golden city, which
device that would open the gates deep within the city of legend.
possible magical artifact, however, was something he could not overlook.
the key was genuine, but made no further progress. He never found the
unknown origin, but that did not matter to the mage at this point.
would serve as a superlative catalyst, all but ensuring that he would
The mage stood upâand his smile vanished abruptly. He set aside
ceremony he was to conduct.
those which were unnecessary.
The mage spoke a summoning invocation, both a felicitation of
The lineage of magi to which he belonged had met its end.
Following a battle of a mere few seconds, he met his end, just like\nWhen the mage saw it appear before him, he could not remain
There was no need for him to ascertain the beingâs true name.
He just barely managed to suppress a roar of joyous laughter. For
The Heroic Spiritâs countenance was tinged with clear and obvious
course, thereâs no telling whether or not he conceived of it as a âdutyâ
â...Answer me. Are you the insolent mage that dares make an entreaty
He had golden hair and golden armor.
query to the mage was laced with contempt.
Even though he could sense the sheer overwhelming power of the being
How dare a mere Servant be so impertinent!
in the Command Spells on his right hand brought him back from the
...So be it. Given this Heroâs personality, I should expect as
Right at the outset, he would have to make their relationship clear.
as a Servant was merely a tool of his.
He prepared to complete his response to the Servantâs query, extending
Whereupon he realized that his right hand had gone missing.
He was at a loss for words. His stammers echoed throughout the
Though not a drop of blood had fallen from his body, his right
Panicking, he lifted his wrist up to his face. The sharp odor of burnt
Faint wisps of smoke were rising from the stump of his wrist.
The moment he became consciously aware of that, a surge of pain
âHiï©ï© gAA- giï©ï©ï©ïšii gaïĄïĄAAAaïĄïĄïĄïĄaaA! AAaaaAAAïĄïĄaaaaaaaa!â
He shrieked at the top of his lungs, sounding like some kind of
said, âSo, you are a jester, knave? If that be so, amuse me with more
The Servant didnât even lift an eyebrow, prideful as always. It would
In the face of this incomprehensible happening, the mage was
that to happen. He forced himself to calm down, and quickly composed
There is someone... within the Bounded Field!
Under normal circumstances, he could have sensed any intruder
atelier. However, he had let his guard down while he was focused on
while the caves brimmed with the Heroic Spiritâs magical energy.
None of the traps had been activated. If the intruder had managed to
be quite cautious in dealing with them. That much was clear to him.
faced towards the presence he now sensedâtowards the tunnel that
past my Bounded Field?!â
golden Servant: âO mighty king, Your humble servant begs permission
The Servant thought for a second and then replied, haughtily,
â...I am most grateful for this privilege, Your Majesty.â Her voice
alone left the impression that she was young, she was even younger
brown, and her hair was a lustrous black.
every way, she was as a child of noble upbringing. Though her face was
bore was somewhat less resplendent.
altar atop which the Heroic Spirit stood. Then, unconcerned about the
âWha....â The mage choked back a cry of rage. Unable even to discern
the girl paid the mage no heed.
He looked down at her and spoke, with great power underlying each
presence. However, the air is now filled with a most indelectable stench
âI beg Your forgiveness, Your Majesty. I thought it fitting to render
as he was unworthy of facing justice at Your hands,â she replied, still
As she spoke, she brought forth a piece of human flesh.
connected to the Heroic Spirit by virtue of the Command Spells
The golden Heroic Spirit nodded at the girlâs response. He looked
upâand then tossed it away, disinterestedly.
my garden who would dare lay a hand upon my treasures. Though I
The mage had been speaking an incantation to numb the pain in
the key to that treasury.
like a piece of filth. And that too, by his Servant, a being who should
Overcome with rage, the pain in his right arm grew dull, even as
Howeverâas if to deliver a fatal wound to the mage, the brownskinned
voice. âIf His Majesty wishes that it be so, I shall do no further battle
â .â The mage lost control of himself.
Circuits. He did not even have the capacity to speak. Hysterically, he
He put all of his magic, his madness, his might into a sphere of
her, tearing through space, ready to consume her wholeâit
The girl should have been destroyed by his burst of magical energy
But that didnât happen.
Almost immediately, immense magical energy erupted between
It was like a spell that had been compressed so far that it became
And at the very endâthe mage saw it.
front of her and drank down the magical energy he had released, and
In the end, what was it that could not be? He did not even have
Th-that canât... ca-cannot... that... c-canât be.
his lineage would live on... but then, he recalled that it was a mere few
It canât be! It cannot! I... I will... die? Here? That c-cannot....
He lost his life and everything he had sacrificed for this war.
It all happened in a split-second. A mere split-second.
those flames. He met his end, just like that
head before the Heroic Spirit.
matter to him. Then, in reference to the magic the girl had used, he
The magic she had just used did not originate within her self.
In acknowledgement of that fact, emotion flitted across the girlâs
âWe have not ruled it. Rather, we have lived in harmony with it. ...Just
magic are no different than those without.â
to be alike. The girl did not reply.
already migrated to her own right hand.
the mage, but from the girl. As he observed this, he spoke as imposingly
âVery well. Once again, answer me. Are you the insolent mage
The golden Heroic Spirit.
kingsâ\ntheir way out of the cave.
golden Servant, she was now a participant in the Holy Grail War.
not desire the Holy Grail. Elaborating on her true goals, she said, âWe
Holy Grail War, who have run roughshod over this land. Such is the
She declared her desire to destroy the Holy Grail War without the
into this age as a Servant of the Archer classâdisinterestedly replied, âI
knaves who stole my treasure; and if it is a false Grail, I shall execute
âYour gracious words reassure me, Your Majesty,â she thanked him.
tribe has lived in harmony with the land on which Snowfield was built.
rule this place. But then, a sect in their government joined forces with
land.â Her voice was thick with a mixture of rage and sadness.
which mongrel reigns supreme over this mongrel land, for it is a part
not deign to interpose in a squabble among mongrels... but if they dare
As always, he thought only about himself. And what did the girl
She did not find it terribly unpleasant, nor was it particularly surprising.
She composed herself and stepped out of the cave.
stood at attention, awaiting her return.
were also a few white- and black-skinned people among them.
the entrance to the cave. Clearly, they were not there to do an
They laid eyes upon the girl and the imposing man beside her
In unison, they reverently knelt before the girl and the Heroic
âWho are these knaves?â
members of the society that seeks to revive our tribe and defeat the
my father as the societyâs representative. And so, I must fight
him of how things had been when he was alive. His eyes faintly narrowed
âMongrels though you may be, you seem to understand who is
âWe would not dare to meet Your Majestyâs splendor with anything
âSo, you wish to make use of my might for your ends. It seems that
And right away, as if to confirm her suspicions, the Heroic Spirit
have been drawn here are mere trifles. Deliver judgment unto them as
By the time he had finished speaking, he had brought forth a small
Everyone who was there to witness it would fondly reminisce about
emerged a single carafe that fell right into the Heroic Spiritâs hand.â
Perhaps china or perhaps crystalâeither way, it was lustrous and
âIf this war will be a mere trifle to me, it is only fitting that I treat
use the full force of my abilities. Until an enemy worthy of my power
As he trailed off, he unsealed the vessel and was about to down it
machinations of fate, rather than chanceâ
ă. . . . . . . . . . ă
Tiné and her followers all turned to look at the sky.
power to shake both heaven and earth.
angel or its ilk, or perhaps even the Earth itself, was singing a lullaby.
the forests that lay to the west of Snowfield.
of physics, was, for some reason, something Tiné had faith in.
It was almost certainly the voice of a stupendously powerful Servant.
The bottle he had conjured was at his lips. He had been about
a powerful emotion for the first time.
it was rare to see him so emotional. That king among all kings was
he could be brought to this state.
His eyes lit up with surprise, consternation, bewildermentâand
a mere instant as he whispered those words.
again, overbearing as always. He burst into a fit of earnest laughter.
âHa! What fortune! What am I to call a happenstance of this sort
He swelled with delight and vigor, as though he had not been bored
âRejoice, mongrel girl! It seems that I shall have occasion to use
The king of heroes was uncharacteristically talkative, perhaps because
âWhat a pleasure it would be to end it all in a duel on yonder
if.... No; I shall not speak of it. This is not a matter that the mongrels
He was in a pleasant mood, unable to stifle his laughter, as kingly
spoke to Tiné, who still knelt beside him.
Shocked that the Heroic Spirit would refer to her by name, Tiné
The king tossed her the bottle he had been holding.
age, but now that it has come to this, I do not need it, either. Be grateful.â
Archer glanced at her for a moment before going on. âIf you wish
Though he paid little attention to her, Archer was in high spirits as he
you learn the ways of the world, it will suffice for you to gaze upon my
his words, they were nonetheless powerful.
yet, when faced with his words, she faltered.
nothing but display her utmost respect to him. She was unable to
âI shall attempt to do so, Your Majesty,â she said, apologetically.
on, wagering everything they had.
They would fightâto replace the lies of this war with their own
The kingâs battle had begun.\n