That was all. That was the whole story.
And so, the people scorned her as a zealot.
The people only hated her because she was yet weak of faith.
The zealot forged on, pushing herself even harder.
recreated every last one of them.
It was far, far too weak.
zealot, and died as a zealot. Not as a martyr. She lived a life of nothing,
And yet, the zealot did not begrudge the world.
the maelstrom of faith once again.
That was the whole story.
âuntil the moment when the false Grail chose the zealot.
Nighttime â Eastern Snowfield â the Marsh District
home to many crystal-clear lakes.
roads was knitted through the district.
Marsh Districtâwas likely the most developed; even so, there was not
man were able to detect the home, he would be unable to bring himself
Architecturally speaking, it really was in bad taste. Compared to
designed with black and gray motifs.
In the basement of the house, a number of magi were present. They
The summoning was a success.
thereby completing the contract.
quizzically at the Heroic Spirit he had summoned.
And in the center of the summoning circle stood one other figure,
An air of intimidation, infinitely deep and pure, emanated from a
She seemed quite young, but it was difficult to be sure, since she
Right then, Jester felt a severe sense of foreboding.
For the most part, it is impossible to pick the class into which a
But there are exceptions.
to summon either Assassin or Berserker, each of which has a special
Accordingly, Jester chose to summon a Servant of the Assassin
By their very nature, only a small number of Heroic Spirits can be
being at the center of the summoning circle seemed to be one of those
I was under the impression that Assassins always wear a white
Heroic Spirits of the Assassin class all clad themselves in a black
from his earlier research.
wear a white mask. Her actual face was visible from between the layers
In that case, am I supposed to pose the question...?
War. Of course, this Holy Grail War was an imitation from the beginning.
differ from the War in Japan.
warâthe stars of the showâhad yet to reveal themselves. Jester assumed
been involved in the creation of something so grand and elaborate as
fitting that description.
form was reflected in her pupils.
Her gaze was as powerful as she was intimidating: deep and infinitely
The mage unwittingly let out a quiet murmur as he chuckled softly,
âAre you... the mage... who has summoned me... to attain the Holy
She rubbed the black cloth wrapped around her mouth and spoke
Relieved that she had finally spoken, Jester stepped forward. Brimming
ă......Delusional Heartbeat......ă
Jester felt something brush against his chest. He lowered his head
NOTICÌ eD ThÌaT iT ÌżwAs inÍ facT HOlDing oÌźntO ÌÌsoMeThInG rEd,ÍANdÌ
ͧÍheÌÌȘ aÌÌ„ rÌÍ T,ÍÍ ÌÌÀ̩
He did not raise his head back up. Jesterâs body collapsed to the
disciple-mages panicked. Their eyes grew wide as they looked at the
A third arm, red in color, had sprouted from the womanâs back. It
woman, their gaze flitting back and forth. They cried out, frenziedly.
âWhat did you do to Lord Jester!?â
As they panicked and shouted, the mages armed themselves with
As she looked upon Jesterâs disciples emotionlessly, the blackrobed
Indeed, it was ephemeral.
Perhaps they heard her, or perhaps they didnât. Either way, one of
to impale her through her back.
A wet, aberrant sound echoed around the chamber as her shoulders
Her left arm reached backwards at an abnormal angle and ever-sogently
ă......Fantastical Cybermind......ă1
accompanied by an explosive noise, as if his head had itself become
Hearing the blast and seeing a flash of light, the mages all cowered
Only two of them had perishedâbut that was enough to convince
against which they were utterly powerless.
As she spoke deliberately, she stood still, not moving for some few
It seemed like she was allowing the magi time to fleeâbut they did
force of their magical energies on the women.
her head, an almost-despondent look in her eyeâ
ă......Illusional Ependyma......ă2
The black-clad Servant was surrounded by the corpses of magi.
her had, for some reason, been consumed by their own mighty flames.
The only one who had any idea what happened was the Servant.
She reverted to her spirit form, and, unseen by anyoneâ
direction in her life, had finally found a definite purpose.
Allahâs people. Nothing more.
for proof was itself evidence that her faith was weak.
name that would serve as a proof of her faith.
would have to attain powerâpower enough to perform a divine miracle.
It had to be a miracle that could bring death, swiftly and reliably; a
She was a member of a sect that pursued such miracles: the Hashshashin,
Even in the innermost circles of the cult, however, she was scorned
The past grandmasters of the cult had all performed a miracle
Each and every one of them was shocked by her deeds.
She was but a young girl, a mere lambâ
âWhat have you accomplished? You have imitated miracles already
you are unable to bring forth a miracle of your own contrivance.â
That is to say, she had talent enough to master the abilities of all
she went through as she mortified her flesh. She had the fortitude to
endowed with the talent needed to bring about a miracle of her own
That was only half the problem. Her ability to master so many
a lifetimeâthat was the other half. The people may well have feared
grandmaster unto one such as yourself.â
I see. My faith is not deep enough.
miracles of the former grandmasters.
She saw that he was capable of all manner of things, things she
But, what a quirk of fate! When she was summoned by the man
and immediately came to know her destiny.
naught. That was all she desired.
She did not resent those grandmasters. Neither did she revile them.
were worthy of her respect.
hastening forth in search of the Holy Grail.
When the flow of magical energy came to a complete stop, she
Would that happen after a few days? A few hours? A few seconds,
Even if her body was a mere apparitionâ
Believing that the piety of at least those who, like herself, had been
She, without a momentâs hesitation, made the Holy Grail War itself\nIn the basement of the lakeside cottage where the nameless Heroic
By the time Assassin departed, this became an even more certain
But the truth was what it was.
âKhaa! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!â
from the bottom of its heart; but at the same time, it was warpedâ
But the truth was still what it was.
âWow, that was a surprise! To think that the Holy Grail would
The man bounded up like a jack-in-the-box, the Command Spells
Grail and living to see this tiresome world be destroyed, but....
He trembled, beset by emotionsâ
In that room, there were no men; only corpses.
The mage Jester Karturei, now choked with emotion, was, at this point,
âWhat pathos! What pulchritude! How bewitching, resplendent,
when I once had so much time and so little to do, I should have mastered
Jester was having the time of his life. Paying no heed to the corpses
emblems appeared on his bare chestâemblems that were entirely
It was a ring of six red marks, similar in form to the cylinder of a
However, one of the six marksâthe one closest to his left breastâ
âShe crushed my concept-nucleus with such ease! I was as careful
even a being far stronger than me to naught!â
fingertip was sucked into the skin of his chest. Strangely, not a drop of
the muddy flesh-colored morass and squelched at his own innards.
Then, like a gear, or indeed, like a revolver, the six marks rotated,
his left flank, loading a new red mark on his left breast.
And then, somehowâjust as those six marks had moved, his body
seal at his side. He was in a state of ecstasy as he rubbed his finger
âThat concept-nucleus was shielded by countless many layers of
than nothing with that red arm. Her fingers reached the very core of
thus!âit is beautiful! A Noble Phantasmâwhat a thing!â
clear, resounding voice. Of course, they did not respond.
without hesitation, and so many times at that. Had she access only to
surely would have run out almost right away.â
continued to talk to himself in a boomingâand almost bewitchingâ
âI suppose I need not tire of the world quite yet.... That beautiful
Thatâwas a statement that could only be made by those who had
Via the linkage of magical energy that connected a Master and
If Jester spoke true, it would mean that he had learned of her faith
âI shall grant you a name! Your beautiful face; your beautiful soul;
defile them and derogate them and debauch them and degrade them
He laughed heartily. His visage gradually took on a wicked color.
Servant kneel before me, and I will destroy her faith, and when I
Jesterâs heart beat to a euphoric rhythm as a shadow extended from
It was a red shadowâa red as supremely deep as the emblems on
When the shadow finally wrapped itself around the bodies of all
crimson wave that engulfed the countless many corpses.
As it did, it was a yet-deeper red than before.
wonderful! This, I grant! But what trifles they are! They are mere
taste of the Servantâs blood, as his dead eyes glowed bright with life.
Khahahahahahahahahahahaha!â
Assassinâs Master infused the Holy Grail War with a toxic darkness.