Hey everyone, I was watching Fate/Strange Fake and doing some research, and I saw that the Servant Watcher, one of the forms it takes, is Orion, and it's different from Super Orion. I made this Orion based on Super Orion; I don't really remember why that happened, but seeing this, I'm going to have to fix it at some point. My life is so sad.
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POV???
Our family isn't exactly new to the practice of witchcraft; within the generations, I'm only the second one.
I was destined to become the clan's heir, but that changed when my little brother was born. My status as heir was snatched away; all my work and effort were a waste of time.
"Aozaki, are you listening?" my teacher said while I was pondering my miserable existence.
"Ah, yes, I'm here," I said, startled.
"Then you can tell me what I said last," my teacher declared.
I blushed at this, since I hadn't been listening to a word he said.
"Pay more attention to the class, Anomaly," the teacher scolded me, telling me to go back to the board and continue with the lesson.
I could hear the class laughing.
"Well done, Anomaly," a classmate said next to me.
"Haha, I was just thinking about how to improve my timing with my magic chalk," I lied to avoid looking so ridiculous.
I tried to make myself as small as possible so no one would notice me.
Once the basic traumatology class ended, I ran out of the room without saying goodbye to anyone. I didn't have many friends, especially not in the Numerology department, after that incident.
...
"Good afternoon, anomaly, do you need anything?" the guy in front of me said as soon as I opened the office door.
"Shut up, Matou; stop calling me anomaly. I don't like it, or do you want me to punch you in the face again?" I said, showing him my fist with my magic circuits already activated.
"Leave it alone, you two. I don't want you destroying my office; the amount of antique material in here will have thousands of generations paying me if you break anything," said Miss Barthomeloi.
"Sorry," we both said at the same time.
To avoid further complications, I went to sit down.
"Hehehe, you got scolded again, Akane," said the guy in front of me.
"Call me Aozaki, not Akane," I emphasized.
"We're in England, not Japan; here, when you speak to someone, you call them by their first name, not their last; as the saying goes: When in Rome, do as the Romans do," the sorcerer countered.
I could only sigh at this and look around the office; if there were people who could be called friends, they would be the people in this place.
Elena Barthomelio, the current head of the numerology department and the one who prevented me from being expelled. There's also Takeshi Matou, a guy from the Spiritual Biology Department; there's also Charles Harwey, from the Astrology Department, what you might call a pretty boy, blond with blue eyes, a stereotype if you ask me. Finally, there was a dark-haired girl with blonde hair of Aztec descent named Madelin Tepanecatl from the Curses Department.
This was the group of five people, of whom I am a member.
"So, what were you talking about before I arrived?" I asked while I was making myself some tea.
"We were talking about how Takeshi is joining a cult next year," Madelin said with her usual kuudere expression as she ate some cookies.
"It's not a cult; it's a ritual; my ancestor chose me to represent him in the next Holy Grail War," the blue-haired boy said cheerfully.
"Holy Grail War? Are some sorcerers going on a crusade with swords and shields?" I asked mockingly.
"The Holy Grail War is a ritual in which seven masters or sorcerers, summon seven servants to fight each other to fill an artifact, which can grant any wish," Elena stated, still looking at the documents. "We're currently in the process of sending someone as a representative for this ritual."
"Well, something like that is the Holy Grail War, in short," Takesho said, sitting down.
"And what are you going to wish for?" Charles inquired.
"Isn't it obvious that I want to reach the root and become the heir to the family?" the blue-haired man said.
What he said caught my attention, but I tried not to show it.
"Reach the root? What do you mean?" the blonde woman asked.
"Reaching the root is a way of saying attaining knowledge beyond that of a god, such as obtaining the first true magic; so far, only one person alive possesses such magic, and that is Marshal Zelretch," Elena explains.
"It's a dangerous path, but the path to excellence has always been like this, and I'm willing to take the risk," Takeshi began, rambling on.
I tuned out of their conversation; I only retained the information that participating in the Holy Grail War is equivalent to becoming the family's heir once again.
...
Looking for information in the library, I discovered that the Holy Grail War is a ritual created by the Einber, Tōsaka, and Matō families, formerly the Makiri.
The first Holy Grail War was in 1800, and the ritual is performed every 60 years; if it's 1859, then next year should be the second.
"The second one is almost here," I told myself, closing the documents that mentioned it. "This is my chance to become the heir of the Aozaki family again."
I looked at the section on how to be chosen as a master for this war, as well as the method for summoning a servant.
"It's not complicated, but I need a catalyst," I thought to myself, sitting back in my seat. "Now that I think about it, there's an ancient relic at home that I could use."
...
In my father's office, there's an ancient relic; it's said to grant immortality and great power, but first, I need to get inside undetected, or if I do, I need to vanish immediately.
"What are you doing, sister?" a voice called from behind me.
I jumped slightly, covering my mouth to look behind me.
There stood the biggest abomination in the world, my ten-year-old little brother, the one who stole my title of heir.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, a little angry.
"We just got home, and you didn't even say hello to me; the next second, you're clan leader and you try to enter the current leader's office, how shameful." He delivered his story as if it were gospel.
"You arrogant brat, don't get so cocky. Puff out your chest when you're clan leader, not before," I said, using another magic circuit to bypass the barrier around the office.
"Hmm, aren't you afraid I'll tell Father you're doing this?" His words made me stop and look at him again.
"What do you want?" I asked him directly.
"Tell me why you're going into the office; if it's something interesting, maybe I won't tell anyone," was his reply.
"I need a catalyst to summon an ancient hero for a ritual," was my simple answer.
He opened his mouth to give me a smile, only to pull something out of his pocket.
What he pulled out opened my eyes; it was the catalyst I was going to use to summon the heroic spirit, the bracelet that once belonged to the mythological hero Libra.
Legend says there are 10 of these bracelets, but right now they're scattered all over the world; I only know the location of 3: the one my brother has, another that is with the current leader of the Barthomeloi, and the last one that is Marshal Zelretch's.
"How?" I asked in astonishment.
"I was bored, so I went into Dad's office and stole it without him noticing," was his simple reply. "Here," he said, tossing it to me.
I held it and examined it to see if it was the real one; I could feel the mystery inside, one of the strangest I'd ever seen.
"What do you want in return?" I asked.
"That the next time you go to the clock tower, you take me along. I'm bored here." That was his condition.
"Okay," he said, running his hand through my reddish hair.
"Yay, thanks, sis!" my brother exclaimed before running off in some random direction.
I had accomplished my mission; now I had to get out of here as soon as possible.
...
In the end, I had to flee the family estate. My parents discovered I had stolen the relic, so they cut off my funding, forcing me to work as a mercenary sorceress until the Holy Grail War began.
The money wasn't enough to buy a small place to take refuge during the war, so I had to steal alchemical items from other sorcerers and sell them to the highest bidder.
Eventually, I managed to acquire a small property with a rather modest house to set up a temporary workshop.
Fuyuki wasn't a very advanced town compared to other places; I think it has to do with the Tohsaka family and maintaining their secrecy, but it works out well for me, since I'm currently undercover. This is a war, as the name suggests; their knowing about my existence could even be detrimental, and above all, there's nothing organizing or overseeing any of this; basically, anything goes.
In the end, I had to ask Elena for help to get some information, since my research wasn't enough for the day the war was going to happen.
In the end, I had to ask Elena for help to get some information, since my research wasn't enough on the day the war was going to happen.
Luckily, Elena, with her grandmotherly heart, gave me all the information about what I had to do and what I was missing. Of course, Takeshi probably knows I'm here doing this, but I don't really care; we have to kill the Servants, not the Masters; everything should be fine.
I sat in the courtyard looking at the incomplete magic circle and the chickens whose blood I was going to use to make the circuit more effective; I wish I had some liquid metal like mercury or something, but you can't ask for more, and the catalyst was on a makeshift altar I'd created.
Tomorrow the second Holy Grail War would begin; I removed the bandages from my hands to see the three Command Spells that appeared on the back of my hand. I obtained these shortly after stealing the catalyst.
And speaking of that... I stared at the bracelet. An incomplete divine construct; it's said that if you obtain all 10 bracelets, you'll gain perfect immortality and unimaginable power.
Only one person is known to have worn these bracelets: Libra, the great hero of Greek tragedy.
The second most famous hero in Greek mythology, second only to Heracles. If I manage to summon him, I'm almost certain to win this war.
I just hope they haven't beaten me to the summoning, since there are about seven more of these bracelets that could also serve as catalysts.
I went to where the chickens were, ignoring their clucking; I grabbed a hen by the neck and snapped it so I could use a knife to cut off its head.
I let the blood flow along all the lines of the magic circle. I continued like this until it was completely filled.
Once I finished, I grabbed a bucket of water to wash the blood off my hands and stood before the magic circle, facing the catalyst. I extended the hand holding the command spell and began my incantation. I could do it without the incantations, but I prefer to do everything the traditional way to avoid any issues with the summoning.
"Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill. Let it be repeated five times. But when it is full, it will be destroyed," I chanted, gazing at the magic circle that began to glow. "I am the one who calls you; you will be my sword and my shield in my crusade to achieve my goal, so answer my call, being beyond human comprehension."
As I finished my chant, the magic circle filled with light, which I couldn't look at any longer, as I would surely go blind.
I had to use my forearm to cover my eyes and avoid losing my sight during these seven days of war.
Once the light faded, I expected to see a beautiful warrior with a bow, only to freeze in fear.
Before me was not a woman, but a being covered in a somewhat torn garment; it was a man, judging by his build, but that wasn't what frightened me.
Instead of a face, he had a skull mask with horns, blue eyes, and hair as white as snow, not to mention a presence and aura that exuded death from every angle.
"What an unexpected situation," I said to the servant standing before me. He stared, waiting for something, but I just stared back, hoping he wouldn't do anything to me. At this, he turned to look at the catalyst. "Heh," I heard him chuckle at the sight of the bracelet.
The servant went straight for the ring to pick it up; I wanted to stop him, but I couldn't.
"Seeing as you used this as a catalyst, I imagine you didn't expect it to appear here. What do you think?" He spoke to me first, then looked at his shadow. "I think so too; it must be my aura; it's like Intimidate in Pokémon."
He started saying things I didn't understand and also talking to himself.
Before I knew it, the servant had thrown me the bracelet, which I almost dropped on the ground.
"Are you my servant?" I asked after a moment of courage.
Dante's POV
It feels so strange to be summoned in a ritual; it's as if I were one of those Lovecraftian beings now; it's something new in life.
"Are you my servant?" I heard my master ask. Poor girl, I think she's going to wet herself any minute. But it's normal; after all, she just summoned me in my Grim Reaper form, the most infernal form I have. I fall as a descendant and inhabitant of the underworld, not to mention being a prince of it in some way, being the son of Hades.
"That's right, brat, I am your servant," I said dramatically, but she didn't flinch. "Cough, cough, let me introduce myself properly, master, I am your servant for this Holy Grail War, Assassin class, at your service."
"Assassin?" she asked, sounding a little less scared.
"Yes, maybe I'm not the best class, but this time you hit the jackpot, since I'm the best summon of this class when summoned normally, because Grandpa won't answer any summons unless it's an emergency."
I saw that she was still a little scared, so I decided to detransform.
The mask disappeared, my beautiful face returned to normal, my eyes were red once more, and my hair went from pure white to natural blonde.
I turned around so she could see my glamorous presence in all its glory.
"How's that? I'm not so scary now, am I?" I said, standing inches from her face, which made her fall backward, landing on her butt with a red face.
She noticed right away and got up to clean the dirt off her backside.
"Just ignore what happened," she said, looking away.
Or a complete 180-degree turn, plus she's a tsundere.
I just walked past and went into his house.
"Hey, wait." I tried to stop, but I didn't really feel like it, because if there was one thing I wanted to do, it was look for information.
I started searching the entire small workshop, which was practically the whole house.
"It doesn't have any history books. What kind of magic workshop and house is this?" I asked, searching under everything, only to be interrupted by my master, who was standing right in front of me with his arms outstretched.
"Stop. I don't know what you're looking for, but it's not here. This is just a temporary workshop for the Holy Grail War, nothing more," he exclaimed.
"It shows," I replied simply, stopping what I was doing and going back to the patio. I looked at the moon to see that it was still a long way from daylight.
"Wait a moment. I want to ask you something: how were you summoned? Because, from what I can see, the catalyst didn't work." He questioned me.
That got me thinking, since the catalyst should have summoned my daughter Libra, not me.
"The catalyst worked, since I was the one who 'created' those bracelets," I replied, throwing myself to the ground.
"So you're someone from Greek mythology," was her conclusion as she began looking me up and down.
I sat cross-legged and started meditating.
"But that doesn't explain who you are," I said, somewhat annoyed.
I think I should have stayed in my death form; I asked fewer questions.
"If you want a name, you can simply call me Reaper, but you can recognize me by other names: son of chaos, son of Hades, prince of the underworld, and champion of Olympus."
"My name is Akane Aozaki; don't forget it," she declared as if she were an ojou-sama.
"I didn't forget, Master Akane Aozaki," I said with a smile.
"Wait, does that mean you're both Dante and Reaper at the same time, not that they were separate entities?" she asked me doubtfully.
"That's what people think, but they're the same person, only the mythology is a bit separate and somewhat incomplete." I said while trying to concentrate.
"I thought divine spirits couldn't be summoned." She said, sitting down on the poorly made altar.
"And they can't. I had to restrict my power to be a candidate for being summoned." Basically, I can't be summoned with the Kamigami no Gigan, but I can use it; however, it costs a lot of mana to use for just a few seconds. This is a restriction imposed by the throne of heroes, just like my scythe, since that weapon is made to kill spirits.
"Hmm, I see. In the end, I couldn't summon Libra, but I did summon her father. But why didn't she come?" she wondered.
"There are two possible reasons for that. The first is that she's already been summoned," I said, noticing she was slightly agitated. "Relax," I said with a wave of my hand. "I just checked all of Fuyuki and didn't sense any presence similar to mine, so she wasn't summoned. If she had been, I would have known."
That calmed her down a bit.
"So, what's the second reason?" she asked.
"Easy, an Archer-class Servant has already been summoned." "That's most likely it," I declared, getting up from the floor. "Well, shall we go?"
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Hi, I wanted to mention that as Servants appear, I'll add them to the Fate: Holy Grail War arc section. I also remembered that I had to add the stats for each class and for both of them in chapter 22.5. I'll most likely do it tomorrow.
Just so you know, Akane's attitude is meant to project elegance and status befitting her family, but that's just a mask for Dante; as the chapters progress, it will disappear.
Well, that's all. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. See you.