Hey everyone, I wanted to let you know that a movie (I think it's a movie; I'm not sure since I don't know Japanese) of Mahōtsukai no Yoru is coming out soon. And you know what that means? Exactly, I won't have to buy the game to find out the story. I won't have to pay $49 for the game or risk having a Chinese infiltrator hack my computer by downloading a pirated copy.
That said, I don't think the movie will be released anytime soon, but better late than never. I've already seen some summaries, and I hope that if it's going to be the same story (that is, without any additional details or changes to improve or, God forbid, worsen the story), the animation will be spectacular at the very least.
That's all I wanted to say, since I heard the news about three chapters ago and I keep forgetting to write it down. So, without further ado, let's get started.
P.S. The chapter title ended up being long, but I'm not going to shorten it.
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Kenji Tohsaka was the current head of the Tohsaka family, which was currently going through an existential crisis.
The situation during the first Holy Grail War was very different; there were no civilian deaths, destruction of property, deranged Servants, or curses to fight.
One of his current priorities was to try to destroy the curses, but his duties as head of the village had pushed him to his limits, to the point that he had almost filled a plot of land with bodies, which still needed to be cremated.
He thought that one of his biggest problems, if not the biggest, had already disappeared, only to return to the village to continue the destruction and indiscriminate chaos.
Off to one side, Saber stood, watching her Master, unsure how to comfort him. Currently, only the two of them were in the compound. Kenji's wife and child had left for fear that something might happen to them, and thankfully, they had.
As soon as they sensed Berserker approaching, Saber wanted to rush in and stop him, but Kenji held him back.
"You're not in the best shape; you'll only wear yourself out; we can only rely on the Servants who are there. There are still a few hours until dawn; if they can't stop him there, then you can do something, but not before." Those were his words.
At that, all I could do was clench my fists tightly and remain silent. Saber felt useless, how could I not stop a single enemy?
But I made a promise to myself: that the following night I would have my revenge, and I would use all my strength, skills, and powers to defeat him; I would leave nothing in reserve.
...
No one was foolish enough to tank Berserker's attack, not one, except for one, but Assassin had already returned him to his shadow, since he would surely need mana for what was coming.
The impact of the sky pillar was utter chaos; basically, everything left behind was flattened to a mere centimeter in height. The rest was sent flying by the force of the collision, destroying large portions of the terrain, cracking it, and causing giant chunks of earth to rise up or simply break away from the rest.
The ground throughout Fuyuki trembled, causing some houses to even collapse, as the shaking was not unlike a major earthquake; this caused all the citizens to wake up with a start, trying to escape what was happening.
The other Servants stood there watching the devastation caused by Berserker's attack, only for him to revert his weapon to its staff form and fall in front of Assassin.
"Are you sure about this? Didn't you think you didn't want to fight tonight?" Kiss-shot asked, now lurking in his shadow like a conscience only an Assassin could hear.
"No problem, I might only have 50% of my maximum mana right now, but I have the other two Servitors..." His words trailed off, as when he glanced at Lancer, she had vanished. "Well, I have..." He looked to the other side where Archer had been, only to see him teleport away with a Command Spell.
Assassin remained silent, both outwardly and inwardly.
"I don't think we've ever had a proper fight; if you don't attack, I'll attack," Berserker told Assassin, already in a fighting stance.
"I want to die," Assassin lamented, knowing that you were the only one left to face Berserker. If you didn't, he would automatically go to the village and destroy everything, bringing more death and misery to these poor people who had nothing to do with the Holy Grail War.
...
The situation in Fuyuki wasn't good, and not all the Servants were very cooperative.
Saber was currently recovering for the next battle. Lancer had been ordered to withdraw from combat until further notice. Archer was recuperating, as he wasn't in good condition today, and Kiss-hot had made it worse. Rider had no interest in fighting, not even for the Holy Grail; Caster was dead, and finally, Assassin was stalling for time until dawn to face Berserker.
In the half-destroyed/half-crushed forest, a blur of speed could be seen, and a monkey followed it relentlessly from one side to the other.
Currently, if one had to say who the Servant with the most damage in this war was, it would be Berserker, but if we consider another category, such as speed, it would be Assassin by default.
(Note: Remember that he had fought with Kizaru and that Dante was following him closely in his teleportations.)
Assassin, for much of his training, dedicated himself entirely to movement speed in combat, and this is now reflected in his stats, with his agility being an EX, the highest possible.
Currently, the fastest recognized hero is Achilles, and if he were to have a speed battle in his Heroic Spirit form against Dante, Achilles would win. However, if this had happened in Greece, when the machine gods still ruled, then Dante would have won and, by default, would have taken the title of fastest Greek hero. But Dante's speed was never clearly defined, hence the discrepancy.
But that doesn't diminish Assassin's incredible speed in escaping Berserker's attacks. Combined with his great agility, this makes him an almost untouchable force.
As Assassin moved from side to side, Berserker tried to knock him down with his staff, which his opponent dodged with ease, as if his body weren't solid but liquid. This was thanks to one of the rokushiki's abilities, the kami-e.
Dante's POV
While dodging several of my opponent's attacks, I saw several openings to counterattack; should I do it now? The answer was no.
It was a waste of energy, stamina, and mana; it wasn't worth hitting a guy who in two seconds was as if nothing had happened to him.
There was only one way to kill him, and I had it in my hand, but there was a problem: that monkey already knew what the weapon did.
Berserker only did two things when attacked: block and do absolutely nothing. You could send the Noble Phantasm right at his face and he wouldn't even flinch.
But if I attacked him with the scythe, the son of a bitch would dodge it.
I might be faster and more agile than him, but that didn't mean I wasn't dodging the monkey, since I had several ways to avoid being cut by the scythe.
There was only one way I could kill him, and that was if he was focused on someone else, and for that I needed to team up with someone, hence the fear of Archer dying.
Berserker was already getting restless from the whole chase, but luckily for me, the sun was already rising, its rays of light shining brightly.
At that moment, Berserker, in a complete 180-degree personality shift, dematerialized, leaving me alone in a forest that by this point looked more like a meadow with a few trees.
"Freedom," I said, kneeling and offering a prayer to the heavens.
"What are you going to do now, my husband?" Kiss-shot asked me.
"Isn't it obvious?" I replied, covering one eye and taking out a cigarette I had hidden. "I'm going to reunite the Avengers, since half of the Justice League is dead."
"You know, sometimes I don't understand the references you throw around," he told me.
...
When I arrived at the supposed workshop, I didn't find it right away; I had to use Haki to detect the anomaly and get inside.
Once inside, I saw Akane, who was in the middle of a psychotic episode.
"What happened? Why did everything shake? Was that Berserker who summoned that giant pillar?" she began, flailing her arms as if there were no tomorrow.
"Yes, I'm fine, thanks for asking," I said, pushing her away. I may not have had a family member to witness the battles, but their repercussions were felt throughout the village, and especially by him.
My voice seemed to calm her, as she began to breathe a little more calmly.
"What will happen now?" she asked. When I looked into her eyes, I didn't see the confident woman of these past few days but a frightened girl who, within this magical world, knew a great deal.
And I think that's normal, especially when you know that at any moment a giant pillar is going to fall on you from the sky and you don't have the slightest idea how to avoid it.
I was already dead; she wasn't, so I had to do something to ensure my master's survival so that if she died, she would die like a warrior.
"What we'll do now is formally form the anti-monkey team."
...
Thanks to my highly developed Observation Haki, I was able to know almost everything that was happening in Anakosmo. Since Fuyuki was a smaller town, it was obvious I'd know where everyone was.
"Hello!!" Akane said, entering through the entrance where Albus should be hiding.
When we entered the barrier, we found passageways that either led nowhere or made us back the way we came—basically a maze—but nothing Haki couldn't solve.
I quickly guided Akane along the correct path, arriving where Albus was.
"You guys got here faster than I thought you would. You didn't even give me time to make a snack," she said with a simple, yet undeniably realistic, observation.
This guy was a mage; that meant he couldn't be trusted, but since he didn't belong to the Clock Tower, he could be given the benefit of the doubt, and so far, everything had been fine.
"For someone with my highly perceptive nature, finding the way is quite easy." I explained what happened.
"I understand; thank you for the feedback; you can sit there while I get something to drink." He reciprocated the kindness Akane had shown him the first time they met; maybe this guy is a bad mage, or maybe he only feels empathy for others.
There were several seats, and Archer sat in one of them, staring at the ceiling with a damp cloth over his face.
"You know, assassin, I'd heard of vampires, but I didn't think they'd be this powerful," he said without moving.
The truth is, Kiss-shot is special; she could be classified as the queen of vampire aberrations, if characters like Arcueid didn't exist, perhaps she could.
At that moment, Albus arrived with two glasses of water; I didn't detect anything in them, so, without hesitation, I drank what he handed me.
"Okay, tell me what you're proposing; since you're here, I imagine it's about Berserker."
...
After walking for a while, we came across the person we were looking for, Rider.
She was alone, at first glance, but I sensed a hidden presence in a corner. I didn't feel any hatred or malice, just fear, and from what I could tell, she was just a child, so I didn't say anything about it.
"Admirers, but I'm not accepting autographs right now; I'm rather busy," she announced, turning her back to us without stopping her writing.
"We didn't come here for that, but to form an alliance," Albus explained to her.
"I'm not interested in making deals with mages who aren't my master, so you can leave or wait until nightfall to fight, something I sincerely don't recommend, as it might attract the monster's attention," she said without putting down her notebook.
I could sense her reluctance to be here, but I knew she had a purpose; otherwise, why would she have walked through Fuyuki the night before, knowing that an enemy might appear?
"We'd like to see your teacher if possible," Akana suggested, adding to the conversation.
"My teacher is rather timid, so you'll have to speak with me on his behalf," Rider revealed.
While the two teachers were talking, I saw Archer sitting on the ground drawing. He looked calm on the outside, but I could sense he was suppressing his anger, probably for when we fought the monkey.
I also sensed a nearby presence, which I recognized, but it remained on the sidelines.
Seeing that the situation wasn't progressing, I took a step forward.
"I can see you're worried about your teacher," I said, adding to the discussion, which made Rider look at me, "but what will happen when Berserker comes to where you are? I assure you, you won't be able to hold out for long, and your teacher won't be safe."
That left Rider thoughtful, but she still shouldn't join us.
"You must have some wish for the Grail if you joined this war," Albus said, to which Rider glared at him.
"I don't have a wish. I only answered the call for justice to be done in the face of evil," Rider declared.
That's it, since I have other ways to convince her.
"Don't all the deaths caused by Berserker's reckless intervention count in your justice?" I asked again; that changed her expression, but I didn't let her answer. "Or the people suffering from Caster's curse?"
That silenced the room.
"If you help us, you can have all these injustices," Akane commented.
Rider remained silent; to many, she was staring into space, but to my perception, she was looking directly at her hidden master.
I think they were communicating telepathically.
After a few minutes, Rider sighed.
"I'll join only if you promise to protect my teacher no matter what," Rider stated.
"I promise," I replied, not bothering to make that promise, knowing who her teacher was.
At that moment, from where I'd been looking, a 14-year-old girl appeared, her hand seals on the palm of her hand.
I could see in her body language how much effort it took for her to do this, to muster the courage to appear.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Rider's master; it's a pleasure," she said, not giving her name; she's smarter than I thought she'd be.
"Do you know where the talismans that anchor Caster's curse are?" the writer interrupted, drawing attention back to herself, which calmed her master a little, as she was no longer the center of attention.
"I know where they all are; I just haven't had time to destroy them," I said. Actually, I'd wanted to go and see about it the night before, but that whole spectacle happened, which didn't allow me much time to do anything.
"Okay, who else is on the team?" Rider asked, fanning her face.
"Archer, you and me," I said, hoping someone else would speak at that moment.
"And me," the new voice spoke, appearing from among the trees on the hill where we stood.
The individual who had been eavesdropping on the conversation earlier was none other than Saber.
Saber's sudden appearance caused Rider's master, whose nerves had finally calmed, to flare up again, and she hurried after her servant.
We all stared at them, but there was no tension in the air, only intense focus and a determination to get things done.
"I'll join you, but I need a favor," she declared, and we all looked up for Albus to take the lead.
"And what would that favor be?" he asked.
"That you let me fight Berserker alone," the sparring partner said.
That took everyone by surprise.
"What do you mean?" Rider asked.
"I want to confront him and, if possible, kill him, and if not, weaken him as much as I can so you can finish him off."
"Why?" I asked, very curious about the situation.
"My master has been suffering greatly, not physically, but mentally, all because of Berserker. He's not here right now, as he's doing everything he can to control and calm the civilians and, if possible, get them out of here, but he gave me permission to join you. But if you want something more personal, it's so I can vent all this frustration I've been feeling." He finished his speech with a fiery glare, which surprised me.
"Ha, that doesn't sound like a bad idea, maybe, but to be honest, he'll most likely kill you," Archer said, still staring at his drawings on the floor.
"I don't mind dying; after all, we're technically dead." That silenced all objections.
"Well, I agree," I said, and everyone else agreed.
"What's next?" Akane asked, since the alliance idea is my whole plan.
"Now we should go convince Lancer to join us, but she's in a castle deep on the other side of the forest, full of traps and multiple barriers, and something tells me she won't join us," I explained.
"So? "Rider questioned.
"Then let's use the day to go and destroy Caster's curse, since I don't think Berserker will leave us alone at night."
"What about Lancer?" Albus asked.
"I'll take care of her," he declared without hesitation.
...
Right now, Akane and I are destroying one of Caster's talismans; it sounds like "we" since Akane is actually doing all the work, and I'm just watching the first one.
"You've been different, Assassin," Akane said, shifting my attention from the talisman to my master.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"You're more serious; before, you were joking around and telling jokes I didn't understand, but now you're calm and serious." That left me wondering what to say.
"It's just that I ran out of jokes." That made Akane roll her eyes. "The truth is, I'm one of those people who use sarcasm and jokes when I'm nervous; it makes me think the situation isn't so serious and that I can solve something without much trouble, which helps me with what I'm doing, but sometimes I can't help getting serious."
"Why is it different now?" I wondered.
"Because I can't help but think about what will happen if we all fail."
That made Akane pause for a second before going back to her work.
"Hey, but don't worry, if you die, I'll take you to the throne of heroes with me, so relax," I said, trying to lighten the mood. She snorted and went back to focusing on her task, or at least she tried to, since my words echoed in her mind.
At that moment, I couldn't help but get serious again, remembering something from the story I'd forgotten: that in this Holy Grail War, there were no survivors.
(Note: This could be considered the start of the second part of the war, which is generally divided into two parts. I'm going to get a bit more serious now that we've gotten past the introductions to the servants and the master, and we're getting down to business).