Ah, it hurts my heart...
"Um, don't worry about it too much..."
"You're more sensitive than I thought."
"Being looked down upon by a child is heartbreaking..."
This morning, while heading to school, Ayaka asked me.
'Saber, what's your relationship with Gilles and Medusa?'
'Uh... lovers?'
'... then what about my sister?'
'That... lovers?'
'.....'
"I'll never forget that look... I really am trash... a gluttonous pig with no self-control..."
"Ayaka just doesn't have manners yet. I'll teach her properly."
"If Manaka does it, something bad might happen, so please don't..."
Children are supposed to be innocent, after all. It just hurts to be looked down upon with that pure emotion.
I'm worried that when I reunite with Illya later, she might look down on me like that too...
"So, what are we doing today?"
"We're going to Rairoukan. To meet Caster."
"Shall we kill him?"
"We're not going to kill him, Hundred Faces. Just for a simple Q&A."
Paracelsus, who became an icon of betrayal. How will you take this, I wonder?
I headed to the front gate of the Rairoukan residence with everyone. The bounded fields of Rairoukan couldn't stop us.
Grrr...
As we entered the mansion's garden, giant magical giants revealed themselves. The magic of Paracelsus, the epitome of an alchemist.
Elementals.
His magic that artificially creates the four great spirits.
Fire, water, wind, earth. And even an artificial spirit of aether. Each one has power on par with a Servant, showing the abilities of a top-class magus from the Age of Gods.
An alchemist capable of unleashing power on the level of a great Noble Phantasm. He too was a man who aimed to reach the Root. A man who leaked mysteries, knowing he would die, to save people through medical advancement.
Soon, the mansion is protected by a five-layered bounded field of the five attributes. And the Elementals attack... but it's not really a problem.
Crash!!!
I threw a sincere punch and shattered the bounded field, and as Manaka gestured, the Elementals disappeared.
"If you don't open the door, we'll break in... is that okay? Can you handle it?"
I spoke at the mansion's entrance, and after a moment, the door opened and Paracelsus appeared. He looked calm on the outside, but I could feel he was scared.
"What brings you here... If you intended to kill me, you could have done so already."
As expected of a recreator from the Age of Gods born in the modern era, he seems to have sensed what kind of beings Manaka and I are.
"Well, how about we just have a simple talk?"
"... Understood."
Perhaps recognizing that resistance is impossible, Paracelsus let us in without fuss. The Master, Rairoukan, must be upstairs. Well, I'm not interested in the Master. Paracelsus led us to the parlor and served tea. The homunculi serving in the mansion must have been created by Paracelsus. They're on par with Einzbern's. But, they have no ego. That's how it should be.
"The tea tastes good."
Manaka took a sip of tea and smiled faintly. Paracelsus seemed creeped out even by that. Hundred Faces sitting beside her seemed to not like the taste of the tea. Medusa didn't drink, and I didn't drink tea either.
"Then, shall we get straight to the point? I am Fergus mac Róich. I manifested as Saber. This is my partner."
"Medusa, also a Saber."
"... Divine spirits, and two at that. Truly exceptional."
Looking at Manaka, he frowned with an 'as expected' expression. Probably because she's too threatening.
"As I said earlier, your life isn't the goal. Of course, it depends on what choice you make..."
"What purpose do you have then?"
"First, this Holy Grail War. The Grail grants wishes based on vast magical energy. But, where do you think that energy comes from?"
"From ley lines."
"That alone isn't enough. If it were just that, why summon Servants? The Grail is completed by absorbing the spiritual cores of us who are defeated."
"!"
As I thought, he didn't know. No, other Servants don't know this either.
"So, the war..."
"Is that shocking enough? There's more... do you know about the Crown?"
"Crown? You're not talking about the Clock Tower's hierarchy, are you."
"Right. The Crown is a higher class than heroic spirits. The Grand Class. Heroic spirits are transcendent beings, but among them, there are those who exist even higher, heroic spirits among heroic spirits. There are seven Grand Servants, and the Holy Grail War is nothing but a downgraded plaything derived from that."
"A plaything... you say?"
"Each one of them is a monster on the level of a divine spirit. I'm one of them."
"...."
"Hard to believe? I get it... heroic spirit summoning was originally like that. A system to call the seven pinnacle heroic spirits to defeat a great evil. And we call that great evil the Beast (Humanity's Evil)."
"... Telling me this means perhaps─"
"The Grail is that. The Sixth Beast, the Beast of 666. A device that paradoxically proves the existence of God by giving birth to it. That is Tokyo's Grail (Saint Graph)."
"Then, have you come to prevent its birth?"
"No? I came to make it be born."
"What? How does that..."
"Confusing, right? That's what Humanity's Evil is. If it isn't born, another existence will take its place. It gets replaced. But, if it's born and then subjugated? That spot becomes its. Any beast that tries to be born and fill that spot after that will be inferior... unable to become a complete Beast. I intend to have it born imperfectly and then destroy it for his sake. For that, a few need to die, right? I'm choosing the candidates... Archer and Berserker are confirmed. Right now, I'm considering between Rider and you?"
"... So, you're saying I can be spared."
"Yeah. Medusa and I are a pair, and excluding Hundred Faces and one more, we need about four, a majority, to die. Lancer is already out. The remaining Archer and Berserker... and I'm thinking about one more? Since the goal is an imperfect birth, that's enough for me... what about you? I can give you a physical body, or just end it. What do you say? Want to save the world with us?"
Paracelsus didn't look like he fully believed my story. Of course, who would believe such talk from strangers showing up out of nowhere. Still, he must be half-convinced. Because it's coming from a Root accessor and a divine spirit.
"Understood. For me, it's simply die or live. If that's the truth, I'll help you. What should I do?"
"Good... we've decided to kill Rider tomorrow. If you refused, I would have killed you here."
"..."
"His temple is quite troublesome, you see? With your help, we can roughly resolve it. So, come with us tomorrow. That's all."
"... Understood. Call me anytime."
"Glad we could talk it out. Then, see you tomorrow."
Since our business was done, we left immediately. Paracelsus watched us with a peculiar gaze, but we didn't look back and headed straight home.
"As expected of a coward, it was easy."
"Do we really need someone like that? If it's the Philosopher's Stone, I can make it."
"He's the most skilled at using it. So, it's good to have him. Once Ozymandias is gone tomorrow, it's over. The rest are easy."
The Great Temple is like a great anti-purge defense, but it's not invincible like in a game. It's the kind that can withstand incineration of the human order, but it's not indestructible. Even the Holy Spear's Camelot can be destroyed, and in fact, in the Spear of the End, the pyramid was collapsed by Arthur and Arash.
"Looking forward to tomorrow."
"The tea wasn't great. I think I'll make coffee at home, so let's buy some beans."
"Planning to do everything from scratch...?"
Medusa decided to buy beans right away and make coffee at home to drink. Hundred Faces seemed to like the idea and joined in, but...
"... Won't be able to drink it today, I guess."
Boom!!!
"Sigh... Ayaka would be surprised. The kitchen exploding and all."
How do you manage to cause an explosion just trying to make coffee? Hundred Faces made cute mistakes while trying to brew coffee, and Medusa makes things explode with whatever she does. She wasn't like this as Rider... cleaning up was entirely up to me and Manaka. Ugh.