Fool's World: Death (ch. 19) (Patreon)

The Majima and Emiya families were proving to be maddeningly carefree with their lives and safety. "This is an unwise course of action. Regardless of your pity for her, Illyasviel von Einzbern has proven her ill intent towards you. She's already attacked you once and you were only spared from death because she wanted you to watch the people that you love murdered before your eyes." The words hurt to say, but she said them all the same.

In the last Grail War, she hadn't seen much of Illyasviel in her brief stay in the nation now known as Germany, which had been the home of the Germanic tribes that repeatedly invaded her isle. The girl, though eight years old, yet so small for her age, had been shy and hadn't cared for strangers. However, it was the fact that it was Irisviel's daughter, who had been her acting master due to Kiritsugu's deceptive nature.

Saber had grown to care for Irisviel in the same way that she cared for her knights of the round table and her wife. Seeing the vicious creature that Irisviel's once sweet daughter had turned into was unpleasant, but life was often unpleasant. Regardless of what should be, or what could be, the fact remained that Illyasviel had made herself their enemy.

"Don't say that, Saber -- she's just a little girl," Shirou scolded her lightly as they sat around the dinner table, a veritable feast of Shirou's admittedly impressive cooking. Sakura sat with them, silent as she ate. It was evident that she didn't at all agree with Shirou, and Saber was glad to have an ally in this fight. "She's not evil, she's just… misguided."

"She shattered all of your limbs," Saber reminded, polishing off a bowl of rice until not a single grain remained. The fact that she had to remind him was a testament to his family's bloodline for sheer pigheadedness. Part of Saber wanted to be impressed with how Shirou could be concerned with someone who had wronged him so, but that part of her was vastly overshadowed by anger at his complete disregard for his well-being.

"They're fine now because of your scabbard," Shirou dismissed and she had an unkingly impulse to throttle him. "Illya wasn't trying to be cruel. She was doing what she thought that she should do. She didn't know any better."

Sakura cast him a glance, "She still hurt you." Shirou could make all the excuses that he liked, but that fact remained. Even without a Command Seal forcing her to protect Shirou, Saber would want to anyway. He seemed like a kind hearted young man. However, she was becoming increasingly tempted to tie him up and toss him in a closet to protect him from himself.

Worse, the Grail War had officially started and the first battle had been had. They had roughly two weeks to settle on a victor or the Holy Grail would vanish and the ritual would fail. Only the Holy Grail was tainted, and any wish that it would grant would be destructive in nature. If something wasn't done soon…

"She could have hurt you too, but she didn't," Shirou pointed out, continuing his defence of Illyasviel. As if that was a point in her favor when she had come here, unprovoked, and used a Servant on someone that was unrelated to the Grail War. Shirou seemed to catch her harsh look, "Saber, if we don't have to fight or kill each other, then why should we?" he asked her, crossing his arms, and proving every bit as stubborn as his brother.

"Because I believe my Master is taking the wrong approach," Saber admitted with little hesitation. "Alliances in the Grail War are fundamentally temporary, and he is trying to make too many of them. Our alliance with Rin and Archer should be all that we need. Our talks with Caster were unnecessary and an alliance with Berserker invites disaster. Our time is limited, Shirou. We must win the Grail War quickly, and use the time left over to undo the damage to the Grail. Which, at the moment, we do not even know is possible."

Berserker would make a powerful ally, but they did not need any more allies. Between herself, Rider, and Archer -- the most prudent course of action would be to kill Berserker. Given how powerful Illyasviel was, it could also be prudent to kill her as well, much to her sorrow. It would shame her, and it would be a burden that she would carry for the rest of her life, but she did not become king by flinching at what needed to be done.

From there, Lancer and Assassin should fall next. Then, all that would be left would be their alliance and Caster. If she must be used to fix the Holy Grail, then she should be put under constant guard, and when her work was complete, be immediately executed. Rin and Archer would be prepared for the break down of their alliance. They deserved an honorable battle and ideally Saber and her Master would give it to them, even if it would be two on one.

Lastly, she and Rider would fight to the death. Saber would claim her wish once she emerged victorious.

All of that could be done today. In a matter of hours. The only variable was how long it would take Caster to fix the Holy Grail, or if she could at all. Instead, she was having a pleasant lunch, doing nothing as valuable time slipped through her hands as they planned to make more alliances that were completely unnecessary. And doomed to fail.

Shirou clearly didn't seem happy about that, "There's nothing wrong with not wanting to fight. I can't accept that the only answer is just to kill everyone else until one person is left standing." Saber did admire him for his idealism. Him and his brother. She did. Truly.

"In an ideal world, perhaps you are right. But this is not an ideal world-" Saber started, challenging his point of view with the unyielding truth, before a cold shiver raced down her spine and her eyes widened. Instantly, she shot to her feet.

Shirou looked up at her, his expression instantly shifting to one of utmost seriousness. "What's wrong?" he asked as Saber summoned her armor, frustration boiling in her chest.

"Majima is in danger," she answered shortly, before going to leave the house, even if she had to go through a wall, only to find that her legs would not move. She strained every muscle in her legs, but her feet would not rise off the ground, even when she tried to lift them with all of her might.

"What's wrong?" Shirou questioned, leaping to his feet as Saber grit her teeth. She knew this feeling. She'd felt it before. When her body refused to obey her commands. She fought it then and she fought it now, and unlike before, she managed to shuffle her feet forward a half step.

Only to collapse to her knees a second later, "The Command Seal! I have to protect you, Shirou. I can't leave you behind." Even if it meant that she had to stand around and let Majima die as a result. That was the power of a Command Seal. An undeniable, absolute order. One that she managed to circumvent by fighting Berserker before Majima could, but the core of the order was to protect Shirou, and Berserker had already come for him once before when he was left unprotected.

Shirou, to his credit, understood instantly. "Then I'll go with you," he decided, heading for the door. In response, the feeling of being a puppet restrained by a pair of strings vanished. Control over her legs returned and she could breathe easy. Thankfully, the order didn't prevent her from letting Shirou put himself in danger. Still, it wasn't a perfect solution. She could feel it brushing against the limitations of the Command Seal, because letting himself put himself in danger wasn't conductive to protecting him.

Saber, not trusting herself to speak, offered a curt nod. With that, Shirou sprinted out the door and, to Saber's surprise, Sakura was quick to follow, though she lacked the speed to keep up. Making a quick decision, Saber scooped the girl up and followed after Shirou. Scooping him up as well, much to his protests, Saber made for the most direct path to Majima.

It was a rather cruel twist of fate. The two times she was summoned to this world, she hardly saw her Master. Majima couldn't be more different than Kiritsugu, but the fact remained that he wasn't there. What was Rider doing? Was she just letting this happen? Saber could feel the danger that Majima was in -- nothing life threatening yet, but that could change at a moment's notice. What was the cause of the danger? Lancer? Berserker? Assassin?

Saber grit her teeth as she leapt over a building, carrying the two teens, and they did little to slow her down. Majima proved to be a near endless source of mana, and over the course of the night, his reserves were easily able to keep up with her demands. In her current state, she could use her Noble Phantasm a dozen times before feeling exhaustion. For that reason, it didn't make sense for Rider to stand idly by while their master was in danger. He had to be getting attacked by a Servant and Master. Had Berserker gone for him again?!

In a short minute, Saber reached the cursed park that still held traces of what had spilled out of the Holy Grail. Even knowing that it was cursed, Saber wasn't sure if she could forgive Kiritsugu for ordering her to destroy the Grail with his Command Seals -- the only three times he spoke to her had been three orders to destroy the Grail right before she claimed it.

There, she found that it couldn't be Berserker or Illyasviel. Because they were in the middle of the park, seemingly waiting for them. Saber shifted in mid air even before Berserker crouched down and jumped into the air, his large stone sword raised overhead as he brought it down, intent on killing all three of them with a single swing. Saber responded by kicking out with one of her metal shod feet, catching the edge of the jagged stone blade, and using it as a platform to throw them all away from it's deadly edge.

Saber flipped before she hit the ground, her feet digging into the cursed dirt. Shirou and Sakura groaned as she let them go, letting them fall from her grip as she summoned her sword and bared it at Berserker as he landed back on the ground with a heavy thump. This, Saber quickly decided, was not an ideal situation.

"Illya!" Shirou called out, but Saber moved forward in a blur of motion, throwing herself at Berserker. There was no time to talk. There was no time to try to convince Illyasviel that she should help them. Majima's life could very well hang in the balance, and frustratingly stubborn or not, she would not let her Master die.

Berserker met her invisible blade with a swing of his own, sparks flying as the two weapons clashed against one another and the air stirred. Saber looked into Berserker's eyes and saw nothing but madness, matching the snarl on his face. His leathery skin had a reddish hue to it, his body radiating heat like a fire. Saber narrowed her eyes as she shifted her grip, dragging the flat of her blade across the jagged edge of his stone sword to get closer to Berserker.

He responded by jerking his sword to the side through brute force, trying to take her head off. Despite his Madness Enchantment, trading his sanity for increased stats, Heracles' swordsmanship didn't suffer. It possessed a savage grace to it that Saber admired, even as she blocked the powerful blow that sent her flying away a half dozen feet.

Berserker gave chase and Saber met him halfway. They traded half a hundred blows in a handful of seconds, filling the air with the clash of their weapons. Every blow rattled her bones bones from the incredible force behind them, but Saber gave no ground. She met Berserker blow for blow, going on the offensive just as often as she was on the defensive. Their prior clash allowed Berserker to judge the length of her longsword, letting him block her invisible blade as if he could see through the magecraft obscuring it.

Gritting her teeth, Saber pressed forward, intent on driving Berserker back. His rock sword skated off Excalibur in a shower of sparks, flying over her head. Saber took another step forward, the tip of her blade driving into Berserker's leathery hide. 'Mana Burst!' Saber shouted in the confines of her own mind, mana erupting from the tip of her sword and unleashing a torrent into Berserker's body.

Berserker threw back his head and released a pained roar as her mana burst erupted from the other side of him, blowing out his ribs and spine. The mighty Servant slumped forward, collapsing to his knees, while the reddish light in his body faded, leaving him looking like little more than a burnt out husk.

It would be unwise to assume that she only had to kill Berserker eight more times, Saber thought to herself. He might have gained another life, or more during the time of their last bout. Time was of the essence. She had to assume that she had to kill Berserker eleven more times.

As if to agree with her, Berserker started to move, the reddish hue returning to his body as his ribs snapped back into place and life returned to his eyes.

"Ex-!" Saber began, Invisible Air fading away from her blade as she raised it high. Berserker was so large that even on his knees before her, he was still taller than her, even counting the tip of her sword as she held it aloft, the holy blade gathering golden light. This was not the fight she wanted. It was not what Berserker deserved. A harsh lesson she had learned was that reality cared heartbreakingly little about giving people what they deserved. "-calibur!"

Saber swung her blade down, drowning Berserker in a sea of golden light that washed over him as if he were a rock in the middle of a surging river. His body was flung back as her Noble Phantasm carved a deep line in the park, upturning pitch black cursed soil. Brittle, dead trees snapped under the force of it and for a brief moment, Saber could only see the light of her own attack. However, she knew that this was not the end, for all of her power -- Berserker was not an enemy that would die to this.

Assuming that he died the same number of times… now she only had to kill Berserker eight more times.

"Get her, Berserker!" Saber heard Illyasviel scream at the top of her lungs as Berserker unleashed a maddened howl. He erupted from the fading golden light, looking more beast than man. His body was ripped right down the middle, carving away half of his face and an arm, but Berserker still threw himself at her, completely uncaring of his wounds which would have disabled a lesser Servant.

Saber respected him for it. There was a time that she would have relished in the glory of this fight. She would have preferred if Berserker had his senses, but this would have been a great battle to find honor and glory in. However, right now, Berserker was in her way.

"Move!" Saber growled, shouting as her blade clashed against his. Berserker flipped, landing on his one leg as he flew back from the force of her blow. Saber sprinted forward, closing the hundred yards she sent him in a fraction of a second. Berserker attempted to keep her at bay, lashing out with his massive stone sword which felled three trees with a single swing and a half dozen more from the wind pressure.

"Ex-!" Saber began, leaping over the attack, sailing above Berserker, who looked up at her. He started to move, but he was too late. "-calibur!"

Again, the full might of her Noble Phantasm slammed into Berserker. The ground gave way, sending up a mound of dust as entire trees were uprooted and sent flying. For a moment, Saber was kept aloft by the force of her own attack, while tons of dirt and stone were uplifted. She landed lightly a few seconds later, standing at the edge of a fifty yard crater in the ground.

Five more times, Saber thought as Berserker emerged from the dust, swinging his rock blade. His legs were gone, his entrails hanging underneath him, while his flesh had been scorched from his body, his exposed muscle leaving him looking even more fearsome. Still, he fought on, using his blade as a weapon and a crutch. His mouth was open as if to howl his rage, but he lacked the lungs to voice it. His rib cage was gone, his diaphragm carved away. She could see straight through him, and yet the mad warrior charged on.

Four more times, Saber thought as she sprung forward, their weapons clashing powerfully despite Berserker's condition. Saber batted his blade away, pressing the attack and skewering Berserker's heart with Excalibur. With a yell, she hurled his body out of the dust cloud that they fought in, sending him flying through a half dozen trees before he came to a rolling stop. He never let go of his weapon.

Nor his will to fight. Berserker's body was rapidly reforming, either as a by product of his Noble Phantasm, the Twelve Labors, or because of Illyasviel's capacity as a Master. Berserker's rib cage began to heal, his torso starting to take shape while he started to regrow his missing arm.

Saber raised her blade, "Ex-" she began, uttering her Noble Phantasm like a death sentence. "-calibur!" She brought her blade down like an executioner's sword as well, bathing Berserker in golden light once again. More of the park was left devastated by her Noble Phantasm. How the Mage Association would explain this was beyond her, nor was it her issue.

"One left," Saber uttered, striding forward with Excalibur by her side. Her attack drove Berserker into the dirt, finally taking from him his sword arm, and there was hardly anything left of the proud and mighty warrior that had been there at the start of the battle. It pained her to do this. It did. But it had to be done. Her Master was in danger.

"No! Berserker!" Saber heard a young woman's voice cry out, making her tense as Illyasviel threw herself at Berserker, placing herself between them. She placed her hands on Berserker's body, an expression of fear on her face. "Get up, Berserker! You're the strongest, so you have to get up!"

'I'm so sorry, Irisviel,' Saber apologized to her dead friend and former Master as she raised her blade up. "Ex-" she began, light-gathering around her sword.

This time, the words died in her throat as the Command Seal strangled her. She knew what was about to happen even before it happened. Shirou threw himself through the cloud of dust, landing heavily in the trench that Saber had made, placing himself between her and Illyasviel. She grit her teeth as Shirou threw his hands out wide, shielding Illyasviel and Berserker.

"Saber, you don't have to kill anyone," he implored her, missing the look that Illyasviel sent at his back. One of confusion. And hope. "Illya isn't our enemy! She can help us!"

Perhaps that was true. Maybe Berserker and Illyasviel could help them.

But that was before they got in the way, and put themselves between her and her Master when he was in danger. That was before they attacked Shirou in his own home. That was before she had Berserker dead to rights.

"Maybe," Saber agreed, lowering her sword, meeting Shirou's gaze unflinchingly. He was a good person. Too stubborn by half, but he was good. The world would be a much kinder and gentler place if there were more people like Shirou. But there weren't. Shirou was special in that regard, and by virtue of being special, it meant that he was an oddity, not the norm. "But you are not my Master."

With that, Saber moved, effortlessly sidestepping Shirou as he attempted to lunge for her to try to stop her. She appeared before Berserker and Illyasviel, her sword raised high. Illyasviel's red eyes went wide while Berserker started to move, somehow, impossibly, but he was too weak to stop her now.

'Damn it,' Saber cursed as she brought the blade down, adjusting its path at the very last second so Excalibur only cut through the neck of Berserker, the edge slicing through Illyasviel's hat as she completed the swing. Berserker's head fell to the ground while a horrified scream ripped itself from Shirou's throat. Illyasviel didn't seem to notice as half of her hat fell to the ground, looking up at her with wide eyes.

She could kill her. She even should kill her. It wouldn't be the first time children had died as a result of her decisions as King. Nor would it be the first time she killed a child -- Mordred's blood, her own child, stained her hands and blade. Despite appearances, Illyasviel was eighteen years old. Old enough to be an adult in this era and in hers.

But it was never easy. And never her first choice.

"If you ever raise a hand against us, then you will die," Saber swore to her. Illyasviel glared up at her hatefully, tears gathering in her eyes as Berserker faded away into nothing. The first Servant of the Grail War had been defeated.

"Saber!" Shirou shouted, and when Saber turned around, she expected him to be angry with her for ignoring him. Instead, he looked at her pleadingly, crouching next to Sakura, who clutched at her chest in pain. "She's hurt! She needs Avalon!" He requested, making Saber's eyes widen a fraction as she darted to their side.

Sakura's face was twisted into an expression of agony, clutching at her heart as the scent of burnt flesh reached Saber's nose. What exactly was happening was beyond her, but it was obvious from just a glance that Shirou was right. Sakura needed Avalon to survive whatever was happening to her. Placing a hand on Shirou's chest, Saber pulled her scabbard out of him before passing it on to the writhing, pale-faced girl. Almost immediately, the agonized look on her face faded, but she was clearly still in pain.

"What's happening to her?" Shirou questioned, looking worried. Saber didn't know how to answer him. She tensed when Illyasviel approached. She looked over Sakura for a moment, her expression decidedly blank, before she knelt next to Shirou.

It was a small action. One that Shirou was currently too preoccupied to notice.

He was right to want to spare Illyasviel, Saber admitted to herself, rising to her feet. All it took was one gesture, one act of being willing to defend her, and Illyasviel seemed to completely revise her opinion of Shirou. It still didn't excuse what she had done, but he had been right about one thing -- they didn't need to kill her.

"My grandfather-!" Sakura gasped out, the pain on her face lessening after a long few seconds. "He's… gone?" Sakura whispered to herself, sounding just as puzzled by the explanation that as they were.

Saber didn't have any idea what that could mean or why her pain was linked to her grandfather's passing. However, it was unimportant. Her Master was still in danger. She could still feel that he needed her. He-

Saber felt another Command Seal settle over her -- the second order stacking on top of the first. The order was near identical to the one that she was already under -- Protect Shirou and the others. Her hand went to her chest as she felt her connection with Majima suddenly vanish.

"Majima is dead," Saber whispered, feeling numb to the revelation as the other three looked up to her with shocked expressions. "We were too late." She failed to save her Master. She clenched her jaw, frustration boiling in her chest that she didn't dare let show -- Majima had given her a final Command with what seemed to be his dying breath. An action that would give her enough mana to find a new Master… and his final request was to protect those that he cared about.

She should have been there. Instead, she was…

"What role did you play in this?!" Saber questioned, turning to Illyasviel with a cold gaze. Illyasviel's eyes widened at the question, and Saber could see the confusion in her eyes. The surprise on her face. "If you were not here to delay us from rescuing Majima, then why were you here?" Saber demanded, making Illyasviel turn to look to Shirou.

"Majima… is dead?" Shirou questioned, looking down at the curse-stained dirt. Saber knew that Shirou and Majima had just discovered one another, and they were not particularly close as a result. But his last words had been to protect his brother. The both of them were too alike for their own good.

"I was going to Shirou's house. I wanted to ask him somethings about what he said yesterday… I don't know anything about Majima," Illyasviel answered. Could it truly just be coincidence? It didn't seem likely. Was she lying to save her own life? Saber grit her teeth, her failure weighing heavily on her shoulders.

"Saber, are you sure he's dead?" Shirou questioned, trying to hold out hope, but Saber's head fell.

"I am certain," Saber answered, regret dripping from her words. Majima was a headstrong fool. He constantly charged into situations that he didn't understand, and he didn't know his own limits or care to learn them. He had no regard for his own safety. All the same… Saber had admired him. He couldn't be more her opposite, and he found a way to annoy her every time they shared a room…

But he was still the same man that decided he was going to help Sakura. Even if she didn't want it.

Saber looked down at the girl, who was breathing heavily as she recovered thanks to Avalon. She swallowed a sigh and looked to Shirou, "Shirou, go to Majima's house. All three of you. Stay with Rider. She would have gotten a similar order to the one I did," Saber spoke, turning her back on the trio. Majima was dead. There was nothing that she could do to change that. However, she could learn who killed him.

"Saber… be careful," Shirou muttered before Saber took off. He seemed to be in shock. Majima had so many brushes with death in the short time they knew each other, it was as if he thought he couldn't die. A foolish notion. Everyone died.

She offered a curt nod before she burst into motion, leaving all three of them behind. She moved in a blur, no longer having to restrain herself to a speed that Shirou and Sakura could withstand, leaping between buildings and over rooftops as she rushed to where Majima had last been. At the very least, she wanted to recover his body.

Her grip tightened on her weapon as she sailed through the air, casting a look down at the city. "This world will be less for your loss," Saber said, allowing herself a moment of grief. But only a moment. By the time her feet touched down on soft grass on the outskirts of the city, her mind was focused on the mission.

With one final leap, Saber threw herself forward, sailing up and over a copse of trees as she sailed towards her destination. Her heart clenched when she saw the familiar church that overlooked the city of Fuyuki -- Majima had been killed on neutral ground? Was there no rule sacred in this Grail War?

But, it was as she sailed through the air that she saw a lone figure standing before the church. Her lips thinned as she crossed the bounded field, feeling her stats all take a significant blow, and landed heavily near the gate of the Church which had been left open. Her gaze never left the lone figure. Every instinct that she had screamed at her to attack or flee from it. The air itself felt thick with tension, until each breath that she took seemed more difficult than the last.

Saber looked to the figures that laid at the man's feet. She recognized both.

Lancer laid on his back, a hole ripped through his chest, but there was a smile on his face.

Caster laid on the other side, her hood covering her face, but it seemed that her head had been bashed in with a blunt object. A baseball bat, based on the bloodstains on the aluminum bat that figure, now recognizable as a man, shouldered.

The figure himself was tall, broad shouldered, with a short mane of red hair. The top half of him was bare, revealing a muscular body, but it was hard to notice, because on every inch of his skin were scars. Not from a weapon or a burn or an animal attack -- but careful and deliberate engravings onto his pale skin, it read as Old English to her eyes, and what was written into his body made her stomach clench. They were curses. And every single vile deed that a human could inflict upon another with rape and murder being amongst the kindest carved into his flesh.

The man looked over his shoulder, revealing pale gold eyes and that the engravings covered him entirely -- over his torso, his arms, neck, and face. They were even on his eyelids as he blinked slowly at her, turning around to face her, revealing a sinister smile that was all teeth, and that his red mane of hair had a white streak in it.

"You… aren't Majima," Saber said, leveling her sword at the man that wore Majima's face.

The man just smiled back, his cruel gaze seemingly laughing at a joke that only he understood.

"No. I'm not," he confirmed, cocking his head as he regarded her. "I know who you are, but it seems like introductions are in order," he decided, his smile widening.

"My original name is lost to time, but you can call me Angra Mainyu -- God of Darkness, King of Daemons, and Source of All Evils." Angra Mainyu introduced himself with a deep and sarcastic bow, his gaze never leaving hers. "And I…" he continued, straightening out, "could use your help."

Saber frowned as her grip tightened on her holy weapon. She could see Majima's mannerisms in him as he stood and spoke. "With what would you need my aid, Angra Mainyu?" She recognized his name. The being that corrupted the Holy Grail.

"Wanna help me save the world?"