Chapter 24 - Injection
It was nowhere near Hisau Maiya's first time on a mission. It wasn't even her first time pointing a rocket launcher at a church.
But it was the first time she'd been doing it all without Kiritsugu's input or oversight.
Maiya checked her surroundings, although there wasn't much point. In the shadows of the woods behind Kotomine Church, under a camouflage sheet, she was almost invisible. While a magus could detect her with a spell specifically made for the purpose, she hadn't needed to use any magical energy for this, and a magus' sense for magic wouldn't go off. Something like a thermal scope might have picked her up, but magi weren't likely to use such a thing.
In short, someone would have to already know she was there, or be very observant indeed, to have a shot at locating her.
The question was whether her target was more paranoid than she was careful.
Kotomine Kirei. The Church Enforcer was, by far, the hardest target Maiya had taken on by herself. Looking through the files Kiritsugu had on him was more than enough to clue her in on what he was capable of… and to wonder just what Assassin was thinking when the Servant had suggested this plan.
After seeing Kotomine's reaction to meeting Kiritsugu earlier that day, though, Maiya could see it.
Kiritsugu's interest – or, putting more bluntly,
obsession – with the priest was clearly reciprocated. Both men had immediately identified the other as the most dangerous opponent. Just like Kiritsugu, Kirei would have found out everything he could have about his opponent's methods and means, and be prepared to counter them all.
But, after Assassin had intervened, he wouldn't be dealing with Emiya Kiritsugu. He would be dealing with Hisau Maiya.
Time would tell if that was a good idea or not.
After all, everything Maiya knew, everything she was, she owed to Kiritsugu. She was his student, his tool, she may as well have been his right hand. There wasn't a lot she could bring to the table that could surprise an Enforcer who'd been expecting to fight her master.
…or, that had been the case. Assassin had approached her to offer some
extra options.
Maiya knew the state of her weapons like she knew the position of her limbs, but she ejected the magazine on her Calico and checked the bullets anyway. She was very careful not to touch them, and even more careful not to touch the casing on the rocket of her RPG.
Looking back through the binoculars, Maiya continued her vigil. Her target was inside, and if she waited, she would surely get her opportunity. Until then, all she had to do was be ready.
---
"It's time," said Caster.
She'd pulled everyone together in the main courtyard at the ruined Ryuudouji Temple. She and her young Master stood together, while Risei and the Master of Berserker stood slightly apart from them, and from each other.
It was early evening, and the sun was just beginning to cast an orange glow over the wreckage – a dull, sullen shade, made worse by the smoke cloud that had hung over Fuyuki all day.
Caster corrected herself, "Well, almost time. The good news is, Berserker's on her way! She's done very well, so give yourself a good pat on the back, you!" She beamed at Uryuu.
"Um… yay?" he said.
"Yay indeed! Now, I did have to needle her a little to get her going, so she's likely to be a little cross with me when she arrives. Fortunately, her timing is perfect, as I've just about completed my preparations."
Risei shifted. It was none of his business what the participants of the War did to each other… but he felt he should ask anyway. For one thing, he wasn't sure his heart could take much more of Caster's surprises, and for another she was clearly
dying for someone to ask so she could show off. "Preparations? You've laid a trap for Berserker?"
"Mmm, not quite!" Caster wagged her finger. "In this case, Berserker
is the trap. I suppose it's fine to tell you just a
little of what I've got planned. We're all friends here, no?"
"There's an enemy Master standing literally right over there," said Waver Velvet. "Caster,
why do you feel the need to do this every time…"
"Shush, you! Being a genius is all very well, but what's the point if nobody knows it? Besides, his telepathy's still blocked. Now!" Caster spun and pointed to the east, to the city in flame. "Berserker's coming, and if my analysis of her capabilities is correct she should be closely pursued by Archer, Saber, and Rider, in roughly that order. With my help, she will squish them all in ten seconds flat, and we all go home for tea and biscuits! When she arrives, her first instinct will be to smash everything, of course, but I suppose it doesn't take a genius to see that coming."
Er. Risei reconsidered his life choices, especially the ones that led him to be standing here in Berserker's path.
Waver Velvet apparently felt much the same, shifting uncomfortably. "Caster, I think I'd rather not be here for that, if you don't mind…"
"Likewise. May I be excused?" Risei said. "The Moderator does his job much better in one piece."
"Oh, you're both silly-dillies. Like I'd let my student come to any harm… or the Moderator, I suppose. Berserker is wonderful at causing widespread carnage, but she is a little, how should I put it… indiscriminate? Why did you think I've put her Master standing right next to us? I
am a genius, and I
did see that coming, so I made very sure we were all going to be just fine. Have a little trust, honestly!"
Ah. So Berserker couldn't attack full-force for fear of risking her Master. Sensible, although Risei thought Caster was being a bit cavalier about the whole thing.
"So you think Berserker is gonna listen to you just because I'm here? I mean, good luck with
that," said Uryuu. "She's kinda unreasonable at the best of times."
"I think we can come to an understanding," said Caster, winking. "After all, if she's going to have any chance at all of surviving Saber, Archer and Rider all at once, she'll want what I have to offer."
Waver folded his arms. "Yeah, well, don't get cocky. There's still Lancer, don't forget."
"Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine," Caster said, waving her hand dismissively.
Risei didn't say anything.
Caster turned her head, as if hearing a sound no-one else could. "Oh, excellent! Here comes Berserker. Cheer her in, everyone!" She pointed down the mountain.
Risei looked. Down below, among the burning fires of Fuyuki, a smaller orange dot was moving, with purpose and at an incredible pace, towards the mountain. It was travelling in pretty much a straight line, leaving smaller fires in its wake.
He took a step, and laid a hand on Uryuu's shoulder. "Whatever happens next, boy… remember there's more to life than the War."
The young man nodded, a light in his eyes. "I know. But, come on, I've been with Berserker all this time, how can I not see this through to the end? A final battle, against three Servants at once? I gotta see this. There's nothing cooler."
Hmph. Well, that was his call. Risei turned to face the approaching inferno, and tried to project confidence.
At least he'd managed to stand closer to Berserker's Master. That was the main thing.
---
When Berserker arrived, it was at speed.
One moment, Risei was watching the approaching glow becoming brighter and brighter – the next, his vision was filled with fire as Berserker skidded to a halt in between her Master and Caster. Claws scraped on stone, and she plunged her sword into the courtyard to bring her to a halt.
Flames licked at her blonde hair, and the heat rolling off her had Risei struggling to breathe. Berserker straightened up, holding her sword ready.
"
Caster," she snarled.
"Hello, dear! Now, before you do anything silly-"
Berserker did something silly.
Fire exploded out from her in a wave, a white-hot torrent aiming to incinerate Caster and her Master where they stood.
It hit a plane of force before it got halfway, and condensed into something the size of a marble. Caster flicked a finger, and the miniature fireball shot forwards to impact Berserker's forehead.
It knocked her head over heels, and she crumpled to the ground at Uryuu's feet.
"That's enough of that," Caster scolded. "Honestly, I love your enthusiasm, but do let's calm it down a notch."
Berserker sat up, and rubbed her forehead with a pout, looking like nothing so much as an unfairly disciplined child. "I'm calm! I don't think I've ever disliked anyone as much as I dislike you, but I'm calm. I assume you're messing with my emotions again?"
"I really couldn't say," said Caster, unconvincingly, refusing to meet her eyes. "Maybe you finally learned to be sensible since the last time we met?"
Berserker sighed. "What do you
want?"
"For now, I want to help you win!" Caster said. "I'm pretty sure I went through this with you. We're all set up here, and you did a wonderful job on drawing Saber, Archer and Rider's attention while I got ready. They'll be here, mmm, any second now, and when they do, you're going to crush them all handily."
"What? That's impossible! How am I meant to-" Berserker said, eyes wide. She seemed to realise her outburst immediately, and subsided, face flushed. "Erm, that is, I am the mightiest oni, so I could accomplish such a task whenever I chose. But, um, I think even I might have a little trouble with three Servants at once…"
Caster laughed. "Not to worry! Auntie Caster has you all set!"
She pushed a button on her staff, and the tip lit up with floating symbols – Risei was no judge, but they looked halfway between magical runes of the kind Tokiomi had studied as a boy and electronic circuitry. They orbited the star that topped it for a moment before fading from sight.
"Personal reinforcement isn't my forte, but I could hardly call myself a genius if I didn't have at least a basic grounding, could I? You'll be stronger, faster, tougher, I can give you all kinds of useful upgrades! The other Servants will never expect it."
Uryuu cleared his throat. "Um, not that I'm not grateful," he said, "but why would you do this? Why go through all the trouble to empower Berserker?"
Caster shrugged, and fiddled with her staff. "Mmm, well, you know that Saber, Archer, and Rider all have Magic Resistance, yes? Such an unfair skill, and yet four-fifths of the Servants in any War have it come standard with their Class. The only way to be sure to take them down is to hit them in the face very hard with physical force – and that
really isn't my forte. Happily, it doesn't have to be! If I can arrange for someone
much better at that sort of thing to do it, why, that's just what I shall have to do."
Risei didn't miss the implication. Berserker was one of the three Classes that did
not have an inherent Magic Resistance – and was entirely vulnerable to anything Caster wanted to do. Once Caster was finished with Berserker, it would be the work of a moment to either recapture her or kill her.
"So I'm your pawn. Again." Berserker didn't sound amused.
"So sorry! But, yes. I originally wanted you under my direct control for this, but Assassin rather spoiled that plan. Perhaps it's for the best, though. Come on, don't be gloomy! You're going to be very useful." Caster frowned, and looked at an old-fashioned timepiece. "What is taking them so long? Archer at least should have been here by now…"
She pulled out a device with a lot of wires and buttons attacked to some kind of projector, and fiddled with it to lock it into her gauntlet. With a hum, a 3D holographic image of Fuyuki appeared, floating above her hand, dotted with thousands of tiny white lights, like a starry overlay.
Caster explained, "The Spiritron Scrying Scanner is made for detecting souls. The stronger the presence, the brighter the light. You have to turn the sensitivity
way down though, otherwise Servants tend to overwhelm it… look, there's us," she pointed to two dots of bright light at the top of the image of the mountain, "and here's the three chasing you… who have
stopped?" She broke off, confused. "Why's that?"
Risei peered closer. The dots representing Saber, Archer and Rider had halted, and taken up positions in a triangular formation around the mountain.
"A perimeter?" muttered Caster. "Why would they think we'd want to escape?"
And, because the world could recognise a straight line when it saw one, the entire projection whited out into fuzz at that moment.
Caster and Berserker snapped their heads round. The confident smirk was nowhere to be seen on Caster's face, her eyes widened in what Risei could only assume was genuine surprise.
"What is
that?" choked Berserker.
"That's… I've never even
heard of a presence that strong…" said Caster.
Ah. Risei relaxed.
Lancer was on their way, then.
---
In a hidden spot – close enough to watch over events, far enough not to get involved unless she chose to – Serenity felt the overpowering, overwhelming, impossible presence grow closer. In the distance, a pale green speck stood out against the grey sky, growing brighter as it approached.
Lancer.
They'd finally decided to make their move?
Serenity had been mistaken all along. Using an alliance between Saber, Archer and Rider to counter Berserker was only the preferred option. All this time, Lancer had been held in reserve – and now Serenity knew why. An unbeatable trump card, to be played when the other side had committed every possible resource and take it all out in one fell swoop.
No wonder they'd held Lancer back. If the other Servants had felt
this, they would have all teamed up against the threat. Serenity would have been first in the queue, and Kiritsugu would have been right behind her.
Now, having let Berserker rampage and draw the attention of the War, the battle lines were already drawn, and the most troublesome Servants identified. All that was left was for Lancer to clean up.
Servants could sense each other – but the range at which they could do so was affected by various factors. Whether the other Servant was in spirit form or materialised, how active they were, how good the Servant doing the sensing was at that kind of delicate work, and of course if they had any relevant skills.
Serenity was in a good position here, as her Presence Concealment was high enough that she could be certain of not being detected until the moment she struck – and she was naturally observant and sensitive to the movements of people and others in her vicinity.
So she could tell, with perfect clarity, that she had best remain hidden if she wanted any chance at all of living through the day. To anyone with any kind of spiritual senses, Lancer was as obvious as an extra planet suddenly appearing in the sky.
She couldn't deal with this.
Fortunately, she didn't have to.
One of the things that had been prepared before the War was a number of useful drop bags in a number of useful locations. There were weapons, bombs, ropes… and, at great expense, one of those new mobile telephones.
Serenity made a call.
---
"Maiya. When I give the signal, engage Kotomine Kirei. Lancer is about to enter combat on Berserker's position in an attempt to rescue his father. There won't be a better time to kill him without the risk of having him recall Lancer with a Command Spell."
"Understood."
Maiya shouldered her rocket launcher, and took aim at the church. She held it steady as a rock, but crossed her fingers.
Somehow, she didn't think it would be as easy as Assassin assumed.
---
On the mountain, Ibaraki gathered her power, and waited.
She had been using it with abandon for most of the afternoon – first against Caster, then in her flight from Archer, then in her pursuit and duel against Saber and Archer both. Prana Burst obviously used a lot, and the Great Grudge of Rashomon took more. She had taken in a
lot of magical energy from the people of Fuyuki, but even so she was now down to something approaching normal levels.
Judging from the way Caster's sensing whatever had reacted, and the barest tinges of the vast power approaching, that wasn't going to be nearly enough.
Lancer was visible as a flying dot, closer every second.
"Caster…" began Waver Velvet, a note of urgency in his voice.
"I know!" snapped Caster. Her hands worked in a frenzy, tracing an ever more intricate pattern in the stone of the courtyard, a circle maybe two feet across. It looked halfway between magic and the strange technology that characterised Caster's inventions, and when it was complete there was hardly a square inch left bare.
In moments, she was done. She stood and slammed the butt of her staff into the centre of the design. Her staff stayed upright even when she let go of it, and all around it the lines filled themselves in with an electric blue glow.
With a twist of Caster's staff, the pattern expanded out as Ibaraki watched, repeating over and over until it covered the entire temple area. Caster muttered something under her breath, and the pattern inflated like a bubble, until there was a massive dome of traced circuitry hanging in mid-air.
"Phew," said Caster, face flushed from the effort. "That should buy us some time. It should hold up to an average Noble Phantasm, at least – Berserker, come here so I can apply these-"
Lancer impacted.
There wasn't another word to describe it.
Ibaraki could have tried to liken it to a lightning strike, an avalanche, a meteor, but it was pointless. The plain fact was that the world hadn't seen forces like this since the Age of Gods, and Ibaraki had no words to describe what was happening.
Caster's shield shattered like glass, circuitry fizzling and sparking as it was subjected to impossible stress. The air itself strained under the shockwave, popping Ibaraki's ears and driving her an inch into the stone. Ryuunosuke and Risei crumpled to the ground.
Lancer went through the shield without slowing down.
Ibaraki had no time to react. In the same instant that Caster's shield spell failed, she felt a jerk on her head – and she was slammed to the ground.
Her vision swam. Sounds went distant. She felt no pain, but in the lurching, heart-stopping way that told her she
really should, and the fact that she wasn't was a very bad sign.
Her skull was probably cracked. Even this wasn't technically fatal for a Servant, but she'd only survived in the first place through a combination of her natural toughness and a reflexive thickening of her bone structure at vital points.
In a single blow, she'd been taken from as ready as she ever was, to almost out of the fight. That didn't bode well.
Especially because Lancer now knelt at her side, hand crushing her head into the stone.
They were an androgynous figure, with lovely features and long green hair, but the hand on Ibaraki's face was large and muscled like a man's. Where Caster and Ibaraki herself were dressed in fine clothes, Lancer wore only a simple tunic that made it even harder to determine their physical sex.
Caster's face was white. "You're…"
"Servant Lancer. Enkidu," said Lancer, in a clear, emotionless voice. "It seems all suspects for the abduction of Kotomine Risei are here.
"Commencing rescue."
