Part 7: Flame Poem Arc - Encounter

Encounter


One after another

Why...? Urgh, it wasn't supposed to...be this way... Am I still no match for you...? It's like I've gone from Yin to Yang... I just wanted it to be...





*gasp*

*gasp*

I understand. It's natural. It makes perfect sense. Hakuno Kishinami, "the other me", steps between the fallen Caster and Saber's blade without any hesitation. By now, I think I've come to understand. The Hakuno standing there truly is me. If Saber had fallen, I would have done the same thing. That's how I know for sure. That she is the other half of me, and that she truly is Caster's Master.



I thought you'd run off to be with Saber after I lost...! Aww, I'm so dumb, dumb, dumb - pretty, but dumb! I should've believed in our love. We should have just forgotten all about SE.RA.PH and lived happily ever after! I shouldn't have forced you into this. I shouldn't have meddled with who you were...!

...

Ugh, huh?!

...Well, I know one thing. The other me is cool. "You didn't force me. It was fun." Caster's partner understood her needs, and trusted her without hesitation.

Hmph... Caster, you...

I can see the bloodlust fading from Saber's eyes. Caster and her partner have a bond, just like Saber and I do. And just like ours, it's invisible and unbreakable. Even I couldn't cut that bond, and this is myself I'm talking about. Servant and Master, or maybe even more than that. To try and tear them apart would be boorish and wrong. That's how I see it.

More writers need to use the word "boorish" more often. It's a real good word.

...You're so beautiful, my Husband Hakuno Kishinami... I think I've fallen for you all over again. Whether I live, die, or move towards yang, it is our destiny to be together, come heaven or hell. Those words, unspoken for too long... Let me say them again, just this one last time... I was blessed with great fortune...

W-Wait, wait, WAIT! Was I not the victor here?! Should not this scene be filled with endless cheers and confetti?! So why must be watch your grand, final confession?!



Tamamo has a lot of great expressions, and her voice actress is really good. She doesn't really do "menacing", but as far as capturing the hyperactive, ever-excitable Tamamo, Saito Chiwa can't be beat.

Urgh... This is psychological warfare! So be it, if you would truly go to THESE lengths to paint me as the villain, I shall spare your life.

...S-Saber? Are you saying...?

Ugh, am I not yet clear enough? I may have proven myself the superior King, but you are the more devoted Servant. Now listen well, Caster. You surrender to me. You are now my subject. And "your" Regalia is mine by right of conquest. As for the matter of the two Praetors, I suppose we can take our time and find another solution. F-For I am a generous Emperor and a noble King! In other words...



*gasp*

Please pardon me, my Lord. In order to reunite the Regalia, I, in my duty as the Moon Cell's system engineer, must utilize my skills. For that reason, I was ordered to rush here as soon as possible. Please excuse my poor manners.

Please excuse the delay. We were PLANNING to return straightaway once the second Regalia was in our hands. Now then, Caster, do you accept the terms of surrender? You may keep your Master for now, but you will render your Regalia unto me.

...Very well.

Caster Tamamo no Mae, pay tribute to the true King! But rejoice! Once the Regalia's pieces are joined again, so too will the two aspects of the Master unite into one. The great danger has passed. And now, our Sovereign reigns over us all!

...!

W-Wait, what? Is that true?!

"Her Master" will become a part of yours. It's only natural. Now, allow me to initiate the process-

Wait, wait. Allow me to speak with Caster... Caster, I am terribly sorry, but now that we know, your Master cannot stay with you.

Don't even joke about that! Are you trying to make me un-surrender?

Do nothing rash! There must be a better solution to this! Do you not agree, Praetor?!

I do agree. It's best to stay calm and find an acceptable compromise. ...But there's a bigger issue. I can't blame Saber or Caster or not noticing, under the circumstances. I'd have expected Archimedes to notice at least, but he must be too wrapped up in his work. That mortifying shadow creeping from behind...







Huh, whaaa?!







Luckyyy jackpot! Pennies from Heaven! ♪ Got myself the Regalia!

Urgh... You?! What are you doing?!

Dark Erzabet?! So you STILL have yet to relent?

Call me Dark Eliza! Or better yet, Dark Eli! *ahem* Now, listen. What you're doing here doesn't suit either of you. You know why? What you ought to be doing is just sitting back and acknowledging the REAL Anti-Hero in all this, me! And why bother turning those two little squirrels back into one? The more the merrier, right? I want a bigger audience! I want more fans, and groupies, and lovers, and all the best food! I want it all, you hear me? And lucky for me, I'm born nobility!



So I'm going to squeeze everyone with equal kindness, tax your blood fairly, and by the time you're all dry husks, you'll love me for it!







Wh-What is this...this light? H-Hey. This is how i get my new power, right? ...Right? It's not going to punish me for being unworthy or anything, is it?



Quite the mouth on Hakuno, hm? Well, we'll see where Elizabeth is going with this...

NOOOOOO! No, no! This ring is mine! Okay, it doesn't fit my finger, but it's MINE!

You are absolutely wrong, Elizabeth. Now take it off. I will say no more.

N-NO! Not while I'm finally right here in the spotlight! I'd rather die! Ahh, it's too bright! Okay, okay, I'll take it off! ...It's not coming off. This isn't coming off. Ah... Aaahhh... Aaaaaaaaghhh...







Good going, Elizabeth...

Ah...!

...It's been completely disintegrated. Half the symbol of authority over the Moon Cell Automaton. Gone.

...Now's our chance! Quickly, Husband! With me!



What? Why can't you simply accept your loss?! And just when we'd agreed to your humiliating surrender...

I love how Nero's implication there was it wasn't the victory, per se, what she's happy about, but the fact she got her opponent to capitulate is what this was all about. And she's wondering how things turned out so poorly for her.

Then again, that may be harsh. Nobody factored a Dragon Idol showing up and ruining everything into their plans.

Ohoho, what are you talking about Saber? We've got nothing left to fight over, now that the Regalia's gone. So what's the problem? Oh, and please don't worry. I'll take very good care of my dearest, someplace where no one else can see. Do whatever you please! Be King of SE.RA.PH. Whatever. ...But just for your own good, don't go around thinking you've won. All you've done is take on everyone's problems.



You would vanish after spitting such vile words? You insufferable fool!



Aw, the "Crying Elizabeth" portrait always gets me. She just wants to be happy...

If it couldn't handle MY shine, it was just a cheap toy to begin with. T-They say the Moon Cell's supposed to be generous, right? It couldn't give me a better ring? W-Well, it's not like I'm sad about it or anything! What're you staring for, you bunch of idiots?



Somehow, think we'll be seeing her again soon.

...You...


Great King of Destruction

It can't be... Impossible. Even with the Regalia split, a clash between the two of them couldn't possibly end like this. How could it possibly break? It couldn't. It's impossible. And how will I perform the update now? Without the full Royal Authority, it's impossible to run the system update. ...Unless the system updated itself just now... Could there have been some context-sensitive function that updated the system automatically? No. There's no way...

His tone is irritated, but his face is still calm. I wonder if anything could break that facade, short of the loss of a loved one. It's difficult to know what might be going through his head at that moment. However stole his expression, he's certainly discouraged, and he doesn't seem to care if we know it. He must be deeply devoted to his work. Just as I find something to say to him, Saber quietly shushes me.

I mean, he is freakin' Archimedes. Archimedes is not the guy to half-ass important work.

Your concerns are far greater than mine, you know. We let your second half get away. In other words... You still face the threat of mortality.



Too many sad Servants, in this stage outro. I don't like it. Not one bit.

I tell her it's okay. That everything will be all right. Even though I have absolutely no way of backing that up.

*sigh* Your smile is a marvel, you know. I simply look upon your face, and my tears recede. And I, in turn, must do all that I can for you. There is no time to linger here. Great Scholar Archimedes! I understand that you are in shock, but please, stay focused. What's transpired is unfortunate, but not irreparable. We must devise another plan. For now, let us regroup.

...Yes, of course. I apologize for my emotional state.

Think nothing of it. The fact remains that we unified SE.RA.PH. It is far too early to grieve, Great Scholar. We shall return in victory, not in sorrow. Hold your head high and shine brighter than the Sun itself...



The sky... No, my intuition tells me, it's not the sky. ...It's not the sky. The world is about to break, right here, right now.











I see it! She has...another Regalia!



Beyond the break in the world is a pitch-black dimension, impossible to see through - until an ominous light surges forward. A different class of hostile program? Or are they programs at all? I understand at once. They're broken programs. They're diseased, unable to function as they once did. All they do is run, and run, and run, until their bodies crumble and break. They are the embodiment of destruction, and I can only imagine how many lives they've already destroyed... They cannot be allowed within SE.RA.PH. They are an incurable disease. A poison that kills life. A predatory virus leeching off the world itself. They're Void Cells...!





Urk, restraining magic has no effect?! Damn these things...! AAAHHH...!!

Scholar...!



Yikes... Sucks to be him.

It's no use. Saber and I both reach out to him, but neither of us have any chance of grabbing him in time. The army of destruction rains down onto SE.RA.PH's soil and consumes Archimedes whole. I have a sickening feeling that both of us are next...



That feeling... What happens next almost feels like a dream. All at once, the army halts. Apparently, they're taking orders from the maiden in white. The maiden in...wait. Haven't I seen her before?



I am the Great King. I am destruction itself, falling like a star to crush all those beneath.

...A maiden in white. Brown skin, thin figure, red eyes. ...A warrior. That's how I could best describe her. She looks right at home with a sword in her hand, just like Saber.

Destruction...












...?!

She swings her sword. And afterwards, nothing remains. Nothing. As if she'd sheared a whole dimension away from existence.

Channeling so much power into one strike without even revealing her true identity... She must be a dragon type. No, more than that...

As a quick aside, in Nasu's works (as in pretty much anything, to be fair), dragons are extremely powerful, and being connected with a dragon, either through pedigree or other circumstances, typically bestows great power.

I can hear the amazement in Saber's voice. She's impressed, and surprised, but there's something darker in her voice as well. Something like...fear.

...

Our eyes meet. There I am, face to face with the maiden who cuts away realities. ...Ah. And I realize something. I do know her. At least, I've seen her before. I remember now that episode of vertigo after the fight with Medusa. What had been a murky dream is now eye to eye with me. ...I've never met her, not truly. I shouldn't know her. But I can say her name. The Sword of Mars. The Scourge of God. Wherever her home might be, it must be close to the throne of Heaven. Her name is...



What did you just say, Praetor? "Altera"? Is that her name? No, it could not have been you. Even if it did sound like you. Whatever voice called her that name must have come from beyond the darkness!



Something does indeed lurk in the darkness beyond the break in the world. At first, I can't see its face.

"...This is not what we agreed to, Altera. Please curb your destructive impulses for just a bit."

Saber's right. The voice does sound like me. If I recorded myself and played it back, that's just what I would sound like. And that voice's owner is standing right next to Altera. It's a strange life I live, where I see a duplicate of myself standing next to a potential enemy and my first thought is, "Ah, this again."

Glad to know her sense of humor has not abated. Though, honestly, Hakuno could point to pretty much any aspect of her life and think "Man, I am one odd duck".

A THIRD Praetor...?!

She is certainly surprised and confused, but again... I still sense that same fear as well. There is no fear in the other me. Only calm, analytical interest.

...You. I did not give you permission to show yourself. How dare you defy me?

...

Her body language is clear. She carries herself with unquestioning fealty toward Altera. The other me, my reflection, holds both affinity and hostility. She gives Saber a curious look. "Do you recognize Saber?" I ask. "No, I've never seen her before."

...!

I can feel Saber's sorrow. No matter what the circumstances, the image of me giving her that cold, indifferent look is unbearable to her. I remember she told me she was heartbroken once before. I can imagine her pain. So...

You claim you know me not, Praetor? That you have no recollection of me whatsoever? The two others remembered me, even when they could not remember themselves. But you say you have never seen me at all? Do you not recall fighting alongside me?! Have you forgotten all I have done for you? Master?!

...Silence, woman! My Prisoner speaks to me alone.

...! We must sync, Praetor! Become one with me. Hurry!