Part 104: Saber, to the church

Music: In the Sunlight



oh no… oh god… where's lunch?!

"…He has gone out alone again? I told him to tell me if he does so. Why does he not listen to me?"
She complains to herself and sits by the porch.

"…Honestly. I know he likes to walk alone, but that takes away the whole meaning of our cooperation."
She swings her legs, not knowing what to do.
She soon loses interest in that and looks up as if pondering.



She only used it to ask if her way was right, but she thinks about predicting a certain person's future, just for tonight.
And if possible, a bright future.
She wants to predict the dangers ahead and guide him in the proper direction.
The one she worries about is so reckless that she cannot sleep unless she does so.

"Well. The problem is the stars that can be seen from this town…"
Come to think of it, she has never looked up at the sky until this day.
All she cared about was winning the Holy Grail War, and not reading stars for someone else.
She knows it's not like her.
But she still tries to read the stars, and she waits for nightfall to come.
…Honestly, this is a big change in her thinking.
She continues to stare at the sky, thinking it's just like the young girls in love she has read about in stories.

Music: Stop


"Oh, Saber. Do you know where Shirou went?"
"!"
Then.
Suddenly, Tohsaka Rin appears.

Music: Gentle Everyday



"R-Rin…!"
She gets up like a robot.
"W-What is it? I-It is not like I am surrendering to Shirou…!"
She says so with a red face.


"Oh? Was I interrupting you?"
Rin smiles in an evil manner.

She's living under the same roof, but even without that, Emiya Shirou and Saber's reactions are easy to understand.
She's sharp when it comes to others, so she already knows about them.
So of course, she's aware of what happened last night.
No. They were in the same bed when she went to wake them up, so it was pretty obvious.


"Well, I'll make fun of you later. Seriously, do you know where Shirou is? I was thinking about asking for his help since Ilya's fever seems to be rising."
"Ilyasviel…? Did she not recover?"


"…No. I didn't tell Shirou, but she's almost at her limit. She won't be back to normal until the ritual of the Holy Grail War ends. Her capacity is extraordinary, but it's still filling up.
There's still a bit of capacity left, so unimportant functions are still working. But once it's full, she will have to discard her least important function, which is her ability to be human. Ilyasviel is made to break down more and more as the Holy Grail War progresses."
Rin speaks annoyingly, but Saber does not understand what she is trying to say.



Music: Stop

"Oh, it's fine. I said it in a way you wouldn't understand. Let's put Ilya aside for now. It's about Lancer. I found out who his Master is."

Music: Midnight Interval

"…! Lancer's Master has been identified?"



"Yeah, well… I found out, or more like I knew it…
Lancer's Master was a foreigner dispatched by the Magic Association. I already knew that and I finally found her secret base earlier, but…"

"Rin. You should avoid such dangerous activities. If you found their base, you should have told me."


"I was going to. But it seemed strange from the outside. I went in thinking it was empty. All I found were traces of blood and a left arm with no Command Spell.


There was nothing else. I think the arm was cut off, but based on how much blood there was, I don't think the Master's alive. …Lancer's Master is already dead."

"? Then Lancer does not exist anymore? They were defeated by another Servant after Shirou was attacked ten days ago?"


"…I wish that's the case, but the bloodstains were older than that. Do you know what that means…?"

"The Servant was not killed, and the Master was killed first.
So a Master took the arm… the Command Spell, and formed a contract with Lancer?
But"


"Shirou and I are the only remaining Masters, right? But Lancer still remains.
Then that means a magus who's not a Master became one after stealing the Command Spell… but is that even possible, Saber?"
"No. The transfer of the Command Spell can only be between Masters and Servants. No matter how superior the magus, he cannot become a Master by stealing the Command Spell."


"…I see. Then, one more question. Is a Master still a Master if they have their Command Spell and their Servant, even after the Holy Grail disappears?"
"Eh… i-it is just as you say. As long as the Command Spell and the Servant remain, that magus retains the rights of a Master even after the Holy Grail War"



"Then you think that… the one who killed Lancer's Master and formed a contract with Lancer is…"


"…Yeah. I can't think of anything else. In that case, Lancer's actions make sense.
He seemed like his role was to inspect other Servants, right? Usually, they expose their true identity when they fight, but he wasn't even hiding his.
So that must mean he was only there to collect information."

"I feel the same way. He did not fight to the end even when he fought with me. Once they have used a Noble Phantasm, it should be a rule for the Servant to kill their enemy."


"Right. So Lancer's Master has another Servant. He collected information using Lancer and attacks with this other unknown Servant. It's a great strategy.


…Well, I'm sure it was a pain for Lancer. He had to fight six Servants, study their techniques, and return to his Master.
Fighting all six Servants to a draw… he's quite outrageous in a way."


Rin grows quiet and ponders.
Did she follow suit?
""
Saber feels a chill for no reason.
Lancer's Master has already been killed.
An unknown Master who uses a heroic spirit of that degree just to collect information.

…And as the Master planned, the only Servants remaining are Lancer and Saber.
If the enemy is such a person, is it not dangerous to leave Shirou by himself even during daytime?
There were several enemies before.
But there are no other enemies now.
If they only have to defeat Shirou, the enemy might not follow their previous plan

"Rin. Do you know where Shirou would be?"
Once she starts thinking like that, it will not stop.
She cannot leave Shirou alone.
Even now, Shirou might be in a danger.


"…Eh? …Hmm, I don't know. I asked you because I didn't know, but he might be at Kirei's. He went off to talk to him before too."
"To that church?"


"Hm? What's wrong, Saber? Do you have something against that church?"
"…No. It is not that, but…"

That church is not a holy place.
It is stagnated with death to the same level as the Ryudou Temple.
The instant she regrets that Shirou might be there by himself…

Music: Stop



A vision of some other place pops into her head.

Music: Nightmare



"H-Hey, Saber! What are you doing…!?"
"I am going to the church. Please take care of this place, Rin."
Without even turning to Rin, she jumps off.
She runs like a bullet.



""
She did not intend to arm herself.
She had decided to arm herself once she entered the church.
But she could not help it.
As soon as she saw the church, her mind burned up and made her arm herself.

Her chest is burning.
The nausea that has been assaulting her is not hers.
It is the chill coming from her Master, a hopeless scent of death.
She does not know what is going on.
The only sure thing is that Emiya Shirou is on the verge of death.

And there is no time.
His wound could cause him to die at any second.
That pain and the chill going around her body cause a sickening nausea.
It is less than a thousandth of the pain Emiya Shirou is feeling.
But she still cannot stop her nausea.
Her Master is wounded that badly.

…He will not live.
She will not make it even if she rushes with godspeed.
He is dying right now, and she might lose her Master in front of her eyes

The instant she imagines that, her rationality vanishes.
She just has to rush to her master as fast as possible.
If godspeed is not fast enough, she just has to break through the reason of God.
And fortunately, this is God's house and her enemy is God's messenger.

""
Her angry glare stares down the church.



She crashes through the door and enters the chapel.
She does not see the chairs.
She ignores the path, goes through the chapel, through the courtyard, and down the stairs leading underground.

All that's left are the demolished walls and floor of the church.
Incidentally, she is not that violent.
She tried to open the door softly and did not put that much magical energy into her legs when she kicked off the ground.
She merely could not control them.
She goes down the stairs and reaches the underground temple.

The sense of death is near.
Actually seeing it, her anger goes over the limit.
Anger toward herself and anger toward the enemy who did such a thing.

Music: Stop

"Yo. I'm sorry, but this is it, Saber."
She cannot even hear the voice of Lancer blocking her way.
She is straining at her limits, and it seems she cannot loosen up no matter what happens.



…Blood is pouring out of him, and his gasping can be heard even in this temple.
He is alive.
All the while she is relieved, she shakes from having left him for so long in that state.

"Shirou"
Saber heads to the back room.
But there's a guard in front of it.
Holding his lance behind him, the blue spearman looks at Saber with fearless eyes.



"Yo. I'm sorry, but this is it, Saber."
""
She does not hear his voice.
So she does not stop.



"…! You! Ignoring me, huh…!?"
It is as one would expect from him to block it while he was talking.
Lancer blocks Saber's surprise attack, but could not defeat its power as he retreats to the wall.

""
But that makes the hindrance go away.
There is no time to fight Lancer now.
She has to save her master who is on the verge of death.



I don't mindbut in that case, you really can't leave me alone."
Saber stops at the entrance.

"What do you mean by that, Lancer?"
"Well. I'm the one that stabbed him, but this is actually the second time I did it. He stayed alive the last time I did for some reason, so I 'pierced' him for sure this time."



"Don't worry. I didn't hit his heart. But the curse is still there.
Even you should know the curse of this lance. This is the 'lance of cause and effect', that reverses the cause and the effect. The one cursed by this thing cannot change their fate unless they have great luck."



The one cursed cannot heal and bears the wound until they die. As long as this lance exists."

Music: Premonition of a Storm

That changes the air.
Saber's eyes finally regain intelligence.
"Ha. You finally understand? You want to save that kid, right? Then you'll have to settle your match with me first."
Lancer's beast-like killing intent comes at Saber.
It is true that Lancer is serious.
But



…I shall let you go if you leave now. Leave that lance and disappear.
I do not want to slay you in such an undesirable battle."

"Isn't that a more foolish idea? What kind of heroic spirit would discard their partner?
I didn't pierce him to make some kind of a deal.
I'm here to fight you, Saber."

There is no dishonesty in his words.
Lancer does not intend to let either of them leave here alive.
For him, this is the first and last battle where he can go full strength.



He wishes only for battles appropriate to heroic spirits.
Such a simple wish that should have been easily granted to a normal Servant was never granted him until now.
Thereforehe has no intention of losing out on what might be his last chance.
Even if it happens to be an unfavorable situation for him.



"All right. Then I shall just slash away that lance along with you."
Saber readies her invisible sword and faces the blue knight.
"Well said. To be honest, I'm glad you're the one that's left, Saber…!"