Fate/stay night Part #202 - Distortion (IV) / Winter forest

Part 202: Distortion (IV) / Winter forest

…I know.
Tohsaka wants to stop him as well.
But we'll be the ones to be killed if we do so. She can't stop him.
That goes the same for me as well.
I know it's stupid of me to die trying to save a dying girl.

That's all that fills my mind.
I jump down over the railing.

Tohsaka and Shinji both look in surprise at the intruder, but the man does not even look at me.

The man reaches for the girl's body.
"

Stop

!!"
I yell.
I stop him with all my might.

And he slowly turns to me like Death that found its new prey.

Music: Whirlpool of Fate 2

It is always winter in that land.
Coldness and stagnation, barrenness and longing
As they cut all ties with the present world and await the reproduction of the miracle, they are like living corpses.
The cold winter air steals their human warmth.
And the stagnant world does not allow them a new lifestyle.
…The family is the seeker of the Holy Grail.
Spring does not come for the Einzbern family until their wish is fulfilled.

It has been ten centuries since they started the search for the Holy Grail.
As they used every possible method to attain their goal, they were eventually able to forge the Holy Grail.
But even then, all they can build is the vessel.
The divine mystery that should dwell in there is empty, and they keep building vessels that will never be filled.

The result is both a success and a failure.
The Holy Grail is made.
The Holy Grail should be filled with that method.
But they make many enemies at the same time.
Even though they should be the owners of the Holy Grail, they have been degraded down to common magi that "donate" help.

Their tenacity is abnormal.
No, they have been obsessed since that time a thousand years ago, when they almost obtained the Holy Grail.
They broke the rules and constantly pulled out the strongest card.
In the first one, they did not have time to do such a thing.
In the second one, they finally found a loophole in the rules.
In the third one, they summoned what they shouldn't have.
And in the fourth one…
They were sure of their victory, having the strongest card and its master.

They had insurance to begin with.
And on the fifth one…
They finally prepared the strongest Master and Servant.
It was him.
Two months before the Holy Grail War began…
Every rule was broken for him, Berserker, to be summoned.

Music: Stop

Video: Faraway Winter (mirror)

It's a bit long, but this scene really isn't the same without the sound effects and voice.

It was only natural.
The Holy Grail would appear in two months.
The only things keeping him in this world were the girl's magical energy and her Command Spell.
Berserker was not created from the magical energy of the Holy Grail.
Even if the girl may have been special, to keep Berserker in this world using her own magical energy was like having her life taken away.

In contrast to her young appearance, she hated whining.
Everything that came out of her mouth was an insult.
She must have instinctively known that if she was going to murmur something, she would get stronger when she would insult and hate someone.
The girl scorned Berserker for being ugly and cursed his existence.
It was only natural.
The girl would not have had to suffer if he had not existed.
She would not have been thrown in hell if she had not been chosen as a Master.

The girl insulted the giant every chance she got and used him to take out her anger.
The pain had lessened by the time she mastered Berserker's control, which was when the Holy Grail showed signs of its appearance.
The girl took away the giant's sanity as if in revenge, treating him as a "mad warrior".

But he already knew that this was the girl's desperate opposition.

The girl did so to hide her weakness.
She walked with pride as if saying that she could live alone.
…And that she did not need any friends or collaborators.
…It was…
…A bluff to ignore the fact that she was fated to have nothing.

Music: 'Die Lorelei' by Philipp Friedrich Silcher

The winter forest.
The girl timidly touched the arm covered in blood.
Surrounded by hungry beasts, the girl was prepared for her death, but desperately denied it.

At that time…
He was not able to move without an order from his master, and he was the first to be attacked by the beasts.

The beasts bit off pieces of his neck, head, and limbs.
With the scene in front of her, the girl screamed.
…As he had his sanity taken away, he cannot recall what she said back then.
But the girl yelled not for her sake, but for his.
Even though her body was destroyed whenever he swung his arm, she endured it for his sake.

That's why they were both covered in blood.
The giant was covered in the beasts' blood, and the girl was covered in her own blood.

…He remembers the winter forest.
The weight of the girl that rested on him, crying tears of anguish.
And he realized.
In that small, cold castle…
He was the only one she talked to.

Her face is covered in red.
She still runs in spite of that, but falls over a piece of rubble as her eyes are cut.
The slender body falls over.
There…

The enemy's sword is brought down.

"
That ends it.
The man pulls out the lance as if nothing has happened, and the remaining power in the giant completely disappears.

His body disappears.
All the power that was giving his body form has disappeared.
So all that is left for him is to disappear.
As he ran out of magical energy, there is no way for him to stay in this world.

He sees the girl fumbling around for him.
"

"
Power returns to his falling body.
The law of magic that constructed him,
the regulation of the world that hates inconsistencies,
the body that is crumbling away like sand…

He pushes aside all powers trying to eliminate him, using his own power of will.

He cannot disappear yet.
He is probably the only one she relied on.
He has to answer the solitary girl that believed in him although she insulted him.

"…Where are you? I don't know, it's so dark, Berserker

"
With her eyes slashed, the girl crawls with her hands stretched out.
…She must want to feel him, as she cannot see now.
The bloodstained hands grope through empty space, trying to verify his presence.

"

"
There is no power left in him.
There is nothing he can do.
Berserker will fall here and die here.
His body has died, and there is no power left to support him.

"Oh

"
Coughing up blood, the girl crawls to the hard figure.
…She cannot see, but she can still feel him.
Berserker hasn't lost yet.
She cannot see anymore, but Berserker is still strong like always.

"

That's good, Berserker. Stay there, okay?"
Strength fades from her body.
She is hurt and scared, but it's all right as long as he's here.
He always protected her.
He was scary, but he was really kind.
His big body was like that of a dad, and she wanted for him to pick her up once.

"I'm not scared anymore even though it's dark. You're strong, Berserker.
I'm safe if you're there like that

"
She rests her body on him.
It feels as though he'll rest one of his big, solid hands on her head.
It's probably true.
He should be patting her head when she opens her eyes.

"……Mm… It's a bit cold."

Her body is cold.
Recalling the forest from that time, the girl smiles.
It happened so long ago.
Recalling the giant that protected her even when injured, the girl peacefully falls asleep.

Music: Stop