Chapter 90: Fate/Zero

Chapter 90: Fate/Zero

~Third POV~

[Einzbern Castle Chapel]

Let's hear the tale of a certain man. A man who burned more than any other with idealism… and who then fell into despair. This man wished for everyone in the world to find happiness. A naïve ideal that children embrace in their hearts for a time and then cast away.

But this man was different. He realized that all lives are perched on the scales of sacrifice and salvation. And when he came to understand that neither side could be left empty… he resolved to be the one to balance those scales.

If one desires to lessen the sadness felt in the world significantly, there is only one path that can be taken. The path of killing a few to save many. As a result, the more people he saved, the more proficient he became in the art of killing.

He never questioned his methods. He never doubted the morality of his objectives. To become an infallible scale… the man saved people without favoritism… and he killed without favoritism.

… That if one values all lives equally, that's the same as loving no one at all. But he realized too late… if he had transformed himself perfectly into an unfeeling instrument his young heart frozen and dead then perhaps would have felt no anguish.

But this man was different. One person's laughter would fill his heart… and someone else's cry of grief would shake it. He couldn't help but share in the anger of others calling for justice or reach his hand towards tears of loneliness.

While he pursued ideals beyond the comprehension of the world of humanity… he was still far too human. This is the tale of that foolish man of Kiritsugu Emiya.

Currently, Jubstacheit von Einzbern the eighth head of the von Einzbern family finished explaining to Kiritsugu of his objective winning the war.

Irisviel von Einzbern mother of Illyasviel von Einzbern and Kiritsugu's wife began to reveal the catalyst to Kiritsugu in a proud tone holding the scabbard of the King of Knights, "But wouldn't that be a disappointment? Saber. Lancer. Rider. Archer. Assassin. Caster. Berserker. Of the seven Classes created by the Holy Grail, Saber is the most powerful. And if the King of all Knights is the strongest in that class… then this is the ultimate card!"

Kiritsugu soon smirked at Irisveil's optimism turning around working on his plan to win the Holy Grail, "… a plan just came to me. A way to make use of this Ultimate Servant at its full strength."

With their goals set in mind, both will summon the King of Knights to their side…

/////

[Fuyuki City, Park]

Enjoying the scenery for the past few days Mash could be seen sitting on a bench wearing modern clothes. Having had enough time he created a makeshift homebase for a time investigating this world.

When he realized he was in Fate/Zero he grew paranoid but seeing as nothing happened he remained calm but cautious. But currently with a brief smile on his face and thought in a calm tone sitting on the bench, 'Uh huh. Never thought there would be a day I take for granted the modern era. Man, I missed the city although I wouldn't mind… if it wasn't for the blasted Holy War happening soon. Good grief…'

Shaking his head Mash could only sigh after discovering modern society he thought he was finally free of traveling worlds and finding his original. But he was met with disappointment realizing it was only the year of 1994 in Fuyuki City.

Feeling the chill in the air, Mash calmed his nerves about the urgency in this world. The world is known as Fate/Zero.

The issue is that the Holy Grail is corrupted by these incompetent people. Avenger, Angra Mainyu, was absorbed and the Greater Grail was contaminated. Up until that point, only true Heroic Spirits were summoned, but that contamination allowed for something other than a Heroic Spirit (anti-heroes, villains, monsters, etc.) to be summoned during later Holy Grail Wars.

Frowning at the situation and not wanting people to die because of Magus's incompetence Mash decided to enter the Fourth Holy Grail War to purify the Grail before it could ever be in use.

Mash used his time wisely gathering info in the short few days in the Type-Moon World. He learned he resided in a city known as Fuyuki, an all too familiar name that served as the center of a complicated universe for various events, and the year was 1994. Not to jump the gun he investigated first to confirm his suspicions.

Unaware at the time the events took place Mash found it easier to use [Telepathy]/[Gluttony] to gather more information effectively. He used those skills on police officers who held the most info regarding the timeline of events and real-time info.

Managed to gain info from a police chief that he knew of Tokiomi Tohsaka, the current Second owner of the city, and Mash compiled all the information he knew so far. He quickly summarized he was smack dab in the middle of the Fourth Holy Grail War with various powerful Heroic Spirits summoned from various points of history and myth to fight one another for the Holy Grail for a single wish.

But another concern might be that he won't be recognized as a Master because he's a foreign entity. With the Grial corrupted by the evil god of Zoroastrianism, Angra Mainyu, it needs to be purified first before anyone can consider granting a wish.

Another concern for Mash is the Servants summoned for this Holy Grail War are troublesome not wanting to underestimate them, especially against Hassan of a Thousand Faces or Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, arguably the weakest servants in this War compared to others. But he decided to remain cautious all the same.

Mash sighed as he felt the weight of the odds stacked against him but refused to give up muttering to himself in a confident tone, "Despite the odds against me I have something they don't have. Meta knowledge and their weaknesses. With that in my head, I have a murder-happy Demon to slay."

Mash had his eyes set on The Demon of Fuyuki, Ryuunosuke Uryuu. The Master of Caster for this war, Ryuunosuke is a psychotic killer who summons Caster after murdering a family and using their blood as a component in the summoning ritual.

He does not seek the Holy Grail but follows Caster to find new thrilling ways to murder people and relieve his boredom. He was not officially trained as a magus and was a last-minute addition to the war by the Holy Grail.

And it just so, fortunately, favors Mash that the trip to the police station was the first thing he did in this world to gather enough information to work on. Using the police knowledge this pointed him in the direction of the most recent murders of The Demon of Fuyujii's latest actions and knowledge of Ryuunosuke's appearance all but assured.

Looking at a small spider-like creature Mash smirked using his Authority of Gluttony [Demon Beast Creation] at work creating Demon Beast spiders observing the Fuyuki City having eyes and ears through out the city having better chances of locating the other Masters and areas where he needs to secure.

Each of these Demon Beast Spiders telepathically link towards Mash's head using [Telepathy] skill as he grinned locating his target with an innocent grin, "Finally found you fucker. Time to enter this game and win."

/////

Ryuunosuke is a serial killer. Before the events of Fate/Zero, Ryuunosuke works as a Freeter. This is a person who in Japan takes up simple work that can be completed quickly with short hours and small pay but allows for greater free time instead of working to become a salary-man.

It is thought that he may work emergency shifts at different stores or perform simple manual labor such as stocking shelves or unloading cargo.

Though he had already killed 42 people before he summoned Caster, he had never been considered a suspect even once—the police investigation was a total dead end, failing to turn up the evidence required to even open a case against him.

Despite being an unmethodical pleasure killer, his ability to destroy evidence and hamper criminal investigations is almost transcendent.

If he had decided to work as a professional assassin, it's quite likely that he would have quickly become a legend within the industry sadly though he's the type of person who draws a strict line between business and pleasure, so the idea of making money off of killing rubs him the wrong way.

Ryuunosuke is often seen wearing a purple jacket. He has two piercings, a chain at his waist, and a quiet disposition. He also has orange hair.

Currently, Ryuunosuke was taking a walk through the park eyeing a single woman smiling. Ryyunosuke sighed putting his hand over his back pocket in the night, "Sigh… she makes this look too easy. I wonder how you'll turn out right pretty lady?"

The Demon of Fuyuki casually walked towards the lady swiftly placing a cloth with a strange scent on it from chemicals he prepares. The woman struggled lightly before seemingly acting knocked out.

The Demon of Fuyuki smiled gleefully as he readied his carry bag to transport his latest victim grabbing the lady by the shoulder…

*Woooosh*

Only to stop as the lady catches his wrist eyes widen in surprise as the lady's appearance morphs back to Mash's appearance using [Faker] with a confident grin on his face, "So you already have the command seals, good."

Before Ryuunosuke could respond they both instantly teleported away using [Delete Space] with Mash knocking him out with a quick blow to the head…

/////

[Fuyuki City, Abandoned Building]

Eyes groggy and opening Ryuunosuke woke up trying to move only to realize he couldn't move a muscle. Curiosity piqued his interest as he woke up noticing he was being tied to a chair and gagged.

Usually, normal people would panic but for Ryuunosuke a sense of excitement pulsed through his body. Rather than feeling fear, he felt excited at what was happening as he took in his surroundings which were an abandoned building he frequently went to, and saw Mash reading a dusty old tome.

Closing the tome Mash muttered in an interested tone, "Interesting. This book certainly helped me."

Mash said after closing the old book and getting up to reveal himself Ryuunosuke had so many questions about his capture. Many things came up in his head but before he could even try to ask anything through his gag…

*Bam*

One swift hit on the head shut him up. Mash had already looked through Ryuunosuke's memories using [Gluttony] and still felt sick to his stomach about his actions but required the necessary hiding places he'd need to summon for his Caster Class Servant.

*Shinnng*

Mash drew his Shadow Sword and cut off Ryuunosuke's right hand, then beheaded him with no hesitation ending the monster's life. Picking up the severed hand and extending his hand over the command seals Mash spoke with authority in a determined tone, "Authority of Envy, [Overzealous Thief]."

*Shiii*

Mash soon took ownership and became a Master seeing Ryuunosuke's command seals be on his hand instead, already preparing his summoning circle and using himself as a medium for summoning hoping to have good chances.

However, he knew that his Witch Factor might mess with his summoning with a concerned tone crossing his head, 'I might get an Evil Heroic Spirit but... I have no choice. I'm NOT about to lose this world with electricity, air conditioning, and mass destruction but mostly the first two are important. Priorities man.'

Mash knew the chances of summoning a Servant being compatible with him as he voiced out loud flooding the summoning circle with his magic Mash chanted, "Fill! Fill! Fill! Fill! Fill! Heed my summons! I hereby swear, that I shall be all the good in the world, that I shall defeat… all evil in the world! Seventh heaven clad, and the great words of power, come forth from the circles of bindings, Guardian of Scales!"

*SHIIII*

A light filled the building, and Silva saw his servant as it soon revealed to be…