The Great Holy Grail War (Part 1)

The Great Holy Grail War.

This is a battle meant not for mages, heroes, saints, or the artificials.

This is a battle meant for a single man, one who simply wishes to return home, and rescue the last piece he valued in this world.

This is a battle meant to discover the truth behind his being.

"So Someday, For The Third Time..."

-x-X-x-

"How troublesome."

Celenike frowned and bit her thumb.

The Yggdmillennia clan has planned to secede from the Mage's Association. By using the power of the Greater Grail that their clan elder stole from Fuyuki sixty years ago to reach the Root, the clan will rise above even the pitiful Thaumaturgy of the Three Great Branches.

Yes, if they can reach the Spiral of Origin, they'll be able to attain True Magic. With the genuine miracle above even the power of Magecraft, no one will be able to defy them. Yes... Everything has been going their way until 'that' happened.

A careless mistake, one which was overlooked even by Darnic and the king he's summoned.

Lancer has dispatched the fifty specialized hunters sent by the Association, leaving only one alive. However, the trembling Magus who was supposed to act as a messenger somehow managed to sneak into their castle and unlock the reserve system.

Such an event was one that they truly did not expect despite the years spent on studying it, was an auxiliary mechanism prepared as a countermeasure for the highly unlikely situation of all seven Servants joining forces.

Depending on the situation, the Greater Grail could support the Holy Grail War by once again distributing Command Spells. Thus, the casual ritual they have began was transformed into an all out war between fourteen figures of legends.

It's quite ironic when you realize that such a flaw came from a point that was not considered faulty in the first place. The land of Trifas is positioned on the best leylines of Romania, and the Yggdmillennia clan had fought greatly for it.

Now, the near inexhaustible supply of magical energy the leyline has been stockpiling backfired on them. Over seven Servants can be summoned, and the alerted Holy Grail used that to its advantage.

"A faction war..." The voluptuous woman bit her thumb once more. She has reached the entrance to the throne room, the location where all the chosen Masters of the Black Faction have gathered... in order to summon the four remaining Servants, exempting the Assassin that was supposed to be summoned in Tokyo due to certain circumstances.

Creeaaak.

The massive doors were opened by the two guards. They were homunculi, defective ones that are not on the level of the Einzberns' art-like creations, but they are enough to be utilized in a war since they were born as 'perfect' beings.

(Recommendation: Fate/Zero OST - Point Zero)

"You're finally here." An authoritative voice greeted her.

Now, including her, there are six individuals in the throne room.

The first, Gordes Musik Yggdmillennia, a portly man. With a single look at his expression, one can tell that he is a pompous man. His craft is Alchemy. His catalyst is kept in a case, perhaps due to its value, or not wanting the other Masters to see it.

The second, Fiore Forvedge Yggdmillennia, the girl in the wheelchair. Her craft is spiritual evocation and human engineering. Her catalyst is an ancient arrow, its tip blackened by something, perhaps blood.

The third, Caules Forvedge Yggdmillennia, the younger brother of Fiore. His craft is summoning. With the freckles on his childish face, one would not think that he is eighteen years old. Diffidently, he muttered the spell for summoning Heroic Spirits over and over again. His catalyst is an old piece of paper. On it is drawn a human figure, with the words 'the perfect human' scribbled in the lower right corner.

The fourth, who has already completed his summoning, Roche Frain Yggdmillennia, the Master of Caster. He is likely the youngest among those present. The thirteen-year-old was watching the scene with interest from slightly further away.

The fifth, Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia, the man who just spoke, the Master of Lancer, and the elder of the clan. He is their leader of the whole Yggdmillennia, the most skilled Magus amongst them, and the man who stole the Greater Grail from Fuyuki sixty years ago.

And lastly, the sixth, herself, Celenike Icecolle Yggdramillennia. Her craft is the dark arts. Despite her clean-cut appearance, her entire body reeked of blood, likely it is due to her kissing the innards taken from the bellies of beasts and humans to be used as sacrifices.

Her catalyst is a piece of silver armor, or more detailedly, a piece of its helmet. There are marks of battle on it, proving its long history with conflict. Unfortunately, she does not know where the object came from, and what Heroic Spirit she will call forth due to its unknown origins.

Nevertheless, Darnic commanded her to use it rather than the glass bottle they acquired after comparing the amount of Mystery it was radiating. However, was it truly right to gamble on an mysterious Servant over Astolfo, one of the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne?

"Place the catalysts you have gathered upon the altar." The Masters nodded. They followed Darnic's command, and the relics were set down.

The magic ward itself has already been drawn. It uses a mixture of gold and silver, kept in a liquid state by a temperature-retaining technique. This complex and delicate ward was devised to summon multiple Servants at once.

"My Lord, we will now begin the summoning."

Particles of light gathered on the throne, massing together and creating a human form. The man whom Darnic called Lord was dressed in royal fashion, black as a shadow in the night. By contrast, his face was shudderingly pale, and his silk-like white hair stretched long.

"Now, call the Heroic Spirits who would serve under me!" The king, the Lancer of Black, the greatest hero of Transylvania, known fearsomely as the 'Impaling Prince' to the Turks, Vlad III, announced with unequaled dignity.

Darnic bowed to the pale Servant, and all at once, the Masters raised their hands, which were all engraved with distinctive red tattoos. Command Spells. The atmosphere changed. Vast amount of magical energy started flowing, and the thaumaturgical circle glowed.

"Let silver and steel be the essence.

Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation.

Let black be the color I pay tribute to.

Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall.

Let the four cardinal gates close.

Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate."

When the first verse was complete, the Prana was already raging, and the shining circle became brighter. The harmony-like incantations were spoken without a single mistake, which was quite strange seeing that they have not rehearsed this even once.

"Heed my words,

My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny.

If you heed the Grail's call and obey my will and reason, then answer me."

Their Magic Circuits burned. The excess Prana screamed, linking the Magi to a Heroic Spirit, to the Throne of Heroes, to the greatest of beings whose existence is carved in myths and legends... and to an endless void which lights cannot pass through.

"I hereby declare!

That I shall be all the good in the world!

That I shall defeat all evil in the world!"

Three of the Masters paused at this precise moment. Only Caules, watching for this opening, continued with another verse.

"Yet, thou serves with thine eyes clouded in chaos.

Thou, bound in the cage of madness. I am he who command those chains."

The two extra lines were a special incantation for Mad Enhancement, used to summon the specific Servant class of Berserker. It causes the Heroic Spirit Caules has decided to summon to be afflicted with madness to some degree.

"From the Seventh Heaven, clad in the three great words of power,

Come forth from the circle of binding, Guardian of the Heavenly Scales!"

The moment the last verse was voiced out by all the Masters, the overflowing magical energy went on a rampage, a storm was created by the miracle, while the Magic Circuits cried out in resistance.

A blinding light flashed.

Then, four figures started to take form within the complex thaumaturgical circles. They were heroes, taking the phantasms of men as their own flesh, humans who reached inhuman heights.

The storm settled down, the blinding radiance dimmed, and the features of the four figures became visible.

One is a petite girl in a white dress. In her hand, a giant mace. With empty eyes, she slowly looked at her surroundings.

One is a man with a bow in his hand. Wrapped around by a grass-colored cloak, he knelt on one knee and faced the ground.

One is another man whose entire body was encased in radiant armor. A greatsword is on his back. His silver-grey hair waved gently in the wind.

And the last is a knight of unknown gender. He was clad in silver armor, and a helmet carved to resemble a lion's face without its mane. A dark purple sword was sheathed on his waist, and a purple and black bow was held in his hand.

"Ahh..."

There was a sound of wonder from someone in the room. Even Darnic's eyes were stolen by their majestic appearance. As thus, the Servants spoke the words of the beginning as one, the words which would uncover the muzzles to this fierce Great Holy Grail War of seven versus seven.

"In accordance to the summons, we present ourselves, the Servants of Black. Our fates shall be with Yggdmillennia, and our swords shall be as your swords!"

Steadily, the Servants rise up one by one. Under the usual circumstances, they would be trying to kill each other to their best. Thankfully, the present war was a team battle. The Servants were provided with the information of the Holy Grail War and the modern era, so they understood that the ones around them were allies.

"Shall we introduce ourselves?" The first one to speak was the elder of the Yggdmillennia clan. The other individuals in the room all looked towards the throne, and a nod of approval came from the ruler of Wallachia.

"Since we'll be working with each other, I'll introduce myself." The calm and friendly-looking man answered. "I am Servant Archer. My name is Chiron." The Servant of the Bow then glanced at the girl who wielded a giant mace. "What about you, will you tell us your true name?"

"..." Seeing that she was not replying, Darnic gestured for Caules to answer in her stead.

"Uh... She's Frankenstein's mons-" The anxious boy mumbled out. However, he was cut off by his Servant's displeased growl. "Ah, do you not like your name being called, Berserker?"

"Uuu." The petite girl grumbled and nodded.

"What about you?" Trying to diffuse the awkwardness, Caules turned to the silver-haired man.

"I am-"

"Stop, Saber. Do not speak." Gordes interrupted his Servant. "I will not reveal my Servant's name to anyone but Darnic." He looked towards the leader of their clan, who promptly nodded in acknowledgement.

"What?" Fiore questioned with a frown on her face. "Didn't we all agree beforehand that we would disclose the true names of all our Servants, Uncle Gordes?"

"...I was not sure of whom I was going to summon before acquiring this catalyst." The plump man showed others the case before holding it carefully as if it was his family's greatest treasure.

The identity of Saber should not be known to too many people, even if they were on their side. This is in case any of them were to fell to their enemies' hands. His Servant has a weakness that is too fatal to be disclosed, because his name is...

Siegfried.

The Dragon-Blooded Knight, the great hero who defeated the evil dragon Fafnir with the holy sword Balmung in hand. He is a great national hero of Germany that has many different depictions in the various legends attributed to him.

His most famous role is his introductory appearance in the German epic poem of the Middle Ages, the Nibelungenlied, portrayed as its main character. He is a character in a tragedy that had spread throughout Europe concerning dragon slaying.

Siegfried became an invulnerable existence by obtaining an invincible body from his victory over Fafnir where he would no longer receive even a single wound on the battlefield. But when he bathed in the dragon's blood, a single linden tree leaf happened to stick to his back, making it his one weak point that would bring about his irrevocable death.

Therefore, his true name must not be known by the opposite faction, or he could easily be dispatched by a single backstab from Assassin, a Servant who has the ability to hide in the shadows.

"Is it really so important that you have to keep his name a secret, Uncle Gordes?" Fiore asked once more.

"...Yes, it is vital to the survival of Saber." Gordes nodded. "Now, if you would excuse u-" He was about to leave the throne room... when he remembered that one more Servant's name has not been revealed yet. 'Huh, it's unusual for that woman to be so quiet...'

Although Celenike was not a loudmouth, she was not a silent one either. He has believed that she would be the first to refute and condemn him for holding back his Servant's true name. "So? What's your Servant's name-" Just as he turned to the chilly woman, he discovered the unusual state of everyone else in the throne room.

It was too quiet.

"What's wrong with you all? Celenik- Uh?" The moment he laid his eyes on the silver knight, his eyes widened at the impossible parameters he's seeing. 'That's preposterous!' The witch has used an unknown catalyst, so why...!

Class: Rider

True Name: ?

Gender: Male

Title: ?

Height/Weight: 185cm 72kg

Alignment: True Neutral

Strength: A

Endurance: A

Agility: A

Mana: EX

Luck: A+

Noble Phantasm: A++

Class Skills:

Riding A+++

Magic Resistance B

Personal Skills:

?

Noble Phantasm:

?

That was what the Masters were seeing through their visions.

General data such as statistics and class skills cannot be hidden. However, his true name, title, personal skills, and Noble Phantasms are hidden. Such a thing indicated that he might be in possession of a concealment ability. Even Celenike, his own Master, was not able to see through anything beyond his class skills.

Impossible.

Truly impossible.

How could a random catalyst that she looted from a nameless third-rate Magus be this... ludicrous? That was not what everyone unexpected. Not her, the summoner, not Darnic, who was impressed by the Mystery given off by the piece of armor, nor were the other members of the Yggdmillennia clan, who laughed it off as a joke.

That strength... It was undoubtedly the parameters of an incredibly famous hero whose legend should be known across the world. Every country, every past nation, every region, every city, every town, every village, every human should have heard his name at least once or twice in their lifetime.

...and that was the parameter of a Rider-class Servant...?

Just... just what would have happened if he were to be summoned as an Archer, a Lancer, a Saber... or perhaps a Berserker? Would his abilities all exceed the highest rank? Would his Noble Phantasm destroy an entire world?

However, there was only one thing on the mind of the ones present. Quickly, Darnic whispered into the impatient Vlad's ears, who promptly widened his eyes in shock. He too, did not expect the luck and fortune of summoning such a Heroic Spirit.

"...May I ask for your name, great hero?" The ruler of Wallachia voiced out, this time, with genuine respect in his tone. As a royalty and a hero himself, he did not scorn the other Servants, nor did he regard them in high esteem... but this knight before him was different.

This was a man who deserves the honor of a king, the reverence of the masses, and the tribute of the future generations.

"Yes..." The silver knight responded. Then, without a word, the silence was broke once more as his helmet was dematerialized. It was definitely the face of an ideal gentleman who is adored by the ladies. With a bright smile, the Rider of Black answered. "...is what I'd like to say. But unfortunately, I do not have a name."

"...How so?" The inquiry made by Vlad III was one which was one everyone's mind. How could someone who is so strong not have a name? Wouldn't that mean that the silver knight before them do not have a-

"I am not remembered. I do not have a legend, nor was I ever mentioned in the tales of another hero. I am nameless, not a Counter Guardian, nor a beast that threatens mankind." Rider replied with a yearning smile. "But just because I am not remembered, does not mean I can't reach the Throne."

"Therefore, in exchange for being summoned as a Servant, my wish is to be remembered by at least one person across the time, and solidifying my existence as someone who truly existed in the past..." He revealed his wish for the Holy Grail, then disappeared, going into spirit form. "...now that you know my objective, please only call for me when you need me. I believe that the magical energy required for maintaining me is massive."

He was not wrong. There is essentially only one thing required by Servants to actualize in this world: Prana. So in practice, the strongest Servant is the one with the greatest quantity of Prana. No matter how powerful a Servant's Noble Phantasm may be, without enough Prana, they risk their own annihilation by calling its true name and awakening it.

Celenike was already feeling the incredible burden of maintaining Rider. True, most of the burdens were being taken care of by the homunculi that acted as Prana battery. Nevertheless, she still felt how heavy it was due to being his Master.

"...A wish, huh?" The Impaler closed his eyes, processing Rider's answer. "...Very well! I, Vlad the Third, shall recognize your existence!" A grin formed on the pale man's face. He rise from his throne, and threw his hand out in an exultant declaration. "Servants of Black! You, who have responded to summons seeking the Holy Grail, may us be victorious in this Great War!"

"As the summonings conclude, we Yggdmillennia have started walking the path of war from which we cannot turn back!" Darnic nodded and proudly continue. "But! Eternal glory comes to those who attain victory! Fear not! We, the Black Faction, are already in control of the legendary wish-granting device, the Greater Grail!"

Thus, marked the beginning of the Great Holy Grail War.