Chương 67: Vol 2. Epilogue.
Erecting another suggestion Bounded Field, I let out a slight sigh, before giving the surroundings one last once-over. Screams and sirens could be heard throughout the city, as I watched firemen, police and emergency medical services run around like headless chickens, trying their best to save others.
Buildings had collapsed, and many had large cracks all over them, thanks to the small earthquake Alistair's attack had created. The fire only made things worse, as those trapped under the rubble were cooked to death before suffocation could get to them.
I had erected a few barriers to stop the fire from spreading past a certain point, as anything else would make things too difficult to explain away.
Alistair's attack might have caused a huge earthquake, but it gave the perfect alibi for the buildings we and Berserker had destroyed, along with the fire. As I had implanted the thought that thanks to the earthquake, a giant gas leak took place, which created this giant inferno.
The Bounded Fields I had set up served the dual purpose of giving all a compulsion to forget the 'fireworks' that was Alistair's attack, and Excalibur's blast, while destroying any evidence they had of it, be it pictures or video.
The other effect was to inform me of where people were, allowing me to give the disaster relief squads a 'gut feeling' of where civilians were.
It had allowed the saving of people who would have died, but ultimately, this was just an attempt to lower the overall casualty numbers, to make Alistair feel less guilty.
Knowing him, he'll place a good deal of the blame on his shoulders. Be it due to 'allowing' things to go wrong, or thanks to the earthquake he created, which has probably exacerbated this whole situation, though through no true fault of his own.
So I thought it best to lend a discreet hand where I could, to hopefully alleviate some of that future guilt.
Sighing slightly at the sight, I felt a light ping in the back of my mind, informing me of a disturbance in Alistair's room.
Without a second thought, I teleported inside our room.
As I appeared in the room, I was met with a glowing hand emitting golden particles pointing straight at me, along with a pair of weary yellow eyes staring at me.
Recognition quickly flashed in his eyes, and Alistair lowered his arm, its glow disappearing with the action, before moving it to cover his eyes, his body relaxing into the sheets. "Sorry," he murmured.
"It's alright," I responded calmly, while giving him a good look.
The room had a light smell of blood, which I could see was coming from his left arm. Alistair seemed to have broken his night table upon waking up, probably from a nightmare, which would explain why he was so jumpy.
"Are you alright?" I probed, while gently seating myself down on my side of the bed. The answer to the question was obvious, but it was probably the most indirect-direct way to breach the topic.
Inhaling a deep breath, he spoke. "No," he said, before removing the arm covering his eyes, fixing his tired gaze on me. "I'm not."
The silence hung for a moment, before he did a deep exhale. "What happened to you? Did you get incarnated like Gilgamesh, or something?" He asked calmly, which made me feel a twinge of relief.
I was expecting a bit—no, a lot more scrutiny, but I should still tread carefully. He's just lost a lot, and is probably a bit everywhere with his emotions, so it's best to be as clear as possible to leave no room for misunderstandings.
"Not quite," I said while shaking my head. "I fell into a trap Gilgamesh had set up, and… well…" my words trailed off, as I felt unsure of how to explain what happened without him taking it extremely negatively. "I… I think it's best if I showed you what happened from my perspective, is that alright?" I asked with a hint of uncertainty.
His eyes softened slightly, seemingly catching onto my distress, and he merely nodded his head. Scooting closer to him, I grabbed his hand, ignoring the scorching heat it still emitted, and placed it on the side of my face.
Looking him in the eyes, I started pulling forth the last memories of Ruler Morgan Le Fey. How I had tried to stop Angra Mainyu from using a dying Kirei to activate the Grail, only to be manipulated into accidentally resurrecting Avenger.
After seeing the memory, Alistair seemed dazed for a moment, gaining a thousand-yard stare as he fixed his eyes on the opposing wall, before a bitter sigh left his mouth.
"That explains why the Grail suddenly turned dim," he said bitterly, while retracting the hand I was holding, letting it slump onto the bed. His voice suddenly became extremely hollow, as it seemed he came to some terrible conclusion. "I… I traded a used Grail for my Mother's life."
His words were like a punch to the gut, and I could practically see the self-loathing rolling off him. Acting quickly, I slid next to Alistair, and pulled him into a hug.
"It's not your fault," I coaxed. "You couldn't have known that things would go so wrong so quickly," I added, only to hear a derisive scoff from Alistair.
"Had I listened to you and healed my legs, I wouldn't have stumbled, I would have skewered Saber's head, and that would have stopped her Noble Phantasm's activation," he said bitterly, before continuing. "Instead I ignored your advice, only to give her a fatal wound instead, and got knocked into the path of certain death, only to have Mom bail my sorry ass out."
I could feel the sensation of my dress dampening where I had placed his head. Biting my lip, I wanted to speak up, I wanted to take the blame I deserved. But he was in a really bad place right now, contradicting him now would only worsen the situation. Be it him coming up with more things to blame himself for, or worsening our relationship.
So I kept my silence, knowing that when he was in a better state of mind we could have a proper conversation. Not now, not when it was all too raw. He needed support… he needed an outlet for his despair.
"Alistair," I said gently, only earning a slight nod from his head. "Do you think it was Artoria's choice to blow the Grail up, or do you think another is at fault?" I probed, as it didn't take a genius to guess what had happened. I had been too emotional when first encountering Alistair's state, but after having some time to cool off, it became clear.
"Kiritsugu," he replied in an early neutral tone. "Saber even shouted his name, calling him a bastard," he continued, causing me to nod.
It was as I thought, she had been fooled. Artoria would forever be someone's plaything, be it Merlin's or now Kiritsugu.
Was it pitiful, yes. Did I care right now, no. She had made her bed, I had pleaded with her to not return, to ensure that something like this would not happen. In the end, I was a fool to have trusted her, knowing that she had a history with being manipulated.
"Show me him," Alistair said while pushing himself up from my hug, cueing me to loosen my hold on him. His eyes were lightly tinted red, and smudged teardrops could be seen, but his eyes were showing an unnerving amount of coldness.
I had naturally placed a hidden tail on him, once I had come to the conclusion that Artoria wasn't completely at fault. I will admit it took an embarrassing amount of time for me to come to that conclusion, but I was busy thinking up ways to kill her, so I'll cut myself some slack.
Waving my hand, mist formed, and an image of a man wearing a tattered coat running around through the rubble, trying his best to save people.
It was disgusting.
The man had caused all this misery, and was now trying his best to 'help' those he had damned.
Glancing away from the screen, I saw Alistiar all but glare daggers at the man, seemingly too fixated on him to come up with something.
"Should I bring him here?" I proposed.
I knew that Alistair was not one for torture, either being too inexperienced with such things, or just finding the thought too distasteful. But I was more than willing to dish out his grievances on his behalf.
"No."
Blinking slightly, I was confused about his stance, as he looked murderous, but he didn't want me to bring him here. "No?" I questioned.
"No," he affirmed icily, though his trembling hands told a different story. "Why?"
Alistair turned away from the screen, and fixed his ice cold-eyes onto me. "I want him to suffer," he explained, but that didn't answer anything.
"That's what I am offering. I'll do all in my power to ensure he'll wish for death for eternity, if need be," I explained, but Alistair only shook his head, before raising a shaking hand to point at the 'hero of justice'.
"Look at him," Alistair said, causing me to do what he asked. "What do you see?" He questioned, causing me to furrow my brows.
"A man who is desperate to save anyone," I answered.
"Wrong," Alistair stated. "That is a man waiting for death, expecting it even, trying to do one last good deed before dying," he explained, and I felt some semblance of understanding wash over me, causing me to look at him.
"He knows that if I, or M-Mom survived that he's a dead man," he stuttered slightly, before continuing strongly. "And seeing as Irisviel knew she would die during this war, both of them are the equivalent of walking corpses," he explained.
"I won't get any satisfaction for killing them now," he explained. "Not when they can't feel the loss, the agony, the helplessness I felt when I saw her…" Alistair's words trailed off, as his eyes trembled, before he closed them, taking in a deep breath.
Giving him a moment to gather his thoughts, Alistiar's eyes snapped open, and he had a near crazed look in them. "I want you to help them," he stated, and I almost interjected at the ludicrousness of his words. "Ensure that he manages to fake his death, well enough to the point we can realistically 'believe' it. And make sure that they get Illyasviel back, so they can be one happy family."
"Why?" I asked cautiously, as he was clearly not in the right headspace right now.
"Motivation."
The single word answer got me to frown. "Motivation?"
"I've been looking back on things… and I can confidently say, I didn't give it my all," he explained bitterly. "There is one choice I never made due to knowing how difficult it would have been to go through, which I now can't stop thinking about. Even now, I am having second thoughts about trying it, but I am confident that if I had taken that chance, things would have been different… I just lacked motivation back then…"
"But now, every day, even if I don't want to think of it, I will be reminded of the fact that those responsible for killing my Mother are happy and fine, even living in bliss. And if that can't give me enough motivation to pull through that hellish training, nothing can. Once that is done, I'll end them," he explained, causing me to frown.
His words made it sound like he was leaving…
"I can still help you, now more than ever! I can teach you magecraft that would elevate you to something close enough to be considered a Magician!" I said frantically, tightening my grip on him, only for him to nod his head. "I know," he stated. "But right now, I need a proper kick in the ass."
His eyes seemed to soften at this. "I won't leave immediately… as I need to attend Mom's funeral," he gave a slight pause before continuing. "The Clock Tower probably needs a few answers, and we have to ensure Sakura will take the transition well," he added before sighing, lowering his head.
"I–I just feel that I need a goal…" he mumbled. "If I do what I want, and kill the Emiyas as soon as possible, I feel like I'll lose direction…"
"I still want the Grail, I still wish to get rid of Alaya's hold on me… but all that pales in comparison to wishing to kill those bastards who took her away from me," he said in a shaky voice, and I only tightened my hold on him.
He looked so vulnerable, so broken. It wasn't fair… I needed to do something to help…
"It's not like we can't complete two of those goals at the same time," I softly whispered, causing him to look up at me with mild confusion.
Smiling lightly, I moved a hand to brush away some of his pale blonde hair. "While the Grail is empty, I should be more than capable of hastening the recharge of the Grail System… And seeing as we'll need Masters for the Grail War, why not use them…" I said while placing a finger on my chin, slightly tilting my head. "I believe the correct term is called 'recycling trash', if I'm not mistaken," I added with a smile.
"Wouldn't you like to drag them back into a Grail War, slowly crush their peaceful life with the past coming back to haunt them, and then slowly tear their life apart?" I questioned with clear venom lacing my tone.
At my words, Alistiar slowly turned to look up at me, and I could see an icy smile making its way onto his face, before he turned his head to look at the screen showing Kiritsugu.
"Yes…" he mused, slightly squinting his eyes at the sight in front of him. "That's a far better use of them, than what I had planned," he stated.
"Ten… no, eleven years," he stated, causing me to frown. "I will train, research and improve my magecraft for eleven years," he reaffirmed, while pointing at the screen, causing my eyes to follow his finger.
The screen now showed Kiritsugu pulling out Avalon from his chest, implanting it into a child with auburn hair and plenty of burns littering his body.
"In eleven years, Kiritsugu will experience the worst hell imaginable," he said, before turning to me, his eyes cold as ice.
"From this day, his days are numbered."
—
Zero
—
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A/N
Welcome back, my reader Overlords, please add this to your library and give me some comments, stones and reviews, as it would be much appreciated.
Shot and sweat, as an Epilogue should be.
Now, many might be angry, or annoyed that Alistair isn't just outright killing Kiritsugu, which is relatively fair. Hell, if you didn't notice, Alistair himself is hating himself for not instantly finishing him off as well. But there is another layer to this. Alistair is taking this as a punishment to himself as well. He failed his mother, he could have done better, he chose an empty cup over both her and his safety. So for that, since no one will punish someone who has lost his mother, he will punish himself. The knowledge that Kiritsugu is alive and happy, will be the worst punishment for himself in the short-term, while giving him motivation to improve.
Now, there are probably a few questions, ask them here! And before anyone asks where Irisviel is, Kiritsugu brought her home first, as her body is still adjusting to her soul, so she fell asleep almost instantly when he brought her home. And another thing! Any questions on the next Volume, leave them in the info chapter I am posting after this one, as it will have more information.
Now, hop on over to the info chapter, if you have no questions!
https://discord.gg/HAPhryp5M2
Now, hand over those Power Stones, can't you see they are lonely when not used? Give them to me, and allow them to socialize, its for their best... I swear...
Chương 68: Vol 3 Info and Hiatus
Alright! Vol 2 is officially over, and Vol 3. will soon begin. Now, to capitalize on my novels' increased viewership, and the explosion of powerstone incense, I will go on a short hiatus!
…
…
…
Not that smart, huh? Yeah, nooo, it annoys me as well.
But the thing is, right now, everyone is experiencing the increase in prices due to inflation, and as a student, I need to get a part-time job to keep up with the expenditure. But that would cut in my already sparse time that I have for writing… So I have a compromise… Patréon!
If you are not interested, scroll down to the ~~Fate/False Order~~, as there I will have info on the volume.
Yeah, not exactly what I want to do, as I am all for that free to read life, but seeing as I'll only be able to post once a week if I get a job, and I very much enjoy this, I am willing to take the plunge.
But, as I don't like only taking, I am willing to give back, and by that, I mean that if this patréon thing takes off, I will use some of that money to commission Fanart, of either past or future scenes in the fic, which I'll post on Webnovel as well, as to not alienate my free to read supporters!
If it really takes off, I'll try to commission an art piece every month, and if it comes so common, I'll have poles on Patréon for what to commission.
Now, ignoring the only real benefit I can give you all, I will lay out the price list. I am planning on having six ranks, four dollars increase from each, and each rank is one week ahead, meaning a total of 12 chapters available on patréon, with prices running from 4$, 8$, 12$, 16$, 20$ and 24$ a month.
Now, you might argue that that is a lot for some chapters, and maybe you are right. but seeing as a chapter takes me around eight to ten hours a pop to create, roughly 500-700 words an hour. Slow, yes, but it all takes a lot of time for it to be as good as possible.
And for those who like to compare patréon prices, all I can say is that I am offering somewhere around 48K - 56K words in total, which is about a short novel in length. While most patréon's that have low praised, but many chapters, tend to be due to a chapter being around 1000 words long, and machine translated to boot. So, I'd like to argue that I put in a lot more effort than those, and two dollars a pop for a chapter isn't such a terrible deal.
But to do all that, I'll need to hop off the grid for a bit to create the twelve needed chapters, so that's why there will be a hiatus.
~~Fate/False Order~~
Alright, marketing done, time to get into the meat of this.
Vol three is predicted to be around the same length, if not a bit longer than Vol 2. This is due to the fact that I am planning on focusing on the Clock Tower, Alistair's training and research, Tsukihime and Case Files.
A loss will happen, so I implore everyone to at least watch Lord El-Melloi II Case Files, as it is a good show, and will give more context, which might improve the overall experience for Vol 3. Along with the fact of it being a good time waster, while you all wait for the next volume.
There will be a few different arcs, and plenty of action, but this is the start of the proper canon divergence for Vol 4. which as most can guess, is the 5th Grail War.
I am all for some questions in regards to what you all think, so post them here, and I will try to answer as many as I can to the best of my abilities.
Now, onto how long the hiatus will last, probably around a month, maybe a bit more, as I'll try to churn out as many as possible, while not skimping out on quality.
Before I end things for the next month plus, I wish to thank all my readers for the support I have received for the story, especially recently. It makes writing an even greater joy, so you all have my thanks, and I hope you are all willing to wait for me to return. Thank You all for everything, and have a great day!
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