Scorched Earth

What's wrong? Can't sleep, my friend?

Leave the night watch to me. Humans require sleep. Rest up for tomorrow.

Hm? You want to hear the story of me before I became a Heroic Spirit? You are a peculiar contractor. I must ask your forgiveness.

There are no stories of THIS me worth telling. Nor do I have any feats to boast of.

I donned this armor to purge tyranny from the land...making me no different than those who had fallen.

The Vlad III who was the lord of the land is no more. I stand here before you as a general, a warrior.

The only reason why I contracted with you as a Heroic Spirit was because I sensed the presence of evil.

You fight for justice, and the Lord allowed me to wield my lance so long as it was under your command.

I have neither principles nor ideals. I am simply a machine, impaling your enemies. What stories could such a thing possibly have to tell?

Actually, now that I think about it, perhaps I do have a reason...

Maybe it is just the dying flames of our fire here, but a peculiar vision comes to mind...

Unlike the other Heroic Spirits, I've no need for a second wish. I do not even know why I fight so fiercely after my death.

I lost sight of God's love. I may have believed it was real, but I had forsaken the love that I actually received. Twice.

First was the goodness of the citizens...the virtuous spirit given by the nobility. And second was my other loving half who fell from the tower...

I do not doubt God's love, but I never believed I would witness it ever again.

But...I had a dream.

Hahaha. Even Servants can dream. Our dreams, though, are no more than our way of reliving what happened in our lives.

Yet mine was different. Unbelievable as it may sound, my dream was not about my past.

It was a dream about a woman...a woman who was thinly frail, sickly at heart, who truly stood at death's door.

The woman had lost her beloved child. Stillbirth. The experience likely shattered her heart and mind.

In despair, she refused to eat. In a cruel twist of fate, she found she could only consume those whom she truly loved.

Of course, the woman was exiled from her homeland, a fate she accepted, becoming an outcast.

Humans who do not eat, without exception, fail to survive.

She might have been able to convince herself that it is the natural order of things for one life to take another for sustenance.

However, she did not once consume her loved ones, even to the day of her death.

She chose the lives of others over her own. She managed to avoid terrorizing her loved ones until the end.

This may sound strange to say aloud, but I believe that, through that woman, I caught just a glimpse of the love I'd lost.

Just knowing such a woman exists... I would gladly burn in the fires of hell once more.

Nngh!

What horrendous ghosts! Even after death, they attempt to murder and consume the living!

In life, they attacked others for their own gain, and in death their loathing of the living is born of their own suffering!

Sinners who left your own prayers behind and for whom no one prays for anymore! I do not ask for your repentance! You will be no more than prey for my spear!

That's amazing! Truly a storm of violence! Even his armor is a weapon!

He's like a hedgehog on fire...or a spinning guillotine...or maybe a human trench mortar...!

？！

Yeah, that's it! Anyway, he's just tearing his way through enemy territory!

Doctor! Master! This really isn't the time to be making abstract metaphors about him!

Please come back, Lord Vlad! We're detecting over a hundred enemies! We need to retreat while we still have the chance!

Heh. What are you talking about, shield maiden? Do you think a mere hundred enemies is enough to stop me?

It's only a few hundred arrows and a lance piercing my body!

Pathetic. No more than trifles. Smelling salts would sooner go to my head than these enemies!

Gu...ungh!

？！

Heh. That was a good strike. Now I'm awake! Time to repay you! Accept my gift from the base of your spine through the top of your head!

FiGiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

...

What's wrong? Are the rest of these enemies cowards!? Will none of you fools challenge me one-on-one!?

Then there is nothing to do but mow this lot down. They are no more than ghosts, but they did challenge me.

I will rip you apart until not a trace remains!

Ah, so that's Vlad Țepeș, the Impaler. He was an evil general, and he protected Wallachia from an army of over a million.

I never believed those stories, but now I see the evidence of it with my own eyes!

His battlefield philosophy is brutal! There's no surviving unless you eradicate all those enemies or force them to retreat!

Obviously, we're in good hands as long as he's around!

This is no time to be impressed! Master, your orders! We will support Lord Vlad in battle!

It's done. My friend, are you safe?

Ah, you are so dependable! I am impressed that you are untroubled after witnessing one of my battles!

Of course. I cannot allow my friend to see me bleed. I must confess that last enemy did a number on me, though.

？！

But honestly, this city is quite vexing.

I hear it was once the site of a Holy Grail War, but does the Holy Grail War really bring about so much destruction to one place?

This sight is not of this world. Some other catastrophe must've led to this horrific calamity.

I noticed that too. It's hard to imagine even a Holy Grail going out of control could cause all this.

Well, the Greater Grail in Fuyuki was a ginormous Magical Reactor Core, so it's at least possible it could blow the whole city up.

But for it to keep burning like this... It doesn't make sense.

Are there other things we don't know? Did you come with us because there's something you sensed, Lord Vlad?

It wasn't for the expedition, as I've no experience or knowledge in such things. It's just that I do not care for the particular contamination in this Singularity.

There's something here. Something I loathe above all else. I'd hoped to find its source and destroy it...

Sorry. You're out of time. The Holy Grail has already been recovered from that Singularity.

You can't stay there long, I'm afraid. The surplus magical energy sent to Sheba is about to run out.

I'm sure this expedition leaves you unsatisfied, Lord Vlad, but can we have you all return right now?

Ah, no need to fret, Romantic Man.

Your spineless personality is deplorable, but your daily hard work and attention to detail are to be commended at least.

Ah, would that all humans were so diligent as you. Such could never be, sadly.

Welcome back, Fujimaru. Where's Lord Vlad? Ah...he's back in standby mode.

But I never imagined a Servant like him would point out the problem of Fuyuki.

Looking back into Fuyuki is on our to-do list, but the next Singularity takes priority.

After all, we are approaching the Seventh Singularity in Uruk, during the Age of Gods. Everyone will have to work their butts off, or we won't make it...

Oh? Is something on your mind, Fujimaru? If I can be of help, I'm more than happy to lend an ear.

？！

...Hm. A Servant's dream...

You may be talking about the battle records that get engraved into their soul after they become Heroic Spirits.

But I don't think that's a sad story. He said "I would gladly burn in the fires of hell"...

He doesn't mean he wants to suffer again. I think he means he's just looking for some hope.

Even if she had to do it for her survival, the woman in his story never chose to take the life of another.

It wasn't for her dignity or for her humanity...

Basically... One doesn't sacrifice the lives of others for their own protection or gain.

Obvious human kindness...the way a soul should be...was something he believed in. That goes for both past and present.