Section 2: Defense: Millennia Fortress

It won't be long now. Soon, the dawn will break, and they will leave.

That is, they will disappear.

After that, we just have to hope that Rider did his job properly.

I'll tell you his True Name once he returns. First, I need to bring you up to speed on what has been happening here.

Gladly. Once the morning comes, I will tell you everything I know.

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...It's morning now. Rider should return shortly.

You must be tired. Why don't we take a short break?

Would you like something to drink? Perhaps some coffee?

It may perhaps be a bit sweeter than you prefer...but I promise it will do wonders for your exhaustion.

That's right. They disappear each morning. ...Well, at six o'clock in the morning, to be exact.

We only realized this around the 734th Holy Grail War.

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Here you go.

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I'm glad you think so.

So, what did the Custodian tell you when you first arrived here?

I can fill in anything he may have left out.

I see, I see... Very well then, let me explain everything else.

To begin, this is not like a typical Holy Grail War.

It does not involve seven Masters trying to kill one another, nor even seven classes of Servants with which to do so.

...Ah, so you have no experience with that sort of Holy Grail War. Well, trust me when I say that that is usually how these things go.

Now I hope you're paying attention; this WILL be on the test.

Now, this Great Holy Grail War uses the Greater Grail's emergency system from Fuyuki to wage war with fourteen Servants rather than the customary seven.

That is to say, it is a battle between two teams of seven Servants.

...However, that war had in fact already concluded, with Fafnir emerging as the apparent victor.

That is how he came into possession of the Greater Grail.

As for us, we are reproductions of the Servants who were summoned during that Great Holy Grail War.

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In this world, the only two places that exist are the city of Trifas, and of course the Hanging Gardens.

...I suppose you could call this a sort of simulation.

Aha. That seems to have helped you understand.

Indeed, this is all one enormous simulation field designed to recreate that Great Holy Grail War.

We were originally imitation life-forms, going through the motions of battle without thought or emotion.

However, as this seemingly endless simulation repeated itself, something unexpected happened.

Namely, we developed intelligence, reason, and even regained our memories as Servants.

That being said, we do not remember anything about the Great Holy Grail War.

You might say that I'm starting over from scratch. At least as a Servant.

It's only in this tiny world that we become something close to real Servants.

Do you understand everything we've covered so far? If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them.

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They are reproductions, just as we are. Unlike us, though, they have nothing in the way of intellect or reason...

...but what they do have are sheer numbers.

Of the fourteen Servants who were originally summoned to the Great Holy Grail War, we now face twelve.

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Yes, that many.

As we are all starting from scratch, I'm afraid I don't know any of their True Names other than the Rider on our side...

...but I believe the evil dragon does.

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His name is Fafnir. He seems to be this Greater Grail's Custodian.

There is not a shred of doubt that he was the Great Holy Grail War's victor.

Though I'm afraid I have no idea how he secured his victory, or what he is doing in a place like this.

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As the Custodian, he would like this Greater Grail to stop simulating this war.

By rights, we should be helping him...but unfortunately, our enemies are just too strong.

What's more, we have not a moment to waste.

The other Servants have learned how to use their Noble Phantasms, despite still lacking consciousness.

And that brings us to the final stage of the tens of thousands of battles to the death we fourteen Servants have fought.

We have no choice but to repeat this battle.

And yet, the more we fight, the worse the situation becomes.

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A good question. We wondered about that ourselves for a time...

It is our belief now that the Custodian altered the simulation's parameters to make us into proper Servants.

As the Greater Grail's Custodian, it should be well within his capabilities to recreate us in this world.

...Though it also seems he hesitated to do so until the very last moment.

Had he not, we may have had a few more allies on our side.

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I'm afraid that would be difficult. There is nowhere to seek refuge in this world.

Though you were fortunate enough to survive tonight, there is no telling what tomorrow may hold.

They did not attack this fortress only because of the new, unexpected elements that you and Fafnir represent in the current situation.

Most likely, that was simply a function of the battle simulation program, rather than any thought or strategy on their part.

But the next time will be different.

Next time, I expect they will account for Fafnir in their calculations, and mount an assault on this fortress.

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We fight till the end. What other choice is there?

So you've returned, Rider.

Sure have, Teacher.

So, this is...

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Hmm... Hmm, hmm, hmm.

I see, I see. So you're one of those Master people!

Sorry to bring you here just when things couldn't get any worse.

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Oh, right, sorry 'bout that. My True Name's Achilles.

You know about the Achilles tendon in your heel, right? That was named after me.

I'm the guy who was completely invincible, except for a spot on his heel. Then I freakin' died when that bastard Paris shot me there with an arrow.

Yup, that's the one.

Don't ever get stabbed there if you can help it. Hurts like hell.

Of course, what he didn't mention was that, after he was shot, he decided to go out in a blaze of glory, wiping out a whole squadron of enemy soldiers before finally taking his own life.

Hell yeah! I was pretty badass back then, if I do say so myself!

I was like a writer suddenly getting a flash of inspiration the night before a big deadline.

What? No way!

Hahaha, I see you're an excellent judge of character, Master of Chaldea.

Right you are. He's surprisingly scatterbrained and quite absentminded.

It's the one thing that hasn't changed a bit since he was alive.

Aw, come on!

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At any rate... Achilles, what became of Fafnir? The Custodian?

He's resting in the courtyard. Go check on him if you're worried about him, Master of Chaldea.

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Indeed... Even if it is just an imitation of the real thing.

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Quite badly, I'm afraid.

The last Noble Phantasm I took the brunt of belonged to Siegfried...the Dragon-Slayer.

I'm afraid that, being a dragon, I am more vulnerable to that attack than most.

I never thought these reproductions would ever learn how to use their originals' Noble Phantasms...

To make matters worse, we have only two Servants allied with us... Though at least they're two extremely powerful A-rank ones.

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Yes, I did.

The idea was to convert all fourteen reproductions into intelligent Servants and investigate who or what is making them fight...

...but that would have been a horrible decision. Besides, creating intelligent beings on a whim...

Such irresponsibility would have been too cruel.

However, my hesitation has only ended up making the situation worse.

I never thought they could use their Noble Phantasms despite lacking the capacity for thought...

So in a spur-of-the-moment decision, the best I could do was turn those two reproductions into Servants.

Even so, I'm afraid that does nothing to lessen my own sins.

I am too wounded to be able to move in this form for the time being.

But I refuse to sit around doing nothing to help. I'm going to make a terminal so I can join you.

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Just a moment.

...Mm, hmm. Ahh, ahh, ahh.

...There we go. It feels good to be back to this height, and to have this voice back.

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That's right. This terminal's name is...Sieg.

I'm afraid it can't do as much as my dragon body can, but at least this body can move.

... ...

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He'll just have to go to sleep for a while.

Well, I'm not able to split my consciousness across multiple bodies...

Still, I can at least use my dragon body's power. For brief moments, anyway.

I'm so sorry. Ever since I brought you here, I've caused you nothing but trouble.

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... ...

...Oh, right! You want to shake hands. I remember now.

I hope I didn't squeeze too hard. I'm still getting used to this body.

Now then, I'd like to meet with the other Servant before nightfall.

The Archer of Black, Chiron, is the wisest sage among the centaur.

So if anyone can make a plan with the information I have, it's him.

Maybe even one that could defeat all twelve of the other Servants, including his former allies.

...I'll be blunt: there is no way we can win.

I see...

Correct. We are simply outmatched.

I'm afraid so.

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I'm afraid that this was a conclusion I reached even taking you into account, Master of Chaldea.

Achilles, do you know anything about the Great Holy Grail War?

Not really. All I know is I saw someone who looked a lot like Vlad III during the battle.

Oh, I think I saw Atalante from the Calydonian Boar hunt too. Or at least, someone who matched my old man's description of her.

But that's pretty much it.

... ...

What about you, Sir Custodian? Do you know anything about the other Servants?

...Of course.

All fourteen Servants are divided into two teams, Black and Red.

The Black team includes Siegfried, the Saber of Black...Vlad III, the Lancer of Black...

Astolfo, the Rider of Black... Avicebron, the Caster of Black...

Frankenstein, the Berserker of Black... and Jack the Ripper, the Assassin of Black.

The Red team includes Mordred, the Saber of Red... Atalante, the Archer of Red...

Karna, the Lancer of Red... Shakespeare, the Caster of Red...

Spartacus, the Berserker of Red... and Semiramis, the Assassin of Red.

I see, I see. Thank you, Sir Custodian. You have an excellent memory.

...Just call me Sieg. I'm not used to being called "Custodian."

As you wish, Sir Sieg.

Anyway, I guess you have a point... We can't possibly fight all twelve of those Servants at once.

I guess I shouldn't have bothered trying to stop them from the outside...

Don't worry, Sir Sieg. I am just getting started.

Aw, crap. This is gonna be bad.

Now, let's begin this class properly, shall we?

Sir Master of Chaldea, would you do the honors?

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!

!

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Wait. Why are we just sitting on the floor in the throne room?

I'm not actually certain myself, but...it seems to me this is more of a classroom right now.

Oh. Okay. Great.

Now then, our lesson for today will be...

"How to Defeat All Twelve Black and Red Enemy Servants."

Wait, wait. I distinctly remember you saying that was impossible all of two minutes ago.

And it is, were we to face all twelve together. So, what should we do then?

...Use our Noble Phantasms to take them all out at once? No, that wouldn't work.

...Take them out one at a time?

Yes, now you're getting warmer. But it would be a waste of resources to focus on only one at a time.

That would be like swatting a fly with a sledgehammer. Not to mention that the other eleven Servants are unlikely to simply wait patiently for their turn.

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Well done, Sir Fujimaru. A gold star for you.

Achilles and I will team up to hold back nine of the Servants.

Bwa?

In the meantime, the two of you will defeat the remaining three. Simple, right?

Are you kidding? That's absurd.

I assure you, it is not absurd in the slightest.

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Hold on a minute, Teacher.

Having these two take out three Servants at once is absurd enough, but how are the two of us going to hold back the other nine while they do!?

Did you forget they can use their Noble Phantasms now!?

Of course not. But based on what I saw last night, they are very obvious about when they are going to do so.

A Noble Phantasm is, after all, a weakness as much as a trump card.

And right now, our enemies use them for no other reason than simply because they can.

So you're saying you want us to anticipate when they're about to use their Noble Phantasms and...just dodge?

Correct. You may be a little green now, Sir CustodiSir Sieg, but by nightfall, I will have trained you to see the signs of an imminent Noble Phantasm.

...I see. By nightfall, you say? Then, that means...

(Oh great. Here comes the crash course... I just know it.)

Achilles... Achilles... I'm told you wish to become a great hero, and that you want to do so as fast as you possibly can.

To be a hero, you will need good judgment and proper analytical faculties.

Yes, Teacher!

I promise that once you complete these trials, you will be a full-fledged hero.

Yay! That's what I want!

Then for the next twenty-four hours, from this moment onward...

...I want you to dodge every single one of my attacks.

Bwa?

(Next thing I knew, Chiron was shooting hundreds of arrows at me in that narrow cave. I still remember what he said...)

("Don't worry! Once you can alter the trajectories of ten out of every hundred arrows, you'll be dodging all of them in no time!")

("It should be well within your capabilities thanks to that superhuman speed of yours!")

("Besides, none of them have arrowheads, so they won't kill you. They will just sting quite a lot!")

("What's that? You would actually prefer a more slow and steady approach instead? Hmm... I see...")

("I think that would suit me better as well. This is certainly not an ideal way to educate you.")

("However, since we have precious little time, we should spend it polishing this method to the fullest.")

Hey, CustodI mean, Sieg?

Hm?

Just...don't die, okay?

...Of course. I'll make sure I survive (both tonight and tomorrow night).

Right on!

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Until now, the reproductions have simply come back to life whenever they are defeated.

In a system like that, there can be neither failure nor victory.

But now that the Greater Grail's Custodian, Sir Sieg, and Sir Fujimaru, the observer, are here...

...there is a very good chance that we can break this stalemate.

Sir Fujimaru, why don't you get some sleep? You will need to be well rested for tonight's battle.

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(Huff, huff, huff...)

Oh, are you up already, Master? We still have some time before the battle begins.

Hmm. You still have a ways to go, Sir Sieg, but I suppose we can take a short break.

Thank...you...

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More or less.

Chiron was kind enough to stop before he actually killed me.

In the meantime, Achilles and I will set about preparing our trap.

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A Bounded Field, to make it easier to separate our enemies.

Specifically, to cut off the nine Servants Achilles and I will be holding back from the three that you two will defeat.

...No doubt the enemy Casters will move to dispel the field, but I believe it will take them some time.

I'm fairly sure the Caster of Black, Avicebron, is ill-equipped to deal with such things.

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Indeed, I cannot imagine that either of them has the skills needed to disable a Bounded Field.

Very well then, we will return shortly. Achilles, come and help me.

Nine Servants... If I handle Karna and Semiramis, and ignore all the other attacks...

Achilles!

Gah!!!

What is it, Teacher? I was just thinking about how I'm gonna fight them all!

I need your help to create the Bounded Field.

Huh? But I'm no good at that sort of thing.

I know. That's why I'm asking you.

A-ANOTHER lesson? Now!?

But of course. Planning your strategy before a battle is one of the most important steps toward victory. As such, you will continue to do so while you help me prepare the Bounded Field spell.

We will be facing nine at once. A split-second decision will mean the difference between life and death.

Getting accustomed to thinking about several different things at once now will aid your decision-making capabilities later. It is a part of your training.

Okay, okay, I'll do it already!

I swear, I can't let my guard down for a moment around you...

... ...

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Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking how well that teacher and student complement one another.

...Chiron was the Archer of Black, and Achilles the Rider of Red.

They were, in fact, enemies during the Great Holy Grail War.

As I recall, Achilles was born to a god... As such, he isn't easy to harm without possessing Divinity as well.

And the only Servant on the Black side who did...was Chiron.

Of course, Chiron isn't one to pull his punches, even when facing one of his former pupils.

I wasn't able to see it for myself, but I'm told theirs was an incredibly fearsome battle.

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Well, I did survive the Great Holy Grail War myself, though not because I was particularly strong.

...I wasn't even a Master. I just... How do I put this...

I suppose I was very lucky.

I wasn't very skilled, nor did I have the sort of charisma needed to command a Servant.

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...Yes, I suppose I should.

I don't think it will be especially useful, but now that I've summoned you here, the least I can do is answer your questions.

I am an artificially created life-form called a homunculus.

Huh? You thought homunculi were enemies that looked like snowmen?

...I'm afraid I don't know anything about that. I can only assume those homunculi were made some other way.

They do say that wewell, the Yggdmillennia production process was the work of a distinguished family of alchemists.

As for me, an Yggdmillennia mage created me so that I could provide magical energy.

...It takes a vast amount of magical energy to keep a Servant materialized, to say nothing of using their Noble Phantasm.

So there were a lot of other homunculi besides me who were all here at this fortress to provide the Servants with magical energy.

Over half of them ended up wrung completely dry of magical energy and died...but I ran away.

...All because I didn't want to die.

Ah...

I guess...I would be lying if I said I didn't feel guilty.

Both about abandoning everyone so I could survive...and that I am still alive now...

...That's a difficult question, but...I don't think so.

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This Greater Grail is precious. Every Servant who fought in the war risked their lives for it.

I can't let it fall into the wrong hands.

...Tonight's Great Holy Grail War is about to begin. Are you ready, Achilles?

Hell yeah I am!

We will hold off nine of the hostile Servants, and you will defeat three of them.

Sir Sieg, Sir Fujimaru, are you ready?

I am.

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Good. I wish you luck.

Don't worry. You can always shout for help if things go sideways!

But hey, I'm sure things'll work out somehow!

All right...let's go!

...Screen spell, Asteri Amina.

Good, they've been separated. Now it's time to lure them out.

We shall do our utmost to ensure that Sir Fujimaru and Sir Sieg are able to defeat their targets without drawing attention to themselves.

And of course, do take care not to destroy the wall.

Man, that's a lotta stuff to keep track of. This is already tough, and you're not exactly making it easier!

Hahaha, don't worry. I have less practical experience in battle than you do.

If anything, I will be counting on YOU to show ME the ropes.

Okay, I see three of them.

The Caster of Red, the Caster of Black, and the Assassin of Black, huh?

They are not quite as strong as many of the others, but they are still quite formidable.

...Make sure to watch out for the Assassin, Jack the Ripper, in particular.

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Good. ...Let's go, Master!