Fate/Grand Order story · Events, Grail Front - Castle of Shining Dawn, Castle of Shadowed Dusk
Section 15: The Shape of Sin (Day)
Grail Front - Castle of Shining Dawn, Castle of Shadowed Dusk. Western Castle, Castle Gate
2 scenes, 186 lines
1. Before the battle
84 lines
Tch... So this is as far as I go...
I'm sorry...Asterios...
Tch... So this is as far as I go...
I'm sorry...Asterios...
You really are strong! A genuine hero, without a doubt!
Which is exactly why this is going to work!
Asterios! Use your Noble Phantasm!
Looks like your injuries slowed down your Noble Phantasm just enough! Now!
...Okay, Ptoley, I hear you.
Dyskolia Speira.
Huh!?
Arrrgh!
A second Noble Phantasm...?
This one is the embodiment of my entire journey.
When a thief attacked me with a club, I attacked him with a club. When a bandit killed someone with a pine tree, I killed them with a pine tree.
When a villain was feeding villagers to a great sea turtle, I fed him to the sea turtle. This was how I atoned for my sins.
You see, my journey was all about giving people their just deserts.
So if someone were to try to shoot me or my companions, they would be shot instead.
That is the nature of my second Noble Phantasm, Dyskolia Speira.
This can't be happening!
Sugitaniii!
？！
And...die...
Khh, that hurts! If I'd still been alive, that'd have killed me for sure.
Good thing I had a whole other matchlock ready to go this time.
My young self asked me to search my Library of Alexandria. In doing so, I came up with this.
A matchlock is functionally just a means of using gunpowder to propel projectiles, yes? Then it should be able to fire a bullet like this as well.
Hmm? What is this thing? It looks kind of evil.
Let's call it a Black Bullet.
The Library of Alexandria contains data on weapons created by the Atlas Institute.
One of these weapons was the Black Barrel, a fearsome device capable of destroying the entire world.
This bullet is a degraded replica of the theories behind the Black Barrel's creation.
Even degraded, it is still terribly powerful and deadly, but it's nothing that a Servant shouldn't be able to handle.
I was only able to create one of them, so you'll need to use it with your Noble Phantasm after you first fire an ordinary bullet.
I would also strongly suggest creating another matchlock just for this bullet. You should be able to do that, since your matchlocks are comprised of magical energy.
Yeah, I should, but...does this mean you don't want me to use my Noble Phantasm right away? Assassinations usually go best if you get the job done with the first shot.
Save it for the second. It is highly unlikely that a single bullet will suffice to lay Asterios low.
But after he's defended himself against your first shot, he will believe there is nothing more to fear.
And, under normal circumstances, he would be correct.
But your second shot will have a completely different meaning.
A different meaning...
And one more thing. Your target will be...
All right, Ptolemaîos, let's see if you read this right.
This is MY Noble Phantasm!
Two Shots Fired!
Dyskolia Speira...
Huh!?
Did it work!?
It must've worked this time!
You aimed...for me?
No... More importantly...why couldn't my Noble Phantasm...repel it? What IS this bullet!?
He's still alive?
Did we not get him?
？！
No, his Spirit Core is shattered.
There's a simple reason we went after you. You two are only fearsome when you're together.
Asterios can use his Noble Phantasm to trap us in the labyrinth, and you can use yours to escape right away.
If not for that combination, we could simply escape the labyrinth by defeating Asterios.
Just as you once did yourself.
That's why I had Sugitani target Asterios with his first shot and you with his second.
This way lent us the element of surprise, reduced your protection, and eliminated the lord of this castle. It was far and away the swiftest path to victory.
Well...damn... Haha... I really blew it...
Jason...might have seen through...your plan...but I...had no idea...
Thēseus...
？！
It's over.
You may have traveled to the underworld and back in your legend, but that won't let you resurrect yourself.
That's true...
However...there's still one thing...you don't know the truth about...
Huh?
My king!
Thēseus...
I return the Tears of the Holy Grail to you!
The Tears of the Holy Grail!
Thēseus... I...
No way...
So Thēseus wasn't the lord of this castle?
？！
That's right! Asterios is the true lord of the western castle, and my king!
2. Before the battle
102 linesI first met the monster in a labyrinth.
Back then, I was just doing what I thought a hero should.
I thought a hero would bring bandits to justice, vanquish monsters, and be filled with pride in doing so.
In time, I heard stories of a certain monster.
This monster lived in a subterranean labyrinth and demanded a child sacrifice every nine years. Even the king could do nothing about it.
Hearing this story, I remember being so incensed that I volunteered to join the sacrifices and ventured into the labyrinth.
With Princess Ariadne's divine thread in hand, I made my way further and further into its depths.
That was when I met the monster.
Our battle was a series of miracles.
Trusting in the intuition I had honed over the course of my adventures, I took advantage of every opening the monster left me.
I knew I would die the instant I made so much as a single mistake, that not even a hundred blows of my sword would be enough to cleave through the monster's flesh.
Even so, I persisted. If a hundred blows wouldn't suffice, I would land a thousand, ten thousand.
And, unfortunately...
...I achieved one miracle after another.
Only after I killed the monster did I learn that he was just an ordinary man.
A man who just happened to be born in the body of a monster thanks to his father, the king, who angered Poseidon.
Aghast at his newborn son's appearance, the king was so disgusted that he had him thrown into the labyrinth.
He then got it into his head that this monster would require human sacrifices in order to remain there, and ordered countless children sent to the labyrinth for no good reason.
The monster, in turn, devoured the sacrifices he had been given, also for no good reason.
"They say...I'm a monster...so I have...to act like one."
I think he said something to that effect, in his own, stilted way.
...All I could do was stand there, trembling.
What I believed was justice turned out to be nothing of the sort. The indignation I felt when I first heard of this "monster" faded with no more than a whimper.
"You...saved me."
He smiled as he said that. Truly smiled...
"I'm so...happy. This means...Father...was right."
Don't be ridiculous.
This was no salvation. You didn't deserve to die like this.
Later, I went on to become king of my own nation.
But the embers of doubt never stopped smoldering in my chest.
Thēseus the so-called hero shouldn't have been king. Asterios the monster should have been king.
Which meant there was only one thing to be done.
Thēseus should serve Asterios.
In my life...I was wrong about everything, right from the start.
Asterios may be the Minotaur, but he's no monster. The whole story was fabricated.
I should have saved him from that labyrinth and made his father pay the price in his stead.
From the start...
So, when you and Asterios
？！
Asterios!
Don't worry about me anymore! Just do what you feel you should! Use the Tears of the Holy Grail if you want!
What is this!?
Hey, Ptoley! Master! The hell's going on here!?
You're here too, Sugitani!? I wish I could tell you, but I don't know any more than you do!
Aaaaaaah!
Whoa, whoa! Look at this, there's a shitstorm of shadow knights now!
Never mind how many there are. There's something off about them!
What the...!?
They just blew up and turned into monsters!
Did they just turn into monsters!?
Did those shadow knights just fuse together into new monsters!?
Asterios!
The miasma coming from Asterios is spreading further! It's even transforming the surrounding terrain! You've gotta stop it!
Khh! I didn't foresee any of this, but I guess we'll just have to fight him again! Are you ready, Sugitani!? Master!?
Wait, Ptoley! Something's not right here!
I'm...a...mon...ster...
Asterios?
...
Asterios has transformed!
Is that the Minotaur form we saw in one of the Lostbelts!?
No... The readings are very different!
These numbers can't be right...
...Yes, that's correct.
You, a pure monster, were a natural-born demon. That's why I chose you as my vessel.
...Asterios?
What did you just say?
？！
Why are you... ...No. It can't be...
Don't tell me you didn't know, Thēseus.
You're wrong! I did this to save him!
Then you should be glad. Rejoice. He will never again know fear or suffering.
He will simply live on with me, forever.
This... This isn't what I wanted...
Well done, Thēseus. Congratulations.
Thēseus!
Asterios! What have you done!?
？！
You knew about Asterios's true nature. You knew this was inevitable.
...You're not Asterios, are you?
Who are you?
？！
This body may still be in its infancy, but the end is nigh. Now that all the Tears of the Holy Grail are gathered together, my vessel has been decided.
The miasma... It's melting the whole castle!
I-it's not just that! I think it's turning it into a whole other structure!
I am sin. I am transgression. I am wickedness.
I celebrate all that made me what I am. I welcome all my children with open arms.
Crap! The monsters and the castle are reacting to him!
This would never have happened if I hadn't failed to see who was the real lord of this castle! But, why is this
I think you and I are thinking the same thing, Ptolemaîos.
Taigong Wang, Thēseus, and us each had a Tear of the Holy Grail.
But that still leaves one big question: Who used the Holy Grail to make this Singularity in the first place?
So this is who used the Holy Grail!
So this is who made the Singularity!
？！
Now, celebrate! Rejoice! Sing! Love! For in lieu of fine wine, we shall gorge ourselves upon your flesh and blood!