>>2216875
(2/2)

"Fine. Emiya, I believe you about your goals, but..." She looks me square in the eyes. "We're enemy Masters. Don't spread it around, but you can reach me at the Fuyuki Hyatt if you get any information about what else is wrong with this Grail War. Otherwise, once things are taken care of on both our ends, we're going to fight it out again."
There's an unspoken 'and this time, it won't be a draw'. I gulp.

Bazett gives us a curt nod, before turning and heading out the gate of the park, picking up a strange metal canister as she leaves. Berserker waves as he turns incorporeal and follows his Master.

There's silence as Lancer and I sit in the park, looking at the damage from my fight with Bazett.

"...Master, what shall we do now? Have you recovered from that clash?"

...That's right. This was a skirmish, not our real goal. We should-

>Get back to finding Ilya
>Go see the priest about the oddities in the War
>Write in

>>2216886
>>Get back to finding Ilya

>>2216886

>Get back to finding Ilya

Let us solve the riddle of us being the Noble Phantasm.

>>2216886
>>Get back to finding Ilya

Yes! Thread 3!

Please consider getting a twitter to announce run times and such. It's very useful.

>>2216912
I did, in ages past. However, I feel /qst/ has a slow enough thread decay time that it may not be warranted, at least for the time being.

Besides. It's been defunct for years.

>>2216934
Perhaps.

You could always make a new one,
it works very well since one can see twitter updates off the tab and therefore join threads when they begin rather than having to diligently f5 all the time, get distracted and possibly miss it or join late. Your call though, I admittedly did f5 repeatedly since i got home to make sure i didn't miss this.

>>2216955
Maybe I'll just wipe the old tweets, and start it going again. But maybe not, too.

Anyway,

>Writing

>Get back to finding Ilya

"Lancer, that fight wasted some time. We need to find Illyasviel." I say, after a moment of thought, and enough of a look at my own internal mana reserves.

Still over half, and steadily growing again, after all of my use in that skirmish. Just what's going on with my circuits?

"Of course, Master." She says, giving me an odd look. "I'll keep my instincts ready for any enemy Servants, so that we don't get blindsided like that again."

****

We start walking again. The night is quiet, and as cool as one in mid April can be.

...Somehow, we manage to make it quite a distance without any sign of people. It's honestly a bit unnerving.

Maybe someone's magecraft is at play?

As I open my mouth to comment, Lancer holds her hand up in a signal to halt.

"Master. From what I have seen, there are two likely areas if we are not able to find your sister." She starts. "The Einzbern do not sound like a modern family of mages. If their preferences for seclusion are anything like Mer- My court mage's, they'll be somewhere secluded, where they can plan ahead for anyone who attacks them."

I nod at this. That makes enough sense.

"Therefore, from what I have seen, there is that mountain. I believe you said it was Mount Enzou?"

"Yeah. There's a temple up there, where a friend of mine lives." I reply. Thinking about it, Issei is probably still run ragged from his vice president being injured. "But... It's probably not there. I didn't hear about anyone showing up, recently, at least since Mister Kuzuki... left."

The rumors about that have been flying these last few months. One day, he just vanished, and never showed up to teach. Issei was a wreck, since he seemed to feel like the man was a mentor of some sort.

I shake my head, pushing the morbid thoughts from my mind.

"So, where was the other place?"

"The other location I can think of is the forest, near the edge of town. It seems suitable for a hidden workshop, or tower." Lancer's tone is matter-of-factly. It is true, that part of the forest has a number of ghost stories and rumors about it.

"However, Master. I'd like to say that I felt a flicker of something, heading towards the temple you spoke of. I'm unsure what it was, but..."

Hm. The forest, which seems like a better lead, or the off chance of the temple...

>Head to Mount Enzou
>Head into the forest at the outskirts of town
>Write in

>>2217448
>>Head to Mount Enzou

I think Ilya is in the forest, but now I'm curious.

>>2217448
Why do I feel like picking the forest is a trap...?
Why do I feel like then using that knowledge to pick mount enzou is also a trap...?
Is this what you wanted, CoG? IS IT?
Its probably like
>go see Ilya, fuck over rin
>go to the temple, probably interfere with rin and the battle, but something then happens to Ilya
So, I'm just going with
>Head into the forest at the outskirts of town

>>2217448
>Head into the forest at the outskirts of town
Everything in me is SCREAMING to pick Mount Enzou, but from an in-character standpoint the forest is smarter.

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>>2217482

>>2217448
>Head into the forest at the outskirts of town

>Forest it is.
>1d20 Navigation check, please. DC is 8. Best of first three.

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>2217529
Here we go

Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>2217529
let's hope new thread means new luck with the dice.

Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>2217529
>>2217535
Nice!

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>>2217533
>>2217535
>>2217537
It seems it does.

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>>2217535
>Navigated the shit out of that forest

>>2217541
Did we upgrade our luck from E to D?

>>2217545
>I am the bone of my compass

>>2217547
Nope, still E. We just used all the good rolls we were gonna get this thread here.
Don't wanna get lost after all.

>>2217586
Who knows. I rolled a 20 last thread and saved us from a crit fail, so maybe we won't have to endure such heart attacks this time?
... who am I kidding, it's shirou. Of course that will happen.

>Head to the forest, Navigate 20

"The forest is our best bet." I sigh. Lancer nods, and we resume our walk.

It's well into the night when we reach it, and even as we cross into the pitch of the forest, I can feel the very air changing.

Despite the mist that shrouds the place, my mouth is going dry from the lack of moisture.

Lancer notices too, and is on guard even before we step over the bounded field's border.

"...I believe we have found their base of operations, Master." She says, fully alert. In a flash of mana, her armor is returned to her, and I nod.

"Yeah. Be careful." I say, stepping over a root.

It takes us half an hour, at the least, but we make our way through the forest, reaching what seems to be an abandoned house, near a large clearing.

Lancer and I share a look as we catch sight of it. The door, the way the shadows inside it seem deeper than they should be...

"Master." Her tone is concerned, and I nod. Something about this place is setting me on edge.

No words after that are exchanged, and we break down the door with no effort.

I knew I should have brought a flashlight, I realize, looking around the dark interior.

There's a breeze, and a soft white light illuminates the area as Lancer's spear is rendered visible.

Movement inside draws our attention, to-

A black, reflective substance. Flowing from seemingly nowhere inside, but...

"Master. The footprints " Lancer says. I see them, too. That same black sludge, the -evil evil evil evil evil evil- thing that set off Lancer's instincts and my worries.

Black footprints, leading to this door. Something walked through that, somehow.
"I know. Everything about that is putting me on edge." I say, and Lancer nods as well. It's sickening, and I almost feel like I've seen it somewhere before.

An explosion from deeper in the woods draws our attention, snapping the trance that whatever this is has inflicted. Lancer and I share another glance.

>Head towards the explosion
>Stay here and inspect the black mud

>>2217614
>>Head towards the explosion

I doubt we'll learn anything from the mud. Let's just avoid it for now.

>That same black sludge, the -evil evil evil evil evil evil- thing that set off Lancer's instincts and my worries.

>It's sickening, and I almost feel like I've seen it somewhere before.

>somewhere before

>WORRY.jpg

>>2217614
>Head towards the explosion
where there's an explosion, there's someone in danger. Thus, That is where we must be. Plus, asking Ilya for her opinion on it would be better than anything we could come up with.

>>2217614
>Head towards the explosion

>>2217614
>>Head towards the explosion

>Towards the explosion

We're moving without a second of thought. Lancer's spear is re-'sheathed' in the barrier rendering it invisible, and we're across the field in a few second.

"Master. I understand you have a strong drive to protect others." She says, catching my attention as we bolt closer.

As we near it, more sounds of battle can be heard. Steel scraping steel, a rumbling noise, howls in combat. The air grows still drier, too, but even despite that, everything about it feels more... 'Real'. 'Natural'. Something along those lines.

"I must beg you, please do not senselessly throw yourself into the middle of danger." Lancer's voice remains steady, and I give her a halfhearted nod.

"I understand. I'll be careful." I say. I push the reinforcement of my legs to the limit, and I can see Lancer accelerating as well.

With this speed, it's only a few minutes before we burst through the edge of the forest, but it feels like eternity. In front of us, a castle seems to rest in the middle of an arid clearing.

An arid clearing where Illyasviel's red Servant is clashing with a black knight, sparks flying as both swing and parry.

The two swords that the Servant is using are beautiful. One black, one white. A matched set, with only a little... 'off' about them, somehow.

On the otherhand...

Lancer lets out a gasp, and her expression is one of shock.

That black knight doesn't appear to be wielding anything. His hands are empty at first glance, but a more careful look shows a swirl around them, where something like Lancer's own invisible weapon must surely lurk. The armor seems familiar as well, with red lines running up and across it,. but I just can't place where I saw it before...

"Shirou Emiya!" The red Servant yells, as he catches sight of me. "Good timing! He's after my Master and I can't beat him!"

The black knight pauses, looking at us with his dragon helmet settling its gaze on Lancer for some reason.

The lull in the fight remains that way for a few moments, before-

"Do not interfere."

The voice of the black knight is smoother than I expected, but a part of me deep in my soul starts screaming as I hear it.

"I am here for the homunculi and the Lesser Grail. Nothing more." He continues, turning back to face Ilya's red Servant. "My Lady desires them to be whole."

That's... No. I have to stop him. We have to stop him.

>Send Lancer to attack the black knight, go try to find Ilya
>Attack the black knight, send Lancer to try and find Ilya
>Write in

>>2217711
>Send Lancer to attack the black knight, go try to find Ilya
>Attack the black knight, send Lancer to try and find Ilya
Hmmm... the sensible option, or the madman option....
leave us with archer who wants us to die, and do the thing lancer explicitly told us not to do, or do the sensible thing and have it be two servants on one while we save our imouto?

As much as going 300% ABSOLUTE MADMAN tempts me, we really do have to save Ilya chan. She needs a hero!

>>2217711
>Send Lancer to attack the black knight, go try to find Ilya
Literally just told Lancer we wouldn't senselessly throw ourselves into the middle of danger.

>>2217711
>Send Lancer to attack the black knight, go try to find Ilya

>>2217711
>Send Lancer to attack the black knight, go try to find Ilya

Listen, we can get into a punch up with other masters, but if this guy is beating up another servant already let's not be dumb.

>some other asshole with Invisible Air

If this is like Arthur Alter we need to see if somebody can make phone calls to the future, because this reality is so fucked we need Chaldea Security Organization or something.

>>2217711
>>2217719
>not going 300% ABSOLUTE MADMAN
Screw you, we're going 300% absolutely reasonable and going after Ilya, because you're right.

>>2217711
>>2217711

What i want desperately.

>Attack the black knight, send Lancer to try and find Ilya

But I'm voting for what probably won't get us killed.

>Send Lancer to attack the black knight, go try to find Ilya

Voting for....an attempt at being reasonable.

DAMN IT

STOP SMILING KOTOMINE

>>2217739
If this were an LN, that would be bad end bait, specifically because lancer told us not to do it.
but on the other hand, ITS A BIG SHINY RED BUTTON ASKING YOU TO PRESS IT

>>2217711
>Send Lancer to attack the black knight, go try to find Ilya
The combined forces of Lancer and Archer should be more than enough to keep that guy occupied while we locate and get Ilya to safety.

>>2217742
Remember, we're Shirou Emiya, not Archer EMIYA, so we're still super squishy.

>>2217752
just pointing out the temptation of the big shiny button. I already made my vote
>captcha: close warning

On the plus side, if our mana reserves are actually replenishing, we might actually be able to have Lancer utilize Rhongomyniad. We're in the middle of nowhere right now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCiJGl9NOBQ

>>2217742
>that would be bad end bait
>implying that's a bad thing
Type-Moon Bad Ends are always at minimum entertaining.
Hell, there's two of their Bad Ends that I consider perfectly worthy story endings.
The one in Tsukihime where Shiki and Ciel wind up killing each other, and Sparks Liner High.
Sparks Liner High alternate ending to the UBW movie when, Ufotable?!

>>2217729
It's worse, probably.

This means fucking Manaka is probably the Black Grail. We've got two priests running around, too, and probably a fucking Ainsworth with Class Cards, so this is just a next level clusterfuck.

The one good thing is that Zouken is probably dead, if Kariya survived the 4th war.

>>2217744
I don't think he's Archer. He hasn't used a bow, has he?

>>2217729
>Implying this isn't a fakeout and we're not part of a singularity already
>implying we aren't the Bedivere of this situation and this whole ordeal establishes our legend
>implying when Fujimaru and Co. disappear, we won't smash cut to Chaldea where we're summoned as the Chapter Clear free 3* servant

>>2217847
>that spoiler
I don't know how to feel about that. amused? upset?

I just want to say that thread 1 got me into fate, so i have a very limited amount of meta knowledge based on what I've seen outside this quest.

So I'm in the dark as to the true implications of any story changes made here.

...What am i in for on this ride?

>>2217859
So far it's pullin' in shit from everywhere. We got grand order, prototype, stay night, zero, extra, prisma Ilya, tsukihime, and a whole bunch more. I'm even expectin' shit from DDD and Notes

>Send Lancer to attack, find Ilya

"Lancer. Help Illyasviel's Ser-" I say, and before I even finish speaking, there's a rush of air as she launches herself forwards.

The clash of invisible weapons screams across the clearing, and I see the red Servant let out a sigh of.... Relief? Regardless, the beautiful swords in his hands vanish, and a gleaming gold blade replace them as he dives into the fight with Lancer and the black knight.

I rush around, letting the Servants fight whatever the black knight actually is. The shockwaves from Lancer's attacks rattle my ears even as I make my way to the mansion's door.

A door that I realize has already been punctured by a half dozen swords, holding it shut from anyone trying to enter. A blast of golden light draws my gaze, and I see the red Servant cursing a swath of trees fall, and his sword vanishes.

He spares just a glance back at me as Lancer pushes forwards, and I hear a wooden creak.

That's my chance, I realize, pushing through the now open and free door.

The inside of the castle is practically untouched, I realize. Some painting and decorations are astray, but... No damage has been done quite yet.

A homunculus stands guard down the hall, a massive halberd in her grip.

"Shirou Emiya. Are you here to assist us in defending against this intruder?" She asks, and I nod.

...Seems like a lot of people know my name, when I don't know theirs, actually.

"Yes. I'm here to help Illyasviel. Lancer is holding off that black knight with her Servant." I say, putting the thought behind me. "Where is she?"

The maid nods, and I hear another explosion outside, along with a stronger drain on my prana starting.

What the hell is going on?

We head through the maze of a castle, air still incredibly dry, for the climate we're in, until we reach a defensible hall. Illyasviel is there, along with the maid I met earlier, and a whole array of silver strings, floating in the shapes of swords, birds, and other things.

"...Hi, mister. Big brother told me you were on the way." She says, giving the wall a wary look. "But then I felt that thing on my land."

The knight is all she could be referring to.

"And it attacked us with that proxy. I don't know how it copied him, but that's not fair." Her expression turns to a pout, which is... Not what I'd expect in this situation. "At least big brother said he changed his mind about you."

Oh. Huh.

"That's... comforting?" I manage, and she nods. "So your Servant was able to hold that knight off?"

"Of course! My big brother is the best at guarding territory like this!" Ilya's pout vanishes, and even as she smiles, I can hear another impact outside rattle the castle. "He just couldn't go on the offense without someone helping.

"But I am kind of surprised to see you in here, mister. I thought you'd have gone outside to fight, too."


>I'm not completely stupid
>I had some questions for you
>Lancer made me promise
>Write in

>>2217872
>Write in
>"Saving you is more important to me than fighting right now."

Just turn up that oblivious Emiya charm.

>>2217872
>>...Lancer made me promise
>>I had some questions

I mean, they're both more true than the first.

>>2217872
>Lancer made me promise
>And I was worried about you. Saving you is more important to me than fighting right now
I really want to go out and help them, but I also really want to protect Ilya. And I'm sure Shirou wouldn't bring Ilya to the danger. Unless he does so to put her in danger in the first place to make it so he can save her But she's already in danger so that points moot.
>I'll protect you. Do you have somewhere safer to retreat to? Or are you planning on staying here and defending?

>>2217872
>>Lancer made me promise

>I had some questions for you

C-Caster Emiya?

>>2217874
>>2217876
Agreed

>>2217874
>>2217876
Supporting both write in's.

>>2217872
>Emiya is fucking caster this war
literally how? i thought that was specifically one of the few things he couldn't be?
now i'm seriously curious as to who the actual shit is archer this war.
anyways:
>Lancer made me promise
>I had some questions for you
also another thbing since i've been gone for like a week or so: why do we get super fast mana? did kiritsugu seriously fuck up and stuck the grail in shirou in the 4th as well as avalon? not that i'm complaining because all that will lead to is by the time thats a problem shirou is just gonna go full reality marble shenanigans so he can actually channel that shit for longer then a minute at a time, especially if we can get caster emiya over there to stop being a tardmongler and teach us on how to git gud.

>>2217915
Who knows? Maybe caster accidentallied into the first true magic or something.

>>2217915
>>2217915
>Who is Archer?

Inb4 Heracles

>>2217917
Considering Shirou's bullshit reality marble isn't even too far off from the first magic, and we know theres multiple EMIYA's on the throne who do shit slightly different, but nearly all of them get there in a way that leaves them pissed off and self loathing. It would not surprise me in all honesty, thing is normally Shirou is a shit mage and normally never bothers to properly learn how to into mage and that's specifically why he doesn't ever qualify as caster. If this Emiya is one that bothered to learn at the clock tower shit might have made a bit more sense, but even then hes a shit tier caster and you only reality summon him for his absolutely retarded hyper sword spam.

>>2217919
but that doesn't make sense because Illya is the only one who can summon him and she currently has our future asshole caster self as her servant.
what if Gilgamesh actually got summoned this war right off the fact Kotomine and him get along so well in so many timelines? its really the only thing that comes to mind, either that or we might be seeing Alcides soon which means literally everyone in this war is massively massively fucked.

>>2217922
>But that doesn't make sense
Not much does this time around.

>Alcides Who?

Gilgamesh is someone we'll likely have to deal with eventually anyway, i suppose if he's with Kotomine then there is one less master and servant to deal with, right?

>>2217924
pretty sure hes talking about archer? Hercules.

>>2217922
This war needs more hassan. And given CoGs insanity, it could either be the first or the reject.

>>2217924
so archer herc shows up in F/SF, gets fucked up by grail crap and command seals and ends up going double class as avenger/archer, he trades his divinity for serious anti-divinity bonus's, access to all twelve of his noble phantasms represent his 12 labors, and I think the NP where he can straight up steal other people's NP's, is a result of his avenger shit, he also called himself by that name because he's that Butthurt about all things divine. He would throughly kick nearly every strong servants ass in this war cause their all divine, with the exception of caster EMIYA and he would get his reality marble highjacked, it's bullshit.

>>2217926
Assassin got replaced by moedred, sucks to be us, once again she's a massive disappointment that is probably one of the first who will bite the dust.

>>2217934
Since when we're you under the impression there was only going to be one assassin this war?
>accidentally get all the masters together and ceasefire
>grail goes full apocrypha
if it hasn't already

>>2217931
Ah, that's who i meant anyway. How in the sweet fuck do you hijack a reality marble?Aren't they a separate thing entirely from NP?


Wait a second.

Could we 'true copy' Hercs NP stealer the way we did with Fragarach?

>>2217936
Wouldn't surprise me because CoG decided to throw both the Ainsworth in from prisma Illya doing God knows what doing demi servant card shit as well as the prototype shit in, so we have retarded manaka shit to eventually deal with which could be any number of asshole things happening on the horizon up to and including potential full on beasts. Ayaka owns a servant as well, and it's probably not an archer, so we have either all servants accounted for or we have an apoc situation and that means there's also a random Ruler doing who knows what the shit, maybe captured by manaka/sancraid for all I know.

>>2217939
>she has shielder
Expect anything and everything. That bullshit talk last thread? That might happen. One thread we'll just meet sion, ciel, and neko arc at the Ahnenerbe and we'll just accept it

>>2217939
Oh boy I cant wait for saver to show up!

>>2217937
for the purposes of servants it is his noble phantasm, so it probably works. Also it's not a sword or a gun, so I kinda think it would be hard to highjack for our UBW. In all honesty i'm kinda happy we can fragglerock now, cause that's now a thing on our shit we can spam list.

>>2217940
Anything? Do you think CoG is madman enough to have an original grail class? Or multiclassing BS?

>>2217945
anything. Expect taiga who's been in a timeloop/forced dimensional hop for several years going through the grail wars over and over and is now on par or above servants thanks to sheer luck and continually getting her ass kicked by every hero imaginable.

>>2217946
Taiga quest WHEN?!

>>2217941
That requires seriously specific circumstances to get any of those and I don't think anyone currently in Fuyuki fits those circumstances as far as i am aware of, that said i'm fully ready to accept even more full retard as shirou keeps attempting to ally with literally every master, which seems to essentially be working so far interestingly enough.

>>2217949
since when were you under the impression this all wasn't just a moon cell simulation?

>>2217950
Moon cell done fucked up giving shirou infinite mana then, we gonna UBW so hard we will end up replicating the moon cell itself and generally divide by zero reality.

>>2217948
never anon. Such a glorious thing can not exist.
>>2217952
and then Ea says no, and we get sad.

>>2217953
>implying EA means shit with infinite copied mooncells.

>>2217954
is that our shirous ability? To just imbue the origin of sword to things so he can trace anything? like a reverse alteration?

>>2217956
Considering our shirou is Fucking weird even for shirou standards, it would not surprise me.

>>2217961
How weird can we go?
>Our shirou is the remnant of a dead type

>>2217962
CoG is honestly probably gonna be annoyed with our collective retardation DESU. In reality all this shit is specualtion, let's see where we go from here.

>>2217965
my brain is fried from 3 A.M. coding, so sure

Anyways here's a list of what we do know for sure Servant wise:
Saber:Nero:Rin
Lancer:aArthuria:Shirou
Archer:?:Ayaka? By process of elimination
Caster:EMIYA:Illya
Rider:I have guesses but till then ?:Sakura
Assassin:Mordred:Sisigou
Berserker:Cu:Bazett
Demi Servant:Lancelot?:could be a couple different people, but most likely Julius Ainsworth.
We are currently at 8 servants and counting, may be more before the quest is over. Things are officially full retard.

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>>2217965
>>2217972
Speaking of collective full-retard, try this.

I've got a theory about why we have so much mana. Shirou always has Avalon, but since Lancer is LANCER, is it because she doesn't have Excalibur anymore? We don't know, Lancer could have been Saber in the last war. Is it possible that we ARE the lake so to speak and that the entire Excalibur is somehow lodged inside us?

If so, thanks dad.

Also i noticed Caster Emiya produced a 'brilliant golden blade' in the post earlier, just saying.

>>2217974
I really want to see the look on Lancer's face when we pull Excalibur or Caliburn out of nowhere.

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>>2217872
Gonna back>>2217876

>>2217974
>Excalibur is somehow lodged inside us?
I was thinking the same thing.
>>2217988
>mfw Lancer wields us as a NP


Now I'm just wondering where the hell Kuzuki got to and if we're going to need to worry about a surprise assassination attempt.

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>>2217965
I love the collective retardation desu.

Lets me know how close you're getting to the actual plot.

>>2217915
>specifically one of the few things he couldn't be?

Nah. That's Saber. EMIYA is able to be summoned as Archer, Assassin, Caster, or Berserker.

>>2217919
Oh, you're all going to love who he is.

>>2217926
The only person who'd be able to hijack into an Assassin is nowhere near stupid enough to summon Gramps. He has a different plan.

>>2217936
>The Grail will not go full Apocrypha

Most "Bonus Servants" are 'survivors', or 'surviving Noble Phantasms' from the 4th War.

>>2217939
>Could be Archer. Could be Caster.

>>2217940
>No. I'm keeping Tsukihime bullshit where it belongs.

>In Misaki City.

>>2217945
>>Or multiclassing BS?
>No Servants summoned in this Grail War have subclass BS.
>Only one has a chance to, and that's if she gets the Master that has the best affinity for her, and a Command Seal is spent to bring her to her best.


>>2217950
>It's really not.

>>2217974
>>2218006

>Is it possible that we ARE the lake so to speak and that the entire Excalibur is somehow lodged inside us?
Nope. That's not it.

'Artoria Pendragon' has not been summoned in any Grail Wars in this branch.

While Kiritsugu summoned a full Saber, he didn't summon Artoria or Arthur. He got someone different, and that led to your bullshit situation

>>2218006
Kuzuki... You know how Saber mentioned the air in the town is not 'beautiful'?

Ever since the disaster ten years ago, on June 17th, everyone has been on edge. Nightmares of it show up suddenly for everyone who survived it, even in civilians.

The whole city has an overwhelming feeling of dread. One day, Kuzuki just... Vanished. Nobody knows where he went, but he wouldn't be the first if the unspoken suggestion was true.

He actually left town in the dead of night, and found a job teaching at a municipal high school a few provinces over.
He moonlights as a martial arts instructor.

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>>2218061
It's a little disappointing that Kuzuki won't be in this, I like that dude. But now I'm wondering what the fuck is up with this Shirou because that would mean he doesn't have Avalon and he wasn't altered into being a sword type pokemon.

This requires research.

>>2218076
Oh, I didn't say Kerry didn't have Avalon.

Just that he didn't summon Arthur or Artoria.

>>2218080
Well shit. Just to clarify, if your last post you are stating absolutely that we don't have Excalibur in us, right?

Was it Richard? I bet it was Richard, that glorious fucker.

>>2218061

So uh, nobody's checked on the Greater Grail in the past few years, have they?

>Only one has a chance to, and that's if she gets the Master that has the best affinity for her, and a Command Seal is spent to bring her to her best.

Right Nero. Like EMIYA she actually knows Magecraft and is good at it and has IP. Too bad Rin isn't Hakuno or Gudao. Then again, Ishtar is part Rin in FGO...

>>2218080

Did he at least summon one of the Knights who was cool?

>>2218148
If Avalon was the catalyst then I'm thinking it was either Richard or Bedivere, they're the only other saber class servants who have direct interaction with Avalon as part of their legends.Though I suppose it could loosely be connected to any of the Knights of the Round Table by extension of the Arthurian legend.

For the record, I have a bit of time, so I'll answer questions. Proper running of the thread will resume at an unspecified time this evening.

>>2218104
The only way you'd have Excalibur in you is if someone stabbed you with it.

>>2218281
>>2218148
>>Did he at least summon one of the Knights who was cool?
What makes you think it was what he used as the catalyst?

>>2218306
What did Berserker say to Bazett to get her flustered enough to leave us alone?

>>2218306

I mean, if the Einzberns drop a fucking real live Noble Phantasm on you to use as a catalyst, the natural assumption is you would use it.

Forgot that CoG said that Kerry summoned a a full saber and that he also said EMIYA couldn't ever be one for a few minutes, I was toying with the idea of how batshit things would go if he had.

God those two interacting would have been sweet.

>>2218331
What you'd expect him to say to a fangirl to get her to comply.

>>2218399
Yeah, the Einzbern provided the catalyst. But he had a second thought once word got back about what other people were using.

He needed something that could deal with certain threats that were being summoned.

He was right.

>>2218424
>What you'd expect him to say to a fangirl to get her to comply.
Something something, let you lick chocolate off my abs.

Wait a tick, did he use a homunculus mana farm to summon Saber Herc? The Einzberns had his catalyst for a long time, if memory serves.

>>2218424

The threat must have been very specialized or very bad if he needed something other than The Sword of the Planet.

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>>2218424
Can't believe Kerry summoned Gun God.

Speaking of Gun God have another shitty edit.

>>2218484
I've been compiling a list of possible servants. Our options are:
Attila
Gilgamesh
Hercules
Joan of Arc

If we're going power-wise.But your comment of specialized has me thinking. Maybe he gave us a clue earlier on? A certain dragon slaying clue.

If he needed to kill some damn dragons/dragon types then maybe it was George?

>>2218516

George is pretty broken. And I still think Avenger was Jeanne Alter because "fire and spikes" and she IS the Dragon Witch.

We also though have to admit, Kerry didn't have meta-knowledge. Artoria's fought dragons, but he wouldn't know that for sure. Excalibur (at full strength anyway) is probably the single strongest "weapon" in all of human history and pre-history, other than maybe Rhon and that's probably a lot to do with what we're fighting conceptually - but again, he wouldn't know that.

So what bullshit went on in #4 that made him think he needed something specific?

>>2218516
>>2218551
Maybe Avenger was Vlad? Spikes fit him, and a Grail War ending in the town on fire seems ordinary enough.

The question is who summoned him Avenger this time around.

...Wait, if Manaka is a thing in this timeline, and we're dealing with "Arthur Alter" with a sword, then what class was he?

>>2218551

The only thing I can think of is if somebody was summoning a servant who was particularly powerful Divinity or defensive attribute and an Anti-God weapon or similar level of divinity was needed. Like, if somebody pulled out Achilles, Artoria cannot necessarily beat that - Excalibur is a holy sword and a divine construct but it nor Artoria possesses Authority or anything like that, she'd have to strike his heel.

>>2218571

It might be Vlad, but I don't think he can normally become an Avenger. He just manifests as a Berserker unless you're in Romania because he's "Dracula".

That would be pretty fucking bad though. Kerry does know about Vampires being bad shit.

>>2218574
Wait, what if it's the opposite?

Maybe he didn't need an "almighty sword". He needed someone that's practically invincible.

Anyway, Vlad might qualify for Avenger. Especially if Servants are getting shoved into Classes they only technically qualify for.

>>2218585

That's true... if he needed somebody who had special protection against some weapon, something to counter an enemy. We're dealing with prototype shit, maybe he summoned Sigurd.

Also, barring like, FGO mobs for like events, Avenger is usually pretty specific. They're capital "A" Anti-Heroes, they are vengeance made manifest, the "contents of the cup". Vlad is a scary motherfucker sure, but in Romanian history and other regions he's still seen as a hero. Even as a Vampire he's not necessarily vengeance, he's just a crazy vampire man. Like Liz (or Carmilla even). He is not revenge personified like Edmond Dantes for instance.

>>2218551
Jeanne alter was able to summon a bunch of dragons in Grand Order so it possible Kerry saw one and decided they needed a dragon killer.

>>2218571
>>2218574
Are there any servants who have been known to deal with dead apostles or were dead apostles?

If a dead apostle got in on that war either as a servant or with one Kerry sure as hell would have tried to nuke the whole thing any way he could.

>>2218585
>>2218603
I'm on the wiki and it says fucking Boudica and Robert E. Lee qualify as Avenger but nothing about Vlad.

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>>2218609
>I'm on the wiki and it says fucking Boudica

I mean, on the one hand, that was in a Summer Event, on the other hand shit year she should. You should read about some of the shit she got up to. The destruction layer in Londinium and

>Tacitus says that the Britons had no interest in taking or selling prisoners, only in slaughter by gibbet, fire, or cross. Dio's account gives more detail; that the noblest women were impaled on spikes and had their breasts cut off and sewn to their mouths, "to the accompaniment of sacrifices, banquets, and wanton behaviour" in sacred places, particularly the groves of Andraste.

AW SHIT, IT'S AVENGER BOUDICA ISN'T IT. NERO'S HERE. FUCK. THE VENGEANCE OF THE ICENI IS UPON US. EVERYBODY GET THE FUCK OFF THIS ISLAND.

>>2218621
Well shit. Though that would mean Nero was the Saber in the last war, right? I know it would be too meta to ask her about it but fuck I wonder if there's a way to find out

Also I just found out that thanks to a card game that came out in 2014 that EMIYA actually does qualify for Caster. No bullshit on CoGs' end if he really is the Caster here.

>tfw Kerry summoned Siegfried
>tfw because shit was worse than in canon, we were dying when Kerry found us.
>tfw Siegfriend somehow managed to survive this ordeal, and decides to give us his heart to save us, like that little shit, Sieg.
>tfw our Origin is now DRAGON, but our element is still Sword.

Sumanai.

>>2218814

I feel like that's too good for us. Dragon core Shirou would be like, freakishly good.

We also probably should have exploded when struck by Ascalon then, miracle Avalon or no.

If we do have the Dragon attribute, does that mean we can breathe swords?

So, I know I said I'd run later, but some stuff has come up, and I won't be able to put up updates reliably tonight. My most sincere apologies.

Tomorrow night should be good to go, however.

>>2218922
>Shirou Emiya's trump card is to projectile vomit legendary weapons

I'm okay with this.

>>2218650

Excerpt from last thread. This is Shirou speaking to Rin and Nero.

>"...If there's already those abnormalities, is it possible for more things to be different?" I ask, looking to Rin and Saber. "Like, an eighth Servant class showing up, or something?"

>Rin's expression is a mix of emotions, and I can tell there's something underneath. Saber, however, cuts in.

>"Though there are but seven 'Standard' Servant classes, I suppose it is possible for one of the extras to appear," She rubs her chin. "I recall reading in my Praetor's grand library of a certain 'Caster' summoned in the Second Holy Grail War that was able to split herself into no fewer than nine beings by changing herself to an abberant class. Fortunately, the Master of that witch vanished, and his family's magical capacity died out as well."

>She flourishes again.

>"Of course, there was also an abberant summoning in the last Holy Grail War, where one man, driven by his anger and righteous fury-"

>"Saber." Rin's voice is soft, but stops her Servant's speech all the way. "I'll tell him what he needs to know."

>Saber's expression changes to one of slight... pity? and she nods. "But of course, Praetor. My apologies."

>"What she was saying is that an 'Extra class' Servant was summoned in the last Holy Grail War." The brunette continues, looking me in the eye. Her face is a perfect mask. "A spirit of vengeance, a monster given human form. I know that it was killed at the end of the War by the combined might of the surviving Masters and Servants. And that the incantation used to summon it has been destroyed.

Yes, this seems to allude to the fact that Nero was in the last war, and that there was an avenger or something else nasty summoned too. If Nero was the Saber of last war, does she have anything that Kiritsugu would have shoved in us?

>>2220049

Nero mostly gets things shoved in her, desu. The sword is less of an NP and more an item she fashioned because Nero is a half-assed magus playing at being a half-ass artist. Her theater is similar to a Reality Marble, though. I'm also not sure why Kiritsugu would go out of his way to summon her, she's actually a shitty Saber and I can't think of an enemy she has conceptual supremacy over.

>also missed that low key reference that Tamamo has been summoned, possibly became herself the Beast and split into the Tamamo Nine already.

This how has this lostbelt not ate itself or been pruned yet?

>>2220049
>fucking tamamo got summoned as full amaratsu in the second war
well son of fuck this grail is F/GO tier broke ass and can summon divine shit.
also kiritsugu most likely summoned her because her reality marble basically allows her to do whatever the shit she actually feels like, and probably fucked up reality something fierce which is why KoG argues everything went to shit.

>>2220252

It's possible it was special master compatibility - but Tamamo says she can regrow her tails any time she likes, but in her normal Caster state she's not that divine. Well within the summoning confines of the Fuyuki system.

She just doesn't like it because uh. Well, Amaterasu is not the nicest goddess in all creation. At least not as she would appear if Tamamo became her.

>>2220296
The problem is tamamo wasn't caster that whole war and actually went full goddess as posted by the aberrant class. In addition we know someone massively fucked up summoning an avenger or some shit during fate/zero now with prototype shit, and my bet is on it being manaka being a shit. Which leads to the question of what the actual crap did she summon since arthur/arthuria only showed up for the first time in a war in this universe this war, so we know she didn't go full retard obsessed like she did in prototype.

>>2220049
Missed that implication, nice catch. Also now that I'm reading this again I wonder if it was papa Tohsaka who flipped out, or was the reason for the flip out. Either way he died for it I'm guessing.

>Write ins

I shake my head.

"Lancer made me promise, and I was worried. Saving you is more important than fighting right now." I say, scanning the great hall.

Illyasviel's expression is hard to read. Her eyes soften a bit, and before she speaks, another shockwave wracks the walls.

"I really want to go help them fight off whatever that is, but... I think protecting you takes a priority. Do you have somewhere better to retreat to? Or is this where you'll defend?"

"Lady Illyasviel does not have a fallback location." Sella smoothly steps in, and Ilya nods."We were under the impression that any Servant or assailant attacking this place would find themselves lacking against the enhanced form of the bounded field. "

My head throbs for a moment, and I pause.

The next shockwave speaks for me.

"This is not as accurate as we would hope." Her tone is extremely flat.

>I see what you mean.
>What's your plan, then?
>Write in

>>2222265
>I see what you mean.
>What's your plan, then?

>>2222265
>Well we can't just wait here in the open. Do you have anywhere here you could hide or any escape routes we could use to get out of here?

>>2222265
>I see what you mean.
>What's your plan, then?

>>2222265
Let's go through our options then we don't have much time... We have projection, or perhaps not according to ms fraglerock, and reinforcement. What does she have in order to defend herself, and what do her maids have? We might be able to think up a plan with that information. In the mean time...
>I see what you mean.
And
>>2222278
Ask if she has something to obscure our location

>>2222265
>>What's your plan, then?

We should have her back us up, the four of us should be able to drive him off together. Her maids can act as bodyguards which should be sufficient enough to keep her alive long enough the others to reengage should the black knight make a break for her.

Hiding is pointless, and leaves her vulnerable should another servant or master sneak in to attack her. We should band together for this.

So, I just realized the implications of having Fragarach in our sword arsenal. That fight against Bazette powered us the fuck up. We have a decent NP attack and an amazing counter. Though it would be worth it to check its mana cost, I'm sure most of the mana we used in that fight was from projecting that Frag.

>>2222348
I actually wanted to do that next time we get a break, test and train projecting a real deal noble phantasm, then sparring with Lancer to get used to it.

Something i want to note though which was interesting. Our copy of Fragarach is actually more powerful than the original weapon.... somehow. That's was our first try. How is that possible, did we reinforce it as well and not realize it, or something even more garbage?

>>2222366
Our bullshit isn't making inferior copies of the original, its making superior ones!

>>2222366
i'm still convinced we are somehow running around with both a completed lesser grail and avalon until proven otherwise, and its all kiritsugu's fault.
its really the only thing that makes sense currently.

>>2222366
It's due to Fragarach's ability. Fragarach reverses causality when the opponent uses their 'trump card' and pierces the opponent's heart in the moment before their trump card is used.

Since we don't have anything which can constitutes a 'trump card', Bazett's Fragarach only functioned as a vanilla magic sword when used against us.

However, since Fragarach is Bazett's trump card - it's her strongest weapon that specifically brought it out as a last resort - her using it caused our copy's ability to trigger and instantly kill her. Despite being an inferior copy, it was still more powerful in the moment than the untriggered original.

Note that Fragarach is significantly less useful against enemies who aren't instantly killed on having their heart destroyed.

>>2222386

This is any Servant with Battle Continuation - which is not an insignificant number. Berserker for instance will still have it for sure.

>>2222416
>>2222386

It's also not as effective if the enemy attack comes from some external source, like a summoned creature (I/E Bellerophon). The sword would home in on the entity making the attack, not the person driving it, so careful blowing our load.

>>2222382
>>2222377

I need to just think all my thoughts and stop posting all in a row, but

It also should be noted rules for Projection/UBW are not universal across all timelines. The Shirou from Miyu's universe can replicate Divine Constructs for reasons, this seems to cross over to stuff from the same universe too, since Kuro uses an Excalibur/Avalon phantasm arrow. And in Moon Cell Nameless can create a variant of Excalibur.

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>>2222426
>>2222426
Well we seemed to have picked up projection very quickly, getting very solid projection, then complete normal projection, then incomplete phantasm projection, then complete phantasm projection, all down in ONE. FIGHT.

Not to mention our mana recharges really quickly, to the point that it kind of sustains us even if we use it heavily, and i THINK we have a larger pool too.

I... have some thoughts, that Kiritsugu might only be responsible for Avalon, which we certainly do have. For whatever else we have in us... well, it might not be from Kiritsugu at all, but i want to observe for a bit before making any calls about what might have happened. (Last minute Add on)
AW SHIT?

Self-Replenishment (Mana) (自己回復(魔力) , Jiko Kaifuku (Maryoku)?) is a Class Skill of the Avenger class. Magical energy endlessly gushes forth until revenge is taken.

Rank User(s)
A+ Joan of Arc (Alter)
A special type of mana regeneration because she was born from the wish upon the Holy Grail.
A Gorgon
No information available
B Hessian Lobo
No information available
D Edmond Dantès
E Angra Mainyu

As for UBW, i think that since we picked up projection so quickly it might be a plausible thing to gain this route, particularly if we get any sort of help from someone in the know about reality marbles.

And by the way, if EMIYA is indeed a caster, (i think and hope he is) then i wonder how his insane his territory creation would be using it in tandem with Unlimited blade works. Yes, everything could be swords, EVERYTHING.

>>2222455
this is honestly why i worry about dealing with EMIYA this war, because i legitimately believe he can actually do that, and face it, Arthuria with Rhon is probably not skilled enough to actually deal with that shit, mostly because she refuses to go full fucking power with the thing so t might not be enough to deal with territorial reality marble bullshit.

>I see what you mean
>Write in

"...I see what you mean." I sigh, looking back to the door.

"So, do you have a plan? Anywhere to hide, any escape routes?" The blank expressions I receive tell me all I need to know.

"Mister, you don't think big brother can't take him down, even with your Lancer?" Illyasviel asks, and I pause.

While her Servant and Lancer both are powerful, this black knight fills me with dread, for some reason. I don't think he'll die that easily, I realize, and shake my head.

"Maybe. But it doesn't hurt to have a plan, right?"

"Okay then, mister. We can-"

There's a roar of twin winds, and a crashing noise as the wall explodes inwards.

Even as I move to protect Illyasviel and her maids, I see a crimson blur spinning through the air.

Past the new entrance where the red Servant entered, I can see Lancer and the black knight still clashing, weapons now fully visible.

While Lancer's weapon is still resplendent gold and white, I feel sick just looking at the one her enemy is using.

A blackened sword, with sickening crimson lines running up and across it.

Its state. The corruption so apparent in it...

I nearly vomit as I take in the sight of a once holy blade so tarnished.

A hand on my shoulder brings me back to my senses.

The red Servant is walking past me, his cowl gone and information finally flowing freely.

"Shirou Emiya. I've changed my mind. Make sure Ilya stays safe." He says, holding out his hand as another sword manifests nearly instantly. A great steel blade, sized for someone larger than any ordinary human could. This thing gives me another feeling of dread. Just like with Ascalon.

"I was going to do that anyway." Is all I can manage, and he smirks at me before lunging forwards again.

There's a flash, and a spray of black blood in the air.

Lancer is standing several yards back, while the red Servant pushes the blade further down into the black knight's left shoulder, even as their swords meet.

"Oh, come on! Only a flesh wound?!" His voice is full of frustration, and the black knight grins as black mana swells around him.

In a blur, the black knight is free of the lock, fleeing the way Lancer and I had arrived. Ilya's Servant is sent flying again, and I can hear him cursing about an 'awful class container', even as everyone breathes a sigh of relief.

"Master! Were you successful?" Lancer yells to me. The spear in her hands returns to being invisible, even as she glares after her last opponent.

I glance back to Illyasviel. She's unharmed, though her expression is a mixture of relief, and worry.

"We're alright, Lancer." I return. "Come jere, I think we need to talk about this. "

(1/2)

>>2222502

****
Even on guard, we start to regroup in a relatively untouched part of the castle. Illyasviel is looking over her Servant's damage, while her maids are... Evidently off, trying to resume their routine.


Lancer paces angrily by the window, I can feel a sense of... Relief, settling in.

"So, mister. Why were you coming here in the first place?"

I glance to Illyasviel, and see her earnest and curious expression.

>I had some questions
>Does a brother need any reason to visit his sister?
>Write in

>>2222504
>several reasons
>I had some questions
>... And I wanted to make sure you were still safe. This war... there are people participating who won't hesitate to kill, as I've personally experienced more than once. There are participants in this battle, participants who I am close to, that I don't want to get hurt... you being one of them. And as your brother, is it wrong to want to visit his sister, to make sure she's still alive in this chaos? To save and protect her if she's in danger?

>>2222504

>Write in
>"I wanted a chance to talk with you, about a lot of things."

Phrase it so it can be construed as less of us asking questions out of suspicion, at the very least. Aside from our more immediate concerns, we DO have a lot of questions for our little sister.

As an aside, with class cards showing up, and at least one of their users being reckless enough to go Berserker in broad daylight, along with Kirei being a manipulative dick in general, you guys think a Ruler will show up to unfuck this clusterfuck of a Holy Grail War, or will that not be happening due to the grail being corrupted?

>>2222504
>I had some questions
In as far as we're answering her question honestly instead of deflecting. I'd rather phrase it more delicately, but I'm not sure of the words. Some other anons already have ideas on that score anyway.

>>2222504
>>I had some questions

>>2222504
I would have posted much earlier, but my post was eaten. (Thanks for being patient with us CoG)

>I had some questions

"Well for starters, my mana is acting strangely, when i woke up yesterday i found that my mana is inexplicably replenishing itself much faster than it ever has in my life. Me and Lancer didn't know why that was, but we thought you might have some insight."

As for why else we came here

"I'm worried that the holy grail war is acting strange, what with the black knight wielding coming here wielding that sword, even though i know he wasn't a saber or a berserker, and i don't think was a rider. Somehow someone's summoned an eighth servant in a war supposed to be locked at seven. Earlier an enforcer tried to kill me because her boss told her i was the one interfering in the events of the war, even though there's no way that could be. After a fight, i talked her down, and she said she was going to straighten the matter out with her boss.

I came here because of those worries, and now I'm damn glad i did, things could have been very bad without Lancer here. I think our first priority is we need to find out who the rest of the remaining master are, who their servants are, and specifically who that knight was and who his master is and why they tried to kill you. I think with someone that dangerous lurking around, It's best that we work together on this to keep you safe."

If there were any other question Shirou was going to ask that i forgot, assume i support them.

>>2222504

I'll back >>2222546 cuz getting close to our imouto will be good for everyone in the long run.

>>2222546
this

>>2222502
>black knight
>only a flesh wound
>King Arthur’s there too
Hurhurhurhur

>>2222546
this.
also wow, its been several days and i think CoG died or something.

>>2234213
I didn't die, but I did fuck up a finger with an xacto knife. Writing is not something I'm currently able to do at a reasonable pace.

I'll toss up a new thread in a few days, when my finger has recovered. Sorry for the delay.

>>2235001
>I did fuck up a finger with an xacto knife
Curse is still working

>>2235001
Man that sucks.

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>>2235311
>>2235368

I actually still have the old "Wheel of misery" around.

But yeah, at least it's not that bad, yet.