Fate/ Grand Crypter

Chapter 3

Heat assaulted Leo's senses. He winced, opening his eyes a fraction. Blurry fire and a darkened sky greeted him. He closed his eyes letting out a sigh. He was alive. In pain, but alive. Wincing he stood, slowly taking in his surroundings. He stood atop a broken building, overlooking a burning city. Dark clouds obscured the horizon, casting the city in shadow. The dying embers of a forgotten war still kindled here, but they had almost died out.

"Fuyuki." Leo rolled the name on his tongue, spitting it out into the burning wind. He had made it to stage 0. F/GO's prologue story, The Flame Contaminated City, Fuyuki. A brutal yet long-dead battleground, lorded over by a dark king. Casting his gaze across the river, his eyes met a looming dark shadow. The tall mountain that sat on the edge of the city, looking over the city like a king, where the final boss would be waiting.

"First things first, I need to work out if anyone else made it. Then we bring the fight to the King." Leo spoke his thoughts aloud, drawing solace from the sound of his voice. Looking around he quickly located his book, lying on the ground nearby. Limping over he reached down and picked it up, wincing as his body protested the movement. He could feel the blood dripping down from where Lev had struck him. Without care, he would be in trouble.

"At least I am a mage now," he muttered. "I can do something about this situation, even if it is basic."

Holding out the book, the lines he had written before the Rayshift were still shining with a soft golden light. Lev's magic bomb will have its energies misdirected by CHALDEAS complicated magecraft. The members of Team A will rayshift without issue, and the people in the control room will be blown into the main chamber but there will be no deaths. His first piece of proper magecraft. He had to hope it worked.

"It doesn't look like the first attempt did, so that means it worked... right?" he said hopefully. He still didn't fully understand the mechanics behind this magecraft, but he had no choice but to keep trying and discovering his limits. Right now, he needed to protect himself. Lifting the quill that had been scrunched in his hand, he began to write. Slowly and shakily the characters formed on the page.

Leo Valualeta's magic circuits will close up the injuries he has sustained, and enhance his body to improve his mobility.

As he finished the final stroke, the letter glowed a soft gold and Leo let out a sigh of relief as the pain he was feeling was suddenly alleviated. A mage could use their magic circuits to forcibly move their body if need be, or repair their damaged forms. Of course, Leo had no idea how to do that, but with this writing magecraft, he could cheat a bit. As the pain washed away, Leo straightened and looked out once more over the city and his surroundings. If he had landed here in Fuyuki, he had to assume that Lev was also here. He turned up at the end of the prologue anyway, so he must be hiding somewhere. Fortunately, he didn't appear to be near Leo at the moment.

"Good, if I had to avoid him as well I would probably not survive." Leo began to scan the horizon. Even if no one else from Chaldea made it here, he would not be alone. The key to survival would involve locating the servants that patrolled this land. There would only be one ally here, the rest would all be enemies. As he watched, a flash of light caught his eye. From a tall tower near the city's centre, several flashes emerged, and points of light flew from the tower to a distant point in the city. Only one servant in the city could fight at such a range.

"Servant Emiya, of the Archer Class. But what is he shooting at?" It was pointless to try and see from this distance. Without some way of improving his vision, he couldn't make anything out. As he continued to watch the servants's assault, a noise emerged from below. Leo looked down and nearly fell in shock. Two figures ran beneath him, being chased by a group of skeletons. One was clad in armour and wielded a massive shield, fighting the skeletons as they advanced, holding them back as best she could. Mash, the one and only shielder in FGO, holding her own as Chaldea's demi-servant. Taking cover behind her was a young woman, firing off blasts of magical energy at the approaching creatures. Her white hair and outfit were distinctive and Leo instantly recognised it.