Fate/Irregular Summons

Chapter 15: The Irregulars Meet

FATE/IRREGULAR SUMMONS

Chapter 15: The Irregulars Meet

"... The Mages never learn, do they?"

The blonde-haired man casually strode up to his victims. The chaos only lasted less than three seconds, and all that remained were two lethally impaled bodies. Leysritt lay on her back in a pool of blood, dead as could be. Sella had not quite expired yet, but she kneeled over a puddle of her own blood while skewered by several weapons. The grotesque sight made her resemble a scarecrow that had lost its rigidity and slumped onto its knees.

"If they're going to make tools, they should not infuse them with human hearts," the man muttered. "Even if you homunculi function as humans, the fact remains that your purity will never be acknowledged."

He stood before Sella and gazed down at her blood-soaked form. She trembled, ignoring the searing pain running through her abdomen and back, as she gurgled, "As long as I live... I will not... let you... near the mistress..."

"I see."

He conjured a portal to deliver him a basic long sword, and he drew it out before wielding it just above the nape of Sella's neck, then declared, "You may die fulfilling that purpose."

Before he could finish her off though, the walls suddenly exploded with such tremendous force that the bricks and concrete were sent flying roughly a hundred meters away. The impromptu demolition was caused by Berserker when he plowed through the villa, while carrying Illyasviel on one of his arms. The young girl saw the state her retainers were left in and succumbed to momentary shock. Berserker landed in a kneeling position and glared at the blonde fellow.

"So you've finally come, meat puppet bearing the Grail vessel," he murmured condescendingly. "Kirei told me that you were a cross between a human and a homunculus, but now that I see it for myself, you certainly are a peculiarity."

Illyasviel didn't care about what he was saying. He murdered her maids in cold blood. The only one she had left in this world was Berserker. She trembled in rage, then seethed, "Kill him... Kill him right now, Berserker!"

The gargantuan muscled man got to his feet and readied himself in his combat stance. Many others would have been intimidated at this point, but the stranger merely grinned, summoned his golden portals, and said, "Perhaps reenacting a battle of legend will serve to stave my boredom for a while. Now then... how do you plan on ending my life, oh great Heroic Spirit?"

"Grrrrgh-!"

****

Connla ran through the wilderness, feeling quite at home while surrounded by undisturbed nature. The plethora of trees gave her a fleeting sense of peace, distracting her from the overwhelming gravity of her mission. She hadn't been able to go outside by herself ever since she was summoned here, so for once she finally felt free to do as she pleased. Of course, such serenity would never distract her from what she needed to do. Her job was to go to Einzbern Manor and hopefully initiate a conversation with Berserker's Master. Illyasviel and Berserker were the only ones that Connla had not met yet, so while there was no bad blood between them, that could change on Illyasviel's whim. All the Lancer could do was pray that Illyasviel was reasonable enough to at least let her in.

Before Connla left, Caren warned her about the traps that the Einzberns had set up all around the forest near the mansion. She hopped down from a tree when she came upon a landmark designating a trap that delivered a shock to the intruder.

"This must be it," she murmured to herself. She figured that trying to go around the traps would convey an improper message to Illyasviel. Instead, the young girl boldly stepped forward and waited for the inevitable shock. She figured that disabling the trap would alert Illyasviel to her position, and then she could clearly declare her intentions right then and there.