"SILVER AND IRON TO THE ORIGIN. GEM AND THE ARCHDUKE OF CONTRACTS TO THE CORNERSTONE. THE ANCESTOR IS MY GREAT MASTER SCHWEINORG."
In a dimly lit room, an elegant, mustachioed man thrust his right hand—etched with Command Spells—straight out before him and began to chant. Violent mana surged, thrashing inside the sealed space.
"THE ALIGHTED WIND BECOMES A WALL."
"THE GATES IN THE FOUR DIRECTIONS CLOSE, COMING FROM THE CROWN, THE THREE-FORKED ROAD THAT LEADS TO THE KINGDOM CIRCULATE."
"SHUT (FILL). SHUT (FILL). SHUT (FILL). SHUT (FILL). SHUT (FILL)."
"REPEAT EVERY FIVE TIMES. SIMPLY, SHATTER ONCE FILLED."
"――――I ANNOUNCE."
"YOUR SELF IS UNDER ME, MY FATE(DOOM) IS IN YOUR SWORD."
"IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE APPROACH OF THE HOLY GRAIL, IF YOU ABIDE BY THIS FEELING, THIS REASON, THEN ANSWER."
"HERE IS MY OATH. I AM THE ONE WHO BECOMES ALL THE GOOD OF THE WORLD OF THE DEAD, I AM THE ONE WHO LAYS OUT ALL THE EVIL OF THE WORLD OF THE DEAD."
A more formal, orthodox summoning litany—slightly different from the one Ophis had used—spilled from the mustached man's lips, each line measured and precise.
"YOU, SEVEN HEAVENS CLAD IN THREE WORDS OF POWER, ARRIVE FROM THE RING OF DETERRENCE, O KEEPER OF THE BALANCE ―――!"
Then mana erupted.
"We've won, Kirei."
Sensing the crushing presence of the figure rising from the summoning circle, the mustached man couldn't quite keep the excitement from his voice—though he still maintained his practiced elegance as he spread his arms toward the expressionless priest at his side.
"This battle… we've already secured victory!"
That excitement lasted right up until he used his Master's authority to view her parameters.
...
[CLASS]: ARCHER
[TRUE NAME]: OPHIS
[GENDER]: FEMALE(?)
[ALIGNMENT]: CHAOTIC(?) GOOD(?)
[PARAMETERS]:
STR E | END E | AGI E
MANA A+++ (EX) | LUCK A | NP EX
[CLASS SKILLS]:
MAGIC RESISTANCE EX
INDEPENDENT ACTION EX
...
"Tohsaka-sama, are you still troubled?"
Inside the Tohsaka family workshop, Tokiomi Tohsaka rubbed at his brow with practiced elegance.
"Yes…"
Hearing Kirei Kotomine's question, Tokiomi let out a quiet sigh.
"Though her parameters suit a Caster more than an Archer, her Noble Phantasm is rated EX. In terms of combat capability, she shouldn't be at any disadvantage."
In Tokiomi's eyes, there was only one true trump card for a Heroic Spirit. Technique, speed, strength—those were all secondary. Only the Noble Phantasm decided victory. If a Noble Phantasm was powerful enough, even the worst situation could be overturned.
The King of Heroes's Noble Phantasm was at the highest tier—EX. Judging by the legends attached to her, her Noble Phantasm itself shouldn't be an issue.
The problem was...
"Magic Resistance and Independent Action—both measure as EX… incalculable."
Kirei stated the very point that had been gnawing at Tokiomi.
A Master's most effective means of command was, naturally, the Command Spells—three uses total. But Servants weren't without ways to resist.
Magic Resistance was, in itself, an attribute capable of opposing Command Spells.
At EX rank… even if luck smiled on him, stacking all three Command Spells might barely force a Servant into a short-lived action. If luck didn't…
At best, it would only freeze a Servant's movement for a single heartbeat.
As for Independent Action, it was the ability for a Servant to remain active without mana supplied by the Master.
At EX rank, in most cases, having a Master or not made little difference.
With Ophis, you could erase the words "in most cases."
"A Heroic Spirit that's… extremely difficult to handle."
Tokiomi sighed again.
With those two skills combined, his authority as her Master was effectively nonexistent.
True, his Servant's temperament was relatively easy to deal with. The moment they met—after he immediately positioned himself as a vassal (unnecessarily, in truth)—she'd merely nodded and allowed the contract to form. With careful handling, it wasn't as though the Holy Grail War became unwinnable just because you couldn't order your Servant around.
But even if he won, for his own purposes, Tokiomi needed at least one opportunity to command his Servant—just once.
"Tohsaka-sama… have you forgotten my Servant?"
At that, Kirei spoke, calm as ever.
"Oh? Kirei—do you have an idea?"
"Even if the King of Heroes's Noble Phantasm is EX, it doesn't change the fact that her other parameters are remarkably low—so low they may even fall below my Assassin's. In that case…"
Tokiomi's eyes brightened.
"I see. Then Assassin must be used with utmost precision."
"I know what to do, Tohsaka-sama."
...
Ophis sat silently on the Tohsaka mansion's roof, gazing up at the sky.
Tokiomi had apparently received word that an assassin might attempt an intrusion, and he'd politely requested that Ophis stand guard here beforehand.
He was, at least, the Master who had summoned her. So Ophis agreed.
Still… that Master was rather dull.
Even without Sha Naqba Imuru, she could see straight through him with ease.
You could call it strong will and simple thinking, perhaps. Either way—dull.
As she idly thought, a smear of black slid into the corner of her vision and—quietly…
Well. Not quietly at all—took a grand leap straight down outside the Tohsaka estate.
You know I could see you perfectly fine just by leaving a familiar outside, right?
But once Ophis caught the intruder's outfit, she understood.
It was very similar to that Beserker she'd seen earlier. So this trespasser likely had some connection to that one—and that made this blunt, head-on approach easier to comprehend.
Still, Ophis wasn't worried.
This Servant body was far weaker than her true self—even weaker than a clone—and it had fewer abilities. But it was enough.
Those paltry parameters were normal. As a being of energy, Ophis's physical performance had always depended on how much power she poured into her body—and after learning Enkidu's Transfiguration, she could freely redistribute her stats anyway. Even if someone closed the distance, she could respond.
Ophis was about to move—only to find the intruder didn't charge in the way she expected. Instead, they tested the barrier for a while, then slipped over it carefully, avoiding detection like a gymnast.
You jumped in so blatantly you damaged part of the barrier and flattened a huge patch of flowerbeds—you were spotted ages ago. What's the point of putting on an assassin act now?
Then again, it wasn't impossible Tokiomi had forgotten to make the barrier trigger an alarm when damaged.
With that thought, Ophis watched with genuine interest as the trespasser completed an entire "gymnastics routine." Only when they were about to clear the final layer of the barrier did she act.
Ophis slowly opened the golden tablet in her hands—like a book—and held one hand hovering above it.
Tokiomi had said something about displaying the king's radiance as much as possible—make it grand, make it loud.
But at least leave yourself a trump card, too.
Lines of golden runes surfaced across the tablet, as though proclaiming the truths of creation.
Then more than a dozen golden ripples spread open behind Ophis. All manner of Mystic Codes emerged, drawing up a vast swell of mana.
Ophis was not maintaining Infinity's essence right now. The Holy Grail itself had not reached Infinity, and a Servant born from it could hardly surpass the Grail.
But in exchange, Ophis possessed the ability to draw mana directly from the Holy Grail.
So long as she didn't try to make some world-shaking headline out of it, this reservoir was, for all practical purposes, not far from infinite.
Under those conditions, Ophis—manifested as anything but a Caster—couldn't use magecraft directly. But there was another way for her to unleash her endless mana to the fullest.
"What—?!"
The intruder seemed to sense the enormous surge and snapped their head up, panic creeping into their voice.
Not even close to that Berserker.
With that assessment, Ophis casually lowered her hovering hand—then stood and vanished.
In the next instant, a storm of mana-fire swallowed the trespasser whole—
And the curtain rose on the Fourth Holy Grail War.
---
T/N: LMAOOOO it's not a mistake btw Ophis is purposefully calling old man a Beserker, lmaoooo
some notes (Mana here refers to how much can be controlled at once, not how much is held (since that generally depends on the Master); +++ counts activating the Mythological Mystic Code; EX is with Sha Naqba Imuru assisting.)
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
discord.gg/wisetl
patreon.com/wisetl