Chapter 17: The Knight of the Yangtze

My name is Lin Hao.
I am waiting for the war to begin.
224:36:48

Ryunosuke Uryu had not seen Caster for a long time.
According to the knowledge he had acquired from Tokiomi Tohsaka, she should have been his Servant. However, that knowledge could not explain why a Servant would appear five years early, nor how she could imbue an ordinary human with magic circuits and the spontaneous ability to master unsystematic magecraft.
It was even harder to explain the staggering vortex of death swirling around her—a phenomenon that seemed as if it could only be produced by destroying the Earth hundreds of times over.
Ever since she granted him the ability of "magecraft" and orchestrated the circumstances for Ryunosuke to become Tokiomi Tohsaka’s apprentice, she had stopped wearing the attire that should have been her "Noble Phantasm." Her daily wear was most commonly a white dress paired with a small purple blazer.
Oh, he had only seen this after he finally used magical means to shield his keen perception of death; because the "vortex of death" clinging to her grew increasingly dense and obvious, he knew that if he did not block it out, he would eventually go mad.
When they did occasionally meet, Caster never demanded anything of him. Most of the time, she would simply recount—with a strange detachment—the participants of this Holy Grail War and the Heroic Spirits they had summoned, occasionally interjecting with bizarre commentary.
The intelligence regarding those combatants had been accurate so far: the solemn and dull junior disciple Kirei, the always elegant Master Tokiomi, the omnipresent Assassin, and the arrogant yet—so far—not-yet-idiotic King of Heroes.
She had mentioned that her wish was for no one to die in this Holy Grail War. Coming from someone who was essentially death incarnate... though it sounded believable, it was undeniably strange.
It had been a year since all contact between them had been severed. Back then, Caster seemed to have occupied the Einzbern castle for a time, which prompted the masters to arrive in Fuyuki early.
She then left and occupied a hospital to serve as her workshop? The causality behind that was too profound for him to grasp.
Later, a Chinese girl named Lin Hao appeared. After checking into the Fuyuki General Hospital, she transferred various illnesses onto herself and then cured them using magecraft. The reason for this remained equally incomprehensible.
However, it was certain that she had been created by Caster for some specific purpose. After he handed her profile to his junior disciple, Kirei, the entire aura around the man had become dangerous—or, in Caster's words, he had felt "delight."
When summoning the Berserker previously, Ryunosuke had clearly felt a force attempting to summon the Master make contact with that familiar vortex of death, only to be "killed" instantly. This had caused the second most abundant ley line in Fuyuki, located beneath the Tohsaka estate, to run dry. Master Tokiomi had concluded that the drain during the summoning of the King of Heroes was too great, and he had waited two days until today for the ley line to replenish so they could attempt the summoning again.
With this, Caster must have noticed as well, so there would be no issues with today’s summoning.
Likewise, even if she had not made any requests, as long as he set the purpose of all his actions in this Holy Grail War to "prevent the death of any Master," he would surely be of help.
Thinking this, Ryunosuke Uryu reached out toward the summoning circle drawn in gemstone solution.
"Thy body shall serve under me; my fate shall be with thy sword."
"Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail. Answer, if you would submit to this will and the truth—"

***

Tokiomi Tohsaka and Kirei Kotomine, accompanied by Assassin, watched the ritual from the side of the summoning circle, though it was unclear if the "King of Heroes" was present.
Since Gilgamesh’s class was explicitly Gilgamesh, he had the right to claim any class abilities he desired. Four could be guessed at present.
First was "Independent Action," which appeared to be of an extremely high rank, as he had severed his mana connection to Tokiomi immediately after being summoned; unless he chose to manifest, it was impossible to know where he was.
Second was an ability similar to "one must not look upon the King's face without permission"; aside from catching a glimpse of a row of alternating A, B, and EX stats when he was first summoned, it was impossible to discern his specific abilities thereafter.
Third was "Riding," as Ryunosuke and Kirei had seen Gilgamesh skillfully riding a motorcycle several times—a glittering, golden motorcycle of unknown origin.
Most importantly, there was "Magic Resistance." Tokiomi had a feeling that if he wanted to use a Command Spell to twist the will of the King of Heroes, it would take at least two, and he would likely need a third just to prevent the irritated King from killing him.
It was a losing proposition, one he would avoid unless absolutely necessary.
Compared to the King of Heroes, who commanded him to act as a subject and refused to be controlled, Tokiomi felt the Assassin summoned by his second disciple was nearly perfect. Although her surface personality could not speak, once given an order, she would manifest an avatar with a different personality to carry it out. She could manifest up to 79 avatars, and he could issue new commands directly to them, meaning Kirei currently had 79 Assassins at his disposal.
Moreover, these avatars were not identical; their abilities and personalities varied, with some even surpassing ordinary Heroic Spirits in specific attributes—which lived up to her name, "Hassan of the Hundred Faces."
Upon inquiring, Kirei learned that if the girl who served as the primary personality was destroyed, the other 79 would vanish even if they were still alive. Therefore, this young girl, whom his senior disciple had named "Emile," had to be well-protected.
With the opponents' intelligence largely clear, Tokiomi had come to watch the summoning because the Holy Grail War would officially begin once this final Servant was summoned. He needed to formulate his next plan based on this Berserker's abilities and Noble Phantasms.
"From the circle of restraint—guardian of the heavenly scales—" Ryunosuke Uryu chanted the final incantation.
Boom, boom, boom—
Unlike the reactions seen with Assassin and Gilgamesh, the transparent gemstone solution forming the summoning circle instantly turned blood-red, emitting a terrifying dark crimson light. Thick black mist began to emerge from the surroundings, gathering at the center of the circle and gradually forming a black whirlwind.
Under their wary gazes, the swirling black magical energy solidified, taking on the shape of a tall figure that could only be described as a "shadow."
His armor absorbed the surrounding light, appearing as black as the depths of hell. There were no intricate decorations, no polished colors; the entire figure continued to exude an ominous black mist. His face was covered by a helmet, and through the thin slit in the front, a terrifying dark red glow flickered like charcoal nearing its end.
Compared to the girl hiding behind Kirei, this figure, filled with malice and hatred, looked more like an Assassin.
Mad Enhancement did not have the power to alter a Heroic Spirit's aura to this extent. Most likely, he was a legendary figure who had been filled with resentment to begin with. Thinking this, Tokiomi instructed Ryunosuke: "Establish the contract, ask for his true name, his personal skills, and his Noble Phantasms."
"Ah—saa—!" The black knight let out a roar that sounded nothing like a human.
"Yes, that's right, I am your Master, my name is Ryunosuke Uryu." The capable disciple continued the communication, completely unfazed.
"...Ugh... ah," the black knight continued to roar unintelligibly.
"Oh, all stats are A, except for Mana which is B. Please, continue," Ryunosuke observed him, nodding as if he understood every word.
"Ah! Oh! Ah!" The black knight's roar suddenly turned sharp. "Gu! Ga-ga-ga-ga—"
"You say you're Lancelot? The chief Knight of the Round Table? You manifested here to challenge King Arthur, who has already appeared in this war, and be killed? I have to say, that idea isn't great. Not cool at all." Ryunosuke reached out to pat the black knight on the shoulder.
"No, wait, Ryunosuke, he seemed to mention King Arthur just now? Ask him again," Tokiomi hurriedly interrupted.
"Ah—! Saa—!" The Berserker's massive voice made the walls of the workshop vibrate.
"Yes, yes, I know, disappear for now!" Ryunosuke covered his ears and ordered his Servant to spirit-form.
"Sorry, Master, I'll talk to him for a while," Ryunosuke said. After the Berserker vanished in a puff of black smoke, he exhaled and sat down in the nearest chair.
"Hmph, so it was a mad dog."
A brilliant golden figure appeared beside Tokiomi. He immediately turned and bowed his head: "Welcome back, my King. Are you satisfied with the subordinates I have gathered for you?"
"None of them are qualified to be commanded directly by me."
Gilgamesh's sharp red eyes swept over Ryunosuke Uryu, who was sitting there muttering to himself, and the Assassin hiding behind Kirei, causing the young girl to nearly collapse in fear.
"However, they can act as hunting dogs and hounds outside the palace to clear away vermin for me."
"As you wish, my King." Tokiomi remained in his bow. "Your servant will ensure that no riffraff disturbs your amusement."
Gilgamesh did not respond, turning into a streak of golden light and vanishing.
"Ah, Master, the Berserker said he manifested because he sensed that King Arthur had already been summoned, but he doesn't know who summoned her or where," Ryunosuke said, looking up as if he had finished communicating.
"Undoubtedly Saber," Tokiomi nodded, looking toward the direction of the Einzbern castle. "And his Noble Phantasms and skills?"
"Yes, Master. Aside from the legendary A-rank sword he carries, he has two very interesting Noble Phantasms," Ryunosuke said. "One is the ability to turn anything he picks up that possesses the concept of a 'weapon' into a Noble Phantasm, which also allows him to seize others' Noble Phantasms. The other is an ability to hide his true stats, which also allows him to disguise his appearance. Combined, he can steal someone's weapon and then transform into them; except for their Master, no one would be able to tell the difference."
It seemed... useful in certain situations, perhaps even a trump card that could turn the tide. Tokiomi nodded, signaling his disciple to continue.
"Yes, there's also Battle Continuation. And another one I don't know how to explain; he says it only takes effect during glorious combat, granting a significant boost to Luck. Does that mean he can't launch sneak attacks?" Ryunosuke scratched his head.
"Excellent..." Tokiomi was very satisfied with the Servants summoned by his two disciples. With such powerful Heroic Spirits at his disposal, he might not even need the King of Heroes to win this war.
He was one step closer to the Root.