Fate/Strange Fake Vol 1 Chapter 1

Act 1: Archer

Yet at the same time, he had stagnated, in every respect.

He knew that it was an imitation of the ritual once carried out on

It matters not.

does not matter. As long as it yields the same results as the original, it

No proud mage would rely on the fruit’s of another’s labor. Such a

three founding families created the Holy Grail War. He, however, was

options were reasonable, in a sense.

War, there were none as determined in every respect as he; none as

From the very beginning, he was prepared for anything that might

When he first heard the rumors, he laughed them off as mere gossip.

News spread from mage to mage until it reached him.

his lineage’s power was on the decline. As the head of his family, he

He had formulated his fair share of magical theories in his time.

lacked was raw power, of the sort that should have been built up over

The standard thing to do in this situation would be to spend many

that knowledge, along with his Magic Crest, on to a sufficiently-able

But he was in a hurry.

There were many families whose magical natures grew weaker and

magic.

I will not allow myself to fall like the Makiri.

rife with obstacles.

method for producing powerful, thriving successors.

enough.

Snowfield, and put all of his chips on the table.

I have nothing to fear. Everything will go smoothly.

who had no future.

He felt nothing for her, a woman who could not bear him thriving

Even so, he found it shocking that she understood nothing of what

It must have been her fault that his son was lacking.

rank.

Even if this Holy Grail were a counterfeit, the mere act of winning

mage. He could even find a path to the Root by winning this war.

No matter what, he was bound to be in a better position by the end

What a splendid gamble that was.

the things he risked in entering the war.

war—but not once did he consider the possibility of his defeat, and the

There was a good reason that he didn’t consider the possibility.

Or at least, he had a good enough chance to justify having done

So... these are the Command Spells, I take it?

Even so, he gazed at his right hand, a loving smile stuck to his face

The seals took the form of a loop of chain, and served as proof that

But if these have appeared....

As the one who shall control that Heroic Spirit!

And then, he laughed.

A grand ravine, north of Snowfield.

of caves.

now served as the mage’s atelier. He had established a Bounded Field

A lamp lit the space around the mage. He picked up the parcel and

It—was a key.

It was exceedingly ornate, and about the length and weight of a

It seemed to him that the jewels that ornamented it were extremely

I have heard tell that it was summoned in a previous Holy

And using this relic, there is no doubt that I shall summon it.

ancestors wagered everything, much like he had just done, to obtain

What his ancestor sought was the treasury of the golden city, which

device that would open the gates deep within the city of legend.

possible magical artifact, however, was something he could not overlook.

the key was genuine, but made no further progress. He never found the

unknown origin, but that did not matter to the mage at this point.

would serve as a superlative catalyst, all but ensuring that he would

The time has come.

The mage stood up—and his smile vanished abruptly. He set aside

ceremony he was to conduct.

those which were unnecessary.

ran throughout his body.

The mage spoke a summoning invocation, both a felicitation of

A few minutes later.

The lineage of magi to which he belonged had met its end.

Following a battle of a mere few seconds, he met his end, just like

When the mage saw it appear before him, he could not remain

There was no need for him to ascertain the being’s true name.

He just barely managed to suppress a roar of joyous laughter. For

The Heroic Spirit’s countenance was tinged with clear and obvious

course, there’s no telling whether or not he conceived of it as a “duty”

“...Answer me. Are you the insolent mage that dares make an entreaty

He had golden hair and golden armor.

query to the mage was laced with contempt.

Even though he could sense the sheer overwhelming power of the being

How dare a mere Servant be so impertinent!

in the Command Spells on his right hand brought him back from the

...So be it. Given this Hero’s personality, I should expect as

Right at the outset, he would have to make their relationship clear.

as a Servant was merely a tool of his.

He prepared to complete his response to the Servant’s query, extending

Whereupon he realized that his right hand had gone missing.

He was at a loss for words. His stammers echoed throughout the

Though not a drop of blood had fallen from his body, his right

Panicking, he lifted his wrist up to his face. The sharp odor of burnt

Faint wisps of smoke were rising from the stump of his wrist.

The moment he became consciously aware of that, a surge of pain

“Hi gAA- giii gaAAAaaaA! AAaaaAAAaaaaaaaa!”

He shrieked at the top of his lungs, sounding like some kind of

said, “So, you are a jester, knave? If that be so, amuse me with more

The Servant didn’t even lift an eyebrow, prideful as always. It would

right hand.

In the face of this incomprehensible happening, the mage was

that to happen. He forced himself to calm down, and quickly composed

There is someone... within the Bounded Field!

Under normal circumstances, he could have sensed any intruder

atelier. However, he had let his guard down while he was focused on

while the caves brimmed with the Heroic Spirit’s magical energy.

None of the traps had been activated. If the intruder had managed to

be quite cautious in dealing with them. That much was clear to him.

faced towards the presence he now sensed—towards the tunnel that

past my Bounded Field?!”

darkness of the cave.

golden Servant: “O mighty king, Your humble servant begs permission

The Servant thought for a second and then replied, haughtily,

“...I am most grateful for this privilege, Your Majesty.” Her voice

all that was.

alone left the impression that she was young, she was even younger

brown, and her hair was a lustrous black.

every way, she was as a child of noble upbringing. Though her face was

bore was somewhat less resplendent.

altar atop which the Heroic Spirit stood. Then, unconcerned about the

“Wha....” The mage choked back a cry of rage. Unable even to discern

the girl paid the mage no heed.

He looked down at her and spoke, with great power underlying each

presence. However, the air is now filled with a most indelectable stench

do so now.”

“I beg Your forgiveness, Your Majesty. I thought it fitting to render

as he was unworthy of facing justice at Your hands,” she replied, still

As she spoke, she brought forth a piece of human flesh.

connected to the Heroic Spirit by virtue of the Command Spells

The golden Heroic Spirit nodded at the girl’s response. He looked

up—and then tossed it away, disinterestedly.

my garden who would dare lay a hand upon my treasures. Though I

with it.”

The mage had been speaking an incantation to numb the pain in

shocked.

the key to that treasury.

like a piece of filth. And that too, by his Servant, a being who should

Overcome with rage, the pain in his right arm grew dull, even as

However—as if to deliver a fatal wound to the mage, the brownskinned

voice. “If His Majesty wishes that it be so, I shall do no further battle

“Wha...”

“ .” The mage lost control of himself.

Circuits. He did not even have the capacity to speak. Hysterically, he

He put all of his magic, his madness, his might into a sphere of

her, tearing through space, ready to consume her whole—it

The girl should have been destroyed by his burst of magical energy

But that didn’t happen.

A silent chant.

Almost immediately, immense magical energy erupted between

It was like a spell that had been compressed so far that it became

And at the very end—the mage saw it.

front of her and drank down the magical energy he had released, and

That cannot be.

In the end, what was it that could not be? He did not even have

Th-that can’t... ca-cannot... that... c-can’t be.

his lineage would live on... but then, he recalled that it was a mere few

It can’t be! It cannot! I... I will... die? Here? That c-cannot....

He lost his life and everything he had sacrificed for this war.

It all happened in a split-second. A mere split-second.

those flames. He met his end, just like that

sight, Your Majesty.”

head before the Heroic Spirit.

matter to him. Then, in reference to the magic the girl had used, he

The magic she had just used did not originate within her self.

In acknowledgement of that fact, emotion flitted across the girl’s

“We have not ruled it. Rather, we have lived in harmony with it. ...Just

outside Snowfield.”

magic are no different than those without.”

to be alike. The girl did not reply.

already migrated to her own right hand.

the mage, but from the girl. As he observed this, he spoke as imposingly

“Very well. Once again, answer me. Are you the insolent mage

The golden Heroic Spirit.

kings—

their way out of the cave.

golden Servant, she was now a participant in the Holy Grail War.

not desire the Holy Grail. Elaborating on her true goals, she said, “We

Holy Grail War, who have run roughshod over this land. Such is the

She declared her desire to destroy the Holy Grail War without the

into this age as a Servant of the Archer class—disinterestedly replied, “I

knaves who stole my treasure; and if it is a false Grail, I shall execute

“Your gracious words reassure me, Your Majesty,” she thanked him.

tribe has lived in harmony with the land on which Snowfield was built.

rule this place. But then, a sect in their government joined forces with

land.” Her voice was thick with a mixture of rage and sadness.

which mongrel reigns supreme over this mongrel land, for it is a part

not deign to interpose in a squabble among mongrels... but if they dare

As always, he thought only about himself. And what did the girl

She did not find it terribly unpleasant, nor was it particularly surprising.

question his kingship.

She composed herself and stepped out of the cave.

stood at attention, awaiting her return.

were also a few white- and black-skinned people among them.

the entrance to the cave. Clearly, they were not there to do an

They laid eyes upon the girl and the imposing man beside her

In unison, they reverently knelt before the girl and the Heroic

“Who are these knaves?”

members of the society that seeks to revive our tribe and defeat the

my father as the society’s representative. And so, I must fight

“Oh?”

him of how things had been when he was alive. His eyes faintly narrowed

“Mongrels though you may be, you seem to understand who is

“We would not dare to meet Your Majesty’s splendor with anything

“So, you wish to make use of my might for your ends. It seems that

“......”

yet she was uneasy.

And right away, as if to confirm her suspicions, the Heroic Spirit

have been drawn here are mere trifles. Deliver judgment unto them as

By the time he had finished speaking, he had brought forth a small

Everyone who was there to witness it would fondly reminisce about

emerged a single carafe that fell right into the Heroic Spirit’s hand.”

Perhaps china or perhaps crystal—either way, it was lustrous and

“If this war will be a mere trifle to me, it is only fitting that I treat

use the full force of my abilities. Until an enemy worthy of my power

As he trailed off, he unsealed the vessel and was about to down it

Right then.

machinations of fate, rather than chance—

【. . . . . . . . . . 】

Tiné and her followers all turned to look at the sky.

power to shake both heaven and earth.

angel or its ilk, or perhaps even the Earth itself, was singing a lullaby.

the forests that lay to the west of Snowfield.

of physics, was, for some reason, something Tiné had faith in.

It was almost certainly the voice of a stupendously powerful Servant.

The bottle he had conjured was at his lips. He had been about

a powerful emotion for the first time.

it was rare to see him so emotional. That king among all kings was

he could be brought to this state.

His eyes lit up with surprise, consternation, bewilderment—and

“...Is it you?”

a mere instant as he whispered those words.

again, overbearing as always. He burst into a fit of earnest laughter.

higher.

“Ha! What fortune! What am I to call a happenstance of this sort

He swelled with delight and vigor, as though he had not been bored

“Rejoice, mongrel girl! It seems that I shall have occasion to use

The king of heroes was uncharacteristically talkative, perhaps because

“What a pleasure it would be to end it all in a duel on yonder

if.... No; I shall not speak of it. This is not a matter that the mongrels

He was in a pleasant mood, unable to stifle his laughter, as kingly

spoke to Tiné, who still knelt beside him.

Shocked that the Heroic Spirit would refer to her by name, Tiné

The king tossed her the bottle he had been holding.

age, but now that it has come to this, I do not need it, either. Be grateful.”

Archer glanced at her for a moment before going on. “If you wish

Though he paid little attention to her, Archer was in high spirits as he

you learn the ways of the world, it will suffice for you to gaze upon my

his words, they were nonetheless powerful.

yet, when faced with his words, she faltered.

nothing but display her utmost respect to him. She was unable to

“I shall attempt to do so, Your Majesty,” she said, apologetically.

the battlefield.

been stolen.
31

on, wagering everything they had.

They would fight—to replace the lies of this war with their own

The king’s battle had begun.

Chapter end

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