"What is the Book of Darkness?" Negi asked as they made their way down the hill.
Signum looked at Shamal, who sighed and pulled out an ornately decorated tome.
"This is the Book of Darkness, master," said the knight of the lake as she handed the book over. "It's dormant now but for ourselves and the collection programme, but in essence the book is a data collection and power storage device."
_______________________________
"What's wrong with that?" Arf asked onboard the
Asura. "Doesn't sound so bad to me."
"If that was all we wouldn't be so worried," Amy sighed as she read the data she had received from HQ.
"Amy is right," said Lindy. "Sometime in the past, the core programme that governs the functions of the Book of Darkness was corrupted. Instead of being the harmless archive that it was meant to be, the book went out of control as its self-defence programme registered everything around it as a threat."
Yuuno blinked. "Self-defence programme?"
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"You could say that we are the faces of the self-defence programme," Shamal added. "The first line of defence between the book's master and any threats we encounter."
"Hang on a second. That can't be right Ms Shamal," Negi looked at the Wolkenritter. "A golem or any other limited intelligence is one thing, but this? That's impossible! You are..." Negi waved his hands around as he fumbled for a suitable term. "Well, people!"
Shamal smiled as her new master tried to come to grips with their existence. "We do possess the physical traits of humanity I admit, but there's no denying that we are created beings master. The Book of Darkness created us, and to the book we will return when our duty is complete."
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"So those are the things that attacked Fate and Nanoha?" Arf said angrily.
Lindy nodded. "Yes, the Wolkenritter. The four encounters that the TSAB has on record tell us that they are cold emotionless projections of the book's programme."
"Make no mistake," Chrono butted in. "Though they may look like people, they are not. The TSAB has attempted to reason with them in the past and have paid dearly for it. With no real will or emotions, they exist only to protect the book and complete its pages. No matter what the cost is to the book's wielder or those around him."
________________________________
"We exist to serve, master," Signum told him. "By our honour as knights of the Belkan empire, we are your swords in battle. Your shields against all harm. Only speak of your wish, and we will carry it out."
"Unless you are stupid enough to try and kill yourself that is," Vita added. "We kinda have ta stop ya then."
"For once I find I agree with Vita," Zafira said in his calm and low voice.
"I see," said Negi as he absorbed the implications. It seemed that they were serious about this and under the circumstances he didn't feel up to debating the meaning of life with them. "Let's leave that matter aside for now. What's this about collecting pages for the book?"
________________________________
"The Book of Darkness stays dormant until its 666 pages have been filled. As was the case with Fate and Nanoha, the power to fill those pages comes from the linker cores of mages and other beings that hold enough magic to be collected." Chrono paused and brought up a screen. "While the Wolkenritter are troublesome, they do not compare to the danger presented by a filled Book of Darkness. Once activated, the book's power is such that entire worlds have been devastated in the past, with the programme only shutting down when excessive force was applied in attempts to destroy it. If we are to avoid the worst case scenario here on Earth, we have to make sure that we do not allow the Wolkenritter to proceed with their plans."
________________________________
"So you are saying that the book will stop draining my magic if we fill the pages?" Negi asked to make sure he understood correctly.
"Yes master. Once the book is active it is able to utilise an environmental collection programme to power itself from the ambient magic of a world," explained Shamal.
Negi frowned. "Why can't it do that now?"
Shamal smiled bitterly. "I am afraid that due to the high power requirements of the Book of Darkness, it has a minimum level of power that needs to be collected before the core programmes will activate. Before that point is reached not even the administrator is able to change any of its settings."
"Oh, that's a shame," said Negi, falling silent as he thought about what that meant.
"We would not suggest collecting power from our enemies if there was another choice master," Signum said after a while when Negi seemed to fall under a gloomy cloud. "As it is, the other mages involved in this conflict will attempt to kill you for their goals, and it is only reasonable that we protect ourselves. If we are able to fill the Book of Darkness in the process that is just another bonus."
"... But that still doesn't mean that we should kill people," Negi replied. "I remember that you were able to drain power from that girl before without killing her. Can't we just do that for everyone else we face?"
Signum sighed and resisted the temptation to massage her temple. They had made progress, in that their master was showing a willingness to participate in the battle at least. His wishes however...
"Master, if that is your command we will obey," said sword of the Wolkenritter. "However, I urge you to remember that while the masters are human, the Servants that they summon are but spirits given physical form. Given that they are beings whose power matches their legends, defeating them in that manner... Will be difficult, and dangerous for all involved."
Negi thought about that. From what he had read the practice of summoning spirits for battle was not that uncommon a strategy here in the East. If he thought about it that way it didn't seem so wrong to 'kill' them. However, thinking back to the crazy man with the spear who had chased him earlier today, he couldn't see the line that seperated him from an individual with a life to a mage's tool of battle.
"I will... Think about it," he said reluctantly as he suspended judgement on the matter. He wanted to talk to some people about the mess he had found himself in before he decided on anything. "That's all I can say for now, so please restrict yourselves if we are attacked."
"Yes master," intoned the Wolkenritter.
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"So what do we now admiral?" Yuuno asked as the briefing came to an end.
Admiral Lindy looked at her son, who was staring out at a display with a dark look on his face. It was clear that he wasn't about to join them again any time soon.
Sighing, she turned back to face Yuuno. "Now that we've confirmed that the Book of Darkness is here at work, the Asura has to head to the nearest shipyard for some modifications. In the meantime however we will be setting up a field base in Fuyuki city from which to operate from and keep an eye out for the Wolkenritter."
"Ma'am, there's an addendum on the information that Admiral Graham gave us which says that the man who was to be our original contact has a son," said Amy as she came across the entry. "We may wish to send someone to check up on him."
"That would be wise wouldn't it," Lindy nodded and looked at Chrono. "Chrono dear, could you please do that? Yuuno-kun, Arf, may I ask you to accompany him just in case?"
"Yes admiral," Yuuno instantly replied. Arf on the other hand looked hesitant.
"You don't need to worry about Fate, Arf," said Lindy when she noticed. "The Asura won't be heading back immediately and I will make sure that she's well looked after until you get back."
Arf nodded then and stood up to join Chrono and Yuuno as they made their way out of the room.
"Amy, while they are at it could you please organise a meeting with the person who contacted us earlier?" Lindy asked as they left. "What was his name again?"
"Kotomine Kirei-san, admiral. Our information lists him as the local representative of an organisation known as the Catholic Church, which is listed as being one of the seven..."
____________________________
They were halfway across town when Zafira noticed they were being followed.
Signum, there's somebody behind us.
How many? Signum asked when she was unable to make out the presence.
Just two, but they don't appear to be working together. Zafira told her.
One's stopped while the others continued to close in.
Vita, on me. Zafira, keep an eye on the second one. Shamal, get ready to defend our master. Signum summoned Laevatein to her hand once more. "Master, please stay back."
"Excuse me Ms Signum?"
Negi was about to ask what was going on when a person walked out onto the street in front of them.
"Well, well, what have we here?" said the young man, who was dressed in a school uniform of all things. "From your appearance I take it that you are the pests who sabotaged the grand ceremony that my family took the lead in creating? Doggy knights or something like that wasn't it?"
Signum's eyes narrowed, but it was Vita that took the bait and responded. "That's
Wolkenritter you bastard, or are you too dumb to remember names?"
The young man clenched his fist. "You can't speak to me that way you lowly servant! I am the heir of the Matou family, greatest of the three families who set up the Grail War in the first place!"
"Lowly servant?" Vita growled. "We are knights in service to our master you moron! Don't you know the difference? And what kind of name is Ahou? I thought that meant idiot!"
"You, you!"
While Vita and the stupid master exchanged their insults, Signum had been keeping an eye out on their surroundings. When she spotted the glint of metal under moonlight, she instantly leapt into action.
The enemy servant, who was dressed in a manner similar to them, had an instant to look surprised before she hurriedly blocked Signum's attack with her weapon, a pair of iron spikes on a long chain. Once on the offensive however, the sword of the Wolkenritter was not easily stopped, and the servant was steadily forced back.
"Damn it Rider, what do you think you are doing?!" the servant's master shouted when he saw how the battle was going. "Fight back you useless toy!"
A short distance from him however, Vita had a nasty smile on her face as she considered the mage in front of her. "Hey there, aren't you forgetting someone?"
The other master turned around and paled when he saw Vita get her hammer ready to strike. "Rider! Defend me!"
"Too late!" Vita shouted as she rushed forward.
She was about to swing when she remembered her master's command. It was an order typical of a brat who didn't know anything, but it was still a command. Easing the strength behind the blow, Vita struck in a manner that would only break a rib or two. That short hesitation however proved enough time for Rider to somehow get away from Signum to put herself between Vita and her target.
"Khh..." Rider hissed as Graf Eisen smashed into her body.
The servant was thrown back, blood flying from the deep wound in her side which she had taken to get away from Signum. Surprised that her blow had been stopped, Vita took a step back.
Everyone that was there, especially Negi, was surprised by what came next.
"Useless bitch!" the young man who had just been saved his servant's actions cried out. "What good are you if you get knocked around like this by these weaklings?!" Instead of helping Rider, he kicked her where she was wounded, making the servant flinch as she tried to get back up.
"The heck? Is that bastard really her master?" Vita asked of no one in particular.
Signum shook her head in disapproval as she jumped back down from the roof she had been on. "It doesn't matter, just take of it already Vita."
"Don't kill them!" said Negi, whose second encounter with servants other than his was only reinforcing his doubts.
"Fine, fine," Vita strode forward as she rolled her eyes. Their new master was going to be the death of her.
The other master must have realised the situation he was now in as he suddenly moved to put Rider between him and Vita. As they watched, Rider struggled back to her feet and moved to guard herself.
"Man, I really to pity ya," said Vita as she watched her opponent get up as the master decided to run for it. "I mean how unlucky do you have ta be ta end up with a wretch like that for your master? Our master may still be a brat, but at least he's got guts."
Rider smiled grimly. "Punishment for my sins I suppose."
Vita smiled. "Heh, maybe. I'm almost sorry to do this to ya now."
"Why don't you stop then," asked the servant as she crouched down.
"I said almost," Vita deadpanned. "
Todliche Strafe!"
In an amazing display of agility, Rider managed to dodge Vita's opening attack and the flurry of blows that followed. Impaired by her wound however, she was unable to avoid a sheathed Laevatein as it came down upon her neck.
"Shamal," Signum calmly called out to the knight who was on stand-by. "Bind her. Vita, get that mage."
"Got it," Vita flew after the master who had run and caught him by the simple expedient of hitting him in the head. She might not be able to kill them, but for a jerk like this a concussion or two wouldn't go amiss.
Meanwhile, Shamal had begun the collection process, and Rider was suffering the consequences. Negi, who had still been in shock last time, was able to see things in details this time and wasn't enjoying it. Restrained by the magic binds that held her Rider was only able to cry out in pain as the Book of Darkness guzzled her magic power in what he imagined was a process similar to what he had felt earlier.
He was about to ask Shamal to stop when, to everybody's shock, Rider disappeared.
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
"Oh my," Shamal pursed her lips. "I forgot about those."
"Command seal?" Signum inquired.
"Most probably." agreed Shamal.
"Uhm, what just happened?" Negi was clueless again and not liking the lack of information.
"Rider's master probably summoned her with a command seal master," Shamal kindly explained.
"... Isn't that Rider's master over there?" said Negi, growing increasingly confused.
Signum and Shamal turned to look at the unconscious body that Vita had dumped in front of them.
"He's right, you know," said Vita. "What's going on here?"
"I'll... Get back to you on that one," said Shamal with a rueful shake of her head. An adolescent master, masters that weren't. This Grail War was becoming even more confusing than the last one.
Vita slung Graf Eisen behind her back. "Eh, just get the pages from this guy so we can get outta here then."
Negi turned away as Shamal opened the book, not eager to see the pain that it caused again. He didn't have long to wait however as the book shut down almost as soon as it began.
"Hmm, that's odd," Shamal commented as she looked at the book. "He doesn't have much more power than an average human."
"Decoy?" Signum wondered.
"Maybe," Shamal nodded. "That would explain why Rider disappeared."
"The other one's coming!" Zafira suddenly shouted.
Instantly, barriers were put up around Negi and the forms of the Wolkenritter as a rain of sleek daggers came flying out of the shadows. Forewarned by Zafira however, none of them were hurt as the darkened blades bounced off their shields. The enemy must have realised that they had failed, as all Negi saw was a flicker in the corner of his eyes before the shape vanished.
"He's running," said Zafira.
"Can you track him?" asked Signum, looking in the direction that she had seen the enemy go.
"I would have to be in beast form," Zafira said as he stretched his senses. "Whoever it is, they are good. I could barely feel them until that attack and the signal faded even further once they started to run."
Drawing up the odds in her head, Signum decided to give up on this one. For now at least. It seemed like the servant Assassin, and that was one that needed care in going after, especially if you had your master along with you.
Signum looked back and was about to inquire as to her master's condition when she noticed that something was wrong. Her little master was frozen as if his mind had shut down, staring blankly at the mage that they had captured with a haunted look in his eyes.
"Master?" she called softly to him.
Negi swallowed. "Are those knives?" he asked as he stared at the three hilts that stuck out of the motionless body.
Shamal moved to cover his eyes. "You don't need to look at it master."
Negi was breathing heavily now, fighting the urge to throw up. He had nearly forgotten about the body he had seen earlier, the bloody corpse over which the spearman had been standing. This time though it was worse. In front of his eyes, a man who had been talking and breathing just a moment ago had been turned into a lifeless cadaver.
And he hadn't been able to do anything.
He was still useless.
He was weak.
Pathetic.
The flash of pain that tore its way across his chest was the first reminder of his precarious situation. Quickly, Negi settled in to the Buddhist mantra that father Kotomine had passed on to him. Cycling his magic through his body and soul in the ancient form meant to settle the mind and protect it from outside influence. Kotomine-san had warned him that if he got agitated he risked being consumed again by the Book of Darkness. Get too unbalanced, and he would die.
"Master?" Signum crouched down slightly so that she could look into his face. "Are you having problems again?"
Negi finished the quiet chant and opened his eyes. "No... I'm okay."
His servants weren't convinced in the least by his acting. Signum looked at him drily and motioned towards Zafira. "Zafira, carry him. We should get to the mansion as quickly as possible."
"No, really. I'm okay!" Negi protested weakly. "You really don't need to do this."
In spite of his protests Zafira picked him up and put him on his back. Negi struggled a little but soon realised the futility of his efforts.
"Let's get going," said Signum. She was relieved that their master hadn't broken down after seeing somebody killed in front of him, but wanted to get away from here as soon as possible in order to get away from the reminders. Their master was young and appeared to have a gentle heart. She would try to ensure that he kept it as long as possible.
___________________________
On the other side of town servant Lancer was meeting up with his master.
"Oy, master," he called out as he entered the dockside office building that the Clocktower had hired. "I killed the guy you told me to kill."
"Good job Lancer," came the reply from upstairs. "Were there any problems?"
Lancer smiled sheepishly. "Ah... A kid saw me do it."
"... Did you make sure to kill him?"
"That's the thing you know," Lancer said idly as he twirled his spear. "The kid turned out to be a master, with four servants none the less. Their noble phantasms were pretty strong so I had to kinda..."
"Lancer..." groaned the hero's master as she came down the stairs. "We weren't supposed to leave any witnesses."
Lancer's Irish accent was at full bellow as he examined the carvings on his treasured weapon. "He's just a kid, and I can always kill him later. What's the big deal?"
Bazett pinched the bridge of her nose. "Must... Not... Kill... Servant... Stay... Calm Bazett."
Oblivious to his master's troubles, or perhaps fully aware of them, Lancer began to hum an old war song.
"Oh fine," Bazett finally threw up her arms in despair. "But if things go wrong because of this you are getting the blame, do you get me?"
"Sure, cutie," Lancer told her with a wink.
Bazett blushed and looked away. "Get a grip Bazett," she mumbled under her breath. "It's your job to make sure that the TSAB don't find out about..."
"Boo," Lancer whispered into her ear as he suddenly appeared behind her.
Despite appearances, Bazett did shriek like a girl.
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Did you mean namu ami ta bul?
That is how that thing goes isn't it? Don't ask me how a Christian practising heretical sorcery got hold of a Buddhist technique. It's Kirei we are talking about here. Sense is not needed.
Oh and it looks like Shadow Crystal Mage is writing up an even crazier version of a similar premise to this story. Go and check it out some time.