Land of the Blades

24. Removal

After the initial shock, Caster was introduced by Adamant to the rest of us, and she started to relate the information she had agreed to exchange in place for protection, in the most over the top way possible. Phos and I sat a bit far away, since we already knew most of what she had to say. Caster told them about the Holy Grail War ritual, including the fact that I was one of the "summoned servants" who were meant to fight for it. They took that pretty well, or at least didn't seem shocked by the revelation as Phos was.

—And the last Servant alive can ask anything they wish for to the grail —Caster added.

—Any wish? —Alexi asked.

—Could we ask for the return of our brothers that were taken to the moon? —Yellow asked.

—And that the Lunarians will stop attacking us? —Jade asked.

Rutile seemed to have wanted to ask something, but keep it to herself.

—Of course, all of that would be possible —Caster replied, crossing her arms—, but if you were to use that method, even after defeating all of the other servants, either Shirou or me should be sacrificed to fulfill the requirements. And you will only get one wish. However, HOWEVER, there is an alternative! For I was made from the souls of a powerful witch and an even more powerful and wiser goddesses. Fulfilling those wishes of yours shouldn't be a problem for me... once I return to my peak.

—How long would that take? —Bort said with an intimidating tone, and Caster made herself a bit smaller in response.

—Ahaha, well, you see... maybe... at best... around 500 years... —Caster replied sheepishly.

She closed her eyes and braced herself, as if she was expecting a reprimand. Instead, Bort nodded.

—That sounds reasonable. We'll protect you until then.

Caster still didn't move for a couple of seconds, not fully believing what Bort had said. For her who had probably lived only as long as I had, that sounded like a lot of time, but for the majority of them it was like a small price if it meant we could bring back their fallen comrades and live without having to worry about the Lunarians. They keep asking Caster about what kinds of things she could do once she recovered her magic, and she proceeded to amaze them with extraordinary tales and descriptions. Euclase had to steer the conversation back to what mattered, and Caster continued to her discourse, until she told them everything she had told us before.

However, I noticed that she avoided mentioning anything about humans and the connection between the three races this time. This seemed suspicious as she had talked about them without any worry before, but not after she was left alone with Adamant, after Phos broke Ghost. She also mentioned that Rider will probably try to "rescue" her, once she realized we weren't under the sea anymore. She warned us that while there were others who were stronger than her, Rider's noble phantasm was extremely dangerous. She had then to explain to them that a noble phantasm was the special weapon or technique of each servant, in more eloquent words.

—But don't worry about it, for you now have the goddess of victory and wisdom at your side! —Caster haughtily said.

Dia raised her hand.

—Excuse me, wasn't Rider your friend? Isn't there any way to convince him and the rest to join us too?

—Hmmm, I'm afraid that would be impossible —Caster answered after thinking about it for a moment—, I can't speak for those who I didn't get to know, but Lancer and Rider seemed to have been designed to care about the Holy Grail War before even their own interest or self preservation. That was probably because Shirou and I showed some independent thoughts. It is safe to assume the rest was made the same way. Trying to get them to stop and join our side will be near impossible.