Fate/Lunasa Fomhar

Chapter 25: Silencing the Snake

FATE/LÚNASA FÓMHAR

"August Harvest"

Chapter 25: Silencing the Snake

Crom Cruach stared at Connla for a long while. He wasn't sure why she appeared so flabbergasted all of a sudden after presenting such a brilliant deduction. He then raised an eyebrow and wondered, "Ah. So you recognize my vessel."

She swallowed, then nodded.

He said, "Just like how Lugh is using you as his Pseudo-Servant, worship in me has waned so dramatically that I had to resort to finding a human possessing the same wavelength as me in order to materialize in this world."

"That's what I figured. I just never expected you to rely on him, of all people."

"This man was raised to be an assassin with no concept of emotions, isolated from all of society and treated as a tool of murder. I too am a tool of murder that humans use to make their wishes come true – more precisely, a god of sacrifice. Yet when our uses are expended, we are then treated as evil beings that should not exist in this world."

"..."

"But I digress. As a result of me choosing this man, I have thus been bestowed the Servant class of Assassin. While it is not the ideal class for me, it is most suitable for me to adjust to this man's latent combat style."

Connla knew what Crom Cruach meant by this. If he wanted to maintain this sequestered society for as long as possible, then he would certainly want the ability to protect it himself should the need arise... and now, that need did arise once she showed up. Although his expression never changed, his murderous intent was far too evident for her to ignore. Even so, there was one question she couldn't resist asking him:

"About this whole faction-styled society, isolated from the rest of the world... What exactly is your purpose in establishing it?"

"My purpose?" Crom Cruach wondered, then narrowed his eyes. "Why is that important to you?"

"I want to know what you seek to gain from all of this. I know that gods sustain themselves through human worship, yet no one I met ever mentioned your name, nor was anyone actually praying to you. You act fundamentally different from other gods, being content to stay obscured and let things play out for themselves. The only telltale sign that something felt off was how Celtic and Christian Servants wielded more wealth and resources than anyone else. That was probably born out of your grudge against St. Patrick and the people of Ireland for abandoning you."

"Indeed. I would never allow either of those two types of Servants to flourish in my ideal civilization."

"Even so, you don't seem bothered by the lack of actual worship towards you. Were the sacrifices made to the Fomorian idols sufficient enough to sustain you, or is there something else going on?"

Crom Cruach closed his eyes and stood there, as still as one of his own stone statues.

"Sacrifices in the name of Crom Cruach... Perhaps the era of giving up one's loved ones and prized possessions to a pagan deity such as myself is over. The world can only handle so many incidents similar to King Tigernmas before mankind moves in to put a stop to such madness. However, isn't sacrifice itself prevalent in the modern age as a living, breathing concept?"

Connla widened her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Livestock bred solely to be processed into meat for human consumption. Fish suddenly pulled out of the ocean by eager anglers. Mages performing human experimentation to further their own lineages. Crooks embezzling money from others. Criminals murdering witnesses to ensure their silence. Servants given up to my Fomorian idols to maintain a civilization.