"Here I was, prepared to storm a castle full of mechanical dolls. The last thing I was prepared for was a blood-soaked princess surrounded by beasts out in the open." Cold and distant was the tone, but she could sense a hint of anger within. "And what might your name be, little one?"
"W-what?" Illyasviel blinked as she looked at the strange figure now kneeling next to her. The black cloak offered some protection from the cold winds. However, it would do little to protect her from the wolf—Wait, the wolves!
The animals had remained patient, only growling threats whilst they moved to surround her and the unknown guest both. It was likely they were instructed to only do the bare minimum in terms of monitoring her. Apart from tearing into her, that is. That they moved now meant their puppeteer, Jubstacheit, was watching from afar and had just recognized her predicament. Fangs bared, they all pounced.
"No—!" With the realization that their original task had suddenly been replaced with getting rid of the trespasser, Illya could only scream out a warning. "You have to go—!"
"No." At her shock, he calmly uttered, "It is quite rude to be interrupted."
CRASH
Before she could say anything, do anything, the ground exploded behind the man. Then, above both hers and the masked man's heads, a sudden gale erupted. In that instant, all those that pounced on their position had exploded in a bath of blood and gore. As though something had swatted the wolves out of the sky.
A rumbling thud had the child looking up. Not just at the stranger, but at the metallic giant standing behind him. Four eye sockets glinted at its helm, a large protrusion jutted out of its upper torso, and what appeared to be a firearm hung from its waist. Though, no man would ever be able to wield it unless they were at least five meters tall and weighed several tons.
But what caught her eye the most was the weapon in its other hand, a giant spear—nay, a lance dripped with blood. The same blood that now soaked the top of her head.
"What… is—?"
Illya couldn't finish. Not when, like a big, armoured knight, the titan lumbered forward, swatting away the others of the wolf pack from earlier before taking a stand between her and the survivors that retreated.
She was speechless. So much so that the man took notice.
"Rest assured, little one. Despite its shoddy appearance, Gloucesters can withstand attacks of this degree a thousandfold. Though not my favourite for personal reasons, this Knightmare model still does its job."
"Gloucester…? Knight-mares?!" These words were foreign to Illyasviel. Was this some kind of magecraft? Did this person create this knight? Was it a golem? A familiar? Whatever questions she had, Illyasviel was unable to voice them because of the wolves still alive.
The few battered and bruised, they didn't survive because of any sort of instinct, it was merely due to magecraft. Had they been alive in any sense of the word, they would've retreated by now. Yet, the only thing that mattered to them was fulfilling the commands given by her grandfather. And it was then that they barked and growled far more ferociously.
"Still quite rude, I see. That said, maybe I do not have the right to speak about propriety." A slight chuckle of amusement followed the man's words. "Knowing I've interfered in something quite important for you and your clan, perhaps I'm the villain in your eyes, is that not true, homunculus Einzbern head?"
He addressed not the child but the animals that continued to bark and growl. A moment passed. Then, as one, the remaining wolves howled madly into the air. It was as if they were signalling something. For what, the answer was swift as more beasts appeared from the edge of the tree line.
To Illya, it was as though her grandfather's rage had been provoked as all the animal marionettes he'd set up as their defences seemed to collapse on their heads. Wolves and falcons, bears, and even huge vipers that would've been protecting the various underground tunnels surfaced through the thick snow. All of them shared the same blank, feelingless look in their 'living eyes'. All the results of the Einzbern magecraft of creating synthetic life forms as closely as they could to natural living beings and being appropriated as defensive measures for any invaders. Right now, with their numbers, they were a large mass, a horde of man-eating beasts ready to rend and tear the only trespasser within miles.
He wouldn't survive this, the girl was quick to assume. Fear gripped her heart for her saviour.
"Hm… If that's how you plan on stopping me, I'd say I'm being severely underestimated." The man crossed his arms, but not before comforting the girl with a pat on the top of her head. "Apologies, my lady, but it seems we have to postpone answering any and all questions you have for later. For now, however, I ask you to stay put."
The masked man stepped forward, and with a snap of his fingers, Illya suddenly felt the air shift around him. To anyone watching, it must've been as though a conductor was posing to lead an orchestra. But the homunculus child saw with her own eyes the magic coalesced as if being willed.
"P-1, you are to serve as the front line. Do not let any of them pass! P-2, artillery battery fire. Take out as many of the larger pockets as possible!"
Orders were given but no sound was acknowledged receiving. That is until the large knight, lance in hand, stood before her, suddenly unholstering its gun with the other. Then, with speeds impossible for its size unless it was made from the lightweight material, the hulking giant dashed madly at the oncoming attackers. What came next almost sent Illya reeling backwards from the sheer ludicrousness of it all.
Gunshots were loud. She understood the concept of firearms from watching Kiritsugu when he took her out to hunt small animals in the forest. Pull the trigger, a large bang follows, and then the target either fall back or drops to the earth upon taking the hit.
These gunshots… they weren't just loud. They were both deafening and blinding.
Explosions rocked the field as well as her eardrums. Within seconds of exiting the barrel, about five or six of the beasts, if not an entire baker's dozen, were obliterated and mowed down by the shell before scattering shrapnel to those around. And that was just the one. The charging knight golem continued to relent a volley spray akin to that of an automatic machine gun, strafing and thinning the horde before coming into reach of the first bear. Said ursine was skewered and thrown aside just as easily when the giant thrust its lance with reckless abandon.
But the titan was soon surrounded. Many a beast quickly swarmed it, attempting to take it down as they would a normal human. The larger snakes lunged for its heels. A couple of bears tried to slam against its lower torso. The fliers darted and clawed at its eye sockets. Even the swift wolves that managed to evade the lance by hopping over their fallen brethren tried to rip out its neck.
"P-1, contact artillery shell! Commence evasive manoeuvres… Now!"
All of it was a futile effort when the metal monster suddenly dove into a roll and dislodged most of its foes from its back. In the confusion, the mindless puppet animals failed to notice the inbound artillery shell that imploded on P-1's former location.
More explosions ensued. Looking up, Illya's jaw dropped as streaks of smoke trailed after shells before they rained down on the battlefield. It was like a meteor shower. Dirt, dust, and snow were thrown up into the air. Alongside them, bodies upon gore upon blood. It was a literal warzone. It was hell. And in that hell, a single survivor continued to fluidly duck, dive, dart and dance as it continued to one-sidedly slaughter those that survived the artillery assault.
The battle lasted for barely three minutes. After which, only smoke and craters and a single hulking giant remained in the midst of the desolate fields she'd been running through earlier. Covered in brown, white and red, having bathed in the dirt, snow, and blood of its foes, it stood tall. Like a single knight who'd claimed victory against all odds.
As she admired its stalwart and undamaged visage, it was the slow yet approaching thudding of footsteps that once more snapped the girl out of her daze. Another giant approached them. This one, however, looked far different to the purple knight. Less of a humanoid, it appeared more as a bunker on legs. Bulky, towering, it lumbered over slowly. Twin cannons in place of actual arms this time, the barrels of which were smoking and red. On its back, sat next to the protrusions from its upper torso, there were a pair of empty crates that resembled a honey comb made out of metal. What made it look odder was the pair of bucket-like stubs that sat dead centre on either shoulder as well as the absence of an actual humanoid head.
"Hmm… perhaps emptying the two entire missile pods was a bit much." The masked man finally spoke up. He sounded more bored than anything despite the mayhem he'd just witnessed. Or perhaps ordered. "Then again, it's not like we're running on a deficit."
"Missiles… this golem… did… all of that?" Illya gawked, now certain which of the two giants had been the cause of the majority of the destruction in that fight.
"A golem, you say? Hm, perhaps you can call it that. However, I've simply designated this particular Knightmare model as a Panzer Hummel." The masked man commented when he noticed her confusion. "Developed by your countrymen, hence the name." The man suddenly let out a light chuckle. "Or, well. Maybe not really your countrymen as your kin don't really affiliate themselves with non-magi folk, no?"
Before Illyasviel could reply, the Hummel raised its cannon arms before firing into the air. It was deafening from up close. So much so that she squinted while covering her ears. Yet, she wasn't so blind as to not see the trajectory of the shot.
Now free from the fear of being torn apart, she could see in the distance, towards her castle. There, she noticed pillars of smoke and fire. And the recently fired shot merely toppled yet another spire of her home.
'This man and his giants saved me… but he's attacking Einzbern castle?!' The child froze, unsure of what to think.
All common sense screamed inside Illyasviel's head, ordering her to run away or put up a fight against the attacker of her household. But said common sense became silent when she could barely move her body. She groaned, the pain from before had returned as the adrenaline rush died out. In her stupor, her mind raced.
'What… what should I do? No… What… can I do…? If grandfather's puppet were so easily… what about me? What do I do? Where do I run to…? Where can I go…? Where can I even go if those things are… Mother… Mother—?!'
"I see that you're in great distress, young lady of Einzberns." The man spoke calmly, making Illyasviel flinch as she slowly looked up at the mask. "I do not know your name, but the colour of your eyes and hair remind me of another of your kin I met three years back. In Japan, Tell me, does the name Irisviel von Einzbern sound familiar to you?"
"How… do you know your mother's name?"
The girl's confusion was apparent to her on the mask's reflection. But so was the man's as he paused and titled his head. "Mother…? Ah… I see. So you're their child… Hm. To think I'd meet that man's progeny after all these years… What fate has bound me to Kiritsugu that I'd actually rescue his child?"
''Their'… 'His'?' Implication after implication, the child's words couldn't help but stutter as she forced herself to ask. "Y-you know K-Kiritsugu… My… my m-mother? Y-you met them in J-Japan?!"
That was Kiritsugu's home country, or so he'd once mentioned. It was also the same place the Holy Grail War took place every few decades, as her grandfather kept repeating her lessons. If this person knew them, then he'd been there. He'd met them there! He should know all the answers she'd sought since that time and more! But…
"I did more than meet them." The man confirmed it, unaware of her doubts. "Sadly, that is a long story in itself. One I have no time to waste in telling you—"
"Then take me with you!"
That had an instant effect.
"What?" The man froze for the longest time, quiet yet calculating the situation. Though a mere child, Illya could tell this wasn't what he expected. For one, she was the child of his apparent enemy. If he'd met Kiritsugu and her mother… if he was attacking her home right here and now, then he could be anyone except an ally to the Einzbern family. But…
"If you know something about my mother, please… please… tell me…" Tears fell on either side of her face. Disregarding the pain her body was in, she forced herself to cling to his sleeves, not wanting to let him leave.
Illyasviel didn't care what was going on. She cared not for the plight of her clan nor the reasons why this man was attacking them, to begin with. She didn't care. She never had.
No one dared to speak with a girl about her parents, beyond reminding her how her father betrayed their house. Illyasviel couldn't remember the last time someone spoke of her mother as anything besides being another of the great Einzbern family's many defective creations for her loss during the war. To Jubstacheit, her only actual guardian, Irisviel and Kiritsugu were but broken tools and traitorous failures.
She wanted to learn more about her mother, to have more memories about the woman whose presence she craved so dearly whenever she slept. She wanted the whole truth, that which her grandfather—nay, her captor refused to tell her.
And besides, what else could she do? Run? To where? Hide? From two giants that could tear a forest and castle asunder? Attack her saviour? She'd sooner be crushed underfoot.
"Why do you bow to what should be your foe? For what reason do you prostrate yourself, child?"
"Please… I—I just want to know…" Tired and exhausted, the child collapsed into the man's arms. Even as the Panzer Hummel relented another volley that destroyed her home, she merely wept into her enemy's chest. "I… just want… to know… why she never came home… Why… why…"
"Hm… … You put me in a delicate position." The man shrugged before he leaned in to whisper into her ear, hesitant but consoling. "I too know what it's like to lose a mother. I would not wish for any child to experience that pain. Yet, I have come here today seeking to serve justice. That is all. I'd sought to punish the family that dared use that ritual to hurt me and mine. Considering your identity and relation to her family, then we're—"
"I don't care…" she hissed back, throat aching in the wind as her tears froze into the wind. "Just… tell me. Then… kill me… If that's what you want… because… I'm an Einzbern, after all…"
"… Hmph. I see no reason to make a child pay for the sins of her ancestors." An explosion rocked the ground as the last volley took out what had once been her tower in the distance. Her castle, her home, burned as she waited for his answer. "Very well, I shall take you with me. For now. And, once I've given to you the truth as I know it, I will leave you be. Your life is yours to lead after…"
Those very words were all that she needed to hear before suddenly losing all strength. Her grip on his sleeves slackened as her legs wobbled. She very nearly fell flat to the ground had he not supported her to sit on his knee. But before she could lose consciousness, she forced out what gratitude she could give. "T-thank you… I… don't know who you are… but… thank you…"