Negotiating Fate

Irisviel von Einzbern looked through her crystal in utter shock at seeing Artoria lose against the proclaimed Master of Caster. Maiya notified Kiritsugu about Saber's defeat, and the Magus Killer grits his teeth in frustration as his hope for a miracle to save the world goes down the drain. He then ordered his subordinate after calming himself.

" Maiya, get Iri out of there and meet at the rendezvous point B."

" Yes, sir. Madam, we need to leave."

" Right!"

As the two women prepared to leave the castle, a black portal appeared in front of them, and Kiritsugu's assistant placed herself in front of the homunculus woman to protect her. They both felt a sense of dread as a familiar figure came out of the dark doorway; the Master of Caster, Silva Branwen. Maiya then told Irisviel as she aimed her submachine gun at the Master.

" Madam, leave while I distract him."

" Maiya, I-."

" That won't be necessary, Irisviel von Einzbern, and Maiya Hisau, as I am here to talk."

Kiritsugu's assistant did not bother entertaining any thoughts of hearing the Master of Caster out as she opened fire on him. The bullets stopped mid-air, and the submachine gun was crushed in Maiya's hand through Silva's Magic. The Magus Killer's assistant drew out her handgun after tossing away her former submachine gun, but it was immediately met with the same fate. She drew out her combat knife and tried to stab the intruder, but Silva grabbed her arm and forced her to drop the knife by applying pressure with his grip.

Maiya switched to a cruder tactic of kicking Silva in the nuts, only to find it was ineffective. Kiritsugu's assistant cried out as she tried everything she could to stop the Master.

" Madam, leave while you can!"

Irisviel was under no illusion of what would be the end result if she confronted Silva and was about to turn and run. The Master of Caster sighed as he told the two women once more.

" I am here to talk to you, idiotic women, and I mean no harm!"

The homunculus woman asked back with a wary expression.

" What is there to talk about?"

Silva, let's go of the Magus Killer's assistant and answered.

" More than you realize, especially concerning the Grail and your husband's foolish wish for humanity's salvation from tragedy and conflict."

Irisviel looked at Silva in shock as she demanded.

" How do you know Kiritsugu's wish?!"

" I will answer your questions and not harm you or your husband or his pet here if you sit down and hear me out."

" Why should I trust you?"

The homunculus woman asked while on guard, and the Master of Caster sighed as he asked back.

" Would a Geas Contract suffice?"

***

After a long talk about the terms of the Geas Contract with Irisviel, we came to a reasonable agreement. One, I, Silva Branwen, will not harm Irisviel von Einzbern, Kiritsugu Emiya, and Maiya Hisau for the next 3 hours unless given reason to defend myself and vice-versa. Two, I will provide them with the information I have that I wish to give them truthfully without lies or intended deceptions. After signing the contract with the homunculus woman, I started to give my case to her as the Magus Killer stayed out of sight, and his assistant stood by her side.

Irisviel looked over the contract and then signed it as well, and I felt something trying to brand my Soul and ejected it immediately with my Magic, and no one seemed to notice anything off. It looks like I can bypass Geas Contracts; this is an immense trump card I will need to use wisely. I stopped myself from grinning like a cat that ate the canary, as it would be suspicious. The homunculus woman looked at me with her husband's assistant by her side as she demanded in an even tone.

" What is it you wish to talk about, Silva Branwen?"

" For starters, how much do you know about the previous Holy Grail War?"

Irisviel narrowed her eyes and asked with suspicion.

" What does that have to with current events?"

" More than you can imagine."

She took in my answer and then said, after a few moments.

" I honestly don't know a lot about the third Holy Grail War."

" Do you at least know what your family tried to summon for their Servant in that War?"

Irisviel shook her head in denial, and I sighed as I told her.

" Zoroastrianism's Angra Mainyu, a Divine Spirit that represents All The World's Evils. They summoned him in an Extra Class, Avenger, in the place of Berserker in that Holy Grail War. Thankfully, your family did not succeed in summoning the actual Divine Spirit, as that would be a disaster of unprecedented levels that I do not wish to imagine, and they only got a weak representation of him that was very much human. Now the headache of the issue is that once that Servant was instantly and the first to die off in the third Holy Grail War, and the evocation of the Grail failed due to circumstances of the time, which led to our current problem, the Grail got corrupted."

"The Holy Grail is corrupted!?"

The homunculus exclaimed in shock, and I nodded as I continued.

" The Grail right now is no different than a womb waiting to give birth to Angra Mainyu, All The World's Evil, and create hell on earth. Despite my desire for the Grail, I will not take a chance of it twisting my wish in some way to benefit itself and cause unimaginable harm to the world. The other issue is your and your husband's misconceptions about the Grail."

" Our misconceptions?"

Irisviel looked at me in confusion, and I explained.

" Do you truly believe an item created by two Magicians of the Second and Third Sorceries, along with two Mages, could make an omnipotent wish-granting device in the Age of Man? Its original purpose was, as always for Mages, to reach the Root above all else."

I let her digest that information while I spread out my Magic to see if Kiritsugu was nearby, and I found him where I expected him to be, in a position to snipe me. I wonder if the Geas is still in effect for them while it isn't for me? Well, if the Magus Killer tries anything within the three-hour ceasefire, it's his wife that pays the price. Irisviel then asked me.

" How do you know all this?"

" I can peek into the past a bit and run the most likely probability of the future with enough information."

Not the whole truth but enough of an explanation to hopefully satisfy them and not ask any further questions. Oh, I am going to get a lot of use out of Geas Contracts not being able to bind me as this little deception of mine is not triggering it, which further confirms my resistance to Geas Contracts. Irisviel then asked me with a concerned look.

" What do you suggest we do?

" My proposal is this, help me with the purification ritual I am having Caster set up, so the Grail does not cause any harm to anyone in the future."

" I need to speak to Kiritsugu about this."

I nodded in understanding, and the homunculus woman contacted her husband through the old fashion mobile cell phone Maiya had on her person. After they talked for several minutes, Irisviel came back and said to me.

" We are willing to help you with the purification ritual under one condition."

" And that would be?"

I asked, as I could probably guess what they wanted.

" We want your help in saving our daughter Illya from my family, the Einzberns, after the ritual."

I grinned as I took out some pictures of Illyasveil and myself together for proof in case I needed to resort to threats and blackmail to deal with the homunculus woman, as her husband can kill his emotions to achieve his goals no matter what.

" Already done."

Irisviel looked at the pictures in shock and asked me with a fearful look.

" How?"

" From the moment you entered Fuyuki, I made a trip to the Einzberns to get a bargaining chip in case you decide not to give me even a chance to prove my words true or if you expire prematurely, I would have a backup to evoke the Grail and do whatever it takes to get the Grail in the future. Would you like to see her one last time?"

The homunculus woman looked at me in horror at knowing I had her daughter from the beginning, and I assured her.

" I have not harmed a hair on her head, nor do I want to unless pressed. In fact, I have been showing her a good time by treating her to some local cuisine and showing her other parts of Japan outside of Fuyuki. I also made a promise to her to bring you to her."

" I... Thank you..."

Irisviel calmed down and gave me a slight bow in appreciation, and I think I got her on my side for now. I only have to worry about that hero-obsessed fool, Kiritsugu, as he will do anything to get what he wants.