47 [47] Fate/Zero
First of all, this manga isn't particularly long.
Iwamoto Yu estimated this based on its thickness when he received it, and after asking, Kazuya confirmed that this was the entire story after it had concluded...
Regardless, what was in front of him gave him the same feeling as the previous "Battle Royale" manga...
He felt that one such manga was enough.
If there was another one... readers might not stop at sending razor blades; they might come knocking on the door...
"Ah... this time, I won't say this manga is suitable for any magazine. As long as it's not suitable for JUMP, I'll reject it outright. I need to teach Kurokawa-sensei a lesson..."
Then—
He opened the manga.
The first page was pure black, with two lines of text at the top.
"Eight years ago."
"Let's tell a man's story, a story of a man with more ideals and more despair than anyone else—"
Then, on the next page, the scene changed.
It was an ancient hall.
A man was sitting there.
Beside him, implied by onomatopoeia, it seemed like a door was being pushed open. From the panel below, a person who looked like a maid opened the door and said, "Kiritsugu-sama, the child has been born."
This man named "Kiritsugu" didn't show any joy but rather... clenched his fists.
The story began here.
At the beginning, Iwamoto Yu admitted... he didn't understand. Besides the artwork being good, he couldn't grasp what it was trying to convey...
He was puzzled, didn't get it...
Well, he just thought the woman in the panel, who seemed to have just given birth, looked beautiful. As for the color of her hair? Well, it wasn't colored in, but it was clear it wasn't black. As for what color it might be, he could use his imagination.
No...
He deliberately turned back to a large panel earlier, behind the golden chalice among the people.
Then he confirmed it, it was a person.
This woman had white hair.
As for why her hair was white, he didn't pay it much mind. After all these years as an editor, didn't he know? In manga, characters can have hair of any color!
Why fuss about this?
What was this story all about anyway?
Einzbern? Holy Grail? Wishes? Ideals? Creating a world where no one would cry... Middle-aged chuunibyou?
He had been ready to think deeply about it before turning the page, but then he thought, readers wouldn't do that. Most readers would just flip through to see what it was all about. Instead of bothering to think, it was better to keep reading.
He took another look at the completed manuscript in his hand.
Hmm... it was already complete.
Let's just read ahead.
If it gets too profound or something... if he didn't understand because he skimmed it, then most likely other readers wouldn't either. In that case, it wouldn't be a successful work.
So... he wouldn't think too much about it and just read ahead.
Sure enough, the next scene made him understand what this story was all about—
The Holy Grail War: A war triggered to obtain the all-powerful wish-granting machine.
Seven magus summon seven Servants and engage in battles after the summoning, with only one victor in the end—the one who can claim the Holy Grail and fulfill their wish.
As for why they were called magus and not magicians? He didn't know... he would find out later...
And the man in the red outfit named "Tohsaka Tokiomi," what was his wish... to reach The Root, something that seemed to be a lifelong aspiration for magus.
The so-called Servants were the forms taken after summoning heroic spirits.
Heroic spirits were heroes from various eras and countries. These entities would be summoned one by one and, in the modern era, awaken to fight for supremacy.
Seeing this—
Iwamoto Yu immediately had the desire to keep reading, wanting to see what happened next.
This was like a grand battle of heroes; how could one not look forward to it?
Who was the strongest among heroes from different eras had always been a topic of debate. In this manga, they would finally be compared! This beginning... was great!
Then came the next subplot...
The one named "Matou Kariya"... made his lips twitch involuntarily.
Ah... it seemed that if this were really serialized, razor blades wouldn't be in short supply.
Would that adorable little girl really be tormented by countless insects like that? Were he even human? How could he draw something like that! That old man named Matou Zouken was disgusting, right?
Just get rid of him!
"Stay calm, stay calm... I'm an editor, not an ordinary reader, I'm an editor..."
Iwamoto Yu repeatedly reminded himself to try to read this manga calmly.
Avoid jumping up and giving Kazuya a punch...
Although, looking at their respective sizes, he probably couldn't win.
"Three days ago, she cried so miserably, but on the fourth day, she couldn't even make a sound. Like today, we put her in the bug pit to see how long she could last, and the bugs played with her for half the day and she's still breathing. The Tohsaka family is such good material, it's really hard to let go of."
Then, on the next page, the words spoken by this disgusting old man made him explode.
"You bastard!" He couldn't help but curse out loud.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"Huh? No... it's nothing..." Kazuya's imposing presence immediately calmed him down, making him realize he wasn't just a reader; he was an editor!
But he was still quite angry!
So, with this anger in his heart, he continued reading.
Seeing what the old man said next, he genuinely hoped that this person named "Matou Kariya" could win the Holy Grail War and save that little girl...
But—
Emmmmmm...
Thinking about what the mangaka had done in his previous work, and how he had decisively dispatched the protagonist in JOJO... why did he feel so uneasy?
Then... he witnessed the manipulations and intrigues of these characters.
They began collecting information about their enemies in various ways before the war had even started, searching for weaknesses...
However, among them, it seemed there was a student-like character...
And through this student, the setting of the Holy Grail War was further fleshed out.
The Holy Grail War was initiated two hundred years ago when the three great magus, Einzbern, Makiri (Matou), and Tohsaka, successfully summoned the Holy Grail, a wish-granting device that could fulfill any desire. However, the Holy Grail could only grant one person's wish, turning their cooperative relationship into a bloody struggle. That was the origin of the Holy Grail War.
Afterward, the Holy Grail would descend to Fuyuki every sixty years, selecting seven magus eligible to obtain it. They could summon heroic spirits called Servants.
Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, Berserker.
Summoning a heroic spirit required a relic that served as a medium...
Through his words, the setting was further completed.
It made Iwamoto Yu even more interested.
This chapter was far from over—
It continued... time passed, and in the manga's timeline, it was now the start of the Holy Grail War. Each individual was preparing their spells and relics—
The summoning of the heroic spirits had begun!
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