Chapter 2
"Proclamation of War"
Continued from
here.
With the untimely murder of Robin Tact and Minato Arisato, the journey to the Church where Kirei Kotomine awaited was delayed temporarily so that the others could determine the culprit behind the incident. The cause of death was evidently immolation, and the one clue that aided their investigation was a gas lamp on the bridge that had been broken from the inside.
Initially, suspicion rested upon Deoxys, particularly after Erika Furudo and Batter Ushiromiya, but with some swaying from Mikoto Misaka, the public vote had moved over to Pyro by quite a large margin.
Meanwhile, Caren Hortensia still awaits to find her father, unaware that the man she would meet in the Church was precisely the one she was looking for.
And so the story continues here.
"Okay, then. That's your final choice?" Rin would ask to confirm after everyone would finish, before nodding,
"Alright. I'll use the magical scanning once we get to the Church and we can take a breather. Let's go," she spoke, beginning to walk again towards the Church.
The road wasn't too strenuous. Fuyuki City may be a decently big place, but anything could seem manageable when standing in the center of the place. On the other side of town where the Church was, all one needed to pass by was the familiar Station Front where Caren Hortensia had arrived from, and a strange, eerie Ghost House, where the more observant could indeed sense that it was not in fact, a ghost house.
...
But perhaps you could go back there later. That is, if you dared.
Besides the night and the deceivingly bright stars and moon out, perhaps what added to the possible sense of dread in the air was the cold, chilling Winter wind. Though one had to wonder how Rin was managing to stay comfortable in the cold despite what she was wearing.
Maybe her thighs really were warm and toasty all year round, as a certain Meira from the Coalition had once suggested and commented on.
The Church itself was a strange, paradoxical place. Normally, most churches were supposed to give many people, at least, many Christians anyway, a sense of relief and so on. A place other than their home to call home. After all, this was the house of God. This church, like so many others, could only be nothing more than blessed, holy, and sacred, right?
Well, not when it was headed by a man like
him. A man like Kirei Kotomine.
A man whose very existence oozed of dread and despair. But hey, he didn't mean any harm. Right? He was here to help like a good priest, right?
... Well, may as well go see and find out.
Upon opening the large doors and leading the large group inside, Rin would sigh, looking around. The room was pretty dark. Though the other rooms around probably had lights on inside, judging from the windows from inside, the main room seemed to be rather devoid of light, as if to symbolize that when such a man was present, there was only darkness, as that was his entire being.
"Ah. So you've all arrived. Much earlier than I expected, I must say."
Well, in any case, perhaps it was a good thing that he could easily be spotted at the altar in front of the room. Or a very bad thing.
"But perhaps that is one of the purposes of a Murder Game. To keep you on your toes and guessing. After all, a predictable game couldn't be anything more than boring, would it not?" The tall priest at the alter inquired, lighting some of the candles.
His voice was deep and heavy, like the atmosphere his mere presence gave off. Yet it was also calm, cool, and collected, almost betraying the sense of darkness, dread, and uncertainty that seemed to be around every corner in these early stages of the Murder Game.
"Still, it is quite a pity that I am not participating again. I would have liked to go on more valiant misadventures with you again, Mr. Castle and Ms. Furudo," he spoke, calling out Frank and Erika by name as he would turn around, smiling in an almost mockingly benign manner,
"A shame young Robin is not here at the moment to accompany us. We had so much to catch up on..."
"Welcome, everybody, to my humble abode. It may not be much compared to a luxurious castle or mansion like the Einzbern's or Rin's, but it is enough, I assure you," he spoke, keeping his arms behind his back as he spoke,
"If it hasn't all been explained officially to you before, allow me to put it in layman's terms for you to the best of my ability. After all, this sort is phenomena... is not such a layman's one."
And so he took a breath.
"Ever heard of the multiverse theory? It is the scientific theory that out there, there are trillions upon trillions of different worlds that are different than the ones you are familiar with. Some changes are minor, most changes are... quite drastic."
Maybe it was a little weird that a priest who was fluent in magecraft was talking about science, but whatever. Anything goes in the Murder Games.
"This sort of phenomena involves quite a lot of you people, who have originated from different worlds, coming together whether you like it or not, to participate in this Murder Game, as orchestrated by a sinister mastermind for his own devious purposes. One might say it is like a grander version of the ability President Funny Valentine had from the Monokuma Incident, if you recall him, Mr. Castle, Ms. Furudo. He was quite an interesting man, you know. Shame I couldn't keep in touch with him, but at least you two are here in any case."
Still with that weird smile...
"However... for all intents and purposes, the Murder Games should be over by now. With the recent, untimely death of the ultimate mastermind, the Arch Demon, no one else should be able to have the power to create such a deadly, sadistic game, no?" He inquired,
"Like somebody had usurped that power by some mysterious means. That mastermind, as far as I know, must be one Fiamma of the Right. A powerful magician from a different world than I who has found that power and stolen it by force from my understanding."
Another breath.
Exposition was more tiring to say aloud than one might think. Possibly moreso than having to listen to all of it in one sitting.
"His world and this world have begun merging on a metaphysical plane because of his abuse of his new ability to travel through different worlds. Effectively, he is the villain that you heroes must defeat, as he has put this Holy Grail War on hold in favor to create his own war. World War III. Simple enough, I would hope so," he spoke, his expression never changing, his tone remaining constant.
"In any case, for now, this place will be your new Sanctuary. Go ahead and explore if you would rather do so than rest. You are welcome to my study and the courtyard, but I would advise against... traversing into the courtyard basement if you know what's good for you," Kotomine continued to say, this time in a slightly more grave manner, though he would quickly return to his more calm one,
"You may also traverse through the city if you saw something that caught your eye, though I would also advise against going too far."
...
"Especially if you know what is good for you. This city is dangerous at night, after all, even if it might seem like there is nothing at all."
With that, he would turn around, tending to his Altar in the meantime.
"And one last thing... I restocked all the wine in the study. Just for you, Gilgamesh."
What a lad.
There were a few more points of interest around. May as well check 'em out while you were waiting for something else to happen in the meantime.
Altar
Study Room
Courtyard
Ghost House from earlier
Once again, enjoy your stay.
Once again, please make sure to bold and underline your choices to make it easier for myself and the co-GMs to detect. Be sure to tag @TheSpringwoodSlasher for the Courtyard and @OrlandoBloomers for the Ghost House.
~CAST LIST~
@Bomb as
Ethel and
Karin (Fairy Fencer F)
@Gibbons as
Gunha Sogiita (Raildex)
@C.T. as
Ryuuko Matoi (Kill la Kill)
@The Silver Paladin as
Percy Jackson and
Annabeth Chase (Percy Jackson)
@Mighty Roman as
Hector Barbossa (Pirates of the Caribbean) and
Mister Negative (Marvel Comics)
@Hospes as
Reece "Annabel" Duchannes and
Ryan Duchannes (Caster Chronicles)
@TheSpringwoodSlasher as
Edward "Stubbs" Stubblefield (Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without A Pulse)
@DapperDogman as
Ryner Lute (Legend of the Legendary Heroes)
@Gummi Bunnies as
Erika Furudo and
Battler Ushiromiya (Umineko no Naku Kori Ni)
@CrunchyCHEEZIT as
Deoxys (Pokemon)
@BarrenThin as
Frank Castle (Marvel Comics)
@Crimson Spartan as
Lon'qu and
Donny (Fire Emblem)
@Krieg as
Maxine Caulfield (Life Is Strange)
@Schnee Corp Lawyer as
Cole (Dragon Age)
@Kaykay as
Saiai Kinuhata (Raildex)
@Gen. Gwazi Senpai as
Gilgamesh (Type-Moon)
@Jeremi as
Borsalino "Kizaru" (One Piece)
@Archwar as
Jason (OC)
@Wedge Antilles as
Pyro (Marvel Comics)
@The Man Without Fear as
Daredevil and
Elektra (Marvel Comics)
@Mari as
Mari Kurihara (Prison School)
@Nater Taters as
Kirby (Kirby)
@El Tigre! as
Satsuki Kiryuuin (Kill la Kill)
@Klutzy Ninja Kitty as
Eve (Black Cat) and
Ilona (OC)
@CCC Kouhai as
Bee (Bee and PuppyCat)
@ShiroKiyoshi as
Sean Grant and
Edispu (OC)
@york as
Cinder Fall (RWBY)
@Josh M as
Silk (Marvel Comics)
@Thuro The Assassin Potato as
Cameron Phillips (Terminator) and
Raiden (Metal Gear)
@Saint Guillotine as
Furiosa (Mad Max)
@Atomyk as
Mikoto Misaka (Raildex) and
Sans the Skeleton (Undertale)
@coralprime as
Papyrus the Skeleton (Undertale)
@OrlandoBloomers as
Celty Sturluson (Durarara!!)
The Dead
@Verite as
Illyasviel von Einzbern -
DIED! INNOCENT! DEFEATED!
@Shattered♦Secrets™ as
Ermac -
DIED! INNOCENT! GUNNED DOWN!
@The Tactician as
Robin Tact and
Minato Arisato -
MURDERED! INNOCENT! BURNED TO A CRISP!
