Fate/Resistance: Alternative.

(Disclaimer: I don't own Type-Moon or any other content used in this book. This is a fanfiction written for fun.)

(A/N: Double Chapter because I wasn't satisfied with the length of the last one and also didn't want to mix them. For clarification, this chapter takes place in the future, about a week after Alaric left for another Grail War.)

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Marisbury Animusphere wore an amicable smile on his face, as he did most of the time, and idly sipped tea from a peach ceramic cup, "Not too bad..." A useless remark made to fit in, he had no real fondness or thoughts on such things.

The designated meeting spot his contracted magus had set up was abnormal but understandable.

An outdoor cafe, with the normal folk of London going about their days. Either idling, out with their families or busy commuting, frustrated or happy or entirely numb. A public place, where magecraft couldn't be used openly, nor could a situation devolve into a physical one. It was smart even.

Although Marisbury would have preferred the cold metal chairs weren't so harsh on his bottom, and people of the fairer sex didn't stare at him so brazenly, the table was metal too. The sort where there were openings in between so he couldn't even rest his arms on it.

The cold, humid wind brushing past his face was welcome though.

One could argue he had better ways to utilise his time than go about hiring a magus to act as a private investigator and he would agree most of the time but not when it came to Alaric. Something didn't quite click. Manoeuvring the political landscape since he was young had taught him a few things.

Alaric von Dietrich had something to hide, and Marisbury deemed it necessary that he knew so that he could accurately ascertain how useful the man could be.

He sighed and took a glance at his pocket watch, wondering how long he would have to wait.

"This seat taken?"

He found his gaze drawn to a young woman looking to be in her late twenties. She had sharp features, calm reddish eyes behind a pair of thin glasses Marisbury noted to be Mystic Eye Killers, and a head full of bright red hair tied up into a single ponytail. She wore a marigold-tinted overcoat with a white dress shirt lacking a tie underneath it and dark brown pants, accompanied by black high heels.

She was using a simple spell to make people look away and not gawk at her figure.

"No, go ahead." He gestured with his free hand. Once she sat down, Marisbury put down the cup in his hand and regarded her seriously, "So, what've you found?" Just when the Grail War had ended, he'd hired her to investigate his new partner and she'd notified him of her findings moments ago.

The woman in question, deliberated for a moment and reached into her coat to pull out a box of cigarettes with a Taoist symbol on it and empty differently coloured circles around it with a lighter. She pulled out a cigarette, lit it up and placed it into her mouth, taking a single puff and slightly tilted her head, regarding Marisubry with a strange coldness in her demeanour.

Marisbury pursed his lips and held back a smile, finding her little power play to be amusing.

"I'll get straight to the point, you wanted to know what he's capable of..."

Marisbury gave a small nod.

"There's no higher connections, aside from a fondness from the Lords Trambelio and Edelfelt regarding his, frankly, astounding capabilities." She put her cigarette to her mouth, relaying the information with not a single fluctuation in her tone, "His teacher, Sancraid Phahn, possessed the ability to deploy a multi-layered, mobile, defensive Bounded Field. Alaric von Dietrich parsed this in his training under him, atop harsh combat training and very possibly can augment it."

Marisbury narrowed his eyes at that. Bounded Fields were fundamentally, separated or bound regions of space that then had properties imposed upon them via sigils and other similar methods. It was simply impossible to move them once set. This spoke volumes regarding his skill with them.

"You seem surprised..." The woman paused and smiled gently, "He applied to be granted access to the Emiya family magic crest. If you're unaware of what it held, I'll do you a service considering the amount you're paying me." She paused for dramatic effect, "The Emiya developed Magecraft that influenced time via Bounded Fields."

The idea behind the request was plain with context, Alaric wanted to apply time-bending properties to his mobile Bounded Field.

"Three months it took him to soak up everything the Department of General Fundamentals had, six months for Jewel Magecraft under both the Edelfelt and Tohsaka families, one after the other, and again three months for the Department of Curses."

"That is... monstrous talent indeed." Marisbury maintained an unperturbed expression, "We believed that he'd studied for the duration of his stay at the Clock Tower." It would be prodigious in itself to master three schools within a decade, but a year? It was simply absurd.

But then again, sitting in front of him was a woman who attained the highest rank within the Clock Tower, Grand, at the young age of twenty. She then had a falling out and now runs a private company that takes all sorts of odd requests, like his own.

"Your belief was wrong then. I even like him for all he's accomplished. To go for one department after the other speaks much of his ambition at the age of 12, Lord Animusphere. Do you think..." She left the rest unsaid.

"'He couldn't possibly have remained idle for almost an entire decade.' Is that what you want to say?"

The woman nodded, taking another puff from her cigarette, "The latest of his studies were regarding Gradation Air before the trail went cold." Gradation Air, a spell that materialised the caster's imagination at the expense of magical energy, is largely considered useless because what was created would fade away, erased by the world, "With an affinity for the five great elements, and massive reserves, it almost seems a waste...But," An immensely amused smile crossed her face, "It would make no sense for a prodigy to pursue it. Add to that a penchant for freely augmenting pre-established spells and magecraft and..."

That meant there was something more to it, something they couldn't see.

"On top of the five great elements, he might possess an affinity for the Imaginary Elements Hollow and Nothingness. Lord Trambelio might know the truth to that."

"That would be abnormal." The irony of his own words wasn't lost on Marisbury, everything he'd heard up until now was abnormal. With the five great ones, Alaric possessed the ability to masterfully influence the Fifth Imaginary Factor, Void, that attached itself with the other four elements to actualize spells and mysteries, forming the basis of modern magecraft, allowing him to interfere with the cornerstone of all magecraft.

If he possessed Nothingness and Hollow as affinities, the elements theorised to materialise that which was not meant to exist and that which exists but doesn't materialise respectively, Alaric was a monstrous magus, of an unknown level of power made only more terrifying by how what he'd researched for an entire decade was effectively blank. It wouldn't be strange to think Gemcraft and Curses were mere covers for a weapon only Alaric himself knew.

He didn't need to patent it if no one other than him knew it.

"It's almost annoying to think about how the natural geniuses in our world work and are useless too. There are any number of possibilities, many of them unfathomable. I don't recall any magus with these affinities." The woman held back a sigh and sank into her chair, momentarily forgetting her calm demeanour.

Marisbury almost nodded involuntarily but caught himself and cleared his throat to draw the woman's attention, "Anything else?"

Touko remained silent, taking a slow, deliberate puff of her cigarette. Her expression betrayed a flicker of indecision—there was something on her mind, but she seemed to debate whether to voice it.

Finally, she exhaled and spoke. "I have a theory. A hypothesis, to be precise."

Marisbury raised an eyebrow. "And that is…?"

"Alaric von Dietrich obtained his Command Seals from the Tohsaka to participate in the Holy Grail War. If his relationship with the Tohsaka was strong enough to secure something like a command seal, it begs the question—what else might he have acquired from them?" Touko paused, her gaze narrowing slightly. "This thought lingered with me for some time until I stumbled upon a subtle detail. The Tohsaka family possesses a blueprint of the Jeweled Sword."

Marisbury stiffened, his breath caught. "!?" Surely she couldn't mean—

"It's just a personal opinion, so take it with a grain of salt," Touko continued, her tone measured. "But I believe Alaric von Dietrich has managed to recreate it. It would explain his studies in Gradation Air. If he could decipher the sword's structure, it's plausible he could materialize it."

Marisbury's expression strained despite his best efforts to remain stoic. A bead of cold sweat threatened to form as he processed the implications.

If Touko's hypothesis held any weight, Alaric von Dietrich wasn't merely a magus of exceptional talent—he could very well be a genuine practitioner of the Second True Magic. A Sorcerer.

The thought unsettled Marisbury deeply. If Alaric truly possessed such a capability, why hadn't he utilized it in the Fuyuki Holy Grail War? Was the Grail and its wish of no importance to him? The questions buzzed relentlessly in his mind, but answers were maddeningly elusive.

Of course, there was always the chance that Touko's theory was nothing more than conjecture—a string of circumstantial observations. Yet the idea of Alaric achieving what countless magi across millennia had failed to accomplish in a mere decade was becoming harder for Marisbury to dismiss.

Marisbury pursed his lips and stroked his chin in thought. He almost regretted doing that but now, "A few unfortunate accidents are in order I suppose..." A thin smile tugged at his lips, "I thank you for your work, Miss Touko."

Touko only nodded and stood up, "No one has any idea what he wants. It's like there's no ambition in there... I know more than a few people who would be flaunting their achievements were they in the same position. I won't say anything as cheesy as a higher purpose, but he probably means no harm... I think." She walked off, one hand in her coat pocket, the other holding the cigarette to her mouth, "I expect my payment soon."

Marisbury nodded in response and stood up to take his leave too, there was much to consider, much to do. He walked off with his hands in his pockets, "What do you want, Alaric?"

Could he just truthfully want humanity's preservation?

Even Marisbury himself didn't.

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(A/N: Special Thanks to @Uami for reading this beforehand and giving his input. This is my first novel so I would appreciate some much-needed support and criticism in the form of Reviews, Comments and Power Stones.)