Caster - Noble Phantasm

Men and women stood there in no particular order. All in all, there were perhaps 30 people in that lineup of police officers. Each of them stood at attention, their black uniforms exuding an impressive aura. Each one held in their hands a weapon, each of a different type. What a bizarre sight. Those utterly stony-faced uniformed police officers held swords, bows, shields, spears, chains, scythes, and bludgeons, among other things. What’s more, they all had a pair of handcuffs and a pistol holstered at their belts. They had long since passed “unfitting” and were well into the realm of “absurd”. One of them even had a golden arquebus over his shoulder. It was like they were entertainers in police garb, on their way to a performance to promote tourism in the Snowfield area.

Odds are, however, that any half-decent mage that saw them would not laugh, but rather, would faint.

A power that had been tempered with magical energy and vitality seeped out of the weapons they were carrying, as if to erode the very air within the room. Those Noble Phantasms were all counterfeits. Even so, they were mightier than their originating legends.

“Clan Calatin: the Twenty-Eight Monstrosities”

“Those were the warriors of Celtic myth who crossed swords with Cú Chulainn. Effective immediately, that will be your codename.”

As he gazed upon that overwhelming yet out-of-place power with satisfaction—

He—the police chief of Snowfield—spread his arms wide and issued a booming declaration.

“Though my words may mean little, as police chief, I shall guarantee this. As a mage, I swear this.”

“You are justice incarnate.”

Upon hearing that, the entire line of police officers stamped their feet in perfect unison. As one, they saluted the police chief, who was their Master, and at the same time, their master. And upon witnessing that action, any discerning person would have come to understand. They were not mere police officers; rather, they had undergone some sort of special training beyond what was typical in their profession. Their organization had established a “net” that ensconced the entire city. All they required of the Servant was his talent of Noble Phantasm creation, a task with which the magi under their control had assisted. In other words—

Mere humans though they were, they would defeat Heroic Spirits, thus shaking the very foundations of the Holy Grail War.

***

Fate/Strange Fake, Volume 1, Prologue 4: Caster