FragarachWP: Gouging Sword of the War God (斬り抉る戦神の剣, Kirieguru Senjin no Ken?), also called Freagarthach (フラガラッハ, Furagarahha?), The Answerer: That Which Comes Later Cuts First (後より出でて先に断つもの, Ato yori Idete Saki ni Tatsu mono?) and The Retaliator (逆光剣, Gyakkōken?), is a Noble Phantasm and Mystic Code with the ultimate form of counterattack. It is the "Sword of Retrograde" and an indefeasible weapon of the gods, divinely protected by some malicious will, that works by using a conceptual curse to warp destiny and a divine trick that uses time as its blade. It warps causality to always strike the opponent in the heart with a needle thin concentrated blast right before they unleash their ultimate attack. The condition for its use is that the opponent must use their strongest attack, and Fragarach must be used directly after the enemy's strike.[1] It would normally be that Fragarach would kill the enemy, and the opponent's attack would also simultaneously destroy Bazett.
Lead ball and carrying container
Bazett charging Fragarach.
Fragarach hitting Beatrice in the chest.
1/3
Despite being released afterwards and no matter how fast the opposing attack is cast, Fragarach always strikes first by changing the flow of time to rewrite events so that it makes its own strike against the enemy before the opposing move was ever made in the course of the world. Rather than just rewriting events to gouge out the heart of the enemy, it is severing the fate of the combatants, reversing and changing the flow of destiny of both the user and the enemy simultaneously killing each other with their attacks. The attack of the enemy, returned to a point where it "couldn't happen" due to the user being struck down by Fragarach, is wiped out by the laws of the world and the absolute system of time. No matter the power or speed of the ability, it is impossible to use if the enemy is defeated and has all of their later actions voided before they even have a chance to attack. It is an ability using one's life as bait to counter a one-turn-kill to win the battle that both kills the enemy and nullifies their attack, creating a perfect balance between offensive and defensive capabilities.
Fragarach is an "Ace-Killing Joker" and the "ultimate counter code" that responds to the "trump card" of the enemy, such as the Noble Phantasm of a Servant. Against Servants, Bazett, as a human, would be hard pressed to force them to use their full abilities against her, so she makes use of Avenger's Verg Avesta to allow the enemy to be weakened to the point where they feel pressed to use their strongest attack in order to quickly finish the fight. Against passive trump card abilities that are constantly activated, such as God Hand, it can be used against them at any time, and against an attack used by a mount, like Bellerophon, it kills the Pegasus rather than the rider.[2] If used in the proper conditions with the "Answerer effect", it activates as an A Rank attack after calling out both of its names. One major weakness is that it is useless against enemies without a special ability, such as an all-rounded magus like Caster.[3] It can be used as a normal attack with the "non-Answerer effect" called Fragarach: Gouging Dagger of the War God (斬り抉る戦神の小剣, Kiri Eguru Senjin no Shōken?) in Fate/unlimited codes, but its attack power is effectively halved and only has the power of a low ranked Noble Phantasm with a C or D ranked attack. It is essentially just the equivalent of a bolt of light in that state, and it would lack any real power against most enemies. It limits the use of Noble Phantasms for those who know of it, and Lancer states she would have to keep hitting him with the low level version a number of times before the "no Noble Phantasm policy" would start to annoy him. She also has the ability Toole Fragarach: Gouging Greatsword of the War God (斬り抉る戦神の大剣, Kirieguru Senjin no Daiken?) in Fate/unlimited codes that uses three successive strikes of Fragarach without its countering ability against the enemy.
After the attack is executed, the opponent's attack is dissipated as if it were being rewound, and the opponent is left in a state of mid-attack when they are killed, such as with the light from Excalibur being canceled out and Saber still being left in mid-swing for the attack. It is only guaranteed to gouge the heart, so it may not immediately kill the enemy if they are a Servant like Lancer with Battle Continuation. Its natural enemy is "something that remains alive after it has been killed", such as enemies with auto-resurrecting Noble Phantasms or those with more than one life. The damage done by the attack is normally a small, minimum-sized fatal wound the size of a pebble that pierces the heart due to the focused energy of the laser. Against Lancer, it takes out a large chunk of his body between his heart and his left shoulder because she swung wide with the laser after Gáe Bolg strikes her.[4] Against other abilities, it may often come down to a battle between two concepts. Fragarach, a curse that switches the order of attack, going against Gáe Bolg, a cursed spear that reverses causality, causes both Bazett and Lancer to be killed. While the event of Gáe Bolg being hurled first is rewritten, the curse of the spear just winds itself back. It had already pierced the heart the moment its name was chanted, so the user no longer needs to be alive for it to reach its target even if he is killed before he uses the attack. Against a curse where Bazett would die at the same time as the enemy, such as the "Death Agony Slavery" seal, it would render Fragarach useless. It would create a causality conflict to say "Bazett fires Fragarach after she is killed by Fragarach."[5]
Fragarach is a short sword in Celtic Mythology which originally belonged to Manannán, the God of the Sea and Otherworld, who gifted it to the Sun and War God Lugh.[6][1] It would launch from its sheath without its user having to touch it and cut down those who would oppose it before they could draw their swords. It is one of the few remaining Noble Phantasms left in the world, and it is one of the few remaining relics not yet attached to a Heroic Spirit. It is a unique case as it is wielded by a living human as a Mystic Code. Maintained by the Fraga bloodline, the ability to use it has been passed down to a single successor from generation to generation through a pathogen in their bloodline, a Sorcery Trait known as God's Holder. Due to their faithful servitude shown to ancient deities since the Age of Gods, they were rewarded with the knowledge of mystic runes and rights over the use of Fragarach.[7][1] It is created by pouring Bazett's blood on a ball of lead roughly the size of a track and field shot, conducting a ritual, and leaving it in the basement for one month. She can create around ten per year utilizing this method. She carries them around in a container that can hold up to five, and during Fate/hollow ataraxia, she only has three shots remaining.[8] Before using it, she lets a metal ball float in a diagonal rear movement a few meters behind her in anticipation of the enemy's trump card, and once the attack has begun, the ball glows and begins to be electrically charged. It generates a blade followed by Bazett punching it towards the enemy for the strike. After the attack, her glove and hand are burned as an aftereffect. The sphere, as a one-use weapon, loses its grey color as well. She has yet to completely master Fragarach, and once she does, she'd be able to have an even fight against a person of Ciel's level.[9]
Variations
Fragarach Aonbharr
Fragarach AonbharrWP: Rampaging Sword of the War God (奔り猛る戦神の剣, Hashiritakeru Senjin no Ken?, localized as "The God of War's Sword of Freedom") is the Noble Phantasm of Manannán mac Lir.
Whilst it took a month long ritual to produce a single Fragarach for Bazett, with Manannán himself present, he has vastly simplified this, allowing for the creation of multiple Fragarachs with ease.[1]
This Noble Phantasm is particularly special due to Manannán's Property of being the Sea God. As the original owner, it takes a form of Aonbharr, Magic White Steed that Gallops across Seas. Currently, Manannan has transformed the White Steed Aonbharr, said to be the incarnation of ocean waves and foam, instilling them into the form of the Retaliator. Or, in simpler terms, it is the Sea God-made bubble-formed Fragarach.[1]
Aonbharr is the legendary white horse owned by Manannán mac Lir, said to be able to run on both land and water. It is sometimes seen pulling a chariot too. As Manannán is the God of the Sea, this white horse is thought to represent the white foam created by the billowing waters.[10]
Manannán states that Fragarach is both a sword and a concept, so it lacks a definitive form. Bazett's Fragarach is the one handed down by the Fraga clan, whilst Manannán's is the White Foam Steed Aonbharr, merged and used with it, as all are Fragarach. Manannán also states there may even be other forms that he could change it at whim if he was his full self.[11]
She can turn the metallic sphere containers of Fragarach into various different forms: It can take on a much longer, more detailed version of the blade, the head of a metal warhammer that can be dropped or punched from above to crush enemies and crater the ground with its weight. It can project three short blades at different points of the ball at once so it can act as a spinning projectile, or act in parallel with multiple Fragarachs to act like a buzzsaw. It can project thick spikes across almost the entirety of its surface in order to crush and impale its target like a spiked-mace, especially when used with other Fragarachs at once to surround an opponent from all sides. It can morph into a sharp-edged small shield to protect against attacks defensively, and finally it can transform into a silvery javelin when a more powerful projectile than the sword form is needed, with the blade becoming the oversized-head and a thin shaft growing from the opposite end. The energy emitted by Fragarach can also be used directly to attack enemies with magical beams of blue light.[12]
Nasu: As has been speculated (by the editors), the battle would proceed with Caster winning overwhelmingly. As Caster doesn't have a trump card to use against Bazett, she's quite the difficult opponent for Bazett to handle. While lady Bazett is at times able to dodge, deflect, or nullify high thaumaturgy, she'd be fatigued before she could grab a chance at getting the upper hand. .....Oh and you see. Caster-san. She's merciless against mature women.
Q: Who'd win if the Servants and the 27 Ancestors fought each other? Also, who'd win in a fight between Bazett, a renowned powerhouse of the Association, and Ciel, top class in even the Association?
A: Depends on compatibility, but basically Servants will have the slightly higher advantage. With Saber, Lancer, and Archer classes, we ought to be able to relax and see decent fights. In particular, Saber has THAT sort of Noble Phantasms so against guys like the 27 Ancestors that overwhelm by material quantity and alienness, she'd be REALLY tough.
....Well, there are also some of those tough Ancestors that can withstand a direct hit from Excalibur-class attacks, but against those guys that just (emphasis on just; other stats don't match up) have wickedly high HP, Lancer-aniki'd be pretty tough.
Oh, and regarding Bazett-san and Lady Ciel, Ciel'd still win at the point Bazett was in Hollow. Once Bazett awakens and masters Fragarach, it'll turn into a good match.
