The unnamed magus, identified by his appearance as Servant Vlad III (ヴラド三世?)}, is a character appearing in the Grand Orders of Fate/Grand Order.
Profile
Background
Vlad III was a late 19th century magus who was involved in an auction held by Sieg and masterminded by James Moriarty. Within the An Old Spider Spins Webs of Memory singularity, the auction and the proceedings of a Subcategory Holy Grail War are mixed together, so the exact events are not fully depicted.
Personality
Appearance
Through a phenomenon that affects Ritsuka Fujimaru during some rayshifts, they subconsciously substitute Vlad III's name and appearance upon the magus to avoid the overwhelming visual stimulation that would come from the experience.
Role
Fate/Grand Order
Event: An Old Spider Spins Webs of Memory
Vlad is a would-be participant of the Subcategory Holy Grail War, seeking to acquire the bloodstained linden leaf Sieg possesses to use it as a catalyst to summon Siegfried. Sieg invited him and two other mages to his mansion to bid on his family’s relic. Vlad contacted Izou to be his sponsor for auction, which the gangster agreed to be.[1]
Sieg welcomes the mages when they arrive and shows them the relic, which, to their surprise, is the genuine article. He implores them to pay handsomely for a chance to own the relic, though only one of them may own it, since dividing it would compromise the catalyst’s effectiveness. Vlad demands from Izou his entire fortune to pay for the relic, threatening to make Izou indebted to him for the rest of his life if he fails to acquire the relic. Sieg says the auction for the relic will be held tomorrow, with only Alexander, Prince of Lanling, and Vlad being allowed to bid. This arrangement will not change, even if other mages hear about the auction and enter a higher bid. He then adjourns the meeting, saying they’re free to relax or gather the money they need until tomorrow.[1]
Later, at James Moriarty‘s behest, Ritsuka convinces Vlad to have a drink down in the mansion bar, surprising Moriarty that Vlad actually came. Vlad explains he accepted Ritsuka’s invitation because they were unfailingly polite and honest with him. Then, while enjoying the Bloody Mary that Moriarty served him, he learns Lanling told Ritsuka and Moriarty about his magecraft. He criticizes Lanling for what he did while insisting he keep his magecraft secret. So he reveals what type of magecraft Lanling uses to Ritsuka, so he may pass it along to Alexander. Now he only needs to see how much money Izou can gather and is willing to spend, but he senses the gangsters are willing to make sacrifices if it means controlling the city. He then leaves, declaring he will order another Bloody Mary to celebrate his victory in the auction.[2]
On the day of the auction, however, everyone finds the relic has been stolen. It wasn’t left anywhere a regular thief could reach it, so the only possibility would be a mage. But regardless of how it was stolen, the catalyst’s defenses should have sounded an alarm throughout the mansion. Sieg claims he doesn’t know how his family’s security spell works, as he isn’t a mage. Vlad accuses Alexander and Lanling of the theft as stealing the catalyst without triggering the alarm would require two skilled mages working together. Alexander, however, suspects Sieg of faking the theft, so he could keep his heirloom for himself. Sieg replies he only saw the relic as a burden, affirming he has no emotional attachment to it. Yan Qing accuses Diarmuid of cutting a deal with Sieg ahead of the auction, given that they’re old friends. Izou also finds Diarmuid the most suspect. Alexander and Lanling plead their innocence and accuse Vlad since he had the least money to spend, unlike them. Sieg stops Alexander and Vlad from fighting and suggests everyone makes their case to someone impartial. He wants RItsuka and Moriarty to be the judges and determine who can be ruled out as suspects. Moriarty agrees but on condition that a mage from an opposing faction is present as a silent observer during questioning, so he and Ritsuka aren’t accused of bribery. Everyone agrees with his condition. Vlad decides he'll be the first to be questioned, with Alexander acting as his observer.[3]
Vlad accuses Lanling while asserting his own innocence and that Alexander has the least reason to steal the relic. Lanling is also the only mage whose power is ill suited for a Grail War, and if he wanted to resell the relic, he wouldn’t want to waste the money on the auction. His magecraft is also suitable for thievery, and Vlad suspects he could have used his beauty to manipulate others in to doing his bidding. But Ritsuka and Moriarty tell Vlad that he has as much of a motive as Lanling does, noting his financial problems. Vlad admits to his problems, but he was confident of his chances at victory and declares he’d never resort to larceny to get what he wants. He very much believes Lanling is the culprit and ends the questioning. Afterward, he observes Lanling’s questioning.[3]
The next day, in Sieg’s office, Moriarty reports his findings. He explains the gang leaders seek to break their stalemate between them by acquiring the relic. But they do not care which mage gets it as the stalemate will be broken regardless, thus none of them had any motive to steal the relic but a motive not to steal it. With the current state of affairs, none of them can risk moving large sums of money, whether from selling the relic or anything else, because whoever does would automatically be suspect. Each had reasons for wanting the auction to proceed. None of the mages could be the thief either, because they would still need to wait for auction results first if they were to engage in foul play. Vlad would have seized the relic by force if he lost the auction. The guests had their honor on the line, but the culprit feared losing the relic more than the theft because losing it even once meant losing everything his family passed down for generations. That would remain the case even if he stole it back, so the relic leaving his possession was the one thing the culprit couldn’t allow. For those reasons, only Sieg could be the culprit. Sieg confesses and explains he wanted to keep the relic from being tainted by the Grail War. He hoped the bidders’ suspicions of one another would prompt them to wipe each other out. He would then use the ensuing gang war as a cover to disappear with the relic. At Yan Qing’s behest, Izou attacks Sieg from behind, only for Sieg to admit he was lying about not being mage and reflects Izou’s attack back on him. Sieg then jumps out the window, not wanting to damage his collection of artifacts and books with his magecraft. Everyone follows after him.[4]
Diarmuid ends his friendship with Sieg and orders his men to open fire on him. But Sieg blocks the bullets with a barrier and kills Diarmuid’s men. Diarmuid prepares to engage in close combat, but Yan Qing and Izou tell him that will be useless. Alexander, Vlad, and Lanling decide they’ll fight Sieg, with Vlad declaring the winner of the battle will claim the relic. Moriarty joins in the battle as well.[4]
Moriarty defeats all four mages and claims the relic. After Sieg falls unconscious, Alexander, Lanling, and Vlad leave disappointed they have to restart their search for a catalyst.[4]
Abilities
He uses blood as a catalyst for his magecraft.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - An Old Spider Spins Webs of Memory, Section 2: Triangle Gang
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - An Old Spider Spins Webs of Memory, Section 3: My Fleeting Fate!
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - An Old Spider Spins Webs of Memory, Section 4: Triangle Magus
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - An Old Spider Spins Webs of Memory, Section 5: Old Spider