FSN UBW Day 15 (EN)
Scene 24
It is daybreak.
The knight in red is leaning against a pillar and staring at his arm.
Putting strength into his fingers, he makes a fist.
His body is only half responding.
Even heroic spirits cannot maintain their existence in this world without their Masters.
He still exists because of the special class ability of Archer, but he's almost at his limits.
His remaining strength is not even a tenth of his original powers.
His muscles are weak, and his body will slowly disappear if he loses focus.
"――――――――"
But there's no problem.
Even if he has less than a tenth of his original power, it is enough to kill Emiya Shirou.
Considering the difference in their abilities, this isn't even a handicap.
Therefore, it will end once they fight.
His one and only objective will be accomplished here.
"――――――――"
...That's right.
He has waited for this time.
He has endured the endless repetition hoping for this chance.
He has awaited a miracle that would not occur, a miracle with a probability close to zero.
And his wish was granted.
No, it is about to be granted.
...He does not care what awaits him afterwards.
He will kill his own self with his own hands.
The hopeless, futureless wish is what kept him going after he wore out.
"―――Was it long? Or was it an instant?"
He is an existence that disappears after each summoning.
His memory does not remain, no matter how many times he repeats the cycle.
It only stays in his body as knowledge.
Heroic spirits recognize other heroic spirits because of these accumulated facts.
It's just like a book.
Every time a heroic spirit is summoned, the book with its story is sent to its home.
The heroic spirit itself remains in the house, reading those books.
The trouble is that the one at the house does not know when those books arrived.
Past or future do not matter.
All the "books" are already in his room.
His only way of measuring time is to read the records of his "cleaning" that he will accomplish.
It makes no difference if it's eternal or instantaneous.
Eternity is instantaneous, and an instant is eternal.
Therefore, he does not know how rare this miracle is.
He does not know if this is the first time or the thousandth time since he obtained this hope.
...All he has is unordered knowledge.
Past, present, and future are meaningless for heroic spirits.
"...A guest, huh? I chose this place because I was told there would be no interruptions here."
The knight in red suddenly gets up.
Did his ears hear the sound of the intruder?
Footsteps echo through the silent castle.
"―――Wow. I'm surprised, Tohsaka. I was dubious, but you really are here."
A voice echoes.
The rude intruder is a boy called Matou Shinji.
"Oh, don't do anything violent, okay?
I don't have any business with you. You have no business with Tohsaka either, right? Then isn't it meaningless for us to fight here?"
Matou Shinji walks forward with light steps.
He is looking at Tohsaka, who is tied up.
The girl glares silently at the intruder.
That must delight him.
He licks his lips in satisfaction and walks to the girl.
"――――――――"
"What?"
Stared down by the knight, Matou Shinji looks up in annoyance.
"What, you want to fight me? Are you serious? You'd be no match for me!"
He smiles and turns back to the entrance.
There stands a man with golden hair―――the eighth Servant, Gilgamesh.
He is, literally, a disaster.
The golden Servant looks at the knight with cool eyes.
――――But within them...
The red eyes only show the intent to brutally kill the enemy in front of him.
"――――――――"
The knight in red is still silent.
It makes no difference even if Matou Shinji appears or if the strongest Servant is ready to attack him.
The knight calmly stares at the uninvited enemies.
"Haha. You're scared, right? It's nothing to be ashamed of. He even killed Berserker. It's natural for you to be scar――――"
"―――Do you want Rin, Matou Shinji?"
"Huh...? Y-Yeah, of course. There's no other reason for me to come to this castle."
"I see. Then wait until this is over. I will give her to you after I kill Emiya Shirou.
She is mine until then. It cannot be helped if you cannot compromise on that. ―――It will be regrettable, but you will die here, Gilgamesh."
The knight's eyes remain on the golden Servant as he speaks.
"Very funny, you fool."
Were those words reason enough for the man to kill Archer?
The golden Servant identifies the knight in front of him as a target he must kill.
"Oh. Hold on, Gilgamesh. Don't be rash, and let's be smart. Come on, he says he's going to give her to me, so I'll let him.
Archer doesn't have a Master. I'm sure no Master would make a contract with a Servant that betrayed so many people, so he'll disappear if we let him be. I can take Tohsaka after that."
Matou Shinji smiles and stares at the knight in red.
It looks as if he is enjoying the fate of the one who is about to disappear.
"You're smart, Matou Shinji. That's an intelligent decision. You are a most fitting Master, in a sense."
"Oh, you show promise! How wasteful! I would've made a contract with you if you came to me!"
Stepping away from the knight, Matou Shinji claps his hands happily.
"But I'm sorry. I don't need any more Servants. It's unfortunate, but you'll have to disappear."
"You do not need to tell me. So what will you do? Will you fight me, or wait until I disappear?"
"Yeah, I'll wait. You're pretty decent, so we'll protect Tohsaka until you kill Emiya.
But, yeah. That thing is mine already, right? Then I can do anything to her, right?"
He stares at the knight and Tohsaka Rin with snake-like eyes.
His words are to test the loyalty of the knight.
To that...
"―――I have promised Emiya Shirou that she will not be harmed. But that promise is over at dawn. You can do as you wish when the time comes."
The knight in red replies in an emotionless voice.
"Ha――――Haha, hahahahahahahahahaha!
Did you hear that, Tohsaka!? Your Servant is selling off his Master!"
Sneering laughter echoes in the dirty room.
The knight exits as if he's not interested.
"――――――――"
"――――――――"
Archer passes by Gilgamesh.
Archer ignores his mocking gaze and walks into the hallway.
At that instant...
"――――――――Faker."
The king of heroes says so as if despising him.
Scene 25
It's daybreak.
There is less conversation as we make our way through the forest, and the silence gets heavier.
I, Emiya Shirou, must fight that man when we get to the castle.
There is no chance of victory, and a certain loss awaits.
I know I'll just be killed once we start fighting.
"――――――――"
I'm not scared, but it's not because I'm prepared for it.
If you talk about dying, that man is already dead.
It is equivalent for Emiya Shirou to be dead the moment I figured that out.
That being the case, I have no reason to worry.
We go through the castle gate.
Saber looks gloomy, maybe because she knows what kind of a fight awaits us.
What's troubling her is him and me.
No matter who gets killed and who survives, the one to be eliminated is the same.
Her desire to stop this ridiculous fight is causing her pain.
Her eyes stare at the sky sharply, and maybe she's angry at the meaningless battle.
The hall is a ruin now.
This place, covered with the morning mist, will become our place of death.
"You're finally here. You're late, Emiya Shirou."
A cold voice echoes.
The familiar voice comes from the second floor.
The man is standing at the top of the stairs which are lit by the morning sun.
His red outfit is far away and his figure is hazy in the white glare.
But I can see him.
I can see my enemy in detail.
That should be the same for the man with the hawk-eyes.
The Servant with the role of Archer given to him.
He is an archer, but not an archer, and he is a contradictory existence that has many Noble Phantasms, yet carelessly destroys them.
All his Noble Phantasms are duplications, and the fact that he's able to produce swords in infinite number is his Noble Phantasm.
...I was the only one who did not realize his true identity.
Heroic spirits are summoned from every age.
If nobody from the past corresponds to him, then the heroic spirit must be from the future.
"...I finally realize now. There shouldn't be two of that pendant. That pendant is..."
"Yes. That is the pendant you held on to throughout your life after you were saved. It is the one and only memento of Tohsaka Rin's father."
It is impossible that two such pendants should exist.
If Emiya Shirou held on to the pendant throughout his life as he says, then...
"―――A catalyst is always needed to summon a heroic spirit.
As when you summoned Saber, there has to be a connection between the summoner and the one summoned."
"Tohsaka Rin did not have a catalyst to summon a heroic spirit.
Therefore, she thought that she had no connection with the Servant she summoned.
―――But no heroic spirit is summoned by chance. A physical connection is absolutely necessary between the summoner and the heroic spirit."
"――――――――"
If he's right, there can only be one answer.
If Tohsaka did not have a catalyst connected to Archer, then――――
"Yes. It is when the heroic spirit has a catalyst connected to the summoner."
"――――――――!"
The jewel is the only one of its kind.
My life was saved, but I did not know who saved me. So I held on to the pendant which I thought belonged to my savior.
...That's the answer.
If he has Tohsaka's pendant, then there is only one person who he can be.
――――Heroic spirit Emiya.
The future me.
The heroic spirit before me is Emiya Shirou, who perfected his skills and made his ideal come true.
The knight in red―――Archer looks down at me from the top of the stairs.
There's no one around him.
He is standing alone in this vast hall.
"Archer. Where's Tohsaka?"
"I have left her somewhere in this castle. You should hurry if you are worried about her. You were late, so I gave her to Matou Shinji, since he came earlier."
"Wh――――at?"
"I kept my promise with you. I will not harm her.
But it does not concern me what other people do to her."
"But, the result is pretty obvious. Matou Shinji feels hatred and lust towards Tohsaka Rin. One does not need to think what he will do to her. He might not be able to restrain himself if she provokes him, so he might be killing and raping her right now."
"――――――――!"
I get pissed off.
How can he say such a thing so calmly――――!?
"Oh, don't get impatient, kid. Leave that girl to me.
I'll go save her."
"Eh... Lancer?"
"It's an order from my Master. My entire reason for joining you was to keep that girl from dying.
...Still, this was rather comfortable. I didn't feel bad yesterday. It's rare for me to like my job."
With those words, Lancer ignores Archer and heads to the west terrace.
"Lancer."
"Don't worry about it. I'm doing this out of my own interest.
...Well, I've been given many disgusting orders up to now, so I'll at least follow through on this. You can concentrate on your own affairs."
"――――Okay. I'm leaving Tohsaka to you."
He lightheartedly replies with a "yes".
Then.
Lancer stops and turns around as if he remembered something.
"Hey. What are you doing, Saber? You're coming too."
"――――――――"
Saber lowers her eyes painfully.
"No. I will stay here, Lancer."
She stands next to me and replies unlike a Servant.
"Are you serious? That girl's your Master now, right? You should be protecting your Master."
"I understand that. But I still would like to stay here. ...I need to watch over this fight."
"―――――Fine. Do as you wish."
Lancer leaves.
He easily jumps up to the terrace and disappears into the passageway.
Archer does not do anything.
It's as if he's saying Tohsaka is useless now.
"――――――――"
I step over the rubble and walk forward.
I'm heading to the center of the room, at the foot of the stairs.
Forcing down her emotions, Saber stands still to watch over our battle.
"You won't do anything, huh? That's good.
If Saber interrupts me right now, I'll have broken my contract with Rin for nothing."
"――――――――"
I can hear Saber's hesitation.
Saber takes a quick breath and replies to the man at the top of the stairs.
"I will not interfere. I will not do anything during your battle with Shirou."
"Very good. I can kill him at ease."
"...Yes. But please answer me before that. Why are you trying to kill Shirou?"
"―――There's nothing to explain. Just as he cannot approve of me, I too cannot approve of him."
"That cannot be true...! You are Shirou. You are the ideal of Emiya Shirou, the one who became a hero. S-So why are you trying to kill yourself...!?"
"Why do you think? The hero called Emiya and the inexperienced Emiya Shirou are two separate beings. We cannot exist at the same time unless that is the case."
"That is because you became a Servant. I heard that guardians can be summoned into the age in which they lived, since they are not bound to the time axis...!
You are Shirou. You should be the personification of his ideal, the person he became after much hard work. So why――――"
She finishes in a broken voice,
"Why are you so different?"
"――――――"
Not responding, he starts down the stairs.
"......"
He cannot answer that question.
If he were able to, we would not be fighting here.
"Archer...!"
Saber steps forward to confront Archer.
"―――It's fine, Saber. Just step back."
I stop her with my hand and keep her at the entrance.
"But Shirou...!"
"I appreciate it. But talking's useless. From the very beginning, his objective has been to kill me."
"......!"
Saber bites her lip in frustration.
Saber stares at me, then at Archer.
"...Why, Archer? I do not understand. I heard that guardians are ones who become heroic spirits after their deaths in order to protect people. So why are you trying to kill yourself?"
"―――――Guardian?"
Maybe something she said got through to him.
He stops and looks down at Saber without emotion.
"You're wrong, Saber. Guardians are not ones that protect the people. They are only cleaners. They are definitely not the heroes I once wished to become."
His voice sounds different.
Hatred and scorn fill it now.
"Archer...?"
"I did become a hero. I became a superhero, just as Emiya Shirou had wanted."
――――A superhero.
Someone who will not harm anyone.
Someone who will not retreat no matter what disaster he may face, someone who can save everyone, someone Emiya Shirou wanted to become.
And...
That man became such a person?
"Ar... cher...?"
"Yes, I certainly did save some people.
I have made many ideals come true, and I have saved the world from danger several times.
―――A hero... I did reach the place I had dreamed of for so long."
"You became a hero―――then Shirou was rewarded, right...?
At the very least, you made Emiya Shirou's ideal come true.
Then you should not have any regrets. Shirou was able to make his wish come true."
There's no conviction in her voice.
...She already knows.
She knows that she is only voicing her own wish.
"'Make his wish come true', huh? I certainly did become a superhero, just like in my ideal.
But all I obtained in the end were regrets. All that was left was death."
"I killed and killed and killed.
I killed many people to act on my ideal.
I killed so many that I stopped caring about innocent people, and I saved a thousand times as many as I killed."
"――――――――"
Saber stares at Archer, speechless.
She looks like someone who saw her own mirror image.
"―――Yes, I don't know how many times I've repeated the cycle.
I fought as often as requested, and I fought with my life in danger whenever I knew there was a conflict. I fought many times. So many times that I can't even remember now."
"It can't be helped, right?
No matter who I save, there are always people who will perish. No matter how many conflicts I resolve, new conflicts are always created.
A superhero has to keep existing as long as conflict exists."
Who did he direct that to?
The knight slowly descends the stairs and recounts his past.
"That's why I killed.
I trampled on dozens of wishes to save one person. I ignored even more people to save those I trampled over.
I killed scores of people, rescued only those in front of me, and destroyed many more wishes.
I kept being stubborn, saying that it will end this time, that everyone would become happy."
"―――But it never ended.
Conflicts come into my view as long as I'm alive.
It was endless. I didn't dream of a world without conflicts.
I just wanted people in my view not to cry."
―――That is...
...Definitely my own wish.
"My vision expands after I save one.
Ten after one. A hundred after ten. How many was it after a hundred? At that time, I finally realized that Emiya Shirou's ideal was just a convenient fantasy."
"...Why is that?"
"Don't ask for the obvious, Saber. You should have experienced the same thing many times already. You cannot save everyone.
I assume it was a daily routine for you to sacrifice a few people to save the country."
"......"
The quiet voice is rendered powerless to object.
The words of the red knight are Saber's darkness as well.
"Yes, the seats are limited. There are always fewer seats called happiness than there are people to fill them.
Since you cannot save everyone, someone will have to be sacrificed.
―――And...
I quickly killed the ones that would eventually fall out to minimize the damage.
This is what it means to be that boy's vision of the ideal superhero."
The wish for nobody to become sad.
The desire to save as many people as possible.
When the two coexist and contradict each other, there is only one solution.
The only people a superhero can save are the people he sides with.
If one is to lose everything by trying to save everything...
It is correct to sacrifice one to save more.
"A superhero should save many people, right? That's why I killed. I prayed for no one to die, but I killed one to save many.
I said I would not have anyone sad, but I brought despair to a few in the dark."
"And in time, I got used to it. To protect my ideal, I kept going against it.
I only saved the people I tried to save and quickly killed the people who opposed me. I allowed 'someone' to be sacrificed to keep protecting my ideal."
"That is the true identity of the hero Emiya.
―――See.
Don't you think such a guy should die?"
That's right.
The only ones a superhero can save are people he sides with.
...But.
Who was it that defied those words?
"...That is a lie. Even if that happened, you would have protected your ideal by choosing yourself to be that 'someone'."
"――――――"
The knight stops for a second.
A frown crosses his face.
"You did not go against your ideal. You only lost your path because you were betrayed by the ideal you protected.
You would not think of killing yourself to atone for the sins unless that were the case."
"――――――"
His ironic smile disappears.
After coldly staring at Saber...
"――――Ha. Haha, hahahahaha!!"
...He starts laughing like a madman.
...As if it's the funniest thing he's heard.
"Kuku, hahahahahahaha! Wow, that is great.
Atone for my sins? Don't be stupid, Saber.
I have no sins to atone for, nor have I forced such a meaningless concept on anyone."
The knight calmly goes mad.
He spoke in a small voice, but his laughter echoes through the hall.
"Yeah, you're right, Saber. I was certainly betrayed and deceived many times. I have been accused by the exact person I saved. After giving my all to stop a conflict, I was accused of being its cause, and was executed in the end.
See? If I had any sins to atone for, I have already done so, right?"
"What――――impossible, Archer. You cannot mean your end is..."
"...Heh. So that was it.
But I didn't care about that. From the start, I didn't do these things to be appreciated. I had no intention of being praised as a hero. I just wanted a result where everybody would be happy.
―――But such a wish never came true.
Not within my lifetime, nor after my death."
He has stopped laughing.
There's only hatred in his voice now.
"Guardians are a colorless force that places humanity's survival before anything.
The powers are in the heavens, and the guardians appear in this world only when there's a chance of human extinction.
...I knew they were just slaves.
I knew that people who become guardians are removed from the circle of reincarnation and become like nothingness."
"But I did not care, so long as I could save people.
Emiya Shirou could not fulfill his oath.
So――――I thought it would be fine if I could become a guardian to take part in stopping humanity's destruction."
"――――But it's actually different. Guardians do not save people.
All they do is clean up after humans. They take what has been done and nullify it with their powers."
"They do not save people. All they do is eliminate harmful people, without distinction of good or evil.
They do not save people in despair. Instead, they eliminate people in despair in order to save others who are enjoying life.
―――It's so ridiculous. How am I different from before?"
―――There's no difference.
There was just more despair.
He relied on a greater power since his powers alone were not enough.
But it ended up being the same.
He thought the power would make his wish come true, but it only made him do the same things on a greater scale.
"...Archer. You have repeated such a thing forever...?"
"I got used to it. Humans repeat things. The strong feed on the weak, regardless of what age we're talking about. And I came to realize that it is the most efficient way to prosper."
"―――Yes, I watched it over and over.
Meaningless massacres, meaningless equality, meaningless happiness...!
I was forced to look at them even when I refused to. As a guardian, I have no free will. I am called by the people only to take care of the crime people have created."
That is where he ended up.
A being that repairs the damage caused by human desire.
Guardians do not save people. Rather, they eliminate those who cannot be saved as if they never existed.
Over and over.
For many times, he saw people nearly destroy themselves through their own actions, and he burned them down like trash each time.
"Save as many people as possible".
The man became a hero with that one wish―――but in the end, he could not make it come true even once.
"―――That's right. This is wrong.
This is not what I wished for.
I did not become a guardian for this...!!!!"
His anger is probably directed at himself.
What is standing there is a worn-out corpse.
The hero Emiya is doomed to always see the ugliness of those he wanted to save.
He grew to hate them in the end.
He grew to hate humans for repeating conflicts. He grew to hate himself for thinking that humans are sacred.
"I don't want to clean up after people. But as long as I'm a guardian, there's no way for me to escape this cycle.
―――Save one exception."
Murderous intent flares in his cold eyes.
He isn't looking at Saber.
There is only one objective for Archer: to kill his own self.
But even if he dies, the real body of Emiya, who is in the "place" outside of the cycle and not bound by time, will not disappear.
There is no elimination for guardians.
They are "nothing" to start with. It is meaningless to kill something that is not part of the real world.
...But.
There is one way for him to disappear.
If someone who is to become a hero is killed before he becomes a hero, that hero will never come into existence.
Therefore――――
"Are you going to kill Shirou here with your own hands?"
"Yes. I kept waiting for this chance. It was a possibility close to zero.
But I staked everything on it. I could not contain myself unless I believed in it. While I acted as a guardian, this was the one hope that kept me going."
"...That is meaningless, Archer.
You have already become a guardian. So it is too late. Even if you kill Emiya Shirou, who has yet to become a hero, you yourself will not disappear."
"That may be true. But there's still a chance, however small.
Just altering the past might not be enough, but the paradox will be even greater if I am the one to do it.
If the distortion is large enough―――a hero called Emiya will disappear here."
"And Saber. This is what I've been waiting for. I am not looking for results now.
―――I'm just taking my anger out on a kid called Emiya Shirou, the one who will become a clown as a result of his stupid ideal."
And the knight in red comes down to the hall.
Only Archer and I stand in the hall filled with rubble.
There's nothing separating us.
The reason is simple.
He wants to kill me, and I just want to beat him up because I don't like him.
"――――――――"
I walk [wrap̠text="to"]to the center of the hall.
I won't be able to back out once I take a few more steps.
But before that...
"Archer. Do you regret your actions?"
...There's one thing I have to ask him.
"Of course. I... no, you should not have become a superhero."
He spits those words out.
And that dispels my last doubts.
"―――I see. Then we are two different people."
"What?"
"I will never regret my path. I won't regret it, no matter what may happen.
So―――I will never approve of you.
If you say you're my ideal, I'll destroy such an incorrect ideal with my own hands."
That's how I've been living up to now.
I've always believed that I am right.
As he says, I'm sure it's full of false courage and distortion.
I've lost more than I've gained.
But that's all the more reason why.
I cannot withdraw for the sake of the things I've lost.
I walk forward.
My circuit has already started sketching the blueprint in my mind.
"...That way of thinking is the cause of all this. There will come a time when you will reach me."
"There won't be such a time. It will never come."
"Oh. Does that mean you will be killed here before that happens?"
"――――――――"
I take a step towards my enemy.
We're close enough to strike at each other.
We don't have any weapons.
We confront each other empty-handed.
Emiya Shirou is not a swordsman.
We are beings that create swords.
Then――――
"So it seems you understand.
Yes, to fight against me is to compete in projection."
The twin swords appear in his hands.
...That night...
The simple twin swords I admired in the Ryuudou Temple.
Rare swords that a legendary craftsman made at the price of his wife.
"――――Trace, on."
I activate the completed blueprint and reproduce the twin swords using my image.
...What a bad job.
The twin swords I once thought were perfect are too unprecise compared to his.
An inferior illusion will become a delusion.
Probably...
My swords will shatter and disappear when they crash against his.
"――――――――"
I take another step.
Crunch.
The rubble crunches under my foot.
―――That serves as the signal.
"Will you be able to keep up with my projection?
You will die once your swords lose their precision...!"
―――The opposing swords sweep through the air.
They are drawn together like magnets and clash into each other.
Scene 26
The search ends rather quickly.
Lancer is thought to be specialized in battle, but he is actually skilled in magecraft.
Gae Bolg is not the only thing he obtained in the Country of Shadows.
He is the hero who obtained all eighteen of the Runes of Origin.
But since he prefers to battle using his lance, the magecraft rarely gets used.
And now is one of the rare times.
"――――All right."
The thing that flies above the floor suddenly drops.
The Berkana Rune finishes its search and turns back into a stone.
"W-Who are you...!?"
An unfamiliar boy stands up in confusion.
"――――――――"
Lancer realizes that he knows the voice and recalls who he is.
"You're Rider's Master. Oh, I thought you were dead alre――――"
He stops halfway.
He sees Tohsaka Rin behind the boy.
She's tied to a chair.
That's fine.
That's to be expected since she's captured.
But there's a bit more to the girl.
First of all, the chair is on the ground.
She's tied to the chair, so Tohsaka Rin is also on the ground.
Her long black hair is covered in sand and something red can be seen on her mouth.
She must have cut her lip.
There is also a slight bruise by her mouth.
"You're Lancer...!? What, who allowed you to come in here!? You're―――gah!"
The fist smashes into Matou Shinji's cheek.
The light backfist blows the boy to the wall.
"Oh―――sorry, kid. I guess I let my hand do the talking."
He didn't kill the boy since it was unconscious.
But it would not have been unconscious if Tohsaka Rin looked paler and her clothes were more disordered. He would have consciously tried to blow the boy's head off if that were the case.
Actually, Lancer does not care how a captive is treated.
But he will not tolerate having his spoils snatched by someone else.
Spoils for him are enemies he has to kill and women he favors.
"Lancer...?"
Tohsaka Rin groans, still tied up to the chair.
She must have been unconscious as her voice is not too much different from when she wakes up.
"Yo. It's morning. Wake up, you lazybones."
Lancer gives an out-of-place greeting and walks to Tohsaka Rin.
"Eh―――w-why? This is the Einzbern castle."
"I know. Oh, don't move. I'll cut your hands free. Do as you wish after that. You can go to the hall and stop the fighting idiots, or you can go home from the back door."
The red lance appears.
"T-That's helpful, but―――behind you, Lancer...!"
"――――――――"
Lancer turns around at Rin's warning.
"Wh――――at?"
...The one appearing there is unexpected even for him.
The corner of the room...
The one walking past Matou Shinji is...
"Stop right there, Lancer. I ordered you to help them, but not to get this deeply involved."
...Kotomine Kirei, the one assumed to have been killed by Caster.
"――――Kirei!?"
Rin lets out a surprised voice.
Lancer glares suspiciously at the priest.
"...Hey. When did you change your religion?
Wasn't it my Master's belief not to come out into the open?"
"I have no religion to change. You are going against my order, Lancer. I thought I told you to kill Archer. Did you fail, Lancer?"
"―――Heh. He'll disappear even if I ignore him. I just came to finish up an unfinished job―――but if you're here, does that mean that kid is a pawn of yours?"
"Do not say it like that. We are cooperating. We work together in order to obtain the Holy Grail."
The priest says so without looking at the boy moaning in the rubble.
"―――I see. I knew you wouldn't die so easily. Not only were you still alive, but you were doing things behind our backs, huh?
...You have really bad taste. What are you doing, controlling that harmless Shinji?"
"Hm――――I see, so you see him as harmless, huh? You are the same as always, even in this situation. I would not be so reluctant to do this if you weren't so smart."
The priest laughs.
He looks and sounds as though he's giving a benediction to the dying.
"――――――――"
A chill runs up the girl's spine.
At that moment, she realizes her fate.
With a saintly smile, the priest gazes upon the sacrifice, who had been his pupil for the past ten years.
"...Hold on, Kotomine. What are you going to do with her? Did you tell me a lie when you said you wanted to save your pupil?"
Lancer glares at his Master while standing in front of the girl.
"It is not a lie. I have raised her to be my tool. I have deceived her for ten years, so it would be boring if she retired so easily.
That is why I ordered her protection. I have prolonged her life for only two days, but isn't that more than enough to show my love?"
"――――――――"
The priest walks past Lancer and looks down at the girl on the ground.
The girl glares at her former instructor.
"You fraud. I knew it was possible, but you really are a Master, huh? How unfair for a supervisor to take part in the game."
"You are rather calm, Rin. So you did know, huh?"
"Of course. I didn't show you my Servant because I suspected you. ...But I didn't think I was deceived from the start."
"――――From... the start?"
Then.
The priest frowns as if the words are unexpected.
"...What? Do you have something to complain about, Kirei?"
"――――No. You said 'from the start', so I was merely wondering when you meant by that."
The priest grins.
He looks down at the girl with utmost pleasure.
"――――Hold on. Kirei, you don't mean..."
"Are you talking about the start of this Holy Grail War?
Or do you mean the previous one?"
"――――――――"
With that, the girl understands everything.
Her face turns pale, and she looks up at the man she studied under for ten years in disbelief.
"...I see. So you killed him, huh?"
"Of course. He was my beloved teacher, so it was easy to attack him by surprise."
"......"
A grinding sound.
The girl hangs her head and grits her teeth.
"Y―――ou, get lost in your afterlife, you damn priest...!! You have no place to be, okay!? Even hell wouldn't take a bastard like you!
An impotent guy like you should lay on needles in hell...!!!!!"
The girl keeps on cursing him.
Of course, the priest does not care about such things.
But the boy is overawed by her change.
Matou Shinji never thought Tohsaka Rin would show this much emotion.
"Kotomine. You know Tohsaka's mine, right? Only I have business with her. You can go to the church and wait for this to be over."
"I do have business with her. I need her to become the Holy Grail here."
Matou Shinji does not understand what the priest is saying.
The only ones who understand are the priest and the sacrifice, Tohsaka Rin.
"It should be about the right time once Saber and Archer disappear.
I don't want her to struggle and waste magical energy. Let's quickly get this over with."
The priest walks away from the girl with those words.
The only one in front of Tohsaka Rin is Lancer.
"Kotomine, you..."
"Finish off that trash, Lancer. The vessel does not require a heart."
Only Matou Shinji reacts to those words.
Tohsaka Rin glares at the priest, but bites her lip without speaking.
The priest's smile already told her that she was going to be killed here.
She understands that she will not be saved and that she won't be heard even if she begs for her life.
That's why she doesn't complain.
That is the only way she can resist and that is her will of opposition.
She won't give up until the very last second.
Help might arrive even at this moment, and she might be the only one that survives after this room miraculously crumbles.
"......Well, it won't happen."
She won't give up, but she also understands it's impossible.
That's why she has no fear.
Except for one thing.
She imagines that boy's expression when he finds her dead after coming to save her.
She doesn't want him to cry.
It angers her that she's the cause of his tears, and she doesn't know how she can apologize to him.
No, she can't apologize if she dies, but she still doesn't want him to cry.
"―――Sorry, Emiya-kun. I'm retiring first."
So she decides to apologize ahead of time.
It does no good, but it calms her down.
"What's wrong, Lancer? It's just a girl. It should be easy to pierce her."
The priest shows no mercy.
To that...
"I refuse. I can't obey that order. Use the Command Spell if you want me to do it."
Lancer replies while looking at the priest as if he is an enemy.
"What――――?"
The priest narrows his eyes.
The master and the slave.
The air inside the room freezes as they stare at each other.
"...I see. I guess it cannot be helped. I do not like wasting a Command Spell on something I can do myself..."
He raises his left arm.
The priest activates the Command Spell on his arm.
"Then I will command you. ――――Kill yourself, Lancer."
"Gah――――"
He vomits up blood.
But that is nothing compared to the blood spilling from his chest.
"Kotomine, you――――"
His voice is a whisper now.
The spearman―――Lancer's chest and heart are pierced by his own lance.
"Farewell. Your duties are already at an end."
"――――! [line12]"
The man in blue armor falls to the floor.
"Ah――――Ah."
Redness permeates the floor.
...There's no sign of him getting back up.
The spearman in blue has been defeated by his own lance at the command of his own master.
"――――――――"
The priest moves.
He walks over to the girl and crouches down.
...Her heart.
He stoops so that he can easily pull out Tohsaka Rin's heart.
"Wha...! Kotomine, that's not what you promised! You said you'd give me Tohsaka!"
"――――――"
The priest gives the boy a wordless glance.
"N-No, you can't have Tohsaka! I have so much to pay her back for, so she has to be alive...!"
Matou Shinji protests, his teeth chattering at the sight of Lancer's corpse.
"――――――――"
"Ah――――Ah, uh――――"
But he stops.
The boy slowly retreats, unable to take the priest's stare.
The priest looks from the boy back to the girl.
"Is there anything you would like to say in the end? I shall at least hear out your will."
His words are simple.
"...Humph. You should know what I'm thinking in a situation like this."
Tohsaka Rin answers in her normal manner.
"You're right. You never give up until the very last second, Rin.
At the very same time, you have this wonderful side of you that admits reality.
―――Yes. This contradiction is very mellow."
He shows no hesitation.
The priest grabs the girl's breast―――right on top of her heart.
"Hm......"
The girl closes her eyes at the sensation.
A pierce.
The heart is pierced and blood gushes out.
Even after being abandoned, the room is still used as a disposal for corpses.
"――――――!"
The one to gasp is Tohsaka Rin.
Blood drips onto the floor.
The dripping sound is made by something above her.
From the chest of the priest who is looking down at the girl.
"――――――――Guh."
Blood pours from his mouth.
The wound on his chest is fatal.
The weapon protruding from his back is the cursed lance that always strikes its target.
"――――――――"
The priest shows no emotion.
With his lips covered in blood, he turns to Lancer.
"Lancer. You..."
"...Too bad, Kotomine. I wouldn't be a hero if I instantly died from a wound like this."
Anyone can tell that the ironic voice is bluffing.
Lancer has no vitality.
He has no heart, and his body is about to disappear.
The demonic lance is pulled out.
The priest, having nothing to show for his departure, falls and dies.
No matter how great his mastery of magecraft or how powerful his divine protection, he is still a mere human.
There is no way for him to be alive after being stabbed in his heart by the demonic lance.
"Heh――――so it did end like I imagined, huh?"
The knight leans against the wall and tries to hold up his disappearing body.
But it's only temporary.
Lancer will disappear once he falls to the ground.
He lost his heart and his Master.
He is still able to maintain his body because of his "dirty survival tricks".
"Ha... haha, ahahahahaha! This is great, all the idiots can just kill each other!"
"Eh――――Shinji?"
The girl, who was staring at the dead priest, is brought back to reality by the laughing voice.
"What about the Holy Grail being mine? A useless guy stayed useless, huh?"
Matou Shinji kicks the priest's corpse.
The dead man does not move.
That must have pleased him, as the boy kicks the priest's head with all his might.
A heavy smacking sound echoes in the room.
The sensation and the sound excite Matou Shinji more than he expected.
"But I won't complain. I'm not holding any grudges, and it's pitiful to keep talking to a corpse."
He laughs.
The boy, whose sanity is almost gone, walks toward Tohsaka Rin with staggering steps.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Tohsaka. There was a lot of interference, but we're finally alone. There are only three more Servants. I'm sure everything will be over by the time you get tired of crying here."
He literally goes on all fours to get on top of Tohsaka Rin like a lizard.
"But it's all good. I had some business with you as well. It'd really trouble me if you died too easily. That'd be very rude, since I've been waiting so long for this."
"―――Come on, beg me, Tohsaka. I might save you depending on how you act.
The Holy Grail is going to be mine. I might consider sharing it with you if you're going to be mine――――"
"I'm utterly amazed. Are you really that stupid?"
Then.
Even while she's tied up and being licked on her cheek by the boy, Tohsaka Rin speaks up.
"W-What...?"
"I'm asking you if you've learned your lesson yet. You were just used by Kirei.
...Listen. That Servant isn't one that can be handled.
You should know that, since you've been near him. You should wake up and run away.
You might still have time. You should run away as fast as possible if you don't want to die."
"Hah――――! You're just begging for your life! You're the idiot, Tohsaka. Kotomine died. Who would get in my way now?"
Matou Shinji runs his fingers along the girl's body.
At that instant...
"――――Hey."
Matou Shinji is punched away once again.
"Gi――――!"
He is flung to the wall.
"Stop it, kid. You're not worthy to touch that woman."
Lancer glances at the boy and walks lazily to the girl.
"What? You're going to object to me when you're almost dead?"
"――――――――"
The spearman stops.
He now turns to Matou Shinji.
"―――H-Heh. You would've died in peace if you'd kept quiet. Fine, I won't kill you so easily.
...Come on, Gilgamesh. He wants to die in style!"
He raises his voice.
Matou Shinji's Servant, the one who can kill any heroic spirit, is summoned by his master and――――
"...Hey. Damn, what's he doing...!?
Can't you hear me!? I'm telling you to come here...!"
His voice sheepishly echoes through the room.
The golden Servant does not appear.
The spearman covered in blood takes another step towards the annoying boy.
"Hi―――da―――damn, damndamndamn...! What's with you!? Why are you trying to be cool when you're almost dead...!? Die already! Don't you know you're just in my way, you mons――――"
The lance is thrust.
"Ah――――"
The quick thrust pierces Matou Shinji through his right shoulder.
"Hi――――?
Hi, hia, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!??????"
His scream tears through the room.
Lancer pulls out the lance with an almost bored expression and points it at Matou Shinji's temple.
"――――Get lost. I might be almost dead, but I could still easily kill a thousand of you."
"Hi――――ha, haa, haa, hi――――"
Retreating to the wall and shivering, Matou Shinji runs away.
"...Man. He made me waste energy."
Letting out a big sigh, he walks over to the girl.
The lance cuts away the girl's bonds like paper.
"―――Thanks. You really helped me out, Lancer."
She thanks him as soon as she's freed.
Unmindful of the dirt that covers her, she bows to Lancer.
"...Heh. Well, it just turned out this way. You don't need to thank me."
At that instant, he falls.
"L-Lancer...!?"
She tries to catch him, but does not make it.
Lancer, who was leaning against a wall, crumples onto the ground.
His legs won't move.
Lancer's limbs are already dead.
The fact that he still got up, killed his master, and freed her is unbelievable.
"Gah......!"
Gushing blood stains his blue armor red.
"......! Hold on, I'll heal your wound right away―――!"
Rin runs to the bloody spearman.
But Lancer stops her by raising his hand.
"It's useless. A heart pierced by my lance won't heal easily.
And besides, you don't have magical energy to spare."
"...But―――"
"Don't worry about it. I'm used to this kind of thing. Heroes always die because of unreasonable orders."
His casual talk is like always.
The blue spearman does not change his tone, even on the verge of his death.
"......"
The girl stands there speechless.
Looking up at her, Lancer sighs as if the weight is lifted off his shoulders.
"―――Man. I guess we both ended up with boring partners."
"...Yeah. But he was just hard to handle in my case."
"You're right. I would've had no complaints if a woman like you were my partner―――but I never had luck with women.
Man, this never changes."
He laughs in self-derision.
Then...
"...Well, get going. I'll take him with me.
―――You go back to your partner."
The spearman in blue urges the girl.
Lancer is holding the Ansuz Rune.
The rune containing his remaining magical energy will burn this room to ashes.
"――――――――"
Understanding his determination, the girl turns her back to Lancer.
"―――Goodbye, Lancer. I only knew you for a short while, but I also like you."
She runs to the entrance hall.
"―――Hah. Whatever, young girl. Come back when you're older."
He sounds happy.
The room erupts in flames.
The blaze burns Lancer's body and his master's corpse.
Without leaving a trace.
The red lance and the blue armor disappear in the flames like empty illusions.
Scene 27
"――――!"
The same swords, the same techniques clash.
My attack and his attack are the same.
But still, the blades chip away and my body is wounded the more we fight.
The attack that I blocked breaks through.
Kanshou in my left hand is destroyed by his Kanshou and his weapon sweeps at me from the side.
"Ha――――guhhh...!!"
I twist my body to dodge it, but it still slashes me.
Although not immediately fatal, the wound will eventually overcome me.
"Da―――mn......!"
I bear the pain by cursing and swing Bakuya at the close enemy...!
"Wha――――"
It's blocked and destroyed as well.
We have the same swords and the same techniques, but there is a gap that I cannot fill.
"―――Did you think my Kanshou and yours are equal? Your assumptions of the basic structure are too weak.
Even if you get the appearance and the composition materials down, it is a matter of course for it to be destroyed if the structure is not reasoned out. Even an image falters if it is illogical."
My temple and my side.
He attacks both my vital spots at once.
"――――Ah――――!"
I immediately "project" the twin swords and parry the attacks――――!
"――――――――!"
My head hurts to the point of blurring my sight.
It's not because of the strain of immediate projection.
This is that headache.
The instinct I felt when I was searching for Tohsaka.
The slight fever I got every time I faced him.
That strain now threatens to drive me mad――――
"Ha――――ah, ah――――!"
I parry his attacks.
I step in and slash at his body.
――――The red headache burns my eyes every time I do so.
Is it because of the contradiction that Emiya Shirou and heroic spirit Emiya are existing at the same time?
Ever since we recognized each other's identities, my body breaks every time we touch each other.
I traced his sword technique and even his reproduction ability.
It's natural for them to suit me.
His abilities are Emiya Shirou's optimal technique, perfected over many years of training.
There's no way it would not suit me.
In trying to match his skill, I allowed myself to learn too much about my future self.
"Ah――――guh――――!"
My eyeballs go numb.
Every time I swing the sword, every time the sparks fly out, I'm attacked with a flash so strong that it could blind me.
I am no match for him, and my vision fills with red every time we exchange blows.
If that's the worst of it, I don't care.
My body is already torn apart.
My headache is nothing compared to the burning wound in my stomach.
The problem is that the headache won't stop because there's something I'm still drawing out from him――――
"――――That's the fifth one. You should be nearing your limits of reproduction using projection. I know your magical energy capacity. You have three more. ...Even though I showed THAT to you, you still misunderstand."
His scornful voice contains some disappointment.
Misunderstand...?
I don't care about that.
More than anything, I have to do something about this headache right now.
The thing flowing from you――――
"Well, it will be impossible for you even if you arrive at that. It is not enough with the magical energy you can generate right now.
Yes, either way――――"
My headache gets worse.
He raises his twin swords to finish the match.
"―――You had no chance of victory to begin with!"
He swings them down in a cross.
"――――!"
The swords I blocked them with are destroyed.
My body becomes numb as if a hammer had been smashed on it, and the headache finally sears my brain as well as my eyes.
――――It's flowing into me.
So...
This is...
Scarier...
Than the pain.
This is his memory.
The reason he changed so much.
I can see bits and pieces of what will happen to Emiya Shirou in the future.
I don't know if it was correct or not.
Nobody will be able to determine that.
The beautiful things were ugly and the ugly things were beautiful.
There is nothing disgusting, once you look at it objectively.
So why is there such a deviation?
Sophistry, falsehood, trickery, vanity.
Those are what he saw the most.
; ――――I am the bone of my sword.
...But still.
It seems he did not care.
There was an ideal and an oath he had to protect.
He did not care what he lost to do so.
Even when he was betrayed, he believed there would be a next time if he did not betray himself.
He did not show grief or pain.
; ――――Steel is my body, and fire is my blood.
He is like a cold-blooded machine to others.
He was a convenient existence, so he was conveniently used.
He was only a tool in other people's eyes.
But the machine had an ideal it wanted to protect, so it accepted its role as a convenient tool.
; ――――I have created over a thousand blades.
; Unknown to Death.
; Nor known to Life.
It's not something to go around proclaiming.
The more he kills and the more he is unable to save, the less he can talk about his ideal.
The only thing left for him is to obstinately protect his ideal until the very end.
And the result...
The ideal Emiya Shirou dreamed of has never been accomplished,
and he found out that it's just nonsense dreamed by a fool who is only a nuisance to others.
; ――――Have withstood pain to create many weapons.
See, this is his end.
See, this is your end.
"――――――――"
My mind gives in.
I won't feel compassion.
I won't feel compassion.
I won't feel compassion.
I won't feel compassion, but...
My mind almost gives in, thinking that I will be following this exact path.
――――Yet, those hands will never hold anything.
What you believed in.
What you believe in.
You're shown that it is just a fantasy that is covered with lies, and still――――
"――――!"
His weapon closes in.
A horn-like sword comes to pierce my heart...!
"Guh――――――――!"
I get away.
I have in my hands the twin swords I quickly projected.
"Ha――――Haa, haa, haa, ha――――!"
I force down my nausea.
What――――was I seeing?
Forget it.
Forget what you just saw.
You need to defeat him. You should focus everything on that goal......!
"―――I guess it's a miscalculation.
I've heard of magecraft that lets you acquire skills from the past by possessing yourself with a previous self... It seems your skills improve the more you fight me."
"Ha――――a, haa, haa, ha――――"
My shoulders heaving, I prepare myself for his attack.
"Then my projection shouldn't be the only thing you got from me. ―――That face. Seeing that nasty face of yours, you saw it too, Emiya Shirou?"
"――――――――"
My breathing stops.
Don't let me say it.
Don't let me recall it.
If you say what I just saw, I...
"Then it is simple. It's all true, Emiya Shirou."
His red cloak moves.
He closes in on me in an instant and thrusts the horned-sword――――!
"......!"
It's destroyed in one blow.
There's no way a hastily-constructed sword, and a first attempt at that, would match his sword――――!
"Fuh――――!"
But.
Even though I'm empty-handed, he throws away his sword.
He projects Durandal, the renowned sword of the king――――
"Haah――――!"
I skip about four steps and quickly reproduce his weapon.
But of course, such an imitation is destroyed in one blow――――
"――――――――"
I fall.
I'm repelled, and I land with my back on the rubble.
"Ah――――kuh."
That surprises me.
The rubble turns red just by having me fall on top of it.
...Oh.
I already know, but it seems my body is almost dead, outside and inside.
"―――This is it, Emiya Shirou.
Your foolishness for coming here when you know you won't be a match, a mindless imitation, imprisoned by a stupid ideal.
Do you understand that those are your true identity?"
"――――――――"
His voice echoes.
My body is covered with wounds.
It's bad how the wounds are so deep that I can reach inside them and take out my bones.
"There is no value in such a life.
I'm sure of it. There is no value in Emiya Shirou's life.
...It is wrong to save just because you want to save. You are a fake that should have never existed as you are broken as a human being."
"――――――――"
My magical energy is almost depleted.
Not only that. The Magic Circuit to run the magical energy is burned up.
...No. If I talk about it burning up, it burned up yesterday when I used projection.
It's just that an almost broken thing completely broke.
"Ha
"
But my body is telling me I can still fight.
My mind bluffs itself, saying that it has not given in.
"―――――――Oh."
Then...
I have to get up and defeat him.
"It's useless. I am your ideal. You should realize that you cannot match me."
"Haa――――Haa――――Haa――――"
...I focus the last of my will on the Magic Circuit.
"!"
My split nerves scream.
But I carefully put together the eight steps.
"――――Trace, off."
I project his twin swords.
Kanshou and Bakuya, two great swords named after an ancient swordsmith.
"Fu――――ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!"
I swing them.
I keep attacking until my remaining energy runs out...!
My twin swords are met by twin swords.
Archer now holds Kanshou and Bakuya and parries my attacks without retreating.
"―――I see. It's natural for you not to accept it.
As I am your ideal, Emiya Shirou must not accept me more than anyone."
His calm tone pisses me off.
I can't even breathe, but he is calm and composed.
"Damn――――!"
I attack with all my energy.
"Damn."
He does not parry my attacks, but pushes them back.
"Ha――――kuh......!"
...I'm pushed back along with my twin swords.
The difference in our powers is obvious.
There's no way for me to win with pure strength―――
"Heh―――then let me ask you, Emiya Shirou.
Do you really want to be a superhero?"
"――――――――"
For an instant...
My mind blanks out from the surprise attack.
"What―――I don't want to become one. I'm going to become one...!"
I glare back at him.
Then...
"Yes, you need to become a superhero.
Because that is your only emotion. An emotion you can neither betray nor deny.
―――Even if that wish is not born from within you."
He stops me with words that grab my heart.
"Wha―――――"
...Not born from within me...
I deny them even before I think about what those words mean.
I can't let him finish.
I can't realize that fact.
If I find out, Emiya Shirou's foundation will crumble.
"Oh. It seems you have a vague idea of it.
No, you knew it, but you tried your best to keep that fact from yourself. I cannot even remember now."
"St――――――――"
I start to say before I stop myself.
I don't want to know.
I know that I shouldn't know.
But still―――I know that I must know.
The contradiction of Emiya Shirou.
The answer to what is wrong with me, and how I am distorted.
"I do not have your memory anymore.
But I still remember that scene. The flame filling my vision and the smell of death. The request for help and how I felt when it was granted. The look of relief on Emiya Kiritsugu's face when he saved me."
I realized that it is natural to die, and my mind emptied out.
I was saved at that time.
The man who saved me smiled with tears in his eyes.
―――That...
...Is what I thought was beautiful.
"That's right. It's not that you felt guilty for being the only one saved.
You just admired Kiritsugu.
You wanted to become like him only because he looked so happy when he saved you."
......That's right.
It's not me that got saved at that time.
It's an assumption I did not even think about.
If... if that fire was Kiritsugu's fault, he shouldn't have been able to bear that fact.
A tragedy without any survivors.
Kiritsugu, the one who caused it, must have frantically searched for a survivor.
And he finally found a survivor that should not have existed.
The man found a surviving child that could not be saved.
If you talk about miracles, it is...
"――――――――"
But I knew about that already.
I don't care about his circumstances.
It was enough for me that he got me out of that hell.
Even if it may have been for himself, it's true that he tried to save me and wished for my survival.
...That's enough.
Emiya Kiritsugu saved a boy who had nothing.
So――――
"Yes, it's natural for a child to admire his parent. But you went too far.
It would have been fine if you just admired what Emiya Kiritsugu wanted to become.
But he left you a curse at the very end. I do not even need to say it, right? That is everything for you."
'―――I'll make your dream...'
...That's the answer.
Hearing my casual remark, he left the words 'I'm relieved' behind him. And then that man, who was emptier even than me, died.
At that moment, Emiya Shirou had to become a superhero.
My will does not matter.
For his sake, I simply tried to become what he had admired since he was small.
The wish for everyone to be happy...
...Is an impossibility dreamed not by me, but by Emiya Kiritsugu――――
"You should know, Shirou.
Your ideal is borrowed. You are only imitating what Emiya Kiritsugu wanted to become, what Emiya Kiritsugu thought was right."
"―――――That... is..."
I grit my teeth, desperately trying to resist my mind that is about to give in.
But...
"A superhero? Do not make me laugh.
Over and over, you said you wanted to help people. But that wish is not your own.
You are conceited to think that such a man could help anyone―――!"
He attacks with his swords.
With the weight of his contempt behind them, the twin swords are swung more strongly than ever before.
"――――――――Oh."
Seeing those raging swords...
I accept my own death, just as I did ten years ago.
The force comes smashing down.
There is no elegance in those attacks, and they are executed only using his strength.
"Haa――――"
My left arm shakes from blocking the attack.
My fingers that held onto the sword break.
The sword I made using all my remaining power is bent back by one blow.
"――――――――"
I'm dead.
I'm on the verge of death from the first blow. So there's no way I will be able to block the next attack.
"――――――――Oh."
But still...
My mind is about to give in, but my body denies it with all its might.
It's telling me I'm wrong.
It appeals to me, saying it's wrong to give in to his words and to die here.
――――I raise my head.
My eyes aren't functioning.
They don't see the enemy, but show his memories.
...In them...
I see myself curling up and desperately trying to live.
...The echoing of the swords isn't all I hear.
He...
He curses himself every time he attacks.
"That's right! I admired his desire to save people because it is beautiful!"
I block the oncoming attack.
Bakuya is destroyed. All I have left is Kanshou in my left hand.
"But none of that feeling is my own. What else can you call it but hypocrisy!?"
Kanshou is bent and its existence is fading.
...My heart is hurting.
Not because of his attacks. His words slash at my heart.
"I was driven by my obsessive need to help someone.
I kept running, neither noticing the pain nor how wrong I was!"
―――He keeps denying himself.
My heart tries to give up every time I hear him.
My body wants to succumb to the force of his attacks.
But still...
That same body keeps desperately denying him.
"But it's all a fake. Such hypocrisy cannot save anything.
No, first of all, I did not know what I wanted to save―――!"
"Gah――――!"
I'm smashed away.
An attack as strong as one of Berserker's easily flings away Emiya Shirou's body.
"――――――――"
But I still hold my ground.
I frantically endure the attack coming down at me.
I will not be able to get back up if I fall down.
So my body refuses to let me fall.
"Ah――――haa, ah, ge――――uh......!"
I thrust the rapidly-fading Kanshou into the ground and lean on it.
My body sags forward, and I cannot even stand upright.
"Ha――――ah, haa, ha――――......!!"
I use Kanshou as a cane and hold up my falling body with my arms.
I must look pitiful.
I might look as if I'm kneeling down and begging him.
"―――That ideal is a failure.
The idea that everyone else is more important than yourself, the wish for everyone to be happy, is all just fantasy.
If you can only live by holding onto that ideal, drown in your ideals."
He says that...
There is no value in living, no, in my life itself.
"........."
My weapon is about to disappear, and there's little point in trying to keep my body from falling.
In contrast, he isn't even scratched.
――――The match is decided.
No, the match had been decided from the start.
There is no way for Emiya Shirou to beat heroic spirit Emiya.
...But that is a mistake.
If the difference in our powers was large, the fight wouldn't have turned out like this.
It is my mind that lost.
My mind was weak because I realized that I am wrong and that he is right.
That was my only failure.
Because――――
"...........Shut up."
"What...?"
Because―――my body has been telling me I will not lose to you.
Why?
Why did power enter my body every time he cursed my ideal as fake――――?
"Shut up, dammit......!!!!"
"――――――――"
I'll reach it.
I'll definitely reach it.
If parts of me are broken, then I just need to use the parts that aren't.
If everything I have is broken, then use the parts I don't have.
If my body hasn't lost yet, I can just reach out to the part of me that hasn't been used yet――――!
A headache.
An instant of a few milliseconds. I see him, probably for the last time.
I could not understand him.
But I guess I can use his pain as a lesson.
...A hero who used a poem about himself as his spell.
Even if I don't understand the meaning behind it...
I will accept those words in your place.
"―――――――, I am..."
I start the spell so that I can be proud of myself.
Emiya's words hurt Emiya.
He accepted that fact and chose to kill me.
That's the only thing he could wish for in the end.
Then...
Just as you deny me...
I will defeat you with all my powers――――!
"――――I am the bone of my sword."
I murmur the words without realizing it.
I raise my head.
I pour determination into my dying body.
I swallow the blood clotting in my throat.
Yang-sword Kanshou regains its image.
"You..."
"―――That's right. I already knew that..."
...This is just a dream.
But I kept on believing in it because I thought it was right.
Kiritsugu pursued it because he knew it was an unattainable dream, an impossible ideal.
Even if it may be unattainable...
He believed that he would reach his destination if he kept running.
"Her sheath...! Its protection is still there, even though the contract does not exist anymore...!"
I ready my sword.
I don't care about that.
I...
"―――I won't lose to you. I don't mind losing against someone.
But I can't lose against myself―――!"
I will keep on being Emiya Shirou――――!
―――It is an unbelievable technique.
"Nu――――!?"
His attacking body is on the verge of death.
His fingers are broken, his limbs are slashed, and his breathing has stopped without him even realizing it.
His speed is nothing, and his attack is mediocre.
The boy that has absorbed his combat skills to the point where he's able to fight decently, has now returned to fighting without them.
An unskilled, frantic attack.
...But still...
This blow is heavier than any that came before.
"Wh――――at?"
Archer's indifference turns into surprise within a second.
The swinging swords are crazy.
They clash against his longsword with unimaginable speed.
―――Where is his power coming from?
The attacks are unlike before.
"You――――!"
He cannot go into defense.
This attack should cut through the boy's neck.
Realizing that he cannot make light of the boy, he swings his sword.
Up and down, left and right.
The four attacks are enough to cut off his limbs and to cut up his body to pieces――!
"............!"
The boy blocks them.
No, exceeding his four attacks, the sword comes to slash his neck―――!
"――――――――!"
Bringing back the longsword, he parries the attack.
"You...!"
He intuitively understands that he will be killed unless he attacks.
The longsword attacks the enemy that is on the verge of death,
and the boy frantically swings his sword.
Their swords crash in balance.
The space is filled with sparks, and anything entering the space should be cut to pieces.
―――But it should be the last spark that a dying man gives off.
The boy loses his breath every time he attacks, almost falls, holds his ground, and attacks again.
"――――――――"
The sight reassures him.
There is no power left in his enemy.
The boy in front of him is literally on the verge of death.
So...
So why do those arms have seemingly infinite power?
――――I have no consciousness.
I can neither tell what the enemy's doing, nor if my attacks are doing anything.
My muscles are screaming for oxygen, and the lack of blood keeps ordering my body to stop.
I suppress them altogether by force.
".........isn't..."
That's all that's filling my head.
My ideal is fake. He's right. I can't be a superhero.
As long as I admire such a thing, I will end up like the man before me.
"......It isn't......!"
But I felt beauty in it.
I know it's just hypocrisy to value everyone else over yourself.
―――But still...
I admired it, thinking how great it would be if I could live that way.
That's the only thing driving my dying body.
"――――――――!"
He cannot hear what his enemy is saying.
His enemy's voice is weak, yet his attacks are relentless.
Looking, the boy's hands are one with the sword's hilt.
It must be to keep the sword in place, but that will transfer the impact directly to his body.
The boy is covered in blood, and he will fall forward and die if he retreats.
Even swinging the sword should come with great pain.
"――――――――"
He blocks it in annoyance.
His dying enemy gets on his nerves, but...
He himself gets on his nerves, because even though he knows it will end once he retreats, he is not able to do so.
"――――――――"
But how can he retreat?
Straightforward attacks without strategy.
If it is a shame to turn his back to such attacks, it is also a disgrace not to block them.
His enemy will self-destruct once he retreats.
But he has a presentiment that he will lose something important if he does so.
"――――――――"
The worries will end soon.
His enemy is at his limits. He will fall after two more blows, or three at most.
"――――――――Damn."
He clucks his tongue at the stupid thought.
He previously thought that his enemy would last two more blows. But he has received over ten blows since then.
The boy will not fall.
"............!"
He cannot hear the boy's voice.
The dying boy frantically opposes the obstacle in front of him.
―――That figure...
He stares at the figure with his own eyes for the first time.
I keep swinging the sword with arms that are about to tear off.
The only thing I have left is this one thing I'm saying with all my might.
".........isn't......!"
My barrage of strikes are compensation for that scream.
...There were people that could not save others, and there was me who could not save them.
I swore to myself never to let such a thing happen again, seeing the memories that meaninglessly disappeared.
"......It isn't......!"
How long has it been since then?
There were things I lost,
and there were things I dropped.
There are always things that will be forgotten.
So I swore to myself never to forget this one fact.
――――To become a superhero.
I will protect it even if it isn't my wish, or even if it is just sophistry to soften my guilt.
It has to come true...
The person who saved me died, leaving those words behind.
I believe in the wish contained in those words.
Even if everyone in this world disagrees with me, and even if I myself curse me, I――――
And so...
He realizes that the attacks will not end.
His enemy will not stop.
He will not stop from his own will.
The boy is attacking with all his might, but he is not looking at his opponent.
The thing the boy is trying to defeat is his obstacle, his own self that is hindering himself.
He is swinging his sword to enforce what he has believed in, what he will keep on believing in.
"――――――――"
Realizing that, the man grits his teeth in annoyance.
The boy keeps challenging it, knowing that he won't win and that there's no meaning to it.
That is the exact mistake he has detested.
―――So why...?
Why does he want to see how long the boy can continue?
"......! This is it, disappear――――!"
He raises his longsword.
His enemy's attacks are something he has to take seriously.
He repels the attacks and crushes his enemy's skull for sure.
A clanging sound.
The fatal attack is easily deflected.
The one who could not block his attacks until now repels a swing made with all his might.
"――――――――"
He gasps.
He sees his enemy repel his sword and get back into stance.
The boy's eyes are...
...Looking straight at――――
The impact causes one of my arms and legs to break.
My sense of pain hasn't been numbed.
I use my fury to clamp down the pain that almost makes me wet my pants.
I don't have enough water. I can't release excess things.
The left side of the enemy's chest is open. Since half my body has broken, this will be my final blow.
But such thoughts do not fill my head.
The only thing in my head is...
He pulls back his longsword to protect his open left side.
He will make it.
He will easily make it.
This is my final blow.
"......It isn't a mistake......!"
That's the only thing in my head.
Even if Emiya Shirou is a fake, this is absolutely true.
For everyone to be happy...
That is an ideal everyone thinks of.
So I won't back down.
Because this dream is...
―――The unwavering gaze.
Faults and lies,
shaking off everything,
running without stopping―――
"―――It isn't a mistake......!"
Those words are driven into his chest.
An attack made at full strength, defense that should have been fast enough...
The cogwheels never got into gear and the battle is decided quickly.
"――――――――"
He hears the sound of the blade piercing him.
"――――――――"
The one surprised is the knight in red.
His enemy attacked with determination to defeat him.
Then it is natural for his attack to do so.
The boy does not need to be surprised, nor does he have anything to spare to be surprised.
"――――――――"
That is why the knight is the only one that is surprised.
It is a great wonder how he could not block an attack he could have easily blocked.
I support myself with my unbroken right leg.
The sword in my hand has pierced Archer's chest.
"Archer, why...?"
...Was she watching all this time from that place?
Still standing at the entrance, Saber questions Archer.
"――――――――"
Archer does not answer.
He might not need to answer―――or maybe he doesn't know the answer.
"――――!"
My fingers throb.
My broken fingers scream at me that they do not want to hold the sword anymore.
"――――――――"
...The knight in red does not move.
Even with a blade in his chest, a Servant should be able to easily counter-attack.
But his hands are lowered and show no sign of moving.
I know without being told what that means.
"I won, Archer."
I make the declaration while looking at him.
The knight in red closes his eyes once, and...
"―――Yes. And I lost."
He murmurs while looking off into the distance,
as if to convince himself.
Scene 28
―――I pull out the sword.
The projected weapon disperses as soon as it touches outside air.
"Ah
guh."
The tension floods out of me, and I finally take notice of my condition.
"......Ha."
It's terrible.
The slashed wounds are healing, but lots of places are turning dark red.
...Archer said something about Saber's sheath, but what's that power putting priority on?
It heals the torn flesh at once, but it seems to be putting off the broken bones until later.
"...?"
Then.
I hear loud footsteps from the west side, the hallway that Lancer disappeared into.
Someone's coming.
She appears in the terrace and jumps down without hesitation.
"Ouuuu――――"
And she moans in pain at her landing.
"Shirou, are you all righ―――
Wait, Archer! What's with that wound...!?"
She follows her sudden arrival with a torrent of questions.
It seems Lancer saved Tohsaka as he promised.
But―――Tohsaka's energy takes the power out of me.
Does she want to check on my safety, or is she angry about Archer's wound?
"......Man, I am really soft-hearted.
If she'd been more cruel, I wouldn't have returned to my old self."
He talks sarcastically, but his voice only contains warmth.
After looking at Tohsaka once, the knight in red steps back as if to exit the stage.
"Well, the match is settled. A hero called Emiya cannot stay here now that he has approved of you.
――――The loser should leave right away."
"――――――――"
Without saying goodbye to Tohsaka, huh?
...His wound is deep and he has no Master.
He will disappear here, and he will return to the original place as a heroic spirit――――
"Huh――――?"
It happens in an instant.
It is a fatal attack that takes the opening in me, as I have relaxed after seeing Tohsaka.
Several swords are called forth.
The rain of swords comes down to pierce Emiya Shirou's body and――――
I fall.
I'm pushed back and I fall on my butt.
"―――――――"
"Guh......!"
I'm pushed back about a meter.
In front of me...
...My broken limbs cannot support my body, and I do not have the power to get back up.
And so...
I can only look up at my self that got skewered in front of me.
"Who is it―――!?"
Saber's scream cuts open the silence.
She is looking at the second floor―――on top of the crumbled stairs.
"I have enjoyed it. Indeed, it was a pitiful battle, one befitting a pair of fakes."
"Archer......!?"
"Ten years, huh, Saber? I was going to go see you earlier, but my plans have changed. Unexpected things kept on happening, and things are going against my will."
Servant Gilgamesh. The one to defeat Berserker, and the one who killed Illyasviel.
...He turns aside Saber's glare and looks down at me and the skewered Archer.
"Well, do you understand now? That is the strength of the real thing.
No matter how well you imitate its shape and power, it is still only an imitation. It does not even approach the radiance of the real ones."
―――He raises his hand.
It's as if he is ordering his soldiers.
"I cannot even stand to look at a counterfeit that a faker has created.
―――You piece of trash. You have nothing real within you.
An imitation made by copying people should be turned into junk."
He shoots numerous Noble Phantasms.
The unavoidable rain pours down.
There are about thirty of them.
I couldn't dodge or block them even if I was in perfect condition.
Clouds of dust spring up.
The shower of swords tears apart the already-ruined hall.
―――But even in the midst of the chaos, I see it.
The red cloak flies.
Still skewered, he runs to me and pushes me once again.
"――――――――"
I'm pushed away from the red figure.
His eyes are telling me...
..."You defeat him".
That as long as I defeated Archer and as long as I want to be a superhero, I must defeat him.
The clouds of dust fill my vision.
The red cloak sinks inside the rubble.
But I see it before he disappears.
His eyes are filled with confidence.
―――That Servant is no match for us, Emiya Shirou.
Neither Saber nor Tohsaka will be the one to defeat him.
My own self is telling me that Emiya Shirou is the natural enemy of that Servant――――
My vision clears up.
Dust is in the air, and the rubble is piled up high.
There is nothing else.
The knight in red disappeared underneath the rubble.
"Oh, I'm surprised, Archer. You had enough to spare to save someone else in that situation?"
His sarcastic words contain some scorn.
The man smiles in satisfaction as he looks down at the hall filled with Archer's blood.
"――――――――"
Silence falls.
Gilgamesh is the most powerful being here.
Anyone that moves will follow Archer's fate.
Even Saber is silent, wondering how best to attack the enemy.
――――But.
"―――Whose permission did you get to attack my Archer―――!?"
With Archer's death, Tohsaka has lost her composure.
Light runs across space.
Pure destructive force, magical energy released from the jewel without any processing.
He does not even dodge it.
He isn't even scratched.
"I was going to kill that dying kid first.
But it seems the order has changed, woman."
He orders the swords behind him to carry out Tohsaka's execution.
The sword is released at high velocity.
Saber runs with surpassing speed and protects her Master.
"S-Saber...!?"
"Please step back, Rin...! He is dangerous! He will kill you if you attack him recklessly...!
"Oh, so you are her Master now?
―――Fine. Then I shall overlook your rudeness. I will lose one of my pleasures if Saber disappears."
"――――――――"
Saber glares at the enemy while readying her invisible sword.
"Why are you here, Archer? You were summoned in the previous Holy Grail War.
So why are you here again in this war?"
"That is wrong. I merely stayed in this world after the previous war."
"Wha―――ridiculous. Servants should lose connection with this world once the Holy Grail disappears...! There is no way you can stay in this world for ten years...!"
"That is not true. The connection with this world is not the Holy Grail, but the Master. The Holy Grail merely opened up the passage. I can stay in this world as long as a magus provides me with magical energy."
"But then, there aren't that many Masters that can maintain a Servant without help from the Holy Grail. In that regard, my Master did not have enough magical energy."
"......? Then it should not be possible for you to stay in this world. If your Master cannot support a familiar like you, you should be dried up along with your Master."
"That depends on how one does it. Magi make up lack of a Magic Circuit with knowledge.
In that regard, my Master was exceptional."
...'Was'?
Then his Master is gone now...?
No, his Master is Shinji.
The fact that he, the man who would not obey anyone, obeyed Shinji is the proof of that.
"...Then your Master did the same thing as Rider's Master...?"
"Yes. It is only natural to take away from others if you cannot supply it yourself.
But to be honest, I did not need to do such a thing. I am the only Servant that the Holy Grail poured on. I have already completed the incarnation ten years ago."
"――――――――"
Saber stares at the man in astonishment.
Saber hangs her head at the words "ten years ago".
"Yes, all thanks to you, Saber.
I know what that thing is. I was covered in its intestines and I saw what 'existed' in it."
"――――Then you..."
"Yes. I understood the true identity of the Holy Grail.
―――I decided at that time. I will be the only one who will handle it."
Saber.
No, looking down at all of us, he declares something that is unbefitting for a Servant.
"You――――will use the Holy Grail?"
"That's right. There is no need for me to share it with a parasite like my Master. I will use the Holy Grail for my objective.
The biggest obstacle, the summoner, was eliminated.
All that's left are pathetic magi that would be completely unsuited to being the vessel.
Such failures are suited for my wish.
But then―――your flesh might make a perfect Holy Grail."
The man looks at Tohsaka.
"Oh......"
Tohsaka must feel the danger, as she grows pale and steps back.
...His red eyes are ominous.
One would feel uncomfortable under the weight of that gaze.
His eyes are so aberrant that even Tohsaka is frightened of them.
"―――Ridiculous. The Holy Grail is what the Master obtains.
We Servants cooperate with our Masters because we cannot obtain it ourselves...!"
"That is strange.
The Servants are the only ones who can touch the Holy Grail, but Masters are the only ones who can obtain it?"
"Uh――――but..."
"...Heh. It's all ridiculous nonsense.
The fight for the Holy Grail by Seven Masters? A ritual where the last Master obtains the Holy Grail?
That is only an excuse made for outsiders.
The summoning of the Holy Grail is already completed. They always call for the seven Servants after the Holy Grail is prepared.
Do you understand, king of knights? They do not want the Holy Grail, but what goes in it."
"Masters are just circuits to summon us. Magi made the Holy Grail, but they could not prepare its contents."
"I told you earlier, right? They are ones that take away from others if they cannot supply it themselves.
The purest magical energy to fill the Holy Grail.
The 'greatest souls of humanity', the guardians, are what they sought. The seven Servants are sacrifices they prepared."
"――――――――What?"
Saber looks up at the man in astonishment.
Her eyes are desperately trying to deny his words.
...That it isn't possible.
She is trying to deny it saying that what she wished for, the Holy Grail, cannot be such a thing.
"You should not be surprised. The Holy Grail is a filtration device that turns the soul into pure magical energy.
Yes, it should let you grant any wish. It contains more magical energy than a magus could ever use within his lifetime.
That is why it is better with more sacrifices. It should be omnipotent with six Servants as sacrifices.
Five Servants have filled the Holy Grail. Only one more is needed for the omnipotent grail they sought."
"―――Then... Then only the Masters can handle the Holy Grail. If it is a repository of pure magical energy, only magi can use it.
...Yes. If the Master is an excellent magus, it――――"
"It will grant him any wish?
You idiot. Such miracles are not given to mere humans. Humans only destroy themselves, no matter how much power they are given.
But―――do not worry, Saber.
This Holy Grail is real. If you insert seven Servants in it, it will reach the origin."
"......Origin......? Hold on. Then could the Holy Grail be...?"
"I do not know who it was, but the one who made this rule is a genius.
But it does not concern me. I have no interest in such a thing. All I am interested in is the Holy Grail's ability to serve as the 'gate'."
"Wha――――the Holy Grail is a gate――――?"
"......Heh.
It happened ten years ago. You opposed me right when I was about to obtain the Holy Grail.
The Holy Grail was cut by the holy sword and what poured out burned the town.
As I was right underneath the Holy Grail, I was showered with it."
"I understood the true identity of the Holy Grail at that time.
―――It is worthless. It is worthless, but it does have its uses.
Not many weapons are as specialized in murder as that. The Holy Grail is fine as is. There is no need to turn it into an omnipotent vessel."
"Weapon―――are you saying that a weapon is created out of Servants?"
"We are weapons to begin with. That thing has only perfected that. The Holy Grail is a gate to hell. 5.6 billion curses will flow out from it once it is opened.
Kotomine did not tell you about it?
The Holy Grail is named 'Angra Manyu', or 'all evils of the world'.
It is mud that will consume every human being, like the name states."
......Angra Manyu?
I think that's the name of the devil in Zoroastrianism.
The leader of evil that opposes God for many thousands of years.
It is an embodiment of the evil in all human, and it is depicted as a reflected image of all humanity's good will.
―――But why is the Holy Grail named after the ancient Persian devil?
"――――Then your intention is to..."
"Yes, to sweep the humans away. I have no intention of admiring humanity like Kotomine. I only admire beautiful things.
This world is enjoyable, but it is incorrigible at the same time.
It is an insult to the king for so many wretches to be enjoying life.
I do not want to rule over such a world."
"A―――Are you stupid!? What insult to the king...!? It's meaningless to be the king if all humans are eliminated!"
"I do not care if they die out. There is no point to their lives if they end them through their own crimes.
I do not want lowlifes. The only ones worth ruling over are those that can survive even the flames of hell.
In that respect, they were an utter failure ten years ago. If such a pitiful blaze will wipe them out, humans truly have become weak."
He grins.
For the first time...
He looks at me, who he said is a failure.
"I do not know what this 'all evils of the world' is.
But it is convenient. It is a reaper that strikes down all humans equally.
An endless darkness that is born from humans and kills them.
It is an appropriate hound to entrust with the work I should be doing."
Gilgamesh raises his hand.
Behind him are Noble Phantasms waiting for the king's order.
"Then let us continue the battle from ten years ago. A boring lowlife got involved last time, but there will be no such interruptions this time.
But then―――it seems a worse faker is here...!"
The swords are all pointed at me.
"......!"
I will my broken legs to stand, but they do not move.
...Damn, I can't even manage to block one of those.
So why―――why did Archer leave behind that message...!?
"Hm?"
The swords disappear.
The golden Servant suddenly lowers his arm.
After looking up at the ceiling in discomfort, he brushes away the dust on his shoulder.
"―――The ashes will dirty me. You escaped death this time, child."
"Huh......?"
...The castle is burning.
I don't know who set the fire, but it must be huge.
The third floor is burning down and the second floor has caught as well.
...No, that's not the surprising thing.
He really stopped the battle just because he was going to get dirty from the ashes.
"Are you running away, Archer?"
"I am only changing the location. I have the Holy Grail.
It is my policy to finish matters quickly. I shall quickly construct the Holy Grail and open up the gate to hell."
His golden hair flutters.
Gilgamesh walks to the terrace that isn't yet burning.
"You should hurry up if you want to recover it.
The Holy Grail this time is a hurriedly-constructed defect. All the contents will spill out if you do not hurry...!"
His stifled laughter echoes through the room.
And he leaves the burning castle like that.
Sparks are dancing through the room, and the ceiling is tinted red.
...The gorgeous castle shows no traces of what it used to be.
The castle without a master crumbles without trace, as if to follow the girl in white.
Scene 29
"Haa, haa, haa, ha――――!"
Matou Shinji is running through the forest with beast-like breath.
He is actually running along a selected route, but his mentality is that of a wanderer.
He is running away without aim, so the word "wandering" is more befitting.
"Damn―――I was so close, and everyone's getting in my way...!"
He pushes the branches aside with one hand and runs while scattering wet dirt.
Leaving a trail of blood behind him, Matou Shinji heads to the edge of the forest.
He has not treated the wound he received from Lancer.
He does not feel his right arm anymore.
The wound is inflamed, and his arm will not move, as though dead.
"Hah... haa, ha, ah......!"
He must not be able to run with only one arm, as he slips and leans against a tree.
His dangling right arm is like a piece of trash.
As soon as he realizes that a part of his body is a useless piece of trash, Matou Shinji starts laughing.
"Hah... haha, ahahahaha."
The laughter comes out like a racking cough.
It hurts.
It must be because of the wound that his body is burning hot.
In a daze, he imagines one of his arms rotting away. After that, he imagines everyone around him rotting away.
Not just one of their arms.
He has one arm. All the other idiots should lose both of their arms.
"Ku――――"
He can't stop laughing.
With that decision made, the pain becomes bearable.
He has a legitimate purpose now.
The first thing he would do is collect every possible arm.
There will be no exceptions.
"...Ha, that's great. I know whose arms I'll get first."
The girl that did not become his.
Since she is his favorite, he cannot allow her to be superior to him.
"Yeah, just you wait, Tohsaka. I'll make you inferior."
Laughing, Matou Shinji raises his head.
"――――Huh?"
When did he appear? His Servant is standing right in front of him.
"You――――"
He looks at his Servant in surprise.
The golden Servant looks down at Matou Shinji as if looking at livestock.
"You are wounded. That must hurt."
And he says something that he does not mean.
"――――――――!"
Matou Shinji's face contorts.
Without realizing the true intention of his Servant, he glares at the man before him.
"'That must hurt'!? Whose fault do you think it is!? I got hit by Lancer because you're stupid!
Don't talk shit when you can't even be my guard dog...!"
With his head on fire, Matou Shinji insults his Servant.
"――――Hm."
The golden Servant nods,
saying "this will do".
"So Lancer inflicted that wound of yours, huh? Then it must have been him that released that Master."
"Yeah, Tohsaka ran away because you were such a slowass...! It makes me want to puke, thinking about how I lost her to somebody who was almost dead!"
"I see. That is too bad."
"...! Why are you so calm!? We can't obtain the Holy Grail without Tohsaka, right!? Damn, everything's ruined because of you! Do you understand!? What are we going to―――"
"Do not worry. Everything is as planned. The Holy Grail can still be created."
The Servant's voice contains no emotion.
Matou Shinji does not realize that the red eyes aren't looking at him.
"How!? Kotomine said that even if we have the Holy Grail, we can't make it if there's no vessel! That kid's heart is not enough. That won't turn into a Holy Grail unless we connect it to a Magic Circuit, right...!?"
Matou Shinji walks up to his Servant and scolds him for his stupidity.
The golden Servant nods and...
"There is no problem.
There is another Master here that can be a vessel."
...He thrusts his arm.
A piercing sound.
Matou Shinji never finds out what the sound is.
"――――Huh?"
But he feels something funny in his stomach.
Looking down, he sees his Servant's arm there.
The fist is inside his body.
There is neither pain nor blood.
The Servant's arm is in his body, like the absurd spiritual operation he saw before.
"You want the Holy Grail, right? Then I shall give it to you. If you want it so much, do not let go of it."
"Ah―――Ah, ah?"
His blood vessels expand.
After feeling the sensation of billions of worms, squirming through his body and trying to get out...
"Gi――――Gi, gi?"
He becomes something that is not Matou Shinji.
"Gya――――gi, bia, ah, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....................!!!!!"
It convulses.
The swollen object is literally a lump of meat.
There is no shape to it.
It is composed of exposed meat and blood vessels, quickly forming meat, and quickly decaying meat.
"I――――It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it's growing, it's growing, help, help, help, stop――――"
Unable to bear the pain of the repeating growth and decay and the sensation of "something" wriggling inside of him, he loses his sanity.
After watching it, the Servant lets him go as if nothing has happened.
"―――This is ugly. A powerful magus should not change form, but I guess it cannot be helped."
A chain comes down.
Descending from the sky, heaven's chains bind the writhing mass of flesh.
The balance of expansion and decay is about the same right now, but the Holy Grail should figure out its master soon enough.
Expansion should overwhelm the decay by then.
His Holy Grail should be completed in no time.
"Ugly things are tastier.
Most of all―――you shall spit out suitable mud, Shinji."
The Servant laughs.
And beside him...
The piece of meat repeats "help me" in a voice that is no longer human.
Scene 30 [WARNING: H]
The lights are turned off.
The phosphorescent lamp is illuminating the room.
"――――――――"
My heart is beating fast.
My hesitation was blown away with the kiss, but I grow more tense by the minute.
I get dizzy thinking about what I'm going to be doing.
I try to reason with my raging instincts, but my resistance is fading by the second.
"――――! ――――"
...That's right. I'm not nervous because this is my first time.
―――I'm going to have sex with Tohsaka.
I finally realize that it's an outrageous thing.
"......"
Tohsaka is waiting for me.
"Well, Tohsaka..."
I walk towards her using my unresponsive legs, and try to touch her arm.
"...Hold on. Let's do it again before that. You do it to me this time."
"――――"
I feel an impact, as if a nail is hammered into me.
...She must be as tense as me, if not more.
Tohsaka is bashful, and my tension is all blown away by her awkwardness.
"―――Okay. Let's do it again."
I hold Tohsaka's hand.
Her fingers are tense, her neck even more so.
"......"
Where did her previous confidence go?
Tohsaka curls up and waits for me like a small child.
"......Hey. Are you nervous, Tohsaka?"
"......! I-I'm not...! We already kissed once, so why do I have to be nervous...!?"
"I see. That's good. But I thought I'd ask, you know?"
"――――! J-Just carry on...!
......I-I won't let you to go any further unless you kiss me―――"
"――――――!"
Crap, that just turned on my switch.
Tohsaka looks cute, trying not to let me see her trembling.
She closes her eyes and waits for my kiss.
Her lips are shaking and her body looks so weak right now.
"I'm doing it, Tohsaka."
I grab her arm and pull her towards me.
I try to copy what she did and kiss her.
―――I feel her lips for only an instant.
Tohsaka must have panicked as she suddenly pulls her head back.
"Oh――――"
Tohsaka looks up at me in blank amazement.
It's natural that she drew back.
I just pressed my lips onto hers.
"...I-I'm sorry. I didn't know how strong I should've done it."
"N-No―――that wasn't your fault."
She hangs her head in embarrassment and takes a deep breath.
"......I'm sorry. Um... you can continue, just as you were doing it."
Tohsaka blushes and closes her eyes.
"――――――――"
My body heats up.
I don't even think about trying to be nice this time.
I press my lips onto hers as if to bite her.
"Ah... Hm..."
I feel a soft sensation.
We touch for only a second.
Our lips press against each other and melt into one.
"Ah... Ha... Hm―――Hm..."
"――――, ――――"
I feel our lips dissolving into each other.
I taste Tohsaka.
I can feel the warm softness of her wet lips,
and the sensation of her breath escaping.
"Hmm... hm, ...Ah, mm....."
―――Everything is torture.
She's so close to me.
The one I love is as close to me as possible.
Touching her lips is driving me crazy, but this is still not enough.
I want to embrace her harder.
I want to melt into her.
My brain wants to reach ecstasy just from kissing her.
I feel an uplift like ejaculation.
But I can't orgasm from just a kiss, and it's driving me mad.
"Ha... hm, fu――――ah, huh...?"
"――――, Ha."
My penis is already erect.
...I push my erect self onto Tohsaka.
"Ah, hm... What... is this... Shirou? Something's... hitting me――――"
Tohsaka's breathing goes wild.
As it does, a red flush begins to spread up her neck.
"Ha――――hm, hmm, hm......"
...We don't try to do anything else but press our lips together.
Our lips remain closed, and we do not even try to put our tongues out.
I'm scared we won't be able to turn back if we do so.
That's why we're only kissing with our lips.
It's an incomplete contact, neither deep nor soft.
"Ah... Hm, ah, it's getting harder..."
"...Hm, ha――――Tohsaka..."
"Hm... Ah......!"
I reach out with my arms as if to reach out for air.
"Haa... ah―――huh? Wait, Shirou...!?"
I keep Tohsaka still using my right hand.
I use my left hand to grab her breast.
"Hm...! N-No...! Don't grab me there, ou......!"
I cover up her mouth.
I'm not going to listen to her complaints.
I can feel her breathing, even as I squeeze her breast in my hand.
"Ow, it hurts...! Don't do it yet...! We have to stay at a kiss right now...! Hm, hm...!"
"Why not...? Your breasts feel good―――"
I frantically dig my fingers into her flesh.
"Ah――――hm...... My breasts feel good...?"
"...Yeah... Touching them makes you seem even more like a woman? You're cute when you're embarrassed and panting."
"You idiot――――what are you saying... Hm, fuh...! Ha, haa... hm............ You idiot."
She sighs.
Tohsaka's breast fits in my hand.
It barely escapes my hands when I squeeze them.
I think its shape and softness are in perfect balance.
"...Tohsaka. Does it still hurt?"
"......Huh......? Ah, hm... it hurts, but―――I'm getting... used to it. So... I'll bear it for a bit longer..."
She pants.
...Her body is heating up.
I can see her breasts heaving, even under her shirt.
She's still resisting me, but she's trying her best to catch her breath so that she can accept it.
"――――Hm."
"......Huh, Shirou...?"
I pull back, bringing our lips apart.
I can't stand it any longer, and there's no need to restrain myself.
We're both ready for this.
I might lose all control if it continues like this for much longer.
"...Um. Can we get started, Tohsaka?"
Even though we're ready, it's still embarrassing to say it.
It must be the same for Tohsaka.
"............Yeah. I was thinking the same thing."
She replies with a red face.
"...Then I'm taking off my clothes. Can you look away...?"
"Oh――――I see."
I quickly turn my back to her.
...That's right.
Having sex means getting naked.
I forgot that simple, yet scary, fact until now.
"Ugh........."
Sweat forms on my forehead.
I get dizzy just imagining Tohsaka's naked body.
I bet my heart will beat twice as fast if I actually see it.
".........Hm."
No, it's good if that's the only thing that happens to me.
...I hear her taking her clothes off.
I'm worried if my sanity will still be there once I look behind me.
"...Hey. Why are you spaced out, Shirou?"
"Huh?"
"You're supposed to be getting naked too...! Y-You're a failure as a man if you're only letting the girl take off her clothes...!"
"Oh. Y-You're right. Sorry, I don't know what I was thinking...!"
I quickly strip down.
――――So.
"...Fine. You can turn this way now, Shirou."
I prepare myself and turn around.
I honestly think I'll get a nosebleed if I don't prepare myself.
"........."
I narrow my eyes and try not to look at Tohsaka.
――――Then.
"HEY, WHAT IS THAT!!!!?"
"Huh?"
My embarrassment and hope are blown away by her scream.
"T-Tohsaka...?"
"Whoa, hold on! Don't come over here....!
What is that!? No way, no way, no way......!?"
Tohsaka panics.
...But Tohsaka still keeps her eyes on me―――no, on my erect penis.
"......Tohsaka. I don't know what you're surprised about, but that really hurts, you know."
Um, it hurts my pride as a man.
"Uh――――um."
That must have calmed her down.
Her face still burning, Tohsaka stares at my member.
"......Tohsaka. Um, that's difficult for me too. I'll have trouble restraining myself if you keep staring at it like that."
"Oh... I'm sorry. But, um, I was surprised."
She reaches out as she says so.
"H-H-Hold on――――! W-What are you going to do...!?"
"Oh, it looked so hard, so I thought about poking it..."
Tohsaka twirls her finger, her face turning even more red.
"――――!"
Y-You've got to be kidding...!
I might explode if Tohsaka pokes it with her finger...!
"A――――Are you stupid!?
Don't do such embarrassing things...! Don't go near dangerous things!"
I don't know what I'm saying, but I try to keep Tohsaka away.
"...You're acting strange, Tohsaka. Does mine look weird?"
I object.
"Eh... No, that's not it... Um, it's different from what I heard. Um, I thought it was going to be smaller..."
She shows me the length she'd imagined with her fingers.
The distance between them is only about half as long as my erect penis.
"――――――――"
It seems Tohsaka is thinking of when it is limp.
"...Hey. Is this really coming inside of me...?"
She blushes and asks me timidly.
But...
"I-I don't know! This is my first time, so there's no way I would know!"
I yell, hoping to make her back down.
"――――――――"
Tohsaka looks at me in surprise.
"...I see. Yeah, so it's your first time too, huh?"
Then, she lets out a sigh of relief.
"........."
...Hold on.
By "you too", she means――――
"...Tohsaka, is this your first time?"
"――――――――"
She replies with a glare.
It looks like she's saying "is that bad?"
"Ugh――――――――"
If this is her first time, um, she's a virgin, so it has to be painful for her.
Not only that, but it could be hard for her to get any pleasure out of sex――――
"Tohsaka, you..."
"...Humph. Forget about it. I'm the one who brought this up, so I'm prepared for it.
...I'm used to pain. Don't worry about me and you just concentrate on your own orgasm."
"...Um, you mean... ejaculate, right?"
"Yes. But don't let your guard down.
We can't connect unless we both reach orgasm at the same time so that our protections come down.
I'll take care of the contract and the connection of our magecraft-Circuits, so all you have to do is have sex with me."
"――――――――"
That's right.
This is a ritual to get her to share her magical energy.
I can't just be driven by my desires.
All the more so if Tohsaka is a virgin.
We have to orgasm together, so I better make sure I pleasure Tohsaka as much as possible.
"We're only doing this to connect with each other, so don't do anything else, okay? ...I don't think I need to tell you, but I'll get angry if you do weird things."
"...? What do you mean by weird things?"
"Eh...? U-Um, like ejaculating inside of me or expecting me to do it with my mouth."
She hangs her head in embarrassment.
"――――――――"
My desire surges up again at her gesture.
Her skin stimulates my desires.
"I know. But can I ask you something before we start?"
"W-What? I'll get angry if you tell me to do anything weird!"
Tohsaka glares at me, doing her best to look angry.
Seeing her cute embarrassment blows away my own embarrassment.
"Well, it's a simple question. Why aren't you taking off your top?"
"Huh...?"
Tohsaka sits there, dumbfounded.
The question must have caught her off-guard, as she looks at me as if she's seen a ghost.
And I wait for a few seconds before she replies.
"I-I don't have any particular reason! T-This is fine, right!? I-I-I only need to take my bottom off to do it, so I don't have to get naked."
"Why? I'm naked."
"......! That's fine because you're a guy! Girls have their reasons, so it's best if I'm covered up a bit...!"
Tohsaka pulls back as if running away.
That shirt must be Tohsaka's last defense.
I understand how she feels. It might be fine to let her keep her shirt on if it helps her keep calm.
But that's an excessive request.
I don't think any man would be able to consent to that.
"That's a problem. I might dirty your shirt, and I won't be able to concentrate if I have to worry about that. And..."
"Ugh. T-That's your problem. E-Even if you can't concentrate, I can concentrate, so――――"
"And I want to see your body. I won't do it unless you get naked."
"Y――――"
Tohsaka shuts her mouth upon hearing my selfish request.
"Tohsaka."
"――――F-Fine, you blockhead! I'll do as you wish, so turn around and close your eyes!"
"Oh, o-okay."
I'm taken aback at her pressure and close my eyes.
I don't hear the sound of her clothes.
I just feel the air moving behind me.
"......All right. You can turn around now, Shirou."
I nod silently at her tense voice.
"――――――――"
A guest room without any moonlight...
Tohsaka's body is illuminated by the warm lamp, and it is so beautiful that it shatters my composure.
"............"
Tohsaka silently tries to avoid my gaze.
Her skin looks soft.
Her limbs look a bit girlish, as if they are not fully matured.
Her breasts, covered by her hands, are of perfect size. I bet they would shake like gelatin if I poked them with my finger.
"――――――――"
I think praising her is unnecessary, so I continue to stare at her.
...Then.
I notice one part of her that hasn't changed.
"......Um. Aren't you going to take your stockings off, Tohsaka?"
"Do you have a problem with that? This is as far as I'm going to go. ...I won't let you see everything on our first time."
She sulks and looks away.
I don't think her legs will matter when she's taken off so much clothing, but I can't complain if she puts it like that.
...And she's already too seductive. I'll just accept this compromise right now.
"......All right. We're starting, Tohsaka."
I grab her arm without waiting for a reply.
...I push her onto the bed.
Her red-tinted body sinks into her long, black hair.
"Oh... Shirou. Um, if you can..."
"―――I know. I'll go slow, so you can just lie there."
"...Okay. Please go on."
Her voice trails off uneasily.
I slowly place my fingers on her breast.
"Ah... hm..."
I touch her well-shaped breasts.
Her plump breasts are hot, just like the rest of her body.
I wrap my hand around Tohsaka's female symbol.
"...Wow."
I let out a voice of surprise.
My mind goes crazy at its soft firmness.
The softness of her breasts stimulates my manhood.
"...No, that... hm, hurts a bit."
"Huh――――?"
I didn't squeeze them too hard, but it must have been painful for Tohsaka.
But I'm not calm enough to stop.
I want to feel her softness.
I want to continue feeling her breasts.
"Then... I'm doing this."
"Huh...? Ah, uh...!?"
I streak my tongue across her breast while keeping it in my hands.
"Haa... hm, that... tickles, but, that's, fine, hm...!"
I'm only pushing down on her breasts with my hands.
But they stick to my fingers, as if sucking on them.
"......Ah... Hm..."
"Hm... Do you like it, Tohsaka...?"
"Eh... oh, n-no, that's... not it..."
...Her breathing quickens.
While licking the breast, my tongue naturally reaches the very tip.
"Ah... mm..."
I lick her pink nipple as if tasting it.
I poke it and roll it with my tongue.
"...Ahh, hm――――"
Tohsaka is breathing faster and faster.
...Her breasts are getting hotter.
Her nipples are getting harder.
"Ha...... Haa... Mm, ah..."
But it seems Tohsaka isn't ready yet.
...She's breathing impatiently.
Tohsaka isn't that sensitive yet.
...It might be impolite to say this, but Tohsaka seems like the type that's hard to please.
"Ha―――hm, Shirou, your tongue is hot... and wet... Ah, ya――――"
But I can't stop myself.
I'm licking her breasts and I'm already wanting to bite her nipples.
My brain is stimulated every time my legs rub against Tohsaka's thighs.
The soft sensation runs up my spine and into my brain.
"Ah, haa, ha――――hm......!"
...Plus, Tohsaka is panting and opening up her body in front of me.
"――――――――"
I want to taste her even more.
I want to make Tohsaka mine by force and――――
"Ah, hm...... Hya...!? N-No, where are you going, Shirou...!?"
I slide my tongue across her body.
I move my face below her chest.
I slide from between her breasts and down.
".........!!! No, ah, hm...!"
Her compliant body suddenly shakes.
"N-No...! Stay away from my belly button...!"
Tohsaka tries to hide her belly button.
"Hm... You're weak here, Tohsaka?"
"Oh――――hya, hyaa, uhhh......!!"
I block her hand with my forehead and lick her pretty belly button.
"Ah, no――――no, don't... Ah, hm, ah, no――――"
There's no power in her hands.
I can do whatever I want. My tongue goes past her pubes and reaches a small lump.
"Ah, hm......!!!!"
Tohsaka's voice gets higher.
I guess this is stimulating even for her.
"Hm, in that case――――"
"Ah... no...! Ha, ah... ahh...!"
I push away the skin of the bud with my tongue and expose her clit.
Her clit is swollen red and I bet it will shake if I poke it.
"Ha, ah, ahhhh...! N-No, don't, touch me there...! I-I'll really hate you if you do..."
Her tone of voice changed and she sounds like she's begging now.
"......?"
I raise my head to question her.
"Ah... haa... haa... ha.. Don't do it. If you touch me there, um... I'll get an orgasm before you will."
Tohsaka confesses.
"Hm... it's fine, so put it in... I'm... ready."
"――――――――"
Is she really ready?
It doesn't look like she's wet enough.
It's starting to heat up, but it's not wet at all, and I don't think I can fit myself in there――――
"......!"
What should I do?
I should carry on caressing her in a situation like this, right? I hear it'll hurt unless I loosen it up with smaller things like my tongue and fingers...
"...Tohsaka. I know what you were telling me before, but I think I have to lick it at least, or something."
"Eh――――y-you mean lick mine...!?"
She resists, embarrassment clearly audible in her voice.
Her genitals are also excretory organs.
It seems like it's a big deal for her to have someone put his mouth down there.
"N-No...! You don't want to do such a thing, right...!?"
"I don't care. I won't mind doing it to you."
"―――! Uh... um. B-But don't do it. I'm fine... and, um... It's a problem for me if you do it."
"...? ...Problem?"
"I-It just is, okay...!? I'll go crazy if you do anything more to me, and it's embarrassing too, so just don't look at me too much, okay...!?"
"――――Oh. I see, so..."
She's just like me.
It's really embarrassing to get naked and have your body looked at.
...It was embarrassing for the guy, so it must be even more embarrassing for Tohsaka.
We're going to be having sex, but it seems Tohsaka doesn't want me to look at her vagina.
"...All right. I'm putting it in, okay?"
"............"
She replies by nodding.
I open up her legs and put my waist between them.
I grab my erect penis and push it onto her slit――――
"Hah, gu......!"
Tohsaka jumps.
I only pushed it in a bit, but Tohsaka reacts violently.
I hear a wet sound.
The erect penis goes between Tohsaka's red slit into her pink walls.
"Ha――――ah, ah, mn―――......!!"
"――――――――!"
Voice escapes my mouth at her hot, narrow hole.
Tohsaka isn't that wet as expected.
As it isn't wet, I'll be penetrating into her.
"Ha―――ah......! I-It's coming in...!"
It feels like I'm ripping it in rather than inserting it.
Her flesh is tearing as I push in further.
"......! I, ah... ku, hm...!"
I stop myself.
I think I'll dͯ something to Tohsaka if I continue.
Tohsaka is gritting her teeth and bearing it, even though I still don't even have half of my tip inside of her.
"Ah――――haa... haa... ah..."
Her body is tinted red from her own heat.
Drops of sweat form on her skin and her fingers are scratching the bed as if to bear my insertion.
"――――――――"
If all this is caused just by inserting my tip into her, then there's worse to come.
But I've already started.
I feel Tohsaka already, even though she may only be in pain.
"Ah... haa... ah... fua."
Listening to her pained voice, I barely retain my sanity.
...I'll go slow.
I'll slowly put it in her so that it won't be painful.
"Relax, Tohsaka."
"Huh...? Ah, mn...! Hm...!"
―――I slowly push my hips.
It's really tight inside of Tohsaka.
I squeeze myself through her tight walls.
No, I'm wrenching open her pussy using my wet weapon.
"Haa, nn, no...! It's too big, no, it won't fit――――...!"
I don't feel like I'm being accepted.
Tohsaka feels only pain, and her body refuses the intruder coming into it.
"Hah――――!"
No, it isn't just that.
Her pussy contracts to push out the foreign substance.
"Ah, na, ah, ku......!"
"Ha――――ahh......!"
I push it open using force, taking the greatest care not to push in too fast.
...Damn.
It must be difficult for Tohsaka, but it's hard for me as well.
It mentally tires me to go easy on her, and her vagina is constantly stimulating me.
Her walls are contracting around me.
I feel her warmth through my penis.
The sensation of her fills up my brain.
"Guh――――"
I grunt at the sensation coming from my penis.
I want to go wild, but I restrain myself.
...It's hard for me.
I might ram it in her all at once if I let my guard down.
"Ah... It's... coming in――――"
―――I push it in slowly.
I manage to fit my head into Tohsaka.
I stop and check how Tohsaka's doing.
"Ah――――haa, ah, ha......"
...She's breathing slower now.
I managed to get my tip in, so I think it'll be easier from now on.
――――But.
"Hm...... I-Is it not all in yet...?"
Tohsaka holds back her tears as she looks up at me uneasily.
"――――"
...I'm just getting started here.
I only got my tip in.
This is just the start if I am to move my penis in and out.
"―――No, we're just getting started. I need to put it in more."
"...Oh, I see... So it's only the tip, huh?"
She murmurs.
...Tohsaka is at her limit.
Her pussy isn't wet.
Her walls are trying to keep me out.
It's not just her body.
...No matter how firm she may be... No, it may be because she acts firm all the time, but Tohsaka looks so vulnerable when she's naked.
She seems afraid of someone else coming into her body.
"...What do you want to do? Should we rest for a while...?"
"...No, I'm well rested now. ...I'm sorry for worrying you."
"――――Are you sure, Tohsaka?"
"...Yeah... I'm fine――――so go ahead, Shirou."
"―――――――"
I'm filled with the urge to embrace her.
But I can't do anything unnecessary to her, as she's got her hands full with bearing the insertion.
"...Relax, okay? Tell me to stop if it hurts."
"...Yeah, I know."
I raise her hips just a bit.
Tohsaka squeezes my tip hard.
I spread open her walls to fight against it.
"Ha, nuu, mn...!!"
Tohsaka blushes at the different feeling of my rim going through her walls.
...I think it's a reaction she hasn't shown before.
She was only bearing the pain up to now.
She must have fully realized she's having sex now.
I see pain and embarrassment on her face.
"Ah... ha, ah, hm――――Shirou, it's getting better, so... you can... be a bit more forceful―――"
Tohsaka tries her best to relax.
She's trying her best to take me in.
"Toh... saka――――"
...I might be able to now...
I might be able to go deeper into Tohsaka.
"Kya...!? Fua, hm, naa――――!!!!"
I push my hips in a bit harder.
My penis plunges into her.
Tohsaka shakes from the force.
I feel something elastic on my tip.
"Ah, haa, ou... Hm, haa, ou, ah... Haa, no... no...!"
"――――!"
Her walls squeeze hard on my penis.
Tohsaka's vagina tries to push me out as if screaming.
"Ah, guh."
―――I went too fast.
I hear her groan and quickly pull myself back.
"Oh... Why are you stopping...?"
"――――Why?"
"Hm... I'm fine... it hurts, but... it was only a bit. Please continue... Shirou..."
She appeals to me while trying to hide her pain.
"――――――――"
She must have felt it pressing on the sign of her virginity.
Tohsaka knows what it means, but she's still bearing it.
"Mm, fua――――!!!!"
I push it in once more.
I move my penis awkwardly.
Tohsaka's body jumps when I move it just a bit.
"Ha, hm... Something's hitting me――――"
...She doesn't need to tell me.
I feel a wall that's blocking me that's different from the one squeezing me.
"...Emiya-kun...?"
Tohsaka looks up at me uneasily.
I nod back to her.
"――――I'm putting it in. I'm taking your virginity, Tohsaka."
Unwilling to put it off any longer, I push myself all the way into her in one motion.
"Ah, na, ahhhhh......!"
I push into her.
She tightens around me more than ever.
"Fu――――"
There's so much pressure that I feel like it's being cut off.
The sharp pain converts into pleasure and multiplies my joy at becoming one with Tohsaka.
"Ah, ou, ouch, no, I, I, ah, haa, ah―――! Haa―――ha, na... it, fu, ahhhhhhh......!!!!!!"
Her pussy squeezes me.
But that doesn't last long as the pressure goes away slowly.
"Ah―――Ah... haa, ah...... hm......"
It's easy after that.
Tohsaka's body loses power after I take her virginity.
The last half of my penis goes into her as if the previous difficulty was a lie.
"――――Ah――――......Ha."
...Tohsaka catches her breath.
I won't be going deeper into her, so all that is left is to slowly soften her up.
"......Ha, ah――――is it all in...?"
I don't need to answer.
My penis is deep within her.
My erect penis fills up all of her vagina so that there's no extra space.
Even my tip is touching the entrance to her womb.
"Oh... moving it is..."
...Is it an after-effect of losing her virginity or is it resistance to the thing inside of her?
Unable even to lift up her arm, Tohsaka can only stare at the place where we are connected.
There's the surprise of accepting something she thought would never go into her, and the uneasiness of not knowing what to do now.
She already looks so cute that...
"―――Tohsaka, can I-"
"Ah... hm... I see... I'm filled with Shirou."
"――――!"
I can't ask her if I can move or not.
"Oh... it's... getting bigger――――"
She looks bewildered.
I ignore it and...
"――――I'm moving, Tohsaka. I can't hold it any longer."
"Eh... ah, hm...!?"
"――――Fu――――"
I pull my hips back.
I pull my boiling meat out of the hole that has been contracting to push me out.
"Ah, ahn...! No, nha, ha―――fua, mm...!"
My stimulated cock is still full of desire.
There's no need to hurry.
I'll move slowly so that Tohsaka's body can get used to me.
"Haa... Ahhh... hm, ku...!"
Our flesh slides together.
I slowly move my waist back and forth to match Tohsaka's breathing.
"Ah, hm... No, don't move... Nha, ha... I still... have trouble breathing... Ah..."
Tohsaka's saying something under her ragged breath.
But my body doesn't follow my order.
"Haa―――...! No, Shirou, it still hurts...!"
I still hear pain in her voice.
Even though I took her virginity, the pain won't go away after I move it once or twice.
"Ah... Hm, haa, ah, mm...! It hurts... hm... it hurts, but..."
But still, I see some change.
I slowly keep moving in and out of her.
"......! Haa, ah... ha, haa, ah...!"
Her tense body gets hotter.
She still feels pain.
But at the same time―――
"Good... I'm really having sex."
Tohsaka's eyes well up with tears as if to show her relief.
"Ah, hm, ahh...! It's good, Shirou, keep moving――――"
She's accepting me.
She's enduring her pain and taking her time to accept a foreign intruder.
"―――Harder――――I'm a girl, too, na, fua, ah―――!!"
Tohsaka pants with her shoulders and tries to keep up with me.
Her tightness starts to send something other than pain up into my spine.
Our movements create a wet sound.
"Ah――――ha."
Her tight pussy starts to get slippery. The scorching hole starts to turn into a heaving sea.
"Ah... Haa... ah, ha――――hm... Ah, it feels good......!"
―――She must be getting used to it.
My pre-cum blends with Tohsaka's love juice.
Our movements create bubbles between us.
"――――――――"
The female organ and the male organ rub against each other.
"――――――――Haa."
Pleasure runs up my spine into my brain.
―――There's no way I can bear this.
I want to embrace Tohsaka.
This gentle sex isn't enough for me.
"Eh, hm...? ...Shirou...? Wait... isn't it a bit strong...? ...Mm... Can you move... slower――――?"
I don't hear her.
And besides...
"...You should be able to take this. It's getting smoother than when we first started."
"Ha... but this is good enough for me――――"
"It's not good enough. I want to embrace you even more."
My reason has already been thrown to the wind.
"No, ah......!? Ha, Shirou, it hurts...!"
I push it into her.
I throw my previous gentleness out the door.
I move my hips violently so that our waists hit each other...!
"......!! Ya, ha, no, stop, naaa...!"
Her body arches back.
I can't contain my lust and it even turns Tohsaka's voice into urges.
"Ha, nha, haa, ah―――! Ou, it's rubbing me...! Ah, ha, ah, hm――――!?"
She twists her hips to get away.
But there's nowhere for her to go as I'm holding them, so all she can do is stay there and accept me.
"Stop, I'm telling you... to stop...!
Fuaa, hm, ku...! I'm really gonna get mad...!"
"Haa――――you can resist me if you want... You're not doing it because it feels good, right?"
"...But... I-I can't put power into my limbs, ah, hm, ahh...!"
I'm shaking her body, and her long hair scatters across the bed.
Her well-shaped breasts shake like jelly and the pure sight of it drives me crazy.
"No, no, It'll tear apart... again...! Ahh, ou, it really hurts... nn, fua, haa, no, ha...!"
I keep moving in and out.
The movement is smooth.
Her love juice and the blood from losing her virginity are dampening her pussy.
The movement creates wet sounds...!
The friction encourages my sensitive penis.
"Haa――――ah, ahh......!"
"――――, ――――, ――――......!"
I feel nauseous.
I grit my teeth and bear the pleasure that makes me want to scream.
It should be the same for Tohsaka.
Her soft-looking skin is covered with sweat.
"Ah―――Ah, ah――――it hurts... but it feels good――――you're mixing me up too much, so I'm going crazy――――!"
"Ah... haa, kuh...!"
――――It feels like we're entangled with each other.
No, it's not just a feeling.
We are connected.
I'm penetrating Tohsaka,
and Tohsaka is accepting me.
This is the pure action to try to take each other in.
The movements make a wet sound...!
This act is intended to make us one.
I keep up my simple movement of moving back and forth.
"Ah――――no, it's coming deeper――――!"
The simple movement unifies our minds.
"Ha――――it's coming in deep――――"
This raw pleasure burns away my sanity.
This simple,
simple,
simple action feels so good――――!
"Ha, ah, hah......!!!!"
I move faster.
I push in so hard that I might go into her womb.
"Ahh, nha, ha, ah――――! Ow, ow, ow, it hurts, Shirou...!!"
I'm not holding anything back now.
I want her so much that I want to break her body, her tears, and her voice―――
"Ah, faah, no, ah......! This, this is scary, no, nonononono...!"
Pain isn't the only reason she's screaming.
Tohsaka fears the pleasure coming from the violent thrusts.
As proof...
"...! Tohsaka, you're so tight...!"
She reacts to my desire.
"I-It's not my fault...! I-It's all your fault, Shirou, hn, haa, ah, ahhhh...!"
―――The sensations from my penis fill my mind with blinding light.
Tohsaka is getting tighter.
Her walls are contracting around me.
Her soft meat tightens around my tip, my shaft, and my whole penis.
The sensation is so overwhelming that it makes me want to explode my brains out as well.
"Agh――――Tohsaka...!"
"Ow, ow, it hurts, but it feels good――――!
Ah, ahn, uha, haa, ah...! I-I'm melting, I'm going crazy...!"
Her thighs are slick with dripping juice.
Her tense body is now a ripe fruit.
I push in my penis.
Her walls close around me, simultaneously accepting and resisting.
I pull out and push it back in over and over.
"Ahh, nha, ah, haa...! I-I'm gonna break, you're filling me up...!"
I stimulate her and blow away her reason.
I push her mind up to a higher level.
There's no limit.
I just need to get our minds to white out and――――
"Ah――――Ah, nha, ahhhhhhhhh......!"
Tohsaka lets out a loud moan.
With her eyes closed in pleasure, she tightens around me to make me ejaculate.
―――My vision flickers.
I can't think.
I can only see the person in front of me, Tohsaka Rin.
―――Our minds are at their limits.
They stimulate one another and the pleasure increases with it.
"Ha, ah――――......!"
Our minds are melted together.
There's nothing to hold back now.
"No――――I can't hold it anymore...! Shirou, I...!"
Just like Tohsaka, who is trying to bear her orgasm, I'm about to explode as well.
"――――Toh... saka...!"
And I push it in.
I push it into her so hard that my penis would strike her womb...!
"Shirou...! Shirou, nha, ahh, ha――――ah, you idiot――――ah...!!!!"
"Guh――――......!?"
Tohsaka's body loses strength and falls onto the bed.
―――Lightning runs through me at that moment.
Tohsaka's walls convulse violently as she orgasms.
"Ah...!"
Her walls squeeze my shaft.
My penis is wrapped around by numerous walls.
She squeezes cum out of me as if to get me back for all I've done to her.
"――――! Ah――――"
I can't hold myself back anymore and release it.
I ejaculate onto her defenseless body.
...What a bad mistake.
I managed to pull my hips back at the last second so that I wouldn't ejaculate inside of her, but――――
"...T-Tohsaka."
I try to apologize, but I stop myself.
"......Ah...... Hm...... It's so hot..."
I guess it's meaningless to tell Tohsaka anything right now.
She is spaced out from the orgasm, and she is trying to catch her breath.
"――――――――Haa."
I'm tired as well.
I should be resting so that I can regain my energy.
I should be, but――――
"......Hm... It's so sticky... Ha, Shirou's is spilling away..."
"......!"
Tohsaka's figure is too tempting.
My cum is spilled on her heated body.
My semen drips down her soft skin every time she breathes.
"Ah――――ugh."
...This is bad.
My lust might return if I keep watching something like this.
"...Is there anything to wipe with――――?"
I shake my head and look through the room.
I want to keep watching her, but this is no time to be doing that.
We're done now, so Tohsaka will scold me unless I switch my mind――――
"...I can't believe it.
Don't you remember anything about being gentle, you beast!?"
―――Hey.
Tohsaka still scolds me.
And it's not in her usual arrogant way. She's yelling at me in a way that makes me realize I've done a bad thing.
"―――――――Um, Tohsaka."
"...You stupid Shirou. I told you it hurts. ...I'm never going to have sex with you again."
"Uh
um."
What can I say back to that?
I think I'll only piss her off more if I apologize, but I think it does no good to say nothing.
"――――――Tohsaka, um..."
I can't look away from her tears and I try to find something to talk about.
"......Oh yeah. Did the contract go well? Um, it turned out like that in the end, but..."
"Of course! I'd be doing the same thing to you if we couldn't connect our circuits after that!"
"Oh."
She yells at me.
I don't know if I've succeeded, but Tohsaka is yelling at me as usual.
"―――I see. Then our magecraft-Circuits are connected, right?"
"...It's a one-way path from me to Shirou, but yeah.
It will take a bit before the effect takes place, but you should be able to receive my magical energy supply as a reserve tank."
Tohsaka glares at me as she explains.
Tohsaka created our connection even when I was going wild over her.
"Then..."
"Yes. I can provide you with enough magical energy to activate your Reality Marble.
The rest is up to you now."
"――――――――"
I close my right hand in front of Tohsaka.
I don't really feel it yet.
But I believe our contract is there, since Tohsaka said so.
"――――Thanks, Tohsaka. And I'm sorry. I couldn't hold myself back and made you cry."
"......! Humph! I won't forgive you even if you apologize.
You made me cry twice, so I'm going to get you back someday!"
Tohsaka glares at me.
...I don't know if she's angry or just sulking.
Tohsaka's voice is surprisingly kind.
"――――――――"
So I'm forced out of Tohsaka's room.
She told me that girls have their business, so I should be considerate and go back to my room.
"...Don't be stupid. Guys have a lot of business as well."
I do, but I didn't say so in front of Tohsaka.
I bet she would have gotten me back right on the spot if I said so.
"......Besides..."
No matter what Tohsaka may need to do, it's true that we don't have much time.
The date has changed already.
I bet we should be heading out to the Ryuudou Temple within an hour.
"Hm――――yeah, this is..."
I close my eyes and feel the magical energy pouring into me.
Tohsaka isn't consciously supplying me with magical energy yet, but it's already enough to fill me up.
If Emiya Shirou's magical energy capacity is 20 or 30, she always has 500 magical energy.
...I'm sure it would take years to fill up her whole capacity, but I bet her maximum capacity could reach a thousand.
"...I'm amazed. She really is amazing."
It makes me realize her greatness again.
Well, she's exhausted right now and most magi only keep about 80 percent of their magical energy, so Tohsaka has about 400 magical energy right now.
But that is still a huge amount.
I use about two magical energy to use one strengthening magecraft,
and about five magical energy to use one projection magecraft.
Using that example, I can use my projection magecraft dozens of times now when I could only do it six times before.
"......Well, a cheap vehicle will overheat even if there is enough gasoline."
But this has greatly increased my power.
I might even be able to beat that king of heroes with this.
All that's left is――――
"―――There's one more hour. I should rest my body until then."
I'll rest and restore the energy I used by having sex.
...Everything is set.
I'll fully prepare myself since Tohsaka has opened up her body to me.
Scene 31
I turn off the lights in my house.
It's four in the morning.
With dawn still a few hours away, we leave the Emiya household.
Everything is arranged already.
There's nothing to talk about now. We just need to go to battle and fulfill our roles.
...There's no guarantee that we'll come back alive.
No, that has been the case all along, but there's less of a guarantee this time.
That's why I'm carefully turning off all the lights.
"...Huh?"
There's someone standing in the yard.
The golden-haired girl is just standing there, looking up at the night sky.
"Hey. What are you doing, Saber?"
"I was watching the sky and this house."
Her reply is gentle.
She is looking at the house with an expression different from the first time I met her.
"A lot has happened. I want to engrave the events in my mind so that I will remember them forever."
"――――――――"
It is...
...The voice of one prepared not to return.
"I see. ......Yeah, please remember it if you can."
I make a clumsy wish from the porch.
"Yes. Then I have a favor to ask of you as well.
I will protect you two. So please come back to this house together."
"―――Yeah. We'll come back here no matter what."
That's all I can manage to say.
We're going to go destroy the Holy Grail. At the same time, Servant Saber will be returning to her original place.
Even if I want her to stay here,
and even if Saber is attached to this house...
As long as she is a Servant, she cannot go against the law.
"Hey, what are you doing!? We don't have time, so hurry up...!"
A voice urges us from the entrance.
Tohsaka must be waiting at the gate, ready to go.
"――――Shirou."
"Yeah, let's go settle this once and for all."
I turn off the last light and leave the house with Saber.
――――A quiet night.
The illusion of the girl staring up at the stars is still lingering in the yard.
The plan goes like this.
Saber will head into the Ryuudou Temple from the front while Tohsaka and I sneak in from the back.
Saber will enter before us so that she can get Gilgamesh's attention.
We will use that opening to sneak in, quickly destroy the Holy Grail, and go help Saber.
...I'll keep Gilgamesh at bay by projecting his Noble Phantasms, allowing Saber to finish him off―――
That is the only plan we have.
"――――――――"
It is a path that you can barely call a road.
Tohsaka must have researched it beforehand, as she goes up without hesitation.
At night, the mountain is dark and ominous.
It is natural for the sacred mountain to reject people.
The dark mountain is threatening, but it is an embodiment of the pure gods at the same time.
But――――
"...This isn't normal. It smells so bloody that I feel sick."
Tohsaka stares up at the summit, where the Ryuudou Temple is.
"Smelling bloody" is just a phrase Tohsaka used.
There is no smell of blood coming from the mountain.
It just feels strange.
The air is damp, and it sticks to the skin like a membrane.
The place is suffused with a life force so strong that I can't tell if the breathing I hear is mine or the mountain's.
I feel like I'm climbing up a big, living organ rather than a mountain.
"...I know it's late to ask, but how do you feel, Shirou?"
―――Then.
Tohsaka suddenly asks me such a question.
"Huh...? I feel fine, but really not...
To be honest, it's beyond my control."
I honestly tell her.
I can easily project dozens of weapons with this amount of magical energy.
But it's like having a jet engine inside of a worn-out plane, so the fuel might leak out and explode if I let my guard down.
"Wow, that's a luxurious worry. But it did succeed, huh? I was worried since it was the first time..."
"――――――――"
My face burns up the instant I recall it.
"Hold on. Please don't talk about it right now."
"I-I know! I feel the same way.
...I'm talking about something else.
I'm talking about the balance of the magical energy I'm giving to you and Saber. I'm sharing my magical energy between two people, so Saber is getting less energy now."
"Oh―――I see. Then does that mean Saber can't fight with all her power?"
"Hey, don't take me so lightly.
I won't do such a clumsy thing. The magical energy I'm giving you is small, so it's fine.
But we can't push it. Saber can only use her holy sword once."
"――――She can only use her holy sword once?"
...Then we can't use the holy sword against Gilgamesh.
Saber's Noble Phantasm has to be saved to destroy the Holy Grail.
"Then Saber has to keep Gilgamesh busy without using her Noble Phantasm!?"
"Yeah, so we'll have to go help her as quickly as possible.
I told her that she can use the holy sword if she can't stop Gilgamesh by herself.
...But that would be it for Saber. Only her holy sword can destroy the Holy Grail.
So――――"
"――――――――"
My breathing stops.
In short...
She will have to use her holy sword at the cost of her existence――――
"―――Tohsaka, that's..."
"...It can't be helped. It's what Saber said. She will destroy the Holy Grail even if I stop her."
Tohsaka murmurs as she looks away.
"――――――――"
...Damn, how stupid of me.
It must be hard for Tohsaka as well.
Tohsaka doesn't want Saber to disappear either.
Then――――
"Let's hurry. We won't give Saber to Gilgamesh."
"Of course not. She's mine. I won't let him kill her."
We run.
We know what we have to do.
We have to stop the Holy Grail as fast as we can and go settle the match with Gilgamesh――――
Scene 32
The mountain is rumbling.
The sky is filled with dark clouds, and the trees are rustling as if shivering with fear.
"――――――――"
She watches it all at the entrance to the mountain gate.
She understood that the Ryuudou Temple was poisoned the instant she approached it.
The golden Servant isn't the only one waiting for her at the top of the stairs.
Something strange is waiting for her.
"―――――――"
She takes a big breath.
She cannot afford to make a mistake.
If the mountain is a place of death, then she will draw all the risk to herself.
She wants the other two to make it out alive.
She cannot hold anything back.
She can only use her holy sword twice.
She understands that she will disappear the instant she activates the holy sword for the second time.
"―――I do not care. He is an enemy I cannot match unless I risk my life."
The king of heroes, Gilgamesh.
She cannot think of anything else but to use the holy sword against that man with a thousand Noble Phantasms.
'―――Go after thirty minutes, Saber.'
She recalls Rin's words.
It is only one more minute until the appointed time.
She breathes out and sets her condition.
――――Wind blows down from the mountaintop.
The instant the trees shiver against the evil wind, she starts up the stone steps.
She runs up in a flash.
Her attack must have been detected the instant she stepped onto the stairs.
The last Servant should appear at the temple.
She will get to him as quickly as possible so she can defeat him before Shirou and Rin arrive.
...She cannot disobey her Master's order.
She started off after waiting thirty minutes, just as Rin ordered.
Even if she arrives at the temple before Rin expects her to, she is not going against Rin's order.
It is just that she will protect her master's life, and go against Rin's expectation as a result.
"――――――――"
If the thing leaking out from the mountain is pollution, Saber is a raging wind that blows the pollution away.
It should not take her a minute to get to the top.
She will be five minutes faster than what Rin is expecting.
She can end her fight against Gilgamesh in that time.
"Haa―――――!"
She runs, enduring the mountain's chill.
The silver armor shoots up to the temple like a bullet.
And when she finally reaches the mountain gate...
"Wh――――at?"
Her feet, which should not stop, come to an unexpected halt.
Sweat runs down her forehead.
She looks up at the mountain gate in astonishment.
"―――I have been waiting for you. I am glad you made it in time, Saber."
An elegant voice echoes through the night.
Moonlight glints off the longsword.
On the stairs leading up to the mountain gate...
Stands an enemy who should not exist.
"Assassin――――"
There is no elegance in Saber's voice.
An enemy that should not be there, an obstacle that should not exist.
She cannot be calm in the face of these surprises.
"What is wrong, Saber? Is it that much of a surprise that I am here?
You should know that I am the guard here."
His pleased voice is calm and composed.
The swordsman is acting casually, even with the evil wind swirling about.
"...Impossible. Why are you here, Assassin...!? Caster summoned you. You cannot exist since Caster is gone...!"
"That should be the case for normal Servants. But I am a bit special. It is not a person, but this land that is binding me.
Masters are the hosts which keep you in this world. It is this mountain in my case."
"Wha――――the land is the host...?"
"Right. Servants, ones without form, cannot maintain other Servants even if they are magi. A host from this age is needed to keep a Servant in this world.
That fox summoned me and chose this land to be my host.
Therefore, I am a Servant that can only appear here. I will not disappear as long as the mountain exists, even if Caster, my summoner, dies."
"―――But that is only borrowed time.
The fox gave me about twenty days' worth of magical energy. You should be able to tell when my limit is."
Saying so, the swordsman raises his right hand.
Inside his elegant kimono...
His white arm is transparent like glass.
"Assassin――――――you..."
"I will not last until dawn, as you can see.
The appointed time of twenty days is already over. It is just luck that kept me alive this long."
"――――――――"
She looks up at the swordsman in astonishment.
Neither enmity nor murderous intent is emitted from his sword.
He just wishes for a fight.
He is demanding a meaningless battle.
"―――Then you have stayed just to fight against me, Assassin?"
"Do not let me say it, Saber. It will just turn into meaningless words if I say it."
He laughs.
She can understand how he feels.
But she does not have the time right now.
The other two will make it in time for the battle unless she hurries.
No, in the worst case――――they will reach the temple to face Gilgamesh even before she does.
"Move aside, Assassin. The one that ordered you to protect this gate has died. There is no longer a reason to follow that command."
Saber asks while she takes a step forward.
But――――
"―――I refuse. I had no reason to fight from the start."
Assassin points his sword at Saber,
saying that he will start the fight if she comes any closer.
"No, I do not have a reason to fight. From the very beginning, I have had nothing. I do not have pride as a heroic spirit, and I do not have a wish I want granted.
No―――first of all, it was a mistake that I got summoned. Because I am not Sasaki Kojirou."
"――――!?"
Saber's confusion reaches its limit.
Sasaki Kojirou.
It should be the true identity of this Servant.
But Assassin himself said that he is a fake.
"You should not be so surprised.
Sasaki Kojirou was never more than a fictional swordsman without a true identity.
It is said that he existed, but records on him are too vague.
His 'past' was falsely forged as a convenient foe to a famed swordsman."
"I am sure a man named Sasaki Kojirou existed. I am also sure that there was a swordsman who used Monohoshizao.
――――But they are not the same person.
A swordsman with the name Sasaki Kojirou is a fictional character created to be his enemy's foil."
"You are――――a fictional heroic spirit?"
"Yes, I am Sasaki Kojirou. It merely means that I am the best suited for this role.
I do not have a name. I do not know how to read or write, and I was not fortunate enough to be given one."
"I am a phantom that was summoned just because I could execute Sasaki Kojirou's secret technique.
As I am a false Servant, I cannot last long. Caster treated me as a disposable Servant because of that reason."
"See, there is no meaning in this, right?
Even if I am to perform a great deed here, all the reward will go to 'Sasaki Kojirou'. I will get nothing. As I am nothing, everything is meaningless.
I am not even clear about myself. I am only a disposable swordsman that acts out the role of Sasaki Kojirou."
His longsword wavers.
The fictional swordsman created by a fictional story blocks her way as if to fulfill his role.
"―――But.
If there is a meaning in me, it is now.
If there is a wish for 'me' who died nameless..."
He must have...
...He must have dreamed of a match with a superior swordsman who he could not have been allowed to witness as a nameless swordsman.
"――――Assassin."
...She readies her sword.
She cannot convince her enemy.
The only way she can answer the swordsman who is prepared for his death is to fight him.
"Then let us start.
My life will end no matter what. There can be no better end than to die at your hand――――!"
His longsword moves.
Saber's sword repels the strike like moonlight.
"Kuh――――!"
His longsword wavers.
She cannot match Gilgamesh if she uses up her powers here.
But she cannot afford to hold back.
No―――she does not know if she can win, even if she uses all her powers.
His longsword gets more fierce with each blow.
A fictional swordsman.
A swordsman who can match a heroic spirit without a Noble Phantasm.
She must settle her match with him right here and now――――
Scene 33
―――The mountaintop is near.
We'll reach the back of the temple once we climb up this mountain.
I think there's a big lake there.
"I see it. We're almost there...!"
Tohsaka pushes her way through the branches and runs up the hill.
I keep watch on our surroundings as I follow behind Tohsaka.
And so...
"It" greets us the instant we make our way from the hill onto level ground.
"[line11]What... is this?"
A lump of meat is wriggling around.
The thing in the middle of the lake spews out black blood and shakes as if asking for help.
How big is that thing?
Already as big as an island, the pile of flesh is slowly expanding.
The clear water is now dirty and sticky like coal tar.
"No way――――is that the Holy Grail?"
I avert my gaze, unable to stare directly at it.
The air on this mountain is that thing's breath.
The infinitely flowing magical energy is making that lump of meat explode, and the black blood is polluting the lake.
The blood isn't just colorless energy.
The black thing is a visible curse.
"Kuh――――!"
Just looking at the black mud gives me chills.
The curse seeps into my brain through my eyes, ordering me to...
And that is all.
"――――What the... How can we―――"
Stop such a thing?
The distance is about thirty meters.
The lake is shallow, and it'd be easy to walk in it.
But―――it's suicidal to go into that mud.
Just looking at the curse is almost enough to knock one unconscious.
I'll weaken and sink into the mud if I walk a meter into it.
"―――That thing is about to explode.
I don't know if it was shaped like that from the start, but I bet the original vessel was too small. It can't contain the thing in it and it's about to break the vessel."
"'Break the vessel'... You mean..."
"If Shinji's the Holy Grail, it would mean he would be destroyed. Can you see it? There's something that's shaped like a human in it, right? I think you'll be able to see it."
"Huh...?"
I look where Tohsaka is looking.
Within the expanding pile of flesh...
I certainly see something shaped like a human.
....He must be stuck to the flesh.
His clothes have been torn off, leaving him naked. Visible against his skin, the blood vessels writhe like centipedes, connecting him to the meat.
...It looks bizarre, as if grapevines took a human form.
"―――Shinji. I can't see his face, but I'm sure of that physique―――"
"I see. So, is he alive?"
"――――――――"
...I can't tell.
He's not dead. But I'm not optimistic enough to say that he's alive in that condition.
"...He's breathing. His body is..."
I can't even say that he has human limbs in a way.
"I thought so. The Holy Grail this time is in human form. So it means it's operated using a person, right?
I guess Shinji turned out that way because he's incompatible, but the Holy Grail won't function unless the host is alive."
"―――But that thing is about to explode. It's going to destroy Shinji, right?"
"That's because it can't be helped. ...The Holy Grail will not exist anymore if that happens. That strange thing will flow out from a gate the Holy Grail opens."
"But we can still make it in time.
The Holy Grail has been activated, but it's not in its true form, nor is it broken.
That goldie just wants to open the gate.
His objective is to activate the Holy Grail and to destroy the vessel. If he does that――――"
"That mysterious mud will flow out infinitely――――"
――――There's no time to think.
We have to pull Shinji out of that thing and stop the Holy Grail...!
"Tohsaka. Can you do something about that mud? It looks like we can walk on it if we freeze it."
"That's impossible. I can do it if it's just water, but that thing is a curse made up of magical energy. Even a magus specialized in freezing would have a hard time freezing a magical energy that took physical form."
"――――I see. Then..."
I guess I'll just have to pray and run through it.
I'll cross the lake before I get cursed and bring back Shinji.
"Hey, are you going to go like that!? It's impossible! It'll swallow you!"
"You never know unless you try. We don't have time. Saber should be fighting right now. We can't hesitate here――――!?"
I quickly turn, moving to protect Tohsaka.
"This is surprising.
I did not think I would see your face for the third time, you lowlife."
A laugh.
He appears here as if he knows of our plan.
"Gilgamesh――――!? No way! Then who is Saber fighting...!?"
It seems Saber is fighting someone from what Tohsaka is saying.
But I can't tell who she's fighting, nor how she's faring.
No―――this isn't the time to be thinking about such things.
The one before us is the worst possible enemy.
He's the strongest Servant, the one the three of us had planned to beat together.
But only Tohsaka and I face him now.
"Oh, Saber is not here? ...How dull. In that case, I guess I will settle for killing just the two of you."
Coldness emanates from the sea of mud, and the man before me gives off a murderous intent.
He already has the Noble Phantasms ready behind him.
I'll be skewered the instant I carelessly take a step forward.
"Hm―――no, that will be too boring.
I normally do not allow such a thing, but I shall make an exception for the two of you, just this once. You two are special guests. I shall give you two a brief grace period."
"......Grace period?"
I clench my fist as I glare at the enemy.
―――My Magic Circuit is open.
I manage to form 14 blueprints in my head.
I'll reproduce his swords once he clicks his fingers.
I should be able to let Tohsaka escape―――
"What, do I have to tell you?
I am telling you two to stand there until the cocoon hatches. It would be too lonesome if I were the only one to witness it.
Seeing this through will give meaning to your lives."
"――――――――!"
I can't listen to him.
Our goal is to stop the Holy Grail.
If we can still make it, we have to get Shinji back――――!
"I see. I'm sorry, but――――"
"I won't do as you say. I'm going to go there and stop your Holy Grail right away."
Then.
Tohsaka glares at Gilgamesh from behind me.
"――――Oh?"
He grins.
He smiles like that when he decides to kill the one in front of him.
"H-Hold on, Tohsaka. That's――――!"
"Can you stop him here, Shirou?
...I know it's unreasonable, but please hold on until Saber makes it here. I'm going to go pull Shinji out."
"What――――pull Shinji out?"
"I know. He's still Sakura's brother, and I can't just let him die in front of me. ...And you believe in saving anyone that can be saved, right?"
Tohsaka runs to the black lake.
Is she going to go into that mud―――!?
"Kuh――――haha, hahahahahahaha!!!!
How ridiculous! Are you trying to make me die of laughter!?"
He laughs, as if to look down at Tohsaka's determination.
"What's so funny...!?"
"Oh, is it not comical for you, lowlife?
Go through that curse? Do you think that a mere human can go through what even a Servant cannot bear!?"
"―――Heh, don't take me too lightly. I'm not so weak as to be tainted by this curse.
And I'm not a half-spirit like you guys. I'm fully human, so I won't let that curse drown me...!"
It's an obvious bluff, but I'm sure that Tohsaka will make it across.
As she says, Tohsaka Rin isn't so weak as to lose to that curse.
"I see. Then do as you wish.
―――But I will not allow such a thing."
"――――Trace-"
A sword shoots forward.
The sword flies through the air to pierce Tohsaka's defenseless back――――
"――――Off...!"
And it is slashed down by Kanshou.
"Hah, ha――――!"
I breathe hard.
I made it―――even though I was prepared, this is the fastest projection I have ever done.
It's probably thanks to Tohsaka's magical energy.
With this, I might be able to――――
"――――You."
Murderous rage fills his red eyes.
...The projection made him serious.
The Noble Phantasms behind his back increase in number.
"――――Shirou."
I hear Tohsaka's worried voice.
I don't turn around, but stare at my enemy with Kanshou in hand.
"Tohsaka. I'm leaving Shinji up to you."
That's all I say.
"―――All right. I'll bring him back right away!"
I hear a splashing sound.
Tohsaka goes into that mud without any hesitation.
"――――――――Phew."
Then I'll protect her.
I won't allow a single Noble Phantasm to get past me.
"I'm your opponent. Beat me if you want to attack Tohsaka."
I take a step forward.
That must have gotten on his nerves.
The golden Servant takes his eyes off Tohsaka and looks at me.
"―――Ha, that girl will die anyway.
It was out of compassion that I tried to kill her―――"
The Noble Phantasms point at me.
He lets out a sharp murderous intent.
"But it seems I need to teach you a lesson before that.
―――You miserable fraud.
I shall teach you the difference between the fake and the real――――!"
He releases his treasures unsparingly.
Scene 34
The longsword slashes through the darkness.
Saber has yet to be able to close in on her enemy that freely swings his longsword.
"Kuh......!"
Unable to dodge, she retreats.
The distance between the two does not shrink.
There is one meter between Saber and Assassin.
But Saber is unable to climb the few steps.
"――――――――!"
She bites her lip.
She cannot waste any time.
She surpasses him in power.
She can overpower him if she uses her magical energy and her sword as a shield.
Just one blow.
She can overpower him if she can withstand just one blow.
It can be her arm or leg.
If she does not allow the wound to slow her, there will be no second attack.
She can surely slash Assassin after she receives his blow.
But...
If the attack is to come for her neck, she cannot overpower him.
All of this Servant's attacks are of that kind.
All are meant to take her life.
Retreat is the only defense against them.
She cannot move forward because of the enemy's technique, and the geographical disadvantage does not allow her to move to either side.
She cannot move forward because of those reasons.
She must reach the temple alive.
The two are fighting Gilgamesh even at this moment.
They might die if she is late.
No, in the worst case――――they are already...
"Kuh――――ahhhhhh......!"
She runs.
She rushes upward, yelling as if to deny the ominous thought.
The two weapons collide.
"Hm."
For some reason, Assassin swings his sword not at the charging Saber, but at the swinging sword.
"...Impressive. As expected from Saber's sword. I thought it would be able to take a few blows, but it was bent after just one...!"
Sparks fly off.
The swords try to push each other away.
"Assassin blocked my sword...?"
Assassin's sword is fragile.
It is a good sword that can even cut steel, but it is made by a human. It cannot even be compared to her sword that is not made by men.
His longsword would be pulverized if he used his power to strike back at the oncoming attack.
That is why Assassin has parried the attacks and pushed back Saber by attacking her body instead of her sword until now.
But Assassin blocked this attack.
Assassin's sword cannot block Saber's attack no matter how strong he is.
The longsword that blocked Saber's attack is bent.
There's no way it's as sharp as it was before.
'I can beat him? Can I beat him without a scratch...?'
Saber asks herself while she pushes back Assassin's longsword.
That question becomes an opening.
There is a reason why Assassin blocked her sword.
She is standing in that position before she realizes it.
"......!"
Their positions are different.
They are now standing on the same level.
Before she realizes it, Saber has been forced to fight sideways.
...It is just like before.
They are standing on the same plane.
This is the position he needs to execute his secret technique.
Assassin is able to execute his demonic attack here.
――――Tsubame Gaeshi.
Three arcing blades close in on the enemy from all sides, allowing no chance for defense or evasion.
"――――――――"
A chill runs up her back.
"Assassin, you...!"
Saber stops pushing.
She can push him back.
She can push Assassin back with her strength, then follow up with a finishing blow or run up to the mountain gate.
But―――it will be the same either way.
"That" attack will come the instant she pushes him away.
It will end once he executes his technique. It does not matter if she runs up to him or if she turns her back and runs up the mountain.
So she cannot push him.
She can only loosen up and match Assassin's push.
"―――Are you sure you want to relax like that? I can push you back now."
Assassin stares at Saber in satisfaction.
There is no inhumane emotion there.
The swordsman is just fascinated by her eyes, trying to find some way out of this hopeless situation.
"......! So this is why you damaged your own weapon...!?"
"Of course. I wanted to put an end to the match.
I thought this would bring out the Saber I saw previously. Do not think about what comes after this battle while we are still fighting."
"――――――――"
She gasps.
Assassin's words are not to insult her, but――――
"......!?"
The compound is burning.
Sounds of swords clashing and breaking.
It is the sound of battle between Gilgamesh and Emiya Shirou.
"Hm. It seems the banquet is at its peak. This is no time for you to be staying here."
"Assassin――――!"
She puts power into her arms.
She puts magical energy into her sword to push her enemy back.
...But she cannot do it.
She will die once she does so.
She will fall into Assassin's trap once she gets away from him.
"Ku――――"
She grits her teeth in frustration.
She puts magical energy into her sword without a plan.
Then...
"Why the hesitation? There is only one thing for us to do."
The swordsman's voice is clear.
"......Assassin?"
"From the very beginning, we were only summoned to fulfill our roles.
As I protect this gate, you have something to protect as well.
Then there is nothing to think about.
―――And Saber. You are not the only one who is in a hurry."
"――――――――"
There is no lie in those words.
Those are the first and last true words for the swordsman that fulfilled his role as a fictional character.
That he would like for both of them to go all-out on each other.
The swordsman in front of her is telling her his only wish, his only compensation for being summoned in this world.
"――――I apologize for my impoliteness. We certainly do not have time."
She releases the magical energy in her sword.
"Nu......!?"
The merciless force pushes Assassin back.
He slides back about two meters.
Saber does not move, even though she is within Assassin's best range.
She does not run up to the mountain gate nor does she charge at Assassin.
She releases the seal.
Showing her sword, Saber confronts Assassin.
There is no hesitation in her eyes.
She will use all her powers if need be.
Her eyes state that she will use all her strength to defeat the enemy in front of her.
"――――――――"
There is nothing to talk about now.
The fictional swordsman readies his sword.
"――――――――Let us."
He greets his greatest enemy with his strongest technique.
―――She struggles through the sea of tainted meat.
The lake isn't even a meter deep.
Chunks of flesh carpet the bottom, so she only sinks up to her knees.
"―――Geez, this is too disgusting...!"
She grumbles as she breathes hard.
Every step brings a chill as if she's treading on piles of insects.
If she stops moving, the taint on her skin begins to solidify and consume her.
"......! Geez, damn it...!"
She shakes it off with all her might and keeps going.
It is almost impossible to keep wading through the rottenness while still keeping her sanity.
After this, she shouldn't even be scared of butchering cattle at the slaughterhouse.
Slaughtering a cow would be simple now.
So she's getting used to this work now.
She is so tense that she'll stop moving once she stops treating this as work. But at least there is no mental damage this way.
"......Ha, haa, ah――――"
But she cannot endure it with just willpower.
Her temperature rises with each step.
The meat on her legs attacks her nerves instantly. Even if she flings it off, the poison has already entered her system.
Curse.
The malice is almost tangible, and it feels like a disease.
One will get sick when touched by it.
It taints the nerve, takes away energy, boils the brain, and kills within one step.
A normal person would stop moving after two steps and would fall into the sea of decay.
She does not know what would happen after that.
She doesn't even want to consider whether she would be suffocated or absorbed into the poisoned flesh.
Her mind is too overcome with heat even to think about it.
"Guh――――man――――"
She braces her staggering feet and keeps moving forward.
...Rin did not enter the pool of mud without a plan.
She swallowed two jewels and is using all of the magical energy she saved up to defend herself.
If this curse is a crystallization of pure magical energy, she should be able to repel it with strong magical energy of her own―――
"Ku――――this is... bad――――"
...Her vision wavers.
Her guess was right, but her scale was off.
The swallowed jewels are as good as a paper shield against the curse.
This is not something a human can fight against.
No human can ward off this curse.
...In here...
One's belief in oneself is the only support of their life.
"Ah――――gu――――geez... Jumping into a sea of fire is colder than this."
With her jewels' protection, jumping into a sea of fire would be no problem.
As soon as she complains...
"――――――――!"
She gets angry at herself and sets her mind straight.
It's not true.
She cannot be complaining.
She concentrates on the sounds behind her.
...She cannot see the two anymore.
She doesn't know if Shirou moved the battleground away or if he's just cornered.
Either way, it seems the fight has gone to the compound.
"――――Just a bit more. I'll finish this quickly, so..."
She runs.
It's only as fast as walking, but she frantically moves her feet.
She pushes her way through the tainted meat.
Her breathing ragged, she reaches out.
"Hah, got it――――!"
She climbs up.
She can feel the mountain of meat.
"......Oh. It seems it's better here."
She lays on the pulsing ground.
This feels even nastier, but the heat violating her nerves goes away.
"......? Wait... could this be...?"
She puts her finger on the red ground.
...It is the same as the black mud, but it has form.
It is something that should not exist in this world―――something that came out of the Holy Grail and took form using magical energy.
"...Servants... This is exactly like the Servants..."
She murmurs in blank amazement.
...She tries to think what this could mean, but then stops herself.
This isn't the time.
There is only one thing she must do right now.
"―――All right, I'm rested. I'm going to find Shinji and get out of here."
She gets up and runs along the top of the mountain of meat.
It is an island about fifty meters wide.
She could not tell before, but this lumpy meat is intertwined.
"――――Found him."
Within it all...
Matou Shinji is there, hidden amongst the flesh.
"Gah......!"
I repel the oncoming swords.
There are over ten Noble Phantasms, and every one of them has been released to destroy me.
"Ku......!!!!"
I throw away the destroyed sword and prepare for the next attack.
"Ha, haa, ha――――"
I catch my breath in an instant.
I can't project with ragged breath, and I'll just be skewered if I don't have a weapon.
"Haa, guh――――!"
This battle is not a battle against him.
This is a battle against my body.
I will die once the speed and precision of my projection go down.
"Hah――――there is no time to rest!"
"......!"
In reponse to his voice, a straight sword points at me.
The loaded Noble Phantasm is released at fatal speed――――
"――――Trace...!"
"――――Guh, gu――――!"
Unable to deflect the full impact, I fall to the ground.
I quickly roll to the side and get up, steadying myself.
"What is wrong? Your quality is going down. You cannot even call it a replica if it will break in one blow."
...He laughs.
He's obviously enjoying this.
There's no way for me to defend myself if he releases all of the Noble Phantasms behind him.
But he releases them one by one, as if to test how much I can take.
"Haa――――Haa, ha――――"
...But that's what's keeping me alive right now.
It's too hard to project a weapon after seeing it, even with Tohsaka's backup.
I can only imitate the shape.
I can't construct the ability inside of it, so it gets destroyed with one blow.
"Ku――why did he say that―――?"
He said I'm the only one who can beat him.
But this is all I can do.
I can't rush at him after I block his attack.
Two. I'll at least need two weapons.
But I'm having trouble projecting one weapon, so it's impossible for me to project two at once...!
"What? So you're just talk, faker?"
He must have liked seeing me roll around, as he looks delighted.
"Ha――――a."
...I catch my breath.
It's fine as long as he's enjoying this.
There's still a chance for me to win――――
"――――Trace, on."
I look within myself.
A limited circuit.
I mentally lay out as many blueprints as I can.
...I can see seventeen Noble Phantasms behind him.
I read the structure from its appearance, draw out the concept of creation, select the composition material――――
"Guh―――......!"
I vomit blood.
It's because I'm putting multiple blueprints inside a circuit that usually handles one or two.
My nerves are bruised since I started projection, and my body is being destroyed from within.
My throat tries to pump out the blood that is filling my stomach.
"――――Possession experience, sympathy complete."
I swallow it and continue with the process.
Kanshou and Bakuya cannot block his Noble Phantasms.
Archer should be able to with his technique, but I don't have that much skill.
There's only one way for me to block the Noble Phantasms.
I need to offset them with the same exact ones――――!
"Fu――――haa, ha――――"
I still have enough magical energy.
There's enough supply from Tohsaka.
...But the circuit to channel it is about to break.
The end is near.
When he gets serious, I have to project the same number of Noble Phantasms as him to stay alive.
But my body will die if I project that many.
"――――Roll out. Bullet, clear."
I save the overflowing images.
...The overflowing swords are ones that will pierce me from within.
Emiya Shirou will be pierced from within if the circuit cannot be controlled.
"Oh. You made a lot this time. 10, 15, 17... I see. You reproduced all the Noble Phantasms you can see."
"Wh――――at?"
"Do not take me lightly. What sort of hero would I be if I could not see through a magus? I can easily tell how many spells you are working on."
"――――――――"
His words are unexpected.
The king of heroes that possesses thousands of Noble Phantasms can figure out my magecraft just by looking at me?
"Then let me grade them.
Well―――I will not allow any one of them to stay in this world, no matter how good they may be."
Gilgamesh raises his hand.
"Ku――――!"
My reaction is delayed.
His words caught my attention, creating a hopeless delay――――!
The seventeen Noble Phantasms are released.
"King's Treasures". A fraction of them charge in, as if to tell me playtime is over...!
"―――Freeze out, sword bullet full open...!"
"Ha――――guh――――!"
My body wavers.
The swords shooting forward and the swords created from within me crash and shake the surroundings.
"Ah――――ga――――......!!!!"
I can't block all of them.
Even if I project seventeen Noble Phantasms, I can only give form to them one at a time.
Even if I can form them in succession, I am no match for him as he can release all of them at once――――!
"Haha, you are holding well with your fragile works, but you should not be able to last more than a few more blows. Come on, you need to hurry or you will die."
I hear him laughing behind the swords.
Twelve more enemy Noble Phantasms――――!
"But you sure are foolish.
You know you cannot beat me, so you try to regain the Holy Grail. That decision is correct. You are not even a match for me."
"――――!"
My fingertips are burning.
The magical energy I emit and the heat from the crashing Noble Phantasms burn my fingertips mercilessly.
Seven more Noble Phantasms――――!
"But then, why not just kill Shinji?
It is a sure way to stop the Holy Grail. I am sure you two had a way to kill him without going across that mud.
――――Heh. Such hypocrisy to try to save him. As expected from a lowlife――――!"
"Ah――――ha, ah――――"
...It's burning out.
My circuit is completely burning off.
I don't have enough. I can't match this man with [wrap text=̢this"]this small circuit――――!
"Damn, why......!?"
Why can't I block them?
He said I can beat him. So why am I not even a match?
――――Does that mean...
I'm making a mistake?
"――――Ah, ah――――!"
Three more Noble Phantasms.
Will my body last until I block them?
No, I should be thinking about the difference between my projection and Archer's――――
"――――――Huh?"
All senses freeze at that instant.
I don't even pay heed to the three approaching blades.
The golden Servant is taking out a sword.
A strange sword.
My mind burns up the instant I see it.
"You said you will save the girl, right?"
He laughs while the sword roars.
I eliminate the three remaining blueprints in my circuit and concentrate on reading his sword.
But.
"――――I... can't read it...?"
I was able to read every sword.
But I can't even read that sword's structure.
"Then show me. Show me what you can save with your imitations!"
――――A storm of chaos.
The wind emitted from his sword even blows away his own Noble Phantasms as it comes at me.
"――――――――"
My mind is still blank.
I can't come up with any countermeasures, so I just release the remaining magical energy within me――――
Scene 35
"――――――――Let us."
And the swordsman readies his sword.
The only stance for the man who does not have a stance.
A fatal technique that cuts his enemy by simultaneously executing blows from different angles.
She has experienced the move before.
...The previous one only had an arc to surround his enemy and a vertical slash.
That is why she was able to avoid it and live up to this day.
But the real technique has three slashes.
A circular slash and a vertical slash. ...And probably a horizontal slash that cuts anyone that escapes sideways.
There is nowhere to run if the three attacks are executed all at once.
Once in range, the other two attacks will cut you even if one is blocked.
One cannot escape sideways, and the longsword will reach out even if one retreats.
―――Demonic technique, Tsubame Gaeshi.
A godly technique that even surpasses the Servants.
The ultimate attack, perfected by an anonymous swordsman using all his life.
The longsword trembles.
His body moves in with one step.
The distance to attack Saber.
Prison-like arcs are executed from a range that does not allow any defense!
"――――――――"
Saber does not use her holy sword.
She cannot use her Noble Phantasm at this range.
No matter how fast Saber may be, Assassin's Tsubame Gaeshi is many times faster.
Her neck will be cut the instant she puts magical energy into her sword.
Therefore, her only weapon is pure technique.
――――The blade begins its arcs.
She feels despair from its precision and speed.
Such an attack――――how much training was needed to get this far?
"――――――――"
Fear is the only thing on her mind.
It cannot be blocked.
This technique is a technique of carnage that challenges God with mere human skill.
Only God would be able to block it.
"Haa――――――――"
She gulps.
There is a flash as small as a grain of sand.
She does not think about what it is, nor if it is correct.
She risks everything she has on her instinct.
"Ahh――――――――!"
She charges at her "victory" with all her might.
What did the fictional swordsman think of that?
"――――――――Kuh."
Silver armor passes through the gap beside his arm.
The opening between the swordsman's left arm and his waist.
Saber must have figured out that the small opening is the blind spot of the technique.
Even though the attack still chips off her armor, Saber curls up and flies through the opening.
An exquisite skill that is only possible with her precognition――――her great instinct.
She was able to predict the true Tsubame Gaeshi since she experienced it once.
―――But that is not the surprising part.
It is her determination that kept her alive.
She trusted her insight and put all her power into the slight opening.
She shook off the fear that she would be slashed if she was even a moment late and charged into the small opening.
Therefore...
Her determination is the "strength" that defeated the demonic technique.
"Ah, gu......――――!"
But the match isn't over yet.
Even though Tsubame Gaeshi was avoided, her enemy is right beside her, and she charged in with speed quicker than the attack.
It is not easy to recover her stance from such a charge――――!
"Ha――――――――!"
The longsword strikes.
The attack is the quickest, even if it may not be as quick as the demonic technique.
But.
Her attack is a bit quicker than his.
"Gu――――nu."
He closes his mouth.
He shuts his lips tight and tenses up so that he will not fall down.
Blood from his lungs fills his mouth, but he swallows it so that it will not spill out.
―――The golden-haired girl is below him.
The way of the swordsman does not allow him to dirty her with his blood.
"――――――――"
Saber does not say anything.
Her golden hair flutters down to the ground.
...It is a wonder that her head is still attached.
...It is a miracle that her limbs are still attached.
...She felt that her body would be slashed the instant she went into that opening.
That was the only difference.
The longsword...
The swordsman's technique would have stayed invincible if his longsword had not been bent.
―――The air is shaking.
Another battle is still going on behind the mountain gate.
"......"
Unsure of what to say, Saber looks up at the dying swordsman.
To that...
"――――――――Go."
The swordsman tells her without looking at her.
How much meaning was contained in that word?
Saber pulls out her sword and runs up the stairs.
She does not turn back to the swordsman.
She runs to fulfill her role.
"Hah―――I thought she was a beautiful bird, but she turned out to be a lion."
He murmurs as if that was to be expected.
She avoided something that even a sparrow could not avoid, so she cannot be something that is admired.
"―――Hm. I was confident in my skills to see through women. I guess I need more training in that as well."
The swordsman complains with a shrug.
His elegant clothing has lost its colors already.
His stomach is pierced and his bloodstained feet are vague.
He looks down at them and sits.
The branches shake.
The wind coming down from the top of the mountain rustles the forest.
And when the flowers scatter, the wind stops, and the moon darkens...
...The swordsman has disappeared without trace, as if his existence was just an illusion.
Scene 36
At that instant...
I develop the strongest weapon I have projected.
But it doesn't even serve as a shield.
The sword of separation.
The mysterious sword cuts through the wind, destroys six Noble Phantasms, and cuts my body apart.
It's disappearing.
The circuit is disconnected, and Tohsaka's magical energy disperses without a place to go.
"Da
mn."
I curse my worthlessness.
I knew that I'm unskilled. I curse myself for never thinking twice.
Why is this all the magical energy I have?
Just a bit more...
If I could reach into that darkness just a bit more, I could have fought like him――――
――――I fall to the ground.
I fly through the air and crash to the ground with great force.
I don't feel pain from the landing.
I don't have such a sense anymore.
Even my mind is going blank.
...Before I die.
The only thing filling my head is the surprise that my limbs are still attached.
"So that is all you can manage? I guess a fraud is just a fraud. You cannot save anyone."
...My heartbeat gets weaker.
My lungs do not move, rendering me unable to breathe.
"It would have been more fun if I let Archer live.
He was a faker as well, but his ideal was not vulgar."
I can't see anything, but it seems it's not because my eyes are broken.
My organs are just too messed up to function as they should.
Maybe it's fortunate.
I don't have any sense of pain, so I should be able to die easily―――
"―――Oh. I remember, now that I think about it. He said your ideal is a borrowed one. How conceited of you to think that you can manage anything when you have nothing you created yourself."
―――I can't do that.
Even if I might go crazy from the pain, I need to regain my consciousness.
The deep part of me says so as it points to that place.
"A superhero? A world where no one gets hurt?
Ridiculous. No world can preserve happiness without harming anyone.
Humans cannot live without sacrifices. 'Peace' is a myth created by those who cower in fear of the dark.
―――You lowlife. Your ideal is just an excuse to cover up your ugliness."
"――――――――"
I raise my arm which should not be moving.
My fallen body and my dying mind.
I raise my hand to grab something, like I did on that day.
...I don't know what's funny, but someone's laughing.
It seems like everyone in this world is laughing.
A fake wish.
A borrowed ideal.
Someone scorning me, saying that my dream won't come true.
...Yes, that's exactly right.
My wishes are all borrowed.
I just admired the wish of wanting to help someone because it's beautiful.
So there's nothing that came from within me.
My body has always been driven by a curse-like obsession with helping others.
That's why it's a fake.
Such an imitation cannot save anything.
First of all, I'm not sure what needs to be saved.
But.
But I still felt that it's beautiful.
It was not born from within me.
I just saw someone save others and copied that behavior.
I was empty back then.
Everyone died, and I could not save anyone.
I could not bear the fear in front of me unless I gave up, saying that humans are weak.
――――That's why...
That's why I admired the ideal.
Because it was something I did not have, and its sanctity brought tears to my eyes.
Is that wrong?
Is it a fake if it's not mine?
Even if my wish is fake, is it wrong for it to come true?
――――No. I don't think it's wrong.
"Ah――――――――Ah."
I don't care, even if it's fake.
I'll make it come true, even if it's an impossible ideal.
It's an impossible wish from the start. An unreachable utopia.
―――Then, even if Emiya Shirou is a fake...
What's there has to be true.
"―――That's right. I already knew that."
I know that I can't save everything.
I know that there's no help without sacrifices.
I know that reality is like that because I became an adult.
I know it's only an ideal, but I still continue to seek it.
It's not the end after someone gets hurt.
Even if the best possible outcome has someone get hurt to save many others, I still want to pursue a resolution where nobody is hurt.
That there is no justice in this world,
and that people die meaninglessly in reality...
I don't think such words are right...!
And he reaches this place at the end.
What I believe in.
What I believed in.
He said that they are all a fake.
But the one who said so followed through on his hypocrisy.
...Then I can keep going.
I don't care, even if it's a fake.
First of all, I'm too simple-minded to worry about such a thing.
I make up my mind on this hill of swords.
...That if I can save the world in front of me, I will fight for it.
I didn't even need to think about it.
My world is small.
This small "world" is all I have ever been able to create.
――――That's right.
I am the bone of my sword.
...Yes, so I can endure most things.
Emiya Shirou can keep his dream until the very end.
...Even if...
What I seek is nowhere.
"―――So that's it!"
"――――!?"
I raise my body.
I can move my limbs again as soon as my consciousness returns.
My body still moves.
It's a wonder that I'm still alive, let alone moving, after his attack, but I don't care.
If I'm alive, there must be a reason why.
It's just that I don't know why.
"Did you project a shield...? I was reluctant to use that sword, but it should have been fatal.
―――You are rather tenacious, boy."
"You were reluctant...? Heh, what's there to hold back when you have so many weapons?"
I keep my distance while I catch my breath.
I know how to do it now.
I should be able to do it with the backup from Tohsaka.
The problem is the casting.
Even though I have it memorized, I don't know how fast I can get it working until I try――――
"――――Heh. That was a sword that only a ruler is allowed to use.
I showed it to you for the fun of it, but it is not something to be used against a lowlife.
Saber is the only one allowed to fight against it.
I will not be able to face Saber if I sully it on one such as you."
Numerous Noble Phantasms appear.
But they are all third-rate.
The difference is obvious after seeing that previous sword.
But they are not something I can take lightly.
They are more than enough to kill me.
―――The difference in our powers is the same.
Even though I managed to survive the previous attack, I cannot match that Servant with my projection.
"Oh, are you done with your copying? So you finally understand that it is useless, huh?
―――Then disappear. I will not even leave a piece of your copying brain behind――――!"
The Noble Phantasms are released.
But...
"Shirou...!"
A blue rushing wind repels them.
"Saber...!"
Gilgamesh jumps back instantly.
Even Gilgamesh is cautious against Saber.
He wants to avoid hand-to-hand combat with her, as his technique is inferior.
"―――Good. Are you all right, Shirou?
Sorry that I am late. I will take over now. Please stay away―――"
"No. I can manage Gilgamesh by myself. You're the one to go, Saber."
"Wh―――――"
"――――at?"
"W-What are you saying, Shirou...!?
You will fight him in that state of yours? No, a magus cannot match a Servant in the first place. You should know that...!"
"Yeah. But Gilgamesh and I are an exception. Trust me.
I'll probably be able to beat him."
...Saber gasps.
Saber is surprised because she believes my words.
"Please hurry to the back, Saber. Tohsaka is stopping the Holy Grail by herself. You're the only one who can destroy it."
"――――――――"
She closes her eyes once.
A few seconds... No, it's not even for a second.
"Good luck. I will go save Rin."
She says what I want to hear the most and steps away from Gilgamesh.
Her silver armor turns away.
"Saber."
I stop her just once.
"―――I could not save you."
And I say it.
I say it in place of the one who cared for her.
"I don't think that Holy Grail is the one you seek.
...Go take a good look at it so that you won't make a mistake next time."
"――――Shirou?"
"...Sorry. I can't put this into words real well. I guess I wasn't fit to be your Master.
So――――"
I couldn't even figure out your true desire.
"That is not true. You are my Master, Shirou."
"―――Saber."
"I shall go fulfill my role as a Servant. We shall talk afterwards."
She runs without turning back.
She is gallant and looks like the wind.
Saber has left.
She believed in my promise that I would win and went to save Tohsaka.
――――Let's start.
I have no hesitation now.
All that's left is for me to defeat the enemy in front of me.
"Fu――――haha, hahahaha!!!!!"
"Are you mad? You are letting go of your only chance of victory so that you can save that girl?
―――Idiot. It is a lie to sacrifice yourself. You are a true hypocrite for not being able to realize that.
Yes, I shall praise you for that."
The Noble Phantasms are set.
―――There are about thirty of them.
If I want to block them, I'll have to create it.
"...Imitations, faker, huh? Yeah, that doesn't sound too bad. I certainly am a faker."
I raise my arm.
I close one eye and look inside of me.
"Hm―――?"
"...I had the wrong idea. My magecraft isn't creating swords. First of all, I can't do such a skillful thing."
That's right.
Tohsaka said it too. I can only use one kind of magecraft.
Strengthening and projection are just a byproduct of it.
"...That's right. There's only one thing I can do, and that is to put shape to my mind."
I grab my right hand with my left and glare at Gilgamesh.
"――――I am the bone of my sword."
I cast the spell.
Casting is only a suggestion to change myself.
These words are to connect Emiya Shirou.
"I see. I am done with hearing your nonsense."
The numerous Noble Phantasms are released.
――――I'll make it.
This is why one of my eyes is open.
I pull out a shield from the hill to block the oncoming Noble Phantasms――――!
"Guh――――!"
The swarm of swords batter against the shield.
The shield is me myself.
My body breaks up as each petal of the shield is pierced and damaged.
"―――Steel is my body, and fire is my blood."
There's only one place I need to reach.
The flowing power fills me to capacity in an instant.
"Wh――――at?"
What caused his shock?
Is it his Noble Phantasms that cannot penetrate through a single shield, or is it the magical energy in front of him?
"―――I have created over a thousand blades.
Unaware of loss.
Nor aware of gain."
It breaks.
The overflowing magical energy cannot be controlled.
Magical energy ten times the capacity of the circuit breaks its foundations trying to escape――――
"―――I cannot break through―――?"
Blood trickles from my mouth.
The shield is full of holes now.
Even though the Noble Phantasms did not reach me, my body is full of holes.
But still――――
"―――Withstood pain to create weapons.
Waiting for one's arrival."
The magical energy rages around.
But I don't care.
This body is a circuit specialized to use this "one magecraft" from the start.
Then there should be more.
There should be something beyond this if I can't make it with this circuit.
...No, it is already there.
It's just that I can't see it.
There was no limitation to the circuit from the start.
If it was darkness, not a wall, that stopped the magical energy...
Then the limit is somewhere beyond the darkness――――
"――I have no regrets. This is the only path."
Magical energy ten times the capacity of the circuit breaks its foundations trying to escape――――and I use a hundred circuits to take in a thousand times the capacity.
"―――My whole life was 'unlimited blade works'"
I cast the true name.
At that instant.
Everything breaks and everything reforms.
――――Fire runs.
The fire becomes a wall and creates a border, changing the world.
A desolate land remains.
A hill with numerous swords.
"――――――――"
What does he think of the scenery?
The golden Servant stands there with a gruesome expression.
"...That's right. I don't create swords.
I create a world that contains infinite swords.
This is the only magecraft allowed for me."
A desolate land.
A graveyard of swords, devoid of life.
Every sword exists in this world, as swords are reproduced just at a glance.
This is Emiya Shirou's world.
A Reality Marble.
It is the greatest forbidden magecraft that embodies the caster's internal world.
This is heroic spirit Emiya's Noble Phantasm and the only weapon I possess.
Everything is here, and nothing is here.
That is why this is called Unlimited Blade Works.
This is the only definite answer obtained by the one who lived as a sword all his life.
"―――Reality Marble. So this is your ability...!"
I take a step forward.
Stuck in the ground next to me are the swords that are floating behind Gilgamesh.
"There's no need to be surprised. These are all imitations.
As you say, these are all trifling swords."
I reach out my arms.
The swords come out as if to accept me as their user.
"But there is no rule that an imitation cannot defeat the original.
If you say you are the original, I shall surpass every one of your weapons and destroy your existence."
I move forward.
In front of me is the Servant with a thousand treasures.
"Here I come, king of heroes――――do you have enough weapons in stock?"
"Hah――――you forget your place, lowlife――――!"
The enemy opens the "gate" and readies numerous Noble Phantasms.
I run across the deserted land.
The two groups of swords start the final match.
Scene 37
―――You...
IDIOOOOOT!!!?
What a shock! I did not think someone would see this Tiger Dojo!
Oh Shirou, how shameful of you to die!
I have no advice to give!
Quickly go back to the choice and go finish the match!
Hi, is everyone doing well!?
Since Taiga is gone...
Some special advice for all of you!
I bet everyone's troubled by how to get to Rin's good end, right?
This is a hint corner for people like you!
I have specially called for Senpai!
Senpai, how exactly can I get to the good end!?
Bring back on the 3rd night.
Go see how she's doing on the 5th morning.
Make her happy on the 8th day after school.
Talk in the dojo on the 10th night.
Dojo on the 15th night.
That's too exact, Senpai!
So we have to do all this!?
Nope. You only have to do four of these.
There's two that you don't have to do.
You can't get past the 12th day if you're too occupied with Saber.
Osu, thank you!
I guess that's how it is, so please start over from the 3rd day if you have some time!