["How is his condition?"]
The man lying on the ground, the last Master of humanity, was barely clinging to life.
Romani had been gritting his teeth in sorrow for a while now, noting that these were injuries that would have caused a normal person to die of shock instantly.
To Romani, the fact that someone who likely lived an ordinary life was thrust into such a hellish environment was agonizing. Olga Marie wasn't as soft-hearted as Romani, so she didn't share that exact sentiment.
However, she did feel the need to revise her evaluation of him. In her memory, he was a man who was always late and would try to cut corners the moment she looked away.
He did just enough to get by and never crossed a major line, so she hadn't fired him, but she had always kept the thought in the back of her mind, waiting for a valid excuse to let him go.
Spineless, thoughtless, foolish, dim-witted, unnecessarily flippant, and unpleasant—that was Olga Marie's assessment of him.
But in Fuyuki, he fought bravely.
Despite being terrified, despite being in pain, despite the agony, he threw himself into the fray while cracking crude jokes as if nothing were wrong.
Claiming it was the best way for both of them to survive, he chose to face the hero of myth, Heracles, himself. And he succeeded in his mission brilliantly.
He didn't die, and Caster succeeded in taking down Archer while he kept Berserker occupied. In the end, they even managed to deal with Berserker, who had been a ticking time bomb. Now, only Saber remained as an enemy in Fuyuki City.
She was the greatest foe, but the fact that they had managed to cut off all her support was incredible.
In a situation where they couldn't see an inch ahead, he had advanced the situation to the point where the path forward was clear.
Where did that courage come from, despite his fear? His magic circuits were burning, his blood vessels were bursting, and his bones were shattered, yet he stubbornly clung to life, insisting it wasn't over yet. If asked, "Are you not afraid?" the answer was clearly no.
He fought valiantly, but inside, he was a coward trembling with terror. That contradiction was so unique that Olga Marie had no choice but to acknowledge him.
He was still alive even after those wounds, and he still intended to fight. At that point, she couldn't help but recognize his worth.
"To put it simply, his left eye is crushed. I'd like to restore it, but doing so would consume too much of my mana. If I did that, it would render his efforts to minimize my consumption—at the cost of becoming this mess—pointless. I'll respect his decision. ...Your Chaldea seems to have advanced medical technology, so you'd better do something about that eye as soon as he arrives. Next, his arms. Both are completely shattered. I've treated them, but they're only at a level where he can barely move them. Think of it like a broken vase held together with glue. I've made it so he can move, respecting the Master's wishes."
["His timing is suspiciously good. Thanks to a 'hunch' he happened to have, he was able to identify Berserker's presence. ...He might know something. He saved me, but before that, he made a comment to me that seemed to predict the explosion."]
"...I certainly feel a sense of dissonance as well. He doesn't seem to have particularly sharp instincts, yet there are times when his reactions are strangely fast. As if he already knew it would happen. ...But I won't ask him anything."
["What?"]
Olga Marie tilted her head in confusion.
Caster also felt the mystery surrounding him.
Caster was more experienced, older, and more talented than Olga Marie. Unlike her, who could only watch, he was fighting alongside him on the front lines.
Therefore, Caster should have known even more, and might have been able to figure something out. Olga Marie couldn't help but frown at Caster's words.
Seeing her expression, Caster spoke as he wrapped the man's bandages.
"This man entrusted his life to me. That is a noble act. He believed until the very end that I would come. Even though he's far weaker than me and was actually shaking like a leaf, he told me clearly. ...And I, too, entrusted my life to him. I believed that he would never let Berserker reach me before I defeated Archer. As a result, the trust on both sides was rewarded equally. In other words, he and I are already comrades who have placed our lives in each other's hands."
Master or Servant—at this point, those labels didn't matter. In truth, Caster had only chosen him at first because he needed a decent Master.
He had no magecraft talent, and his mana capacity and circuits weren't special. He didn't come from a prestigious lineage, nor was his physical ability exceptional. He seemed to have a bit of cleverness, but to Servants who existed in the realm of superhumans, it was nothing more than child's play.
At first, Caster thought providing mana would be enough, but the man continued to fight on the front lines. To face the final Saber, to keep Caster in the best possible condition, he pushed his own body to the limit.
Caster felt it was a shame he hadn't been able to watch him fight Berserker. Surely, that sight must have been that of an ugly, foolish, wretched, and ultimately idiotic 'warrior.'
"That's why I trust him. If you're born human, you're bound to have at least one secret you can't tell anyone. And even if he has a secret, the fact that we are 'comrades who entrusted our lives to each other' is not altered or eroded in the slightest. I will trust him—my Master. So, I won't ask anything. If he doesn't speak until we've cleared this Fuyuki, then it's simply something I don't need to know. Not knowing a secret doesn't mean I can't trust him with my back."
[ "......" ]
It was the logic of heroes that she couldn't quite grasp.
Because they entrusted their lives to each other, they would overlook any secrets. Trust wouldn't drop just because of that, and he wouldn't be held responsible or interrogated for not speaking.
She wondered if he was truly a hero who had lived through the age of gods. Olga Marie closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and spoke.
["And if that secret leads to betrayal, what then?"]
"Then I'll just laugh and fade away, saying, 'Not bad, kid!' This unremarkable fellow managed to deceive even me! He didn't even get caught until the very last moment! That's a hell of an achievement! So, I'll laugh. I'll acknowledge him and look forward to our next meeting. Since I'm the one who chose to trust him, if I'm to resent anyone, it would be my own stupidity for not noticing the betrayal behind it."
Olga Marie wore a complicated expression.
The story he told about Lev came to mind again. Olga Marie wasn't as strong as Caster. She couldn't remain composed like that after discovering a betrayal.
She looked at the unconscious man. How would he react? If someone he trusted betrayed him, would he still remain flippant? Or would he shed tears? Would he be enraged?
...She didn't know. She wasn't close enough to him to understand his psyche to that extent.
Caster looked at the troubled Olga Marie and spoke indifferently.
"Just so you know, that applies to you too, Miss."
["...What do you mean?"]
"I don't know what his secret is, and I'm not interested. But you should also refrain from asking until he's ready to speak."
["I am his superior and currently the Director of Chaldea, the Human Order Continuance Institute—humanity's last bastion. If necessary, I must ask."]
"Ah, so you're going to corner a guy who's currently a mess, exhausted in both mind and body? Do you truly believe that the secret of a man who is sacrificing his life, his heart, and literally everything he has, will lead to betrayal?"
["I-I didn't go that far. I just meant if there's a possibility..."]
As Olga Marie spoke, Caster let out a loud, blatant sigh.
Then, scratching the back of his head, he said,
"Miss, didn't you say a precious person might have betrayed you? ...Are you perhaps thinking that if his secret is betrayal, then conversely, that precious person he suspected might not be a traitor?"
[ "......" ]
A simple "No" didn't come out immediately. The question from her remaining conscience—Did you really not think that?—pierced Olga Marie sharply.
Caster seemed to have figured out a lot about Olga Marie just by talking a few times over the comms.
She had momentarily forgotten that these were people who had survived the age of gods and left their footprints on the Human Order, even if they were just shadows of the past.
"What will you do if he can't answer that secret? Will you condemn him? Interrogate him? Whether it's something he truly can't answer or just doesn't want to answer doesn't matter. What matters is that he's keeping his mouth shut."
Caster slowly stood up and looked directly at Olga Marie through the screen. He didn't avoid her gaze.
Her eyes might have been trembling, but her instinct told her that avoiding his gaze was the one thing she must not do.
"I'll tell you this as a hero who has crossed many battlefields. There are far more tragedies caused by 'doubting a comrade' than those caused by 'trusting a comrade.' ...You must trust him first. He isn't strong. On the surface, he bluffs and intentionally spouts nonsense at the top of his lungs, but he can't hide the trembling of his hands and feet, and he can't control the pitch of his voice. He's a strange fellow—fragile, immature, and possessing only an absurd amount of guts when it comes to 'risking his life.'"
He had nothing. He didn't even have the courage to overcome fear, yet he had the guts to gamble his life. Caster had been marveled by that strangeness.
But because of that, his fragile parts were bound to stand out.
Knowing he was a coward, knowing he was weak, and understanding he was the underdog, he was still running simply because there was no one else to do it, and because he felt he would regret it more if he didn't.
Surely, when he opened his eyes again, he would spout more nonsense and ask Caster how to take down Saber. It was a short encounter, but Caster already understood his Master.
And that was likely the same for the Master himself.
"Don't misunderstand. The last bastion of humanity isn't you all; it's this kid. No matter how much you struggle, if this kid dies or breaks, it's over. ...So, your job isn't to know everything about him and bind him with chains. Your role is to support him when he's about to fall, to prop him up when he staggers, and to stay by his side in silence when he bursts into tears. If you truly want to save the Human Order, make this kid your top priority."
Caster glanced at the unconscious man for a moment and said,
"If you can't understand that... I'm sorry, Miss, but you shouldn't be in that position."
["...... ......No."]
After a moment of silence, Olga Marie spoke. She looked at Caster with a slight glint in her eyes, like a child who had just learned something they didn't know.
That's right, she shouldn't hesitate. There was no need to hesitate.
Don't waver. Never confuse the priorities that must be handled. What was important now wasn't a small matter like whether Lev had betrayed her. That was only a big deal to Olga Marie personally.
It was nothing more, nothing less. What was important now was to support him as he continued to fight in this hell, and as he would continue to fight in the future.
["I understand. ...I'll offer my thanks for now. I think my mind is a bit more settled."]
"That's good to hear... Kid, unfortunately, it seems you're the type to only attract troublesome women."
["What does that mean!? Are you saying I'm a troublesome woman!? ...Wait, you! The one who just nodded! Pay cut! Pay cut!! No, more importantly, I 'attracted' him!? I did not!"]
The staff working at Chaldea couldn't help but nod at Olga Marie's outburst.
Among them was Romani. Olga Marie, who had been shouting with all her might, realized this wasn't the time, clicked her tongue, and stepped back in front of the screen.
["You seem to have taken quite a liking to him, giving him such care and advice for the future."]
"Indeed. Chaldea, was it? I'd like to be summoned there if I get the chance. Unfortunately, I was summoned by the Holy Grail of this Fuyuki, so there's a high probability I'll automatically depart once things are settled. And... if this kid is the Master, I don't think I'll be bored. For a hero of the battlefield like me, peace unfortunately comes with boredom."
Battle was everything, the strong were everything, and the courageous were the heroes.
That was the mindset of the world Caster had lived in, and from the moment he was born until the moment he died, he never thought it was wrong.
Even after becoming a Servant and gaining modern knowledge, that hadn't changed much.
Well, there probably weren't many Servants whose egos were weak enough to change just because they gained modern information.
"Ugh, ugh..."
"Right on cue."
Humanity's last Master—he was about to open his eyes again.
**
Those powerful eyes told me many things.
They were the eyes of a hero—strong and kind, eyes I had never seen before. And he told me to hang in there.
In truth, Heracles had many chances to defeat me. In fact, during the fight, he would suddenly just stare at me.
Even when he came out of the water, he could have struck me before I turned around, but he didn't. If he had charged after blowing me away, he could have killed me before I could even summon Caster.
Even after being hit by Caster's Noble Phantasm, if he had rushed forward instead of just standing there, he might have been able to take me down with him. Yet, he did none of those things, remaining as a single trial and an enemy until the very end.
Perhaps Heracles was using the last of his strength to somehow suppress his own rampage?
While enduring the erosion of his reason as a Shadow Servant and the Mad Enhancement he originally possessed as a Berserker, he gradually placed restrictions on his own movements.
The word "incredible" doesn't even begin to describe it.
I saw a true Great Hero with my own eyes, a hero straight out of a storybook. And I received encouragement from him to keep going.
...I didn't want to give up even more now. At the very least, I had to stand at the starting line and be able to say that I participated in this war.
To do that, I had to clear this place, which was nothing more than a prologue.
I was still scared.
The enemies I had fought so far were just degraded versions, burdened by the demerit of being Shadow Servants, no matter how great the original was. But the Saber I was about to fight, the King of Knights, Artoria Pendragon Alter, had no such restrictions.
In fact, she fought with the Greater Grail at her back and infinite mana in her hands. On top of that, she was of the Saber class, called the strongest among Servants. There were only disadvantages.
Ah, I hate this.
Even a graze would be a fatal wound, surely.
"What if my heart stops just by making eye contact with Saber?"
"Hey, don't say such pathetic things. Where did our brave Master go, the one who fought against that Berserker?"
"He got smashed along with my arms."
"I put them back together for you, didn't I?"
"No! At this point, I think my arms committed suicide!"
I could clearly feel the sensation of them being forced back together. A creaking sound echoed every time I moved. Even if it wasn't a Servant, I felt like my arms would shatter if the Director just swung her fist at them.
I used fixation pins to force them into place so they could hold out as much as possible. At the very least, they shouldn't snap the moment the battle started.
Excalibur isn't going to come flying the moment we arrive, right? No matter how much she's been blackened, she's still the King of Knights! Surely she'll be standing there posing with her sword thrust into the ground.
Please let it be so. I just hope she doesn't deploy her Noble Phantasm the moment we show our faces. Even if she's blackened, her core is that of the earnest King of Knights, so it should be fine.
...Ah, I don't think she'll do a surprise attack, but I can't be 100% sure.
"No, I have to have courage. The King of Knights is nothing! She's no big deal!"
["As a side note, your heart rate is currently exceeding 170."]
"Doctor, do you really need to tell me that right now?"
["Want me to tell you how to relax?"]
"I'll listen for now."
["First, watch Magi☆Mari's broadcast..."]
"Wake up! It's a man!!"
["No, she's not!! Magi☆Mari is an angel who understands my weary heart! What do you know!?"]
"Ugh, behind the screen, it's just some grown man standing there with a face that says 'Otakus are easy money!' What are you expecting!? What are you expecting?! I'll bet the cake the Doctor has hidden away! It's a man! A man!!"
["Don't be ridiculous... Wait, how do you know I hid a cake!?"]
"My Transmutation Magecraft allows me to grasp the general layout of objects near where I touch. For example, if I use it in front of the Doctor's room, I can figure out the room's structure."
["You, that's an invasion of privacy! Why would you do such a terrible thing!?"]
"You're asking because you don't know? It's so I can use it for blackmail if I'm ever on the verge of being fired!"
["You really are trash!!"]
"By the way, I took a bite before putting it back."
["Don't mess with me!!! You just wait until you get back!! I'm going to give you a really painful shot!! Prepare yourself!!"]
In the end, it meant he would treat me.
I felt a little bit calmer. As we got closer to the Greater Grail, the unpleasant energy grew thicker, and my tension increased.
I hated the silence, so I spouted nonsense, but my heart was still in turmoil. Saber likely possessed power that even all the Shadow Servants combined couldn't defeat.
Even if that included Heracles.
Against such a Heracles, I had been completely broken in a single blow. Could I really defeat Saber? That anxiety existed in my chest.
It was no joke; just a graze from an attack would surely tear my skin, and even without a Noble Phantasm, just being touched by the pressure of her sword would slice my body apart.
Pushing the Doctor aside, the Director appeared on the screen again before I knew it. She looked at me and spoke.
["Can you win?"]
"No, I want to run away right now. The further we go, the more I feel this ominous energy. I feel like my body is going to freeze up. Can I stop now?"
"Come on, let's at least see Saber's face before we go. She might surprisingly be your type, you know? She's not my type, but she's a beauty, at least."
"Caster! You see me as such a depraved person? There's no way I'd be lured by something like that!"
"Your body is honest, though."
No way~
But still, she's the core of the core. Since it's come to this, let's think positively—I'm going to see the King of Knights, the original herself, even if she is blackened.
Archer is also an original in a way, but he's too far removed from his source. In various media, those two seemed to be treated as completely different people anyway.
As we walked slowly inside, Caster was suddenly holding his staff seriously.
The ominous energy grew even stronger and thicker. It was hard to breathe with every step. It felt like I had climbed a high mountain and was running out of air.
Oxygen, I need oxygen. Calm down... I haven't even seen her face yet! I pressed my nails hard into my thigh as I moved forward. Fear was gradually dominating my heart.
Ah, can we win this? Really?
I wasn't even standing in front of her yet, but I felt an energy more intense than any enemy I had met so far.
"Kid, breathe slowly. ...What's flowing out now is Saber's magical energy. Keep a tight grip on your sanity. If you let your guard down even a little, your heart will be dominated by fear from that mana. Even though she's blackened, the charisma she had as the King of Knights has been dyed black, becoming the power of a tyrant born of fear."
She's just releasing magical energy?
Just facing that mana made it hard to breathe and felt like it was wearing down my mind. But I followed Caster as he walked ahead.
I won't back down after coming this far. I won't break after coming this far. I won't be defeated after coming this far.
...If you don't want to die, win.
At the very least, the option to give up doesn't exist for me. Move forward, move. Don't stop, just walk.
Walk without looking back. If fear is about to dominate everything, crush the fear of death with another fear of losing everything. Suppress fear with fear. Isn't it often said to fight poison with poison?
"She'll be in sight soon."
Black magical energy seemed to be writhing. Someone was in front of the Greater Grail. Even though it was dyed black, that sword was still a holy sword.
With the holy sword, Excalibur, thrust into the ground, she opened eyes that looked as if they would never open again.
It was impossible to tell where those hollow eyes and sand-colored hair were looking. The magical energy was settling and gathering toward Saber. Having confirmed the presence of the intruders, Saber turned her gaze to Caster first.
That is Saber.
I gasped, finding it hard to breathe.
I wanted to run away immediately from the magical energy that seemed to distort the surrounding air. You want me to beat that? That thing?
I could tell without even fighting. That is a monster. That has surpassed the realm of superhumans. She holds a power too vast for a single human to possess.
Caster is strong too, but he can't win against that head-on. Especially now, when she has infinite mana from the Grail. Can we win? Against that? That monster-like existence?
Eventually, Saber's gaze reached me.
After staring at me blankly for a moment, Saber's eyes widened slightly, and she wore a somewhat surprised expression.
"I see. ...So such a future existed."
"What?"
"No, it was nothing."
Even her low voice seemed to emit magical energy. My trembling arms weren't because of pain or injury. Only fear was dominating my heart.
Ah, damn it. I just made up my mind to fight, and here I am again.
I felt like I would die of shame. I wanted to turn my back and run away pathetically on trembling legs right now. I wanted to cling to her feet in tears and beg for my life.
I don't want to fight, I don't want to get hurt, I don't want to be in pain. ...I don't want to die.
"Welcome, Caster and the last Master of humanity. To have defeated even the Shadow Servants I prepared and the Berserker who went out of control, and to stand before me—admirable."
"Then, as a reward for that admirability, could we please just let each other go?"
"Impossible."
"It's impossible."
"I just said it! Don't take it so seriously!"
Even Caster said it!
Saber looked at me, trembling. Ah, she must be surprised! Yes! It must be surprising! How a guy like me, who looks like a sandcastle that would crumble if poked, managed to pierce through Lancer, Rider, Archer, and Berserker to get here!
The answer is Caster! Cast-aemon did it all in one night!
I was just tagging along for the ride! I'm not the great one; Caster is! What are you looking at, you jerk? And it's the same now. If I have to fight, I'll entrust everything to Caster again.
Because that's all I can do.
"Master of Chaldea, I have no intention of backing down from here. And let me emphasize this. ...In this Fuyuki, there were only Shadow Servants besides me. In terms of difficulty among Singularities, this is the lowest. Excluding me, there was practically no real 'Servant.'"
Your facts can be hurtful to someone, you know. Fatally so.
Even if it's true, there are things you shouldn't say! I thought about it too! That in the Singularities to come, there won't be Shadow Servants, but real Servants!
And I know that with this kind of makeshift approach, I'll only pile up my death stacks and achieve nothing! You don't need to bring the despair of the future to the present and tell me!
I'll refuse that kind of consideration or kindness!
Well, the future me will figure that out!!
"If you cannot suppress even a single Servant, even if it is the first, you will surely vanish without clearing all the Singularities. ...Do you intend to move forward? Then defeat me. Do you wish to be victorious? Then defeat me. Do you wish to save the Human Order? Then prove it by defeating me. Do not spout nonsense like 'morality' or 'ethics.' At least until you save the Human Order as the 'Master of Chaldea,' power dominates everything. Suppress me with your strength. Defeat me. Overcome me and show your 'good.' If you cannot hand me 'defeat,' you will only fall as a meaningless victim who couldn't even stand at the starting line. Master of Chaldea."
"For the record, I agree with Saber, Master."
"You don't have to tell me... Isn't there any other way? If we don't have to fight, there's no need to. Even if you've been blackened, if your core is that of the steadfast hero of legend, the King of Knights, then hand over the Holy Grail. I... don't want to fight."
"...That mindset is naive, Master of Chaldea. ...What stands before you now is not the King of Knights, nor is it a Servant."
Clang. Saber pulled the holy sword that had been thrust into the ground. It was a sign that she would talk no more. I checked the condition of my arms.
I have to dodge somehow, endure somehow, and survive somehow. My best bet was to 'survive' so as not to get in Caster's way.
It's possible if I just activate the Command Spells at the right timing. I don't want to die anymore. No matter how many times I die, I feel like I'll never get used to that sensation. Suppressing the feeling of wanting to vomit, I clenched my fists.
Caster also took a stance and remained on guard. Looking at us, Saber spoke coldly.
"I am the enemy of the Human Order...!! If you are a guardian of the Human Order, then prove it by defeating me!! Prove that the Human Order is still resisting!!"
Light flickered from the holy sword. Even though it was a dark-colored light, it didn't feel unpleasant.
I thought there was a reason why that sword was classified as a 'Holy Sword' rather than a 'Demonic Sword,' despite her being blackened. As Saber took her stance, Caster shouted.
"Here we go, Master!"
"Ah, damn it...!! Let's do this...!!"
It's a bit late for this, but why do beams come out of swords? That's not a sword; it's a tactical weapon.
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