Chapter 3: [Flame Contaminated City Fuyuki - 01]

A nauseating sensation, as if my whole body were floating. The feeling of having woken up but not being truly awake, heavy with a lack of sleep.

It certainly wasn't a pleasant feeling, and I could feel my stomach churning.

It took a moment for my eyes to focus and for my senses to return after I opened them.

I didn't know where I was or what I was doing. I forced strength into my fingertips, then into my toes.

The sky, stained black, was clear without a single cloud, yet it felt strangely ominous.

I pushed myself up, spurred by a foul smell that stung my nose. I could feel my body aching, the lingering aftershocks of the explosion still present.

But it was fine. Compared to that dream where my arm was blown off and my lower body was crushed, this was much better.

My limbs were intact, and though my mind was a bit muddled, I was okay. After checking my condition, I immediately scanned my surroundings.

The smell of a burning city pierced the tip of my nose.

Ah, this is bad.

The thought occurred to me instinctively. Although the city's original appearance was long gone, I knew.

I had never been to this town before, but I knew exactly where I was.

The name of this city, engulfed in flames and shrouded in a strangely ominous, murky atmosphere... The first Singularity that Team A was supposed to investigate, and the setting for the prologue of Fate/Grand Order...

"Fuyuki City... I really ended up here."

As that thought crossed my mind, the situation in the command room from earlier came rushing back.

In the end, I let many people die.

I know. Even if I had done something, maybe nothing would have changed. But then again, maybe it would have.

I simply... didn't. I judged that it was better not to.

I thought there was nothing to gain from getting too deeply involved in the original story. Despite that, I decided to save the Director simply because I personally liked her.

Ah, what a selfish way to think.

There's no way someone like me can save humanity. I can help others if it doesn't cost me anything.

But I won't help others if it means taking a loss, and even that standard changes every time based on my mood.

I might feel like helping today, but not tomorrow, so I don't.

That selfish yardstick created the current situation. I didn't know. I never imagined Fujimaru Ritsuka wouldn't be here. I was even too late to wake Mash.

Mash didn't even see my face, nor did she realize I had held her hand.

In the first place, I held her hand for the absurdly selfish reason of awakening her as a Heroic Spirit.

I couldn't create a beautiful story about being there for her in her anxiety. ...Even if I try my best, can I really save humanity? Is there even a reason for me to be the one to do it?

Is there a reason it has to be me?

There must be others among the Chaldea staff who possess both Master aptitude and Rayshift compatibility.

There must be, surely... No, either way, I have to clear Fuyuki right now.

'According to the original story, I should have cleared this alongside Mash, the Director, and Caster Cu Chulainn. But because I saved her, the Director probably won't come here. She only gained Rayshift compatibility by dying. ...And Mash isn't here either. I foolishly failed. I was too complacent. I was an idiot. I should have checked for Fujimaru Ritsuka's existence first. No... maybe I should have moved from the very beginning. I treated it like a game, thinking things would just work out somehow. I must have been out of my mind.'

There's no use crying over spilled milk. There must have been people I knew among the dead. How am I supposed to face the people of Chaldea now?

I, who stood by as a bystander while knowing everything, might not be virtuous enough to condemn those who have sinned.

...Dragging my heavy body up, I looked left and right before walking toward the right. The road looked somewhat intact, so I decided to go that way.

'First, I have to meet Cu Chulainn. He's the only Servant in Fuyuki City I can call an ally. If I can't find him...'

No, wait.

In the original story, Cu Chulainn and Mash joined forces to defeat the King of Knights who had been Altered.

In other words, now that I've failed to wake Mash... doesn't that mean this is the worst possible situation?

Cu Chulainn is certainly a powerful Servant, but can he win against the King of Knights who is backed by the Greater Grail?

No, he's surprisingly prone to bad luck, so will it be okay?

This isn't a game. It won't end with just pressing a few command buttons to win. What should I do? The difference in combat power is overwhelming...

"Ha, you've got to be kidding me."

My body froze at the sight of numerous stone statues lining the path. Was there really a need to go this far?

I wondered if there was an artistic perspective involved, but what's the point if there's no one to show it to? Is it just some perverted hobby?

No, no, I suppose art doesn't necessarily need an audience.

...Let's turn back for now. If I stay here, there's no telling when that terrifying snake-like lady might show up. Until I find Cu Chulainn, I should keep a low profile—

Clink. The sound of metal echoed. I instinctively dove forward.

BOOM!!! The ground where I had just been standing was gouged out deeply. When I looked up, a beautiful woman was walking toward me with an air of composure. Her long, flowing purple hair was stunningly beautiful.

To be honest, long hair is exactly my type, so my heart almost fluttered for a second. But the nature of that fluttering changed instantly.

It was closer to terror than romantic attraction. I gave a hollow laugh and spoke.

"For such a delicate-looking lady, you're quite violent. I don't think I'd just walk away with a bruise if that hit me."

"You certainly have a silver tongue for someone clearly feeling terror. I wonder if you have a strong heart, or if you're just good at running away... Not that it matters either way."

Clink. The nail attached to the end of her chain looked incredibly cold. She had just swung that and literally pulverized the concrete floor.

The cooldown for my Chaldea Mystic Code hadn't finished yet, so using it would be difficult. Finally, although I am a magus, I can't even use Reinforcement magecraft properly.

It's not so much a lack of magical energy as it is a lack of aptitude; I only know two spells, and one of them can't even be cast without a Mystic Code.

Effectively, I only have one spell at my disposal right now.

If you asked if it was unsuitable for combat, I wouldn't say it's completely useless, but it's certainly not a pure combat spell either.

Furthermore, unlike me, who lived a normal life as a magus, the person before me was a Servant—a superhuman who had crossed through hell countless times to be recorded in the Throne of Heroes.

And while I was injured, she looked to be in peak condition. ...What the hell am I supposed to do?

"I shall grant you a swift, gentle death."

Thump. I heard the sound of her stepping off. She's coming... As a Shadow Servant, her parameters are lowered and she can't use her Noble Phantasm properly.

I immediately pressed my right hand to the ground and whispered. Rumble!! The ground in front of me surged upward.

CRASH!! The sound of impact rang out.

I used that opening to scramble backward.

As expected, she had completely underestimated me and charged straight in. She leapt over the rock and lunged again.

A being from myth, a monster no different from an anti-hero... Medusa charged with a faint smile on her lips.

"That looked like a pretty hard hit, you could at least pretend it hurt!?"

I slapped my hand against a wall as I moved, and this time the wall shifted its form, moving rapidly toward Medusa.

SMASH! Medusa shattered the rock with her fist as she lunged. Not a single scratch? This is still magecraft, you know? It's not like a bullet that lacks mystery entirely...

...Magic Resistance? That's right, Medusa definitely had Magic Resistance.

Originally, as a Rider, Medusa wasn't in a class known for Magic Resistance, but she was originally a goddess.

Perhaps because of that, she possessed Magic Resistance when summoned as a Servant. Does that mean the magecraft of a pretender magus like me won't even work?

Rattle, the chain came flying.

The nail was aimed precisely at my waist.

Slap! I grabbed another wall, but this time I let the wall's momentum push me aside.

Gah, it hurts, but it's much better than being skewered by that nail. Just as I thought that, a pleasant scent wafted past my nose.

"I see, that magecraft... It's 'Transmutation' magecraft. It seems quite versatile."

"It's rude to just expose someone's magecraft like that. But I'll forgive you. So, why don't we just go our separate ways?"

Damn it, she already figured it out!

My magecraft is a type of Transmutation. I can change the shape of anything I touch while maintaining its mass.

The condition, naturally, is that I must touch it. Once touched, I can 'save' it and trigger the change later.

I thought it was a spell that could catch an opponent off guard if timed right, but...

If the opponent has Magic Resistance, I can push them back with physical mass for a moment, but I can't even scratch them, let alone threaten them.

Clink. Before I knew it, the chain wrapped around my leg was yanked tight.

"Whoa!!"

I was flipped upside down. Medusa was smiling as she looked at me.

I mean, she's a beauty, so the smile is nice, but... this isn't right. This is very much not right!

Cu Chulainn!! Cu Chulainn!!

It has to be now!!

If I truly carry the fate of saving this world on my back, then save me!!

Come on, seriously! I might not have the same level of destiny as Fujimaru, but I don't think I'm so lacking that I should be eliminated early in the prologue!!

Hanging upside down, I looked at Medusa and laughed hollowly.

"Want to bet? If you take off that blindfold you're wearing, I'll probably fall for you. I'm a guy who's never even had a girlfriend at this age, so I'm sure of it. If you smile and treat me well, I'll probably love you forever."

"You certainly have a lot to say even in this situation."

"I have a habit of rambling when I'm flustered... Gack!"

Thrust!! The nail sank deep into my abdomen. Blood spilled from my mouth. I swung my legs while hanging upside down.

Thud. Medusa caught the foot that tried to strike her face and wore a sadistic smile.

The Medusa I remembered was a more sensible person. Is it because she's a Shadow Servant? Either way, this situation is incredibly dangerous.

I already had injuries from the explosion, and now I've been stabbed in the gut.

Moreover, she was twisting it slightly, as if to prolong the pain. Grab! She let go of the nail and covered my mouth with her hand.

I couldn't hold it back anymore and coughed up a spray of blood.

With my mouth blocked, I couldn't even spit the blood out properly. My breath hitched, and I could feel my consciousness fading. This is really bad.

"Becoming one of those many stone statues, or dying of blood loss like this... which do you prefer?"

Medusa removed her hand from my mouth and smiled.

"Whichever you wish..."

"Ptooey."

I don't know where I found the courage to do that. My brain felt like it was burning, and strength was draining from my body. ...This is just like that dream.

Starting from my hands and feet, it felt like I was slowly freezing. Like the scythe of the Grim Reaper was held against my throat...

That kind of sensation. Was it courage born from the final moment, or simple stubbornness, or was this just my personality all along...?

Even in the moment of death, I didn't fully know myself. Hanging upside down, I spoke mockingly to Medusa, whose face was now stained with my blood-mixed saliva.

"Maybe it's a cold...? A cough just slipped out. So... what were you saying?"

"..."

Medusa stared at me in silence. I couldn't tell what emotion was in her eyes because of the blindfold, but since things had gone this far, it wouldn't be anything good.

Begging for my life here wouldn't change anything.

The important thing was the fact that I had failed. A fatal wound—being stabbed in the abdomen was serious.

Even if Medusa miraculously decided she'd lost interest and left me here, I would soon die of blood loss.

Even though they were Shadow Servants with lowered parameters and skills, unable to even use Noble Phantasms, they were still superhumans who surpassed humanity.

The vast history and legends, and the memories of battlefields like hell contained within their bodies, weren't something a normal person could oppose just because they had a slight handicap.

Clink. Medusa released the binding and let me fall, then grabbed the nail embedded in my stomach.

Slowly, she began to twist the nail.

"Kggghhhhh...!!!"

"Are you holding back your screams because you are used to pain? Or is it just a moment of stubbornness? Either way is fine. This is the death you chose. Die here slowly, very slowly, in agony."

Rip!! Medusa yanked the nail out as if carving through my side. My flank was practically torn away.

Coughing up blood, I looked up at Medusa. This damn woman, she's doing this because I spat on her face, isn't she?

Ah... my hands and feet... they're shaking. It's like I'm paralyzed.

It's cold. As my blood level dropped, my head felt like it was burning up. The right to control my body drifted away from me.

The Grim Reaper's scythe was slowly cutting through my neck. It was agonizing, painful, and stinging.

"Will you struggle? If you beg for your life right now, I might let you live. Will you cling to my feet?"

Neither my hands nor my feet would move. No voice would come from my mouth. My internal organs were spilling out from my side.

Is this... all my blood? My organs? It hurts, it hurts. It hurts. ...It's hot, it's cold. Hot, cold, hot, cold, hot, cold...

Huh? I feel like I've experienced this somewhere before.

The sensation of blood flowing and your soul slipping out of your body...

Ah, right. That dream. It's just like that dream.

The common factor is that I'm close to death. Then, is this a dream too?

"There is a saying that a person faces their true self just before they die. I wonder how it is for you?"

Her voice was mocking.

I wanted to punch her. Just once.

Beauty or not, bombshell or not, I had never felt so miserable as I did now, lacking the strength to punch that woman's face.

Ah, I can't put any strength into my body. Am I dying...? Is this how I die? No, there's no way someone like me could have restored the Human Order anyway.

There will be someone else to take my place.

It would be faster to find someone among the surviving Chaldea staff.

A guy as selfish, idiotic, foolish, and short-sighted as me acting as the last Master of humanity?

Could there be a more ridiculous story? This is fine.

The pain of death seems to be drifting further away.

That didn't mean there was hope for survival. My physical senses were simply disappearing. The world was turning dark.

I couldn't even see that mocking snake-woman's face anymore. True self or whatever, nothing was coming together.

My mind went blank, just blank, and blanker. Ah... I see. It's a bit cold.

Just a little, but a chill seemed to settle over my body. It's quite lonely when there's no one to hold your hand in the moment of death.

I held the old man's hand when he died.

'I don't... want to die... yet.'

I struggled to reach out my hand, which refused to move until the very end, toward where the snake-woman had been.

But it only trembled slightly, and the hand that couldn't move soon couldn't even maintain that trembling.

Consciousness faded, and life drifted away. Only death drew near.

And so, in the Singularity, I died without having accomplished anything.

**

"Haaaaah!!!!"

I screamed instinctively. I screamed loudly, as if to make up for the scream I couldn't let out in that moment. And before I could even think, I fumbled at my abdomen.

The wound... is gone? Huh? What?

I lifted my shirt to see that my flank, which had been completely torn away with organs spilling out, was perfectly fine.

Not a single scratch.

...It was the same as last time.

I blankly surveyed my surroundings. It was Fuyuki, the same place where I had opened my eyes after the Rayshift earlier.

"Ha, hahaha... What is this? What the hell is this?"

I stumbled and sank to the ground. Having the same experience twice, it wasn't as if no possibilities came to mind.

But is such a thing really possible? No matter how much they talk about Rayshifts and whatnot, in the end, it's something that operates on theory.

But is this possible? How? By what means? This isn't some method of time travel where I'm just going from here to there, is it?

No, looking at it broadly, it might be called time travel, but how...

Is this an 'opportunity' and an 'ability'?

Or is it a 'shackle' and a 'curse'?

Which way should I take it, and with what perspective should I proceed?

No, more importantly, should I believe this as it is? Should I accept this as reality?

Whether it was a realm of True Magic beyond magecraft, or a realm of divine miracles, none of that mattered right now.

But if I wasn't just having delusions in a psychiatric ward, then I had to accept this as reality.

'Am I... resurrecting? By turning back time?'

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