Right now I’m so screwed. Actually, I was already screwed, but...
“Ritsuka, do you really need to see this through to the bitter end?”
“Yeah.”
“Director, Mash, talk some sense into Ritsuka...”
“No, you’re the one who should be staying quiet.”
“I agree.”
“Damn it...”
So why exactly was I screwed?
“Damn it, why do I have to share the Nintendo I secretly stashed away...”
The precious thing I bought on the day I was kidnapped, only to get dragged along with me on the way home...
“We let it slide as a shared item because you tried to hide the only one in Chaldea and keep it for yourself.”
“I don’t even have human rights...”
“Mister, what’s this thing called Animal Crossing?”
“It’s been out for five... no, six years. How do you still not know?”
“?? It’s been that long? I don’t really know much about Nintendo...”
The Director chimed in from the side.
“What? Pokémon is already on the tenth generation?”
“It’s hard to know if you’re not interested, since it’s something that came out recently.”
“X and Y feel like just the other day...”
“That was over ten years ago...”
“Time really does fly...”
And so, in between a simple daily life that still had its own small comforts...
“EMIYA, can you increase the number of projectiles? If possible, make the swords higher rank too.”
I was doing reflex training by either devouring or blocking the countless blades he unleashed within the Reality Marble EMIYA deployed.
“I’ve already deployed over a thousand of them, and the Noble Phantasms are at least Rank A. Aren’t you asking a bit too much of a B-rank Heroic Spirit?”
“That is a little much...”
“...Master, you’ve changed again recently.”
“How so?”
“Isn’t this training basically the kind where you fight like your life depends on it... no, like it wouldn’t matter even if you died?”
EMIYA’s point was certainly valid.
Training hand-to-hand against Hercules without weapons, drilling and sparring with Cú Chulainn, EMIYA, Richard, and Jeanne...
Even full-on battles against opponents with high-output Noble Phantasms like Black Saber and Black Jeanne...
“No matter how much regeneration I have, I think this is something a Servant should stop. For the sake of the future, if you keep this up...”
“EMIYA.”
From a Servant’s perspective, I probably did look like I was pushing myself too far. But...
“I don’t have the luxury of being afraid anymore, and I don’t have the luxury of thinking about safety. The Singularities are only getting stronger.”
“If that’s what you say, then I suppose it is...”
‘Sorry, EMIYA...’
To be honest, I was in a mindset where there was nothing left to be afraid of. If I was going to die anyway, what more did I have to lose?
‘A clown saying, “If I die, that’s the end of it,” comes to mind...’
Then, two weeks later, when we entered the American Singularity, I could feel the results of that training.
“...Now I can’t tell who the berserker is...”
After defeating Cú Chulainn, who had transformed into a berserker, we broke through the Singularity completely in just three days.
“Mister...”
“Albus, you pushed yourself too far. At this rate...”
‘I’m going to die anyway, but now that I’ve made it past the halfway point, I need to fight safely. I can’t stand seeing us fail right in front of me...’
“Sorry. I got too worked up...”
After two weeks of rest, we entered the Sixth Singularity. And then...
“Yeah... I had a feeling things had been too quiet for a while...”
I ended up in some weird place again.
“At least I think this is the Sixth Singularity...”
“■●우니갸!?!?”
Why is there a sphinx here?
“This is my first time fighting a divine beast... but I guess I’ll give it a shot...”
Judging by how fast it was running, there was no way I could escape...
“□■●■●■●keensjsjs!?!?!?”
“It even screams like shit...”
It was definitely strong. Very strong, but...
“It’s easier to deal with than the asuras that came out in North America.”
Crunch!!!
I tried to devour its head first, but it was too fast to target properly, so I started with hand-to-hand combat.
It swung at me with catlike little swats, but...
“Sjsbsjsh!?!?!?”
Instead, only its hand seemed to get bitten off and vanish.
“My turn.”
First I sent a low kick straight into its ribs... or whatever those were, and smashed that whole area apart, then I put my hand on its head...
“Game over.”
I completely devoured it.
“For now, let’s hurry and look around...”
Devour was the ability to chew and eat things, and according to Taigong Wang, it could even eat something called [Defense Against Great Enemies]. Then he said...
“It should even be able to chew through space.”
It was a technique that chewed through space to move instantly, which in many ways made the laws of physics feel a little strange.
“Found you.”
Meanwhile, Ritsuka’s group was fighting a knight with a prosthetic arm alongside another knight.
“He’s probably top-tier among the great heroes... no, at this point is he on the level of a divine spirit?”
Even though Mash and Ritsuka were bombarding him with all the Servants they had summoned, he didn’t even get a scratch.
“Then...”
I dropped down from above his head and threw a punch, but...
Clang!
He casually blocked my fist with his sword.
“I don’t know who you are, but if you interfere with the Holy Lance...”
“Devour it.”
“!?!?!?”
The knight was flustered. His sword—the one that had never been broken even by the demonic beast Galatine, the sister sword of Excalibur...
Crunch! Crack!*
It was being chewed apart.
“So it really can do Excalibur too, huh...”
“...What exactly are you?”
That question came not from the knight who had lost his sword, but from the one-armed knight fighting alongside Ritsuka.
“That orange-haired one is my ally...”
After the one-armed knight exchanged a look with Ritsuka...
“Retreat!!!”
“Smart choice...”
Judging by the pressure I felt from Camelot, something on the level of Zeus or Poseidon, going in as we were now would be impossible.
The knight whose sword had been stolen stared blankly at our retreating figures, as if he had just witnessed an unknown terror.
“”””
Back in the great palace, Gawain returned with the premonition that he would die today.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Gawain actually came back in broad daylight after losing his sword...”
Even Mordred, who had been sneering beside him, fell silent at the king’s appearance.
“...Do you have any last words, Sir Gawain?”
“...My king, my sword was not stolen or lost.”
The king did not press him further, simply giving him time as if to say, go on.
“It was chewed through in one piece by that thing called Galatine, then eaten.”
!?!?!?!?
“Is that truly the truth, Sir Gawain!?”
“There’s no reason for you, of all people, to lie...”
“That thing destroyed Galatine? The one even the demonic beast and Vortigern couldn’t break?! Who did this?!”
But the king did not allow the room’s excitement to grow any further.
“Silence, Gawain. Given the nature of your opponent, I would like to give you another chance, but without a Noble Phantasm, I cannot expect much more from you.”
“Yes, my king.”
Crunch!
“Knights, there is something more important than preservation right now. We must eliminate ‘that thing’ first.”
““Yes, sir!!””
“”””
Right now, I was in some serious trouble. Why?
“Hey, buddy. My eyes may not be as sharp as those of the other sages, but if you’re going to walk around so blatantly showing it off, you’re going to get caught.”
“...Please save me. I’ve lived an honest life...”
“Huh? That doesn’t sound like a lie... but then... this...”
“Arash! He’s not an enemy!!”
Da Vinci, doing her best to stop him from the side... How did it come to this? Long story short, I had arrived with the one-armed knight, commonly called Bedivere, while leading refugees, and we reached a place protected by Hassan and a man named Arash. The moment he saw me, things turned into this.
“Sorry, buddy. My eyes are a little unusual, so the moment I saw you, I thought you looked dangerous...”
Arash bowed his head and apologized sincerely.
Honestly, by this point I was curious. Why did Heroic Spirits and Servants with unusual eyes or special skills always look uneasy whenever they saw me?
“Forget the apology—what exactly about me looks dangerous? I’m not angry, I’m just asking because this has been happening for a while. What is it?”
Ritsuka, Da Vinci, Mash, and even the Director watching through the monitor all seemed curious as they waited for an answer.
“Well... how should I put this? People have a color? No, maybe an aura? Anyway, everyone and everything has some kind of shape or color.”
Arash pointed at Ritsuka.
“That orange-haired girl has the soft shape of an ordinary person you could find anywhere.”
This time he pointed at Mash.
“That purple-haired girl is a shield, but it’s a very white... no, a shape that’s gradually being filled in with color.”
Then he pointed at Da Vinci.
“That gentleman is originally a man...”
“More importantly, what do I look like?”
“...”
Arash paused for a long moment before speaking.
“White.”
“Mash is white too, though...”
“You’re not human. Usually there’s some object, animal, or at least something that symbolizes the person, but...”
“People, beasts, whatever—they usually aren’t completely uniform in color.”
“What exactly does that mean?”
“You’re completely white. You’re wearing something like a black coat, but it isn’t mixed in. It’s like you’re wearing a skin.”
“No, what is that supposed to mean...”
“I haven’t lived very long, but I’ve seen many people, and even here I’ve met plenty of others, even gods. But I’ve never seen anything like this before, so I instinctively keep my guard up...”
“...”
No one in the group said a word. The identity of the Heroic Spirit that had given me power sank even deeper into mystery.
“More importantly, let’s talk about this Singularity first.”
At Da Vinci’s words, I tossed the headache-inducing thoughts aside.
“The First Hassan came to Chaldea?!”
“Well... not anymore, but...”
“What do you mean?! What happened?”
“Uh... I kind of ate him...”
“?????”
Just casually talking, just casually laughing—if that’s what human life is, then it isn’t so bad.
“...Watch out.”
Starting with Arash, everyone who had been laughing and chatting a moment ago suddenly fixed their gaze on the air.
“It’s coming!!!”
A flash-like slash came crashing down, and Mash blocked it while I absorbed it and Arash intercepted it.
“There isn’t just one! At least three!! And...!!”
The Director’s words were cut off faster than the enemy could appear in front of us.
“Mash, block their attacks and cover Bedivere! Da Vinci, Hassan, evacuate the refugees!! Mister! You need to handle that helmeted one over there!!! Arash!! Intercept the sniper attacking from long range!!!”
Following Ritsuka’s orders, I charged the enemy I had met before.
“I’ll handle the helmeted one, so please intercept the arrows and keep them from flying over here!!!”
“Leave it to me!!!”
I rushed first toward the one I hadn’t seen in a long time.
“I never thought we’d meet again.”
“Huh?! You know me?!”
“We did fight together once as allies... well, that aside, you don’t seem to have any intention of backing down?”
“Of course not!!!”
And so our battle began.
“Clarent Blood Arthur!!!”
‘If she’s opening with a Noble Phantasm, I can’t afford to drag this out...’
Crack!
“What the hell!? It eats techniques too...?”
“I won’t forgive carelessness.”
I drove a fist packed with Devour straight into Mordred’s hollowed-out abdomen.
“Gah!!!”
“If you don’t know, you die.”
‘Honestly, even if you do know, dealing with it is a pain in the ass...’
Mordred’s upper body was blown apart from chest to stomach, and she died on the spot. I looked over the battlefield while the others were still fighting and spotted a line of knights advancing from far away.
“Ritsuka!! I’ll wipe out all the trash mobs!! You keep that purple-helmeted bastard pinned down instead of anyone else!!!”
“Please!!!”
‘There are about three hundred of them...’
“I’ll finish this in under a minute and help Arash.”
‘While I tank, Arash can take out the enemy first, then help Ritsuka. That’s the safest plan. With Mash there, she’ll do fine holding the line, so there’s no problem.’
“”””
While I was carving my way through the enemy ranks and slaughtering them in the middle of their formation...
[Holy Spear, Blossom]
From the sky above, accompanied by a heavy voice, something huge like a tower came crashing down.
“What the hell is that now...”
Before I could even finish speaking, the giant tower slammed into me.
“”””
At first, I was startled by the tower descending from the sky.
Then, seeing where it was falling, I let my guard down even though the enemy was right in front of me.
“Albus!!!”
“You let your guard down even with the enemy right in front of you, girl?!!”
But the man in front of me would not allow that, and though I hurried to defend myself, my stomach was still my stomach.
I was angry—angry at my own uselessness in this situation, and before that, at the man in front of me.
“And yet you call yourself... a knight admired by King Arthur?!!”
“What!?”
After blasting him away with my shield, I finally realized the True Name of the Heroic Spirit who had given me power.
“The Heroic Spirit who gave me power! His name is Galahad!! Sir Mash Kyrielight!! As Galahad’s proxy, I will stop the Lion King!!”
This was sorrow before anger. It was the lingering regret of a precious comrade, someone I had never been able to call my Master or my senpai.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but... look to the sky!!! The Lion King’s divine punishment will continue!!”
The man in front of me said that and withdrew from the battlefield.
“Mash... can you block it?”
“Yes!”
Having realized Galahad’s True Name and gained that Noble Phantasm, its name was...
“Lord Camelot!!!”
A tremendous explosion shook the surrounding area, but the land around us remained largely unharmed.
We had managed to block the Lion King’s divine punishment, but...
“Mash...”
“This is... what is it...”
The Lion King had unleashed divine punishment again.
“...Stand back, girl.”
Then Arash appeared before them, covered in wounds.
“Arash! No, if you use your Noble Phantasm...!!”
“It’s fine. Better than letting everyone die...”
At that moment...
Vmmm... vmmm...!
“What now... Don’t tell me it’s coming from the ground too?!”
“No...”
Ritsuka instinctively understood what it was.
“Of course my brother wouldn’t die from that...”
It was faith born of trust, but for some reason she was trembling a little, as if she were scared.
“It’s coming...”
Crash! Crack-crack-crack!!!*
What burst up through the ground was something sharp and white, like teeth.
Dozens of them pierced the earth and...
easily shattered the divine punishment.
And where those teeth had appeared...
“It said it’d take two months to regenerate...”
Albus, covered in wounds, appeared.
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