After getting enough rest, we set out from the supermarket once more, our steps heavy.
Under the ash-gray sky, I could see the ominous outline of the mountain in the distance. Once we reached that place, this wretched blaze and the tangled causality of this cursed Singularity would finally come to an end.
The formation was a strange one: my Servants and I in front, four golems standing guard in the middle, and Mash and Olga Marie following behind. We kept moving in silence until we reached the foot of the mountain path.
What tore that silence apart was a flash that split the air before the sound ever reached us.
"...!"
It happened before that instinctive chill could even run down the back of my neck.
"How dare you draw a bow at my husband!"
Walking beside me, Shuten kicked off the ground in her wooden sandals and leapt into the air. A sword I hadn't even seen her draw was already in her hand.
As Shuten slashed through the air in a smooth arc, the crimson arrow that had flown from an absurd distance away split in two with a metallic clang.
But it wasn't an ordinary arrow.
Boooom!
The severed arrow exploded midair with a horrifying roar. A violent storm of fire and shockwaves swallowed the mountain path.
"Master! Fall back!"
Kojiro moved in front of me in an instant and spun his blade, batting away the remnants of the blast.
At the same time, before I could even issue an order, two golems hurled their massive bodies forward and planted themselves in front of Director Olga Marie like a giant wall.
Crash!
"Aaaah!"
"Director!"
The aftermath of the explosion slammed into the golems' stone bodies.
They were golems painstakingly crafted by Avicebron, but they had taken the full force of an arrow packed with considerable destructive power. Their arms and chests split apart with cracking sounds, fragments flying everywhere.
They weren't completely destroyed, but the damage was close to catastrophic.
As the smoke cleared, Shuten landed lightly from the air. Her pupils narrowed into vertical slits, pouring out murderous intent so dense it felt tangible.
"...Over there, huh. Hiding far away like a rat and aiming for my husband?"
The place Shuten was staring at was the rooftop of a high-rise on the far side of Fuyuki Bridge, easily several kilometers away.
No normal eyesight could ever reach that far, but the senses of a great yokai had already pinpointed the Archer's exact position.
"Husband. I'm going to rip that insolent little rat's head off. Just wait a bit."
"It's a long distance. Don't push yourself, Shuten."
"Hah? Who do you think I am? I'll tear something like that apart in no time, so stay hidden and behave!"
Shuten gave me a sultry smile, lightly kissed my cheek, and then kicked off the ground like a hunting beast, shooting up beyond the ash-gray sky.
Mash and the director stared with their mouths hanging open at that overwhelming leap, but before I could even be impressed, the situation took a turn for the worse.
Rumble...
The moment Shuten left, the entire mountain path began to shake as if an earthquake had struck.
A storm of Mana and a stench of blood so overwhelming and vile that it drowned out the acrid smell left behind by the Archer's explosive arrow.
"■■■■■■■■!!"
A beastly roar, loud enough to tear through the eardrums, shook the burning sky of Fuyuki.
What stepped out through the ash-gray smoke was a monster with a gigantic body, something far beyond the bounds of humanity.
It was Berserker.
"...Ah, hell."
I let out a sigh without thinking and rubbed my face dryly.
Why was that monster, which should have been holed up in the Einzbern forest, crawling all the way out here? I couldn't tell whether Archer had drawn it over with that snipe attack, or whether the Singularity's system itself had gone haywire.
What was certain was only this: this utterly ridiculous, unfair situation had landed right in front of me, and there wasn't even a quest reward attached to it.
"Well now... with my sword, cutting even his bones looks doubtful."
Even Kojiro, who was always relaxed, had a cold tension on his face now.
With even Shuten gone, there was no way Kojiro's swordsmanship alone could stop that overwhelming physical violence head-on.
"■■■■!!"
Berserker roared and leapt. He had only kicked off the ground, but it left a crater behind, and his enormous stone sword came crashing down from above at terrifying speed.
"Block him!"
The moment I shouted, the two half-destroyed golems and the two remaining intact ones all threw themselves at Berserker at once.
Boooom!!
A hideous burst echoed out. The four golems were literally smashed apart like sheets of paper by a single merciless swing of Berserker's giant stone sword.
Massive chunks of rock rained down like heavy drops. Just a few seconds. That was all the time the [Chosen One] Craft Essence had bought us against a strike from a great hero.
[All golems from the Conceptual Craft Essence [Chosen One] have been destroyed. Resummoning will require 3 hours.]
"Director, watch out!"
Mash rushed forward in desperation, shield in hand.
The moment Berserker stepped over the shattered remains of the golems and followed up with a sweeping slash, Mash's massive cross-shaped shield caught the blow.
Craaack!
"Kgh...! Aaaah!"
Mash's legs gouged deep into the asphalt as she was pushed backward.
While Mash desperately held back Berserker's strike, Kojiro slipped into the enemy's blind spot like the wind.
A cold flash of steel shot for Berserker's thick neck. But with a sharp metallic clang, Kojiro's sword was knocked away.
Even in a Shadow Servant state, stripped of his Noble Phantasm, the body of a great hero was harder than steel.
"As expected... impossible, huh."
Kojiro clicked his tongue and quickly widened the distance again. Blood had already begun to spill from Mash's mouth as she endured the attack behind her shield. She was at her limit.
"Thanks for holding out. Fall back!"
Without a moment's hesitation, I brought up the system window in midair.
The few seconds the golems had bought with their destruction, and Mash had carved out with sheer grit, were enough.
[Using item from inventory. Item: Heroic Spirit summoning ticket (Evil alignment guaranteed).]
"I'm counting on you."
[Commencing Heroic Spirit summoning. Your trait [Seeker of Evil] has reacted, guaranteeing the summoning of a Servant of the corresponding alignment. Searching for bonds engraved upon your soul...]
It had to be a Heroic Spirit strong enough to match Berserker head-on. Most Assassin-types were out of the question. Please, let it be a powerful Servant.
[Bond level with the corresponding Heroic Spirit has exceeded the limit. Bond Level 13 data synchronization complete.]
The silver ring didn't even have time to spin. A dazzling golden flash burst from the system window and swallowed the entire mountain path.
Then the wind blew.
Into the air thick with the acrid smell of gunpowder and blood, another scent mixed in—sweet enough to make me dizzy, and cold at the same time. The smell of damp earth, and sweet blood.
As the light faded, the sharp tap of red high heels striking asphalt rang out.
Tok.
"...Ah. This scent, this pulse of Mana. So it wasn't a lie."
A blood-red dress. A silhouette both splendid and somehow reminiscent of fairy wings that had been beautifully, tragically broken.
Her eyes should have been arrogant and cruel. But the moment they met mine, they shook uncontrollably, like a wounded stray dog that had wandered in misery and finally found its owner.
It was different from the thick, leisurely affection Shuten showed me.
"Was it you who called me? You... you remembered me and called me again?"
I knew her name.
Baobhan Sith.
Her red lips trembled. With an expression like she might burst into tears at any moment, she tried to take a step toward me.
"■■■■■!!"
But the monster in front of us was far too loud for a touching reunion. Berserker had knocked Mash away and was now leaping toward me with that giant stone sword raised high.
Mash cried out urgently, but I didn't dodge. I simply looked at Baobhan Sith in silence. Because she would protect me.
"...How dare you."
The longing expression Baobhan Sith had been showing me froze in an instant into absolute killing intent.
"How dare you raise that filthy weapon at him and thrash around like that? You worthless lump of meat!"
Cold fury surged from her as crimson Mana coiled around her hand. The moment she lightly snapped her fingers, dozens of invisible red threads sliced through the air and tightly bound Berserker's limbs and giant stone sword in mid-leap.
Berserker's steel-like body was forcibly halted in the air.
"Watch closely. And look only at me. Watch how everything that threatens you gets broken apart, and how beautifully I tear it all to pieces."
Baobhan Sith turned a mad smile on me, then drew out a blood-red bow and pulled back the string.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register