"■■■■■!!"
Berserker, bound in midair, let out a mad roar as the muscles all over his body swelled.
Even after falling into a Shadow Servant and losing both reason and Noble Phantasm, the great hero's raw strength was still monstrous.
Crack, ting!
The crimson threads of magical energy Baobhan Sith had woven began snapping under Berserker's resistance.
After breaking his shackles, Berserker twisted in the air toward the ground and, instead of his massive axe-sword, brought down a fist the size of a pot lid at Baobhan Sith.
"Watch out!"
Mash screamed, but Baobhan Sith herself did not look shaken in the slightest. If anything, her face held only deep contempt, as if she were looking at an annoying insect.
"As if."
Booom!
Berserker's gigantic fist stopped cold.
The ground shattered like a spiderweb and a violent gust exploded outward, but Baobhan Sith did not give up even a single step.
With one slender hand, she had completely caught Berserker's punch.
"With trash strength like this, you thought you could threaten my one and only Master?"
Baobhan Sith's eyes flashed with a chilling gleam, and still gripping Berserker's fist, she lightly twisted her waist. It was unbelievable monstrous strength.
Berserker's enormous body lifted into the air with that single motion, then was brutally slammed down onto the asphalt.
Her Strength was A. Perhaps the original Berserker would have been different, but in his weakened state, Berserker was clearly inferior to Baobhan Sith.
Kra-boom!
"■■■...!"
"Don't stand out. You're disgusting."
Baobhan Sith plucked the string of Pale Note toward the fallen Berserker.
Dozens of crimson blood-threads poured down from the air like a shower and nailed Berserker's limbs firmly into the earth.
Looking down at the struggling monster, Baobhan Sith leaped lightly.
Dense, blood-red magical energy swirled around the pointed tip of her red high heel.
"Break."
Crunch!
Her merciless kick crushed Berserker's head. With a sickening burst, the steel-hard skull shattered apart, and black mud splattered everywhere.
Berserker's huge body could not even leave behind a dying cry before it scattered into ash and oxidized into the air.
Just then, from far beyond the bridge, a couple of arrows flew toward Baobhan Sith's back.
"Honestly, you're disgusting to the very end."
Without even turning around, Baobhan Sith raised one finger and made a gesture like firing a gun.
The blood-red magical energy gathered at her fingertip became a crimson bullet, shooting out and intercepting the incoming arrows perfectly in midair before blowing them apart.
After that, no more arrows came. Shuten-Douji had probably reached the sniping point and was biting out the Archer's throat by now.
"..."
On the road where the heat of battle had faded and gray dust drifted through the air, Baobhan Sith flicked the blood off her high heel once against the ground, then slowly turned to look at me.
The cold madness and arrogance she had radiated while butchering her enemies only moments ago were nowhere to be seen.
The red eyes facing me trembled so precariously that they looked ready to shatter at any moment.
"Yaiba..."
Baobhan Sith walked toward me with careful, creeping steps. This was nothing like the bratty little sadist who should have been trampling others and spitting vicious abuse in their faces.
When she reached me, she carefully clutched the hem of my clothes with both trembling hands.
Her face looked like that of a pitiful girl, as if she feared this might be a dream and prayed that, if it was, she would never wake from it.
"Is it really you? You really... didn't forget me, did you?"
At last, her voice cracked with tears.
Without a word, I reached out and gently wrapped my hand around the one clutching my clothes. Then I slowly pulled her into my arms and gave her a light embrace.
"I remember. You did well, Baobhan Sith."
At my gentle warmth and voice, Baobhan Sith finally let out the breath she had been holding and buried her face in my shoulder.
"Ah... thank goodness, thank goodness. You didn't abandon me. I can stand by your side again... hhk."
I knew nothing about my past with her. I didn't know what feelings she held for me, or what kind of relationship we had shared. But even so, I had no choice but to go along with her.
"Well now, looks like there's one more noisy little vixen in the pack."
Just then, Shuten-Douji landed from the sky reeking of blood. In one hand she held a torn piece of crimson cloth that was clearly part of the Archer's coat.
The moment Shuten spotted Baobhan Sith in my arms, her brow twisted sharply in displeasure.
"While I was working hard to tear off my Archer's head, this little thing went and stole my husband's arms for herself. Fairies really are born knowing how to wag their tails."
"What? Watch your mouth, you vulgar horned monster. I'm the one who protected Master."
Baobhan Sith lifted her head from my arms, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and glared fiercely at Shuten. The tension between them turned murderous, as if lightning might crackle in the air at any second.
"Now, now, ladies, calm yourselves. Why not simply share the spots at Master's sides?"
Kojiro smiled awkwardly and was just about to mediate between them when—
"...It seems we have one more guest."
Kojiro's voice dropped low. Shuten and Baobhan Sith also stopped glaring at each other and, all at once, turned their killing intent in one direction.
Through the thick fog, someone was walking toward us with a wooden staff. A man in a mage's outfit, his blue hood pulled low.
Caster, Cu Chulainn.
The only uncorrupted allied Servant in Singularity F, one who cooperated with Chaldea.
But instead, my body tensed and my guard rose even higher. He was not aligned with evil.
Which meant my cursed constitution would surely activate again and fill him with extreme disgust toward me.
Sure enough, Caster's steps faltered as he approached, and I could see the lips beneath his hood twist slightly.
Just like with Olga Marie, he would either retch or turn hostile to me on the spot.
Resigned, I gave Kojiro a look, signaling him to be ready.
But the man's reaction, as he pushed back his hood and revealed his face, was different from what I had expected.
His red eyes clearly showed that he was suppressing discomfort, but instead of gagging, he let out a heavy sigh and stared straight at me.
That gaze was not contempt or disgust.
Strangely enough, it held sympathy and pity.
"...Well, now. I came to help these ladies, and who do I find mixed in with them but a fellow carrying one hell of a burden of sin."
He scratched the back of his head and gave a crooked grin.
"Anyway, you don't seem to be enemies, so let's at least introduce ourselves. I'm Caster. As for my true name, well, don't ask. I'm embarrassed enough as it is, being stuck in the Caster class when it doesn't suit me at all."
That easygoing attitude was unmistakably his. At that relaxed tone, Shuten snorted and cut in.
"Oh, shut it. Anyone can see you're Cu Chulainn, Ulster's mangy mutt."
"Ghk! You tactless monster, blurting out someone else's name whenever you feel like it. Tch. This is why talking to monsters never works."
Cu Chulainn clicked his tongue in disgust after being hit right on the mark. But even while showing his displeasure, he did not point his weapon at Shuten or Baobhan Sith.
"Um, Mr. Caster! My name is Mash Kyrielight, and we're from Chaldea to restore the Singularity. And this is our director. Are you... our ally?"
Mash hurriedly stepped in, trying to smooth things over. Cu Chulainn nodded.
"Yeah. I've got the same goal—ending this insane Holy Grail War. If you're heading out to kill the one behind it all, I'll cooperate."
Mash and Olga Marie brightened at once. The arrival of a dependable allied Servant must have been a huge relief for them.
But I only watched the situation in silence. Cooperation between Chaldea and Cu Chulainn.
To them, I was just some unpleasant filth tagging along as an extra.
It was ridiculous to evaluate myself that way, and maybe it was the kind of thought only someone with terrible self-esteem would have. Unfortunately, it was also the objective truth. I was used to being treated like that.
Shuten and Baobhan Sith stayed pressed close to my sides, growling as they kept Cu Chulainn under guard.
And then it happened.
Cu Chulainn strode forward, ignoring the vicious killing intent pouring off my Servants, and came right up to me.
"..."
I reflexively stepped back. If he knew about my constitution, keeping his distance from me was only natural.
Tap.
But Cu Chulainn reached out without hesitation and planted a large hand squarely on my shoulder.
"Don't touch him!"
Baobhan Sith recoiled in alarm and started to raise her bow, but I lifted a hand to stop her.
There was no hostility in the grip Cu Chulainn had on my shoulder. If anything, he looked down at me with his red eyes and gave me a bitter smile.
"Looks like you've been walking a pretty rough road, brother."
"..."
"I don't need to tell you how lonely it is, walking a path where you protect people who hate you. Still, I like those eyes of yours. You made it this far without breaking."
Cu Chulainn gave my shoulder a couple of light pats.
Of course, he was definitely feeling the instinctive revulsion my constitution gave off.
I could feel the faint stiffness in his fingertips. But he was crushing that beastlike disgust completely with his own reason, and speaking to me as a whole human being, offering comfort.
"All right, then. Shall we go? If we dawdle, the bastard holed up in that mountain valley might run."
Cu Chulainn took his hand off my shoulder, then turned away without lingering and started leading the way.
I stared blankly at his broad back.
The warmth of his hand still lingered strangely on my shoulder. He hadn't looked at me like I was a bug. He hadn't treated me like a monster. He had simply given me rough, plain encouragement as one struggling human being to another.
For the first time in a very long while—or maybe for the first time since I was born—a strange, ticklish feeling spread through my chest. Someone who was not evil had treated me like a person.
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