--------------------
After the two of them finished their deadly game of cat and mouse, we moved to where the Holy Grail was. There were skeletons along the way too, of course.
"Prayer of Atonement!"
With her wide-area attack, we advanced little by little toward the Holy Grail without taking any damage.
"So dependable..."
-Um... Juhwan...?
Romani wore a worried expression and cautiously said, as if he couldn't understand what I was doing.
-What exactly... are you eating right now...?
"Oh, this?"
I scooped up a spoonful from the plate of Mapo Tofu I was holding, brought it close to his still-open hologram, and said with a grin,
"This is seriously~ delicious. Want to try some~?"
Romani, who had just seen my devilish smile and the absurdly spicy-looking Mapo Tofu right in front of him, pinched his nose and refused with all his might.
-S-Sorry, but I'll pass...
No, why are you pinching your nose when you're outside the screen...? Anyway, for Romani's sake, I took the spoonful I had scooped and put it straight into my mouth, taking a neat bite. Then Director Olga, still unable to make sense of the scene, said,
"How on earth do you even eat that..."
The others listening beside her chimed in one by one.
"Exactly... Director Olga Marie..."
"I-I am her Master, but I don't understand it either..."
"I don't understand it either..."
While Mash, Tonelico, and Ushiwakamaru were talking about how they couldn't understand what I was doing, Ritsuka stood beside me and stared at the Mapo Tofu before saying,
"Is that... good...?"
Seeing her expression, pure and curious, I immediately scooped up another spoonful and held it out to her.
"Want a bite?"
"Nom..."
She let me feed her the Mapo Tofu, and it didn't take long for her reaction to come.
"!!!"
She suddenly started thrashing around like a Berserker, and Mash, who had been watching from behind, quickly handed Ritsuka a water bottle. Ritsuka took it and immediately poured all the water into her mouth like a madwoman. After a moment, she seemed to calm down, lowered the bottle from her lips, and glared at me with a resentful look.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you..!"
At her reaction, I scooped up another bite of Mapo Tofu and put it into my mouth as I said,
"I'm fine though..."
"What a... monster..."
Cu Chulainn, who had been silently watching the situation, started trembling as if some other face had come to mind. Anyway, after finishing the Mapo Tofu, we set off again toward the Great Cavern. In the meantime, a lot had happened. Cú Chulainn and Tonelico tested us for Mash's Noble Phantasm... then the Rider appeared, but Tonelico and Mash brought it down easily as well, and after that we kept walking until we reached here.
"This is... a castle...?"
Yes. After pushing through the forest, we found an old castle that had been built long ago. Naturally, it's the one everyone who knows the story would recognize. As far as I know, there isn't another building in Japan with this style of architecture. The family that owned this castle was the Einzberns. Yes, this was the castle where Illyasviel von Einzbern lived. Now it's... well...
"It seems there is no one here, Master."
After circling the castle once, Ushiwakamaru returned and knelt before Ritsuka to report. It certainly gave off an aura that no one could possibly be living here, and just as we were about to step inside, Cú Chulainn suddenly made a face as if he had just remembered something and shouted at us in a hurry.
"Wait!? This place is...!?"
"ㅁㅁㅁㅁㅁㅁㅁ!!!!"
The moment he started to speak, a tremendous roar began echoing from the forest. It was loud enough to shake the very ground we were standing on. The trees seemed startled by it too, their branches twisting into impossible shapes. The roar grew steadily closer, and before long, we came face to face with its owner.
"ㅁㅁㅁㅁㅁㅁㅁㅁ!!!!!"
'Ah, right. Damn it... there was a Berserker here.'
At the sudden appearance of a powerful magical reaction, Romani panicked and quickly relayed the situation to us.
-Juhwan!! Director!! An enemy life-form is heading your way right now!! Be careful!!
'No, Berserkers weren't supposed to move in the story... why is it coming for us!?'
"Mash!! Hold your shield properly!! Damn it...!! Why is that guy here!? He wasn't moving around in the forest before!?"
Snapping back to my senses at his words, we immediately returned to battle stance, and Director Olga and Ritsuka moved behind me as they said,
"That's... a Berserker!?"
Cú Chulainn began explaining the identity of the enemy we were facing.
"That guy is a Berserker... and his True Name is... Heracles. The Heracles from Greek mythology that you all know well."
Heracles, or Alcides.
The half-human, half-divine great hero from Greek mythology. His most famous legend is the Twelve Labors imposed by the goddess Hera. He is one of the very few men who completed those labors and ascended to the ranks of the gods. And now he had appeared before our eyes.
"ㅁㅁㅁㅁㅁㅁㅁㅁㅁ!!!!!!!"
But there was one fortunate thing. His current class was Berserker, meaning he was a mad warrior. So he couldn't use any of the Noble Phantasms he had brought out in F/SF, like the poison arrows of the Hydra, the Belt of the war god Ares, and so on. The only combat techniques he could use right now were the martial arts etched into his body and the stone sword carved from the Heracles temple.
'At this level, we can handle it...'
Thinking that, I placed my left hand over the Command Spell on the back of my right hand and made up my mind. What was fortunate, in essence, was that he couldn't use his Noble Phantasms as a Berserker right now. His current state was one of contamination by the Holy Grail's mud. He had probably already lost almost all twelve of his lives in the battle with Saber Alter. That was how it worked in the game too.
"Master, give the order!"
"Master, please issue your command!"
As we shifted into battle formation, Berserker must have understood our intent too, because he charged at us with a monstrous roar. Just as Berserker's heavy blow was about to come flying in, Mash suppressed the fear that had been controlling her and leapt forward.
-Boom!!!
"Ggh...!"
Her shield took the incoming attack head-on. A deafening crash rang out. Mash didn't seem to have blocked it completely, because her legs were trembling. Berserker didn't miss that opening and immediately twisted his body into a spinning kick, bringing it right up to the point where Mash could no longer avoid it.
"No...!"
"I'm faster than that...!"
Tonelico immediately raised her greatsword and sent it flying toward him as he was about to kick. Seeing her attack, Berserker stopped the spinning kick just before completion, twisted his body, and leapt back.
"ANSZ!"
Cú Chulainn also provided support with rune magecraft, but Berserker's Magic Resistance prevented it from dealing any serious damage.
"Tch... what is this guy made of...!"
"Leave this to me...!"
At that moment, Ushiwakamaru instantly closed the distance to the retreating Berserker and slashed with her Japanese sword. But...
"ㅁㅁㅁㅁㅁㅁㅁㅁ!!!"
-BoomBoomBoom!!
"Cough...!"
"Ushiwakamaru!!"
Berserker grabbed her arm, slammed her against the ground over and over, and then threw her into the forest. Leaving Ushiwakamaru behind after she was hurled into the woods, Berserker immediately charged toward Tonelico.
"There's no choice... Master!"
I was briefly flustered by her shout, but I quickly came to my senses and answered her call.
"O-Okay! What is it!?"
She looked my way and asked for permission to use her Noble Phantasm.
"We can't keep this up...! Please allow me to use my Noble Phantasm!"
"Y-Yes! I grant permission to use your Noble Phantasm, Tonelico!"
Once the permission was given, her staff vanished, and in her hand was the spear that had once been used by Morgan, not by her. Then she immediately began to release her True Name against the charging Berserker.
"Water Mirror, full release...!"
At her words, an enormous water mirror began forming above our heads. Its light was a luminous color, like the glow of a lake. We stared blankly at her great magecraft. Her beautiful blonde hair soon changed color, just like Morgan's, and she began to deploy her Noble Phantasm.
"As a fairy of salvation, I will remove all falsehoods...! [Lodris Camelot], the unattainable ideal, let everything within sight turn to ash!!"
As if responding to her cry, twelve Longominiads made of magecraft rained down on Berserker from the water mirror all at once. But just as Berserker prepared to leap away and flee, someone behind him grabbed his ankle.
"Sorry, but you're coming with me, Berserker..."
"ㅁㅁㅁㅁ!?"
It was Ushiwakamaru, who had been thrown into the forest, returning and locking his ankle in place with her Japanese sword. Ritsuka, who had been watching the scene, tried to run to her, but Ushiwakamaru held up a hand to stop her and said,
"Master, I am sorry I could not protect you until the end. But I, Ushiwakamaru, can throw away this life for your sake...!"
"Ushiwakamaru!!"
"ㅁㅁㅁㅁㅁ!!"
Berserker immediately tried to shake her off his ankle somehow, but he couldn't pry off Ushiwakamaru, who was clinging to him with all her might. By then, Longominiad was already falling directly above his head, and sensing his own death, Berserker accepted it without resistance.
-Boom!!!
With a tremendous explosion, Mash quickly activated her Noble Phantasm, fearing we would be caught in the blast as well.
"Mash Kyrielight, use your Noble Phantasm immediately!!"
"Understood, Director!! Then I will deploy my Noble Phantasm!! [Lord Chaldeas]!! [Pseudo-activation of a virtual Noble Phantasm]!!!"
Thanks to Mash's Noble Phantasm, we weren't caught up in the explosion. But...
"Sob, sob... Ushiwakamaru...!!"
"Senpai..."
-Ritsuka...
Ushiwakamaru couldn't dodge in time and was annihilated along with Berserker by Tonelico's Noble Phantasm. With her death, we were able to bring down Berserker easily. After using her Noble Phantasm, Tonelico's hair color returned to blonde, and the spear had vanished before anyone noticed. Ritsuka cried for several minutes before finally collecting herself, and we continued on our way, praying for the repose of Ushiwakamaru, who had fallen for our sake.
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