Chapter 582: The Ballad of the Third Magic
As Sakatsuki led her forward, Hakuno had to admit her heart was brimming with anticipation.
To directly witness human history, a gathering place for heroes and legends... What kind of place could it be?
A grand library chronicling the past and present? A screening hall replaying great deeds of old? The legendary Round Table assembly, or perhaps a banquet of kings?
It was precisely because her expectations were so high that Hakuno's expression twisted the moment she stood before the cafeteria entrance.
"Hey, Sakatsuki..."
"Hmm? What is it, Master?" The young man had already taken his seat at the table, smiling faintly, his golden eyes glinting like a fox's. "Just as I said, this is the place where countless heroes gather, where human history is etched into memory."
Raising his arm, he gestured toward the bustling crowd inside the cafeteria—Servants, normally hidden away by their Masters, now materialized freely, indulging in the joy of food.
"It's like how shouting 'Artoria, dinner's ready!' across Britain would summon that radiant King of Knights. Because they understand the value of every meal, no hero would ever pass up such a delightful moment."
He had just revealed a secret that might warrant a Noble Phantasm to the face, but Sakatsuki remained unfazed, merely savoring Hakuno's priceless expression with a smirk full of mischief.
"So, Master? The heroes of human history are all right before your eyes!"
But I can't just approach them! Can't you see the other Masters glaring at you?!
With a soft thud, Hakuno slapped a hand over her face and sighed silently.
I'm such a fool. Really.
I should've never trusted Sakatsuki's nonsense!
Kishinami Hakuno, for the 10,086th time, trembled with rage at someone's teasing antics—yet remained utterly helpless, as powerless as a child.
"Sakatsuki, you just love bullying me... You can recognize them at a glance, but how am I supposed to know anything about these Servants just by looking at their faces...?"
The girl slumped onto the table, muttering under her breath. Despite being a Master, she carried no imposing aura—instead, she seemed like nothing more than a soft-spoken girl next door. Beside her, the ever-so-kind "big brother" chuckled lightly, his eyes glinting as an idea took shape.
And he acted on it immediately.
"Then listen closely, Hakuno. Where these Servants hail from, what legacies they bear, in which civilizations their tales were woven..."
Hakuno looked up in surprise as the young man lightly tapped the table, clearing his throat.
He said, "I'll have them tell you themselves."
Before Kishinami Hakuno could react, the Servant beside her stood up, sweeping his hands before him.
Projection magecraft unfolded. Material construction began.
The cafeteria fell into abrupt silence as the unmistakable presence of magecraft spread unchecked, drawing countless bewildered gazes.
Who dares to use magecraft so brazenly within the academy?
Eyes converged, and soon, everyone saw the striking young man standing tall—and the ancient zither quietly placed before him.
A musician? What's with this sudden spectacle?
Some frowned in confusion, others sneered in disdain. But a select few, swirling their wine glasses, widened their eyes in excitement the moment they noticed the small mallet in Sakatsuki's right hand.
"Could it be…"
Without keeping the audience waiting, Sakatsuki pressed down with his left hand, the small hammer striking the strings.
Dong—!
A sorrowful yet impassioned tone rose, drowning out all the clamor. The altered note played, and Sakatsuki began to beat time, humming an ancient melody.
"The wind howls, the Yi River runs cold; the brave man leaves—never to return!"
The song once played on the zhu by the banks of the Yi River now resounded again beneath the moon on distant shores. Sakatsuki did not have to wait long—a beautiful figure in white robes rose, lifting a wine jug in a distant toast before drinking deeply and laughing heartily:
"To probe the tiger's den, to enter the dragon's lair; exhaling to the heavens, forming a white rainbow!"
The autumn wind rustled, the Yi River ran cold. Only one man had ever used this song to accompany his blade, etching an indelible mark across millennia!
The small hammer vanished, replaced by the fervent clappers. The young man, clad in armor and wielding weapons, roared with eyes wide in fury, an overwhelming aura of bloodlust surging.
"Valiant warriors of old Qin, reclaim our rivers and mountains!"
"Till our blood runs dry, we fight without rest!"
In a daze, countless armored soldiers seemed to roar behind him. Though he stood alone, the grandeur of the old tune stirred the blood, as if thousands of troops stood before them, their spirit swallowing mountains and rivers!
In an instant, the cafeteria erupted. Berserkers, fierce as tigers and wolves, overturned tables, bellowing in defiance. Strategist-like figures chuckled lightly, unable to hide their respect and wariness… Before the nation of that First Emperor, no hero bearing the blood of Yan and Huang could suppress the resonance in their souls!
The battle songs of Qin, the Song of the Great Wind, and even the ballads of later generations of Huaxia intertwined in a chorus of defiance. Some Masters, realizing the situation, hurriedly tried to push their Servants to leave. Yet whether obedient or unruly, those Servants—or rather, heroes—stood rooted to the spot, silently watching the scene unfold with eager anticipation.
Look—the stories of old are being retold here!
As if the curtain had risen on a stage, performances unfolded one after another, and the heroes waited, biding their time for their own entrance!
Thus, the musician dismissed the instruments before him. Projection magecraft manifested once more, and this time, floating in midair were French horns, trumpets, drums, and a sitar!
Before any knowledgeable Servant could exclaim, a rousing military anthem blared through the cafeteria. And when Sakatsuki opened his mouth, humming the first line, many Servants rose to their feet in ecstatic tremors, fists raised, voices shouting at the top of their lungs—
"Victrix, ROMA!"
Long live Rome!
If that eternal First Emperor had solidified the Nine Provinces of Huaxia, standing unshaken through the ages, then in the West, only the Roman Empire had bridged past and future, remaining a dazzling star to this day!
"Semper fortis, Natiō Rōmāna!"
Cheers erupted, with one portly man in golden-red tribune robes the most excited. Outside the cafeteria, a lovely figure hurried past, then backtracked, emerald eyes gleaming.
Is this… a theatrical performance?!
How could such an event proceed without me!
Joyfully stepping forward, the girl suddenly froze, remembering the little red dragon waiting to be fed at home. With a regretful sigh, she turned and hurried back.
No matter—next time, next time I'll make sure everyone hears my heavenly voice!
In the cafeteria, as the military anthem of Rome resounded, the fervent atmosphere soared to another climax. Amidst the jubilant cheers and revelry that momentarily cast aside thoughts of future bloodshed, Hakuno tugged at Sakatsuki's sleeve.
"What's the matter?" Sakatsuki, who had been reveling in Roman fervor, lowered his arms and saw Hakuno cupping their hands around their mouth, shouting with effort:
"How did you do this?"
To Hakuno—no, to many Masters—this entire celebration seemed utterly baffling from start to finish.
It was just one person suddenly standing up and humming a song on their own—in any modern-day restaurant, such an act would only draw silent stares or mocking glances from onlookers.
Yet here, and only here, in the presence of heroes nobler and more dignified than anyone else, such an audacious act became so natural that it had now transformed into a cross-cultural concert of civilizations and regions!
It was truly incomprehensible!
They couldn't understand why these revered heroes could be so childishly unrestrained.
Even more perplexing was why… they themselves couldn't help but softly hum along!
"It's magic, Hakuno."
Sakatsuki chuckled lightly, admiring the masterpiece he had created, feeling the warm glow refracted in the ocean of souls. He smiled, utterly content.
Imagine a figure who had died a hundred, even a thousand years ago, suddenly reborn in the distant modern era, on the distant Moon.
Their comrades long turned to dust, their glory faded, their stories reduced to mere footnotes in history books—read, marveled at, and enshrined like deities.
How profound the loneliness must be.
What anchors them, beyond their contracts with their Masters, is surely that pride unique to themselves.
In the ballads passed down through the ages alongside them, all loneliness and solitude seem to find memory. Boundless compassion is entrusted to the melodies, soothing every solitary soul, bringing peace to all emptiness, and granting deliverance to every fear.
Even if the world has changed beyond recognition.
It's as if they've returned to the days of old, under the brilliant sun, recalling the passionate laughter of their comrades or the clashing steel and frozen rivers of their dreams.
"As long as you live, take it easy and be merry."
A lyre appeared in the young man's hands. Sakatsuki greedily drank in the sight of the heroes' laughter before lowering his golden eyes and strumming the strings like the Greek sun god. Clear, melodious notes spread through the air, accompanied by his smooth singing.
"Let all your worries fade, for life is too short, and time devours it all."
It was a drinking song he had learned from the sage Chiron during the Holy Grail War. In the flourishing days of ancient Greece, people would sit together like this, softly singing the tunes of Seikilos, raising their cups, and savoring lives destined to end.
Gentle and sweet melodies slowly welled up, diffusing through the air—not harsh, not intense, but as serene as a spring, lightly enveloping everything, smoothing out restlessness and unease, guiding all souls back to tranquility.
The Third Magic operated on its own, spreading like sweet rain in all directions. Though the instruments and scores varied, the emotions the creators wished to convey and the melodies they sought to compose resonated as never before, filling the heroes' souls with joy, hope, and longing.
Even though the music had already ended, and the crowd dispersed.
————
"You two really caused quite a scene, Sakatsuki, and Hakuno."
Though they had quietly changed tables, familiar faces soon found them. A slender girl in red, her twin-tails swaying, crossed her arms and looked at them with exasperation.
"Thanks to you, we discovered five Chinese Servants, thirteen Roman Servants, and nine Greek Servants, not to mention the American Servants who spontaneously started singing their national anthem... Even my own Servant materialized on their own and is over there singing Irish folk songs with old acquaintances."
"Quite the gathering of heroes," Sakatsuki raised his glass in a toast to Rin from afar. "You must have gathered plenty of intel too, no?"
"With the first round of the war imminent, intel right now is both the most valuable and the most useless thing." Rin rolled her eyes, pulling out a chair to sit down before suddenly lowering her voice.
"That incident a few days ago at Ichinotsuki Sōkai, where a large number of Masters died inexplicably... Did it have anything to do with you?"