"Ugh, ugh..."
Sakura tosses and turns, sweating profusely. The progress of the Holy Grail transformation seems to be going smoothly. Even with only one Servant eliminated, it's like this... Well, it's still okay for now. If the Grail transformation progresses, she'll become even stronger.
I remove the sweat with rune magecraft. She shouldn't catch a cold.
"You're quite meticulous for someone who called her a tool."
"Does it look that way? Well, the more precious the tool, the more one tends to be that way."
Medusa came in and stroked the head of Sakura, who looked a bit distressed while sleeping.
"I believe there is a separate Lesser Grail. Why are you so intent on turning Sakura into a Grail?"
"... The old man of my generation who made the Grail put effort into making it too, and besides... my Grail is the opposite of the Third Magic, you see. It's because it's the Third Magic that it won't work. What I desire is never something like the Third Magic. I think if the properties are opposite, it will turn out for the better. Even if it's said to be malignant."
"I see... So, your wish is..."
"Enough. Don't say it."
"Understood... I understand your wish, but is it okay? You seem to act as if the resulting sacrifice is natural."
"Are you asking if I can be proud? How laughable... I am nothing but a dog who shouldn't even raise his head. I'm ashamed... That someone like me was their husband. That I was the father of those children. I'm such a powerless dog that I want to kill myself. Aren't you the same? Didn't you want to kill yourself for having to eat your sisters?"
"..."
"Don't think you can fool my eyes. Because I'm a Caster, I can see better. Until the moment you ate your sisters, you were still conscious. And yet, you couldn't do anything. And your sisters didn't resent you until that dying moment. Just like my family... Isn't that right? Medusa."
"... You're bringing up painful memories."
"You started it first, you snake woman. I'm still like that even at this moment? I don't know about you, but... I am still there. Me, alone and perfectly alive in front of my dying family. Me, trying to enter rest leaving my wife alone... Don't we scum like us have something in common? You know, you might even be able to make a wish. Depending on whether this resource truly needs seven Servants or not, if six is enough, your wish could be granted too. Or not? We just need to offer that many humans as sacrifices."
"You've abandoned everything as a hero."
"That's what others call me... For my wish, I could sacrifice all the people of Ulster. For me, family is everything."
"I was like that too... but you're more twisted than me. It must be because your foundation is human. Is this tragedy because you were the most human-like hero of all?"
"Hmph, tragedy... Maybe so."
Originally, it's also the fault of that damned Age of Gods with its fate. The power I gained trying to prevent destruction was utterly meaningless. I just... wanted to be happy. So why did we have to meet such a miserable end? Why... did we...
"Shall we go greet Assassin soon?"
"Assassin?"
"Yeah... That priest bastard, he must have sensed something was off. Seems he noticed the old man of my generation died. With Lancer dead too, he's sending out the heresy he was hiding. That bastard called a judge having two Servants..."
A rat has invaded the mansion. Truly Assassin. To infiltrate my barrier... Interesting. It's good I haven't deified her yet.
I sent Medusa, and feeling the Servant's magical energy slithering in, I greeted the shadow crawling out from under the bed.
"Good... good boy... Come, follow me."
A small shadow walking pitter-patter. On the first floor of the mansion, I saw Assassin fighting Medusa. As expected, it's Hassan of the Hundred Faces. I thought it would be troublesome if Hundred-Faced showed up, but this is convenient.
Boom...!
"Kuhuk!"
"I'm surprised it was so easy, Assassin. I thought a new Master might appear, but it was obvious and simple. Truly fitting for a Servant to be used as a pawn and discarded."
I grab the head of the one being pushed back by Medusa and slam it into the floor. At the same time, I thrust my staff into his back.
Kwajik!
"Now, eat heartily."
Medusa quickly moves away, and the shadow, unable to sense me, devours the fallen Assassin. Eat your fill to your heart's content.
"My my, it's bloody."
I clean the house with runes and go to Sakura, who will be sweating again.
"Don't overexert yourself."
"Overexert... Don't make me laugh, Medusa. I don't do things like overexertion."
"... I don't think it was your fault."
"....."
`It's not your fault...`
"... Bullshit. You who think it's your own fault, who are you to say that to? Gorgon."
"....."
"For someone who was reduced to a monster due to the gods' jealousy..."
"You're saying things you don't mean."
"Not bad for a snake, your senses are good! That's because the gods are idiots. Phew... Go to the convenience store and buy some late-night snacks. Here's money."
"Late-night snacks?"
"To eat, buy something for yourself too. You have nothing to do, right?"
"... That's true."
Medusa lets out a light chuckle and smiles faintly. Tch... Anyway, she resembles Nessa in every way. Annoying...
I wonder if they sell chicken at the convenience store even at dawn. Medusa comes back with a ton of late-night snacks. I gave her a lot of money... I eat the snacks she bought and nurse Sakura.
`Haa... haa...`
`I told you not to overdo it. You're not feeling well, don't push yourself.`
`I can still do more... I can do better than my younger sister Connla...`
`I know that of course. I believe in you too, Uathach. But I just want Uathach to be healthy. So, let's stop training here for today and rest like this. I'll stay by your side today.`
`Is that so... Then, I'll rest...!`
`Thank you, Uathach.`
"....."
Medusa wordlessly hands me a handkerchief. Damn it... I'm crying. I've been holding it in until now... I don't take the handkerchief and get up, going to the roof of the mansion. No one will see...
"... I'm sorry..."
I'm sorry... everyone... For being such a husband, such a father... For making you sad until the end... I'm sorry, Scáthach... That someone like me is your husband...
A day passes, a rainy night.
The Saber and Archer teams come out to the night streets to investigate the explosion incidents and magical energy theft incidents occurring in Fuyuki City. The streets are empty of people in the dead of night.
Tap... tap... tap...
While passing through the park, a boy sitting on a park bench. A boy tapping the ground with a staff.
"That is...?"
Shirou focused on the boy's head. The boy's red hair was gradually washed away by the rain, dripping onto the ground... Blood was dripping. His dark navy hair gradually revealed. Shirou shudders, knowing it's blood. Even Rin frowns. The boy before them was a Servant. A thick smell of blood even she could sense...
As the boy rises from his seat, Saber throws off her raincoat, manifests her armor, and Archer materializes.
"... You came. I was waiting."
The boy slowly rises from the bench... then lifts something behind the bench.
"Wha...?"
"You... what are you thinking!"
Archer is taken aback, and Saber expresses anger at him. What the boy took out was a child. A child bleeding profusely.
"What's with this? I saved it, you know."
"You saved it...?"
"My Master has a big appetite... No matter how much I feed her, she keeps saying she's hungry and goes hunting. I saved it just before it was eaten, okay?"
"..."
The boy says this expressionlessly, holding the child by the nape to show them. It was a fatal wound, but the child was still breathing.
"Toss~"
"!"
The boy then throws the child. The moment Shirou tries to run to catch the child, Saber intuitively grabs Shirou and throws him back. At the same time, the child's body swells up and then...
Kwaaaang!!!!
"......."
"Madman..."
The child explodes right in front of Saber. Saber is unharmed due to her Magic Resistance. Behind her, Shirou is shocked and Rin curses the boy.
"Why didn't you save it?"
"You... are you Caster?"
"Can't you tell? And you are obviously Saber, and next to you is an Archer who uses a sword but isn't Saber. Right?"
"The Casters of this Holy Grail War are all the same heresy...!!!"
Saber, reminded of Gilles de Rais from the 4th War, is greatly enraged and charges at him. The boy then fires bombardments made of rune magical formulas. Saber ignores them with her Magic Resistance and charges, swinging her sword at him.
Clang!!!!
"!?"
"What? Did you think I couldn't fight? I'm originally specialized in this. I'd prefer to use magecraft rather than an ambiguous frontal battle, but your Magic Resistance is too high. That heart you left behind, you can't even use your strength properly... How pitiful, Uther's daughter."
"You──"
Seeing the Caster who saw through Saber's identity, Archer runs to support Saber. Iron chains fly at him, and Archer deflects them.
Charuruk...
"What, another Servant!? An alliance!?"
"..."
Everyone is taken aback by Rider's appearance. The boy, having deflected Saber's sword and pushed her back, stands next to her.
"Caster and Rider, a good combination, isn't it?"
"In a way, it's the worst combination."
Archer judges the combination of magecraft and speed to be extremely dangerous. He's about to suggest retreat first, but...
"The setup is already complete."
Keeeing...!!!
At that moment, Medusa's Noble Phantasm activates. Red electric magical energy soars from the completed foundation stones placed all over the park and gathers in the park's sky. Then, a snake's eye appears in the sky.
{Blood Fort Andromeda}(Temple of Blood, Seal of the Fanged Shrine)
Koogoom...!
""Kuh!?""
"T, this is... a barrier!?"
A huge barrier unfolds, and everyone except Saber collapses. It's a completed Temple of unbelievable power since Sakura is the Master. Even Archer with his D-rank Magic Resistance begins to have his magical energy and life force drained instantly, making it hard to even stand.
"Let's finish this quickly. I'll end you here."
He moves to kill Saber, but...
Paang!
"... Haa. Her appetite is good, but could you wait a bit? It was about to happen soon."
The shadow devours one of the foundation stones, making the barrier incomplete. In that gap, Archer quickly projects and fires swords.
Krkrkrkrkang!!!!
Medusa swings her chains, deflecting the swords. At the same time, the swords explode. Caster blocks the explosion with magecraft and then shakes his head.
"I said it's hard to control. I'll finish eating soon... Let's return for today. Even such a strong barrier is hard to use, her appetite is too good..."
"Understood."
"Are you running away!?"
"Running...? Ha, how laughable, kid. Normally, I'd just kill someone like you. It's just that I won't fight now unless it's a certain victory... Or should I do it?"
"Try it!"
Saber charges at the retreating Caster and unleashes Invisible Air. And right in front of her, Caster's staff, not dodging, transforms into an axe. Then, Caster lifts the axe high and brings it down on the ground.
"{Curtana Bolg}(The Cleaving and Splitting Slashing Axe)"
Kwagwagwagwagwagwa!!!
The red slash of the axe cuts through Invisible Air. Saber uses her intuition to dodge, a strand of her hair is cut, and the flying slash tears through the ground, destroying the forest.
"Running...? You're no match for me, kid. No matter how much war you've experienced, who does a brat who just worked on the throne for ten years think he's fighting? Heroic Spirits are often summoned at their peak. But not you, a Living Spirit, right? I don't know about other things, but with your level of skill, it's not enough."
"Kuh..."
"... It's coming now. Let's go, Rider."
He and Rider use teleportation and disappear from the spot. Archer, seeing an ominous shadow nearby, quickly takes everyone and evacuates.
"What the hell, he looks like a kid but why is he so strong? Is he really Caster?"
"Right... Saber, he seemed to know you... Do you know him?"
"No, I don't. There is someone I can guess... but it's completely different from the stories I've heard. There is a hero passed down like a legend even in my era. Curtana Bolg. There's only one hero who uses that. But he..."
Too different from what one would expect of that figure from Celtic myth. And crucially...
"He seemed somehow steeped in sorrow. His magical energy... it was a sense made of sorrow and lamentation."
"You can sense emotions from magical energy?"
"I can a little. Since I'm a dragon... At first, I thought he was just heresy... but somehow, seeing him makes my chest hurt."
Saber looked at the spot where Caster had left and felt an indescribable, strange emotion.
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