After their disguises were complete, Kiriko instinctively asked the tractor-chick…Gabriel, to park in the designated area.
Only when the townsfolk stared at her with frightened and wary eyes did she suddenly realize she was no longer in her original world, and that no traffic cop would appear to hand her a ticket.
"Master, what did we come here for?"
Raphtalia poked her head out from the cart, her hat slipping a bit.
"To find someone."
Kiriko answered succinctly.
It didn't take long for her to spot her target.
Atop a nearby hill stood a lavish mansion that completely clashed with its surroundings. Undoubtedly, that was the home of this town's ruling noble—
The same noble who had abused Raphtalia, leaving her scarred and nearly dead.
In fact, after Raphtalia had her first nightmare that night, Kiriko had visited the slave merchant not just to buy a combat slave but also to ask about Raphtalia's past.
Raphtalia had lived in a village within the Seaetto territory. The noble who governed Seaetto had been the right-hand man of this kingdom's Queen.
Since the Queen was perpetually abroad handling diplomacy, the internal affairs of the kingdom were managed by the noble of Seaetto, appointed as regent.
After the Seaetto noble died in the first Wave, the Queen, still abroad, quickly appointed another suitable noble to take over as regent.
However, the King, unwilling to relinquish his power, demoted the new regent.
Other nobles who shared similar beliefs—such as favoring demi-humans—mysteriously vanished or died once the King fully took control.
Following these events, Seaetto territory descended into ruin.
What had happened in Raphtalia's village was just the beginning.
The soldiers dispatched from the royal capital to defend against the Wave became bandits themselves, attacking villages and selling Raphtalia and other survivors as slaves to this town's noble.
And once this noble grew bored with her, he resold her to the slave merchant.
Kiriko didn't understand why the actual ruler of this country, Her Majesty the Queen, remained abroad even after such chaos had erupted internally…
But since justice hadn't been served, she wouldn't hesitate to deliver it herself.
As she pondered this, the clatter of hooves brought her back to reality.
A troop of cavalrymen rode through the town gates, kicking up clouds of dust on the dry road.
The insignias on their flags matched those on their armor and shields.
Clearly, these were the noble's personal troops.
Some of the soldiers urged their horses forward as if to deliberately trample villagers along the street.
Seeing the townspeople scatter in panic, the cavalry laughed heartily.
"There seems to be something behind them."
Hearing the commotion, Lute also emerged from the cart and looked outside.
Indeed, trailing behind the riders was a wooden wagon.
Piled atop it were numerous corpses—some so fresh their blood still dripped steadily, leaving a trail from outside the gate into the town.
Demi-humans. All the corpses belonged to demi-humans.
Kiriko suddenly remembered—wasn't Seaetto, known as the demi-human reserve, located nearby?
Raphtalia, who had leaned out of the cart, also recognized the banner held by the cavalry. Her entire body began trembling uncontrollably, as though reliving a terrible memory.
"It's okay. Don't be afraid."
Just then, a gust of wind swept through the street, forcing everyone to squint.
"Dammit! Where did this wind come from?"
One horseman rubbed sand out of his eyes, about to continue onward, when his gaze fell upon the trio on the cart—two girls and one man.
Aside from the girl wearing a black coat, the other two clearly weren't humans.
They were demi-humans—monsters.
The man drew his dagger, licking its gleaming edge, then squeezed his horse's flank and approached them.
His fellow riders immediately followed, surrounding the two carts.
"What do you want?"
The girl in the black coat asked coldly as the soldiers closed in.
She seemed to be the master of these two demi-humans and was currently comforting the young demi-human girl.
The man sneered contemptuously. He'd seen too many of this type—humans who sheltered monsters.
The Seaetto noble who had died in the first Wave was like that, and so was the kingdom's absent Queen.
As far as he was concerned, demi-humans should just die—they were wastes of food and air.
As for that demi-human nation Siltvelt, worshiping the Shield Hero, they weren't just heretics but monsters. The kingdom should launch a full-scale attack and wipe them out entirely.
"There are two monsters in your cart. I suspect they're connected to the Waves. I advise you to leave immediately. As noble-sama's private troops, we'll protect you… though, of course, protection isn't free."
The man blatantly eyed the girl from head to toe with greedy intent.
"Monsters?"
The girl in the black coat shook her head slightly.
"They're my slaves, not monsters."
The man, however, had already made up his mind.
"Whether they're slaves or monsters, that's for me to decide."
His subordinates drew their swords, closing in menacingly.
Seemingly resigned, the girl climbed down from the cart and stood on level ground.
The soldiers immediately pressed their swords against her.
In the end, she was just a girl.
The man didn't care about her identity. Even if she was royalty, so what?
Once his men were done having their fun, they could take her out into monster territory, bind her limbs, slit her wrists, and leave her for the beasts…
Who would ever trace it back to them?
"Take them all—"
"Did I say I'd go with you?"
"Wha—?"
The man's eyes widened in shock.
Golden flames like pools of molten gold erupted around the girl in the black coat. Gleaming swords, spears, axes, and halberds slowly emerged from within.
Each weapon gleamed brilliantly, radiating a powerful magic even commoners could feel.
"Is…is this magic?"
Those were the man's final words.
With just a snap of her fingers, the weapons shot forward like arrows loosed from a bowstring.
In an instant, flesh-piercing sounds mixed with screams of agony and death filled the air.
Shining golden light mingled with sprays of blood, limbs scattering through the sky.
Nothing stood against it. It was utterly unstoppable.
Kiriko waved her hand slightly, and the scattered treasures dissolved into golden specks of light.
This was a skill she'd learned only recently—Gate of Babylon.
Unlike in Fate's original settings, her "Gate of Babylon" could only launch Noble Phantasms like in FGO.
She couldn't pull out fine wine and drink heartily, nor pilot Vimana and experience the double joy of racing and soaring to heaven.
Speaking of double joy… should she follow the plot slowly or skip straight to the two-for-one special?
Not a single soldier survived—whether they tried to flee or futilely raised their weapons to defend themselves, all ended as lifeless corpses.
The surrounding townsfolk, witnessing Kiriko's massacre, screamed in horror and scattered wildly.
This was Kiriko's first time killing, yet she felt neither guilt nor remorse.
Honestly… it feels no different than slaughtering a few dozen animals.
"I know your village was destroyed by these bastards."
She climbed back onto the cart, calmly meeting Raphtalia's stunned gaze.
"I'm not the kind of person who would say 'someday if revenge is served, the Seine's mouth shall run with blood.' Because when I demand blood for blood—I do it right now."
---
T/M: OOOOOOOH GATE OF BABYLONNNN AIEEEEE!!!!
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