Chapter 22 : Barrier
What a terrible experience...
Three girls gave me some special training.LynchingLynchingBefore I knew it, it was already past noon.
By the way, today is a weekday, but it seems that Emiya and Tohsaka are also planning to take the day off from school during the Holy Grail War.
Emiya was scheduled to train with Saber in the morning, and receive a lecture on magic from Tohsaka in the afternoon. Apparently, they had started these yesterday, and Tohsaka had given Emiya some assignments, saying that she had run out of study materials, before returning home. By the way, it seems that the Rider Master's persuasion will take place around the time school is over.
As for me, I'm currently glaring at the laptop I brought with me.
I'm not just checking out pixiv or Hameln because I have too much free time. I'm checking the security cameras that are in operation.
The traps that had been set up in the Tohsaka and Emiya residences had been removed, but that wasn't all. What I was looking at now was a recording of the ones that had been set up in my house, Yukinoshita's house, and Yuigahama's house.
…I should mention that I got permission. In fact, the camera was set up by the person himself.
Although I was careful not to involve my family or friends, there was still a possibility that some form of danger might come into play. I needed to be careful so that if something were to happen, I would at least be able to find out. Fortunately, nothing had changed. ...Yuigahama must have overslept today.
When I finished checking everything and went out into the hallway, I came across Emiya hastily putting down his phone. His face looked pale.
"what up?"
"...Shinji called me. He said to come to school now."
Apparently, he wanted to talk to me about the Holy Grail War, so I should come alone. Well, it was probably just a way to summon Emiya.
"Anyway, let's go to school...!"
"Rejected. No matter how you look at it, this is a trap."
"But you'd have to talk to Shinji anyway, right? And there was something strange about him. He seemed really upset."
"..."
Think about it.
It's one thing if they call out to you, but if they call out to you first, you can't help but be wary.
Emiya said, sounding like he was worried.
According to Emiya, he and Matou Shinji are both aware that they are Masters. So it wouldn't be strange for them to be watching over Emiya and the others. Or rather, it would be natural for them to do so.
This naturally means that information about me and the media has also been passed on.
First, he proposed an alliance to Emiya, but was turned down.
He then tried to get Tohsaka to betray Emiya, but this also failed.
Furthermore, the two of them teamed up with an unknown opponent called me.
From Matou Shinji's perspective, it might have looked like Emiya and the others were conspiring with me to surround him.
Considering that he has proposed an alliance twice, Matou does not think he can fight this alone. At the very least, he is not overconfident.
He may feel cornered right now. Just like me when Emiya and the others found out about me. So what will he do next? This will probably be the same as mine.
Kill before you are killed. You want to crush them before they take the initiative. Since you are inferior in overall strength, if they take the initiative, you will lose at that point.
What is of concern is the barrier that Tohsaka discovered at the school. It is an extremely dangerous thing that melts the people inside and converts them into magical energy.
According to Tohsaka, it's not a magical barrier, but a barrier-type Noble Phantasm. So it can't be removed by magic. Anything is possible, really.
Matou apparently called the barrier an insurance policy, and that's probably true.
These kinds of doomsday weapons are primarily used for intimidation, and most of the time for self-defense purposes.
In other words, if you don't want this to be used on you, don't lay hands on yourself. Maybe Matou thinks in a similar way to me.
However, on the other hand, once such a trump card is used, there is no turning back. Matou must have understood that.
But if my prediction is correct, he's now losing his ability to make sound judgments. Even though it's a double-edged sword, he may actually use it.
Letting Emiya go alone was out of the question after all, but ignoring him would only provoke Matou.
"...For now, you can't go alone. At least take Saber with you."
"But Shinji told me to come alone. If he sees Saber, who knows what he'll do."
"After turning him into a spirit form, we'll have Caster hide his presence. That way he won't be found so easily."
"...No, sorry, but that's not possible."
"why?"
"Saber can't become a spirit."
"Huh?"
According to Tohsaka's diagnosis, it seems that there was an accident during summoning and that this is the effect. Since Saber herself said so, it seems certain that she cannot become a spirit. She is not the type to lie like that, and there is no benefit to doing so.
The accident rate is too high for heroic spirit summoning. I'm sure Archer said he lost his memory after an accident. What do you mean, three out of three? Are they loading Copernicus or something?
Anyway, if I can't use Saber, I'll have to think of another way.
"In that case, I'll have Archer guard instead. Call Tohsaka on her cell phone."
"...Sorry. I don't know Tohsaka's cell phone number. Actually, I don't even know if she has a cell phone."
Are you me? At least establish a way to contact your allies.
"...It's hard to imagine someone not having a cell phone these days."
"No, I don't have one."
"Seriously? Why?"
"In my case, I basically live off the assets my grandfather... my father left me. I try not to be too extravagant."
...Well, I guess I can't really blame him for that. Still, it's troubling.
"...There's no other way. Let's leave a note with Tohsaka and go alone. Emiya will go ahead alone as requested. Caster, Saber, and I will follow at a distance while remaining hidden. Emiya, take this."
He took something out of his pocket and threw it at Emiya.
"this is?"
"It's a sound-collecting microphone. Of the ones crushed by Tohsaka yesterday, this was the only one that survived. This should give us some idea of what's going on over there."
Emiya nodded and put away the microphone.
"Emiya. We plan to wait at a distance that will allow us to rush to the scene as quickly as possible, but there is a limit to how far we can go, considering the possibility of the enemy being observed. No matter how stealthy a Caster is, it won't necessarily work against a Servant. That's why we plan to remain stealthy and hide in cover outside the school."
Emiya listened to my explanation without interrupting. What do you mean it's refreshing to see someone really listening to you?
"If we hear any conversations on the mic and feel it's dangerous, we will intervene. But if they use that barrier before then, we don't know if we'll be able to get in. Be careful."
Emiya nodded at my words.
"Emiya. This goes back on what I said myself, but the chances of Matou responding to persuasion are low. We are also trying to force Saber into his presence, but it is highly likely that we will not be able to do so in time. So if you feel the situation is even the slightest bit dangerous, do not hesitate to use your Command Spells."
The compulsive power of the Command Spells should be able to break through barriers. Or rather, if they couldn't do that much, there would be no point in having Command Spells.
"...I understand."
Emiya simply nodded.
Holding a laptop under his arm, he followed behind Emiya, who was walking about ten meters ahead of him, accompanied by an armored Saber and a robed Medea.
I wondered what we might look like to someone looking from the sidelines, but the passersby who occasionally passed by didn't react at all to seeing such a strange group.
This is the effect of the media's covert actions. Obviously, it can't be compared to my natural stealth.
Saber was constantly concerned about her surroundings, but she knew he probably wouldn't attack until they got to school. If he attacked outside and she accidentally defeated him, that would be the end of it. Of course, that wasn't a reason to let her guard down.
Emiya, who was ahead of them, arrived at Homurahara Academy without incident.
We moved to a position where we weren't in direct line of sight from the school building and watched the situation from the corner closest to the school gate.
When he opened his laptop and started it up from sleep mode, he could hear several men and women talking through the headphones still plugged in. They were probably the students who had passed by Emiya.
It was a short time after Emiya had disappeared inside the school building.
Bang!
"Whoa!?"
That was the last sound, and then suddenly nothing could be heard.
"That!"
The media, who were hiding behind the fence and watching the situation directly, pointed to the school.
The school building, and more precisely the entire school grounds including the schoolyard, was covered in a sinister red dome-like membrane of light.
"He did it...!"
He groans and grinds his teeth.
It must be the barrier that melts people. I actually thought that the possibility of this being used was not low. So I wasn't really shaken. But to think that he would suddenly do it without even having a conversation...
Saber had rushed out the moment Medea spoke, but it seemed she was blocked by a barrier and couldn't get in. It was probably to prevent the people inside from escaping. It also seemed to have the effect of blocking passage.
By the time Medea and I caught up, we had already slammed the invisible sword into the barrier's surface several times, but there was no visible change.
Saber looked up at the barrier in frustration and spoke.
"Caster, please."
Medea stepped forward and carefully but quickly touched the barrier.
"...How is it?"
"...It is indeed a barrier-type Noble Phantasm. It cannot be deactivated, but it should be possible to create a temporary hole. Please wait a moment."
Sweat appears on the media's forehead.
It may be cruel to Medea, who has already used up all of her magical power reserves, but she needs to do her best, otherwise Emiya and many other unrelated people will die.
"...!"
Saber stirs slightly.
It hadn't even been five minutes since the barrier was activated. But in a situation like this, being made to wait was more painful than anything else. It seemed the same was true for Saber.
Suddenly.
Saber suddenly looked up into the air.
Snap!
Along with a sound like thin glass shattering, Saber suddenly disappeared.
"Wh, what!?"
"...It's possible that Shirou-sama used a Command Spell."
The media explained to me, who was in a panic. Oh, so they used it. But it was too late. I told them to use it right away.
"So, what are we going to do?"
It probably means that they are stepping into the barrier. The drilling seems to have been temporarily halted.
I thought for a moment and then asked the question.
"...Do you think we can go in and do anything?"
"No. I would use up all my strength just by creating a hole, and since Hachiman-sama has no magical resistance, he won't be able to resist the barrier."
I thought so.
"We'll leave Rider and his Master to Emiya and Saber. We'll deal with the barrier itself."
"I told you it can't be cancelled."
"I know. I've heard that this barrier had multiple base points. Do you think there are any on the outer edge of the barrier?"
"There must be. A barrier of a certain size needs to have a designated range, so there must be at least three."
"Then let's find that first. Can we directly interfere with the base point and manipulate the flow of magical power?"
"...That's a pretty unreasonable request. It's not impossible, but as I said at the beginning, it can't be destroyed or deactivated."
"We only need to reduce its function. That alone should increase the survival rate of those trapped within the barrier. Tohsaka told us the locations of the known base points, right? Can you figure out the rest of their locations?"
"Yes. This is probably it."
No sooner had he said it than the media took off running along the school grounds.
(...Don't die, Emiya)
I muttered to myself and ran off after Medea.