Chapter 50

Several assassins approach among the countless flying daggers.

"Inside!"

I had Medea put up a barrier to block the thrown swords and kicked open the door to the mansion. Luckily, the door slid open easily, and I grabbed Hayama's arm, who was standing there motionless, and tumbled inside.

Medea puts up a barrier to block the Assassins' advance and retreats inside. She waits for that moment to come and close the door, blocking it with her whole body.

"Help Hayama! Media!"

"Give me five seconds!"

"Hurry!"

Hayama did as he was told and put his weight on the door just like me. The lock was broken because we kicked it open. If we didn't do this, someone could easily get in.

Impact through the door.

Since I had strengthened his body before stepping into the forest barrier, he shouldn't lose in a simple test of strength, even against a Servant. Or rather, I hope that's the case.

I could feel someone kicking at the door, but perhaps because the opponent was an Assassin, they somehow managed to hold their ground and not let anyone get through. Meanwhile, Medea's spell was complete.

Gas!

Accompanied by that sound, a black blade appeared in front of Hayama, between the thumb and index finger of his right hand.

(That was close…!)

Apparently an assassin had stabbed a dagger through the door. Luckily it missed, but his finger nearly flew off.

Hayama's face was pale, but he forced himself to swallow his screams and continued to hold the door open. What courage!

Immediately afterwards, the media's magic was finally complete.

"δщ!"

Medea puts her hand against the door and shouts an inaudible phrase, which causes a ripple of light to run across the entire wall.

The impact subsided after that, but the sound of the knocking on the door still echoed. A particularly loud bang echoed through the window, but there was no sign of any change.

Medea's magic seems to be functioning normally. Seeing as the door with the broken lock won't open, it seems to be fixing the position of the object rather than increasing its strength. Well, anything is fine as long as it keeps the enemy from entering. However...

"How long will it last?"

"Not for too long."

Apparently, he had a lack of magical power to begin with.

It should be a good thing that we were able to buy some time, but that's only if we had a move we could make next. Unfortunately, right now, we've only just survived the situation.

"... Medea, is your trump card the one that can turn this situation around?"

Was it a treasure? I don't know the details, but Medea accidentally let it slip before.

I have high hopes for the secret weapon that the Heroic Spirits have, not just the media.

"…………home"

The reply was denial.

Since the binding of the Command Spell was in effect, there was no way he could lie if he was being asked that way. Above all, there was no point in holding back in this situation.

In other words, there is no way to break out of the current situation.

I quickly gather my thoughts and give the next instructions.

"…The magic you sensed from this mansion was coming from the second floor, right? Medea, you get the source of that magic. I'll hold off the Assassins here. Take the insurance out of your bag."

Having fewer options isn't necessarily a bad thing. At the very least, it's definitely an advantage because it means you don't have to make any decisions.

Normally, it would be an unreasonable order, but Medea must have known that she had no other options. She nodded without arguing and ran deeper into the room.

"What is this… Hikigaya, explain it to me! What the hell is this?!"

Hayama was the only one who didn't understand and he started lashing out at me.

It was extremely annoying, but it was inevitable. Rather, the fact that he was trying to understand the situation without losing his cool could even be said to be overly calm.

I gave brief instructions as I released Hayama's grip on my collar.

"Hayama, follow the media"

"I'm telling you to explain! What the hell are they?"

"Just as you saw. An enemy."

"An enemy...!"

"There's no time to talk any more right now. Stick with the media if you don't want to die."

With those words, he lightly pushed Hayama.

"...I'll have you talk to me later...!"

Hayama groaned in frustration and followed Medea out of the hall.

The door to the back corridor slammed shut, leaving me alone in the hall, but that didn't mean the room became completely silent.

The sounds of the assassins banging on the doors and windows had continued throughout his conversation with Hayama, and were still growing louder. It was only a matter of time before they broke into the building.

(That's faster than I thought...)

I thought I could make a little more money, but at this rate I probably won't last another minute. The sound is just too bad.

In any case, there's no point in being extravagant.

I picked up it'' from the corner of the hall and focused my attention on my ears.

The sounds of the impacts were so intense that if it were a horror game, it would be traumatic. Mixed in with them was the sound of something decisive, like a "crack."

Immediately afterwards, the stained-glass-like window panes shattered with a loud noise. The Assassin kicked through the window and landed on his feet, and I slammed the damn heavy jar (flower vase?) that I had picked up into my arms.

The bottom of the jar sank into the side of the Assassin's head. Though the jar was made of ceramic, it blew the Assassin away without shattering.

I clench my fist in my heart, feeling the positive response.

This Assassin is weak. As a Servant, he would fall into the "extremely weak" category.

I had predicted this when I saw the group of Assassins appear, and it seems my prediction turned out to be spot on.

This is probably because they were summoned in groups and the power they received from the Holy Grail was split up. I don't know how many there are in total, but it seems that each of them has physical abilities slightly superior to Medea's. If that's the case, it should not be impossible for me to defeat them in my enhanced state. However...

The Assassin who had been knocked flying jumped up. Despite having received a direct hit from an attack that would have been instant death for a human, he showed no signs of surviving.

That's right. The fact that it's possible to defeat it only means that much. Whether or not it can actually be defeated is, of course, a different matter.

(Anyway, I have no choice but to do what I can...!)

Meanwhile, two Assassins had entered through the broken window.

I took some distance from the assassins, holding a knife in my right and an electromagnetic baton in my left, and waited to see what they would do.

I know that the more time passes, the more disadvantageous it becomes. But even if our physical parameters are equal, our skills and combat experience are no match for each other. There's no question of clashing head-on, and no question of attacking first. I have no choice but to focus on defense.

Fortunately, the Assassin seemed to have been alerted by the initial surprise attack, and it didn't appear that he was going to attack anytime soon.

Considering the size of the hall, there was only one more person who could move around properly. Soon after, a fourth appeared, and the other assassins slowly closed in on the gap.

I swung my left arm and threw the tear gas I had hidden in my sleeve. The assassin slashed it away with his black dagger, and the gas inside expanded, instantly acting as a smokescreen. At the same time, I closed the distance to the assassin on the far right, who had been the last to enter, and thrust my knife at him.

The Assassin parried my thrust with the dagger he was holding in his back hand, then slashed upward in one smooth motion. I rolled forward, throwing my body forward to avoid it.

Another assassin rushed over to where I had fallen. He was supposed to have been affected by the gas, but perhaps because his mask had some sort of protective effect against the gas, his movements were completely smooth.

I blocked the swung dagger with my electromagnetic baton. Just before that, I turned up the power of the stun gun to the maximum, but perhaps the dagger or gloves don't conduct electricity, or perhaps this level of shock doesn't work in the first place, because he didn't even seem to flinch. Damn! None of my attacks are working!

He somehow managed to deflect the dagger and launch a leg sweep, but the Assassin dodged it with a light jump and instead plunged the dagger into his leg, which he was able to block thanks to his long boots with iron plates that covered his shins.

Swinging his legs, he rolled his whole body over, using the momentum to raise himself up, at the same time that the two assassins came charging at him with their slashes.

As he was about to block the first assassin's dagger with his knife, the dagger accidentally slipped into the slit in the knife. And by twisting it, the dagger was removed from the assassin's hand. Lucky for him!

He tries to block the attack of the other assassin by placing the unarmed assassin between them. However, the first assassin easily jumps out of the way so as not to get in the way of the second assassin. Unlike the average thug, he makes quick decisions.

He somehow dodged the second attack and headbutted him. Along with the dull sound of the blow, he heard the sound of the mask cracking.

Taking advantage of the frightened moment, I tried to put some distance between us again, but then I felt a terrible chill and immediately ducked down. One of the assassins had circled around behind me and slashed away at the area where my neck had been.

Once again I was crawling on the ground. When I tried to roll away, I got kicked.

The tip of the toe pierces his solar plexus neatly, and he flies low for just under a second. The intense pain and impact make him stop breathing. But he manages to put some distance between them. And then, in the middle of the melee, the thing he had secretly set up is activated.

Cool!

A bright flash of light swelled beneath the Assassins' feet, almost physical, and they flinched from the sudden, literal explosion of light that seared their entire field of vision.

Riot control flash grenades.

I once ordered some tools that could be useful in the Holy Grail War from Haruno through Yukinoshita. At the time, I received a few extras that I didn't even remember ordering, but this was one of the things I kept for myself.

I ignore the burst of light and charge at the nearest assassin.

Medea's magic had provided protection against flashes, but despite that, my vision was blurred and I couldn't see the Assassins properly.

I gauged the distance mostly by intuition and thrust the knife forward with all my might.

There was no response. In the whiteness of my vision, I thought I saw a black shadow jump back. The moment I realized it, I pressed the switch on the handle of the knife.

Spetsnaz knife.

A military knife said to have been used by Soviet special forces.

It is unclear whether it actually existed, but its extremely unique mechanism has spread as an urban legend, giving rise to many imitations. The one I have is one of those imitations.

Its famous and unusual feature is a spring-loaded knife that shoots out the blade.

The Assassin leapt straight back.

The knife was out of reach for that.

However, the tip of the sword was pointed straight at Assassin.

That is, in the line of fire of the Spetsnaz.

The Assassin collapsed, blood coming from his throat, from the sudden attack he had never anticipated.

Before I could see that for myself, I forced myself to regain balance as the broken window came into view.

A new assassin had his foot in the window, preparing to enter.

His left hand was stretched out straight towards me. It looked like he was about to throw something.

A black dagger was pointed at my throat.