Chapter 56

Late at night, Tohsaka and I, along with our respective Servants, were walking to meet someone.

Although Fuyuki has been modernizing, it still can't be called a city. Recently, there have been many random attacks and mysterious cases of people losing consciousness, so at this time of day, the streets are almost completely deserted.

Such an unpopular seaside park.

It was the time of year, so not even the sound of insects could be heard as the two of them stood there.

"Right on time."

"This kind of thing is no good, whether it's early or late. Of course."

Tohsaka responded to the words of the male half of the pair with a confident smile.

The man and woman I was meeting were Caster's servant and her master.

According to Tohsaka, the man was the Master. As per the previous information, the woman was dressed in a dark hooded robe, the kind of outfit that made her look like a magician.

In contrast, a man dressed in black jeans and a black jacket, quite ordinary apart from the color, - I think his name was Hikigaya - began to speak.

"Well then, let me hear your story straight away. Is it true that you saw Yukinoshita?"

"Yes, although I didn't see it with my own eyes."

"Any witnesses?"

"But, before we talk about that guy...!"

As soon as Tohsaka stopped speaking, magical power turned into white light and surged from the ground. Without a moment's pause, a wall of pale light rose up, surrounding the surroundings.

"Tohsaka?!"

I yelled in a panic.

This was the Caster's barrier that Tohsaka had worked on during the day. She had narrowed its range to a field that was advantageous to her, and made it possible to activate it at will.

He had certainly intended to use it if the other party showed any hostile behavior, and had predicted that this was highly likely. But this was practically a declaration of war. In fact, Hikigaya's expression went blank and he gave a dark look.

"What are you pretending to be?"

"You're the one who says that?"

At the same time Tohsaka replied, Archer suddenly swung his arm. The dagger Archer had somehow managed to hold in his hand flew at a speed that was difficult to even see. The dagger headed straight for Hikigaya - and stopped just before it could stab him.

Caster blocked Archer's attack, "catching" the thrown dagger with his hand.

Seeing this, Tohsaka said in a sulky mood.

"How is that a caster?"

"...Did you know?"

Hikigaya gave a wry smile. At the same time that Caster crushed the dagger in his hand, the robed figure wavered as if it was being subjected to static, and changed into a woman in a suit.

We didn't recognize the woman, but we had a feeling she might be someone we knew.

"Lancer's Master...!"

"You know that much? You guys are definitely enemies."

Hikigaya readily agreed and stepped back. At the same time, Lancer's master, who I believe was named Bazette, stepped forward to protect Hikigaya.

It seems, or should I say it was expected, that Caster and Lancer were fighting together. This meant that the golden servant in question was probably one of their allies.

"What on earth are you guys planning...!"

"Who would answer a question like that?"

"It would be better for you to answer quietly."

Tohsaka admonished Hikigaya in an emotionless voice.

"The strength of the barrier increases as its range is narrowed. I don't know how powerful your allies are, but it shouldn't be something that can be broken so easily."

Hikigaya's eyelids twitched at Tohsaka's remark.

"You can't escape or call for reinforcements. Even if you used a Command Spell to call a Servant, the terrain would give us an advantage. You guys have no chance of winning."

Tohsaka told Hikigaya, who looked slightly confused.

"Well, we're not demons either. If you give up your fighting power here, you won't have to suffer any pain. I'll give you ten seconds to decide what to do."

"...I'm in trouble."

Hikigaya scratches the back of his head and mutters something softly.

"It looks like I've been tricked. But it doesn't seem like the kind of atmosphere that would encourage discussion, so I guess we'll just have to fight each other…"

"...I only heard the last part, but basically it means there will be no surrender, right?"

His muttered voice was hard to hear, but he definitely said that. Thinking it might be pointless, I once again urged Hikigaya to surrender.

"Just give up quietly. I don't know what kind of trick you had set up, but once you've used Caster's barrier against them, things aren't going according to plan."

"Thanks for the warning. Don't worry, we're fighting here as planned. It was a little different from what I expected, though."

"teeth?"

Hikigaya's light-hearted reply made a silly noise escape his voice. Just as planned?

Hikigaya raised his right hand and snapped his fingers, and another wall of light rose up, overlapping with the barrier Tohsaka had activated.

"Another barrier?!"

"The thing you guys found was meant to be a decoy. I thought you'd deactivate it."

So were you really planning to fight here? What about ambushes? What about Archers?

This place is nothing more than a small plaza, a widened walkway along the river within the park.

All that's there are four benches, a vending machine, and a wastebasket. The forest right next to it is outside the barrier.

The barrier wasn't particularly precise, and some of the forest was included, but there were only a few trees and a few bushes inside. It might be possible for a person to hide there, but it would be impossible to deceive Saber and Archer.

"Archer! Saber!"

Tohsaka suddenly shouted. At the same time, the two Servants moved. Saber charged in from the front, while Archer circled around to the side.

That's right. No matter what the other person is planning, the person before him is a master and a human being. If he is defeated by force, it will be the end. First of all, he must be rendered powerless...!

"Ready!"

"I won't let you."

Bazett leapt out to block Saber's progress. The two of them clashed, and in the seconds before they engaged in an offensive and defensive battle, Saber was eventually knocked away.

"Tsk!"

"Saber?!"

I can't believe it, Saber was defeated. A head-on battle, and one-handed at that. I'd heard that Lancer's master was powerful, but I didn't think it was this strong...!

Looking at Saber, who had been pushed back to her original position, next to me, she didn't appear to have sustained any damage.

Meanwhile, Bazett, who should have won the fight, had sweat running down her forehead, even though she had no visible injuries.

It seemed like Saber had lost, but in reality it was the opposite. There seems to be no need to worry.

A moment later, the Archer shot his arrow.

The target was Hikigaya. Given the angle, Bazett couldn't lay a hand on him. Even without that, it seemed like she didn't have the strength to spare.

Archer's arrow flew straight towards Hikigaya and was knocked down by Hikigaya's fist.

"what!?"

"Huh!?"

Exclamations of shock came from Archer and Tohsaka.

It was no surprise. Tohsaka had already told him that Bazett was a magician with fighting power on a par with that of a Servant. So even when he witnessed her power with his own eyes, he was surprised but not shaken.

But Hikigaya is different.

Based on his research beforehand, and the impression he got from Tohsaka and Archer when they actually talked, he was undoubtedly just an amateur.

Even if he was in fact a master of some martial art, there was no way he could defend against a Servant's attack.

"Well then..."

Hikigaya muttered softly. At the same time,

Pop

I felt like I heard a small sound coming from somewhere.

But of course, this was not the time to be worrying about such things. Hikigaya stepped forward with his left foot and began to speak.

"Do you guys know about Kurokami Phantom?"

Those words and a loud bang! were all that was left behind.

Hikigaya was gone.

"Every little bit counts, I see."

"picture?"

Gilgamesh, who was walking in front of him, suddenly muttered this.

"There is a proverb like that in this country. Yukino, what do you think of this saying?"

What was he planning on doing all of this? As always, I couldn't read this guy's mind.

"...I don't dislike it. If you keep working hard, you will eventually reach great heights. That's a good saying."

"Hmm, that's a typical small-minded way of thinking. It's interesting to have an idea that I don't have."

I answered skeptically, but he reacted as if he had heard an unexpected answer. …I wonder how he can look down on others so naturally. It makes me curious about the kind of upbringing he had.

Gilgamesh continues. Is it just my imagination or does he seem to be in a good mood?

"Listen, Yukino. Things like dust fly when the wind blows, when animals pass by, and when insects crawl around. Because it's so small, it can pile up without anyone noticing, but if it piles up enough to be noticeable, someone will easily clean it up. Do you understand? It's impossible for dust to become a mountain."

Gilgamesh's words left me speechless. I had no choice but to remain silent.

His words always carry a certain weight. Even if it's something that anyone could say, when it comes from his mouth it takes on a stronger force.

But that's irrelevant this time.

I was forced to admit that his words were true.

A weak person cannot become strong no matter how hard he tries. I have seen it all.

There are many reasons why the weak are weak, but the biggest factor is surely in their hearts.

If you have a weak heart, you cannot become strong even if you try hard. No, a weak-minded person cannot try hard. The idea of trying hard does not even occur to them. And when they find someone who is trying hard, they try to drag them down to the same weakness as themselves.

Everyone is weak. So it's okay for me to be weak too. To convince myself of that.

It's truly blood-curdling. But the reality is that the world is full of people like that.

"However."

That paradoxical conjunction makes me lift my gaze, which had been directed downwards without me realising it.

"Nevertheless, although rare, there are certainly those who are able to pile up dust and create mountains. When viewed in parts, they appear ordinary, but when viewed as a whole, they possess a unique and extraordinary quality. It's quite strange."

Yes, denying his own words, the golden Servant couldn't help but let out a shuddering smile.

"Now then, what kind of play will we be able to enjoy tonight... Kuku, don't disappoint me, okay?"

I didn't know what had happened. If I were to list just the phenomena as they were, it would be like this.

First, Hikigaya, who was about 10 meters away, disappeared.

At the same time, Saber, who had been standing next to me between Tohsaka and me, disappeared, and in her place Hikigaya appeared with his right fist raised.

Behind me I heard the sound of a tree falling, followed by the sound of something of considerable weight and size hitting the ground.

Hikigaya bent slightly and pulled his arms towards him as if gathering strength.

Archer, who had returned without anyone noticing, jumped back, picking up Tohsaka.

And I reflexively lowered myself.

Hikigaya swings his arms towards us on either side.

I can swear that it didn't hit me. It didn't even graze me. And yet my body was lifted up, and the wind pressure alone sent me flying several meters.

I somehow managed to get into a defensive position and checked on Tohsaka, but she didn't seem to have sustained any damage. It seemed Archer had skillfully shielded her.

I head towards Saber, who had been knocked away and slammed into a tree.

"Woooohooooo!"

Just as I was about to do so, a blonde man suddenly jumped out from beside me and pushed me down. Where did he come from? And who was he?

"Hikigaya, hurry!"

The blonde shouted at Hikigaya. He didn't know who it was, but it seemed like an enemy.

"Dammit!"

He got on my back and tightly pinned my arms. I tried to twist my body to get away, but he held me down with incredible strength and I couldn't even budge. It wasn't normal strength. It was probably strengthened with magic.

So, when he tried to refine his magical power to fight back, that's when it happened.

Pop

Again the sound pricked my ears.

I lifted my head and realized.

(What…?!)

Small lights were lit here and there in the park: no more than ten or twenty, pale, delicate flames like fireflies, flickering as far as the eye could see.

Pop

This time the sound came right next to my face.

When I look, there is a pale blue flame. Well, it looks like fire, but I don't feel any heat. It is a magical light. And it is a small piece of paper that is emitting it.

"This, during the day...?!"

Yes, the magic letters that we had deemed meaningless and had abandoned were emitting a magical power like flames.

"You idiot!"

A blonde man suddenly appeared out of nowhere and pinned Emiya Shirou down, causing him to yell abuse.

He knows he's just taking out his anger on that kid, but he can't help but feel angry when it comes to that kid.

In any case, he wanted to add another blow, so he fired an arrow at the man holding Emiya Shirou down. The arrow stopped before it had even traveled half the distance.

"I don't want you to forget about me."

Lancer's master broke the arrow he was holding with his thumb and prepared himself.

"Rin, stand back!"

As he shouted, the distance between them, which had been several meters, was instantly crushed. He quickly projected Kanjiang and Mo Ye to block the punch, but they were too strong and were knocked back. Furthermore, the projected twin swords were easily shattered.

However, my weapons are basically disposable. There's no drawback to losing one. If it means I can gain distance in exchange, then it's fine.

"That's impressive power. Are you really human, sir?"

"As you are a bow hero, you don't seem to be as skilled in close combat as Saber."

"Is this why the field is so small?"

Indeed, even if it was spacious enough for a fight, it would be difficult to keep my distance from this enemy.

Lancer's master cracked his neck and raised his fist again.

"That's a relief. If it's only this much, I think I can manage it with one hand."

…It's true that I'm not particularly good at close combat. And, by the way, I have no pride or dignity in it.

But still, that doesn't mean I don't feel anything when I hear things like this.

Fine. I'll take up that cheap provocation.

With that determination, he produced the twin swords once again.

Either way, I have to defeat this woman. With Saber dealing with that man, I'm the only one who can do it.

"I am a man who has been called a hero. Don't underestimate me.MagicianMagus…!"

"So you're the one I'm dating?"

As he said this, he heard a gurgling sound behind him. He turned around to see a girl in a robe emerge from the river - this time it was the real Caster.

Even though she had been in the river just now, not even a single strand of hair was wet.

"You were diving underwater... no, you were moving through the water?"

"Yes, it would have been difficult to deceive the eyes of four people on the ground and hide ourselves. The darkness of the night and the water of the river are excellent cover."

The barrier was fairly large. Enough so as not to interfere with combat. And because it was centered on this open space by the river, about 30% of the area was the river. Caster was hiding somewhere in there.

The blonde was probably with Caster as well. He escorted the man out of the water and brought him closer to Emiya-kun, then came to hold me back.

Caster's hiding skills are highly accurate. Even for Archer and Saber, it would be difficult for them to notice her underwater.

In any case, this was no time for leisurely conversation. I threw down the three gems I had been holding.

The jewels burst forth with a glow of magical power, freezing the water in the river. At the same time, an explosion occurs, and a violent wind engulfs it, transforming it into a crimson tornado.

"I hope that at least the damage has been dealt with..."

Just as he was about to finish muttering, a chill ran down his spine. He quickly threw himself forward, and something stretched out from under his feet, piercing the space he had been standing in.

(Shadow blade…!)

A black blade protrudes from the shadow of the bench that stretches out to where I was. When the blade recedes into the shadow, a figure rises up in its place.

Caster appeared from the shadows and, as expected, no damage was apparent.

"Manipulating multiple attributes at the same time is quite an impressive feat. What do you think? I could take you on as my apprentice if you wish."

"Jordan! If I'm around a dangerous woman like you, I'm always worried I'll be used for potions!"

"We get on well. I wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully unless I was a slightly more incompetent apprentice!"

As he spoke, the caster produced multiple black flame bullets.

In order to escape the crosshairs, I ran as fast as I could. Bullets landed one after another at my feet, but I ran through them without slowing down.

"Even if he is weakened, how can a human magician stand against a magician's Heroic Spirit?"

"Tsk!"

As he dodged the last flame bullet, a lightning bolt suddenly struck him. He twisted his body to forcibly avoid it, then did a cartwheel to regain his balance. He then spun around a few more times in an acrobatic fashion, leaping into the air and scattering gems from the sky.

"Hk!"

The gems all exploded at once, scattering a violent flash of light. Taking advantage of the blinding effect, I rolled over to the shade of a nearby vending machine to catch my breath.

(As expected of Caster. There's no point in fighting him in a magical exchange...!)

Accuracy, strength, speed. All of them are far above average. It's amazing that it has been weakened like this.

(However, that doesn't mean that he doesn't have any weaknesses. Magicians of the Age of the Gods don't have them, but modern magicians do. So...!)

Caster is an expert in magic. It's probably impossible to surpass her in magic.

However, from the looks of it, he had no idea how to use his body.

He's probably a complete amateur when it comes to martial arts. If we can get into close combat, it might be surprisingly easy to defeat him.

Just as he gathered his thoughts, a shadow fell at his feet. As he threw himself forward, the vending machine he was leaning on exploded.

"You move around a lot, even though you're a magician."

As Caster stepped on the spilled cans of juice and walked ahead with ease, he stood up and said this to her.

"Well, in this day and age, even magicians need to use their bodies. Thankfully, your energy-draining barrier doesn't seem to have much power."

"Oh, you noticed?"

"Well, I suppose so. I was just recently drawn into a similar barrier."

Blue flames were shining all over the park. I felt a slight relaxation.

This is Caster's barrier magic. It absorbs magical power and returns it to itself, like Rider'sTemple of Fresh BloodBradfort AndromedaIt's the same kind of thing. However...

"Compared to that one, its power is like garbage though."

It weakens the enemy and strengthens yourself accordingly, making it an extremely powerful effect in battle.

However, the amount absorbed is extremely small. Even if the target is just a child, it would take more than an hour to kill them.

Of course, it doesn't interfere with combat operations, and the level of enhancement is quite low. It can't be compared to Rider's barrier, which can knock a human unconscious in an instant.

(I hope this provocation will disrupt his concentration even a little...)

I thought to myself without any particular expectations. However, the response I got was somewhat unexpected.

"That's right, the output has been significantly reduced. My Master is unnecessarily kind."

"teeth?"

Did you reduce the output?

kind?

I thought that this barrier was meant to "weaken the enemy's fighting power while at the same time increasing the fighting power of our allies."

But if that's the case, there's no point in weakening its power. And since they had intended to fight from the start, it wouldn't be lenient.

Caster seemed to be relaxed and didn't seem to be making any moves.

Thinking that this was the case, I tried to grasp the situation - and suddenly I realized something.

(……shadow?)

Yes, a shadow. A shadow stretches out from under Caster's feet.

Nothing special, just an ordinary shadow.

There was no sign of any shadow magic being used like before, it was just flickering in accordance with the light source.

light source.

(What's glowing...?)

It's late at night now. There are streetlights, but they're not bright enough to cast such clear shadows. So what could be going on...?

I carefully shifted my focus so as not to lose sight of the caster.

"Hey... what is that...!?"

Forgetting his guard against the caster, he blurted out in surprise.

He turned his head and saw Hikigaya emanating blue flames, no, fiery magical power, from his body.

It emitted such an immense amount of magical power that it physically glowed.

"『The Netherworld's BedroomLampard Nymphomare", or something like that. Well, to be honest, I don't really care about names."

As the man continued to mutter to himself, he kicked the fallen tree in front of him.

Though it wasn't particularly thick, the tree, about five meters long, flew towards the man - and the man swatted it away with the back of his left fist, as if waving away a fly.

A piece of living wood about the size of a man's arms breaks in two and is blown away.

The man, who clearly wielded superhuman strength, was emitting blue flames, or rather, a glow of magical power that looked like flames, from his entire body.

"...You mean this barrier? It's the same one that was laid out in the city, right?"

"Yes. The one I'm using now is an extra-large item I ordered specially for tonight. By the way, the scale of the barrier covers the entirety of Fuyuki city. 1.6 million residents are on my side."

"And then you use the magical power you gather to strengthen yourself."

"Yeah. We're just ordinary people, so we'll rely on numbers. Don't call it cowardly, but joining forces to oppose a powerful enemy is the royal road, right? Everyone in Fuyuki, please share your strength with me."

Cowardly, huh? That's certainly true.

He involves many unrelated people in stealing their magical powers, and exploits his enemies' weaknesses with his schemes. Moreover, he leaves the work of doing so to others.

Those who fight using tricks lack resolve.

Their tactics are effective and rational, but because they are designed to avoid inflicting injury on themselves, they are often disliked by those with a warrior's spirit.

This Hikigaya man must be one of those types. In fact, just now, instead of pursuing me after I had fallen, he proudly spoke of his own plan.

This man is a despicable coward.

(Or maybe that's what they were led to believe.)

A tactician lacks resolve. But there are rare tacticians who also have the soul of a warrior. This man is one such example.

It's not that they didn't pursue him. It's that they couldn't.

He was cleverly hiding the damage with the way he stood, but his right fist and ankle were broken.

Of course.

The blow from earlier was unbelievable, but it exceeded Berserker's in both power and speed. There's no way the human body could withstand such an output.

Not only that, but his clothes were torn to shreds and his skin was torn in many places, probably due to the shock wave from breaking through the sound barrier.

Additionally, his skin has turned black in places, as the magical power swirling within his body is too strong, causing internal bleeding.

Despite sustaining such serious injuries, this man remained cool and didn't even shed a sweat.

Of course, this is to keep me from knowing about my condition, but of course whether this is feasible is another matter.

So how?

Is he using magic to block his sense of pain? If so, he would continue fighting without even noticing his own injuries.

So, is it the heart that is frozen out of fear of pain? It's the same thing. In that case, you won't protect yourself from injury.

So why is this the case?

That's the easy and simple answer.

This man was suppressing the excruciating pain with only willpower.

The enemy was stronger and faster than me. But the difference was not so great that it was impossible to fight. And the man's movements were those of an amateur.

I think if we fought against each other, I would probably win. There is such a big difference in our skills. But...

(If I let my guard down, I'll get eaten...!)

This is that kind of enemy.

The strengthening seems to include regenerative abilities, as the lacerations healed in the blink of an eye. The shattered fist also closed and regenerated, and he opened and closed it twice as if to check, before opening his mouth.

"You guys don't seem like bad guys, so I'll be careful, but… I don't have the luxury of being able to go easy on you. Sorry, but do your best not to die."

Hikigaya roared, filled with the spirit of a wild beast.

"1.6 million to 1! Go ahead and win if you can, hero!"

Original Noble Phantasm Description

Name: Lampard Nymphomare, the Bedchamber of the Underworld

Range:

Maximum within the barrier Capture: As long as it fits within the barrier

Rank: D

Supplement

A magic barrier square used by Caster to collect magical power.

It is a standard type of magic square with magic letters arranged inside a square circle, and it absorbs magical power from the creatures within the barrier and returns it to the caster or a designated person. It

has the same effect as Rider's Temple of Fresh Blood, but its output is significantly inferior and it is a complete inferior version that does not block passage.

It is merely a combination of basic magic, and anyone with the correct knowledge can use it, so it is something that is actually hesitant to call it a Noble Phantasm.

Everything that makes up a magic square-type barrier magic has meaning.

The shape and size of the square. The type, number, arrangement, and direction of the magic letters used. The color and material of the dye. Various other elements are combined to reinforce each other and increase the effect of the square.

On the other hand, if you don't care about efficiency, a magic square can be made by just arranging magic letters randomly. Hikigaya Hachiman set his sights on this.

He sent the minimum necessary magic characters by email and used others to place them around the city. That was all he did. He made up for the loss in efficiency with numbers and scale. This completed an extremely large barrier that covered the entire city of Fuyuki. There were

more than 9,000 base points deployed. This was more than three times the number Hikigaya Hachiman had expected, and this number was due to Hayama Hayato's connections. Once

the barrier was activated, its output was constant. Therefore, the amount of magical power collected depends on the scale.

The number of base points affects the operating time, not the output.

Magical power leaks from the base points because copy paper cannot withstand the load when magical power passes through it.

The light that is emitted does not have heat, but the base points deteriorate as they are loaded, as if they are burned. If they are completely burned, they naturally lose their effect.

The base points act as gates or conductors, so the more there are, the less load each one is required, and as a result, the operating time is extended.

In the numbers that Hikigaya Hachiman had estimated, the operation time was calculated to be a maximum of several minutes, but in reality, this was extended to several dozen minutes.

Furthermore, the base point is made of ordinary copy paper, and since the installation locations are basically outdoors, they will collapse even if there is frost, let alone rain.