Chapter 59

Explosions rumble into the night.

Medea, who was writhing in agony after losing her arm, and Saber, who was unable to move due to the control of the Command Spell, were both blown away together, leaving behind a small crater reminiscent of one in a battle manga. A single spear was left in the center.

"Saber!"

Emiya screamed, and upon hearing it, I finally escaped from the paralysis and turned my body to face a mysterious man in golden armor.

It is unclear how he managed to enter this battlefield, which was isolated by a barrier, but the attack of this man with an overwhelming presence rendered Medea and Saber unable to act.

Considering his fighting power, which allowed him to defeat two Servants in a single blow, there is no doubt that this man is also a Servant.

Common sense would suggest that this was either Lancer or Berserker, whose form we still don't know, but judging from Bazett's state, he didn't look like Lancer, and he didn't look like Berserker either.

(What should I do...run away...!?)

The appearance of an unknown, unexpected enemy leaves them unsure of what to do.

My role in tonight's battle was not to hold Emiya back.

I was given two roles, one of which was timekeeper.

Hikigaya's trump card:False Pledges for SacrificeReverse EngageThe conditions for activating " are strict. It would have been impossible for Hikigaya and Medea, who are novices when it comes to combat, to use it while watching each other's reactions.

For her part, Bazett has to deal with Archer, who is the core of the enemy's forces, and the burden on her to also support the other members is too great.

So I was to observe the overall situation and give a signal at the appropriate time, or when the time for the essence-absorbing barrier was about to expire. That's why I said "Hikigaya, hurry up" the second time. That's why I was pitted against Emiya, who was the weakest of the enemies and was unlikely to be seriously injured even if he lost.

My other role is to activate the escape device.

There are several barriers laid out on this battle field.

First, a barrier was put up over the entire park, and then a barrier was put in place surrounding the square.

These two were installed to cut off traffic between the inside and outside of the barrier, limiting the area of battle. The former was used as camouflage to hide the latter, which was the real target.

Using these two as a cover, they prepared a blood-sucking barrier that covered the entirety of Fuyuki city.The Netherworld's BedroomLampard NymphomareThis was an essential trick for us to fight, as we were inferior in military strength, and it was hidden even more carefully than the previous two.

And hidden even deeper within those triple barriers is the teleportation barrier for escape. I have the activation key for it.

Hikigaya predicted that regardless of the outcome of the battle here, the Assassins would pour in as soon as the first barrier was lifted.

To Kotomine Kirei, Bazette, who knows his true identity, and us, who have obtained information from her, are a nuisance. He will want to eliminate us at all costs.

If Tohsaka and the others are teaming up with Kotomine, they can just continue fighting together, and if not, they can just bury the ones who've been exhausted together. Either way, there's no reason not to set something up.

The teleportation barrier had been prepared in anticipation of this, but it couldn't be used in the current situation. Hikigaya and Medea were left behind.

The range of the teleportation barrier was much smaller than the other barriers, only a few meters from the point where Hikigaya and the others had originally been standing.

Of course, there is a reason for this.

Assassin's powers are very weak. It is impossible to break the barrier by force.

It seems that Lancer could forcefully break through the barrier, but as long as his former master, Bazett, and the contract-breaking Rule Breaker were together, Lancer would not be able to be provoked. Therefore, there should have been plenty of time to retrieve the incapacitated members (including Emiya and the others) and teleport them after the battle.

We were also thinking of a scenario to use in case the plan didn't go well and we could escape. In this case, either Bazette or I would have to look at the battle situation and make the decision, but if the range was too wide, we might pull in the enemy and teleport them together. That would just mean the battle would continue at the teleportation destination.

Either way, teleporting away was based on the assumption that the barrier would still function. Facing a mysterious enemy, escaping while collecting the injured was extremely difficult.

...Well, to be honest, I think if it was just Hikigaya and Medea, they could probably manage it. But Hikigaya probably wouldn't approve of it.

From the beginning, Hikigaya had planned his plan with the goal of ensuring that no one died, including Emiya and the others, who were set up as enemies.

Surely Hikigaya would not allow them to abandon Emiya and the others and run away.

Although Hikigaya always insists on his own convenience, he never intended to abandon anyone from the beginning.braggingLieHowever, when the time came, I would make the excuse that it was for my family and abandon others, so you could say he was the complete opposite of me.

If so, we need to think of a way to make that happen.

I don't think I could ever take Hikigaya's place. But that's my responsibility, since Hikigaya saved my life.

Following Emiya's lead, I ran off to meet up with Bazett-san.

"Saber!"

I ran towards Saber, who had been blown away by the mysterious Servant's attack.

A man in golden armor bursts in. He is undoubtedly the Servant who defeated Rider.

He folded his arms, faced forward, and looked right at me with his eyes. In that instant, a fierce chill ran through me.

"Mongrel, who told you to move?"

Along with those unpleasant words, a light bullet was fired from the magic circle that appeared. He quickly threw himself forward and managed to dodge it. However,

"Aargh!"

"Tohsaka!"

"Hikigaya!"

Tohsaka's scream overlapped with mine and the blonde's.

It seemed a stray bullet had landed near Tohsaka behind him. Tohsaka and Hikigaya, who had fallen on top of each other, were both blown away.

The Golden Servant once again deployed that magic circle, aimed at the fallen Caster. It seemed that he had already lost interest in us, but if we made a wrong move, another attack would surely come flying. If that happened, it might actually hit Tohsaka this time.

As I was frozen in thought, a shadow ran past me.

"Haaah!"

With a sharp voice, Lancer's master, Bazette, boldly leapt at the golden Servant with only one arm. The golden Servant clicked his tongue softly, and made a shield appear, deflecting Bazette's attack.

"Stand back woman. I have no use for you."

Kinpika spat it out with a total nonchalance, then created four magic circles and shot out light bullets. What the hell is this guy's ability!? By the way, weren't these guys friends!?

Bazett jumped back to dodge the attacks, but that seemed to be the best she could do, as the light bullets fired one after another gradually increased the distance between them.

As the distance between them widened, the golden servant turned his gaze towards Caster once more. He was about to resume his attack on the still immobilized Caster - but...

"Stop it!"

A sharp voice of restraint rang out.

The voice belongs to a young woman.

When I turned around, I saw a black-haired girl who looked to be around my age, out of breath, with her hands on the pavement and her knees supporting herself.

"What...cough...what are you doing, Gilgamesh!"

The girl, who was out of breath and looked as if she might collapse at any moment, still glared at the golden Servant with powerful eyes.

The Servant called Gilgamesh glanced at the girl for a moment before ignoring her and firing a light bullet at Caster once more. The blonde jumped on Caster and somehow managed to avoid the attack. It seemed that he had rushed over during the brief moment that Caster stopped moving.

The girl's eyes widened when she saw the blonde.

"Hayama-kun, why you...!?"

"Yukino-chan, what on earth are you doing...?!"

It seemed the two knew each other. The girl who seemed to be Yukinoshita Yukino, the one Tohsaka had mentioned, shook her head and started to lash out at the Servant who had called her Gilgamesh.

"I told you to stop! What on earth are you planning?! Weren't you supposed to not interfere?!"

"I've changed my mind. I can't stay quiet when Saber lays hands on me."

Yukinoshita continued to criticize, but Gilgamesh showed no signs of being able to bear it. Instead, he looked at his Master with a derisive look. Yukinoshita's eyebrows quirked even more.

"But still, you attack my Master! I ordered you not to hurt people!"

"Don't worry, I'm being careful not to kill them. Otherwise, how could they still be alive?"

"You tried to kill Medea, didn't you?!"

"What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, Gilgamesh's presence changed. Yukinoshita was taken aback by the Servant's sudden change of attitude.

"Your goal was to eliminate all Servants and end the Holy Grail War. I will not tolerate you making an exception for Caster."

"That's...!"

"I thought you had already prepared yourself for that. I don't think you're trying to say you didn't understand, are you?"

Yukinoshita couldn't refute and just looked down.

I didn't really understand what they were talking about, but it seemed that the two of them were not fighting alongside Hikigaya and the others.

Gilgamesh confirmed that Yukinoshita had fallen silent, then turned to Caster again. It seemed he was determined to finish her off here and there, no matter what.

Caster was being held by a blonde, who seemed to be named Hayama, but she appeared to be completely unconscious and limp.

If he attacked in this state, it would take out both of them no matter what, but it seemed Gilgamesh was going to attack regardless.

"Hayato, retreat!"

Together with a shout, something tore through space. It collided with the shield that Gilgamesh had created, making an extremely heavy noise as it scattered to pieces.

The shout came from Bazett. She threw three stones the size of her fist into the air and kicked them in succession like soccer balls. The stones exceeded the speed of sound and flew towards Gilgamesh, emitting shock waves.

Gilgamesh blocked Bazett's attack with his shield without even turning his face towards her, but Hayama used the opportunity to slowly retreat with Caster in his arms.

That being said, that doesn't mean Gilgamesh can't attack.

The reason he doesn't finish right away is because he's tormenting his opponent, which is clear from the sadistic grin plastered on his face.

He must have wanted to retrieve the unconscious Hikigaya. Hayama looked behind me and then opened his eyes wide.

To put it simply, his expression was one of someone who had seen something he had never expected.

There was a man and a woman collapsed.

Tohsaka is cursed and unable to move, while Hikigaya has exhausted his strength in the battle with Saber.

Then, hovering over the two of them, a man in uniform brandished a dagger.

Before anyone could say anything, the man plunged a curved dagger into Hikigaya's chest.

The glow of magical power surged out and converged on the man's left hand. At the same time, Caster groaned in pain and knocked Hayama, who had been supporting his body, flying away.

The man then stabbed Tohsaka with the dagger, and his left hand glowed again in the same way.

"Kuh... Kuhh... Kuhihihihi...!"

The man rose to his feet, looked down at his left hand, and his body shook convulsively.

"The Command Spell... It's a Command Spell...! This isn't the book of a false minister, it's a real Command Spell!"

With six Command Spells shining on the back of his left hand, Matou Shinji let out a manic laugh that echoed through the night park.