Chapter 60

It was just a coincidence that I was here.

Having lost my Rider, I wandered the town aimlessly, living in fear of the old man and the other Masters.

I didn't have much money and couldn't afford a hotel, so I had no choice but to sleep outdoors in the middle of winter.

Then one day, I was sleeping in the bushes in the park, trying to get some shelter from the wind and hide myself.

Even though it was the middle of the night, I was woken up by the sound of people talking.

When I sneakily peeked out from behind the bushes, I saw Emiya and Tohsaka talking to someone. Judging from the fact that they were carrying a Servant, the other person was probably a Master as well.

I don't know what their purpose in contacting me was. But after a short conversation, we started fighting. I was scared when a barrier suddenly appeared right behind me, but it didn't seem like they noticed me. I couldn't escape because of the barrier, so I decided to hide and see what was going on.

Seriously, they're so stupid. If they were planning to fight from the start, they should have just snipe him before showing themselves. Isn't that what Archer is?

If the purpose was to have a discussion, I don't understand the point of starting a fight before they've even had a conversation; Tohsaka definitely isn't as smart as she thinks she is.

Even so, Tohsaka and her team seemed to be on the offensive throughout the battle.

It was supposed to be 4 vs. 4, but they deliberately had 1 vs. 1 fights in four different locations, like in a boys' manga.

Although they were being taken advantage of by the other side, this seems to have worked to Tohsaka's advantage. Tohsaka was the only one who was struggling, but she was somehow able to hold her own against a Servant, so her strength must be quite impressive.

The effect of the barrier, which seemed to be Caster's trump card, was nearing its end, and the climax of the battle had arrived.

The man who had been fighting Saber disappeared, and Caster appeared in his place. As Caster plunged a dagger into Saber's back, a bruise like pattern appeared on her left hand.

I couldn't believe my eyes. But it was definitely a Command Spell. Saber was following Caster's orders. It's hard to believe, but it seems that the dagger has the power to steal Command Spells.

Soon after, Tohsaka and Archer were defeated and the situation reversed. Only Emiya was left. I was thinking, "What are you doing? Run away, you idiot?" when Caster was attacked.

The one who broke through the barrier and burst in was a female golden servant named Yukino. She was the one who killed my Rider.

He's annoying. He's the reason I'm in such a miserable state. If he wasn't there, I wouldn't have had to sleep outside.

But right now, I didn't have time to worry about that gold.

Caster's elbow was blown off by a flash of gold. His arm spun around and landed a few meters away from me - along with the dagger he was holding.

Check the situation.

Caster's arm turns into a light of magical energy and disappears, leaving only the dagger behind.

If you run with long strides, you can reach it in three steps.

Emiya and the others were focusing on the shiny gold. No one was noticing me, nor was anyone paying attention to this sword.

He gulps.

If he walked normally it would take him about two seconds to pick up the dagger. The closest opponents from there were the fallen Tohsaka and Caster's Master. If he ran it would probably take about three seconds.

There was no guarantee that someone wouldn't notice for a total of five seconds. And the effect of this dagger was also unknown.

Caster stole the Command Spell by using it on Saber. However, it is unclear whether the same effect would be achieved if it were used on a Master. It is also possible that the item can only be used by Caster.

The battle had come to a standstill without me realizing. The woman who had thrown me, Yukino, appeared and started yelling something in a flash of light.

Everyone's attention in the room was directed at the two of them.

There's no guarantee it will work.

If it doesn't work out, I'll probably die.

Emiya turned down my invitation.

Tohsaka looked down at me.

My grandfather had never seen me since I was born.

Those faces flashed in and out of my mind.

I forcefully suppress my breathing, which has become rough without me realizing it.

Tensions are rising again between the Gilded and the Rest, and fighting is likely to resume soon.

Slowly, trying not to make a sound, I crawled out of the bushes.

Slowly and steadily, he crawled closer to the dagger.

Even though it was the middle of winter, I was sweating profusely. Ignoring the discomfort, I reached for the dagger.

At the same time, a sound of impact hits my ears.

I grabbed my dagger, rose to my feet, and ran off in a frenzy.

"Shinji... why are you doing this...?!"

He muttered to himself as Shinji appeared out of nowhere. It was unclear whether he had heard him, but in any case, it didn't seem like he got a proper reaction.

Shinji looked at his left hand with bloodshot eyes, and the six Command Spells that appeared on it, and laughed maniacally.

After a while, his convulsive laughter subsided and he began speaking in an exaggerated manner.

"Hey Emiya, Tohsaka too. What a coincidence to meet you here."

"What are you doing, Shinji? Why are you here?"

"It was just a coincidence. You guys seemed to be struggling so I thought I'd give you a laugh. How about it? If you get on my knees and beg me, I'll help you?"

Shinji laughed mockingly, but Tohsaka, unable to move, yelled at him.

"Stop saying stupid things and run away! This is not a situation you can handle!"

"ah?"

Shinji wasn't amused by that, so he grabbed Tohsaka by the collar and pulled her up.

"Tohsaka, do you understand your position?"

"You should know your place. You realized your true strength the moment you lost your Servant, right? Don't waste the life you just saved."

"Ha! You should know your place. Who doesn't have a Servant right now? Shouldn't you be the ones running away?"

Shinji remained calm to the end. With a grin on his face and still holding Tohsaka by the collar, he turned his gaze towards me.

"Emiya, I actually planned on killing you as well, but I'll put that off as a favor to our friends. I need to show you and Tohsaka who is the best. So, this time..."

Shinji glared at Yukinoshita and shouted, his face red with anger.

"I command you with my Command Spell! Archer! Caster! Kill that golden bastard!"

Snap! With a sound like shattering glass, the part of Shinji's Command Spell disappeared. At the same time, Archer, who should have been immobilized by the curse, and Caster, who was writhing in pain from losing his arm, leapt to their feet.

Archer hurled his twin swords and Caster fired a black flame bullet.

Gilgamesh, who had been watching the whole exchange in silence, was caught between the attacks of the two Servants - and without even batting an eye, he managed to block them all with a shield that he had summoned.

"Huh?"

Shinji uttered an exasperated voice.

Gilgamesh sighed softly through his nose and created a magic circle aimed at Shinji.

"Shinji, get out of the way!"

"Huh?!"

Fortunately, Gilgamesh's attack didn't hit Shinji directly because he twisted his body in response to my scream. Instead, or I don't know how to put it, it shattered the Caster Noble Phantasm that Shinji was holding. Perhaps he had been aiming for that from the beginning.

Shinji, still holding Tohsaka, fell to his bottom in the shock of his Noble Phantasm being shattered. He retreated, yelling abuse at her.

"Wh... what are you doing, useless guy?! You two are the only ones who need me, so don't put me in danger! Just hurry up and defeat him!"

Shinji shouted, and the Archers attacked again.

Caster's magic enveloped Gilgamesh, and the blue glow froze the entire surrounding space, drawing in Yukinoshita who was nearby.

"No way...time frozen!?"

Tohsaka opened her eyes wide and involuntarily muttered something. I couldn't understand it, but it seemed to be a very powerful magic.

With Gilgamesh now frozen in place, Archer immediately attacks.

Archer swung both his arms, and two pairs of twin swords danced in the darkness. A total of four blades drew arcs from both sides and attacked Gilgamesh, and at the same time Archer himself readied his twin swords and charged.

Every single blade was a sure kill. Even without Caster's magic, there would have been no way to escape this storm of death.

Immobilized and exposed to overwhelming violence, the golden servant

"-- rubbish."

With just one word, he kicked them all away.

Countless magic circles appeared around Gilgamesh, and the light bullets he spat out shattered the frozen space and the approaching blades. Archer, who had been approaching, was also knocked back by the impact, and Caster, whose powerful magic had been broken, was knocked to the ground by the reversed flow of magical power.

At this stage, I finally understood Gilgamesh's power: a weapon.

Swords, spears, axes, sickles.

He projects all sorts of weapons from that magic circle, and all of them have the power of a Noble Phantasm.

There's no way we can compete with something like this.

"Wh... what is that!?"

Shinji screams in horror at Gilgamesh's power, which is far too random. It's no wonder.

Gilgamesh glanced at him, and Shinji was unable to raise his voice. Without paying any particular attention, Gilgamesh slowly pointed his finger at Shinji.

"I was being careful not to kill any humans because of Yukino's orders, but... it's getting to be a hassle."

As Gilgamesh muttered this, he showed no signs of resentment, irritation, or any other emotion that could be attributed to "anger."

What I can sense is boredom. This guy is trying to kill Shinji just because he's bored.

More than ten magic circles appeared around Gilgamesh. Considering that the target was a living human, this was overkill. If this continued, I, who was between him and Shinji, would likely be caught in the crossfire.

Gilgamesh doesn't see me. I'm sure I'm in his field of vision, but he doesn't seem to recognize me as a presence. At best, he probably thinks I'm an object or something.

So I can escape this crisis by simply jumping sideways.

He glances back.

What came into view was the face of Shinji, frightened and on the verge of tears. Then, held in Shinji's arms, Tohsaka bravely glared at Gilgamesh.

After seeing that, I make up my mind.

(If I run away, Tohsaka will die...!)

Gilgamesh has no regard for the collateral damage that may be caused to others or those around him. If he continues to attack Shinji, he will certainly drag Tohsaka down with him, but he doesn't seem to care about that at all.

In other words, I have no choice but to protect the two of them.

Put the question of whether you can do it out of your mind. There's no point worrying about it because you have to just do it.

So what is the solution?

There's not much I can do. I only have two cards I can use in this situation.

One is strengthening. A magic that has been repeatedly trained since childhood but has not shown any improvement.

The success rate is low, it takes time, and it's not very effective. That hasn't changed even after Tohsaka started treating it.

I managed to survive Lancer's attack thanks to this, but to be honest I don't feel like entrusting my life to it.

Then there's one more thing...

I haven't used this magic much.

He learned by watching his father, and by showing him this, he was finally able to learn magic from his reluctant father.

But my father called this magic a "useless talent." He thought there was no point in trying to develop such a talent, so instead he taught me how to strengthen it.

I followed my father's lead. It was unthinkable for me to doubt him. I haven't used it since.

Logically speaking, we should rely on reinforcement.

Even if they are weak, what they have built up over the years is never zero.

The red cloak burned into my mind.

There is something confident about his well-trained back.

One of the magic circles that Gilgamesh deployed begins to glow brighter, a sign of an upcoming attack.

I took a shortcut through my thoughts and put my magic circuits into full operation.

Identifying the creative concept,

Assuming the basic outline,

Duplicate the composed material,

Imitating the techniques used in production,

Empathize with the experiences that lead to growth,

Reproduce the accumulated years,

Surpassing every process――――

Here, illusions are united and formed into a sword――――!

"Start ProjectionTrace On!"

The impact makes my arm go numb.

The projection magic he used on the spur of the moment was no match for the Hero King's blow.

I slammed my copy of the sword he shot at it, but the copy was easily shattered and I was sent flying with the impact.

All I could do was slightly deflect his attack.

(Done…!)

Yes, it was still possible.

In any case, I succeeded in protecting Tohsaka from his attack.

Just as I was feeling the response, I was suddenly hit by an intense chill.

"...What is that ability, mongrel?"

Gilgamesh turned his gaze towards me. Perhaps because his attack had been blocked, a look of displeasure was clearly visible on his face.

Gilgamesh fires more attacks from the four magic circles, this time towards me.

"Woohooo!"

Faster!

Harder!

See it, analyze it, understand it, replicate it.

By skipping those steps, the projection is completed in one step.

He slammed the weapon he created into the approaching Hero King's Noble Phantasm, and, not caring if it shattered, he created the next illusion.

This time the impact was less than before. I managed to withstand it without losing my balance.

"You...! Don't get carried away, mongrel!"

The Hero King becomes enraged and creates dozens more magic circles. This is bad, there's no way we can handle them all!

"Bazett!"

At the same time that I began to feel despair, a voice came from behind me.

The source of the scream was Hikigaya, who was supposed to have been unconscious. He had apparently regained consciousness at some point.

However, he was still on the ground, prostrate, which was understandable, as all of his limbs except for his left arm had been shattered.

After hearing Hikigaya's voice, Bazette took out a silver sphere.

"Coming from behind, cutting off firstAnswerer!"

As Bazett chanted, the sphere filled with magical power.

The sword'' floating at the tip of his raised fist distorts cause and effect and causes purple lightning to surge.

"The God of War's Slashing Short SwordFragarac!"

The released blade heads towards Gilgamesh with such speed that it does not even allow for a blink of an eye.

"Get in the way!"

It was easily wiped away by a yell from the Hero King.

"That's impossible!"

Gilgamesh fired a volley at the shocked Bazett.

Ignoring Bazette who frantically dodged, Gilgamesh's attack cuts the ground as he comes towards me. It seems he is still aiming at me.

It's impossible to escape, so the only option is to fight back!

I put aside my doubts and project the Noble Phantasm a third time.

The swarm of Hero King's Noble Phantasms engulfs me.

I sharpened my mind to the limit and repeatedly projected it at high speed, knocking down only the weapons that hit me.

"Whaaaaaat?!"

I heard Shinji scream from behind me. He seemed to have been caught up in it, but I didn't have time to worry about it.

It seemed like an eternity, but in reality, it probably lasted less than a few seconds, and then something changed. The intensity of the attacks lessened, if only slightly.

Yukinoshita Yukino was caught in Caster's magic and lost consciousness. She regained consciousness and grabbed Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh was annoyed and punched Yukinoshita down. Damn it! A girl's face!

Yukinoshita, with a bloody nose, continues to grab at Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh looks annoyed and finally stops attacking.

At the same time, I collapsed to my knees, my willpower exhausted. I managed to lift my head and glare at Gilgamesh, but it didn't look like I would be able to get up anytime soon.

I turned my head to at least make sure Tohsaka was okay.

Tohsaka was safe.

It seems the curse hasn't yet worn off, as she is still being held by Shinji, but she doesn't appear to be injured.

Shinji was sitting on his backside, still holding Tohsaka.

They both looked in the same direction with tense expressions.

Following his gaze, he sees his left hand hanging limp. It looks like he is calling for help, but it is probably the opposite. Considering the posture of Tohsaka and the others and their original positions, it looks like he has been pushed away.

Hikigaya, who had pushed the two of them away, was lying face down and not moving a muscle.

That's true. There's no way he could move with such a big hole in his body.

"Oi... Hey...?"

A spear, likely a stray bullet from the King of Heroes, was stuck in the center of Hikigaya's body.

Well, maybe stabbed wasn't the correct word to describe it, since most of Hikigaya's body had been blown away with the spear at its center.

Hikigaya had lost most of his body from his stomach to his chest, with only a small amount of tissue remaining on his sides, barely connecting the top and bottom.

It was clearly a fatal blow, but he still seemed to be breathing, coughing up blood clots.

"Hey! Pull yourself together!?"

I instinctively called out to him, but no matter how I thought about it, there was no way he could be saved. And there was no hope of him even replying.

Gilgamesh folded his arms and watched us in silence. His master, Yukinoshita, responded to my shout and turned towards me.

Her face twitches.

"Nooooooooo?!"

The girl's heartbreaking scream echoed through the park at night.