Chapter 38: ACT.7 "Defeat"

There is a popular saying that it takes three times the skill for a swordsman to defeat a spear user, suggesting that the spear, with its superior reach, has an advantage in close combat. That's why throughout human history, weapons with even greater reach were developed, leading to the extinction of the spear as a major weapon.

However, the current battle involving magecraft is different. Even with magical throwing knives and long-range attack methods, this is fundamentally a melee, hand-to-hand fight. And the opponent is a spear user, so we've essentially reverted to a primitive form of combat.

Our allies are Ciel-senpai and Father Kotomine. Both are veteran Enforcers with skills capable of erasing me in an instant. They have faced vastly more perilous situations than I have, making them a more than adequate force to handle a single vampire.

But... the enemy is TATARI, one of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors. His current form is that of Lancer, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, from the Fourth Holy Grail War. If this were just a cool appearance, it would be fine, but TATARI has inherited Lancer's abilities. The possibility of a human defeating a Servant is extremely difficult, except for a certain red-haired anomaly.

Therefore, I had a hunch that this would happen.

"A... ngh—!!"

"Ciel-senpai!!!"

Lancer's spear pierces Senpai's left shoulder, scattering fresh blood.

"Hmph!"

Immediately after, Father Kotomine throws Black Keys towards Lancer. There are six of them, and they rush towards Lancer in mere seconds. However, Lancer spins his other spear and knocks all of them down. The vampire easily repelled the Black Keys—weapons that should have the power to blow off a person's limbs—with just one hand.

"Get away from Senpai!"

But Lancer's gaze was completely averted from me. Seizing that opportunity, I throw concrete fragments lying scattered on the ground. As intended, they hit Lancer's head, making a loud noise, but his head didn't split open, nor was his brain scattered. Damn it! I knew it intellectually, but the inhuman strength and durability of a Servant are astonishing, beyond just fear!

However, the attack causes Lancer to stagger, allowing Ciel-senpai to free herself and retreat to my side.

"Ciel-senpai!"

"Ah, Yumizuka-san, this much is still manageable... No, it seems not. Healing magecraft doesn't seem to work."

"...Eh, what?"

Senpai forces a bitter smile, clutching her shoulder, from which blood flows incessantly. If the wound cannot be healed by Senpai, who possesses the highest level of skill as a magus, then...

"Hmm, not only his physical abilities but the Noble Phantasm is also replicated... Troublesome."

Father Kotomine mutters the answer.

Lancer, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. An heroic spirit who was particularly unlucky, even among the notoriously ill-fated Lancers of the Holy Grail Wars. Yet, he possesses Gae Buidhe (The Yellow Rose of Mortality), a spear that inflicts a curse preventing wounds from healing. While it lacks the spectacle of Saber's Excalibur, it is undoubtedly an extremely troublesome Noble Phantasm for any opponent facing it.

Well, in the Fourth Holy Grail War, there were enemies who were outright monstrous, but the internal discord among his allies was Lancer's most significant and greatest cause of defeat.

But now, it's different. The Lancer we are currently facing is an Heroic Spirit completely unbound by a Master's control. He is not suffering from a lack of magical energy like a starving man, and he has no intention of holding back—Here he comes!!

"■■■■■――――!!"

With a beast-like roar, he closes the distance in an instant, and I barely manage to dodge the thrust. The injured Ciel-senpai also avoids Lancer's attack with a speed that belies her wound.

However, Lancer, who has leaped in, isn't about to end his assault there. He freely wields his two spears, relentlessly pursuing and cornering me in particular.

"Guh!?"

I'm doing everything I can just to evade, let alone counterattack. The only reason I haven't sustained a fatal blow is thanks to my vampiric abilities, allowing me—despite being a complete amateur in terms of fighting technique—to get away with mere scratches against an Heroic Spirit.

But how long will that last? Even with superior vampiric abilities, my utter lack of experience means I won't hold out for long. If I were an average magus or spellcaster, my inhuman strength might forcibly overcome the lack of experience. But Heroic Spirits are accustomed to killing the likes of me, the supernatural... the opponent is simply too strong!!

"■■■■――――!!"

"――――hh!!!"

Unable to completely dodge the spear's horizontal sweep, I block it with my left arm. Despite being magically reinforced, my arm makes an unpleasant mishiri sound as a sharp pain shoots through me.

And the spear that I blocked doesn't stop; it keeps pushing forward. In manga or anime, the standard response is to jump back to cushion the impact, but unfortunately, I'm not skilled enough to pull off such a maneuver yet. Thus, the next moment, I am flung high into the air by Lancer.

"Ga... ah—!?"

With a pain more intense than anything I've ever experienced, my vision tumbles upside down multiple times. I fly through the air for a few seconds, knocking down the park's trees before crashing to the ground.

The fact that I can still get up is thanks to being a vampire, but my eyes are blinking wildly, and more than anything, the despair of seeing no element of victory is corrupting my mind and slowing my body's movements. Perhaps because of that, this time I fail to dodge Lancer's spear and take the hit squarely.

"Ah...?"

The spear is deeply embedded in my side. Surprisingly, there isn't much pain, just a hot sensation. For a vampire, this shouldn't be a problem, but Lancer's Noble Phantasm is an item that prevents the power to heal wounds. All strength drains from my body, and I collapse to the ground. The only thing in my field of vision is the dark earth.

"Yumizuka-san!!"

"Tch...!"

Thus, my hearing becomes the only means of knowing the outside world. I hear Ciel-senpai shouting my name, and, surprisingly, Father Kotomine curses.

"An Enforcer concerned about a vampire—how truly rare. And worthy of performing as an actor on my stage this evening."

"...So, TATARI has emerged instead of Lancer."

Lancer, who had been attacking with a beast-like roar, seems to have spoken. No, this needlessly self-aggrandizing tone, as if he views himself as a director, belongs not to Lancer, but to TATARI.

"Indeed, Father Kotomine. Until a moment ago, the consciousness was Lancer, but now it is TATARI."

"I see. Would you please leave this town? For all its flaws, I have grown fond of this place."

Ciel-senpai speaks her true feelings, completely devoid of her usual gentle demeanor.

"Your wish is denied. I have something that must be accomplished. Until that is fulfilled, I have no intention whatsoever of stopping. However... replicating an Heroic Spirit was quite a taxing endeavor, but... this is truly good. I have replicated all manner of beings until now, but ah, it is truly marvelous, absolutely marvelous!!"

Saying this, TATARI bursts into loud laughter in a voice that gets under people's skin. Damn it! I hate it, absolutely hate it. I hate this attitude—involving people in his affairs solely for his own desire, his obsession, just like Roa! I want to erase him with my own hands right now, but the powerlessness of only being able to lift my face from the ground is pathetic!

"Well, let's end the pleasantries here. The third source of anxiety, following the True Ancestor Princess and the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, has just been eliminated. You two are next. While I would have liked to enjoy the conversation a bit longer, alas, my schedule is packed, so perish here."

"...Hmph. What an insult! Setting aside Aoko and Tohno-kun, you see the wimpy vampire Yumizuka-san as the third greatest threat before me?!"

"That is an interesting topic, but I find it quite unpleasant to be considered less than that half-baked person/meat shield lying over there."

Eh, wait? I can accept that Arcueid-san and Shiki are threats to TATARI. But why am I ranked third, before Ciel-senpai!? And Father Kotomine, who casually called me a meat shield, though 'half-baked' is also accurate...

"You wear a look of doubt, Satsuki Yumizuka. You are currently merely a new actor, but you will eventually be noticed by the people as a performer on the stage. Your true abilities conceal a power worthy of such evaluation—a power overflowing with talent, much like yourself, wouldn't you agree, Burial Agency?"

TATARI flashes a nasty, sneering grin. That's right, Ciel-senpai was also an ordinary human like me, but she was blessed with the talent of a vampire after Roa made her one—Ugh....

"How unpleasant. I wonder why creatures like vampires feel the need to deliberately make people uncomfortable."

Ciel-senpai, with a deadpan expression and an overwhelming, suffocating killing intent swirling around her, spoke her anger in a calm tone. My heart shrinks from the intensity of her genuine murderous intent, which is incomparable to the Senpai I faced before.

That time, Senpai certainly intended to kill me, but she didn't possess this level of intensity. If she had approached me with this kind of attitude then... I wouldn't have survived.

However, that doesn't solve the current problem. No matter how exceptional an Enforcer Senpai is, she won't be able to defeat an Heroic Spirit—even a replicated one—with an injured arm.

The same goes for Father Kotomine. Since he is already inferior to Ciel-senpai in ability, it would be impossible for him to oppose an Heroic Spirit. In other words, the situation remains desperate. What can I do—Damn it, I can't do anything!!

Is there something, anything I can do? Should I intentionally lose control as a vampire, like Sion in the manga version?

But I'm not smart enough to lose control and still manage it like Sion. I would either self-destruct, taking the surroundings with me, or be killed by Senpai.

"Oh...?"

TATARI tilts his head and murmurs. What is it this time... ah, TATARI's form.

"It seems my replication of the Heroic Spirit ends here."

TATARI's form fades, like a blurry TV screen.

"I shall call this evening's performance the final act. Farewell, and let us meet again, ladies and gentlemen."

"Wait!!"

Senpai shouts, simultaneously throwing Black Keys. The keys pierce the fading TATARI, but they pass through him like a heat haze, dealing no impact.

"Ki, kiki... kiki kiki!!! The play has just begun. Your injury, and that vampire's wound, will heal once I, the performer of Lancer, vanish. There is no need to rush; the play is still in motion. Next, I, the scriptwriter, shall prepare a performance where you can shine!!"

Senpai glares at the madly laughing TATARI, Father Kotomine observes with a blank expression, and I watch in a daze. With a head-splitting laugh like nails on a chalkboard, the fading TATARI finally vanishes.

"It's our loss," Father Kotomine mutters curtly, a phrase that captures the current mood. If we had continued fighting TATARI, the other two besides me would undoubtedly have been defeated right there.

Even with the excuse of being unprepared, a loss is still a loss. This was an overwhelming defeat, one where we only survived this moment due to the opponent's mercy, it seemed.