Chapter 48: Day 10 ②

—What... what is happening?

The girl was paralyzed, caught between panic and bewilderment, staring blankly at the scene unfolding before her.

It was impossible. Unacceptable. Her mind was filled with nothing but those words. The sight before her eyes completely denied every value she had held until now. The one she believed to be the strongest was being unilaterally trampled. Berserker, who was supposed to be the "Strongest Servant," was being skewered helplessly before her eyes.

Thump. A sense of loss pulsed through the Path.

She could feel his lives being extinguished, one by one. She had felt this sensation four times already—four of Berserker’s lives had been stripped away.

The Bounded Field spanning the entire forest had detected the intruder. When she shared her vision with a bird Familiar, she saw a blond youth in flamboyant clothing walking calmly. However, in the next instant, the familiar she was using as her "eyes" was erased, and her vision was forcibly snapped back to her own body.

Tears fell from her eyes due to the feedback, but she had no time to worry about that. Based on those brief images and the meager information gathered, she tried to process who that blond youth was.

He was no Magus. A Magus would have noticed the Bounded Field and taken some sort of countermeasure. While that alone wasn't conclusive, her instincts as a Magus told her he was something else entirely. Furthermore, since her body did not react to draw in his soul, he was not a Servant of this Holy Grail War. He was clearly materialized, yet he wasn't accompanied by a Master; he was completely alone.

That was all she could discern from the Familiar's vision.

The Familiar had been crushed, but the Bounded Field was still active. Tracking the movement of the "anomaly," she saw that it was heading toward the castle without a moment’s hesitation.

Driven by an inexplicable unease, she moved to intercept him, bringing Berserker along. Unconsciously, a smirk played on her lips—for no matter what it was, it could never be a match for her Berserker.

But she was wrong. His presence was different from that of a human.

When they met, the "thing" was no longer in the clothes she saw before, but clad in Golden Armor, wearing a fearless smirk. Behind him, dozens of weapons had appeared out of thin air, their blades pointed toward them, waiting to be launched.

And now, even though only twenty minutes had passed since the encounter, that Berserker had already been killed four times.

Even so, Berserker did not fall to the earth. He did not buckle his knees. He stood firmly before his Master. His advance was halted by that torrential rain of projectiles, yet he swung his arms, blowing away the swarming weapons.

The ground was gouged and trees were leveled by the falling weapons and the force of Berserker’s blade.

"Who are you?! What are you?! Ah—?! N-no, Berserker! Fall back!"

However, before his body could regenerate from death, new swords, spears, and axes sprouted from his wounded flesh. With his increasing wounds, his lives became easier to shave away, easier to peel off. Even as Illya screamed, another one vanished.

As if responding to Illya’s voice, Berserker let out a roar that shook the earth. With every ounce of his strength, he swung down his Axe-Sword.

The projectiles flying toward him lost their direction and scattered in all four directions. The aftershock of the blow created a temporary void in the incoming swarm of weapons.

Taking a deep step, he leaped backward to protect his Master, following her command.

Holding his Master, he retreated toward the castle, leveling trees in his path—all while intercepting the incoming swords, axes, and spears with the Axe-Sword in his free right hand.

Protecting the trembling, small Master in his left arm.

...Even as new swords sprouted from his back.

The first thing I felt was a bizarre atmosphere.

The Bounded Field’s thaumaturgical theory was laid out from the entrance of the forest, but it didn't seem to be active right now. Perhaps the caster didn't have the leeway to maintain it? Symbolizing that, a prickly tension that made one's skin crawl permeated the entire forest.

Birds took flight in the distance. Though there was no loud noise, my senses screamed that the ground was vibrating slightly.

—Is someone fighting Berserker?

"Shirou, Rin. The air in this forest is thick with bloodlust. This is likely..."

"...Berserker is in combat," Lia stated firmly before I could. Rin also seemed to have sensed the abnormality; her brow was furrowed with a grim expression.

"But who on earth? Lancer...? If it's Rider, then her Master is... I—"

Beside me, Rin was muttering to herself—a habit of hers. She was thinking out loud in a low voice to organize information. Even with my enhanced hearing, I could only catch fragments.

"What should we do? If they're fighting another Servant, Berserker's Master will be hypersensitive. The possibility of being noticed is..."

"Let's stick to the original plan. —No, wait. I don't know if it's Lancer or Rider fighting, but if we play our cards right, we might be able to take down Berserker here."

"———"

Rarely for Lia, she bit back whatever words she was about to say.

But Rin’s behavior was also strange. To me, it looked like she was rushing into something out of desperation.

Silence fell between the four of us. Somehow, we weren't in sync.

"...Let's go."

Perhaps unable to bear the atmosphere, Shirou started walking. Lia followed him immediately.

"—Rin."

"Yeah, I know."

The moment I spoke, Rin also began to move. Keeping an eye on Rin behind me, I followed after Lia.

"This is...!"

What met my eyes was like a different world.

The path through the wild, untouched forest of tall withered trees and overgrown plants ended abruptly. Beyond it lay what could only be described as a "wasteland."

The ground was cratered and heaved; the dead leaves that should have covered the forest floor were buried under excavated soil. Trees were leveled across the entire area, exposing their wretched corpses. The wind was strong—likely because the trees that served as windbreaks had all been knocked down.

I approached a snapped tree to see if I could figure out who they were fighting.

Berserker was likely the one who broke it. It was clear that blunt, overwhelming pressure had been applied, as if it had been struck by a giant iron ball.

—But on that tree, there were scattered cuts and holes that looked like something had been thrust into them. Realizing what it was, I observed the surroundings and found similar marks on other fallen trees and the ground.

Perhaps because she had already been told about this, Lia glanced at me. I responded with a nod.

This is—there’s no doubt.

Recalling a certain event from the past, I clenched my fist tightly.

"Hey, these marks of destruction continue over there—wait, is that a castle?"

Turning toward Shirou’s voice, I saw that the trees were indeed leveled in one specific direction.

A void had been created. My vision opened up only in that direction—a path with no obstructions. At the end of that path stood a massive castle.

"For now, let's head in this direction. There's definitely something there."

Shirou nodded at Rin's words. Alto and Lia took the lead, suppressing our presence as much as possible.

If my guess was right, in that castle... Gilgamesh is there.

As we approached the castle, I realized I could hear the sounds of destruction. The noise, which was getting louder, sounded like the castle itself was screaming.

Finding a collapsed section of the outer wall, we hid ourselves by pressing our backs against the stone. Berserker’s roars and explosions that vibrated in my stomach echoed through the wall.

Peeking through a gap, I could see a trembling Illya and a Berserker who was still moving forward.

However, though he was standing, Berserker was a walking corpse. —No, in fact, he must have been "killed" many times already.

There wasn't a single uninjured part of his body. The number of swords and spears piercing him were far too many to count.

Each of the weapons skewering him was a "certain-kill" implement. Some suppressed regeneration, some injected curses, others caused paralysis—the originals of weapons from legends across the world were gathered here to destroy a single demi-god.

Whether he hadn't exhausted his lives despite taking that many hits was due to his iron-hard flesh, the blessing of his Noble Phantasm, or the sheer power of his swings, I couldn't tell.

Or was this the result even after using all of those?

Berserker still forced his feet forward to protect his Master. There was no retreating. There was no path but forward.

"A demi-god, yet only of this level? How dull—in the end, you are nothing but a beast meant for war."

A voice rang out. The high-pitched tone echoed throughout the castle. Contrary to the words themselves, I could hear a sense of joy in the speaker's voice.

Suddenly, the dry sound of a finger snapping—snap.

As if taking the lead, a long-handled halberd pierced Berserker’s thigh and slammed into the ground.

Immediately, a multitude of blades—differing in shape, material, and origin—rushed toward him.

In response, Berserker swung, and swung, and swung his Axe-Sword.

But it was like a single man trying to dam a river. Even Berserker couldn't deflect them all, becoming a target for the rain of weapons.

A rapier pierced his temple, longswords slashed his limbs, and a spear tore through his heart.

...The sheer brutality of it made me freeze for a heartbeat.

A moment later, a deep rage toward Gilgamesh—the one who must have committed this unilateral atrocity—welled up from the bottom of my stomach.

His figure was hidden in the shadows of the building, but I knew without a doubt he was standing there without a single scratch.

His attitude, mocking Berserker as he tried to protect his Master, rubbed me the wrong way. Because the sight of Berserker standing his ground was just like Saber had once been.

<...Rin.>

Biting back the rising anger, I spoke to Rin via mental link. Rin, who had been peeking in with wide eyes, turned her gaze toward me. I had only called her name, but she seemed to grasp my intent.

<—You’re right... Given our options, retreating is... the best choice. Even if we're fine now, if that guy laughing his head off attacks us later, it'll be over. Alto, if you and Lia coordinate, do you think you have a chance of winning against him?>

<I wonder. I don't know the outcome, but it's certainly a gamble with bad odds.>

<—I mean, even that Berserker is helpless against him, and it took both of you just to face him...>

Saying that, Rin turned her gaze back to Berserker.

Gilgamesh, whom we hadn't been able to see until now, was walking calmly. He was clad in that Golden Armor. At the end of his path, Illya was slumped on the ground.

However, Berserker, shaking his body and flinging off the embedded weapons, stopped Gilgamesh's advance.

"Tch."

Clicking his tongue, Gilgamesh leaped back, facing Berserker once more. Again, Berserker’s roar, like that of a massive beast, echoed through the castle.

Rin looked back at me, as if she had noticed something.

<What is it, Rin?>

<—I knew it. Your way of speaking is weirder than ever. I mean, it's just thoughts, but still. Did something happen?>

<Yeah. I have a sort of karma with that guy. If I don't consciously calm myself down, I might lose it.>

<—Do you know that goldie?>

<............He is the Archer of the previous Holy Grail War.>

I realized I might have slipped up, but since Lia knew as well, it shouldn't be a problem to tell her.

<—Huh? What does that mean? You mean you were summoned in the previous Holy Grail War too?>

<No. ...In the previous war, 'King Arthur' was summoned.>

<—Ugh... that answer just makes it more confusing.>

<We'll talk about that later. For now—what do we do next? Are we going to back up Berserker?>

If Rin decided to "retreat" here, what should I do? I intended to ask Rin to at least let me save Illya.

But if that was rejected, then I...?

As I thought, the battle before us continued to move and flow.

Berserker had managed to get within a few steps of Gilgamesh.

The price he paid was more than words could describe—a result obtained by shaving away his very being. His remaining lives couldn't be many. Yet, without losing his forward momentum, he advanced through the rain of Noble Phantasms.

"Do not get cocky—! Do not irritate me, you puppet!"

Irritated by that unstoppable advance, Gilgamesh spat out the words. He raised his right hand toward Berserker.

"—Enkidu—!"

Chains appeared from the void. The chains coiled around Berserker, binding him and tightening their grip.

That massive frame was bound by chains, its movements forcibly halted. To me, who had traded blows with Berserker directly, the sight was even more unbelievable.

"N-no! Berserker, come back! Come back!"

"It is futile."

A rain of Noble Phantasms poured down.

Caught in the chains and taking the full force of the rain, Berserker finally fell silent. Seeing him standing there with countless swords piercing him, Illya screamed his name in a high-pitched voice.

"Stay there and watch helplessly as your Master is killed."

Glancing at the now-immobile figure, Gilgamesh tossed those words aside and turned toward Illya.

Illya backed away, trying to escape from the approaching Gilgamesh. But sadly, her small body’s stride was no match for the man’s. No matter how desperately she moved back, the distance between them narrowed rapidly.

She searched for an escape route, but the man in golden armor was closing in.

Terrified of the approaching death, Illya’s mouth moved like a prayer, repeating "Save me... save me..." over and over.

Suddenly, with a clatter, a piece of metal fell. Gilgamesh stopped. He turned his head to see a sword that had fallen out of Berserker’s body.

I don't know if it was an accident. But in that opening, Illya started to run. She dashed past Gilgamesh toward her Servant, the one she trusted above all else.

Hmph. Gilgamesh snorted. From beside him, an estoc-like rapier and another long, thin blade were launched.

The two blades closed in from behind Illya and soon pierced her slender shoulders.

From the impact, the running Illya tumbled to the ground. She had gained distance—but she must have hit her head when she fell, as blood began to flow.

Because her shoulders were pierced, she fell again even when she tried to push herself up. From the collapsed Illya, the voice that could be heard was still "Someone, save me," a plea for rescue.

<Rin—!>

<—Alto, no! ...You can't. There's no chance of winning if we fight like this. It'll just be a dog's death. Even escaping that rain of weapons would be a gamble for us. Saving her and escaping... is impossible.>

<Guh!!>

Rin answered with a somber face, having already simulated exactly what I was going to propose. My teeth ground together at my own utter helplessness.

What am I here for?

Needless to say, to save people. I am here to rescue those who call for help. Right now, in reality, there is someone seeking help before my eyes. Then it's simple. I should save her.

—However. What happens if I jump out to save her?

At worst, not only will I fail to save Illya, but Lia, Shirou, and Rin might also be killed. Thinking of that, I can't just jump out recklessly.

I decided to save people. —But I also certainly thought and wished that I wanted to protect everyone.

Yet, regardless of my hesitation, my body remained tensed, ready to spring at any moment.

That doesn't matter—"I" was telling myself. Do not forget your foundation. Who are you? What are you living for?

"Shirou?! No!!"

"Tch!! That idiot!!"

Suddenly, Lia’s voice rang out in restraint, followed by Rin’s scolding.

Lia had already started running to chase the person in front of her. In an instant, that became the trigger for me to dash out as well. Someone had already intruded into the castle right before our eyes.

"Get away from Illya, you bastard—!"