Chapter 49: Day 10 ③

Inside the half-destroyed, crumbling castle—

In the center of the entrance hall stood Berserker, silenced and impaled by a multitude of weapons. His Master, Illya, was running toward him, desperate to be by her Servant’s side.

The man clad in golden armor snorted, and two rapiers were discharged from his side. They closed in from behind Illya, soon piercing through her slender shoulders.

The impact sent Illya tumbling to the ground. She had gained some distance—but perhaps she hit her head when she fell, as blood began to flow from her forehead.

Because her shoulders were pierced, she collapsed immediately even when trying to brace herself with her hands. The voice coming from the fallen Illya was, as expected, a plea for salvation: "Someone, help me."

The man approached Illya. He ignored the girl’s voice, a smirk still fixed on his face.

My head throbbed with a pounding pain.

My body was filled with a sense of urgency, followed by a surge of intense anger and loathing. All of it was caused by the scene before my eyes.

—The one fallen is the weak; the one approaching is tyranny. The weak cries for help, while the one walking to trample them is the end of life itself.

My entire body burned, my pulse racing. This composition was exactly what I had managed to escape ten years ago.

My thoughts were drowned out. My vision captured only the girl and the man, and my body began to move on its own.

Sound and color began to peel away. The faint remnants left in the world were nothing but noise—someone calling out to me from behind.

Help the weak. Save a life. Protect others. Shield the girl. Let them live with these hands. —In this situation, what right do you have to your name if you do not move?

The years I spent living as "Emiya Shirou" drove me forward.

The resolve I took upon receiving the name "Emiya Shirou" made me run.

I might die. No, I probably will.

If I stand before that man, I will be killed. Even if I stand my ground, the girl will be killed. Ah, that’s right. Surely, we will be killed.

—As if I care. Such a result doesn't matter right now. I have to save her. If someone reaches out their hand for help, I will grasp it.

That red world. So many lives blown away, so much happiness ground into dust.

Groans. Screams. Shouts.

Resignation. Fatalism. Despair.

Among them, I was the only one picked up. I heard the footsteps of death, reached out my hand amidst the dying, and was happened to be picked up.

Ah—if so. This time, I will be the one to pick someone up.

"Stay away from Illya, you bastard—!"

I released the anger overflowing from my body as a roar. I hadn't run a great distance, but my breathing was ragged.

Fortunately, a small gap still remained between Illya and that man.

"Illya, are you okay?"

I rushed to her side and helped her up.

Her pierced shoulders were soaked in blood, turning the purple fabric of her clothes black. Blood continued to flow from the wounds. Given the nature of the injuries, the blood loss was significant, but they didn't seem to be immediately fatal.

While observing Illya’s wounds, I kept the man in the corner of my vision, never letting my guard down.

"Eh—O-Onii-chan?"

She looked at me as if wondering why Shirou was here, or if I was a convenient hallucination, trying to touch me with a right arm that wouldn't move properly.

Illya’s right arm only trembled and wouldn't lift; I stopped her and wiped her cheek with my thumb. Tears began to spill from her eyes—whether out of fear or relief, I didn't know.

"It’s okay now. I will protect you, Illya."

I pulled back the corners of my mouth into the shape of a smile. To be honest, I don't know if I smiled well. But seeing that, Illya smiled back.

—I’m glad. I’m so glad I didn't abandon her. I’m truly glad I could grasp her hand in return.

The man in the golden armor stared behind me, as if neither I nor Illya were worth his notice.

His sullen expression gradually shifted into a smirk he could no longer hide.

"Ho! The King of Knights! To think we would meet in such a place. Well, that is fine. More than that, do you intend to accept my decision—hmm?"

Did "King of Knights" refer to Lia and Alto? At his mid-sentence pause, I reflexively looked behind me.

There stood two people with identical armaments. Their forms were the same, but they differed in color and the tension in their expressions. Lia’s face showed wariness and hostility. Alto’s showed rage and killing intent.

—I have no memory of Alto making such an expression.

Of course. Alto might show a will to fight, but she had never once glared at an enemy as if she were about to slaughter them.

"—What are you, cur?"

The man’s gaze remained fixed on Alto. On the other hand, Alto met his gaze without flinching.

After a brief silence, the man’s left eyebrow twitched upward. His eyes gradually widened, and his arms began to tremble with rage.

"You... who gave you permission to mimic the King’s form?!"

For some reason, the golden man was enraged as if he had been personally insulted.

Illya trembled in my arms at his roar. The bloodlust he radiated was enough to make one cower, but Alto, who was the target of it, didn't seem to care in the least.

"What I am is none of your business. More importantly—who gave you permission to target Illya?"

Alto returned a freezing bloodlust to the infuriated man. It was beyond mere hostility. Her killing intent seethed from her entire body as if she were facing a sworn enemy.

A chill ran down my spine. The anger infused in Alto’s voice made me momentarily forget the anger I felt toward this man.

"Lowlife! How dare you speak such words to a King, you mere fake of a Saber!"

"Archer!! If you insult her any further, I shall strike you down with all my might!!"

Lia was the one who answered from the side.

Holding her invisible sword in both hands, her metal greaves clattered. Her stance, as if she were about to pounce at any second, reminded me of a bamboo stalk bent to its absolute limit.

"Do not be indignant, Saber. I see—so that is your body double or some such. Kuh... Hahahahahaha! If that is the case, appearances aside, you have made a remarkably poor choice in personnel! It possesses not a single thing a King should hold! Absurd! You are nothing but a clown, you fake!"

"Kh!"

Suddenly, a wind as sharp as a whirlwind blew through.

Lia charged, piercing through the air. Exceeding even the incredible speed I had seen in the dojo yesterday, she slashed through the wind as she closed in on the man called Archer.

Alto followed right after Lia. In her hands, she likely held the same sword as Lia. Moving low to the ground in a deep forward crouch, her small frame was powerful, reminiscent of a battering ram.

The sound of clashing steel echoed through the castle entrance.

Before I knew it, just as before, a multitude of weapons were waiting behind the man called Archer.

Lia deflected those that suddenly appeared before her with her twin-handed grip, but as her posture broke, more swords closed in; unable to parry them all, she was knocked down.

Even so, the rain of swords did not stop. She rolled across the floor, dodging the following volleys by a hair’s breadth.

"Lia, get back!"

"Kh, Alto!"

Alto stepped in front of Lia to take her place. She swept away each of the lethal weapons closing in on Lia with strikes of condensed Prana so thick it was visible to the eye. A surge of magical energy as violent as an explosion. Her destructive power exceeded even that of Lia.

"Guh...!"

However, perhaps because the numbers were too great, Alto also began to be pushed back inch by inch. They couldn't reach that man unless they broke through the rain of weapons before them.

—Could Lia and Alto really win against an opponent who overwhelmed even that Berserker?

I couldn't imagine a scenario where they won against that man. I couldn't even conceive of a way to counter such sheer mass.

But there was also a part of me that firmly believed Lia and Alto couldn't possibly lose. That contradictory thought fueled my anxiety even further.

To ensure I wasn't a hindrance to the two of them, I picked up Illya and evacuated to the rear. There wasn't enough leeway to retreat all the way to Tohsaka’s position. It was obvious that a careless move would lead to getting caught in the crossfire.

"Alto! I’ll handle the left!"

"Got it...!"

As the recovered Lia joined her, Alto shifted her stance, bringing the right side of her body forward.

Positioned back-to-back, they struck down and deflected the flying swords. Using their backs as a pivot, they complemented each other as if reflecting one another’s movements.

Occasionally, they would rotate their positions to cover each other's blind spots. They filled the gaps in each other’s defense.

—That is a feat that can only be performed by those using the exact same swordsmanship.

Because their body movements were the same, they could sense the next move; because it was the same style, they understood the openings created.

When I enhanced my vision by gathering Prana in my eyes—as Alto had done before—to observe them, I could see some slight delays in Alto’s movements, but they were sufficiently synchronized.

Until now, the only opponent Lia and Alto had fought together was Berserker, but they were displaying a level of coordination now that hadn't existed back then.

What kind of change had occurred between them? Alto’s movements seemed closer to Lia’s than before, and Lia seemed to fully understand Alto’s motions.

However, even with their magnificent coordination, they were stalled before the barrage of Noble Phantasms.

If anything, the man called Archer seemed to still have room to spare. In fact, the weapons being fired had increased in number, and the man’s smirk never wavered.

I could only watch this staggering offense and defense.

Illya in my arms was shaking uncontrollably from the terror before her. Though her shoulder wounds seemed to have stopped bleeding—likely due to some form of magecraft—her complexion was pale. I tightened my grip on her back to give her even a small measure of comfort.

Suddenly, mingling with the sounds of the swordfight, three sharp bangs—like the firing of a handgun—echoed in my ears.

Light bullets flew at high speed from behind me. Three crimson bullets wove through the gaps of the approaching weapons.

I didn't have the luxury to look back. But without a doubt, it was Tohsaka’s cover fire.

It was a mass of Prana incomparable to the Gandr she had pelted Shinji with before. While it didn't have the brilliance of the shot she fired at Caster, if one were hit by that, the struck area would either be blown away or pierced through. They were vivid red bullets that would kill an ordinary person instantly.

Perhaps because he was focused on Lia and Alto, Tohsaka’s magical bullets all landed on the man’s shoulder, arm, and face.

A light shock hit the man with each impact. However, sensing they hadn't caused significant damage, his red eyes immediately pierced the shooter.

"How insolent! Do not interfere with me, you mongrel!"

While continuing to rain weapons upon Lia and Alto, the man discharged three swords toward Tohsaka.

I saw them. Even though there were only three, I understood that every single sword possessed power found in myths and legends. They held power that could be a fatal wound not just for a human, but even for a Servant.

Before such concepts, it would be difficult for a barrier erected by a magus to even slow their momentum. Unless they were physically deflected, there was no way to survive.

I reflexively tried to run, but Illya was in my arms. Tohsaka seemed to have entered an evasive maneuver, but she looked unable to escape one of the blades.

"Tohsaka!! —Trace..."

Just as I thought to project and throw Kanshou and Bakuya as a last-ditch effort, a red shadow crossed my vision.

"Lia! Hold on for a moment!"

Alto cut in from the side, interposing herself in the line of fire. However, from that position, she didn't have time to nullify everything. She deflected the one heading for Tohsaka, but one of the remaining blades pierced Alto’s left arm.

"Gah—!"

She immediately pulled the sword out, and fresh blood poured from her left arm.

"Tsuh, ah—! Haa, haa... Rin, are you okay?!"

"S-sorry, Alto."

Tohsaka, who had fallen on her backside, was pale.

Confirming she was unhurt, Alto turned back, the blood still flowing.

"What?! This is... guh...?!"

"Alto?!"

Alto, who had tried to return to Lia’s side, collapsed to her knees. Both of her hands were trembling violently.

In my vision, I caught the bloodied sword fallen beside her.

"That’s—!"

Holding Illya, whose shoulder wounds had stopped bleeding, I ran toward the two of them. A muffled voice of suppressed pain came from my arms, but I couldn't stop.

"Sorry! Illya, bear with it for a bit."

Now that Alto had retreated, staying here would mean getting hit by stray shots. I had to at least get to a distance where I could react—back to where Tohsaka was.

Besides, it was difficult to block those swords with magecraft. I might be able to deflect them with Tohsaka’s magical bullets, but I stood no chance against that number. ...I wouldn't know until I tried, but using Kanshou and Bakuya, I might be able to parry two or three.

Even if not, it would be better for us to be grouped together for an emergency.

I ran to Alto and Tohsaka’s side and handed Illya over to Tohsaka. Tohsaka had been bewildered by Alto suddenly dropping to her knees, but she nodded upon seeing Illya’s wounds and immediately began an incantation.

Seeing that, I took a breath and ran toward Alto.

Beside her, the pulled-out, blood-stained sword was beginning to fade away.

This was the cause of Alto’s strange condition—Structural Analysis.

A sword with a wavy blade engraved with a snake; a curse of paralysis is placed upon it. It spreads an effect like a snake's neurotoxin through the blood from the wound. Its toxicity is potent; a human would die in minutes.

"Alto, this sword is—!"

"Guh, I know! Stay back!!"

With those words, Alto drove the invisible sword she had managed to regrip with her right hand deep into her left arm and pulled it out.

Blood sprayed out, and a cry of agony escaped Alto. The crimson blood formed a pool at her feet.

Soon after, the flow of blood from the wound slowed down. The poison shouldn't be completely gone with just this—was it because she was a Servant, or did Alto herself have a resistance to poison?

Alto stood up, though she wobbled slightly. By then, the bleeding from her arm had already stopped.

"Do not get cocky, Saber!"

At that voice, everyone’s gaze turned toward Lia. Before we knew it, the sound of clashing steel had ceased.

Lia, who appeared to have been grazed by a few swords, held her weapon while breathing heavily. The man standing at a distance reached his right hand into the void with a displeased look. There, the hilt of a weapon began to extend into the man’s hand.

As it was slowly pulled out, it revealed a structure like three interconnected cylinders. The pressure radiating from it... it gave off an impression of something that could suppress everything. Was that... a sword?

—I cannot read it.

It defies understanding. That sword is not something that can be perceived by a human mind.

"The Sword of Rupture, Ea."

The voice echoed lowly. As if ignited by that voice, the three separated blades began to rotate wildly. The sword called Ea increased its revolutions as if rejoicing at being called by its master.

Impossible. It was just the magical energy leaking from the gaps, but the amount was so colossal I couldn't face reality. I fell into an illusion, as if watching a daydream.

"Lia!"

Beside me, Alto called out to Lia, who was facing the man.

Her face, clenched so hard her teeth might shatter, was full of panic. Alto stepped forward to run to her, but she collapsed to her knees before the gale emitted by the sword called Ea.

The poison must not be fully out. Even so, she continued to drag her feet toward Lia.

"...Shirou, I am using my Noble Phantasm!"

With those words, a wind began to swirl from the sword Lia held. Unlike when she fired it against Berserker, the wind didn't wrap around the sword but scattered into the surroundings.

Sheathed in the wind of the scabbard, the sword that had been impossible to see until now finally revealed its form.

The radiance of the stars that cuts through all. The one legendary blade that no human could ever forge.

Vast amounts of Prana filled that pure, beautiful Holy Sword.

"Show me, King of Knights! Show me your all! I, the King of the World, shall receive it, and trample every bit of it into the dust!"

"Do not howl, King of Heroes! Your arrogance! Such conceit is surely what made the people suffer and drove your own country to ruin!"

"Enuma—"

"Ex—"

"—Elish!"

"—calibur!"

In an instant, sound vanished from the world.