Chapter 52: Day 10 ⑥

Even the Holy Sword, Excalibur, cannot rival Ea in a single clash. My Projection of swords was overwhelmed by the sheer number of his Treasures, and even a desperate Gae Bolg was crushed by several of those same 'Treasures.'

That Tracing was done in a state of frantic desperation, but it was a fine piece of work for me. —The result, however, was that Saber fell, and my Projection was completely blocked without landing a single blow. Against that man, who possesses Noble Phantasms that defy all logic even among Servants, the release of a Projected Noble Phantasm was my trump card. And even that ended in such a state. A cold part of me whispers: it's a stalemate. As I am now, I cannot defeat him. I had no such calculation even before the confrontation, and now even the slightest possibility has vanished.

—So, what of it? I cannot afford to break. If I cannot win, I simply will not lose. (I will taking him down with me) 

I absolutely cannot lose to him, of all people. I will not let it end in such a pathetic, spineless result.

I am different from the me back then who lacked power. I am no longer the helpless self who was only protected. Saber stood tall even alone. Even alone, she protected everyone. Now it's my turn. Alone, I will hold him back!

"I won't lose. I won't let you defeat me any further. As if I'd ever... let myself lose to you—!!"

Paired swords appear in these hands. Shadows of 'Treasures' manifest behind me. The curse that was tormenting my body is fading with the passage of time. In its place, power overflows through my body in response to my passion.

"Fakes again? I told you I am done with this entertainment—it is displeasing."

Gilgamesh declares this toward me, his face devoid of emotion. At the sound of his snapping fingers, the Treasures gallop forth. In his right hand, the original source of Caladbolg remains gripped.

My eyes constantly track the enemy at the center, analyzing the swords within my vision. Projection, start— (Trace On). The swords waiting behind me spring into motion. When the Projection of every blade in sight is complete, the sound of clashing metal begins to ring out.

My mind is filled to the brim. The blueprints pile up. There is no room for a blank space. I constantly take in information and scrutinize it. My thoughts white-heat and accelerate. Using up every bit of Prana that fills my Circuits and threatens to overflow, I force a sense of direction upon the flow.

But even with my Magic Circuits running at full capacity, out of ten, there is always one—a thing that my Projected swords cannot strike down. Now, the number of holy swords clashing at once exceeds ten, and the frequency of the exchanges continues to increase. The metallic din never ceases; I must finish one Projection as quickly as possible and move to the next immediately, to the point where I no longer know what counts as the first. Even doing all that, two or three misses still reach me.

I parry them with Kanshou and Bakuya in both hands, without even the room for thought. I swing both arms to deflect them, killing the impact. I sever the flow of force and strike them down. With Excalibur, it wouldn't work like this. I could blow away the majority with an unparalleled strike and its aftereffects, but that method would leave even more openings for things to slip through. If I were charging in alone, that might be fine. But now, I am here to save everyone. Now that I have taken up Kanshou and Bakuya to 'not lose,' I have no need for Excalibur to 'win.'

————However.

"...Rin, Shirou! Take Saber and Illya and run!"

—In Gilgamesh's demeanor, the previous composure is gone. His carelessness has vanished.

The sheer number of Treasures he is constantly firing is like an approaching tsunami. Although I am losing in the number of things that can be manifested at once, the difference is only a few. However, now that we are both firing without rest, that gap is becoming insurmountable. Even as I speak, various weapons fly straight toward me. I continue to assign Projections of the same or equal level to the majority. That mental strain continues to create misses.

A sinister, distorted wooden arrow. —Sharp, fast. I catch it using Kanshou as a shield. A brilliant silver longsword. —Still far off. I throw Bakuya and strike it down.

I hurl the remaining Kanshou at Gilgamesh. Immediately after, two spears rain down from above, striking Kanshou into the ground. Next come the Treasures aimed at me. But the next pair of swords is already gripped in my hands.

"Fu— ha—! Ha— hah!"

My breathing becomes ragged. Heat builds up in my body. My breath grows labored under the relentless attacks.

A thin, undecorated short spear. —I swing the right Kanshou down in a diagonal slash. It flies away with little resistance.

 A magnificent Halberd Comparable to Heaven (Fang Tian Ji). —I parry it outward with the left Bakuya. It falls to the ground, spinning, leaving a dull sensation in my hand.

 A wide greatsword. —I evade it without killing the momentum of my arm swing. To prevent a stray shot from hitting those behind me, I strike it down with both hands.

 A blood-red dagger. —Kuh, no good. I can't recover my stance. An impact hits my left shoulder without a pause.

"Ghi—!?"

The dagger I failed to parry sinks deep into my shoulder. Even so, I cannot take my eyes off Gilgamesh.

A beat later, heat and pain begin to surge. A grating, gurgling sound begins to emanate from my shoulder—no, from the dagger itself.

A sensation of something being drained. It's strange. The things that should happen when one is wounded are not happening.

"Fu— ugh!"

In an instant, I grab the hilt with my right hand, pull it out, and hurl it away. What was stolen was blood and Prana. ...Analysis. A cursed blood-sucking sword that robs the opponent's vitality through the wound.

"Hah... hah, guh."

Though it was only for a short time, a massive amount was taken. The fatigue one feels when consuming a vast amount of Prana fills my entire body. Next, I winced slightly at the pain, but it was immediately overwritten by shock.

"?"

My armor, my gauntlets—they vanished? The moment I widened my eyes, I realized my body had reacted to the rapidly decreased Prana, instinctively trying to conserve it.

"————Gah!?"

But that time lag delayed my next response. Before I could even take a breath, a Trident passed by my defenseless flank. One of the three prongs gouged through the flesh. Blood pours out from the wound. Reflexively, I almost reach to press down on the wound. But if I do that, it really will be the end.

I forcibly cast aside the pain that throbs with every movement and regrip the paired swords in both hands.

With the still-unhealed wound on my left shoulder, I used the Bakuya in my left hand to sweep away the battle-axe closing in on me.

Numbness remains in my left arm. It's the impact, but also, I've lost too much blood.

I face him again. Perhaps seeing an opportunity, Gilgamesh has further narrowed the interval of his firing.

I immediately Project the Treasures within my vision. Leaving the armor and gauntlets aside for now, it seems I have regained enough Prana just to perform Projections.

They are already at a distance where they cannot be shot down by firing back.

Ten are closing in. Is it a mercy that they aren't simultaneous? For those after the ten, the things I just Projected should make it in time.

I kick off the ground with my right foot and leap to the left, pulling away from those coming all at once.

Eight pierced the ground. Perhaps due to their inherent properties, the remaining two corrected their course and closed in; I parried and dropped them with my dual swords before landing.

"Hurry! I'll handle this guy in the meantime!"

Though my stance is broken and I'm rolling on the ground, I don't take my eyes off Gilgamesh. I shout hoarsely while blowing away the following 'Treasures' with Kanshou and Bakuya.

It's still fine as long as Gilgamesh remains wary of my Noble Phantasm release. Despite the disadvantageous situation, I am holding my own with just my power alone. But the longer this situation continues, the more I am backed into a corner. If he becomes convinced that he can suppress me with just the Treasures, he will undoubtedly use Ea. Should that happen, I will have no choice but to use Excalibur to ensure the damage doesn't reach those behind me. However, judging by the previous clash of Noble Phantasms, even if I boosted it with a Command Spell, neutralizing it would be the best I could hope for. Perhaps the two uses of Ea might exhaust Gilgamesh's Prana. But that is far too much of a gamble

In fact, what I fear more than that is him turning his spear toward Rin and the others behind me.

If the Treasures start targeting the rear where my hands can't reach, I will be completely on the defensive. It's easier if I'm alone.

Besides, while Rin is likely giving her emergency treatment, Saber's limit must be near.

This is the only thing left that I can do.

"Wha...! What are you saying! If we're running, you're coming with us, Alto—!"

After a bewildered voice, it was Shirou's voice that came back.

"...Shirou, run. Quickly, while Alto is holding him back!"

"Hey, Tohsaka. You, saying 'run'... If Alto and you stay, we should do it together!, there's no way I'm leaving you guys!"

"Emiya-kun. Listen carefully to what I'm about to say. If Alto wasn't clashing with that ability, we'd have been full of holes a long time ago. You understand that, don't you?"

"That's—"

Shirou's voice falters. I can just barely hear the voices, but I have no leeway to intervene.

"What's more... you, who aren't connected by a Path, probably don't know what the supply is like, but I'm reaching my limit too. Consuming that much Prana, if I move away from Alto, the supply rate will drop, right? If that happens, neither you nor I will be able to escape."

I see. That's only natural. I've already Projected well over three hundred. Even if it's Projection Magecraft that Emiya Shirou could achieve, being able to perform this many Projections is thanks to Saber's Prana. The Prana Reactor in this body and Emiya Shirou's Magic Circuits are generating Prana, but it seems they are starting to be used up. The Projection of 'Gae Bolg.' The influence of the demonic sword that pierced my left shoulder. Rin must have been skillfully filling those gaps. Not the armor yet, but enough Prana has returned to weave gauntlets.

—I had intentionally pushed it out of my consciousness, but occasionally a sharp headache strikes. Surely, the burden from overusing Projection is accumulating.

In contrast, some of the Treasures he fired have already been recovered and are beginning to be reloaded.

It's likely an unexpected situation for both of us. Gilgamesh is also failing to gauge me, but his patience will run out soon.

"Illya has recovered enough to run for now. If Emiya-kun carries Lia, we'll manage somehow."

"Wait a minute! There might—there might be some other way!"

Rin is the one pushing them away. Shirou is the one refusing to back down. Of course, there's no sign of Rin giving in.

"Unfortunately, there's no time for that. If everyone stays here, we're all wiped out. If we leave Alto alone, we're all wiped out. If I stay too, three people are saved. Even a child can understand such simple math, right?"

————. I strike away a sword, and using that momentum and the reappeared gauntlets, I deflect a dagger that was hidden in the shadows.

"—Well, I am that girl's Master, and I haven't even been told her true name yet. Ahh, it hurts that my Prana didn't fully return in one day."

Ah, I promised. I have to tell Rin. That's right—if it's after Shirou and Illya have withdrawn, I suppose I can tell her.

But that doesn't mean I will ever let Rin die. Whether it's Excalibur or Caliburn, it doesn't matter. I'll at least take him down with me. I must protect my Master.

He was a disagreeable fellow, but even that Archer fulfilled his duty as a Servant properly. There's no reason why he could do it and I couldn't.

"Well, that's how it is. This is where we part ways. At least survive, no matter what."

"...I'm staying."

"Eh... what?"

"I'm saying, don't you two just say whatever selfish things you want!! I'm the one who poked my nose into this. I'm staying too!"

————? For a beat, my mind goes blank. Is my hearing not functioning correctly? What is he saying?

"Wha— what are you saying! You of all people! What do you think you can even do by staying!"

"I'll do it! The parts Alto can't hold back, I'll stop them! —Trace On!"

I move to intercept the approaching Treasures with Kanshou and Bakuya, but it ends in vain. The Treasures collided with things flying from behind and were deflected with a high-pitched metallic clang.

I feel the exercise of Magecraft behind me. Intermittently, one, two—. Treasures... no, Projected holy swords fly from behind.

The sound of someone running follows from behind. The movement of air. That guy stood beside me. He yells without even giving me a glance.

"Idiot! Why aren't you withdrawing!"

"Lia, Alto, and even Tohsaka are putting their lives on the line—there's no way I can just run away!"

Damn it, how selfish! Even though we'll all be wiped out at this rate! Even though if you withdraw, Saber and Illya will be saved!

"Tch! So you are a faker-user as well. —To think a mere Mongrel would face me without fleeing."

After clicking his tongue, Gilgamesh weaves his words. An expression I hadn't seen until now flickered into view.

"Hmph. It seems you were plotting some way to escape, but you should have just done as planned. Well, not that I would ever let you escape so easily."

Cocking the corner of his lip, he tilted his left arm. At that signal, the entrance—the only place a person could pass through—was suddenly blockaded.

"Wha—, no way!"

That was the Chains that had bound that Berserker. While they seem to exert their true power against those with high Divinity, they aren't something a magus can break.

In the corner of my vision is the silent Berserker on his knees. Naturally, the chains had already been undone.

"Your fates have long been in the hands of the Great King. Do not think you can defy me and return alive."

His expression vanishes again. I am transfixed by that gaze.

————There is no longer any place to run.