Part 201: Entering Einzbern Castle / VS Berserker

Music: Midnight Interval



I don't hear any beasts, and the grasses are dead like corpses.
The endless rows of trees makes me think this forest goes on forever.

It's been three hours since we entered.
Just as our surroundings start to blur together…




…Geez, I'm still stunned even though I knew about it. They really did build something like that in such a place."

I follow Tohsaka's stare.
There's only darkness ahead.
Between the trees.
There is something unbefitting of these surroundings, visible through a crack so small that you'd miss it if you weren't careful.

"…What's that? Is that a wall?"
"It is a wall. Geez, what's up with them? They brought that whole thing from their country."

Tohsaka complains and heads to the "strange object" we can see in the distance.
I still can't tell what it is, so I follow her.

Music: Stop



The sky curving above us is gray.
A giant dome.
It seems more like an underground kingdom than a clearing.

Music: Whirlpool of Fate



This is Ilyasviel's dwelling.
An old castle built within the forest.
A solitary castle without any visitors, too big for one girl, not to mention too desolate for anyone to live alone in.

""
…Anyway, it does no good to be standing here.
According to Tohsaka, Ilyasviel knows we're here.
Then we should go in from the front entrance as a sign that we're not here to fight.



Her face is tense as if she's confronting an enemy.



"Of course. This is where Ilya and Berserker live."


"That's not what I mean. There's someone else other than that. …We're going in this way, Shirou."
"Ehw-wait…!?"

Tohsaka starts running towards a big tree by the wall, and I don't have time to stop her.
No, that's not all.
She grabs onto a branch and skillfully climbs up.

""
I look up in astonishment.

They've only just confessed their feelings and he's already looking up her skirt.

Tohsaka looks around and
She jumps and kicks at the castle.

A shattering sound.
The window breaks and the red figure disappears into the castle.

"Come on…! There's something seriously wrong with this castle…!"
"Hey, weren't we here to talk…!?"
But what's done is done.
I climb up the tree and jump into the second floor window like Tohsaka.



I hear sounds of fighting.
Swords crashing against each other.
Butwould such a storm-like battle even be possible?
Even the most fierce battle of swords, the battle between Berserker and Saber, did not create such sounds.

"Oh."
Then I suddenly realize.
This isn't the sound of swords crashing.
This is one against manythere is literally a war going on somewhere in this castle.

One side has to be Ilyasviel.
This is Ilyasviel's castle.
If there is a battle here, it could only be Berserker attacking the intruding enemy.

Music: Stop



The sound is coming from below us.
Considering the location we came in from, the battle is happening right in the center of the castlein the guest hall.

I run through the unfamiliar castle.
This isn't the time to be talking.
I don't know what's going on, but something terrible is happening

This is where yesterday's update would have ended if I didn't cut it where I did.



"All right. This place is connected to the stairwell down to the hall."
Tohsaka confirms what's down the hallway.
The hallway splits at a T-junction, both branches leading to a terrace at either side of the hall.


"Let's part here. I'll go from this side, so you go from that side."

It's better to split up.
…As we are now, we have no way to escape once we're found.
There's no point in staying together right now.
We don't stand a chance either way.
If we're separated, there's hope for the other one to escape even if one of us is found.

Tohsaka walks down the hallway facing east.
""
I nod and go down the other hallwaythe one heading west.

"Shirou."
She suddenly calls to me.



Run away if you think it's dangerous. Run away even if one of us gets caught. …Saving others comes after you save yourself."

She suppresses her emotions.
It sounds more like a wish than a warning.



She immediately takes cover, then peeks out.
As soon as I follow her example and look down, we both gasp.

"S-Shinji!? Why is he here…!?"



No.
That's not the surprising thing.
What I have to accept right now is the battle Shinji is observing.

Video: Battle of the Gods (mirror)

Music: Breach








The girl in white is behind the giant.
Berserker's Master, Ilyasviel.
An ever-smiling girl, unsuited for murder.
But…
That girl is now shivering and watching her Servant with a face almost in tears.

Her pale face is desperately trying to deny the despair in front of her.
"Someone help me."
The girl's trembling lips mouth these words.

"No way."







Berserker's axe-sword is repelled each time.



By the "Noble Phantasm" of one Servant,
the one reigning from the throne of rubble in the center of the hall.





Many swords are released.
Each one of the weapons appearing from behind the man would cause certain death.







"!"
They attack.
They are like gushing water.
The infinite Noble Phantasms not only repel Berserker's axe-sword, but pierce his body.



Pieces are blown from his body.
The sword cuts through his body, penetrates his skull, and pierces his heart.

But he still does not die.
The giant regenerates every time he is killed, slowly but surely moving forward.
Eight times already…
He has been killed so many times, but Berserker still moves forward.
The "enemy" greets him with a smile.

The tragedy continues.





Berserker is killed without even being able to go near the enemy.

"No way…"

It's not because Berserker is getting killed without being able to do anything.
That manthat Servant is beyond belief.

The infinite Noble Phantasms he sends out are each a true Noble Phantasm.
I can tell since I've projected Archer's swords.
They are the originals of every Noble Phantasm. The first ones, from before they became legend.
Who could he be, having an infinite supply of such weapons?
No, first of all, there should only be seven Servants.
Then he is the eighth onesomeone that shouldn't exist





""
I can't breathe.
Berserker defies description.
His body of steel and his superhuman strength, and his regenerative powers on top of that. He is not someone you can match.
But the eighth Servant does not retreat from such an opponent and overwhelms Berserker using the demonic swords and the holy swords he releases.







…He is a demon.
He has a brutality different from Berserkerthat man wishes for battles only to kill others.

But.
With such an enemy in front of him, the black giant is still the strongest.







He does not stop even if he is pierced or slashed all over his body.
He receives the rain of Noble Phantasms, regenerates each time, and closes in on his enemy.



It is an advance devoid of tactics.
He is not thinking about countering the enemy's attacks.
It is a savage fight where he advances on his enemy as long as he still lives.

""
…He will not reach the enemy.
Berserker's brute courage will prove futile and he will end his life as a mere target.
The enemy understands that.
That is why he is standing there and provoking the foolishly advancing giant.



""
The black giant does not have a way to win.
It's something the enemy and even I understand.
And probably…
Even Berserker himself knows that.

""
But the giant keeps walking forward.
He knows no retreat and does not avoid the attacks.
The man greets the figure with a smile.



"Ha. As expected from dogshit. You can only fight. I had hopes for you as a fellow demigod, but it seems I expected too much!"
The Noble Phantasms emerge from space.
Letting out a laugh, he readies the Noble Phantasms behind him.


"Then let me finish you off now. It will be unpleasant for you to come any closer."













At his signal, the numerous Noble Phantasms descend on the giant.
The giant repels most of them, and at the same time, loses most of his life.

""
The black giant shakes.
The body of rock starts to fall.
But.





The giant stands his ground and shakes the Noble Phantasms from his body.



""
…It is the result of a strong will.
It is not madness resulting from being a Berserker.
The giant faces this hopeless fight with an iron will.



"Damna mere target survived my attack…!?"
The magical bullets are fired mercilessly.



""
Repelling it with his axe-sword, the giant corners the man with his body slashed and with his limbs pierced.

""
He will not reach the man.
But he still challenges the man because there is something he cannot give up.



Andwhen he reaches his enemy, that is when he wins.
From the beginning, that has been this battle's nature.
The man has to kill the giant before he reaches him.
The giant has to approach the man before his life ends.
It is a battle where the one to accomplish their goal is the one to win.

The giant is aware of that.
……Even if…
…It is a battle with no hope of victory from the start.









Numerous arrows are released.
Was it his last charge, or did he just get used to the attacks?
The giant repels all the arrows.
He approaches the owner of the Noble Phantasms!



He swings his axe-sword.

The weapon that has not yet been raised against the man rips through the air

Music: Stop







"Heaven's chain!"
The black bull is captured by numerous appearing chains.

Music: Premonition of a Storm









What kind of a Noble Phantasm is it?
The chain that appeared out of nowhere confines Berserker as if binding space itself.

""
The chain twists Berserker's arms and bends them in a direction they should not go.
The chains tighten mercilessly, trying to tear off the rock-like head.

"Damn, you still won't die?
This chain once bound the Bull of Heaven, but even this does not seem to be enough to finish you."







Ilyasviel commands Berserker to retreat using her Command Spell.
But the giant is still bound by chains, unable to move an inch.




"It is useless, you puppet. Not even the gods can escape these chains. No, it will become stronger the more divine one is. This is a chain made to bind the gods. I will not allow transportation through a Command Spell."



The man points to the giant as if to denote the end.
"Oh"
An astonished girl's voice.

Music: Stop









…I don't even need to check if he's alive or not.
Even if he is a great hero that overcame ten deaths, he should not be able to get up after receiving twenty.
…Yes.
Even if he is alive, he should not even have the power to breathe.



No, Servants cannot beat that man as long as they are heroic spirits. All heroic spirits have things they were weak against when they were alive.
Those are their greatest weak points.
Thenwhat if there is a hero who possesses all of the Noble Phantasms, even the ones that killed each hero?

This is the result.
Even if he may have been stronger, he cannot beat that man

Video: Final Resurgence (mirror)

"NoNo, Berserker…!"
The girl in white runs to the giant corpse.
Seeing it…



The man mercilessly slashes the girl with the sword in his hand.

""
A scream.
The man slashes her eyes in one blow.



Music: Whirlpool of Fate 2









Shattering his binds, the black giant charges at the man.
The man pierces the slow-moving target.



A lance to pierce the heart.
He impales the giant with a lance very similar to Gae Bolg.



That's it.
The black giant dies for sure this time.

""



The sword is pulled out from the girl.
Leaving traces of red, the girl crawls to the unmoving giant.



""
I'll die.
I'll probably die.
I'll surely die this time.
There is no logic behind that Servant.
He will kill anyone that hinders him.
I will surely be killed if I don't get away from here before he finds me.
And I…

















The crescent moon-shaped blade is called the crescent blade, and we call weapons with only one of these blades Seiryugeki. Out of many halberds, only this halberd was promoted to the rank of "Noble Phantasm", probably because it was used by a famous military commander.