Part 224: To the Ryudou Temple

Music: Ever-present Feeling



Everything is arranged already.
There's nothing to talk about now. We just need to go to battle and fulfill our roles.

…There's no guarantee that we'll come back alive.
No, that has been the case all along, but there's less of a guarantee this time.
That's why I'm carefully turning off all the lights.

"…Huh?"
There's someone standing in the yard.
The golden-haired girl is just standing there, looking up at the night sky.



She is looking at the house with an expression different from the first time I met her.


"A lot has happened. I want to engrave the events in my mind so that I will remember them forever."
""
It is…
…The voice of one prepared not to return.

"I see. ……Yeah, please remember it if you can."
I make a clumsy wish from the porch.



"Yeah. We'll come back here no matter what."

That's all I can manage to say.
We're going to go destroy the Holy Grail. At the same time, Servant Saber will be returning to her original place.

Even if I want her to stay here,
and even if Saber is attached to this house…
As long as she is a Servant, she cannot go against the law.




"Shirou."
"Yeah, let's go settle this once and for all."
I turn off the last light and leave the house with Saber.



Music: Stop



Saber will head into the Ryudou Temple from the front while Tohsaka and I sneak in from the back.

Saber will enter before us so that she can get Gilgamesh's attention.
We will use that opening to sneak in, quickly destroy the Holy Grail, and go help Saber.

…I'll keep Gilgamesh at bay by projecting his Noble Phantasms, allowing Saber to finish him off
That is the only plan we have.



At night, the mountain is dark and ominous.
It is natural for the sacred mountain to reject people.
The dark mountain is threatening, but it is an embodiment of the pure gods at the same time.
But


"…This isn't normal. It smells so bloody that I feel sick."
Tohsaka stares up at the summit, where the Ryudou Temple is.
"Smelling bloody" is just a phrase Tohsaka used.
There is no smell of blood coming from the mountain.
It just feels strange.
The air is damp, and it sticks to the skin like a membrane.

The place is suffused with a life force so strong that I can't tell if the breathing I hear is mine or the mountain's.
I feel like I'm climbing up a big, living organ rather than a mountain.



Tohsaka suddenly asks me such a question.

"Huh…? I feel fine, but really not…
To be honest, it's beyond my control."

I honestly tell her.
I can easily project dozens of weapons with this amount of magical energy.
But it's like having a jet engine inside of a worn-out plane, so the fuel might leak out and explode if I let my guard down.


"Wow, that's a luxurious worry. But it did succeed, huh? I was worried since it was the first time…"


""
My face burns up the instant I recall it.

"Hold on. Please don't talk about it right now."


"I-I know! I feel the same way.
…I'm talking about something else.
I'm talking about the balance of the magical energy I'm giving to you and Saber. I'm sharing my magical energy between two people, so Saber is getting less energy now."

"OhI see. Then does that mean Saber can't fight with all her power?"



I won't do such a clumsy thing. The magical energy I'm giving you is small, so it's fine.
But we can't push it. Saber can only use her holy sword once."

"She can only use her holy sword once?"
…Then we can't use the holy sword against Gilgamesh.
Saber's Noble Phantasm has to be saved to destroy the Holy Grail.

"Then Saber has to keep Gilgamesh busy without using her Noble Phantasm!?"


"Yeah, so we'll have to go help her as quickly as possible.
I told her that she can use the holy sword if she can't stop Gilgamesh by herself.


…But that would be it for Saber. Only her holy sword can destroy the Holy Grail.
So"



"Tohsaka, that's…"


"…It can't be helped. It's what Saber said. She will destroy the Holy Grail even if I stop her."
Tohsaka murmurs as she looks away.

""
…Damn, how stupid of me.
It must be hard for Tohsaka as well.
Tohsaka doesn't want Saber to disappear either.
Then



We run.
We know what we have to do.
We have to stop the Holy Grail as fast as we can and go settle the match with Gilgamesh