Part 91: The eighth Servant

Music: Nightmare



"No. Don't do it, Saber."
But I run to Saber as if driven by the pulse of my heart.

"What?"


Saber suddenly stops.
It's not that Caster did something.
Saber felt 'something' from Caster and stopped herself.



Saber instantly tries to dodge it.
But.
Caster must have hidden something in the ground as hands of bone burst out of the ground and grasp Saber's feet!



"Hm. I was not expecting you to have instinctive foresight, but this is it, Saber!"
A blade emerges from Caster's black robe.




It's a weirdly shaped dagger.
It's thin and brittle. A blade not suitable for killing.
But Saber detests this blade, and Caster swings it as if this is her chance for victory.


Saber must be surprised, getting her feet grabbed from the ground.
She does not even repel the dagger and takes it in astonishment
"Youuuuuuuuuuu…!"

Music: Stop



"Wha"
I can hear Caster's voice behind me.
I can't see what the robe's expression is like.
All I could do was stand in front of Saber and take the blade in her place.



"Gu, ga…!!!!"
I stop myself from crying because of the pain and strengthen my grip on Saber.

"Shi… rou…?"
I can't tell what words are being said beside my ear.
"Get… awaySaber, go… back…"
Before I can tell her to jump away, Saber must have understood.

My body moves.
Saber jumps back as if to shake off the hands coming from the ground, and I'm carried with her.

"Shirou, your wound!"
Saber's voice is urgent.
Even though she laid me on the ground softly, the pain in my back just increases.
It's like having my back cut with scissors, then having lead driven into it.
From this pain, it feels like a cell phone is being pushed in the wound

A cell phone. Not… a knife, or maybe shards of glass, but… a cell phone. Okay.



…I guess she's not panicking.
But the loud voice rare for Saber makes me rather calm.

"Hey, I can hear you even if you don't shout.
This just hurts, so it's nothing. Take care of Caster instead…"
Nodding my head, I point at where Caster should be.




"Yes. I will finish things right away. Please hold on for a little while."
…Saber faces Caster once again.

Music: Footsteps of Destruction



Saber's voice sounds threatening.
The dark shadow clucks her tongue in irritation and raises the warped dagger in her hand.


"…Yes. It is blunt as you can see, and it cannot kill even one person. But as you have sensed, it is a magical mark said to be almighty in one aspect.
…If you do not wish to touch it, I suggest that you do not come near me, Saber."



Even as powerful as Caster is, as long as she uses magic, she won't be able to hurt Saber.
No matter what kind of a Noble Phantasm that dagger is, it won't do any good against Saber now.

"…Don't mind it, Saber. Her secret is revealed. You should be able to beat her without a… problem… now."
I order her, gritting my teeth.


"Oh, is that fine, Saber? You can certainly corner me, Saber. But who will protect that man while you do so?
I do not think I need to say this, but you are the only one that is immune to my magic. Can you not guess what I will do to that boy if I am cornered?"


"You…" Saber says from the bottom of her lungs.

The sound of the bones increases.
They surround us.

"Damn."
…I made a mistake.
Even if I could save Saber, it's pointless if I'm hurt like this.
I'll only be a burden like this.
If it was just Saber, Caster wouldn't even be a match for her.


"…So you said you came here to talk, Caster."
"WhaSa… ber…"


"Please do not say anything, Master. This is the right choice for now."

Saber lowers her sword.
I think I hear Caster laugh amidst the surrounding sounds of bones.


"I shall listen to you, Caster. I may let you go depending on your conditions."


"Are you sane? I hold your lives in my hands.
If you act so boldly, I might just crush you."




But if you assault that, I will not hold back. If you are to kill my Master, I will be sure to defeat you with everything I have before I disappear."

The air freezes.
Even the bones around Caster are cowed by Saber's words.


"…Fine. I will not do anything to that boy. My target was you to begin with. There is nothing wrong with releasing a Master or two."


"…? I was your target to begin with…?"


"Right. There is no reason to ignore a hero that can even defeat Berserker. The only remaining Servants are me, you, and Lancer. If you become my ally, Lancer is nothing."


"Three are left? Then Assassin is already defeated?"


"Who knows? He is not here anymore, so I assume he was defeated. It is only natural for a Servant who cannot protect their Master to disappear."

"!"
Assassin was beaten…?
Then the Master at Ryudou Temple is no more?
I didn't even know his identity, but that means another Master has disappeared.
The only remaining Servants are Saber, Caster, and Lancer, who has not shown himself since that first night


"…Hm. This is the only useless talk I will engage in.
All I want is your Noble Phantasm. Give me your sword if you do not want your Master killed."


"That is useless. I am the only one able to use this sword.
A heroic spirit must surely know that only the possessor of a Noble Phantasm may use it."



However superior the knight, I can persuade it to be on my side… and more than anything, I like you.
It would be fun to control you."

Saber just attracts all the lesbians, doesn't she?

Caster sounds really delighted.
"…!"
My lacerated consciousness boils up.
I kick the pain in my back aside and get up.

"Don't be ridiculous"
I can't let Saber fall under Caster's control just because of me.
I decided to protect Saber, so I can't stay down with this kind of a wound!

I take the wooden sword in my hand and swing at the bone creatures surrounding me.




"Oh? If you want to commit suicide, I won't stop you."
Caster sounds delighted.
The sound of many bones hitting against each other.

As if to nullify all of those sounds…

Video: Challenger (mirror)

Music: Stop







All the bone creatures are swept away instantly by a heavy rain of arrows.

"Wha"
I stand there dumbfounded.
The arrows that showered down like rain have disappeared as if they were an illusion.
But it cannot be an illusion.
The swarming bone creatures do not exist anymore.

"Kuh, who is it!?"
Caster looks up.
""
Saber must have already noticed this guy.
Saber is looking up at the 'thing' on top of the wall with surprise.









""
There's something unexpected there.
The man with his back to the moon is golden.
The man clad in gold is looking down at the yard with a cruel smile

"W-Who"
She must have instinctively realized that he has destroyed her troops as Caster raises her voice.

""
The man doesn't answer. No, he hasn't even taken notice of Caster.
He is only looking at one person.
The silver knight beside me.

"Answer! I am asking you who you are…!"
Caster's voice sounds emotional.
And with that, the man finally looks at Caster.

"!"
Caster gasps, stared at by those red eyes.
The man's stare is so cold.
That thing isn't treating Caster as human.
Even I can tell from here.
It's only natural for Caster, the target of that stare, to be terrified by that pressure.

"W-Why are you getting in my way?"
She asks in a trembling voice.
She must know she'll be swallowed if she doesn't do so.
But.

"I have no reason to name myself to a lowlife. Get out of my sight, you fool."
The man answers with a verdict of death.



Music: Whirlpool of Fate



Many weapons suddenly appear in space and shoot at Caster like a machine gun.



It probably has strength equaling Berserker's body.
But was it useless because it was made of glass?



Built like a crystal, it cannot even block one of the showering weapons and shatters into pieces.

"Eh?"
A dumbfounded voice.
Without showing any concern for Caster's question, they pierce the black robe.
There's no mercy at all.
The robe is pierced by lances. As the robe is blown away, more lances
pierce it.



Clearly, the golden man is Heroic Spirit Shiki.

…Wind blows.
The black robe who lost its master floats away.
Floating away.
The shredded robe still barely keeps its form.
…Now, it is all that remains of what used to be Caster.

""
I can't say anything.
My strained mind just watches the black robe floating miserably in the wind.

In that instant.
"How insolent. I told you to get out of my sight. It should only be polite to kill yourself quickly!"
The golden man roars in a voice full of contempt.

"Wha"
It's not an illusion.
The black robe twists like a wave, grows black wings, and tries to fly away.

But it's too late.
I don't know what the man did.
It's just that a crack ran through the night sky.
The dislocation in the sky swallows the black robe.
It reminds me of someone getting run over by a steamroller.



"AhAh…!"
The black robe falls.
Underneath it is Caster, unscathed.
There…



The storm of swords showers onto her.

"Hi, ah, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
…The scream echoes through the night.
The swords multiply in response to the scream, and the scream gets louder in turn.

"Ah, ha, it hurts, take it out, it hurts, take it out, plea… se…!!!"
Caster must have regenerative powers like Saber.
She cannot die even when swords are stabbed into her, so her figure is just too miserable.

…The rain doesn't stop.
The weapons each differ in shape, and none of them are the same.
And I don't want to admit it, buteach one of those weapons equals the 'Noble Phantasms' of the Servants.

"No, this cannot… besuch a… ridiculous… number"
The merciless rain of Noble Phantasms.
Caster struggling under it is just





The infinite cycle of torture that I thought would last forever lasted only about ten seconds in reality.
Through it all.
Saber stares at the golden knight standing on top of the wall.



"Huh. It is a great sin for a mere magus to even speak of capturing the king of knights.
It is rightly mine as I am the king. Such a skewering befits a fool pursuing the king's treasure."



"So, long time no see, Saber. Do you remember the decision I made?"
The man says in an intimate manner.
""
Saber doesn't answer.
But her glare is different from before.

"Why that face? Are you still not ready?
It has been ten years.
That should be enough time to decideoh, well… that's only for me. It must be like yesterday for you.
…Geez, what a silly woman. Making a man wait."

The man laughs happily.
…My chest is hurting.
Partly from seeing that tragedy.
But more than that, I feel sick when that man looks down on Saber with such a ridiculous expression

". So there are more lowlifes left."
Commenting unhappily, the man turns to the mansion.
"…?"
Thereon the porch in front of the living room are Ilya and Tohsaka.






"I don't know. I don't know you. A Servant I don't know about shouldn't exist…!"





The cluster of magical energy Ilya releases shoots straight for that man.

A clanging sound.
The man didn't do anything.
A mirror-like shield appeared in front of him and reflected Ilya's magical energy shot.



Ilya stands dumbfounded before the magical energy she fired









"…Hm. I see. It is a strange hybrid this time.
I assume they have schemed a bit so as not to make the same mistakes as last time."
The man looks at Ilya.
A cold stare like the one directed at Saber… a stare prizing a possession.

"…No. No, no, nononononononono…! I-I hate you…!"
Ilya still glares at the man, pinned by Tohsaka.

"I do not care about your circumstances. Open it quickly. You are the fifth one."
The man speaks plainly.
What kind of effect does it have?
"Ahno"
Ilya shakes violently and faints.

That's it.
That's all that'll happen.
All Tohsaka and I can do is look up at that man.
…We both understand.
He isn't looking at us.
We would just share Caster's fate if we raised our voices.



"Let me ask you one thing. Why are you still in this world, Archer?"
Saber tries to control her voice.
Tohsaka and I can only be shocked by her words.

"There need be no reason. The Holy Grail is mine. What is wrong with coming to collect what is mine?"
"How foolish. You are not a hero like that. No, first of all"

"Stop. If you say any more, we will have to fight.
Well, that was my original intention, but I lost interest. This place is too shabby to celebrate our reunion."

Saying so, the man turns away.
He turns his back as if saying he has no interest in us.
"We shall meet again sometime.
My decision has not changed since that time. Be prepared by the time of our next meeting."







A whole bunch of random, new weapons, too.











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.