Part 99: What I want to protect

…There's no reply.
But blood gushes out from her mouth as she tries to gasp.

""
My vision turns red.
What was I doing?
I knew this was going to happen.
I knew Saber wouldn't be able to beat Gilgamesh, so why didn't I stop her or even use my Command Spell?

"But this is rather boring. A complete victory for me, huh!?
I am disappointed that you could not even offset my attack, Saber. Oh, I see. I should have taken it easier on you. After all, I am fighting women and children!"
His irritating laugh.
The responsibility is mine.

…I thought she could win.
No matter how bad it felt, I thought Saber's Excalibur would be able to beat him.
That's why even though I told her to stop, my Command Spell didn't react.

I wasn't serious.
If I really wanted to protect Saber, I could have made her run away using my Command Spelland there would have been infinite ways for me to fight by myself.

"Well then. Let me have you now. You are dirtied, but you would have eventually ended up the same way. It is no problem that you are hurt now."



She must have noticed that, as Saber faintly opens her eyes.

"…! Saber, are you all right…!?"
I can see her breathing, but I can't touch her even if I reach out.
My body still won't move and I can't even run to her.
So I can only call out to her.

"Saber…! Saber, Saber…!"
"…Ah…"

Saber's mouth opens.
She breathes in as if asking for help, and coughs as if even that is painful.









She raises a faint voice, telling me she cannot see me.

"Hold on. I'll"
I can't say I'll help her.
I'm on the ground too, and I can only move my arms.
I can only call out to her and encourage her.
…She can't even see me in this ugly state?



She speaks in a soft voice and looks at me with no light in her eyes.
"I am sorry… please run away, Master…"
She says something absurd while coughing up blood.



Video: Gram (mirror)



A firing hammer goes down.
I take the switch to turn myself into a magus and smash it on with a hammer instead of my finger.

Music: Church on the Hill



So what?
She's more important than that. If I can't protect her, I don't need my body.
She has helped me many times.
There never has been anyone I cared so much about.
So.
If I can't protect her, Emiya Shirou can just die here!



…I can hear sounds of metal.
Metallic magical energy reinforces all the bones in my body and all the broken parts of my body.



I'll give it everything I have.
I'll put it in the highest gear in the highest rotation from the start, and ignoring my limits, I'll create as much magical energy as possible…!

"Gih."
My spine catches fire and my whole body grows red hot.
I bite my tongue to bear the feeling of my brain melting.
I bite down on the pink flesh.
If I can keep my consciousness just by making a hole in my tongue, there's no problem.

"What?"
The footsteps stop.
His laughter stops as well.

"WhatShirou…?
W-What are you doing…!? If you do that, your body will…!"
She must feel it even though she can't see.
Saber screams, trying to get back up.

That makes my last powers turn on.
I stand back up.
The body that wouldn't obey me starts to move because of the magical energy poured in past its limits.
This is like setting my body on fire to make it run towards water.

But I don't care.
It's better than watching Saber get hurt.



…That's right.
I finally realize, with a mind that's about to burn away.
From the beginning.
I swore to hold the sword because I didn't want to see her hurt.





I cannot even take one step backwards.

"Trace, on."
…I hold down my brain which is rolling around on fire and manage my mind.
I am imaging only one thing.
I'll divide the projection into eight sections to create the lost sword



I feel something hard in my left hand.

It's a common occurence.

…I don't even need to look to check.
The second manufacture of the sword proved successful without slowing down even once.

"My… swordn-no, that is still not enough. You must know you cannot beat him with that…!
If you can move, please run away"

"I won't. I came to pick you up, so I can't run home by myself."
I ready my sword.
I hold the sword, heavier than a shinai, and glare at the enemy.

"Stop, Shirou. This man is"
I shake off Saber's words and step forward.

…There're four meters between us.
If I step forward with all my might, I'll be able to attack him.



The enemy doesn't move.
Gilgamesh watches me for a second, then laughs.
"I guess I'll kill you."
He says in an emotionless voice.



I instantly block the attack swung at me!



"! You!"
I sway my body to the side to avoid the attack.







"!!"
But I'm not fast enough.
If the first attack was a sudden gust, the next barrage of attacks is a raging wind.
"Hakuh, guh…!"
Parrying is all I can do.
No, I wouldn't even have been able to block the first attack by myself.



So the sword reacts to his attacks before my hands do.
I swing to follow the sword, and as a result, I can block his attacks.





"Lowlife. You are worse than unsightly."
He must dislike even the slight resistance.
He glares at me in anger and retreats a bit.

"Ah… haa, haa, ha"
…Thank God.
If he had kept attacking me, I would not have lasted more than a few seconds.
I take a deep breath and try to control my breathing.
And then.



He takes out a sword.



"Wha"
That… is a familiar sword.
The ornamentation on it is different.
But its true nature, the idea of its creation, and its soul are too close to those of this sword

"It can't bethis sword's model…"

"It is. But its strength as a Noble Phantasm is incomparable.
What you have, 'the sword in the stone', originated from the legend of 'the sword of supremacy in the tree' from Northern EuropeBut this is the original model, the foundation of the sacred right to select the king."

The sword of supremacy in the treeGram, the demonic sword of Sigmund, hero of northern Europeits original model…?



The sword understands better than anything that this is the same attack that terminated Berserker in one slash.





"!"
It must be protecting its owner.
The sword in my hand goes for the enemy's sword with its utmost power.
The name of the Noble Phantasm is Caliburn (Golden Sword of Assured Victory). But…

…It is destroyed without a trace by the sword called Merodach.

Music: Stop



I hear something sliding on the ground.
Sliding.
Is the ground of the park slippery because it's level?
I slide across the ground and finally come to a stop.

"ShirouShirou, Shirou…!!!!"
That voice makes me realize I'm still alive.

"Oh. Saber, you're pretty near me."
Thinking so, I'm relieved.
It felt like I was blown away, but it's fine if Saber's nearby.
So all I have to do is get up and I can run to Saber



"Do not move…! Please, please do not move, Shirou…!"
…I can hear Saber's voice.
It seems my body has been injured.

That attack.
I'm sure I was blown away by Gilgamesh's sword.
So the wound must beoh, I see.
Now I understand why Saber is acting like that.



"Ha."
I can't even breathe.
Diagonally down from my left shoulder.
As my body is cut from the shoulder down, it's separated like lego pieces that don't fit together.

It looks like a ginkgo leaf.
I've been cut from my shoulder down to my waist.
It's strange that I'm alive.

…But that miracle should soon run out.
I'm barely conscious right now, and my vision narrows by the second.
First of all, my insides will fall out if I move.
Maybe I'm already dead and my mind is lingering like a ghost.



He laughs.
Honestly, I'm thankful.
The more irritating he is, the more my mind stays conscious.

"But that is all. A lion doesn't suit you. I will take that woman."
Footsteps.
The sound of him walking to obtain Saber for sure this time.



Geez, I dunno guys. This is a tough one…



"Der Ring des Nibelungen", composed later in Middle Ages Germany, is the story of a knight equal to the legend of King Arthur, and the sword Gram changes its name and appears in it as Balmung. As the "strongest demonic sword" equaling the "strongest holy sword", it even possesses the special characteristic of "dragon slayer".