Chapter 37: Day 8 ⑧

"Souichiro-sama!!"

Caster screamed the moment Kuzuki leaped forward.

Lia’s momentum did not falter despite the sudden intruder. Showing no sign of caring about Kuzuki’s appearance, she stepped in deeply with her left foot. Her invisible sword likely drew a beautiful arc, intent on cleaving Caster in two.

And then—an unexpected, dull, heavy thud echoed through the air.

"What—?!"

The sound was followed by Lia’s voice, which could not hide her astonishment. Before my eyes was an unbelievable sight.

Lia was blown sideways, sliding across the ground. Kuzuki had delivered a bare-fisted thrust from the side at Lia as she swung her sword. He stood there, glaring down at the fallen Lia without a single change in his expression.

Kuzuki certainly had an aura that suggested he was up to something. But who could have predicted a human blowing away a Servant with his bare hands? Lia, despite her slender appearance, was as stable as if she were rooted to the earth; shifting her center of gravity with a half-baked impact should have been impossible.

Before my wide, shocked eyes, Kuzuki moved silently. In a fluid yet rapid motion, Kuzuki’s arms assaulted Lia as she stood back up.

The punches curved, straightened, and curved again. There was no hesitation in the movement—the motions of a Form (Kata) perfected through years of daily, repetitive training. However, the fists launched from that stance—feet shoulder-width apart, body angled—defied the common sense of martial arts as I knew them.

When he swung from the outside, the strike tunneled into Lia’s chest. A blow that seemed destined to hit her shoulder changed angle mid-flight, drawing an arc to aim for her neck. His arms slithered like snakes, weaving through the gaps in Lia’s guard.

Watching from the side, it was clear this movement was impossible to react to. Even Lia was forced entirely onto the defensive, and even then, she wasn't successfully parrying every blow. Unable to cope with the unpredictable attacks, she was steadily being worn down. She wasn't dodging by recognizing the trajectory; she was evading based on her innate Instinct, so her stance was in complete disarray.

Yet, Lia was a Hero who transcended human knowledge. Facing a bizarre martial art she was seeing for the first time, she managed to avoid fatal wounds.

Prana was stagnating around Kuzuki’s arms; they were Reinforced. I had noticed that from the first strike. Though I’m poor at sensing the flow of Prana, I think I caught it because I was focused on Kuzuki’s movements.

Even so, he wasn't forcibly pulling out physical potential beyond human limits; he was merely raising the hardness of his skin to the point where it could clash with a sword. Therefore, this Taijutsu was Souichiro Kuzuki’s own skill. It meant that if he used gauntlets or something to provide durability, he could clash with a Saber-class Servant even without the intervention of Magecraft.

Lia struggled with the unfamiliar movements, gradually becoming unable to dodge. The damage points moved from her extremities—arms, shoulders, ribs—toward the center of her body. Lia was being one-sidedly beaten. Kuzuki, striking from various angles, didn't have a single scratch.

Tohsaka, Shinji, and I could do nothing but watch. There was no room for us to intervene in such high-level combat.

If I could at least distract Kuzuki...!

But the moment he turned his spearhead toward me, a single blow would likely harvest my life. I bit my lip until my teeth groaned.

Suddenly, Tohsaka looked upward as if realizing something. Following her gaze, I saw Caster—who had disengaged at some point—hovering in mid-air, holding her staff toward the heavens. I felt like Caster's gaze, hidden beneath her hood, locked onto mine.

"..., ...!"

Caster swung her staff. We were at its tip. She seemed to be chanting an Incantation, but her voice didn't reach this far.

Seven Magic Circles appeared in the air. They emitted light the moment they manifested. The light swelled as if it were about to burst; the Prana was so densely compressed it was visible to the naked eye.

—This is bad!

A massive volley of Mana Bullets rained down upon us. It was an event certain to happen in seconds. I looked around desperately, but we couldn't even run from where we were. There was no cover to hide behind. Even if we tried to run, the gate was too far away.

Even so, I instinctively reached out toward Tohsaka to pull her away. But I stopped my hand when I saw her standing her ground, unmoving.

Caster’s Mana Bullets blew everything apart with flashes of light and thunderous roars.

"—Sieben (Seven)...!"

Soil was blasted away. The ground was gouged. A tremor so violent I couldn't stand shook the earth. The light centered around Caster illuminated the surroundings. In a world dyed pure white, only Tohsaka stood firmly on the ground, facing Caster.

"—Acht (Eight)...!"

Tohsaka’s chant was like a scream. Caster’s bombardment, infused with massive amounts of Prana, closed in. A Gandr shot—a mere pebble of Prana—thrown by Tohsaka collided with a massive shell that could easily engulf a person. It was easily crushed and dissipated into mist.

However, the bombardment never fell on us. Tohsaka wasn't trying to offset them with brute force; she was using the minimum necessary power to parry the trajectories of Caster’s attacks in all directions.

Still, it wouldn't stop. Showing no concern for Tohsaka's skillful parrying, Caster hammered down Prana without pause. She vomited Mana Bullets from the magic circles at a rate that felt inexhaustible. If we had tried to run, we would have been killed.

I looked back at Shinji. His face was pale, he was biting his lip, and he was covered in a cold sweat. If I could at least get Shinji to safety... but the stray bolts parried by Tohsaka were landing all around us like a cage. If we moved carelessly, a stray bolt would finish us even if it wasn't a direct hit.

The Mana Bullets gouged the ground around us, kicking up a thick cloud of dust. It began to hide us from view. It became so thick I could no longer see Caster. The same must have been true for her; the bombardment stopped. The ringing noise died down, silence returned, and the dust finally began to clear.

When it cleared, Caster was still floating in the air, looking down at us just as before.

"Oh...? I thought at least the little girl might have survived."

"...Ha, hah..."

"You’re persistent... but shouldn't you be running out of Prana soon?"

"Hah! Acting so smug over this much. Caster, do you actually think you can win against me?"

Tohsaka’s words were a complete bluff. I could tell just by looking at her back. If she kept taking attacks like that, it was obvious Tohsaka would break before Caster. And yet, I could do nothing but look at her back as she stood alone.

What am I here for?

Wasn't I supposed to protect Shinji?

Who was it that swore to lighten Tohsaka's burden?!

Forget lightening it—I'm nothing but a dead weight!

And yet... even so, I can't do anything...!

"You never run out of talk...! Fine, then die together!!"

Prana converged toward Caster, and the seven magic circles merged into one giant ring. The life force filling Ryudou Temple was being converted into Prana on a massive scale. Just as Caster said, the scale was more than enough to kill us all at once.

"—Fünf (Five)...!"

Tohsaka shouted immediately. The Jewel in her right hand emitted light, but it was clearly being overwhelmed by Caster’s Prana.

"Guh! Drei (Three), Vier (Four)...! Der Riese und brennt das ein Ende (The giant burns, the end)—Synergy—!!"

With sweat on her brow, Tohsaka added more jewels and layered her spells. She clicked her tongue, and as she opened her clenched left hand, light leaked out.

Caster’s Magecraft was unleashed. Three jewels were thrown.

Prana clashed with Prana.

Tohsaka’s jewels still couldn't match Caster’s might and were overpowered. They deflected Caster’s Mana Bullet but shattered and blew away instantly.

"Kyaaa!"

"Tohsaka!"

It landed at Tohsaka's feet, and she was blown back toward me. I rushed to catch her and help her up.

"Tohsaka, are you okay!"

"—Ngh."

"Tohsaka!"

"I can hear you, you don't have to scream. ...I'm fine. But..."

Tohsaka looked away. She was breathing heavily, her shoulders heaving.

"It's just as Caster says. At this rate, I'll run out of jewels first. That was one of my last heavy hitters... I only have enough for two more of the basic ones at most..."

"—Damn it!"

She said she could withstand one more, but looking at her, I couldn't believe it. I couldn't let Tohsaka push herself any further.

"Hehehe, impressive... to deflect that mass... But surely, you're at your limit?"

A voice fell from above. Looking up, Caster was sneering down at us. I gritted my teeth and glared back at her.

I have to at least let Tohsaka and Shinji escape—

Suddenly, a sickening crack echoed. My attempt to find the source of that unfamiliar, ominous sound was interrupted by a voice.

"—Caster. I’ve broken her neck for now. What’s next?"

Kuzuki’s low voice. Looking toward it, I saw Kuzuki standing there without a single scratch or even a wrinkle in his suit. And there was Lia, lying on her back, unmoving.

"LIA—?!"

"Souichiro-sama... In that case, could I ask you to take care of these two?"

"I don't mind."

After a moment of hesitation, Caster drew a dagger from her robes, landed on the ground, and walked toward Lia. A sinister color. A heavy presence. I could tell just by looking at it that it possessed some kind of ability. —And somewhere inside me, a voice told me that I must never let that dagger be used on Lia.

"Shinji! Take care of Tohsaka!!"

"I'm... fine!"

Saying so bravely, Tohsaka slowly stood up. Confirming that, I gripped the wooden sword I had nearby and rushed toward Lia.

I ran at full speed toward Caster as she approached Lia. A shadow cut in front of me as I ran recklessly. I didn't care who it was—if you're in the way...!

"UAAAAAAHHH!!"

I swung the wooden sword with all my might. To blow the obstacle away, I swung it back as far as I could and brought it down.

A fist was swung—soundless, invisible to the eye. By pure chance, it collided with the falling wooden sword.

"Gwah!"

My vision receded backward with incredible force. In that vision, the wooden sword—which should have been as solid as an iron bar—flew through the air in two pieces.

I couldn't breathe. It hurt. My chest... an impact like being hit by a sledgehammer. What was that? Why can I only see the sky?

Only then did I realize I was lying on the ground.

"Ngh!"

I forced my body, which couldn't breathe properly, to sit up and look forward again. The obstacle—Kuzuki—was walking toward Tohsaka without even looking at me.

"D-damn it... I won't... let you!"

I started running to stand in front of Tohsaka, to at least be a shield. I didn't know what I could do, blocking his path without a weapon. But, but—!!

"Hmm..."

Even as I ran desperately, Kuzuki headed for Tohsaka, but his path was blocked by white flying objects. Kuzuki spotted them over his shoulder and jumped back to dodge them effortlessly.

"Kya!"

Simultaneously, Caster’s voice. Looking over, similar flying objects had blocked Caster’s path—no, they flew in an arc, and Caster likely dodged by pulling back. However, those flying objects were black, unlike the ones sent at Kuzuki.

Then, with a dry clatter, the white and black objects fell, sliding to my feet while showing their rotating surfaces.

Far off, the sound of gravel crunching. The atmosphere shifted, signaling that a person had appeared like a gale. Caster looked at the intruder with hatred, Kuzuki with no emotion at all, Tohsaka with a smile, Shinji with daze, and I with surprise—though the emotions differed, everyone there stared at one girl.

"You’re late. Honestly..."

"Yes, I apologize for the delay."

In the direction we were looking stood a battered knight in blood-stained clothes and shredded armor. However, her footsteps did not waver. Though she appeared to have struggled, she showed that she had cut down the gatekeeper.

"I hope you weren't waiting for the perfect timing to show up."

Tohsaka’s expression, even as she spoke rudely, was bright. The only chance for us to turn the tide—Alto was here. Like Tohsaka, she smiled lightly and ran toward us.

"...Shirou, where is Lia?"

"—Over there."

I pointed to the spot. Lia was still lying there, and Caster—perhaps panicked by Alto’s arrival—was rushing to plunge that dagger into Lia’s chest. The moment she saw this, Alto’s expression changed completely.

"Shirou! I leave Rin and the others to you!"

"Right! Got it!"

Then, Alto dashed like a bullet, heading straight for Caster without hesitation. I managed to answer, but I had no weapon to oppose Kuzuki in front of me, so I looked around. My gaze stopped at my feet.

"Sorry, Alto. I'm borrowing these...!"

I quickly picked up the twin swords that had fallen to the ground and leveled them at Kuzuki. The swords gripped in both hands fit as if they were made for me.

Through those hands, the framework, the structure, and the creative concept flowed into me.

This is a sword used by a Heroic Spirit—! It has incredible power. But... it's incomplete. No, is it not incomplete? But it's different—?

The solidity of the framework and structure, the foundation for expressing the creative concept—the concept that led to making this sword—is already complete. Is the craftsmanship poor? No, a common sword wouldn't even be able to stand against this. Is it that it hasn't been made in a way to draw out the ultimate strength that matches this foundation?

...I don't know. It’s complete as a sword, yet it's an incomplete product. It’s like a Replica. One made by a different blacksmith, even while faithfully understanding the concept of creation, building the basic skeleton identically, and using the same materials...

But this certainly possesses "experience" from long years of use. It definitely has the presence of something called a Treasured Sword. Analysis complete. Kanshou and Bakuya. The names of these twin swords. They feel familiar. With these swords...

Kuzuki’s arm closed in. Shadows flickered in my vision. Before my brain could understand, my arms—no, the swords—moved.

I focused entirely on catching his fists with the twin swords. Just as Lia told me, I didn't attack; I devoted myself entirely to defense and evasion.

A gust of wind brushed past my face. My cheek was cut. I caught a fist returning to aim at the back of my head with Kanshou. Without a moment's delay, Bakuya caught Kuzuki’s left fist as he lunged into my guard. Kuzuki’s relentless barrage—strike, strike, strike—! Kanshou catches, Bakuya catches, Kanshou, Bakuya, Kanshou, Bakuya—

All of it is an exchange like walking a tightrope. If I let up for even a second, Kuzuki’s "snake" would devour my body in the next.

Block it, block it, block it, block it, block it—! Hold... ON!!

Five clashes, ten, twenty, thirty—. By the time we passed fifty, Kanshou began to fray. Once it started, it was fast. Before I could do anything, Kanshou, unable to maintain its strength, snapped in two. As if sharing its fate, Bakuya also vanished.

What to do—before I could even think, I submerged into my own interior. As if it were natural. As if doing so was proof of who I am.

The hammer fell.

"—Trace On (Projection, Start)!"

In my hands were Kanshou and Bakuya. Their appearance was the same. But— They were "sweet" (refined). It would be presumptuous to even compare them to the incomplete ones from before. I couldn't believe these were the same swords as before.

My mind went blank. Likely due to such overexertion. Regardless, I parried Kuzuki’s fist.

—Collapse.

Twice for both. Meaning, they disappeared just like the previous ones after a single impact.

"—Trace On (Projection, Start)!"

The next ones. This time, imagine even deeper. Make the framework even more solid. My brain let out a creak.

Five clashes. Shattered.

"—Trace On (Projection, Start)!"

Even stronger, even deeper. Though it wasn't actually happening, it felt like a haze was covering my vision.

Six clashes. Broken.

"—Trace..."

"That's enough. Caster's Master."

Reacting to Alto’s voice, Kuzuki looked at Caster. Confirming that his attention had shifted from me to Caster, I backed up in front of Tohsaka and Shinji. When I finally turned my gaze that way, Lia and Alto were pointing invisible swords at Caster from the front and back.

"...Caster."

"Souichiro-sama... I'm sorry..."

Tohsaka approached me. I felt an incredible gaze coming from her, but for now, this took priority. I forced strength into my slightly wobbling legs and stood firmly.

"Now, what shall we do?"

Alto asked Tohsaka and me.

"There's no need to even ask, is there?"

"Yes, Alto, you're stating the obvious."

The words from Lia and Tohsaka. They likely meant to finish her here. It was true that Caster, who had harmed third parties, should be defeated here, but...

".........Um."

Caster’s voice. It was trembling.

"What? Begging for your life?"

"I don't mind what happens to me. But please, spare Souichirou-sama!"

"...Huh?"

Tohsaka looked as if she were seeing something unbelievable.

"The draining of life force was entirely my own decision. Souichiro-sama has nothing to do with it."

"Well... that might be true, but your Master allowed it, didn't he?"

Tohsaka’s words were hesitant. She, too, couldn't read Caster's intentions.

"It was only because I was doing it that Souichiro-sama said it couldn't be helped. He is not a man who would do such a thing himself if I weren't there!"

"Wait, Caster. I said I would help you obtain the Holy Grail. It's meaningless if you disappear."

"S-Souichiro-sama...?"

In other words... what? Kuzuki didn't care if he died as long as Caster was there?

"..."

Kuzuki stared at Caster in silence. Caster was flustered, being watched by him like that.

"But, if we don't defeat you...!"

"...Is it enough already, Tohsaka?"

"Shirou?" "Shirou!?"

Lia and Tohsaka glared at me as if to say, What are you talking about?

"Uh, Caster?"

"...What is it?"

"What do you plan to do after you get the Holy Grail?"

Caster started to open her mouth, but after a few seconds, she closed it again. I looked at her, wondering if there was some reason she couldn't say it.

<—Using the Holy Grail... to be honest, I have no such wish.>

A voice echoed in my head. I pressed my hand to my forehead with a groan, and Lia looked at me suspiciously. The same thing seemed to be happening to Tohsaka. Her eyes were wide, staring at Caster.

<Then, what on earth does this mean?>

<—I just... I just want to be with Souichiro-sama, that’s all.>

<—............What is that even supposed to mean?>

Caster’s answer to the question in my head. It seemed my thoughts were being transmitted directly to her. More importantly...

<Then, don't you not need the Holy Grail?>

<But if I don't do that, there's no reason for Souichiro-sama and me to stay together.>

...Haah."

Anyway, I assume the one who sounded completely unmotivated at the end just now was Tohsaka. Well, I understand now. Isn't this surprisingly simple?

"...Alright."

"Shirou? What did you understand?"

Lia’s voice sounded puzzled. Alto simply watched the turn of events. And then, I caught a glimpse of Shinji. He seemed to have recovered at some point.

"Uh, I'll explain later. Hey, Caster."

"What is it?"

"If you promise not to target Shinji's life, not to interfere in the Holy Grail War anymore, and to stop draining life force from the townspeople... for now, we won't lay a hand on you. That’s okay with you too, right, Tohsaka?"

"...Eh?"

"Wait, Shirou. Don't just decide on your own..."

Caster was stunned. Before I could be lectured by Tohsaka—who was about to start her usual rant—I turned back to Kuzuki.

"Also, I have a request for Kuzuki-sensei."

"...What is it?"

"Could you protect Caster? When other Servants attack, it'll be dangerous for Caster alone, right?"

"...Caster, is that alright with you?"

"Yes! Please!"

A beaming Caster and a Kuzuki whose expression didn't even change. Caster could no longer see us. It seemed they had entered their own world.

"...You're soft to the core, boy."

"Tell me about it."

When I spoke up after Caster had calmed down a few minutes later, these were the first words I got. Was it really such a bad proposal? I thought it was a pretty good idea for me. Seeing Tohsaka and Caster starting to get along slightly, I felt a bit uneasy on my own.

"Oh, I'll repeat this: if you drain life force from the townspeople again, I won't stay quiet."

"Yes, I know. The Mana of this land alone is enough for me to remain manifested, so I won't exploit them. ...Very well. I shall swear upon the name of Medea to keep that promise."

"I see. So your name is Medea. Tohsaka, Lia, Alto, Shinji. Since we’ve reached a tentative conclusion, let's go home."

If she swore upon that name—which must be her True Name—then it should be fine without further nagging. Hearing Caster’s True Name, I led a surprised Tohsaka and a still-unconvinced Lia toward the gate of Ryudou Temple.

Alto walked beside me with a somewhat satisfied expression. Shinji was likely anxious too, even though he was acting tough. Relief was visible on his face now that his life was no longer in danger.

Finally, the matter is settled. With that thought, I breathed a sigh of relief and started down the stairs. From behind me, as I was completely at ease, a chilling voice pierced through.

"Emiya-kun. On the way back, we need to have a talk."

...It seems this day isn't quite over yet.