After slashing down with one final strike, Emiya followed up with another blade of icy sword energy. The cold was bone-piercing, freezing over most of the twitching, headless corpse of the Hydra as it floated in the sea.
With that done, he hugged Nono close and landed together on the massive floating corpse—its form undulating slowly in the water.
The freshly frozen mass beneath their feet radiated chilling cold, but the Hydra's neck stump still burned with intense flames. The fire dried out the damp air and dispersed the cold, even wafting a bit of savory aroma into the air.
Nono's nose twitched as she sniffed. The girl's brain instantly jumped to a ridiculous thought: what would a creature from mythology like this actually taste like if it were edible?
Emiya tugged her hand, pulling her out of her food-induced daze. She wrinkled her nose, stepping on the cold scales. "Didn't Hydra give even Heracles a hard time? This one was kind of pathetic."
She immediately clamped her mouth shut. Right, Emiya had already floored Odin without much effort. What was a giant serpent in comparison?
"The Hydra Heracles fought wasn't this one. They might be the same species, but the individuals are different, and their strength varies."
Emiya shook his head. Phantasmal species had ranks. Every individual was different. And ever since the Age of Gods ended, those who remained on the surface had "degenerated" to adapt to modern rules.
"Now we've still got the other one to deal with."
He looked across the bridge, spotting faint tentacles stirring the water on the other side.
"Come to think of it, that one looked even bigger than this Hydra," Nono said, eyeing the collapsed bridge pillars and the still-intact side of the elevated highway. "Aren't elevated bridge supports usually around fifty to a hundred meters tall at most?"
She pointed to the bridge supports sticking out of the water—dozens of meters high.
In other words, the depth here was no more than several dozen meters. Deep for humans, but for a sea monster like the Kraken, it was nothing more than a paddling pool or a big bathtub.
Emiya, watching the Kraken that never came close to their side, commented:
"Probably the terrain on both sides of the bridge is different. There's a fault line. That side is real ocean. On our side, the seafloor is normal ground, just flooded now."
Not that it mattered. With or without diving gear, dozens or hundreds of meters were equally unreachable for them.
Splash!
Suddenly, waves surged as a thick tentacle shoved aside massive volumes of water, sending shockwaves across the surface.
The source was beyond the broken bridge supports. Unlike the Hydra, the "Kraken" hadn't charged recklessly. Other than occasionally showing its tentacles, its main body remained hidden.
Using its ability to manipulate ocean currents—much like the white whale earlier—it churned the sea below. Waves rose, building into a massive tidal surge capable of sweeping Emiya, Nono, and even the Hydra's corpse clean off the surface.
The rushing currents spread far and wide. Even before the wave hit, the ice floe beneath them was already rocking dangerously.
"This is the worst!" Nono shouted. She hated fighting in unfamiliar terrain. She couldn't even stand properly, let alone fight.
Emiya raised Duanlongtai, gathering cutting sword energy—but he wasn't confident. Even if he could slice the wave apart, would they remain standing afterward?
More likely, they'd get washed away.
Nono understood his plan at a glance—but it was far from reliable. What they really needed was home field advantage—or help.
Because even if they beat this big squid, the next one would be just as bad.
Suddenly, Nono's ears twitched. She heard a girl's voice.
But wait—there were no other girls nearby. And even with her ears covered, the voice still echoed—inside her mind.
"Let it be filled. Let it be filled. Let it be filled. Let it be filled. Let it be filled."
"Endlessly repeated, and five in total."
"When filled, it shall be discarded."
——
On the distant bridge, Xiamu stood expressionless, reciting words that made her whole body cringe from secondhand embarrassment:
"…When filled, it shall be discarded. I declare—your body shall be under me, my fate shall be your sword. Abiding by the summons of the Holy Grail, if you accept this will and this reason, then answer me…"
Under Norton's intense gaze, Xiamu recited the incantation without error—of course she couldn't mess up, or Norton would chew her out. Meanwhile, the summoning circle shimmered with elemental light.
A massive flow of energy surged from the Great Grail, connecting with the apex of this world—the Throne of Heroes on the World Tree.
"…Cross the Wheel of Restraint and appear, protector of the balance!"
The ritual circle flared. Elemental currents burst outward like mist scattered by a gale.
Wow! Xiamu's opinion on the over-the-top lines softened a little. Norton knew how to create atmosphere. It wasn't completely cringe.
It was like pulling a rare gacha. The screen needed some flair!
Like, what if the circle changed to gold or rainbow colors when summoning a rare Heroic Spirit…
Xiamu's thoughts drifted off. Maybe she had a talent for game design?
"Hmm? Why nothing's happening?"
She waited, but not even a shadow emerged from the mist.
"Did it fail?"
She looked at Norton suspiciously. He just shook his head with confidence.
To Xiamu, it looked like pure, blind faith—refusing to accept failure even with evidence right in front of you.
"No. It definitely succeeded."
Norton glanced between the Great Grail and the summoning circle. "The link to the Throne was stable. The summoning response was normal. The only problem is with the one who was summoned."
He then looked at the still-clueless Xiamu.
"…The summoned one? What's that supposed to mean?!" she exclaimed, eyes wide.
This wasn't subtle criticism—it was a full-on blame bomb!
She had recited everything perfectly! If something went wrong, how could it be her fault? Was Norton just finding a way to pin the failure on her?
Norton, still calm, waved a hand.
"Relax. I wasn't blaming you. What I mean is: the summoned Heroic Spirit didn't answer your call—but someone else's."
"…What? Our summoning was hijacked?" Xiamu's first thought was the little demon Lu Mingze. "Was it him…?"
"No. It's someone else," Norton replied. "That was my mistake—I didn't account for someone who, like the Great Grail itself, has summoning priority over regular Masters."
——
Back on the battlefield, the waves rose ever higher. The sea crashed over the broken bridge pillars, which posed no obstacle to the flood and vanished beneath the water.
Emiya tried to block the surge with sword energy, but the current didn't ease. Using Aozora's flame would boil them alive. Freezing the wave would just crush them under an iceberg.
And meanwhile, that strange voice kept chanting in Nono's mind—like something out of a dream, echoing from a distant void:
"I hereby swear. I shall be all the good in the world. I shall be all the evil in the world. You, seven heavens, wrapped in three great words of power—"
Enough already!
They were about to get swallowed alive, and some disembodied voice was still rambling?!
Nono clenched her fists. She wasn't hallucinating. Her mind was still clear. This wasn't some spiritual vision. Where the hell was that voice coming from?
If they were coming to help, then help already! If not, shut the hell up!
Crack!
Magical circuits activated instantly, linking her to something.
Nono's eyes widened in shock. What was happening?
As she turned to ask Emiya for help—
A new figure appeared before her.
"…Servant, Lancer. Melusine, answering the summon."
Her silver-white hair floated like snow. Her tight-fitting armor, like overlapping dark scales, gave her a distinctive, knightly presence. The small-framed girl stood there, as if stepping out of space itself.
Melusine faced the incoming tidal wave with her back to it. She showed no emotion—and no concern.
With a flick of her hand, she unleashed draconic mana.
A surge of magical power exploded outward like a shockwave. The towering wall of water shattered under the pressure.
In an instant, the raging sea calmed. The energy dispersed without sound, her control so precise it defied belief.
Thanks to her, Emiya and Nono were not washed away. At most, they slipped on the ice in surprise and tumbled back.
Melusine glanced over the two—with matching hair colors—then looked at Nono with slight uncertainty.
"…Are you my Master?"
(End of Chapter)
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