Clang! Clatter!
Cold weapons scattered and fell.
Various sounds interwove.
Shirou stood motionless in place.
His expression was serious to the extreme.
Before him, Manaka's shadow stretched and swelled.
Like a demon, it waved its claws and fangs.
Shirou's attack made Manaka look toward him.
Clear blue eyes immediately began to sparkle.
"What beautiful magical energy!"
Almost in an instant, Medea's face drastically changed, "Quick, DODGE, BERSERKER!"
Even without Medea's reminder, Shirou had already reacted.
A-rank agility burst forth, dodging the shadow trying to grab him.
He arrived at Medea's side.
"Caster, you—"
"Run, Berserker!"
Medea finally understood what kind of thing Manaka was.
"She's not Manaka! She is the void, appearing through that form, as the purest evil."
Medea used the last of her mana to cast a protective spell on Shirou.
"You absolutely must not be touched by her, Berserker. As long as you're a proper Heroic Spirit, if touched by that kind of evil, your Saint Graph will instantly reverse."
"Berserker, that is—"
Artoria also rushed in from the blaze.
Seeing this scene, she couldn't immediately grasp the situation.
Shirou exclaimed, "Don't come over, SABER!"
"Saber's here, huh," Manaka looked at her with affection.
"Manaka, you!", Artoria said with a low voice.
It was natural. No matter who it was, upon seeing the young girl now wearing a green dress, her whole body soaked in murky blood, they would feel it was incomprehensible.
"Hurry over, Saber," Manaka smiled sweetly and waved at her.
Medea grew even weaker, "So that's it. Because of using this form, even the personality is starting to resemble it?"
"Saber," Shirou called out to her.
That kind of expression made Artoria tremble inexplicably.
At this moment, what she wanted to respond to wasn't her Master, but…
"Sorry, Berserker," Just hesitating for a single instant, Artoria firmly walked toward Manaka.
"Why?", Shirou was confused.
'Clearly she already knows what kind of personality Manaka have, why choose her?'
'Is the Holy Grail really that important?'
Medea grabbed Shirou's hand and said with difficulty, "If we don't run now, once Saber gets entangled, you won't be able to escape, Berserker."
"I…", Shirou trembled.
He wasn't lamenting the Ahoge King's choice. He was hesitating.
Even though he was completely rational, and even the system was telling him that abandoning the nearly-retired Medea to regroup was the correct choice.
However…
"Caster," Shirou embraced her.
'I am not the system!'
'I am Emiya Shirou!'
'A champion of justice does not do what he wants, but doing does what he should!'
"Looks like Berserker can't let go of Caster, huh," Manaka wore a satisfied smile, "Saber, take care of Caster. Cripple Berserker!"
To prevent another beach incident from happening, Manaka needed to completely strip him of mobility before getting close.
"Saber?"
Artoria, who usually stood before her, didn't move.
Manaka looked slightly confused.
Then, a brilliantly radiant golden blade pierced her chest from behind.
"Ah?"
Manaka tilted her head, a look of confusion on her face.
"Sorry, Manaka," Artoria's delicate face was hidden in shadow. It was with such determination that she had rejected Berserker.
To end everything.
"I can't let you keep going down the wrong path, so, this is fine."
"No, that won't kill her, SEIBA!", Shirou's voice rang out, "Get away from Sajyou—that monster!"
"What?", Artoria looked up.
A cold touch spread across her cheek.
It was Manaka, called a monster by Shirou. Her hands reached over her head, gently touching Artoria's face.
At the same time, she looked up and said softly, "I knew Saber was planning something like that."
"So I did it on purpose."
She said playfully, "Saber can stab a few more times if she wants, it's no problem."
Saying that, she even opened her arms, letting Artoria do as she pleased.
The latter's expression nearly froze. She couldn't comprehend what kind of existence the girl in front of her was.
"Seiba!", While projecting, Shirou quickly said, "Use your Noble Phantasm!"
Without even a moment's hesitation, upon hearing that, the bloodstained Holy Sword was drawn from Manaka's body and raised high.
Light surged, light gathered.
"Sworn—"
The True Name release was interrupted halfway.
With a series of leaps, Shirou carried her out of the flame-surrounded church.
"Broken Phantasm!"
A terrifying mushroom cloud soared into the sky.
He never expected to kill that monster, only to stop her temporarily.
"What are you doing, Berserker!", The tone of reproach stopped mid-sentence.
Shirou knelt on the ground, holding Medea.
"Caster."
His tone seemed unchanged, yet had somehow changed, "Do you still have mana to restore your body?"
"Useless," Medea smiled tiredly, "My Saint Graph is already damaged. That thing ate half my body. With Master's current mana, there's no way to repair me."
"But…", She tried to raise her hand.
Yet had not a trace of strength.
That was certain, she had given him all of her last mana. To try and keep going would only completely drain her Master.
That would be meaningless.
'So this is fine. To die in this man's arms isn't unacceptable.'
Her hand was held, slowly placed against his face.
"Sorry," The face hidden in shadow and the downcast eyes made it impossible to see the boy's expression.
But he must be very sad.
Medea instead felt it strange, and with a smile asked, "Why are you apologizing?"
'You didn't do anything wrong.'
'Even in the final moment, you didn't abandon me.'
"You helped fulfill my wish, but I…"
'Is that it? You feel sad because you didn't repay me, didn't help me realize my wish?'
'But my wish, how could you possibly fulfill it?'
Cold liquid dripped on her face.
It was tears.
The boy's tears.
He was actually crying for her.
Yet Medea didn't even have the strength to wipe them away, she could only smile and say lightly, "Berserker, my wish is…"
"Shirou," A sudden interruption. A voice spoken abruptly. It was hard to understand what he meant.
"My name is Emiya Shirou."
There was no great epiphany.
That name, Medea couldn't tell who he was at all.
But it was enough.
Her wish was impossible to fulfill.
Because, what she wanted was to return to her most innocent years and meet a boy like this.
"Shi…rou?", Her body began to fade.
'That's a nice name,' A voiceless phrase, left to the wind.
In the end, Medea still didn't get to say those words aloud.
She passed away.
For the first time, Shirou experienced the loss of someone.
Watching the person who had helped him fade before his eyes. That feeling was far too painful for him.
'Yes, you can't make everyone happy.'
'Every choice you make leads to more losses.'
'Until everything is lost, leaving nothing.'
'Even so, you must go forward.'
'Because, you are still alive.'
"Saber," Shirou clenched his hand tightly, "I need your help."
He had a rough understanding of Manaka's current state.
Back on the beach, she hadn't completely escaped, she was almost melted by Artoria's beam.
In a half-dead state, she summoned Angra Mainyu.
Unlike Sakura's Servant, who turned shadow-like due to imaginary number attributes, as Manaka's Servant, it mimicked Manaka. Appearing in her form.
The two currently were in a symbiotic state.
Like a twisted double personality.
One desperately mimicking "her" as "void"; one originally an emotionless lunatic.
It was almost certain that Manaka and Angra Mainyu had gone to Ryuudou Temple, preparing to absorb the souls in the Lesser Grail.
Caster's fall meant only one more Servant soul was needed to complete the Greater Grail.
If things kept going this way, the All the World's Evil would be used by Manaka to complete the Third Magic and be born into this world. And her goal was definitely more than that.
What she wanted might be to summon a Beast.
She must be stopped.
This would require Artoria's help.
Not just her, even Rider must not be lost again.
"Berserker…", Artoria looked at the crouching boy.
She noticed the fists tightly clenched.
Though he was in such pain, he hadn't lost his mind;
Though the sorrow nearly overflowed, he still suppressed it…
"I understand," Bright, emerald eyes opened after closing, and Artoria had already made her decision.
A smile unconsciously appeared on her face, "Though it won't be for long, my sword, will temporarily swing for you."
The King of Knights extended her hand.
The boy grasped it, and stood up.
With that, the contract was formed.
[A/N: Also, regarding Manaka, some readers feel I've made her too strong. That's true. I made her stronger. After all, in the original novel, her presence was weak, not matching her settings. Let alone omniscience and omnipotence.
In FGO she's basically comic relief, no prestige at all. But she's the boss of this volume. Since the final battle is really just playing house, Gilgamesh isn't serious, and even though the other Servants are strong, Shirou with plot armor and Illya as Master has a god-tier start. Without a special boss, it'd be a speedrun. So after thinking it over, I decided Manaka fits best...]
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