"Going again today. Sakura."
"Ah, yes. I'm planning to go today too."
Early in the morning, Sakura heads to Emiya Shirou's house. Unrequited love is truly a pitiful thing. It must be tough dealing with that insensitive guy.
"Do you know? That he is Saber's Master. That he's friends with Archer's Master too. Especially, Archer's Master is..."
"... It's okay. I'm, okay."
Okay, she says... I can see the emotion of jealousy simmering inside her very clearly. Sakura is jealous of Rin and Saber. For me, that's a good thing. By continuing to feel such negative emotions, you will gradually be reborn as a perfect Black Grail, Sakura.
However, whether that's a happy path for you, I don't really know? Not that it's my business, though.
As Sakura leaves, I head to Ryuudou Temple.
"Let's go, Rider. If we're at Ryuudou Temple, those guys will come within today."
"Is it foresight?"
"Yeah. The shadow is also staying near Ryuudou Temple, one of the main ley lines. There's a lot of magical energy there, and since there's a temple, absorption is good. For now, it's only absorbing magical energy, but soon it will eat many people too. A few monks died, the rest hospitalized unconscious. That Emiya Shirou guy will hear the news from someone. That idiot obsessed with justice will come. There, I'll finish Saber. It would be good to kill him here too... but he is one of the most important keys to awakening Sakura. He still has use value, right?"
"... Sakura seems to like that person."
"He's a guy who can't even accept those feelings. If he can't properly hold them, he's nothing but a glass that will shatter."
There were many stupid ends where he couldn't save Sakura and died. I can see Sakura, Emiya Shirou, Fujimura Taiga, and Saber having a meal at the Emiya household. They're strangers anyway... Playing family, it's not even funny.
That justice-idiot is the type who would kill even Taiga, who is like a sister, for his own justice. I know of such a possibility worldline. That's the case with Emiya Alter. In the end, trust is just like that. The moment he chooses the greater cause over a precious person, he has no right to make a family.
No matter how much you sacrifice for the world's justice, for peace... the world won't acknowledge it, and you lose what's precious without any reward. That's reality.
Turning off the present sight, Rider and I arrive at Ryuudou Temple. From afar, I can feel the shadow consuming the forest's magical energy.
Thump... thump...
I sit on the veranda and tap the snowy ground.
"A barrier?"
"No, magecraft at a level that can work even on Saber. For a moment, their bodies will go numb and stop. You just need to let the shadow eat them. No need to win. Well, unless it's a decisive blow like a Noble Phantasm, there's no way they'd fall..."
"I see."
Medusa sits next to me and looks up at the snowing sky.
"... Do you like snow?"
"It doesn't originally snow in Éire. Very rarely... very rarely it falls, but we have rain in winter."
"So, you have seen it before?"
"...."
`Wow~ It's snow! Snow, Fergus! It's my first time seeing snow fall!`
`That's right. Snow falling in Ulster is a rare event. It's rare for it to happen naturally.`
`It means the Age of Gods is ending, Scáthach. It's affecting nature too.`
`It's still pretty. To see snow I never saw even in my childhood. Deirdre, what are you doing?`
`Ahem... I was just curious what it tastes like... Aren't you curious, Lady Morrígan?`
`Why would a goddess be curious... Look at the children. Even the adults are amazed and playing. A snowball fight... A child is a child.`
`Uncle! Take this~!`
`Another child~ That's not a snowball but a snowman, so don't throw it, Setanta! My wife will get hit!`
"... There was. Once."
"Doesn't it fall in the Reverse Side?"
"It doesn't. Actually, over 60% of the Reverse Side is winter regions. But my family and I lived in a place that wasn't winter. Éire and the Reverse Side are different. That place is in Britain."
"Ah, I didn't know that. I didn't know where the entrance was."
"Is that so... In Éire, only once. That's it, okay?"
"So, do you like it? Or not?"
Medusa asks, tilting her head. Persistent... Is she thinking we're friends because I treat her well due to her use value? I have no intention of forming connections...
"... There's no way I wouldn't like it. On days when it snows, there are many memories."
"I see. I have memories too. I liked when I played with my sisters in the winter sea."
"Right."
"..."
Medusa quietly gets up from the veranda, suddenly scoops snow with her hand, and makes a snowball. Then she stares at me...
Plop...
"... What are you doing?"
Medusa hits my face. The snow that hit my face scatters and trickles down... I glare at her.
"Don't you like snowball fights?"
"..."
I lift my staff and make dozens of snowballs.
"Wa──"
Pbbbbbbb!
"Uh, I hate it."
"That's too mean..."
"Hmph! It doesn't even hurt since I didn't mix any magical energy, what's too mean?"
Seriously...
`Hey~!`
`Oh my, it's been a while since I've been hit by snow. In the Reverse Side, Medb used to throw it.`
`Then it's the first time in Éire? I'll take Fergus's first experience~!`
`Haha, is this also a first experience? Nessa's judgment is generous, isn't it?`
"....."
Why is it snowing? How unlucky...
The snow hasn't even piled up much, and evening has gradually come. I go inside Ryuudou Temple, and Rider hides on the roof. After some time passes, the Saber team arrives.
"I got an earful from Sakura. Because you got injured yesterday."
"That was my mistake. I just tripped while retreating."
"If there's a problem, it's that I myself couldn't stop you from going to the battlefield in the first place. But fighting together and protecting Shirou, that is my duty. Even for Sakura's sake..."
The two converse and enter Ryuudou Temple. While the two inspect the temple interior, Shirou enters the room with the Buddha statue. The moment he enters, the door closes, and Saber, who was about to break the door down, is kicked back by Rider's kick.
"Shirou! It's Rider!"
"Saber!? This is..."
"A bug that jumped directly into the fire pit has come."
I sit perched on the Buddha statue and look down at him as if he's pathetic.
"Incredibly foolish. If you have no power, you shouldn't become a burden. Why are you charging in first like that? Emiya Shirou."
"You... are you the culprit?"
"Regarding the magical energy problem... Rather than the culprit, I should say I'm involved? So, did you come to solve that problem? If so, you should have brought someone from the Clock Tower, not a Servant. In terms of compatibility, Servants are worse."
"What?"
Grrrrrooom...!!!
The battle between Medusa and Saber is in full swing, and Shirou, unable to call Saber in this situation, instinctively reinforces the wooden sword he brought. How laughable...
"You saw that yesterday and still plan to fight me? The moment you came alone, you're an idiot. You should have brought Archer."
"Tsk... uooooo!!!"
Shirou charges at me holding the wooden sword. It's not even worth blocking.
Thwak!!!
"!?"
"... Did you really think I'd be hurt by this? No matter how weakened I am as a Caster... I haven't weakened to the point of feeling pain from getting hit by a mere iron-like club."
Thump!
"Kuhuk!"
Shirou gets hit by my weak kick, crashes into a wooden pillar, and collapses. Is this all? Nothing but spirit. Even if he uses projection, he can't win against me.
"Who do you think I am? The strongest man in Éire who can kill even giant magical beasts with a single bare-handed, bare-fisted blow. There is no man stronger than me in Éire, Emiya Shirou. I am a man who punches and kills cows? Elephants? No, dragons. And you charged at me with just this? You must have realized my True Name from my True Name release yesterday... Or, are you that stupid?"
"Why... why are you doing this?"
"Hey... War is originally like that. Did you sleep through history class? World War I, World War II. The worst history where gods didn't even intervene, and purely humans killed their own kind and committed atrocities for their dirty desires. Do you think I did things like them? They did worse, didn't they? Did I put people in gas chambers or something? Your ancestors were stupid imperialist bastards who did even worse things. So where do you get off talking big to me?"
Wham!
Emiya Shirou gets kicked, breaks through the door, and tumbles on the ground.
"Cough! Kuhk..."
"Humans can do anything. They can become bastards as much as they want. Isn't someone like me a gentleman? Or, for a justice-idiot, am I on the level of guys like Hitler? Our little one... Have you even experienced war? You must have had the experience of losing precious people too. And yet... you dare to act like that. Your wish isn't even to save precious people... It's just to prevent the tragedy from ten years ago. Disgusting... I hate hero-complex bastards like you. Because you prioritize others over your own family. Your kind makes me sick. It's not that it feels like you're denying me, it's because you're an idiot who judges strangers to be more important than the family that cherishes you."
"Caster..."
"I'll say it once more, Emiya Shirou. You, save the people who love you first, then think about others. Before you're an ally of justice or whatever, you lack the qualification as a human. Well, it's the words of an idiot like me, so ignore them... So, are you just going to stay like that? Why not try using a Command Spell or something?"
"Kuh.... Saber!!!"
Shirou, in a desperate move, calls Saber who is fighting Medusa. But...
Sssss...
"Huh...?"
"Game over. You spoiled it and it turned to shit, you idiot. Saber's been taken down, kid. This is why brats who don't know fighting should stay put."
In the end, just as I planned, Saber fought Medusa and was devoured by the shadow. They're too simple-minded, it's pitiful in reverse.
"That..."
"I have no more interest in you. Go die somewhere or do something, cry and whine... Do as you please."
"Why... Caster was a hero. Why did you change like this?"
".... A hero. You hold such a nice-sounding illusion. Don't you know that the word 'hero' is just another name for a beast?"
"You were a hero who saved people, saved the nation and restored it. Why... did you start treating others' lives so carelessly?"
"...."
`Father. I want to create a world where not just the people of Ulster, but all the people of Éire are happy. Just as you cared for and protected the people of Ulster, I want to save Éire as a new king.`
"... I'm not a magnanimous person like you, I'm a petty bastard. I don't know, since I'm an ordinary person unworthy of being called a hero."
Talking like Illann...
Anyway, I don't like any of these Fuyuki bastards.
Really...
`I want to become a hero like you, Father.`
"Hey."
"You are──"
Thump!!!!
"Shut up."
Thud! Thud! Kwajik!
"Shut up, shut up, I said shut up. What do you know about me to keep blabbering? You little shit, not even 20 years old, what do you know about me to keep talking as if you don't understand! If you don't understand, try thinking! If you don't know, just shut up and stay quiet!!! Stop, stop saying such things to me!!!"
Thak...!
"Stop, please stop. You'll kill him."
"Haa... haa..."
Emiya Shirou, who I kept stomping on until he had fractures all over and fainted... Really.... He keeps, keeps getting on my nerves... Anyway, I don't want to deal with him...
"... Fuck."
Whoosh!
Even though I know about Avalon's recovery ability, I treat him with rune magecraft for faster recovery. Then I kick him once more and leave Ryuudou Temple.
Annoying...