The sharpness of the blade can only be improved through relentless tempering and polishing. There are no shortcuts for that...
But when it comes to speed, I actually have a much better method.
Knowing that the [Sword of the Heart] could tear through space, could it also be used to sever the spatial distance between the swing of the blade and the target's body?
The answer, of course, was yes!
Once he fully grasped and mastered this technique, Takumi wouldn't even need to physically swing the sword. The blade itself would sever the distance, practically dragging Takumi along with it to strike the enemy instantly.
While it sounded a bit absurd—like the sword was dragging its master around to hack people, somewhat reminiscent of a certain God of Thunder—it would undeniably and drastically increase the speed of Takumi's attacks once again.
If Takumi had mastered this technique earlier today while fighting Kingu, he could have completely skipped the exhaustive process of physically cleaving the earth apart. He could have simply "swam" through the dirt just like Kingu did.
Furthermore, this technique perfectly synergized with the true nature of the [Sword of the Heart]—after all, the closer the blade was to its target, the exponentially higher its destructive power became.
I also need to figure out how to integrate [Sphere Boundary] into my active combat style. A completely silent, utterly imperceptible sword strike is exactly what I need!
Oh, right! Aside from all that, I need to keep pushing my martial arts further. Just reaching the Domain of Gods isn't enough anymore. I have to surpass the Domain of Gods and reach a level that even the Gods themselves cannot comprehend...
Ugh, thinking about it like this, there's still a mountain of things I need to do—I also need to practice more with [Death Perception]! I couldn't even kill a weakling like Kingu with a single strike today. What happens if I run into something with an even stronger form of Immortality later? I'd be completely screwed!
While his hands continued working mechanically, Takumi's mind spun with a frustratingly long to-do list.
Standing to the side, Ana stared at Takumi, completely dumbfounded.
She finally understood the true meaning of the phrase: Just watching someone else work makes you feel exhausted!
Was Takumi just absentmindedly daydreaming right now?
Of course not!
His feet were walking forward. His hands were actively manipulating Runes to repair the earth. His conscious mind was meticulously plotting out his future training regimen.
And within the Heart of Fire, things were far from idle. Several faceless silhouettes were currently going through various rigorous exercises within the flames. Although Ana couldn't see them clearly or fully comprehend what they were doing, she could sense that while Takumi was "thinking" about his training, he was already simultaneously putting it into practice—even if the method was incredibly bizarre.
One silhouette sat cross-legged, practicing [Sphere Boundary]. Another silhouette repeatedly collapsed and re-formed, familiarizing itself with the sensation of [Death Perception]. A third silhouette relentlessly swung a blade, experimenting with the [Sword of the Heart]. Three other silhouettes were engaged in intense, high-speed sparring, clearly pushing their martial arts further.
Takumi was taking the concept of "multi-tasking" to an absolute, horrifying extreme. Just watching him do it was enough to make someone's scalp tingle with secondhand mental fatigue.
"Takumi... aren't you tired?"
Ana couldn't help but ask.
Takumi's hands paused. Snapping out of his "daze," he fell silent for a full second before offering a helpless, yet incredibly resolute smile:
"Tired? Of course I'm tired. How could I not be?"
"But... I just don't want to lose to anyone ever again. And I definitely don't want to end up crying like a pathetic child ever again..."
Beneath the night sky, Takumi tilted his head back, gazing up at the moon. His soft sigh drifted far, far away on the wind.
***
"...Lord Takumi, and the young girl accompanying him, should be staying right in here... Eh?"
Siduri spoke as she led the way into the residence she had prepared for them, but the moment she poked her head inside, she froze.
"What's wrong?"
A rather valiant, energetic voice asked from behind her with a hint of confusion.
"Seeing the lights on, I naturally assumed the two of them would be in the living room..."
Siduri stepped fully into the house, looking visibly surprised.
"Maybe they went straight to bed? I heard they traveled a long way to get here. They might have just been too exhausted and crashed! Haha!"
A man wearing a red cape—and aside from some armor on his limbs and head, wearing absolutely nothing but a tight speedo—laughed heartily.
"That is a distinct possibility. I will go upstairs and check on them."
Recalling how profoundly exhausted Takumi had looked earlier, Siduri nodded in agreement and prepared to head up to the bedrooms.
However, right at that exact moment.
In the middle of the spacious living room, a pitch-black rift—sparkling with what looked like faint starlight within its depths—was abruptly sliced into the air.
A disturbance of this magnitude in the middle of a room was impossible to miss. Siduri, who had just set foot on the stairs, froze completely solid, her mind instantly calculating the fastest escape route.
Having served as the head priestess and Gilgamesh's primary secretary, she had seen her fair share of massive, world-ending spectacles. Furthermore, they were currently living in the Age of Gods; her survival instincts practically demanded she prepare to run for her life the second something inexplicable happened.
"——Identify yourself, foul demon~!"
Severely startled by the sudden spatial anomaly, Ushiwakamaru frantically drew her katana. She glared sternly at the "Spatial Gate," her voice cracking slightly from the sudden spike in adrenaline.
Standing beside her, Leonidas—after a brief moment of shock—also summoned his spear, pointing it squarely at the spatial tear.
"Is it time to eat... Huh?"
Takumi stepped out of the "Spatial Gate" with Ana in tow, only to immediately find two Servants treating him like a deadly threat. He blinked, utterly bewildered.
One second passed.
Both sides finally realized what was happening. They stared at each other in agonizingly awkward silence, absolutely no one knowing what to say.
***
At the dining table in the living room.
"Lord Takumi, I humbly request that you refrain from appearing and disappearing quite so abruptly in the future. Furthermore, did I not explicitly state that I would bring food over shortly?"
Having listened to Takumi's explanation, Siduri massaged her temples, speaking with a profound headache.
"Ahaha, well, just sitting around doing nothing was getting a bit too boring..."
Takumi scratched his head, looking thoroughly embarrassed.
"Sigh..."
Hearing this, Siduri could only let out a heavy sigh of defeat.
"In any case, please at least give us a warning next time. For now, I shall go and have the food brought inside."
"Next time for sure, next time for sure."
Takumi pressed his hands together in a gesture of sincere apology.
Siduri then stepped outside to instruct the attendants to bring the prepared meals in.
"I deeply apologize, my Lord. I severely overreacted. To show such grave disrespect upon our very first meeting..."
Taking advantage of Siduri's absence, Ushiwakamaru bowed her head deeply, her voice laced with intense embarrassment and shame.
Ahhh! If it weren't for the fact that returning to the city caused my guard to drop so significantly, I never would have reacted that drastically!
Recalling her panicked battle stance from just moments ago, Ushiwakamaru desperately wished she could find a hole in the ground to crawl into and die.
"No, no, it's totally fine! If anyone is to blame, it's me. I should have considered the consequences of traveling like that indoors..."
Seeing the "victim" apologizing so earnestly, an incredibly awkward Takumi frantically waved his hands in dismissal.
His arms were moving so fast they were practically a blur.
"Yo! Do you still remember me? We briefly crossed paths back in Rome, didn't we?!"
Having held his tongue for entirely too long, Leonidas finally couldn't hold back any longer and excitedly interjected.
His booming voice carried a distinct trace of eagerness and anticipation.
Grateful for the change in topic, Takumi let out a quiet sigh of relief. He turned to Leonidas and smiled:
"Of course I remember you. Leonidas, King of Sparta. If I recall correctly... you were the one ordered by the enemy to hold the line against Spartacus and General Lu Bu, right?"
Takumi thought back, mentioning the specific event with a hint of uncertainty.
Mainly because Leonidas's role in Takumi's timeline had differed from the original game's plot, and they had never actually fought each other directly.
Hearing this, Leonidas's expression instantly crumpled into a grimace.
Clearly, the traumatic memories of being brutally tag-teamed by those two monstrous berserkers had just resurfaced. Specifically, a certain Lu Bu—often dubbed 'Lu Gundam'—had been particularly ruthless in his methods.
Leonidas I, King of Sparta. Known worldwide for the Battle of Thermopylae, where he famously led a mere three hundred Spartans to hold the pass against a Persian army of hundreds of thousands. In terms of pure historical fame and name recognition, he was absolutely top-tier globally—infinitely more famous than a vast number of obscure Servants nobody had ever heard of.
The fact that he wasn't particularly overpowered in the Nasuverse was understandable. After all, the core rule of the Fate franchise was simple: the closer you are to the Age of Gods, the stronger you are.
Are Gods strong? Obviously, because they're literal Gods. Is Gilgamesh strong? Yes, because he is a King reigning during the Age of Gods, possessing two-thirds divine blood. Are Artoria and her Knights of the Round Table strong? Yes, because King Arthur's Britain existed during the twilight fading of the Age of Gods; they technically count as humans from that era.
As for Japan... well, in the Nasuverse, the entire country is basically overflowing with lingering remnants of the Age of Gods, which is why the authors can shamelessly buff a massive roster of obscure Japanese Servants to absurd levels.
And China goes without saying. The Age of Gods there didn't fully recede until the modern era, meaning the land was absolutely crawling with countless demons, monsters, and divine entities.
In summary: if you want to be strong in the Fate universe, you either need to be an alien, or you need to tie your lore heavily to something from the Age of Gods. As long as you have one of those two buffs, you basically can't be weak.
But even so, one shouldn't underestimate Leonidas, a mere 2-Star Servant in the game. If judged purely on his defensive capabilities, he absolutely qualified as a first-rate Heroic Spirit.
As for the other Servant present, Ushiwakamaru, she needed no introduction.
Her true name was Minamoto no Yoshitsune, arguably the single most famous military commander in Japanese history. In terms of sheer popularity within Japan, she was undeniably top-tier.
Although she was only a 3-Star Servant in the game, her agile footwork, blinding speed, and masterful swordsmanship undeniably made her a first-rate combatant.
And her Corrupted (Alter) form was an absolute nightmare. Countless new FGO players had likely been traumatized by the seemingly endless, endlessly multiplying horde of Corrupted Ushiwakamarus in the Babylonia singularity. She perfectly embodied the anime trope of "Corrupted = 10x stronger."
Furthermore, if her corrupted form hadn't successfully stolen the Holy Grail right out of Fujimaru Ritsuka's hands, Tiamat in the original plot likely wouldn't have been able to evolve nearly as quickly as she did.
Back to the present.
Having his embarrassing defeat brought up, Leonidas winced briefly before quickly recovering his usual demeanor. After all, he was fundamentally a hearty, open-minded man who didn't sweat the small stuff. He laughed boisterously:
"Ah, exactly! It was exactly as you said. Being summoned by the enemy meant I didn't have much of a choice; I had to follow orders—though I certainly didn't expect my final order to be trying to blockade two Berserkers with such terrifying destructive power..."
Mid-sentence, recalling the sheer brutality of that encounter, Leonidas couldn't help but laugh with a mix of awe and lingering trauma:
"Hahaha, I really got the absolute stuffing beaten out of me that day!"
Thinking about it objectively, managing to stall those two absolute monsters by himself for as long as he did was actually a phenomenally impressive combat record!
"And precisely because of that, I only managed to catch a distant glimpse of you back then, Takumi. We didn't even get to exchange a single word, which I always felt was a massive shame."
Leonidas shook his head, sighing with genuine regret.
Back in Rome, their paths simply hadn't intersected properly. He had only been able to watch Takumi from afar.
"It's fine. It's not too late to get properly acquainted now."
Takumi smiled warmly and extended his hand toward Leonidas.
"Heh! I like your attitude!"
Seeing this, Leonidas grinned broadly and firmly shook Takumi's hand.
"How much do you know about the situation here? I was summoned by King Gilgamesh very early on, so I'm pretty much up to speed on all the major—and minor—events that have happened..."
Mmm...
Watching the two of them chatting and laughing so easily, Ushiwakamaru couldn't help but puff her cheeks out in a slight pout.
But then, she let out a helpless sigh.
While she desperately wanted to join the conversation and chat with Takumi, she wasn't like Leonidas, who had shared a battlefield with him in a previous Singularity. Nor was she like Jing Ke, who was practically a sibling with him. She basically had zero common ground to start a conversation!
Sigh. I really wish there was a young warrior from my homeland here, someone who knew my stories, who I could just casually chat with...
Ushiwakamaru stared up at the ceiling, resting her chin in her hands with a look of profound disappointment.
"...How about I tell you some stories about what's been happening on the Absolute Demonic Front... Uh, wait, actually, I heard that thanks to your rampage, the number of demonic beasts attacking the wall has plummeted drastically. I guess I don't really need to brief you on that..."
Mid-story, Leonidas awkwardly scratched the side of his head.
"You can just tell me some of the more interesting stories. I'm sure plenty happened before I got here, right?"
"Ah, that's true..."
"It seems everyone is having a wonderful time chatting. I could hear General Leonidas's hearty laughter from outside the door."
Siduri walked into the room carrying several clay platters, a warm smile on her face.
Behind her, several attendants followed, carrying even more platters of food.
Ana: No, I am definitely not having a wonderful time chatting...
"Hahaha, well, that's probably because I've been doing most of the talking!"
Leonidas turned his head and chuckled in response, then immediately turned back to Takumi to continue his story.
—He really did seem incredibly happy to have someone to talk to.
"But seriously, your growth rate is absolutely terrifying, isn't it? While I'm not entirely sure exactly how strong you were back in Rome, there's absolutely no way you were this powerful. To casually defeat the Demonic Beast Goddess like it was nothing..."
Recalling the reports he had heard, Leonidas spoke with profound awe.
Hearing this, Takumi simply offered a modest, subtle smile.
Before anyone could say anything else, a highly frivolous voice suddenly interrupted the conversation.
"Oh my, so everyone is gathered here? I can't believe you guys started a dinner party without inviting me! Aren't we all supposed to be on the same team? Waaaah..."
Walking in from the front door, Merlin put on an exaggerated, fake crying act. Without treating himself like an outsider in the slightest, he plopped right down on the cushion next to Leonidas.
This abrupt intrusion forced Ushiwakamaru to visibly scoot closer to Takumi.
"Isn't that because you were off doing... other things, Merlin?"
Unable to stand Merlin for even a second, Ana glared at him and ruthlessly exposed him.
"It couldn't be helped! Now that I can actually feel emotions, doing that kind of thing is a completely different experience! I accidentally lost track of time, haha!"
Possessing skin thicker than the walls of Uruk, Merlin was completely immune to her sarcasm. In fact, he shamelessly dropped an even more scandalous detail.
"Merlin, you absolute scum!"
Knowing exactly what he was implying, Ana's small face hardened into a scowl, and she dropped the insult without a moment's hesitation.