Chapter 21. Opening Ceremony of the Festival of Life and Death
"Cough... blegh!"
In the middle of the devastated battlefield, Rin walked easily over to the side of the collapsed Flat, who couldn't seem to get up.
"Idiot. What did you think was going to happen when a student who's failing self-defense class tries to close in on me? If you'd thought about it for a second, you'd have known."
The person opposite her was slumped on the ground like a pathetic corpse, coughing up quite a lot of blood.
"Minor injuries like this will be fixed in a minute with a Magic Crest or healing magecraft. More importantly, remember this: interfering with others' formulas isn't an invincible trick. Since we're both magi, there are obviously ways to use various loopholes to counter-attack."
"Right, right..."
Flat, his handsome face currently a mess, nodded humbly over and over. Incapable of moving, his eyes darted around frantically like a small fish in a bowl.
The glow of the Magic Circuits on Rin's skin slowly faded as she gazed up at the vast, darkening night sky.
During her long travels, what Tohsaka Rin had learned was how to take the magical energy she stored daily in gems and apply it as a catalyst in massive quantities to her Gandr, then use special formulas to multiply it a second time, achieving a power-up technique that far exceeded standard specifications.
On the surface, it looked like a newly improved version of an old spell.
But the truth was... Rin, possessing the Jeweled Sword, had inexhaustible magical energy.
Inexhaustible magical energy equals the energy stored in gems; the energy stored in gems equals the firepower of her barrage.
Rin could, at any time, anywhere, and semi-permanently, raise her hand to unleash an endless rain of bullets—or magical bombardments—subjecting her enemies to an unreasonable, high-pressure firepower assault of ninety-nine consecutive hits.
Rin's magical characteristic is "Conversion"—storing all power in external objects and releasing it in an explosive burst during a single battle. Now that Rin thoroughly understood how to utilize her own magical nature, it was nearly impossible for anyone to oppose a Rin who held the Jeweled Sword.
"So, can you come back to the Clock Tower with me now? Lord El-Melloi is very worried about you."
This was the condition they had agreed upon for Rin's victory. Standing beside Flat's "corpse," Rin restated her demand.
"..."
Flat's eyes darted even more frantically. Finally, he simply closed his eyes and played dead.
"Fine. In that case, I'll just use Gandr to knock you out and carry you back. No objections, right?"
There was no response, so Rin took it as Flat's tacit consent. She raised her finger-gun, gathered magical energy, and fired a red bolt.
The bolt hit Flat, and the curse within it caused him to lose consciousness on the spot. Then, she would carry him back herself—or so it should have been.
However, that reality did not come to pass.
With a blur from an ultra-fast object flashing in front of her, the bolt was dispersed.
The object came to a halt, facing Rin with hostility.
It was a petite, grey-haired young girl dressed in very revealing clothing. She was twirling a small knife of indiscernible material in her hand.
"A Servant!?"
Without even the spare energy to be shocked, Rin retreated several steps. Her masterfully crafted short sword appeared in her hand, and the "Starry Sky of Gems" all pointed toward the unknown girl.
Conversely, on the other side, Flat urgently stopped playing dead and started shouting:
"Hey, hey, hey! Please wait a second! Mr. Jack! Whatever you do, don't kill Miss Rin!"
"..." "..." "..."
The three parties on the field—Flat, the Servant, and Rin—fell into a strange standoff.
Finally, Rin slowly backed away like a normal person encountering a snake until she reached a sufficient distance. In her other hand, five gems had appeared at some point—gems that were on an entirely different level from the ones before.
Rin's expression regained its composure.
After a moment of daze, the young girl suddenly turned back to speak to Flat as if in sharp protest.
"Master, you really don't trust me much. I can tell from the conversation that you and this girl are friends; there's no way I'd just kill her without a word, would I? Even though this form has a 'dissecting impulse,' I can at least hold it back!"
Spoken in a young girl's voice, there was even a hint of feigned anger in her tone.
Flat, his body still unable to move, apologized submissively: "I'm sorry, Mr. Jack! I was so worried at the time, I... it's all my fault!"
Only then did the girl nod in satisfaction. A beat later, Flat suddenly realized something, his face turning beet red as he let out a loud scream.
"Mr. Jack? Why did you suddenly change into this form!? I-I've never seen you turn into this before? And you're showing too much skin!"
"Naturally, it's because this form is the best at using knife-type weapons; my other forms don't have suitable weapons handy. Unless I release my Noble Phantasm, that is... As for the exposure, this is a fake body anyway, so it doesn't matter, right?"
"But you said you had a dissecting impulse... I don't really get it, but doesn't it feel uncomfortable?"
Facing Flat's worried inquiry, the Berserker-class Servant—Jack the Ripper—curled his lips into a smile. This image, which could be described as quite cute, didn't last long; in a flash, the girl transformed into a police officer in uniform.
Amidst the dizzying chaos of the situation, Rin, maintaining her guard, finally noticed that the watch on Flat's wrist was gone.
"I see."
It was a shape-shifting ability. Rin made the judgment in an instant.
Which meant that during the magical battle just now, Jack, as a Servant, had actually been there the whole time. Was this some kind of horror movie?
"Thank you! Mr. Jack really will step in to save me!"
"Think nothing of it. We are in a cooperative relationship."
The sound of the Master and Servant's tension-free chatting poured into her ears. they were talking over each other, completely relaxed.
The amount of information leaked in that brief minute was more than just a little; Rin even suspected all their secrets had been spilled.
Mr. Jack—his formal name was likely Jack the Ripper. Though his Class was unknown, he clearly possessed shape-shifting abilities. His ability to use weapons in a standard state likely didn't exceed that of the previous young girl form, but activating his Noble Phantasm would bring about a surge in power in a completely different way.
Rin committed all the gathered intel to memory, then sighed again, feeling weary.
Looking at the two chatting, Rin suddenly felt a sense of bewilderment: Why am I even watching this?
I mean, why was the form he first chose a grey-haired little girl wearing nothing but two black strips of cloth and a cloak? Does anyone understand this?
Rin finally spoke up with difficulty to interrupt: "You two... sure get along well."
"Yes! Mr. Jack is a very good person!"
"Then I'll ask, just in case: does the bet still count?"
"..."
Flat scratched his messy hair as if he were in a bind. But before he could speak, Jack spoke up first in opposition.
"I cannot agree. I absolutely cannot accept my Master leaving me for such a reason. If Master decides to abandon me, I will certainly make a final struggle."
"But Mr. Jack, a promise is very important. It's not good to break your word..."
"In that case, it's even simpler. It wasn't you who broke the promise and ran away; it was me who kidnapped you. You choose: let me fight the both of you, or just be kidnapped obediently."
Jack scooped up the still-recovering Flat and, ignoring his opinion, strode away in the direction opposite Rin.
Not just Rin, but even Flat had an indescribable expression. He looked back toward Rin awkwardly and raised a hand to his forehead in a sheepish salute.
"Sorry, Miss Rin... I'll make sure to find you and apologize on my knees next time. Back at the Clock Tower."
He uttered a series of unnecessary apologies. Rin could only watch him walk away with a twitching lip.
"Oh right, Mr. Jack, could you put me down so I can share some info? I think I promised earlier!"
"No. That's enough for today. We'll talk if we meet again."
"..."
Rin: "..."
"Find a way to contact Lord El-Melloi yourself; I'll have him forward the contact to me."
Rin sheathed her sword and turned around.
There was a brief silence as the two groups, about to turn and leave, had no more words to say. But just as they were about to disappear from each other's sight...
"—!"
Something vibrated in the dimming air.
It was the sound of a nearly imperceptible explosion.
Along with it, the dregs of a magical torrent grazed the faces of the two magi, passing by together with a sudden gale.
The key to the problem wasn't that it was "imperceptible" or that they were "dregs." It was that, even from a great distance, it left behind a battle aura that could be recognized.
It even... made one hypothesize at the first touch: What on earth would this look like from up close?
The faces of both groups changed simultaneously.
In that instant, they locked eyes.
"Mr. Jack, please hurry there."
At Flat's request, before Jack could even move, Rin secured her gem-encrusted short sword and had already begun sprinting, quickly utilizing her own reinforcement magecraft.
After hesitating for a moment, Jack finally decided to adjust his running speed, waiting for the last ten seconds or so while his Master fully recovered as they ran.
As the wind blew past the two from the El-Melloi Classroom, they began flying toward the fluttering black robes and the human projecting blades in his hands. Everyone whose clothes were whipped by the wind understood implicitly.
The prelude, which had nothing to do with Heroic Spirits, was over. What came next was the true battle.
In Snowfield City, now fully plunged into night, the city lights were still unaware of the scent of war.
"[Enuma ██·E███]"
"[O People █, Let Us ███ the Gods]"
In a short while, even they would know.
The moon's shadow, gradually filling, flickered and trembled.