After the "Red" Archer left, Shirou retrieved "Ehangwen" and descended alone into the forest.
The forest in the depths of night was far from quiet. If he listened carefully, he could hear the sounds of battle from the distance.
"Saber, keep going straight ahead. There's a battle taking place on the plain up ahead."
"Got it. Thanks, Manaka."
His Master's voice sounded directly in Shirou's mind.
While Shirou had been carrying out his mission to escort Ruler, Manaka Sajyou had already sent familiars to the main battlefield to monitor every movement there.
According to the frontline report Manaka sent him, the current matchups between the "Red" and "Black" factions were as follows.
"Red" Lancer vs. "Red" Berserker and "Black" Rider.
"Red" Rider vs. "Black" Archer.
It seemed that "Red" Lancer was the one at a disadvantage, which was why "Red" Archer had been called back to help...
Wait, "Red" Lancer was actually at a disadvantage?
Shirou was a little surprised.
Having fought "Red" Lancer himself, he knew very well just how powerful a Servant Lancer was. Without question, he was someone who could stand alongside that King of Heroes, Gilgamesh.
"Red" Berserker was strong too, but there was no way he should be a match for him. As for the pink-haired cross-dresser... whether he was there or not probably made little difference.
What happened over there? Something troublesome enough to give even Lancer trouble?
"Saber, you're about to leave the forest. Please be careful."
Shirou nodded in acknowledgment, then cut off the call with Manaka.
All right. Time to see if there are any stragglers around...
"Hm...?"
Shirou suddenly sensed a human presence and shifted his gaze from the open plain to the depths of the forest.
Several hundred meters ahead, he could make out figures. They seemed to be fighting.
Someone had already slipped into the forest?
If he left them alone and got attacked from behind later, that would be troublesome. Shirou immediately decided to investigate.
Gradually, the figures' outlines became clear.
A boy with colorless white hair and brown skin, appearing to be around Shirou's age, was fighting an enemy.
Hm... isn't that the person Ruler's been looking for?
What is Shirou Kotomine doing in a place like this?
Did Manaka not detect anyone fighting in the forest?
Shirou stayed silent, hiding behind the shadows of the trees as he observed.
A Servant stood behind the young priest, while the one fighting him was a girl inexplicably dressed in a bridal gown.
A girl in a bridal gown. By process of elimination, she had to be Berserker or Caster... no, she was "Black" Berserker.
As she charged toward Father Kotomine, she swung the warhammer in her hands and knocked away the Black Keys he threw at her.
Even while facing an aggressive Berserker, Father Kotomine wore a completely composed expression.
That relaxed attitude, even in the middle of a battlefield, annoyed Shirou for some reason...
Hm. This definitely isn't a case of similar people repelling each other, right?
He's strong...
Shirou frowned. The man named Shirou Kotomine was looking more and more suspicious to him.
The men of the Kotomine family were all monsters, but in the end, they still remained within the bounds of powerful humans.
Neither Risei nor Kirei would ever be capable of fighting a Servant, let alone a Berserker.
Did his strength come from the Servant behind him, the one who seemed to be Caster?
Shirou could not sense any sign of Reinforcement Magecraft, which only deepened his doubts.
"Well then... Caster, allow me to use it."
After Shirou Kotomine said that, he raised his hand high toward the sky, and a weapon was immediately summoned along with an unrestrained surge of Mana.
Shirou's gaze shifted to the Japanese sword resting in its scabbard, and in that instant, he understood everything.
That sword was a "Noble Phantasm."
Generally speaking, Japanese swords did not become Noble Phantasms for Servants.
After all, even the oldest surviving katana only had a history of a little over five hundred years.
That level of Mystery was enough for a "Mystic Code," but not enough to be called a "Noble Phantasm."
As for Shirou's "Yamato," that was actually "something else" that merely had the appearance of a Japanese sword.
But the sword in Shirou Kotomine's hand was indeed a Noble Phantasm.
"Yes, yes, by all means! Please, use it as you wish! Like a storm accompanied by raging flames! Like a downpour accompanied by lightning! A tale from which one will never awaken is about to begin!"
With Caster's excited cry, Father Kotomine launched his attack.
He seized the instant Berserker faltered and delivered an exquisite thrust.
"Uuuh... uuuuuh!"
The bridal-gowned girl, her skin sliced open, swung her warhammer in retaliation. If the blade had taken the blow directly, it likely would have shattered long ago, yet even after several exchanges, its edge showed no damage at all.
It seemed that "creating Noble Phantasms" was the ability of the "Red" Caster.
Then Shirou noticed something else. "Black" Berserker's Mana reaction was barely being depleted at all.
Normally, a Berserker's Mana consumption should be extremely severe, yet her Mana reaction kept fluctuating steadily within a certain range.
"..."
After watching for a while longer, realization dawned on Shirou, and he understood the girl's Principle.
Through that strangely shaped warhammer, she was continuously absorbing Mana from the surrounding atmosphere.
"Black" Berserker's True Name was Frankenstein.
An artificial human originating from a fictional work of literature, she had been summoned as Black Berserker in this Great Holy Grail War. Her own combat ability was not particularly high, and all her parameters were on the lower end, but she was unexpectedly suited to the class. After all, Berserker had originally been created as a class to strengthen weaker Heroic Spirits.
The warhammer-type Noble Phantasm Frankenstein currently wielded, "Maiden's Purity," had a sphere at its tip that served as her heart. It had the ability to efficiently collect and store Mana leaking from both herself and her surroundings.
In battle, where large amounts of Mana were constantly generated in the surrounding area, "Bridal Chest" worked together with another Skill, "Galvanism," allowing the girl to nearly reproduce the infinite cycle of a "Type II Perpetual Motion Machine."
In addition, the girl's body was strengthened in accordance with the accumulated electrical charge, and the damage she suffered would be continuously repaired.
"..."
Shirou quietly observed the battle between Berserker and Father Kotomine.
That state of endlessly recovering Mana was very similar to "something" Shirou knew.
None other than himself.
Relying on the "Heart of Albion," the strongest Dragonkind core, Heroic Spirit Shirou's Mana was practically inexhaustible. A single breath could fill him with an enormous amount of energy.
Compared to him, the bridal-gowned girl could only be considered a super, super, super downgraded version.
Though they were both Type II Perpetual Motion Machines, the difference between them was as vast as the difference between Barghest's and Melusine's bust sizes.
Even so... the Principle itself was indeed the same.
"...Assassin is in trouble."
Shirou Kotomine made a new move. While still entangled with Berserker, he suddenly leaped a great distance backward and spoke to Caster.
"It seems Ruler 'noticed' earlier than I expected. She must have received some sort of revelation. No choice, then. Prepare to retreat."
Father Kotomine was preparing to withdraw, but Shirou was not about to let him slip away.
Just as he was about to follow, Berserker had already charged forward.
"Tsk...!"
Father Kotomine had no choice but to continue fighting back.
Frankenstein was different from other Berserkers. She had explosive power, yet no concern whatsoever when it came to stamina. Against an opponent of the same level, that made her extremely troublesome.
The young priest frowned slightly, then suddenly seemed to think of something.
Shirou noticed a malicious smile appear on his face.
"Caster, I need your 'troupe.'"
The "Red" Caster immediately understood.
He raised a book high, then spoke in the exaggerated manner of an actor on a Shakespearean stage.
"Oh, I see, I see! Let her meet the father she both loves and hates! 'Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player who struts and frets upon the stage, and then is heard no more!'"
As Caster shouted, Mana surged, and a man with the appearance of a scientist appeared in the dark forest.
"..."
The "Black" Berserker stopped her pursuit and stood frozen in place.
"Uuh...!"
The girl in the bridal gown stared at the man, her mouth opening wide in shock.
Standing there was "Dr. Frankenstein," the father who had created her, and the object of the girl's hatred.
Why? How?
The "Black" Berserker was not surprised that he was here. What shocked her was that incredibly calm smile on his face.
Because from the moment she first opened her eyes, her father's face had always been twisted with hatred.
She thought he would bless her when he opened his mouth, but all that came out were curses.
"A failure, a failure, a failure, a failure, a failure!"
"How did this happen? This thing is a wretched wooden doll!"
"No emotions! Are the wires not connected? The tear glands don't work either! Like this, forget being a perfect maiden (Eve), you're not even human!"
Ah, so I'm a failure.
What saddened her was not that she had been deemed a failure, but that her father, madly tearing at his own hair, looked so pitiful.
"Father, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm a failure. I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'll fix it. I'll fix it properly, so please don't be angry."
"Don't be angry, don't be angry, don't be angry..."
She wanted to cry, but tears would not come. It seemed the function for crying had not activated.
Every time she tried to comfort him as he drowned his sorrows in alcohol, she was shoved away, beaten, and kicked aside.
The girl pitied her remorse-stricken father and desperately thought about what she should do.
What could she do to comfort him? With that thought, she gathered her courage and left the house.
Outside, the world was filled with color.
Emerald trees, clear pond water, a dazzling sun. If she brought those back, perhaps Father would be happy.
As she was thinking that, a stray dog suddenly attacked her. It had likely reacted to the stench of rot drifting from her clothes.
She tore open the throat of the stray dog biting her arm, and in that instant, she received a revelation.
"Ah, beautiful. So beautiful. This is beautiful. Because it is a color I do not have, it must be beautiful..."
She tore open its belly and found even more vivid organs inside.
Those, too, were things she did not have, so she thought they were beautiful, and decided to take them home for Father to see.
The pink organs were beautiful. The bright red blood was beautiful.
She did not think they were ugly, or filthy, nor did she find the smell of blood disgusting.
The moment the girl showed Father her gift, the relationship between them broke completely.
Because she was not merely a failure. She was an ugly monster.
A creature that found blood beautiful and grew entranced by organs was a monster.
"No, no, no. It's not like that. It really isn't. I'm normal. I only wanted Father to be happy."
Until the very end, Father never smiled at her. He only kept fleeing in fear, calling her a monster.
From that moment on, the girl had a wish.
She wanted a partner, because normal humans had families.
Since Father had already rejected her, she needed a partner no matter what.
But a partner was not something she could obtain simply by wishing for one. Nor was this a problem that could be solved by stealing one away.
So she begged Father.
"Please give me someone who will love me. Give me someone who will look at me."
"If I am the perfect maiden (Eve), then you have a duty to create the first human (Adam)."
Father refused as a matter of course. He did not want to create another monster.
The girl went mad with anger and grief.
Her anger came from Father's betrayal. Her grief came from realizing that loneliness would stay with her for the rest of her life.
She only wanted to be loved. She wanted to love someone. She wanted to know love... no, if even that could not be granted, then at the very least, she wanted to be hated.
She pursued Father, condemned him, and in her anger at his flight, killed his family.
Even so, Father kept running, and running, and running. He did nothing but flee.
Until the final moment, he only continued to run.
He had already surrendered. He did not even think of taking revenge on the one who had killed those he loved.
"Why won't you hate me? Why won't you look at me?"
In the end, the girl and her father threw themselves into the flames together, and the story of Frankenstein came to an end.
All that was passed down to later generations was the legend of an ugly monster.
And now, the father who had betrayed the girl stood before her, gazing at her with a gentle, loving expression.
This was the moment she had always dreamed of.
"That's right. This is how it should be. Stop fighting. I did not create you for that."
"Uu, ah...!"
The doctor reached out to her. It seemed he intended to do what ordinary parents did for their children, which was to pat her on the head.
This was what she had wished for.
She wanted to be loved. She wanted someone to love. She wanted to love someone.
That wish was about to come true.
But...
Precisely because of that.
"Uuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Frankenstein went berserk.
She slammed "Bridal Chest" into the side of the man who looked like the doctor.
"W-what are you doing...!"
"Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up, shut up!"
The girl struck the blood-coughing man's face again, smashing it in until it caved inward.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, uaaaaah, uuuuaaaaah!"
Frankenstein screamed as she knocked the man down, straddled him, and brought her warhammer down again and again. Even after his face was completely unrecognizable, she did not stop.
"Ah... aah...!"
She knew.
The girl's intellect was sufficient to understand that this was probably magecraft caused by the enemy Caster or something similar.
Father's corpse had already disappeared. What she had thoroughly smashed seemed to be nothing more than a puppet.
She understood that clearly. But, but...
Once again, despite treasuring someone, she had hurt that precious person.
"Uuuh... uuuuh...!"
The artificial human girl sank to her knees in despair.
Just then, a hand gently came to rest on top of her head.
"Calm down. Don't let something like that cloud your mind."
In an instant, her sobbing, anger, agitation, despair, and all her other negative emotions grew faint.
"Ah... aah?"
The girl looked up in surprise and saw a red-haired boy clad entirely in black.
"They got away... sigh."
Shirou gazed in the direction Father Kotomine had fled.
As he gently stroked the "Black" Berserker's hair, he used words imbued with suggestion magecraft to calm the girl down.
Strictly speaking, Shirou had already parted ways with the "Black" faction, so he had no real reason to help Berserker.
But.
"Ahh, I just can't stand what I can't stand...! I'm stepping in, Shirou!"
That was what Aesc had most often said when helping others in the Fairy Kingdom.
Though the Holy Grail War was a life-or-death battle, Shirou simply hated fighting methods that toyed with other people's feelings.
...
...
"Saber..."
Manaka Sajyou watched her Servant's every move through the images transmitted by her familiar.
As expected of my beloved king. He still hates evil as much as ever.
The girl poured steaming black tea from a thermos and took a sip.
Shirou's righteous actions were moving, but...
Manaka Sajyou thought uneasily, What if Berserker starts clinging to my Saber like Ruler did?
After all, my Saber is so charming that any woman would fall hopelessly for him. If this keeps going...
Manaka Sajyou bit her lip in frustration, hesitating inwardly. Should she talk to him when Saber came back tonight?
Just then, she saw the girl in the bridal gown on the screen grab the hem of Shirou's clothes.
Not only that, she pushed her luck even further by taking the boy's hand and making him continue stroking her head.
I knew it. This woman is just like Ruler...!
Manaka Sajyou's small, delicate chest heaved violently with indignation.
You female Servants, stop seducing someone else's Saber so casually!
"What's wrong?"
Shirou looked down at the girl in the bridal gown.
She pressed Shirou's hand against her hair while lifting her adorable face.
The monster Frankenstein, wearing a pitiful expression, spoke her first words since descending into this world as a Servant.
"Da... Daddy~"
Manaka Sajyou spat out her black tea.