By Tohsaka Tokiomi's standards, this was nothing more than a crude farce—it didn't deserve to be called a battle between magi.
He had done little more than maintain a continuous fire-attribute defensive array, making no aggressive moves of his own. In contrast, Kariya looked like he was barely hanging on by a thread. To Tokiomi, it was only a matter of time before this half-baked magus exhausted his mana.
While Berserker had managed to catch Gilgamesh off guard by exploiting the King of Heroes' unhealed injuries, Tokiomi was certain that if he simply continued this war of attrition, Kariya would collapse within a minute. Once deprived of his Master's mana, Berserker's fight against Gilgamesh would rapidly shift from a precarious stalemate to a one-sided slaughter.
Truthfully, Tokiomi was more concerned about other matters.
Kirei and his Assassins had been gone for quite a while, and not a single double had returned to deliver news. Furthermore, the dry riverbed, shrouded in thick fog, had become a chaotic battlefield. The duel between Lancer and Saber was also on his mind—especially after that violent surge of magical energy from upstream.
Compared to those high-stakes variables, Kariya was a pathetic sight. Blood sprayed from his pores as they ruptured one after another. He could no longer even stand steady, swaying like a man drowning in a mist of his own blood.
Only his one remaining healthy eye remained fixed on Tokiomi, burning with a look of absolute, suicidal resolve.
Even if his actions were those of a moth to a flame, Kariya intended to fulfill his responsibility to the bitter end. He had thought his hopes were slim, but thanks to that youth, things had proceeded remarkably well. At this point, Kariya was perfectly willing to accept his role as a pawn meant to spite Tokiomi and Archer.
"Hey, Tohsaka Tokiomi! Don't get distracted in the middle of a fight!" Kariya spat, his voice a ragged curse.
"..." Tokiomi said nothing.
Watching the insects hurl themselves into the fire array only to be reduced to ash, Tokiomi couldn't even summon a sneer. He had begun to feel nothing but contempt for this powerless man. The most logical choice was to simply maintain his magecraft and let Kariya destroy himself.
However, for a man who upheld the "nobility of the mage's path," seeing a magus fall so far from the righteous way—and in such a hideous manner—pushed his displeasure beyond the limit of his patience.
"Intensive Einascherung (Intense Cremation)—"
Tokiomi chanted two lines of the incantation. The flame barrier began to respond, swaying like a serpent as it prepared to lung forward and strike Kariya down.
That was, provided the mana maintaining the serpent remained uninterrupted.
The moment the incantation was completed, the newly formed serpent of fire vanished. It dissipated along with the shattering of the ruby embedded in Tokiomi's staff—the gem that condensed his life's work of magical energy.
Tokiomi's eyes widened. In his peripheral vision, he saw a fist swinging toward his face. The massive impact triggered his body's natural defense mechanisms.
After tumbling backward a few times, Tohsaka Tokiomi, much like Kayneth, lay unconscious on the riverbank without even a struggle. Kayneth had at least endured the shockwave of the Strike Air before taking a punch; Tokiomi, despite being in peak condition, met the same fate for a very simple reason.
He was physically fragile.
Though he had compensated for his mediocre talent with rigorous practice to become an outstanding magus in his own right, that lack of innate genius meant Tokiomi could not fully benefit from the protection of his family's Magic Crest. Consequently, even without any other injuries, he couldn't withstand the shock of a single physical blow and fell into immediate shock.
"You're late..."
The moment Kariya saw Ludwig appear, his mana bottomed out completely. He had exhausted all of his Command Spells to provide mana for Lancelot. Even then, the mana provided by the spells was far from enough to satisfy a Berserker's hunger.
With Kariya's mana gone, Lancelot's reserves were also reaching their limit. At this moment, Kariya Matou was experiencing a final "rally"—a last burst of lucidity before the end. He sat on the ground, his hands hanging limp and useless.
"...No, I suppose you were fast enough," he whispered, his head drooping as his vision began to fade.
"Do you have anything left to say?" Ludwig could see that Kariya's lamp had run out of oil. Out of a sense of final mercy, the youth asked for his last words.
"I don't think so..." Kariya's head sank lower as the world went dark.
On the border of life and death, he seemed to see visions of the past. He saw Sakura and Rin playing at Aoi's knees. The two children waved at him with smiles, accepting the gifts he had brought, while Aoi watched over it all with her usual gentle gaze.
No—there was still something he hadn't said. Something he wanted to leave for the child who had been abandoned by her parents.
"If you ever... see Sakura when she's grown up... please... say hello for me..."
Kariya's voice trailed off. By the end, he was barely breathing. He sat there silently in a pool of his own blood, head bowed, and ceased to breathe.
This man had pushed himself too hard. To repay the tiny sliver of hope and grace he had received, he had burned through every second of his remaining life in a single burst.
Ludwig looked at Kariya's body, feeling a wave of melancholy. Perhaps if he had ordered Lancelot to commit suicide earlier, this man might have lived a little longer. As his short-term ally, Ludwig intended to bury the homeless man later, letting him rest in peace according to the customs of this era.
But before that—
He turned his gaze toward the center of the riverbed.
Berserker, following Kariya's final Command Spell, was still frantically attacking Gilgamesh. The Master's death hadn't immediately robbed Lancelot of his ability to act; his remaining mana could sustain him for a dozen more seconds.
However, Gilgamesh had clearly noticed the sluggishness and heaviness in Lancelot's movements. He instantly unleashed a greater barrage of Noble Phantasms, overwhelming the Berserker's ability to parry.
Watching Berserker, whose body was now transfixed by several treasures and whose mobility was further restricted, Gilgamesh laughed mockingly. He showed no signs of feeling disgraced by his own earlier struggle.
"This boring game ends here. As expected, that brat is far more interesting."
He raised his hand, and a new cluster of weapons emerged from the ripples of his treasury, aimed directly at Berserker's heart. He intended to execute Lancelot, even though the knight would have died on his own if left alone.
A flying slash cut through the air, interrupting Gilgamesh and forcing him to fire his treasures to nullify the attack. He retreated, putting a reliable distance between them.
Ludwig descended slowly into the riverbed, resting a hand on his hip as he looked at Gilgamesh.
"You've recovered well. It seems your Master's skill wasn't too terrible," Ludwig noted.
"So you finally showed up? I almost thought a mere Guardian would be enough to hold you back. Don't disappoint me too much." Gilgamesh gave the Sword of Rupture a flourish. "As a sin for letting that mad dog waste my time... the judgement shall continue!"
"...What?"
────────────────────────────────────────
Support me here: https://[email protected]/AuAuMon
Type-Moon: The A-Ray Knight's Holy Grail Journey(91 Chapter - Ongoing)
Join the journey and become part of the story!
────────────────────────────────────────