"Mash? You're reciting such a long monologue by yourself, but who exactly are you talking to?" Shirou complained as he looked at the pink-haired girl staring off who knew where.
"Shirou-senpai! Don't say it out loud! Such a moving monologue would go to waste!" Mash pouted in dissatisfaction.
Chapter 31: Summoning Heroic Spirit Shirou
Fate Company had gradually gotten on the right track. As a genius young CEO, Mash had originally wanted to record those monologues and use them as promotional slogans for the company's next event.
But Shirou's interruption made her forget all of them. Mash unhappily looked at her tactless senior. She had intended to complain a little more, but suddenly opened her mouth wide and stared with widened eyes.
"What? Why do you look like you want your senior to come out and see god?" Shirou asked Mash in confusion.
The other girls who looked over also revealed astonished expressions.
At that moment, a white halo resembling a magic circle appeared behind the boy's head.
Then the halo flashed with intense white light, and Shirou was sucked inside.
The matter had to be traced back several minutes.
It was an afternoon after school. On a small street along the route home, the sky was still fairly bright, only just beginning to shift toward dusk.
The girl's name was Yuuki Asuna, and she was facing the greatest crisis of her life. A tentacled monster was firing light blasts at her, forcing her to leap about, while a tiny person floated at her side and chattered nonstop.
It was neither a tower-climbing game's stage boss nor a virtual reality game that appeared on the streets after putting on some device. It was a real monster of flesh and blood, and its breath was fishy and foul.
She had clearly just left school early as usual as a member of the go-home club, taking the same route she normally used after school.
Yet that afternoon, the surroundings had somehow become deathly quiet, and even the air seemed somewhat oppressive.
The girl looked around. It was indeed a familiar scene, definitely the road she took home every day after school, so why did everything feel so abnormal?
Then her phone flashed with white light, and a tiny black-haired girl emerged from the screen and flew out.
"Danger! Master! Please summon a Heroic Spirit and prepare for battle!"
"Battle?" Yuuki Asuna asked in surprise. Looking at the familiar-looking chibi girl, she could not help wondering whether she was dreaming.
The moment she spoke.
A massive crack suddenly appeared ahead on the road. Space shattered like broken glass, splitting into fragments before finally being torn apart.
A round blue-black creature crawled out from within. More than a dozen octopus-like tentacles grew from its back, while a huge eyeball opened in the center of its front body, veins bulging grotesquely around it as it floated into the air.
"An eyeball monster? Why is it here?!" the girl cried out. She turned to flee, but how could she possibly escape?
"No time to explain! Automatically initiating Pseudo-Spiritron Summoning!" the tiny girl shouted as she activated the system.
White light enveloped the flaxen-haired girl.
Scanning enemy attributes. Class: Archer. Species: Gazer. Enormous magical energy response. Suspected mutant.
Selecting a Heroic Spirit compatible with the host's Pseudo-Spiritron Summoning conditions.
Lancer-class Heroic Spirit confirmed.
Compatibility: 95%.
Summoning!
Lancer-class Heroic Spirit: Minamoto no Raikou!
A great general of the Heian period, the greatest slayer of supernatural beings in this nation's history, and the disciplinary committee chairwoman from another world descended into this world!
White streams of light spiraled like dragons. Tall and slender, with a sword sheath hanging from the greave on her left leg, she held a white katana as feathered robes billowed high around her.
A valiant, tall girl stood there ramrod straight.
Her eyes were proud and noble. She swept her gaze toward the tentacled eyeball monster pursuing them through the sky and said coolly,
"Though there are still many things I do not understand, since there is a monster here, I shall cut it down first!"
The feathered robe draped over the girl fluttered in the wind. She leaped into the air, twisted aside from the light blast, and instantly appeared behind the Gazer. The white treasured blade in her hand crackled with lightning, transforming into a thunder blade as it came down in a fierce slash.
The incomparably sharp blade had once drunk the blood of countless monsters. Once it came down, the monster's thick octopus-like limbs should have been severed, while the violent lightning would have burned them to ash.
But as the blade fell upon the monster, just a hair's breadth away, something stopped it, as though it had struck an invisible and unyielding barrier.
The eyeball monster rolled its eye, and several tentacles abruptly straightened, extending like spears as they stabbed toward her.
The girl hurriedly threw out a metal ball attached to a wire. Lightning transformed into a flowing current and blocked the eyeball monster's tentacle attack, but the electricity sent toward it was stopped by the barrier, unable to inflict the slightest damage.
"It's clearly not that strong, so why can't I cut it? What is going on?" The girl retreated to widen the distance.
"Master! This monster has a high-energy magical shield around it. Ordinary attacks cannot damage it," Da Vinci said after scanning the monster.
"How are we supposed to fight this?!" the girl cried in complaint.
All attacks were blocked. If she got close, the tentacles would entangle her. If she pulled back, she would become a target for the eyeball's light blasts.
Even with Minamoto no Raikou possessing her, the girl could only keep dodging and opening the distance.
"Master! Please summon support!" Da Vinci shouted.
"Huh? That function exists too? Is it really okay to drag someone else into a monster this dangerous? Maybe I should just charge my Noble Phantasm to 300% and settle it in one shot."
"Master, among your friends is a warrior who has fought these monsters many times! Please summon him without concern!" Da Vinci displayed a hologram before the girl, with the cursor aimed at an account.
"Then it has to be a Servant who can turn the tide... Got it!" The girl's eyes lit up when she saw the Heroic Spirit available as support from the boy. She shouted, "Not an eggplant, summon!"
At that moment, the boy engulfed in white light saw, within an alternate space, a tower rising amid flower fields in a distant place. Even the blue-and-gold sword sheath that had long slumbered in the depths of his soul seemed to awaken, flashing once before falling silent again.
There, the boy saw a half-human, half-incubus man with an unruly smile on his lips.
Silver hair, violet eyes, a black staff in hand, and the King's sword once used by a king hidden within his white robes. Far removed from the world, he had dwelled in a high tower for thousands of years.
His name was the Magus of Flowers—Merlin!!
"..." Merlin looked at the boy and moved his lips.
He seemed to be saying something to him, before white light swallowed the boy.
A pillar of light flashed on the street. A boy clad in a loose white robe, purple ribbons, and black trousers leaped out from it, a staff in his hand.
"So I was summoned this time? My class is Caster? The legendary mentor of King Arthur, Merlin." Shirou drew the sword that looked remarkably similar to the holy sword he knew.
Though legend said this sword had broken during a duel in which King Arthur violated chivalry, as its creator, Merlin seemed to have already restored it.
Shirou surveyed the surroundings. It was an ordinary street, but the air was oppressive and saturated with magical energy. They were inside an alternate space.
Ahead, a provocatively dressed girl was being chased by a huge blackish-blue eyeball monster. She deftly avoided its tentacles and light blasts before circling back in his direction.
"You're Shirou from the same year? You're Not an Eggplant? Great! Hurry and help me take down this monster." The flaxen-haired girl recognized the white-robed boy who had suddenly appeared.
"Yuuki?" Shirou looked at the girl openly showing off her figure in a pink bikini, bouncing around the street with a yo-yo, and felt that she looked familiar. Wasn't she Yuuki Asuna, the second-year student at International High School who was as famous as Yukinoshita? And why did she know him?
No, this was not the time to ask that!
Shirou cast aside his stray thoughts, swung the Sword in the Stone, and slashed at the monster. He now possessed some of King Arthur's mentor's memories and combat experience. As a man who had once taught King Arthur swordsmanship, this level of sword technique naturally posed no difficulty.
The boy was actually not unfamiliar with this swordsmanship from Britain. As he swung the Sword in the Stone, he saw, through the memories of the Heroic Spirit within him, a young blonde girl with a ponytail diligently training every day under the guidance of her mentor and elder brother.
The boy could not help recalling that he too had once received swordsmanship instruction from that blonde girl in the dojo.
That really brought back memories!
The way she sternly knocked the bamboo sword from his hand; the time she sat properly in the dojo in her blue-and-white dress and spoke with him; the way she threw a little tantrum when he chose to learn dual-wielding rather than learn from her...
The boy imitated the girl's sword swing from his memories. Magical energy burst forth, and the golden sword swept out in a clean stroke. A golden blade of light raced along the ground before rising beneath the monster.
Chapter 32: Raikou Mom Appears
The sword-light unleashed by the golden Sword in the Stone struck the eyeball monster's body, only to be blocked by its sturdy magical barrier, causing it no harm whatsoever.
"Shirou, this monster's mutation trait this time is an almost high-density magical defensive wall. It has defense that ordinary attacks cannot penetrate," Da Vinci explained as she flew over, free to move around because they were in an alternate space.
"This monster's strength is way too ridiculous." Shirou spoke in shock. What exactly were these monsters? The first had attack power strong enough to destroy buildings in an alternate space, the previous one had been too fast to hit, and this one was so tough that it could not be cut.
"I have an idea. Please assist me in battle, Shirou." The girl spoke with imposing confidence.
"Got it! What do you need me to do?" Shirou asked.
"Reality is surely different, but since this is a monster that has appeared in the game, I'll solve it with game logic. If this monster is in something like an invincible state, then I'll break it with an attack that pierces invincibility! I'll use my Noble Phantasm for a one-hit kill! It's the only way, so please strengthen me as much as possible!" the girl said.
Throughout their continuous evasions, she had already seized the opportunity to complete her Noble Phantasm's charge, but it was still not safe enough. A giant eyeball monster like this could not possibly have low health. If she could not kill it in one strike, things would become troublesome afterward.
"Got it! I'll reinforce you with everything I have, Yuuki! I only received a small part of his experience, but Merlin knows far too much." Shirou opened his amber Mystic Eyes and raised his staff high.
"Shirou! Heroic Spirit abilities are far too powerful. Without training and knowledge, it is impossible to properly master them. That is why, when Da Vinci developed the FGO system, she created corresponding simplified strategies for ordinary people. Just fight according to game logic," Da Vinci reminded him.
"If it can be done, I'll know once I give it everything I have!" At that moment, the amber Mystic Eyes changed, radiating rainbow-colored light.
Projection: Suzuka Gozen's wisdom sword forged by a Bodhisattva, Shoutouren. It bestowed the "Blessing of Wisdom" upon him. The sword flashed silver, his mind became clear, his thoughts agile, and his use of magical energy more effortless as he adjusted himself to his optimal state.
First came Illusory Charisma. As the son of a human and a dream demon, the magus Merlin possessed vast magical energy. He cast reinforcement magecraft upon the girl's body, increasing the speed at which her Noble Phantasm charged.
Next came the illusions in which the magus Merlin possessed profound mastery, powerful enough at a certain level to deceive the world and alter the environment. He created a layer of mist around himself and the girl, concealing her true form, confusing the enemy, and protecting them.
Then came the magus Merlin's greatest achievement in life: shaping a king and child of the Red Dragon for Britain, teaching her martial prowess, virtue, governance, and strategy, and guiding her to draw the Sword in the Stone and become the perfect king.
In an instant, the girl's Saint Graph was remolded and underwent a brief ascension. Her physical strength, endurance, and magical energy all improved.
Finally, the boy held the golden Sword in the Stone in his left hand and the silver-glimmering Shoutouren in his right. Through his Mystic Eyes, he bestowed the greatest magical reinforcement magecraft he commanded upon the girl.
Several rays of light flashed. The girl's flaxen hair and the white feathered robe draped over her body were blown high by the wind pressure generated from surging magical energy.
The girl felt her stamina and strength greatly increase. Her Mana Burst had been amplified by more than half, and powerful magical energy overflowed from her body as red aura. A mist-like layer of magical protection enveloped her skin.
It seemed the boy's excellence had greatly exceeded her expectations. The girl nodded at him.
"Thank you, Shirou. I can feel an endless stream of strength surging through my whole body. With this, there definitely won't be a problem!"
The girl sheathed the white treasured sword, Dōjigiri Yasutsuna, and began chanting the incantation to activate her Noble Phantasm.
"This is the invincible, indestructible divine treasure possessed by Gozu Tennou, the incarnation of Indra as an Eastern god. The ultimate weapon forged by the gods together from the bones of holy sages..."
A bolt of lightning descended from the sky. The golden vajra pestle emitted a sizzling sound like tearing air apart, arcs of electricity flickering over its body as the girl fused with Minamoto no Raikou grasped it and spun it rapidly.
"Annihilate every enemy!—Shakra's Vajra!!!"
The girl lowered her body and hurled the vajra pestle. It transformed into lightning at maximum power, its divine might like the final strike unleashed by a god.
The lightning struck the eyeball monster dead on. Blue electric arcs flashed and danced like roaming dragons. Before that blow, all defenses became meaningless. The lightning instantly pierced the invincible barrier, swallowing the monster's massive body in intense light before it exploded with a deafening boom, burned so thoroughly that not even ash remained.
After attacking, the girl immediately raised her hand and ran over, high-fiving the boy in perfect unspoken coordination.
Smack!
"That's how it should be! Shirou, we work really well together." The girl excitedly clasped the hand she had high-fived with and waved it through the air as she laughed.
Perhaps it was because the Heroic Spirit inside her had influenced her personality, or perhaps the girl herself possessed some quality suited for battle. Like someone who had just played an amazing game, she was thrilled beyond measure.
A powerful monster, the tension of possibly being defeated at any second, then using a dazzling move to decide victory in one strike! There was nothing more exciting or fun in the world!
Is this what they call a supernatural slayer? Shirou inwardly sighed.
While reinforcing the girl through his Mystic Eyes, Shirou had already learned that Yuuki Asuna had summoned Lancer-class Heroic Spirit Minamoto no Raikou through Pseudo-Spiritron Summoning.
But wasn't Minamoto no Raikou the bearded general from Japanese legends who fought demons alongside the onmyouji Abe no Seimei?
The legendary general who frequently appeared in all kinds of games, anime, television dramas, and movies?
Why was she a woman? And she even looked like a fanservice character? Though she was incredibly cool in battle.
Still, Ushiwakamaru, the Heroic Spirit he had fought alongside before, had also been a woman. So was it because they came from different worlds? It was not impossible to understand. Besides, he had no desire at all to summon some bearded old man.
At that moment, the girl seemed immersed in the excitement of the previous battle.
"Hey, Yuuki?" Shirou called, pulling her back from her thoughts.
"Hmm?" The girl smiled gently and looked at him.
"If you think about it, wouldn't it be a little embarrassing to wear a bikini on the street and happily wave your fists around?" Shirou tactfully reminded her.
"What are you talking about, Shirou? I would never allow something that disrupts public morals to happen." Completely unaware of her current outfit, the girl declared with absolute certainty.
Shirou covered his face. Sure enough, this girl had also been influenced by the personality on the other side. As the shadow disciplinary committee chairwoman, she upheld public morals everywhere due to her Madness Enhancement trait, yet completely overlooked the fact that she herself was the worst offender.
The boy could only remind her another way.
"Yuuki, anyway, it's about time to change back, right? Otherwise, people will be coming here soon."
"Asuna!" The girl lightly brushed back the hair beside her ear and smiled at the boy.
"Huh?" Shirou froze.
Before you continue