Please Play FGO With Me

"Of course! Something this fun... No! We definitely can't just leave dangerous things like this unattended!" the girl declared righteously. And it was precisely this slightly dangerous thrill that made the game so addictive.

"That's great! Shirou-senpai, we've gained a powerful ally," Mashu said, clenching her small fist and looking at the boy with a happy expression.

"Then, please take care of me. And you can just call me Asuna! All my friends call me that," Asuna said with a smile.

"Likewise, please take care of me," Shirou nodded.

"Please take care of me, Yuuki-san. Thank you for the information you gave me earlier. It's best to have reliable allies join us so we can quickly deal with these monsters," Yukino nodded in agreement.

"I already told you, it's Asuna! And can I call you Yukino?" Asuna stepped forward and took the black-haired girl's hand.

"Um, um... if you want to call me that," Yukino whispered, her face slightly flushed.

"Huh? Yukino, are you perhaps feeling shy? That won't do, Yukino's number one best friend is me!" Yuihama said, hugging her with a hint of jealousy.

"Yuihama, don't hug me so tight, it's hot," Yukino tried to push her away, but was only hugged tighter.

Mashu watched this, fell silent for a moment, then realized and also opened her arms to join the embrace.

"Yukino-senpai! Please let me join too!"

"I said don't come over here!" Yukino yelled, her face flushed with embarrassment.

"Today is truly peaceful," Shirou, sitting to the side, slowly took a sip of his tea.

From then on, after school and on holidays, Shirou and the girls would set aside time to deal with problems in the otherworldly space together, and the clearing of monsters became much smoother.

One reason was Asuna's addition. As a gaming expert, she could always devise the most reasonable tactical assignments for monsters of different classes in a short amount of time.

"What are you looking at! You're not a pig, you're a dragon! Then slaughter it! It's that simple." Asuna was teaching Shirou the correct way to use Teacher Qiao, not as a meat shield, but as an ultimate powerhouse capable of slaying dragons.

"I've learned! Teacher Asuna." Shirou, having summoned Saint George, put away his notebook.

He leaped towards the demonic pig underground, removed his cape with one hand, and drew Ascalon with the other.

He flung his cape to envelop the monster, then brought his sword down. "You are a dragon, and you are guilty!" - [Mightiest Slaughter Blessing Sword (Ascalon)]

"Ooooh!" The demonic pig let out a scream and was cut in half as a dragon-pig.

Then Shirou, with practiced ease, stood side-by-side with Asuna, who was making a V-sign, and pressed the capture button. Lately, his phone seemed to be filling up with photos of him with girls.

On the other hand, with Merlin's assistance, their combat strength had indeed increased significantly. Ushiwakamaru's skill, Tengu's Tactics, combined with Merlin and Mashu, could speed up Noble Phantasm charging. Since they were a five-person team plus Little Da, using Noble Phantasms became more convenient, and combat became much more efficient.

In the otherworldly space, dozens of wolf-headed monsters with red, fierce eyes emerged, revealing sharp claws in their hands or gripping weapons, their mouths emitting threatening growls and dripping saliva. They looked nothing like intelligent beings, more like enraged beasts that had lost their minds.

Despite being endowed with monsters of various classes, they all charged forward recklessly as if in a state of Mad Enhancement.

"No matter how many times I fight, I still can't get used to these mad monsters. Even goblins in games have some intelligence, right?" Yukino, who had summoned Ushiwakamaru, dodged with nimble, swallow-like movements.

When facing this type of group monster, once they got close and entangled you, it would be impossible to break free, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

"These monsters are abnormal. They have no fear as living beings. They must be controlled by something," Little Da said, flying in the air with a small frown.

Chapter 35: The Mastermind Appears

Facing the ferocious wolf-headed monsters, Shirou raised his magic staff and cast an illusion. In the monsters' eyes, the entire space became shrouded in mist, obscuring the prey's figures, and they instantly lost their targets.

The boy, relying on Merlin's A-rank illusion mastery, confused the monster group. Illusions were originally Magecraft that only affected the mind, creating phantoms. There are no useless skills, only useless users.

Any type of skill, when reaching the level of "Mirroring," will be sublimated and possess incredible abilities.

Just like a Great Hero's A-rank Clairvoyance can already achieve mind-reading, X-ray vision, and glimpses of the future. The basic Magecraft of Projection, in the right hands, can be used to mass-produce Noble Phantasms. Of course, if it were Chinese martial arts, A-rank would still be just the beginning.

This mage, possessing Grand Class power, has mastered illusions to the point where they can deceive the world and alter the environment, making the fake indistinguishable from the real. If Merlin himself were here, it wouldn't be impossible to create Camelot out of thin air, but it would be repaired once discovered by the world.

With the support of Mashu and Shirou, Yuihama, transformed into the fox-eared JK Suzuka Gozen, had completed her Noble Phantasm charge. Empowered by her companions, the fox-eared girl's Great Pass Chain flashed with an incredibly brilliant golden light, splitting into hundreds of swords that circled in the air, forming multiple pillars of light that enclosed a circular formation.

The girl swung her sword, and the swords instantly descended.

[——Tenkiame] Hundreds of golden meteor showers fell, piercing all the surrounding wolf-headed people.

[Appear, my loyal retainers, my limbs, my armor! The Four Heavenly Kings under the Minamoto clan—Ushiwakamaru's Thunderous Call? Heaven's Net is Vast!!!]

A handsome woman in armor, displaying an invincible posture, stood in the center with a sword. She manifested four figures, each wielding a different Noble Phantasm: a golden battle-ax, a longbow, a spear, and a white sword, flashing with different colored magical light. In an instant, they launched hundreds of attacks against a giant ghost, consuming it in lightning.

Thus, another large red dot on the FGO system map disappeared.

"Senpai, you're amazing! If this continues, we'll clear out all the monsters in the otherworldly spaces very soon," Mashu said happily, holding her phone.

"Yeah, that's great," Shirou nodded. However, with the increase in combat power, the current trouble wasn't so much the monsters as it was their own side. For some reason, the Raikou that Asuna sometimes summoned was of the Berserker class. The maternal instinct of Mad Enhancement EX, even if Asuna tried her best to stop it, would be completely suppressed by this mental power.

"Shirou, when are you going to reply to Mom's suggestion from last time? Your silence means you agree, right? Right? Right? Right?" Mother Raikou, wearing a tight-fitting bodysuit, locked her loving gaze onto the boy, looking as if she wouldn't give up unless he agreed.

"Let's talk about your wish first," Shirou pleaded.

"This time, Mom wants to hold her child tightly in her arms and dote on him. After all, mother and child need skin-to-skin contact to connect spiritually. That way, Shirou, you'll surely understand Mom's love," Mother Raikou said, her face flushed.

"..." The three girls stared at the boy, feeling a sense of pressure.

"Yui! You're the one!" Shirou said, pushing Yuihama forward.

Raikou embraced the girl with the dango-shaped hair and looked at Shirou with a slightly resentful gaze. However, her overflowing maternal love quickly made her accept this child, and she gently stroked the girl's head.

"Eh? Daughter? Mom actually wanted Shirou more, but Yui... Yui? I feel like if I had a daughter, I'd want to name her that. Good girl..."

"Hehehe, Mother Raikou? But my body is still Asuna's. Being hugged and patted on the head by someone my age like this makes me a little shy," Yuihama said with a shy smile, being held in her arms. The girl, being patted on the head, actually seemed to be enjoying it.

"I'm sorry! Yuihama."

Afterward, a recovered Asuna clasped her hands together and apologized to the girl. She had intended to summon a Lancer, but for some reason, a Berserker automatically appeared. This kind of thing had been happening frequently lately.

"It's okay, it's okay, it's actually quite comfortable getting used to it," Yuihama said, waving her hand with a smile.

"..." Mash looked enviously at Shirou-senpai.

"But speaking of which, this transformation is really amazing! The feel here seems softer than the first time, has it really been stretched out?" Yuihama said, throwing herself into the girl's arms again, confirming the sensation.

"Huh? Really?" Asuna looked down in surprise.

"!" Yukino's eyes lit up as if she had seen a glimmer of hope. She made up her mind and muttered, "When is the next CCC collaboration limited rerun? I'm going to spend all my money! I must get Passion Lip this time! Meltryllis is already max NP, why won't she show up? My lower-tier alternatives are Raikou and Gorgon..."

Shirou, standing nearby, wiped sweat from his brow and thought, 'You don't really need to be so anxious. From a genetic perspective, your future still holds a lot of possibilities.'

Shirou had learned many team combat strategies, but since he had Merlin, he only needed to support Red NP Heroic Spirits to deal high damage.

At this moment, Chaldea's internal search detected a reaction from the shadows.

"Director! We've detected a special magical energy reaction that wasn't there before!" Staff B shouted.

"Lock onto it immediately! The mastermind has finally appeared!" Da Vinci exclaimed energetically.

"Understood! Magical energy reaction locked!" Staff B immediately operated the machine.

The screen displayed a male Heroic Spirit standing there, entirely black as if covered in black mud, much like Ushiwakamaru in Mesopotamia. Furthermore, a reaction from the Holy Grail was detected on him.

Behind the man, waves of Demonic Beasts crawled out. They were being continuously produced by this cave, attacking Chaldea's forces.

The man walked into the cave, the cave closed, and then the reaction disappeared.

"Tch, we lost them. Continue monitoring!"

"Yes!"

In the void, the black Heroic Spirit held a bridle-like object in one hand and the Holy Grail in the other, summoning new Demonic Beasts. With the Holy Grail's help, the summoned Demonic Beasts entered various nests and began to devour each other.

It was like raising gu. Legend has it that the gu raiser would place the five poisons—snakes, scorpions, spiders, centipedes, and golden silkworms—and various rare poisonous creatures from the world into a sealed space without food, letting the starving poisons kill each other. The one that remained in the end would be the king of poisons.

The nests here were similar. The monsters that remained in the end grew to enormous sizes, their innate abilities were enhanced, and they gained mutated attributes. Their eyes turned a blood-red color, as if they had lost their minds.

"Go in there! Find our enemy!" the black Heroic Spirit pointed to a black, hole-like tunnel that led to Shirou's world.

"Roar! Roar!"

Led by three giant beast-like shadows, the horde of Demonic Beasts surged into the black hole, following the giant beast shadows.

Chapter 36: A Normal Morning at Home

After a week of hard work by the young men and women, the other dimension and the weekend passed in the blink of an eye. It was now time for school again.

At 6 AM, Shirou finished his training for the day and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Thump, thump, thump. The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Good morning." The black-haired girl rubbed her eyes as she walked down.

"That's too much! Brother seems to be very busy lately. Komachi is a candidate for exams, and you don't even study with me. You just leave my late-night snacks at the door!" Komachi complained.

"That's not right. It's you who won't let me into your room," Shirou retorted casually while chopping vegetables in the kitchen.

"You won't come in just because I don't let you?!" Komachi looked at her brother with disappointment.

"What exactly do you want me to do?" Shirou asked helplessly.

"Well, even though Brother is busy, Komachi is also busy with her revision. And seeing that Brother seems to be living a fulfilling life, Komachi is also very happy. As far as Komachi's points are concerned, you've scored very high just now~!" the sister said with a grin.

"Yes, yes. No matter how much you try to boost my affection, you won't get any benefits," Shirou said, picking up a sausage octopus and putting it into Komachi's mouth.

"Mmmph~ So yummy!" Komachi swallowed the octopus in a few bites, showing her small fangs as she smiled.

Her sister's words made the young man fall into thought.

Yes, he had been living a fulfilling life lately. As an ordinary person, he was truly fortunate to have been reborn into this world. However, as a happy person like him, the most he could do for others was to help fix machines or move things. Although a world without a justice hero might be the most peaceful and happy one.

But deep in his heart, when he saw accidents and unexpected events, he still wished that if he had been there, perhaps those tragedies could have been prevented.

After his experiences in his past life, he valued the people around him even more. But in his current situation, being able to help Mash, defeat monsters, and save the world, he truly felt that such a life was fulfilling.

After the battles of these days, he would help fulfill the Heroic Spirits' wishes, which gave him quite a few opportunities to be alone with them. At that time, Minamoto no Yorimitsu said this to him.

"Your justice is admirable, but it's twisted. You need someone by your side to guide you, otherwise, you will find it difficult to attain happiness."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu, with her Berserker attribute, was reliable in battle and difficult to deal with in daily life. Although she was different from ordinary people when she was in her Berserker state, one sentence truly struck a chord with Shirou.

Perhaps it was true. In his previous life, Kiritsugu had passed away very early, and Fujimura-ane was only a high school student at the time. She couldn't be said to have taken care of him; it was more like companionship.

If only someone had taught him how to live and grow back then, perhaps he would have become a completely different person.

So, when Raikou invited him, he was actually very happy.

"Shirou, I swear I will dote on you like my own son, so become my family! I will build a close and intimate relationship with you, just like with the Four Heavenly Kings," Minamoto no Yorimitsu said to the young man.

If there were such a world, and he hadn't been found by Kiritsugu but by Raikou, perhaps he would have followed the Four Heavenly Kings under Minamoto no Yorimitsu's command, assisting her in slaying demons and eradicating evil. His archery skills could be put to good use, and he was quite confident in maintaining and forging katanas. He probably wouldn't be useless, and perhaps he would get along surprisingly well with these ancient warriors.

"Thank you, but I already have family here, so I can't become your son. However, if you wish for us to have a friendly and close relationship, I would be grateful for your guidance," Shirou had said to Raikou at the time.

"Eh? You can't be my son? But you want to be close, even though I'm currently in my Berserker state, unable to suppress my demonic nature, like a monster, is that okay?" Minamoto no Yorimitsu asked in surprise.

"Yes, of course!" Shirou agreed without hesitation. Friends are friends. If they do something wrong, you'll give them a good scolding, but if you see them in trouble, even if their nature is that of a scumbag, you'll never abandon them. Not to mention that Minamoto no Yorimitsu was already a trusted comrade.

"I... Is that so? Even if we're not mother and child, a family as close as mother and child would be fine too, right?" Mother Raikou, muttering these words with flushed cheeks, excitedly pulled Shirou into an embrace before contentedly fading into light and returning.

This left Shirou, who quickly got out of the girl's embrace and was still a bit bewildered, along with a blushing Asuna.

After that, Shirou also noticed that his compatibility with Merlin had, at some point, become one hundred percent.

When seven in the morning arrived, his parents, who had also worked overtime until past nine the previous night, got up.

Then, Shirou and Komachi began serving the food, and the family prepared to eat.

While eating breakfast, Hachiman's father, who was reading the newspaper, suddenly said, "Things have been quite unsettled lately. There was another earthquake a few days ago in the afternoon, near Shirou's school, wasn't there? Did you feel anything?"

"No, I didn't," Shirou replied, lowering his head to shovel rice into his mouth.

At this moment, the morning news on the television was also reporting: "Recently, tremors caused by unknown reasons continue to occur frequently."

The broadcast then showed a video of glass on a building, hanging banners, and flags shaking unnaturally. "A vacant shopping mall in Shinjuku suddenly vibrated, suspected to be underground movement caused by recent frequent earthquakes."

This building was the place where Shirou and Yuihama had fought. The video continued to show several other locations as well – the alternate dimensions they had recently fought in had, unexpectedly, been filmed.

"That's really dangerous. Komachi, remember to come home early after school. There have been more and more strange accidents like this lately," Hachiman's father said.

"Shirou, you too. Accidents have been really strange lately, like a large bus in the parking lot suddenly flipping over, or an explosion in an apartment building. Fortunately, no one was there. It's almost like a supernatural event, it's truly terrifying," Hachiman's mother added.

"I know, don't worry, Mom and Dad. Big brother, you be careful too," Komachi obediently nodded in agreement, not forgetting to remind her own brother.

I'm sorry! Shirou didn't know what else to say, so he apologized to his family in his heart, his resolve hardening to solve this matter as quickly as possible.