"What, what? A suspicious Bearded Uncle dressed like some big villain; a little Magecraft girl who seemed pretty ordinary apart from her spirit; a beauty in the hologram who looked like a shady merchant? Hm? What kind of soul was hiding inside that beautiful body of yours? Well, as long as the outside is pretty and the figure is good, it would not matter even if there were an old man with white beard inside!"
"Oh... and there was a pink-haired little girl who looked somewhat familiar, but she had such an innocent face that she clearly did not understand anything. Then looking at the opponent—whoa! What was with that terrifying giant wolf that looked like the King of Magical Boars? A Headless Knight with a mount of that level—just who was he?!"
"This will not do! This team absolutely will not do! It feels like the entire party will be wiped out any second now. Hey! Hey! Shirou, let's run after all." After babbling nonstop, the box directly proposed retreating.
Scythe of the Grim Reaper Unleashed
"Shirou, your current state feels very strange to me," Artoria said as she looked at the Youth whose hair had turned blond.
There seemed to be an aura around him that felt extremely familiar to her, almost as though he were her own incarnation. The box inside the cage he carried in his hand was even stranger.
"It's fine. Although the shift in my Spirit Origin has affected me a little, I'm still me," Shirou explained.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!!! This voice, this beauty, these lovely legs—isn't this the perfect younger sister from my dreams?! Beautiful Miss, may I ask your name?" The decorations on the box, shaped like eyes and a mouth, shook violently along with the box itself.
"This chatty, sharp-tongued, dirty way of speaking... could you be Kay?" Artoria asked, frowning at the box.
"Huh? Charming Miss, do you know me?" the box asked, utterly flattered.
"This is Miss Artoria Pendragon, the King of Knights," Gudako ran over and introduced her.
"Huh? Pendragon!!! Artoria? How could the King of Knights possibly be female?!" the box cried out in shock.
"You insolent fool. Has becoming a box muddled your head? Shall I fix you by chopping you a few times?" Artoria directly raised her Holy Sword.
"Eek, eek, eek! That Holy Sword is the real thing!!!" The box wailed as though its entire worldview had collapsed.
"Merlin in this world is male too," Shirou, who possessed the memories of that world, explained.
"What? That black-hearted yuri woman who loves pretending to be young?!" the box shrieked again.
"Wait, then... this beautiful Miss is my adoptive younger sister in this world? Damn it! I want to duel with the me from this world! I want him to trade with me so badly!"
"Ah... for some reason, uncle feels like even his one and only value is about to be stolen," Bearded Uncle said dejectedly.
Although this Mage's Formal Wear possessed many powerful functions, its true nature was actually that of a seal.
The cage also contained a female voice that served as the seal's simulated personality. Yet in order to protect this Holy Relic, one of the Knights of the Round Table had been summoned into the box within the cage. His True Name was Kay.
He was the eldest son of the old knight whose home King Arthur had been fostered in during his youth, a figure much like the King's older brother.
He had once led the King, who was training as a knight, and Merlin on journeys throughout the nations of Europe, leaving behind countless legends.
Though chatty, sharp-tongued, and hated by countless people, he might have been the one among the Knights of the Round Table who valued loyalty and friendship the most.
Other than Merlin, he was the one who had known the King the longest. He had witnessed the King's entire upbringing since childhood.
Though the King had only been a child, her father and Merlin had begun training her as a "king" very early on.
This was not merely a matter of child abuse. Before that, they had never treated the King as a "person" at all.
Every morning, she underwent knightly training, then studied military affairs and administration without a moment of rest. At night, she had to tend the horses and patrol. She slept less than three hours a day.
In truth, even in her dreams, she continued receiving instruction from Merlin, the Child of Nightmares.
From childhood to adulthood, the King had never experienced even the slightest bit of beauty from the nation she protected.
Yet even such a King had been misunderstood by the Knights of the Round Table.
Tristan left the Knights of the Round Table after saying, "The King of Knights does not understand the human heart."
For Guinevere's sake, Lancelot killed Agravain after he discovered their affair. He later accidentally killed two Knights of the Round Table, Gaheris and Gareth. Gawain, whose younger brother and sister had been killed, swore eternal enmity against him.
Then Mordred stepped forward and declared that she was the King's illegitimate child, asking for the King's recognition. She was rejected.
King Arthur still trusted Mordred. She soothed the stubborn knight and had her remain behind in Camelot alongside Gawain and Kay. Meanwhile, the King led her army on an expedition to Rome to address Britain's food shortage, caused by the fading of Mystery.
During that time, Morgan le Fay stirred up trouble everywhere. Kay, unable to bear the increasingly dreadful atmosphere within the Knights of the Round Table, chose to leave for a time. To him, the country that could only be maintained through the King's sacrifices was not important at all. It would have been better if it had never existed in the first place; then the King might have found happiness.
He never imagined that the consequences of his departure would be so severe. During King Arthur's Roman campaign, Mordred was incited into leading the ambitious lords and nobles in rebellion.
Leading the cavalry he had recruited himself, Kay covered the King of Knights' escape when she was ambushed and driven to the brink of despair.
Kay remained behind to fight the enemy army. After that, he never saw the King again.
King Arthur returned to Camelot with her army and began the tragic Battle of Camlann. Both sides slaughtered each other until rivers of blood flowed. In the end, King Arthur pierced the rebel Mordred to death with the Holy Lance, but she herself suffered fatal wounds and was sent to Avalon.
That was a place only the innocent could enter. Kay, burdened by irreparable mistakes, could not enter it.
Filled with guilt and grief, Kay willingly became the gravekeeper of the Arthurian family cemetery. Even after death, he did not leave. Instead, in the form of a soul, he guarded the place for a thousand years.
During that time, legends of the "Eternal King" spread throughout the world. The dying King Arthur had been carried by four Ladies of the Lake into Avalon, and the people believed that King Arthur had not died—that she would return once more to save mankind.
"Ayd, are you ready? This is a once-in-a-thousand-years chance to fight alongside the King of Knights," Shirou said.
"Just call me Artoria here," the blonde girl said.
"Ohhh, Artoria—ah! What a beautiful name. I suddenly feel motivated! Shirou! Let's go! In our current state, let's make a scene!!!"
"Ayd" instantly transformed. The small birdcage-like cage unfolded, flickering with a hazy blue glow like ghostly fire, and a long scythe appeared in the Youth's hand.
This was one of the limited modes of the Mage's Formal Wear that his family had passed down for a thousand years: the scythe used by the Grim Reaper to harvest souls. Thus, it was called the Scythe of the Grim Reaper.
"Jeanne! Move!" Shirou shouted at the silver-haired girl rushing out from the shop as he charged forward and made a gesture.
"I know! This is the roar of my soul, tempered through hatred—Roar, My Rage!"
Blazing flames erupted, completely sweeping across the street and trapping the giant wolf and the Youth and girls within.
"Well done! Now the Headless Knight cannot escape. This is a battle against trapped beasts!" Kay, transformed into a scythe, shouted.
The giant wolf roared. The Headless Knight swung his long scythe and leaped high into the air as the giant beast's enormous paw smashed down toward the Youth.
Vassal's Iron Hammer!!!
The black Holy Sword released magical energy, transforming into a black warhammer more than two meters long in the blonde girl's hand. It whipped up a violent gale as it slammed into the giant wolf's descending claw.
The battle had officially begun!
Image: "Scythe of the Grim Reaper," location: "Images/1524372734-100062415-101848870.jpg"
Sword Shadows and Scythe Light Dance
On one side stood the Headless Knight riding a giant wolf with a shoulder height of three meters. On the other stood a blonde girl only 154 centimeters tall, holding a Holy Sword radiating black light.
Even with such an enormous difference in scale, the girl showed not the slightest fear. She calmly faced it and simply swung her Holy Sword with all her strength.
The giant wolf's claw tips collided with the black magical hammer. The immense forces clashed with a dull boom. Artoria took one step back, while the giant wolf's paw was knocked aside as well.
"Awwooo!!!" The giant wolf opened its jaws and let out a piercing roar. Its breath carried the force of a hurricane, whipping up dust and sand to blind its enemies, while its sharp fangs looked ready to bite them in half.
At that moment, Shirou rushed forward. Lowering his body, he swung the scythe in his hand, and its sharp edge struck between the giant wolf's jaws.
The giant wolf cried out in pain and snapped its mouth shut. It glared furiously, preparing to bring down its claw and tear the Youth before it to pieces.
Artoria stepped forward again, swinging her sword toward the giant claw and blocking the giant wolf's attack.
Shirou's combat style at that moment leaned more toward agility. The fighting techniques he had developed under the influence of his physical body worked perfectly with Artoria's, their coordination so seamless it was like the left and right hands of the same person.
Shirou found it unbelievable as well. The vessel he had summoned and possessed had been cultivated for the purpose of resurrecting King Arthur. Thus, its pseudo-Spirit Origin was the closest to the legendary King Arthur's, almost identical apart from lacking the Dragon Factor.
Perhaps because of that, he now felt like Artoria's other half.
He did not even need to look at the girl's sword movements to predict her next action. A single glance was enough for him to understand what she wanted, allowing him to support the blonde girl's attacks at exactly the right moment.
The girl understood every movement the Youth made. Perhaps it was because his current Spirit Origin truly resembled hers so closely, but she knew that was not the only reason for their perfect coordination.
The most important reason was that the Youth's heart trusted her completely. Therefore, she could safely entrust the protection of her body entirely to him.
At that moment, their breathing was synchronized. Though their bodies did not touch, they were closer than people holding hands or embracing. Open and honest with one another, their hearts, minds, and souls were tightly bound together.
Their attacks came one after another. As soon as one attacked, the other followed.
One could attack with all her heart because someone would certainly block every danger for her.
The Youth and the girl exchanged a glance and smiled sweetly.
The two fought together like a legendary sword formation. The Holy Sword's shadow and the light reflected by the Scythe of the Grim Reaper intertwined as though they were dancing, multiplying their strength severalfold. Even the giant wolf with its terrifying power no longer seemed so frightening.
"Awwooo!!!" The giant wolf cried out in pain as another wound was carved into its body.
The giant wolf looked at the Youth and girl before it in confusion. The two humans clearly looked weak and should never have been its opponents. Yet in battle, it felt as though it were facing a giant with three heads and six arms.
Every powerful sweep of the savage giant wolf's claws and every bite from its sharp fangs was neutralized by their flawless coordination. At the same time, whenever one person blocked the wolf's attack, the other injured it. For a time, the giant wolf was suppressed by their combined assault.
"Burn for me!!!" Jeanne raised her flag and shouted.
Magical energy transformed into flames and suddenly exploded across the giant wolf's body. Caught off guard, the giant wolf let out a miserable scream.
But that also interrupted Artoria and the Youth's chain of attacks, forcing them both to retreat and evade the flames.
"Assault Girl! Did you do that on purpose?" Artoria shouted angrily. The atmosphere between her and Shirou had been so perfect just now!
"Hah! I only saw you two fighting endlessly like that. I don't really understand why, but it made me angry! I want to fight too!" Jeanne drew her longsword and shouted as she charged forward.
Shinjuku Archer continuously fired magical bullets, restraining the Headless Knight above as he swung his long scythe.
Under the siege of the four Servants, the Headless Knight and the giant wolf could no longer hold on. After suffering several more heavy blows, they collapsed to the ground.
"Is it over?" Gudako asked.
"No! The Headless Knight is showing intense magical fluctuations. Senpai, please be careful!" Mash shouted as she looked at the monitored data.
"Awwooo!!!" The giant wolf raised its head and let out a mournful howl. Its eyes revealed the fury and despair of having its beloved killed and being unable to avenge her. Resentment entwined with magical energy, becoming black vapor that wrapped around the giant wolf.
Aside from Artoria, every Servant who had appeared in this world seemed extremely unusual. There were Imitation Heroic Spirits created by the Holy Grail, as well as beings that had never existed in reality—Phantom Spirits.
Originally, Phantom Spirits referred to fictional entities whose Spirit Origin values were insufficient for them to become Heroic Spirits or Anti-Heroic Spirits.
If they came from widely beloved stories and possessed the faith of billions, even fictional beings or those whose achievements were insufficient to make them Heroic Spirits could potentially be summoned as Servants, such as Rhyme and Holmes.
But concepts on the level of fictional novels and ghost stories—that was, Phantom Spirits—could only quietly await the erosion of time. Perhaps they might one day become world-famous like the Holmes stories and thereby become Heroic Spirits, but most would simply disappear.
However, in this world of Shinjuku, that common sense had changed. Phantom Spirits could fuse with Phantom Spirits, and Phantom Spirits could fuse with Heroic Spirits, becoming beings more ferocious than the vast majority of Heroic Spirits.
Wrapped in black vapor, the giant wolf underwent a mutation. It had originally been an unstable product formed by Phantom Spirit fusion, but it changed once more. Something writhed beneath the gray-blue giant wolf's body, tearing through its fur as long purple-blue growths emerged like rows of spikes. The Headless Knight's black scythe was also clenched in the giant wolf's jaws.
It could no longer be called an animal. It was a monster filled with hatred.
"It forcibly changed its own class! Rider has now become Avenger!" Mash cried out in shock from Chaldea. "So the Headless Knight was never the one in control from the beginning—the wolf was!"
Jeanne d'Arc Alter looked at the giant wolf's transformed form as though she were seeing her past self, and she cursed in anguish.
"You idiot! Becoming an Avenger means becoming a monster that feeds on hatred and revenge, a cursed lifeform. The resentment and despair in its heart can never again be released.
"At this point, even killing its enemy will be useless. Even destroying the world will not help. Its heart will inevitably twist with every killing until it may even forget why it sought revenge. It will only feel anger and despair, eventually falling into a machine of slaughter, tormented by the pain in its heart until death."
"This wolf cannot be saved..." Jeanne d'Arc Alter looked at the Demon Wolf that had become an Avenger. As though she had made up her mind, she pleaded with the Youth, "Shirou, help me. Let's end this for it here!"
"I understand. I'll activate my Noble Phantasm and attack as well," Shirou agreed, then opened his Magic Eye to observe the monster's true form.
Ending the Vengeful Demon Wolf
Its True Name was—Black Forest Lobo.
On the Kalambo Plateau in New Mexico, there once lived a gray wolf as legendary as a hero. He led five vicious wolves, each exceptionally fierce. Among them was the white wolf Blanca, Lobo's wife.
Lobo was brave and skilled in battle, and his intelligence did not lose to that of humans. He easily saw through the traps humans laid, evaded bullets, and no matter how skilled the hunters were, they could do nothing to him.
Wolf King Rob was like the master of the plateau. He freely hunted cattle from farms for food, devouring two thousand cows over five years. To take revenge, he had once killed two hundred and fifty sheep in one night without taking a single bite.
In the end, the hunters killed the white wolf Blanca and placed thousands of traps around her corpse. They drew in the grief-stricken Lobo, who was finally caught in a trap.
Even after being injured, the Wolf King fought humans until his final moment, dying in despair and grief.
His story was adapted by Seton, the "Father of Animal Fiction," into Wild Animals I Have Known. It spread far and wide and became known throughout the world.
The Phantom Spirit on the wolf's back was Black Forest Hessian, a mercenary ghost whose head had been directly blasted off by a cannonball and who wandered through Sleepy Hollow.
As embodiments of resentment and hatred, he and Wolf King Rob had fused into one. Yet Black Forest Hessian was not the one in control. Wolf King Rob was.
Its intense Vengeful Heart caused it to feed on humans and hatred, continuously strengthening itself amid anger and despair until it became a monster that had forgotten everything and knew only revenge.
"Wolf King Rob! There are no grasslands you miss here, nor is there the wife you loved. So I will be the one to kill you." The silver-haired girl looked at the fallen Wolf King and raised her cursed military flag high, declaring:
"Only dying within the dream of a bubble is salvation for us Avengers!—Roar, My Rage!"
Fireworks of hatred surged forth, trapping the mutated Demon Wolf.
The scythe in Shirou's hand changed, transforming into a spear of light.
This was the Holy Lance Rhongomyniad, one of the anchors that fixed the surface world and the reverse side of the world onto the planet—a radiant tower standing at the end of the world, a pillar protecting humanity.
Even though its seals had not been fully released, merely using a small part of its power possessed destructive force comparable to god-level Magecraft.
Shirou recited the gravekeeper's incantation, a eulogy for the dead. He hoped to grant release to the souls burdened by hatred, lost within themselves, and unable to ascend.
"Graye... me... I am the burial keeper..."
"Graye... for you... I dig your grave..."
Before you continue