Mission: 032 Black Tide

Mission:03-2 Black Tide

Ritsuka objected to Giorgios's guess. "But I've met her, and so have Demon Darling and Nero, haven't we?"

It seemed Mephisto, who was unwilling to reveal her True Name, had now been confirmed as "Demon." Truly, congratulations were in order.

Nero asked Ritsuka in return, "When you met Sphinx, was Demon with you?"

"She was, yes?"

"Then that explains it. She does not wish to appear before other Heroic Spirits. The one time she appeared before Demon was only because she had no choice."

As she spoke, Nero pointed at Ritsuka and herself. "The only ones she wanted to meet were the two of us, and neither of us is a Heroic Spirit."

Ritsuka understood. "I see. So she only appeared in front of Demon Darling because Demon Darling was with me the whole time?"

Giorgios agreed as well. "That should be the case."

Then she changed the subject and said, "She gave us a riddle, which means she understands the current state of the Singularity better than any of us. It also means she is willing to guide the Master in repairing the Singularity.

"In that case, Master, why not make finding her one of our objectives as well?"

And so, the next day, everyone split into two groups according to that idea. Ritsuka and Mephisto searched outside the town for Sphinx and other Heroic Spirits, while Nero and Giorgios went together to the lord's estate to confirm the situation with Beatrice.

However, not long after they set out, something happened.

"...?!"

Not far from the inn where they were staying, Giorgios frowned and gripped her Sword Hilt. Almost at the same moment, Nero also felt a faint, strange palpitation.

"You felt it too?" she asked Giorgios quietly.

The other woman frowned and replied, "An immense evil aura."

Then a projection opened in front of them. It was Mash, who had said before they left that she would maintain contact between the two sides through surveillance. The pink-haired girl said anxiously, "Something's happened! Please hurry outside the town and support the Master!"

The saint and the demon exchanged a glance, both thinking, Just as expected, and broke into a sprint.

There was no time to weave through the bustling crowds on the streets. Nero leaped straight onto the rooftops and parkoured toward the edge of town, with Giorgios following close behind. When they reached the edge of the town, they could see from afar a pitch-black tide flashing with red light as it swallowed the golden wheat fields and surrounded the two people inside.

Many people were fleeing the wheat fields in panic. They were farmers who had risen early to prepare for the harvest. Half a year of their hard labor had now been swallowed by the tide, yet there was nothing they could do. Many stared at the destroyed wheat fields, their faces already filled with despair—the lord's property had slipped away from their hands, and these people would likely be unable to escape starvation.

The two in the middle of the tide were naturally Ritsuka and Mephisto. At that moment, Mephisto was waving a slender, guardless rapier, struggling to protect Ritsuka.

"No good. My magecraft is barely working!"

Ritsuka kept trying to counterattack with small spells like fireballs and animal repulsion, but the results were minimal. Instead, she nearly got bitten twice by the surging tide.

"Master, be careful!" Mephisto hurriedly pulled her away and swung her sword, cutting down the black "droplet" that had lunged at them. Then she mocked herself helplessly. "My frontal Combat Power really is far too poor."

As a Caster-class Heroic Spirit, Mephisto had never excelled at direct combat in the first place. Even her Noble Phantasm leaned toward support. But the price of that Noble Phantasm was too high, and she could not use it lightly on her Master.

Until rescue arrived, what awaited Ritsuka and Mephisto would be a bitter fight.

As Nero and Giorgios approached the Farmland, they finally saw the True Face of the black tide. It was made up of countless large rats, their eyes flashing with an eerie red light.

Unlike normal rats, which could be caught in one hand, these rats' bodies had swollen to the length of a person's forearm. At the same time, they were also the source of the "evil aura" the two had sensed—this endless Rat Swarm, like an ocean tide, had all astonishingly turned into half-demons!

"You protect Ritsuka. I'll open a path for you."

After Nero said that, she did not give Giorgios time to answer. She drew Echidna and charged into the swarm. The long whip carrying countless scale-like blades instantly stirred up a rain of blood, shredding every Demonic Rat within five meters of Nero.

Then Nero drove forward, her whole body like a meat grinder, forcibly tearing a bloody path through the tide. But an assault like hers could easily injure Ritsuka's mortal body by mistake, so after killing her way to within ten meters of Ritsuka, Nero stopped where she was. Giorgios, who had followed behind her the whole way, finally drew her sword and charged alone into the Rat Swarm.

Compared to the flexible Serpent Sword, facing a wave-like horde of enemies with only a longsword was still somewhat overwhelming. Giorgios practically relied on her armor to withstand the Rat Swarm's tearing bites, reaching Ritsuka's side with Demonic Rats clinging all over her body.

Then she burst out with magical energy, shaking off the Demonic Rats that were biting into her armor and desperately trying to burrow inside. She swung her longsword through the air and cut them apart, then stood in front of Ritsuka.

"Master, I will lead you out. This way."

With Giorgios dealing with the Demonic Rats on one side, the pressure on Mephisto's side dropped sharply as well. She turned back to glance at the saint whose armor was nearly bitten full of gaps, then laughed and said, "How did even Your Saintship end up in such a sorry state?"

Giorgios did not respond. She simply held her sword and swung in silence, occasionally stomping the ground to release magical energy and seize her enemies, crushing her way through the tide with the steadfastness of a rock.

Under the protection of the two Heroic Spirits, Ritsuka finally had a little breathing room. She stopped casting and asked the air, "Mash, what are these rats?"

"Still analyzing!"

In Chaldea, Mash was drenched in sweat as she checked the monitoring Instrument Panel. "The magical energy emanating from them is undoubtedly demonic, but I can't find the source!"

"So it is as expected." Giorgios looked toward Nero, who was still reaping lives in the Rat Swarm not far away. The soil beneath her feet had already been dyed red by the blood of Demonic Rats. "This should be about enough. Master, I request permission to release my Noble Phantasm."

Ritsuka immediately thought of the legend in which Giorgios had once slain the Evil Dragon with the Holy Sword. This Giorgios was different from the Rider she had met before; she was a Saber-class Heroic Spirit. In that case, her Noble Phantasm had to be that dragon-slaying Holy Sword.

Ritsuka did not hesitate for long and immediately replied, "If you think it's necessary, use it!"

"Understood."

Giorgios took a deep breath and shouted at Nero, who was still fighting the Rat Swarm, "Nero, get farther away!"

Nero, who was still sweeping through everything with her Whip Sword, heard those words and turned her head. When she saw the Holy Sword shining in the paladin's hands, she understood that the Noble Phantasm was about to be released. Without looking back, she immediately fought her way out of the encirclement and ran toward the town.

No joke—these Holy Sword users' ultimate moves were all Light Cannons. She had no desire to take a full-power blast from a Holy Sword.

Beside Ritsuka, Mephisto's expression changed.

"You damn butcher, do demon lives not count as lives?!"