Opening the Anime World with the FGO Method

As she spoke, Remilia carefully scanned Koizumi. While she was used to Koizumi's mysteriousness, seeing him constantly use new methods made Remilia increasingly curious.

Where did this guy come from? How does he have so many tricks up his sleeve? And what's the deal with my contract with him? Is it a normal Servant-Master contract? No, Ritsuka and Mash aren't like that!

"I'm fine..." Koizumi said with a faint smile, but his eyes kept glancing at his hands.

What's happening to me? I inexplicably used the young lady's powers. Is it really the contract?

But now was clearly not the time to think about that. Koizumi and the others followed Cú Chulainn to the depths of the cave, to an open-air cavern.

"This is the Greater Grail? Isn't this an ultra-high-grade magic furnace? Why would such a thing exist in the Far East island nation..."

Olga Marie couldn't help but say with a shocked expression as she saw the scene above the open cavern.

In the sky above the cavern, there was something like a black hole. However, instead of devouring everything around it like a black hole, endless black mud flowed out of the dark, deep hole, forming a huge black mud waterfall in the sky.

The black mud poured down like lava erupting from a volcano, turning everything it touched into scorched earth. Clearly, this was the source that ignited the entire Fuyuki City. There was no doubt about it.

"According to the data, it was created by alchemists called Einzbern. They don't belong to the Mage's Association; they seem to be a clan composed solely of homunculi," Dr. Roman explained to everyone, finding the recorded information in Chaldea's records.

"Alright, enough chatting. We've been discovered by that guy."

Cú Chulainn looked solemnly at a spot beneath the black mud waterfall.

Koizumi and the others looked in the direction he was looking, and they saw a petite figure standing in the center of the open-air cavern.

She looked about the same age as Mash, with golden hair tied behind her head, and a delicate and pretty face. However, her golden eyes seemed indifferent and emotionless. Her jet-black knight's dress and armor with some blood-colored patterns, coupled with the incredibly dense, high-quality magical energy surrounding her, made her look like a demon king descending upon the world.

Koizumi and the others were slightly stunned, especially Mash and the others. After all, Koizumi had amnesia. Even if he knew about these things before, he had probably forgotten them due to his amnesia. So, Koizumi didn't know about Artoria.

"...Such powerful magic... Is she really Artoria...?" Mash couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

At the same time, Mash was somewhat skeptical when she saw that the legendary Artoria was actually a girl who looked about the same age as her. After all, in the legends, Artoria was male.

Even Remilia couldn't help but be surprised. Artoria being female was no laughing matter.

"That's right. Although it seems like some mutation occurred, she is the King of Britain, the owner of the Holy Sword, Artoria. Although the gender is different from the legends, there must be some reason why she presented herself as a man in Camelot. Think about it, if she weren't a man, she wouldn't be able to ascend to the throne, right? There must be some inside story that made her cross-dress. It's probably the court magician's bad idea. Actually, folk legends do mention it; Merlin's interests are really terrible."

Dr. Roman couldn't help but say this, and Koizumi couldn't help but glance at him.

How do you know so much...?

"Eh...? Ah, really. She's female. I thought she was a male," Mash said in surprise.

"Don't underestimate her just because she looks small. That guy is a super-strong monster who doesn't use flesh and blood, but releases magic to create an impact," Cú Chulainn said in a deep voice.

He had faced Artoria in battle, and he had personally experienced her terrifying strength.

"Every strike is unbelievably heavy. If you're not careful, your upper body will be separated from your lower body."

"Like a humanoid rocket... I understand. I will fight with all my strength."

Mash nodded seriously.

"Yes. As long as you defeat her, the abnormalities in this city will disappear. I and she will disappear without exception. After that, it's your job. Although I don't know what will happen, please do your best within your capabilities."

Cú Chulainn said in a deep voice.

"So—all we have to do is defeat her, right? Don't say so much nonsense about such a simple thing!"

Saying this, Remilia pointed Gungnir directly at her.

"Two interesting Servants have arrived." Suddenly, Artoria, who was guarding the perimeter of the basin, spoke. Her gaze fell on Remilia and Mash, but more so on Mash.

However, Koizumi noticed that Artoria's gaze lingered more on Mash's shield.

"What!? You can talk!? Was your silence before all an act!?"

Cú Chulainn was immediately taken aback. When he fought her, she was mostly silent. He thought she didn't have any self-awareness, but he didn't expect it was all an act.

"Because every word and action is constantly being monitored. Therefore, I went the other way and chose to remain silent like a scarecrow, guarding this place." As she said this, Artoria's gaze focused on Mash's shield.

"But interesting. That Noble Phantasm is indeed interesting."

After saying this, Artoria pointed the Holy Sword at Mash.

"Be prepared, unknown girl. This sword will confirm whether your defense is truly unbreakable!"

"Hey—are you ignoring me!?"

Remilia's lips twitched fiercely, and countless cross marks appeared on her forehead.

Artoria glanced at Remilia and said indifferently, "Non-human existence, I am not your enemy now, and you should not be fighting me here!"

"Huh?" Remilia frowned slightly, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes.

The next moment, flames that seemed to fall from the sky transformed into blades and slashed at Remilia.

Remilia reacted instantly, placing Gungnir horizontally in front of her chest. The shockwave spread in all directions. Mash protected Olga Marie and Ritsuka, and Cú Chulainn protected Koizumi behind him.

With just one strike, Remilia was blown away.

However, Remilia's face was not filled with anger, but more with disbelief.

"How could... this be..."

Slowly, a certain crimson-eyed young girl holding an ominous flame sword appeared in front of Remilia.

That was an exceptionally adorable figure, so cute that it made one want to cherish it, but the scent of blood on her was unusually strong.

She had a pair of crimson eyes, and her clothes were also based on a deep red color. She wore a short-sleeved shirt and a miniskirt, with a yellow tie decoration on her chest. And on her back, she had a pair of special wings hanging with colorful crystals. Unlike Remilia, who had pink clothes and light blue hair, this little girl with golden hair had an outfit that emphasized red all over.

This familiar figure made Remilia's hand, which was almost holding Gungnir, tremble.

"How pathetic, due to you and your Master's existence, her summoning has indirectly become possible..."

"This thing called possibility really likes to mess with people."

After Artoria made such a remark, her gaze gathered on Mash in front of her.

Mash and the others looked at Remilia in front of them with puzzled expressions, but come to think of it, this newly appeared Servant looked a lot like Remilia.

"Why... why are you here!"

"—Flandre!"

Chapter 9: Mash and Artoria

"What... what's going on?" Mash looked at this scene with a blank expression, seemingly not reacting at all.

After all, that's understandable. Remilia in front of them was originally their strongest combat force, but suddenly an existence that seemed even stronger appeared, which made Mash unable to react for a moment. Something was wrong!

"The little girl who just appeared seems to have some relationship with that Lancer, otherwise, Lancer wouldn't show that kind of expression." Cú Chulainn looked at the other party with a solemn expression, his eyes flashing with heavy colors.

The little girl who had just appeared gave him a very dangerous feeling. If he dared to approach her, he would probably die miserably. To be honest, except for his master, it was the first time he had felt such a threatening power.

"That's the young lady's sister..." Koizumi said subconsciously, but the next moment, he reacted.

Strange? How did I know about this? Did the young lady tell me about this?

"I see, her sister was summoned as her enemy, so that's why she's like this? This is really..."

Cú Chulainn just sighed for a while, but didn't say anything. Although this kind of thing was rare in the Holy Grail War, it wasn't unheard of. After all, the Holy Grail summoned existences who had the desire to make a wish to the Holy Grail. Encountering this kind of situation could only be said to be fate playing tricks on them.

"Fighting with your own family... I don't have this kind of experience, but it must be painful."

Mash couldn't help but say in a dull voice, and Ritsuka couldn't help but nod, but—

Olga Marie had a head full of black lines, pointed her right hand at Artoria in front of her, and said speechlessly.

"Can you guys get your heads in the game? We're in a battle right now! There's an Artoria right in front of us!!!!!"

Cú Chulainn and the others were immediately stunned and quickly looked at Artoria in front of them, who also had a complicated expression.

Being ignored by others, as expected, is still very unpleasant... Is my presence really that low?

Artoria couldn't help but ask herself this in her heart, but then she couldn't help but chuckle. Was she still concerned about this kind of thing at this time?

"Come on! Child of Light from Ireland and—unknown girl!"

As soon as she finished speaking, gusts of air surged under Artoria's feet, as if she was walking with thousand-pound steps towards Mash and Cú Chulainn, but to be precise, not Cú Chulainn, but Mash.

Because Artoria was obviously concerned about Mash from beginning to end, as for Cú Chulainn...

She had fought him before, and she knew all of his methods, so there was no need to fight him again.

Dealing with Cú Chulainn was just a matter of a Noble Phantasm, and if one Noble Phantasm wasn't enough, she would just use a few more.

Artoria, who had the Holy Grail as a backup, didn't need to fear the two Servants in front of her at all.

However, even she herself didn't know why, but in her heart, there was still a trace of expectation.

As if she was expecting the two Servants in front of her to defeat her... Was it possible?

As expected, it was still impossible... Artoria made such a judgment in her heart.

The jet-black Holy Sword struck the shield, stirring up gusts of air that knocked Mash back.

At this moment, she finally understood Cú Chulainn's words

—Every strike is unbelievably heavy. If you're not careful, your upper body will be separated from your lower body—

Indeed, such a heavy attack could cut her in half if she wasn't careful.

Moreover, the other party also had a similar speed to her. If this continued, she would not be a match at all.

Just after exchanging blows, various insecurities emerged in Mash's heart. Could she really defeat such an existence?

In an instant, even at the moment when Artoria was preparing to continue launching an attack, several dazzling and scorching fireballs came into view. The fireballs were so fast that Artoria couldn't dodge them at all.

However, Artoria also had her own way of dealing with it—

A magic mist formed by an unusually dense amount of magic power spread around her body, trying to block the fireballs one by one.

"Boom—"

The dazzling flames lit up the surroundings. With just this one strike, if it were a weak Servant, it would probably perish under this strike, but Artoria was not in the ranks of the [weak]. Being able to kill a beast like Berserker, she was obviously a [strong] one.

Gradually, the smoke dissipated, and Artoria's jet-black and ominous figure appeared. Her cold and solemn face put pressure on Cú Chulainn and Mash. As expected of the world-renowned Artoria, she was not so easy to kill.

"Tch... what the hell is this huge and unbelievable magic power? Even I, as a Caster, don't have such exaggerated magic power!" Cú Chulainn couldn't help but curl his lips and said.

"Indeed, the amount of magic power is exaggerated to a terrifying degree..." Mash couldn't help but say in a deep voice.

The Servant in front of her was really putting too much pressure on her. She herself was very insecure as a Servant, and now seeing the Servant in front of her, the insecurity in her heart could be said to be even more obvious.

But—

Mash glanced at Koizumi, who was focused on Remilia behind her, as well as her senior, Ritsuka Fujimaru, and Director Olga Marie. Immediately, a determined look completely replaced her previous lack of confidence.

It doesn't matter what happens to me, but as a Servant of my senior, and with the Director and Mr. Koizumi to protect, there's no way I can fall here. Absolutely not!

As if sensing the determination in Mash's eyes, Artoria slowly became enveloped in magical energy, and she slowly raised her Holy Sword. "I shall respond to your burning gaze with this... respond to your desire to protect your Master!"

"That magical energy... it's a Noble Phantasm!" Olga Marie's expression immediately changed, and Ritsuka couldn't help but grit their teeth.

Cú Chulainn's expression hardened, and he took a step back, not to retreat, but—

Mash stood at the very front, feeling the magical energy ahead. At the same time, she thought of her senior behind her, and the determination in her eyes grew even stronger. The shield in her hand seemed to want to respond to its master, and it began to emit a dazzling white light.

"Hammer of the Vile King, Aurora Inversion—"

As if to tear through space, Artoria swung her Holy Sword down in one breath after charging it with power.

"—Be swallowed by the light! Sword of Promised Victory (Excalibur Morgan)!!!!!!"

At the moment of the swing, a jet-black, ominous light burst forth, rushing towards Mash as if to devour everything.

Just as Artoria had said, the black aurora before them was enough to swallow all light.

But—

"Noble Phantasm, deploy...!"

As the words left her lips, a dazzling white light emanated from the shield, and a massive shield stood before Mash.

The jet-black light slammed into the shield, but the shield did not budge in the slightest.

Even though Mash was enduring an exceptionally powerful pressure, she stood her ground, gritting her teeth and holding on.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!"

Gradually, the jet-black light seemed to lose its initial powerful momentum and slowly dissipated.

Mash breathed heavily, but it was clear that her shield had blocked the Sword of Promised Victory (Excalibur Morgan)'s edge.

Even now, Mash still felt a little unreal.