Chapter 486

"Looks like a lone Magical Beast. No problem, I've already taken care of it."

"Is that so? Oh, I see..."

The girl thought it best not to delve too deeply into it and focused her energy back on making the delicious sandwich.

"My name is Shirou Amamiya, just call me Shirou... What's your name?"

"..."

After a brief silence, the purple-haired loli spoke.

"Ana... my name is Ana... and, um... no, it's nothing."

The girl intended to convey to the other person, "I hate humans, please try to keep your distance from me," but—

For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to speak when she looked at Shirou's face.

"Ana..."

Shirou frowned. He was neither one of the seven riders summoned by Gilgamesh, nor had he ever heard of such a name.

Although I know perfectly well that I can't possibly know the names of all the Heroic Spirit in the world.

That's right, Shirou has already realized: Ana is not the little girl who was separated from her parents and collapsed by the roadside, but a Servant.

Although she was only the size and build of a child, she still possessed remarkable magical powers even when she fainted from hunger.

The reason why there are so few traces of Magical Beast activity in this area is probably all thanks to this girl.

He cut to the chase and asked, "Miss Ana is Servant, isn't she?"

Upon hearing this, the girl's small body trembled slightly.

After some thought, she concluded that the red-haired boy in front of her was someone she could trust.

"... Um."

The girl, who called herself "Ana," hid her face in the shadow of her hood and murmured.

"I am a lone Servant summoned to this land."

"A lone Servant."

Shirou had heard about Singularity last night when he was talking to Merlin.

Those were uncontracted Servant descended upon the land due to the influence of the Holy Grail and time and space; the girl must have been one of them.

Shirou said thoughtfully, "No wonder you collapsed by the roadside from hunger."

Since there is no Master to bear the cost of magical energy, it is only natural that they fight using magical energy generated by themselves.

"Is that so?"

Ana looked confused.

"So that's how it is... I was in the forest the whole time, so I didn't know anything..."

"Huh?" Shirou was somewhat surprised.

According to Merlin's explanation, even a lone Servant should be able to obtain the corresponding knowledge from the Holy Grail.

"Does Miss Ana lack the knowledge of Servant?"

"No need to add 'Miss,' just call me Ana."

The girl nodded slightly.

When I came to my senses, I was already in the forest, possessing this body.

I have no knowledge of what it means to Servant... but I know exactly what I should do.

--The goal is to kill all those Magical Beasts.

That's why I've been killing Magical Beast all by myself, using their souls to maintain my Spirit Origin...

However, as the number of Magical Beast in the vicinity gradually decreased, maintaining the supply could no longer keep up with the consumption, which is why... ouch.

The girl lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly and finished the sandwich in her hand.

"Oh, I see! That's truly a miraculous coincidence!"

Just then, a figure emerged from the bushes where the Magical Beast had just appeared.

Merlin flashed a slightly smug smile and waved to Shirou.

"Who goes there...!?"

Ana, having regained her magic, immediately switched to battle stance.

Ana conjured a scythe radiating cold energy in her hand, and in the next instant, she moved to the spot where the Flower Magus had appeared, pressing the blade against his neck.

Her movements were swift and fluid, the whole process completed in one go, like a taut bowstring being released in an instant.

That is...

Compared to Merlin, who was about to lose his head, Shirou was more concerned about the weapon in Ana's hand.

"Help me, Shirou!" Merlin cried out.

"Someone I know?"

The purple-haired loli frowned and cast a questioning look at Shirou.

"It's alright, Ana. This guy may be suspicious, but he's my ally."

"Shirou's companion..."

Ana watched the Magecraft raise his hands in surrender with suspicion, then slowly lowered her scythe.

"That's really dangerous... that's really dangerous..."

Merlin introduced himself to Ana and explained his and Shirou's purpose.

"Like Ana, we are also strangers who have come to this land."

They oppose the "Three Goddess Alliance" in order to protect human history.

Ana also sees the goddess as an enemy, right? In that case, we're allies!

"..."

Ana's cute little face was tense.

The Magecraft who calls himself "Merlin" is far too suspicious, especially when compared to Shirou.

However, Ana ultimately decided to trust Shirou.

Because they shared the same goal, Ana decided to accept Merlin's invitation to travel with her.

"Well done, Shirou. Gaining that child's trust so easily was absolutely the right thing to do. Letting you contact Ana was the right decision."

"You bastard..."

Shirou and Merlin walked ahead, stealing glances at Ana while complaining in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"What?! Okay~ We're going to defeat the goddess next!" Huh? That's not true at all!

Merlin scoffed. "Hmm? Anyway, our ultimate goal is to defeat the goddess, so it's not exactly lying, is it?"

Does "next" mean one month or three months from now? Merlin has lived so long that he's lost all sense of time!

Shirou sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Call..."

"Although we were attacked by Magical Beast along the way, it seems we escaped Magical Beast encirclement safely, senior!"

On a plain north of Uruk, a purple-clad girl dressed as a knight is talking to her companion.

"Yes, thanks to Mr. Enkidu, otherwise we would have been eliminated immediately upon landing."

The girl who was speaking had bright, shoulder-length orange-red hair.

Her long, slender limbs are very toned, showing that she exercises regularly.

The white uniform, out of step with the times, accentuated her well-developed figure and also revealed the girl's identity.

She is none other than the last Master of Human Order mentioned by the sage Merlin, a girl from the 21st century who, like Shirou, is Ritsuka Fujimaru.

Although she is just an ordinary person from Magecraft perspective, she and her companions have overcome countless dangers and grown tremendously in the past six months.

The initial naivety had long since faded from those golden pupils; now they were filled with the radiance of hope.

Beside Ritsuka Fujimaru stood another dignified purple-clad female knight.

The girl, whose single eye was obscured by pink bangs, held a shield far exceeding her own height and size.

The shield girl who protects humanity's last Master, her name is Mash Kyrielight.

Like Ritsuka Fujimaru, she is a member of the Chaldea Observatory, an organization that continues to safeguard Human Order.

"Thank you very much for your help, Mr. Enkidu."

The girls expressed their gratitude to the green-haired youth who had helped them repel the Magical Beast siege.

Ritsuka Fujimaru and Mash, who had just arrived at the Seventh Singularity, were immediately treated to Magical Beast of unknown origin.

More than a hundred Magical Beast surrounded them, and just when they were in danger, a young man who called himself Enkidu stepped forward.

"As those who sustain the earth, this is what I should do."

Enkidu gave a friendly smile.

"Oh my! I can't believe it really is Enkidu! This is fantastic, we're so lucky this time!"

Along with the young male voice, there were also 3D images.

Two figures, a man and a woman, appeared in the 3D image.

The man speaking was Roman, the acting director of the Chaldea Observatory, and standing next to him was Leonardo Da Vinci, Servant of Chaldea who, like Mash, belonged to Chaldea.

Ritsuka Fujimaru looked at him, somewhat speechless, and said, "Doctor, aren't you a little too excited today?"

"What are you talking about? That's Enkidu!"

Speaking of Enkidu, he was the strongest being of this era, on par with the King of Heroes Gilgamesh!

To admonish the tyrant, the Sumer gods sculpted human figures from clay and created weapons from the gods.

If King Gilgamesh was a hybrid of human and god, created by the gods as the "Wedge of Heaven," then Enkidu was the "Chains of Heaven" meant to bring Gilgamesh back to the side of the gods...

In the 3D video, Acting Director Roman, with her ponytail, spoke eloquently.

"Fuu... Fou, Fuu~~!!"

As the girls reluctantly walked along, listening to the explanation, a fluffy white animal jumped onto Mash's shoulder and stomped around with its tiny paws.

"Mash, is Fou a little more active today? Did she catch it from the doctor?"

"It seems so. Ever since Mr. Enkidu appeared, Fou has become unusually active... though I don't know if it's because of the doctor."

The girls huddled together and whispered to each other.

After receiving Enkidu's help, the Chaldea is heading to Uruk under his guidance.

"Huh... That's strange. Why are you heading north? According to our observations, isn't Uruk to the southeast?"

Roman raised a question, Enkidu gave him a kind and friendly smile.

"We can't be so impatient, Dr. Roman. If we go through the south, we'll inevitably enter the goddesses' territory, so I'll take you on a detour."

As I just mentioned, the Three Goddess Alliance is an enemy that intends to seize the Holy Grail and destroy Uruk.

Mash said with a solemn expression, "It's still unimaginable, really, to actually hope for the extinction of humanity..."

Isn't that just like the King of Magecraft?! Since she's a goddess, shouldn't she be a partner of humans!?

"Gods have never been partners of mankind. To the gods, mankind is merely a source of labor."

Humans can at best be considered objects of shelter, not objects to which we pour out our love.

The god who claims to deeply love humanity only makes such statements because his excessive powers lead to logical errors.

Take Ishtar, the Goddess of Heaven, for example. She loves harvests, humanity, war, and inequality.