Arrived in Type-Moon, Now Out of Contact

The night is still long, the war between Servants is fierce, and the struggles of Masters are no less intense (laughs).

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ps: Second update.

Surprise! I'm still doing double updates. (.?ω?.)

Chapter 8: Group C Withdraws Early

The perspective shifts to the underground sewers of Fuyuki City. In this dark and damp subterranean city, weak groans and sobs can be heard from all directions. Various terrifying auras are palpable. In this area beyond the reach of law, incompatible Master and Servant pairs revel without restraint.

"Amazing. Truly amazing!!" the boy with orange-red hair crouched on the ground, exclaiming excitedly at the crystal ball before him, his face beaming with a childlike smile as if he were seeing a movie for the first time.

Misty smoke swirled, and rubble piled up like mountains. The desolate night scene made one wonder if two modern armies had just fought each other here. However, this scene wasn't present from the start. The completely devastated landscape had been an empty, silent warehouse district just twenty minutes prior. The intense battle that unfolded there was fully reflected in the crystal ball.

"Hey, hey, old man, look quickly, this silver weapon is amazing." The boy's slender eyes sparkled with innocent joy as he cheered.

Within the crystal ball, a Mage from the Clock Tower was pursuing Kiritsugu Emiya, manipulating Moon Marrow Spirit Fluid and its lesser Noble Phantasms. While their battle wasn't as fierce or deadly as a Servant battle, the Servants' speed made them difficult to discern. Visually, the Master battles were more engaging.

"Master Bluebeard, everything that just happened is real, isn't it? It's incredible~ This isn't some video game platform!" Ryunosuke Uryu exclaimed, dancing with excitement. He had never witnessed such a thrilling battle. Compared to this, his own methods of killing prey felt incredibly dull.

Ever since a chance encounter where he completed a summoning ritual using an ancestral magic ritual book and formed a contract with the Servant Caster, Ryunosuke Uryu had deviated from his "normal" behavior. Craving excitement and entertainment, he viewed the battle that had just occurred as a supreme feast of entertainment, enjoying it without any resistance.

Caster did not reply, merely staring intently at the crystal ball with fervent eyes. In the night scene reflected in the crystal ball, a petite girl wielding an invisible long sword fought fiercely with a warrior wielding dual pistols. Caster watched the figure as if possessed, his frog-like eyes wide open, as if about to pop out of his head. First, tears streamed down in large drops, followed by loud wails.

"Old man, what's wrong?" Seeing the crying Mage, Ryunosuke Uryu was somewhat at a loss. Although they hadn't known each other for long, Ryunosuke Uryu had already been captivated by Mr. Bluebeard's aesthetic and regarded him as a life mentor. Now, seeing his life mentor weeping before him, Ryunosuke Uryu fell into a panic.

"It's realized," Caster whispered softly, followed by maniacal laughter.

"My wish has been realized." Caster lowered his head, covering his face with his hands, tears flowing through the gaps between his fingers. He laughed like a comedian yet cried like an audience immersed in tragedy. His state, somewhere between crying and laughing, was incomprehensible.

"Realized what? What?" This was the question Ryunosuke had to ask. He had no idea what had happened. Caster's joyful expression indicated that something extraordinary had occurred, but its cause left him bewildered.

"The Holy Grail chose me! It realized my wish!"

Caster seemed oblivious to the confusion in his Master's eyes, grabbing Ryunosuke Uryu's hand and shaking it desperately, wanting to share this joy.

"But I... haven't seen or touched this so-called Holy Grail yet?" Ryunosuke Uryu became even more confused. He didn't even know what the Holy Grail looked like, yet he was told he already held it, which only deepened his bewilderment.

However, it was good that it made the old man so happy. Ryunosuke Uryu thought this way, as he had never yearned for a Holy Grail. He cared more about where to practice his new ideas tomorrow than anything about the Holy Grail.

"You saw it, didn't you! She told me! That stern face, that divine posture, she must be the 'girl' destined to change my fate! My dear Holy Maiden!" Caster chattered incessantly, a stark contrast to the taciturn image of Baron Gilles de Rais recorded in history books.

Yes, Caster's true identity was the French nobleman Gilles de Rais. A figure widely present in European stories, or rather, European horror stories. He was one of the inspirations for the character Bluebeard in the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Bluebeard," the vampire in the French novel "That Night," and a villain in "Justice and Courts of France." He was considered a symbol of evil and depravity by Europeans.

This is the story of a dragon slayer who became a dragon. In the end, the former marshal became a demon cloaked in human skin. After committing countless evil deeds, he was eventually sentenced to hanging, followed by cremation. He turned to ashes on the pyre. He died in the same manner as his beloved Joan of Arc.

However, it was said that the fire, which could purify filth and evil, seemed unable to purify this marshal's soul. At least, in this Holy Grail War, Caster was still engaged in his old profession.

"She was once abandoned by God, died in humiliation due to the conspiracy of hypocrites, and died before the ignorant masses she protected!" Caster's voice was extremely infectious, and even a natural-born killer felt his grief and indignation. "But now, she has finally been resurrected. This! This is a miracle! It is the power of the Holy Grail that has brought her back to life! I am the one who saved her from the false gods! She has finally come back to life, no longer bound by the gods!" Caster's voice suddenly became impassioned, and his speech was somewhat incoherent. At this moment, his expression was like that of a devout follower facing Christ; one would believe him to be a saint.

"For some reason, I'm starting to look forward to it too, Master Bluebeard." Ryunosuke Uryu pointed at a child tied to a pillar not far away and said to his dear friend in a joyful tone, "Since that's the case, how about we celebrate? I have a great idea, Master Bluebeard, you have to watch—"

"Thump." A dull sound came from Ryunosuke Uryu's body, and his words were interrupted. Ryunosuke Uryu looked down in disbelief. Under the faint light of the crystal ball, he saw his chest was already stained crimson. Then, he staggered and fell to the ground. There was a fist-sized hole in Ryunosuke Uryu's back, with blood and flesh splattering. Someone had shot him with a dum-dum bullet.

A young man emerged from the turn of the sewer, holding a typical large-caliber revolver. Faint white smoke wisped from the muzzle. Without a doubt, he was the murderer who shot Ryunosuke Uryu.

"No—!" Caster screamed in grief, clawing at his own face. In an instant, his dear friend was killed before his eyes, making him unable to believe this cruel reality.