"I'll kill you!!!" In an instant, Caster activated his Noble Phantasm, summoning hundreds of Sea Monsters to attack the murderer. He would tear this villain who had dared lay hands on his dear friend to pieces!
"Alcaeus, leave him breathing." The boy's clear voice echoed through the confined space, signaling the end of the battle.
The giant standing over two meters tall charged forward at a speed no slower than Saber's or Lancer's. He casually swung the thing in his hand that could barely be called a "bow," mowing down everything in his path. Those monsters, each of which could claim the life of a strong adult in the outside world, could not even slow his steps.
Caster let out a shrill cry as he flipped through the A+-rank Codex of the Great Holy Grail, preparing to cast more powerful magecraft to stop the oncoming giant.
Unfortunately, he had no time. Before he could activate his magecraft, Alcaeus had already reached him and delivered a straight punch powerful enough to shatter marble. In these narrow underground sewers, any warrior could easily beat down these helpless mages.
Nothing unexpected happened. Caster's pitiful endurance was no different from paper before Alcaeus. A single punch heavily wounded him and knocked him unconscious. The only reason he survived was because Alcaeus's Master had ordered that he be left alive.
"I don't understand why you spared this guy," Alcaeus said with a frown. He despised Caster. Someone like him, steeped in wickedness and heresy, deserved death to appease the public's outrage.
"Even trash can be useful if you recycle it." The boy, surrounded by butterfly familiars, scratched the back of his head and explained to Alcaeus, "Besides, I never said I was letting him go."
"It would be better to kill him sooner." Alcaeus carried Caster toward Li Zihan as though he were carrying a slab of pork. His posture was so practiced that one might suspect he had worked at a produce market before.
Li Zihan gestured for Alcaeus to put Caster down. This madman, who had once shone brilliantly in the original story, had been driven into a dead end by the transmigrator's stakeout plan.
A black enchanted dagger pierced Caster's spine. Metal collided with bone, producing a bizarre series of cracking sounds. Then, one ugly worm after another burrowed into Caster's body through the wound. They were the Matou Family's signature Magic Crest Worms, specially bred creatures with many functions: simulating Magic Circuits, altering magical attributes, eroding their host, and the function currently in use—mimicking a spinal cord to control a corpse.
"Rise, Caster." The boy clapped, cheering for his newly born "companion."
Caster stiffly climbed off the ground, like a zombie freshly crawled out of a grave. His body constantly twisted into strange poses. One could imagine the Magic Crest Worms working hard to adapt to and take control of this body.
Alcaeus stared deeply at his Master and the revived Caster, a cold gleam in his eyes. Yet he said nothing, merely standing behind his Master like a statue.
"Alcaeus, how long can you remain rational?" Li Zihan asked his Servant.
"Probably until tomorrow morning. If you expect me to remain sane and fight tomorrow night, you may be disappointed," Alcaeus replied.
"That's enough. The Command Spell's effect lasts much longer than I expected." Li Zihan wiped the dagger on Caster's robes before sheathing it. "Tomorrow morning, we'll attack the Einzbern Family. Don't kill anyone, but leave them with enough injuries."
Li Zihan walked over to Ryunosuke Uryu's corpse. He cut off the hand bearing the Command Spells, stuffed it into Imaginary Space, and said to Alcaeus, "I'll use Command Spells to preserve your rationality."
Do not kill anyone, but leave them with enough injuries. It was an order that tied one's own hands and feet, one that would make many Heroic Spirits curse outright. But for Alcaeus, once officially recognized as the strongest in close combat, it was not difficult.
After all, he was a man with twelve lives, an innate damage-reduction skill, and ridiculously high stats in all six parameters. The only thing that could make him stumble was someone with cheats.
"I understand." Alcaeus's expression changed subtly. He had always wanted to meet the man named "Kiritsugu," and he also wanted to ask what state of mind had led him to abandon Illya. If the answer did not satisfy him, Alcaeus would not mind making sure he remained in Illya's memories as a perfect father.
Unfortunately, his Master wanted him to meet Kiritsugu Emiya in his Berserker state. Alcaeus felt somewhat regretful, but this would still be enough to collect a little interest on Illya's behalf. As for questioning Kiritsugu Emiya about abandoning Illya, that could wait.
"How should we deal with the victims?" Alcaeus looked at the victims tied to the pillars and waited for his Master's instructions.
"Have someone from the Matou Family brainwash and hypnotize them, then send them to the Metropolitan Police Department." The boy did not even raise his head. His mind was occupied with how to transplant the Command Spells, and he did not care much about this.
Thus, Team C officially exited the stage.
P.S.: I had classes all day today, so I didn't have time to polish it and split it into two chapters.
I might as well upload it all at once.
As the art student with the worst artistic skills in the entire school, I was about to be publicly executed.
The teacher was going to put my drawing on a PowerPoint.
Before you continue