"And think about it—how long had Berserker gone without food? He hadn't eaten since the Holy Grail War began, right? Or maybe he'd only eaten delicacies that hadn't been cooked by humans. If we set out a table full of delicious Mapo Tofu here, then if Berserker laid down his arms and surrendered courteously, he could at least have one final meal."
Shirou pointed at the wooden table ahead, where the Mapo Tofu he and Sakura had made today sat waiting. The temptation of its aroma was not something ordinary people could resist!
Although she had no idea why her senior was so confident, Sakura chose to trust Shirou.
But one particular victim had no desire to trust Shirou.
"Why did I ever trust you?!" Lancer wailed, but his voice abruptly cut off a moment later.
A black figure appeared, wielding an enormous Axe Sword. He blinked and looked at Lancer.
Lancer's eyes widened. "He really came?!"
Sure enough, Lancer was still too young, too simple.
A smile flickered across Shirou's lips. How could the perfect plan he had devised possibly fail? How could he lose with a flying dragon right in his face?
"WRYYYYYYYY!" Berserker pounded his chest and fixed his gaze on Lancer, his target.
"Senior, what is Berserker saying?" Sakura swallowed nervously and asked in confusion. Had they been discovered?
"Tch... it probably means the trap was too obvious? In that case, execute Plan B!" Shirou shouted.
The chains binding Lancer immediately came loose. Having Lancer stand there as bait was one thing, but Shirou had never intended to send him to his death.
The chains hidden on the ground instantly wrapped around Berserker. The chains attached to the two short swords linked their blades together, and their intertwining should have bound him even tighter.
Success!
The plan was perfect, perfect!
First, he used the card's low-cost magical version of Limited Expansion—Include—to summon the Rider card's weapons: two short swords.
The chains on those two short swords were incredibly long. Taking advantage of that trait, he had wrapped them around Lancer and used Lancer as bait.
Finally, there was the hiding place: King Hassan's shield. Shirou had wanted to use Limited Expansion to summon the shield, but he had ended up summoning a greatsword instead, as though it were mocking him for thinking Breath Concealment would be useful.
But if he wanted Breath Concealment, did he really have no other way?
"Berserker, don't worry. I'll free you from your pain right now... huh?!" Lancer spoke solemnly, but just as he was about to do something, he discovered that Berserker had broken free of the chains.
What country made these chains? Step forward right now! How could they be this flimsy?!
"Why did this happen? They were obviously supposed to be sturdy. If the chains from the two short swords were entwined together, they should have held him even more securely! How did he break free so skillfully?"
"No time to explain! Transform, now!"
Even after Berserker broke free of the chains, there was still an opening for Shirou to exploit.
The chance to kill Berserker again would vanish in an instant. Without an opponent capable of holding Berserker back, there was no way to make him die easily.
"Install—Phantasmal Summon!"
Come forth! King Hassan!
"Wahahahaha! Boy, you've finally called upon me again! But fool! Utter fool! You actually used my shield as a tool for Breath Concealment! I gave you the greatsword so you could slash him! If you couldn't cut him, throw your Noble Phantasm! If that didn't work, you could just call me! You couldn't even figure that out, and in the end you still had to call me? You're the worst Hassan I've ever trained!"
"I'm not Hassan! You are! I'm not, I didn't!"
Before you continue