What did drowning feel like?
Fujimaru Ritsuka did not know. Or rather, by this point, he had no way of figuring out exactly what he was feeling.
It hurt.
He could not breathe, and even moving was difficult.
All he could do was struggle—struggle desperately. He did not dare open his mouth to call for help, because that would only make him swallow more water.
But—
His consciousness was already fading.
Kurokawa Hideo was dead. He had been destroyed in his fury, erased.
Without question, where Kurokawa Hideo had died, his enormous body shattered apart, and a Holy Grail appeared there, slowly floating in midair.
"We won!—But where's Master?"
Hoshiguma Yuna laughed in exhilaration, but then she noticed.
Fujimaru Ritsuka had vanished.
And the sensation of her contract with Fujimaru Ritsuka was gradually weakening.
Black Yukina and Mama Bear both fell into a panic without question, beginning to search the lake for Fujimaru Ritsuka.
"You will live."
"Or rather, you cannot die."
Smack.
A hand grabbed Fujimaru Ritsuka.
"Because this is not a Singularity."
"This is not even reality."
"You will not die, because the conditions for death do not exist in the first place."
Though he was underwater, that voice rang clearly beside Fujimaru Ritsuka's ear.
Who was it?
Fujimaru Ritsuka's consciousness had already grown hazy. He could not see anything.
Was someone there?
Unconsciously, he tightened his grip on the hand holding him, while his other hand and his entire body naturally sank toward the bottom of the water.
Bzzz—
The Holy Grail trembled.
Bzzz——
The Holy Grail's vibrations grew slightly more intense.
The sky turned murky, as though flying sand and rolling stones had filled it.
"What—!?"
Hoshiguma Yuna sensed that something was wrong. She could only stretch out her hand, as if intending to swat the