Chapter 50

It was just that the heat spread from the back of her hand up to her wrist, then throughout the girl's entire body, stirring an unprecedented flutter in her heart.

Following the instinct rising from deep within, Sakura Matou forced her eyes open and looked toward the center of the blinding light through her tear-filled eyes.

As the tall figure clad in silver armor gradually appeared from the magic circle, bathed in lightning, Sakura felt sharp stings all over her skin, as if arcs of electricity were bursting against it.

Finally, as a deep Thunderclap rolled through the void, shaking him to the core, Noah's consciousness was at last freed from the frantically swirling vortex of light.

W-where the hell have I been brought?

Is this still Orario?

After a few dazed seconds, a wealth of knowledge surfaced in his mind, bringing Noah back to his senses.

Oh, right. That useless system said I could fight lots of interesting people, and no matter how long I stayed here, only one second would pass back in Orario. So here I am.

So I'm on a business trip to pick a fight, right?

You could tell just by listening to that chant.

—Listen up! I give you Magic, you do the work! If the Holy Grail dragged you here and you can hear me, and you more or less agree with me, make a noise! Just so we're clear, I might do good things, or I might not; there are three Command Spells, and you'll fight alongside me for seven days! I won't reimburse your travel expenses, so figure that out yourself... Those are the conditions. The Holy Grail reserves the right of final interpretation...

Hmm, so where's my Master?

The knowledge that had surfaced in Noah's mind told him that he had manifested as a Heroic Spirit, and all the Magic needed for battle came from his Master.

Noah wasn't expecting his Master to be especially strong, but at least he'd better not hold him back.

It had taken Noah ages in Orario to escape the sorry state of being a fragile hero. He'd finally gotten to enjoy being a six-stat powerhouse, and hadn't had long to savor it yet. He didn't want to go back.

Noah glanced around and spotted a pile of insect remains. He couldn't help frowning.

Ugh, disgusting.

Then Noah saw a black-haired little girl staring at him in a daze, and a bald old man behind her with his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets.

The first thought that came to Noah's mind wasn't to use Magic Resonance to confirm that the little girl was his Master, nor was it that the old man felt as disgusting as an insect.

It was—

Why was he at another little-girl-trafficking scene?

"I am Zouken Matou." The bald old man came to his senses before Sakura, stepped past the girl to stand before him, and spoke in a loud voice from deep in his throat. "May I ask your name, sir, and the Class in which you have manifested?"

Noah's first impression of the old man was that he wasn't a good person—and that he was disgustingly vile.

Still, after all he'd been through, Noah wasn't about to judge someone by appearances alone.

He'd talk to him first and see what happened.

"My name is Noah. Noah Cipher. I manifested as... a Berserker?"

Noah looked at his status panel and answered uncertainly.

Zouken Matou fell silent. His pupil-less eyes fixed on Noah with an unmistakable, assessing stare.

After a long while, he finally seemed to snap out of it and nodded to Noah.

"Please forgive my ignorance. I have never heard of you, sir, or your name. Nor have I ever heard of a Berserker who could communicate so coherently."

In fact, the only thing Zouken Matou truly cared about was Noah's name.

After all, any number of unusual circumstances could arise during Heroic Spirit Summoning.

For instance, for some unknown reason, Noah had manifested a year early, without either a catalyst or a direct summoning.

Or perhaps he had manifested as a Berserker yet remained clear-headed enough to converse, thanks to possessing some kind of special Noble Phantasm...

The problem was, Zouken Matou had never heard of Noah Cipher.

A Heroic Spirit's strength and Class were closely tied to their Master, but what mattered more was the Heroic Spirit themselves.

Heroes who created epic legends, conquerors who built immortal achievements, and gods who reached the far shore of heaven... There was no doubt that these Heroic Spirits were stronger than those who had been obscure in life.

Even just one or two special Noble Phantasms crystallized from legends could turn the tide of battle.

And yet, after living for several hundred years and acquiring a breadth of experience that surely ranked among the greatest in the world, Zouken Matou was certain that he had never heard a legend about anyone named Noah Cipher.

At least, on the surface, Zouken Matou didn't think Noah was weak.

Was he a fictional Heroic Spirit? But Zouken had never heard of him in any story.

Or perhaps he was a Heroic Spirit from a parallel world?

But parallel worlds were merely different timelines, and their legends should have been more or less the same.

In that case, the man's strength would depend greatly on luck.

"That's normal. I'm not from your world. I don't know how strong I am in your world, but I did save the world, so I should be all right, I guess?"

Zouken Matou silently studied Noah, trying to use the experience he had accumulated over several hundred years to determine the identity of the unknown Heroic Spirit before him.

As people who had lived legendary lives, Heroic Spirits all had thoughts engraved in their bones, thoughts that had become part of their personalities.

But Zouken could barely discern any particular emotion in Noah.

Humility, arrogance, recklessness, confidence, timidity, integrity... Aside from a trace of curiosity about his surroundings, there was no sign of any other thoughts in his eyes.

Whenever their gazes met, Zouken felt as if he were looking in a mirror.

Those clear, azure eyes faithfully reflected the world around him, concealing his own emotions and will completely.

He could tell that, despite their vastly different appearances, Noah was essentially the same kind of old schemer as him—

Tsk. Zouken had a feeling he and the man wouldn't get along.

Having witnessed the Holy Grail War several times, Zouken Matou knew very well that a Servant and Master being at odds was more fatal than anything else.

If a Servant couldn't cooperate with their Master, then the stronger the Servant, the greater the burden they became.

Should he kill him and summon another Servant?

After all, this one had come by accident...

But whether he decided to keep Noah or destroy him, he needed to learn more first.

"Sakura, can you see this gentleman's information?"

Sakura Matou had been standing quietly to the side, occasionally stealing curious glances at the silver-haired swordsman.

She didn't know what had happened, but she knew that something important seemed to have taken place.

If 'Grandpa' could forget about her because of it and treat her like she wasn't there, that would be wonderful.

Unfortunately, things didn't go her way. Zouken Matou still looked at her.

What was more, Sakura could feel that his mood had changed.

The enjoyment he'd taken in tormenting her and savoring her fear had turned heavier.

Sakura didn't dare wait. She hurriedly checked Noah's information.

Though she didn't know what Classes or Heroic Spirits were, Sakura came from a family of Mages and could sense the flow of Magic.

It was like a screen had suddenly appeared before her. She had no idea how it had come about, but reading the words was easy enough.

Noah Cipher

Class: Berserker

Alignment: Neutral · Good

Strength: C

Endurance: C

Agility: B

Magic: B-

Luck: A+

Noble Phantasm: EX

Class Skills

[Berserk] (C):

[Magic Resistance] (C)

Personal Skills

[Intuition] (A)

[Battle Continuation] (B)

[Compassion of the World] (A+): Increases Luck and grants immunity to negative mental effects. Attributes increase when fighting to save the world.

[Radiance of Moon and Stars] (A): Blessed by the moon and stars; increases his charm toward women.

Noble Phantasms:

[Silent Sorrow]

Rank: EX

Type: Anti-Country Noble Phantasm

Range: 1–999

Maximum Targets: 999

The final crystallization of the world's power, forged amid the blood and fire of living beings. It holds the power of hatred and hope, heavenly thunder and karmic flames. It judges evil and saves the pure. It is both the sword of salvation and the sword of destruction, the key connecting the future and the end.

[Thunder Decree]

[Elegy of Light]

Rank: EX

Type: Bounded Field Noble Phantasm

Range: ????

Maximum Targets: ????

· Defy the will of all living beings, transcend predetermined fate, extinguish the heart of light, and become the purest darkness. With a heart of utmost goodness, bear all sins and deeds of slaughter.

· Devours attacks and turns them to its own use.

Even from Zouken Matou's perspective, these stats were excellent.

After all, Noah's source of Magic was a little girl who hadn't even developed her Magic properly.

With Zouken's help and a year to prepare, it would be easy enough to raise several of his attributes to A.

Those Noble Phantasms in particular were truly outrageous.

He would need a great deal of luck to summon another Heroic Spirit this powerful.

And summoning a Heroic Spirit a year early gave him a tremendous advantage.

Torn for quite some time between his desire for the Holy Grail and his rationality, which urged him to nip any danger in the bud, Zouken Matou ultimately gave in to the greed in his heart.

He was going all in!

Nobody could cry forever, right?!

"Powerful Heroic Spirit, I hope we can work together wholeheartedly and win this Holy Grail War."

Noah considered the hand Zouken Matou held out to him, then decided not to shake it.

He was afraid his instincts might make his body act before his mind and cut the old man down on the spot.

"Hmm, I've got no problem working together. I'm not particularly interested in the Holy Grail. I just want a good, satisfying fight. As long as you can provide enough Magic, that's all I need."