Magician in Type-Moon

Page 26

Berserker's attention was also drawn by the words, and his gaze was fixed on Caster, his expression complex.

Matou Ike met his gaze, their eyes revealing the same expectation.

Caster sensed their gazes, but she didn't rush into action. Instead, she leisurely continued to peruse the 'Snail Annihilation City Text,' as if confirming certain details.

"Although it can be removed, I don't think it's necessary."

Although the two were puzzled, they trusted Caster's words and waited for her to continue.

“What I mean is that even if he cuts off his connection with this book, Mr. Gil will still be corrupted by the demon’s ravings,” Caster continued.

"why?"

"Demon?"

When two questions arose at the same time, Caster decided to answer Berserker, who was also a Servant, first. As for the Master, he would let him wait.

"That's because when you were summoned, the contamination had already been incorporated into your body as part of your spirit origin."

"The 'Berserker' class is a perfect example; you've gone completely mad."

Yes, so he had already gone mad all along. Gilles de Des gave a bitter smile and stopped looking at Caster.

Seeing the increasingly dejected look on Berserker's face, Medea did not stop, but continued:

"After being sealed by me, your madness will not continue to accumulate, but will remain at the current level."

"So rather than severing your connection, it's better to keep it together. This book is a pretty good source of magic."

"This will appropriately reduce the Master's mana burden, allowing him to play some additional roles besides supplying mana."

Faced with Caster's explanation, Berserker's expression became even more complicated. He remained silent for a moment, seemingly contemplating his situation.

After a while, his eyes gradually hardened. He understood his situation and accepted reality.

"As for your question, Master, this book records a demon god from outside, and the one who cast the Command Spell on Berserker should also be from that demon god."

"But this book seems to have been modified a lot, with a lot of additional information about the mythical species—dragons."

Why would he possess knowledge of dragons? Did he come from the singularity of the Hundred Years' War of the Evil Dragons?

Matou Ike pondered for a moment, nodded, and asked:

"Does this book still retain its function as a Noble Phantasm?"

“There are still some, but a lot of knowledge about demon gods has been overwritten. It seems that someone is deliberately reducing the demon gods’ interference in the mortal world,” Caster replied.

After they finished speaking, the two looked at Berserker, seemingly seeking his opinion.

"Before I found this book, its original owner commanded an army of sea monsters and wyverns, as well as a legendary evil dragon named 'Fafnir'."

"And now, in addition to drawing magic from this book, I can also summon a little sea monster and a two-legged wyvern."

Having learned the function of Berserker's Noble Phantasm, Matou Ike looked at Caster and asked her:

"Could we use this artifact to create an army?"

Caster lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said:

"It should be feasible..."

Chapter 28 "Confession" (Please add to your favorites! Please recommend!)

As the discussion ended, silence fell between the three of them once again.

Only the faint sound of breathing and the occasional rustling of wind remained in the room.

In fact, they were not good at communicating with each other, and each carried varying degrees of aloofness and silence.

After finishing the self-heating food, Matouchi carefully recalled the discussion they had just had. He had a general understanding of the power of the 'Snail Annihilation Castle Text'.

As a Noble Phantasm, this book possesses a powerful magical core, capable of ignoring the caster's own magical power and automatically unleashing grand magic or ritualistic spells. It can also be used to communicate with ancient evil gods and command monsters from the sea.

As a magic core, it is already an extremely useful tool.

The parts of the book that have been overwritten with knowledge of dragons might allow Caster's unusable Noble Phantasm, the Golden Fleece, to play a role.

However, this part is something Caster has to research on himself.

After thinking about all this, Matouchi finished eating the self-heating food in his hand, put the remaining wrappers, disposable plates, and utensils into a sealed garbage bag, and threw them all into the trash can.

He turned to Caster and Berserker, ready to discuss the enemies they had encountered that day.

"What are your thoughts on the Master-Servant pair we met today?" Matou Ike asked.

Caster raised his head, put down the 'Snail Annihilation City Text' in his hand, and recalled the clash that could hardly be called a battle earlier that day.

"Although the Heroic Spirit Assassin did not go all out, it can be seen from the battle just now that he is skilled in assassination and sneak attacks, but that's all."

She said calmly, "His ability in direct combat is much weaker than that of a normal Servant. As his Master, you should be able to see some of his stats, right?"

Matou Ike nodded. After becoming a Master, the Holy Grail grants Masters an ability similar to a discerning eye, allowing them to understand some of the basic abilities of the opponent's Servants before battle, thus enabling them to better decide on their strategy.

He recalled the data he had seen and added:

"Indeed, Assassin's strength and endurance are not outstanding, but his agility and luck are relatively high. This Heroic Spirit mainly relies on stealth and surprise attacks."

"These are all ordinary abilities, but as an Assassin, his 'Presence Concealment' is at an A+ level. As long as his presence is completely concealed, it is almost impossible for him to be detected."

Caster nodded in agreement and then said, "His right hand, his Noble Phantasm must reside in his right hand."

Before today, Matou Ike had always thought that the Heroic Spirit summoned by Kotomine Kirei was Hassan of the Hundred Faces, but she never expected that he would summon Hassan of the Cursed Arm to replace the Hundred Faces in the original process.

Compared to Cursed Arm, Hundred Faces is more focused on intelligence gathering. When facing Servants whose Noble Phantasms are not particularly outstanding, it may be able to win by ganging up on them.

The Cursed Arm is more suited to assassination, as evidenced by the Noble Phantasm [Delusional Heart Sound] stored on its right hand.

By reflecting the murdered object in the mirror, a dual existence that can interact with the original body is created.

The dual existence possesses the property of resonating with the original; if the dual existence is harmed, the original will also be harmed.

Faced with this attack of [Delusional Mental Sound], no amount of armor matters. This Noble Phantasm, capable of directly attacking internal organs—a part of the body no one can train—is practically a terrifying Noble Phantasm worthy of an Assassin.

"That Noble Phantasm should be a curse-type item. As long as your magical resistance is high enough, you should be immune to it. And since it's a curse, Caster, your Noble Phantasm should be able to break it, right?"

"Judging from today's battle, that thing should also have a range limitation. To deal with it, we just need to use long-range magic bombardment."

After thinking for a moment, Matou Ike revealed some of the information he knew.

"Then, that priest Kirei Kotomine's fighting style is very direct and fierce, and he is good at close combat. If we can suppress him from a distance, he shouldn't pose a threat to us."

After the three discussed and reviewed today's battle, their strategy for the next battle became clearer—firepower suppression.

......

As night fell, a brief period of tranquility returned to Ryudong Temple.

Berserker went to inspect the approach to Ryudongji Temple, which is the weakest link in the temple's protective barrier, as it was originally conceived as a gate.

Matou Ike sat under the eaves of the corridor, looking up at the moon with a thoughtful expression in his eyes. It was unclear what he was thinking.

At that moment, Caster came out of the room behind him and gently sat down beside him.

The moonlight shone on the two of them, and the night breeze brought a touch of coolness.

"You must have something to tell me, Master?"

Caster broke the silence first, his voice low and calm.

"what?"

Matou Ike looked at the servant sitting next to her with some confusion.

"Ever since that so-called deal was struck in the Great Hollow, I've sensed that you seem to want to say something to me, haven't I?"

Caster raised his right hand, admiring himself in the moonlight, and spoke.

"You're very perceptive, Caster."

Matou Ike was surprised that his servant would ask this question, and couldn't help but smile wryly.

"So what is it? In the time we've spent together, I don't think you're an indecisive person at all."

Caster lowered his hand, brought his face close to Matou Ike's head, and whispered in his ear:

"You can tell me quietly, and no one else will know."

After saying that, he casually set up a soundproof barrier around the two of them to ensure that nothing else could overhear their conversation.

"Caster, do you remember the guy covered in black and red tattoos?"

"Of course I remember, isn't he the one you made the deal with?"

Matou Ike sat up straight, looked at Caster with an indescribable expression, and said:

"He is a Heroic Spirit summoned during the last Holy Grail War, named 'All Evil of This World'."

"Through that war, after he was destroyed, the Holy Grail was corrupted."

Hearing this, Medea seemed somewhat disappointed and dissatisfied with Matou Ike's words, and said to her:

"Is that all?"

"Yes, a corrupted Holy Grail cannot fulfill wishes smoothly. Your wish to return to your homeland may not be achieved by obtaining the Holy Grail."

After listening, Medea turned her head back, no longer facing Matou Pond, but instead lowered her head to play with the foxtail grass she had picked from the ground.

"...Is that all?"

The voice was so soft that Matou Ike could barely hear it, so she asked Caster what she had just said.

"And you? What is your reason for joining this battle?"

"At first, they were just coerced, but later they participated half-heartedly. Now, they probably want to use this Holy Grail War to get a ticket to a normal, everyday life."

Is it only natural? Medea nodded, seemingly agreeing with Matou Ike, but her voice remained low:

"I will help you, Master, although..."

Silence...spread between the two, the atmosphere had reached freezing point.

Seemingly sensing something, Matou Ike suddenly said to Medea:

"Caster, I'm sorry, but in my imagined future, I might have to betray you..."

'Betrayal' was the word Medea hated most, and it permeated her entire life.