"My beloved Marianne, do you not intend to join in the hunt for humans?"
The elegant man gazed softly at the doll curled in his embrace, quietly asking.
"Rather than hunting humans, I'd much prefer staying by Master's side."
Emiya Shirou was nothing but a minor distraction. To go out of their way solely to kill such a fragile human—don't joke around.
Neither the elegant man nor the floating doll had any intention of involving themselves in such trivial matters.
However, if there was a Torch who could move freely within a Fūzetsu, they might have considered going to take a look.
Ordinary Torches, bound by the frozen space of the Fūzetsu, could not budge an inch. Only a Torch capable of moving freely within it could be positively identified as a Mystes.
A Mystes was a special kind of Torch, either containing a Treasure Tool or preserving special powers deposited by a Crimson Lord.
However, once its host burned out, such powers would randomly leap into another Torch.
Not every immobile Torch lacked a Treasure Tool.
But a Torch able to freely move within a Fūzetsu certainly possessed a Treasure Tool of some sort.
As for what exactly that Treasure Tool was—only extraction would reveal the answer.
The world's Treasure Tools were innumerable; how could he possibly know them all? At most, he might recognize the most renowned among them.
Humans, aside from providing him a bit of Power of Existence, held no further value.
In his eyes, humans weren't even worth as much as Torches.
"Still, it seems that the Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter will soon arrive in this city."
The man gently stroked the doll in his embrace, murmuring softly in contemplation.
After all, he had his grand ambition to fulfill.
Any being obstructing his path would be ruthlessly annihilated without mercy.
"Master, is the Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter powerful?"
The doll tilted her head in confusion, looking up at him. As a being created by him, everything she knew was learned from his lips. This was the first time she heard him speak of the title, "Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter."
Any Flame Haze with a title couldn't possibly be weak.
"Oh, my dear Marianne, there's no need for concern. The current Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter is merely a child who has yet to fully mature. Eliminating her would be effortless for me. The only issue worth caution is the Crimson Lord she has contracted with—God of Retribution, Alastor."
He softly stroked the doll's back, gently explaining. If this were the Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter of the past, then caution would indeed be necessary. But now? She hadn't even fully developed yet, making her easy to dispose of without much effort.
Yet his plan was nearly complete. He didn't intend to complicate matters unnecessarily. Quietly achieving his goal would be ideal.
Before he accomplished his purpose, he had no wish to confront the Flame Hazes.
But if a Flame Haze insisted on approaching him, he wouldn't hesitate to destroy them utterly.
On the other hand, Emiya Shirou and Sakai Yuuji were having a much harder time.
Standing conspicuously before the school gate in bizarre armor, Emiya Shirou was quickly spotted by the dispatched Rinne.
The man had merely planned on sending out lower-level Rinne—nothing overly powerful was necessary for simply killing humans and claiming their Power of Existence.
To deploy the large-scale dolls he created would be like using cannons against mosquitoes. Not to mention, those oversized Rinne had difficulty controlling themselves, causing widespread destruction and forcing him to expend precious Power of Existence to erase their damage.
Usually, Marianne would accompany these giant dolls on such missions; otherwise, the losses often outweighed the gains.
With Marianne preferring to stay at his side, sending these smaller Rinne to collect the Power of Existence was just as well.
After all, Misaki City currently had no Flame Hazes around; the Rinne could freely feast upon human existence without fear.
Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!
The dolls attacked Emiya Shirou with punches and kicks, yet couldn't penetrate the armor's defense.
As the lowest-level Rinne, they lacked the capability to use Unrestricted Spells and relied solely on basic physical assaults.
Yet even their basic attacks were enough to effortlessly tear off a car door.
Even if a human truly could move within a Fūzetsu, resisting their attacks was normally impossible.
Emiya Shirou was currently being knocked around like a ball between two Rinne.
Impact after impact echoed from Shirou's armor.
These Rinne held nothing back, raining merciless blows upon Emiya Shirou's body.
Unable to repair itself in this state, the Incursio Armor wouldn't hold much longer.
"Aaaagh—!"
The moment the doll fixed its gaze upon him, Sakai Yuuji knew his cover had been blown. Lying helplessly on the ground now would be sheer stupidity.
Run!
Run fast!
Run for your life!
Boom—!
Accompanied by a deafening crash, a massive hole appeared in the floor right in front of Sakai Yuuji.
With just one punch, the doll easily smashed through the classroom floor.
Had Yuuji not hastily retreated, that punch would have killed him instantly.
Driven by terror, without hesitation, Yuuji pulled free the bucket trapping his foot and swung it furiously at the doll's head.
Bang—!
Yet clearly, a normal high-schooler's strength could achieve nothing. Such a blow might've dented a human skull but couldn't even scratch the doll's surface.
But even if it didn't deal real damage, the attack momentarily impeded the doll—perhaps due to poor craftsmanship, befitting their disposable status.
These dolls lacked any self-awareness, even affected by a human's clumsy strike, and toppled heavily to the floor.
Along with the hand embedded deeply in the classroom floor, the doll was temporarily immobilized.
Taking this fleeting opportunity, Sakai Yuuji bolted out of the classroom without looking back.
Staying would be suicide, a sure death by that doll's hands.
If—if only someone could save me now!
"Why?! Why?! Why is this happening to me!"
Sakai Yuuji sprinted wildly down the hallway, raging at this cruel world. He'd rather be like his classmates, blissfully ignorant, like clueless passersby.
If he didn't know death was near, he wouldn't feel this overwhelming dread.
But what he didn't realize was, without knowing exactly when, he'd already become exactly like those classmates he had seen earlier:
A glorious Torch, holding reality in place, keeping this twisted world from unraveling.
---
T/N: hehehe sorrgeee well not really but i actually forgot about webnovel LMAOOOO anyway heres ur 4 chapssss
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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