Chapter 98: Please Save Saber
On the silent main road, the presence of the monster Heroic Spirit grew thin; as it faded to the point of nearly vanishing, Shirou shifted his attention to Saber.
"He is indeed no longer here."
Saber quietly sensed the aura and made her judgment.
Shirou let out a long breath, then looked at Clan Calatin behind him and said, "We've come to provide support."
Although he had said not long ago that they wouldn't enter Snowfield Central Hospital until the right moment, the second he arrived on the scene, Shirou realized that today was the best timing of all. Everyone was gathering for the sake of the little girl in the hospital named Tsubaki. The power generated by this was already enough to pull half of the Holy Grail War along with it.
And one of the greatest forces of violence obstructing that power had just been driven away by Shirou and his companion.
Clan Calatin looked at each other in bewilderment.
That Heroic Spirit had defeated Flat's Berserker almost overwhelmingly. The Twenty-Eight Monsters representing Caster also had a premonition that they would be easily slaughtered by him afterward; when that sludge lunged at them, the ones in front truly felt they were going to die.
But, did he really just leave like that?
You're saying that after winning two consecutive matches and being seemingly invincible, he lost in front of Clan Calatin?
And they made it through this ordeal safely without paying any price at all?
The Police Department fell into a noisy state of confusion.
Only one person—Flat—unhesitatingly unraveled his concealment magecraft, as he could easily track the movements of magical energy. He stood on his tiptoes and waved his hand grandly toward the high ground where Shirou stood, signaling to Shirou that he was present.
Shirou also greeted him politely: "Long time no see, Flat."
Despite not having seen each other for a year or two, he was still the same Flat Shirou remembered.
Noticing that Shirou's attention was indeed drawn his way, Flat flashed a brilliant smile, and then... he immediately performed a perfect ninety-degree bow.
"Thank you so very much, Butler-kun! No, I should say thank you to you and Miss Saber! Oh, and I'm terribly sorry for causing trouble for Miss Rin the other day!"
"Flat, you should probably say that third thing to Rin..."
"Yes! I'll make sure to apologize to Miss Rin right in front of Butler-kun!"
Although it felt like the other party had a subtle misunderstanding, Shirou didn't correct him since the timing was wrong.
John's eyes widened, and he asked Flat as an afterthought, "Wait, you guys know each other?"
As soon as these words were spoken, every eye in the Police Department turned toward Flat in unison. Whether it was John, the secretary Bella, the giant with the shield, the man with the razor, the warrior with the hammer, or the woman with the bow... their expressions varied, but they all shared the same bewildered look that wanted to ask Flat what was going on.
Facing the silent pressure of their gazes, Flat only let out an "Oh" and scratched his head.
"Yeah, Butler-kun is amazing~ If he hadn't been on the Lulworth Cove, things would have been much more troublesome then!" Flat said without any mental burden.
'What kind of encrypted language is this person speaking?'
The Police Department couldn't help but feel confused, but before they could say anything, it was Flat who suddenly realized something and widened his eyes.
The way everyone looked at Butler-kun wasn't like they were facing a stranger, but rather like they were seeing a very exasperating person. Could it be?
"Huh, you guys know him too? ...Wait, could the person the Chief said visited this morning be Butler-kun?"
After hearing the watch on his wrist chime in agreement, he exclaimed with regret: "I should have come this morning!"
It was a complete mess.
To be honest, that was John's only impression of the main road right now.
However, just like the God of Death, the shadow of the strongest Heroic Spirit who had nearly killed everyone present had vanished so easily. John felt that this wasn't so much the relaxation of surviving a disaster, but rather a kind of encouraged fervor brought about by Flat.
Amidst the noise, he struggled to keep a clear head and consulted the two above:
"...Is there no need to worry? Since the opponent is an Archer and just unleashed a lethal move of a hundred shots in an instant, won't he bombard the hospital with that move once he's at a distance?"
The silver girl, whose beauty left a deep impression on John, shook her head.
Shirou answered: "It's fine. At least while we are present, he won't do that."
Because Noble Phantasms can cancel each other out. Any Noble Phantasm he released would be blocked, and might even be pushed back toward him. Alcides wouldn't take that risk. If he were the type to take such a risk, he wouldn't have chosen to do what he just did.
After observing the direction of the hospital for a moment, Shirou turned to Flat and asked, "Flat, can you use a telepathy spell on me?"
"Oh, Roger that, leave it to me."
Flat nodded repeatedly as if jumping to attention and snapped his fingers amidst the surrounding dialogue.
After Shirou and Flat exchanged a few sentences, Flat deactivated the telepathy. Shirou then spoke in a voice everyone could hear:
"We also know about Tsubaki Kuruoka in the hospital. Although it was a coincidence that we made it in time for the previous battle, if you are going to save Tsubaki Kuruoka, we can provide help. There are others who will also..."
Before he could finish, Shirou's expression suddenly froze.
Shirou looked in one direction... and then furrowed his brows tightly, drawing his bow once more.
Just now, a man had appeared like a ghost, silently appearing on the roof of the distant hospital, and then leaped down. Immediately afterward, two colliding magical energies appeared below. One of the magical energies was identified by Shirou as belonging to Assassin—the Zealot.
The feeling of the other massive magical energy was very alien. It was as if it weren't a human or a Heroic Spirit, but a different species altogether.
"The Dead Apostle I met—how should I put it? His prana is huge, he's very noisy, and he always has this insufferable air of importance. But the composition of his prana is very abnormal... Big Brother will recognize him as soon as you see him."
Shirou remembered Illya's words.
The opponent came with ill intent, a fierce expression flashing across his face before he jumped. It was likely the Dead Apostle Illya mentioned, the one who nearly killed everyone in the theater.
"Tch, that guy is at the back of the hospital."
This angle wasn't convenient for sniping; at the very least, if he didn't want to pierce through the hospital, Caladbolg couldn't be used.
Using the opponent's prana as a guide, he could barely give Hrunting a target. Shirou made the Caladbolg vanish, switched to a ten-second charge, and fired a Hrunting shot in a path
that curved around the building, but there was no reaction. At most, the aura representing Assassin wavered twice as if startled.
Shirou's brow furrowed deeper, and he said to the Saber beside him:
"Saber, I'm afraid we—"
Before he could even finish, the notification sound from Saber's phone interrupted the conversation again.
Shirou and Saber looked at each other.
Saber showed the opened phone to Shirou. There was only one sentence inside.
[Ayaka: Please, help Saber!]
There was only an anxious, lonely girl here who had abandoned even her pride, constantly asking everyone she knew for help.
Shirou put down the phone and found Saber looking fixedly toward a certain direction. Following her gaze, Shirou saw nearly a hundred unfolding golden gates. The heavy rain of Noble Phantasms, which left a deep impression, poured down, and the sound of localized pitter-patter from the rain of weapons could be faintly heard.
In contrast to that, on the other end, a powerful pillar of light swung out, temporarily illuminating the dark horizon.
The duel between Gold and the Lion. The battle between the Vampire and the Assassin.
Come to think of it, things were actually quite simple—the magma boiled from the cauldron of chaos; the monsters and spirits within wouldn't show any deference just because "outsiders" had arrived.
The monsters and spirits didn't care who the newcomer was. Because everyone believed they were the protagonist of this Holy Grail War.
Rather than saying the newcomer came with ill intent, it would be better to call the newcomer a target. The monsters and spirits didn't feel the slightest need to respect an outsider.
Shirou and Saber looked at each other.
It wasn't over yet.
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