Shinji Matou At Your Service

Chapter 111: They’re all good things, don’t waste them

The good-natured crowd near Ryuunosuke, who came out to look at the monsters, hadn't even reacted yet, and Shinji had already disappeared into the thick fog, leaving behind a decapitated body in a different place.

The slow reaction of the onlookers does not mean that Caster's reaction was slow. When the source of magical energy disappeared and the Master-Servant contract was broken, Caster knew what had happened in an instant.

From the bottom of his heart, he mourned for the only one who understood this world.

"Ryuunosuke, my Master, you left me behind. But don't worry, I, Gilles de Rais, will fulfill our agreement."

With tears welling up in the corners of his eyes, Caster held his Noble Phantasm in his hands, and his voice, both intense and mournful, resonated through the atmosphere along with his magical energy, shaking it.

"Ryuunosuke, watch this. It's the coolest thing I can offer you!"

The word "cool" is transliterated as "ku," which is Ryuunosuke's catchphrase. He would shout it whenever he got excited. Since summoning Caster, he had been praising Caster with this word every day. Over time, Caster was also influenced by him and became increasingly cool.

As if hearing Caster's voice, the Evil God's Avatar which had been standing still since its manifestation began slowly moved towards the shore. It is intended to devour all the living beings in this city!

This was not only to satisfy its insatiable appetite but also to replenish the magical energy needed to maintain its manifestation in the absence of a source of magical energy. It was the best gift for Ryuunosuke.

The faces of the four allied Servants and the three Masters changed. Although the movements of the Sea Demon were extremely slow, it was only relative to its huge and bloated body. No matter how sluggish it was, its speed was much faster than that of humans due to its enormous size.

What was more troublesome was that even the superhuman strength of the Servants couldn't stop the Sea Demon's movement. At most, they could only hinder its steps. It was simply too big, to the point where any movement caused a landslide.

Just as the situation was becoming dire, four dazzling rays of light streaked across the night sky, instantly evaporating one-third of the Sea Demon, leaving the four Servants at a loss.

Looking in the direction where the "meteors" fell, a flying object made of gold and emerald in the shape of a fish floated in the eastern sky. The luxury and arrogance that could be felt even without seeing anyone was possessed by only one person in Fuyuki City—Archer, the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh.

"So that's the 'Vimana'?"

Shinji, who was on his way back, stopped in his tracks and stared fixedly at the golden flying ship, even forgetting about the approaching Sea Demon.

The ship Gilgamesh rode on was called the "Vimana." It was a mythical vessel recorded in the two core epics of ancient Indian mythology, the "Ramayana" and the "Mahabharata." It was one of the treasures stored in the "King's Treasury" and allowed Gilgamesh to soar through the sky.

Shinji was so concerned about this Noble Phantasm, not because he had any particular intention towards the "Vimana" itself. He already had the Feathered Shoes and another Noble Phantasm that broke the constraints of gravity, so another flying Noble Phantasm held little significance for him. Although "Fate/Zero" mentioned that the "Vimana" carried ancient nuclear warheads, Shinji had no use for such weapons of mass destruction. Not to mention whether they could kill Servants or monsters comparable to Servants, even if they could, dealing with the aftermath would be a major problem.

What Shinji was concerned about was the owner of the "Vimana," Gilgamesh, and his next move.

"Will you act as written in the book, only making one move, or will there be unexpected actions?"

...

The "meteors" from the sky dealt unprecedented and severe damage to the Sea Demon, but Caster's laughter not only didn't diminish but became even more arrogant.

"...How is this possible!"

More than one person exclaimed in astonishment.

The twisted flesh swelled like a balloon, quickly covering and pushing away the damaged parts. The structure of the Sea Demon was probably as simple as that of a primitive creature, without bones or internal organs, and therefore had no weak points. No matter which part of its body was destroyed in any way, it wouldn't affect its movement. With its exceptional regenerative ability, it could instantly restore the damaged parts to their original state.

Seeing this scene, Archer, sitting on the only throne atop the "Vimana," revealed an undisguised sense of disgust:

"What an unsightly spectacle, I'm going back, Tokiomi."

"But... King of Heroes, please reconsider." Tokiomi, Archer's Master, who had come out of the Tohsaka family for the first time since the war began, deeply bowed his upper body, almost parallel to the surface of the "Vimana."

Unlike Archer, Tokiomi's heart was filled with anger and anxiety. He was the secret administrator of Fuyuki City, the upholder, and protector of the creed that "magic must remain mysterious." Dealing with Caster, who violated this creed, was his duty and responsibility.

That's why he had come out of the workshop and pleaded with Archer to ride the "Vimana" together.

However, Archer was indifferent to the Sea Demon's rampage. Even if Tokiomi said, "That monster is destroying your backyard, please exterminate it," Archer only responded with, "That's the gardener's job," completely indifferent.

In the era when Gilgamesh was alive, everyone had their responsibilities, from kings to slaves, and they were expected to act within their bounds without crossing them. Gilgamesh took pride in this, but Tokiomi didn't understand his pride.

"Tokiomi, I've used four Noble Phantasms for your sake. Since they've touched something like that, I don't want to take it back anymore. Don't consider my leniency as something cheap!"

Archer snorted displeasedly. As a king, he had an obligation to respond to his subjects' requests. Tokiomi showed him the proper respect as his subject, and only then did he make an exception and use four Noble Phantasms. Otherwise, even if the Sea Demon destroyed the entire city of Fuyuki, he wouldn't even furrow his brow.

"The only hero capable of defeating that monster is you, King!"

Tokiomi tried his best to persuade him, and at this point, he couldn't care less about the formalities of the subject.

Archer raised his hand and stopped Tokiomi from speaking further, then looked down at the battlefield below, lost in thought.

"You're mistaken, Tokiomi. It's not just me who can defeat this monster."

"King, what do you mean?"

"Ha ha, Rider has shown his trump card, Assassin has not yet, and neither has Saber. I've changed my mind. Let's just enjoy this scene from the sidelines. You all, work hard, and I will assess your worth and decide who is worthy of being bestowed with my treasures and killed by me."

Archer's joyful laughter, though not loud, was more confident than Caster's maniacal laughter.

Tokiomi lowered his head, silent, carefully calculating the pros and cons. Whether it was more advantageous to use the Sea Demon as bait to test the other Servants' trump cards or to use a Command Spell to forcibly order Gilgamesh to defeat Caster.

In the end, he chose the former. While the latter would grant him additional Command Spells, because of the participation of other Servants, Tokiomi couldn't openly favor himself and his plan. The number of Command Spells he could obtain was limited. Moreover, he was bound to have a falling out with Gilgamesh before that. With Gilgamesh's arrogance, he could be directly killed.

...

Staring at the "Vimana" below for a few minutes, Shinji confirmed that Gilgamesh had no intention of attacking the Sea Demon again. He couldn't help but reveal a smile of a successful conspiracy.

"Very good, that's the way it should be."

Smiling, he took out his phone from his pocket and dialed a number.

"Hello, Uncle? Where are you?"

"You arrived just in time, Uncle. I need Berserker to do something for me."

"As for Archer, it's fine. It seems he won't make a move. Just in case, I'll keep an eye on him."

"Command Berserker go downstream and see if he can find the four Noble Phantasms Archer threw away. They are all valuable items, so don't waste them."

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