Chapter 195: The Escape of Two Beasts and a Grand
A few hours earlier, in some kind of digital space.
"Grrraaaaaooooooo——————!!!"
A pack of pitch-black hounds were frantically chasing two figures fleeing for their lives.
"Seriously, these things keep reappearing every time we kill one, like they're infinite—so annoying!"
Noah shouted while running, raising his spear to fire several mana bullets behind him.
"Bang——————!!"
One of the black hounds was struck by a mana bullet and collapsed to the ground, its body flashing briefly before disappearing from the surface.
At the exact spot where it vanished, another identical black hound emerged, immediately joining the pursuit.
"Aren't you a Rider of Grand-Class? Can't you think of any solution???"
Draco fired red beams while staying alert for any ambush from newly appearing ones.
"I've already lost my Grand-class Saint Graph. Right now, I'm just an ordinary Rider. Besides, there's something strange about this space—my powers are severely limited."
An uneasy expression appeared on Noah's face.
"Seems like Noble Phantasms can't be used either."
"In other words, all those plans you told Master earlier about being able to call for reinforcements are now impossible to carry out?"
"My apologies, it appears that's the case."
Noah continued firing mana bullets behind him, trying to hold back the black hounds.
"Hmph, just this little limitation, and yet you were chosen as a Grand by that Counter Force? Pathetic."
On Draco's left hand, the Holy Grail slowly materialized.
She suddenly stopped, and black mist poured out from within the Holy Grail.
"Roooaaaar————————!!"
One of the black hounds leapt high into the air, charging straight toward them!
"Whoosh——————!!"
Draco raised her dragonified right hand, and in an instant, razor-sharp dragon claws pierced through the hound's body.
Then, with a single swing, she slammed two more hounds to the ground.
"Grr... Grrr..."
The remaining hounds cautiously approached, baring their fangs at Draco and Noah.
"Pitiful creatures, have you still not realized your fate?!"
Right after Draco sneered and said that, the hounds suddenly staggered as if poisoned, collapsing one after another.
In less than ten seconds, the pack of black beasts had completely lost their ability to fight.
The black mist flowing from the Holy Grail now covered the entire surrounding ground.
"Can't even take a single blow!"
Draco continued spreading the black mist from the Holy Grail across the earth. That pitch-black magical energy resembled the Depravity of mankind, constantly expanding outward.
"Whew, I suppose we barely escaped that one."
Noah nodded to Draco.
"Thanks to your help, we can now take our time to find a way out."
"Did I hear that right? Are you thanking a Beast?"
Draco looked at him with contempt.
"Just like how I'm currently a 'Grand Candidate', you're now merely a 'Former Beast VI'."
Noah didn't seem to mind Draco's attitude.
"After losing your Beast status, you're no different from an ordinary Servant. Let's get along, shall we?"
Noah extended his hand toward Draco.
"Oh? Looks like you're hiding something."
Draco had no intention of shaking hands.
"You, as a 'Grand Candidate', still have a chance to reclaim the title of Grand. As for me, when the horn of Beast grows again, that'll be when I reclaim my identity as 'Beast VI'."
"Rather than wasting time playing friends with a 'Beast', we should focus on finding the exit and checking whether my Master is still alive."
Hearing that, Noah's face showed a trace of worry as well.
"Never thought I'd be trapped in a place like this with you. The master of this domain seems well-versed in such matters. But if Mash isn't nearby, then it's likely she's still with Master."
Thud——————!!
Suddenly, a sound echoed from afar, and the ground began to tremble.
"Oh? Looks like something big is about to show up."
Draco and Noah simultaneously stepped back, assuming combat stances.
A massive figure slowly approached the two of them.
It stood over ten meters tall, its entire body composed of some unknown blue material, with white circuit-like patterns connecting across its form.
At its chest and joints, pale red circles glowed faintly, and its head was marked by two twisting cracks that resembled a pair of eyes.
If those black hounds with deformed heads earlier could still be considered living beings...
Then the thing now appearing before the two of them—its entire body bore no resemblance to a "living being" at all.
If one had to call it something, at most it could only be considered a "giant" due to its height.
In its hand, the giant held a spear also made of that same mysterious blue material—this seemed to be its weapon.
The giant lowered its head, seemingly searching for something.
"Fou fou~~~"
Suddenly, a small creature darted in from afar.
The moment it saw Draco, the tiny creature immediately leapt toward her.
"Oh? Isn't that the 'Beast' raised by my Master?"
Draco looked down at Fou—who had now taken refuge beside Noah.
"Oh~ so you got stuck in this place too, huh?"
Upon discovering that Fou was also caught up in this place, for some reason Draco's mood seemed to improve a little.
"Fou fou!!!"
Fou cried out toward the giant, as if warning Draco and Noah about the looming danger.
"You've really brought us quite the huge headache."
Their opponent had clearly already noticed them. Without hesitation, it raised its fifteen-meter-long spear and slammed it down!!!
"BOOOOM————————!!"
The heavy spear struck down, instantly blasting a massive crater into the ground!!!
Draco and Noah had already dodged in advance and immediately began their counterattack.
"BANG————————!!"
Noah aimed at the giant's head and gripped his spear tight, firing a mana bullet!
But just as it was about to make contact, the magic-powered bullet suddenly vanished.
Or more accurately—it was "disintegrated."
As the bullet approached the giant, it seemed to be sliced apart into countless micro-particles by an invisible barrier.
This shot immediately drew the giant's attention—it once again raised its heavy spear and brought it crashing down!
This time, Draco didn't dodge.
She raised her dragonified arm in front of her!
Under her control, the Holy Grail burst forth with a dazzling seven-colored radiance!!!
Bathed in the prismatic light of the Holy Grail, the giant appeared to be in pain—its massive body began trembling violently.
"BOOOM————————!!"
Its descending spear veered off course as a result, missing Draco entirely.
However, the pale red circles scattered across the giant's body began to glow—it quickly regained its balance, picked up its spear, and repositioned itself to attack Draco once more!!!
"Behold my power!!"
Facing the pressure wave caused by the impact, Draco shouted loudly.
"ROAAAR————————!!"
In the next instant, a phantom beast with a dragon's head let out a deafening roar and unleashed a beam of light!!!
At the point of impact, a visible layer of barrier could be seen resisting the attack?!
"Oh? You think something like that can stop me!!!"
Immediately afterward, the earth shook violently—and from beneath the ground, six more heads emerged, each with a different form!!!
"ROOOOAAARR——————————!!"
They simultaneously gathered mana in their mouths and unleashed it all toward the giant ahead!
"BOOOOOM————————!!"
A tremendous impact carrying devastating force crashed forward!
The barrier in front of the giant took a direct hit—its enormous body began to stagger!!!
The visible barrier was crumbling bit by bit under the assault.
"Ha ha, struggle! Keep struggling!!!"
Amid Draco's roaring laughter, the barrier was finally shattered by the seven-headed beast's attack!
"CRAAAASH————————————!!"
The giant, struck full-on, collapsed to the ground with a thunderous crash, followed by a massive surge of wind!!!
"Hmph, pathetic filth like this dares to appear before me."
Draco crossed her arms, looking down at the toppled giant with scorn in her eyes.
"Don't let your guard down. The one who trapped us here still hasn't shown themselves."
Noah tightened his grip on his weapon, eyes sweeping the seemingly identical surroundings.
Suddenly, all the circuit-like lines on the fallen giant's body shifted from white to red—it began to thrash, attempting to rise.
"Destroy it—my subordinates!!!"
"ROOAARR——————————!!"
The seven Phantasmal Beasts roared and charged forward, intending to rip the blue giant to pieces with fang and claw!!!
The giant, now surrounded, reached out and grabbed two of the Phantasmal Beasts, but was immediately struck from behind. One beast with a head resembling a worm bit down on the giant's arm, preventing it from flailing.
Before long, the blue giant seemed to be on the verge of total defeat.
"Seriously… no wonder it was so noisy over here. It's like someone forgot to turn off the TV while waiting for their show to air."
Suddenly, a massive screen appeared in the sky—BB, with her long purple hair, appeared on it.
"You guys summoned an Enemy Program already? Do you even realize how much time it'll take to gather this thing up and throw it back to where it belongs?"
BB spoke with a slightly complaining tone.
"Who are you?!"
Seeing BB, Draco immediately realized she was the master of this space.
The one responsible for trapping her and Noah in this bizarre place.
"Me? Wow, you don't even know who I am? But I suppose you'll find out soon enough."
BB was just about to introduce herself when she suddenly noticed the Phantasmal Beasts attacking the giant.
"Ayaa~ and you even dared to use illegal powers like that? That's a big no-no!!!"
BB crossed her arms and struck a pose like a director calling an NG take.
At her words, the seven Phantasmal Beasts that were preparing their finishing blow instantly vanished without a trace.
"——————————?!"
For the first time, Draco's face showed sheer horror.
"You dare… destroy… my subordinates…?!"
After confirming the Phantasmal Beasts had disappeared, BB once again smiled brightly.
"Dangerous powers like that are totally banned in Hard mode~ and yet you're cheating right in front of an Advanced AI – BB? You guys really don't respect the rules~~~"
BB on the massive screen reached her hand forward.
"So now, BB is going to confiscate all your cheat tools, okay!!!"
Then, her hand actually extended out of the screen?!
And it kept growing—stretching directly toward Draco and Noah!
"Don't underestimate me!!!"
The Holy Grail in Draco's hand once again radiated brilliant seven-colored light!!!
But BB grabbed it effortlessly?!
"A Holy Grail like this doesn't really work in here~ but I'll be taking it back anyway. After all, I am a Holy Grail holder too."
"What——————?!"
It was as if Draco's body was being crushed by an enormous invisible hand—she couldn't move at all.
"Uwaa——————!!!"
In the next second, Draco's body began trembling, and the Holy Grail on her head was forcibly torn away.
Seeing this, Noah immediately tightened his grip on his spear and fired at the area around Draco!
As if something had been broken, Draco fell straight down.
Noah rushed forward to catch her, and with Fou, quickly fled into the distance.
"Since you used a cheat tool in this game, BB will be getting serious from now on~~~"
BOOOOM————————!!
The giant that had fallen earlier now rose again, ready for another attack.
"..."
While running, Noah checked on Draco's condition.
After losing the Holy Grail, Draco's state had clearly worsened considerably.
After rounding a corner, Noah transformed the spear in his hand into the Sword of Methuselah, then slashed directly at a wall!!!
"Whoosh————————!!"
A pitch-black hole immediately appeared on the wall.
"This is the best exit I can manage... just this small?"
Noah looked down at Draco in his arms.
"Thud, thud!!"
As the footsteps of the pursuing giant grew closer, the hole in the wall also began shrinking.
Noah carefully placed Draco inside.
"There's no point in staying here. I hope you can return safely to Master."
Just as the hole was about to close, a white blur jumped in after her.
"Fou fou~~~"
Then—nothing but complete darkness swept over...
...
"Ah!!!"
Draco suddenly snapped awake.
Why did I suddenly lose consciousness like that???
Right! I need to inform Master about that Rider immediately!!!
She glanced around and saw Ethan and Mash dressed in school uniforms.
"Oh, you're awake."
Ethan, adjusting his collar, looked over at the just-awakened Draco with relief.
"Master, you're…???"
Ethan gave an awkward smile.
"It's been a long time since I wore a school uniform. Somehow, putting on a Japanese school uniform always makes me feel like I'm being forced to save the world again…"