Bonk!
Mash slammed her shield into the head of a soldier, denting his helmet and knocking him out cold on the spot.
"Gahhh!!!" Several soldiers charged at Nura, but Nura dodged effortlessly and delivered a kick that sent them rolling.
Caster, wielding his staff, whacked them hard—not lethal, but definitely painful.
"If only Gáe Bolg were here," Cú sighed, smacking his staff a few more times.
"Your next line is… Die Witch!"
"Die Witch—nani?!"
"Ouhhhhh!!" Gudako pulled out a Tommy gun and fired relentlessly at a mage soldier, killing him instantly.
[Hey! I said we're not supposed to kill!] Roman protested.
"True, but I never agreed! Hamon!" she shouted, while smacking another soldier in the face with the Tommy gun.
"R-Retreat! They've got a witch backing them!"
"Run for it!!"
The mage soldiers fled in a panic, leaving behind their unconscious or dead comrades.
"Hmm… Are the soldiers of this era really this weak?" Nura scratched his head.
"Nura, they're not magus or anything, just regular people with gear and weapons," Caster said, picking his nose.
"But look at that," he added, pointing at Gudako.
Both Nura and Caster stared at Gudako, who was radiating a powerful golden aura.
"Ouhh!!! Sunlight Yellow Overdrive!!!!" Gudako looked ridiculously muscular, unleashing a barrage of punches at a hapless soldier.
Honestly… was she already this strong?
"Senpai! Stop! He's already dead!!" Mash grabbed Gudako's arm, trying to stop her onslaught.
"Mashu, this is your fault."
"Huh?"
"You got us surrounded, wasted our time, and you're so weak!"
"???"
Gudako started rambling about something nonsensical again. Nura glanced around and spotted a castle not too far away—likely where the soldiers had retreated to.
"Anyone here speak French?" Nura asked.
"Danke schoen!" Gudako raised her hand.
"Anyone but you."
"Huh?? Why??"
Nura looked at Caster.
"Oi, oi, just because Servants can speak any language thanks to the Grail's function doesn't mean I'm fluent in foreign tongues," Caster said.
"Tu n'auras pas Gáe Bolg, continue de rêver," Gudako said, speaking fluent French.
"Hey! I know what you're saying!" Cú snapped.
"Fou!"
Fou's cry drew everyone's attention. It pointed at something.
"…Huh?" Nura raised an eyebrow.
Was that… a Western dragon? Or not? A wyvern, maybe?
And it was flying straight toward us.
Hmm, it's coming our way.
…
…
IT'S COMING OUR WAY???
The black wyvern spewed fire at them. Caster stepped forward, using Rune magic.
A mass of roots sprouted, forming a shield.
"Groot's protecting us!" Gudako cheered, raising her hands.
"I'm the one protecting you!" Caster retorted.
As expected, the fire burned through the roots, and the wyvern's tail smashed the shield to pieces.
"Great, now I'm even weaker than I was at the F Singularity," Caster grumbled.
"Everyone, get behind me!" Mash stepped forward, raising her shield despite her obvious anxiety.
The wyvern slammed into Mash's shield with such force that she staggered back.
"Oh, crap! Your HP's dropping that fast?? You're level 30, Mash??" Gudako panicked.
"Here, let me handle it!" Nura stepped up, drawing his katana and charging forward.
His body emitted black smoke, and he vanished without a trace.
Moments later, the wyvern's wing was sliced clean off with a smooth cut.
"That's Nura for you! Three Quick cards for me! Get those crit stars, Nura!!" Gudako cheered excitedly.
The wyvern didn't give up. It flapped its remaining wing fiercely, creating a gust that pushed Nura back.
But as he was blown back, Nura hurled his katana straight into the wyvern's head, killing it instantly!
The wyvern crashed to the ground, and everyone let out a sigh of relief.
"You're even stronger than before. Looks like this young lady's been investing in you quite a bit," Caster said with a sigh, watching Nura's effortless victory.
Nura didn't know how to respond.
For some reason, when summoned by Chaldea, he was much weaker than in previous summons.
In a Holy Grail War, he could've taken out these small fry without breaking a sweat, even as an Assassin.
But under Chaldea's summoning, he'd been nerfed hard—unable to even use his Noble Phantasm.
On the bright side, Gudako could make him stronger. Right now, he was only about 40% weaker than when summoned by a powerful Master.
Who knows? If Gudako kept powering him up, he might surpass his peak strength. That sounded pretty good.
…Well, not really, because his peak strength was in a different class. Assassin was his main class, but not his strongest.
"Oi, why're you spacing out?" Caster tapped Nura's shoulder.
"Huh? Oh, just thinking about random stuff—What's our Master doing?"
Nura looked at Gudako, who was roasting a piece of wyvern meat over a small fire.
"She asked me to make the fire earlier," Caster said with a chuckle.
Mash looked like she was about to have a breakdown. Even though she'd gotten a tiny bit stronger, she was still easily outclassed. Fou was trying to comfort her.
"Come on over, Nura, Shitty Lancer!"
"Drop the 'shitty' part!"
[Uh… guys? Aren't we supposed to be resolving this Singularity, not camping out here?] Roman chimed in.
***
Our entire group arrived at the castle.
"ENEMIES!!!!"
The French soldiers surrounded us once again.
"Mash, I believe in you!" Gudako said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Mash.
"Just be confident, young lady," Caster said with a smile to Mash.
Mash then glanced at Nura.
"Eto… If you can't handle it, leave it to me. A lord has to set an example for their subordinates, after all."
"Huh? Lord what?"
Oh, right, they don't really know about my identity yet, do they? I'll explain it to them later.
Mash then looked at Fou, swallowed hard, her eyes brimming with determination.
"Ahem."
She stepped forward, and the French soldiers stared at her.
She spoke up confidently:
"Bonjour!"
…That's it?
"Enemy?" one of the soldiers asked cautiously.
"No, no, I'm not an enemy. I come in peace."
The soldiers exchanged glances before continuing their questioning.
"Do you know how to write?"
"Oh, yes, I do. Why do you ask—"
"SHE'S A WITCH! NO NORMAL WOMAN WOULD EVER KNOW HOW TO READ OR WRITE! ONLY WITCHES!!!!"
"AGHHH??"
And just like that, Mash was tied to a pole, with the French soldiers holding torches and glaring at her.
"Burn the witch! Burn the witch!"
Alright… I didn't expect this era to be *this* superstitious. No wonder modern women are always advocating for women's rights.
"Fou Fou!!!" Fou was practically crying, jumping up and down.
"What now?" Gudako looked at Nura and Caster, completely ignoring Mash's tears.
"Tell Mash to say that line," Caster suggested.
"That line? You don't mean…!" Nura looked at Caster in disbelief.
"Yup! That line!"
"Huh? What line?" Gudako asked, confused.
"Just wait and see," Caster said with a sly grin, then used Rune magic to transmit his thoughts to Mash.
Okay, is Rune magic a bit too versatile?
After hearing Caster's instructions, Mash tried her best to shout clearly to the French soldiers:
"I HAVE THE ABILITY TO SUMMON A THICK-THIGHED FEMBOY FOR ALL OF YOU IF YOU LET ME GO!!!"
…
"Huh?" Gudako's face froze, her brain practically short-circuiting.
And, shockingly, the result exceeded all expectations.
"RELEASE THE WITCH! RELEASE THE WITCH!!!"
"…"
Gudako had absolutely no idea what was going on anymore.