The Monster's Inexplicable Hatred
At the last critical moment, the arriving Asuna activated her Noble Phantasm and saved Shirou.
"Are you hurt, Shirou-Senpai?" Mash stood in front of Shirou with her shield raised, asking nervously.
"Ah! Just barely held onto my life. Thanks a lot, Asuna, Raikou." Shirou rubbed his chilled neck—just moments ago, his head nearly parted from his body.
"If you want to thank me, I'll give you a chance later.
Right now, let's focus on dealing with this enemy. Looks like blasting him with Noble Phantasms once or twice isn't enough to kill him!" Wearing a yukata and holding the electrified katana Dojigiri Yasutsuna, Asuna fixed her eyes firmly on the enemy ahead.
The black man, who had been blasted away by the Vajra Pestle, had lost half his body.
From the gaping wound oozed black mud, looking like a swarm of writhing worms.
Yet under the Holy Grail's magical energy supply, he quickly regenerated back into human form.
"Is this really a Heroic Spirit?" Asuna frowned and looked at the eerie black figure.
"Class analysis unknown. This state is strange—like his body and mind have been corrupted by something. There's also a huge magical reaction inside—confirmed, it's the Holy Grail!" Da-chan flew over as it analyzed.
"For real? Is that a corrupted Holy Grail?" Shirou frowned, unpleasant memories surfacing.
"No, the Holy Grail's reaction is normal. It's the Heroic Spirit himself whose condition has changed somehow," Da-chan replied as it continued scanning.
"I see. But either way, we can't leave such a dangerous guy be." As Shirou spoke, he projected a bow and arrow.
When he looked toward the blackened Perseus, the latter also locked eyes with him.
"Next time, I'll definitely kill you, Emiya!" The black man's mutilated body continued regenerating in the black mud. Though temporarily weakened, he glared at Shirou with eyes full of endless hatred, then disappeared into the black hole.
"What on earth is going on?" Shirou stared at the retreating black figure.
If the red-eyed monsters before could be explained as berserk or crazed, then the hatred in that Heroic Spirit's eyes just now was pure fury—as if he wanted to grind Shirou's bones to dust.
Could it be that all those monsters—and this Heroic Spirit—were targeting him?
No... He said "Emiya," but not necessarily referring to him. Maybe he meant that Emiya Shirou—the one Mash was searching for?
At that moment, Da-chan projected a 3D hologram—Da Vinci had arrived after receiving an alert.
Da Vinci said, "As expected, something is going on here. In fact, according to my investigation, the Heroic Spirit Emiya had already disappeared from Chaldea before the world began to change."
"Emiya-Senpai?" Mash asked.
Da Vinci nodded and continued, "Yes. Meaning, the reason for his disappearance might be different from other Heroic Spirits who returned due to unstable world mana.
It's not impossible that he's connected to this incident."
"No… the look in his eyes was like someone who wanted to kill the man who murdered his parents. Did that Emiya do something completely unforgivable to him?" Shirou asked.
"Emiya-senpai would never do something like that! He's just like Shirou-Senpai here! He never says much, but he always makes warm meals for everyone, takes care of me and Gudako-Senpai…" Mash exclaimed emotionally.
"I know… Thank you, Mash." Shirou reached out and gently patted his kouhai's head as she desperately defended the other world's version of him. Indeed, if it were truly him, he wouldn't do anything evil—but if it were in the name of justice…?
"These are all still doubts. But if that black mud on Perseus is the same black mud we know… then we're in serious trouble," Da Vinci said, voicing the worst-case scenario.
"You mean the black mud that corrupted Miss Ushiwakamaru?!"
Mash cried out in shock. Back then, when they faced the infinitely replicating Ushiwakamaru, it took a goddess's help and tremendous effort.
In the end, it was the Heroic Spirit "Kashin Koji" who borrowed the name of Musashibou and sacrificed herself to perish together with Ushiwakamaru.
Da Vinci chuckled and waved her hand, denying it. "No, that's impossible—probably a different kind of corruption. If that Emiya could do something that enraged the son of a
monster to the point of revenge, then he'd already be a Heroic Spirit standing at the pinnacle of the Throne."
"We don't know the exact reason yet, but one thing's certain: the mastermind behind the attack on Chaldea this time is him. Once we find him and defeat him, we can resolve this crisis," Da Vinci said.
"Really? That's great! If we fix this, does that mean we can bring Gudako-Senpai and Fou back?" Mash asked joyfully.
"No, don't get too ahead of yourself, Mash. Let's handle what's in front of us first. Gudako is fine on that side, don't worry," Da Vinci said gently.
She had a feeling things wouldn't be that simple.
"Okay! Then let's hurry and find that corrupted Heroic Spirit!" Mash clenched her fists with determination.
"Yeah! Mash, let's all work hard together! We'll definitely reunite you with Gudako!" Yuigahama grabbed Mash's hand to cheer her on.
"Then for now, let's all return to normal," Shirou said.
"Oh, then I should think about what I want to do next…" Suzuka Gozen appeared, tapping her lips with a finger as she thought.
"Shirou, didn't you say earlier you owed me a favor?" Lancer-class Raikou appeared at this time.
'Since the crisis is over, I'll be going back first.' At that moment, Yukinoshita heard Atalanta's voice from within her.
"Eh? You don't want to have your wish granted?" Yukinoshita asked in her mind.
The cat-eared girl shook her head, softly replying, "The children are safe. It's I who should thank you for answering my wish."
With that, the Heroic Spirit possessing Yukinoshita turned into faint light and returned to Chaldea.
"Eh? Yukino, your Heroic Spirit already left?" Suzuka Gozen peeked over and asked.
"Yes. Atlanta's wish has been fulfilled." Yukinoshita, back in her normal form, nodded.
"Hmmm… Since Shirou seems busy, I guess I'll let it go for today," Suzuka Gozen thought for a moment. As a girlfriend, she figured she should give her boyfriend a little space sometimes.
"I see. Then I'll head back too," Raikou agreed as well. It seemed the Heroic Spirits had become close with everyone, and their wishes didn't seem as pressing as before.
Just as the boys and girls released their Heroic Spirit possessions, a girl's voice called out from the building entrance.
"Senpai, you all suddenly ran out—what exactly were you doing?" Now freed from the illusion, Iroha Isshiki came running out and called to the group.
"Sorry, something came up, so we stepped out for a bit," Yuigahama laughed and ran over to answer.
"Huh?! Why is Mash here too?" Isshiki asked in surprise.
"Mash is here to help! The more hands the better, right? Let's go back in! Oh yeah—Isshiki, how's the elementary school group doing? Come with me to check on them!"
Yuigahama pushed Isshiki along, casually changing the subject as they walked back inside.