90: Phantom Alliance
At the top floor of a cylindrical skyscraper stood a bearded middle-aged man who looked exactly like Shinjuku Archer, except his eyes and brows bore a more sinister and ruthless expression.
A shadow flashed by, and what appeared was a handsome man with black hair and dark skin, holding a longbow wreathed in blue flames.
"I didn't expect even the divinely gifted hero to fail, and even allowed that Wolf King to be taken down like that. We'll have to change the plan now," said the bearded man coldly, his face stern and voice indifferent.
"Shut up, Moriarty. I'm not Arjuna. I'm the one he called 'Black.' I'll complete the task you gave me, but I have only one goal — to kill Shirou Emiya," the black-haired man said coldly to the alliance.
"Indeed. Compared to that perfect hero, you're more suited for this world.
Now that the Wolf King's been dealt with, Chaldea's next target should be the Berserker. I'd like you to go there. Assassin, you go too," said the middle-aged man called Moriarty.
Professor Moriarty was Sherlock Holmes' arch-nemesis, cold-blooded and devoid of any moral conscience.
He once built the largest criminal empire in Europe in London and was known as the "Napoleon of Crime."
More than half of London's cases had some connection to him.
Before encountering Holmes, none of his crimes ever failed. He destroyed all evidence and escaped perfectly every time.
By profession, he was a professor of mathematics and a philosopher.
His works included The Dynamics of an Asteroid, and he was a criminal genius equal in intelligence to Holmes.
This particular form of his also incorporated the German legend of the "Marksman," a tale about a military officer who needed to win a shooting contest to marry his beloved.
Anxious, he was tempted into making a deal with the devil to obtain seven magic bullets — the first six would never miss, but the seventh would hit a target of the devil's choosing.
Under the devil's manipulation, that seventh bullet would inevitably strike the shooter's most beloved person.
At that moment, another handsome young man appeared.
He had long black hair tied in a braid, turquoise-gold eyes, a lean but not bulky build, and skin white as jade. His arms were tattooed with dragons, and his clothes were covered in floral embroidery.
"Hey, 'Black' brother, if you really want to kill that guy so badly, I could help, you know.
Guys like him are pretty easy to deal with if you become one of the women around him," he said teasingly.
"Assassin! You are not allowed to touch him! I must kill that man with my own hands. Only then can I quell the anger burning in my heart," the man who called himself "Black" said emotionally, as the black mud on his face began to squirm.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Then I'll deal with the Master. What a sinful man he must be, to be so deeply resented by such a great hero. Compared to him, we villains are barely worth mentioning," said the handsome young man with a grin.
His true name was Yan Qing, one of the 108 Stars of Destiny, known as the Heavenly Skill Star.
In the original tales, the prodigal Yan Qing was a handsome man skilled in boxing and wrestling and was well-informed.
He had wide social connections and was said to be number one in the world of romance and entertainment.
Being from the Song Dynasty, he shared the then-fashionable custom of wearing flowers in his hair. There were also tales about him being the pet of Lu Junyi, the Jade Unicorn, and about his fondness for cross-dressing.
His fused phantasm was called the Phantom Doppelgänger, originally from a German legend. The German word "Doppelgänger" referred to a ghost that looked exactly like a person.
Everyone is said to have another self deep in their psyche that normally remains unseen — seeing it is an omen of disaster.
This legend later evolved into the more well-known saying: "There exists someone in the world who looks exactly like you. If you see them, it means you'll die soon."
After this fusion, Yan Qing became a Servant skilled in martial arts and transformation abilities.
The black-haired, dark-skinned man, on the other hand, was a Servant of the Archer class who responded to a summoning on his own.
His entire body was tainted with black mud. Just as he said, the legendary hero Arjuna from ancient India could not exist in this world.
He was Arjuna's dark side — rejected by the divinely gifted hero and separated. He once appeared using the identity of "Karna."
This time, however, under the influence of the black mud, he took full control of this body.
He was one of the seven Heroic Spirits summoned and transformed by the black mud.
Unlike the Arjuna who would show a rare, unwilling smile at a crucial moment, this "Black" Arjuna never hid his own evil and cunning nature.
Unlike Perseus, who went mad with rage after his heroism was denied and wanted revenge on everything, "Black" Arjuna was far more composed.
But all seven Heroic Spirits chosen by the black mud shared the same goal — to kill Shirou Emiya.
After finishing their conversation, the evil Servants left the tower and disappeared into the night.
At the same time, the group of young men and women had returned to the basement of the burger shop.
"Here you go, Second. You must be hungry. I got you some dog food in different flavors," Shirou was currently pouring lunch for the white dog.
"Woof!" The white dog affectionately licked Shirou's hand and wagged its tail while eating.
"Shirou! You've got nothing to say seeing me like this? Seriously, nothing? Look!" Jeanne stood in front of the boy, half-spread her arms, and twirled around to show off.
She was now wearing a dark-toned fuzzy jacket, with a layer of black down draped over her shoulders and neck.
Inside, she wore a black one-piece dress with a low neckline, revealing slightly protruding collarbones — like a sculptor's finest curve carved into white jade, sensual and enchanting.
A silver pendant hung down right over them, making the surrounding skin look even whiter.
"Hmm, it suits you well. Pretty and cool," Shirou replied.
"Right? Right? Hmm… Well, I am me, after all, so it's only natural," Jeanne said, averting her eyes and awkwardly shifting her gaze around.
"Yeah, you're really cute like this too," Shirou said with a laugh, seeing the silver-haired girl acting all childish.
"I know! I didn't ask you! Stop staring at me!" Jeanne shouted as she pushed Shirou's face away with her hand.
"She's so easy to deal with, this dumb girl," Artoria muttered from the side.
"Artoria, you look pretty cool in your outfit too," Shirou said.
"…Hmph. As a king, that's only natural. You should feel honored to be my captive," she replied coldly after a moment of silence.
Even though her reply was cold, a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
"Shirou-senpai! What about me? Huh? Huh?" Gudako refused to be left out, stepping forward and striking a pose she thought was seductive.
"Ah… cute, cute, dangerously cute…" Shirou waved his hand casually in reply.
"Right? I'm cute, huh?" Gudako smiled and walked up, lightly kicked Shirou, and asked, "Why's there such a huge difference in how you treat us?"
"Well, even if you pose in your Mystic Code outfit…." Shirou said helplessly to the girl who was a stranger yet also familiar in every way. In the game, I helped you change clothes every day, and it's always the same few outfits — what's left to say at this point?
"Damn it! I want a cool outfit too!" Gudako grumbled.
Just then, the phone rang. Gudako walked over and picked it up.
The caller was a man who called himself Edmond Dantès.
He told Gudako the truth behind the platform being constructed in the center of Shinjuku: the leader of the Phantom Man Alliance had created a gun barrel device, intending to use it to destroy this world — to shatter the Earth.
To stop them, the Servants must be defeated one by one.
Shinjuku Rider had already been eliminated — next up was Shinjuku Berserker.
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