To become a king and a magician

"Alright, instead of sitting here in astonishment, let's hurry up and take care of things over there."

Natsukawa Tora pointed to Mount Enzo not far away: "According to my calculations, as long as you go there, defeat Saber, and retrieve the Holy Grail, this singularity should disappear. Rei and I will stay here to deal with Archer, Fujimaru, and Mash. You guys go and defeat Saber. Akuta-senpai, I'll trouble you to assist them."

"Don't order me around like that!"

Stomping her foot hard, Hinako Akuta turned to Ritsuka Fujimaru and Mashu: "Stop standing there, you two, hurry up and catch up, the sooner we finish this, the sooner we can get back!"

"Yes...yes! Then let's set off, brother, please...please be careful."

After hesitating for a moment, Mashu still expressed her concerns to Natsukawa Tora, even though, given the current situation, her brother didn't need her worry.

"Let's go, senior."

"Um—Senior Akuta, wait for us!"

Watching the three leave one after another, Sajou Rei approached Natsukawa Torato: "Master, do you think they can handle Saber? According to you, Saber is supposed to be the inverted form of Ria. I don't think Mash, who just gained Galahad's power, can defeat her. Even with Akuta Hinako there..."

“Mash has been doing simulated training all along, this is just her first real battle, so I have some confidence in her. If you're really worried, why don't you come along?”

"No, I'll stay by my master's side. Besides, there's someone here who needs my help."

Sajou Rei looked at Olga Marie lying on the ground: "Marie, is she already dead? She doesn't have the aptitude for spirit transfer, so her presence here means she's just a soul right now."

Natsukawa Tora nodded: "When Rafe self-destructed, Olga was the closest person to him besides me. She was seriously injured and on the verge of death on the spot, and her soul left her body and was caught in the spirit transfer. Fortunately, her body has now been buried in Avalon, so there will be no problems afterward. As long as her soul is preserved, we can let her return to her body after returning to Chaldea."

At this point, Sajou Rei also understood why Natsukawa Torato had sent her to the Singularity: "Letting another girl enter your wife's body, Master, I'm fine with that, but Aika will get jealous."

I didn't!

"It's not that bad... Well, if this makes Aika unhappy, then I apologize. Sorry, Aika, please bear with it for a moment."

"Well... I didn't say it was completely impossible. If it's the prince's request, we can try to be patient a little..."

"—Master, that's what Aika said."

Sajō Rei said with a smile, then squatted down and picked up Olga Marie, lowered her head and kissed her lips, sucking as if she were absorbing something. With some suggestive water sounds, Olga Marie's body gradually turned into specks of light and entered Sajō Rei's body from her mouth.

After completely absorbing Olga Marie's soul into her body, Sajou Rei licked her lips: "Hmm... I kissed someone other than my master, so am I a little unclean? But it was your request, master, so—"

"Zero, that's enough! What are you thinking about all day long? Have you been corrupted by Meryl?"

Xia Chuanhu was speechless. Sometimes he really felt he needed to discipline Meili's words and actions to see what kind of influence she was having on others.

Sajou Rei gave a sly smile: "Just a little joke. So, Master, what about that matter..."

"Okay, leave it to me."

"It's just a Servant level, so it should only take about a minute."

15. Suicide Infantryman Hinako Akuta

Yuanzang Mountain is a large underground cavity.

No matter which world it is in, whenever the Holy Grail War takes place in Fuyuki City, it will inevitably become a place of turbulent events.

After all, this is the best place for the Holy Grail to descend.

Is this the place?

Standing outside the large cavern, looking at the entrance ahead, Fujimaru Ritsuka swallowed hard. "It feels a bit eerie... I'm getting goosebumps. Is Saber and the Greater Grail that the captain mentioned inside?"

"Since that's what he said, it's probably true. He's never made a mistake when it comes to finding things."

"Yes, my brother would never provide us with incorrect information, so please rest assured, senior."

Although their tones differed, both Hinako Akuta and Mashu expressed their trust in Torakawa.

(I'm a little confused about what Akuta-senpai thinks of the department head. She was so indifferent before... Could it be that senpai is a tsundere like the director? Or maybe a more specialized kind of tsundere?)

Fujimaru Ritsuka's idea was very inappropriate and went astray.

However, despite her thoughts, she didn't stand still. Instead, she followed Hinako Akuta and Mashu into the cave ahead.

Just like from the outside, the cave was completely dark inside. Fortunately, they could still confirm each other's positions using the communication devices on their wrists. And as a spirit, Hinako Akuta wouldn't just bump into walls while walking.

As Mashu walked forward, she looked at her surroundings, which she could vaguely see: "Is this cave... naturally formed?"

"Overall, it should be correct, but you can see some traces of artificial modification. Presumably, some magicians modified this natural cave after discovering it and used it as their own workshop."

At this point, a slight displeasure arose in Hinako's heart. For a spirit like her, born from the planet itself, the human's behavior of modifying the environment according to its own will was, in a sense, like tearing down her home. If she could materialize her imagination, she would have turned this place back to its most primitive state on the spot.

The cave wasn't very long, only a couple hundred meters deep at most. After reaching the end and exiting the cave, a vast and empty space appeared before the three of them.

"So big..."

Fujimaru Ritsuka couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

It's not because of the size of the cavity itself, but because of the thing that exists inside the cavity.

Not far in front of the three, a huge platform was emitting incredibly powerful magical energy fluctuations. The faint light released by the dense magical energy almost illuminated the entire void.

"Is that... the core of the magic furnace? Could that be the Greater Grail?"

"Probably. More importantly, Mashu, protect the newcomers. A troublesome opponent is coming!"

Upon hearing what Hinako Akuta said, Mash immediately raised her shield and stood in front of Ritsuka Fujimaru. At the same time, she also realized that among the dense magical energy that filled the entire space, there was another magical reaction of a slightly different nature.

It was a single touch of dark red amidst the extremely murky black.

"Click...click...click..."

The sound of armor rubbing against each other reached the ears of the three. At the top of the high platform, a figure silently appeared and then leaped down to land in front of them.

"Wow, an interesting Servant has arrived."

The figure wielding the black sword immediately fixed its gaze on Mash, who was not far away. Upon seeing the Saber's appearance clearly, a strong sense of unease appeared on Mash's face.

"You...you are...Miss Leah?!"

Artoria Pendragon, a blonde girl who had been brought to Chaldea a few times by Natsukawa Torato. Due to the aftermath of the Demi-Servant incident, Mash had some interactions with her, and in Mash's memory, she was a rather serious, handsome, and reliable adult. Although she was a woman, she inexplicably gave off an impression of a "knight."

But now, Black Saber, who has an almost identical face to her, appears before Mash.

"Lia...do you know my real name? The Shield Maiden." Black Saber asked with interest. "Indeed, since you wield that shield, it's only natural that you know my real name."

"but--"

Dark magic suddenly erupted from Black Saber, and a storm of magic swept out and soared into the sky!

This was simply a release of magic, but even so, the resulting strong winds still created a shockwave within the great void.

Taking a step forward, Black Saber, gripping the holy sword in both hands, stared intently at Mash: "Let me see your power, Shield Maiden. How much of the power contained in that shield can you unleash—let me see for myself!"

"Bang--------!"

Before the sound had even faded, a loud explosion followed. One second Black Saber was nearly a hundred meters away, and the next second she had already passed Hinako Akuta and arrived in front of Mash in one breath.

"Clang—!"

The holy sword struck down with all its might, creating a heavy clang against the shield!

The impact transmitted to her arm made Mash groan involuntarily, her brows furrowing, but she quickly braced herself with her hands on the shield, using all her strength to steady her body after the impact.

"Did you withstand the first attack? Not bad, but—hmm!"

"boom!"

Just as Black Saber raised her sword to deliver her second blow, Hinako Akuta suddenly appeared beside her and delivered a powerful punch to her head!

Adjusting her body mid-air and landing lightly on the ground, Black Saber looked at Hinako Akuta, who was blocking Mash and Fujimaru Ritsuka's path: "You are...?"

"A temporary babysitter for these two little ones!"

Hinako Akuta said irritably, "I was standing right in front of you just now, and you actually ignored me. Did you really not see me or were you deliberately ignoring me? You're really bold. Although I don't mind your behavior of ignoring me. Anyway, Servants are human too, and I hate humans."

“But I can’t let you ignore me now. That guy said he wanted me to keep an eye on these two, so now I’m going to fight you—Mash, you just need to focus on protecting the newcomers, I’ll take care of the rest.”

"Wait a minute, Miss Akuta! Why are you taking your clothes off?"

Mashu had just nodded when she noticed that Hinako Akuta had suddenly taken off all her clothes. Even though there were no men around, it was still inappropriate for her to be completely naked outdoors!

"Tch, so what if you're naked? Everyone is born naked. Can't you even get rid of this level of shame?"

"Besides, I only took it off because I was afraid of ruining the clothes, since my fighting methods are somewhat unreasonable."

As they spoke, Hinako removed her glasses and the hair tie that bound her hair. A strong crimson light immediately emanated from her slender body, and the resulting vortex blew her loose hair upside down. A smell of blood inexplicably wafted into the nostrils of the three of them.

Bathed in this crimson magic, Hinako felt a sense of nostalgia as she experienced her current body—she hadn't felt this liberated in a long time.

"That guy said to be careful of your surroundings when using this move, but now that Mash has her shield, I probably don't need to worry about that."

"Then—experience it properly, Black Saber, the pain of my death!"

As Akuta Hinako spoke, the magical power surrounding her instantly erupted into a chaotic riot! The completely uncontrolled magical power exploded on the spot like a detonated bomb, and Akuta Hinako's figure was immediately swallowed up by the sudden explosion!

Using their shields to block the oncoming blast, Mashu and Fujimaru Ritsuka both wore expressions of disbelief—Akuta Hinako-senpai was dead? And this was... a self-destruction?!

"No, that's not right. Miss Akuta's magic hasn't dissipated; in fact, it's even more active than before... This is already at the level of a materialized curse! And it's gathering upwards... Oh no! Senior, please come this way with me! We're going to get caught in the crossfire!"

As if she had understood something, Mashu quickly grabbed Fujimaru Ritsuka and ran towards the edge of the Great Hollow!

"Huh? Mashu, what are you talking about?"

Still unable to comprehend the situation, Fujimaru Ritsuka was dragged to a foothold in the large hollow by Mash with a blank expression, and then forcefully pressed to the ground.

next moment--

"Whoosh whoo ...

On the vast, hollow dome, a torrential downpour of scarlet blood suddenly poured down!

16. Yu Ji destroys the phoenix (human theory)

——【The Lament of Cursed Blood Corpse Disintegration】

By abandoning their own physical bodies, allowing their magic to break through its limits and spiral out of control, and then using curses to trigger abnormal weather, they reconstruct their physical bodies in a brutal way. This self-destruct attack is something only elves who share a spiritual core with their environment can use.

The curtain of blood rain almost completely covered the entire void. The ground was constantly corroded, burned, and pierced by this blood rain. The entire ground was like a block of ice being heated at high temperature, melting rapidly in front of the naked eye.

Hiding behind Mashu, Fujimaru Ritsuka peered through the crack at the bloody scene outside. Although she wasn't touched, her skin still felt a burning pain. The abnormal weather caused by the curse wasn't limited to this rain of blood; even the air itself was affected. In fact, Fujimaru Ritsuka was now in an environment where the air itself was highly toxic.

If it weren't for Mashu protecting her, she would have collapsed from inhaling the mutated air by now, but even so, it was only a matter of time before she was unable to hold on any longer.

"Ugh...cough cough cough..."