A Villain's Journey Begins in the Type-Moon World

Boudica carried Ritsuka on her back and mounted the white horse. Then she pulled Mash onto the horse and immediately steered it into the sky, beginning their escape from the Sky Garden.

"Where...are we...?"

At this moment, Ritsuka finally regained her sight and hearing and asked a question.

“We’re already in the air, senior. Please forgive us for taking you away like this,” Mash said.

“…I understand. Let’s leave here first and head towards His Majesty Nero and the others. We can only fight one last time with the remaining people.” Ritsuka’s voice was very low.

Mashu and Boudica both knew how Ritsuka was feeling, so they didn't say anything more and silently led her towards the barrier.

"Pierce it through!"

Using the momentum of the white horse's charge, Boudica raised his hand and straightened his sword, slamming it against the barrier. With a "crack," Boudica successfully tore through the barrier and broke free.

"It's easier than I expected. Is it because no one is controlling it yet?" Boudica said, somewhat incredulously. After all, they had heard Waver say that the barrier of this sky island could even intercept anti-military level Noble Phantasms.

"Dudu-"

"Ha! Ha! Finally made contact! What on earth happened over there!? I only saw your Servants' reactions disappear one by one, and in the end even Wang Chong's huge magical energy reaction disappeared inexplicably. What happened?"

At this moment, without the influence of the barrier, Dr. Roman finally managed to contact Ritsuka and the others.

"Doctor...please don't ask any more questions. The results are not good...as you can see, only Miss Boudica, my senior, and I are left."

Mash said in a deep voice.

"...Is that so? Well, are you heading back to the Stone Formation now?" Dr. Roman asked.

"Yes, we've already destroyed those summoning circles that can summon large numbers of magical beasts. We plan to cooperate with the Roman legions to eliminate those beasts first, and then figure out how to deal with the Punisher and the Divine Messenger," Boudica responded.

"I see. No wonder the number of magical beasts being replenished seems to have been decreasing since recently... Wait! A high-energy magical reaction has appeared in the Sky Garden behind you!! This enormous power is undoubtedly Wang Chong!"

Dr. Roman suddenly seemed to realize something and immediately said, "Watch out! You seem to be targeted!"

A dark light appeared in the sky garden behind Mash and the others, followed by a huge beam of light that shot out and crashed directly into them.

Boudica immediately used her A-level riding skill to narrowly dodge the beam of light.

However, the light cannon still relentlessly bombarded the ground, blasting all the magical beasts within a ten-kilometer radius into dust, and a huge crater appeared in their sight.

"This is terrifying," Boudica thought to herself in shock.

"Has Emiya-san's contract... been broken?"

At this moment, Ritsuka also sensed a feedback signal, and her expression became even more serious. Actually, she should have known the outcome when she heard Dr. Roman say that Wang Chong's magic had manifested.

Ritsuka suppressed her emotions and focused on how to deal with the situation. She then immediately said, "Miss Boudica, now that the main cannon has locked onto us, are you confident that you can avoid those beam cannons every time?"

“If there were prior warning, avoiding it wouldn’t be too much of a problem, though it would be a bit risky. What? Ritsuka, do you have any new ideas?” Boudica couldn’t help but ask.

"Hmm, I want to use this light cannon to quickly clear out the remaining large groups of monsters on the field. I just don't know if the enemy will keep locking onto us, and if the light cannon is aimed at the Stone Soldier Eight Formation and bombarded, will it destroy the Stone Soldier Eight Formation?"

Ritsuka said.

“Go ahead and do it, Ritsuka… I think it’s fine as long as we can deplete the enemy’s manpower as much as possible,” Boudica said slowly. “Of course, if they’re aiming at the Stone Formation or the city of Rome behind us, then I’ll risk my life to stop them!”

“…Okay.” Ritsuka trembled when she heard Boudica’s decision to sacrifice herself without hesitation, but she still gritted her teeth and agreed.

"You don't need to worry, and you don't need to blame yourself... Ritsuka, we are all Servants, Heroic Spirits, people who have already died. We are meant to fight for those living beings."

As for the defeat on the battlefield, that was inevitable. The enemy's strength was far inferior to ours, and this mistake shouldn't be placed on your shoulders."

Boudica could naturally sense Ritsuka's trembling. After comforting her, she spurred her horse and began to gallop.

Soon, with reminders from Dr. Roman and Mash who were observing from behind, Boudica used her light cannon twice more, blasting the monsters on the ground into dust.

But just as the third shelling was about to begin, something happened. All three of them found that the feeling of being locked on, like falling into an ice cave, had dissipated.

However, Ritsuka did not show any joy; instead, she said with a rather unpleasant expression:

"It seems the enemy has realized that the light cannon is ineffective against us and has given up locking on. This means we can no longer use the light cannon, and even the city of Rome and the Stone Fortress are under threat of artillery fire!"

"What should we do? Which side should we guard?" Mash couldn't help but ask.

"The Stone Formation could block Mordred's light cannon before. While the Aerial Garden's light cannon is strong, it's not exactly stronger than Mordred's Noble Phantasm. Let's first secure the route the light cannon will take to bombard Rome." (The rest of the text appears to be gibberish and unrelated to the previous sentences.)

Ritsuka quickly compared the power of the three cannon shots with Mordred's beam cannon and then made a judgment immediately.

Boudica nodded and immediately rode her white horse to guard the route through Rome. She and Mash were both prepared to unleash their Noble Phantasms to withstand the next wave of light attacks.

However, when the light cannon flashed again, it did not aim at Rome, but instead bombarded the stone infantry formation on the battlefield.

"Did I make a wrong judgment... Damn it, but I have to hold on."

Ritsuka clenched her fists. Between the people of Rome and the Stone Army, she could only choose the lesser of two evils. The Stone Army might be able to hold out, but Rome had absolutely no chance of withstanding this pillar of destruction.

Therefore, she could only choose to stand on the side of Rome and pray in her heart that the Stone Formation would not be breached.

"Om-"

As the destructive light cannons slammed into the Stone Soldier Formation, a blinding white light suddenly erupted. At the same time, several dangerous beams of light simultaneously lit up inside the Stone Soldier Formation.

"Not good!" Dr. Roman's voice was filled with unprecedented tension. "We detected magical reactions from multiple Noble Phantasms being released simultaneously inside the Stone Formation! Enemy Servants are attacking the formation from both inside and outside! If these forces combine, the Stone Formation could be completely destroyed!"

Upon hearing this terrible news from Dr. Roman, Ritsuka immediately made a decision: "Mash, Miss Boudica, let's hurry and go support His Majesty Nero and the others!"

"I'm afraid it's too late."

Boudica couldn't help but say. Although she had already turned her horse around and started driving the white horse at top speed towards the Stone Soldier Eight Formation, it was too late—the surrounding space began to distort violently, and those towering stone pillars and walls were collapsing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Boom!!"

With a deafening roar, the seemingly impregnable stone formation finally crumbled. As the dust settled, the wounded Roman legions and the menacing enemy followers were laid bare before each other.

Chapter 167: The Meeting

"Pfft...cough cough cough..."

"Teacher! Are you alright!?"

Weber coughed up a mouthful of blood. After Alexander killed a monster with his sword, he quickly turned around and asked with concern.

"In the end, it couldn't hold out for much longer... If the Stone Soldier Eight Formation had only been subjected to a powerful internal attack, it could still have withstood it. But with the addition of that external light cannon, it ultimately exceeded its limit."

Weber sighed and said:

"It seems that Ritsuka and the others have failed. Otherwise, the Sky Garden would never have been able to fire its light cannon."

"Let's not say anything more, teacher. Let's meet up with the other emperors first. It seems that the followers have stopped fighting. I wonder what they mean by that."

Alexander helped Weber up and they began to hurry toward the Roman emperor.

However, when they arrived, they saw Ritsuka, Mashu, and Boudica also standing beside the six emperors, explaining what was happening above.

"I understand... Children, you've all done your best." Romulus patted Ritsuka on the shoulder. He didn't criticize Ritsuka for her failure, but instead comforted her:

"The other party is a true god. You have done enough to thwart his plot and stop those monsters from continuing to ravage Roman lands with your mortal bodies."

"How utterly foolish... If we had known, we would have been better off not dividing up and concentrating our forces to eliminate those divine punishers..." Of course, not everyone could understand, and one of the emperors began to complain.

"You call it foolish? You're the truly foolish one! You think that by pooling all our strength we can defeat those 14 Servants? It's just postponing the defeat!"

"Even if we all gather together, I'm afraid that 'fierce god' will have already wiped us out along with those divine punishers!"

Caesar, his face contorted with anger, rebuked:

"It was precisely because of the division of forces that the 'fierce god' decided to sacrifice himself. It was also because of his arrogance that Ritsuka and the others were able to seize the opportunity and successfully destroy the summoning circle."

Finally, to put it bluntly, this was originally a matter within our Roman society. As people from another era, they have already done their utmost to fight alongside us until this point. Don't forget, they could have easily left this era at any time!

Seeing Caesar's anger, the emperor's arrogance was suppressed.

"Alright, let's stop arguing about such pointless things. Now is the time for Rome to make its final stand." Romulus stood up, slowly stepped forward, and said, "He... is coming."

Upon hearing these words, everyone's hearts sank, and they all looked up at the sky.

Black mist rose from the sky garden, and a figure slowly descended towards the Roman legions. With each step he took, the pressure on all the surviving Roman warriors present increased.

“Let’s go, let’s go forward. Let’s see what this ‘god’ is up to.” Romulus shouldered his spear and began to walk forward. The other emperors, including Ritsuka and the others, also began to walk towards the front line. (The remaining text appears to be unrelated and possibly machine-generated gibberish.)

On the way, Waver inquired about Ritsuka's situation. When he learned that only Ritsuka and two others had returned alive, he could only offer a token reassurance and sigh, saying:

"It seems I underestimated his growth rate and his current strength... Ritsuka, if things are hopeless, I hope you can prioritize the bigger picture. As long as we can survive, there is still hope of defeating him."

Ritsuka remained silent, unsure whether she should completely abandon this singularity or continue persisting. Yet, a voice within her seemed to be telling her to preserve her strength and survive.

But there was another voice that kept reminding me... not to forget my original thoughts.

……

On the battlefield, Mordred and his companions, who served as divine punishers, floated calmly in the air, watching the Roman legions and the emperor and his followers on the front lines.

The remaining monsters on the ground and in the sky roared and howled, trying to tear the humans apart. But they were all ordered to stay put and could only glare at their "prey" and roar in anger.

The two sides remained in a strange balance, neither making the first move—until the man arrived.

“We meet again, Rome (Romulus), Nero…” Wang Chong had arrived in front of his Servants. He looked down at the Roman army on the ground, as well as the emperor and his Servants. Then, when his gaze fell on Ritsuka, he smiled and said, “And you, Ritsuka.”

“O foreign ‘god,’ you have now stopped those monsters, but the end of this seventh day has completely come to an end,” Romulus said slowly.

"Romulus. When we started this game, you should have known that there are only two ways to win on this seventh day: either you completely satisfy me, or you completely defeat me."

"Romulus. When we started this game, you should have known that there are only two ways to win on this seventh day: either you completely satisfy me, or you completely defeat me."

Wang Chong shook his head and slowly said, "And you have not achieved either of these two methods."

"Even now, are you still not satisfied? What is it that you are pursuing? Is it really as this child from the future says: merely to destroy Rome and destroy human history?"

Romulus stared at Wang Chong, as if trying to see through him completely.

"Hehehe... To say that you were completely unsatisfied wouldn't be entirely true. At least you did display bravery. You even destroyed the summoning circles of my subordinates' summoned beasts one by one."

Wang Chong chuckled and said, "These are all the magical beasts you've seen. If it weren't for the Divine Punisher with me, you might actually have won."

"Alright then, considering how hard you've worked, I'll consider declaring this final trial over if you're willing to do just one thing."

"What do you want me to do?" Romulus asked slowly.

“Hand over those two from Chaldea to me,” Wang Chong said, pointing at Mash and Ritsuka. “To be honest, I have some ‘misunderstandings’ with those guys from Chaldea. If you hand them over to me, I’ll agree to declare this trial over.”

"..." Romulus didn't reply immediately. His gaze shifted back and forth between Ritsuka and the blood-soaked Roman warriors behind him, his bronze knuckles trembling as he gripped his spear. It was clear that he was struggling internally.

Should they choose the stranger who had helped them, or preserve the crumbling Rome? Perhaps for a competent and rational politician, this is hardly a difficult choice.

Ritsuka clearly sensed Romulus's predicament. She looked down at her trembling palms, and in just three or four days, familiar faces flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern:

The Roman soldiers who helped him, the touching smiles of the old men in the capital who handed him bread, His Majesty Nero's trust in him, and his followers who resolutely charged, died, and fought for the same goal...

Suddenly, something more intense than reason exploded from her chest. Ritsuka wanted to just rush out, but then she remembered that the other party was demanding more than just her. She might be acting on wishful thinking, but would Mashu be willing?

Just then, a soft little hand grasped Ritsuka's. Ritsuka was startled and turned her head slightly to look beside her. She saw Mashu nod at Ritsuka, as if sensing her thoughts, and then said with a somewhat serious expression:

"Senior, whatever choice you make, I'm willing to follow you. Do whatever you want to do."

Looking into Mashu's eyes, Ritsuka understood Mashu's thoughts... Finally, ignoring the voice in her head trying to dissuade her, she ran forward.

"Wang Chong!" She looked up at the figure and shouted, "Can you guarantee that as long as Mashu and I go there, you will let Rome go and end this trial?!"

Chapter 168: The Proclamation of the Divine Ancestor

Seeing Ritsuka rush ahead, Wang Chong wasn't particularly surprised. He simply said, "I always keep my word. As for whether you believe me or not... hehe, do you have any other choice, Ritsuka?"

Ritsuka took a deep breath and then said seriously, "In that case, I am willing to give myself in exchange for the peace of Rome."

After speaking, Ritsuka's fingertips trembled slightly, but her eyes remained as firm as iron—this was the mission she bore for Chaldea, and her determination to protect everyone.

Upon hearing this, not only the Romans, but also the Servants who knew Ritsuka and Mash were astonished by what Ritsuka had said.

"Oh? Just you?" Wang Chong looked at Ritsuka with a hint of interest.

“Me too.” Mashu stepped forward calmly, the veins on her hand gripping the shield bulging. Having chosen to trust Ritsuka, she wouldn't go back on her word. She was willing to stand by Ritsuka through thick and thin.

"Hehehe... So, does this mean Chaldea has surrendered? Can I take that as an opinion?" Wang Chong chuckled, looking at Ritsuka and Mash, and said.

“You just need Rome to hand me over, don’t you? Going with you doesn’t mean I’m going to submit to you.” Ritsuka clenched her fist and said, “Even if it’s just Mash and me, even if it’s on your territory, I will continue fighting after everything here is over!”

"Hmph, you really are outspoken. Aren't you afraid I'll change my mind because of your attitude?" Wang Chong said deliberately.

“Those who want to back out have plenty of excuses. The only thing I can do is to punch harder when the time comes!” Ritsuka raised her fist, aiming at Wang Chong, and said, “Now, fulfill this condition!”

"Are you mistaken about something? Ritsuka... Just as you said, what I need is for Rome to hand you over, never for your self-sacrifice..."

With a wave of his hand, Wang Chong unleashed a wisp of black mist that swept directly toward Ritsuka. The moment the black mist surged, space seemed to be torn apart, and even the light was swallowed up.

Seeing this, Mashu immediately stepped in front of Ritsuka to block the impact. Then, the moment Mashu's shield touched the black mist, it emitted a piercing wail, as if a million dead souls were gnawing at it.

"Waaah!"