Chapter 307: The Chaotic Battle Underway
"Where should I run? And seriously, is it really okay to leave those two girls back there fighting?" Shirou felt a twinge of worry. He didn't want this to escalate into some horrific, bloody tragedy.
"Now is not the time to worry about that. Since they both have Heroic Spirits possessed through Pseudo-Summoning, they won't go down easily. Trust me, just keep running! I'll guide you!" Inside the mental world, Merlin lay leisurely on his rocking chair, waving his staff.
A path of greenery, identical to the flower fields of Avalon, appeared on the ground of the outside world. It formed a single-file trail that grew along with the boy's footsteps, like a carpet of natural grass and fresh flowers spreading across the earth.
Shirou only needed to follow this carpet forward to find the girls he was worried about. As for Artoria and Jeanne, he naturally didn't need to worry. Asuna, possessing great combat talent, was also very reliable.
However, if Komachi Pseudo-Summoned Okita Souji, she might drop the ball at a critical moment, and Mashiro had absolutely no experience with Pseudo-Summoning at all.
Furthermore, the destructive power of yandere girls when they act on impulse is truly staggering. Honestly, the situation had become urgent enough that there was not a moment to lose.
"No! I can't let two girls slaughter each other here." Shirou ran seven or eight paces forward, but in the end, he couldn't stomach the internal guilt.
"Wait, Shirou! Those are people who might actually want to kill you, you know? What exactly do you plan to do?" Merlin shouted in surprise. With his vast experience and extraordinary insight, he could clearly see that every single girl brought into this world was quite dangerous.
"Enough! I'm going for it!" Shirou didn't stop running, but he stomped the ground heavily, swiftly turning back toward the direction of the two girls locked in fierce combat.
Having Pseudo-Summoned Osakabehime, the master of Himeji Castle—who was both a deity and a fox spirit—the black-haired girl, Ako, now had her long hair tied into low twin-tails, with the tips glowing a vermillion red like fox tails.
She had summoned a massive fortress to block her front, which continuously emitted bursts of fire and lightning. As electric arcs flickered, deafening explosions rang out.
On the other side, the one relentlessly unleashing this bombardment was a pink-haired girl in a JK (schoolgirl) uniform, but with a pair of fox ears and a fluffy fox tail. It was Gasai Yuno. Her magical energy seemed inexhaustible as she continuously fired spells equivalent to Great Magecraft at the black-haired girl.
For a time, both the defender and the attacker displayed formidable strength, making it impossible to tell who had the upper hand.
However, magical energy eventually runs dry. Both girls held a cleaver in their hands; it seemed that in the end, they intended to settle the score with cold steel.
For now, I'll just take one of them away!
Thinking this, Shirou's legs didn't stop from the moment he started moving, instantly exploding into his top speed.
Inside the Himeji Castle defense wall summoned by her Noble Phantasm, Ako, wrapped in her pink bat-hooded robe, spoke irritably.
"Shirou! Leave it to me! I'll take out that vixen right now! I'm strong now! Totally different from how I was before!" The black-haired girl swung her small fists, speaking with great excitement.
"No, there's no need to fight anymore, Ako. Come with me." Shirou kept it brief, showing the girl a reassuring and kind smile.
"Eh? Ehh?" Ako blinked in confusion. The man before her seemed to have said something very wonderful.
"Let's go!" Shirou said to the girl with a friendly smile.
First, Shirou reached out and grabbed the girl's hand holding the cleaver, pried her fingers open, and tossed the blade away. Then, he lowered his body, pulled her so her center of gravity leaned onto his back, and arched his back high.
He adjusted the girl on his back to a stable position and leaped high into the air.
"E-E-Ehh?" The dazed Ako had one hand grabbed, then suddenly found herself on the boy's back. Before she could figure out what was happening, she lay dumbfounded on Shirou's back, feeling the rhythmic jolting as his powerful arms hooked under her thighs and his body straightened up.
Shirou carried Ako on his back and kept running, the entire movement fluid and seamless. The petite and cute girl wasn't very heavy, though perhaps due to being a shut-in for so long and lacking exercise, she had a bit of extra "padding" beyond just her hips. The boy didn't let his mind wander; he simply carried her, turned back, and ran toward the flower path Merlin had guided him to.
On the other side, Gasai Yuno saw the gentle, friendly smile of the "boy next door" approaching her. At this moment, it radiated such a brilliant light that she felt dizzy, and her movements came to a halt.
"Thank you!" As Shirou ran past the pink-haired girl at the last second, their eyes met briefly, and he spoke.
"..." For a brief second, Yuno's eyes locked with the boy's. Sensing his sincerity, she stood rooted to the spot, the cleaver she had intended to swing at Ako's back frozen.
She cupped both cheeks as a blush bloomed, whispering rapturously to herself: "You're very welcome. I'm satisfied just getting a hug from you, Shirou..."
"I'll come find you later!" At that moment, the boy—who had already run quite a distance—seemed to hear the girl's wish as if aided by the gods.
Well, in reality, Shirou just happened to wave at the pink-haired girl and shouted loudly.
"Yes..." The pink-haired girl answered tenderly. This could only be described as destiny.
The fluffy large ears on the girl's head twitched left and right, and the Heroic Spirit fox girl within her praised excitedly: "Whoa, as expected of the man my contractor set her eyes on! Even though he could have escaped, he actually risked the danger to come back. A man who rushes back to stop women from killing each other... that was a super cool 'Heroic Soul' moment just now!"
By this time, Shirou had already run a certain distance along the flower path.
"Shirou? Where are we going?" Ako, on his back, felt like she was just one step away from being a princess and was extremely happy. However, she couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
"We're almost there. I have partners there," Shirou replied.
"Could it be... there are other women?" The eyes of the black-haired girl on his back instantly became hollow and vacant. Due to the jolting of the run, she swayed from side to side like a broken machine.
"Ako! After we meet up with my partners, let's go fulfill your wish," Shirou said.
"Really?! Anything at all?" Ako asked.
"Yeah. As long as it doesn't involve killing or dying, I'll agree to it," Shirou said while maintaining his pace.
"Is that so, is that so... what should I do? Should we have another wedding? Or would it be better to have a child?" Ako said, cupping her face shyly, completely immersed in her own fantasies.
"Sigh..." Though Shirou wanted to argue, he made the rational choice to leave that alone for the time being.
At that point, the boy's forward steps stopped in front of a dense thicket, as the carpet of green grass and flowers guiding him had completely vanished.
"Looks like we're here." Shirou set Ako down from his back, pushed aside the bushes, and walked out.
He found himself in a clearing where several familiar girls were standing, discussing something.
There was the bun-haired Yuigahama, the black-haired cold beauty Yukinoshita Yukino, and the gentle, refined Asuna.
After entering this small world, the three girls had been separated from Artoria's group. When they realized something was wrong, they used Pseudo-Summoning to protect themselves. Yukinoshita Yukino acted as the strategist, Asuna as the main combatant, and Yuigahama followed behind to help with miscellaneous tasks.
They had encountered some unpleasant characters during their journey, but they had managed to avoid them all.
"Everyone! I'm so glad you're all okay," Shirou said as he emerged from the bushes.
"Shirou!"
"Shirou! You finally made it! Eh? Is that the girl we met here before?" Yuigahama, who was initially happy to see the boy, cried out in shock once she clearly saw the person behind him.
"Uuu..." Ako grabbed a corner of Shirou's clothes and hid shyly behind him, acting very timid around strangers.
"What exactly is going on? It seems you have some explaining to do."
"It's a long story. Anyway, let's introduce ourselves first. Ako, these are all my good friends. Come and meet them." Shirou said to the girl.
"No, I only want to be with Shirou," Ako said, shrinking back.
"Ako, why don't you introduce yourself? Actually, I don't know much about you either," Shirou urged.
"I am Ako! Shirou's wife!" Ako poked her head out and said in a low voice.
"What?! WHAT?!!" Yuigahama screamed.
"It's a setting from an online game Merlin was playing..." Shirou explained.
"Anyway, everyone, please help me. I want to satisfy the girls who are running wild here!" Shirou said to the girls with a serious expression.
"So? What are you trying to say?" Yukinoshita Yukino crossed her arms, looking at Shirou with a look of disdain.
"Yeah! Shirou, make yourself clear!" Yuigahama, standing to the side, also puffed out her cheeks.
"What I want to do is help these girls who were swept in. If they've become like this because they've been hurt, then we should find a way to make it up to them. If we can fill the empty holes in their hearts, then maybe everything will turn out okay," Shirou explained.
The girl's name was Tamaki Ako. Originally, she was just a shut-in girl who had suffered some trauma. If there was a problem with her, it was that she suffered from a severe case of "Reality-Game Confusion," unable to distinguish between the two.
In this world, Merlin had been using Shirou's universal account to roam through various social media apps and play some highly social games. Usually, the name used was simply the Romanization of "Shirou." Ako was someone he met in such a game, and they had gotten married within the game.
Originally, Merlin wouldn't develop deep relationships with any women, but since it was a game and Ako was quite interesting, he accepted it without much thought. Then, after getting bored, he left lightheartedly.
However, he didn't expect the other party to take it completely seriously, and now she had come looking for him.
Since her husband didn't appear in the online game, she decided to look for him in reality. After figuring this out, she began investigating Shirou's identity. Because the account was universal and the name hadn't been changed, she easily found the owner.
At first, Ako merely observed. However, after learning that he was the "good guy" Shirou, she realized that this boy wouldn't mock her even if he knew her thoughts. When she found out Shirou started playing FGO, Ako began to grind FGO as well.
Vaguely, she began to hear the voices of the Heroic Spirits within. While investigating Shirou, she was discovered by others, and subsequently, other girls sought her out. Hearing that she could be alone with Shirou, she joined in.
"So, in short, this child is your playmate from an online game, right, Shirou? And this is your first time meeting in reality," Yukinoshita Yukino said, trying to summarize.
"Hmm? What they call reality and the internet has nothing to do with it, right? We are a married couple," Ako said, looking at Shirou.
"This is a severe case. Change is impossible," Yukinoshita Yukino said, hitting the nail on the head.
-
-
-
Meanwhile, on the other side, Artoria gripped her black holy sword, facing off against a girl who had Pseudo-Summoned a Heroic Spirit. The opponent held a spear over three meters long, utilizing naginata techniques to swiftly thrust and sweep, each movement whipping up the wind with a whistling sound.
The blade and the holy sword collided, continuously sending sparks flying. It was evident that the spear was a significant treasure; even after clashing head-on with the star-forged holy sword in Artoria's hand, it suffered no damage whatsoever.
The black-haired girl wore a high helmet with deer antlers and black lamellar armor, dressed as a Japanese military commander.
"If Oda Nobunaga can be a woman, who else can't be a woman?! Are you looking down on female generals?!" The black-haired woman thrust once more. With such a long weapon, she should have been charging on horseback, peerless in her path.
But the girl serving as the host for the Pseudo-Summoning also seemed to train regularly and practiced some form of martial arts, thus effectively drawing out the Heroic Spirit's combat power. For a time, she fought Artoria to a standstill.
Elsewhere, Jeanne was also embroiled in a chaotic battle with other Pseudo-Summoned Servants.
"It's alright, Master. I will help you lock him up, imprison him in a room so he can't be unfaithful anymore. Yes, even if he dies, I have magecraft to keep the corpse from decaying, just like my darling. So rest easy and leave it to me; I'll definitely make him stay with you for a lifetime."
The speaker was a brown-haired woman dressed as a noblewoman from the Western Renaissance, cradling a magnificent coffin. She stroked the coffin as if caressing a beloved relative. The lid was inlaid with magnificent gems and gold—treatment usually reserved only for royalty.
"Joanna the Mad, stay locked up in your tower honestly! Get lost! He belongs to my Master. Only by disciplining a man now and winning his heart can one avoid being abandoned and obtain true, long-lasting love." A woman draped in a Chinese Hanfu robe shouted, brandishing a long sword.
"This is the Queen of Spain speaking! You're just a weak Empress of the Jin Dynasty who only received a posthumous title because of your grandson—what are you doing acting all high and mighty here!"
"What on earth are they talking about? I don't understand any of it!" Jeanne roared in frustration.
Among the other girls, there were those engaged in slaughter and chaotic fighting as well. BB-chan had taken the non-combatant Mashiro into hiding. Only Komachi, who had Pseudo-Summoned Shuten-Douji and was carrying a purple gourd, was ignored by everyone, left standing dumbfounded in her place.
"Eh? Only Komachi is left out?" The girl pointed to her own face, speaking in a daze. Even though Shuten's love for handsome men was also quite twisted, no one here would play with her.
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting