Clang!!!
"Your skills are getting better and better."
"Thank you...!!!"
Clang, clang, clang, clang!!!
Two women were engaged in combat inside the simulation room.
One was Musashi, who had been re-summoned not long ago, and the other was Kyrie Light, who now wielded dual swords.
Clang~~~!
"...Alright, let's stop here."
"Huff... huff... Thank you for the session."
As one of Kyrie Light's swordsmanship instructors, Musashi played a central role in guiding her.
"Kojiro and I focus on swordsmanship that's most faithful to the basics. But I heard you weren't satisfied with just us and recently asked Okita, Ushiwakamaru, and even Raikou for help?"
"Yes... I saw the potential to become even stronger. Of course, I'm also learning shield techniques from Boudica and Saber Alter."
"It's certainly a different path from Mash, so I find it quite impressive. It's interesting. I didn't know you had a talent for the sword—perhaps it's because the hero lending you strength is no ordinary knight?"
The one lending her strength was Galahad, the knight hailed as the true strongest of the Round Table. Thus, it wasn't strange for her to possess talent in various fields.
He was the one and only knight who wielded the Shield of the Round Table while sitting in the 13th seat—the Siege Perilous—which was said to be cursed. He was also chosen by the Holy Grail and received the swords of Balin and David, which no other member of the Round Table could claim.
While debates often rage over whether Lancelot or Gawain is the strongest of the Round Table, Galahad is considered in a league of his own. However, because he was a holy knight who primarily focused on defense, he was rarely included in those comparisons.
Musashi wondered whether Kyrie Light's talent was truly her own or if it was Galahad's talent manifesting through her.
"I wonder if you'll be able to learn that unique footwork from those two?"
"You mean Reduced Earth? I certainly hope so."
"Don't push yourself too hard before we head to the next Singularity. It's not something that can be learned overnight."
"I know... but I still want to give it my all."
"You can be quite stubborn, can't you? Seriously~ that's what makes you so cute!"
"Haha..."
Leaving the simulation room with Musashi, Kyrie Light headed to the training room alone.
"Whew... whew..."
Kyrie Light was exercising in the training room—specifically, the one customized for Servants. She was training while watching a video.
[Leonidas's Muscle Gym! You too can build muscle! Magnificent muscles are your strength! Muscles are the very history of humanity!]
It was a video she had received from Mandricardo, who said it was a widely distributed training video in his version of Chaldea. He found it a bit overwhelming and hadn't used it much, but he handed it over when he saw her training.
She didn't intend to become a total meathead, but...
[Today's guest instructor is Penthesilea!]
[Build the muscles necessary to ensure you can kill Greek heroes.]
Since the lecture was being given by such illustrious, indomitable heroes, she couldn't just ignore it. Kyrie Light didn't feel inferior, but she was acutely aware that she was infinitely weaker than her other self, so she was striving to become stronger.
She had adopted a Spartan training regimen, which included wearing heavy weighted pouches during her daily routine. In ancient Sparta, currency was said to consist of heavy iron bars like dumbbells. The intention was to prevent greed, but the legend says it backfired and simply turned the citizens into fitness fanatics.
After finishing her basic muscle training, she started another video.
[So... has it started? Ah, hello. This is, well... Pollux's Boxing Class! I somehow ended up filming this. I'll be teaching you boxing, or more accurately, its origin: Pankration. I'll show you the basic stance and a demonstration using this special sandbag!]
Thump! Thump-thump!
"Huff... puff..."
Kyrie Light was growing by engaging in various forms of training, not just swordsmanship. She did jump rope and running to build leg strength, and boxing to build her punches and arm strength for emergencies.
CRASH!!!
"Ah... it broke."
While striking a heavy bag made of special alloy, the chain snapped, and the iron bag collapsed. She brought a new chain, tied it back up, and continued her training. After several hours, she showered in the training room's facilities and stepped out.
Deciding to do one final piece of training before eating, she headed to a classroom. The classroom was empty today. Kyrie Light opened the window and jumped straight out. Being two stories up was no problem for her.
Entering her Demi-Servant form, she drew two swords.
"...The sword Shiki gave me is a holy sword that drives away evil and demons..."
Originally, she only had Sir Balin's cross-hilted sword, but recently Shiki had given it to her as a gift for her hard work. It was the Sword of the Strange Hangings that belonged to David, a blade Galahad had used in his Saber manifestation.
Holding the two swords, Kyrie Light walked through the world beyond the window. There were cars on the road, but they didn't move. The crosswalk signal was red, and even the pedestrian light showed a bizarre animal-like shape instead of a person, glowing in white and blue.
As she walked through the streets devoid of people—or even living creatures—Kyrie Light entered a building.
A sound reached her ears from within...
Slash!!!
"Huff... huff...!"
Faced with a bizarre entity that caused shortness of breath, heartburn, and a splitting headache just by looking at it, she cut it down instantly. Without pausing, she swung her dual swords.
"Form of Fire...!"
Slash, slash! Slash!!!
Using the techniques she had learned from Musashi, she sliced through the entity with her twin blades. It soon vanished into ash. Catching her breath, Kyrie Light gradually climbed to the upper floors of the building.
The building looked like an ordinary market. She looked at the food section and saw canned goods labeled with characters that looked like Kanji but weren't, nor were they Japanese—symbols that looked real but didn't exist. She swallowed hard as she noticed the names of ingredients on the displays looked like English, but the spelling and order were complete gibberish.
An otherworldly realm mimicking the human world.
Opening one can, she found the contents were nothing but muddy water. She put it back and kept walking.
She proceeded with high tension when suddenly...
"What are you doing here?"
"Eek!"
Kyrie Light jumped in shock at the sudden voice.
"A-Abigail..."
"What are you doing here? Training like the others? This level is still a bit early for you..."
"...Even so, I wanted to test myself."
"This is an unstable world. There are entities here that can kill Servants like it's a joke. For example──"
Rattle, rattle...
Just then, an empty capsule rolled past their feet. Kyrie Light felt goosebumps as she watched the capsule appear out of nowhere without any warning. Abigail followed the capsule and glanced down the stairs below...
"Look at this. It's still too high a level for you. Let's get out of here with me, quickly."
Abigail took her hand and led her back toward the window.
"I'm sorry..."
"This is a place where only the strong Servants come to challenge themselves. It's too much for someone weak like you yet. Well, Protea comes to play often... but Protea is strong too."
Kyrie Light walked toward the window while talking with Abigail. They chatted about minor topics until...
"What... what are you doing there?"
"? Oh, Gogh?"
Then, Gogh's voice came from behind. Gogh called out to Kyrie Light, appearing as hesitant and lacking in confidence as ever.
"Abigail said she would walk me back?"
"...Where is Abigail?"
"What?"
At Gogh's words, Kyrie Light looked to her side, but there was no one there. It was as if she had never been there from the start.
She looked forward, and where the original window had been just a moment ago was now a window to a building she had never seen before.
"......"
"This is a place I painted in a hurry, so it's dangerous... You shouldn't come here recklessly; you must come with Foreigners like me. Otherwise... you'll be lured, like you were just now. I came to check because someone had entered... but this place is still dangerous for you, Kyrie Light. If you want to come, come with Hokusai. Hokusai has plenty of free time... hehe."
"Yes... thank you."
Gogh walked with Kyrie Light at a distance until they reached the real window.
"Hm? What are you doing there~?"
"Jack..."
Beyond the window, children were playing. Seeing them, Mash felt relieved and climbed through. Only after returning to the real Chaldea did she let out a breath of relief.
"Next time, be careful... It'll be a disaster if others come alone... Though Gogh is Gogh, so it's fine for me... Ehehe."
"Thank you, Gogh. That was a close call."
"N-no... you are such a hard worker, Kyrie Light... so, I like you. People who work hard are cool, right? Your never-give-up attitude... it's amazing."
"Thank you."
Kyrie Light bowed, waved to Gogh as she slowly entered from beyond the window, and headed out.
Since it had been a close call, she vowed to be more careful next time.
"Pineapple on pizza is...!!! Maybe on a steak, but never on a pizza!"
"I think it's delicious?"
"Ritsuka, you're a heretic! Begone, you demon!"
"I heard you like McCol too, Dumpty!"
"McCol is way better than beer!"
"You've got your own problems then!"
"...Haha."
Watching the usual Chaldean scenery, Kyrie Light stretched and entered the cafeteria.