Boom!!!
We were gasping for breath.
Immediately after parting ways with Dumpty, we encountered another enemy.
Three Servants leading the Celtic forces.
Hokusai explained that they are heroes from Celtic mythology. There was Fergus, who looked like something out of Pokémon, the suave Diarmuid, and the impressively blond Fionn mac Cumhaill. We fought with those three. Actually, I didn't think they'd be that much of a threat...
Swoosh!!!
"Not bad!"
"You're quite something yourself! For a mage, you fight like a knight!"
Among them, the hero Fionn mac Cumhaill's power was immense. The water jet spraying from his spear tip could cut through not just rock but even steel, and in an instant, it sliced through the guns of Nobunaga who had surrounded them.
Tonelico, who came to support us, charged into battle with him, while Fergus was handling multiple opponents at once.
Crunch...!!!
"Tch, bad compatibility..."
Artoria was fighting him by unleashing her Noble Phantasm, the holy sword... She used it only in areas with empty fields behind to avoid hitting our allies. However, his ridiculously large, drill-like sword was deflecting Artoria's strikes. I heard it's a sword that's the origin of Artoria's Excalibur or something...
"Old man, you're mine!"
"Hahaha! You're full of energy, Setanta! But this is also a mission! If push comes to shove, I'll blow up the Singularity!"
"That sounds fun!"
With Cú Chulainn's forces joining the battle, it continued, and the remaining Diarmuid was being handled by Boudica and Mash. Twin spears, quite cool.
"Can't we just wipe them out in one go, Master?"
Mysterious Heroine X planted her sword in the ground, bent over, placed her hand on the hilt, and rested her chin on it as she asked.
"Sure, that would be an easy win. And we're not alone. But... Dumpty always said experience is key. If we rely on overwhelming victory, we'll develop bad habits against enemies with a severe power gap. Winning too easily is also a problem. Of course, if we were as strong as Dumpty, it might be different, but we're not at that level, are we?"
"You're the weird one..."
"That's right."
Actually, sending strong ones like Tonelico, while saying experience is important, is overprotective, right? Is that what adults are like...
"So, what are you here for?"
"Me? I'm on the bride's side, a fairy for the bride!"
"I see."
Was it Habenyan? A cute, petite child. But is it a boy or a girl? With types like Astolfo or Enkidu who are genderless, it's hard to tell... Maybe it's both, who knows.
---
"What's wrong, Ereshkigal? Is something up?"
Ereshkigal seemed to have lost her mind. It was like watching someone who'd gambled all their money away on coins.
"It's probably because of this, Tlaloc."
Tlaloc took out his phone and showed it. Let's see...
"Servant Twitch Chaldea branch scheduled to withdraw...? Reason: excessive usage fees? What is this? Does Chaldea even have that?"
"It's currently managed by NFF Services, but the costs are too high, apparently. Servant Twitch is a company from the Servant Universe, like Amazon, and they're withdrawing due to expensive fees."
"Koyanskaya, that bitch, daring to take away Ereshkigal's hobby... I won't forgive her!"
"It's okay... There's still, still ServantTube..."
Ereshkigal... Hang in there...!
"But Master, is this really the right place to come?"
"Hmm?"
At Nobunaga's words, I looked ahead....
Where we had arrived was Washington.
"Well... we ended up coming here properly, so what can we do."
Unfortunately, since we're here, we have to move forward.
We had no choice but to meet Medb. Medb, who lives in Chaldea, seemed to have a considerably reformed personality. Scáthach also seems to be doing well... I think. They often argue, but that's just how they are originally.
Maybe Skadi's influence was big? They're very close with Skadi, after all.
As we walked inward, Medb emerged from inside Washington.
"What's with all these spirits? This makes Cu-chan look pathetic... Oh, of course Cu-chan is hundreds of times cooler, though."
Medb was holding a pink Caladbolg. She's serious about fighting. The problem is she's not threatening at all...
"... The Holy Grail doesn't seem to be here, right?"
But I can't sense the Grail's magical energy. Did Guangwang take it?
"Good intuition? Of course, I don't have it. It suits Cu-chan better, right? From my future sight, I see you have more than one Master?"
"... So, because I'm strong, you're targeting other Masters? I won't call it卑鄙, but it's clever. Still, it's a petty scheme. Are you sending Guangwang's army or something?"
"No? Well... should I spell it out? Hehe... I gave Cu-chan a bit of the Beast's power."
She's really spilling everything... By the way, Beast? Guangwang already has god-like power, doesn't he? Each Beast is also god-level in strength...
"... Hey, how many did you implant?"
"Hmm? What's with that face~ Scared?"
In America, if it's the Beast, it must be...
"I was thinking of 28 at first... but looking into the future, it seemed like more would be needed? So... in a fit of anger, I did 56."
"... You're insane."
Even Romani said fusing with the Beast is too dangerous and avoided it. In the Time Temple, they only did 9 at a time, but this is like a suicide mission. Typical Medb...
"But... I tweaked Cu-chan a bit~ You see, there was this old hag who came all the way here alone to kill me? I had Cu-chan's group subdue her, but it kinda pissed me off? Made me jealous. So, I used it a bit~"
What is she talking about...? Somehow, this feels ominous. Maybe this bitch... is even crazier than I anticipated.
"Really, there's no helping it."
I reached out to Georges, and he smiled as he handed me the prop I requested.
"... What's that?"
"What do you think? A cheese bat made to crack your skull."
"Ha...! How dare you look down on me──!"
Thwack!!!
"Yep~ With the legend effect, no matter how weak the cheese, your skull breaks first. Even if it's a soft bat, it's still cheese."
Medb collapsed as her head cracked. Her eyes showed the whites, and a bit of brain fluid leaked instead of blood from her head. She didn't die, though. The bat made of pure 100% cheese eventually broke... but this was enough. Legend buffs are awesome.
The first person in history to get knocked out by cheese.
"Let's drag her along and feed her to our Medb."
We roughly had Kama carry Medb and headed straight to where Ritsuka should be. Somehow, this feels ominous...
A blood-soaked land. A monster standing on it.
"Ha... Se, senior..."
Holy swords rolling on the blood-stained ground and severed arms. Kiritsugu used his left hand to brace against the ground as he crawled toward the fallen girl.
Drip...
"Eliminate, you..."
The monster wielding a red demonic spear had pierced the Savior's stomach, and Tonelico, who tried to grab the spear and corrupt it back, was thrown to the ground.
She wasn't the only one. The Servants who came to help, the ones originally with them, also fell defeated before the powerful monster.
The only ones still standing were Hokusai and Saber Alter.
"Have you faced monsters like that before too..."
"No way... This is a first for me too. There's a limit to how vicious something can be... Should I bring out my true form? No, if I'm not careful, the Singularity might get destroyed... Not good, I'm not as skilled at drawing out power as my Foreigner comrades..."
"Just buy me time... Time to release the 13 restraints..."
Saber Alter gripped her sword tightly, aiming to lift the seals, but the monster in front of her wasn't about to wait. Just as Hokusai drew a sword instead of a brush to confront it.
Whoosh...!
Two figures appeared, kicking up a strong dust wind.
Everyone froze at their appearance. The monster also turned its gaze toward them.
"... What's that now? She really is insane, creating a genuine monster. By the way, when did you get back?"
"Today. But, isn't that beside the point right now?"
"True enough."
The monster, Guangwang, thrust its spear at them...
But faster than her spear, they passed by her and knelt before Ritsuka to check her condition.
"... You put a hole in our kid's stomach and left her like this?"
"Yeah, how dare they do this to our kid."
".... Sorry, I'm still lacking..."
Ritsuka forced a faint smile as she struggled to speak, and the two stood up, glaring at Guangwang.
"Ha... It's been a while since I felt blood rush to my head like this."
"I feel the same. This might be the first time I've been this angry."
The boy pressed something in the air, and soon a book appeared in his hand, opening up, while the woman held a black card.
"[Install] (Dream Summon)"
"{Queen's Glass Game} (Perpetual Engine Maiden Empire)"