A place like this, a living hell, has no reason to exist. Just as Rin was about to unleash a powerful spell to destroy it, she suddenly remembered that she had almost forgotten a good item.
"Well, the fact that you haven't summoned Caster even now shows that you're completely clueless about magic. Such a good item is wasted on you; it's better to hand it over to me."
Rin looked up and spoke to Ryuunosuke Uryuu, who was nailed to the dome. Then, she threw a magical flying knife, and Ryuunosuke Uryuu's left hand, inscribed with command spells, was cut off.
Rin reached out and caught the falling left hand. On the back of the hand were three command spells forming a cluster resembling a beast pouncing on its prey. Rin smiled slightly, pressing the back of the hand with the command spells onto her own left hand, which also bore command spells. Magical energy linked and communicated with the severed left hand.
Spirit Medium Surgery.
command spells can be seen as organs linked to the body, similar to Magic Circuits. They can be transplanted through spirit medium surgery using spiritual particle manipulation. However, Maguss who master this technique are extremely rare, requiring absolute precision in magic power control down to the millimeter.
The Einzbern Family, proficient in Homunculus technology, is quite skilled at this, and Rin learned it from Touko.
The missing, dim angular command spell once again became bright red, and additionally, two straight command spells appeared on her wrist, winding up to her forearm.
Losing command spells does not mean the Master's connection with the Servant is severed. Although command spells are the basis for summoning Heroic Spirits, after the summoning is completed, the connection between the Master and Servant is established at a soul level, and command spells themselves are merely tools used to restrain Heroic Spirits.
Losing command spells does not terminate the contract. This can be seen in Director Kayneth during this Fourth Holy Grail War. Shortly after he transferred his command spells to his fiancée, Sola, his contractual connection with Diarmuid still existed. After he obtained an additional command spell from Father Risei, he could still forcibly order Diarmuid to commit suicide.
His newly acquired command spells themselves had nothing to do with Diarmuid. The only explanation is that the contract and the command spells are two separate matters.
Not having command spells simply means being unable to forcibly command a Heroic Spirit to execute orders. However, being unable to control a powerful Heroic Spirit is quite dangerous, and there's even a possibility of being betrayed and killed. Therefore, the three command spells are generally only used twice.
Unfortunately, Ryuunosuke Uryuu was a complete layman; he didn't even know what the things on the back of his hand were, let alone how to use them. Therefore, these three command spells could only benefit Rin for free, because he was still alive at this time, and Caster wouldn't sense his abnormality. Unable to even transmit thoughts, he couldn't notify Caster to come and rescue him.
Blazing white flames danced in Rin's palm. She handed the girl Kotone to Lancelot to carry, then with a gentle toss, a fist-sized flame quickly ignited all flammable objects, incinerating these bizarre things that should not exist in the world into ashes.
The scorching flames quickly turned the place into a sea of fire, but they couldn't reach Ryuunosuke Uryuu, who was nailed to the ten-meter high dome. The high temperature of the burning flesh roasted him, and the consuming flames depleted a large amount of oxygen. However, due to Rin's magical protection, he would still not die; he would continue to live out his final moments as Rin's "artistic creation."
"Berserker, you know, I knew Caster's hiding place and his background from the very beginning, yet I didn't stop him immediately or save these innocent children. Am I guilty?"
Rin's voice was a bit muffled. Although she didn't believe she had done anything wrong, she still couldn't remain completely unfeeling when she knew innocent young lives were being cruelly slaughtered and trampled upon without extending a helping hand. Even if she didn't want to be a good person, she certainly didn't intend to be worse than a beast.
"Hmm... Master, there are no wars without innocent victims in the world. In fact, for victory, some people must be sacrificed. As a player on the battlefield, if one cannot bear the heavy burden of this sacrifice and acts impulsively, then victory becomes impossible to achieve." Lancelot had no intention of blaming Rin. As the knight of the lake, who had endured many battles in his lifetime, he could completely understand Rin's actions.
"But Master, I am still very happy that you can say these things to me."
"Hmm? Why?"
"Because it proves that while Master maintains absolute rationality, you have not lost a human heart. If you had merely expressionlessly taken the additional command spells, subjected that wicked person to torture, and remained indifferent to that tragic sight, Lancelot's sword might not have been able to swing as freely as it did last night. But, at least you saved this child, didn't you?"
Rin's gaze fell upon Kotone, who was sleeping in Lancelot's arms, and she murmured in a low voice, "Only saved this one..."
"But you also extended a hand of salvation to the innocent suffering, didn't you?" Lancelot tried to comfort Rin. It was hard to imagine that a Berserker would be doing such a thing as giving a Master a pep talk.
"Although only this child was saved, the seriousness and meticulousness you showed while treating her were genuine. You are not cold-hearted; you simply prioritize this benevolence after rationality. While achieving your goals, you did not ignore the suffering behind you."
Rin looked at the gradually brightening exit ahead and took Kotone from Lancelot's arms, holding her close. Lancelot, who could not appear before the world, returned to spirit form. Watching Rin, who was cradling the young girl and walking towards the exit, Lancelot sighed silently in his heart.
Master, while it is good to maintain a human heart amidst absolute rationality, this resolve, where your fingertips do not tremble due to emotion, is undoubtedly a wound to yourself. I only wish that this suffocating heaviness will not crush her not-so-tall figure, and that she will continue to walk her own path... Not far from the sewer exit was the bank of the Weiyuan River. Rin planned to take Kotone to the police station; surely the parents of the missing child had already reported her disappearance.
This sudden attack, where she didn't encounter Caster but instead eliminated Ryuunosuke Uryuu, should be considered a pleasant surprise. Rin had no intention of confronting Caster alone from the beginning. For Maguss, who are always known for their mystery and unknown methods, who could know what kind of tricks they were hiding? Even a layman accidentally summoned as Caster shouldn't be underestimated; it's better to have the Heroic Spirits work together to deal with him.
Why duel when you can gang up?
However, as Rin walked to the riverbank with Kotone, she unexpectedly saw a familiar figure.
Rider, King of Conquerors Iskandar, was squatting by the river, taking water from the river with a small glass bottle no bigger than his palm.
"Hey there, Rider."
Since she saw him, she had to say hello. Rin called out to Rider by the river.
The big man, hearing the sound, first paused, then stood up and turned around, smiling when he saw Rin.
"Oh, Berserker's Master, little girl, then Berserker should be here too."
Rin nodded at him. Behind Rin, Lancelot's shadowy figure appeared and vanished, a silent greeting from him to Rider, as he could not speak.
Even if they were destined opponents, both sides, acknowledging and appreciating each other, would still maintain appropriate goodwill and courtesy.
Rin looked at the bottle in his hand with some curiosity and asked, "Rider, what are you doing?"
At Rin's question, the rough-and-ready Rider first glanced at the bottle in his hand, then scratched his messy red short hair in annoyance.
"Ah, it's all because of my little Master. He gave me a map and told me to run to the river to fetch water. Hmph, how preposterous! But thanks to this, my little Master finally bought me a pair of pants. Little girl, what do you think of my modern attire? Doesn't it perfectly match my domineering presence? Ah ha ha ha ha…!"
As he spoke, he hammered his broad chest, laughing heartily and proudly. His straightforward demeanor was highly infectious, causing even Rin, whose mood was somewhat heavy, to unconsciously smile at him.
It's worth mentioning that Rider was no longer in his Greek warrior attire, which he usually wore on the battlefield, but in very modern clothing.
On his upper body was an XL-sized, clearly cheap white short-sleeved T-shirt. On the world map printed on his chest, there was a prominent logo: "Admiral's Grand Strategy IV." It seemed to be a game-related product released with a magazine cover special.
His powerful muscles stretched the largest T-shirt to its limit, as if it could tear open at any moment. He wore the largest size of jeans available on the market.
Indeed, just as a saddle makes a horse, these clothes made the tall and mighty King of Conquerors, with his Greek warrior style, look not at all like an ancient person.
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