Chapter 25: Pale Rider Abandons Resistance and the Defense of Kuruoka Tsubaki Officially Begins
Inside the ward.
Pale Rider, dwelling deep within Kuruoka Tsubaki's consciousness, was currently plunged into an unprecedented panic.
He 'saw' it.
Through the walls of the ward, across dozens of meters of night sky, he saw that figure standing atop the church bell tower.
And he felt the vast, suffocating magical energy contained within that body.
In response, he felt a deep fear originating from his very instincts.
That was no Servant!
That was an invincible entity; that was an extremely dangerous thing!
Invincible, protect, protect, protect...
Instinct overwhelmed reason, and fear catalyzed action.
Almost uncontrollably, Pale Rider began to expand his domain. Dense black mist surged from the depths of the consciousness where he resided, spreading outward along Kuruoka Tsubaki's body, quickly saturating the air of the ward.
That black mist carried the aura of death. Everywhere it passed, the temperature plummeted, the displays of the medical instruments flickered erratically, and even the lights dimmed a few degrees.
However, the black mist that had just begun its large-scale expansion suddenly stopped, as if it had slammed into an invisible wall.
It churned, surged, and crashed frantically, attempting to break through the obstruction, but no matter how hard it tried, it could not advance another inch.
It was as if an invisible barrier had completely isolated the inside of the ward from the outside.
"!"
Pale Rider's consciousness shuddered violently.
He looked toward the church.
The silver-haired figure was still standing there, one hand resting casually on the railing, the corners of her lips curled into a half-smile.
"Heh."
The voice rang out directly in his consciousness.
"You'd better just stay put and stop coming out to cause trouble."
"..."
The black mist churned a few more times in frustration before finally retreating slowly back inside the body of Kuruoka Tsubaki.
The temperature in the ward began to rise, and the flickering of the instruments stabilized.
Pale Rider gave up.
It wasn't that he didn't want to resist, but rather that he simply could not.
He could only curl up in the deepest part of his Master's consciousness, compressing his obsession with protection to the absolute limit, staying as alert as a startled beast to any movement in the outside world.
Atop the church bell tower.
Olga Marie let out a soft breath.
She took one last look at Kuruoka Tsubaki on the hospital bed, her eyes lingering on that pale face for a complex moment, before forcibly averting her gaze and suppressing the surging emotions in her heart.
'Forget it.'
'In any case, tonight's mission is only to "prevent this girl from being killed." Nothing else has anything to do with me.'
She told herself this.
Flat remained completely oblivious throughout the entire process.
He was tilting his head back to count the stars, humming a tuneless little melody and swinging his legs in the air, totally unaware of the confrontation that had occurred just a moment ago.
Olga Marie had acted too discreetly.
The construction of that barrier and the suppression of Pale Rider had all happened on an extremely microscopic level, without leaking a single unnecessary ripple.
In Flat's perception, the direction of the ward was simply 'Rider's magical energy fluctuated slightly and then went quiet'.
"Ah, speaking of which—"
Flat suddenly turned his head to look at Olga Marie.
"Who does Miss Olga Marie think will be the first to move tonight?"
Olga Marie glanced at him.
"How would I know?"
"Just take a guess! For example, will it be another team? Or the government? I'm so excited!"
"They're here."
Olga Marie suddenly spoke, interrupting his rambling.
Almost at the same time, the dagger-shaped hand on the watch face on Flat's left wrist shuddered violently.
Berserker's low voice rang out in Flat's mind:
"Master, magical energy reactions from a Servant are approaching!"
As their voices overlapped and had yet to fully dissipate, the scene across the street had already changed.
A figure slowly stepped out from the shadows opposite the main entrance of the hospital.
The moonlight illuminated his form.
Bulging muscles, dark red skin.
A bare upper body with a tattered animal skin wrapped around his waist, and in his hand, he held that ancient-looking longbow.
Alcides!
He walked very slowly, each step firm, the soles of his boots making a 'shuffling' sound as they grated against the ground.
And his right hand was dragging something—a metal chain as thick as a wrist.
At the other end of the chain was a gargantuan beast.
It was a pitch-black, muscular three-headed dog.
Each head was the size of a calf, and foul-smelling drool dripped from its bared mouths. Eerie blue flames burned across its body in the darkness like an eternal hellish garment, scorching the surrounding air until it twisted and deformed.
The Hellhound, Cerberus.
Alcides dragged it along like this, step by step, toward the hospital.
"Wow."
Flat let out a soft exclamation of wonder, leaning forward slightly and staring unblinkingly at the scene across the street.
"Bringing something like that right out onto the street... is that really okay? Aren't Holy Grail Wars supposed to be conducted in secret?"
Olga Marie: "Are you serious?"
Flat also thought of the duel between Gilgamesh and Enkidu, and the battle that had occurred this morning.
"Ah, it seems like... indeed, things aren't quite that strict, are they?"
"..."
Around the hospital, the forces that had been deployed for a long time also moved at this moment.
The first to appear were the people from the police station.
Their weapons were all aimed simultaneously at the approaching Alcides.
"Halt!"
"Stop immediately!"
Alcides did not stop.
His gaze went straight past them, landing on the location of Kuruoka Tsubaki's ward in the hospital.
That dismissive attitude made the expressions of the police officers turn ugly.
"Final warning! Stop immediately!"
The officer's voice carried a hint of fury.
Alcides also came to a halt and raised the longbow in his hand.
"!"
The breath of every police officer hitched.
The atmosphere was fraught with tension.
However, Alcides did not attack the police.
He simply drew the bowstring. Dark red magical energy condensed on the string, transforming into an arrow burning with an ominous flame.
The arrow tip was raised, aiming at the hospital building.
"Not good!"
"He's going to attack the hospital!"
"Fire! Stop him!"
Orders and cries of alarm rang out almost simultaneously.
But it was already too late.
Alcides released the bowstring.
"Shoom—!"
The moment the arrow left the string, the air was torn apart, leaving behind a dark red trail like a reverse-flying meteor, shooting straight toward the window of the ward.
However—
"Thump."
A soft sound, like something fragile being gently crushed.
That arrow of magical energy, which was powerful enough to pierce through reinforced concrete walls, struck something about five meters away from the ward window.
The tip of the arrow spun frantically, attempting to break through, and the dark red magical energy surged against the surface of the barrier, throwing off fine sparks.
Then the arrow shattered.
And that barrier didn't even vibrate once.
"..."
The police officers held their weapons, their expressions somewhat bewildered.
What was going on?
The arrow... was gone?
It was blocked by something?
Alcides stood in place, suppressed, heavy breathing coming from beneath the pelt.
He recognized it!
The aura of that barrier!
"Damned god..."
A raspy voice squeezed out from beneath the animal skin, every word carrying a hatred that was almost tangible.
"You... are actually here too...!"