Chapter 266: It's Huge, Truly Huge
Shirou quietly observed the situation outside from the space released by the hidden BB-chan.
Standing there was a tall, sturdy blonde male knight, while on the other side stood a handsome man with reddish-pink hair holding a harp. They were currently in combat stances, arguing heatedly.
"Sir Gawain, has a knight such as yourself also sided with a poisoness like this? Truly unpleasant," the red-haired man said, his eyes closed as he frowned in anger.
"Sir Tristan! So you have been summoned here as well," Gawain said in surprise.
"This place is truly sorrowful. Every Servant I encountered upon arriving here had fallen into the abyss of madness, and I had no choice but to slay them. I have already sent off seven Heroic Spirits. And now, the only Master I meet is actually staying with a poisoness like that. This place is indeed hell..." Tristan looked this way with disgust. This was his second time being summoned to this place, and his memories were filled with nothing but unpleasantness.
The last time he was Saber; this time he was Archer. Although he was somewhat influenced by this world, making his temperament much more impulsive than usual, the one thing that remained unchanged was his heart as a knight.
"Sir Gawain! Unknown Master! I must kill this poisoness. Could I ask you to move aside? I do not wish to harm you." Tristan raised his weapon, aiming it at the girl, Lilith, standing to the side.
"Gudako, I'm not sure exactly what is going on, but Sir Tristan seems to be in earnest. His bow is a cursed instrument that can ruthlessly sever anything within his sight. Once the battle begins, I cannot guarantee your safety... Please tell me your choice. Distancing yourself from Lilith is also an option."
The girl with the ponytail pursed her lips. She had never been the intellectual type; before her brain could finish analyzing the pros and cons of safety, her body had already acted. Gudako took a step forward, standing in front of Lilith, and looked directly at the dangerous Servant. "This is the choice my heart has made."
"..." The girl with the blue ribbon in her hair saw Gudako move to shield her, and for a fleeting moment, she wore an expression of sadness and nostalgia.
"Is that so... It is precisely because of this that I am even more sorrowful... To trust anyone so sincerely—such a quality is arguably the most precious thing in this place. But because of this noble quality, you shall lose your life here... Master on the opposite side! Prepare yourself! No matter what, I will not let these Alter Egos go!"
The red-haired man opened his eyes and lifted his harp-like instrument. He plucked the strings, and invisible blades flew toward the girls.
A figure dashed forward, getting ahead of the blonde knight to stand in front of the two girls. Though the blades of the cursed bow were dangerous, they could not remain hidden before his eyes.
Trace On!
Swinging his arms down, black and white arcs of light flashed, parrying the transparent blades of the demon bow.
"Yo, Gudako. Well done! You've been working hard on your own!" Shirou asked the girl behind him without turning around, his twin blades raised.
When he saw the girl who looked like BB but was a bit smaller about to be attacked alongside Gudako, Shirou hadn't thought twice. He charged in, projecting Kanshou and Bakuya to block the invisible blades and reunite with Gudako.
"Shirou-senpai!! You're finally here! You're way too late~! I couldn't contact you at all before, where on earth did you go?" Gudako cried out in surprise and joy, asking quite bluntly.
"No, I've had my hands full on my end too. By the way, when did you get pulled in here? Was it after the Tokyo business was resolved?" Shirou said helplessly. Having been dragged here by BB, his timeline was completely messed up compared to where he was before.
"This is the oil rig base Seraphix, which is affiliated with Chaldea. I don't know anything about the Tokyo matter," Gudako shook her head and explained.
"Forget it. Anyway, it's good that you're alright," Shirou said.
"Hmph... What a redundant action. I wouldn't have been hurt even if I was cut," the protected girl said dismissively. As if to prove her point, she had charged forward earlier.
Tristan plucked his strings again. Circular invisible blades passed through the girl's upper body, seemingly slicing her through, but no blood emerged—only a few drops of liquid fell to the ground.
"How unfortunate. My body is composed of fluid. Your blades are far too thin to harm me," Lilith said mockingly. In an instant, she dashed to the front of the red-haired man, knocked him to the ground, and pinned him down by sitting on him.
"A splendid mount! With this, even Sir Tristan can only drink the cup of regret on the spot."
"Your body is actually fluid... Indeed, my bow has no way to harm you. At the very least, one would need a Noble Phantasm capable of evaporating everything at once." Tristan looked up and glared at the girl sitting on him, shouting, "Then do it! What are you waiting for? Do you intend to humiliate me in this posture?"
"Tch... how boring! You have a good face, but looking at you up close, you aren't my type at all. You have no value in being melted," Lilith clicked her tongue and said with disgust. "Hey! Gawain, Gudako, finish this man off while you have the chance."
The girl stood up. She had already made up her mind to stop using the method of "melting and absorbing" to grow stronger, which was why she had hesitated to strike.
"That won't do. You won the duel. If you don't strike, I have no right to kill Sir Tristan either," Gawain refused righteously. He then looked at the girl with doubt, feeling this wasn't the style of an existence like her. He asked, "Do you intend to spare his life?"
The girl gritted her teeth and retorted, "As if! If I let him go, he'll only cause trouble for me later! Of course I want to kill him! Hey! You, the busybody who just popped up! There's a task here—I'll leave the execution to you!"
"Well, I don't really want to lay a murderous hand on a Knight of the Round Table either. Gudako, what do you think?" Shirou put away his twin blades and shrugged in refusal.
"As long as he doesn't hinder us, it's fine," Gudako said.
"Haha, Gudako's acquaintance is a sensible man too! In that case, Sir Tristan, according to the rules of a duel, the loser must obey the winner. How about lending us your strength for the time being?" Gawain laughed heartily, nodding to Shirou before turning to ask his old comrade.
"Finish him! Finish this loser! I said finish him right now!" Lilith stamped her feet in annoyance, speaking repeatedly.
"...So be it. Putting this girl aside for now, Sir Gawain's Master seems to be a trustworthy person," Tristan added as he stood up from the ground.
Lilith glared at Gudako and muttered angrily, "Honestly... what is this? Third wheels just keep popping up one after another..."
"Well, it's a rare chance for a fresh start, so try to be a bit more honest," Shirou walked up and advised the girl. Possessing memories of Nameless from multiple parallel worlds, he felt a certain lingering concern for this girl, Meltryllis.
"Wh... Why are you here?!" The girl, Lilith, who had maintained a cold and arrogant expression until now, finally saw the boy's face clearly. She was so shocked her voice became a stutter.
"Ah, as I thought, you have memories too... but I am a different person. Although we are very similar in many ways, the person in your memories isn't me," Shirou said to the girl.
"Shut up! If you have the memories, why are you still making excuses!? Enough! I indeed had feelings for you back then, but I was defeated by you and that woman. But now I already have someone I like, and that person is no longer you!" Lilith puffed out her cheeks and said irritably.
Hearing this conversation, Gudako's eyes lit up with the light of gossip. She ran up, hooked her arm around Shirou's, and asked with a mischievous grin, "Eh? This child is Shirou-senpai's acquaintance? Has she moved on already? Is it a love triangle? Or a 'shura field'?"
With every question, she didn't forget to poke Shirou's side with her finger.
"That's enough! Let's go!" Hearing Gudako's words, Lilith became even angrier for some reason. Without even another sharp-tongued remark, she walked straight ahead.
The left-behind Gudako and Shirou looked at each other.
"Hmm? See? You made her angry," Shirou looked at Gudako, lecturing her.
"No, no, it's definitely Senpai's fault, right?" Gudako waved her hands. No matter how she thought about it, it was Senpai's fault for starting a love drama.
As the two shifted the blame onto each other, neither could truly figure out what they had done wrong. Completely baffled, they stroked their chins and thought strangely, "What on earth is going on?"
"At any rate, I shall lead the way to find the next breakthrough," Tristan stepped forward and said.
He had once been summoned as a Saber to participate in this cruel farce. At that time, his Master was not a powerful existence, but a lively girl who always wore a completely defenseless smile, running up to him and calling out "Lord Tristan, Lord Tristan."
But that innocent Master had been targeted by a demonic Alter Ego and subsequently absorbed.
Therefore, no matter what, he could not forgive these Alter Egos who did not understand the human heart and were as cruel as demons.
To enter the interior, Tristan led everyone to a passage formed by blue transparent walls on both sides.
Tap, tap, tap. Hurried footsteps echoed from the corner ahead.
"Waaaah! Save me! Is this rescue from Chaldea? Thank goodness, I'm saved!" A woman wearing glasses ran toward them from the opposite direction.
"It is a relief to see you unharmed. It is my honor to meet you, Madame," Gawain stepped forward with a warm smile. From the woman's perspective, his white teeth seemed to flash with a glint of light.
"I am Gawain. This is my Master, Gudako, and our reinforcement, Shirou. Could you tell us in detail what has happened?"
"This isn't the place to talk! And I'm not a 'Madame,' I'm a 'Miss'! I'm not married yet. I just graduated from university and came here for long-term work. I'm still a young person in my twenties!" The woman adjusted her glasses and corrected him pointedly.
"But... wow, that smile is amazing. You said your name is Mr. Gawain? Um... what do you do for a living? How old are you? What's your annual income?" The woman began asking questions one after another of her own accord.
"Haha, though I indeed had a family and career in life, as a Servant now, my lineage has ended. While I shall never forget my wife, the more I avert my gaze, the more I find temptation difficult to resist..." Gawain laughed, speaking sincerely as he looked into the lady's eyes, though his gaze then drifted toward Lilith nearby.
"The conversation has been a mess since a moment ago, and what kind of terrible things is this man saying!" The girl felt his gaze and frowned with disgust.
"Well, miss, please calm down and tell us the details of the situation here so we can find a way to rescue everyone," Shirou stepped out and said.
"Ah! And this young man here, you seem quite nice too. What university do you go to? How are your grades? Can you accept an older woman? How much older do you think is suitable? Three years for a 'gold brick'? A gentle six years? Or a nine-year difference where you're cared for meticulously?
Wait, why? You're enemies of Chaldea, right? Why are humans together with her? I'm going to be killed! There's an Alter Ego here too! No! Even after escaping, I'm still going to be killed!" The woman screamed in panic when she saw Lilith.
The misunderstood girl only gave a cold sneer and stopped paying attention to the woman.
"Calm down. She is an ally," Shirou stepped forward to persuade the woman.
Just then, the sound of some massive object shaking the ground step by step and slowly approaching came from ahead. Judging by the sound, every step seemed to crush the floor.
"Uwaaaa! It caught up! Run away, or we'll be killed!"
"Hmph..." Looking at the new enemy appearing ahead, everyone's gaze froze there.
"It's huge..." Tristan remarked with a sigh.
"Huge indeed!!" Gawain nodded repeatedly in agreement.
"Truly huge!!!" Gudako shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Run! Escape from this area!" Shirou shouted as he immediately scooped up Gudako, whose eyes were still fixed on the sight.
Passionlip—the girl representing "The Name of the Flower," who spoke in a soft, gentle whisper. Her slender shoulders were encased in golden arm-guards, but below them were golden giant claws larger than her own body. She was dressed in a straitjacket, her eyes covered, and her black outfit failed to conceal her extraordinarily curvaceous figure.
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