Chapter 93: Jack the Ripper and the Monster Heroic Spirit, and—
Why fight a guy like this?
In the very center of the demonic realm that had transformed into a Singularity, the murderer made full use of the thinking capacity he was permitted.
Just like the opening gambit of constantly splitting off new individuals. Just as all those individuals turned their faces toward the entity standing on high.
That was a Heroic Spirit who gripped a bow and arrow at whim, radiating a pressure as intense as a monster's, his face obscured by something resembling cloth or leather.
Prowling beside him was a three-headed hound as large as a giant elephant, seemingly from hell itself; he stood calmly amidst the encirclement of the monstrous dog.
It was as if he were declaring himself the master of Cerberus—though it took several dozen seconds for all the humans present to realize that the entity was the one they had grown tired of seeing in myths and movies: the one named "Cerberus."
Accompanying the eerie sight of seeing an incredible myth in reality was the intense magical pressure extending from the interior of Cerberus's body, causing the humans of the Police Department to freeze.
"Bite the nuisances to death."
Leaving behind these words, the Heroic Spirit focused his gaze toward the Snowfield Central Hospital without looking back, his grip on the bow gradually tightening. Conversely, the giant monster faced the line of sight and began its move.
All the individuals belonging to "Berserker" stepped forward in unison, shielding the members of the actual Police Department with whom they were unfamiliar. They had come to the vicinity of the hospital with Flat, only to encounter this sinister spectacle.
They didn't know why this Heroic Spirit-like monster and the literal monster had appeared here. But Alcides told them personally what he intended to do—
"I am going to kill the young child playing host to a Heroic Spirit."
Everyone screamed in their subconscious: We cannot let this future come to pass.
The individuals with blurred facial features took the place of the real officers. Since they also wore police uniforms, it looked instead like a disaster movie scene where a massive crowd of righteous officers was lunging forward to besiege a calamity-bringing monster.
The reality wasn't far off. In terms of the opponent being a monster. In terms of the opponent's master being a "monster" in Heroic Spirit "rank," about to cause a tragedy.
"Mr. Jack..."
"Please do not worry about me, Master. I will protect this place."
Flat's worried whisper was answered by the calm words of a gentleman.
Jack the Ripper—the Berserker brought by Flat—wondered to himself, "Is this my first actual combat?" as all his doppelganger-like individuals swarmed forward.
As the Servant who had once stopped Rin, Jack was displaying his full capabilities for the first time in a situation unrelated to the Fifth Holy Grail War camps.
Jack the Ripper's First Noble Phantasm: [Natural Born Killers (It is Unworthy as the End of a Tragedy)]
Based on the hypothesis that "Jack the Ripper was a group," it allows Jack the Ripper to split into different individuals. Through this Noble Phantasm, Jack the Ripper formed the collective of police-thugs seen earlier.
The maximum number of clones depends on the Master's prana volume, and if it's Flat... over two hundred clones probably isn't a problem.
Flat was just that abnormal. Jack couldn't help but wonder if he was truly the kind of "magus" described in his implanted knowledge.
The weakness of the First Noble Phantasm was also obvious—even with such a human wave assault, it didn't leave a single scratch on Cerberus, which was the summon of a Heroic Spirit. The individual power was too weak.
Most of the targets Jack could transform into were very weak. A small portion couldn't fully replicate their abilities either. Currently, Jack's strongest transformation target was a certain scantily-clad young girl, but he still felt unable to reproduce the original owner's strength, and the number of possible clones would decrease accordingly.
Therefore, Jack chose a more labor-saving method. He turned himself into bait.
Every snap of Cerberus's jaws tore at least one person's bones and sinews to shreds; sometimes the three heads each acted as a guillotine. Other times, it spewed ghostly blue flames, charring seven or eight people to cinders.
Yet every time an action ended, there were always more individuals on the field than at the start.
"?"
Cerberus fell into confusion even as it mauled. Even Alcides couldn't help but glance sideways.
After a short while, he spoke with flat emotion: "State your name, weakling."
"I have no name," said the individual who had been snapped at the waist by the oversized teeth.
"I am but a murderer," a voice rang out from an individual blocking Cerberus's path.
"Rather, the murderer exists, but I do not. I am a phantom, yet also a sinner from hell. I am nothing, but I am certainly the fantasy named 'Jack the Ripper' who slaughters humans."
The individual who had been standing at the outer edge of the encirclement, silently watching Cerberus devour "himself," cast one last glance at Flat, then smiled without further attachment.
All individuals shouted in unison: "I cannot become you, but if your essence is human, I can come to kill you."
The individuals converged into one. Jack the Ripper spoke at last:
"—[From Hell (The Evil Mist and London's Dawn – Disappearing into the Past Together)]"
This was the tolling of the bell marking the start of hell.
-
--
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The field was shrouded in dense mist. Since the calling of this True Name, the entire land where Jack the Ripper and Alcides stood had changed.
Silence lasted for a dozen seconds.
After a dozen seconds, the first to notice the abnormality was Cerberus, who was directly in the enemy's path. Upon hearing the whistle of something cutting through the air from above, the demonic hound immediately turned ferociously and spewed fire upward.
Then, what happened next was not something Cerberus's intelligence could react to—the object evaded the fire with an incredible, sharp-spinning trajectory, and then ripped through its internal organs from the side in the instant they crossed paths.
The weapons were claws.
Cerberus wasn't dead, and the thing didn't care about it, instead flying straight toward Alcides.
The demonic hound, still not understanding why, let out a roar and intended to give chase. However, just as it turned back toward the unidentified flying object... it was torn to pieces by countless pairs of claws from its rear.
Dozens of air-splitting sounds followed, shooting once more toward Alcides.
Why fight a guy like this?
It was because the Master wanted to save the sick girl named Kuruoka Tsubaki, while the monster Heroic Spirit wanted to kill her, and even blow up the entire hospital in the process.
"That" flew down from the sky, standing face-to-face in front of Alcides. A five-meter-tall giant body, with the uppermost white eyeballs looking down at Alcides. From the ends of its arms extended dagger-like lethal weapons called claws. Huge twin wings on its back flapped and swayed, dragging deep, thick shadows that constantly prowled beneath its feet.
Come to think of it, though a "murderer," he was fighting to save others—it was truly the strangest thing in the world.
"That" walked step by step toward Alcides. Alcides frowned, prana circulating through his body as he prepared for the opponent to strike.
In reality, Jack the Ripper didn't care at all about who was killed or who was saved. Jack had only one stance—the Master's stance.
"That" fired heat rays from its milky-white eyes. Since it was the first activation, Alcides only managed to tilt his head in a split-second emergency reaction; the beam grazed his cheek.
The Master's stance and such... although he said that just now... there was a subtle discrepancy here.
Upon being summoned, Jack, possessing the reason he was finally allowed to have, likely had the sole hope of obtaining the Holy Grail. Therefore, what he was doing now was undoubtedly detrimental to obtaining the Grail. Despite this, Jack faithfully executed the Master's resolve. Even if it meant he might exit the stage here.
"That" stepped forward, closing the distance in one breath, swinging sharp demonic claws at Alcides. Although called a "swing," the trajectory was more like a straight punch aimed directly at the face. Alcides parried the strike with a bow-and-spin, only to find an extra wound on his body.
The one who attacked him was an additional claw strike from a blind spot.
Jack felt instinctively that compared to when he was first summoned, a certain change had occurred within him. That was likely caused by spending too much time with Flat and taking to heart the earnest advice of a certain teacher of Flat's.
Even if this world often interprets stories from the perspectives of others, his own Master would never lose to anyone. Jack was willing to believe that. This was the Master-Servant pair of Flat and Jack. This was indeed one of the few things Jack could hold positive emotions for.
"More than one...?"
Alcides already understood what had just happened.
"Indeed. How many bodies do you think there are? A hundred? Two hundred? Three hundred?"
In contrast, the one who had transformed into a demon smiled, his voice completely changed, becoming eerie as if sand had been mixed into his throat.
"I have no name, and I cannot become the murderer that my title represents in history."
In his demonic form, Jack roared out the enemy's Spirit Foundation information he had scouted:
"But... precisely because of that, I can become Us. The one who opposes you need not be a god, but merely a creation of man, O 'Great Hero' who denies the gods!"
Jack the Ripper's Second Noble Phantasm: [From Hell (The Evil Mist and London's Dawn – Disappearing into the Past Together)]
Based on the hypothesis that "Jack the Ripper was a demon," he transforms himself into the form of a Phantasmal Species—a demon. Combined with the First Noble Phantasm that allows cloning, the demon becomes a swarm. Furthermore, the accompanying thick fog obstructs Alcides' vision, making it impossible for Alcides to shoot in his normal state.
The strength of the demon is determined by the population density nearby. Though in a deserted mountain it would be at most a slightly larger beast, fighting with his back to a hospital, Jack's power reached its peak at this moment.
There is usually only one way to defeat such a Jack all at once without paying a heavy price: instantly switch the battlefield to make the nearby population density disappear.
And Alcides did not possess such an ability.
Countless blade-like claws swept past, leaving Alcides' skin drenched in blood.
The reason such a Noble Phantasm could be established in his Spirit Foundation was simple: the Berserker Flat called Jack was never a real existence to begin with. He had never been the "real thing."
Berserker Jack the Ripper's power was merely a collection of rumors, a human fantasy. Berserker Jack the Ripper's reason was merely a byproduct of chaotic madness influenced by the Class skill "Mad Enhancement," where two negatives made a positive.
While understanding this clearly even now, the laser locked down Alcides' movement, and a barrage of strikes from different directions trampled over him without mercy, the final blow slamming Alcides' body deep into the road below.
Berserker Jack the Ripper—from the perspective of the original owner—was undoubtedly a fake.
A demonic blow descended from above, only to be caught by one hand by Alcides as he stood up from the crater. The two were locked in a stalemate.
Berserker Jack the Ripper, because he was "no one," meant he was "everyone"; thus, he could arbitrarily change his appearance and freely possess any weapon or tool he desired, even obtaining Noble Phantasms as a result.
The demon Jack had transformed into bit at Alcides with fangs that still held attacking power; this demonic fang was grabbed by Alcides' other free hand. But with this Jack as bait, other demon individuals had already descended, surrounding Alcides in a circle.
Jack vaguely knew that if he were the "real" Jack the Ripper, he would never challenge this man. Although his purpose for obtaining the Grail was to learn "Jack's" true name, was the process of conducting the Holy Grail War itself running counter to that "Jack"?
Jack must have thought about making himself trend toward the "real" Jack.
But even so—this time, living like this was enough. Because even as the real person, it would be impossible to find a murder scene that could stimulate the killing instinct more than this battle to slay a myth.
Because Jack wanted to realize the resolve his Master, Flat, had shared with him. Because being called "Mr. Jack" actually wasn't that bad.
Just a little more.
Jack used his demonic eyes, measuring with the surgical precision expected of a murderer. Simultaneously, hundreds of heat rays fired at once, forming a net of light closing in on Alcides.
This move was actually mostly blocked. Bronze-colored monstrous birds suddenly appeared around Alcides; these creatures, hard as metal, turned into physical barriers, refracting most of the rays. Only a small amount left piercing burns on Alcides' body.
However, it didn't matter.
"After all, it must start with the 'First Cut'."
Jack made a rare joke that he thought was very fitting for a murderer. At the same time, Alcides replied indifferently:
"Indeed, you have done well. It brings me joy that you have climbed to such heights; I hold respect for you."
The monster Heroic Spirit raised his hand:
"O nameless murderer, I shall usurp you with respect. Please believe that I shall always remember you."
At that moment, his large hand gripping the demonic fang tightened with a death grip, preventing Jack—who realized something was fundamentally wrong—from escaping.
"[Reincarnation of the Pandemonium...]"
This was the moment the hopeful hell vanished.
This event was the beginning of the long tragedy for the Flat Escardos camp. All it took was one sentence for the incantation. This sentence reversed strength, the situation, and even turned hope and despair upside down.
This was the moment the words that would judge the fate of Flat Escardos and Jack the Ripper were spoken. These words would destroy everything thereafter. These words would seize everything thereafter.
The story that can still create connections has not ended here, but the shape of the end has already been shown.
"[...Pandora]"
If there were no other accidents, cruel fate would never show mercy to this Master-Servant pair.
Alcides' eyes behind the hide suddenly widened. As if to completely swallow back the syllables he had already uttered...
He remained frozen in place, silent.
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.
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CLASS: BERSERKER MASTER: FLAT ESCARDOS TRUE NAME: JACK THE RIPPER
Gender: Changes depending on transformation target Height/Weight: Changes depending on transformation target Alignment: Neutral Evil
Strength: [Adjustment according to transformation target beyond Noble Phantasm] Mana: B Endurance: [Adjustment according to transformation target beyond Noble Phantasm] Luck: B Agility: [Adjustment according to transformation target beyond Noble Phantasm] Noble Phantasm: A
PERSONAL SKILLS:
Thousand Faces: A Can transform into humans, materials, etc., believed to be the true identity of Jack the Ripper, and use their skills downgraded to E-rank. Mist Night Walker: B A transformation of the "Murderer on a Misty Night" skill when summoned in other classes. Provides Presence Concealment effects of the same rank at night. Mad Enhancement: - Reversed effect due to madness being the base attribute; currently sealed. However, that seal is an extremely dangerous thing.
NOBLE PHANTASMS:
From Hell (The Evil Mist and London's Dawn – Disappearing into the Past Together) Rank: A+ ~ E- / Type: Anti-Personnel / Range: 1~20 / Max Targets: 1 Based on the theory of "Jack is a Demon," it transforms his form into a Phantasmal Species. Power scales with population density within 5km. Anti-human bonus damage. Natural Born Killers (It is Unworthy as the End of a Tragedy) Rank: B / Type: Anti-Army / Range: - / Max Targets: - Based on the theory of "Jack is a Group." Creates clones based on Master's prana. Each is a "main body."
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