"Ughhh… my head hurts… huh?"
Gudako held her head and looked around.
The entire cave was now engulfed in flames! Hooray!
…tch, I'm blaming Lancer for this!
She tried to get up and look for the others, and then noticed someone pinned under the shield.
"…Mash?"
She approached, pushed the shield aside, and saw Mash unconscious, mumbling something.
She seemed okay—being a Demi-Servant really does improve your survival rate.
Now where the hell are that bastard Lancer and my Nura?
"Buhah! Bleh bleh! Ugh, disgusting!"
"Huh?" Gudako turned to see the white-haired girl coughing up dust from the cave.
"Oh, it's you. Kinda dissapointed."
"What do you mean by that, Fujimaru?! Do you want me dead that badly??" Olga stood up angrily.
Olga then walked over to the shield and knocked on it a few times.
"Hey! Anyone in there?!"
No response.
"Tch, fantastic. Two Servants missing, Roman's not responding, Mash is knocked out cold—what now? Die here in the flames of that Caster?"
"I've got a plan!" Gudako raised her hand.
"…what plan?"
"GACHA GACHA GACHA GACHAGCHAGCHAGC!!!!"
'Oh right, she's brain-damaged…' Olga facepalmed tiredly.
Gudako removed Mash's shield and dug out a Saint Quartz from her bag. (Olga: I wonder how she gets Saint Quartz that easily...)
"BAEBER BAEBER BAEBER BAEBER!!!!" Gudako raised her leg and hurled the Saint Quartz like a baseball.
The moment the Saint Quartz hit the shield, it began to glow.
Gudako's eyes sparkled, while Olga stood there with zero expectations.
When the light flashed, what appeared in front of them made even Olga flinch.
Mapo Tofu!
"DIE KIREI!!!!!" Gudako kicked the Mapo Tofu hard, spilling it everywhere.
"Hey… that's a Craft Essence too, you know?" Olga looked at the wasted tofu, which reminded her of a certain priest who plucked flowers and dropped his Mapo right in front of her house…
"WHATEVER, I'D RATHER DIE THAN GET KIREI!"
"Who the heck is Kirei??"
"Oh? You two are alive? Lucky me." A familiar voice made Gudako and Olga turn around.
Who else but Caster?
"You damn Caster! You actually have the nerve to come back after blowing us all up?!" Olga pointed furiously at him.
"Hey lady, it wasn't my fault. I tried to end it early, but that bastard's defense triggered and caused Wicker Man to spread all over the cave. Anyway, you're alive, so that's good." Caster said nonchalantly, pointing at his own burned outfit—he had been hit by his own Noble Phantasm too.
"Lancer should just die."
"I'm Caster."
Suddenly, Mash, who had been unconscious, started to move.
"Uhhh… I feel dizzy…" she sat up, holding her head, then looked at everyone.
"Oh, the young lady's still in one piece. Is my Noble Phantasm really that weak?"
"Were you trying to kill us or what?" Olga gave Caster a look of utter disbelief.
"Ahh! Nura-san! Where is he?!" Mash suddenly jumped up, looking around in panic.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Gudako asked.
"He… When Wicker Man stomped on Archer's shield, Nura-san managed to save me just in time…"
"Wow, now that's my Nura. Unlike Lancer."
"I'm Caster."
Caster paused to think, then began drawing runes on the ground.
"What are you doing now?" Olga asked in confusion.
"Trying to locate him. I placed a rune spell on the back of his shirt just in case something like this happened."
"Well, if it doesn't work, it probably means he's dead. Simple as that."
"Shut that jinx mouth, Lancer."
"Lancer isn't a slur, you know, girl."
Caster then closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them.
"Girl, doesn't the Master have the ability to see from a Servant's perspective?"
Everyone turned to look at Gudako.
"…I forgot."
Ah yes, no need for Caster to waste mana on rune magic anymore.
Gudako's eyes began to glow faintly with a soft blue flame, and she smiled cheerfully.
"I did it! Now let's—AHHHHHH!!!"
All three jumped in surprise and looked at her.
"What's wrong, Senpai?!" Mash asked in worry.
"Nura… he…"
"What about him?! Is he badly hurt?!" Olga panicked. After all, if a Servant became incapacitated, their odds of dying would skyrocket.
"Yes, he's seriously injured… but his chest is so firm, and his abs are compact and sculpted, it's actually really nice to look at…"
…?
"Pfft, such a boy-crazy girl," Caster snorted, walking off.
Gudako promptly got kicked by Olga.
"Just contact him already!"
And so, Gudako tried to establish communication with Nura.
***
Nura clutched his wound while pointing his sword at a man lying on the ground.
"Surprised you're still alive, Archer," Nura smiled, even as blood trickled from his injury.
"I should be the one saying that. That explosion was no joke," Archer smirked, though his condition was clearly worse than Nura's.
The two stared at each other silently.
"What? Not going to finish me off?" Archer said with a taunting grin.
"…I don't think it's necessary. Judging by your wounds, you'll fade away soon enough. Instead, I have a question for you."
Nura sheathed his sword and looked Archer in the eyes.
"You're Japanese, aren't you?"
A simple question.
"Is that a problem?"
"No no, it's just… in all my life, I've never met you before. Even though you resemble Amakusa Shirou with your skin tone and hair, you're not him."
"I've been mistaken for him before. Not a bad thing—it helps throw off enemies."
"You're pretty versatile, Archer."
Nura then took out his pipe and looked at Archer.
"Still… I wonder, with your kind of personality, why would you protect a tainted Holy Grail? Does it mean something to you?"
Archer looked up, then smiled.
"Maybe I just didn't want to deal with anything anymore and let things play out."
"Even knowing it's wrong?"
"I was stained by the mud of the Holy Grail. It amplified all the negativity inside me. Everything I did… was just an expression of my frustration—how no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't save anyone. In the end, I realized I was just a fool chasing an impossible dream."
Archer began to mock himself.
"And yes, I became a minor villain for you all to defeat. That's the role I've been cast in, and I'm fine with that. I've wanted it to end for a while now."
"Do you regret it? The path you chose, thinking it was right?"
A question so familiar it was almost laughable. Emiya never expected to hear it from a yokai that never met him before.
Emiya stared at Nura, then smiled—
A genuine, soft, and innocent smile.
"I don't regret it."
Even if Emiya came from another timeline, another version, another universe—
He and Shirou were still one and the same, even if the two didn't quite get along.
"Well… I wonder how you got me to say something like that. Is it part of your power or something?"
"I'm the leader of a group of youkai. Wouldn't be much of a leader if I didn't care about my subordinates, right?" Nura laughed heartily.
"Oda would've laughed at that line," Archer smirked as glowing particles began to surround him.
"Yeah, I'm sure she would."
Emiya closed his eyes, thinking only of one person—
'Tohsaka… I hope you didn't summon me the wrong way and call me Satan again…'
The glowing lights floated away, leaving only Nurarihyon standing alone.
"Well then…"
'NURA!'
'Oh Master, you're still alive, huh?'
'Whatever—just get back here so we can heal you! Hurry!!'
Nura gave a faint smile—then vanished into the air.
***
BOOM!
Archer realized he had been summoned once again, then looked around the room.
Oh great, everything was a mess—just like when Rin summoned him.
Small footsteps echoed, drawing his attention to the door.
"Oi! What are you three up to now… huh?"
Archer saw… a rabbit? Or at least something that looked like a rabbit, dressed in rather elaborate clothing.
Then two girls and one boy appeared behind it, all staring in confusion through the doorway.
Archer sat casually amidst the wreckage, the eye of the storm, completely relaxed despite the disaster around him.
They were speechless.
He smirked to himself.
"Hmph… looks like I just met another impressive Master."