Chapter 48. Head and Spinal Magic Staff—Aki-kun!
["Heh, mad already?"]
[Aki Tomoya sneered with disdain, arms folded across his chest, looking down at Caster from above.]
[Facing Medea's enraged expression, he showed no fear. After all, a Servant was merely a "familiar" in human terms—an avatar of a Heroic Spirit formed from absorbing leyline mana, bound by a Command Seal like a leash.]
[If this were the true essence of a Heroic Spirit, Aki Tomoya would surely show reverence, not dare act insolently.]
[But this was just a Servant…]
[Hmph~]
["Slice——."]
[Suddenly.]
[A sharp whoosh rang out as Rule Breaker slashed through the air.]
[A right arm was cleanly severed, suspended midair, blood spraying everywhere.]
[Aki Tomoya's pupils shrank. His mind went blank—fear, panic, anxiety, despair… an avalanche of emotions overwhelmed him all at once.]
[He couldn't believe it, clutching his now-empty sleeve. When blood splattered onto his hand, it was like his nerves had awakened, and the pain came crashing in.]
["——Uaaahh, aghh, AAAAHHHHH!!"]
[In an instant, the wretched Master's anguished screams echoed throughout the sky.]
[His teeth chattered. Realizing the situation, his broken cries resounded to the heavens.]
["My arm..."]
["My power..."]
["What the hell is happening?! Why aren't you dead? Why is the Command Seal useless?!"]
["Oh?"]
[Medea tilted her head adorably, lips curling into a seductive smile.]
["Such a foolish Master. You clearly knew I was the Witch of Betrayal."]
["My Noble Phantasm was born from the legends of my life—it naturally possesses the ability to turn on its Master."]
["Rule Breaker…?!"]
[Aki Tomoya was horrified beyond measure. He couldn't believe a Servant could use a Noble Phantasm to sever a Holy Grail contract.]
[That was nearly impossible—an act that defied the laws of causality…]
[Moreover, breaking the contract meant a Servant would no longer receive mana, leading to swift disappearance—essentially suicide.]
[There's no way such a thing could happen…]
["Ha~ Hahahahaha…!"]
[The Witch of Betrayal laughed loudly, her wild laughter echoing across the land.]
[Within that laughter was the joy of shedding old hatred, mixed with traces of sorrowful loneliness.]
[No one in this world ever understood me,]
[Nor did anyone ever believe me.]
[The past is like a dream; yesterday is no longer today.]
[A lonely, drifting soul in a foreign land, rootless like duckweed.]
[Only sorrow clings to me, ever-present and inescapable.]
Suddenly, a sorrowful and grief-stricken melody began to play, spreading across the entire world.
She was sorrowful, and she quietly hummed—
Singing a song no one had ever known.
"The pain carved deep in my heart, makes me let go~"
"In the cycle of betrayal, the black flower has bloomed~"
"Sin quietly seeps into the depths so sweet~"
"My heart is sealed by a wavering flame~"
"Chains that tempt the darkness~"
"I am tightly bound by the same fate~"
"In the place where deceiving eyes are watching~"
"Falling into sorrow, yet saved by kindness~"
"Entangled threads torn apart in my hands~"
"The punished smile on red lips~"
"A prayer like a cry beneath the heavens~"
"A contract that tempts the darkness~"
"I'm imprisoned by endless pain~"
"Since the moment I learned the truth~"
"Chains that tempt the darkness~"
"I am tightly bound by the same fate~"
"In the place where deceiving eyes are watching~"
…
The whole world fell silent. Before that heartrending lament, no one could speak a word.
Everyone was struck speechless, thunder echoing in the silence.
The beautiful notes felt nearly tangible, as if played by an ancient, nameless instrument—steeped in the solemn melancholy of Greek mythology. Like a flower shedding tears, like a witch weeping, woven into a song of despair.
Listen carefully, it's like recounting the tragic life of Princess of Colchis.
On the Celestial Curtain, the Witch of Betrayal still seemed to smile like a flower, but inside she was despairing, covering her face and sobbing.
Everyone couldn't bear to look, covered their faces and turned away. No matter how many times they watched, it still made their spirits tremble violently.
"Medea onee-chan's life… it's really heartbreaking…"
The white-haired girl with sorrowful eyes sighed, bowed her head in lament.
"Unable to paint the past, unable to see the future, only a gloomy dream that hurts people."
The great literary master Dazai Osamu couldn't help but sigh.
"Aki Tomoya is really damnable!!"
The famous star Saitou Asuka also angrily stomped her foot, her delicate jade foot stomping hard on the ground.
With the wrathful empathy of everyone, Aki Tomoya had become the enemy of the entire world.
The image was still continuing…
From the Celestial Curtain came the furious scream of a man filled with extreme unwillingness.
["No, I absolutely cannot die here, my hegemonic grand ambition is not yet complete!"]
[Aki Tomoya's eyes were vicious, pulling out a button that could detonate the entire magic formation site.]
["Boom boom boom!!"]
[The explosion thundered like a nuclear blast, flames bursting forth to illuminate the entire sky and earth.]
[Dust rolled, debris transcended space, the grand and magnificent park collapsed in an instant.]
[The magic formation site that once could hold back three Servants had now completely collapsed.]
[In the chaos, he clenched his teeth, using his bleeding injured hand to press down, employing Reinforcement magecraft, his legs sprinting rapidly toward the underground bunker.]
[As long as I survive… there is still hope.]
[He was Aki Tomoya, a magus belonging to the long-standing prestigious Aki family.]
[Though now in decline, the foundational accumulation was still not small.]
[A bold and generous life—at worst, start over again!!]
"Oh~ so it's a long-standing family."
Yan Shuangying rubbed his chin while pondering.
If the Aki family hadn't declined, would Aki Tomoya have harmed others for money?
But after a while, he shook his head.
For someone like Aki Tomoya, how could he possibly change?
There's only the path of death!
…
[Medea watched the fading silhouette, the corner of her lips slightly lifting into a faint smile.]
[She was calm and at ease, tranquil without a trace of fluctuation.]
[Between humans and Heroic Spirits was a gap that could not be crossed, a difference like clouds and mud.]
[No matter how many methods the opponent had to preserve his life, he could not escape from her grasp.]
["Crack——."]
[Aki Tomoya rushed into the pitch-black underground shrine, took out a lighter and lit a flame, his expression still panicked, panting heavily as he ran wildly.]
[This place was a sealed space like a secret chamber, with countless passageways and small caves.]
[Under the firelight, ancient murals appeared on the surrounding stone walls.]
[As if praising ancient Greek heroic tales, it exuded an ancient desolate aura full of sorrow, making one's hair stand on end.]
["Damn it..."]
["The Holy Grail War clearly hasn't even started yet, hasn't even gone through a single battle..."]
["Why am I unlucky enough to summon such a rebellious thing."]
[In the underground path, Aki Tomoya ran desperately with his head down, cursing without any remorse.]
[He regretted deeply summoning Caster.]
[If he had gone earlier to the Holy Church to contract with that noble Heroic Spirit—that King of Heroes—then by now he might have ruled the world!]
[It was all Medea's fault. If she had obediently died, he wouldn't have been humiliated like this.]
[Suddenly, a light breeze blew past.]
[—The flame used to light the way went out, and the underground path once again plunged into darkness.]
[Aki Tomoya panicked, still not composed, gasping for breath, leaning his back against the mural behind him.]
["Click… click click..."]
[Along with the sound of the lighter trembling from fear, the flame once again ignited, illuminating a scene that made one's hair stand on end—a mural behind him depicted a witch holding a blood-drenched dagger, her gloomy face looking downward.]
[The scene was so vivid, as if it carried the suffocating, bewildering sensation of endless reincarnation.]
[As though transcending a thousand years of separation, the ancient witch was carrying out judgment on the crimes of future generations.]
[Every ending carried the cold and deadly aura of "fatalism."]
[The purple gown gently approached, elegant demeanor never going out of style.]
[But the man was terrified to the extreme, as if seeing Death brandishing its scythe.]
["No… Don't!!"]
["My life cannot end here…!!"]
["Medea… please spare me, Medea…"]
[Aki Tomoya screamed in despair, letting out pitiful sobs.]
["For you, this is the most fitting end."]
[Medea stood gracefully, her beautiful, pure face bearing a stunning smile.]
[In Aki Tomoya's eyes filled with utter terror, she slowly placed her snow-white hand upon his head, the cold sensation as if prying his skull open.]
[And then——]
["——Aaaaaaaaaaaa!!"]
[The underground shrine trembled under the man's tragic scream, blood gushing endlessly.]
[The stench of blood filled the air, making one's spine chill.]
[Aki Tomoya's head was severed on the spot, his spine ripped out of his body by Medea while he was still alive, his eyes still darting about in panic, his face twisted in pain, lifelike… he could even still think for a moment.]
["You… witch…"]
[He was in utter despair, barely opening his lips, trembling as he uttered broken words.]
[Amidst the surging magic power, under Caster's cold smile, a beautiful, mysterious light flashed, finally merging Aki Tomoya's head and spinal with his magic circuit, refining it into a powerful magical item.]
[Medea, though slightly weakened, still looked at the staff in her hand with satisfaction.]
[It was a magical item with the rare "Imaginary Number" attribute.]
[Let's just call it "Head and Spinal Magic Staff—Aki-kun"…]
The whole world was shocked, amid the delight lingered an indescribable fear.
Many people on Earth carried mixed emotions, and Observer Network was flooded with comments.
"Yahooo~, Aki Tomoya is dead, pop the champagne!"
"So brutal, this death is really too cruel."
"Nuh-uh, not cruel at all, he totally deserved it."
"Trash should die like trash, otherwise how can I let go of the hatred in my heart!"
"Well, that's true, but at least let's talk about human rights…?"
"Human rights? Human my ass, go say that to the tens of thousands of people that bastard Aki Tomoya killed!"
"Changed my mind, I like evil women who still have a bit of conscience."
"If he had treated Medea well, maybe he really could have won the Holy Grail War."
"I think so too, the Rule Breaker is so deadly, might've caught some Masters off guard, terminated contracts in a daze, lost their Servants, and with a magic field that strong…"
"What a total waste."
…
Time passed, and the scene shifted to a rainy night in a dense forest.
Having lost the mana supply from her Master, Medea was now so weak she was nearly on the verge of vanishing.
The whole world seemed to only have her left, lonely and lost.
["Drip——."]
[The witch from the Age of Gods collapsed on the damp ground, raindrops falling coldly on her delicate face, washing away the confusion and sorrow in her beautiful eyes.]
[She suddenly laughed, full of self-mockery.]
["Ahahaha, haha… So this is the ending after all."]
["Abandoned carelessly, used, despised like a traitor…"]
["All I ever wanted… was just to return to my homeland…"]
[The frail woman reached out toward the gloomy sky above, but couldn't grasp anything, just like she had never been able to grasp her own happiness.]
[The raindrops fell softly on her face, indistinguishable from tears…]
[Suddenly, she tilted her head in puzzlement, seeing a small, adorable pair of shoes.]
["U… uuuuuuu~!!"]
[A girl with light brown long hair, wearing a worried expression, bent down as if to help her.]
[But unfortunately, she had a "hearing impairment" and couldn't hear any sound, rendering her unable to do anything.]
["This is..."]
[Medea was slightly stunned, gently lifting a pale finger, brushing it against the other's cheek.]
The scene gradually dimmed, as everyone fell silent, forming a pitch-black sky above the Celestial Curtain.
That girl who ran up at the very end—was she the Master who would later make a contract with Caster?
Seemed like a pitiful hearing-impaired person?
Someone like that getting caught up in the Holy Grail War—could she really survive?
…
In the real world, Tokyo.
Inside a not-so-luxurious apartment, a youthful sigh was heard.
"As expected, is relly Shouko…"
Nishimiya Yuzuru bit her thumb, looking somewhat worried.
Even if it was a big sister from a parallel world, she was still deeply concerned for that Nishimiya Shouko's safety.
Who knows—there might be a scene where her sister dies by killed.
That would be too hard to accept…
…
Amid the world's tense speculations, the Celestial Curtain once again shimmered with radiant, rainbow-colored light.