"Yuji… please be okay."
It would take her a while to recover. But if there was one thing she knew for sure… it was that she would go after Yuji.
Arturia stared at the bowl of soup for a few moments before turning her gaze to Rin. There was a serene expression on her face, but her eyes carried concern. Her voice sounded calm, but there was something firm in her words:
"Rin… where are Shirou and Choso?"
Rin crossed her arms and sighed, as if she had already expected this question.
"Shirou…" she hesitated, "No one knows for sure where he is. He left saying he had to take care of something important. He didn't say where he was going."
Arturia lightly clutched the sheets. That behavior was typical of Shirou, always carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, believing he could save everyone by himself. That sense of responsibility often put him in danger.
"What about Choso?"
Rin rolled her eyes, but lightly, as if she were commenting on something embarrassing. "That... well, he went out with Taiga."
Arturia frowned, confused. "Taiga?"
"Yes. After he developed a... curious chemistry with her." Rin said, emphasizing the word, with a half smile. "The two of them have been quite alone lately. And, according to Sakura, they went out together early today. They haven't come back yet."
Arturia blinked a few times, still trying to assimilate the idea of Choso, a user of dark blood techniques and an intense aura, staying with Taiga, an energetic, impulsive, almost childish woman in some ways. The contrast was so great that it bordered on comical.
"Anyway..." Rin continued, seeing Arturia's expression "But honestly? If someone can make Choso laugh, even once... they must have some kind of powerful personal magic."
Arturia couldn't help but smile a little, tired but sincere smile. The scene, as unusual as it was, brought her a sense of normality in the midst of so much tension.
But soon the worry returned.
"So we're all scattered... Yuji missing, Shirou acting alone, Choso distracted..." she whispered, more to herself than to Rin. "That doesn't bode well."
Rin nodded seriously. "I know. Something is moving in the shadows, and I feel like the next few days won't give us any rest."
Arturia closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. Her body was still weak, but her spirit was already awakening again. She needed to gather strength. The world around her might be falling apart, but she would keep fighting.
Arturia stood in front of the window, feeling the light breeze touch her face. Her eyes closed for a moment and her expression became serious. A shiver ran down her spine, an intense and familiar sensation ran through her soul. She opened her eyes suddenly.
"He's in danger..."
Rin, who was sitting on a nearby sofa, stood up immediately. "Yuji? Do you feel that so clearly?"
Arturia nodded slowly, placing her hand on her chest. "Now that I've recovered some of my energy, I can feel the connected presences more clearly. Yuji is struggling to keep his mind awake... but there's something, or someone, draining his energy. He's chained up. Isolated."
Rin frowned, her expression tense.
"Can you take us there?"
Arturia turned to her firmly. Even without her full armor, her posture emanated power. "Yes. If we move quickly, I can follow the trace of his spiritual energy. But we need to go now."
At that moment, the door creaked open and firm footsteps echoed down the hallway. Archer emerged from the shadows, arms crossed, leaning against the side of the wall.
"You're going to get into more trouble right after you wake up, is that it?" he said, with that typical tone of restrained sarcasm, but his eyes were alert.
Rin turned to him with a sigh. "It's not like we have a choice. Yuji is missing and apparently being held prisoner. Arturia can guide them to him."
Archer uncrossed his arms and walked slowly into the room, his gaze fixed on Arturia. "And you? Are you really ready for this? If you're going to follow the spiritual flow, you're going to have to use part of your magical core as a guide. It's going to weaken you for a while."
Arturia stood firm, her blue eyes intense and calm.
"If it's necessary to sacrifice part of my energy to save someone who wouldn't hesitate to do the same for me... then there's no point in thinking about it. Yuji's life is worth it." His voice was calm, but sharp like the blade he wielded in battle."
Archer gave a half smile, almost imperceptible. "Hmph... that stubborn mentality. Just like Shirou's."
Rin took a deep breath and grabbed the coat hanging on the chair. "Then let's go. Before it's too late."
Arturia closed her eyes once more, focusing on Yuji's faint energy. A subtle golden light enveloped her body, as if the trace of his presence guided her steps. "Follow me. No matter where he is... we will bring him back."
As Arturia finished preparing to leave, with Rin and Archer at her side, a cold breeze invaded the room like a silent warning. A subtle sound of footsteps echoed in the stone corridor, soft and rhythmic, almost like the crackling of ice forming underfoot. Then, the door creaked slightly and Uraume appeared.
Dressed in her traditional pale and elegant attire, her expression was serene, but her eyes, cold as winter, focused directly on Arturia. Rin frowned, surprised by her sudden appearance. Archer discreetly reached for the hilt of his blade.
"Do you intend to go after the brat?" Uraume asked calmly, his voice like the snow falling unhurriedly.
Arturia stood firm, expressing no distrust, but with her body ready to react to any threat. "Yes. He is in danger."
Uraume took a step forward, scanning the faces present. For a moment, he seemed to weigh each of them with his eyes.
"I'll go with you."
Rin's surprise was visible on his face.
"You? Why? You don't exactly have the best track record with... well, with any of us."
"I didn't come to convince you of anything!" Uraume replied, with the same coldness. "But I know better the forces behind what's happening. If you don't get there in time, not only will Yuji die, but what's left of Sukuna will be reawakened."
Archer frowned. "So you still want Sukuna back."
Uraume looked away for a moment, staring at the diffuse morning light coming through the window. "Of course... But Itadori is weakened. And there's someone manipulating the pieces on the board better than you can imagine. If I wanted him dead, I would have acted already. But now..."
Arturia nodded slowly, silently accepting the help. She felt, somehow, that Uraume wasn't lying.
"Then come on..." said the knight, "But if you dare do anything to him, I swear by Avalon that there will be no mercy."
Uraume smiled slightly. It was a pale, almost melancholic gesture.
"I wouldn't expect anything less from you."
Rin let out a tight sigh, as if she was about to regret letting that happen.
"Okay, let's go!"
"Let's go before Rin gets stressed out," Archer muttered, adjusting his overcoat.
So, without further ado, they set off together, an unexpected alliance in search of rescuing someone who was slowly becoming the center of a storm much bigger than anyone there could imagine.
The group advanced with firm steps through the dense, silent forest. The sky above was covered by thick clouds, and the rays of sunlight barely penetrated the canopies of the ancient trees. Arturia walked ahead, wielding her sword confidently, guided by her intuition and the subtle connection she had with Yuji. Her blue eyes were focused like those of a wolf in pursuit.
Rin followed close behind, muttering protective spells and keeping her eyes open for any magical disturbances in the air. Archer walked with the calm of a seasoned warrior, but his hand never left the bow on his back. And Uraume, in absolute silence, glided through the forest like a shadow, her gaze fixed on the path ahead.
"This forest is full of magical barriers..." Rin commented, narrowing her eyes. "But they're all worn out... as if someone was using too much power here."
"He's close..." Arturia murmured, pausing for a moment.
In the middle of the mist, between the twisted trees, a sleeping silhouette appeared under the gray light. It was the mansion. Old, with ivy-covered walls and iron gates that had seen better days. It was as if the place itself was breathing a dark aura. The windows were closed, but a heavy energy flowed from it.
"This place stinks of death." Archer said dryly. "It's not just Yuji who's here."
Uraume stepped forward, her footsteps making no sound on the leaves. "According to Arturia, Itadori is in the underground chambers. The entrance should be sealed, but I can guide you through a side passage."
Rin eyed her suspiciously. "And why should we trust you?"
"Because if you arrive a second too late, neither he, nor Illya, nor any of you will have a chance to change what's about to happen," Uraume replied coldly.
Arturia nodded and walked towards the side of the mansion. The forest seemed to be watching them, and the birds didn't dare to sing. They were getting closer and closer, and the tension in the air was palpable, as if something, or someone, already knew of their arrival.
And deep inside the mansion, trapped between pain and despair, Yuji was still fighting his own demons, waiting for a salvation that might not come in time.
Illya opened the mansion door with a slight creak, her white dress contrasting with the icy darkness of the inside. She squeezed her eyes as the gray light of the forest bathed her pale face. For a moment, he believed he listened to steps, leaves being stepped on, a branch departing, something that should not be there.
She took a few more steps ahead, watching the real trees carefully. The wind blew weakly, but the feeling was uncomfortable, as if something observed from the shrubs.
"It must have been just the wind ..." she murmured, squeezing his shoulders with his arms. Her ruby colored eyes were slightly trembling, as if one part of her wanted to believe it ... and the other knew it wasn't true.
Even so, she slowly turned and walked back to the mansion, stopping a moment before entering. His eyes turned to the forest one last time. An almost imperceptible whisper escaped his lips, "Mom ... Why do they always come back?"
The door closed behind her with a severe snap.
And at that very moment, the group led by Arturia watched the scene between the trees. No one said anything. Archer narrowed his eyes. Rin held Arturia's pulse for a moment.
"That ... was it?" Rin asked in a tense whisper.
"It was ..." answered Arturia firmly. "We are in the right place."
Uraume just watched. A slight smile formed on her lips, but it was impossible to know if it was relief or irony.
The entrance to the underground was near. And time, now, no longer played in favor of anyone.
Rin and Archer silently separated from the group, sliding through the shadows of the side of the mansion. Rin, with her familiarity with magical structures, felt small pulsations of cursed energy from the underground, that confirmed that they were on the right track. Archer, beside her, walked with light, attentive steps, his hand resting on the invisible arc that could materialize at any moment.
"It's here." He whispered Rin, indicating a lever hidden by a moss -covered ornate sculpture. With a slight effort, she pulled her, revealing a stone opening that descended on a dark, damp ladder.
"Typical of an old mansion ..." commented Archer with a certain disdain.
They went down together, the air becoming denser and colder, the metallic blood smell still impregnated on the walls even after so many years. The torches lit by maintenance spells thrown irregular shadows, and the sound of their own steps echoed.
Meanwhile, at the entrance of the castle, Arturia and Uraume approached the main door. The old wood and iron structure was ajar, as if invited inside, but both knew it was not hospitality, it was a trap.
Arturia wielded Excalibur firmly, her blue eyes attentive to any movement. Uraume, on the other hand, walked serene, almost elegant, as if it was all part of a rehearsed dance.
"Will you really come in without hesitation?" Uraume asked, watching her aside. "Even not knowing if he is still alive?"
"I go." answered Arturia with determination. "Even though I have lost everything before ... I won't miss anyone else."
"Noble feelings. How cute." Uraume murmured, and then pushed the door slowly.
The mansion opened for them as an old nightmare, frozen in time. And while the two groups advanced, one to the heart, another to the root, the final piece was about to begin.
Rin descended with caution, each step echoing through the stone corridor as a distant warning. Archer was just behind, his eyes scanning every corner of the environment with almost supernatural accuracy. With each step, the feeling of oppression increased the air was colder, heavier, as if the walls whispered forgotten memories of that cursed place.
Upon reaching the end of the staircase, Rin took another step, but stopped abruptly.
"Ugh ...!" She backed away with a little surprised scream, her hand instinctively covering her face.
A huge spider web hung like a curtain in front of the narrow corridor. Fine, but dense, and with impregnated mana wires, a spiritual trap. Arrested in the center of the web, a deformed creature, half spider, half human, seemed dormant but still alive. His opaque eyes followed their movement, but did not attack.
"T-This ... This was definitely not here before ..." Rin whispered, trying to keep her voice steady.
Archer examined the creature with a critical look. It was not made to kill. It is here to observe. A watchman ... or a warning.
"Curse ... Illya really turned this place into a living prison." Rin said, taking a deep breath to contain the disgust. "But we can't back down now."
She concentrated some magic energy on her fingers and designed a small rune of purification. A blue glow erased part of the web, creating a narrow passage. The creature shuddered, but did not attack.
"Keep following me." Rin said, more to herself than to Archer.
"Always..." he replied, his tone light, but his body ready.
With the path partially clear, the two continued down the ancient corridor, now alert to every shadow, knowing that something or someone was watching them with hungry eyes.
Rin fell to her knees, slipping on the damp, dusty floor of the catacomb. The fall was not serious, but the heavy atmosphere, the evil energy permeating the corridors and the growing tension left her mentally exhausted. Archer immediately turned to her, worried, but before he could help her up, a voice echoed from the darkness ahead:
"So you're still a troublemaker, you brat?"
The sentence carried a mocking tone, a little harsh, but there was something in it that sent shivers down Rin's spine. She narrowed her eyes, trying to see better between the shadows. The figure approached slowly, carrying a firm, almost animalistic presence. He was with Yuji at his side.
Rin was silent for a moment, until the memory buried under years and wars came flooding back like a flash of lightning.
"You... That case... of the missing children. You..."
She stood up slowly, her hand trembling, but her eyes filling with disbelief. "It was you! You were in that alley, in district two. That man who appeared out of nowhere and destroyed... that."
Toji Fushiguro just nodded with a half smile.
"Heh. You remember. I only came by to kill a curse that was disturbing my sleep. You cried so much that I thought you were going deaf. Rin"
Rin clenched her fists. "I was 9 years old! There were children disappearing! I thought I was going to die! And how do you remember my name?"
"I never forget a woman's name. She grew up well, even. But she still falls too easily."
I was a little further back, with chain marks still on my wrists, but relieved to see someone I knew.
"Rin...? Are you okay?" I approached, looking between her and Toji.
"Yuji?! You... what are you doing with him?"
"Long story... but he saved me."
Rin looked at Toji with a mix of suspicion and fascination. "Are you really real, or do you just show up to save me and then disappear like a ghost?"
Toji lit a cigarette. I'm just a guy with a list of names and an eternal debt to chance. Now, if I want to stay alive, I better not stay on the ground for too long. The next thing that appears may not be so nostalgic.
The air seemed even thicker now, but Rin was standing and the pieces were finally starting to fit together.
"Let's find Illya and get out of this place once and for all." Rin said, now more firmly.
Toji shrugged. I'm only here for the contract. But if helping you guys works, whatever.
I smiled in relief. For the first time in hours, they had a chance.
As the group left the catacombs, the air seemed to finally become less heavy, but the tension still hung over everyone's shoulders. I could barely stand, my body was shaking, my muscles were stiff and sore, and fatigue weighed like invisible chains. Archer noticed this before I fell again.
"Lean on me." Archer said, placing my arm over his shoulders naturally.
I tried to protest:
"I... I can... walk."
"Of course you can..." Archer replied in a dry and somewhat ironic tone. "But I don't have time to wait for you to fall again."
I sighed with a smirk, and accepted the help.
Rin walked in front with the lit torch, casting a weak light on the stone walls. Toji followed last, alert for any strange movement. The sound of footsteps echoing in the narrow corridors was constant, and the silence between them was only interrupted by my heavy breathing.
"T-Thank you..." I said in a low voice, glancing at Archer.
Archer didn't answer right away. He just looked ahead, his face serious as always, until he gave a brief reply: "Don't thank me yet. You still have a lot to do."
I looked at the floor. Archer was right. There were still Sukuna's fingers, saving Illya, and killing Kenjaku... And Tachie... What do I do with her?
When we finally saw the light coming from the passage that led to the outside of the mansion, my heart beat faster. Even if only for a short time, I felt that I was closer to freedom and to settling the accounts that still tied him to the past.
"Don't pass out again before you leave." Archer said, with a wry half-smile.
I laughed lightly, even though I was weak.
"I promise I'll try."
When Archer, Rin, still supporting himself, and Toji finally climbed the last stone staircase that separated them from the main floor of the mansion, a wave of sound echoed through the luxurious hallways. Footsteps. Doors creaking. And above all, the tense silence between heartbeats.
Archer raised his arm, signaling for them to stop. I was breathing hard, but his expression hardened. I recognized that pattern: it was the calm before the storm.
We crossed the ornate corridor, decorated with ancestral tapestries and deleted chandeliers, until they entered the great central lobby.
There, standing as if awaiting them from the beginning, Illyasviel von Einzbern was. His red eyes were fixed on me with something between anger, sadness and resignation. Behind her, standing, like silent sentries, were Arturia and Uraume. Arturia held her sword firmly, her eyes attentive, ready to react. Uraume remained cold, his eyes empty like frozen glass.
I was the first to break the silence.
His voice came out weak, but firm:
"Illya ..."
She slightly tilted her head to the side, as if analyzing the miserable state I was in.
"I see it survived." Her voice sounded sweet, but was poisoned with bitterness. "And I brought company ... unexpected."
Arturia stepped ahead, looking at me from the top to bottom, with her eyes filled with worry.
"Are you injured?" She said, then staring at Illya. "Is this your work?"
Illya laughed softly, but without humor. "He got into my world without asking. Now he's paying the price."
Uraume said nothing. It only watched both sides, as if calculated the probabilities of confrontation or escape.
I took a deep breath and moved away from Archer's support with effort, standing alone.
"Enough of that, Illya. I came here to protect you ... even if you think I don't deserve it."
"Protect?" She repeated, her eyes narrowing.
"Yes!" I answered firmly. "And if necessary, I'll fall again for that."
For a brief moment, Illya hesitated. His eyes shuddered but soon the firm expression returned.
It was then that Arturia looked at Uraume.
"You said you wanted to help. If it's true, now it's the time."
The entire hall was about to set fire to words or steel. It all depended on the girl's response Einzbern.
Illya sighed deeply, but did not respond. He just turned and began to walk slowly to the bottom of the mansion.
Illya stopped a few steps ahead, the serious look, loaded with a icy aura. She turned slowly to the group, her red eyes twinkling with determination.
"If you want to follow me ... you'll have to survive my guardian."
With a snap of fingers, the air shuddered.
From the bottom of the corridor, shadows began to distort. An oppressive heat took over the hall as the floor was shaking slightly. Then, emerging from the dark with a roar that made the walls vibrate, Berserker appeared.
Her eyes shone like incandescent coals, and her monstrously large body dragged a sword made of pure dark iron, like a simple branch.
"Berserker. Eliminate them."
Illya's dry order was enough. He roared and left as a thunder, each step sinking the marble floor.
Toji immediately advanced, without hesitation, with his bend in hand, the cigarette still between his teeth. "What is this drug?"
Archer, next to him, summoned two sparkling blades. He analyzed the enemy's movements with coldness.
"Berserker ... This is the worst class to face head on" said Archer.
"Will you face it or will you be philosophizing?" Grunhi toji, already colliding with Berserker's first blow.
The impact was brutal. Toji rolled on the floor, but got up at the same time, the adrenaline running in his body as fire.
Archer launched projected blades of his marble reality, trying to create an opening, but the monster advanced like a locomotive. Each blow made the air break, and even in double, Toji and Archer could barely contain Heracles' titanic fury.
I, standing behind them, fists my fists. Still weakened, but not wanting to watch silent.
Arturia held me by the shoulder.
"Not yet ..." she said. "They can ... for now."
Uraume just watched, the fixed eyes in Illya, who watched the scene with the posture of someone who had already lost many things ... and didn't want to lose anything else.
The battle against Berserker had begun and that entrance to the mansion was about to become a war field.
The crash was deafening.
Berserker, in his insane fury, struck the ground with such force that the center of the hall exploded in stones and dust. The marble gave way as a torn role, and a colossal crater opened, separating the group.
Toji and Archer fell to the opposite side, along with Berserker's furious colossus.
I, Arturia, Rin, Uraume and Illya were on the other side, now isolated.
I advanced trying to jump back, but Archer raised his hand firmly.
"No! Stay there!" He shouted over the noise, his voice laden voice
I hesitated the clenched fists.
"Toji! Don't kill her! She still can be saved!" I shouted my throat burning. "And don't forget that I have the money!"
Toji, on the other side, just growled, "She sent this monster behind us. If she wants to live, she proves."
But Archer, standing next to the former assassin, looked at me one last time. His expression was serious, but not cold; there was something else there: respect. Maybe even affection.
"Yuji... Old friend..." Archer said, as he pulled two more blades from his projection. "Rin is a very stubborn, proud girl, and she never admits when she needs help."
He smiled slightly.
"Take care of her for me. If I don't come back... you'll know what to do."
I felt my stomach sink, my chest tighten. I wanted to answer, to say no, that Archer wasn't going to die. But before I could, Berserker roared, and the fight resumed with ferocity.
Dust rose, blocking Archer and Toji's vision.
I fell to my knees, my eyes fixed on the darkness.
"D-Damn..." I muttered. "You two... don't die..."
Rin, beside me, just stared, her eyes wide. She understood what Archer meant.
The forest was dark and dense, even during the day, as if the shadows refused to go away. The ancient trees whispered in the wind, and each step the group took made the ground creak under their feet.
Rin, without saying a word, kept one of her hands on my shoulder, helping me keep walking. I could barely keep my body upright, my muscles still weak, my blood circulating with difficulty. Even so, my eyes insisted on looking back, in the direction of the mansion they had left.
Arturia walked ahead, sword in hand, her eyes alert. Uraume walked beside her, with her calm and distant expression as always, but there was tension in her shoulders and in her hands discreetly covered in thin ice.
The silence of the group was heavy. Archer's sacrifice still hung between us.
It was then that the silence was broken.
"You're all pretty lost for someone who just escaped death," said a firm, cold female voice from just ahead.
Everyone stopped immediately. Arturia raised her sword. Uraume clenched her fists. Rin tensed, and I, even weakened, tried to get into a defensive position.
From behind a tree, almost as if she had materialized from the shadows of the forest, Uro Takako appeared. She wore discreet clothes, almost camouflaged in the environment, and her eyes shone with something between curiosity and disdain.
"You're lucky to have gotten out of that mansion alive..." she continued, crossing her arms. "Especially you, Yuji Itadori."
Arturia took half a step forward.
"It's that reincarnated girl we met on the first day of the Holy Grail War!" her voice was as firm as steel.
Uro let out a short laugh. "Ah. So you remember me. Anyway, I thought I was going to die in there, Yuji. But it seems you're tougher than I expected." She tilted her head. "Or just luckier."
I stared at her, my eyes downcast but full of determination.
"I didn't come to demand anything... I just want to get out alive with them. I don't want to fight you."
Uro watched him for what seemed like an inordinate amount of time.
The wind blew through the leaves and silence fell once more.
Finally, Uro formed her attack mode; it was obvious she wouldn't let them go so easily.
Meanwhile...
The structure shook with the impacts.
In the center of the hall, where the floor had collapsed and separated the groups, Toji Fushiguro and Archer stood side by side, face to face with the monstrous figure of Berserker, the servant summoned by Illyasviel. The creature's body was covered in muscles like taut ropes and its eyes were burning, filled with blind fury.
Toji gritted his teeth, slowly turning the curved blade he carried. "What an annoying creature!"
Archer maintained his stoic posture, his red eyes alert.
"No. This is pure strength. Instinct. But also pain. Remember that."
Berserker roared a scream that made the air vibrate and the columns of the mansion tremble. In the blink of an eye, he advanced like a freed demon, his fists clenched like colossal hammers.
Toji was the first to move. He dodged to the side with a precision impossible for a common human, his steps almost silent, his body in harmony with death. He plunged his blade into Berserker's shoulder, but the creature ignored him, sweeping the air with a punch that almost hit him.
Archer, meanwhile, quickly created two blades with his Projection technique: Kanshou and Bakuya. He twirled the swords in his hands, then leapt in a precise arc over Berserker, attempting a cross-slash on the beast's back.
"Trace... ON."
The blades clashed with Berserker's rock-hard skin, causing sparks and deep cuts. But Illya's servant seemed to feel no pain, only more enraged. With a scream, he grabbed Archer by the arm and threw him against a pillar, which cracked upon impact.
Toji wasted no time. In a single swift and ferocious movement, he used the opening left by Archer's attack and plunged a cursed kunai into the monster's neck. The blade's energy pulsed, Berserker screamed, but still, he did not fall.
Archer stood up, coughing up blood but keeping his focus.
"This monster... he won't stop until someone falls. Toji, can you hold on a little longer?"
Toji ran his hand over his sweaty face and replied with a sarcastic smile. "Since when did I say I needed help?"
Berserker roared louder now, his burning eyes glaring at the two with pure hatred. And then... he advanced again, with even greater force. The walls shook. The ceiling began to crack.
It was a battle between pure endurance and pure technique. And both knew that only time separated them from the end, whether it was theirs... or Berserker's.
Illya stood at the top of the mansion's internal staircase, her silver hair swaying in the wind caused by Berserker's titanic blows. Her eyes shone with a calculating coldness, very different from the sweet young woman Yuji had known. She raised her arm, and her voice echoed through the shattered hall:
"Thanks to my Berserker's special ability… he has twelve lives."
She smiled cruelly.
The echo of her words resounded like a death sentence. Archer glanced at Toji, and for a second, he hesitated. But Toji, instead of despairing, let out a low, almost cheerful laugh.
"Twelve, huh?" He twirled the kunai between his fingers and spat to the side.
"It'll be great to use my blades on this guy a few times!"
He reached inside his dark cloak and pulled out a small container of aged wood. It was strange, rustic, like something that should no longer exist, and inside it was what looked like a black seed, pulsing, like a heart of condensed malice.
Archer frowned.
"What is this?"
Toji held the object carefully between his fingers, but a wicked glint crossed his gaze.
"A 'curse seed'. A relic I stole from a clan years ago. I nearly killed to get it. They say it holds decades of hatred, fear, and suffering... but that's not what interests me."
He tossed the object into the air like a toy and caught it again with a snap of his fingers. "What interests me is that it rips the 'spiritual shell' of any cursed being. A good way to cut the number of lives in half... or more."
Illya seemed to sense the danger in that, her eyes widening for a moment.
"You... dare to corrupt the battlefield with a cursed relic?!"
Toji looked at her with a blank expression. "I'm a walking curse, girl. I have nothing to lose."
He crushed the seed hard.
The floor shook as if struck by silent thunder. Dark waves spread through the hall, like invisible roots growing out of the crushed seed, seeping into the cracks, the walls, the columns... and finally, into the Berserker himself.
The creature paused for a second. Its blazing eyes became unstable, like embers about to go out. Its body contorted. Black veins began to throb on its arms, as if something was eating away at it from within.
Archer stepped back, watching it carefully.
"Do you really plan to poison an immortal beast with pure curse?"
Toji arched an eyebrow.
"I don't plan. I'll just clear the way. The rest is knife and blood."
Berserker roared again, but this time, the sound was distorted, as if something inside him had been broken. One of the twelve lives had been ripped away... without the need for a blade. And Illya, above, saw it.
She bit her lip hard.
"Damn... murderer."
But Toji just smiled again, this time with the look of a man who had found the right kind of challenge.
"Let me see if you can handle the next round, big guy."
The battle was far from over, but the tide was beginning to turn, and now Berserker was bleeding.
Toji twirled the short blade in his hands with a cynical smile on his lips. He glanced at Berserker, who was still staggering from the effects of the curse, his muscles tensed and his eyes blazing as he struggled to maintain control of his own body. Then he cast a sideways glance at Archer.
"One down..." Toji said almost casually. "Eleven to go. I hope you're ready to lose."
Archer narrowed his eyes, one corner of his mouth curling up. "So that's it? Let's see who can take the most lives from the monster?"
Toji grinned like a hungry wolf.
"There's nothing better to do on a day like this."
Without hesitation, Archer raised his arm, and with a silvery glow, a bow materialized in his hand, elegant and menacing like a divine weapon. With his other hand, he drew an arrow forged from pure energy, its tip glowing with heat and killing intent.
"Projection..." he muttered.
The arrow twisted slightly like a coil of compressed steel, and as Archer drew back the bowstring, a wave of wind blew away the shards of stone and dust from the destroyed hall.
Toji's eyes widened briefly in interest.
"Not bad, Archer. Now you seem serious."
Berserker roared, investing in their direction, their feet crushing the marble and cracking the ground. He was still a force of nature, even weakened, was brutal, indomitable. But Archer did not move. He simply released the arrow.
The arrow flew like a folded radius, spinning at high speed. The air around her broke with a sonic explosion, and the impact came as a bomb being detonated on Berserker's chest.
The floor trembled. The wall behind the giant was completely obliterated, and the creature's body was soaked so hard that he crossed two stone pillars before stopping, buried in the rubble.
The hall was silent for two seconds.
Toji whistled.
"Okay, this was two lives for style. But I'm not leaving cheap."
Berserker got up again, the blood gushing with open wounds, but still ready to fight. Toji squeezed his hands around his blade, feeling the damn energy pulse in the surrounding air, feeding the tension as gasoline about burning.
"Hey, archer ... How about a real challenge? Who kills him first gets a bottle of withdrawal I hid."
"Done." Archer replied, already preparing another arrow, his eyes fixed on the target.
And there, among destruction, two experienced killers, one without curse and the other without future, disputed not only survival but a silent, cruel and strangely fun competition. The target? A monster that seemed not to be able to die.
But for them ... it was just another hunting game.
Berserker howled with a primal anger, the sound reverberating for what was left of the ruined hall. Her body increased in muscles every second, black veins jumped down her arms like living strings, and incandescent eyes burned like lit coins. His war ax, forged with curse and fury, descended with the strength of a meteor with each blow.
Toji and Archer were pressured.
Toji dodged with almost superhuman reflections, but even he began to feel the weight of the battle. Each Berserker blow broke the ground, made the pillars shake, and forced Toji to retreat more and more. His predatory smile was still there, but now there was sweat on his forehead and new cuts in his arms.
"Tsc ... This animal is more furious than a demon without contract." He grumbled, sliding down the floor to escape another overwhelming blow.
Archer, on the other hand, tried to keep the distance, creating and firing arrows accurately, but Berserker moved too fast. Each time an arrow was about to hit him, he jumped, blocked with the ax or used a piece of rubble as a shield.
"He learned." Said Archer between his teeth, backwards by creating another weapon in his hands. "Fury is feeding instincts ... it is adapting to the strategy."
A pillar fell between the two, separating them temporarily. Toji had to roll away, and Archer was pushed against the wall, grunting with the impact.
Berserker jumped in their middle, spinning the ax like a metal storm.
Toji raised his cursed blade and blocked with effort, but was released meters back. Archer jumped from where he was and tried a straight shot on the creature's chest, but Berserker deflected with a brutal body movement, which was impressive given its size.
"He's getting smarter." He grunted toji as he got up, spitting blood. "If this will continue, we will become ground beef before we tear another life."
"So we will have to be more creative." Archer answered, eyes half -circled. "He's betting on wear ... But I'm not the only one with tricks."
Archer began to concentrate energy in his hands, no longer just ordinary arrows, but projections of mystical weapons. At the same time, Toji dug the blade on the floor and pulled another curse "seed", is denser, more unstable.
Berserker rare again and invested at an absurd speed, breaking the ground in his trajectory. But this time, the two did not retreat.
Archer pointed a shining new weapon, a spear that spinned in his hand like a heavenly drill, while Toji advanced on the side, smiling like a tired but still hungry predator.
The fight was far from over.
And if it was once a game, it was now pure survival against a monster with an remaining eleven lives ... and no intention to stop.
Berserker roars, like an injured but even more furious animal. With each new onslaught, the ground gave way, the rubble trembled, and the air became almost impossible to breathe with so much damn energy condensed in the environment.
He didn't stop.
With movements that challenged logic to a creature of that size, Berserker struck the ax on the floor, on the walls, in the air where toji or Archer could be. The destruction was blind, impulsive, but there was a certain dark pattern in its attacks as if the fury were being guided by instinct and not by madness.
Toji was sweating, but smiled.
Leaping over a broken pillar, he ducked at the last second to avoid the axe that passed inches from his head. The black blade sliced through a wall behind him like butter, and dust covered everything around him.
"This guy looks like he doesn't feel pain..." Toji growled, his eyes alert, muscles tense. "But he will when I shove this straight up his ass!"
He was referring to the new cursed seed, which was already pulsing with energy. It vibrated in his hand, wanting to come out, wanting to be used.
Archer stood atop a fallen beam, using his position to fire projectiles at strategic points in Berserker's knees, shoulders, and joints. But even though each arrow left a hole or tore through flesh, the monster did not stop.
"He's regenerating... too fast." Archer observed with serious eyes. "We have to reach the core. Or... use up all the lives before we lose ours."
Berserker leapt toward Archer, an animalistic and absurd leap for someone of his stature. Archer fired a gleaming arrow into the air, which exploded like a flash, momentarily blinding the monster, but the explosion also threw Archer away, who crashed against a fallen column, letting out a grunt of pain.
Toji took advantage.
He advanced with his sword and plunged it into Berserker's side, but blood spurted only for a moment, because a colossal punch hit him full on, throwing the assassin against a distant wall.
"Khh... this is starting to get annoying." He spat out more blood, but got up again.
Berserker swung his axe while letting out a roar that made even the roof of the castle tremble. The aura around him grew even darker. A second life had been ripped away, and the new rage added to the previous one.
Toji and Archer looked at each other for a brief moment, understanding what they needed to do:
This was no longer just a fight.
It was a war of resistance.
And Berserker, with ten lives left, was just starting to play.
Amidst the devastation of the hall, the air began to change.
Archer stood up, even with his ribs aching and blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. His eyes, once calm and tactical, now carried a burning determination. Toji, even from afar, felt something strange gathering around the archer, an energy that seemed to bend the space around him, as if reality itself was hesitating to continue.
Archer raised his arm, and with a firm voice, began to recite:
I am the bone of my sword.
Steel is my body, and fire is my blood.
I have created over a thousand blades.
Unknown to Death,
Nor known to Life.
Have withstood pain to create many weapons.
Yet, those hands will never hold anything.
So as I pray...
Unlimited Blade Works!
The ground shook. The sky split. Reality shattered.
And then everything changed.
In an instant, the hall disappeared, replaced by an endless field of blades embedded in the ground, with colossal gears spinning in the crimson sky. The wind was hot, like that of a living furnace, and the sound of swords clanging echoed throughout. Archer's world. His "Reality Marble." His soul materialized.
Toji looked around in surprise, not out of fear, but out of fascination. "So this is your expansion of domain."
Archer didn't answer. He had already walked to the center of the landscape, and with a gentle gesture of his hand, a hundred swords began to float around him, each one reflecting fragments of past battles, ancient pains, and shattered hopes.
Berserker roared, confused and furious. But in this field, he was far from having the upper hand.
Archer stared at the giant and declared, his voice as firm as steel:
"In this world... I am the master of blades. And you... will fall as so many others have fallen."
Toji looked around with that little smile on his lips, the expression of someone who, even in the face of absurdity, still enjoyed it. The field of swords seemed to pulse with the spirit of war, and he knew that Archer had not brought him here for nothing.
Archer, in the center of Unlimited Blade Works, extended his hand to Toji. In his palm appeared a weapon, not an ordinary sword, but one that seemed specially made for someone like Toji Fushiguro.
It was a double-edged blade, similar to a short spear, forged with red spirals, as if it had been molded from cursed energy and spiritual steel. Archer spoke bluntly: "It is called the 'Red Fang.' A projection based on a weapon that can absorb cursed energy from the enemy and return it as an impact. Combine that with your curses and..."
Toji had already grabbed the weapon before Archer could even finish.
"...I get it."
Berserker bellowed, stomping his foot so hard that he shattered the Reality Marble's floor. But now, with Archer on one side and Toji on the other, the battle was truly beginning.
Toji advanced first, his movements almost invisible, the glow of the Red Fang illuminating the air as he struck at the giant's limbs. Each attack drew small sparks of energy that returned to the weapon, which began to pulse.
Archer leaped in sync, firing arrows forged from the memories of legendary swords. One of them pierced the Berserker's shoulder, another his knee. But he remained standing, furious, advancing in a straight line like an unstoppable monster.
"Does this guy ever get tired?" Toji growled, spinning the Red Fang and plunging it into the side of the Berserker's chest.
"He's almost immortal..." Archer replied, drawing two short swords now, "but we're going to take each of them out."
The fight continued in a brutal ballet. Archer creating and firing swords as if he were commanding an orchestra of death, and Toji, like a wild beast, cutting his way with ferocity and relentless technique.
And with each life taken from Berserker, his fury grew, but also tiredness began to set in.
The field of swords was not just a landscape: it was Archer's domain, and little by little, even Berserker began to feel the weight of fighting there.
Toji swung the Red Fang once more, shouting to Archer:
"Seven gone! How many do you want me to leave for you?"
Archer smiled slightly.
"If you leave one, I'll be satisfied."
And then, the two advanced together, ready to take down the monster, even if it was the last thing they did.
The ground of Unlimited Blade Works shook violently. Swords stuck in the horizon vibrated, as if the domain itself was suffering from Berserker's fury. Archer and Toji, despite their weakness, managed to land a synchronized blow. Toji tore the side of Berserker's torso with the Red Fang, while Archer stabbed two swords directly into the giant's chest.
A burst of cursed energy and mana exploded from Berserker's body, who fell to his knees for an instant and then let out a roar that reverberated throughout the domain. The eighth life had been ripped away.
Toji was panting. His body was already showing signs of wear and tear, even for him, that field was sucking energy, and Berserker didn't seem to stop. Archer knew this. He observed the situation with a calm but resolute gaze. He was making silent calculations. The UBW was his trump card, but keeping Toji inside any longer would only put him at risk.
"Enough." Archer said, almost in a whisper.
"What?" Toji turned his face away, panting. "We can still finish him off."
Archer snapped his fingers.
"Get back to the real battlefield. I'll take care of the rest from here."
Before Toji could protest, Archer channeled a sword with a special property—a dimensional repulsion blade. He threw the weapon against the ground next to Toji, creating a magical rift.
The force pulled Toji like a dimensional whirlwind, throwing him out of the Reality Marble.
"SHIT, ARCHER!"
That was the last scream Archer heard before Toji disappeared from the landscape of blades.
Now he was alone. Archer, facing a wounded Berserker, but still with four lives left and who was beginning to rise again, his body in ethereal flames of silent fury.
"Four lives, huh...?" Archer muttered, walking towards the monster. He was pulling more weapons from the ground, each one containing a fragment of history, of promise, of sacrifice.
"Then let us dance," he said, his eyes shining with the light of war.
The UBW was shaking, and the true final duel within that world of swords was about to begin.
In the heart of Unlimited Blade Works, where swords stood like tombstones from a forgotten battlefield, Archer prepared for his final move. The air was heavy, time seemed suspended, and Berserker, even staggering, roared like a beast that would never know tiredness. The ground shook beneath his monstrous steps, and the very reality of the domain wavered, Archer knew he didn't have much time left.
He then drew his bow. It wasn't just any bow. It was the legendary Caladbolg II, a distorted replica, converted to become a projectile of large-scale destruction. An arrow that, when fired, distorted the space around it like a whirlwind, detonating everything in its path.
"This twisted mockery of a sword... still carries the weight of a hero's resolve."
Archer placed the arrow on his bow, taking a deep breath. UBW's words echoed in his mind. A world made of blades... a world made of decisions.
"That probably won't be enough..." he thought. "But if I fall here... at least let it be with a blow worthy of who I was."
The tension on the bow was pulled to the limit. The energy began to vibrate almost deafeningly, and Berserker, sensing the imminent attack, raised his arms in an attempt to defend himself.
"Caladbolg..."
The sky of UBW cracked.
"…Shoot!"
The shot was fired.
A vortex opened in the air, tearing through space and colliding with Berserker in an explosion so intense that the sword field shook. Swords around him shattered, disintegrated by the energy of the impact. A flash of light swallowed everything for a moment.
When the light dissipated, Berserker was still standing, badly injured, part of his body torn apart, but… still alive. The arrow had cost him another life, but it was not the end.
And where Archer should have been, there was nothing left.
His body had fallen apart, consumed by the use of Unlimited Blade Works and the wear and tear of battle. But his spirit had not been in vain. He had delayed Berserker, taken away another of his damned lives and above all, he had protected those who could still fight.
On the horizon of the sword field, a silent breeze blew, as if carrying away the last vestiges of a hero who had always fought against himself.
In silence… Archer disappeared.
End of Chapter 16