"Senpai, are you okay?"
"Mmm... Mash, your knees are so soft..."
Ritsuka, who had risked tasting Deadpool's "special" chimichanga with "Carolina Reaper" sauce and couldn't withstand the raging mana flow (or rather, the extreme spiciness), now lay flat, using the worried Mash's thighs as a pillow.
"Hey, Red Servant."
"Oh! Yes, yes, Your Majesty. What can I do for you?"
Meanwhile, Deadpool, the culprit of Ritsuka's condition, was receiving his just deserts. Nightingale was about to amputate all his limbs, but she was barely dissuaded, settling on burying the chatterbox up to his neck.
"What you made... was delicious. When we get back to Chaldea, you'll cook this for me."
Deadpool, his head sticking out of the ground under the scorching sun, was on the verge of dehydration – sweat poured from him in streams in the stuffy heat. Saber Alter, perhaps not noticing his torment, or perhaps enjoying it, squinted and lazily tapped the top of his head with the tip of Excalibur Morgan.
"I obey and will comply! Of course! If, of course, you stop this execution and pull me out of here... Ow!"
Deadpool tried to politely ask for release, adjusting to Saber Alter's status, but only received a flat blow in response. Her sword methodically struck his head, like a hammer on a nail.
"Master. Mash. We need to discuss our next course of action."
Geronimo, having finished his council, approached Ritsuka's group.
Based on the intelligence gathered by Robin Hood and other Resistance fighters, he decided it was time to take active measures.
"According to the gathered information, the Holy Grail is with Queen Medb, who leads the Celts. Therefore, we plan to strike directly at her."
Geronimo's explanation caught Ritsuka and Mash by surprise: they hadn't expected to hear about Queen Medb, nor that Hero King Cú Chulainn wasn't personally commanding the army.
"But to attack the queen directly... isn't that too risky? Trying to kill her in the very center of the enemy camp..."
Robin Hood, following behind, waved his hand reassuringly at Mash's words.
"For this, we are gathering our Servants from all garrisons. Of course, this will be a covert operation, so we will have to act as a small group."
"That's why we're returning to the main base. Are you coming with us?"
Nightingale was the first to respond to Geronimo's offer. She had already left the US Army and rejected the ideals of the President-King, so she had nowhere else to go. Mash and Ritsuka also decided to stay with the Resistance.
"Then let's hurry. We received reports that the queen will personally arrive at the front lines in a few days."
Hearing this, Ritsuka's companions quickly gathered their belongings and followed the rebel leaders.
"...Hey! There's a person left here! People! Help! Get me out!"
Deadpool, whose head alone was sticking out of the ground, shouted after the departing group in a dry voice, barely moving his tongue.
◇
Upon arriving at the Resistance headquarters, Geronimo's detachment headed to the assembly point for the Servants summoned to eliminate Queen Medb.
"Oh, Code Wolf!"
"Already here, Code Cowboy."
A Servant who had arrived earlier greeted Geronimo.
"Impossible."
Deadpool's jaw dropped at the sight of the stranger sitting in a chair.
A cowboy hat, as if from a movie screen, a hangman's noose instead of a necklace, and a pair of revolvers in holsters on his belt. Despite his dashing outlaw appearance, his face seemed very young – and Deadpool knew perfectly well who it was.
"Excuse my tactlessness, but do we know each other?"
"Of course! The famous Billy the Kid! Wow! To see a legend of the Wild West in person! I'm your devoted fan! Can I have an autograph..."
Billy the Kid. One of the most infamous criminals in American history, whose name first comes to mind with the word "outlaw." Living up to his nickname, he became a legendary gunman at a very young age.
"So, this is what it's like to be famous,"
Billy chuckled.
He gladly signed Deadpool's notebook. Seeing how he practically writhed with delight, the young gunman smiled with satisfaction.
"Good job, Billy. And where are the other two?"
As the Servants gathered and Geronimo was ready to begin the briefing, he noticed the absence of some participants.
"Code Spear is busy with personal matters and couldn't come. And Code Electro... it seems the Celts don't interest him at all. We'll have to manage on our own."
Hearing Billy's words, Geronimo decided to proceed with the plan using the available forces.
The plan was as follows:
In a few days, Queen Medb would hold a parade near the front lines to inspire her troops and interact with her subjects. Geronimo and the Resistance Servants were to infiltrate this parade and unleash their Noble Phantasms upon the queen. The goal was the instant destruction of Medb and the capture of the Grail.
"Can the three of us handle it? Although it's the front line, it's still the heart of the enemy camp. The Queen will certainly not be alone. Moreover, if we don't count Code Electro, the Americans will have no forces capable of containing their mechanized legions."
"Don't worry about the US forces – those Servants will help."
In response to Billy's remark, Geronimo pointed to Ritsuka's group, offering a solution to the lack of forces.
"When we attack the Celts, they, along with the mechanized US army, will make noise to lure out the Servants guarding the queen. The defenses will weaken, and at that moment, we will deliver the decisive blow."
Robin Hood and Billy nodded in agreement. All that remained was to convince Ritsuka and his companions.
"I'm sorry to ask for help again. But I think this directly concerns your mission as well, so allow me to make this request."
Geronimo explained the plan: they would have to fight the mechanized corps and provoke the Celts, distracting their Servants. The task was difficult, but if the queen fell, then the entire Celtic army, along with their Servants, would be forced to surrender.
"What do you think, Senpai? Luring out and holding back the Servants won't be easy. But Geronimo says that's the only way they can reach the queen and the Grail..."
Ritsuka pondered Mash's words.
They could still handle Fiona's knights, but Cú Chulainn Alter remained the main problem. Even with Saber Alter's support, it was unclear if she could withstand him. Deadpool? He wasn't in his best form right now due to his damaged heart.
"Ahem-ahem. Hey, folks. Can I butt in?"
While Ritsuka was thinking, Deadpool, clearing his throat, drew Geronimo's attention.
"Distracting is fun, of course, but don't you think it would be best for me to regain my former power first?"
Ritsuka had been thinking the same thing. Deadpool's heart, pierced by the magical spear, carried a deadly curse that, clashing with his regeneration, deprived him of strength.
Geronimo, only now realizing the seriousness of the problem, asked Nightingale about the patient's condition.
"That's exactly right. He took a hit from the Hero King's cursed spear, but the patient himself is a Servant with the ability to regenerate his body. The curse of death conflicts with regeneration, which is why he cannot act at full strength."
Nightingale had tried to treat him with her methods – amputations and surgeries – but when they didn't help, she concluded that a different approach was needed.
"Allow me to take a look."
Geronimo laid Deadpool on a field bed, lit dried herbs, and, enveloping the room in a subtle aroma, began his examination.
"Before I became a warrior, I was a shaman. Physical wounds, as Nightingale said, have healed without a trace. But the internal ones..."
Using ancient rituals of the indigenous peoples of America, Geronimo looked into Deadpool's core and felt his spiritual core literally tearing apart in the area of his heart.
"It's not fatal, but the cause of weakness is clear. His spiritual essence is wounded by Cú Chulainn's curse. The body is regenerating, but the spirit, due to magic, cannot heal in time."
Thanks to Geronimo's magic, the diagnosis was made. But how to treat such a thing?
"Generally, the curse would disappear if the spear itself were broken... but that's impossible right now. We need a Servant who can work with spiritual bodies or is deeply knowledgeable in magic..."
Unfortunately, neither of these options was available. Defeating Cú Chulainn now was beyond their strength, and finding a master of magical arts was no easy task.
The plan had reached a dead end.
"Oh! This isn't exactly what Geronimo suggested, but what if...?"
Billy the Kid, who had been silent until now, seemed to remember something and stepped forward.
"I said that Code Spear was absent due to personal matters. Well, I heard rumors that he went in search of 'one who was banished from everywhere for striving for absolute power'."
He explained the reason for the Resistance Servant's absence.
"As far as I know, this 'exile' is also called 'the one who banished death itself'."
The one who banished death. Perhaps this mysterious man, whom Code Spear seeks, will be the key to healing Deadpool's spiritual core.
"It's decided. I'll send a carrier pigeon to Code Spear – you must meet. He commands a squad in the northern forest."
Geronimo immediately sent the message.
"Go there, heal your spiritual wounds, and engage the mechanized corps to lure out the Celts. You have five days. Can you do it?"
The question wasn't whether they could do it, but that this was their only chance. To win, Deadpool's curse must be lifted. Ritsuka confidently accepted Geronimo's offer.
"Deal."
Ritsuka shook Geronimo's hand, sealing the agreement.
Deadpool, who had been listening to all this while lying down, sat up and pondered who this "exile" was.
"Wait, this exile... Could it be that Teacher?" he muttered, as if he already guessed who they were talking about.