37 Against Rider

Medusa chased Haruki without breaking her calm expression. Just as Haruki took another turn, Medusa jumped in the air. Haruki stopped and stepped aside. A twinkling nail plunged from the sky and impaled the concrete road where he stood a second ago. Rider landed before him with her hands on the ground. She looked like a cat ready to pounce on a rat.

'A sexy cat.'

Haruki was a little surprised at his leisure to joke in this situation. Was it his growth that made him stand fearlessly before a servant? Even when weakened under Shinji's control, Medusa was still a servant, a spiritual being with superhuman abilities.

Medusa thoroughly analyzed her opponent through her sharpened senses. The blindfold covering her eyes did nothing to hinder her senses. Her Noble Phantasm Breaker Gorgon kept her Mystic Eyes of Petrification sealed, which in turn raised her other senses beyond ordinary humans. Her magic detection skills were beyond an average Caster-class servant. Through those senses, she could feel an odd sense of pressure coming from Haruki. Magical energy that didn't belong to humans, dwelled in his body; it was concentrated near his heart as though he possessed a core.

'He smells like Sakura.'

Her real master's scent lingering on him affected her more than his magical energy.

"Are you sure you want to be ordered around by that scumbag?" Haruki asked, tilting his head a little. "Your real master is my childhood friend."

Medusa looked at Haruki and her lips parted. "Good or evil doesn't matter."

Shinji was her master, so she had to obey his orders. Her personal issues with Shinji's character didn't matter in the slightest.

'But, if possible.'

She wanted to save Sakura from the Matou family. Before Sakura became a monster like she did. Before she swallowed her loved ones in a blind rage. Yet, she couldn't go against her role to fulfill her personal wish. Such conflicting thoughts brewed in her mind in the span of several moments.

Haruki sighed at her silent rejection. She was too loyal for her own good. Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned around. Shinji caught up to them, becoming utterly exhausted in the process. Glaring at Haruki, he gritted his teeth.

"Rider, don't let him run. Give him pain. Squash him like a bug. Show him the power of a servant."

Medusa swung her chains and launched herself at Haruki like a bullet. The dagger attached to Medusa's chain burst the sound barrier, leaving an afterimage. Haruki ducked as fast as he could before he rolled to his side.

'Fuck.'

It was only the start of Medusa's continuous assault. He wasn't trained to dodge bullets, much less dodging a knife that broke sound barriers. Even in that desperate situation, his thoughts were calm, his vision clear. His body moved before the daggers entered his field of vision as though his brain instantly processed the information.

Kch! A dagger skewered his left shoulder, gouging out a chunk of flesh. Medusa stopped and yanked her chains. Haruki smiled at Medusa.

'She is holding back.'

She did nothing compared to her fight against Saber Alter in Heaven's Feel route. Haruki frowned at the burning sensation in his shoulder. With just a thought, his magical energy flowed like a tide and gathered in his wounded shoulder. The pain disappeared; so did the wound. A dragon's regeneration was a cheat skill on its own.

[Skill acquired: Blood Conversion]

'Odd name.'

He decided to check it later.

Shinji looked at Haruki with wide eyes. "...Magecraft."

The single word that came out of his mouth was filled with hatred.

"How can you have magecraft?" Shinji shouted at the top of his lungs. He, the last descendant of the Matou family, was born without magic circuits. He was fine with it until Sakura came and took his position as the heir. She could use magecraft but he couldn't.

"Hayashi, you always, always, always tried to oppress me. I did nothing to you. I was minding my business. But. You came and took my slutty sister. You beat me up whenever you felt like it."

Now he possessed magic circuits. In Shinji's eyes, such strength could only be obtained through the use of magecraft. Shinji pulled his hair as his eyes flashed with a crazy glint.

"You used magecraft to beat me… No matter how hard I trained my body, I was always beaten to the ground. Magecraft... Magecraft. Magecraft. Magecraft."

He had descended into madness. Haruki looked at him with a condescending gaze. "I don't need magecraft for pussies like you."

"Damn you. Rider, kill him."

"Not today," Haruki said with a smile. "My backup is here."

As if hearing his words, Medea appeared in front of him and created a barrier to block Medusa's chains. "Master, I couldn't persuade her. She is fighting him alone."

She had tried her best, but the King of Knights stayed behind to buy time and 'protect' the Grail. She glared at Shinji, swearing to torture him for injuring Haruki. He cowered from the unseen chill wrapping his heart.

"Nothing is going the way I wanted," he said with a sigh and hugged Medea from behind, entrusting his body to her.

The mental toll of pushing his perception came after the battle ended. He wanted to lie down and rest. The battle wasn't without its merits though; it gave him an idea of his current strength.

'Need to train more. I got to start the dungeon.'

Even though only a day had passed since he awakened, he was greedy for more power. Servants were good and all, but he had to avenge his mother with his own hands. His current strength amounted to pretty much nothing in comparison to the task Arch gave him.

"I didn't give you a deadline though," Arch said. "You don't have to rush it."

'Are you trying to comfort me?'

"...No. I'll be troubled if you went up and died recklessly."

'Cute.'

Medusa felt his resolve; it was stronger than his determination during their battle, where she held back. The most obvious reason was he had no hostility against her master. There was nothing but pity in his eyes when he looked at Shinji. The less obvious reason was Sakura's attachment to him.

Haruki turned his attention to Shinji frozen stiff in his spot.

'I'll fuck him up tomorrow.'

He had to find what the hell was wrong with Artoria. He could kill Medusa right now with Caster's help. A spell was all she needed to obliterate Medusa, but that wasn't his plan. He had to burn the book in Shinji's hand and free Medusa from her 'duties.'

'What is Artoria thinking? We would've taken Medusa if she was here.'

"You'll give Shinji a swift death?" Arch asked.

'No. I'll ask Semi to poison him, then toss him into Zouken's basement.'

Shinji wasn't going to have it easy like his alternate timeline self. Haruki looked around and as expected one of Zouken's familiar insects watched them from the sky.

Medea wrapped him in her cloak, and they disappeared from Shinji's vision.

"Huh?" Shinji's eyes widened in horror. "Servant? Rider, that woman was a servant?"

"Yes, Master," Medusa replied.

The book slipped from Shinji's hand and fell to the ground. He held his head with both hands and laughed. His laughter filled the streets.

Medusa shook her head as her chains vanished.

'He has lost it.'

She stopped before Shinji. The young man raised his head and scoffed at her calm expression.

"You're useless, Rider."

Rider didn't say anything. Shinji stopped himself from using the Book of False Attendance to torture her. She was his only hope to win the war and receive the blessing to use magecraft. He didn't want to get on her bad side. Haruki's bullying turned him into an even bigger coward.

'You aren't less useless, Master,' Medusa thought as she gazed at her pitiful master. Only one fate awaited the weak in this war. 'Death.'

***

Shinji received plot armor? Lol. He will die later.