[FDJ] Chapter 10: The Silent Academy

Starting from the port in the new city district, the massive fire spread rapidly to the surrounding areas. This was the true ending of Fuyuki City, destroying the once-peaceful city and turning all its human inhabitants into sacrificial fuel. Regardless of which Servant ultimately held the Holy Grail in their hands, it only served to ignite the spark.

The remaining human corpses in the port were burned to ash. There was nothing left to "attract" the flames, and the abundant Mana in the air served as the most efficient accelerant. There is no foundation in this city that is suitable for human survival. Apart from broken walls, all that could be seen was a sea of crimson flames. Until this Singularity was terminated, it continued to spread relentlessly, burning and destroying everything in its path.

Sensing the uncontrolled spread of the fire, a certain black-clad Servant who had been stationed in the underground cavern beneath Mount Enzou took the initiative to step out of the bounded field once again. Within a few hours, Assassin and Rider withdrew, and Archer transmitted the information he gathered through reconnaissance. The current situation stood at 2 versus 2, and there was no reason for this black-clad Servant to refuse the provocation of the enemy coming to their doorstep. Perhaps someone would eventually put an end to the continued existence of this Singularity, but until then, the calamity would not cease, and the slaughter would not cease. The order would still be dictated by her, and she would protect it in her way.

Suzuki followed Lancer and Shinji to the academy of the city. It was roughly 3 p.m., and not much time was left until nightfall. As they approached the academy, they noticed that the sky had turned completely black, and even faint sunlight was no longer visible.

Lancer was the first to sense something amiss. Before they entered the academy, she turned her head to look at the sky. Reflected in the pitch-black sky was a crimson glow. Something significant had happened in the direction of the new city district during the time it took them to reach the academy. "What's going on?"

"Why are we stopping, Lancer?" Shinji was determined to enter the academy, but when he saw Lancer stop, he decided to follow her lead.

"The fire is spreading rapidly and will soon reach the old city district..."

"Fire?"

"Fuyuki City is burning." Lancer pointed in the direction they had come from, and now, even with the naked eye, one could barely see the abnormal reddish glow in the sky.

Shinji was taken aback. The situation had completely exceeded his threshold of endurance. He had previously entertained the thought of turning the tables into an unfavorable situation and returning to the new city district.

He had witnessed an inexplicable fire that broke out in the port area, and if the entire new city district were now engulfed in flames, there would be no possibility of going back. Their trip to the old city district had become a one-way journey.

"Let's quickly enter the academy and gather information, then choose a sturdy and defensible location as our base for tonight." Lancer felt a chill running through her spirit. Dangers would soon draw near, and perhaps it would be better to immediately search for a new base. Saber's original Master was unlikely to still be alive but to have a chance of obtaining the Holy Grail, she chose to take the risk. No matter how confident she was, she did not believe she could defeat Saber. If she could not defeat Saber, she would not be able to snatch Holy Grail.

At the entrance to the academy, five or six skeletal soldiers remained. These low-level familiars had not departed from their master, Rider, and a few still roamed the corners of the city.

The gates of the academy were widely open, and bloodstains from a month ago were still visible. Suzuki bravely volunteered to act as bait and stepped into the lifeless academy. Skeletal soldiers that had been hiding in the shadows immediately emerged, and their numbers exceeded 20nty.

"Lancer, attack! Eliminate these skeleton monsters!"

Shinji, acting out of character, followed Suzuki and held an iron pipe he picked up from the roadside in front of him.

Lancer moved even faster, and her chains swiftly pierced through these mindless, low-level familiars. Her scythe effortlessly harvested this batch of skeletal soldiers, and not one could be resurrected.

"Eliminated all enemies. There shouldn't be any other enemies." Lancer quickly scanned the front half of the academy and found no signs of living people, but she came across several student corpses. Near the school track, there were multiple signs of battle and the bodies of several students who had recently died. Perhaps that was the site where Caster's familiar witnessed the defeat of Assassin. It was too irrational to risk the chance of competing for the Holy Grail to save a few humans.

Lancer's gaze stopped at the main entrance of the academy building, where there seemed to be traces of living people.

Without informing Shinji and Suzuki of her discovery, Lancer proceeded straight to the academy building, gesturing for two of them to follow.

Yukie Suzuki couldn't contribute much at this moment. He was at the back of the group using a flashlight he carried to illuminate the corridors and stairs for himself and Shinji.

As they searched, they soon discovered recent signs of human activity on each floor, but could not find anyone other than themselves. Until Shinji Matou forcefully kicked open the door of the student council room and saw the long-deceased student council president, Issei Ryuudou. The person was hanging there, a pitiful sight, the stench of decay after a month, making Shinji Matou almost vomit the few cookies he had eaten in the morning.

"What an ugly death. Did you see Suzuki-kun? This is the fate of the weak, just like everyone else in this city, who is unable to survive. They can only choose their way of dying and disgust me!" Shinji shouted excitedly to Suzuki, wanting this pitiful survivor to acknowledge his success as if flaunting his achievements. Finally, finding a complete corpse in half of the academy building can be considered an accomplishment.

The trembling laughter instinctively made Suzuki want to distance himself from him. Perhaps, he should stop Shinji from rushing to the Homurahara Academy. Shinji's level of magecraft and his state of mind were far different from that of a traditional magus. He should not let him focus too much on things outside the Holy Grail War, as this would affect his already limited decision-making ability.

"He's not the person you're looking for, right?"

"Of course not. How could someone who would commit suicide...?"

"Then let's continue to the next floor. If we confirm that there are no other people on the top floor of the academy building, we should immediately return and regroup with Lancer." Suzuki did not fear witnessing a months-decomposed corpse because it did not pose a threat. There was no need to fear something that was not dangerous.

"You...!" Shinji's expression changed from joy to anger. He could not get any reaction from Suzuki, whether panic or joy. The emotions that humans should experience in response to stimuli are completely absent. "Are you really human? Huh? A person hanging here! Even if you don't know him, aren't you afraid when you see that?"

"He doesn't have any magical traces on him, and since I woke up, I haven't detected any enemies controlling corpses. So there's no need to be afraid." Suzuki earnestly replied to Shinji. As overlook the foul odor emanating from the corpse and its distorted features. These irrelevant things would not help him find survivors who might be in the academy, so he considered them worthless.

Unable to get any reaction from Suzuki, Shinji, unable to vent his nameless anger, could not help but curse a few words in the corpse that could not retort before leaving. His behavior seemed incomprehensible to Suzuki.

Naturally, there are no clues on the top floor. After Shinji kicked open the door of the last room, he gritted his teeth and overturned the teacher's desk.

"Are you okay? Let's go back and regroup with Lancer."

"Hmph, coward. You say you are not afraid, but you cannot handle being separated from Lancer's protection? I don't know how you managed to survive for a month, just like me."

Shinji pushed Suzuki aside and continued to kick and stomp on desks, books, and other objects. In the center of the disaster, where order no longer existed, there were no restrictions on what he could do. He could indulge in any destructive behavior and freely mock the people he had encountered once. Shinji never imagined that such acts of destruction would bring him immense pleasure. As for finding Saber's original Master, that could take a secondary position. There was nothing more joyful to him than venting the frustration that had built up over the entire month. If possible, he also wanted to look for the remains of Archer's original Master. She was probably done for. He remembered that detestable woman taking a day off from school, thinking that the Holy Grail War had officially ended.

"Hey, Suzuki-kun. Do you have someone you hate? Those bastards who always undermine you in front of others. Just imagine, stepping on those damn bastards and watching them die a miserable death. Wouldn't that bring forth a never-before-felt sense of joy? Awesome!"

Shinji grew tired of stomping and tore a few pages from an English teacher's notebook to wipe off the ink stains on his shoes. Suzuki did not find joy in doing something unrelated to the Holy Grail War. If there was something joyful, it was summoning a powerful Servant and ultimately achieving victory. At least that is what his "teachers" had told him in his memories.

Study, practice relentlessly, and then engage in combat to achieve victory. A perfect process.

The sound of the hooves gradually became clear, and Suzuki abruptly woke up from his recollection, only to realize that he was no longer inside the school building. He could not see Shinji anywhere in his line of sight.

He seemed to have ended up in a traditional Japanese-style house with tatami flooring. Behind him, he could see a warehouse and there was no one else in the courtyard. He had been with Shinji and Lancer ever since he woke up. Suddenly being alone left him in a state of confusion. The person who ordered him is not here. What should he do?

As the flickering flames gradually entered Suzuki's eyes, he realized that a large fire had already spread to the old district, and soon the entire city of Fuyuki would be engulfed in flames. No one would be spared; this was a predetermined outcome.

=======================

Check My Other Work: Shinji Matou At Your Service