[FDJ] Chapter 11: Beginning After End

"What's going on? Where did that human go?"

Lancer, seeing only her Master descending the stairs, approached in surprise and asked. Behind her were seven emaciated and pale-faced students from the school. These seven individuals were the last few lucky survivors who had been hiding in the underground storage of the school and had survived on food they found in nearby convenience stores.

Shinji glanced at the seven surviving students that Lancer had found, but he could not find the person he was looking for among them. He did not recognize anyone among them.

"He kept insisting on coming to meet up with you. I lost sight of him when I wasn't paying attention. Didn't he come down first?" Shinji was also puzzled. He vaguely remembered that they were less than a meter apart, but after realizing that Suzuki had disappeared, he did not hear any sounds. He did not see anyone when he chased him in the corridor. Even if the latter ran fast, there would have been some noise in the corridor.

"How is that possible? I have been on the basement floor of the school building the whole time. About three minutes ago, I brought these people here and waited for you at the front entrance of the school building."

"Three minutes? I noticed that Suzuki-kun was missing, and came down quickly. It hasn't been three minutes yet."

Both Shinji and Lancer realized that the situation was tricky. How can a person disappear right under their nose? Lancer was particularly puzzled. She did not sense the presence of anyone else. As a Servant, she could easily monitor changes within at least two floors of the space. Just as she discovered the survivors in underground storage, she had already sensed them as soon as she stepped through the front entrance.

"Could he have flown away?" Lancer did not care about the seven survivors she had coerced out. Among them, there was one potential Master candidate who knew about the Holy Grail War, and that person held significant value. She even found the idea of using the rest of them as food reserves unappetizing.

Just like when Suzuki appeared, this time he disappeared without a trace. Lancer had Shinji lead her back to the top floor of the school building. In the teacher's office that Shinji had ransacked, there were no traces of magecraft, and the windows remained untouched without being opened.

"He really disappeared?" Lancer attempted to search for clues in the corridor, but after walking back and forth twice, she did not find any traces whatsoever.

"Can we... go back now?" The only senior student among the seven survivors asked Lancer, who glared at him with her piercing serpent eyes.

"Don't bother me, human!"

Anyone could tell that Lancer was extremely irritable, but Shinji had no intention of helping these seven fellow students. Despite spending a few days together, he didn't particularly dislike this servant. Keeping a servant around was more useful than having seven weak, ordinary humans. Even if Lancer started killing, he wouldn't interfere. In the current situation, where survivors are scarce in Fuyuki City, who knew when Shinji's luck would run out? He had no spare time to show kindness or help the weak.

The seven individuals were scared and turned to run, unaware that the woman who forced them out of the storage room could end their pain and despair at any moment.

Fortunately, Lancer had no intention of wasting her time paying attention to ordinary people, and Shinji did not mind them escaping. These so-called ordinary people were nothing more than surplus beings, even without posing a threat.

"There's a black hair on the ground," Lancer lightly flicked her finger, causing the untouched hair to break and fall back onto the floor. The place that Lancer discovered was next to a crumpled ball of paper.

Shinji approached the overturned desk and recalled some details from earlier. He was somewhat agitated at the time and accidentally pushed Suzuki. However, they continued their conversation, and it can be confirmed that Suzuki was still behind him.

"Regardless of the method, someone took Suzuki away." Lancer could not find any clues, but, based on her experience, she voiced her speculation. And why only take Yukie Suzuki and not eliminate her Master while they were at it?

"What should we do now? Should we look for Suzuki-kun?" Shinji also realized that the situation was not good. Someone was able to silently abduct Yukie Suzuki immediately in front of them. Even with Lancer protecting him closely, it wasn't safe enough.

Lancer shook her head. At the moment, she could only assume that the other party had no ill intentions towards their side and simply took Yukie Suzuki. None of the remaining Servants in Fuyuki City were capable of such a feat, including Caster, using his clumsy concealment methods. "Let him fend for himself, Master. Therefore, we must proceed immediately. This academy is not suitable as a stronghold."

As danger approached rapidly, Lancer sensed it and immediately picked up Shinji, breaking through the glass window of the corridor and leaping out.

Under the pitch-black sky, Black Swordsman swung her holy sword toward the top floor of the school building. There was no room for a lucky chance, and Lancer did not place her life at the mercy of her opponent.

『Excalibur』

The ominous black light struck the top floor of the school building, causing debris to fly, and the building to tremble. Only Lancer, holding her Master, landed safely in the school's flower garden.

"Master, run quickly. I'll hold her off!"

"If we can't win, we'll retreat. I still have two Command Spells." Shinji looked up and witnessed the terrifying destructive power of the Black Swordsman. If it wasn't for Lancer saving him, he would have been annihilated by now, as the top floor of the school building had been completely obliterated.

"She just used her Noble Phantasm. I'll try to delay her as much as possible before she can use it again. When you receive the signal, use a Command Spell to teleport me to your side."

"Understood."

After a brief tactical discussion, Shinji lifted his leg and ran towards the entrance of the academy. The desire to survive successfully overcame his fear. In terms of their strength, it was already the most suitable tactic...

『Excalibur——』

Upon hearing a familiar shout, Shinji turned back in terror, realizing that he had run only 20 meters.

A whirlwind of black light rose, effortlessly knocking away Lancer, who was attempting to approach it. Even after falling to the ground, Lancer tried to stand up, but the Black Swordsman unleashed a burst of black magic, instantly advancing and firmly pinning Lancer to the ground and preventing her from moving.

Hope alone cannot secure a victory. In the face of absolute strength, these struggles are meaningless. The Black Swordsman slowly turned around, facing Shinji, who had already fallen to the ground in fear, the only surviving Master from the Holy Grail War a month ago.

To demonstrate that there was no room for luck, Black Swordsman swung her blade for the third time, and the black light grazed past Shinji, shattering the side entrance of the school along with the adjacent wall.

"Run, I won't kill you."

The Black Swordsman vaguely remembered someone using this type of ploy. Therefore, to "commend"' the opposing Master who had managed to cling on for the longest time, she decided to imitate it once.

Shinji crawled and rolled along the trench left by the Swordsman's Noble Phantasm, making his way toward the outside of the academy. He could never have imagined that failure would come so quickly, and even if he had lost, he still had a chance to escape.

The Black Swordsman poured the black magical fluid onto the helpless and defenseless Lancer, contaminating her as she had done to other Servants. She then gives her the first command to her new followers.

"Take action, Lancer!"

-+-

The raging fire completely engulfed the courtyard in which Yukie Suzuki was located. He hadn't moved a step throughout, standing in place, waiting... He did not know why he would not act without someone else's command.

The thick smoke gradually enveloped the entire courtyard. The main building had been consumed by the flames, and the scorching fire signaled the end for Yukie Suzuki, who would burn to death in the blazing inferno of Fuyuki.

His consciousness began to drift as Yukie Suzuki, who had inhaled a large amount of smoke and dust, collapsed into the ground. He dared not close his eyes, because he did not want to die. Someone constantly told him to stay alive.

He was alone in the courtyard, and the cold sensation on the ground could not sustain his consciousness for a long time. The speed at which the fire spread was accelerated. The flames ignited shrubs and weeds in the courtyard, sparing no objects that could serve as fuel. Soon, Yukie Suzuki would also become fuel.

He wanted to survive, but his body could no longer muster the strength. He struggled to move his fingers, relying on the countless repetitions of his studies and attempting to draw a summoning magic circle on the ground. He knew that this action was meaningless, that the Holy Grail War in this city had already gathered seven Masters a month ago. However, his only way of saving himself was limited to this.

Summoning someone else to help him, even if they turned around and ordered him if he received instructions, Yukie Suzuki might be able to stand up again.

He was unable to draw a small circle. The fire had ignited the warehouse behind him. In Yukie Suzuki's limited field of vision, all he could see bright flames amidst muddy ground. If he could be considered a human, he would be the last person remaining in Fuyuki City.

The outcomes have long been predetermined. Yukie Suzuki was just one person, an interference. With his insignificant power, he could not change anything or save anyone.

"When you can't do anything, wouldn't it be easier to do nothing at all?"

Yukie Suzuki remembered Shinji saying this to him. Helpless struggles changed the results. Just like the "teachers" in his memory, they told him that waiting for death was also a way to cope.

Yukie Suzuki was still trying to move his finger. Even though he believed it was meaningless, he still wanted to attempt to summon a Servant, starting from drawing the first closed circle. Because he envied Masters like Shinji, who possessed Command Spells, who could partner with heroes from myths, history, and legends, and not fight alone.

Not everything is impossible. Yukie Suzuki endured a suffocating sensation by praying for a miracle. When you can't do anything, you can still pray, maintaining hope in your heart in the final moments of life, even if it's fleeting like a snowflake...

The sounds of hooves and jingling bells approached Yukie Suzuki, and the female demon who brought him here appeared before him. The raging fire instantly stopped, as if time froze, and only Yukie Suzuki and the demon remained unaffected.

"Are you praying? To which deity? I can convey your plea for help." The demon, holding the reins, walked up to Yukie Suzuki.

"I... don't know which deity to turn to for help." Yukie Suzuki looked up and vaguely saw the face of the other person—a foreign beauty wearing a crown, possibly the most beautiful woman he had seen in his short life.

"Yukie Suzuki, are you willing to seek help from me? Or rather, are you willing to accept my commission?"

In the desert, it is not appropriate to offer water and fruit to thirsty travelers. It is about reviving a glimmer of hope in the other person with little water and then telling the traveler that an oasis lies ahead.

"I am willing."

The female demon smiled enchantingly and opened the pouch at her waist, placing each item in front of Yukie Suzuki, one golden chess piece after another. Whether they were made of pure gold or not didn't matter because the value of these chess pieces couldn't be measured in money.

The chess piece of the Sword, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, and Berserker—corresponds to the seven basic classes in the Holy Grail War. Seven golden chess pieces were arranged sequentially. "Please eliminate the seven Singularities for me so that the future of mankind can be determined by humanity itself."

Yukie Suzuki attempted to touch the golden chess pieces in front of him, but he couldn't muster any strength, and even his consciousness began to dissipate.

"Embark on your journey with my gifts. They will become your trump cards. May you have a smooth journey."

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