"Come, Wicker Man"
As Caster declared, a giant timber puppet rose from the circle.
"Show them the strength of your" As if his words had a weight in them, all Assassin subconsciously stepped back.
The Wicker Man ignited, its entire form engulfed in roaring flames.
It raised a gigantic punch.
Assassins saw the impending danger. They turned and dispersed in all directions.
"You may run away from this punch. But you can't run away from this explosion." Caster said out loud.
Wicker Man hit the ground with its fire punch. The circle of runes appeared on the ground as soon as its punch contacted the ground.
The line of runes illuminated and dazzled the surroundings.
Following the light, the fire pillar soured to the sky from the depth of the ground.
One…
Two…
Three…
The number of fire pillars increased gradually.
With this killing move, the entire mountain was engulfed in fire killing all Assassins who were running away.
The explosion was so strong that the mountain started to collapse revealing a big hole.
Seizing the moment, Caster carried his Master and their companion away from the battlefield. They leaped into the bottomless void to evade the watchful eyes of other Servants.
On the top of a building far away from the explosion, Gilgamesh witnessed the failure of Assassin.
Instead of being angry at Assassin, his mouth slowly raised into a wicked smile.
"Struggle as much as you like in this boring hell. Your struggle will entertain me." Saying that Gilgamesh disappeared into the dark of night.
In the cave, Caster led the way out of the dark cave while carrying Kirito. Conan dragged Noah's Ark who was attacked by the anti-cheat system.
Noah's Ark's appearance was no longer human anymore. He looked like a mutant creature that mutated from radioactive.
"We'll rest here for a moment." Caster said, laying Kirito on the smooth stone floor. Conan followed suit, carefully placing Noah's Ark down.
"You can step out now." Caster turned at a certain path.
From a nearby shadow, Medusa emerged with a displeased expression.
"Your attack almost buries me on there," Medusa said.
"My apologies."
"Whatever, the new batch of Assassins are coming here. We need to keep moving." Medusa said curtly, taking the lead.
Caster picked up Kirito who was unconscious and Noah's Ark who was glitching.
"Lancer. Caster. I have thought about this but I couldn't arrive at the answer so I want to ask you guys." Conan said while his glasses surface turned white.
"Do you believe you are real living people? Not some kind of data creates by BB."
"Careful with your words, boy," Medusa warned, her voice icy. "We are as real as you."
"You may think that we are just NPC in the game but that way of thinking is not wrong." Caster said and added. "However, the real NPC doesn't have independent thinking"
"You mean…"
Caster exhaled heavily. Not knowing how to explain his and Medusa's situation.
"Do you believe outside this world, there is another world?"
"Although I never see it with my eyes, I think it's not entirely impossible."
"Exactly. We don't belong to this world, as you can see from BB's existence," Caster said, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"In our world, there is a war called Holy Grail war."
"Holy Grail war," Conan repeated Caster's words.
"7 servants and 7 masters. Who is the last standing will be a winner. And the winner can achieve his wish through the Holy Grail." Medusa said.
"That's right." Caster looked at Medusa and turned to Conan.
"I remember that Chaldea retrieved that bad Holy Grail and the war ended with no winner."
"However, I don't know why we were summoned again." Caster's eyes darkened.
"Can you tell me more about your experience in that war?" Conan asked.
"Sure," Caster replied.
He told the story of Singularity F to Conan and Medusa.
Medusa was slightly surprised but not too much. She encountered the Master of Chaldea and hunted them down.
As a result, she was killed by a weak but brave Master.
"I see. In other words, this war is created by BB. But for what purpose." Conan's glasses changed back to transparent.
"Who knows what she is thinking? However, her action disrespected us who is Heroic Spirit." Caster replied.
"And you, Lancer. What do you think about her?"
"She is cunning. I was fooled by her pity acting." Medusa commented.
Although she knew she was fooled by BB, she couldn't resist that as her acting reminded her kind and powerless Master. A person who can't change her fate.
"Looks like this is a big matter that needs to be discussed later. Let's search for a safe place first." Conan decided to stop the conversation. No matter how he thought about it, it was unbelievable news for him and he needed time to process all the information.
"We are here. The surface." Medusa announced.
They could catch a glimpse of a new day. The sun's rays illuminated the dark cave where they stood.
With this sun as the announcement, they only had 1 day left to be in this special realm.
Meanwhile, in the real world...
On a bustling city street, a boy stood bewildered, his wide eyes taking in the overwhelming sights.
He didn't understand why he was here. This place was strange and the air was quite polluted.
When he looked towards the sky and saw a massive metal bird flying in the sky.
When he looked left and right. He could see some sort of vehicle running on the street.
"What is this place?" Tanjiro asked himself.
He remembered that he was fighting a drum demon in a house.
Just as he was about to behead the demon. The demon was warped by a strange light and vanished under his sword.
Without thinking, Tanjiro reached out to the light—and everything blurred.
When he awoke, he was in a dirty alley, rain pouring down on his wounded body. Despite his injuries, he dragged himself out to search for the demon, only to find himself in an entirely unfamiliar world.
He was standing there confusedly.
He didn't know what was going on anymore.
He walked on the street in order to search for the demon's trace.
On his way, he could see many fantasy things that he had never seen before.
A small and flat box that had tiny people inside it.
The building was so high that could reach the sky.
Only then, did he realize something.
He was lost in this strange world.
A sense of discomfort surged inside him.
He felt suffocated and nervous. He thought he couldn't live in this kind of environment.
As he wandered aimlessly, a police officer noticed him and approached cautiously.
"Young man, are you cosplaying or something?" the officer asked, his gaze lingering on the sword at Tanjiro's side.
Tanjiro didn't understand the words and stared back, confused.
"Are you a foreigner?" the officer tried again in broken English.
Tanjiro remained silent, unsure of how to respond.
The officer's demeanor shifted. "Let's head to the station to sort this out," he said, reaching out to detain Tanjiro.
Reacting instinctively, Tanjiro stepped back, his hand brushing the hilt of his sword.
"Kid, I'm warning you—don't make me use force!" the officer said, reaching for his gun.
Panicked, Tanjiro bolted, blending into the crowd. The officer hesitated, unwilling to fire in a crowded area, and called for backup instead.
He immediately chased after him and requested the backup nonstop.
However, the police officer's speed couldn't keep up with Tanjiro's speed.
Tanjiro ran with all his might, eventually losing the officer in the maze of streets.
"Report. I find a kid. And he carries a sword with him. Also, that kid runs very fast." the police officer reported while exhaling heavily.
Tanjiro ran back to the place that brought him to this world.
Breathing heavily, he found himself back in the alley where it all began. He searched desperately for the strange light, overturning trashcans and peering into shadows.
Although he had just come to this world, he didn't want to stay in this world anymore.
He hoped he could see that strange light again so that he could return to his home.
The more he searched for it, the more disappointment grew in him.
"Are you lost in this world?"
A voice echoed from the darkness. Tanjiro turned to see a girl stepping forward.
Her presence made him nervous. She had no breath, no demonic scent, only a dense metallic smell.
"Tanjiro, the world traveler. If you seek that light then I have the answer that you want."