Miyamoto Musashi paid no mind to Archer's thoughts.
In an instant, she crossed nearly a hundred meters and was upon him.
Archer raised his dual blades with effort, but Musashi, a master of the dual-sword style, easily broke his stance. Swish, swish! Two slashes carved a cross-shaped wound on his chest.
"Retreat!"
Rin Tohsaka quickly used a Command Spell to force Archer to withdraw, then hurriedly stepped back, pulling a few gemstones from her pocket.
But before she could unleash the magic stored within them, Musashi's figure suddenly appeared in front of her.
Bang!
The hilt of Musashi's sword struck Rin squarely in the stomach.
"Ugh!"
Rin collapsed to the ground, clutching her stomach as she began to retch.
"I don't mind either way, but do you still want to continue fighting, girl?"
Rin could hardly breathe, much less answer.
"Looks like the fight's over," Musashi said, sheathing her swords.
"Sensei!"
At that moment, Shirou finally arrived, late, from the school building.
"Huh? Tohsaka?"
Shirou was instantly surprised to see a familiar figure slumped on the ground.
Hearing his voice, Rin weakly lifted her head. Seeing Shirou's innocent face filled her with rage.
"You're too slow! Musashi-kun, you idiot!"
Indeed, if Musashi hadn't disliked one-sided massacres, Rin would have been sliced into three pieces by now.
Shirou scratched his head awkwardly and laughed.
"Shirou, is she someone you know?"
"Yes, Sensei. She's a classmate from school, Tohsaka Rin."
Shirou hurriedly made introductions.
"This is my Sensei—"
Shirou was about to reveal Musashi's true name when Rin interrupted him.
"Musashi-ku, you're way too trusting! This is the Holy Grail War. A Servant's true name is a closely guarded secret. Once it's known, people can figure out their weaknesses based on the corresponding myth or history.
So, you must never reveal a Servant's true name so easily!"
Rin raised a finger and patiently explained.
"But what exactly is this Holy Grail War, and what are these Servants you're talking about?"
Shirou asked, thoroughly confused.
"You don't even know the basics?"
Rin's eyes widened in disbelief.
Shirou scratched his head and laughed awkwardly again.
"Ahhh!!!"
Suddenly, Rin grabbed her pigtails, looking utterly exasperated.
"Why is it that someone as clueless as you could summon such a powerful Servant?!"
Then she thought about her own Servant, who didn't even remember his name.
Rin immediately felt defeated and dropped to the ground in a typical orz posture.
"Toh... Tohsaka, hey! Miss Tohsaka..."
Seeing Rin utterly dejected and motionless, Shirou cautiously tried to get her attention.
Hearing his voice, Rin suddenly stood up and grabbed Shirou by the collar.
"Anyway, come with me to the church for registration! We'll talk about the rest on the way!"
"Regi-regi-registration?!"
Shirou's face turned bright red in an instant, and he stammered.
Rin suddenly realized her wording mistake, and her cheeks flushed.
"Idiot! Don't get the wrong idea! I'm not talking about registering for marriage or anything dumb like that! I'm talking about registering you as an official participant in the Holy Grail War!"
That particular word was something Rin simply couldn't bring herself to say, so she quickly changed the subject.
"Anyway, that foul-mouthed nun at the church will explain the basic rules to you."
Thus, with Rin leading the way, the three of them headed toward the church.
However, as they descended the slope near the church, they came upon Ryou, who was preparing to deal a fatal blow to a silver-haired loli who had no power to resist.
Seeing this, Musashi, who despised one-sided slaughters, instantly became enraged—especially because the person standing there was none other than the one she had longed to cut into a thousand pieces.
When Rin ran up to the scene, she too realized that the figure in front of them was the same person who had killed her father ten years ago.
The hatred on both sides was irreconcilable.
Fate began to race down a different path.
The timeline returned to normal.
...
After Ryou and Medea arrived at Ryuudou Temple, she used suggestion magecraft to make the monks and the Ryuudou family temporarily leave the temple.
Then, Ryou helped her begin setting up a Temple.
Once Ryuudou Temple was transformed into a magical base Temple, Medea's magical prowess would be significantly enhanced.
According to her, while she couldn't summon a dragon using the Golden Fleece as she could when fully grown, she could still invoke the power of the goddess Hecate to turn the Temple into a large-scale domain that included surveillance, summoning, reinforcement, healing, and suppression.
In simple terms, if an enemy intruded, the Temple would automatically trigger an alarm. As long as Medea remained within the area, she could summon Dragon Tooth Warriors without consuming any magical energy, strengthen her allies, heal their injuries, and even merge the natural anti-spirit bounded field around Ryuudou Temple to suppress enemy Servants' stats.
In essence, turning your home into an impregnable fortress and staying inside to conduct magical research was the true path of a magus.
All that flashy spellcasting, with a side of warrior skills? That was nonsense.
At the same time, Ryou was surprised to find that helping Medea set up the Temple had deepened his understanding of magecraft, and his proficiency with the primordial Runes was increasing rapidly.
After a night of hard work, the Temple was taking shape, and Ryou could finally get a good night's rest.
But before that, he opened his system panel.
The system had thrown up a bunch of notifications after he killed Heracles.
[Ding!]
[The host has slain the Servant Heracles. You have earned one special gacha.]
The special gacha allows you to obtain a skill or Noble Phantasm from the defeated Servant, with a very small chance of drawing the Servant's summoning card.
[Would you like to proceed with the gacha?]
Ryou thought about it and decided to put the gacha on hold for now. He moved on to the next message.
[Ding!]
[The Noble Phantasm "Tsubame Gaeshi" has been upgraded. Please name it.]
Ryou rubbed his chin. The sensation of unleashing hundreds of punches in an instant was still fresh in his memory.
It just so happened that he recalled a martial art with a similar style of rapid, close-range strikes.
"I'll call it [Machine Gun Blow]. Yeah, that's a good name!"
Of course, Ryou would never admit that his bad sense of naming was acting up again.
[Ding!]
[The Noble Phantasm [Machine Gun Blow] has been successfully named.]
Next up was the gacha.
Ryou mentally called Medea over.
"Master, did you need something?"
Looking at the soft, adorable Medea Lily, Ryou's mischievous side kicked in again.
He pointed to his cheek.
"Kiss me."
"Huh? Huh?!"
Medea was completely taken aback. When she finally understood what he meant, she screamed.
"M-M-Master, what are you thinking?! You pervert! Hentai! Idiot!"
Medea stammered, utterly flustered.
Ryou placed his hands firmly on her shoulders.
"You misunderstood me," he said quickly, explaining the gacha system. "...So, I want to borrow your luck."
"Really? Are you sure you're not tricking me, Master?"
Medea, who didn't believe in superstitions, eyed him suspiciously.
"Do I look like that kind of person? You have to trust me. Only you can help me with this," Ryou said, maintaining a serious expression.
"I-I understand."
A blush crept over Medea's pale cheeks. After hesitating for a moment, she walked over, stood on her tiptoes, and gently kissed his cheek. Flustered, she quickly hid, turning her face away, unable to meet his eyes.
Ryou immediately felt a mysterious force envelop him.
"Let's start the Gacha."
A golden card appeared in the air, bearing the symbol of the Berserker class, with Heracles depicted on the front. The card shattered into countless golden fragments, swirling around a multicolored orb of light, like a miniature nebula.
The fragments quickly fused with the orb, and a new card emerged.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host! You've drawn the Noble Phantasm 'Twelve Labors'!]
[Detected that the Host possesses similar Noble Phantasms and skills.]
[Would you like to fuse them?]
[Fusable Noble Phantasm: Reversal War God]
[Fusable Skill: Twelve Labors]
[Fusable Skill: True Divine Body]
[Upon fusion, the Noble Phantasm 'Reversal War God' will be significantly enhanced!]
Jackpot!
[Twelve Labors] was the strongest possible Noble Phantasm Ryou could have drawn. The effects of [Reversal War God] made it clear that to defeat powerful enemies, he would have to risk his life and come back from the brink of death.
But the problem was, he wasn't some invincible shonen protagonist who always survived by luck. If he couldn't withstand an attack, he'd be dead instantly. So, to truly make [Reversal War God] his battle core, he needed an insurance policy.
[Twelve Labors] was the perfect insurance—no competition.
However, the system's suggestion to fuse the Noble Phantasms made him hesitate.
The greatest advantage of [Twelve Labors] wasn't anything else—it was the extra lives. If the fusion removed that attribute, wouldn't he lose out on a huge benefit? Wouldn't that waste the luck boost the goddess of fortune had just given him?
Screw it!
Ryou felt that his luck was at its peak and that the fusion would yield the best outcome.
But before starting, his gaze once again fell on Medea, who was standing beside him.
The moment his eyes landed on her, Medea began trembling.
Ryou's gaze was simply too terrifying as if he were about to devour her whole.
"Medea-chan, give me another buff!"
Medea shook her head vigorously. Although she had no idea what her Master meant, she suspected it was another ploy to take advantage of her.
"Hmph! Master is such a bad person! I won't be fooled this time!"
Medea's voice carried a playful defiance.
Of course, she would never admit that deep down, she was somewhat looking forward to it. At 14, Medea Lily was still quite innocent.
Ryou sighed.
"No choice. Since you're unwilling, I'll just have to take it myself."
In a swift motion, he appeared in front of her and grabbed her shoulders.
"Master, what are you doing?"
Medea looked at him with a mix of wariness and panic.
"Nothing much. Since you're too shy, I'll take the initiative."
Ryou smiled kindly.
But Medea immediately had a bad feeling.
"Master, you—!"
Before she could refuse, he pressed his lips against her soft, pink lips.
Medea's heart raced as Ryou's lips met hers. She tried to pull away, but his grip on her shoulders remained firm. His kiss was soft at first, a gentle brush against her lips that sent shivers down her spine. But then he deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding past her parted lips to explore her mouth. Medea's mind went blank as she gave in to the sensations coursing through her body. She closed her eyes and let out a small moan, feeling the heat of Ryou's tongue dancing with hers. His hands moved down her back, tracing gentle circles that sent tingles up her spine. As their kiss intensified, Medea found herself pressing against him, her breasts flattened against his chest. His hands moved up to cup her buttocks, squeezing them gently before pulling her closer still.
When Ryou finally felt he had absorbed enough of her luck, he gently let her go, a thin, silvery string of saliva connecting their lips.
Because her first kiss had been so intense, Medea, overwhelmed by the experience, rolled her eyes back and fainted.
Ryou gently laid her down on the tatami mat.
Without wasting any time, he initiated the fusion of his Noble Phantasms and skills. At that moment, he felt like the luckiest person in the world!
"Fuse!"
[Ding!]
[Fusing Noble Phantasms "Reversal War God" and "Twelve Labors", and skill "True Divine Body"...]
[Time remaining: 04:59:59]
Now came the long wait.
...
By the time Medea had woken up, she was staring at him with a face full of resentment.
"Master... I'll never get married now."
Being stared at by her sorrowful eyes, Ryou felt chills down his spine. It was as though she might pull out a dagger and stab him at any moment.
"I'll marry you! I'll take full responsibility!"
Overwhelmed by the pressure, Ryou blurted out the words.
"Really~?"
Medea asked in a soft, faint voice.
"Of course! I always keep my word!"
Ryou raised his right hand as if swearing an oath.
But Medea didn't respond immediately; she sized him up with that same sorrowful gaze.
After a long while, she finally whispered, "Master, I'll trust you... for now."
Ryou felt a huge weight lift off his chest, relieved that he had narrowly avoided disaster.
What he didn't see was that after she left the room, the sad expression on her face vanished. She flashed a victory sign with her fingers, her face filled with smug satisfaction.
"Master is such a flirt. This time, I'll teach you a lesson," she hummed softly.
However, when she remembered her first kiss being stolen, her hand subconsciously brushed over her soft lips. Her cheeks turned a faint shade of red, and she walked awkwardly toward her bedroom, a mix of shyness and lingering thoughts in her mind.
"Master, that big perv!" she muttered, clenching her legs together as she hurried into her room.
Back in the other room, Ryou, though he noticed that Medea was acting a bit differently, didn't think too much about it.
All his focus was on the system panel.
Watching the countdown slowly tick away, he couldn't help but feel nervous. These Noble Phantasms, and especially "Reversal War God", were key to his unique fighting style. If the fusion didn't turn out as expected, his overall strength would take a severe hit.
With his heart pounding, the countdown finally reached zero.
The moment of truth had arrived!
[Ding!]
[Fusion complete. You have obtained the Noble Phantasm "Reversal War God: True"!]
Ryou quickly opened the system panel to check the details.
After reading through the system's explanation, he couldn't contain his excitement and burst out laughing.