"My god! The earth itself has been gouged away!"
"Every corpse piled here has its head buried in its chest, rammed straight into the ground!"
"That isn't the half of it! Bodies torn asunder, rivers boiled dry, the land fractured... the battlefield is painted in blood without a single inch spared!"
"There is no mistake. This is—!!"
"The work of Cú Chulainn!!"
"Hachoo!"
A sneeze cuts through the air.
Godlike feats that no other could replicate; all the work of Cú Chulainn.
This is Cú Chulainn's way of forging connections.
"I am Cú Chulainn of Ulster. Though I reckon I hardly need to introduce myself at this point."
He holds his spear, radiating a killing intent so dense and ferocious it is visible to the naked eye. Cú Chulainn speaks succinctly.
"It's fate. State your names before you die."
"—First Spear of the Knights of Fianna, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne."
A radiant beauty, a charming mole beneath his eye, wielding dual spears of crimson and gold. The beautiful young warrior, Diarmuid, announces his name with a look of awe.
"And I, the Captain of the Knights of Fianna, Fionn mac Cumhaill."
A man who smiles with the resolve of a doomed destiny, possessing peerless beauty and a magnificent spear. The leader who binds together the glorious Knights of Fianna.
Both are heroes belonging to the Knights of Fianna, their honor etched into Celtic history. They must have been summoned by, and are now serving, Queen Medb.
Their spirit is tremendous. It is the aura of warriors.
...And it is also the survival instinct of those who harbor the premonition of inescapable death.
"——...!"
Rikka swallows hard.
A Celtic battle. She widens her eyes, determined not to miss a single moment of it.
Yet, she finds herself feeling something strange.
Despite the overwhelming, dense, and terrifying killing intent he radiates, she feels neither fear nor dread.
...All she feels is relief and certainty.
With him, it will be alright. That back of his gives her absolute peace of mind.
He speaks to her without words—to the Master who watches over him, who entrusts her back to him.
Trust me, he says.
(I do trust you, Cú Chulainn...!)
Clutching the back of her right hand, Rikka prays.
(Win! Beat them flawlessly!)
—Unintentionally, that thought reached him.
The Command Spell transforms into a massive clump of magical energy, flowing into Cú Chulainn.
A Command Spell holds absolute authority over extremely specific and limited compulsions.
If the order is 'Come here,' the Servant will leap through space-time.
If the order is 'Commit suicide,' they will force their weapon into their own body with all their might.
If the order is 'Destroy the Holy Grail,' they will shatter it even if it consumes their very existence.
Conversely, ambiguous orders hold no compulsive force.
'Obey me forever' would merely inflict a status penalty if they disobey.
'You must win' simply converts the spell into raw magical energy to be fed back to the Servant.
—Rikka's wish, at this late stage, is practically a waste from a magecraft perspective.
It is a wish too conceptual, too visceral.
—However. To the warrior of Ulster:
—Yeah. Leave it to me!
To him, who had been forced to swallow bitter insults and even take his own life by Command Spells in the past, that wish was different.
—You really are the best Master a guy could ask for, Missy!
The sentiment granted by that Command Spell... was a precious wish, equal in weight to the glory he had piled up in life.
"Right then, let's get this started!"
Cú Chulainn roars, pouring power into his frame—!
"——My Lord."
Diarmuid calls out to his liege, Fionn, without turning around.
"——What is it, Diarmuid?"
Fionn responds, also without turning.
"...Even if it is but for a fleeting moment. I, Diarmuid, am grateful to stand shoulder to shoulder with you in battle."
It was a heartfelt sentiment, and a wish fulfilled.
To fulfill the true desire of chivalry. That was Diarmuid's only wish.
He would wish it even upon the Grail: To seize an honorable victory alongside his Lord.
Therefore—his wish had already been granted.
"——I feel the same, Diarmuid."
Fionn smiles refreshingly.
"To stand on the same battlefield as you again, truly, I..."
Two lords and retainers, confirming the bond that was surely born and surely nurtured between them.
Gratitude for the miracle of their meeting.
Joy for the destiny of their reunion.
Their hearts were undeniably connected.
——But, at the same time, for a split second, they forgot.
"Come, together we shall——,"
...They forgot who the man standing before them was.
"————My Lord...?!!"
They forgot the meaning of standing before Cú Chulainn on a battlefield.
"『The Soaring Spear that Strikes with Death — Gáe Bolg』"
They forgot the pride of this high-born hound, who is compassionate to allies and never betrays a friend.
"——Gu, hha...——"
And—to those who oppose him:
"——The hell are you lot jabbering about? Save your dying words for inside your own camp, you morons."
He shows not a single speck of mercy. They forgot his ferocious temperament and true nature—!
Fionn mac Cumhaill stands frozen, vomiting massive amounts of blood.
In his chest—no, where his chest used to be—a clean, hollow cavity has been bored out. The heart, the surrounding organs, the muscle, the skin; all of it gouged away.
—Yes. Invoking the cursed spear of causal reversal, the Gáe Bolg, he had kicked it straight at Fionn.
Traveling at speeds easily exceeding Mach 3, the cursed spear was released with all its resulting power focused solely on piercing the heart.
It did not merely pierce. It completely scooped out the entire chest area before flying off into the distance.
"Draft's a lot better in there now, eh, Mac Cumhaill kid?"
"————————————————"
"See ya. Let's meet again in the next karmic cycle."
He bids farewell to Fionn, who has been reduced to a corpse with dimming eyes, his Spirit Origin and organs utterly destroyed.
"MY KING————!!!!"
The wail of the loyal knight echoes, his liege slain before him.
However—
"Quit your squealing. You're next."
In an instant, Cú Chulainn steps into his lethal range. Diarmuid's skin crawls.
—He's going to kill me—!!
With his warrior's instinct and cultivated Mind's Eye, he perceives his own fate and struggles against it.
"『Gae...』——!!!"
He attempts to release his True Name—but.
"『The Indestructible Spear that Crushes — Dubh Bach』"
Everything is too slow. Fate has already been decided here.
"Wha—!!?"
Cú Chulainn releases his True Name, swinging his black spear.
Diarmuid blocked the incredibly fast and heavy spear strike. He should have blocked it.
The reason Diarmuid's eyes widened in despair...
...Was that the crimson and yellow spears that touched the enemy lance... were blown away into dust.
——And then.
"Gahhh————!!!"
The Gáe Bolg, having flown far into the distance, returns to the hand of its master, Cú Chulainn, at many times its original speed.
——While piercing through Diarmuid's heart and obliterating everything in its trajectory, just as it had done to the King he served.
"I'll be taking that heart."
As he hears the voice of the Child of Light announcing the duel's conclusion from far away...
"I've got a vow that won't let me lose... hell, it won't even let me struggle. If you can't dodge something like this, you can't stand before me."
Tormented by the emptiness and loss of having his Spirit Origin, his heart, and his everything shattered, the last thing Diarmuid saw was...
"Next time, I'd like to stand shoulder to shoulder. —See ya, Diarmuid."
Walking toward his Master, shining with a majestic light, without a single drop of blood remaining on him.
"————Wait, for... me...————"
It was solely the heroic figure of the Child of Light.
——Cú Chulainn had sworn a vow to himself.
He would never wield this gifted power for his own greed.
He would not drown in the pleasure of war, nor surrender himself to the joy of battle.
He would fight simply to fulfill his vow. He decided to swing his spear for the sake of the Master who placed a wish upon him—a wish heavier and prouder than any other. For the sake of his Master's future.
As a warrior, he will run. He will fight as he pleases, and he will grasp victory without fail.
He will shoulder even a little of the burden his Master carries, making it lighter.
He will dash through the shortest path, and fulfill his vow in the shortest time.
Someday, so that the Missy can cast off every single weight and grasp a future where she can laugh from the bottom of her heart in this world, he will stake his everything and fight to the end.
'Until the world is saved, be a warrior who loses to no one.' Just to fulfill that. That is why he fights with pride.
Defeat is out of the question.
Know that even a hard-fought battle is a disgrace.
What he will give to his Master is nothing but overwhelming, absolute victory.
Otherwise, I couldn't forgive myself.
To the Missy who decided to use the Holy Grail on me without sparing a thought.
To the Master who decided to shoulder my everything just because she 'wanted to see the cool me.'
...To answer the expectations of the foolish Missy who used a wish-granting device just to restore my everything.
If I don't answer that, there's no meaning in calling myself a Hero.
"——Sorry, sorry. Kept you waiting."
The usual Cú Chulainn, grinning with a flash of teeth.
"I got a little carried away. ——How was it?"
He roughly ruffles her hair.
"Was the Servant you chose cool?"
"——Yeah! You were the best! Just like Kon-chan said, Aniki is the greatest warrior!"
"Oh!! I'm gonna keep tearing it up from here on out, so you better expect great things! Right, let's head back!"
With a whoosh, he scoops Rikka up into his arms and accelerates rapidly, dashing across the American continent.
"The time it takes to get back might be longer than the battle, Aniki!!"
"Haha, you might be right! In that case——I suppose I'll run a bit more seriously!!"
He increases his speed further, reaching Mach 5. Scattering sonic booms and gouging up the American earth as he goes.
"Too faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaast!!!!"
"This is just moderately serious! Without runes you'd be minced meat, so hold on tight, Master!!"
"Amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing!!!!"
The Blue Comet raced in a straight line.
"Hmph. It seems he dispatched them without delay. Good work, Cú Chulainn."
—I-I never expected he wouldn't even struggle...! Cú Chulainn's full power is far beyond my imagination...!
"If Heracles is the strongest, then that man is the ultimate warrior. I bestowed my treasures upon him; defeat or struggle is out of the question. —He likely feels the same."
—Gulp...
"Well? Ea. Do you think I would fall behind that man's seriousness?"
—You would not.
No, I will not let you! As long as I am by your side, absolutely!!
"—Fuhaha! Is that so, is that so! How reliable! Truly, your existence is the perfect medicine for boredom and arrogance!"
—Ah, ah, ah...! I-I am so sorry! To say I wouldn't let the King lose... that was too insolent, too arrogant...!
"It is fine. —I place my trust in you. More than anything."
—Yes! I will work even harder for Gil!
"Fuhahahahaha! Truly, you are adorable beyond measure! Call me that once more, hm? Come now, say it quickly, hm?"
—Ahh! Ahh! Ahhh~! Excuse me! I'm sorry! That was disrespectful—!!
(So precious... [Turns into rainbow crystals, becomes Rainbow Dust, and shatters] )
Fou——!?
"Now then. I have teased the Princess to my heart's content. —Now."
???
"——...Rama... sama..."
"—Ea. You have no time to be blushing."
—H-huh?
"Find some original texts on 'Curse Removal'. As many as exist, a mountain of them. You will surely find something that can repel even the curse of a god. If there are texts on 'Transfer', that would be even more solid."
—A Servant who has received a grave curse... could it be...?
"—I care nothing for romance stories, but enjoying the unsightly struggle of a fool breathing hard for the sake of his beloved's cheers isn't bad. Besides—"
—?
"—It will serve as excellent teaching material for your amusement. Have you been influenced by Konra? Truly, even I have become soft, harboring such worldly desires—"
NEW Legend of Cú Chulainn
Two seconds after stating his name, he had slain two Servants.
He kicked his spear at Mach 3 to kill one, and caught the spear returning at double that speed with one hand.
Leaving the reunion with an old acquaintance turned enemy for the next life, he slaughtered them in an instant.
This is what is known as "Cú Chulainn's Matchmaking."
-------------------------------
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