Pendragon's Infinity Gauntlet

Page 53

"Barrier—!"

Just as Rin Tohsaka was eating her lunch with a sense of utter boredom, something unusual suddenly happened at the school.

The sky was dyed a bright red.

The red air that enveloped the entire school could paralyze one's consciousness simply by inhaling it.

...While it wouldn't have such a significant impact on magicians who can generate magic power within their bodies, for humans with little magical power, simply breathing this air would cause them to fall into a deep sleep, and they would eventually die—

"Lily!"

Rin Tohsaka's first thought was of her troublesome business partner.

Rin, who was rushing down from the rooftop, encountered the person she was looking for, and behind her, the Servant Archer appeared in physical form.

Under such a barrier, only those with physical strength and magical power, as well as Servants, have the ability to move.

"Tohsaka—!"

"I know, hurry up, Lily—!"

The teaching building was all red.

A red corridor, as red as blood.

The air was as red as blood.

The dense air clings to the skin like mud, which alone can give the illusion that this is a nightmare.

"Well--"

Rin exhaled a breath filled with disgust from her tightly closed mouth.

On the fourth floor, I rushed into the classroom closest to the stairs.

"...!"

At that moment, Rin Tohsaka stopped in her tracks, hesitating whether to step into such a tragic situation.

“——Hmm.”

Lily completely understands this feeling.

She herself felt the same way and really didn't want to see this kind of scene.

"—There's still breathing. There might still be time."

Rin Tohsaka walked to the student lying on the ground and checked his pulse and breathing.

This time, she did not take out the gemstone to save people.

Are you kidding me? How many ordinary people are there in the whole school? Unless she's carrying a snakeskin bag full of gems or there's a spiritual vein underground, how are you going to save her?!

Therefore, Rin Tohsaka wisely chose to preserve her strength, preparing to use it against the person who set up this barrier.

...No one in the classroom was awake.

...The students sitting in chairs and the teachers on the podium all fell to the ground without exception.

Most of the students lost consciousness, their bodies convulsing, foaming at the mouth like a not-so-funny joke.

...and the remaining few.

A very small number of students exhibited other unusual behaviors.

...The skin is melting.

Human skin is melting away little by little, like clay slipping off plaster.

The sight of students lying on the ground with their skin gradually dissolving is reminiscent of a giant stomach.

Looking at the devastation in the classroom, Lily held her breath.

"—"

There's no time to think about it anymore.

Even if it's just a moment earlier, we need to deal with this situation as soon as possible.

"Where is Saber?"

Lily noticed that only Rin was acting alone, and after realizing the seriousness and urgency of the situation, they couldn't wait to strengthen their own fighting capabilities.

"I'm here."

Pendragon appeared next to Lily, who was speaking, to express his dissatisfaction with Rin Tohsaka's mistake.

"Hey! I've already apologized, what more do you want, Saber! Even if you're being willful, there's a limit..."

As the client with three, no, now two, Command Seals, Rin felt that she had been quite an enlightened and tolerant Master for so long, and it was too much for this guy to give her such a look.

To put it bluntly, this is called ungrateful! Just wait until we get home tonight, I'll give you a piece of my mind!

Miss Rin snorted inwardly. As her servant, he didn't give her any face even in front of outsiders. It was too much.

"Hmph, if I were willful, I wouldn't have appeared."

Several hours later, Saber finally acknowledged her, and Rin felt an urge to burst into tears. It hadn't been easy for her.

As for what I just said, it belongs to her beautiful fantasies and has nothing to do with reality.

As long as Pendragon is willing to talk to her, Rin Tohsaka is overjoyed and won't have any resentment.

"Um... I don't know what happened between you two. But..."

Lily's emerald green eyes swept back and forth between Pendragon and Rin Tohsaka for a moment before she spoke, "As you can see, a Servant has set up a barrier. Let's remove it quickly."

Archer wisely avoided provoking this trouble, completely suppressing his previous sharp tongue and appearing like a proper servant.

“I agree, I can sense the presence of the servants on this floor.”

P.S.: I'm so sleepy, I can barely keep my eyes open...

Chapter Ninety-Two: Beauties Deserve Only the Strong

Chapter Ninety-Two

Seeing that his master had spoken, Archer quickly chimed in, not wanting to miss any opportunity to gain favor.

"Ah."

Pendragon nodded to Lily, then glared at Rin Tohsaka.

Such blatant discrimination even makes one wonder who her Master really is...

Lily smiled sheepishly, feeling like she was being used as a "tool"? It was definitely awkward in front of Rin.

As for Rin Tohsaka herself, seeing Pendragon like this, she felt like crying but had no tears left to shed.

But it's better than not seeing anyone at all...

"Wait! This floor...!? You mean the servant is on the fourth floor!?"

"There's no mistake... Do you have a problem?"

“Hmm—Archer’s senses should be accurate, but this is strange. I feel that the base of the barrier should be on the first floor.”

"Archer, being a Servant, is slightly better at sensing the aura of a Servant, but I'm not bad at sensing traces of magic."

"...? So, the Servant is clearly on this floor, but the barrier is set up on the first floor, Tohsaka?"

Lily was a little confused. Could this be a Stand attack?

There was also a third party with even better perception on the field. After the confusion arose, everyone else turned their attention to Pendragon, as if asking who was right.

"Hmm... I can't be sure, but that's my feeling. The base of this barrier should be on the first floor."

Rin Tohsaka shared her discovery, while casting a questioning glance at Pendragon.

"You're both right."

That's how the script is written. Pendragon doesn't even need to sense it carefully. Besides, she can sense the Servants active on this floor.

"There are Servants on this floor, and the base of the barrier is indeed on the first floor."

After receiving Pendragon's affirmative answer, Rin Tohsaka and Lily fell into a brief silence.

A choice between two options...

If they were Servants and the person assigned to this level was a Master, they would definitely use one side as a trap.

If the wrong choice is made, the people in the school will become the victims—

"Don't worry about it anymore."

Seeing the two girls' conflicted expressions, Pendragon opened his mouth to speak.

“Since you were the one who suggested this floor’s Servants first, you’ll be in charge of handling it. I’ll go to the first floor with the other two.”

"Why do they need to follow you?"

Archer was very dissatisfied.

"Because they need my protection."

Pendragon said this with a straight face and as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“But Lily is my Master. No matter what, I should have no problem acting with her.”

Archer retorted, attempting to assert his rights.

"Do not."

Pendragon's dark golden eyes stared silently at him, his ahoge (cowlick) standing straight as a sword.

"Beauty is only meant for the strong, and I..."

Pendragon made a fist gesture with a blank expression and said calmly, "I want them all."

hmmmmmm…

Although the hand clenched into a fist is so beautiful it could outshine any other hand in the world, Archer had already experienced the hardness of that fist once at the very beginning of the summoning, and he sincerely said he didn't want to try it again.

"--All right."

Not only Archer, but Rin Tohsaka and Lily also agreed.

Although it felt a bit bad to let Archer act alone, he should be able to handle the fight on his own.

"—Archer, I'm entrusting the Servant to you. You can fight alone, right?"

"That's natural."

Archer proudly raised his head, practically smugly displaying the words "I am the strongest" on his face.

"Hmm?... The aura of the weak."

Pendragon's silver-gray ahoge twitched, pointing towards the corridor outside the classroom door.

"what?"

"??"

"There's a faint presence outside. Looks like we're surrounded."

Seeing the puzzled looks on Lily's face, Pendragon gave an answer.

"!? Surrounded? Surrounded by what!?"

"It's probably some kind of familiar. But we'll know once we go out and check."

"--Is that so? Can you go and lead the charge?"

Archer said to Pendragon.

"No, this floor is yours. I'll go to the first floor with them."

"Ok."

It seemed that the man in the red bodysuit had anticipated this outcome; after projecting two knives, he dashed away.

"Then... let's go to the first floor. Let's go, Rin Tohsaka, Saber."

The two of them imitated Archer's running posture and rushed out of the classroom.

The moment Pendragon slowly walked into the corridor, he saw the true faces of the weak people surrounding them.