Chapter 65: Merlin, You Can't Die, Merlin!
Inside the castle, Iri noticed through her surveillance barrier that there were two fireballs descending rapidly from the sky towards their position.
"Is that... an attack from the enemy Servant, Archer?!" Iri rushed to the window, anxiously watching the fireballs falling, their target being the location where Merlin was called by Kiritsugu to construct his magic workshop.
"This is a deliberate and premeditated attack specifically targeting Merlin," Iri realized. She understood that this attack deliberately bypassed the castle where her "Lesser Grail" was located. It was undoubtedly intentional because if she were to be killed, the Holy Grail War would come to an end.
"Should I inform Merlin?" Iri briefly considered but then shook her head. "Though Merlin is incredibly unreliable, he possesses the clairvoyance to perceive events across the world. He must have noticed this attack from the very beginning, and..."
And even if she were to notify him now at the fastest speed possible, it would still be too late. This was a godlike aerial assault, akin to the staff of the heavens. It was unrealistic to think she could inform him with the limited time available after discovering it.
There was one more thing to consider—Merlin claimed to have an undying body. Even if he were to be blasted, it would likely be inconsequential. Moreover, he had probably already foreseen it through his clairvoyance.
Iri realized that her current worries were completely in vain.
"If it's Merlin, he can definitely dodge it," Iri firmly concluded. She nodded in affirmation and sat seriously on the balcony, calmly observing the scene as the attack landed.
Somehow, despite her deep concern for Merlin's safety, she couldn't help but entertain the thought of what might happen if Merlin were truly obliterated. Her lips curled into a slight smile at the image of Merlin being blasted, but she quickly shook her head, thinking to herself, "No, no, how can I think that way?"
Iri remained seated on the balcony, quietly awaiting the spectacle of fireworks that would unfold.
Outside the castle, Merlin, who was digging a hole alongside Fou with each swing of his hoe, suddenly shivered all over his body. Somehow, he felt a malevolent force converging upon him, causing his hair to nearly stand on end.
"Gululu, hey... Cath Palug, I have a premonition of foreboding." Merlin, his face dripping with sweat, said as he looked at Fou, who was standing in front of him, vigorously wielding the shovel to dig the hole.
Fou wiped away the nonexistent sweat from its head with a single claw, casting a curious gaze towards Merlin. Upon hearing Merlin's words, Fou tilted its head and a question mark appeared on its forehead, sensing that something was amiss. It even felt that both Merlin and itself might be in for a thrashing.
Without hesitation, Merlin decisively activated his clairvoyance, probing for the source of his unease. However... as soon as he opened his clairvoyance, he was immediately stunned.
In the sky, there were currently two girls with orange and purple hair, descending from a great height at tremendous speed, heading directly towards the spot where he was digging the hole with remarkable precision.
Fou also sensed the danger and promptly chose to teleport away. However, before it could make its escape, Merlin, who was standing beside it, acted first!
"Hiss~~~ Cath Palug, be carefull !!!" In that instant, Merlin decisively unleashed his B-rank strength, kicking Fou away with a single blow, sending it flying out of the hole and crashing into a tree.
As a result, Merlin had no chance to escape and could only gaze absentmindedly at Fou, whose head was lodged in the tree, as he melodramatically spoke.
"Cath Palug, your well-being is all that matters."
Having said that, Merlin relaxedly lifted his head and gazed at the sky, quietly awaiting the arrival of one of the fireballs next to him. However, whether intentional or not, the spot where Fou was kicked by him happened to be Mashu's most accurate landing point, while the distance between him and Gudako was still several meters.
However... just as Merlin was indulging in his own thoughts, he suddenly noticed that Gudako in the sky deviated slightly from her trajectory and corrected her landing position directly above his head. In that moment, Merlin felt that what was on his head was not Gudako, but rather the word 'danger' that could fill several books!
"Ugh, uguu!!!" With its head stuck in the tree, Fou desperately flailed its limbs in an attempt to escape, but it had no chance.
The next moment, two 'fireballs' descended.
"Thud~~~ !!!!"
"Thud~~~ !!!!"
At the moment of impact, the ground was enveloped in two semicircular fireballs, as if two Tailed Beast Balls (Bijuu-dama) had been fired from the adjacent set, instantly dyeing the azure sky crimson.
The shockwave directly flattened everything within a radius of dozens of meters. As for the tree with Fou's head embedded in it, it was completely vaporized due to the collision with Mashu.
In the nearby castle, with a cup of red tea in her left hand, Iri watched the spectacular scene before her, her mouth forming an 'O' shape, and her eyes instantly lit up.
Her chest suddenly palpitated, and Iri couldn't help but use her right hand to cover her left breast. As she watched the explosion ahead, she couldn't help but feel a stirring in her innermost being. "What's happening? My kokoro (heart) feels somewhat excited..."
At the site of the explosion, once the flames subsided, only two massive craters remained, each with a diameter of at least thirty meters.
"Cough, cough~~~ . " Gudako coughed twice before propping herself up from the pit, supporting her waist. Although it did hurt, it wasn't as painful as she had imagined.
"So soft... Huh? Merlin! What are you doing, Merlin?"
Feeling like she was sitting on something quite soft, Gudako lowered her head to take a look. And just as she looked, she was startled. Beneath her buttocks was a severely weakened big-sized Fou.
Yes, it was her one and only SSR, Merlin!
Gudako panicked. It was the first time she felt such panic. She quickly climbed off Merlin and then grabbed his collar with both hands, shaking him wildly.
Meanwhile, due to Gudako's incessant shaking of his collar, Merlin's head swayed back and forth. Faintly, one could see a gas-like form in the shape of a small ghost about to be expelled from his mouth.
"Merlin, you can't die, Merlin!"
Continuously shaking Merlin with her hands, Gudako tearfully cried out.
"Merlin, if you die... I won't have anyone to give to Chen Gong as ammo!!!"