Chapter 12, please ignore the title!

Chapter 12. Please ignore the title!

Ah—I am at ease now—

Father closed his eyes, never to open them again, beneath the starry sky of that summer night...

She did not cry; she merely let the tears fall. She felt no sorrow, leaving only a small corner in her heart dedicated to the vow of wanting to become an ally of justice.

Her wish was to be able to save others, just like she had been saved in that great fire. Kiritsugu, who had reached out his hand to her back then, was her eternal yearning.

Therefore, she wanted to be like that too—wanting to save others just like Emiya Kiritsugu, without abandoning a single person, saving everyone, and bringing smiles to everyone's faces.

"Then... the Holy Grail... can it grant any wish?" Thinking of her own wish, Emiya Shirou spoke up. (Voice in the margin: It really makes me want to retort! Save everyone? If humanity has no conflict, it will only head toward destruction! Fortunately, this world is just two-dimensional, so if it gets destroyed, so be it!)

"Of course. As expected, Emiya has a dream he wants to fulfill." Rin Tohsaka showed a knowing smile.

"I understand. I will participate in this Holy Grail War!" Emiya Shirou understood. Just as Rin Tohsaka had said, he had a reason to be chosen by the Holy Grail—the desire to save everyone. (Such a chuunibyou ideal!)

Perhaps even the Holy Grail could not grant such a dream, but that did not matter. He did not care about obtaining the Holy Grail. Just like a hero of justice triumphing over evil, since evil existed within the Holy Grail War, he had a reason to fight. This must surely be the reason why the Holy Grail chose him.

...

"Hah!" Using her extreme speed to flash forward, she severed Berserker's limbs, turning him into a torso, and then hurled the projected Blood Dance Rotating Moon in her hand to pierce Berserker's chest, chanting, "Broken Fantasy."

"Boom!" The exploding current scattered charred, shredded flesh all across the sky. Such a bloody scene assaulted the senses of the three Masters present.

Rin Tohsaka's face turned somewhat pale; the scene was far too gruesome, and the air even carried the burnt smell of roasted meat. Yet, thinking that this was human flesh—or rather, divine flesh?—being roasted, wave after wave of nausea assaulted her brain.

As for Emiya Shirou, who had frozen during the first explosion, upon smelling that burnt odor of roasted meat...

"Ugh." Finally, Emiya Shirou was the first to vomit, unable to hold it in any longer. After all, he was merely a student at present. Under such circumstances, holding out until Berserker died for the third time before vomiting could already be considered impressive. Though, should she say he had the perseverance to endure, or that it simply took him too long to process what was happening?

Frowning slightly, Lolita helplessly projected the Blood Dance Rotating Moon once again. Looking at Berserker, whose body was reforming and returning to perfection, she sighed.

"What a complete monster! And seriously, does that loli really feel no shock at all from this kind of scene? How can she be smiling so happily? Does she actually think this big oaf is going to exhaust me to death?" Lolita muttered a complaint as she looked at Illya, who was still watching with intense interest on the side.

"Cursed Twelve Labors!" Although exchanging blows head-on with Berserker like this felt passionate, exciting, and allowed her to kill him multiple times, her inability to take down the opponent after all this time still left Lolita somewhat depressed. To a certain extent, Berserker was even more troublesome than Gilgamesh.

"Twelve Labors?" Rin Tohsaka asked upon hearing Lolita's words.

"Oh. Twelve Labors not only allows him to recover from fatal injuries, but also grants immunity to attacks that had previously harmed him. This is enough to place the already formidable Berserker in an undefeatable position, allowing him to resurrect at full status twelve times." Lolita said, turning her back to the three people behind her.

"Eh? How do you know that!" The smile Illya had maintained all this time turned into astonishment.

"..." Lolita fell silent for a moment, then she narrowed her eyes and said leisurely, "Divine Omniscience!"

"Are you kidding me!!" ×4 (Berserker was already madly enchanted and couldn't understand; otherwise, he definitely would have joined in the complaint.)

"If you are omniscient, how about you tell me the burial locations of all the treasures in Japan?!" Suddenly, a sharp remark broke in, startling the few who had previously wanted to yell at Lolita.

Following the owner of the voice, they saw Rin Tohsaka pull out a notebook. Although she had claimed not to believe it earlier, her eyes were now glittering with golden light. She was probably wishing with all her heart right now that Lolita's words were true.

"..." Facing Rin's appearance, Lolita felt utterly helpless. Why is it like this? Rin, where has your dignity gone? How did it all vanish in an instant? Have you already started preparing to record the locations? The Tohsaka family's finances are truly in dire straits! Gem magecraft burning money is terrifying ⊙﹏⊙ Eh? Rin, your eyes are actually glowing with Euro symbols! Why not US dollars?

"Stop right there, Rin!" Lolita hurriedly shouted, "Stop joking around! I'm not going to say."

"Why?" Rin Tohsaka yelled, "If you don't tell me, I'll use a Command Spell to force you to speak!"

"..." Lolita only felt a thunderclap ring in her ears, her entire body charred black from the shock. (Wait, aren't you lightning-attributed? How could you possibly get shocked by lightning?) 'It's over! If I had known, I wouldn't have put on airs as the God of Omniscience just for some divinity reason! What should I do, what should I do?'

"Don't even think about it. My own abilities are completely enough to withstand a single Command Spell." Lolita threatened.

"Then I'll use a second Command Spell!"

"Um... Rin... what about the Holy Grail War?" Lolita attempted to wake Rin up to what she was supposed to be doing.

"I just want the treasures! Whoever wants the Holy Grail can have it!" Rin's reply caused the corners of Lolita's eyes to twitch violently.

'This girl completely puts money above her life!' Lolita was roaring internally...

"What about the honor of the Tohsaka family? What about your father's wish?" A helpless Lolita played her final trump card.

At the mention of this, Rin predictably stiffened.

"Phew." Letting out a breath of relief, Lolita said helplessly, "If you want treasures, wouldn't it be easier to just wish for them from the Holy Grail once we win it?"

"Ah-ah..."

"..." Lolita stared with deadpan, twitching eyes at Rin, who was draped over a fallen tombstone, looking as though her life had been stripped of all value.

Seriously, what kind of attitude is that? This is far too pessimistic! It was as if her home had been set on fire, her parents butchered right before her eyes, her family destroyed, and she herself sold into a brothel by human traffickers during her wandering days, only to sink into depravity there and be utterly broken... That lifeless, utterly dead expression held an indescribable despair.

Rin, where is your dignity? Hurry up and pick it up!

"Fine, you win!" Lolita shed a tear of utter resignation and said, "Once we head back this time, I'll use alchemy to refine a hundred pounds of gems for you, okay? My little grand-aunt!"

"Iku!"

Alright, she had completely underestimated the extent of Rin Tohsaka's lack of dignity. Hearing this, Rin hugged her own body, gave a dramatic shiver, and leaned backward...

"Sorry, Berserker, I need to take care of some family business first. Please wait a moment for this battle!" With that, Lolita stabbed the two swords in her hands into the ground, tossed her long silver hair behind her, and briskly walked over to Rin, who was lying across a tombstone with the expression of 'I have no regrets in this life' and her hands clasped together. If one were to place a suicide note beside her reading: "To my parents in heaven, I am coming to join you. Whoever finds my body, please do not grieve for me; I died very happily...", if that scene were to appear, there was a guarantee it would look completely natural.

"Don't you dare play dead!" Lolita grabbed Rin's face with both hands and pulled outwards with all her might...

"Ah-ah-ah..." Well, Rin's dignity was finally picked back up.

"OK, problem solved, let's continue." Lolita said as she pulled out the two swords she had previously stabbed into the ground.

"...Huh?! Right, Berserker, tear her to pieces!" Illya issued the command.

"Thud." Berserker collapsed heavily to the ground, dying for the nth time.

"???" ×4

"How did he die? Is there an enemy?" Lolita hurriedly released her spiritual perception to scan the surroundings, but there was no trace of any enemy.

"How... how is this possible? Berserker was actually one-shotted by that twin-tailed, shameless act over there!" Illya pointed at Rin with a look of extreme shock.

"..." ×4.

"Holla." ×4.

"Well done, Rin! You really do have a few tricks up your sleeve!" Lolita collapsed to the ground and gave a thumbs up.

"Truly worthy of being my idol!" This was Emiya Shirou, also collapsed on the ground.

"As expected of the strongest—"

"Since that's the case, does that mean he only has nine lives left?" Standing back up, Lolita looked at Berserker, who was rising once again, and crossed her dual swords into a cross shape: "Shadow Clone Technique!"

"Poof, poof." Two clones appeared behind Lolita.

"Clones?" Rin Tohsaka exclaimed in surprise. After all, this kind of technique seemed to be something from Japan's distant past, existing entirely apart from both science and magecraft, though it had long since been lost to time. Seeing this, Rin recalled the first time Lolita had appeared standing atop a signal tower using that exact method. Could it be that the other party belonged to those fellows whose occupation used to be ninjas?

"I am the bone of my sword. Steel is my body, and fire is my blood. I have created over a thousand blades. The swords projected by Archer are forged only through defeating each hero. Unknown to Death, nor known to Life. Withstood pain to create many weapons, including the pain of battle, seizing the other's sword and burning one's brain to study its structure. Therefore, this life has no meaning. Thus, as I pray, Unlimited Blade Works." ×2.

Three Lolitas: one engaged and held down the charging Berserker, while the other two began chanting the incantation for Unlimited Blade Works.

Of course, Unlimited Blade Works didn't mean that having two people chant would increase its destructive power. It was simply that Lolita planned to have her main body handle the mana output to fire the swords, while another clone focused entirely on the projection, ensuring every single Noble Phantasm projected was rated at A-rank or above.

"Boom!" Smashing apart Lolita's charging clone with a single strike, Berserker had already entered the crimson wasteland filled with countless masterless sword-tombs, inside a Reality Marble where leaping flames appeared on the horizon...

"You have lost, Berserker!"