Fate: Hero of Justice Takeover
Chapter 339: [339] Jealousy Distorts the Soul

Chapter 339: [339] Jealousy Distorts the Soul

Time: Unknown—or rather, after transversing through time and space.

Location: Also unknown—or more precisely, in a poisonous swamp.

Cast: One super-sized wild boar wallowing in filth... and Sakatsuki, crouching on a treetop, trying not to vomit.

"Ugh, this smell could kill a man... Like a landfill full of rotting garbage."

Under the concealment of Hades’ Cloak, Sakatsuki pinched his nose tightly, eyes narrowed in disgust as he watched the enormous wild boar roll gleefully through the swamp, flinging mud and poison in every direction.

To the wild boar, this was a relaxing mud bath—a natural act to rid itself of parasites and dirt.

To Sakatsuki, this was literal hell.

He swore he could feel his HP dropping just from crouching still in this place!

Taking mental note of this indignity for future payback, Sakatsuki kept his magical presence suppressed—not daring to teleport without an anchor, and worried that even the smallest trace of mana would alert the beast. He moved swiftly through the dense jungle, using the boar’s squelching and snorting to mask his escape.

Fighting? Absolutely not.

Not even the most hardened battle maniac would choose to wrestle a toxic pig in a giant toilet.

"Even if I die right here, even if you make me jump into this pit—I, Sakatsuki, will never fight a boar here!"

But just as he was thinking that... Sakatsuki sensed something.

Shff—!

His head whipped around.

For a moment—just a fleeting instant—a flash of golden light flickered across the wild boar’s body.

Sakatsuki fell silent.

Then, he stopped walking.

Then, he clenched his fists.

And then—

Sakuya turned into a bolt of pure light, his face twisted with fury, charging straight at the wild boar like a madman!

Jealousy twisted his soul!

Rage steadied his aim!

That damn boar—

It had a Holy Grail!

That’s MY Holy Grail!

The one he’d lost at the Second Singularity—and now even a pig had one?!

Heretic.

Unworthy.

Eliminate.

***

Time: Unknown—or rather, seven days after their arrival.

Location: Unknown tropical island, shoreline.

Cast: Members of Chaldea, magical girls, and Draco.

"Gáe Bolg—Barbed Spear that Pierces with Death!"

A crimson blur shot forth like a thunderclap.

Even with a shell tougher than armor, the crab never stood a chance — the cursed spear tore straight through it. The man-sized crustacean collapsed, foam spewing from its mouth, utterly still.

The barbed lance returned automatically to Cú Chulainn’s hand. Yet even after such a clean kill, his expression remained grim.

"Which wave was that?"

"Counting from sunrise today—the fourteenth."

Diarmuid let out a tired laugh, though even his ever-handsome features looked a little worse for wear.

It seemed this island had a strange relationship with time.

Even though Sakatsuki had arrived the day after their own teleportation, five days had already passed on this island by then.

In those five days, Ritsuka and the others had long abandoned the hope of reestablishing communication.

Chaldea’s food supplies had completely run dry.

With no Skadi to use Runes for survival support, and no Tawara Touta’s endless rice bag—their situation was growing increasingly dire.

Worse still, the island was crawling with waves upon waves of aggressive, man-sized crabs, seemingly endless and entirely hostile.

"Still, this number is a bit much, don’t you think?"

With a flick of his arm, Sasaki Kojirou shook the blood and slime from his katana, his tone as calm as ever:

"Even with Lord Cú Chulainn reinforcing the perimeter with Runes, it hasn’t made much difference... But I suppose it can’t be helped. After all, from the perspective of the local fauna, we’re the invaders here."

"The real problem is the forest," another Servant chimed in. "Even if there aren’t any giant crabs in there, the snakes, bugs, and all sorts of things are bad enough for the girls."

"Yeah. The Master’s got some defensive Mystic Codes, so she can barely hold out. But those three little girls..."

"Speaking of which—has Miss Illya been transformed this whole time since yesterday?"

"Ah, yeah... Apparently, three days ago Ritsuka convinced her to scout the forest for a potential shelter. Her clothes got torn to shreds by wild animals."

"So she’s been using her magical costume to cover up?"

"Yikes... that’s pretty tragic."

The three male Servants fell silent, and eventually all sighed in unison.

"First time I’ve ever missed Master Scáthach. Preferably in her Caster form."

"Seriously... This is not the kind of summer vacation I signed up for."

And if even the thick-skinned male Servants were this dispirited, the girls—more sensitive by nature, were far worse off.

"I wanna go home..."

Illya looked completely defeated, like a tiny flower trembling in the wind.

Not even the warm summer sun and the tropical beach could lift her spirits, especially not when she was wearing tattered clothing and clinging to the last shreds of dignity.

While Miyu’s outfit was still intact, she remained in her Magical Girl form, glued to Illya’s side, not daring to leave her for even a second, afraid she’d suddenly dispel her transformation and end up half-naked.

Meanwhile, Kuro, their main combatant, had been assigned to a recon mission into the forest with Artoria, and neither had returned yet.

"Calm down, Illya. Instead of complaining, let’s try to look on the bright side."

Miyu clumsily tried to comfort her, the effort earnest if a little awkward.

"Look, the beach is... beautiful?"

"But the giant crabs are terrifying." Illya shivered.

"Well, um... at least it’s not hot, right? Miss Mordred has been complaining non-stop about her armor being too heavy and sweaty."

"But it’s so stuffy at night... and I miss my big brother’s cooking..."

Illya’s eyes welled with tears again.

"At least we didn’t die from Bazett and Draco’s AoE crossfire... right?"

"Miyu, are you trying to comfort me with a question mark?!"

Illya couldn’t help but laugh through her tears, though it came out half-exasperated.

"Seriously, Miyu... sometimes I wonder where your sense of common sense even is."

She patted her cheeks, trying to pull herself together.

Just as she was about to talk to Ritsuka and discuss a possible way out of this mess, Ruby suddenly spoke up.

"Illya, something’s changed in the forest, two massive unknown mana signatures are clashing!"

Not only did Ruby react, but the Servants nearby also looked up in unison, sensing the disturbance echoing from the jungle’s depths.

"You all felt it too, didn’t you, Illya?"

Ritsuka Fujimaru, accompanied by Mash, strode over with urgency in his step.

"According to Miss Artoria, who’s been scouting inside, someone’s engaged in combat with a massive magical beast. That makes it the fifth day since we arrived... and it seems new humans have appeared on this island. We just don’t know if they’re locals or, like us, displaced through dimensional travel."

At that, Ritsuka scratched her cheek sheepishly, but still extended a hand toward Illya.

"I know your last trip into the forest left... scars. But I’d like to ask you to come with me. To make contact with this mysterious newcomer."

Before Illya could even respond, a voice that had remained quiet all this time suddenly cut in.

"Then this time... We shall accompany you."

Draco, the little girl in the red dress, finally spoke up, her voice quiet but firm.

Ritsuka glanced at her, repeating the archaic self-reference she used — "We...?", then broke into a bright, confident smile.

"Of course! Glad to have you."

And so, with the sound of distant thunder echoing faintly through the forest, Ritsuka led her companions onward—toward the site of the fierce new battle.

***

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