Chapter 656

Everyone followed the singing and quickly found Zhigengniao and her Servant in the next room.

"A gentle harmonious force drifted within the narrow space; at its center, two singers were guiding the lost." Geridi's voice suddenly changed, becoming sinister and evil, "At the same time, evil spirits also found them, vowing to tear these outsiders apart and swallow them!"

"You spineless coward!" Xing hurriedly commanded saber to go rescue the person.

"No matter what you do, it's already too late." Geridi said coldly.

However——

At a speed impossible to catch with the naked eye, Miss Note seized the attacking monsters and violently smashed their heads into the floor.

Xing momentarily doubted she had seen wrong, scratching her head in a bewildered manner.

"Oh! My cathode-ray tube! Ah! Don't smash my screen with the microphone! Ow!"

Accompanied by a clanging "clang" of screams, it let Xing see, for the first time in this film, content unsuitable for minors, even making her momentarily doubt that Zhigengniao had summoned a Berserker.

Afterwards, Miss Note brushed off the dust on her hands cleanly and efficiently: "Is that all? Back then, the guards of Asdeina Prison were far tougher to deal with than these things."

——

Fate/Meals at the Emiya Household.

Shirou Emiya: "……"

Rin Tohsaka: "……"

Illya: "……"

Everyone's gaze turned in unison toward the Caster sitting beside Rider.

Medusa blushed under the stare, quickly turning her head aside: "What, what are you looking at me for? Not all Casters are as skilled in close combat as she is."

Don't go forming weird impressions of other Casters just because of Miss Note, hey!

Although both are classes skilled in long-range combat, Caster's melee ability is far weaker than Archer's, though Archer's type of dual-wielding melee right from the start is indeed rare.

"That's true, but Miss Note is just too good at fighting, isn't she?" Rin Tohsaka rubbed her eyes, making sure she hadn't misseen earlier.

"Uh… but it's actually pretty good; if the opponent hadn't been moved by Miss Zhigengniao's singing, she'd also know a bit of hand-to-hand combat." Shirou Emiya swallowed, even suspecting that Miss Note's opening line "I have no strength" might be some kind of modest statement.

……Can Saber really beat her?

"Those who've done time are just different." Illya muttered resentfully, "Perhaps the strongest people of Pinokangni all appeared during its early days."

——

"Bravo! As expected of Pinokangni's most splendid flower, equally excellent in both drama and action."

Miss Note snapped: "This shoddy costume and props, plus the messy plot—think about it, besides you there's no one else, Geridi. I barely crawled out of my grave; don't use your trashy film to irritate my eyes."

Geridi, surprisingly not angry: "Of course, leaving the set to the actors is every director's way of survival."

Xing: "You and Geridi seem quite acquainted."

Miss Note responded with disdain: "Just a karmic entanglement."

"We meet again, you two. As a Caster, your fighting style… truly catches the eye." Saber stepped forward from the crowd, "No matter how you look at it, this can't really be called a mage's battle… it seems that in Pinokangni, people's definition of Caster is wonderfully broad."

Archer, however, thought it wasn't strange: "Really? I actually find it quite normal."

Saber glanced at Red A: "You, who fights with dual blades, have no right to pass judgment."

"Thanks to Miss Note's protection, I was able to successfully use harmonious power to feel out the correct direction." Zhigengniao turned her gaze to her Servant, "Just now I saw your back in battle; even though you can't speak your name, I've already guessed it. You are a great person, I can say that with certainty."

"Master, this cannot change the situation; as long as I lack a true name, I remain a powerless warbler-flower artist."

——

Fate/Apocrypha.

"Powerless as a chicken…… tch, this woman really dares to say that."

In a small restaurant in the Romanian countryside, Mordred was violently twirling a large plate of spaghetti with a fork, about to swallow it, when she happened to see the caster in the sky smashing the monster before her like a toy, startling her so much she nearly choked.

"She's clearly strong, yet she puts on a weak, pitiful act… heh… I really got fooled by her."

Sitting opposite her, Shizi Jiejieli leisurely cut his steak, without raising his head, saying: "In the Holy Grail War, anything can happen, and disguising one's strength on the battlefield is a very common strategy."

Indeed.

Suddenly, Mordred seemed to think of something, suddenly leaning close to the Master, deliberately lowering her voice to ask: "Master, do you think we might also see a Caster like this 'Miss Note' in this Holy Grail War—someone who knows no magecraft but excels in close combat?"

"Uh……" Shizi Jiejieli put down his knife and fork, picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth, "If you're asking about a Servant who knows no magecraft, then coincidentally our red side's Caster in this Holy Grail War is exactly that. His true name is Shakespeare—this guy can't even talk about magecraft, he lacks even the most basic combat ability. All day he just spouts half-understood nonsense, shouting about finishing a script… sigh."

"Then does he do any melee at all?"

"No."

"Huh?" Mordred widened her eyes, "That would be utterly useless in combat, wouldn't it?"

"I also can't figure out what they're thinking." Shizi Jie lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, "But the Servant summoned cannot be changed. If you care that much, why not check on the enemy Caster's situation. If he's the same as our Caster, then we've gotten lucky."

——

"Saber shook head: 'No, your self-sacrificing posture protecting the Master just now has already proven that you are an excellent Servant.'"

""You won't understand, when your name doesn't belong to yourself and your value is squeezed dry, that despair."

""That's right." Gelidi's voice appeared from above, "Utterly incapable. Even protecting his own Master is a struggle, let alone winning this Holy Grail War. It would be better to cooperate with us, just like before. Mr. Aodi will fulfill all your wishes."

"However, this sentence seemed to touch Miss Note's berserk trigger, she flew into a rage, and began to berate Gelidi beyond the barrier: 'Shut up! Your artistic cultivation is worse than that of an automatic instrument idiot! Your works aren't even as artistically valuable as a scrapped film reel——'"

"Suddenly, she seemed to realize something, and her words cut off abruptly."

"She let out a heavy sigh, her gaze softening: '…Gelidi, sorry, I went too far. But why are you working for that short, fat backstabber?'"

"Gelidi, hiding in the off-screen voice, also let out a sigh, the voice filled with infinite sorrow——"

""Of course it's because I was summoned by him. Sigh, even if dead and forgotten, Pinokangni hoards our souls like a miser, greedily gripping them. Lighten up, sweetheart—this time at least we have a chance to rewrite our past failures."""