章 97: Chapter 21. You're Not Wrong, I Just Stand in Your Way
I Will Eventually Embark on the Path of No Return Called a Hero [Arc2] - 21. You're Not Wrong, I Just Stand in Your Way
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"Call out your Servant, I know she's here."
No, Jack can't win against him...
Reika Rikudou took a step back. The man before her was a Servant, not even a magician, and she had no means of resistance. Moreover, behind her was a dead end, making escape impossible. As the man had said, her only option was to call out Jack.
"Don't be afraid, I'm not a bad guy," Cyd noticed Reika's movements but stayed still to avoid agitating her.
Reika glanced at the bruised and battered thug at Cyd's feet.
"Better than being torn apart," Cyd tilted his head. "Still not calling out your Servant?"
"Wh-what are you talking about? Thank you for your help, but I need to go home now," Reika said, putting her hands in her pockets and hastily trying to pass by Cyd.
Cyd raised his left hand and placed it on Reika's shoulder. "You're careful with your words, no flaws at all, but unfortunately, I..."
"Let go of Mom!"
Before Cyd could finish his sentence, a small figure leaped from the shadows, a sharp knife slicing toward his left hand.
"Is she out now?" Cyd smiled.
In the darkness, a pair of eyes slowly opened, and chains shot out from Cyd's shadow like lightning, wrapping around the attacker and slamming her into the wall.
"Jack!" Reika wailed. She pulled a fruit knife from her pocket and stabbed it into Cyd's abdomen without hesitation.
"Snap—"
Reika stared blankly at the broken knife in her hand.
"Ugh... Mom, it hurts..." Jack, pulling at the chains tightening around her neck, pleaded with Reika like a wounded child seeking comfort from their mother.
Hearing Jack's cry, Reika didn't hesitate to drop the broken knife and kneel before Cyd.
"Please... let my child go!"
"Hey~ you were the one who attacked me first," Cyd scratched his head, exasperated. "Medusa, let her go."
"Killing her would be easier," Medusa emerged from Cyd's shadow, her massive scythe against Jack's neck.
"Well, I initially just wanted to have a conversation," Cyd patted Medusa's head.
"Understood," Medusa nodded, returning to Cyd's shadow. The chains binding Jack retracted.
"Jack!" Reika immediately hugged the fallen Jack, crying. If she hadn't stabbed him without hesitation earlier, Cyd might have thought she was just a loving mother.
"I am Ruler Cyd, the arbitrator of this Holy Grail War," Cyd squatted before Reika and Jack. "You've caused quite a commotion lately, so let's have a talk."
Reika hugged Jack tightly and nodded.
"So this is the Black Faction's Assassin?" Jeanne tilted her head, puzzled, looking at Jack clinging to Reika's arm.
"Jack the Ripper," Cyd examined the tear in his clothing made by the fruit knife. "Her true form is the amalgamation of the vengeful spirits of countless abandoned infants in London."
Atalanta frowned.
"Master of the Black Assassin, do you have any explanation for your attacks on the city's magi?" Jeanne stood upright.
"Jack needs mana," Reika clutched Jack tighter.
Before falling to this state, she had been a true young lady. Her past knowledge made her well aware that she couldn't contend with the Ruler before her, Jeanne d'Arc of France and Cyd, the Hero of Pure White of Greece.
"Can you stop your actions?" Jeanne asked, already anticipating Reika's response. "Though I don't know how an ordinary person like you obtained a Command Spell, if you continue attacking magi, we Rulers will have to take action against you."
Reika bit her lip. If she didn't attack magi, she, as an ordinary person, couldn't sustain Jack's existence. But she would rather die than give Jack up.
"Well~ as long as you don't make the bodies too gruesome or destroy them without a trace, we can turn a blind eye," Cyd waved his hand.
Reika's eyes widened.
"That's right, just don't leave bodies—" Jeanne started nodding along, then suddenly realized something was off. "Wait a minute, that's impossible! They've attacked unrelated civilians in the Holy Grail War!"
"Unrelated? Not at all," Cyd tilted his head. "The magi they've attacked are all personnel from the Mage's Association sent here to support the Red Faction Masters, right?"
"Yes... maybe?" Jeanne hesitated.
"Well~ knowing the Holy Grail War has started and staying here is already suspicious," Cyd shrugged. "The Holy Grail War is supposed to be between Masters and Servants. Just like the Black Faction uses homunculi for support, the Mage's Association sent personnel for assistance. Both parties should be considered part of the Holy Grail War. If that's the case, Assassin attacking them is perfectly legitimate."
Jeanne was momentarily at a loss for words. "But... what if there are unrelated magi in the city?"
"The Holy Grail War's information isn't restricted to a few people. If they know it's happening here and still come, they're probably hoping to get a lost Servant and become a Master themselves," Cyd said casually. "So they can be considered Master candidates, and killing them is also fine."
Reika felt a glimmer of hope. Initially, she had felt hopeless being caught by the two Rulers, but she hadn't expected Cyd to speak on her behalf, reminding her of a phrase describing Cyd in mythology:
[He gives hope to the hopeless.]
"This... is too unreasonable!" Jeanne raised her voice.
"The Holy Grail War isn't a performance. If someone plans to take advantage, they must be prepared for the consequences," Cyd pressed down on the agitated Jeanne, then spoke earnestly to Reika. "But you must not attack ordinary people or involve them, or you'll be breaking the rules."
"Yes, yes, yes," Reika nodded repeatedly. She planned to deal with the last magus and then leave.
"Perfectly resolved," Cyd clapped his hands. "Strive hard for your wish."
"Not perfect at all! You're condoning her attacking innocent people!" Jeanne grabbed Cyd's wrist. "Are you really the hero from mythology who gave people hope?"
What a foolish girl...
"Whether they're homunculi or magi, none of them are innocent," Cyd pulled away from Jeanne's hand. "Indeed, in mythology, I gave many people hope. But understand this: I chose to help those people out of my own will, not because I helped others before. A Hero of Pure White... is what they wanted. I am just myself. If they want to leave, I'll protect them and not let anyone harm them. But if they choose to stay, I won't interfere. Even if I reached out to them, they'd just push me away. Even if I dragged them out, they'd return on their own."
[Wisdom] always let him see things as if he had foresight. He could rescue that homunculus who sought his help.
But that homunculus would die. Neither this foolish girl nor he had the power to keep her alive.
But he saw Gordes' eyes. Those weren't the eyes of a magician looking at a tool. If he had to compare, they were the eyes of someone suddenly realizing they had a child.
That chubby man would save that homunculus. Only he could truly save her here.
Should he recklessly drag the homunculus into a dead-end or admit his powerlessness?
Not every time would he be lucky enough to encounter such a situation, where someone could do better. But since it happened...
I can't do it, so I leave it to you.
But this foolish girl couldn't let go. To her, it was torture.
So let it be me. It's not that you didn't act, but that a bad person stopped you.
Now, it's not that you didn't stop Jack, nor did you leave the homunculus to die. It's just that a... cruel person stood in your way.
Seeing Jeanne's increasingly pained expression, Cyd waved his hand.
"You must understand, Ruler only maintains the rules of not exposing the mystics. If you can't ignore the attacks on homunculi and magi, then give up all your Command Spells and follow your will. And remember to leave her body."
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