"An explosion?"
Suzuki was well aware that he wouldn't be shaken by Brunhilda's powerful Noble Phantasm, but as he watched the rising column of black flames, he didn't take his eyes off it even as the blast wave nearly knocked him to the ground.
He seemed to recall a certain hidden memory, not one of despair amid the raging fire, but rather a strange sense of reverence upon witnessing the tremendous power of the explosion. At the end of that vague memory, everything was engulfed in flames, everything was destroyed. Before the despair of failure could set in, someone struggled beyond the expectations of both sides. Knowing that it was already too late, the result of the struggle would only lead to the loss of human dignity, but that person still spoke their true name.
The fragments of a fuzzy memory couldn't be pieced together, and Suzuki even felt that these shattered remnants had nothing to do with him. Why should he revere the person who triggered the massive explosion? Suzuki couldn't answer this question either. Right now, he could only recall that someone caused a huge explosion before the despairing conflagration ignited.
Who was that person? To stop whom? And then...
Unable to remember more.
Suzuki felt the familiar headache tormenting him again. He stopped reminiscing and brought his thoughts back to the current situation. Brunhilda, after changing her class to Caster, had used her Noble Phantasm to free herself from the predicament. There was a possibility that she would head straight for the interior of the camp. Would Atius and Suzuki's Servant, Saber Gilles de Rais, be able to withstand Brunhilda at that time? This question was more urgent and practical, although Suzuki couldn't answer it himself.
Saber Gilles de Rais could sense that his Noble Phantasm, the "Prelati's Spellbook," had been destroyed. Once the book was destroyed, the evil beings summoned by it would also return to their original world. However, upon witnessing the devastating power of Brunhilda's Noble Phantasm, he didn't believe that the evil creatures summoned by the book could survive within it.
Aetius, too, appeared tense. According to his earlier calculations, the creatures summoned by his sacrificed Servant should have been able to injure Brunhilda, and if she was careless, they could even capture and devour her in one fell swoop. But the actual situation exceeded the magus' expectations.
The pillar of black flames gradually disappeared, leaving nothing but scorched earth in its wake. Everything in that area had become fuel for the burning black flames, including the soil.
Before the pillar of fire completely vanished, Brunhilda had concealed herself within the flames. This action was equivalent to informing Aetius and the others that she could not temporarily launch an attack. "Retreating?"
After the pillar of fire had completely disappeared, Suzuki didn't see Brunhilde floating in the air either. Despite the distance, it was still clear when a person of her size vanished.
"What's going on?"
"Perhaps the witch suffered serious injuries and was forced into a desperate situation, which is why she unleashed her Noble Phantasm with maximum power." Saber Gilles de Rais was more concerned about the fact that she had come alone this time, without her Berserker, La Hire. Was it to guard the captured Jeanne d'Arc?
Aetius dispatched his familiar to investigate. He was cautious and didn't relax his vigilance even when the enemy temporarily retreated.
There were still four remaining Servants, including Jeanne d'Arc. Suzuki could confirm that his Servant, Jeanne d'Arc, was still alive through their connection via Command Spells.
"Most likely... she escaped." After a moment of waiting, Aetius voiced his judgment. His familiar had "seen" the battlefield where the surface had been scorched, and he was astonished by the immense magical power that a Servant possessed. It couldn't help but make him wonder what kind of power he would obtain if he hypothetically became a Servant. The Grand Magus?
Due to this attack, there weren't many people in the Western Roman Army camp who had been tormented to death by Brunhilda's black magic. However, most of them had not yet recovered from the previous terrifying ordeal, their faces pale with panic.
Seeing this, Aetius became nervous once again. "It seems that the final battle will take place tomorrow."
"The final battle?" Suzuki had no understanding of military operations. They didn't need to learn such knowledge in the Holy Grail War, and Chaldea would not have recommended them to study it either.
Gilles de Rais immediately understood that the entire camp was filled with fear and exhaustion. The number of people killed by the black magic was minimal, perhaps less than a hundred, which was insignificant compared to the army of tens of thousands. However, all the soldiers needed time to recover and shake off the shadows of the previous horrifying ordeal. They didn't understand what had happened in the terrifying illusionary scene, and they could only wonder if they had angered the gods. Some individuals even lost their lives due to such negative emotions and speculation. This negative atmosphere and imagination couldn't be dispelled overnight, even with Aetius giving the order.
"Master, if we start the battle tomorrow morning, it will be disadvantageous for us considering the small number of casualties caused by the black magic. The morale is crucial," said Gilles de Rais. They were a group of farmers who had only trained for two months and had just been equipped. Under Saber's leadership, they could always display a fighting strength beyond expectations, while under the command of certain other generals, they couldn't even fulfill the role of cannon fodder. The current situation was more severe than anything he had experienced in his lifetime. With his command experience, he believed they should immediately find a fortified city and switch to a defensive battle, prolonging the engagement. The Huns had insufficient supplies, and besides their troops, they had mercenaries from other tribes. Their cohesion relied solely on their continuous victories in previous battles, and while their morale was high, they lacked long-term stamina. If they could switch to a defensive battle and achieve one or two small-scale victories through surprise attacks, even if the outcome was undecided, they could force the Huns to retreat. However, from Aetius' attitude, it seemed that he wouldn't avoid the major battle tomorrow. In an open field, victory or defeat could be determined in just a day or two, and the Huns had the advantage with their cavalry. If it were up to him, he would never lead a large army to engage in an open-field battle.
"You don't need to worry about the clash here. Suzuki Yuki, as well as the knights who have come because of the Siege of Orleans. The decisive battle is not only significant to me and my troops but also to all of you."
Aetius spoke while putting away the spiritual disk in his hand. It was impossible to determine how many Mysitc Codes Aetius possessed, and Suzuki couldn't discern what Aetius had just divined with the spiritual disk.
"I divined Brunhilda's condition and her subsequent actions. She is indeed injured. The last divination showed that she would cooperate with Attila's army in three days, but perhaps due to her failed attack tonight and sustaining considerable injuries, she has transformed to activate a special magic ritual."
After mentioning the magic ritual, both Suzuki and Gilles de Rais thought of Jeanne d'Arc, who was captured by Brunhilda. It could be either to absorb magical energy to recover from her injuries or to summon powerful reinforcements using Jeanne d'Arc. However, Jeanne d'Arc was unlikely to survive until tomorrow.
"What specific ritual is it?" Gilles de Rais asked anxiously.
"The scope of my divination is limited, but the hint I received was 'anchor.' It's probably not just a simple recovery from injuries. In my opinion, she may use Saber Jeanne to create an anchor for fixing a certain conceptual object," Aetius said while looking directly at Suzuki. "Is it related to the Human Order? Although I'm curious about how the Human Order can be disrupted, you won't let me satisfy that curiosity, will you?"
This magus is not joking. He even considered taking the lead in causing a disaster to human order after learning about the possibility of using the Holy Grail to disrupt it, but it remained in the realm of imagination. He lacked the motivation to destroy the human order and even participated reluctantly in the Holy Grail War, having no real need for the Grail. He was a person with desires, but he didn't need something like the Grail to fulfill them. Aetius, a genius magus who believed he was closest to the mysteries of magic in this era, still believed that wishes had to be fulfilled by one's own hands. He considered shortcuts to be self-deception, sacrificing the hardships of achieving wishes for temporary desires was not worthwhile.
Precisely because it is difficult to achieve even with all his efforts, it is worthy of being called a wish, and it gives future generations the motivation to continue striving to surpass their current selves.
Suzuki's response to matters concerning human order was always a reflex. His answer was nowhere near one percent as reliable as Aetius', and perhaps he had the self-awareness that it was not advantageous at all times.
"Very well, young man. But let me make it clear in advance that I won't be able to support you tomorrow, and you obviously can't wait. Tomorrow, I will lead my army to confront the invincible Huns. If you choose to go to Brunhilda's location to stop the anchoring ritual at the same time, I'm afraid I won't have the chance to collect your bodies."
Aetius also doubted whether his side could defeat Attila's army. Through Suzuki, he knew from future history that the Western Roman coalition defeated the Huns on this plain. But would this outcome change due to the occurrence of the Holy Grail War? The Grail had already gathered the souls of four defeated Servants, and Attila would undoubtedly unleash an even more dominant sword cannon with the power of the Grail. Aetius believed that only he could stop Attila, that savage woman who would destroy civilization. Only he could defeat her! As for human order, it became a secondary matter in comparison.
"No need to collect our bodies. Any sacrifice is meaningful to save human order." Even if it didn't concern human order, Suzuki was immune to humor and jokes. He was like a machine, acting solely to save the human order. His life was crucial because once he died, he couldn't continue his mission. But there was one exception, he was willing to sacrifice everything, including himself and others, for the sake of saving human order. Perhaps he hadn't realized his potential for evil before, but Aetius's hypothetical reminder made Suzuki not only acknowledge his willingness to accept "evil" Servants in the cause of saving human order but also included doing any "evil" deeds that aligned with human order to fulfill his mission.
Fortunately, this time, the "Valkyrie" could potentially create a Singularity aimed to prevent the combining of human heroes with mythology after the fading of divine eras. Preventing this self-indulgent desire did not contradict the principles of goodness.
