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Chapter - 14: A cute snake
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[Otakemaru Pov]
I could sense the presence of the shadow gradually fading from the impure world, until it vanished completely, retreating to its dormant state until the opportune moment called it forth again.
Above all, I had a growing suspicion about the cosmology from which this "Shadow" emerged, and it posed an intriguing challenge. Boredom was the last thing I would experience.
"Well, this just got more interesting," I murmured, a wide grin spreading across my face.
During my contemplation, I couldn't help but notice that a bounded field had been erected on the school grounds, enveloping the area.
Glancing around, I observed that most of the humans had fallen unconscious, while the Servants were gearing up for combat nearby. It seemed that the stage was set for a grand spectacle.
Certainly, I had no intention of missing out on the excitement. As I strolled slowly through the school building, the surroundings underwent a transformation that fed my imagination.
Yet, everything appeared to be enveloped in a brilliant white.
I was on my back, surrounded by a white void. Well, almost all that met my eyes. Beneath my feet lay a vast expanse of water, a sea I needed to traverse to reach my predetermined destination.
As my feet touched the water's surface, it created gentle ripples that spread out into the boundless space around me. However, I paid little heed to this as I continued my journey. Eventually, I encountered a rather unassuming door positioned at the very center of this surreal world.
With no particular haste, I turned the handle and entered, finding myself immediately in the midst of a confrontation between Archer and Rider. Their respective masters wisely kept their distance, avoiding any potential harm. Additionally, I noticed new faces joining this Holy Grail War, individuals who appeared to belong to the Matou family.
My appearance seemed to have been enough to interrupt the skirmish, as the respective Servants returned to their masters' sides, clearly wary of any potential action I might take.
"What the hell are you doing here!? And more importantly, how did you get here?" Archer asked me with a clear tone of confusion and suspicion while he stood before Rin and Shirou, making a futile attempt to halt me in case I posed a threat to them.
I was not particularly surprised by his shock; after all, to get here in a few seconds, I had used a Marble Phantasm that allowed me to materialize my imagination.
It is the ability possessed by elementals, who are essentially the senses of touch for the natural world. By connecting their will directly to the world, they are able to transfigure the world into whatever environment they imagine.
Of course, the level of manifestation varies depending on the scale of the elemental, and it goes without saying that only nature can be transfigured—things that exist independently of nature are immune.
But I certainly wasn't the kind of Oni who liked to flaunt their strength or indulge in tales of violence and bloodshed while guzzling down a large barrel of sake until I was intoxicated.
Well, from what I could remember, only Ibaraki-Dōj fit this description. Even Shuten-Dōji was much easier to handle, at least until he was completely drunk. Then the nearby humans would have to pray to their gods not to end up being killed and eaten.
"And who the heck would you be?"
Said a small human boy with blue, curly hair and blue-gray eyes. His hairstyle looked like seaweed to me, the same kind I used to season the food I cooked for my subordinates and friends back in Mount Suzuka.
It seemed that the humans of this modern age had become either more ignorant or had simply forgotten the terror of facing a being that could not be defeated.
But I quickly lost interest and completely ignored him. I didn't see anything special in him or even just a little spark of light that could give me any challenge.
He was just another human full of malicious intent trying to fulfill his selfish desires to the best of his ability.
Disgusting...
Therefore, I decided to shift my attention to new targets that were evidently much more interesting. Especially toward the two women with similar characteristics, who had caught my interest for different reasons.
The first one was a human girl with exotic plum-colored hair and eyes, and a voluptuous figure stretching her school uniform. Large breasts, wide hips, and a clearly visible round ass on which the usual long school skirt rose higher.
Seeing her, I couldn't help but think of a certain girl as cold as a snowflake who didn't know human emotions and tried every day to understand their hearts and feelings.
Instead, the other one was a more mature and very tall woman, even taller than me if I had not altered my body. She could only give me a feeling that I was looking at that old mountain snake.
But unlike him, she looked much prettier...
A cute snake...
She had an even more sinful body, voluptuous curves of huge, round, plump breasts, thick, full hips, and long, lush, curved legs.
All of this was held together in a tantalizing wrap of an outrageously skimpy black and purple strapless dress and thigh-high boots of the same color.
Despite the absurdly curvaceous body, however, my attention fixated on her hair. It was a large and beautiful mane of shimmering purple, lighter in color than that of a little human girl, and it reached down to her ankles.
Around her neck, she wore a purple belted choker, and around her eyes, a blindfold of some sort. "A seal of some kind for a Noble Phantasm?" I concluded almost instantly, holding it out for a future battle with her.
"Hey, Rider, kill this guy," Shinji managed to say with disdain in his voice, as if he hated being treated as if he were something completely insignificant.
But, against his expectations, Rider stood motionless without moving a muscle. She looked at me with reverential awe, realizing immediately that she had no chance to win.
More importantly, she seemed to have no intention of risking her life for this worm of a human. Instead, her attention was solely on the purple-haired human girl, as if she was ready to move at the slightest sign of danger.
Interesting...
Moreover, now that I was looking better at the purple-haired girl, I could see that she was much more than just a human being. Still, she was still only an embryo that had yet to grow.
The situation had become tense; no one dared even take a breath, so as not to try to get my attention...
The only one who didn't seem to understand the situation was the blue-haired human. He showed an arrogant expression full of contempt directed at me, as if I were a secondary character in this story and had no importance.
"Shinji—" Shirou tried to intervene, sensing the situation and not wanting it to end in a bloodbath.
"Shut up, Emiya! Hey, Rider! Didn't you hear my order? Kill him..." Shinji managed to say before slowly turning his head to look at a specific part of his body. He noted that his arm had been severed in two and was bleeding profusely, like a fountain.
"AHaaaa!!! My arm!!!" The blue-haired human screamed like a pig to the slaughter as he knelt on the ground, continuing to writhe and cry like a child who was not taking part in a war where we would have to kill each other.
'It was just an arm, is there a need to make all this fuss?' I could only think as I waved my tail to clean it of his blood.
Well, frankly, talking him didn't interest me much and was also becoming more annoying than expected...
So I simply lifted my foot. "Huh?" I couldn't comment on the human as I crushed his head as if he were an insect, and all the blood and matter splattered out in a disgusting display to most observers.
"Onii-sama?"
"Shinji!?" x 2
"What a pathetic human being" I think only mutter, ignoring the surrounding surprised voices as I approached the human who had captured my interest.
Of course, as expected, Rider stood in front of me, blocking my path. "I have no ill intention with her," I said in a flat tone as I continued, "Are you serious about stopping my path?"
Rider seemed to be struggling as she prepared for a fight against me, even though she clearly knew she had no chance against me. But at least I admired her courage.
"R-Rider, it's okay to let him pass..." She said, the purple-haired girl showing a mixture of emotions, ranging from confusion and terror to relief and happiness?
"It's okay, take it easy. I promise I won't devour you..." I couldn't help but say, seeing how she resembled a little beast that had yet to mature, much to my delight.
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