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IBHJ Chapter 987
🕑 Added 2024-09-23 05:59:52 +0000 UTCThe restaurant of the grand hotel was full of life - filled with laughter, the sound of glasses clinking, and music. Big chandeliers lit up the fancy scene, shining on red-faced people and sparkling jewelry. The air smelled of strong perfumes and fancy food.
All at once, as if someone had turned off a switch, the party stopped. People fell forward, their faces landing in their half-eaten meals. Wine glasses tipped over, spilling red liquid across clean white tablecloths like blood.
Looking at this scene, Shirou's brows suddenly furrowed. He turned to Mordred beside him and asked, "Did you feel that?"
Mordred nodded, her face solemn: "It's a Bounded Field. And this presence is... a Servant!"
"Crack crack crack—"
A series of loud cracks filled the air. The ceiling began to break, thin cracks spreading like a spider's web. White dust fell from above, covering the sleeping diners.
A streak of bright blue shot through the breaking ceiling. The figure moved fast, twisting in the air to land smoothly in front of them. Bits of ceiling crashed to the floor around him.
It was a young boy with blue hair in a small braid. He wore silver armor with fur trim and held a long spear. He looked at Shirou and Mordred with wild eyes.
"Were you the ones who put that [Suggestion] on the city this morning?" the boy asked. "A Dead Apostle and a Succubus who came to the surface? Interesting."
Looking at this young boy, Mordred exclaimed, "Oh. It's Cú Chulainn!"
"Yes, it's Cú Chulainn." Shirou nodded.
This young boy was indeed Shirou's fellow student, his kouhai, the Child of Light from Ireland, Cú Chulainn. It was the young, inexperienced Cú Chulainn who had just finished learning from Scáthach—the same one who had shown up in the Holy Grail War in Shinjuku.
As for why he's a kouhai and not a senpai? That's simple. No matter which Cú Chulainn it is, none of them can beat Shirou, who has the qualifications of a Grand.
"You know me?" Cú Chulainn looked puzzled, then laughed heartily. "Well, of course! I am the great hero of Ireland after all!"
"Is he an idiot?" Mordred whispered to Shirou.
He nodded. "He's an idiot."
Cú Chulainn's laughter faded. "But to release a [Suggestion] on the people in the city, and even dare to come to this city... Be it fairies or Dead Apostles, although it's my Master's order, it's also my wish to defeat you before you cause great casualties!"
With that, Cú Chulainn lunged, his spear a blur as he thrust it towards Shirou.
But Shirou's hand moved even faster. With a sharp clang, he caught the spear in his grip.
"What?" Cú Chulainn was shocked, trying desperately to pull his weapon back, but he was astonished to find that Shirou's strength was overwhelming. The spear didn't budge at all.
"Is that all?" Mordred looked at Cú Chulainn with confusion, then extended her small fist and punched him in the stomach.
With a loud "thud", he was sent flying backward, landing on the ground with a pale face, clutching his stomach and writhing in pain.
"You're so weak," Mordred said, blinking at him.
"Mordred," Shirou looked at her with a serious face, saying, "You shouldn't say that. Even if someone is weak, don't mention it openly. It hurts their pride, especially for people who are proud and think highly of themselves."
"Oh, I see," she nodded obediently.
Cú Chulainn looked at the pair, gritting his teeth. His eyes were wide with anger, but he was still holding his stomach, full of helpless rage.
"Damn it—!"
Cú Chulainn angrily slapped the ground, then made a gesture with his hand. The long spear that Shirou was holding suddenly started to vibrate with a buzzing sound.
He let go of the spear. It immediately flew back to Cú Chulainn's hand, as if it had a mind of its own.
"Is there an enemy?" Sac and Sik came over.
Cú Chulainn's eyes lit up. He rushed towards them in one quick move. Those two non-humans were too strong to beat now, but he could take care of these two first.
Shirou sighed to himself. Kouhai, it's not that your senpai looks down on you, but you can't beat anyone here, not even these two level 8 adventurers.
Sure enough, faced with Cú Chulainn's spear thrust, Sik swung his hand axe with a "clang," knocking Cú Chulainn's spear away. But this also allowed Cú Chulainn to see through Shirou's [Suggestion] and see Sik's true form.
"A Half-Dragon man?" Cú Chulainn's eyes widened in disbelief. "Impossible! This Phantasmal Species should have been extinct!"
"What extinction?" Sik grinned fiercely. "You must be a monster from this dungeon. You dare attack me? Be ready to pay with your life!"
Sac and Sik rushed forward, beating Cu Chulainn black and blue. The scene was so brutal that even Mordred had to look away, while only Shirou watched this beating with interest.
Sac and Sik were originally phantasmal species from the Age of Gods, and with the enhancement of the Moon Cell, ordinary Heroic Spirits were no match for them.
Sik loomed over Cú Chulainn, ready to deliver the final blow. The fallen hero lay battered and bloody, his famous spear laying beside him. Just as Sik's axe were about to tear into flesh, a metallic clang rang out.
Shirou had pulled out Rhongomyniad. He extended the sacred lance, the weapon growing longer, blocking Sik's attack just in time. The force of the impact shook the restaurant, sending dust flying everywhere. Chairs and tables went tumbling through the air.
Sik froze, frowning at him. "What are you doing?"
"Don't kill him. There might be someone controlling this guy from behind."
"You mean he's just a small fry? Could he lead us to the dungeon's BOSS?"
Shirou nodded.
Indeed, it was possible, so Sik lowered his hand axe.
But this made Cú Chulainn furious. He glared at Shirou and the others, roaring like an angry dog, "A warrior can be killed but not humiliated!"
Mordred squatted down and patted Cú Chulainn's face. "Wake up, you're a prisoner now."
Cu Chulainn: "..."
Shirou looked at Cú Chulainn. Just by seeing him, he could tell this "dungeon" was a copy made from the Moon Cell scanning his memories.
But why did it only scan him when five people were clearing the map?
And why copy the early Shinjuku?
Shirou had doubts. Besides the Moon Cell system itself, probably no one could answer these questions.
The most important question was: how do they clear the map?
Who is the final BOSS of this dungeon?
Is it Manaka or the Beast that she summoned?
Shirou wasn't sure, but he could try to get answers from those involved in the Shinjuku Holy Grail War.
"Damn it!" Cu Chulainn gnashed his teeth in anger. In his eyes, Mordred, this annoying brat, was so hateful, yet he couldn't do anything about it.
In any society, strength is the main rule. It's just that different societies value different kinds of strength. In today's world, money and connections are power. But in the Age of Gods where Cú Chulainn lived, magical energy and fighting skills were power. The weak always end up dominated by the strong.
"Tell me, where's your Master?" Shirou pointed his lance at Cú Chulainn's neck, looking at him calmly.
"You're as bad as Medb. Hmph, how could a righteous person like me submit to your tyranny?" Cu Chulainn stretched his neck, posing like a martyr ready for execution.
Shirou felt a headache coming on. So even Cú Chulainn had such an immature phase.
Unlike the worn-out, hard-working delivery guy in Chaldea, the Cú Chulainn summoned in Shinjuku was still young. He couldn't understand how unfair the world could be - a person who was rough but inherently just.
"Mordred," he glanced at her.
"Got it." She squatted down in front of Cú Chulainn again. "Still not awake? You're a prisoner."
Cu Chulainn snorted disdainfully. Even as a prisoner, he wouldn't betray his Master, even if she was an awful woman.
But as he thought this, Cú Chulainn looked into Mordred's eyes and suddenly felt foggy. The light in his eyes dimmed.
Obviously, Cú Chulainn didn't know that Mordred was now more than a Servant or ordinary Succubus - she was a Moon Cell-enhanced succubus. She had often been tricked by Merlin's illusions as a child, and he had once casually told her about succubus illusions on a whim. But given her nature, she'd taken it to heart.
Now, as a Moon Cell succubus, she could use the mind control of a level 8 succubus very well. So she was able to easily take over Cú Chulainn's mind with ease.
"Where is your Master?" she asked.
"In her workshop," Cu Chulainn answered with a blank stare.
"Take us there,"
"Okay," he nodded blankly.
As Shirou and the others were about to follow him to find the person in charge, Mordred spoke up. "Kiara's not back yet. If she comes back and can't find us, it'll be bad. I'll wait for her here. You guys go to the workshop and find the mastermind first."
Shirou was about to speak when she added, "Don't worry. His magic resistance isn't enough to resist my illusion. It would take at least an hour to break it. I'm a bit tired, so I'll stay here and won't go anywhere."
He thought for a moment, then nodded. He left with Sac and Sik, following Cú Chulainn.
What he didn't notice was the complex mix of emotions in Mordred's eyes as she watched him leave – sorrow, nostalgia, and a flicker of resistance.
"I'm fine. I like the way things are now..." she murmured softly.
After Shirou had been gone for a while, she stood up. She looked around the empty room and whispered, "Goodbye."
Without hesitation, she turned and ran out of the hotel.
Comments
JeanMartin Freites
Wonder what that's going to be about.
