Hardy walked among the ruins. The setting sun smeared on the ruins like blood, and the surrounding area was lifeless, just like a tomb.
This scene was so familiar to him that he could no longer be familiar with it. He would come here every time he closed his eyes.
At first he thought he was cursed by a certain Master who participated in the Holy Grail War, but later he discovered that the person who cursed him was not someone else but himself. To be precise, it was the wish he was pursuing that cursed himself.
He didn't know how long he had been wandering when he suddenly heard a vague and melodious song, like the song of an elf floating from the forest on a summer night, mysterious yet a bit ethereal.
Following the singing, Hardy walked over and passed through the mountains of ruins in front of him. He saw a slender girl sitting on the collapsed building, her long white legs swaying gently in the air.
The light of the setting sun fell on the girl's body, coating it with a layer of blood-colored golden light, making it difficult for him to see the girl's face clearly. Her golden hair was woven into exquisite hair accessories and spread behind her back.
People have endless aftertaste.
He had never heard that song before, and it felt strange to him in terms of pronunciation and other aspects, but the only thing he was certain of was that he knew that the content of the song was praising eternal sleep.
This girl does not belong to this world, she seems to exist more in people's fantasy of a better life, like fairies and dragons.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time. You didn't notice me until now. You're really slow."
The singing stopped, and the girl turned her head slightly to look at Hardy beside her, and spoke. Her voice was ethereal and clear, with the feeling of echoing in a hollow valley.
"Who are you?"
As a qualified and mature magician, Hardy did not feel any hostility in his heart when faced with the girl who appeared strangely in front of him.
"who I am?"
The girl repeated his words with great interest and shook her head.
"It doesn't matter who I am. Of course, it's not impossible to tell you. You can just call me the Guardian of the Holy Grail."
"Guardian of the Holy Grail?"
Hardy frowned slightly, as if he understood something, but also seemed to understand nothing.
"This kind of thing is not very important. In short, if you want to obtain the Holy Grail, you must first defeat me and obtain the qualification to go to the city in the sky. If you cannot obtain the qualification, everything you expect will be meaningless."
"Then you are my enemy?"
"To a certain extent it can be said to be true, but to a certain extent it can be said that it is not. After all, as you can see, I am very weak. If I were punched, I would probably cry for a long time."
The girl stuck out her tongue and showed a sly and playful smile.
"So let's change the approach. I've been observing you for a long time, and this world is the most profound memory in your heart."
"I didn't expect that there is such a bad world. People are in panic all day long, and they can't even have a stable dream. I don't like such a cold world."
Her tone became lower, and her upright and pretty face was shrouded in a layer of darkness.
"So if you want to change things like this, I'm very supportive of it. Why don't I just let you defeat me? This will save everyone a lot of effort. Wouldn't it be better?"
"Okay, since you don't say anything, I'll consider it your acquiescence."
Before giving Hardy time to speak, the strange girl spoke quickly on her own, for fear that he would regret it, and Hardy still had a lot of questions that he had not yet asked.
Suddenly the whole world was spinning. He stretched out his hand and grabbed an empty space.
………
………
"Ah ha ha--!"
Hardy suddenly sat up and opened his eyes. His heart was beating violently. He was breathing heavily. The bright sunset stung his eyes slightly.
"Is it already dusk?"
He shook his head and his consciousness gradually became clearer. Unexpectedly, he fell asleep without realizing it. This was simply unbelievable for him who had received strict training.
"Yes, it is indeed dusk. Master, you have slept for several hours. Seeing how tired you are, I don't have the heart to wake you up."
Shakespeare closed the heavy book in his hand with a "pop" sound, and the beard at the corner of his mouth curled up.
"We have always believed that dusk is the best time of the day. Many heroic stories and conspiracies begin at this time. Dusk is also the source of inspiration for our creations."
"In this country in the far east, dusk is also considered the time to encounter evil spirits. It's really an apt description. So, Master, what do you think?"
"Hmm...very good, that's right."
Hardy nodded vaguely. He tried his best to support his body and stood up. As a result, he unexpectedly found a cold foreign object in his hand. If he remembered correctly, he had never seen this kind of thing before.
thing.
He suddenly thought of what he had experienced in his dream, and quickly turned to look at the location in the city center, which was the only remaining tall tower.
"Is this the ticket to the Sky City? It seems really ridiculous."
Hardy was mumbling, the memory of the dream was fading rapidly, but he still put it away seriously.
He stood up and stretched his muscles, making a series of "crackling" sounds. He looked around. This was a small square in Ikebukuro District, surrounded by a sparse grove. The only commendable thing was that the air was relatively fresh.
And it doesn’t cost anything to live on a park bench.
Because it was near dusk, there were not many people in the park, so Hardy put away the repellent barrier, and the hazy air around him disappeared, giving him a more realistic feeling.
Katsa——
Suddenly a button on his chest broke into pieces. He touched the broken pieces with a thoughtful look on his face.
"Sure enough, that guy still came to the door. I knew that this command spell was not so easy to obtain."
………
………
"That guy is not here. He had a premonition that I would come and set a trap here."
In the low-rent basement where Hardy used to live, Sangrede Fane glanced around the ruins and reported the situation to the president.
You can still smell the pungent smell of the explosive dance in the air. It is the latest type of explosive. It is several times more powerful than C4 with the same equivalent force, and it is also easy to place.
The triggering of the explosive was completely mechanical and did not rely on magic or magic, so it was not discovered in advance.
Fortunately, Sangrade Fane was not personally involved in the danger, and what was destroyed by the explosion was only a doll he controlled.
"Don't worry, it's just a small temporary setback. That guy can't escape. Crows cover the sky. As long as he is still in Tokyo, he can't escape the eyes of the crows."