The number of survivors at Fuyuki Civic Hall was 20,000, while over 10,000 more had survived at the hotel. Even if the church had been completely wiped out, the total should still be around 30,000—nearly half more than the system's count!
"You're saying you can detect human life signals, but the numbers don't match?" Upon hearing Jiang You's report, Waver's face instantly turned pale. "Caster, are you sure you're not mistaken? Maybe you miscounted the survivors at the civic hall."
Jiang You had Hundred Faces check in with the Assassin network, and after receiving confirmation, he shook his head at Waver.
"They can mimic animals—who's to say they can't imitate humans too...? Damn it, now I have to deal with imposters in Fate/Zero as well?! You didn't run any tests on the survivors, did you?" Jiang You voiced his grim speculation.
Having witnessed Jiang You's Noble Phantasm firsthand and considering the severity of the situation, Waver was almost fully convinced.
"How could we possibly test every single person?!" Waver lowered his voice, feeling a chill run down his spine. "We were in an emergency! No one was acting strangely at all! There's no way we could've suspected anything—it's not like every Fuyuki citizen can be identified at a glance."
By now, the imposters outside the hotel had been successfully suppressed, and it wouldn't take long to eliminate them all. Only then did Kayneth find a moment to pause his control over Volumen Hydrargyrum and respond.
"Is that so?" Kayneth showed little reaction to this revelation—he was actually enjoying his control over the situation. "I'm not particularly surprised. According to the intelligence provided by Tohsaka Tokiomi, he saw people being shot by Gilgamesh when he was heading toward Mount Enzō. He didn't understand the situation at the time, but looking at it now, Mount Enzō must have been the first place hit by the disaster. Still, this kind of thing..."
Volumen Hydrargyrum slithered underground like a massive silver serpent, stretching for hundreds of meters as it explored the hotel and the underground parking lot.
"...The actual situation is worse than we imagined. About 40% of the life signatures seem off—and they even carry unusual magical energy." Kayneth's findings were grim. "The number is too high. I can only lock onto about 200 at a time."
"What if we work together with the other magi?" Waver glanced at Kiritsugu, who was mowing down the monsters en masse with gunfire and explosives. He couldn't help but wonder—where was he even getting all this ammunition?
"I'm afraid it's too late." Kayneth turned his gaze toward a nearby magus. He hadn't tried to hide the conversation, and the magus had been staring at them intently, lost in thought. In the next moment, Volumen Hydrargyrum shot out from the ground, transforming into a blade that sliced the magus into several pieces.
At the same time, the hotel erupted with the screams and cries of survivors. The number of survivors on Jiang You's mission panel was plummeting at an alarming rate.
"His magical signature was a little strange. At first, I thought it was just his family's crest acting up, but in reality, his magic signature was identical to those imposters disguised as humans." Kayneth spread out more of Volumen Hydrargyrum, trying to carve a path through the chaos. He grabbed Waver by the arm. "We need to move. With our strength combined with the Mage Killer and his team, we should be able to get out of here unscathed. After that, we just need to find an opportunity to destroy this bounded field—"
"No, there's still a chance!" Waver's mind had never felt clearer. He analyzed all the available resources. "Caster!"
Jiang You, who had been flipping through his reward panel with a face as dark as the bottom of a pot, suddenly looked up at hearing his class called out. This damn event clearly wasn't meant to be played solo.
"Use your Noble Phantasm—target every living thing in Fuyuki City!"
Waver had already proven that, even after quitting the Holy Grail War, he could still battle the fake Iskandar. That meant everyone could follow the same rule. The dueling rule would give ordinary people a fighting chance against Servants—at the very least, it would buy them time.
"Right!" Jiang You slapped his forehead. He'd played so many cards that he almost forgot he actually had a Servant's status panel. The event's integration with the world lore was fantastic—just way too cryptic.
For the first time, Jiang You unleashed his Noble Phantasm at full power. Waves of energy representing the rules of battle spread outward from him.
"Not enough—my mana isn't enough!" Jiang You's E-rank mana was nowhere near sufficient for such a large-scale activation. He had never paid much attention to his stats before since his activities rarely consumed mana. Desperate, he turned to his otherwise useless Master for help. "Emiya Kiritsugu! You claim to be a hero of justice, don't you?! Right now, the lives of twenty thousand people are in your hands!"
Kiritsugu recalled his past. He had always been making trolley problem choices—saving people by killing others, sacrificing his mentor and adoptive mother Natalia to walk the path of justice. But now, for the first time, he was fighting for salvation without compromise.
"This is exactly why I'm standing here! How could I refuse? How could I run away?!"
"I command you with a Command Seal—Caster Jiang You, unleash your Noble Phantasm at full power!"
"I command you with a Command Seal—Caster Jiang You, unleash your Noble Phantasm at full power!"
"I command you with a Command Seal—Caster Jiang You, unleash your Noble Phantasm at full power!"
This was no trolley problem. Given the chance to save lives, Kiritsugu hesitated not a second, pouring all the power of his Command Seals into Jiang You. As the three seals dimmed, Kiritsugu's already exhausted body shuddered violently, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood from the excessive mana drain.
Jiang You stood in the center of the battlefield, his robes billowing violently in the wind. He raised a hand to the sky.
"From this moment forth, this place shall become Duel City! Forge your past and future into weapons known as cards—and fight! Let the duels begin!"
Golden, crimson, and azure light shot into the sky, piercing through the barriers above.
The battle rules of Fuyuki City were overwritten by Duel Rules.
From now on, ambushes and swarm tactics were meaningless! At this moment, everyone had gained a weapon to fight back.
The monsters neither agreed to duels nor refused them—just like the fake Servants, they would stand dumbly until the countdown ended, then rely on implanted knowledge to act.
Countless duel arenas formed at once. The survivors staked everything on fair card battles against the monsters.
"Watch me! This is my desperate struggle to survive! Draw!!" A bloodied survivor shouted as he drew his card.
"I activate [Voluntary Overtime!] I pay half my life points to draw one card from my deck! Then I summon myself from my hand!"
[Exhausted Office Worker] ATK: 600
"Next, I activate the Spell Card [Courage for a First Confession!] It increases my ATK by 200!"
[Exhausted Office Worker] ATK: 600 → 800
"Now, I can finally break through your 700 ATK monster! Go, me!"
Survivors and monsters clashed fiercely with an array of low-attack Normal Monsters. It hardly looked like a Shadow Game at all.
At least now, there was an opening to investigate Mount Enzō and find the source of the disaster.
-
Meanwhile, in an unknown corner...
A praying mantis activated the Spell Card [Predation], which destroys any Servant with less than 100 ATK.
It successfully destroyed [Cicada], who had only 25 ATK. Then, [Mantis] launched a direct attack, dealing 100 damage.
Jiang You and Kiritsugu had yet to realize that their enormous mana expenditure was due to covering every living thing in Fuyuki City.
Including paramecia...