Don't use Type-Moon references in Oregairu!

Fujimaru Ritsuka patted him on the shoulder understandingly, and was about to say a few words of nonsense to comfort this lazy boy when there was a noticeable commotion on the outside.

Through the crowd, Fujimaru Ritsuka saw a small team in extremely bad condition supporting each other as they walked towards them.

Their clothes were tattered, and everyone was injured, some even with severe injuries that resulted in limb mutilation. They had barely managed to stop the bleeding.

Many people on the ruins recognized them and exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't that the reconnaissance team? What's going on!"

Several people, including Kasumigaoka Utaha, rushed over and used healing spells to stabilize their lives. Fujimaru Ritsuka and Hikigaya Hachiman, although they did not have healing spells, also generously took out medicine.

The leading man seemed to have recovered slightly. Seizing the moment, he said weakly, "Quickly... notify the higher-ups... there are terrifying creatures deep within the Demon Cave."

He fainted before he could finish speaking.

117. Unable to acquire any? A collection of all-attribute Servants?

After yelling that one sentence, the man immediately fainted. Fujimaru Ritsuka wanted nothing more than to shake him awake: "You can't do this! You fainted halfway through a sentence, do you think this is a TV drama?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka's restless limbs had nowhere to go, prompting Kasumigaoka Utaha and the others to desperately hold him down: "Stop messing around, someone's about to die. Let him rest for a while, there are still a few awake people over there."

He suddenly realized: Oh right, why am I arguing with him?

Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately strode over aggressively, but her pace slowed down as she walked—the four of them were in terrible condition. Each of them had horrific wounds, each emanating a different aura. Their eyes were numb, their faces blank, like walking corpses.

The guy with the severed right arm had a clean cut, and the wound was charred black, clearly caused by some kind of flaming holy sword; the guy with the terrifying bite marks on his body was probably bitten by the sharp teeth of a chimera lion's head; and the twisted right arm looked like it had been hit by a blunt object with terrifying force... All in all, the wounds on their bodies were practically an encyclopedia of attacks from the creatures of the demon cave.

Fortunately, they survived thanks to their extraordinary vitality and did not die. With the help of medicines and magic applied at great expense, their condition gradually stabilized.

Fujimaru Ritsuka scratched her head in frustration, feeling unable to bring herself to ask. Of the survivors in this squad, only the one who had just fainted was still in a relatively normal state; the others were still immersed in the struggle to survive, in a daze, and she felt that asking them a few questions might cause them to explode.

Abigail looked at them with pity, and gently tugged at Fujimaru Ritsuka's sleeve: "These uncles are so pitiful. Noshu and Rutal both said that their spirits taste like tasteless popsicles."

"Yeah... um?" Fujimaru Ritsuka glanced at the two cats emerging from the shadows at Abby's feet with a start, beginning to wonder what these two creatures usually ate.

The gray-fat and black-skinned creatures noticed Fujimaru Ritsuka's gaze and immediately collapsed to the ground, exposing their bellies in submission. They meowed repeatedly to indicate that they only occasionally ate small snacks and had never done anything immoral.

Fujimaru Ritsuka tentatively believed what the two said, after all, Abi wouldn't let his two familiars go around causing trouble, would he?

With mixed feelings, Yukino Yukinoshita patted Fujimaru Ritsuka on the shoulder, thankfully finding Fujimaru Ritsuka there to keep Abi from going astray.

If there were no Fujimaru Ritsuka, who knows how many people would become food for the mythical monsters of the Cthulhu type!

Although if Fujimaru Ritsuka wasn't there, Abby wouldn't have appeared either.

At this time, since the other survivors were being cared for, Kasumigaoka Utaha went to study the Bedivere Awakener again, and she discovered something strange: "This is..."

A fierce light flashed between her fingers as she plucked a gray-white magical thread from the fake Bedivere, exuding an aura of death.

The pale magical threads rapidly corroded the magic on Kasumigaoka Utaha's fingers. Even after neutralizing it, there was still some power left to erode Utaha. She decisively used more magic to suppress and neutralize the corrosion, and then watched as the front half of her knuckles was completely stained a bloodless pale white.

The other Chaldea members also noticed Shiwa's experiment and gathered around, watching her with concern.

Kasumigaoka Utaha's fingers trembled as she forced a smile: "This is something like a necromancy spell, and strangely, it's rooted in the spirit origin. I have no way to dispel it. Fujimaru-kun, could you take a look at the condition of that Awakened One?"

“Alright, now that you’ve captured the true form, I should be able to see these things directly and find them.” Fujimaru Ritsuka took a deep breath and activated [Eye of Karma].

His golden eyes were fully opened, and his demonic eyes, capable of seeing through cause and effect, opened once again.

Despite Kasumigaoka Utaha's physical exhaustion, Fujimaru Ritsuka sensed the ominous aura and saw the situation inside the fake Bedivere.

Countless overlapping, thick and thin, pale and dull threads were densely distributed throughout his body. From his limbs to his head, from his muscles to his internal organs, they transformed him into a puppet manipulated by the threads. The threads spread from his body, capturing his spirit origin—no, not capturing his spirit origin, but rather the threads spread and grew from his spirit origin, turning the pseudo-Bedwell into a puppet controlled by the intricate threads, without a single thread spilling out of his body.

Fujimaru Ritsuka blinked, her body feeling a little numb, as if she were seeing an ominous old man covered in long, gray hair.

He turned his head and said quietly, "I never thought... I'd still see hairy savages these days."

At first, everyone was confused. After thinking for a moment, they understood what he meant. They all gasped, took a few steps back, and stared at the handsome man on the ground from a distance.

Even Hachiman Hikigaya, who despises popular people the most, couldn't help but feel sympathy for the fake Bedivere. He subtly took a few steps and asked Ritsuka Fujimaru, "Can you see who's behind this?"

Hachiman Hikigaya had great confidence in Ritsuka Fujimaru because Ritsuka Fujimaru's eyes were practically a cheat code; he could often see the source just by looking at them, making him worth ten Kogoro Mouri.

Unfortunately, Fujimaru Ritsuka was powerless this time. He shrugged, "Not really. It's probably because too much time has passed; the traces have completely disappeared, and that black hand probably didn't last—it's like a seed that was planted, a change that occurred inside his body. But..."

Fujimaru Ritsuka kept everyone in suspense, and no one responded, just watching him perform.

He could only shrug: "It's not bad to have caught a live specimen. And I feel that he's a little different from the Gawain we met before... He shouldn't have been completely corrupted."

Yes, in Fujimaru Ritsuka's eyes, there seemed to be some remaining active spiritual light in the pseudo-Bedwell's spirit origin, as if it was still resisting something.

Kasumigaoka Utaha understood his meaning, tightened her grip, and said cautiously, "In that case, let me try to purify these things inside his body."

Without hesitation, she stepped forward, intending to use her magic to continue drawing out the magical threads. Fujimaru Ritsuka opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything.

Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. He didn't want to see this person who could still be saved become like the previous Gawain, a ghost-like being. But this would obviously cause great harm to Kasumigaoka Utaha's body.

But then Abby unexpectedly raised her hand: "Sister Shiyu, it seems that Noshu and Rutal can help. I'll have them assist you."

When their names were called, the two cats froze, their fur standing on end, looking extremely unhappy. However, after Abby's expectant gaze swept over them, they had no choice but to put on bitter faces and reluctantly take small steps forward.

Fujimaru Ritsuka breathed a sigh of relief and whispered encouragement to the two cats, "Noshu and Rutal, you two did a great job. Just tell me what you want to eat later, and I'll try to get it for you!"

What could the kittens do? They could only obey him.

This encouragement was quite effective; they became much more enthusiastic about eating the threads drawn out by Kasumigaoka Utaha. Whenever Kasumigaoka Utaha carefully pulled out a thread, they would pounce on it, bite the end of the thread, and suck it up quickly like slurping noodles, although their faces were all wrinkled and looked extremely fierce.

Seeing that the rescue efforts on Kasumigaoka Utaha's side seemed to be back on track, Fujimaru Ritsuka turned to ask Hikigaya Hachiman, "My friend, you've been here defending for quite a while now. I wonder if there's any way to quickly contact the people above the Demon Cave?"

Hachiman Hikigaya gave a wry smile, took a half step back, and revealed Yakumo Tsukamoto, who had been staring blankly at the cute cat: "I haven't been to the Spirit Tomb Albion that many times. How about we ask Yakumo Tsukamoto, who is a seasoned explorer?"

“Cats…so civilized…but what’s below is a bad civilization. So which side is it?” Tsukamoto Yakumo nodded his lips in distress, then turned his head and said in a cold and indifferent inorganic tone, “Actually, the Spirit Tomb Albion is an unconventional demonic cave. Although there is a fixed entrance, the landing point after entering from the entrance is random. And only by using this abandoned urban complex called [Mining City Magisfia] as a reference can you find the entrance back.”

“However, this level is a full 10 kilometers long. The vast physical distance and the active magical reactions make all communication devices ineffective. We can only rely on human messengers to notify those above.” Tsukamoto Yakumo brandished the War God Sword in his hand and said in a serious tone, “Of course, if I could use the true release of my Noble Phantasm and unleash an attack like a celestial weapon, I should be able to blast a huge hole or something... Just kidding.”

Fujimaru Ritsuka chuckled in agreement, but in reality, he believed Tsukamoto Yakumo's words, since Attila's Noble Phantasm could indeed exert its full power.

At this point, he also grasped the key point: "So the only way to transmit information is by human means? But whether it's the elusive monster hordes or the unexplained mutations of the Knights of the Round Table, they could all launch an attack on the way back."

“Indeed. In military terms, eliminating scouts and cutting off the transmission of information is a perfectly normal practice.” Tsukamoto Yakumo nodded in agreement. “And from this group of ruined buildings with some defensive capabilities to the entrance, it would take several tens of minutes to run at full speed. It would be impossible to do without someone with strong stealth abilities or amazing speed.”

So what would you do, Master of Chaldea?

Tsukamoto Yakumo secretly anticipated Fujimaru Ritsuka's actions.

Attila's memories include adventures in the lunar computer world, interspersed with content from a singularity and Chaldea dreams. Tsukamoto Yakumo had always believed that Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't exist in this world, until she heard Hachiman Hikigaya's story and immediately became interested.

Although she had been trapped in the Spirit Tomb Albion for quite some time, she only knew about the two events that Fujimaru Ritsuka and Hikigaya Hachiman had experienced during their adventures, but it still gave her some expectations for Fujimaru Ritsuka.

Fujimaru Ritsuka glanced at Tsukamoto Yakumo, but her silent expression completely concealed her inner thoughts. Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't dwell on her thoughts; considering the current situation, he countered with a question: "Since you are a seasoned explorer, do you know of any strata where the Elven Vein Corridor is located, or even the sacrificial site where the dragon's heart is located?"

He lowered his voice, not wanting others to know, but the content truly made everyone present hold their breath.

Tsukamoto Yakumo looked troubled: "Should I reveal such explosive news to a stranger on our first meeting?"

"Oh dear, what are you saying? I just trust my comrades who fought alongside my friend." And I also trust Tsukamoto Yakumo, this kind girl.

(“My friend!” Hachiman Hikigaya looked deeply moved, but everyone tacitly ignored him.)

Tsukamoto Yakumo sighed: "Trust is such a heavy but good civilization. But as far as I know, no one has ever broken through the Elven Vein Corridor, including myself."

"But you have relevant exploration experience, so you're at least relatively clear about the environment of that level, right?"

"That's absolutely right."

Fujimaru Ritsuka clenched her fist and extended her right hand, inviting, "I'm 60% confident that the other two Knights of the Round Table are in the Elven Vein Corridor. Furthermore, our ultimate goal is the next level of the Firelink Shrine. Even the near-total annihilation of our exploration team was due to our breakthrough into the Firelink Shrine. So, could you lend me your power to resolve this matter?"

Looking at his outstretched hand, Tsukamoto Yakumo neither immediately agreed nor refused, but instead asked, "So, how are all the superhumans and that team doing now?"

“Let’s split into two groups. The rest of us will escort them to deliver the message first, while we’ll try to resolve the issue of the Elven Vein Corridor before returning to the surface, how about that?” Fujimaru Ritsuka suggested.

Tsukamoto Yakumo pondered for a moment, then extended his hand: "My hiring price is not low."

"Don't worry, Great Britain will be willing to pay if we can solve the problem of the Knights of the Round Table." Fujimaru Ritsuka grasped Tsukamoto Yakumo's hand, then gently released it, her smile radiant.

Damn! This is basically like getting a powerful combatant and guide for free. It feels as refreshing as wearing new underwear to greet the New Year!

"You've acquired another new female team member..." Yukino Yukinoshita said meaningfully.

"As expected of Fujimaru-kun, he's truly awe-inspiring." Kasumigaoka Utaha pulled out a folding fan and chuckled insincerely.

“Abi surprisingly feels quite close to her older sister.” The extraterrestrial life form Abi made a strange declaration of kinship.

"Ahaha... Anyway, welcome Tsukamoto Yakumo-san!" Yui Yuigahama, the mood-maker, tried to lighten the mood.

Hachiman Hikigaya wore a pained expression as he watched his friend degenerate into a scoundrel.

Tsukamoto Yakumo seemed to be deep in thought: "A womanizer? A bad thing about civilization?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka, her hands clasped in an X, broke out in a cold sweat: "Don't listen to their nonsense!"

118. Proceed to the next floor

Fujimaru Ritsuka stood still, letting Kasumigaoka Utaha take Hikigaya and Tsukamoto Yakumo to discuss matters with the superhumans still remaining in the ruins, while she quietly recalled the settings she had seen back then.

The Tomb of Albion, in the Type-Moon universe, is the catalyst for the construction of the Clock Tower. During the decline of the Age of Gods, magicians stumbled upon a vast underground labyrinth and discovered abundant magical resources there. The Clock Tower was built to mine these resources.

At first, the magicians were simply excited to have discovered the dragon's remains, and they searched frantically in the labyrinth with the idea of ​​excavating and utilizing every inch of the remains.

But as they began excavating, they discovered various oddities. The dragon, presumably a colossal creature measuring 2km in length, had its fragmented remains scattered throughout a labyrinth 80km deep. And within this labyrinth, a multitude of monsters and fantastical creatures thrived.

Ultimately, they discovered that the Spirit Tomb Albion was not so much a special place formed by the death of a dragon, but rather something special in itself. It was speculated that it was a physical location that once led to the Inner Sea of ​​the Stars. During the Age of Gods, a dragon that hadn't had time to migrate to the inner world desperately dug here in an attempt to reach the Inner Sea, but encountered a bottleneck 80 kilometers underground and died, unable to break through.

Strangely, Fujimaru Ritsuka knew that the second level of the Spirit Tomb Albion, also known as the Elven Vein Corridor, contained a large number of indestructible entities resembling magical circuits. These were said to be ritual sites set up by the fairies in the past to relocate the [Fairy Village] to the inner side.

"Qi Aotian was able to transform into a dragon and enter the Star Inner Sea, how could you die here so shamefully? Or did you try to prove your Dao with force, trying to pull your own body in as well, but failed? Does Type-Moon have such a saying?" Fujimaru Ritsuka scratched his head, completely unable to understand how this giant dragon died, since even his not-pure-blooded juniors could easily enter.

However, it must be said that it left a valuable legacy for future generations. The 0-10km range within the Spirit Tomb was a city-like layer established by magicians as a supply base to avoid frequent entry and exit. But now it's in ruins, with only a few buildings remaining. The native inhabitants of the Spirit Tomb's fantasy species have taken over this area. Within this layer, one can still occasionally find many magicians' workshops, where one can acquire techniques and magical knowledge from another world.

The 10-40km section is a network of veins, which, due to the indestructible nature of the remaining large magic circuits, form a passageway resembling multiple corridors.

40km to 60km further down lies the [Dragon Heart Ritual Site], where the remnants of a dragon's heart remain.

Fujimaru Ritsuka believed that the out-of-control Knights of the Round Table would be on the Vein Corridor floor because they would most likely be guarding the Dragon Heart Shrine, loyally protecting a king in the process of transformation.

"The influence of the Spirit Origins? Or a scheme orchestrated by some mastermind? Never mind, it doesn't matter. Let's take care of them first. Clear the path to the finish line, then we'll call in reinforcements for a righteous brawl." Fujimaru Ritsuka made the decision with a gleeful expression. After severely injuring these out-of-control Knights of the Round Table and promoting them, Chaldea could use the excuse of "excessive consumption" to slack off a bit, following behind their teammates and helping out as needed.

Just then, he noticed that they must have finished talking. Hachiman Hikigaya walked over with an embarrassed look on his face, wanting to say something, but he was too shy to do so.

"Shut up, Penguin. Are you too embarrassed to say you can't come down with us?"

"What's this title? But you're right, I really can't go down with you guys." Hachiman Hikigaya wearily raised his hand, full of melancholy, and pointed to two familiar figures in the crowd.

Fujimaru Ritsuka looked over and saw Totsuka Saika and Machio Naruzo sitting on the ground covered with dirt and building debris, waving weakly.

Hachiman Hikigaya spread his hands with a wry smile: "I guess those two were dragged down by me. They were dragged here with me by the monster tide for almost half a month. Although they went up to rest for a day in between, they came down again very quickly."