DOTM: Chapter 589/590

Chapter 589: A Dream Traveler

The dazzling blade light flashed and vanished, slicing across Ethan's body repeatedly. The red-clad man wielding the blade immediately retreated after one strike grazed Ethan's figure.

Clapping sounds.

Clapping sounds came from behind him. The white-haired man in red did not turn back. While retreating, he forcefully kicked the ground to change direction, altering his movement pattern continuously. Only after putting some distance between himself and the source of the clapping did he stand up again, then quietly looked toward the two figures by the wall, one tall and one short, dual swords in hand.

"Archer. I told you not to act alone and leave me behind."

Following the voice, Ethan looked up at the wall and saw the hotheaded girl with twin tails who liked red clothes, a short skirt, and black stockings standing there. Then, ignoring the situation in the courtyard, she jumped straight down. Unfortunately, the real world obeys many physical rules, so...

"Cough."

Pulling his gaze back, Ethan turned again to look at Artoria, Cú Chulainn, and Shirou Emiya, who stood in front of the warehouse completely bewildered by what was happening.

Adding Kirei Kotomine, the nominal supervisor, in reality a cheat, hiding in the shadows, and the faint, nearly imperceptible mana fluctuations in the air, Medea, summoned as a Caster, was also secretly observing the situation here.

That was why Ethan said the Emiya residence was currently the center of the entire Holy Grail War. It was not an exaggeration at all.

"I just came to say hello. You do not need to mind us, just continue with what you were doing."

Neither Artoria nor Cú Chulainn could continue fighting in this situation. A one-on-one battle between the two could be fought with full force, but facing a chaotic scene with multiple Servants present, no one would be foolish enough to unleash their full strength.

"Master, hide behind me."

At this moment, protecting the Master's safety became the most important thing. Although Artoria had just been summoned, as a knight with extensive combat experience, she could immediately identify her side's biggest weakness, an injured and very young Master who was clearly inexperienced.

"Huh? Ah!"

Shirou still had not figured out what was going on, but he could tell that this girl wearing armor and wielding an invisible sword was on his side. Was she trying to protect him?

"How pitiful, forced into this without knowing anything."

Shirou heard Ethan's words, then shifted his gaze to Rin... Why was Rin here too? Perhaps he could get some answers from her.

"It seems we need some allies, Archer."

"Hmph."

Rin had not expected Shirou to be the final Master in this Holy Grail War. Although he seemed completely clueless, this guy had summoned the Saber she had coveted for so long, which was truly infuriating and left her speechless.

Deep down, she did not want to fight Shirou. Considering the current situation, perhaps forming an alliance was a good idea.

Archer protected Rin as they moved toward the warehouse, while carefully keeping an eye on Cú Chulainn and Ethan, wary of any sudden attacks.

At the same time, he pondered why his previous strike had missed. He had clearly attacked, but it felt like slicing through air. And when had the other party gotten behind him?

"Was it Magecraft that creates illusions?"

Archer saw the other party actually smiling and waving at him again, which left him completely speechless. While he was cautiously on guard, the person opposite greeted him as if seeing a friend on the street. What was this? Was he not being taken seriously?

Just then, Cú Chulainn, who had been standing in the center, looked left and right, finally pursing his lips in silence.

"It seems we cannot fight anymore."

Cú Chulainn understood his current Master's personality. In this chaotic situation, he would only be told to retreat, making it impossible to fight to his heart's content.

"Hey, the new friend I have not met before, are you a Magus?"

Cú Chulainn appeared carefree, but in reality, he was an excellent warrior. Besides that, he was proficient in Rune Magecraft and could also adapt to the Caster Class. The way Ethan appeared just now, and the Magecraft he used later to confuse Archer, were not techniques ordinary Magi could perform.

"No, I am a Berserker."

"Huh?"

The several Servants present all wore expressions that said, "Are you kidding me?" This Servant, who could appear silently, whose presence was hard to sense, and who could casually use powerful Magecraft, actually claimed to be a Berserker. Did he think they did not understand the Holy Grail War's rules?

Only Shirou did not understand what was happening; the rest had constipated expressions.

"Stop with the nonsense, kill them, Berserker."

Illya had not spoken since she appeared, just standing there quietly, making people even wonder if this child was actually a finely crafted puppet.

Rin had even doubted whether this seemingly young girl was truly the Master. Perhaps it was a trick created by that guy to mislead people. After all, this Servant possessed considerable Magecraft, so perhaps it was also an illusion used to obstruct their vision.

She never expected that this beautiful little child was actually the Master.

Even more unexpected was that the Servant who claimed to be a Berserker was actually a Berserker.

"Kill everyone? Or prioritize killing Shirou Emiya and leave the others for now?"

Ethan did not immediately act, instead turning back to ask Illya this question first.

"No, leave the big brother for last. I want to do it myself."

Illya showed Shirou a sweet smile, but in this situation, combined with what she said, the smile only sent chills down everyone's spines.

"What a twisted little girl."

Ethan shook his head, still keeping his hands in his pockets. As he lightly shook his head, a giant blue hand suddenly appeared in the air diagonally above him, slamming straight down behind Shirou.

Amidst a deafening roar, the Emiya residence's warehouse was completely destroyed. Just before the warehouse was smashed into ruins by the giant energy hand, a figure shot out from the debris and landed lightly to the side.

"Another Servant?"

Artoria immediately pulled Shirou and moved rapidly, putting distance between themselves and the suddenly appearing Servant and the pile of ruins that had been the warehouse. She could not be sure what else might be hidden there.

At the same time, Rin took out several jewels and held them in her hand, ready to activate Jewel Magecraft to assist Archer in battle at any moment.

"It seems a true Assassin has appeared this time."

This time, it was indeed an Assassin who appeared, but what still bothered Cú Chulainn was Ethan's method of attack just now. That was definitely not a technique used by a warrior. This Servant who claimed to be a Berserker must be a powerful Magus. He just could not figure out why he would respond to the summoning as a Berserker.

Compared to that, everyone's attention was now focused on the newly appeared Assassin. This person wore local attire, carried a very long nodachi on his back, and stood there calmly, showing no sign of panic at being discovered.

"I already told that vixen that concealing my presence is not something I excel at."

After shaking his head and sighing, this native Heroic Spirit's gaze swept around, lingering on Cú Chulainn and Artoria in turn.

"However, being able to witness a battle of this caliber up close is fortunate. If possible, I would very much like to fight the two of you once without any interference."

After the Assassin spoke some nonsense, he turned around, ready to leave. However, just as he turned, he suddenly felt unknown changes in the surrounding space, and an immediate sense of alarm rose in his heart.

Out of instinct, he drew the nodachi from his back, then his gaze swept around before locking onto Ethan.

"Did you do this?"

"Now that you are here, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

Seeing Mr. Nameless, summoned as an Assassin under the name Sasaki Kojirō, appear here, Ethan knew the person he was looking for had shown up.

In the original story, Sasaki Kojirō was a special Servant summoned by Medea using Magecraft, with the gate of Ryūdō Temple as the catalyst. After Medea converted Ryūdō Temple into her magical territory and used a barrier to seal off all directions to prevent Heroic Spirits from invading, making it so Heroic Spirits could only enter through the main gate, Sasaki Kojirō, who could only move near the temple gate, became the gatekeeper.

This also meant that in the normal storyline, Sasaki Kojirō absolutely could not appear at the Emiya residence.

His appearance here proved that someone had altered the plot, and the person who changed it was the Transmigrator Ethan was looking for. Sure enough, he was a Transmigrator with ambitions. Had this guy perhaps gone and conquered Medea?

Stroking his chin, Ethan found that this person's thinking was quite clear.

In this Holy Grail War, the possibility of an ordinary outsider getting involved was not high. The only opportunity that was relatively easy to snatch was to take ownership of Medea from another ordinary person.

Furthermore, Medea, as a Magus from the Age of Gods, possessed extensive magical knowledge and was a Heroic Spirit very suitable to be a mentor. Ordinary people had no chance to access such knowledge, and even if you knew who possessed it, it was not something you could learn just because you wanted to.

However, by becoming Medea's Master, one could learn a great deal, and Medea was also a relatively easy-to-conquer great beauty.

This Transmigrator had undoubtedly made a very correct decision, but he absolutely did not expect the appearance of Ethan, a character outside the original plot.

I wonder what the reaction is now of that friend who had been peeking here using Medea's Magecraft.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 590: Eat My 40-meter Sword

Ethan temporarily did not want to dwell on what kind of thoughts the transmigrator watching from the shadows might have. What he needed to do now was first sort out the chaotic situation before him.

To avoid interruptions, he had already unfolded his Mirror Dimension, keeping everyone here.

"Inherent Bounded Field?"

Cú Chulainn rested his red spear on his shoulder. He was confident in his strength. If he truly wanted to leave, no one could stop him.

Now, he was not so sure. This guy who called himself a Berserker had silently dragged everyone into an Inherent Bounded Field. Based on his understanding of such fields, the only way to leave now was to defeat the caster.

"While there are significant differences, you indeed cannot leave here until you defeat me."

The so-called Inherent Bounded Field in this world was a special kind of Magecraft mastered by Magi, akin to creating a personal, exclusive mini-world. When cast, this mini-world would overlay a portion of the real world.

Within the Inherent Bounded Field, the caster held absolute control and could exert greater power. For example, Shirou Emiya's and Archer's Unlimited Blade Works were essentially Inherent Bounded Fields.

"This way of doing things... it certainly fits your Berserker Class."

Cú Chulainn resumed his stance, gripping his spear with both hands. He did not want to waste time here. Although he did not like his new Master, he liked being captured by enemies even less.

"Although I really want to say we could have a good talk, I do not think anyone here would willingly listen to me unless I beat you all down."

"Oh, you are quite clear-headed. That is not like a Berserker at all."

As he spoke, the tip of a red spear had already reached Ethan's face. Ethan remained standing, as if he had not seen it. The sharp spearhead was stopped by a ripple of blue light about half a meter from Ethan's face, unable to advance further.

"This is..." Cú Chulainn, who also possessed considerable Magecraft skill, immediately recognized what Ethan was using. "A protective layer generated purely from mana? That is impossible."

Just as Cú Chulainn was feeling shocked, a warning suddenly came from behind him. "Duck."

Without time to think, Cú Chulainn immediately crouched. As he squatted, something seemed to brush past his back.

Immediately after, a huge explosion occurred in front of him. The continuous blasts and powerful shockwaves sent Cú Chulainn flying backward, forcing him to use his spear to brake.

"Were you trying to kill me too?"

"It would be great if that were the result."

Archer, bow in hand, did not look at Cú Chulainn. His eyes were fixed on the cloud of smoke. As the smoke dissipated, the fleeting blue light did not escape his notice.

"Tch, it did not break through?"

"Yes, it did not break through."

The smoke cleared, and Ethan stood in place, completely unmoved. It was as if nothing had existed around him. Yet everyone present had already realized how powerful and terrifying the being before them was. An explosion comparable to a tank's main cannon had not even ruffled his hair.

"Nice job, Berserker."

Illya looked at Ethan's performance and smiled sweetly again.

Whatever Ethan's purpose was, the strength he displayed at this moment made her very happy. Ethan's power meant that this Holy Grail War had no suspense. She just needed to quietly wait for the result.

"As long as you are happy."

For Ethan, fighting these few Servants was like playing.

The Servants themselves were not weak, but when they manifested as Servants, limited by their Masters' aptitude and Class restrictions, most could not unleash their full power. Even if a Heroic Spirit had been an ordinary human hero in life, their strength would be greatly enhanced after becoming a Heroic Spirit, yet restricted again when manifesting as a Servant.

For example, Cú Chulainn was a skilled warrior proficient in almost all weapons and combat styles, and also adept in Rune Magecraft, a versatile fighter. But as a Lancer, his Magecraft level was restricted and could not be fully used, and his Noble Phantasms were limited to the red spear Gáe Bolg, which fit the Lancer identity.

The only one relatively unaffected was Archer. His combat style was not bound by his Class, and it was even joked that he could freely fill in his own stats.

He could effectively utilize his abilities, and his Master's influence on him was much smaller than expected. However, he usually liked to hold back, only unleashing his full power when truly cornered.

In this chaotic situation, without even figuring out Ethan's objective, and with Ethan not truly trying to kill them, he would not use his ultimate moves to fight for his life.

You could tell by the fact that he was only using dual blades and a bow. However, he could not be dismissed as a threat. If Archer found an excellent opportunity, he would decisively unleash a killing blow.

"Although I do not like this method, the current situation forces me to do so."

Sasaki Kojirō had wanted to wait until Cú Chulainn and that red Archer defeated the Servant who had trapped everyone here, then find an opportunity to leave immediately.

But now he found that this enemy was unexpectedly powerful, still holding the upper hand under the combined pressure of two Servants. This was not a good sign. If those two were defeated, it would be his turn and that Western swordsman's next.

"That Western swordsman, are you not going to make a move?"

Artoria saw that two Servants had already rushed forward and felt she did not need to act.

But looking at the current situation, she had no choice but to intervene.

She glanced back at Shirou. Artoria had not even had a chance to properly inquire about her Master's situation. Was she going to leave just after manifesting?

She did not want to see that happen, so she tightened her grip on Invisible Air again and stood opposite Ethan with Kojirō.

"One against four, huh?"

"Feeling troubled? If you feel your mana is insufficient, feel free to draw from me."

Illya looked at the four Servants standing opposite and felt the situation seemed a bit unfavorable. Even if Ethan was strong, fighting four at once might be difficult. A Heroic Spirit's power might be limitless, but a Servant had limits.

"It is fine, the number of people does not matter to me. Anyway, it is just a matter of one strike."

"One strike?"

The four opposite were full of questions. Ethan had not truly made a move since he appeared. He had been using highly condensed mana for attack and defense. This did not resemble a Berserker's style. If they were facing a Magus, this scene would be easier to accept.

As for Rin, what shocked her was the little girl's mana. How incredibly deep must that mana be to support a Servant fighting in this manner. Yet from beginning to end, the little girl did not seem strained at all.

"Where did this monster come from?"

"Oh? Have I not introduced myself yet?"

Illya heard Rin's muttering and elegantly curtsied to everyone.

"I am Illyasviel von Einzbern."

"Einzbern?"

No one responded, but the few Servants with sharp senses noticed Saber's sword hand tremble slightly, while Sasaki Kojirō politely announced his name.

"Assassin, Sasaki Kojirō. Although I am reluctant, being able to face someone as powerful as you is very joyful."

Sasaki Kojirō specifically spoke because he was very interested in Ethan's previous statement.

"Just now, you said you only needed one strike to deal with us. Could it be that you are a powerful swordsman?"

As a Berserker, knowing close combat did not seem strange, which explained why Ethan held the Berserker Class.

Ethan waved his hand humbly.

"I would not say I am excellent, just slightly proficient."

He said he would resolve these opponents with one strike, likely because Sasaki Kojirō was standing opposite him.

"Speaking of which, the reason I am preparing to use this move to end the fight is because you are here, Sasaki Kojirō... or should I say, Mr. Nameless?"

"Oh my, you saw through me?"

Sasaki Kojirō did not mind his true identity being seen through. He was just surprised how Ethan managed to figure it out.

"Berserker."

Ethan smiled helplessly.

"It seems my Master is a bit impatient. Let's quickly end this farce."

As he spoke, the Servants opposite immediately became vigilant. From Ethan's previous methods, they knew this Berserker possessed unimaginable strength. He said he could resolve them with one strike. Although they did not know what kind of move it was or if there was any exaggeration, this move would definitely not be easy to handle.

Just as the few Servants, by unspoken agreement, took the initiative to attack, wanting to stop Ethan from making his move, a massive surge of energy erupted, directly breaking their forward momentum.

A visible torrent of mana slowly rose from beneath Ethan's feet, circling him and converging into a giant four-armed, half-bodied colossus holding a sharp blade.

Ethan kept his hands in his pockets within the giant half-body, looking at the Servants before him with a slight smile, especially Sasaki Kojirō.

Then, in a very soft voice that everyone could hear clearly, he uttered the name of this move.

"Six Realms Five Rings - The Divine Figure of Kurikara."

(To be continued.)