Chapter 23. Future Servant, Flat Archer Yukinoshita Yukino – Present Yukino in Despair!

Chapter 23. Future Servant, Flat Archer Yukinoshita Yukino – Present Yukino in Despair!

["Set!"]

["Heed my words, my will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny."]

["If you heed the Grail Call and obey my will and reason then answer me!"]

[The chant continued to echo powerfully.]

[The incantation, full of spirit, spread to every corner with an unshakable will!]

[Countless dazzling orange-yellow lights rose up like fireflies, flowing like a river.]

[Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!]

[Suddenly, a gale arose, blowing the young man's tied-up hair loose, as if the whole world was watching him from both sides.]

[The young man in a cloak suddenly opened his eyes, gaze sharp as ice, loudly proclaiming.]

["I hereby swear that I shall be all the good in the world.!"]

["That I shall defeat all Evil in the world.!"]

[As the words ended, a dense warm light gathered, blood-red lightning crackled.]

[The underground chamber turned into a furnace, bringing an unsettling feeling that made one's skin crawl.]

["Seventh Heaven clad in the Great Words of Power.!"]

[Outside the world, the Thrones of Heroes in the void trembled.]

[Countless grand auras like pillars pierced through heaven and earth, each representing a Heroic Spirit.]

[When alive, they left behind glorious achievements; after death, they still bore endless legends, revered by mankind, illuminating Pan-Human History like a sun suspended in the sky.]

[However…]

[Even so, faced with this summoning, the Heroic Spirits were all stirred.]

[Each tried to answer the call, striving to become the Servant of "that person."]

[But when one pillar of light departed, falling to the human world, everything stopped.]

[Someone was faster…]

[No!]

[To be precise, as long as that person chose to summon a Heroic Spirit in Fuyuki City, as the "Holy Widow," he was bound to summon that special female Heroic Spirit.(Note: Holy Widow? I translated this literally, though I'm not sure what it refers to.)

[At the same time, the final chant echoed!]

["From the Binding Circle vow Guardian of the Scales.!"]

[Rumble rumble rumble…!!]

[Thunder roared.]

[In that instant, brilliant light illuminated everything, making the underground chamber magnificently radiant.]

[The wardrobe collapsed with a loud crash, a whirlwind stirred thick fog, flinging numerous pages of books into the air.]

[If not one of the strong among Heroic Spirits, then upon descent they could never have caused such a disturbance.]

["No doubt about it, I'll summon the strongest Servant."]

[The young man in the cloak panted slightly, giving a faint smile while staring at the bright red Command Seal on his wrist.]

[Clenching his fists, a bit excited, he prepared to stretch out his hands.]

[Then…]

["Hmm…?"]

[The thick smoke dissipated.]

[The young man looked around in confusion, but didn't see the Servant figure he had imagined.]

["Bang!"]

[A loud, strange sound suddenly came from the rooftop, shaking the entire underground chamber.]

[Raku Sou suddenly understood and quickly ran up the dark staircase, cursing as he went.]

["Damn it… the damn door's broken…"]

[The young man frowned and stopped in front of the grand hall's door, but no matter how he turned the lock, it wouldn't open.]

[Helplessly, he directly used Reinforcement Magecraft to enhance his body and suddenly launched a kick.]

["BANG!!"]

[Accompanied by a loud blast, the kick—carrying tons of force—instantly blew the security door away, and the chandelier on the ceiling emitted a gentle white light, indicating someone had recently lived here.]

[He panted, resting a hand on his knee.]

[At a glance, the entire grand hall was covered in dust, with furniture broken and scattered.]

[He didn't know what kind of cursed fate had occurred.]

[But when his gaze moved to the center of the hall, he froze slightly.]

["Hmm…?"]

[There sat a white-haired onee-san with a ponytail, lightly frowning, sitting on the sofa with her left leg crossed over her right knee, seemingly resting with eyes closed.]

[She had a tall figure, wore stylish black leather pants paired with a small jacket.]

[Under the lights, a gem necklace shimmered brilliantly red from under her collar.]

[She gave off a very cool impression.]

[Could it be that she is…]

[The young man was a little surprised.]

["Huh?!"]

[Coincidentally, that white-haired woman also opened her eyes, slightly surprised.]

[Right after, her eyelashes trembled slightly, she closed her right eye, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly — in that mature smile of hers was a teasing confidence, every movement radiated intense personal charm.]

[As if she were using a seduction tactic.]

[Four eyes met, the young man was a little stunned, and the atmosphere instantly fell into silence.]

The scene paused at that very moment.

…

"Is this person Raku-san's Servant?"

"White hair, fashionably modern outfit, descended as Saber-class or Archer-class... could she be a general from modern Europe?"

On the Observer Net, someone posted a speculative comment.

Very quickly, there were responses below.

"Doesn't seem like it, the facial features of this Servant clearly belong to East Asia."

"So mysterious, she appeared in the PV before, but even after more information was released, we still couldn't figure it out."

"However, if she was able to descend using one of two Saber and Archer-class, then she must've had remarkable achievements while alive — that can narrow the investigation."

"Not gonna lie, when she smiles, it's really beautiful!"

"You perv, that's a Servant, you realize she could be your ancestor in terms of timeline… Actually, she might really be your ancestor."

"My ancestor? In that case, I wish I inherited even 1/100 of her beauty, I'm ugly as hell."

"Raku-kun wearing all white, and she's in all black — the couple vibe is off the charts."

"Remember in the PV intro it was mentioned that if the Master doesn't have a Holy Relic, then the system would automatically summon the most compatible Servant — and this proves it…"

…

The world of Celestial Curtain.

Compared to the joking mood of the Observer Network, this place was far more solemn.

But among the crowd, Yukinoshita Yukino frowned, unconsciously biting her lip.

She hadn't forgotten the scene of herself in a parallel world once fiercely fighting this mysterious Servant. If that Servant's Master was Raku Sou...

Didn't that mean her parallel world self was Raku Sou's enemy?

Raku Sou was the one who saved her life. If it weren't for that protective necklace, she might've been run over by a truck.

And now, she had to helplessly watch her parallel self hurt Raku Sou...

That feeling was truly awful.

Yukino stared intently at the white-haired woman. When her eyes landed on the necklace around that woman's neck, an inexplicable sense of familiarity suddenly welled up, causing her to waver slightly.

Then…

Her expression froze, like she'd been struck by lightning.

That necklace...

Why did it look exactly like the one Raku-san gave her...

She silently returned to reality, reached into her pocket, and pulled out the now-dull ruby necklace, riddled with cracks, carefully comparing every detail, every measurement...

Finally, she confirmed — they were one and the same.

Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly collapsed onto the sofa, her eyes filled with shock and confusion.

Recalling the Servant's attitude in the PV toward "herself in the parallel world," a possibility rose in her heart…

She couldn't be sure until it was confirmed.

A while later, Yukinoshita Yukino returned to the Celestial Curtain, her expression dazed.

Then, she walked up in front of the mysterious Servant, carefully observing her closely.

About 1.69 meters tall, very smooth skin, not a bad aura either...

Yukino felt a little satisfied.

Since there was a possibility this was her "future self," then naturally, the standard should be as excellent as possible.

The body also had golden proportions — if she wore high heels, the aura would definitely be even more refined...

Eh, wait a second?!

The girl rubbed her eyes and stared incredulously at the mysterious Servant's chest.

Why was it only that size?!

After so many years, they still hadn't grown at all?!

Impossible!

Absolutely impossible!

Yukino began to panic.

There's no way this is my future self!!!