“Swoosh—!”
With a blinding distortion of blood-red space, Mordred’s petite yet demon-like, tempestuous body slammed hard onto the solid wood floor of the Tohsaka family’s second-floor infirmary.
With a heavy thud, the high-end hardwood cracked beneath her feet into two web-like patterns.
“Who?!
Who pulled me back here?!”
Her Mad Enhancement state forcibly interrupted, Mordred looked like a feral wolf whose food had just been snatched away.
She whipped her head up, her emerald eyes bloodshot with tyrannical fury, and locked her gaze onto Tokiomi Tohsaka, who lay in the hospital bed with a face as pale as paper.
“It’s you, old man in red!!”
Mordred lunged forward in a single step, completely ignoring Kirei Kotomine, who stood beside her on full alert.
She flipped over the bedside medical cart and grabbed Tokiomi Tohsaka by the collar with one hand, hoisting his entire body right out of the bed.
“Beep, beep, beep—”
The IV tubes connected to Tokiomi snapped, spilling expensive mana-restoration fluid across the floor.
“I was about to slice Arthur to pieces!
I was just about to make that bastard who refused to acknowledge me pay the price!
How dare you use a Command Seal to pull me back right at that moment?!
Do you want to die, old man?!” Mordred roared, spittle spraying across Tokiomi’s pale face.
Tokiomi Tohsaka was already on the verge of shock from mana exhaustion, and being shaken so violently made his eyes roll back into his head, unable to squeeze out a complete sentence: “Let…
let go…”
“Berserker, please release my master.”
Beside them, Kirei Kotomine finally made his move.
Expressionless, he stepped forward, six Black Keys held between his fingers, attempting to use Executors’ martial arts to pin Mordred’s wrist.
“Get lost, you hypocritical priest!”
Without even glancing at Kirei, Mordred slapped back with a backhand strike!
What did it mean to have a Heroic Spirit’s Strength stat boosted by Rank A Mad Enhancement?
It was equivalent to a dump truck slamming into you at 120 kilometers per hour!
*Bang!*
The Bajiquan defensive posture Kirei Kotomine had just set up proved utterly useless against such raw, overwhelming force.
He was sent flying by the single slap, crashing straight through the infirmary wall and tumbling down into the ruins of the first-floor living room, unable to get back up for a long while.
Watching his proudest disciple get one-shot in an instant, Tokiomi felt his soul practically leave his body.
“Don’t…
don’t kill me!
I am your Master…
Without my mana supply, you won’t be able to stay in this world either…” Tokiomi managed to squeeze out with the last of his strength.
That sentence actually restored a sliver of reason to Mordred.
She snorted coldly and tossed Tokiomi back onto the bed like a piece of trash.
“Listen up, old man.
Don’t ever use that disgusting tone of voice with me again.
The only reason I’m staying here is because there’s someone in this city I need to cut down.
As for your mana?
I’ll figure that out myself!”
Mordred ruffled her hair in annoyance.
Truth be told, after that intense battle, she was starving.
The Red Dragon lineage of Britain was famous for its gluttonous appetite.
She kicked open the door and swaggered into the Tohsaka household’s kitchen, stuffing her mouth with every edible thing in the fridge—Wagyu beef, premium caviar, and even two raw carrots.
After eating until she was half full, she glanced with disgust at her silver heavy armor, which was covered in scorch marks.
“This lousy iron shell gets in the way too much.”
De-arming herself, Mordred sauntered over to Tokiomi’s walk-in closet.
She casually pulled off a long, wine-red trench coat that Tokiomi treasured deeply, draped it over her shoulders, and grabbed a pair of jeans that barely fit.
Although the trench coat was far too large for her and its hem almost dragged on the ground, paired with her wild blonde hair, it gave off the unique vibe of a delinquent girl.
“Old man in red, I’m heading out to find Arthur.
Don’t you dare use another Command Seal to drag me back—pulling my plug like that—or I’ll tear this dump to the ground the moment I get back!”
*Boom—*
The front door of the Tohsaka manor, which had only been half-repaired, was once again kicked into splinters by Mordred.
Britain’s greatest filial child thus transformed into an uncontrollable wild Berserker, swaggering into the night of Fuyuki City.
Lying in bed, Tokiomi listened to the racket downstairs as a single, humiliating tear leaked from the corner of his eye.
“What a sin…
Ancestors of the Tohsaka family, Tokiomi has failed you…”
…
The next day at noon, Shinto, Fuyuki City.
Yoru Hayashi was strolling down the commercial street with Sakura and Gilgamesh.
Kariya Matou had stayed behind at the villa to process magecraft materials purchased from the black market and hadn’t joined them.
“Big Brother, I want to eat that.”
Sakura, dressed in a small pink dress, pointed across the road toward a fast-food restaurant with a giant yellow “M” logo.
“No problem!
Young Master Kariya’s paying for everything today!” Yoru Hayashi waved his hand grandly.
Beside them, Gilgamesh knit his brows into a tight knot.
“More commoner trash with cheap meat patties stuffed between two low-grade buns?
This King already tried that thing called pizza yesterday—I will never touch your industrial waste again!”
“Cut the act, Old Gil.
That wasn’t the face you made when you were gnawing on beef tendon yesterday,” Yoru Hayashi exposed him mercilessly, pulling Sakura along as he headed across the street.
Just as they reached the French window outside the McDonald’s, Yoru Hayashi’s footsteps suddenly paused.
Standing outside the glass window was a wild-blonde girl wearing an ill-fitting, oversized wine-red trench coat.
Her entire face was pressed flat against the glass, flattening her nose.
Her emerald eyes stared unblinkingly at the customers inside who were eating burgers, a highly suspicious streak of clear liquid hanging from the corner of her mouth.
*Gurgle, gurgle—*
A thunderous growl erupted from the girl’s stomach, rattling the glass pane.
Yoru Hayashi froze for two seconds, almost snorting with laughter.
Wasn’t this the very same filial child of Britain, Mordred, who had been running rampant on the waterfront warehouse street last night, chasing after Saber to cut her down?!
Stripped of her armor and dressed in a stolen men’s trench coat, the girl looked for all the world like a runaway delinquent who had gone without food for three days and nights!
Just as Yoru Hayashi was sizing Mordred up, she seemed to sense the gaze behind her and whirled around with extreme vigilance.
When her eyes fell upon the man behind Yoru Hayashi—clad in a black leather jacket with an arrogant mop of golden hair—Mordred’s pupils shrank to pinpricks.
“It’s you!!!”
Mordred bristled instantly.
Though affected by Mad Enhancement, she wasn’t blind.
She would recognize this blonde guy even if he turned to ash!
“Give back the fossil that old man in red wanted!
You blonde thief!”
With a furious roar, crimson magical energy flared in Mordred’s hand, and Clarent was on the verge of materializing right there on the commercial street!
“A mad dog that doesn’t know its place…
how dare you show your face before this King again?” Gilgamesh had a temper that flared at a moment’s notice as well, golden ripples immediately shimmering in the space behind him.
“Even if your Master uses another Command Seal today, this King will blast you into dust!”
Seeing that a clash capable of flattening half the block was about to erupt right outside the burger joint—
“Stop, stop, stop!!!”
Yoru Hayashi slid right between the two of them, forming a giant ‘X’ with his arms across his chest.
“Old Gil, tuck your streetlights back in!
And you!” Yoru Hayashi turned to glare at Mordred, pointing at her stomach.
“Listen to your gut—it sounds like a tractor engine!
You planning to fight the King of Heroes on an empty stomach?
Have you no self-respect?!”
*Gurgle…*
With terrible timing, Mordred’s stomach let out another earth-shattering wail, perfectly punctuating Yoru Hayashi’s words.
The Berserker’s face, previously dripping with murder, instantly flushed bright red.
“N-None of your business!
Even if I starve to death today, I’m still slicing this thief in half!” Mordred yelled stubbornly, though the hand holding her sword visibly trembled from low blood sugar.
“Give me a break.
In your current state, forget cutting him down—you couldn’t even beat me.”
Yoru Hayashi pulled out Kariya Matou’s black card, waving it in front of Mordred with a smile that strongly resembled a human trafficker’s.
“Fate brought us together.
We had a bit of a misunderstanding last night, but I can tell you’re a straightforward sort.
How about this: lunch is on me today.
Didn’t you want burgers?
Eat as many as you want.
Once you’re full, then we can talk about slicing people up, deal?”
Mordred froze.
In her mind, when Masters and Servants met, they either fought or plotted against each other.
This guy in a short-sleeved shirt was actually offering to buy an enemy lunch?!
“You…
are you trying to poison me?!” Mordred took a cautious step back.
“Poison my foot!
This is a fast-food joint!
How the hell would I poison you?
Have the staff stuff Paraquat into your Big Mac?”
Yoru Hayashi rolled his eyes, took Sakura’s hand, and pushed through the doors into McDonald’s.
“Suit yourself.
Eat or starve.
Old Gil, come on, let’s get burgers!”
Three minutes later.
Gilgamesh looked with utter disgust at the “creature” frantically devouring food across from him.
Sakura was so startled she forgot to eat the french fry in her hand, her big eyes round with astonishment.
*Nom nom…
crunch crunch…*
Mordred held a Big Mac in her left hand and a fistful of chicken nuggets in her right, shoving food into her mouth like crazy.
She nearly swallowed the burger wrapper along with the food!
“Eat slowly.
Nobody’s stealing from you, and there’s endless cola.”
Sitting nearby, Yoru Hayashi leisurely sipped his large iced cola, watching the mountain of more than a dozen empty burger boxes pile up on the table, inwardly marveling.
*As expected of Saber’s offspring.
That gluttonous gene truly runs in the bloodline.*
*Burp—!*
After polishing off a full fifteen Big Macs and eight large orders of fries, Mordred finally let out a loud burp, licking the remaining salad dressing off her fingers with relish.
“Phew…
back to life.
Guess you’ve got a bit of a conscience after all.”
Leaning back against the booth seat, Mordred patted her stomach in satisfaction, her gaze toward Yoru Hayashi far less fierce than before.
As the saying goes, one’s mouth is soft after taking food from another.
Though she was a Berserker, she still understood gratitude for a meal.
“Full now?
Then let me talk serious business with you.”
Yoru Hayashi interlaced his fingers and rested his elbows on the table, looking at Mordred like a multi-level marketing guru.
“Kid, your name’s Mordred, right?
I watched the show at the waterfront warehouse last night.
You want to cut down King Arthur, don’t you?”
At the mention of King Arthur, Mordred’s eyes flared with rage again.
“Don’t bring that bastard up to me!
I’m going to tear that hypocrisy to shreds with my own hands!”
“Commendable courage.
But can you actually beat her?” Yoru Hayashi dumped cold water on her enthusiasm.
“Don’t you look down on me!
If that old man in red hadn’t pulled my plug last night—cutting off my mana—I would’ve already…”
“Cut the crap,” Yoru Hayashi interrupted ruthlessly.
“Right now, you’re just a wild Servant completely cut off from a Master.
Every bit of mana you use is gone for good.
But King Arthur’s Master is a super-rich heiress with immense backing—Irisviel and the Einzbern family—and her supply of mana is enormous.
Believe it or not, before you even get close to slicing her, you’ll starve to death and get sent right back to the Throne of Heroes.”
Mordred gritted her teeth.
Although Mad Enhancement made her hot-tempered, she wasn’t stupid; Yoru Hayashi was speaking the truth.
Relying on Tokiomi’s pitiful remaining mana, she could barely maintain her manifestation, let alone survive a high-intensity battle.
“What are you driving at?” Mordred asked, watching Yoru Hayashi guardedly.
“It’s simple.” Yoru Hayashi pointed at himself, then at the pile of empty burger boxes.
“Me—the richest Master in Fuyuki City.
Right now, I’m missing a front-line tank to soak up damage.
You team up with me, and I’ll cover three meals a day—burgers, barbecue, whatever you want.
Plus, I won’t interfere in your revenge against King Arthur in the slightest.
Once you’re full and satisfied, you can slice her up however you like.
Hell, I’ll even pass you the blade from the sidelines.”
Mordred’s eyes widened.
What kind of miraculous terms were these?
No having to listen to the old man in red’s disgusting orders, getting to eat delicious food every day, and chopping up her parent on top of that?
“You…
what’s your angle, anyway?!”
“What angle could I have?
I just love watching father-daughter beatdowns,” Yoru Hayashi grinned, looking utmost sincere.
Beside them, Gilgamesh rolled his eyes so hard he nearly sprained them.
This lunatic didn’t just spout endless nonsense—now he was brazenly poaching another Master’s Servant right out in the open street.
Still…
watching Tokiomi Tohsaka’s Berserker get bought out for a dozen burgers was genuine entertainment to the King of Heroes.
Mordred glanced at Yoru Hayashi, then down at the half-filled cup of cola on the table, before finally making up her mind.
“Fine!
It’s a deal!
But if you dare play me, I’ll slice you up too!”
“Deal!” Yoru Hayashi snapped his fingers.
“Server, wrap up ten more Double Cheeseburgers to go!”