Magical Comprehensive Travel

From the bustling streets of Fuyuki City, go straight west for about 30 kilometers.

There is a national road that runs east-west and crosses the mountains far from the villages. On both sides of this national road is a dense forest that seems to have been forgotten by the turbulent land development boom.

This piece of land may be state-owned land, but according to the land register, it belongs to the private land of a foreign-funded enterprise, and it is still uncertain whether this foreign-funded enterprise really exists. If we have to investigate this land, then the first thing that makes people puzzling is this magical urban legend.

Legend has it that in the deepest part of this dense forest, there is a mythical city. Of course, this legend is just a boring quirk. Although this forest is undeveloped, it is less than an hour's drive from downtown Fuyuki. If there is such a strange castle, it will be known to everyone.

In fact, there have been land surveys in this virgin forest several times in the past, but no traces of man-made structures have been found once. But every few years, someone brings up that legend again.

A group of children walked into the forest with a mood that was half play and half adventure. And a lost hiker. They saw an ancient city suddenly appear out of the fog, a magnificent castle made of rock. No one lives in the castle, like an abandoned city. However, the facilities in the castle are complete and everything is in good order, which makes people feel as if someone lives here. It is said to be a very strange ancient city.

Of course no one will believe this legend. At best, it is a story told in a one-page space in a summer geek special, suffering from a third-rate magazine with no news material.

Only a very few magicians know that the castle is real.

This castle only welcomes the owner who enters the castle to participate in the war every 60 years. In short, it is a castle of magic.

The castle is shrouded in layers of illusion and magic, never to be revealed except in extremely accidental circumstances. This is a strange space. People who know the existence of this castle call this dense forest the Einzbern Forest.

At that time, the Holy Grail War was being held in Fuyuki City, and the head of the Einzbern family, Ubustakuhaid, felt that it was inappropriate to establish a stronghold in the territory directly under the nemesis of the Tohsaka family. Therefore, he made full use of the family's financial resources to buy out the spiritual vein land closest to Fuyuki City as the base of the Einzbern family. That was on the eve of the Third Holy Grail War, which coincided with the period of tension before the outbreak of World War II.

This vast virgin forest was shrouded in a barrier and completely isolated from the outside world. The Einzbern family transferred all their original castles to this forest. This shows that the Einzbern family's huge financial resources and dedication to the pursuit of the Holy Grail are extraordinary.

"Appeared!" All the main forces of the Einzbern camp, Kiritsugu, Maiya, and Saber, gathered in the conference room.

In front of these three people, Irisviel displayed the image of the invader captured by the barrier on the crystal ball.

The intruder was wearing a dark robe, and an unlucky evil spirit swayed on his clothes. There are also red-stained patterns on the clothes, which are like blood-stained patterns, looming in the jungle.

"Is this that Caster?" Kiritsugu saw Caster for the first time.

Irisviel nodded at him. The figure reflected on the crystal ball was the strange Heroic Spirit that blocked Saber last night.

"But, what is he going to do?" To Irisviel's confusion, Caster was leading a group of people behind him.

Caster wasn't alone this time. There were about a dozen people behind him. Stroll in the forest. These people are underage children. The eldest child among them is only a primary school student. All the children seemed to be sleepwalking, wobbly walking, with Caster leading the way. There is no doubt that the children are under the control of Caster's magic.

"It must have been Caster who saw the supervisor's announcement and took these children hostage from near Fuyuki City."

"Allie. Where is that guy?"

"It's less than two kilometers northwest of the castle. Caster doesn't seem to have any intention of going deeper into the forest." Irisviel answered Emiya Kiritsugu's question.

The barrier that opened in the forest was a circle with a diameter of five kilometers with the castle at the center. Caster's location is the border of this enchantment.

If Caster went a step deeper into the barrier, Irisviel could assist Saber in the battle. But Caster seemed to have seen through Alice's motives, and began to wander around the outer edge of the barrier.

"Irisviel, the enemy is tempting us to dispatch." Saber said in a firm tone.

With her leg strength as a Servant, it only takes a few minutes to reach Caster's place. Saber was very anxious at this moment, and wanted to go out and beat Caster. But the king of knights cannot act arbitrarily. The group of children gathered behind Caster was the source of the knight king's unease.

"It's a hostage. It must be." Irisviel whispered gloomily.

Saber nodded.

"If the traps and traps set up are activated, those children will be implicated. Only by dispatching directly and defeating Caster can those children be rescued."

Caster's beast-like eyes suddenly looked up. Staring in the direction Irisviel was in, she raised her arms extremely attentively and gave Irisviel a bow.

"I came to visit you as agreed last night." The surface of the hard crystal ball began to shake, and the sound came from the surveillance site.

"Now please give me an order to let me see that beautiful saint again."

Saber stared at Irisviel, urging her to give an order quickly. As a Servant, the girl was ready for battle. It's just that her master is still hesitant.

Caster seemed to see through Irisviel's mind, showing a look of contempt, as if he was playing a one-man show, sneered and said, "It seems that I still can't make up my mind. I'm also planning to wait for a long time. Prepare slowly. Oops, what a boring game. Could you let me borrow a corner of your territory?"

Caster snapped his fingers. The children who had been obediently following Caster just now opened their eyes as if they had woken up from a dream. The children looked around helplessly, as if unable to figure out where they were.

"Listen to the boys, we're playing hide-and-seek. The rules are simple. Just run away from me. If you get caught by me..." Caster stretched out his hand from the sleeve of his robe and grabbed the man beside him. a child.

"Stop!" Saber couldn't help but cry out, knowing that his restraint was useless.

The sound of skulls shattering. Brains splashing around and eyeballs falling in the air. Those nightmarish scenes were imprinted in everyone's mind.

The children let out a heart-wrenching cry. Run away. Caster, who was standing in the center, laughed happily, licking his blood-filled fingers with his tongue.

"Run away. I'll start chasing after you when I count to a hundred. So, Joan, how long are you going to prepare before I catch all the children?"

Seeing this situation, Irisviel no longer hesitated. It is impossible to hesitate any longer.

"Saber, defeat Caster for me."

"Yes!" The king of knights answered very briefly. When Irisviel heard Saber's answer, she had disappeared from the conference room. It was just that the wind blowing behind her was full of unusual anger.