Chapter 17: You Mongrel
The flames blazed fiercely within the sewer. Although the violator had been severed into several pieces by Su Xiao, with his head crushed underfoot, he still hadn't died.
The high temperature from the burning napalm spread through the sewer. The violator's head gradually coalesced in the flames, but the surrounding heat suppressed his regeneration speed.
Su Xiao leaped back a few steps, evading the onrushing wave of heat. The 10777th violator wasn't actually weak; he was simply too accustomed to fighting using his regenerative ability. Encountering a weapon like Soul Walker, which specifically countered regeneration, had led to his current predicament.
As a legendary-grade weapon, Soul Walker lacked the sharpness of its peers and wasn't indestructible. Its sole ability, named "Soul Tear," was what made it formidable.
The short blade flipped in Su Xiao's hand, glinting coldly. He stared intently at the flames ahead, ensuring the violator couldn't escape.
The napalm burned for nearly an hour before extinguishing. Steam rose within the sewer. Su Xiao slashed the short blade sideways, and the wind pressure dispersed the vapor.
The ground was littered with embers, with a few piles of ash faintly visible. The violator's head was still slowly regenerating, but compared to before, his recovery speed had drastically slowed.
"Am I... about to die?"
The violator grinned, his eyes rolling upward as he watched Su Xiao approach.
"One last question... who the hell am I, anyway?"
*Clang!*
Soul Walker flew from Su Xiao's hand, embedding itself into the violator's head. This was a pitiful man, ultimately defeated by his own ability.
"10777."
As Su Xiao spoke, he stomped on the hilt of Soul Walker, and Cyan Steel Shadow energy spread along the blade.
"That's right, I'm Contractor 10777. No, wait, I should be Arbiter 21478. So that's how it is... I've unknowingly lost to that madman 10777. You Reincarnation Paradise bastards... are you all insane? Why did you attack me back then? Damn it!"
The violator's head gradually shattered, but he was smiling, because he had finally remembered who he was. He was Arbiter 21478 of Apocalypse Paradise. While executing an arbitration mission in a certain war world, he had clashed with a team from Reincarnation Paradise.
Clearly, in that chaotic war world, the contractors of Reincarnation Paradise didn't care who he was. Anyone from Apocalypse or Radiance was to be killed on sight!
What followed was bizarre. Contractor 10777 of Reincarnation Paradise possessed an undying ability. After his teammates were all killed by Arbiter 21478 of Apocalypse Paradise, he went berserk. He fused a section of the battlefield's space with himself. That area contained sixteen contractors and Arbiter 21478.
The subsequent development was even stranger. Neither the consciousness of Contractor 10777 nor Arbiter 21478 was extinguished. They entered the same body—Contractor 10777's body with its hyper-regeneration. As for the consciousnesses of the other sixteen contractors, they had long been eliminated by these two.
This powerful body ignored the rejection between soul and body. It had fused with a large area of space without dying, so accommodating one extra foreign soul was nothing. After a fierce struggle, the consciousnesses of Contractor 10777 and Arbiter 21478 nearly merged. At that stage, everyone was already dead. What remained was merely a shell and a chaotic consciousness.
*Crack!* The head of the 10777th violator burst open. This pitiful man dissipated, no longer manipulating the shell with his muddled consciousness.
In truth, the 10777th violator had no clear purpose. He acted on whims—sometimes suddenly remembering his first love, he'd grab a few high school girls and rub them against the ground; other times recalling his grandfather, he'd seize an old man to reminisce.
[Successfully eliminated Violator 10777.]
[Successfully eliminated Arbiter 21478 (Affiliated with Apocalypse Paradise).]
[You have obtained Golden Honor Medals ×7.]
Seeing the notification from Reincarnation Paradise, Su Xiao finally understood why this consciousness-confused violator was worth seven Golden Honor Medals. It turned out he was an Arbiter from Apocalypse Paradise.
Not every violator elimination carried great risk. Among the many violators Su Xiao had dealt with, there were idiots, cowards, and thrill-seekers. This one was merely a bit more peculiar.
"Hoo~"
Su Xiao let out a long breath. With the violator eliminated, a third of the burden on his shoulders was lifted. Now he could focus entirely on dealing with Blood Gate. Or rather, he just needed to stall Blood Gate's members. As long as they couldn't complete their team main mission, they would die under forced execution.
Sometimes, there was no need to fight to the death. Compared to being killed by Su Xiao, dying under Reincarnation Paradise's forced execution was actually more devastating for Blood Gate's members.
Just as Su Xiao was about to track Bubu Wang's coordinates to interfere with Blood Gate's three members completing their team main mission, Amu sent a distress signal. Tohsaka Rin was under attack.
...
In a parking lot, a large expanse of ice spread out. Car alarms blared piercingly.
*Boom!*
A blood spear swept through, horizontally cleaving the car that was sounding the alarm.
Layers of cold air rose within the parking lot. Amu, wielding an ice warhammer, was confronting a Servant. That Servant was the Lancer, Cu Chulainn.
Blood dripped down Amu's arm. It had at least a dozen penetrating wounds, but these injuries weren't caused by Cu Chulainn. Someone else was responsible.
Not far behind Amu, Tohsaka Rin held a few gems between her fingers, with traces of blood visible on her face—Amu's blood.
"Lancer, as a hero of myth, your methods are far too despicable."
Tohsaka Rin gasped for breath. Though she was speaking to Cu Chulainn, her peripheral vision was fixed on two figures in the distance.
Behind the iron railing at the edge of the parking lot stood two people. One had a head of blue curly hair, appearing close to Tohsaka Rin's age. He was currently grinning at her.
"Gilgamesh, after we kill that Minotaur Servant, we must capture his Master alive. I really want to see the despair on her face then."
The blue-haired curly-haired man pressed his face against the wire mesh, staring at Tohsaka Rin's stockings and legs beneath her skirt. When he noticed her gaze shifting his way, he waved, completely unconcerned by the disgust in her eyes.
"Mongrel."
The blond man beside the blue-haired man sneered disdainfully. Though the two were now allies, he made no effort to hide his contempt. He merely glanced at the other briefly before ignoring him.
"Hey, as your proxy Master, can't you show me some respect?"
The blue-haired curly-haired man snorted lightly. His name was Matou Shinji. As a descendant of the Matou family, one of the three great mage families, he was naturally well-versed in the Holy Grail War. Despite having no magical aptitude, he had managed to participate in this war. The blond man beside him was the Heroic Spirit Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, who had taken part in the previous Holy Grail War.
If Su Xiao's Holy Grail World storyline progress were followed, Gilgamesh wouldn't have appeared—since Su Xiao had already killed him. For him to participate in the Fifth Holy Grail War this time was quite the coincidence.
"You're nothing but a waste. A waste should know its place."
Golden Sparkle didn't even bother to look at Matou Shinji directly. Still, when in a good mood, he occasionally deigned to speak with him.
Matou Shinji's expression turned sour. Being called a waste and a mongrel to his face wasn't pleasant.