[FDJ]Chapter 93: Night of Madness (Part 3)

It is hard to believe the divine light witnessed just now. If it weren't for Aphaf's good luck, standing in that direction, she wouldn't have had the strength to escape now.

With only one Command Spell remaining, the injured Alterego, Don Quixote, in his spiritual form, closely followed her. The previously perilous forest now seemed much more favorable. Moving cautiously and calling upon the trees with tentacles, while still intimidating, they were only frightening. By being careful and relying on magecraft, they could safely pass through the forest. The enemy who unleashed the devastating sword light would end one's life at first sight.

"Master, hurry up. I estimate he is still dealing with the large monsters in the second village. They probably won't last long against him. Once he discovers our trail and catches up, it's over," said Don Quixote in his spiritual form, in a very poor condition. He dodged most of the sword light's power through self-preservation and endured heavy injuries with his ability 'Battle Continuation'. His Master used the Command Spell in time, instantly pulling him back to her side, which granted them the opportunity to escape.

One Command Spell was used for transportation, while the other was used to mend the injuries. However, even with immediate mending, the results were unsatisfactory. Don Quixote still needed further recovery.

"The enemy is Berserker? How is that possible? The ancient texts describe Servants of this class as generally losing their sanity, relying on madness to support their strength," Aphaf, having limited knowledge from the ancient texts, didn't know that a normal Berserker would lose some skills and be unable to unleash their Noble Phantasm's true name due to the effects of madness.

"Undoubtedly, that warrior is a Berserker affected by madness. He claims to be the Guardian of the Holy Sepulchre, seemingly closely related to the city of Jerusalem."

"The Guardian of the Holy Sepulchre?" Hearing this term, Aphaf exclaimed in surprise. She remembered such a proud self-proclaimed individual closely associated with the Holy City. It was none other than Duke Godfrey, a member of the Crusaders who captured the Holy City.

"The Crusader General who could cleave fully armored soldiers in half with a single sword strike?" Aphaf felt a sense of unease. Having too much knowledge wasn't necessarily a good thing. Compared to the elderly knight she was affiliated with, the other party was the epitome of an excessively orthodox knight, the archenemy of the Crusaders who initiated the Crusades.

"That... is most likely correct. He cuts down giant-like monsters as easily as cutting vegetables."

Perhaps it would be easier, after all, his large sword might not be as precise in cutting vegetables as it is in striking large targets. Don Quixote held back the joke that came to his mind, but he thought about it inwardly. Optimism is a high-quality placebo that numbs rationality, and rationality doesn't always work.

When praying for miracles, it is best to abandon rationality.

"I'm not sure if the Noble Phantasm earlier reached the upper limit of Berserker's power. It didn't seem like he was giving it his all," the spiritualized Servant said as he stood behind Aphaf. Don Quixote turned his head to glance at the second village, which was about to disappear from their sight. With the support of magic, his Master's escape speed was much faster than that of an ordinary person, and even on horseback, it would be difficult to catch up.

"Not serious?" Aphaf felt resistance towards the information her servant was providing. Each piece of information deepened her despair. With a destructive range exceeding 1200 meters, one sword strike wiped out half of the village and everything behind it, including the entire forest and hills. In a battlefield scenario, a Servant of this level could annihilate tens of thousands of troops without suffering any damage.

If the Noble Phantasm Aphaf witnessed earlier was Berserker not giving his full effort, how powerful would it be when he unleashed it with all his might? Aphaf dared not imagine. In her understanding, such descriptions only existed in mythical legends, such as when a deity brings down divine punishment to instantly destroy a city.

"It seems that Berserker hasn't caught up with us yet. We need to contact our allies as soon as possible. We can't handle Berserker on our own."

"With the assistance of Suzuki Yuki and his Rider, can we deal with Berserker?"

"Perhaps Lady Eleanor has a solution, or perhaps she doesn't. Who knows?"

Don Quixote's somewhat indifferent response left Aphaf dissatisfied. By this time, she had returned to the first village, ignoring the scattered monster corpses, and headed straight for the nearest door. Don Quixote had trampled over fences here and caused damage to two houses, but compared to the devastation in the second village, it seemed mild. It also made it easier for Aphaf to find an intact wooden door to turn back to.

Just like during the day, Aphaf drew symbols in the air towards the closed wooden door and, after completing the magecraft, reached out to open the door again. She intended to use stored imaginary magecraft for quick transportation.

"Wait..."

Before the spiritualized Don Quixote could warn her, a sense of abnormal magical reaction, cold and ruthless, finally caught Aphaf's attention. She quickly stopped the motion of pulling the door open and forcefully tried to close the door, which was slightly ajar.

With just a little effort, she was completely powerless to oppose the "existence" behind the door. There was a clear intuition enveloping her consciousness - opening the door would undoubtedly result in her death.

Don Quixote released his spiritualized form and grabbed Aphav's hand and the doorknob, swiftly closing the door affected by imaginary magecraft.

After more than ten seconds, Aphaf finally caught her breath. She felt as if she had just finished running a kilometer, weak and almost on the verge of collapsing, whereas before, she showed no signs of fatigue while using magecraft to travel.

Don Quixote supported his young Master, his heavy robe still retaining traces of magic not belonging to this world. If he had been a second slower in his reaction, his Master would have had no chance to take a deep breath of air.

"My magecraft was invaded by another entity just now? That means..." Aphaf broke out in a cold sweat, hidden beneath her heavy robe, but her panic transmitted unaffectedly to the ears of her servant beside her.

"It seems that more than just ordinary monsters have arrived here. The summoner of these monsters has summoned a high-level entity, perhaps the summoning ritual was incomplete, or maybe the other party requires more time to fully manifest. The interference just now only affected your magecraft for opening doors, so refrain from using imaginary magecraft for now." Don Quixote had encountered the most formidable monsters so far, such as giants with tentacles or similar entities with distinct physical forms. For example, Berserker, who was surrounded by over a dozen advanced-level monsters earlier, still effortlessly decimated them with a single strike. It was evident that the monster that nearly took Aphaf's life moments ago was completely different from the ones they had encountered before.

Aphaf, still shaken, reached out to touch the wooden door. The magic automatically ceased after Don Quixote forcefully closed it. With his permission, she reopened the door, revealing a normal village residence behind it.

"If we don't use magecraft, can we outrun Berserker just by running?" Aphaf felt like a lamb trapped in a wolf's den. Tonight's three villages had turned into a trap. She had initially hoped to rely on the information she had obtained and ambush the enemy Servant hidden among them, engaging in a battle of attrition while waiting for their allies to arrive. But she never expected that the Servant lying in ambush here was on a completely different level, one that she and Alterego Don Quixote couldn't possibly confront.

"What about other forms of teleportation magecraft? It's not necessarily safe. Even your Magecraft, with its special imaginary nature, can be invaded silently. I think other forms of magecraft would be susceptible to invasion as well. Or perhaps, the monsters from earlier were simply intruding upon the concept of 'teleportation.' What do you think, Master?"

Don Quixote's advice made Aphaf abandon the idea of a clever retreat. The signal for escape had already been sent, but she had no idea when Suzuki Yuki and his Rider, Eleanor, would be able to arrive. Aphaf took out an amulet and performed a quick divination, only to conclude that staying behind to delay would be more suitable.

She became increasingly panicked. Magecraft was her confidence and her only weapon to delve into dangerous situations. Staying in this place was no different from waiting for death. Even her divination magecraft was affected. An unknown entity, unknowable, inexpressible, incomprehensible, seemed ready to materialize from her next magecraft and take her life and sanity.

"What's wrong, Master?"

"According to my divination, staying in this village is more suitable for the current situation," Aphaf slowly conveyed the result of her divination. She still held a high level of trust in her servant, which provided her with much-needed support.

"Master, there is no need to doubt. Your magecraft result was incorrect unless the deity you believe in favors you," Don Quixote said, gesturing for Aphaf to turn around. To her surprise, the corpses of the monsters lying outside the village had all shown signs of movement. Some of the monsters that Don Quixote had slain were already standing up.

"They've come back to life!" Aphaff exclaimed, her eyes filled with fear. She covered her head, feeling her remaining shred of normalcy shifting towards abnormality. It was understandable for ordinary people to go insane in such a situation. With the support of magecraft, she could fight the monsters, dissect corpses, and divine names. But now, she felt the terror from the unknown, her magecraft was ineffective, and she lost the armed protection of magecraft. She was just a 15-year-old girl, more fragile than sturdy farmers and peasants.

"What should we do, Vivar?! What should we do?!" The girl cried out, seeking assistance from her only companion. She was in a state of panic, and at this moment, she would even run into the midst of the monsters if someone told her to.

"Master, calm down! You are in an invisible state. What are you afraid of? Even if you walk right into the midst of those resurrected monsters, they won't be able to detect you with your obstructive magecraft. Moreover," Don Quixote calmly drew his sword and approached a few of the resurrected ghouls, attracting their attention. "I can eliminate them once, and I can eliminate them twice. Time is of the essence, Master. Close your eyes and analyze the situation calmly. Take three minutes. Count to 180 in your mind, then open your eyes and tell me your plan."

Obeying Don Quixote's request, Aphaf stood under the wooden house, closed her eyes, and remained motionless. At the same time, she used obstructive magecraft on herself, hindering all her senses. In this way, she forced herself to calm down and regain her normal rationality.

Seeing her Master calm down by using her effective obstructive magecraft, Don Quixote softly recited the true name of his Noble Phantasm. An illusory book appeared in front of him. It took him nearly 20 minutes to use it before, but this time, boasting that he could eliminate all the monsters in the first village within three minutes, he needed to unleash the power of his Noble Phantasm. However, it would be better if his Master didn't see him after he used it.

The illusory book automatically opened. In that moment, Don Quixote felt as if he had returned to the time when he confronted the windmill giant and other fantastical monsters. Borrowing from various Spanish knight legends and even incorporating the name of El Cid to obtain the power of "Continuation of Battle" was merely decoration on his sword. His true power came from this illusion—the "Don Quixote" written by Cervantes.