Crazy Britain:They’re All Raising Me

With no grounds to refuse, once Ritsuka Fujimaru laid out the operation plan, both Guinevere and Artoria ultimately agreed to proceed.

However, while Artoria was sincerely grateful to Ritsuka for putting her own life on the line to save Guinevere, she couldn't help but brood over that final comment of hers.

True, with her fairy eyes, she had already seen that the whole maid outfit idea had been Guinevere's request… but to just blurt out something like "a good maid should shoulder her master's burdens"—wasn't that a bit too blatant?

You do know I'm standing right here, right?!

Meanwhile, Frankenstein, having realized that her resurrected zombies were nothing more than mindless husks, collapsed onto her knees in utter despair. Wrapping her arms tightly around herself, she began to emit low, pitiful whimpers—making no further aggressive moves nor any attempt to get up.

With that, everyone braced themselves, prepared for the dream's conclusion.

Then it came. A howling gale swept across all of Itty, clearing away the clinging, stubborn fog that had shrouded the city. The full view of the metropolis reemerged, and above it all, a sky pierced with black holes and a blood-red moon loomed.

At that moment, Guinevere sprang into motion.

He raised his greatsword high. Flames erupted along the blade, and the surrounding air rapidly began to heat.

Simultaneously, he began a chant—and then, with a sweeping slash, he brought the blazing greatsword down toward the sky above.

"To keep the sun from setting, I shall ascend to the heavens… and steal your light."

"From this moment on, I am the sun."

"—Second Noble Phantasm, unleashed: Today, the Demon Descends."

At that very instant, a terrifying, blood-red shadow appeared behind him. When Ritsuka Fujimaru instinctively glanced its way, she saw it suddenly turn its head—grinning at her with a grotesque smile.

Even knowing it was her ally, that single look made her take two steps back on reflex...

And then came the explosion of magical energy.

A searing torrent of heat shot skyward, a beam of flame piercing the heavens like the sun had descended upon the night. It was overwhelming—blinding and domineering—scorching the entire world with its light. In that instant, it turned the pitch-black night into blinding day. Under that brilliance, even the countless black holes in the sky were consumed, the blood moon snuffed out entirely.

Though the blade had aimed for the sky, judging by how distant clouds were torn apart by mere shockwaves, Ritsuka could easily imagine: had it struck the earth, it could melt mountains and level seas.

Even the arrival of tonight's Black Star seemed delayed by that blow. As the brilliance and heat finally faded from the sky, night returned—and in the distance, countless high towers rose from the ground, their silhouettes appearing at the far end of the city.

Then, the blood moon slowly reappeared—descending once more to take its place before the towering spire impaling the dragon.

A sudden shockwave swept toward them from afar. But before it could strike Ritsuka and Mash, a towering black figure stepped in front of them. The invisible gusts slammed into him like waves against a reef—and shattered instantly.

A nightmare made manifest—that figure was grotesque beyond belief. A metallic skull, glowing eyes like searchlights, blades protruding from its face like spines, and a mouth lined with countless fangs… The sheer malice it radiated nearly stopped her heart. Even in her childhood nightmares, Ritsuka had never seen a monster like this.

But then—

The terrifying beast turned toward her and asked with concern:

"Are you alright?"

In that instant, the suffocating pressure and uncontrollable trembling vanished, replaced by an overwhelming sense of safety.

"I—I'm fine! I'm doing great!"

Ritsuka replied quickly.

How could I not be? With a walking superweapon like this on my side, this mission is basically a guaranteed win!

Ritsuka thought, almost giggling with relief.

"How strange…" she then heard the figure mutter. "My body has never felt this good… Even though I'm terribly low on blood and should be weakened, I feel like I could overpower a top-class Servant in this state."

"NOW'S REALLY NOT THE TIME FOR THAT!"

Artoria cut him off sharply, as though his comment had triggered some traumatic memory.

"The towers have appeared—we don't have much time."

"I've already set up a magic barrier. As long as you stop draining our blood, the barrier will begin healing our wounds and stop the bleeding. So don't worry about us going critical."

As she said this, she reached up to unclasp the collar around her neck, exposing a slender, elegant throat as pale and flawless as a swan's.

"...So hurry up and drink already!"

"…Thank you."

Guinevere nodded softly.

Then, realizing that in his demonic state his fangs were too long and could cause fatal injuries, he quickly dismissed his transformation, gently embraced Artoria, and sank his teeth into her neck.

Her alabaster skin was instantly pierced, and blood flowed freely into his mouth. Though not a true vampire, he was a demon who relied on blood to survive—his proficiency was no less effective.

Perhaps because his body was so desperately in need of blood, Artoria's tasted richer, deeper, more intoxicating than anything he'd ever known. The moment it touched his tongue, something primal surged within him, urging him to drink more and more.

It wasn't until Artoria whimpered in pain that he snapped out of it and pulled back.

"Did that hurt?"

"No, I'm fine," Artoria shook her head and wrapped her arms around him, gently pressing his head back to her neck. "Time's short—drink faster."

Hearing this, Guinevere obediently lowered his head again—and this time, his pace was much faster. The hunger within him only grew, and Artoria's soft gasps only fueled his craving. He drank more greedily.

Only when she began to wobble from blood loss, collapsing into his arms, did he force himself to stop, raising his mouth from her throat with the last scrap of rationality.

Then he turned to Ritsuka.

"I'm ready."

Ritsuka nodded and exposed her neck as well.

Guinevere glanced up—and saw a dark star taking form above them, slowly expanding.

"...Forgive me."

Time was running out. He carefully laid the unconscious Artoria on the ground and rushed over to Ritsuka, biting into her neck.

Unlike Artoria's quiet endurance, Ritsuka reacted instantly—gasping aloud and instinctively trying to pull away. But with time critical, Guinevere had no choice but to hold her tight, locking her in his arms as he drank more forcefully.

"Ah—it hurts…"

She had volunteered for this plan herself, intending to win Guinevere's favor—but the pain was more intense than she'd imagined. Her body trembled, fear rising with the rapid blood loss.

To prevent her struggling from disrupting the feeding, Guinevere could only hold her tighter—so tight he began to leave bruises. His movements grew rougher, more desperate, until Ritsuka's body went limp, her consciousness slipping away.

"Couldn't you… be a little gentler…"

She mumbled, tears brimming in her eyes—then passed out before Guinevere could respond.

"Only because you kept squirming…"

At that moment, Artoria, who had barely clung to consciousness long enough to witness this, finally let out a satisfied sigh and allowed herself to faint.

Though I'll definitely grill him later about that "little maid" comment…

Still, at least he was gentler with me than with Ritsuka.

Now, only Guinevere and Mash remained.

"Senpai…"

Mash sighed, looking at Ritsuka's unconscious form. She had already removed the armor protecting her neck and now looked at Guinevere with a complex expression.

"Please hurry, Mr. Hyde."

Guinevere nodded, stepped forward, and gently bit into Mash's neck.

Perhaps because she was a Shielder-class Servant, always on the frontlines and used to protecting others, her reaction was far more composed. She didn't flinch or collapse from the blood loss. She did let out a few pained grunts due to the speed with which he drank, but made no move to stop him.

Their contact was minimal—Guinevere only placed his hands on her shoulders. Once he finished, Mash wobbled slightly, but managed to stay standing by leaning on her shield.

"Time is short, Mr. Hyde," she said weakly. "I'll look after Lady Artoria and Senpai. Please go."

"…Thank you. Truly."

Guinevere looked up once more—the black star was now less than twenty meters above them. The tops of the city's high-rises were beginning to shatter and lift into the sky, drawn by its gravity.

There was no time to waste.

He stepped forward—arriving in front of Frankenstein—and waited for her usual defensive electric burst.

But none came.

The green lightning did not appear. Frankenstein remained motionless, staring blankly into the distance. Her eyes were dull, hollow—like she had accepted reality and abandoned hope.

Guinevere froze.

No way… At this critical juncture, the lynchpin of their plan—Frankenstein—had just… shut down.

The pressure was on him now.

He looked up again—only fifteen meters left.

"Ella? Ella? Frankenstein?"

He tried calling out to her a few times, but she didn't respond. She just sat there, unmoving, whispering to herself, like she'd sunken into utter despair.

Seeing this, Guinevere reached for his sword—but hesitated, then lowered his hand.

In this state, even if I attacked, she wouldn't resist. She might even let me kill her without using her green lightning to heal...

No. A wounded heart needs a healing touch.

Desperate, he leaned close and listened to the whispers escaping her lips:

"…want… someone like me…"

"…want… a companion…"

"…want… to be loved…"

Someone like me… a companion… to be loved…

The words struck him.

Thinking back on what he knew of Frankenstein's story, Guinevere looked up again. The black star was now less than ten meters from the ground.

He clenched his jaw—and whispered:

"…Maybe I'm not so different from you, after all."