"We lost..."
"We lost..."
"Completely wiped out..."
"We flew like plywood over... Ow! That hurt! Hey, I'm driving! I'm driving!"
As soon as Deadpool finished speaking, Da Vinci, with a radiant smile, punched him in the side. The car swerved noticeably, but since Wade was driving, no major harm occurred.
Ozymandias, who had dominated the game thanks to the territorial bonus of the Great Temple and the insane ability of "Imperial Privilege," mercifully banished Ritsuka's group, acknowledging their defeat.
"Still, it's good that he supplied us with provisions and everything we need," Mash remarked.
"And even gave us transport to carry it all," Ritsuka added.
As the others had said, Ozymandias, impressed by Ritsuka's true courage (and perhaps his Protagonist status), provided them with food supplies, wood, building materials, and advised them to continue their journey towards the Holy City.
"Well, even if he's arrogant to the core, he seems like a decent guy deep down. And handsome, my type," Da Vinci stretched contentedly. "Thanks to this charming Pharaoh, I've assembled my 'Universal Ornithopter-Sphinx No. 1,' and now we can cross the desert in comfort."
Leonardo had created this machine from materials obtained from Ozymandias. She used Henry Ford's horseless carriage, seen in an American Singularity, as a base, but added many of her own ideas: all-wheel drive for off-road use, an eco-friendly engine powered by magic energy, and even a flight function as a last resort.
"It would be perfect if you'd installed a GPS," Deadpool grumbled.
"Don't be ridiculous. Where am I supposed to get tracking satellites, and how am I supposed to launch them in this era?"
"Doraemon could do it in a minute..."
"Then summon your Doraemon!"
Amidst these bickering, Da Vinci's "Ornithopter-Sphinx No. 1" soared rapidly through the sands.
The journey through the endless desert promised to be long.
Deciding it was time for revelations, Da Vinci explained in detail to Ritsuka and Mash about the girl's condition: her past, her current well-being, and, most importantly, Deadpool's role in the process.
"Is that true?" Ritsuka, after listening to the long explanation, looked at Deadpool with a strange expression. He was angered by the truth of Chaldea's inhumane experiments, but it was even harder to believe that Mash's current improvement was thanks to Wade.
"Oh, don't look at me like that, as if you're about to hug me. I can't stand that puppy-dog affection," Deadpool said, noticing Ritsuka's gaze in the rearview mirror.
"Mister Pool... Thank you. Thank you so much. I don't even know how to repay such kindness," Mash was more shocked than anyone.
She knew what she had gone through during the experiments on Demi-Servants, and Deadpool's story, who was also an experimental subject and suffered no less than her, resonated deeply with her. Learning that her fading life had regained strength thanks to his influence, she saw him as her savior.
"Ah, come on, it wasn't intentional. So no special thanks are needed... Well, maybe in words. And if you try to hug me, kiss me, or give me teary smiles – I'll kick you out immediately."
Deadpool diligently hid his emotions, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
After some time, apparently bored by the silence, he pulled out a cassette from somewhere and put it into the car stereo.
Almost Heaven, West Virginia...
"Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River... ♩"
For a long journey through the wastelands, the song was perfect. The country motif was so infectious that Ritsuka and Mash, hearing it for the first time, began to involuntarily tap their feet to the rhythm.
"Life is old there, older than the trees... ♪"
"Older than the mountains, blowing like a breeze... ♬"
Soon, they were singing along enthusiastically, mangling the English lyrics in a burst of joy.
"All my memories gather 'round her... ♪"
"Miner's lady, stranger to blue water... ♬"
Da Vinci in the passenger seat also joined in the melody.
"All together!"
At Deadpool's signal, the four sang in unison:
"West Virginia, mountain mama... ♩"
"Take me home, country roads... ♪"
To the soulful sounds of the guitar, a moment of peace entered Ritsuka's squad.
But it didn't last long.
At some point, Deadpool and Da Vinci tensed simultaneously. The merriment turned to concentration, and Wade turned off the music.
"What happened? Right at the most interesting part..." Ritsuka began.
"Shh. I have a very bad feeling."
Ritsuka wanted to protest, but seeing Deadpool's serious face, he immediately fell silent, realizing the gravity of the situation.
"Da Vinci, this feeling..."
"Servant. But where does this dreadful bloodlust come from?" Leonardo was alarmed. The reaction on her staff pointed to a high hill ahead.
"Let's leave the car here and scout. We need to move stealthily. If we're spotted, a fight is inevitable."
On Da Vinci's advice, Ritsuka and Mash held their breath. Deadpool parked the ornithopter, and they crept up the crest of the hill in single file.
There, in the middle of the desert, stood a group of several dozen people. They were opposed by a red-haired Archer Knight with a long bow in his hands. Before him, kneeling, stood a man in Hasshashin attire – the same as those who had kidnapped Nitocris.
"You want me! Let the refugees go. In exchange, I will give my head."
The Hasshashin bowed his head. The refugees behind him trembled in fear, looking with bitterness at the one who decided to sacrifice himself for them. The red-haired knight stood motionless, his eyes closed. His face seemed like a stone mask.
"I am a knight sworn to the Lion King. A knight's duty is to protect the weak. However... these refugees are not destined to leave alive."
The archer's cold refusal plunged the people into horror. The kneeling Hasshashin bit his lip until it bled, cursing his own helplessness.
"This archer... he's going to kill them all! Senpai, we have to intervene!"
"We can't!" Da Vinci, with burning eyes, intercepted Mash's hand as she was about to rush to help, and forced her to crouch down. Mash looked at her with a silent question, but Da Vinci's resolve was unwavering. "Mash... even if you go out... the result won't change. This red-haired knight... he's strong. Incredibly strong. We can't handle him..."
"But!"
"Mash, listen to an old woman. If we show ourselves, the refugees will die even faster than we can do anything," Deadpool cut in.
Mash could only clench her fists powerlessly, hating the situation where they could only watch.
Meanwhile, the Hasshashin drew a dagger and held it to his own throat.
"If you have even a shred of knightly honor left, I beg you! I will take my own life, but in return... for one day! Just for this one day! Swear not to move your feet and right hand. That is my condition."
At these words, the knight's eyebrows twitched. Without waiting for a response, the Hasshashin shouted to the refugees:
"Run! Get as far away as possible!"
And with a sharp movement, he cut his own throat.
"Yes. Run. You are free to run anywhere."
In that very instant, a diagonal flash of light streaked across the body of one of the refugees – the man didn't even have time to realize he'd been struck before his flesh fell apart into pieces. Following that, a beautiful melody rang out like a harp's arpeggios, and dozens more unfortunates, desperately trying to escape, were shredded to bits while on the run.
"Well, as you can see, I didn't use my legs or my right hand. I merely strummed the strings with my remaining left. This is my celestial weapon – 'Failnaught: Sorrowful Music.' You would have been better off heeding my advice and not moving a single finger… Ah… what a pathetic, sorrowful fate. I shall sing of this sorrow and cruelty in my rhythms."
"You… you… bastard…!"
The Hassan had already lost his head. But even as he died, looking at the bodies of the refugees, so senselessly slaughtered despite his sacrifice, he managed to spew all his hatred, rage, and resentment at the archer-knight before finally breathing his last.
"How despicable…!"
"Mash! No!"
Mash, forced to helplessly watch the massacre in which innocents were dying, felt a surge of fury she had never known before. She almost lunged forward, wanting to finish off the knight immediately. However, Da Vinci held her back with all her might, trying to calm her.
"Da Vinci… they died… The people are dead! Innocent people! Why?!"
"Yes! I know! I understand you perfectly, but you must hold back! If we blindly give in to our emotions now, we will lose. We are too weak. We cannot stand against this knight on equal footing! So endure. Become stronger… the time will come, and you will be able to take revenge. It won't be too late then…"
While comforting Mash, whose eyes burned with anger through her welling tears, Da Vinci suddenly heard a series of explosions coming from beyond the hill. A bad premonition made her sharply turn towards Ritsuka.
"What an idiot!"
Da Vinci's fears were confirmed: Deadpool, having somehow acquired a "Panzerschreck," was already firing at the archer-knight with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, slinging it over his shoulder.
"Hmm?"
The knight, following the Hassan's condition, merely twitched the fingers of his left hand. The string twanged, and the projectile flying towards him was sliced by light and exploded in the air.
"A Servant in the middle of this wasteland…"
Deadpool tossed aside the empty "Panzerschreck" and, drawing an SMAW, fired another rocket at the enemy.
"Useless."
Again, to the sound of a wondrous melody, the anti-tank missile fell to pieces.
But Deadpool didn't give up. Drawing two LWMMGs and pressing them to his hips, he squeezed the triggers.
"Du-du-du-du!" – a roar worthy of a battlefield filled the surroundings. Hundreds of bullets flew towards the knight, but all of them, obeying the musical passages, disintegrated into dust. Deadpool emptied his magazines to the last round, but the knight didn't get a scratch.
"Damn it all!"
Cursing, Deadpool threw away the machine guns and pulled out an USAS-12 automatic shotgun. "Dun-dun-dun!" – heavy shots, resembling strikes on a huge drum, sent clouds of buckshot in all directions, but even thousands of lead pellets didn't harm the opponent.
"Are you going to do this all day? Of course, I am bound by duty and will remain here until sunset. I can entertain you as long as you wish, but, frankly, I'm already starting to yawn."
Ignoring the knight's words, Deadpool began to close the distance, drawing pistols on the move and firing wildly. And again, it was all in vain – the melody of the "Failnaught" bow erected an impenetrable barrier.
"Mister Pool…"
"What a stubborn fool!"
Ritsuka and the others hiding on the hill couldn't stop Deadpool. Moreover, if they revealed themselves, the knight might pursue them and kill them all on the spot. For now, all they could do was retreat.
"Damn it to hell, when will you die, you goat?!"
"You have a remarkably foul mouth."
Having expended his pistol magazines, Deadpool resorted to his last argument – he pulled out a monstrous multi-barreled minigun. The barrels spun, spewing fire and literally plowing up the ground around the knight. Thousands of red-hot bullets formed a solid wall of lead.
"I told you: it's useless."
The archer-knight drew ever more beautiful sounds from the strings, and all the bullets either deflected or were cut down at the root. The music created a semblance of an acoustic shield, preventing even the edge of his cloak from being touched.
Finally, Deadpool threw the overheated minigun with bent barrels to the ground. It seemed his firearms were exhausted – he drew swords from his back and charged in a swift attack. But the knight, even with his eyes closed, read his every move.
"Why these pointless struggles!"
With a sigh of defeat from the knight, a string rang out, and Deadpool's hand, which had raised the blade above his head, flew off to the side.
"Did you attack me merely out of rage for the deaths of those few refugees? You seem to understand the difference in strength… and yet you give in to your emotions too much. When emotions lead the battle, defeat is inevitable."
Another strum of the strings – and Deadpool lost both his legs.
"Ah… how regrettable!"
Next, his second arm flew off.
"Our Lion King works tirelessly to prevent the disintegration of this world…"
The hero's torso was torn to shreds.
"Why do people not appreciate His Majesty's efforts?"
The knight raised his eyes to the sky, concluding his elegy with a final chord. The red servant who dared to attack him turned into a pile of chopped meat.
"May your courage, like a flea's jump, find its rest…"
"Shove your rest up your ass, right behind a durian, you scumbag."
Deadpool's head, rolling on the ground, stopped at the knight's very feet and erupted in choice curses.
"Oh?"
"This is for your trip to hell! Eat it, you bastard!"
Deadpool had a fishing line clenched in his teeth. The moment he jerked his head, a whole garland of grenades, C4 charges, and napalm charges shot out from under the sand, right beneath the knight's feet.
"Oh…"
The archer-knight looked down with a completely impassive face.
The next moment, there was an explosion as if a nuclear bomb had detonated. A monstrous flame engulfed the knight, and the remains of Deadpool's body scattered for miles around. Then the napalm detonated, and a pillar of fire rose over the desert, illuminating the wasteland with an ominous light.
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: Granulan