Decisive Battle, Eve, and Expedition

Time passed quietly. After an unknown amount of time, Shiki slowly woke from a deep sleep.

"This is the first time I've slept so comfortably. It seems saving Irisviel took a lot of energy."

Sitting up, he realized he wasn't lying on his familiar bed, but on an altar.

Shiki's expression stiffened for a moment. He quickly turned his head to look at Irisviel beside him. Seeing that she was still sleeping peacefully and that nothing unexpected had happened, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Good, nothing embarrassing happened. Besides, when I'm in a deep sleep, there's nothing I can do anyway.

"Master, you are awake."

The materialized Black Knight, Lancelot, appeared from the air.

Shiki raised his hand in a wave, acknowledging him, and then asked, "Mr. Lancelot, what time is it now?"

"Master, it is 16:30 local time," Lancelot replied concisely and accurately.

"Almost five in the afternoon? I slept that long."

Shiki exclaimed as he stretched languidly.

He got off the altar and went to the water pool. He carefully washed his face, afraid of splashing water on his eye patch. After washing, he felt much more refreshed.

"Mr. Lancelot, did anything major happen while I was asleep?"

"Nothing major occurred, Master. Everything is normal in the city."

"Everything is normal... that's precisely what's abnormal."

Shiki pondered. After Archer was eliminated, only three Heroic Spirits remained.

Besides the Black Knight, the other two showed no signs of conflict, which likely meant they had formed some kind of alliance.

Sigh, it's all my fault for being so focused on Irisviel and the Holy Grail at the time that I neglected to ask the King of Knights if she and Rider had an alliance. What a shame.

The Black Knight handed him a towel. Shiki took it to dry his face and then threw it back to the Black Knight.

"Mr. Lancelot, tonight, we'll have Rider make their exit. After that, it will be the final duel with Saber. Are you ready?"

Are you ready?

Lancelot clenched the towel in his hand, repeatedly asking himself the question in his heart.

Fighting spirit, the will to battle, and some indescribable complex emotions surged within him.

Without a doubt, he was already prepared.

"Master, thank you for your efforts and help. I, Lancelot, am ready."

The Black Knight knelt on one knee, responding sincerely.

This was his final courtesy. Afterward, he would pursue his dream and bring this short yet fulfilling Holy Grail War to an end.

"That's good."

Shiki smiled faintly at the Black Knight. He knew the other's wish. After all, they had exchanged vows. At this moment, he could only silently bless Lancelot in his heart, wishing everything would go as he desired.

"Then, after we've settled Irisviel, we'll depart."

"As you command, Master."

But how should I settle Irisviel?

I can't just leave her here.

"Oh, right."

Shiki seemed to suddenly remember something. He walked to the edge of the altar, gazing at Irisviel, the Nordic elf sleeping like a baby. He tilted his head slightly, hesitated for a moment, and finally gently placed his hands on her abdomen.

"Avalon, the Realm of the Faraway Fairies, manifest in my name, Hōraisan Shiki! Come forth!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a golden radiance slowly emerged from Irisviel's abdomen. As Shiki slowly raised his hand, a golden scabbard emitting a sacred light floated in mid-air.

"Avalon... It's been so long since I've seen this treasure."

The Black Knight, who had appeared beside Shiki at some unknown time, couldn't help but sigh. His gaze was fixed on the golden scabbard, as if he were seeing long-forgotten memories through it.

Shiki was also carefully feeling this tangible treasure.

From its appearance, it was less like an armament and more like a precious ornament signifying supreme authority.

The lost elven script on the scabbard silently proved that it was not of human make.

At this moment, this radiant treasure seemed to be dyeing the somewhat dim great cavern a dazzling gold.

"Amazing!"

Shiki couldn't help but exclaim sincerely. This was the first time he had felt the immense power contained within a treasure so up close. Even the Noble Phantasms of Heroic Spirits seemed to pale in comparison.

The shock intensified when he realized that this scabbard temporarily belonged to him and that he could fully wield its power.

Hearing Shiki's exclamation, the Black Knight beside him couldn't help but show a hint of pride. After all, anyone who had personally experienced the might of this holy sword's scabbard would be amazed, without exception.

He said sincerely, "Master, with this scabbard, your safety is absolutely guaranteed. With this, your knight, Lancelot, has no further worries."

The Black Knight knew Shiki possessed extraordinary and miraculous abilities, but the limitations of a human body meant that Master's strength still had a considerable gap compared to Heroic Spirits.

On this cruel battlefield, a modern bullet could easily take Master's life.

No one can predict when an accident might strike.

But now, with this sword sheath protecting Master, Lancelot could finally pursue and fulfill his own wish without any reservations.

That's right, the Holy Grail War was drawing to a close, and Shiki was arming himself as much as possible.

Since he had such a powerful treasure in hand, it was only natural to make full use of it.

The reason he had hesitated to retrieve the sword sheath from Irisviel before was simply his concern that it would further delay Irisviel's awakening.

However, on second thought, Irisviel wasn't in urgent need of waking up immediately. If she woke up too early and saw certain things, it would only make things more troublesome for Shiki.

With that thought, he finally retrieved the sword sheath.

The farthest land of immortality.

With a turn of his wrist, Shiki activated the treasure's ability.

"Scatter!"

In an instant, the golden sword sheath shattered like broken porcelain, breaking into hundreds of fragments that enveloped Shiki.

An invisible barrier instantly unfolded, firmly protecting the sole person within it.

The smooth activation of the ability was within Shiki's expectations. After all, he was now the owner of Avalon's authority, albeit temporarily.

"Retract!"

After verifying the effect of the ability's release, Shiki retracted the sword sheath.

However, this time, he did not allow the sword sheath to return to its original form. Instead, he had it attach to himself, just as it had been attached to Irisviel before.

However, after the sword sheath's ability took effect on Shiki, the situation was different from what he had expected.

"..."

He had originally hoped that the damage to his right eye would be healed. Legend had it that this sword sheath possessed the miraculous effect of healing the wielder's injuries, but his right eye remained unchanged.

The Black Knight, standing by, saw Shiki's confusion and took the initiative to clarify: "Master, could it be that your Magic Eye interfered with Avalon's healing effect?"

Magic Eye...

Shiki touched his eye patch.

Magic Eye, the top-tier Rainbow Magic Eye, was inextricably linked to the "Root."

He had thought Avalon could break through this barrier, but it seemed it still couldn't.

Then, the legendary defensive barrier that even the Five Great Magics couldn't break was merely a legend.

"Master?" the Black Knight called out softly.

"Never mind, it doesn't matter if it didn't work. Mr. Lancelot, take Irisviel, let's go."

Shiki no longer dwelled on the issue of healing.

They enjoyed their last meal, and then, under the cover of night, Shiki and the Black Knight flew like black lightning, straight through Miyamachi and Shinto, heading towards the Einzbern forest, more than thirty kilometers away from Fuyuki City.

They quickly found the castle hidden by the barrier.

The castle was now deserted. It had suffered severe damage from the aftermath of the battle between Kiritsugu and Kaineth.

Coupled with Rider's extremely unrestrained entrance method back then, Kiritsugu had been forced to abandon this stronghold.

However, some rooms within the castle remained intact.

If there was any place where Irisviel could be safely housed, it had to be here.

"Next, we'll go fight, Mr. Lancelot."

Shiki looked towards Fuyuki City in the west, his lone left eye shining with confidence.

"Yes, my Master."

The Black Knight Lancelot, also full of fighting spirit, responded to his Master.

At this moment, both Shiki and the Black Knight were ready to face the final battle.