How About You Find Another Savior

"Well, I'm about the same. Since there's no hope either way, I won't say it. No need to add to the regrets." Xi Jianxi zipped up his clothes and turned to look at Morgan.

Morgan raised an eyebrow. "If I had to put it simply, it isn't that complicated. I merely wanted to obtain the ritual details of the Third Magic and analyze its principles."

"The magic of materializing the soul..." Xi Jianxi was rather surprised, but he did not ask why.

It was hardly unreasonable for a Magus to seek something on the level of True Magic.

Besides, Morgan's strength far surpassed that of modern Magi. If she wished to unravel the principles of the Third Magic and reproduce it, it would not be difficult.

"You aren't curious?"

"Don't ask about things you shouldn't ask about. That's my principle." Xi Jianxi gave her a bright smile. "That doesn't interfere with my trust in you. Please trust me as well. I would never betray you for the Holy Grail."

Morgan sighed leisurely. "I already know."

She already knew that better than anyone.

"As for me, I truly don't have any wish." Xi Jianxi smiled bitterly. "I hope you can understand."

"...Mm." Morgan nodded.

He had merely been pushed onto this battlefield, then had to feel his way through everything himself. Morgan did not intend to press Xi Jianxi to speak of anything beyond that now.

"Also..." Xi Jianxi walked over, sat beside Morgan, and took her hand in his.

With a slightly surprised look, she watched what Xi Jianxi was doing.

"I don't know how else to use Command Spells, so not only did I fail to use them all, I even have an extra one." As Xi Jianxi spoke, the Command Spell in his hand slowly lit up. "But Command Spells themselves are valuable sources of magical energy. If you use them, they'll surely be put to better use."

When he finished speaking, red light filled the room before everything returned to normal.

The four Command Spells had transferred from him to the back of Morgan's pale, almost translucent hand.

"To actually give Command Spells to a Servant... my husband truly is a Magus who breaks new ground in every sense." Morgan raised her eyes to Xi Jianxi. "Trust your wife. She will not disappoint your expectations."

Feeling that the atmosphere had suddenly become ambiguous because of what he had done, Xi Jianxi grew a little embarrassed and hurriedly changed the subject.

"I'll go see whether Sakura and Karen are asleep yet. Once they're sound asleep, we can set out." Slightly flustered, Xi Jianxi stood and slowly left the room.

Morgan did not stop him. She merely watched him disappear beyond the door, then stroked the pattern of the Command Spells as though caressing some treasure even more precious than the Command Spells themselves.

Having composed herself, Morgan left the room as well and wandered through the entire Xi Jianxi residence in the mood for a stroll.

Though she had only been here for a few days, she felt a closeness as though she had lived here for more than a decade.

The Holy Grail War was drawing to an end, and the renowned witch would soon bid farewell to all this and return to where she belonged.

So she wanted to etch everything she had now into her memories.

As she passed the corridor overlooking the garden, she saw Artoria standing there beneath the moonlight.

"What are you looking at, Artoria?"

Perhaps this was her last chance to speak with Artoria Pendragon like this, so Morgan took the initiative.

"Nothing. I'm only looking at this sky." Artoria turned around and took a few steps toward Morgan. "Even if the era and country are different, the sky remains exactly the same."

"Even the moon shining upon you is the very same one." Morgan spoke in a somewhat poetic tone.

"I see." Artoria nodded, then looked at Morgan and smiled. "I nearly forgot. I should thank you, Morgan."

"I don't recall doing anything that warrants your thanks," Morgan said.

"But thanks to your attempt to make my heart submit, I realized something I had inadvertently overlooked." Artoria turned away and gazed at the stars again. "I wanted to save Britain, to change the fact of Britain's destruction, but I forgot that the world was not made up of Britain alone."

"...It isn't too late, even now." Morgan's voice lowered.

"If my wish had been fulfilled, perhaps the people of Britain could have kept a sky like tonight's forever, but the human world would have been swept away by disaster because of it." Artoria smiled bitterly. "If that happened, the price would be far too high."

Morgan looked at Artoria. "From your tone, it doesn't sound like you think your wish was wrong. You're merely giving it up because you have no choice."

"It isn't giving up. It's choosing to protect the broader human world." Artoria lowered her eyes. "Though I still feel unwilling, though there are still things I cannot let go of... let this wish remain a wish."

"I see. Then do as you see fit." Morgan spoke with faint mockery. "If you reach Avalon and meet the Magus imprisoned there by 'me,' remember to mock him mercilessly with this outcome. After all, that incubus is still secretly watching all this with those eyes of his that can see the present, yet doing nothing."

Rarely, Artoria and Morgan agreed. "Mm, that was exactly what I intended to do."

Then, as though recalling something, she added, "Also, you aren't the Morgan I know, are you?"

"...Is that important?" Morgan neither confirmed nor denied it.

"You're right. It really isn't important." Artoria sighed deeply. "This Holy Grail War truly has been beyond imagination, whether it comes to Masters or Servants."

The hours of the night passed in silence, and the final moment before heading to the battlefield gradually approached.

Ryuudou Temple

At midnight, as the clock hand moved toward one in the morning.

The group split into three parties and approached Ryuudou Temple by different routes.

Iskandar rode with Waver in his ox cart.

Artoria drove a motorcycle with Irisviel riding alongside her.

Xi Jianxi directly used his most adept transfer magecraft, arriving ahead of the others with Morgan on the roadside outside Ryuudou Temple to survey the situation.

"...This magical energy reeks so badly it makes one sick." Morgan raised a hand to cover her mouth and nose, voicing her displeasure.

In truth, the magical energy emanating from Ryuudou Temple had no smell at all.

Morgan was merely judging it by its nature.

The air was damp and saturated with moisture, clinging to the skin like a membrane.

Overflowing with vitality, almost as though it were alive, the entire mountain seemed to be breathing.

"It has completely become an organ that inhales and exhales magical energy. It is waiting to further devour Servants' souls and complete the form of the Holy Grail."

Xi Jianxi could not help clicking his tongue. He raised his hand, and a pale purple butterfly formed from magical energy flew from his palm. It followed the stairs upward, then abruptly burst apart midway up, its light sweeping over the entire slope leading to Ryuudou Temple.

Faerie Fire.

A spell used to detect invisible enemies, developed by Xi Jianxi specifically against Assassin's Presence Concealment.

It was hard to say how effective it would be, but one thing was certain: once this spell was deployed, any enemy who appeared within its range would have nowhere to hide, even if they concealed their body and presence again.

"So Assassin wasn't arranged at the temple gate." Morgan analyzed briefly. "They were probably stationed elsewhere."

It did not take long to travel from Xi Jianxi's home to Ryuudou Temple. Soon afterward, Artoria and Iskandar arrived separately with their respective Masters.

Clearly, they had encountered no obstruction along the way. After meeting up and confirming the situation with one another, they prepared to ascend to the temple gate together.

Gilgamesh's whereabouts were unknown, so they had to remain as vigilant as possible.

At that moment, a black figure emerged from the darkness and slowly approached.

Kiritsugu Emiya had come as well. He could not rest easy letting his wife go to the battlefield alone, so he had come along.

No one objected. With the Servants in front and Xi Jianxi bringing up the rear, they climbed the long flight of stairs.

Only upon reaching the temple gate did they discover that red light had enveloped all of Ryuudou Temple. Red phosphorescence drifted through the wind, making the temple bright in the middle of the night, yet filled with an ominous air.

Behind the buildings, vivid color seeped forth from something like viscous darkness.

"So you've come. I've been waiting for you for quite some time."

A figure in golden armor stood atop the roof of Ryuudou Temple.

Clearly, facing multiple Servants alone, Gilgamesh was no longer treating things with the same playful attitude he had displayed during the day.

"Archer, did you and Kirei forcibly activate the Holy Grail?" Irisviel stared fixedly at him.

Gilgamesh snorted. "Isn't it obvious, doll? This King has no interest in the likes of the Holy Grail. Kirei said he wanted to activate it, so it was activated. Still, Tokiomi turned out to be surprisingly capable. I thought he was merely a useless nobody, but who would have thought he would be so useful as a vessel? The souls of merely two Servants were enough to activate the Holy Grail."

"Tokiomi..." Xi Jianxi's pupils contracted.

Just as Irisviel had expected, once the core was taken away, it would lose its vitality in less than a day if left alone. Therefore, it needed a vessel.

But the Einzbern homunculus was merely the condition for the Lesser Holy Grail to activate normally.

If the goal was only to activate it and use the enormous magical energy it stored, any Magus—or even an ordinary person with a little Magus bloodline—could serve as a vessel.

"You were old acquaintances with Tokiomi, weren't you? It suits you to see him off on his final journey, Xi Jianxi." Gilgamesh looked at Xi Jianxi. "Disappear quickly, mongrel. This King has business only with the Servants and this fellow."

Morgan could not help laughing when she heard that. "It seems your tactic has failed, my husband."

"Hard to say." Xi Jianxi clasped his right hand with his left. There was still one extra Command Spell he had not given Morgan.

It was the reward from the Holy Church for the extermination. Xi Jianxi had kept it precisely because he had considered that something like this might happen.

"Let's go, Iri."

Kiritsugu, the first to see through Xi Jianxi's intentions, immediately grabbed Irisviel and ran toward the rear courtyard.

Iskandar also patted Waver on the back. "Boy, go. We're enough here."

After staggering forward two steps, Waver looked down at the hand holding four Command Spells and finally made up his mind.

"By Command Spell, I order you: win, Rider. By Command Spell, I order you again: you are not permitted to die in battle, Rider. By Command Spell for the third time, I order you: accomplish what you wish to do and never retreat. Then, with the final Command Spell, I command you... sweep away every enemy before your eyes."

He handed over all his Command Spells as though throwing caution to the wind, yet everyone could feel that the magical energy of the four Command Spells had strengthened Iskandar's bearing to its utmost limit.

"I'll leave this to you, Rider." Waver took a deep breath and spoke resolutely.

The King of Conquerors laughed loudly as he drew his sword. "Since my Master has gone this far, then I shall take the vanguard! At the very least, you can leave after witnessing my Noble Phantasm."

Along with his bold voice, a dry, scorching wind swept across all of Ryuudou Temple.

He was about to unleash his ultimate Noble Phantasm and drag everyone into an entirely new battlefield.

At last, the hot wind from beyond common sense began overturning and eroding reality.

The blazing sun scorched the earth. The view stretched endlessly, all the way to the horizon shrouded by violent sandstorms, beneath a cloudless blue sky.

A great forbidden spell that eroded reality: a Reality Marble.

Naturally, this was not something Iskandar could accomplish alone. There was also the great army slowly marching toward them from behind, the heroes who had once ridden beside Iskandar across battlefields and conquered lands in every direction.

The crystallization of their shared hearts was this very sight.

"That should settle it."

Before setting out, Xi Jianxi had already heard the King of Conquerors reveal that he possessed another Noble Phantasm: a Reality Marble.

So—

"I offer this Command Spell to my wife!" Xi Jianxi also activated his sole remaining Command Spell while both sides had yet to gain their footing. "Go to your battlefield!"

"Leave it to me. I won't hold back."

Without resisting at all, Morgan departed from here under the guidance of the Command Spell.

"Still, it's a pity the boy on my side can't be transferred like that," Iskandar said.

Xi Jianxi summoned the Red Spear and stepped to the front.

"The battlefield is the same either way. Choose for yourself, Waver."

He spun the spear, its tip pointing from afar at Gilgamesh on the other side of the desert.

A Fierce Battle

Rider had only managed to display one kind of Noble Phantasm in this Holy Grail War: the Gordius Wheel.

It was not until the battle meeting several hours earlier, when it became necessary, that he revealed his second Noble Phantasm to everyone.

Ionian Hetairoi.

It had surprised them all that a Servant of the Rider class possessed a Reality Marble, a great forbidden spell normally only Magi could wield.

But now that they had witnessed the form of this Noble Phantasm with their own eyes, they could more or less accept it.

These radiant, elite cavalrymen and their bond of ruler and subjects with Iskandar, the King of Conquerors, had crossed the barrier between the living world and the realm of the dead, sublimating into eternal warriors.

No matter where the battlefield lay, as long as their king needed to display his former tyranny once more, his subjects would immediately rush to his side, no matter how far away they were.

Watching the warriors march toward them with overwhelming momentum, Artoria frowned deeply, then closed her eyes somewhat unwillingly and stopped looking at the scene.

"Don't mind it, King of Knights." Xi Jianxi stood with his back to the King of Conquerors and his army. "There is more than one way for a king to stand. I once accompanied a queen who watched over the dead and the realm of spirits. She bore eternal responsibility upon herself alone. Aren't you the same? The radiance of the Holy Sword you bear is proof of you as a king, isn't it?"

Artoria turned to look at Xi Jianxi, who was speaking these words to encourage her.

He looked back at her and smiled. "Or perhaps your capacity and bearing as a king have long since lost to your sister?"