How About Finding Another Savior?

What path should he take?

Xi Jianxi closed his eyes, utterly confused.

"Just set out on your journey. There is no need to linger here. When the time comes for us to meet again, master and disciple will naturally reunite. Let us meet then."

Those were the final words his master had spoken when bidding him farewell before he left the Shadow Realm.

Back then, immersed in the joy and melancholy of completing his training, Xi Jianxi had never had the chance to think deeply about them. Now, he found himself pondering them once more.

If his journey truly held some special meaning...

"Xi Jianxi!"

Artoria, who had already landed, realized something was wrong when she saw him falling without any preparation. She sprinted over and caught him.

Only after coming back to his senses did he realize he had forgotten about that, nearly causing an accident.

"Sorry. I caused you trouble."

Xi Jianxi gestured for Artoria to put him down, then regained his footing.

"What a splendid counterattack."

Iskandar drove his ox cart over to them. Behind him, the soldiers who had yet to fall erupted in cheers, celebrating a victory that far exceeded anything they should have been capable of achieving.

"Not at all. It only went so smoothly because the two of you were with me." Xi Jianxi took a deep breath and steadied himself.

"The King of Heroes who stood in our way is gone. Now, only one matter remains." Artoria clenched her left hand.

The scabbard she had once lost had returned to her hand, yet she no longer needed to set foot on such a battlefield for a second time.

Perhaps that was why she had lost the scabbard in the first place.

Perhaps fate had already hinted, back then, that Artoria Pendragon should give up. Yet she had paid it no heed, treating it as nothing more than a minor setback.

"Then, as kings, let us help you witness the final curtain of this Holy Grail War." Iskandar said, "This expedition may have had its regrets, but it was satisfying enough."

He raised his hand, and amid the salutes of his soldiers, the Reality Marble gradually faded away.

What appeared before them was Ryuudou Temple, still emanating an ominous phosphorescent glow.

"Yes... she is still waiting for me..."

Xi Jianxi turned and stepped toward the rear of Ryuudou Temple.

Manifestation

Morgan slowly descended onto the earthen platform and reunited with Irisviel and Kiritsugu Emiya. Her blue eyes calmly swept over the surroundings.

All the Assassins had been slain, turning into pools of black mud. Under the influence of the forcibly activated Greater Holy Grail, the mud gathered together and surrounded the platform Morgan had raised like a swamp.

She glanced at the Command Spells on the back of her hand. She had created five duplicates just now, and one Command Spell had been expended to compensate for the shortage of magical energy.

Normally, with Xi Jianxi supplying magical energy and Morgan's exceptional reserves, she could easily sustain the consumption of her many battles and spells.

But this time, Xi Jianxi's supply had been somewhat restrained. Morgan did not need to think hard to know that he must have gone all out against Gilgamesh.

Even so, Morgan watched as her duplicates gradually disappeared.

Maintaining those duplicates would require the magical energy stored in a second Command Spell.

Assassin had already been eliminated, so there was no need to waste that magical energy.

The only surprising thing was that the priest had proven remarkably resilient.

Morgan had needed to avoid coming into contact with the black mud, lest the forcibly activated Greater Holy Grail consume her as magical energy. That had allowed Kirei to seize the initiative, but the man had merely suffered a gunshot wound and lost an arm to Kiritsugu's bullet. He was far from unable to move.

At that moment, the hole that had appeared in the sky suddenly erupted with an even greater torrent of black matter, pouring down into the lake at Ryuudou Temple.

The once-clear lake water had become thoroughly murky. The mist rising from its surface showed that its temperature had risen to the verge of boiling.

"Oh..." Kirei looked back at the hole in the sky and spoke with utter indifference. "It seems the King of Heroes has also been defeated."

This man showed neither resentment nor regret at the death of his companion. He simply accepted the fact.

"You probably do not know this, but Archer's soul had more than three times the mass of an ordinary Servant's." Kirei smiled happily. "With such an enormous soul absorbed and converted into magical energy, the Grail's activation can no longer be stopped."

Morgan raised an eyebrow faintly and slowly lifted her hand. "So what? It is merely a somewhat sophisticated magical ritual. Different stages naturally call for different methods of response. But before that, you will no longer have the chance to see it."

Light of magical energy gathered in her hand. Morgan intended to kill Kirei with a single strike, then deal with the Greater Holy Grail's abnormal state at her leisure.

But Irisviel suddenly sucked in a sharp breath behind her.

Morgan immediately halted the spell she was about to cast.

Morgan saw the same thing Irisviel had seen.

A silver-haired woman in a black ceremonial gown slowly emerged from the Greater Holy Grail. Hands growing from the distorted masses of flesh around her swayed eerily, as if trying to touch the woman, yet also as if worshipping her.

"So that is the foundation of the Greater Holy Grail..."

Kirei turned around as well and looked at the woman.

Seeing her from atop the platform, Kiritsugu asked his wife in shock, "Iri, what exactly is that--"

"...Justicia Lizleihi..." Irisviel stared in terror at the woman who shared her face and slowly spoke the name.

If it was the form materialized by the Greater Holy Grail, there was only one possibility.

Justicia Lizleihi von Einzbern.

The former head of the Einzbern family, she had sacrificed her life to devise the Holy Grail War, but her remaining consciousness still resided within the Greater Holy Grail.

Irisviel was merely a homunculus created by the Einzbern family in Justicia's image, made to reproduce Justicia's functions as completely as possible.

"The enormous magical circuits left within the Great Hollow are what that homunculus named Justicia left behind." Morgan said, gazing from afar at the black-gowned figure.

Justicia's black silhouette slowly floated forward before finally descending beside Kirei.

"You thought four Servants' souls would be enough to awaken me? As sacrifices, they are utterly inadequate." She revealed a cold, wicked smile. "And you call yourself the Holy Church's overseer, yet this is all you are capable of."

Kirei was just about to speak when he felt the strength rapidly drain from his body. He lowered his head in shock.

A hand that had grown out from the lake had pierced through his chest from behind without him noticing. That pale, nimble hand was gripping his heart.

With a whoosh--

The instant the hand withdrew, Kirei's body fell backward like a kite with its string cut, rolling into the smoke-shrouded lake.

Watching the hand retract into the black mud with his heart, Irisviel covered her mouth to suppress the instinctive urge to vomit.

Kirei, whom they had regarded as their greatest enemy, had ultimately been killed by the very thing he awakened.

"A fresh heart tastes wonderful, but it is not enough. It is still not enough!"

Justicia wore a crazed smile and licked her lips as though she had just savored the most exquisite delicacy.

She fixed Morgan with a greedy stare.

As a Servant who had come in accordance with the Grail's laws, Morgan was naturally something the Grail craved.

"Devouring Servants and Masters was not enough for you, so you intend to devour me as well?" Morgan had no intention of waiting to die. She rose from the platform once more, floating high in the air.

Even so, as a Servant, she was at an absolute disadvantage. Even a touch would force Morgan to be devoured and reclaimed as fuel for activating the Grail.

Therefore, she first needed to widen the distance and launch a devastating attack from afar with magecraft.

But Morgan immediately realized she had miscalculated one thing. The personality manifested by this abnormal Greater Holy Grail was not merely a simple malevolent personality.

As if crossing the boundaries of time and space, Justicia appeared directly before Morgan the moment she rose into the air.

"You look like you would taste quite good. Be a good girl and become my sacrifice."

As Justicia spoke, she had already extended her hand, her fingertip about to touch Morgan's heart.

There was no time. There was no time to cast a spell, nor to use a Command Spell to teleport herself away.

There was no warning, no opening. It was as though she could reach anywhere as easily as taking a stroll.

As an absolute predator, Justicia was feeding without restraint after awakening, filling the Grail with the souls of the seven Servants it required.

Yet heaven did not cut off all paths. A crimson flash of lightning streaked between Morgan and Justicia, severing Justicia's arm and sending black blood spraying through the air.

In less than a second, the witch was held by a familiar figure around the shoulders and pulled away from Justicia at top speed.

The End

Morgan stared in astonishment at the battered Xi Jianxi.

This man had clearly just finished an arduous battle, yet without even a moment to catch his breath, he had rushed to her side.

Just like every time in the past.

Holding Morgan, he slid several meters across the ground before gradually coming to a stop. He looked up at Justicia in the sky.

Runes triggered a violent explosion that engulfed Justicia as well.

"It seems it had no effect."

Morgan watched Justicia slowly emerge from the flames and drift down onto the black mud.

The burns caused by the explosion were gradually vanishing from that body.

"But at least we have figured out one thing." Xi Jianxi held Morgan tightly, crouched slightly, and tensed his entire body.

When hands stretching out from the surrounding black mud lunged at him, he leaped into the air and landed atop the tallest nearby tree.

"That teleportation ability apparently cannot be used continuously." He narrowed his eyes and stared fixedly at Justicia. "It seems to be a special ability with an interval..."

Morgan nodded in agreement. "Then at the very least, could you put me down first?"

"I am afraid that is not possible for now." Xi Jianxi gave a bitter smile. "That thing knows your value very well. It will do everything it can to devour you... I absolutely will not allow it."

Hearing that, Morgan looked behind Xi Jianxi's shoulder and neck. Only then did she notice that several freshly scorched holes in his clothes were still smoking, and the skin beneath them was burned as well.

He had clearly used his own body to block whatever had splashed from Justicia's severed arm when he saved her.

"Then you will handle movement and defense. I will handle the attack." Morgan put away the Demon Spear and spread open her palm.

Fortunately, they were not the only two facing Justicia.

Artoria and the other two had followed closely behind Xi Jianxi and arrived here as well.

But Irisviel warned the two Servants not to touch the black substance by the lake. Otherwise, the few Servants remaining would be contaminated and might even be controlled.

"No. Since that thing can only contaminate Servants, I will take the lead in attacking."

Xi Jianxi leaped again, evaded Justicia's crude attack, and landed beside Artoria and the others.

"Do not worry about us. Kiritsugu and I will be fine, so just do what you need to do!" Irisviel was being shielded by Kiritsugu.

He likely intended, if the situation became urgent, to risk being contaminated by the black mud beneath the platform in order to get Iri somewhere safe.

"But that thing is obviously the natural enemy of Servants like us." Iskandar wanted to help, but at a time like this, not being devoured by the Grail was the greatest help he could offer.

Xi Jianxi gently set Morgan down. With a stretch of his hand, the Red Spear that had severed Justicia's arm flew back into his grasp.

"Then we simply need to avoid touching the things on the ground."

He stretched out his hand and traced patterns through the air. Eighteen runes flashed past, and thick ice rapidly spread from beneath Xi Jianxi's feet, covering the ground around Ryuudou Temple's lake. Even the lake surface, which had begun to show faint signs of boiling from magical energy, froze over.

Even the Greater Holy Grail's writhing came to a temporary halt.

"Do not let that thing touch you. If it does, you are finished." Xi Jianxi reminded them in a deliberately relaxed tone, then added, "The ice is slippery, so be careful!"

With that said, Xi Jianxi shot forward with a bang like a cannonball.

"Petty tricks!"

Justicia, whose feeding had been obstructed by Xi Jianxi, had no intention of giving up.

"You... are not really that Justicia Lizleihi, are you?" The spear Xi Jianxi thrust forward was blocked by familiars formed from silver hair. "Am I right, Black Grail?"

Irisviel immediately recognized it from behind. It was Einzbern magecraft, which gave life to one's own hair and transformed it into animals or weapons according to the battle situation.

However, the scale was completely different.

Justicia's familiars transformed into swords, and every slash was no weaker than a Servant's.

"Heh--"

Justicia, or rather the personality mimicked by the Black Grail, let out a merciless sneer.