Shirou's Thirty Million Avatars

"Hybrid, I'll let you live a little longer for now."

Faced with this situation, Artoria naturally refused to back down.

However, she lacked Archer's ability akin to Teleportation, and could only sprint toward the arena on foot.

Yet, just over ten seconds into her run, the deafening war cries of two armies erupted from outside the city.

The projection in the sky began to broadcast the clash between the two sides.

Chapter 20: Dumbfounded

Section 20: Chapter 20: Dumbfounded

Compared to Kiritsugu Emiya, Kariya Matou and Berserker's actions went more smoothly.

Lancelot, summoned without the Mad Enhancement curse attached, wasn't in perfect mental shape, but at least he hadn't lost his reason.

In terms of combat skill alone, Lancelot even surpassed Artoria.

By contrast, Diarmuid, who only had a couple of tricks up his sleeve, was at too great a disadvantage against Lancelot.

Thus, after half an hour of fighting, the battle came to an end.

"That's it, well done, Lancelot!"

"No, you flatter me, Master. If My King were here, victory would have come even faster."

"King Arthur? Indeed, a very famous Servant."

As he spoke, Kariya Matou couldn't help but think of Nero and asked instinctively:

"Does King Arthur look a lot like Your Majesty Nero?"

"Yes, at first glance, almost identical. That's why I mistook her at the start."

"So, King Arthur was also a woman?"

This time, Lancelot didn't respond.

"Two people from different eras, with identical faces... Could King Arthur be a reincarnation of Your Majesty Nero?"

Kariya Matou muttered to himself, then shook his head repeatedly, denying his own thought:

"No, both are Servants, not reincarnated."

"Then maybe they're related by blood?"

Lancelot pondered—indeed, perhaps his king shared the same bloodline as Your Majesty Nero.

Just then, the projection in the sky suddenly shifted, and the Citizen Tournament officially began.

After fierce preliminaries, eight contestants had made it to the finals.

The first match pitted Little Rin against some high school girl.

Though he couldn't hear any voices except Your Majesty Nero's, Little Rin's serious expression made it clear she wasn't playing around.

Kariya Matou paused mid-step, suppressing his urge to go after Kiritsugu Emiya, and stood by the roadside to watch the match, silently cheering for Little Rin.

Seeing the high school girl vanish in an instant as if cheating, while Little Rin showed no sign of giving up and kept struggling with all her might, Kariya Matou's resolve hardened even more—he had to end the Holy Grail War quickly and protect Aoi, Little Rin, Sakura, and Shirou.

Over the next hour or so, the Master and Servant duo walked in fits and starts, frequently stopping to look up and watch the matches.

Because of this, a journey that should have taken twenty minutes stretched into over an hour without reaching their destination.

At the end of the Citizen Tournament, the woman who seemed to be Kiritsugu Emiya's wife won the match and requested that the gold prize be exchanged for Your Majesty Nero's singing.

This sudden turn of events made Kariya Matou laugh involuntarily, and he stopped in his tracks again.

"Come to think of it, I won the Master Tournament earlier but didn't ask Nero to sing. I might as well make up for it now."

As he spoke, Kariya Matou noticed Lancelot staring intently at the sky and couldn't help asking:

"Do you like listening to songs too?"

"Well... Your Majesty Nero looks the same as My King. This scene... I'm somewhat interested."

"Then... have you ever heard King Arthur sing?"

"Never."

"In that case, listen carefully. Your Majesty Nero is an artist who can rival the God Apollo—her voice must be beautiful."

In the projection, Your Majesty Nero cleared her throat, closed her eyes, and began to sing.

At that moment, Kariya Matou fell silent, even feeling the urge to cover his ears.

An artist who could rival the God of Art Apollo? This?

Though Your Majesty Nero looked stunning while singing earnestly, her voice was truly awful.

The entire Roman Empire's citizens actually hailed such a Your Majesty Nero as the Flower of Rome—you people have way too much "love," don't you?

Your Majesty Nero, do you have no self-awareness that your singing is bad?

Going around proclaiming yourself an artist on par with a god, when in reality you're tone-deaf—it's just self-delusion.

Kariya Matou opened his mouth, struck by a bizarre urge to laugh and cry at the same time.

"Lancelot, can I take back what I just said?"

"Master, I completely understand your feelings. Emperor Nero is indeed not My King."

"Haven't you never heard King Arthur sing?"

"Even so, I can assert that My King's singing would never be at such a low level."

"You've never heard it—maybe she's on par with Emperor Nero."

"Absolutely impossible! My King's voice must be a hundred, a thousand times better than Emperor Nero's!"

As the song ended, contestants filed out one after another. Just as Kariya and Lancelot were about to leave, they noticed a towering Servant riding a bull-drawn chariot flying into the arena.

Hot on its heels came the King of Conquerors' taunt.

"So, want to go over there, Lancelot?"

"No. Compared to joining that gathering, we have more important matters. Master wants to end the Holy Grail War as quickly as possible, doesn't he? Then there's no need to waste time there."

"But if we don't go, won't you become the coward the King of Conquerors called out?"

"It doesn't matter. Being sneered at by an irrelevant stranger is the most ordinary thing in the world."

"You've got a good mindset."

Under their watch, Gilgamesh appeared, spewed a few insults, and before he could show off his abilities, drew his sword and slit his own throat.

The scene left the two exchanging bewildered glances.

A few seconds later, Kariya suddenly realized—this had to be Kiritsugu Emiya's handiwork.

Making the Hero King kill himself could only be done with Tokiomi's Command Seals.

And given the Hero King's power, one Command Seal might not be enough; it would take two or three.

The next moment, a new problem struck Kariya.

Tokiomi!

The Hero King's suicide meant Tokiomi had fallen into Kiritsugu Emiya's hands.

So, once his goal was achieved, would Kiritsugu let Tokiomi live?

Forgetting everything else, Kariya dashed toward the arena.

They'd been heading that way all along, but due to the projection, they moved slowly, stopping now and then.

A minute later, a gunshot rang out from a nearby alley.

A grim premonition rising in his heart, Kariya clung to a last shred of hope and sprinted over.

Soon, Tokiomi Tohsaka lying in a pool of blood and Kiritsugu Emiya cleaning his gun came into view together.

Rushing over, he crouched down to check Tokiomi's already cooling corpse, then stood frozen like a wooden statue.

Tokiomi was gone—and killed by the very ally Kariya had brought in, Kiritsugu Emiya.

Was this... indirect murder?

How could he ever face Aoi, Little Rin, and Sakura now?

Not to mention—at this moment, he couldn't even bear to imagine the expressions on their faces when they learned of Tokiomi's death.

Chapter 21: Looks Like We're Not Enemies for Now

Section 21, Chapter 21: Looks Like We're Not Enemies for Now

As for killing Kiritsugu Emiya, the murderer, to avenge Tokiomi Tohsaka—

That thought never even crossed his mind.

For one, Kiritsugu was an ally Kariya had brought in himself; he bore half the blame for Tokiomi's death.

For another, if Kiritsugu died by his hand, how would he explain it to Shirou?

Even if Shirou was a reincarnator with his biological parents still alive, Kiritsugu had been his adoptive father for ten years in his past life.

To Shirou, Kiritsugu was his true family.

Countless thoughts raced through Kariya's mind as he stood dumbly beside Tokiomi's corpse, like a soulless puppet.

Seeing this, Kiritsugu paused in his work and ventured, "Were you... close friends?"

"No. Quite the opposite—Tokiomi was my greatest enemy in this life."

"Then why that face?"

"Nothing... just a little uneasy."

The thought of Aoi's expression sent a wave of intense dread through Kariya, even stirring a sudden urge to die on the spot.

"Emperor Nero seems to be fighting Rider. Archer and Lancer are already taken care of. Next, only Assassin remains."

"No." Kiritsugu refused without hesitation. "Assassin is easy to deal with, but Illya's body is nearing its limit. Three Servants is the cap. If too many die, she won't be able to handle it."

"In that case, let's head outside the city to help Your Majesty Nero. Once we take care of Rider, she can immediately save your wife."

"Alright, but will Your Majesty Nero agree?"

"She shouldn't refuse. Her Majesty isn't the type to turn down help. When we get there, we'll ask first. If she disagrees, we'll just watch from the sidelines."

"Fine. Let's do that."

"What about your Servant? Come to think of it, I haven't met yours yet. It's Saber, right?"

"I had her lure Archer away. Thanks to that, I was able to eliminate Tokiomi Tohsaka."

Kariya Matou thought of Aoi and her two daughters, and fell silent again.

As they spoke, Artoria ran over from another direction.

The first thing she saw was Tokiomi Tohsaka, his body lying in a pool of blood, which only worsened her mood.

"Kiritsugu Emiya! So this was your goal? No wonder Archer killed himself."

"It was the best way."

"You bastard..."

Just then, Lancelot suddenly strode over, dropping to one knee in a salute:

"I pay homage to My King!"

That familiar voice, armor, and tone—this time, he was certain he hadn't mistaken her.

"My Lord Lancelot."

Gazing at Lancelot kneeling before her, Artoria fell into a strange silence.

The matter of Guinevere—it wasn't their fault.