Ian returned to Tohsaka, standing not far from Shirou and Saber.
"A wonderful battle," Tohsaka commented. She witnessed the whole process and saw that this battle was a pure display of basic skills. Ian only used basic magic energy attacks and invisibility spells, but showed his ultimate control over them.
"That's why I said your magic control needs to be strengthened."
"Okay, grandpa," Tohsaka turned over Byakugan.
"Tohsaka, can you tell me what happened?" Shirou asked, and Tohsaka was about to answer. But she noticed that her servant and Saber were staring at each other.
"You two know each other?"
"I don't know him, but he looks familiar," Saber replied.
"We do know each other, in a sense," Ian nodded. But as soon as he finished speaking, everything around him stopped moving. Then, Saber's facial expression and temperament changed; she became more noble, more awe-inspiring, and her eyes became sharper.
Because this was not the first time, Ian immediately realized what happened, "Hello, senior brother."
"So you are the new disciple that Master has been talking about," Arthur, or the consciousness possessing Saber, spoke. His eyes quickly turned into disgust, "You exude an aura of immeasurable sin."
"Interesting," Ian murmured to himself, the smile on his face gradually disappearing, "The old man warned me about you. It seems he still underestimated what a bastard you are."
"I don't understand why he would choose someone like you," Arthur continued. "People like you are the easiest to be tempted and fall into darkness. He can obviously choose anyone, why would he choose someone with this kind of personality?"
Ian put his little finger into his nostril and pretended to pick his nose, "Are you done?" He flicked the non-existent booger in her/his direction. "If you came here just to talk nonsense, you can get out. Your appearance has ruined my good mood for the day."
Arthur shook his head in disappointment, "I really don't know why I have such high expectations for you."
"Do you understand me?" Ian asked.
"I don't know you personally, but I've seen your type," Arthur replied. "Those whose sanity is on the verge of collapse usually rely on the few people they love to maintain it. People like you are very extreme and will do whatever it takes to achieve their goals, and your goal happens to be the pursuit of magic. Did I say something wrong?"
"You're right," Ian admitted calmly. "But I can do this trick too. Let me think about what kind of person you are. An extreme messenger of justice who believes that the world is simple: black or white. Any existence that does not fall into these two categories should be eliminated. When you were growing up, you had this naive idea because people like Merlin were protecting you, or isolating you from the real world - until the war broke out."
Ian saw Saber's body trembling slightly.
"In this brutal war, your worldview collapsed faster than you could react. You were forced to make decisions that would have dire consequences. Now, you spend countless sleepless nights thinking about the justice you once cherished. You constantly ask yourself whether you are still a good person."
"You don't know me at all," Arthur said through gritted teeth.
"No, I understand very well," Ian retorted. "War is cruel. No good person who has experienced war can pat his chest and say that he is still innocent. And this idea is destroying you."
"Have you said enough?"
"Actually, not yet," Ian continued. "You have obviously accumulated a lot of pressure, and somehow you thought you could vent it on me. I don't care about your psychological problems. Go somewhere else and be your resentful wife."
Ian doesn't care whether his "senior brother" likes him or not, but for Merlin's sake, the other party can at least remain polite. But this person doesn't want to be so rude when they first meet.
"You!" Arthur groaned and took a step forward.
"Enough!" A majestic voice echoed in this still universe, and Ian recognized it immediately.
"Old man? Are you okay?" Ian shouted.
"I'm fine," Merlin replied. "Just a little busy."
"It's so good to hear your voice," Ian continued.
"Me too, but you have to hurry up. Once you reach the Twelfth Tier position, you will start to get involved in this war."
"In that case, shouldn't I slow down the progress?" Ian asked.
"What do you think?"
"I know, I know, I will speed up."
"As long as you understand. Arthur, haven't you embarrassed yourself enough? Leave now."
"I'm sorry, Master." He disappeared quickly lest Master force him to apologize to this bastard.
"I apologize to you for his behavior," the voice echoed in the space.
"It's okay. We don't have to be friends, just stay polite," Ian replied.
Merlin sighed, "I really regret protecting him too well." The war has already made him exhausted, not to mention having to deal with people like Arthur. "Boy, I'm serious. Time is running out."
Time resumed its flow, and Ian heard Saber ask in a female voice, "So, you do know me? How did you know me?"
"I know your master," Ian replied.
"My mentor?" Saber frowned.
"Yes."
She frowned even tighter because she couldn't identify who this person was based on this description alone.
"Let's go to your house and I'll explain everything," Tohsaka said.
After returning to Shirou's home, Tohsaka explained everything about Holy Grail War to Shirou, including the relationship between the master and the servant, and the fact that they are now enemies. Things developed just as Ian did in <Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade As seen in Works>, because Shirou is completely unable to understand the current situation.
So, Tohsaka decided to take him to meet the supervisor of this war, Kirei Kotomine.
"Before we leave, can you help him?" Tohsaka asked.
"What did you say?"
"He doesn't even understand the most basic things. Can you help him so that he can at least help Saber Spiritronization?"
The Servant can return to spirit form or materialize, but this all depends on the Master's ability and magic power. Unfortunately, since Shirou is a half-assed magician, Saber can only remain in physical form, which will continue to consume a lot of magic power.
"You know they are enemies, right?" Ian asked.
"I know, but he saved my life, and I don't want to owe him a favor. So, I helped him this time, and we will be enemies from now on."
Ian looked directly into her eyes. A similar thing happened in the anime, Tohsaka attacked Shirou without hesitation, but Ian was deeply suspicious of this.
A magician like Shirou should not have survived for so long even against Tohsaka in the anime. Of course, because the latter is the protagonist, it can be understood that the aura of the plot has protected him, because the development of the situation will soon force them to cooperate.
"Okay, I'll help him, but you have to know that I'm totally unwilling."
"No problem. So what are you going to do?"
"I'll just put the basics into his head," Ian replied. "We'd better do it after we get back from church."
"Why?"
"Because after this, he will have a severe headache for up to 12 hours."
Tohsaka glanced at him; she felt that this side effect was suspicious; at least, such a long duration was most likely intentional. However, she could not see any flaws in Ian's face.
"Okay."
Afterwards, the group went to the church to meet Kirei.
Void:
Ian noticed that the communication with the avatar was interrupted. He stopped what he was doing and looked at the projection of the universe on the screen in front of him. He shook his head and continued his research.
He wants to create Speed Force as soon as possible to upgrade the core processor of Morgana. If he wants to create a Eleventh Tier-level weapon, her help is indispensable.