Am I, Cú Chulainn, Someone Who Fears Being Ganged Up On?

Yu Feng's side.

Artoria looked at Yu Feng and Mordred with a face full of shock, as if she hadn't expected them to appear here, nor had she anticipated that Mordred would be the one summoned under the Saber class.

"No mistake? She's really Saber?" Mordred eyed Artoria suspiciously, then quietly nudged Yu Feng beside her and asked.

Yu Feng rolled his eyes. "No mistake. She's the one manifested as Saber."

"Want me to give it a try?"

"Sure."

The moment Yu Feng said that, Mordred perked up instantly, charged forward with the Sword of Brilliant King in hand.

Yu Feng covered his face. Right, he'd forgotten Mordred was a hothead.

Everything was a headlong rush.

"What's going on? Someone you know?" At that moment, Rin Tohsaka walked up beside Yu Feng and asked.

Yu Feng thought for a moment, then said, "You could say she's an acquaintance of mine."

Rin shot him a puzzled look. "Either she is or she isn't. What do you mean, 'you could say'?"

Yu Feng didn't answer Rin's question. Instead, he watched the two battles unfolding on the field.

The fight between Cú Chulainn and Emiya was at a stalemate for now, neither able to gain the upper hand.

In the battle between Artoria and Little Mo, however, Artoria seemed to be holding back, while Little Mo was suppressing her at every turn.

Little Mo launched attack after attack at Artoria, while Artoria merely defended, as if unwilling to strike back at Mordred.

"What's wrong, what's wrong, Father King? Not going to fight back? Are you still the same as back then?"

Artoria remained silent, weathering Little Mo's storm of blows.

"Father King? Does that mean she's—?" Rin caught the key word in Mordred's words and turned to Yu Feng.

"Yeah, the legendary one. The King of Knights of Britain, Arthur Pendragon."

Hearing this, Rin stared at Artoria with eyes full of astonishment. "I never thought even she would be..."

Rin didn't finish her sentence, as if afraid that saying it out loud would land her in the same situation as Mordred back then.

Looked like that incident had left a bit of a shadow on Rin.

Hmm, but how was this going to end now?

Yu Feng's head ached just watching both fights.

The one between Artoria and Little Mo was probably fine for now—neither of them would unleash their Noble Phantasm unless Little Mo really got provoked.

As for Emiya and Cú Chulainn's fight, Yu Feng felt it was far more real than the one next to them. They traded blows back and forth, nothing like the fake match happening beside them.

That proved they were both going all out. Who knew when one of them might suddenly whip out a Noble Phantasm and remind the other of life's finer points.

Just then, a figure arrived belatedly on the scene, and that figure was achingly familiar to Yu Feng.

When Emiya saw that figure, he visibly froze for a moment, and Cú Chulainn seized the opportunity.

"It's not good to look around while you're fighting me!"

Cú Chulainn thrust his spear fiercely toward Emiya. Emiya hurriedly blocked with Guan Yu and Mo Ye in his hands, but they shattered after only a moment's resistance.

A moment later, Guan Yu and Mo Ye were projected into Emiya's hands again.

Cú Chulainn looked at the blades in Emiya's hands and sighed in exasperation. "Seriously, hey, kid, isn't that cheating? Where do you get an endless supply of swords?"

Emiya said nothing.

Just then—

"Stop!"

Shirou Emiya couldn't help but speak out, watching the fight between Artoria and Little Mo.

Rin and the others also noticed Shirou Emiya's arrival. Rin looked at him, a flicker of confusion in her eyes. "Why is he here?"

Then, as if something clicked, she added, "Wait, if he's fine, why would he show up here?"

Shirou Emiya's words went unanswered by anyone on the field except Artoria.

"But Master, they're all participants in the Holy Grail War. They're our enemies."

Artoria used the momentum from Little Mo's sword to leap back, putting distance between them.

Even though Artoria said that, Yu Feng was sure she didn't want to fight Little Mo or him either.

After all, he'd been with her long enough to know her well—well, Pantaleon, who was manifested through Yu Feng, anyway.

"I don't know anything about the Holy Grail War, and I don't want to understand it. I just want you all to stop fighting right now."

Yu Feng waved his hand. "Little Mo, come back."

Little Mo glanced at Artoria at his words, said nothing, and leaped back to Yu Feng's side.

Seeing that, Emiya figured since their fight had stopped, his might as well end too. He returned to Rin's side.

Cú Chulainn, watching Emiya halt his attack and go back to Rin, quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

It's not that Cú Chulainn couldn't beat Shirou—it's that he didn't want to fight him anymore. Just Shirou's nearly endless supply of swords alone would be enough to give Cú Chulainn a real headache, and who knew how long it would take to settle the outcome between them.

So it was better not to fight at all.

Cú Chulainn took the chance to glance around the field. Seeing that no one was paying him any attention, he twirled his spear in a flourish and slipped away.

It definitely wasn't because he was afraid of getting ganged up on. Absolutely not!

Was I, Cú Chulainn, the kind of guy who'd fear a beating?

Of course I was!

Cú Chulainn's departure didn't draw any concern from anyone on the field.

After Yu Feng called Little Mo back, he looked at Shirou Emiya. "Shirou, do you have an answer to the question I asked you before?"

Shirou Emiya paused, startled, then replied, "I don't know if this counts as an answer, but faced with those two choices, my answer is to save them all! Maybe I can't save everyone, but that's still my answer. I'll do my best to rescue them, not abandon one side to save the other. That's not what a Hero of Justice should do."

Oh? So you're still the Shirou Emiya I know.

Yu Feng thought to himself, while beside him, the older Emiya's eyes flickered with contemplation.

Clearly, the current Shirou Emiya—the past version of the older Emiya—had left the future Emiya lost in thought with those words. (Get it? 😏)

But Yu Feng didn't notice the brooding Emiya. Instead, he looked at Shirou Emiya and suddenly smiled faintly. "Shirou, you really are still the Shirou I know."

"Huh?"

Shirou Emiya didn't quite catch what Yu Feng meant.

What did he mean by "still the Shirou I know"?

Hadn't I always been Shirou Emiya?

Did I get swapped out by an alien in the middle or something?

"Never mind. You and... Saber, come with me to the Tohsaka house for now."

Nearby, Rin Tohsaka voiced her displeasure. "Hey, that's my house! Don't you think about how I feel, just barging people in without my permission? I absolutely refuse!"

Yu Feng ignored Rin's protests and simply walked away.

"Honestly!" Rin could only glare resentfully at his retreating back.

Sakura Matou stepped over to Rin's side and comforted her. "It's okay, sis. Senior Yu must have his reasons for doing this."