Fate: How About a New Savior?

With the King of Magecraft gone, there was no one left to obstruct Chaldea from retrieving the Holy Grail. He could have wiped out Sakura an

With the King of Magecraft gone, there was no one left to obstruct Chaldea from retrieving the Holy Grail. He could have wiped out Sakura an

With the King of Magecraft gone, there was no one left to obstruct Chaldea from retrieving the Holy Grail.

He could have wiped out Sakura and the others too, but in the end, he didn't lift a finger.

His disregard and contempt were plain as day—he'd made it clear that even if Chaldea reclaimed the Holy Grail from the London Singularity, it meant nothing to him.

"Ugh... this is such a buzzkill. We've recovered the Grail, but I just feel gross all over," Mordred muttered.

Sakura looked toward the halted Greater Grail ritual and the crystallized Holy Grail, now compact and ready for transport.

"After killing Dad, the King of Magecraft said that while we're still alive, we mean nothing to him. Unless we recover all seven Grails from the Singularities, he won't even consider Chaldea a threat worth dealing with."

"Seriously, how far does he have to look down on us?" Mordred said, then suddenly blinked. "Wait a sec—wasn't Caster in the last Holy Grail War that same bastard King of Magecraft?"

The earlier battle had been too chaotic for her to recall this detail.

In truth, neither she nor Sakura had seen Caster directly by the end of that war.

"I don't really know what's going on either..." Sakura shook her head.

Shiomi had never revealed Romani Archaman's true origins to anyone.

"Regardless, the act of incinerating humanity in the name of the King of Magecraft is undeniable." After confirming the exact time for the Spiritron Transfer with Chaldea, Shiomi stood and responded to Mordred. "That's why stopping him is something only we—the last remaining humans—can and must do."

According to Chaldea's monitoring, the magical fog over London had already started to disperse, and the Singularity was beginning to self-repair now that the Grail was gone.

"Well said, Master's old man!" Mordred clapped him on the shoulder. "Only the humans living in their own era get to decide humanity's fate, right?!"

Then her expression faltered slightly.

"I really wanted to go back with you guys. But since I was summoned by the Singularity or maybe by the Counter Force, and now the Singularity's disappearing... I don't have anywhere to return to."

Because she wasn't summoned via Chaldea's Heroic Spirit Summoning System, she couldn't undergo Spiritron Transfer to return with them.

"Well, maybe something like this will happen again. As the Servant closest to us—or rather, closest to Sakura—maybe the next Singularity will call you forth for some other reason," Shiomi said with a faint smile.

Mordred burst out laughing. "Oh! If we meet again, even if I don't remember you, feel free to ask me for help!"

Her voice dropped to a murmur, almost too soft to hear.

"And... I'm glad I got to fight alongside Father this time…"

Sakura hadn't caught what she said and tried to ask, but Mordred waved her off with an awkward chuckle, clearly flustered.

Shiomi then glanced over at Artoria, who was still silently watching the remains of the Greater Grail ritual's pedestal.

"It's about time we said goodbye. It was a close call, but thanks for everything," Shiomi said, offering his thanks.

"I didn't do anything. The King of Magecraft came to this Singularity for one purpose: to kill or subjugate you." Artoria suddenly voiced the truth.

"...Didn't think I warranted such a grand entrance, having the mastermind himself show up just to recruit me." Shiomi smiled wryly.

"Maybe in the future he saw, you're the one who'll stand in his way," Artoria said. "Be careful."

"Yeah." Shiomi nodded.

He knew he'd have to delve deeper into this once he got back—including the abnormalities in his own body.

There was no way the King of Magecraft had targeted him without a reason.

But just being from the Shadow Realm and inheriting the Primordial Runes wasn't nearly enough to justify that.

"Also, as my sister Morgan mentioned, I manifested in this form to resist the erosion of the Holy Spear." Artoria's face remained expressionless, but her eyes were sharp and solemn. "Everyone, stay alert. In other Singularities, perhaps..."

"Perhaps?"

"No, it's nothing—just unfounded speculation." Artoria dismissed the thought.

Her and Mordred's bodies began to glow and gradually turned translucent.

The retreat of the Servants from the Singularity had begun.

Shiomi and Sakura bowed in thanks once more to the two Servants who had fought alongside them in this brief yet intense battle.

Once the two had fully vanished, Chaldea completed preparations for Spiritron Transfer.

Their existence was verified, and the transfer process began.

After a short moment of unconsciousness, they opened their eyes again to find themselves inside the Spiritron Transfer chamber, with Morgan standing just outside.

Behind her was Romani, looking thoroughly dejected as he was dragged over by da Vinci.

"The Spiritron Transfer went smoothly," Morgan said, glancing at Shiomi's chest.

Still, the damage to their combat suits hadn't carried over. Traveling between the London Singularity and Chaldea required the Master's body to be converted into Spiritrons.

So long as their core essence remained unchanged, their existence would be properly reconstructed. But if there had been any essential change, serious discrepancies could occur during re-materialization.

The torn battle suit was trivial by comparison.

"Looks like Sakura and I were the fastest team," Shiomi said.

"But also the most troublesome one..." Romani sighed. "I should've executed an emergency Spiritron Transfer faster, but the shock was too severe, and you nearly—"

Or rather, actually did—die.

Romani didn't believe it was just a momentary data lapse from equipment interference.

—Even if Morgan had offered that explanation.

"Well, the mastermind himself showing up just to erase me—it's an honor, I guess." Shiomi's tone was light. "That said, there's a lot I need to go over regarding this Singularity's restoration. How about a small meeting in the conference room twelve hours from now, Dr. Romani?"

"Eh?" Romani blinked, lowering the hand resting behind his neck.

"Just you, me, and Morgan." Shiomi turned toward Sakura, who looked visibly exhausted. "Sakura, get some rest for now. Once you've recovered, head to the command center and help support the teams still active in Singularities One and Two."

Da Vinci seemed a little puzzled by the special meeting roster, but Romani understood immediately.

"Got it. See you in the conference room in twelve hours."