Fate: How About a New Savior?

The carriage rattled along the uneven road. Shiomi and Caren sat at the back as before, while Scáthach lounged behind them, reclining slight

The carriage rattled along the uneven road. Shiomi and Caren sat at the back as before, while Scáthach lounged behind them, reclining slightly against the rail of the cart.

It had originally been a cargo wagon, so the back was spacious enough to just barely fit passengers.

"So, Master, did you come to the Fifth Singularity specifically to wait for me?" Shiomi asked.

He knew Scáthach possessed an ability akin to clairvoyance—able to observe the experiences of specific individuals. It wasn't unreasonable to think that, after the incineration of humanity began, she might have seen his movements and come to this Singularity to wait for him.

"No, I didn't," Scáthach denied his guess. "It's true that after you left the Land of Shadows, I kept my eyes on everything you did in the world—"

Morgan interjected. "Everything? Including your daily life? That's some pretty creepy surveillance, Scáthach."

She glanced toward a female staff member who had been quietly eavesdropping behind her. "Miss Sylvia, what do you usually call that kind of behavior?"

"Eh? Ah..." Sylvia, flustered, didn't quite know how to respond.

Then a male staff member cut in, "I know! That's what you call a stalker!"

Immediately, the usually mild-mannered Romani restrained him.

The reason was simple: Romani didn't want any casualties in Chaldea once Shiomi got back.

"Oh, you must be exhausted, Meunière. Why don't you go lie down in your room and get some rest?" Romani said, smiling as he dragged the much heftier Meunière out of the control room—startling everyone with his unexpected strength.

"You just saved your own life, Meunière," Shiomi muttered, then raised his voice. "Whatever, if Master wants to watch, I don't really—"

He'd always thought of himself and his Master as one and the same, so being watched didn't really bother him.

Until it hit him—if she had been watching all along, that would include not only his time with Morgan but even his past with Touko.

Suddenly, Shiomi had the irrational urge to end his life, but fortunately, the impulse passed quickly under the weight of reason.

"It's not like I watch every little detail," Scáthach said, resting her head on Shiomi's back like a cushion. The rail of the cart was too hard—her disciple was far more comfortable. "It's more like I'd know things like, 'Oh, my disciple is currently participating in the Holy Grail War and winning one battle after another.'"

Even as she reclined against him, she continued explaining—Shiomi clearly cared, and she owed him a proper answer. "But from the moment the incineration of humanity began, I couldn't see anything anymore."

"Must be Chaldea's magnetic field," Shiomi replied. "That man who calls himself the King of Magecraft said even his clairvoyance couldn't locate Chaldea's coordinates."

"King of Magecraft..." Scáthach mused. "So, you've met the one behind this grand undertaking?"

Shiomi blinked. "Grand... undertaking?"

"You should've realized it by now—the incineration of humanity is something that goes beyond divine authority. It's a true feat," Scáthach said, her usual laid-back tone turning serious. "A deed surpassing even the gods, aimed at world destruction... Even I can't clearly see what lies at its core."

"Calling it a feat isn't wrong," Morgan agreed. "That man—who calls himself the King of Magecraft—was probably plotting this since before the Common Era. The 72 Demon Gods he scattered across history became the ancestors of various Magus Families."

"So he's been lurking in human history from the start, laying the groundwork," Shiomi said, eyes narrowing slightly as he glanced at his Master. "What about the Land of Shadows?"

"Though it's said to lie beyond the world, conceptually, it's still part of the underworld birthed from human history," Scáthach replied, shaking her head. "It burned too. The King of Magecraft's methods are nothing if not thorough."

Shiomi froze. "Then... did Master burn to death?"

"Who knows?" Scáthach said lightly. "When I came to, I was already here. Most likely, my true body remains in the Land of Shadows. But thanks to this crisis—the incineration of humanity—I was able to manifest outside as a Servant. I've been in this Singularity for about half a month now, gathering intel and recruiting Servants willing to help fix it..."

And then, she saw her beloved disciple arrive at the North American Singularity.

"So you weren't summoned by this Singularity's Counter Force just because I showed up," Shiomi chuckled. "I figured. Things are never that conveniently timed."

"Stop being petty," Caren said, shaking her head. "You're a grown man, but acting like a kid."

"He just realized he's not the only special one in his Master's eyes," Morgan teased, shaking her head with a trace of sympathy in her tone.

Shiomi pressed a hand to his forehead. "Can you stop psychoanalyzing me and just stick to picking on me...?"

"Well, let's put it this way," Scáthach said after thinking it over. "Until now, I just saw myself as a device summoned by the Counter Force to fulfill my duty as a guardian of human history. But if my disciple wasn't someone special to me, would I have rushed to catch up to you the moment I sensed your arrival?"

"I know," Shiomi said, smiling wryly.

Now it felt like all three—Master, wife, and daughter—had conspired to label him sulky. He was glad Scáthach had said those words, of course... but still, he had to explain.

"I was just wondering—out of the seven Singularities the King of Magecraft set up, why would someone like Master be placed in this so-so Fifth Singularity instead of one of the more troublesome ones?"

It was a reasonable question. Morgan nodded quietly, and Caren fell into thought.

"Most likely because, in principle, I was deemed suitable to carry out a particular task," Scáthach said, clearly already knowing the answer. "Though by the time I arrived, the Singularity had already taken its current shape. You might be the key to breaking through the stalemate."

"A particular task... What kind?" Shiomi began to ask—

"We'll talk later. Looks like when you left with this nurse, someone noticed and decided to wait."

As the carriage crested a steep hill, a vast plain unfolded before them.

At the edge of the wilderness stood orderly rows of mechanical soldiers—and on the high ground above them, a few figures stood reviewing the troops.