We meet again, people! Yeah… it has been almost a year since I updated this story after I decided to focus on finishing my other story "Date a Live". But hey, there was the special arc in that story that was basically a crossover with this one.

At any rate. I don't have much to say since it's been a really long time, and I really doubt there are people that have only read this line of my stories and aren't aware of my current plans. This chapter is loaded with tones of action thought, so prepare your playlist of F/GO OSTs.

Now, let the chapter begin!

Disclaimer: I don't own any right over Type-Moon or the Fate Franchise.

That king… That all-knowing king… He was unforgivable.

No matter where they looked. No matter how they looked at it. It was a pitiful sight.

In every age, in every land, the history of mankind has been one of tragedy.

Those who killed their children. Those who were killed by their children. Those who know no affection. Those who abandon all affection. Those who grieve at betrayal. Those who live for betrayal. Those who know no family. Those who abandon their family. Those who lose wealth. Those who die for wealth. Those who know no love. Those who scorn all love. Those who yearn for success. Those who loathe success.

What hideous creatures they are.

However, when they are mere commoners, they may be forgiven. Humans are imperfect creations. They struggle, endure their pain and loss, and live on with their contradictions.

But what of an almighty King? A King with the power and means to set things right.

That man had eyes to see into the past and the future, to see all the world's struggles and sorrows.

And he stood by.

Ignorance might have excused him, but even enlightened, he only laughed it off.

Once asked if even felt something from such sight, the King only replied: "Not particularly."

That man, that King, shall never be forgiven. Such a declaration filled with rage was left inscribed for future generations, so they could follow in their footsteps.

Construct a temple. Build a band of light.

You will need every resource to destroy him. You will need all of your time to forget his indifference.

Find the path to the Final Singularity. That is where the throne of the King of Mages resides. The name of that plane is Solomon. The end of the very end. The altar of the spinning time. The hope and dreams at the very beginning-

"Ritsuka-senpai! Ai-senpai!" The worried voice of their kohai managed to finally bring back the two masters from their trance.

"Ugh…"

"Hah… hah… hah…"

Their legs failed them the moment they regained consciousness, almost falling on their butts if their servants didn't catch them, and Merlin had to catch the clay tablet that fell from their hands.

As they calmed their breath, the pair of siblings started to remember where they were and what they were doing.

They were at Uruk's Ziggurat, and after reporting the results of their travel to Kur to King Gilgamesh, he told them to read the Tablet of Destinies since they were the ones that brought it. In other words, those creepy visions and ominous words were the results of that.

"Judging by those faces that look like you are about to throw up, it may seem you did not get a definitive answer." The voice of the Golden King sitting on the throne put an end to the silence. "However, now that all the actors have read that tablet, the fate inscribed in it is sealed. After all, that was a clue to finding this self-proclaimed King of Mages, the one who incinerated humanity. The time when you understand it will come eventually, so keep it close to your heart."

Their concern for their master's unstable state prevented them from noticing the glance sent by the King to the red knight standing beside them.

The nameless hero just crossed his arms before speaking up to keep up the pace. "I think we have other important matters to discuss, Goldie. Like… how's going on in Nippur."

"Oh, that. Their supplies have finally run out." The King stated as a matter of fact, although the was a hint of anger in his voice.

"Well, shit…"

"Wait a moment." Arturia cut into the conversation to get a better grasp on things. "If I remember correctly, Nippur is the fortified city on the other side of the Northern Wall. And you say they can no longer hold the front?"

"We've been evacuating the citizens little by little after confirming the cyclical pattern behind the attacks from the demonic beasts, but the time is up. The death of their commanders at the hands of the Faker here gave them some breathing room, but it seems they now have another commander, and it's making things harder. So…"

The King pointed directly at the Fujimare siblings before making the proclamation they'd been waiting for an entire month.

"Fujimaru Ritsuka, Fujimaru Ai, you and your entourage are to go there and evacuate all the remaining citizens! You must depart immediately to the front where Leonidas will disclose the plan to you. If you manage this, then I shall take back what I said about you being unnecessary! As the last protectors of the Foundation of Humanity, you shall become my proxy!"

"Wow! He finally said it!"

"We won't disappoint you, King Gilgamesh!"

The Chaldeans accepted immediately the mission with renewed determination. After all this time, they were finally at square one.

Even Siduri was holding back her tears, almost like a mother seeing her children grow.

Around 30 minutes later, the group was already walking up the stairs leading to the upper part of the Northern Wall. The squad of servants formed by Ushiwakamaru, Benkei, Okita, and Leonidas was already waiting for them, most likely knowing the King's decision beforehand.

"I had my reservations, but it seems King Gilgamesh finally made up his mind." The King of Sparta skipped the greetings and went right to the point. Now that they were in the front, there was no time for shenanigans like when they met at breakfast time.

He rested his hand on the massive, golden cannon beside them as he spoke. "I believe you already know about the King's signal cannons."

"We've heard of them… even if we still have trouble believing that the King gave away all his treasures…"

Pretty much everyone nodded in agreement with Ritsuka's answer.

"That is correct. Even if this allows us to fire the treasures as broken phantasms by shattering the lapis lazuli on the back, it doesn't have that much precision, so we only use them when there are so many enemies that it's hard to miss. And Archer-dono's projections allow us to conserve the real ammunition for when it is really necessary."

"Its real name, "Dingir", signifies "deified". In Sumer mythology, anything can be elevated to godhood by great deeds. A god recognized, not by other gods, but by humans. In other words, a faith by humanity for humanity. That's basically a declaration of intentions from King Gilgamesh, showing how he wants to have Uruk protected by humans."

The in-depth explanation given by Merlin shocked even the servants summoned by the King of Heroes.

"Well, it is true that it's wrong to beg gods for help when you are in danger. The only kind of God that would answer your plea is a God of death."

"Gods will never come to aid the losing side. In the best-case scenario, they won't be anywhere near."

A certain fox-girl couldn't help but pout at Leonidas and Merlin's remarks, while a certain dragon witch snarled at her "big sister".

"At any rate. What's the plan, cap?"

"We used to do the evacuations under the veil of the night when the level of activity of the demonic beasts is lower. However, they started taking guards around the city two nights ago. Whoever is now leading them, they are finally stepping up their game."

"So we are going to do the same." Ushiwakamaru stepped up to continue Leonidas' explanation. "Okita-dono, Benkei, and I will lead a unit towards Nippur from the east. Meanwhile, Ritsuka-dono and Ai-dono will approach Nippur from the west alongside their servants."

"A diversionary tactic. While the demonic beasts are being distracted, you are to open the main gate of the city and escort all the survivors to our Northern Wall."

"But won't it be hard for Ushiwakamaru's team? Shouldn't it be the larger force the one to be the diversion?" Mash asked worried, but the three Japanese servants gave them confident smiles.

"Don't worry, Mash. We are already used to fighting hordes of demonic beasts. This will definitely be Okita-san's great victory."

"Besides, King Gilgamesh told me that I mustn't enter Nippur under any circumstance and was really insistent on it."

Everyone looked at the Japanese general with raised eyebrows and tilted heads. That was an oddly specific order.

"Don't look at me. I'm confused as well. The King sometimes says strange things randomly."

"That more like his clairvoyance activating randomly to me…" Archer whispered to himself, but he didn't have time to think about it as a certain Bride Saber practically jumped on him.

"Will you come with us, Darling!?"

"No, I'll stay here with Leonidas and provide range support. But don't worry. As long as you can make your position clear, I'll be able to help you."

Those last words didn't stop the empress from pouting at him, but she understood that it would be better to make use of his archery abilities in this situation.

"I and Ana will be coming with you, so there's little to be afraid of." Merlin winked at them, a lady-killer move Arturia saw many times, but it had barely any effect on any of the girls around him.

"It is settled then. We'll meet at the gate in a couple of hours after we finish assembling the units, so take your time to finish resting up your bodies and plan ahead."

"Well, I think the old reliable "just blow it up with Excalibur" is the go-to regardless of what happens."

"Master… may I remind you my sword isn't completely invincible…"

"I agree you should go over your tactics again, Ritsuka, Ai. It's been quite a while since the last time you had to do something of this scale."

And so, the Chaldeans spent their time preparing themselves for the upcoming mission, and the servants summoned by the King of Heroes did the same. Archer caught up with the others after barely seeing them the last week, and the idle conversations managed to ease the tension a little.

Despite the mission seeming quite simple, every one of them had a bad feeling about it. Even Merlin had been walking around the wall while he left some flowers to strengthen it… and seemingly argued with Fou.

When the time came and all the soldiers were ready to accompany them, they had one last meeting with Leonidas before parting.

"Let me summarize it one last time. Ushiwakamaru's unit will act as a decoy. Now that the sun is reaching its peak, the beasts are bound to be hungry, so they'll attack anything in sight. We roughly counted 200 of them. I trust you can distract them just enough so that Ritsuka-dono and Ai-dono can at least take the remaining citizens out of Nippur."

"Yes, leave it to us!" The unit replied as one, and they immediately departed to get into position.

"As for your group, Ritsuka-dono and Ai-dono, there are around 200 hundred citizens left in the city. The majority of them are people who couldn't be evacuated quickly, that is to say, women, elders, and the wounded. They will most likely be afraid from leaving the city, so that's while you'll have to escort and protect the guide, a former citizen from Nippur, that will convince them to open the gates and start the evacuation. While the soldiers handle that part, you are to eliminate any demonic beast that might catch their scent. Did I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir!"

The Chaldeans and the soldiers, including the guide in question, nodded in confirmation, and Leonidas' face became softer.

"One last thing before you part. It is okay to be afraid. We've been contacting Nippur through a messenger up until two days ago when we stopped receiving reports from him. I know you must be feeling it too, but if you sense any kind of danger- no, let me rephrase that. If you think it might be too late, withdraw immediately. Your lives are more important than this operation, and I have the feeling this will be just the first trial you'll have to face. That's all I have to say."

After leaving those words of genuine advice, he put on his signature, golden helmet, and once again became the strongest protector of humanity.

"What's this now? If their life is so important, shouldn't we leave them out of this?" Merlin asked with his usual teasing tone, getting a snort out of the King of Sparta.

"That's not what I meant. One cannot save humanity from this cataclysm if they avert their gaze from hardship, regardless of their talents and gifts. King Gilgamesh chose this mission as their trial to prove their worth, but that doesn't mean they have to rescue all the citizens to pass. Getting out alive regardless of what happens is already a victory for them."

"While we are on the subject, if you think things really went south, don't hesitate to use that, Merlin. Don't do a Goldie on us now."

Archer's words unexpectedly got some giggles from the man and some of the Chaldeans.

"Of course. You should know I'm an expert on fleeing and letting others do the work by now."

"What has that to do with using a trump card, Merlin?"

"If I told you now, it would ruin the surprise, Arturia."

"Talk about being reliable…"

"Fou! Fouuuu!"

EMIYA's sarcastic remark and Fou's angry barks were almost synchronized.

"We can always ditch him while we scape." But it was Ana's plane comment that hurt the most.

"All that aside, you must depart now. Ushiwakamaru's unit is already engaging in combat Mash-dono, I already taught you the basic notions of being a Shield, so the rest is up to your determination. Just as I'm the defender of Uruk, you must be Chaldea's defender alongside the Maiden of Orleans."

"Yes, Leonidas-sensei!"

With that last parting, the Chaldeans advanced in a spear formation, protecting the masters and human soldiers as they broke the beasts that were attacking the wall.

It was actually a short run, with almost any enemy on their way to Nippur. However, conversely, the situation on the other front wasn't that good.

"Aargh!"

"There are so many- gah!"

"Don't fight them individually! Keep the formation!" Ushiwakamaru never stopped swinging her katana as she spat orders, but it was no use.

She, Benkei, and Okita might be able to hold on, but the same couldn't be said for the soldiers accompanying them.

They underestimated the enemy's numbers, or the enemy anticipated their plan. Regardless of which option was, they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of demonic beasts coming from the Cedar Forest. Even with Archer's rain of steel, the soldiers were falling one by one.

The sounds of carnage filled the place. There was no longer any hope to see there as the soldiers were split into those who tried to at least be of some use to the heroic spirits and those who tried to flee in fear and failed miserably.

"Tsk! Do not try to retreat! I know you can't handle the Ugallus, but survive, even if only a minute! In exchange for your life, I shall take their heads! All of them!"

"Ushiwakamaru-sama, don't you think that's unreasonable!?" The monk raised his voice over the sounds of flesh being torn apart, and demonic beasts being sliced by steel. "This number of enemies is a sign Ritsuka-dono and Ai-dono won't have such complications, but we're going to lose all the soldiers at this rate! We should-"

"No, she's right, Benkei-dono!" Okita cut him as she tore through some beast trying to drag a group of crippled soldiers. "There was no hope of returning alive from the very beginning. Look at the Cedar Forest! There's another wave coming! It is better for them to die in combat than being caught trying to escape and dragged to their nest!"

"We must finish this quickly and go to Ritsuka-dono's side! This is obviously a trap!"

"But what about your promise with King Gilgamesh, Ushiwakamaru-sama!"

"Are you now turning into a coward, Musashibou! And you dare call yourself my Ben-" The samurai girl stopped her outburst suddenly by biting her lips and let out her frustration by chopping the monsters even faster. "I apologize. I have misspoken in my hasten. But our goal remains unchanged!"

Neither of the servants had seen her fighting like that ever. She moved as fast as the wind and attacked ruthlessly like a God of war.

Perhaps the bad feeling everyone was having became unbearable for her. Perhaps, even if she didn't share the memories of the servant Rider summoned to Chaldea, she connected immediately with those masters hailing the same country as her.

Okita followed her stead without hesitation, forcing her weak body to its limits as well. Even Archer seemed to be focusing on supporting them as his "arrows" kept raining down constantly.

But Benkei still hesitated. He too felt that Ushiwakamaru shouldn't go to Nippur, but…

Would he have the courage to flee and leave her to her demise yet again in this second life?

"What's this…"

"Ugh!"

The moment the group led by the Chaldeans entered the city of Nippur, the two masters and the Shielder servants had to hold the urge to vomit.

The gates of the city being slightly opened when they arrived was already a bad omen, but they weren't prepared for the sight.

The city wasn't destroyed. There were signs of battle, but all the edifices were still standing. But what was disturbing was the amounts of blood splattering all over the place… and the thing standing in the middle of it.

"Welcome to Nippur. I've been waiting for you, pathetic soldiers from the demonic front. And it would seem the Chaldeans came here as well. This just makes things simpler."

The fake Enkidu greeted them with a really disturbing smirk, taunting the soldiers from Uruk, who glared back at them.

"What happened here!?"

"It's just the same as Babylon. The city is innocent, so we left it as intact as possible. That's about as much sympathy as I have."

"Cut the crap, impostor! What did you do to the citizens!?"

Ai's outburst only caused the grin on their face to widen. "I disposed of them yesterday. Demonic beasts are living creatures, too, and humans are an invaluable source of nourishment. The beasts took them back to their lair and feed them to their young."

"What… Are you saying they took them alive?"

"Judging by your surprised faces, I guess they haven't told you the whole story. The real cause behind the majority of the losses in the front is the soldiers simply never returning. Thus far, the demonic beasts had been holding back so as to capture the humans alive. All this time, the Demonic Front has been nothing more than a place where the resources they need were conveniently gathered."

"S-so that's… why the demonic beasts never tried to destroy the wall?" That grim realization sent the soldiers into a hysterical panic.

"That's right. This was never an invasion. The real invasion will only take place when the second generation of demonic beasts was born. You people are no more than raw materials for that end. You really should be honored."

"You… you bastard!"

"Die, impostor!"

"Wait, don't-"

The soldiers didn't hear any warning and fell completely for the doll's taunt. They attacked hastily, without any tactic, driven just by their anger and fear.

They never stood a chance as several chains pierced their armor and chest like nothing. All of them died instantly.

"I knew from the beginning that's how humans would see me, but it's still annoying." The fake Enkidu threw the bodies to the side in the same way someone disposed of the trash before focusing their hostility on the Chaldeans, Merlin, and Ana. "Now then, it's time to finish what I began in the Cedar Forest. But first, tell me, isn't King Gilgamesh or the counterfeit coming along?"

"We don't need Darling or Goldie to destroy you this time, impostor!"

"Yeah, get ready because we are kicking your ass this time!"

Both the empress of flowers and the fox-girl replied with resolute stares, and the other servants prepared themselves as well.

They should be retreating now that the mission was a bust. That's what some of their rational minds were telling them. However, it wouldn't be an easy task with Enkidu pursuing them, and defeating him would certainly affect the Goddess of Demonic Beasts.

Hence why they decided to face the ultimate weapon head-on. Seeing them like that, Merlin and Ana couldn't help but play along.

"Very well then. There's some time before Mother wakes up, so I'll entertain you. Let's see how you will fare against these boys!"

"ROOOOAAARRRRRR!"

Following their command, several demonic beasts burst from the ground. A great serpent Bashmu and three Ugallus to be precise.

"Crap! They aren't playing around, huh!?"

"Everyone, hold them off for a moment! Nero, start deploying your theatre!"

"On it, Master!" The Bride Saber immediately summoned a white rose as she began the chant to summon her noble phantasm. "Sunlight of spring. Dancing of the Flowers. The winds of May that brush your cheeks! The blessed bells that ring all the way beyond stella!"

The demonic beast didn't stand idly. The moment Nero started to expel large quantities of magical energy to rewrite reality, they attacked without hesitation. The massive serpent opened its jaws, releasing its poisonous breath aiming at her.

"Strike Air!" However, it was immediately countered by the Hammer of the Wind King.

The raging wind dispersed the poison harmlessly and continued to hit the Bashmu in the head, stunning it for a moment.

Meanwhile, Mash blocked the path of one of the Ugallus. The muscles of her legs bulged, but she gritted her teeth and endured the tons of crushing force with her shield. But she wasn't alone as Ana came to her aid.

Her chain wrapped around the Ugallu's chest, and using her Monstruos Strength skill, she pulled it. The giant lion lost its balance for a moment when the bound limb was forcibly raised, allowing Mash to sidestep and smash the back of her shield into the side of its head.

The second Ugallu was stopped on its track by Jeanne's banner, making it an easy target for a blast of Alter's flames. It didn't burn it to cinders, but part of its head was roasted, including one eye, leaving it disoriented.

And the last Ugallu was kept at bay by Tamamo's ice curses, which slowed it down and made it an easy target for EMIYA's broken phantasms.

"Open, Nuptia Domus Aurea!" By then, Nero threw the rose into the air and plunged her white sword into the concrete. The flower burst into a curtain of petals that acted as the boundary, and the sword acted as the key to finally rewriting the world to match her aspirations.

The famous Domus Aurea, in which she was the absolute protagonist, and also, where she finally became a proper bride. Therefore, its color theme wasn't passioned red like her regular counterpart, but pure white.

"Sing…" The empress swung her sword in a circular way, setting it aflame, before falling into a thrust position in preparation. "Fax Caelestis!"

She darted at the Bashmu with incredible speed and pierced through its chest like a hot knife cutting butter.

"Its love burns bright as the flame!" And the next moment, the wound burst into flames, incinerating the massive demonic beast from the inside out.

Not only that but being inside the theatre weakened the other demonic beasts. The fur that could resist even the flames of revenge that were fired by the Dragon Witch, was now easily torn apart by their attacks.

The last Ugallus was beheaded by Ana's immortal-killing scythe in a rain of purple blood. With the enemies defeated, the child servant relaxed for a moment, but that was a mistake. After all, the greater threat was still lurking in the theatre.

"That weapon of yours might become troublesome, so I'll get rid of you first."

"Huh- gah!" Ana immediately turned around to face the clay doll that sneaked at her, but it was too late. Their hand turned into a blade that mercilessly pierced her chest.

""Ana!"" Her mind went numb. She barely heard the worried screams from the masters as blood splattered from her wound and mouth.

"They missed her spirit core! It's still a serious wound, but we can still save her! Cath Palug, do something! I know you've been storing magical energy!"

The cute animal glared at the Magus of Flowers as if to tell him that he could also do something about it, but he ran towards Ana nonetheless.

"Fou! Fou!" His small body was engulfed in a dense miasma of magical energy, giving the illusion that his tail grew in a flame-like pattern. And the moment he touched the wounded girl, both of them warped away without leaving any trace.

"Huh?" The impostor blinked a couple of times, failing to process what just happened. The same applied to the Chaldeans that weren't aware of Fou's true identity. "What the-"

"You aren't scaping now, impostor!" They didn't have time to dwell on it as the empress was already on him.

"Tsk. You're really annoying, woman!" The fake Enkidu reacted quickly and created some lances from the concrete just below Nero to impale her.

But just as they were created, they fell apart and returned to the ground, leaving them utterly shocked.

"The only one allowed to build something here is me! Now, Laus Saint Claudius!"

"Gah!"

Aestus Estus was swung at them in a shower of white petals. Enkidu's body reacted on its own despite their surprise, but it was too late. Tilting their body as quickly as they could, they still got their left arm blown away.

They withdrew quickly, opting to jump and use their magical energy to stay in the air, just in time to avoid being cut by Arturia's invisible sword. They managed to get some room to pull themselves together, but conversely, they couldn't regenerate the lost arm due to not being in contact with the soil.

"Where did all your bravado go, impostor? Are you chickening now that you don't have the field advantage?" Merlin taunted them, but despite the murderous glare, they didn't do anything rash.

"Heh. Effective as they are, I don't need my lances to tear all of you apart!"

"Then come here and prove it, punk! Or do you want to die like a mere target!"

Alter's words really pissed them off as their body started to exude a tremendous amount of magical energy. However, before the first attack could be thrown from either of the sides, a massive tremor interrupted them.

"What's this!? Nero-chan, did you add an earthquake effect to your theatre!?"

"Of course not! Someone is trying to destroy the spell from the outside! From bellow to be more precise!"

""WHAT!?""

"This is… Mother? What is she doing here now!? This wasn't the plan!"

Enkidu's surprised words sent alarms to the Chaldeans. Even Merlin dropped his carefree façade.

"Empress Nero, turn off the spell! We need to get out of here!"

"U-umu!"

Just as the magus told her, she ceased her noble phantasm, and the servants graved their masters to jump away the instant they were back at Nippur.

And just a moment after that… something, a gigantic form sprung from the soil. She had a humanoid form, but the lower part of her body was that of a snake and terrifying claws for hands. A mature and voluptuous body, with strange square-shaped eyes, long purple hair that took the form of several vicious snakes, massive golden wings, and skin covered in golden and black scales.

Her sheer strength caused earthquakes. Her overwhelming divine, yet monstrous aura instilled fear into the hearts of everyone, humans and heroes alike. And her massive tail encircled them, blocking any possible escape route.

"Archaman, hurry with the analysis of that thing! Believe it or not, that's a servant! Surely, you can tell us its Spirit Origin, size, and class."

The Magus of Flowers was the first one to react, and Romani's hysterical voice came from the masters' bands.

"I'm on it! Its Spirit Origin is a divine spirit class! Its upper body is 10 meters, and its total length, including the tail, is 100 meters! Its classification is an extra class, an Avenger!"

"What!? That thing is the same as me!?"

"Jeanne, can you tell us that thing's true name!?"

"I can't tell, master! Her Spirit Origin is somewhat distorted! It seems to be mixed with something else! Lil' Sis, get back!"

"You're quite loud, humans." The now identified Avenger spoke with a thunderous voice while looking down at them in the same way someone looked at a group of ants.

"Mankind's sword enemy, head of the Three Goddesses Alliance, the monster feared as the Goddess of demonic beasts… Prostrate yourselves, pray and beg. Tiamat, the Mother of All Beasts stands before you now."

"So… that's Tiamat…"

"You have to be kidding… why's the final boss here already!?"

Both Fujimaru siblings managed to finally quell their trembling for the most part and get their voices out of their throats. Even the Goddess Rhongomyniad felt short to that thing.

"I trust you're well, Mother. It's good to see you're finally awake." In complete contrast, the Fake Enkidu casually spoke to her while their severed arm started to grow back. "But this wasn't on the plan. You were to rest until the Day of Rebirth."

"Don't be so dull. I wanted to see what my child was playing with. The relics of Chaldea… Are those the bugs that still cling to the human world?" A really disturbing smile spread on her face as she analyzed them. "Tiny. Insignificant. Such fragile creatures. You are unworthy of tormenting and killing, even of my gaze. Even your taste is nothing but disappointing. But rejoice, because I'm quite hungry now."

Even the servants were completely paralyzed in front of such a monster. Her very presence seemed to be inducing fear, something quite similar to mystic eyes.

"This is bad, master… I don't think I can defeat her without growing three or four more tails…"

"No, I don't think anything we can throw at her will be that effective, Caster… Even if I cast my reality marble…"

"Well, I guess it's my time to take the stage then." To their immense surprise, the Magus of Flowers was the one to step forward and face the monstrous Goddess directly. "Take this chance to run away, Ritsuka, Ai. I'll be her opponent!"

Merlin pointed his staff at Tiamat and fired a beam of raw magical energy without hesitation.

"Heh, you sure like to talk, mage. I'll crush you first." The Goddess willed one of the snake heads growing from her hair to fire back.

The beam from the Goddess was several times bigger than Merlin's, easily overpowering it and blowing away the Magus of Flowers. But before anyone had the time to be shocked, he appeared again in a storm of pink petals as if nothing happened.

"Huh?" That managed to completely throw off the Goddess and her son.

"Don't be surprised. I'm a half-incubus after all. My existence is more akin to a dream than anything. I can't pull it off this quickly many times, but this should be enough. I'll meet you at Uruk if I'm killed too many times!"

"Right. There was a reason why he was imprisoned in that tower in Avalon instead of being killed! Master, we can trust him and flee for now!"

"Ve-very well! She who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day!"

"Mash, we are making a run for it!"

"Yes, master! Commencing tactical retreat!"

The Chaldeans were about to turn their tail and run towards Uruk, but then all Merlin's bravado faded away suddenly.

"Wait… don't tell me… those are mystic eyes of petrification!?"

"Immortality through powerlessness, huh? Then I'll have to use my eyes after a long time. I've collected enough human statures, but a statue of a half-incubus might look good in my temple."

Merlin's face went completely pale before immediately hiding behind Mash and her shield. "Sorry, I take it back! Please, protect me, Lady Mash! I can't explain it right now, but it would be really bad if I were to lose consciousness!"

"How useful turned him out to be! Saber, are you sure he wasn't imprisoned in Avalon because he was already senile!?"

"H-he must have his reasons!"

"Please everyone, get back! Tiamat is attacking with those mystic eyes!"

Everyone got behind the Shielder just before a massive red beam struck her shield. Only with both masters casting enhancement spells on her she was able to withstand the attack and disperse it harmlessly, but the way it started to turn into stone everything around them was horrifying.

"Merlin! I don't know what's gotten into you but do something now that you're already safe! The magical energy Tiamat is putting into that attack is skyrocketing!"

"I'm already on it! It's time for plan B!"

With renewed confidence, the Magus of Flowers pulled out some kind of stick, and after pouring magical energy into it, he threw it at the Goddess of demonic beasts.

No, it wasn't exactly thrown at her. It flew past her into the sky and lit up like a massive red flare.

"Hahahaha! Are you so afraid you can't even attack me properly, mage!?" Tiamat laughed at the seemingly useless effort, but her son by her tensed.

That kind of makeshift flare… they had seen it already during the last months.

"Wait, Mother! That's not an attack! It's a signal!"

"Huh? What do you mean-"

The Goddess was cut when something split the clouds above her. A light pushed away all the shadows in the city as a blue, spiraling comet descended upon her.

There was no time to react. It was so fast the Goddess was barely able to turn and look at it. A regular servant might have been able to avoid being hit by it, but her massive body without legs prevented her from quickly dodging to a side.

As a result, the falling star hit her right in the face.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

An ear-piercing scream followed the massive explosion that blinded everyone and blew away the surrounding buildings with just its shockwave.

"Now!"

They didn't need to be told twice. The Chaldeans immediately ran towards the gates of the city without looking back, jumping the massive tail blocking the path now that the Goddess wasn't paying attention to them.

They heard some movement behind them, but another massive explosion shook the entire place. Another "comet" seemed to have crashed on the Goddess while she was still recovering from the first one.

"So that's what you and Archer meant! I'm surprised! You actually were useful!"

"More like my Darling did all the job! I know he's the best!"

"That's why I said that running away and leaving others handle things is my specialty! But even if that signal means "Shit! We're screwed! Fire everything you've got!" I doubt it will buy us more than a minute!"

"Wait, really!? Those things can blow away mountains! Finn killed a pair of servants when he was alive with some of those!"

"There's a massive rift between regular servants and a servant with that massive amount of divinity! An A-rank broken phantasm like Caladbolg II might be able to damage her, but it won't take her that much time to heal her wounds, master!"

"I can see the Northern Wall already!" Jeanne's voice at the front of the party managed to relieve them, but that was quite short-lived.

"Hurry! She's already coming!" Just as Arturia said that they started to feel those massive tremors again.

EMIYA turned around to look at Nippur with his enhanced eyes, and they widened as he saw the Goddes break through the city's wall.

"She can't dodge well with that body, but she's really fast when it comes to running in a straight line! If you have another trump card, this is a good moment to use it, Magus of Flowers!"

"If we've come to this… Lady Jeanne, could you start praying to the Lord!?"

"Don't you think I've been doing that already!?"

"And it has done nothing! That guy's religion isn't even a thing in this age!"

"YOU WILL NOT SCAPE, HUMANS!"

"Damn it! She's already on our heels!"

In just ten seconds, the Goddess crossed all the distance they managed to put between them. And she seemed really pissed off.

However, just before she could swing her massive claws or command the snakes growing from her hair to crush them, a pair of figures jumped from behind her. She was so focused on the Chaldeans, that she never noticed the pair of servants that climbed through her tail.

"The Wandering Tales of Shana-oh: Dan-no-Ura Hasso Tobi!"

"Mumyo Sandanzuki!"

"RAAAAAAAAARRRGHH!"

The two samurais drove their katana into Tiamat's face. It didn't cause that much damage, but it stopped the monstrous Goddess in her tracks.

"You filthy bugs… DIE!"

All her hair snakes attacked the two servants, who were completely defenseless in the middle of the air. However, before that could happen, a rain of "arrows" destroyed the snakes, and Ushiwakamaru and Okita used the fragments as footholds to hasten their descent.

"It seems that body of yours is hindering you, Goddess!"

"You can't kill bugs with those movements!"

"Impudent!" New snakes grew from Tiamat's hair, but this time, they all faced the Northern Wall, from where all the "arrows" came.

There, the red knight's golden eyes widened as he saw several massive, purple beams coming on his way.

"I am the bone of my sword… Rho Aias!" He immediately deployed the greatest defense available to him and braced himself for the impact.

"Get down!"

The Uruk soldiers' bodies reacted to Leonidas' order before their brains did, just making it in time before the beams hit the wall. Entire chunks of the wall were blown away just by the impact force. Massive trenches and holes were carved due to the immense heat, and several layers of Rho Aias were shattered.

Tiamat smirked seeing the destruction and desperation, but that didn't stop the attacks coming at her. The red knight was busy fending off the attack, but the Chaldean red archer immediately took his place, and he was accompanied by the fox caster and the dragon witch.

"Wait, what are you three doing!?" Ritsuka shout upon seeing those three staying behind, but the three didn't look back as they kept attacking.

"Our priority is for you to get to a safe place, master!"

"Run without looking back, master! It might be sad, but I'll definitely come back ut as long as you have Goshujin-sama around!"

"Hey, could you please not make it sound like we are going to just die!? We're trying to survive here!"

"It's useless, humans!"

Time froze as the Goddess swung her massive tail. It wasn't a mystical attack, but the sheer size and strength of the append were more than enough to destroy a servant. The "arrows", fire blasts, and curses were easily repelled, and the tail continued its path towards the two samurais still in the air.

That was it. The two Japanese servants knew that the moment they saw the attack coming. There was no way to block that tail, and they wouldn't be able to block it in time.

However, a completely unexpected aid came their way at the last moment.

"Gohiyaku Rakan Fudarakutokai!"

A figure stood before the Goddess with his palms joined, and with the summoning of his noble phantasm, hundreds of figures rushed at her. Vessels used by the Arhats in their pilgrimage to the Pure Land.

"What's this!?" The Goddess spoke confused as her entire body froze the moment those vessels touched her.

The massive tail that was about to flatten the two samurai girls stopped just inches away from them, allowing them to finally land on the ground.

"Musashibou!? What are you doing here!?" Ushiwakamaru looked at the figure that now looked heroic in utter confusion. For a moment, he really looked like the famous monk that accompanied her to the bitter end.

"I don't know. Perhaps, now that I'm posing as him, maybe the spirit of the real Benkei possessed me. Maybe I was inspired by everyone's courage in this hopeless battle. The only thing I know… is that I could bear committing the same sin twice!"

"You little… Out of my way!" The Goddess started struggling against the compulsion spell, and it was obvious she would break free quickly.

"I'll let the rest to you, Yotshisune-sama! It's better that you and Okita-dono are the ones to survive here than this coward!"

Ushiwakamaru bit her lip once again. The man who abandoned her due to his cowardice, was now bravely giving his life to buy them some precious seconds. But there was no time to hesitate.

"Very well. I'll burn your heroic figure into my memory, Hitachibou! Everyone, don't let his sacrifice be in vain!"

Swallowing their emotions, the group resumed their mad dash towards the Northern Wall.

The sound of a crystal shattering was heard throughout the plains when Tiamat finally broke free, but the Chaldeans and the servants of King Gilgamesh were already reaching their destination. None of them turned around to see how Benkei's figure disappeared when the snakes of the Goddess crushed him.

"Ritsuka-dono, Ai-dono, over here! We will repel her at least until you get to Uruk!" Leonidas prompted them to cross the gate as he advanced to face the rampaging Goddess.

His red cape willowed with the wind, and with each step, the figures of all the 300 Spartans that accompanied him in the famous battle of Thermopylae.

His heroic figure was no longer an insurmountable wall they had to pierce through as it was in the Second Singularity, but one that instilled courage and safety into everyone's heart.

However, just like Benkei's… it was the figure of a man walking towards death willingly, so the others could pave a way to the future in his instead.

And the same could be said of Archer. Just a glance at him at the top of the wall could tell them that much. The way he was readying the Original Sin as he faced the Goddess without an ounce of hesitation… he too was ready to give his life for them.

"No, we'll stay here and fight!" Ritsuka finally snapped, not wanting to see more sacrifices for their own good. "Mash, Jeanne, please lend your power to Leonidas! EMIYA, give support to Archer and keep an eye on the fake Enkidu following Tiamat!"

""Yes, master!""

"Well said, Onii-chan! I'm tired of sad farewells! We are taking down that Goddess right here, right now! Arturia-chan, prepare your Holy Sword! Tamamo-chan, Nero-chan, Alter-chan, throw at her every support thing you have!"

Following Ai's command, Arturia unsheathed her Holy sword and started to pour magical energy into its blade. A massive golden aura covered her as Alter's skill to command dragons and Nero's cheat skills as the Bride of the Hero boosted her.

"The gods reside in Izumo. True and beautiful, they breathe life into the soul. Amaterasu in the mountain, rivers, and watery heaven..."

Things didn't end there, as the fox-girl started to summon her noble phantasm to influx even more magical energy into the King of Knights.

"The fragment of a Goddess… Heh, that's still useless against me! Die like the bugs you are already!"

The Goddess, having lost her patience and fired another myriad of massive beams from her snake heads to destroy them before they could counter-attack. But they were already prepared for it.

"Light of selection, cleave the wicked! Merodach!" The light that burned everything it touched rose to meet the fury of the vengeful Goddess, and clashed against it with a roar that shook the entire place.

Unfortunately, after the initial crash, the light of the model of all the swords that select the king began to be slowly pushed back by Tiamat's power. But he wasn't alone in the endeavor.

"O' Peerless Sword! Illuminate the path, Durandal!" Another wave of light clashed against the Goddess' fury from the invincible sword in EMIYA's hand.

The combined force of the two fakers managed to stop the massive beams for a moment, but that extra moment added to all the other ones bought with everyone's effort made the difference.

"Fire!"

The remaining soldiers of the Demonic joined the fight with renewed resolution. They couldn't do anything on their own against such a horrible monster, but putting together all their strength, they started to fire the fife Dingirs that had the Goddess in their range.

The collective power of mankind. The treasures of the King, regardless of whether they were projected copies or the real deal, were fired in quick succession at the Goddess of Demonic Beasts.

There was no way of aiming the cannons, but the target was so huge that most of them hit her directly, and the ones that missed her landed close enough for the resultant explosion to hit her.

"Kuh!" The Goddess let out a strained voice amidst the cacophony of explosions. Each explosion caused little damage to her, but it was accumulating.

And her hair wasn't as sturdy as her skin. The snakes firing the beams started to be destroyed faster than she could grow more, and the golden light quickly made its way to her.

The fire ceased when the upper part of the monstrous Goddess was engulfed in the golden lights. Moments filled with enough tension to difficult one's breath as everyone waited to see the effect of those direct hits from two of the strongest swords.

"No way…"

"You have to be kidding…"

And to their horror, aside from some burns, Tiamat was mostly intact. No, it wasn't that she was completely unscathed after the attack. Her wounds were regenerating at an abnormal pace, even for a divine spirit with that massive divinity.

"These readings… That must be it! Fujimaru, Ai, Tiamat is the one receiving the power of the Holy Grail that the King of Mages left in this era to cause the Singularity!"

Everyone widened their eyes upon hearing Romani's words. That explained a lot of things, but knowing that only plummeted the morale just when it was raising.

"Such desperate measures… how odd." The monstrous Goddess spoke with genuine confusion. "It seems it was a mistake to underestimate you. I suppose you were powerful enough to overcome six singularities. Enough to even stop me from breaking you down in one breath. But this is it…"

Her mystic eyes started to shine once again. Not only hers. The eyes of the numerous snakes growing from her hair started to shine. Hundreds of mystic eyes of the highest rank were activated all at the same time.

"I will kill you all! Every single one of you must die at our hands, down to the last child! Begone!"

There was barely any time to react as the simultaneous attack of all the mystic eyes was released in the form of a massive red and black beam.

"That which heals all wounds and grudges, our glorious homeland. Manifest yourself, Lord Camelot!"

"My flag, defend our brethren! Luminosité Eternelle!"

The castle on distant ideals and the flagship that inspired hundreds of soldiers were deployed at the same time just moments away before everything in front of the Goddess was turned into stone and destroyed.

The greatest protections Chaldea had at their disposal, both against physical and spiritual damage. A shield of the psyche that would never fall as long the determination of the girl holding it didn't falter, and a protection with the Lord's blessing.

On paper, even the attack of a divine spirit of that power shouldn't be able to pierce through such fierce defenses. That shield was the very one that managed to block a direct strike from the Lance that shines till the end of the World. But the circumstances weren't the same, unfortunately…

"Guh!" Mash did her very best to hold the round shield as tall as her.

But her determination faltered for a moment after hearing the grim news from Romani, and there was no time to gather it up. The immense pressure didn't allow her to get rid of the fear of what would happen if they let that attack pass.

The same couldn't be said for Jeanne. As a veteran, she maintained her cool even in front of a monstrous, heathen Goddess. But her protection wasn't invincible. The damage she received would accumulate in her flag, so there was a limit to what she could take. And as a result, the banner that went unscathed through many battles was now slowly turning into stone.

"Eightfold Blessings of Amaterasu on the Weight Stone under the Sunlit Watery Heavens!"

They weren't going to make it. Even if Tamamo was already siphoning all the energy gathered by her noble phantasm into Arturia, she wouldn't be able to use her Holy Sword before they were finally overwhelmed.

And so… in the middle of such crucial moments, a man made his decision.

"Huh?"

Both Mash and Jeanne widened their eyes upon seeing a figure stepping in front of them, accompanied by his 300 loyal guards.

"My friends, bring your souls hither! Thermopylae Enomotia!"

All the three hundred figures stood before the King of Sparta for an impenetrable wall with their shields, and the man himself stood proudly in face of certain death.

The inexorable attack that seemed impossible to repel suddenly halted. No, it was actually being repelled.

"Impossible! You're repelling my hundred mystic eyes!? You… who are you!?" Even the Goddess seemed completely taken aback by such a feat.

"Well, of course! Simple shields they may be, these are still the shields wielded by great heroes! As for me, my ancestor is the great hero Heracles, the son of the great God Zeus! Indeed, I am King Leonidas of Sparta, a country given praise by the God of War Ares!"

His helmet, and the shields of his comrades started to turn into stone quickly, but even so, the greatest defender of humanity still stood strong.

"And I've seen through your true identity, old Greek Goddess. I've never heard of Tiamat having those eyes, but a great serpent monster that turns people into stone and devours heroes… your identity couldn't be clearer! The composite deity, the Great Demonic Beast Gorgon!"

The moment the Goddess heard that name, she flinched, as if rejecting it. And that finally gave them the opening they needed.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHHHH!"

With a massive war cry, Leonidas gave everything he had to deflect the heat beam right towards the monstrous Goddess, who wasn't able to dodge it or block it.

It didn't do as much damage as the combined attack of Merodach, Durandal, and several broken phantasms, but "Tiamat" stopped for a moment as the burns healed again.

"King Leonidas, huh? Very well, O' King of Flames. You who discarded nothing even when you yourself were abandoned. I'll let you die as a hero. You needn't see the end of humanity."

Just as she said, the body of the greatest defender was almost completely turned into stone. But the renowned hero was still able to snort in defiance.

"Heh…that is impossible. Just like my soul, the human world is immortal. The rest is up to you, Chaldeans…"

Leaving those last words, the King of Sparta finally turned into a statue and scattered in the wind.

The Goddess wore a wicked grin as she looked at the rest of the heroic spirits, expecting to see the despair in their faces. But the sight that met her was quite the opposite.

Faces filled with resolution and without a trace of fear. Even if Leonidas' form scattered in the wind, the hope he left was also scattered.

"That's more like it. Such brilliant dreams and hopes are the ones required to save the world. Now then, it's time to bring hell to her, Arturia!" Merlin stated happily as he pointed his staff to the King of Knights.

Another strengthening spell was added to the already massive pile. Hero Creation EX, the skill that embodied Arturia's mentoring by Merlien, that turned a bumpkin into the ideal King her country needed.

"EX-"

The massive golden aura surrounding her gathered in the Last Phantasm and turned into a massive blade of light. She took a step forward in preparation and moved her lips to utter the name of the Strongest Illusion before the monstrous Goddess could react.

"-CALIBUR!"

The light of the Holy Sword forged in the inner see of the planet was released, and there was nothing "Tiamat" could do to stop it. She tried to attack with her hundred mystic eyes again, but it was useless. That barely hindered the attack at all.

Gorgon's figure disappeared amidst the light after being hit directly by it. The ground trembled and broke apart. The sheer intensity of the heat and light forced everyone to cover their eyes as the attack continued its way to split the heavens.

Once everyone recovered their sight, their eyes followed the straight line of scorched earth towards where the Goddess had been. Several skipped a beat when they saw the massive snake tail still around… but that was it.

The upper torso of the composite deity was nowhere to be seen. It had been completely obliterated by the light of the planet.

"We did-"

But before someone could proclaim their victory. Even before they could even relax at all… the tail started to bulge, and new flex grew from it. Something akin to regeneration, but not the same. Something they had seen reproduced by the noble phantasm of a certain black giant.

"Tiamat" was being quickly resurrected. Or it could be said that she wasn't allowed to die in the first place.

"Hoh? What's with those surprised faces? Did I forget to mention it?" The fake Enkidu spoke for the first time in a while as they delighted themselves in the sheer horror starting to show in the Chaldeans' faces. "Mother is immortal. Why do you think I took that little girl out the first? As weak as she was, her immortal-killing scythe was actually the only credible threat to her among you. Even that Holy Sword can't kill her if you don't destroy every single cell of her."

"Harpe… I see, she really is Gorgon if the only way to kill her is that kind of weapon…" Even Merlin seemed thrown off by this development of the events.

"Wait, you two can project that weapon, right!? Attack her while she's still reco-"

"Too late, human." The voice of the Goddess herself interrupted Ai. She was already back in shape. Although she clearly seemed wore off, the pressure of her divine aura was still considerable.

And the same could be on their side. Arturia, Mash, and Jeanne seemed like they could barely stand, and the others weren't in that good condition either.

"As I said, it is useless. The destruction of the world of man is inevitable. In fact, now that the greatest defender of the wall has fallen, it is time to raise your voice, demonic beasts! I will assault Uruk myself and kill the King! Unleash your hatred, and trample down the humans who escaped!"

Despite not raising her voice, everyone could notice the distant roars a movement in the Cedar Forest. All of "Tiamat's" children were answering her call, and they would be swarming the wall at any moment.

"Wait, Mother. Don't you think that's quite short-sighted?" But surprisingly, it was the fake Enkidu who tried to calm her down.

"What do you mean by that?" "Tiamat" seemed annoyed, but she was willing to hear at least.

The eyes of the doll drifted to the red knight who had just jumped from the wall and seemed to be about to bring forth a weapon. If they've learned something after possessing Enkidu's body, it was to trust their sharp instincts.

And whatever that man was about to pull out, it was going to at the very least make things difficult for their "mother".

"Conquering Uruk is just a small step. Isn't the real issue the other Goddesses rather than the flimsy humans? The alliance is dissolved the moment Uruk falls. The second generation is reserved for those upcoming battles. Until those 100000 offspring are born, the alliance must continue. Besides… we should take our time torturing humans instead of ending things quickly."

"Hmm…" The Goddess gave it some thought, but in the end, she gave in. "Very well. Be grateful for the restraint my son shows, humans. However, your fated destruction still looms. Ten dawns from now, we will destroy Uruk. If you value your lives, flee to the end of the earth. If you can, that is~"

After leaving those words behind, the monstrous Goddess pierced through the molten earth to return to her temple.

With the overwhelming divinity finally gone, some of the people at the wall remembered they needed to breathe to continue living. But the tension still remained.

Their lives weren't spared. They just got some room to breathe. And the fake Enkidu was still around, his hateful glare completely focused on the red knight.

"What's your deal, 'Not Enkidu'? Are the memories of that body finally getting to you?"

Archer's question caused them to snort. "It would be quite boring if things ended here, right? For mother, you're just vermin she needs to exterminate. In truth, she needs to focus on the other Goddesses. And the other Goddesses seem to be using humans effectively, so wiping them out could make them… upset. In order to help things go smoothly, I'm keeping you alive a little longer."

The red knight squinted his eyes. "That way you refer to her… what are you even?"

"Well, I guess I have no reason to keep hiding my name. Just as those demonic beasts, I'm a creation of Mother. A prototype of the new people that will rule the world in your place, replacing you archaic humans who abandoned her. My true name is Kingu."

"Did he just say 'Kingu'!? The God that led the Eleven Offspring of Tiamat in the creation myth!?"

The doll had to repress a burst of laughter at Romani's reaction. "That is correct. But I'm not a reincarnation or some nonsense along those lines. There's no reason to resurrect that coward who fled because he was afraid of Marduk. As such, I was modeled after Enkidu, the greatest masterpiece of the Gods, to take his place and become the perfect human. Rest assured, when we annihilate you, we'll continue on your history as you return to the void."

Saying that, the now identified Kingu flew away towards the Cedar Forest to wait for that day alongside their "mother".

After making sure they wouldn't turn back on their word, the red knight turned around. The sight that met him was quite… discouraging.

The morale plummeted to underground levels. The soldiers, Ushiwakamaru, and Okita were looking down. Even the last masters of humanity and their kohai wore long faces.

This wasn't good. The Goddess of demonic beasts wouldn't attack in ten days, but the demonic beasts would still come here to "procure resources" as Kingu put it. And in this state, it wouldn't take that much effort to finally breach the Northern Wall and start swarming the farms.

It was Leonidas' job to keep high the morale, but with him gone and the others in that state, he guessed it fell to him to take on his job.

He couldn't let the last gift that man left go to waste.

"Lord Archer…" The sounds of his footsteps caught their attention.

The lack of regret or conflict on his face wasn't anything new. He had been always a man that didn't know how to properly express his emotions. But right now, the way in which he looked at the second-in-line of the Northern Wall soldiers conveyed that he was definitely not giving up.

"Call the engineers. We have to repair the damage before the next wave comes."

"But… Lord Leonidas… the commander who never stopped defending the Northern Wall has passed away… This is truly the end?"

"Huh? Are you telling me that know that he's gone, everything he's taught you is magically gone as well? "Take some bricks and put them together. That's something anyone can do." I believe the core of his teachings was for this very moment."

That left the commander baffled, but one by one, the soldiers started to see what he was getting at.

"Yes… he showed us that, even at the jaws of death, we shouldn't hesitate to act."

"That's… that wasn't just Leonidas' pride… It was the pride of this land! The pride of every one of us!"

"That's right guys! The only thing that has changed is that we now know the exact day of the destruction foreseen by Goldie. We were already on the losing side, so the only thing we can do now is to regroup and prepare for the next attack as we've been doing for all these months!"

Before the astonished looks of the Chaldeans, the morale of the soldiers took a complete turn. They went from being all pessimistic to starting preparations like always with even higher spirits.

"Sorry for leaving you with what should be our responsibility, Archer-dono."

"Yes… we weren't-"

"There's no need to apologize." The red knight cut the two samurai girls before they went through that spiral of depressing thoughts. "There was little any of us could do. Facing an ancient Goddess in a direct confrontation was never a good approach. For now, we should report to Goldie what happened and start to plan around that."

Those words were also directed at the Chaldeans. But thankfully, Merlin threw him a bone in that department.

"Everyone here swallowed their fears and moved one. You can't be less, Ritsuka, Ai, Mash. As I've told you, I've been seeing your entire journey, and I know making a magnificent comeback after seeing defeat after defeat is your trademark by now."

"The inferior court magus and Darling are right! Even after I was unfortunately defeated in America and things looked really dire, you still kept striving to solve that singularity and triumphed over that fake king, masters." Nero's comment caused Merlin's eyebrow to twitch, and Arturia nodding in agreement only made it worse.

"It was the same at the beginning of your journey when my little sister here was going through her rebellious phase."

"Tsk. Why do you have to bring that up now… And how many times do I have to tell you, I'm not your damn sister!"

"I have to agree with the child emperor here." Tamamo continued the conversation, ignoring Alter's outburst and the glare she received from the Bride Saber. "Back in London, after Solomon himself slaughtered us to display his power, you didn't give up on continuing to fight to prevent the Incineration of the Human Order."

After being encouraged by their servants, the two masters and Mash finally gathered their determination again.

"You guys are right. Sorry for letting myself down so quickly. We must keep fighting or else all the people who gave everything so we could be here will be disappointed. Right, Mash?"

"Yes, Senpai! I'll keep on being your shield no matter what happens!"

"Yeah, we're just getting started here! I'm sure we can come up with a 'Goddess destroyer plan' in no time!"

"For now, you three should take a rest after all you've been through these last days. We can work with the King's servants to write the report in your instead. I'll personally prepare your breakfast when you wake up."

""Yes, mommy!""

The three teenagers left before the red archer could complain about that nickname while the giggles from the King of Knights and the King of Fakers sounded through the place.

"Ngh…" Ana grunted as her purple eyes slowly opened to be met by the familiar ceiling of her room at the inn.

The phantom pain in her chest helped her remember what happened before she lost consciousness. Although… the way in which she escaped from the fake Enkidu was quite foggy.

"Oh, you're finally awake." A voice she had grown familiar with made her crane her neck to the side.

There, sitting next to her bed was Archer. Fou, the one who somehow rescued her, was sitting on his lap, having his back caressed. Judging by the way he purred, he seemed to be having the time of his life.

The child servant made a surprised face. It wasn't that there was a man in the girl's room without asking for permission, but rather, it was already late night and there he was, looking over her instead of getting some rest.

"What are you doing here, Archer?"

"Healing the wound in your chest took quite the effort from Tamamo and Merlin, so we wanted to make sure that your condition was stable. I wasn't here all the time if you are asking, though. Ushiwakamaru, Souji, and I took turns. How are you feeling?"

So it wasn't just him who was needlessly worried about her.

"I'm fine… I guess. I'm… sorry for having been a burden against… her."

Her timid voice was now filled with a lot of frustration. She was taken out before Gorgon made her entrance on the battlefield, but he could imagine how she could've already felt her presence before. That was most likely the very reason she didn't have her mind completely focused on the battle, leaving her open to Kingu's sneak attack.

"You don't have to apologize. Merlin sealed your powers until it was the time to face her, right? If he didn't undo the seal, that was because it wasn't the right time."

Her eyes widened upon hearing his words. "You already know?"

"I already told you I can read the story of the weapons I see, right? You obviously aren't Perseus, the original wielder of Harpe, and there's only another famed figure who is related to it. I kept it to myself since it seems you didn't want any of us to know it."

"Well… it was more like Merlin started the façade without even asking me, and I ended up playing along. After that, I thought it was too late to reveal it…"

"You thought we would freak out?"

"Yes… Leonidas would certainly know what I will inevitably become… But why have you been kind to me despite knowing it? Aren't you a hero whose only records are of exterminating monsters?"

"That's not exactly it. My reason to fight has been always my dream of saving everyone, and as a heroic spirit, I embody that very dream. That's why I decided to save Fou here when he was going through… his 'puberty', instead of killing him."

"Fou fou!" The little animal barked happily in agreement.

"Besides, you haven't given us a reason to mistrust you all these months. If I had to judge someone for just their past, then I should have freaked out of Tamamo-no-mae, one of Japan¡s great calamities. And I'm sure Ushiwakamaru and Souji would think the same. Not only them. Everyone in Uruk, including the Chaldeans, as well."

"I…" 'Ana' didn't know how to answer. She wanted to deny it. To tell him that, even if he didn't, everyone else would certainly fear her once they knew the kind of monster she was.

A horrible monster that ended up killing the two sisters she swore to protect.

But if there was something she knew about this man, it was that he wasn't capable of lying to someone in their face. He might twist the truth or omit some facts out of consideration, but she could tell this wasn't the case.

Was it really too late to tell everyone about their identity and the reason why she, of all heroes, was summoned? But what if Archer was wrong and someone rejected her…

"Hmm, I guess it was inevitable that you regained your trust in humans. Emotions are something you can discard, but if you regain them, it would be a waste not to cherish them."

Just like always, the Magus of Flowers popped out of nowhere in the room, and he seemed to have read her mind…

She glared at him out of habit, and Fou joined her. "This is all your fault, Merlin. You first told me that the smart thing to do was to hide my inhumanity, and now you tell me the exact opposite?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, I told you that because that's what worked for me. The only reason I can keep acting as a bro-next-door is that I'm spending all the emotions I have saved up as fuel. It is difficult for beings such as us to live among humans. But there's no rule that says that inhuman beings must be enemies from humanity as the man who lived all his life as a sword told you."

"Tsk. Then what should I do now?"

Merlin had to repress a giggle. Asking him that must have been quite humiliating for her.

"That's up to you. Do you take the risk and tell everyone, or do you think it's better to keep things like this until you fulfill your purpose and take your leave like this man likes to do? It won't hurt anyone if you keep a secret, but revealing it is a gamble that can end well or really bad."

Another repressed giggle after seeing the face Archer always makes when he wants to refute something, but he knows he couldn't.

"Consider that EMIYA most likely knows it too since he's basically the me from another timeline. I can vouch for you if you decide to tell them, but that's up to you."

"I… I'll think about it." Saying that the little girl pulled her hood to hide her factions once again.

"I've already gone through your report. You have been through a lot, Chaldeans." The Golden King declared the moment they entered the throne room the next morning.

He quickly dismissed the other people lining up with clay tablets before speaking further, a show of how dire the situation was.

"Sacrifices are unavoidable in war. As King, I will prepare a memorial for the lost and compensate those left. None of you have to worry. That goes for my servants and the girl Merlin brought as well. Now, I want to make sure of one fact. The Goddess you fought will attack in 10 days. Is that correct, Merlin!?"

"Technically, it has been already a day, but we do have 9 more days until then if she abides by her word."

"Very well then. Let's review what we do know. The true identity of the Goddess of demonic beasts residing in the Cedar Forest turned out to be Gorgon, the monster from Greek mythology famed for slaying heroes. She has in her possession the Holy Grail from the self-proclaimed King of Mages, which was most likely what called her to this land and restored her lost divinity. And on top of that, she seems to be wielding Potnia Theron, Tiamat's authority to give birth to the demonic beasts."

"So she's basically Medusa with steroids…" Ai's conclusion managed to get a giggle from the King, and at the same time, it got "Ana" widening her eyes under her hood.

"If you already summoned her diminished version to Chaldea that saves us the trouble of explaining why that authority must come from somewhere else. Now, she said that humans have no chance against her, right?"

"Yes, King Gilgamesh. She said that she only has to watch out for the other Goddesses."

The King looked at the Shielder's gloomy aura after saying that, and a confident smile came to his face.

"Why do you look disappointed, Mash Kyrielight? This already gives us plenty of chance to strike back. We should be already laughing at those fools! You feel the same, right, Ritsuka, Ai?"

His red eyes turned to the last masters of humanity, but they also looked at him as if he had grown another head, killing all his momentum.

"I believe what he means is that we should go for the other Goddesses first." Arturia's quick comment managed to salvage the situation a little.

"It's good to see someone has some tactical insight in your group. I can see why my foolish, younger self hasn't moved a muscle in that regard, but why hasn't any of the kings or generals taught them about how to trample over your opponents!?

"It's hard to do that when pretty much everyone has their methods… I would say it's harder than even studying magecraft…"

"Yeah… Lord El-Meloi II might be good teaching magecraft, but he sucks at teaching the lessons of the tactician fused with him."

"At any rate." The Golden King decided to ignore the externalized thoughts of the two masters and moved on. "Based on all your investigations up until now, unlike Gorgon, who runs only on her hatred towards humanity, the other Goddesses are more… levelheaded. The Goddess in the south might not attack humans, but she certainly isn't lazy about her task. She uses what's necessary, when it's necessary, and carefully reads the situation. The third Goddess, well, it could be said she's hard at work destroying her own land of Mesopotamia…"

"Do you mean Ishtar?" Mash asked with some hesitation.

They already told him about Ishtar's peculiar modus operandi, so that was an extreme way of describing her activities.

"Hmm… Well, that sounds about right. Well, there's no point highlighting that woman's faults now. I'm tired of it anyway. But of all the Goddesses, she would be the most manageable opponent."

"My King, are you commanding us to defeat Ishtar." Siduri broke her silence the moment that name was brought onto the table. "I cannot agree to that. No matter how much property damage Ishtar causes, she's still Uruk's patron deity. Fighting her would be…"

"How disappointing, Siduri. Even the Fugimaru siblings seem to understand what I am getting at." Gilgamesh interrupted her with a bored tone, causing her to let out a confused voice. "Who said anything about defeating that fool? There's no need for that. We are going to bring her to our side. More like taming a wild beast. And of course, that means that you, Faker, have to finally do what you've been postponing all this time!"

The red knight in question gave him a look reserved for mentally ill people. "What are you saying, Goldie? Are you finally starting to have dementia after working too much?"

Contrary to what he expected, the confused looks were pointed at him and not at the king. Was he the only one who didn't make any sense of what he said?

"If wasn't because, as your master, I can see that absurd skill of yours called 'EX-rank density' I would tell you the same. I'll have to break it down so that messed-up brain of yours can understand it. Of all the people here, you are the only one that fool seems to at least pay attention. Of course, that can also be because of a certain empress proclaiming to be Venus' incarnation…"

"Hey! Can't those eyes of yours that can see the future see who is clearly more beautiful!?"

"…but anyway. Just in case you screw up the negotiation, I have prepared a plan B."

"But King Gilgamesh, if I'm correct you are on really bad terms after… you know…" It was Okita who asked the question in everyone's head.

Well, more like she secretly didn't make sense of why Ishtar would treat Archer better and she just pretended to understand.

"And that isn't going to change. Regardless of her power, she's completely useless. However, her Bull of Heaven is an entirely different matter."

"Oh, the lethal weapon of the Gods that can destroy a city in an instant. Heh, I knew you had a playful mindset, King Gilgamesh."

"I would call that gambling more than playing, Merlin. Recruiting Ishtar would be like loading a jar without a cap onto a cart. Now, let's discuss the strategy…"

After that, they spent the rest of the morning discussing how to recruit the childish Goddess. At least, this time, the plan wasn't to "beat her to submission".

Or at least it wasn't their first option…

And that's it for now. Well, Ushiwakamaru got saved by the butterfly effect. King of Fakers' range support allowed the Chaldeans to escape from Nippur before Ushiwakamaru arrived to help them, causing her to avoid the future Gilgamesh saw. And of course, his and Okita's presence gave the group of servants a better sense of unity, giving Benkei the courage to do what he always lamented about not doing.

All in all, the future we're heading at is more similar to the distorted records seen in the Case Files collab event.

Now, you might think I'm portraying the Chaldean servants as weakened, but there's little you can do against an immortal opponent when you don't know if she's just regenerating fast or if she's actually immortal. I mean, who would have thought that such a powerful Excalibur blast wouldn't finish the job? That's why neither of the Fakers started to pull anti-immortal weapons and decided to buy time instead.

Of course, things aren't going to stay like that. There's a way to power up servants summoned by Chaldea after all.

The waifu picking up will start in the next chapter as you might expect.

As always, I would like to know your opinion about this chapter, and I hope I entertained you.

As for the next update, the same as usual. However, to compensate for the wait for this chapter, because I've seen there were some people patiently waiting for it, I'll drop a pair of omakes. I only did that a pair of times, but these ones aren't going to be related to this story. One is an idea I couldn't get out of my mind, so I decided to write it even if I most likely won't continue it. And the other is a little preview of the story that won the poll in my profile. Both feature King of Fakers Alter as the protagonist.

After writing them, I'm actually tempted to post a poll to decide which of them should I continues…

At any rate, I'll leave you with them then. Hasta la vista!

One-shot: Can a monster be a big brother?

"Are you really sure about this, Kerry?" The gorgeous woman that somehow became his wife asked with a worried tone.

She really looked like a snow fairy with her albino hair, pale skin, and red eyes. And her choice of clothes, primarily white only emphasized it.

In complete contrast, the man with messy black hair was dressed in a complete black business suit that gave him a gloomy aura. He was smoking a cigarette to ease the tension in his body as he finished drawing a magic circle in the center of the fancy room.

The entire building in which they were was devised to be a massive workshop, so the summoning would be performed without trouble just by being on the lower floors. However… if only that were their only problem…

"This is our best bet if we want to secure a peaceful future for Illya, Iri. The equipment I had prepared for the Holy Grail War didn't contemplate blowing it up. And by the time I get it, the Grail would be already active. On the off chance we get there with all the explosives without a master noticing us, our attempt might trigger a defense mechanism. Our best bet, is summoning a servant of our own and force him to destroy the Grail once it manifests."

The Magus Killer breathed in so hard that the cigarette fell apart in one go. He would never take such a risky gamble, but there was no other way. He already renounced using the almighty Grail to achieve his dream in favor to save his precious daughter, so there was no turning back.

"But… we no longer have the ancient relic to summon King Arthur after we declared our intentions to the Eiberns… If the servant we end up summoning isn't strong enough…"

"We don't have to necessarily fight. Just wait until the final stages of the war. In fact, since we don't have a catalyst, the servant that will answer my call will be the most compatible with me, right? That can save us the trouble of forcing him to destroy the Grail with the command spell and possibly cause them to attack us in revenge."

Irisviel von Einzbern said no more as her husband readied himself to perform the summoning ritual. The fact that Illya was in the same castle being taken care of by Maiya, Sella, and Leysritt was already dangerous, but it was better than leaving her in that castle back in Germany.

Kiritsugu took a moment to steel himself before extending his right arm with the command seals over the empty summoning circle.

"Let silver and steel be the essence."

"Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation."

"Let this honest wish under the moon be the one I abide by."

"Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall."

"Let the four cardinal gates close."

"Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate."

"Let it be declared now; your flesh shall serve under me, and my fate shall be with your sword."

"Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail."

"Answer, if you would submit to this will and this truth."

"An oath shall be sworn here."

"I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven;"

"I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell."

"From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint, protector of the holy balance!"

It was an improvised chant, but it worked. The mana in the atmosphere and coming from the ley line quickly gathered into the circle before it emitted a blinding light and he felt the burn in his hand caused by the command seals binding the newly summoned servant.

The overwhelming presence of an inhuman being reassured the Magus Killer, but the moment he regained his vision… he was left speechless.

The servant in front of him looked like… a 16-year-old boy with auburn hair and golden eyes, wearing a light, black combat armor and a red cloak matching a red bandana wrapped around his head. The attire seemed old, but at the same time, it seemed ahead of its time.

A mystic code instead of some legendary armor.

What he saw with his newly attained skills as a master was… well, it wasn't awful, but it was confusing. He was a Caster, but his parameters were slightly above the average of the three knight classes. His territory creation and item construction skills were at a pitiful rank, and instead, he had the independent action skill of the Archer class.

His noble phantasm was A+ rank, so they at least had the part of destroying the Grail covered at least.

As for the servant himself, he was carefully looking at his surroundings. The way in which he was reading the situation instead of trusting the information granted by the Holy Grail was pretty much telling. He didn't look anything like a magus, but neither did he seem like a chivalrous hero. His was something more akin to his. That of an Assassin.

However, the moment those golden eyes landed on them, the Magus Killer could feel how sweat formed on his forehead. His left hand even moved to grab the Thompson Contender in the inner pocket of his cloak as he stepped between the servant and his wife.

"So you are my master judging by those command seals… Then that homunculus there… she isn't providing me with magical energy, neither does she seem the combat type… Well, whatever." The servant spoke for the first time in a voice that matched his appearance and relaxed his posture by resting his right hand over his hip.

He wasn't fooling Kiritsugu. That was an attempt to get him to lower his guard, but the servant was still ready to attack at any time.

The Magus Killer was already prepared to negotiate, be he found himself hesitating. Was it worth it to try and convince this servant, or should he make things clear with a Command Seal? His magic resistance wasn't that high, but would he be able to even use it before being torn apart at this distance.

"Before we discuss anything, I want you to answer something. Why do you want to fight this war, master?"

Or maybe he was overthinking things. That was a quite direct question, and he had the feeling their lives depended on what they answered. But what would be the right answer here?

If a servant answered his call, then that should mean they what to have a wish granted by the Grail. But this "boy" seemed quite unfazed by the situation…

Kiritsugu turned around to look at his wife, and the answer he got was a slight nod after calming her trembling hands. She too agreed that it was better to come clean.

He didn't know how she arrived at that conclusion, or why she seemed so convinced, but he respected it and proceeded to just do that.

"We are fighting to destroy the Grail."

As expected, the red knight widened his eyes upon hearing that direct answer. However, instead of getting aggressive, he raised an eyebrow with curiosity.

"And why is that? Isn't a wish from an omnipotent device really tempting for anyone?"

Kiritsugu swallowed to refresh his dry throat. This was apparently going well, but he couldn't assume they were out of the wood just yet.

"My wife here is to be the lesser grail of this war, and our daughter is destined to be another lesser grail for a future war. To save them… I need to destroy this ritual. Even if it costs me having my dream accomplished. For such a selfish dream… will you lend me your strength, Caster?"

After a really long time, those lifeless black eyes now had a fire on them. Not even in his first years trying to become a "Hero of Justice" did he show so much resolution.

And that… caused a smile to slip on the servant's face. It wasn't that he wasn't mocking him though…

"Very well then. At least now destroying that corrupted thing will have an actual meaning aside from preventing anyone to mess things up by making a wish."

""Huh?""

Both Emiya Kiritsugu and Irisviel von Einzbern let out surprised voices upon hearing that.

"What do you mean by that, Saber? Old man Jubstacheit never mentioned that-"

"It's simple logic. After all, a device that isn't utterly corrupted would never be able to summon a horrible monster like me. Now then…"

The body of the red knight was suddenly engulfed in black flames, and the figure of the boy was replaced by that of a man taller than both of them. Messy white hair, piercing grey eyes, and his combat attire seemed to be more worn out.

But what really caused them to skip a beat was the monstrous white claw that replaced his right arm and the terrifying aura he now exuded. The words "horrible monster" felt completely short to describe him.

And to top it off, his real class, parameters, and skills were revealed to him, and they were absurd. What was even a Pretender class servant?

"Let us depart now, master. If things line up, we should get this done before the night ends."

The absolute confidence in his tone outweighed his monstrous aura, allowing the couple to follow him towards the exit.

They were quite skeptical at first about ending the war in one night, and Kiritsugu wanted to prepare things better to take out the masters while he fought the servants, but they quickly understood that was unnecessary the moment Pretender entered the battlefield.

They didn't know the reason, but five of the summoned servants were reunited in a single location that night. The docks, an isolated place where Pretender didn't have to worry about going all out.

They arrived in the middle of a fight between a golden Archer and a black knight they assumed to be Berserker by the way he was roaring more like an animal rather than a human. The power demonstrated by the two servants took Kiritsugu and Irisviel aback, and to top it off, they saw a homunculus that was most likely the replacement master sent by the Einzbern, accompanied by a girl clad in silver armor that had to be the King of Knights summoned using Avalon as a catalyst.

But their mysterious servant remained completely unfazed, and just waited for an opportunity to attack… which was presented to him on a silver platter.

Archer's master made the horrible mistake of ordering his servant to retreat with a command seal, most likely in fear of his servant getting worked up and revealing his trump card. Those seconds in which the Golden Knight was completely vulnerable after closing the Gate of Babylon were all that took Pretender to cross the distance and plunge his monstrous claw into his chest.

It was an instant kill. The fancy golden armor he was wearing amounted to nothing in face of that attack, and the golden knight disappeared shortly after having his spirit core demolished.

That couldn't be called a war. It was a slaughter. None of the servants summoned to this Holy Grail War stood a chance against the apex predator of the planet.

It was then that the Rider servant from a top of a chariot pulled by divine bulls started to spit some nonsense about joining his army, which gave Pretender the chance to destroy his noble phantasm with another swing of his claws. Just like with the golden knight, the divinity exuded by Rider just made him a walking target to the monster's God Slayer skill.

He was saved because Berserker and Lancer chose that moment to attack the monster. The black knight completely was the bigger threat as, despite the high-rank madness enhancement, he was still really proficient with the sword, prompting the monster to blow away Lancer with another swing of his claw and pull out his own weapons of choice.

It didn't last long. Pretender's ultimate technique with those Yin Yang swords gave him the opening to once again plunge his claw into the servant's chest.

However, that gave Rider the time to deploy a reality marble. Not that it made the difference. Bringing thousands of soldiers became meaningless the moment Pretender pulled out his real noble phantasm and started to fire swords in the same way the golden knight did. It obvious why was he the fastest murderer.

Even the light of Excalibur was obliterated by that cursed sword as opposing the monster was paradoxically contrary to fighting to protect the world. By the time the reality marble faded, the monster was the only one standing.

After that, hunting down the hundred bodies of the Assassin servant was actually the hardest part, but their master seemed to give up and just send his servant to die.

With all the servants defeated, they went to the cavern within Mont Enzo, where the Great Grail resided.

There, the demon inside the Grail tried to possess Irisviel and use the souls of the six heroes in her body to reincarnate, but with the use of another command seal…

"This is my Tsumukari Muramasa!"

A swing from the ultimate blade cut the demon's fate and sent him back into oblivion. The same attack bisected the Greater Grail, putting an end to the Holy Grail War forever.

"Well, it's over…" The monster turned to look at his master and his wife once they got out of the cave. "I should take my leave here and let you live your peaceful life. At least this time I didn't get stuck with a scumbag of a master."

A half-backed farewell. He only knew their names because of simple courtesy, and he didn't even have a name to give. Their relationship didn't have time to develop further than just "business partners", so there should be no problem for them to just bid him farewell and forget this even happened.

"I can't express how thankful I am to you, Pretender, but I have the feeling you'll just say that I don't need to." Either he thought the same or he was just as socially awkward, his master sent him off while pulling out another cigarette to ease the tension accumulated throughout the night.

However, his wife didn't have the same opinion if the troubled face she was making was anything to go by. After some seconds of silence, her red eyes widened as if she got a really good idea.

"Why don't you stay with us, Pretender? I have enough magical energy to sustain you as my familiar thanks to that independent manifestation skill of yours."

The monster's neutral face quickly turned into one of pure astonishment as he looked at her. The smile on her face told him that this wasn't some sort of joke, which made it even more confusing.

"What are you saying, Irisviel? Why would you want to stay near a monster like me?"

Surprisingly, Kiritsugu didn't even try to change her might, and just observed from the sidelines how the argument went. He could already see who was going to win.

"Well, Illya-chan would be very happy to have a nice big brother to look up to."

"What!? You want me, a monster that can become one of the seven Evils of Humanity at any time, to act as the big brother of the daughter you risked everything to save!? Is your brain completely fried!?"

"You say that, but you went only to kill the servants, leaving all the masters alive, even with some of them near the servants. You're a big softy at heart, just like Kerry here."

"I just don't like meaningless deaths, but that doesn't take the fact that I'm just a murderer."

"Oh, really? It seemed to me that you were trying to act more like a hero for a chance to me. Jumping to the fray and facing all those heroic spirits head-on like a gallant knight."

Pretender gritted his teeth at Irisviel teasing smile. He was caught red-handed. Humiliating Goldie was pretty much a vendetta from his previous manifestation, but for the rest, he was pretty much taking inspiration from his other self when he faced all those servants as summoned by the Beast.

But the finishing blow was yet to be delivered. And it came when the two maids arrived with a small bumble of sheets.

"So it is true you two triumphed, Ojou-sama, Kiritsugu-sama."

"We brought Illya-chan as you whished."

The two seemed that convinced about bringing the baby with them, but as monstrous as the servant was, being near him was actually the safest place.

Irisviel took her daughter, and after cuddling her for a moment, she let her have a direct look at Pretender.

"Look, Illya-chan! This is your new Onii-chan!"

The servant was expecting the poor little girl to freak out instantly, even if he was suppressing his presence as much as he could. But she did the opposite and started to extend her short arms towards him while laughing.

Whatever defenses he still had were melted there, and Irisviel knew it. How many times has it been since such a pure, warm emotion was directed at him? He used to reject those without thinking… but now he found himself completely unable as he scratched the back of his head.

"Alright, you win… I guess getting some vacations won't hurt…"

""Yay!""

Both mother and daughter sounded excited by it, and Kiritsugu rested his hand over his shoulder as if to say, "you have my condolences".

"If we're going to fabricate you an identity, then you'll have to think of a name at least."

"A name, huh? Well, if I had to choose one… I guess it would be Shirou."

"Emiya Shirou then. Welcome to the family."

From that moment on, for better or worse, he became an older brother to a girl that miraculously avoided a cruel fate.

Little did he know that taking care of her wouldn't be as simple as cooking her lunch and supporting her in her journey through school toward working life.

Preview: I guess I can play as the hero one last time... right?

"Lala-sama, please, stop resisting at once!"

"No! Let me go! I don't want to go back!"

That was it. Despite all her efforts, despite putting everything she had, she couldn't lose her pursuers. No matter how much she struggled with the immense strength she inherited from her father, it amounted to little in facing the royal guards sent by him.

Things were looking so good when the local whose house she ended up actually didn't freak out and was willing to listen to her. She thought that the Earthlings were for the most part oblivious to what happened outside their planet, but the golden-eyed boy seemed to just want to know why she barged into his house rather than asking for proof that she was really an alien.

But right when she was about to explain her situation, a blunder of her own ended her dreams of escaping an arranged marriage. Her warping device get her out of their sight, but the same couldn't be said about the little robot she created to save the trouble of changing clothes, and they followed it right to where she was.

The green eyes of the princess hailing from a distant galaxy sent a hopeful look at the human called Yuuki Shirou, but she discarded that thought almost immediately.

She shouldn't involve a local in her personal problems. Even if the chances of ending up as one of the aliens that were never seen again after being brought into that so-called "Area 51" were abysmal, disrupting the peaceful lives of the locals would make her feel horrible.

But just when she was about to give up and bid farewell to the boy that had been willing to help her despite don't even knowing her…

"That's enough."

""Huh?""

Both royal guards clad in black tuxedos turned their heads to look in the direction that voice came. It seemed that they didn't even register Shirou's presence due to their tunnel vision after finally finding the pink-haired princess.

And that caused the closest guard to him not to be able to react in time as a bare food hit him square on his face.

Those were six-foot tall mans with well-defined bodies, selected by her father himself to protect her, but he was blown away like a rag doll through the window they used to get into the room.

It was the perfect chance for her to escape as the other guard turned to look in the direction in which his comrade flew completely bewildered, but she was left awestruck as well. Humans shouldn't have a kick force similar to a speeding truck, should they?

Fortunately for her, the auburn-haired boy landed right between her and the other royal guard, prompting the latter to retreat a couple of steps and reevaluate the situation.

"This is none of your business, kid. Step aside and I'll overlook your sudden attack on a royal guard of Deviluke."

"Oh, but this became my business the moment you broke through my window in a literal sense. I'm just exerting my right as one of the owners of this property to kick out undesired guests. Besides…"

To their surprise… and absolute confusion, the boy brought out a measuring tape and extended it with utmost confidence.

"I don't need a reason to help someone in need."

Lala's heart skipped a beat. For a moment, the back of the boy seemed really gallant in her eyes, like that of a shining knight coming to rescue a princess in a fairy tale…

But him wielding a measuring tape of all things as a weapon ruined the heroic image the next moment. Even so, those words filled with resolve really got to her.

Meanwhile, the alien in black clicked his tongue and pulled out what looked like an extendable baton.

The man didn't take him seriously after that. He thought that he was just a delirious teenager that the princess brought into this mess, and that first attack must have been a lucky break.

"Well, I warned you, boy. This will hurt quite a lot, but when you wake up, you won't remember anything."

"Heh, we'll see about that."

That taunt was the icing on the cake, and the bulky alien just played into his hands.

"Wait, Shirou-"

Lala's worried voice went completely ignored as the guard attacked Shirou. He was fast, so fast that he would have been a blur to the human eye. But if you saw through that, it was a completely telegraphed attack to take Shirou out with a direct hit on his head.

A clanging sound left the two aliens surprised once again. Not only did Shirou react in time to block the incoming attack, but the seemingly harmless measure tape resisted the attack without problems.

"Wha-"

The royal guard then realized that he had been outplayed, but it was too late. The human quickly wrapped the tape around the baton, allowing him to step into the alien's guard and drive his elbow into his solar plexus.

Again, the strength behind the blow was abnormal, knocking the air out of the alien's lungs and leaving him completely defenseless for a follow-up right behind his neck, knocking him unconscious.

Lala found herself blinking to process what just happened. It happened so fast that the alien was already down when she finished warning Shirou. And the boy seemed completely unfazed as if what he just did was as casual as doing the chores of the house.

"That should buy us some time so you can explain to me what's the deal with these guys… Wait, you're not gonna tell me they are here to invade Earth and you came here to warn us, right?"

The way in which he said it as if that were just a hassle instead of a really big concern just augmented the princess's confusion.

Just… who was this boy that she happened to meet by chance?

Fortunately, his misunderstanding of her situation helped her to pull herself together and answer.

"No, nothing like that. You see, I-"

But she never got to finish as his face suddenly turned dead serious and his body tensed up as if he was expecting another attack. After it didn't come in the next seconds, he finally looked through the damaged window.

"That was a lot quicker than I expected… And this alien is no pushover like those guys… That's easily the level of a dead apostle, and a powerful one at that. Wait here while I deal with them, Lala."

After those cryptic words, the boy's casual clothes were replaced by a black combat suit with a red cloak over it… that appeared out of nowhere, and he jumped out of the window.

She was left in silence, without knowing how to react. After a long chase throughout the galaxy, this was too much for her brain to process in the span of a minute.

"Lala-sama, this is not the moment to space out!" The artificial voice of her robot creating her clothes finally manage to bring her out of her stupor.

That and the constant sounds of steel clashing that came from the roof of the house, which honestly was quite concerning.

"Judging by the description Shirou-sama gave, he must have been referring to Zastin-sama!"

That realization hit her like a truck. The captain of the royal guard, and basically her father's right hand. Shirou might have been able to defeat those guards, but there was no way he could defeat a man that had been present in the many wars waged to consolidate Deviluke's rule over the galaxy.

"Shirou!" Her body moved before she could think, and she jumped out the window to climb to the roof.

She was in such a rush that she didn't even stop to see the situation before shouting at the top of her lungs.

"Zastin, stop! Don't hurt Shirou! He's… he's my fiancé!"

Silence followed her words, and she slowly opened her eyes to see if that worked… only to stumble into another confusing situation.

Zastin, a gallant male clad in grey armor and wielding a sword emitting green light, was indeed immobile. However, his body was completely rigid, and his face had been completely pale, as if he saw death coming, before he turned to look at her with a baffled face.

On the other hand, Shirou's bare hand stopped inches from the alien's chest as he turned to look at her with an equally astonished expression.

"WHAT!?"