FATE: Target of Grand Master

If it were a normal Arcueid, with the body of a True Ancestor, she could break free from Gandr instantly. However, due to her Berserk state and her Master's misunderstanding, Arcueid's physical abilities were greatly reduced, and she was paralyzed by Gandr for a full five seconds.

When Arcueid broke free of her restraints, Nero's seven fire-breathing dragons had already engulfed her.

At first, Arcueid defended herself with her claws, but as her already battered nails broke one by one, Arcueid was completely defenseless for a moment. In that instant, the flames formed by the seven fire dragons ignited her body, and Nero's greatsword pierced Arcueid's chest.

"Hahaha..."

The Golden Theater vanished, and Nero's magic was exhausted at that moment. The scene froze on Nero piercing Arcueid with his greatsword.

"This...how is this possible!"

Incredulously, Kazuki slumped to the ground.

"Impossible! Even betting against Satan wouldn't be possible! How could God possibly lose!"

As he crawled on all fours toward Arcueid, Moji looked like an infant seeking its mother's protection.

"God! Answer me! Respond to my cry!"

However, Arcueid remained silent, as always.

"Why? Why won't you answer me?!"

"Watomonji shouted hysterically. At this moment, he must have been filled with extreme confusion and loss, and perhaps even a trace of anger."

"Why? Why? Why..."

Woto Monji's shouts gradually weakened, not because he was powerless to shout, but because his existence began to disintegrate in this space.

Even now, Xia Yan still couldn't believe that they had actually defeated Arcueid, just like Kishinami Hakuno.

"Cheer up! Arcueid! Think of Tohno Shiki! He'll come for you! You two! You have to stay together!"

Nero's words surprised Xia Yan, who was standing a little distance away. Nero really seemed to be really into the story of Tsukihime.

However, Xia Yan could completely understand her feelings.

"Please, before you say that, could you please pull your sword out of my body first?"

Nero was somewhat incredulous when he first heard Arcueid's voice.

"Nero, draw your sword first."

After Xia Yan repeated his words, Nero finally came to his senses and drew his greatsword.

"Ouch, that hurts!"

Arcueid rubbed her chest and complained in pain, but her tone was very relaxed, just like an ordinary person reacting to a scraped skin.

As Arcueid rubbed it, the gruesome wound on her chest began to heal at a visible speed, Arcueid's heterochromatic eyes, one red and one purple, returned to a pair of red, and her entire demeanor changed, as if the shackles that had been imposed on her had finally been removed.

"Finally, I'm free. I just ran into a somewhat interesting human and thought I'd play along with him for a while, but it turned out like this."

After the wound healed, Arcueid rubbed her arm, looking relieved.

"However, that attack just now was really powerful; it actually managed to injure me, a True Ancestor."

Arcueid praised Nero.

"Normally, given my temper, I would have definitely retaliated fiercely, but considering you helped me remove my shackles, let's consider this matter even. How about that? I'm very magnanimous, aren't I?"

Arcueid stood with his hands on his hips, a proud expression on his face.

"Huh? That's it? We hurt you to help you regain your senses, so shouldn't the good outweigh the bad? True Ancestor, you're so petty!"

Nero's discontent surprised Arcueid.

"Huh? Is that so? But that really hurt! I haven't felt that much pain in ages since I broke up with Shiki!"

Seeing that Arcueid was wavering, Xia Yan immediately took over and "deceived" him.

"Princess, let's go over what happened. Because you're in shackles, you're not in good health. To help you recover, the first thing we need to do is remove those shackles, don't you agree?"

Arcueid thought for a moment, then nodded, finding no problem.

"Alright. Well then, in order to break free of these shackles, we must first defeat you. Even if you're not in good condition, you're still a True Ancestor. It's absolutely impossible to defeat you without causing any damage. Moreover, a minor injury isn't enough; it has to be an injury like the one you just suffered that you can feel. So, this is the price we have to pay to help you recover, and it can't be considered our fault."

Nero glanced at his own musician beside him, as if to say, "Musician, I was just trying to argue that the merits outweigh the demerits, but you're even more ruthless than me, directly saying that there are only merits and no demerits."

However, upon closer examination, Xia Yan's argument cannot be considered sophistry; the key lies in whether the person he is trying to persuade is a simple-minded individual.

Arcueid lowered his head slightly as if in thought, then raised his head after a moment and nodded vigorously.

"Master, you're right. My judgment just now was indeed somewhat flawed. You've done me a great favor, and I must express my gratitude."

Looking at Arcueid's serious expression, Nero was certain that the True Ancestor in front of him was an "easy target".

Xia Yan stepped forward slightly, blocking Nero's somewhat strange expression to prevent Arcueid from noticing anything amiss.

Arcueid gazed at Xia Yan for a long while with her captivatingly beautiful eyes, then stretched out a hand, and a string of crystal-clear pendants, as clear as jewels, appeared out of thin air in front of her.

"I can tell that Master is also an 'unlucky guy' with a complicated fate, just like Shiki. So, this pendant should come in handy someday."

Xia Yan looked at the pendant that Arcueid had handed him and gave her a look that seemed to say, "Please explain."

"Simply put, this is a crystal formed from my magic. It has no function on its own, but it can be sensed by other 'me's' from other worlds who are also 'True Ancestors'. Maybe one day, they will become interested in you and come to lend you a hand."

Arcueid explained with a smile.

"However, if you upset them, it might just be a natural disaster."

After hearing Arcueid's words, Xia Yan, who had been feeling somewhat smug, suddenly felt the pendant in his hand getting "hot".

Seeing Xia Yan's slightly embarrassed expression, Arcueid smiled with satisfaction.

"Alright, now we're even."

Before Xia Yan and Nero could respond, Arcueid turned and walked to the side wall of the arena.

With a casual flick of her arm, a hole appeared in the side wall that had remained intact even after being bombarded by a Noble Phantasm, large enough for a person to pass through, as if the arena, which could isolate everything, had no right to stop her from leaving.

"Then I'll be going now. Bye-bye, Master, and beautiful Saber."

Arcueid leaped lightly and disappeared into the cave.