FATE: Target of Grand Master

"Morgan, if you just let go of my hand, I'll believe you a little more."

Euryale continued to lead the charge against Morgan's monopolistic practices.

"Exactly, exactly. Your Majesty Morgan, even if you're going to hog the food, you can't be this blatant about it."

Musashi also joined in, fanning the flames.

"Honey, you heard what they said, don't you have anything to say?"

Morgan looked at Xia Yan in his arms.

What can I say? They're both my flesh and blood!

"Ahem..." Xia Yan cleared his throat, gently released Morgan's embrace, and said righteously, "Alright, we're still in the trial, and there are outsiders here. If there are any problems, we can sit down and discuss them amicably when we get back to the safe house."

At this moment, the "outsider" that Xia Yan was talking about was looking at Xia Yan and his followers with a completely bewildered expression.

Why do these Servants seem to know Xia Yan so well?

Could these all be his followers?

No way, that number is outrageous!

"Linghu Shi, would you like to hear my explanation?"

Xia Yan, who had temporarily put aside the internal conflict, quickly went to talk to Linghu Shi in order to clear himself of any trouble.

"Okay, go ahead and say it."

Although there were still many things about Xia Yan that puzzled her, he never tried to harm her. Otherwise, with his current number of followers, he could have taken care of her in no time.

"You have the ability to tell if someone is lying, so you should know that I have never lied from beginning to end, but I have indeed concealed some things. As you can see, all the Servants behind me are those who have made a contract with me, except for Gilgamesh over there catching up with Enkidu and Merry, who is being chased by your Arthur. So it is true that I was separated from my Servants as I told you before."

However, I was indeed forcibly dragged into this trial by Draco, and the extent to which I was separated from them was like being on different worlds apart. As for Tiamat, she wasn't a Servant I had contracted before entering this trial; she only arrived when you questioned me, so she doesn't know anything about my situation with Nero, or rather, with Draco.

Xia Yan's words answered the questions of "Why didn't Xia Yan take out so many Servants from the beginning?" and "Why was Tiamat surprised by Xia Yan's contract with Draco?", but his explanation was not over yet.

"As for Draco, it's a bit complicated. To put it simply, I initially contracted with Nero, but in my previous trial—the Absolute Demonic Front: Battlefront—she was affected by the Black Mud and transformed into Draco, bringing me from her own trial to yours. I met you when I escaped alone from Draco's palace, and I don't need to explain the rest, right?"

After hearing Xia Yan's explanation, Linghu Shi did not relax, because Xia Yan still had a crucial question to answer.

"So what's your attitude towards Draco now?"

Xia Yan knew he couldn't avoid this question and had to give Linghu Shi a clear answer.

"Defeat her, but if possible, I don't want to kill her. After all, she is also my Servant. It would be best if I could persuade her to return after rendering her powerless."

This answer was exactly what Linghu Shi had expected.

Putting myself in their shoes, if any of my Servants defected, I probably wouldn't immediately kill them. Before the situation became irreversible, I would still have a sliver of goodwill towards them.

"Xia Yan, I think you'd better not have such fantasies about her."

Morgan walked over to Xia Yan, clearly pessimistic about Draco's potential return.

"Son, Mommy thinks bad beasts are very difficult to train, and we can't be soft-hearted when it's time to take action."

Although Tiamat was still somewhat angry that Morgan didn't acknowledge her as her mother, she shared Morgan's views on Draco.

Xia Yan could understand Morgan and Tiamat's concerns, but Draco was, after all, his contracted servant.

"I understand that if it really comes to that last step, there's nothing I can do, but before that, please at least let me try."

Morgan and Tiamat exchanged a glance and said nothing more, which was a sign of respect for Xia Yan's decision.

Boom!

Arthur chased Meryl around the Great God Tower's main hall three times before finally seizing an opportunity. He kicked Meryl to the ground in a corner and then plunged the Holy Sword into the head of the white-haired succubus.

Knowing escape was hopeless, Mary pretended to finally recognize Arthur, waving and saying, "Oh my, isn't this my lovely Arthur? Why are you so tense?"

"How dare you say that! Merlin, you were acting all high and mighty like a hermit before. If I had known you would come out on your own, would I have needed to travel between worlds like this!"

"That was the experience of other 'yous,' not the one suffering now. Is it really necessary to get so angry?"

Mary reached out, ready to touch Arthur's face as a sign of affection.

Snapped!

Arthur slapped the door open without giving him any face.

"So what! I'm going to demand an explanation for those 'Arthurs' who listened to you and got completely fooled!"

Seeing that she couldn't fool them, Mary could only put on a smiling face.

"Oh, it's because something unexpected happened, and then I saw BB doing something really interesting, so..."

"Because it looks interesting, so!"

Arthur's eyes seemed to spit fire, but he suppressed his anger and said seriously, "Listen carefully, Merlin. Every version of myself, when not summoned by a specific Master, travels through various worlds according to your prophecy, solely to find and destroy the beasts foretold in your prophecies. And yet, you interfered with me, who was diligently doing my work, simply because you found it amusing—interference that wasn't even in the prophecy! You..."

Seeing that Arthur was about to unleash his anger on her in a way that was many times greater than before, Mary immediately looked at Xia Yan: "Help! Xia Yan!"

However, Morgan first gently stroked Xia Yan's ear, casting a spell that blocked out Merry's voice.

Seeing Morgan's "you got what you deserved" look, Mary could only sigh helplessly.

Seeing her Prince Charming venting his anger on the white-haired nightmare, Linghu Shi not only didn't stop him, but also gestured for Gawain and Richard to go over and see if Arthur needed help.

Everyone watched the spectacle together, and even Gilgamesh and Enkidu, who were standing far away, burst into hearty laughter.

After this little incident, Xia Yan and Linghu Shi both looked at Tian Ye and Cai's corpses lying on the ground.

Although neither of them liked her, at Xia Yan's suggestion, they found a piece of land nearby and buried her there.

"Master, I'm back."

After burying Tianye and Cai, Noah returned as promised.

Linghu Shi, who had thought that only Nemo Lingki would return, was overjoyed and immediately inquired about Noah's condition.

"I'm sorry, Master, it seems I gave you unnecessary hope. I can't stay; I just wanted to at least return Nemo to you before I left."

Hearing Noah's words, Linghu Shi was also disappointed, but she quickly cheered up and assured Noah, "Leave Nemo to me."

"Well then, goodbye, Master."

"Well, goodbye, Noah."