FATE: Target of Grand Master

"Cough...cough..."

Draco, now back to normal size, coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground. Even she herself was somewhat surprised to have survived Arthur's attack.

Seeing Xia Yan walk up to him, Draco said self-deprecatingly, "Players, feel free to laugh at me. Actually, I've always had a sliver of hope that you could defeat me, but I never expected you to actually do it. As a major villain, I'm really not up to the task."

Xia Yan squatted down and flicked Draco's forehead hard.

"It hurts!"

Draco covered his forehead, tears welling up in his eyes.

Xia Yan laughed, "You didn't cry when Arthur's holy sword attacked you, but now you're crying because of a flick on the head?"

"That's different! Arthur is an outsider, but you...you're one of us..."

Draco's voice grew softer and softer, but Xia Yan could still hear it very clearly.

"Welcome back, Nero."

Upon hearing Xia Yan expose his disguise, Nero was initially overjoyed, but his expression immediately darkened.

"Player, you've got it wrong. I'm not Nero, I'm Draco. Ouch!"

Xia Yan flicked Nero on the forehead again and then lectured her, "Draco will never treat me as one of her own. She will only treat me as her possession. The only Servant who can say that I am one of her own is Nero, who fought alongside me."

"But...but I've caused everyone so much trouble, how can I just pretend nothing happened and come back like this?"

Although Nero has an innocent and carefree personality, she is not incapable of distinguishing right from wrong. This can be seen from the fact that many of her policies during her lifetime were biased towards the common people. Therefore, even though Draco took control of her Spirit Origin, Nero was still able to clearly perceive what Draco had done, and naturally felt guilty towards Xia Yan.

"There's no 'but' about it. You are you, and Draco is Draco. If you couldn't regain control of your Spirit Origin, even if Xia Yan pleaded for you, I would have shattered your Spirit Core. But you still managed to regain control of your Spirit Origin at the last moment, which means you were fighting all along, and you are also our comrade-in-arms."

Nero was surprised to find that it was Morgan who had said these words, and he felt both touched and astonished.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Although you have a face I don't like, since you are Xia Yan's servant, as his wife, I naturally have to try my best to be tolerant. If you still feel guilty, then work harder in the trials to come and contribute your strength to Xia Yan."

Two streams of hot tears rolled down Nero's cheeks, and he hurriedly wiped them away.

While patting Nero's head to comfort her, Xia Yan gave Morgan a thumbs-up and mouthed, "As expected of my wife!"

Morgan didn't reply, but the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up.

"Xia Yan, our time in the real world is almost up. Fortunately, we have successfully completed our mission."

More than twenty followers, led by Jeanne d'Arc, who had come to provide support, gathered around Xia Yan and bid him farewell.

May the Lord bless you so that you may overcome all the hardships to come.

Joan of Arc made a praying gesture.

"Joan of Arc, make a pact with me."

After experiencing the practicality of Jeanne d'Arc's Noble Phantasm during the great battle, Xia Yan immediately considered contracting the saintess.

"I'm glad to receive your invitation, but this time we're not in the conventional realm, so we can't form a contract with the Master. If we have another chance to meet again, and you don't mind, then we can form a contract then."

Joan of Arc also showed a rare shy smile.

"Okay, it's a deal then."

"Holy Maiden, I advise you to pray that you never see this guy again. It's never a good thing if you run into him."

Typhon, standing to the side, couldn't stand the cloying scene. He crossed his arms, tilted his head, and looked smug.

"Typhon, regardless of whether we meet again in the future, I am still very grateful to you for coming to my aid this time."

Xia Yan thanked him in a calm tone, then immediately revealed a mischievous smile: "But then again, if you hadn't poured black mud into Nero, Draco wouldn't have been able to escape so easily."

Upon hearing Xia Yan's words, Typhon immediately clutched the hem of his clothes in embarrassment.

"Didn't I already reflect on my actions before? Why are you bringing it up again?"

Xia Yan wasn't prepared to let her off so easily, and pressed on, "You said it yourself, that was self-reflection. You haven't apologized to me and Nero yet."

"sorry."

Typhon hesitated for a moment, but in the end he honestly apologized.

"Nero, should we forgive her?"

Although Xia Yan is the Master, he does not represent the will of the Servants with his own will.

"Hmm. I forgive her."

Nero nodded weakly.

Although Draco's appearance was indeed the result of Typhon's catalysis, Nero was well aware that there was a possibility of him transforming into Draco at any time. This situation was like carrying a time bomb with him, and it was better to detonate it sooner rather than later at a more critical moment.

"Okay, then let's just leave it at that."

Xia Yan didn't make things difficult for Ti Feng anymore.

"Wait a minute, what about you?"

"What about me?"

Xia Yan did not understand Typhon's meaning.

"Then are you willing to forgive me?"

Typhon's voice was very soft, which was quite different from her usual tone of voice.

Do you want me to forgive you?

Xia Yan suddenly asked a question in a mischievous tone.

"I...I..."

Typhon struggled for a long time before finally managing to utter the words "I hope."

Xia Yan stopped teasing him and laughed, "Well, I forgive you, but this is a one-time exception. If there is a next time, you will be my enemy for life."

Typhon nodded silently.

"Xia Yan, you really are a very busy person. Even saying goodbye requires queuing up."

Finally, it was Lancer Artoria who got the chance to speak.

Before Xia Yan could reply, he felt a chill behind him.

Seeing the slight nervousness on Xia Yan's face, Artoria smiled and said, "I'm sorry, I can't form a contract with you this time. I can only look forward to the next opportunity to meet you. You don't have to always live in someone's shadow. As an excellent Servant, you must be able to balance your identity as a king with your identity as a servant."

Xia Yan immediately felt the chill behind him growing stronger and hurriedly said, "However, the status of a wife has another layer of meaning."

Artoria looked at Xia Yan with some surprise, then at what was behind him, her eyes conveying a sense of "You're not being mind-controlled, are you?"

"Hmph, who said it's necessary to balance the roles of king and servant?"

Gilgamesh interrupted without hesitation, "I will only rule the world as a king, and I will only treat my Master as a king. If my Master is some monstrous cultivator who doesn't even know how to deal with me, then I have no reason to waste my time."

With Xia Yan's reply and Gilgamesh's extremely self-centered remarks, the chill behind Xia Yan subsided considerably.

"Master, please take care."

"Yeah, you too, but don't overdo it, and remember to rest when you need to."

Apart from Xia Yan, the other Servants who were related to each other were also saying goodbye.

"Master, listen to how other masters care for their disciples."

Upon hearing Musashi and Iori's conversation, Cú Chulainn Alter immediately complained to Scáthach.

"Didn't I care about you?" Scáthach retorted.

"You'll only make me train harder."

"Is there anything wrong with training? Cú Chulainn, I feel like you've become lax around Xia Yan. How about I borrow you from Xia Yan for a while again so I can properly train you again?"

"I'm sorry, Master, I was wrong. I promise I will train hard and never disgrace the Celtics!"

Upon hearing that Scáthach was going to give him another grueling training session, Cú Chulainn felt a chill run down his spine.

"That's more like it."

Scáthach gave a relieved smile.

"You've had some really good luck this time, so make the most of it and stay with Xia Yan until the end."