Crossover Anime: The King of Time? Actually, He's a Slacker!

church.

The stained glass windows filtered the afternoon sunlight, casting dappled golden rays into the empty church hall. The light spilled across the cold stone floor, adding a touch of soft warmth to this solemn and sacred place.

Mei Zhen sat upright on the first row of benches, her back straight, her fingertips resting lightly on her knees, her gaze calmly fixed on the statue of the deity on the altar in front of her. There was not a trace of superfluous energy around her, as if she had become one with the ancient church.

Suddenly, an almost imperceptible ripple of magical energy spread through the air, and without any warning, Enkidu's figure slowly materialized from the void.

He was still wearing that simple white robe, his bare feet stepping on the cool stone slabs, standing silently not far from Mei Zhen, his emerald eyes reflecting the light flowing through the window.

"Tonight, Karna and Arjuna will face off, beginning their fateful duel." Mei Zhen's tone was flat, as if she were stating something that had already been written.

"If nothing unexpected happens, Karna will be defeated, Rin Tohsaka will lose her Master status, and will thus withdraw from the Holy Grail War."

Enkidu tilted his head slightly, his emerald eyes looking at Mei Zhen, and asked calmly:

"What do you need me to do?"

"Go and stop them." Mei Zhen's gaze shifted from the statue to Enkidu.

"Don't let Karna leave the stage prematurely."

"It's not a good job," Enkidu sighed.

"I have a feeling that I'll be attacked by everyone."

"So it's best to avoid letting them run into each other," Mei Zhen suggested, then paused and explained.

"Rin Tohsaka is currently considered Shirou Emiya's unspoken ally. Tomorrow, Shirou Emiya will face Illyasviel, and without Rin's help, Artoria will undoubtedly be eliminated by Heracles."

"With two Servants missing right from the start, the Black Grail's expansion will accelerate, and at that point, the story will spiral out of control."

"It's that dark figure, isn't it?" Enkidu seemed to remember something, and his expression became serious.

"I've observed it from afar. It's lingering, waiting to devour the eliminated Servants. But... if, after our intervention, no more Servants are eliminated, will it launch an attack on its own, or simply devour humans?"

"Even if we don't intervene, it will still reach that point." Mei Zhen nodded.

"Its appetite will grow over time, but at least for now it is still within a controllable range."

"Can't we just solve it directly?" Enkidu asked again.

"It is essentially the Holy Grail, and it is difficult for you summoned Servants to deal with it. The only ones who can do this besides me are Gilgamesh, who has obtained a physical body." Mei Zhen shook her head.

"As the overseer of the Holy Grail War and the celestial scribe, I cannot intervene actively. As for Gilgamesh..."

She didn't say the second half of her sentence, but gave Enkidu a look that made him understand on his own.

Thinking of his best friend's personality, Enkidu couldn't help but feel ashamed. If Gilles were really allowed to deal with that thing, he might just casually throw out a few Noble Phantasms as a token gesture, and then, due to carelessness, send a big one directly to him, which would be a complete disaster.

If Shanshan steals EA, he'll win, but it's unlikely that Shanshan will steal EA.

"Besides, he'll be busy very soon," Mei Zhen added after thinking for a moment.

"Since you two are both involved in this Holy Grail War, do you think a certain goddess might follow?"

Enkidu was taken aback, but not too surprised, only feeling somewhat troubled. He didn't dwell on the matter of the goddess and instead asked...

"So, you don't plan to involve Mr. Lin?"

Mei Zhen said in a matter-of-fact tone:

"Of course, not at least not for now."

"You should understand that everything we're doing now is to prevent him from going to the worst possible outcome."

Upon hearing this, Enki stopped speaking and simply lowered his head in silence, as if deep in thought.

"Alright, there's no need to be too anxious," Mei Zhen comforted her.

"We don't need to twist the whole story, just make a small change at key points, and as for... where the story goes from here, let him decide."

"I understand," Enkidu nodded.

"Yes, thank you for your hard work," Mei Zhen's voice came softly.

Enki didn't say anything more, and his figure disappeared into the air as silently as when he came.

.........

The Emiya family.

Under the warm yellow light, Artoria sat quietly at the dining table, waiting. As if afraid she would be bored, Shirou Emiya lent her his phone to watch videos.

The screen was showing a live stream by Huiyao Ji. At that moment, Huiyao and Lin Shiye were teaching everyone how to make Yu Xiang Rou Si (shredded pork with garlic sauce). Artoria was watching with great interest and wished she could jump into the screen to taste it properly.

The soft hum of the range hood came from the kitchen.

Emiya Shirou was washing vegetables when he caught a glimpse of Matou Sakura beside him, and she stopped. The tips of her fingers holding the knife suddenly turned white, her other hand clutched her chest tightly, her shoulders trembled slightly, she was breathing shallowly, and her face was as white as paper under the light.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" He immediately turned off the tap, wiped his hands, and leaned over, his voice full of concern.

Sakura snapped back to her senses, quickly lowered her hand, and gave him a soft but forced smile.

"It's alright, senior." Her voice was still a little unsteady.

"It's probably just that I'm a little tired from standing for so long."

"Then you should go and rest in the living room. I can handle things here by myself." Shirou Emiya reached out to take the knife from her hand.

"Hmm..." Sakura was about to nod when the doorbell suddenly rang.

"Ah, I'll go open the door," she said quickly, as if she were in a hurry to escape something, and took off her apron and walked briskly towards the entrance.

Hearing the sound, Artoria raised her head and glanced curiously at the doorway, but her attention was immediately drawn back to the sizzling sound of hot oil on the screen.

Snapped--!

A sharp, piercing slap suddenly shattered the warmth of the room.

Almost at the same instant the sound rang out, Artoria sprang to her feet and, without the slightest hesitation, dashed towards the entrance like the wind. Shirou Emiya, not even having time to untie his apron, still clutching the kitchen knife in his hand, followed closely behind.

"cherry!"

The sight in the entrance hall made Shirou Emiya's blood rush to his head instantly.

Shinji Matou stood in the doorway, looking displeased. Sakura Matou, on the other hand, was slumped on the cold floor, one hand covering her slightly swollen left cheek, her hair falling down to obscure her expression, only her trembling shoulders betraying her emotions.

Artoria crouched down, holding Sakura protectively in her arms, and glared unhappily at Shinji Matou in front of her.

"...Huh?" Emiya Shirou paused for a second, then anger overwhelmed his reason.

"Shinji!"

He threw the kitchen knife onto the shoe cabinet next to him with a loud "bang," then strode forward and grabbed Shinji Matou by the collar.

"Hey~ What are you doing, Emiya?" Shinji Matou had a wicked smile on his face.

"I'm disciplining my sister, and you have to meddle too?"

"Why did you hit me?" Emiya Shirou questioned.

"So, I'm disciplining my disobedient little sister!" Matou Shinji abruptly shook off his hand, took a half step back, straightened his wrinkled collar, and spoke with an air of self-righteous arrogance.

"What have you been up to by not coming home for so many days?" He ignored Shirou Emiya and Artoria's unpleasant expressions and asked Sakura.

"You've grown wings and want to rebel?"

"No, no, brother..." Sakura's voice came through, trembling with tears.

Emiya Shirou's ears were ringing, and it felt as if two voices were violently tearing at his mind.

A calm voice told him: This is a family matter of the Matou family, a matter between the siblings. You, an outsider, should not interfere. Interfering will only make things worse.

But another voice was roaring and burning.

It's saying: This isn't a family matter. This is bullying.

It's saying: Sakura is the one who prepares breakfast for you every morning, the one who silently bandages your wounds when you're injured, and the one who just now forced herself to cook for you despite feeling unwell in the kitchen. She is an important person to you.

How could you just stand by and watch her be bullied like this?

Shirou Emiya didn't know which voice was right. He only knew that the anger surging in his chest was undeniable, and the moment he saw Sakura collapse to the ground, clutching her face, he had only one thought in his mind—to beat him up!

"Shinji!"

He let out a low growl, and with all his might, his clenched fist slammed into Shinji Matou's face.

boom--!

A dull thud rang out, and Shinji Matou fell backward to the ground, his head buzzing.

He covered his rapidly swelling cheek, staring incredulously at Shirou Emiya, his eyes swollen with surprise, anger, jealousy, and a twisted heartache that even he himself didn't realize.

"Emiya..."

Emiya Shirou clenched his fists and walked towards him step by step.

"Stop, senpai!" Matou Sakura suddenly shouted.

Emiya Shirou stopped in his tracks.

"Stop hitting me..." Matou Sakura said, trying to suppress her grievances.

"Brother, I will listen to you, please don't hit me anymore."

Shinji Matou slowly got up from the ground.

"That would be best."

After saying that, he left without looking back.