To become a king and a magician

"But that's too dangerous, please understand, Master. Besides, why do you insist on going there? What is it that you want to confirm?"

Just to confirm one thing, he was so eager to use a Command Spell to bring her back that Artoria couldn't understand what made Natsukawa Torata so persistent.

"That's... Ugh—!"

The sudden, excruciating pain in his heart made Xia Chuanhu cry out. Then, wave after wave of agonizing pain assaulted his mind, shattering his conscious awareness bit by bit.

"Master? Please pull yourself together! Master!"

"Master——!"

Artoria called out to herself with immense worry and anxiety—this was the last thing Natsukawa Tora saw before losing consciousness.

35. The all-powerful Jill A-Meng!

Within the realm of consciousness.

Looking at Natsukawa Torama through Meryl's cell, Sajou Aika sighed helplessly, reached out her hand over the bars, grabbed Natsukawa Torama's hand, and dragged him in front of her.

"You've really suffered, you vixen."

Perhaps it was because his magic was constantly draining away, causing his heart to ache terribly, but even while unconscious, Natsukawa Torama's brows remained tightly furrowed. In the ten years she had been inside him, Sajou Aika had never seen him show such an expression.

This means that he is indeed suffering immense pain right now.

Gently stroking Natsukawa Torato's brow, Sajou Aika tried to soothe the pain between his brows; this was the only thing she could do now that all her powers were sealed away.

Unfortunately, Natsukawa Tora's condition did not improve much.

“Merry… Morgan…”

Gripping the railing made of light, Aika Sajou exerted force repeatedly, as if she wanted to crush the pillar of light. She could feel a slight stinging pain in her palms from her fingernails.

She muttered the names of those two women under her breath. If it weren't for the current situation, Ayaka Sajou would have already taken over Natsukawa Torato's body and sent both women to hell.

Just as Natsukawa Torato once said that only he could kill Sajou Aika, the same applies to her.

"Cheer up, you vixen! You yourself said you would never die before me... I won't allow you to fall into the hands of anyone other than me."

"You didn't completely break down even after being tortured like that by me ten years ago, so you won't lose to this level of torture now, right? Don't tell me that your steely will has been worn down in the past ten years, or I'll be utterly disappointed."

Sajou Aika's mutterings did not receive a response from Natsukawa Tora, but perhaps her voice had an effect, because her tightly furrowed brows visibly relaxed a little.

Seeing this change, Ayaka Sajou finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Wake up quickly, you vixen. If you don't wake up soon, you really won't get anything back."

"You will become the person you were ten years ago again. The person who had nothing, was incredibly weak, and was the original you."

——————————————————————————————————————

The real world.

Looking at Scáthach examining Natsukawa Torato's body and Aozaki Aoko sitting opposite her, Artoria bowed her head first and said, "Thank you very much for your help, Lancer and Ms. Aozaki."

"Just call me Aoko, Saber. I have a good relationship with Tora, so you don't need to be distant with me."

Aozaki Aoko smiled.

Not long ago, while she was strolling down the street with Scáthach and scouting enemy positions, she happened to encounter Artoria carrying Natsukawa Tora out of an alley. After seeing that Natsukawa Tora was unconscious, Aozaki Aoko immediately took the two of them to the place where she and Scáthach lived.

"Lancer, how is Tiger?"

“It’s not good, but it’s not bad either. His situation is a bit strange.” Scáthach replied with a frown. “Master, I remember you told me before that this person is a half-Servant, right? He has the Spirit Origin of that Knight King fused within him.”

"Hmm, what's wrong with this?"

"The part of his power that belongs to a Servant... is gradually disappearing."

Scáthach's words surprised both Aozaki Aoko and Artoria.

Is the half-Servant part of Natsukawa Torama disappearing?

"What does this mean? Is Tiger no longer a half-servant?"

“It’s even more serious than that.” Scáthach’s expression was somewhat grim. “After the actual examination, I discovered that he had been in a very strange state all along, his whole being kept in a state between life and death. Simply put, he was always in a near-death state.”

Near death?

Aozaki Aoko stared incredulously at Natsukawa Tora on the bed: "Near death... How is this possible? He never looked like someone who was near death before. He was always full of energy, and I felt like I had to satisfy him several times over."

“Because his half-servant part has been sustaining his life,” Scáthach explained. “King Arthur is the ruler of Britain, the incarnation of the red dragon, and possesses extremely strong vitality. Together with the scabbard Avalon, the two sustained his life and pushed him to the point you described.”

"But now, both of their abilities have been weakened to the extreme, barely enough to keep him alive and prevent him from dying completely. Moreover, because he is no longer a half-Servant and his body has returned to that of an ordinary person, he has lost that extraordinary amount of magical energy generation. His power is now even less than yours, Master, right?"

These words, like a bolt from the blue, reached the ears of Aozaki Aoko and Artoria.

Has the situation really gotten this bad? How could Natsukawa Torato, who was once so powerful that he could save the world, be so weak now?

Although that's already a very high level for a magician, but...

"It's impossible to fight the King of Uruk with all my might like I did on the first night. He could even die at any moment now—it's a real shame. I thought he was the man who could bring me death."

"Lancer, do you have a way to save the tiger?"

Aozaki Aoko asked.

Scáthach shook her head decisively: "No, his situation is too special. It's already a miracle that he can still exist in the realm of life. To change the situation, we can only integrate something into his body that is equal to or even greater than King Arthur's spirit origin."

"In short, we need to make him a Demi-Servant again. Of course, there might be a Noble Phantasm in the treasury of the King of Uruk that can solve the current situation."

At this point, Scáthach glanced at Artoria and then smiled, "So, what do you two plan to do? Is it that you, Saber, are going to sacrifice yourself? Or are you going to defeat Archer and obtain a Noble Phantasm that can save your life?"

"Is there even a question?"

No need to even think about it.

Aozaki Aoko stood up abruptly: "Lancer, let's go, let's take down that golden Archer and make him spit out the Noble Phantasm that can save Tora—Saber, could you please stay here and watch over Tora...?"

“No, please let me go.” Artoria said solemnly, “We are very grateful for your help to my Master and me, but we cannot let you take risks for us. I will go and ask Archer for the Noble Phantasm.”

"I believe that neither of you will harm the Master. So in the meantime, please take care of the Master in my stead."

36. Another Guardian

Night fell quickly.

Before we knew it, it had gotten completely dark.

Also in the new capital, in a house near the town of Fukayama—Artoria came here after learning of Lydel's location from Aozaki Aoko.

“I didn’t expect you to come here alone, Saber.”

Seated on the ornately decorated sofa, Gilgamesh looked at Artoria, who appeared before him with a sword in hand: "Where is your Master? I haven't seen him this time. Could it be that he changed his tactics because he knew he couldn't defeat me?"

The absence of Natsukawa Torato was not good news for Gilgamesh. Last night's battle had given him a long-lost thrill of fighting a powerful enemy and the joy of victory.

So he was really looking forward to tonight. The Spirit Master Natsukawa Torato had already been defeated, and next up was the Holy Sword Master Natsukawa Torato.

“I am not here to fight you, Archer.”

However, to Gilgamesh's surprise, Artoria did not show any hostility: "Of course, if you are willing to fight, I would be happy to accept the challenge, but before that, please let me ask you a question, Archer."

"Ho ho~~~ Do you have any questions for me? Sure, I grant your permission. Ask away, there's nothing in this world that I don't know."

"Does your treasury contain any magical artifacts capable of reviving those on the verge of death?"

“Of course,” Gilgamesh replied decisively. “All treasures, past and present, East and West, reside in my treasury. Weapons and armor go without saying, but the elixir of immortality that can retrieve souls from the underworld and revive the dead also exists.”

Yes, there is!

Artoria's eyes lit up instantly, and Gilgamesh, noticing the change in her expression, couldn't help but chuckle, "So what you want to know is about the elixir of immortality, Saber. A mere Servant is actually interested in the elixir of immortality... Let me guess, you wouldn't happen to want to obtain the elixir of immortality from me, would you?"

"If I say I want it, will you give it to me, Archer?"

"Hahahaha! Of course it's impossible!" Gilgamesh laughed and rejected the idea outright. "What a naive idea, Saber. Even in my treasury, she is a first-class treasure. I would never give her to anyone else."

"But if you are willing to submit to my command, then it is not unreasonable to bestow this as a reward upon my subjects."

"Are you insulting me, Archer!" Artoria immediately glared at Gilgamesh, sword in hand. "You surely know that I will never tolerate such arrogant words!"

"Then you should also know that I will not give you the elixir of immortality just because of your words—but it is quite unexpected, Saber. I thought you came to fight me, but I didn't expect you to come for the elixir of immortality. Why are you suddenly interested in the elixir of immortality?"

Gilgamesh's question silenced Artoria.

She hesitated whether she should tell Gilgamesh about Natsukawa Tora, since he was an enemy, and revealing this would undoubtedly put her at a great disadvantage.

Seeing that Artoria remained silent, Gilgamesh sneered: "It doesn't matter if you don't speak, I can figure it out too—the elf is probably on the verge of death right now, isn't she?"

"Varied--"

"Why the surprised look, Saber? Judging from your situation, this is an easy conclusion to draw, isn't it?" Gilgamesh shifted to a more comfortable position on the sofa. "What happened? Who killed the elf before I did? No, there wasn't any strong magical reaction during the day, so you were ambushed?"

"..."

"Hahahaha! Is that really so! You were actually ambushed! Hahahaha! How humiliating and pathetic, you spirit master!"

Having confirmed the situation from Artoria's silence, Gilgamesh couldn't help but burst into maniacal laughter, but the next second he immediately fixed his icy gaze on Artoria: "Where did this bastard come from? How dare you steal my prey?"

"About this..."

Since most of her thoughts had already been seen through, Artoria felt there was no need to hide anything anymore. Besides, she had come seeking the elixir of immortality, a fact that Gilgamesh would inevitably find out sooner or later.

After listening to Artoria's account and various speculations, before Gilgamesh could even speak—

"Are you telling the truth, Saber?!"

In the corner of the room, a hidden door suddenly opened, and Lydia rushed out: "Tiger is dying... Is that true?"

"Are you... Archer's Master?" Artoria glanced at the Command Seals on Lydel's hand. "I have no reason to deceive you, otherwise I wouldn't have come here to ask Archer about the Elixir of Immortality."

"Merry actually did such a thing..."

Although she knew all along that Meryl wasn't a good person, Lydel always thought that she would only play some pranks on Natsukawa Tora at most. She never expected that this time she would actually bring Natsukawa Tora to the brink of death.

"Archer, can you produce your elixir of immortality?"

"You want me to save the spirit servant? To lend a helping hand to the enemy is an utterly foolish act, witch." Gilgamesh frowned in displeasure. "That is an obstacle to your obtaining the Holy Grail. Even if you are in love with him, if he gets in your way, you must eliminate him—aren't magicians that kind of beings?"

Indeed, magicians are basically a heartless group of people—with very few exceptions.

"Besides, why would you think that elf needs my help?"

"Huh?"