To become a king and a magician

[That was a beautiful strike! Saber, and Lord Natsukawa!]

Odysseus's voice came out, tinged with excitement and trembling, even though the wooden horse's upper body—especially its head—was severely damaged by the shelling just now, and the cockpit nearby was also quite damaged, and he himself, as the pilot, was also injured as a result.

However, he did not experience any negative emotions; all he felt was excitement at encountering a powerful enemy and exhilaration at fighting another mecha!

As retaliation, let me unleash my full power and show you my "bombardment"!

The armor on the chest of the giant wooden horse split open, revealing a black body similar to a human body underneath. On the chest of the machine god, a ball of azure light rapidly condensed and expanded at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the intense magical fluctuations trembled the surrounding atmosphere and space!

Even standing a kilometer away, Artoria could feel the magical fluctuations.

They exchanged a glance, and without much further communication, their synchronized thoughts allowed them to understand each other's ideas. Spiritual resonance was much faster than verbal communication.

therefore--

[Magic reloading in progress, 100% power output allowed, Dragon Vein Incineration Type Artillery Armament - Excalibur - Launch ready!]

"Come on, Odysseus, this strike will send you on your way!"

[I couldn't ask for more—go all out, Trojan Horse! At least end it all with one strike! "The Great Trojan Horse of the End (TroiaIppos)!"]

On the right is a beam cannon interwoven with crimson and gold spirals.

On the left is a light cannon as blue and clear as the sky.

Two beams of light, as if to tear this illusory world apart and destroy it, collided spectacularly directly above Wei Yuanchuan after a moment of flight and a moment of silence!

"boom------------!"

The world was filled with dazzling brilliance.

93.SSSS.King Arthur

A battle between giants.

The first things that come to mind are probably the Titans from Greek mythology and the giants from Norse mythology—which is also what Odysseus is thinking about now.

However, in that distant age of gods, there must have been countless giants like him who lay on the ground after their defeat, gazing up at the sky.

The two sides clashed with their full-force beam cannons, resulting in Odysseus's defeat.

In terms of firepower alone, the Trojan Horse's main cannon is still somewhat inferior to Excalibur.

The left half of the giant wooden horse was completely destroyed, the cockpit collapsed, and the entire machine could no longer be maintained. Now it can only lie helplessly on the ground like a disabled person.

Fortunately, the large transport hull where Aozaki Touko and the others were located was unharmed. This was the first thing Odysseus confirmed and felt relieved about after realizing that he had lost the battle.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

A heavy, earth-shaking sound came, and the crimson dragon giant appeared before Odysseus and crouched down. Two beams of light, like projections, were cast from its eyes in front of Odysseus.

It's Natsukawa Tora and Artoria.

"You lost, Rider."

"Yes, the result is quite obvious... I originally thought that if we attacked during your weakened state after the battle, our chances of winning would be greater, but I didn't expect to be defeated anyway."

Is it a period of weakness?

Natsukawa Tora shrugged: "Then you really picked the wrong opponent. Neither I nor Lia have any concept of a weak period. At least in terms of magic power, there is absolutely no problem. The only thing that can prevent us from exerting our strength is physical and mental fatigue."

"However, one or two battles are not enough to exhaust us to the point of being unable to fight."

Artoria is a battle-hardened warrior, and long battles are commonplace for her, let alone such a short time. Natsukawa Tora, on the other hand, simply didn't expend much effort. Even though he fought so fiercely with King Solomon, it was actually only about the same as sprinting 400 meters; he wasn't even close to being tired.

Looking up at the giant before him, Odysseus's lips curled into a smile: "It's a truly magnificent machine, almost as if the two have merged into one."

"Actually, it's pretty much the same, but I still hope that you, Master, can explain before we fuse."

"There wasn't time to explain just now. Besides, there probably won't be a next time."

Natsukawa Torato looked at Odysseus: "Berserker, Archer, Lancer, Rider—that means four Servants have left the stage. If it's just to fulfill wishes, there's no need for the Holy Grail War to continue."

"Huh? What does this mean?" Artoria frowned in confusion.

"Literally, to use the Holy Grail, it's not necessarily necessary for all six Servants to be destroyed. The reason that so much magical power is needed is simply to fix the hole." Natsukawa Tora pointed to the sky. "The Throne of Heroes is an existence located outside the world, on the same plane as the Vortex of Root. When a Servant is defeated and returns from the human world to the Throne of Heroes, a hole leading to the outside world will be opened."

"Using the magical power of the six defeated Servants to fix that hole, so that the final victor can travel through that hole to the outside of the world and reach the Root—that's basically what the Holy Grail War is all about."

"But there's no need for that now, since none of the remaining three groups want to use the Holy Grail to reach the Root."

Natsukawa Tora explained, spreading his hands.

Maris Billy desires immense wealth through the Holy Grail, Arcueid has no interest in the Grail or the Root, and the same applies to Natsukawa Torata—if it's simply about fulfilling wishes, the magical power of the four Servants is sufficient.

"Are you so sure Assassin won't compete with you?" Odysseus asked.

Waving the Command Seal in his hand, Natsukawa Torama replied with a smile, "I know Assassin's Master. That girl and her Servant have always been on my side, and the contract and such were already set up a long time ago."

Even if the Holy Grail War ends, Okita Souji will not return to the Throne of Heroes, but will remain in the mortal world because of his contract with Natsukawa Torama. This is Sajou Rei's revenge for the Counter Force's scheming against Natsukawa Torama. Even if the outcome is ultimately beneficial, the act of scheming itself still makes her deeply unhappy.

(In other words, this Holy Grail War, from the very beginning, was just a gathering of old friends.)

Odysseus couldn't help but laugh and cry. The prize was the Holy Grail, which could grant any wish, but only one group seriously wanted to get it, while the rest were all people who didn't care about the Holy Grail.

This is probably the most peaceful Holy Grail War in history, right?

"Buzz~~~~~"

Points of light began to scatter on Odysseus's body, and the giant wooden horse gradually disappeared into light.

Are you leaving?

"The machine has been destroyed, and I myself have suffered considerable injuries... Having taken that attack head-on, my withdrawal was inevitable. Lord Natsukawa, please have a proper talk with my Master later. I think she would like to tell you some things."

"Teacher? I will."

Crouching down, Natsukawa Tiger extended his hand to Odysseus: "Speaking of which, you promised to let me ride in your mecha. If you didn't keep your promise this time, please make sure to do so next time."

"Uh... next time, I probably won't have this part of my memory. But I will remember it carefully, and I hope that one day I can fight alongside you in this way."

"I'm really looking forward to it too."

The thought of Natsukawa Tora fighting alongside Gundams is exciting, but he wonders if he'll still have an excellent pilot and fusion material like Artoria by his side then.

"Well then, see you again sometime, Lord Natsukawa, Saber."

As soon as he finished speaking, Odysseus and his mecha transformed into a dazzling light and soared into the sky.

Rider Odysseus exits the stage.

As the mech disappeared, Mordred and the others, who were originally inside the mech's transport bay, also landed on the ground in the light.

Looking at the people on the ground, Natsukawa Tora had a thought. The summoning magic that had been operating to maintain the connection between the huge being and the two immediately stopped. The huge body standing on the ground decomposed back into two people in a dazzling red light.

"Master! Father!"

The moment their feet touched the ground, before the two could even steady themselves, Mordred, who had been rushing over, jumped onto Natsukawa Torato's neck: "So cool! Master! Father! That enormous thing you two looked like after you merged was so awesome! Can you make one for me too?!"

"Lord Mordred! Get off your Master immediately, this is extremely rude!"

"What does it matter—Master, can I get one too?"

"If there's a chance, definitely, but before that, you'd better get off me!"

After forcefully pulling Mordred off him and throwing her to Artoria to hold down, Natsukawa Torato looked at Aozaki Touko and Aozaki Aoko.

94. The Holy Grail War is about to end

Lancer Scáthach.

Rider Odysseus.

The two Servants of Aozaki Aoko and Aozaki Touko have now left the stage one after the other, which means that the two have completely withdrawn from this Holy Grail War.

Of course, neither of them had any real desire for the Holy Grail. Aozaki Aoko wanted to stand on the opposite side of Natsukawa Torata and fight her with all her might to see clearly the gap between them, something she could do anytime later. Aozaki Touko, on the other hand, was motivated by Merry's nonsense and her own thoughts.

"You defeated Rider head-on, which is also a way of saying you defeated me head-on."

Aozaki Touko looked at her disciple in front of her.

At this moment, she could still vaguely recall the first time she met Xia Chuanhu. He was much more naive than he was now. Although he had a look in his eyes that seemed to indicate he had experienced something, he was still just a naive little kid. He wanted to become her apprentice in order to learn how to use puppets, and even said he could help her beat Aoko down. To convince her that he wasn't arrogant, he even demonstrated his strength.

Although when he finally met Aoko, they only had a brief, perfunctory fight.

Because they had been together for the first few years, Aozaki Touko didn't really feel it. But it wasn't until Natsukawa Tora left, went to that other world for five years, and returned that Aozaki Touko began to realize that her disciple might have grown to another level.

A realm she can't reach and doesn't want to reach.

Aozaki Touko wasn't particularly fixated on this point. She wasn't the type to specialize in combat, so being surpassed in combat power by her disciple wasn't something that would make her feel down.

However, she can be considered Natsukawa Tora's teacher for the time being. If a teacher is surpassed by his student in a certain field, then he can no longer call himself a teacher. This is a little obsession of Aozaki Touko.

“In that case, you can be considered to have officially graduated from my tutelage.” Aozaki Touko said to Natsukawa Toraku with a smile, then took off the Mystic Eye Killer she always used. “Throughout history, to celebrate the graduation of their disciples, magicians have always given their disciples a special outfit, usually an Azoth sword, but I didn’t prepare one, so I’ll use this instead. Here you go.”

"Clap!"

Reaching out to catch the Mystic Eye Kill thrown by Aozaki Touko, Natsukawa Torato looked at his teacher with some confusion: "Graduation... I don't think I've learned all your puppetry techniques yet, although I've been learning from the Re-enactment Device in that world..."

"Idiot, if I teach you everything, how am I supposed to make a living? Do you have a misunderstanding of what 'graduating from an apprenticeship' means?" Aozaki Touko habitually tapped Natsukawa Tora's head. "As long as you can stand on your own as a puppeteer, then you can graduate from my apprenticeship. Besides, you've already achieved your original goal of learning puppet magic, right? There's no need for you to continue relying on me."

Sajou Rei—the origin of Natsukawa Torama's desire to learn puppetry. He became Aozaki Touko's apprentice in order to create Sajou Rei. Now that Sajou Rei exists, there is indeed no need for him to continue learning puppetry magic.

Gripping the Demon Eye Killer tightly, Natsukawa Torato brought it to his eyes: "I understand. Thank you for your teachings all these years, teacher."

“We’re not teachers anymore, there’s no need to keep calling me that. Just call me ‘Orange,’ like Aoko does.” Aozaki Touko hooked her arm around Natsukawa Torato’s neck. “Or are you trying to discriminate? Looking down on me, your older sister?”

"That's normal, isn't it? I'm a hundred times better than Orange, right, Tiger?"

Aozaki Aoko hooked her arm around Natsukawa Torato's and pulled him forcefully from Aozaki Touko's side into her arms: "Don't forget our promise, Torato. We're going to have a full-fledged battle."

"Yes, of course I remember. We can start now."

"Huh? Now?" Aozaki Aoko frowned. "Are you still able to fight? You've already played three matches today, haven't you?"

"Dealing with Aoko is more than enough for now."

angry!

Aozaki Aoko pinched Natsukawa Torato's waist hard: "You said it! Once I beat you to the ground, begging for mercy won't do you any good!"

......

Three minutes later.