Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

The landscape in my mind is a plain with no shelter, scorching sun, and swirling hot sand.

Because it was the land where Iskandar's legions had once traversed, it was imprinted in the hearts of all the legion's members, allowing the barrier to be deployed.

With the "military force" that has ravaged half the world combined with Iskandar's military skills, there is no opponent that cannot be defeated.

In the Holy Grail War, which is primarily one-on-one, it is arguably the strongest cheating ability.

Even so, Rider still lost.

In Archer's hand lay a strange sword formed from three rotating cylinders, and a golden chain that blocked the Conqueror King's final charge.

After Rider disappeared, it was thought that his Master would surely die at Archer's hands, but it seems that he was spared.

It must be because it has won the favor of the King of Heroes.

Weber has become quite successful.

Shirou, who witnessed the entire decisive battle at the end of the Fuyuki Bridge, temporarily put Waver's matter aside and began to ponder with his fingers under his chin.

Rider's "King's Army" was forcibly dispelled midway, which was his biggest reason for defeat.

But how exactly was it done? Could the Reality Marble be dispelled midway?

Shirou asked Ms. Avalon, who then explained.

"There are two ways to destroy a Reality Marble: either create a superior Reality Marble with a skill that surpasses the caster's ability, or destroy the Reality Marble itself."

"So, the King of Heroes' Noble Phantasm... the Heaven-Opening Sword, possesses firepower exceeding that of Excalibur?"

Shirou once tried to analyze that sword—but failed.

This wasn't the first time he'd encountered something like this; the last time was a long, long time ago, when he tried to replicate Morgan's Excalibur.

But even then, nothing felt like tonight, where just looking directly at the sword with the naked eye made my eyes feel like they were burning.

Lady Avalon's voice was serious: "Hmm... that sword's firepower is undoubtedly superior to Excalibur's, but that's not a reason for the Reality Marble to be destroyed—that sword is an 'Anti-World Noble Phantasm.'"

"Antireal Noble Phantasm"?

Shirou was startled: "Is it a Noble Phantasm capable of destroying the world?"

"No, no, no, it's not that exaggerated. To be precise, it's a Noble Phantasm that affects 'barriers' or 'the concept of the world.' In terms of Servant-level capabilities... that's about all it can achieve."

"What? It wasn't 'towards the world' after all? You scared me half to death; I thought I was doomed this time."

Shirou's dismissive reaction startled Ms. Avalon.

Master, why are you so calm?

Isn't that the nemesis of your greatest trump card, "Unlimited Blade Works"?

Possessing firepower exceeding that of Excalibur and the ability to destroy barriers—

This Noble Phantasm's performance is practically a natural enemy tailor-made for Shirou.

However, what puzzled Lady Avalon was that Shirou seemed to take the Heaven-Opening Sword lightly.

"Speaking of which, that chain..."

After the "King's Army" was shattered, chains shot out from behind the Hero King bound the divine bull that was pulling the chariot, causing Iskandar to fall back to the ground.

If it weren't for those chains, the outcome might still be uncertain.

Shirou frowned and said, "Although it has a different origin from my 'Chaos Blade,' it has a similar aura... Could it be a divine special attack?"

Shirou concluded that it was a chain whose binding force could be increased according to the object's divinity.

Alright, that concludes our post-match analysis.

Now let's get back to the most fundamental question—

Why is Archer fighting Rider? Tokiomi Tohsaka is currently under my control!

Shirou was completely baffled. He saw Archer, who had left the battlefield, walking towards him.

He did not remove his golden armor, and his face bore a sullen, even humiliating, expression.

Shirou was unaware that the King of Heroes had just been hit by a Command Spell by a little brat and was now extremely resentful.

“Hey, Archer,” he greeted him, “how does it feel to take down an enemy?”

"You little brat who's a fake (Faker), you're here too."

Gilgamesh's slightly twitching forehead suddenly relaxed.

"Your presence here means... humph."

"why are you laughing?"

"I just suddenly thought of something happy."

The King of Heroes stared at Shirou's hand, which was engraved with black and red Command Seals, and smirked mischievously: "So that's how it is... That's why you're unaffected."

Shirou frowned: "?"

"No, it's nothing. It seems that this Holy Grail War isn't entirely without any room for maneuver after all."

Archer said, “Go ahead and sing your praises, or struggle like you’re wallowing in the mud, you bastard.”

After saying this, the Hero King transformed into a golden wind and disappeared.

……

……

"Who...who are you!?"

Irisviel stared warily at the red-haired girl dressed in the jet-black Heavenly Robe.

The girl, who looked remarkably like Bavanshi, smiled and said, "Me? You'll understand once you see me. The boss who appears at the end of the story, the final boss."

"You are the corrupted end of the Holy Grail..."

"That's right, thanks to that foolish old man (Aha), I awakened in this world. I am the source of the curse that you Einzbern have brought upon yourselves?"

Ah, you're secretly trying to activate Command Seals, aren't you? Give up on that idea... All the Command Seals under the Holy Grail System are already mine.

"how come……!"

Irisviel bit her lip; she was indeed trying to activate the Command Spell, but there was no response.

The enemy had stolen and hijacked the Command Seal system without her knowledge.

The red-haired girl frowned slightly: "Speaking of which, I don't need a talking Holy Grail. You can shut up forever... Saber!"

"Waaah...who would obey you...!"

Saber gritted her teeth and resisted the enemy's orders, shouting, "Assassin! Take Irisviel away!"

Hassan thought for a moment, grabbed Irisviel's arm, and the two fled the scene before Saber could strike.

"Tch... You're only good at running away, oh well..."

The red-haired fairy girl turned to Saber and pinched the King of Knights' delicate chin with her fingers.

"It's surprising that there's a Heroic Spirit who can resist Command Seals... In that case, let's dye you black first."

---------

Volume 1, Chapter 93: Saber Alter

"...I'm sorry, Shirou."

After watching Waver leave, Shirou contacted Assassin and learned the whole story.

Einzbern Castle was probably already spies everywhere, and they would be attacked as soon as they returned. So Shirou and Hassan met at the inn that was being used as a temporary base.

"You specifically told me to maintain a sense of tension even when the Holy Grail War reaches its final stage..."

Assassin said apologetically, "If I had been more careful, this wouldn't have happened."

Shirou shook his head: "No, this isn't Assassin's fault. No one could have predicted this would happen."

"You're lucky to be back alive and to have saved Irisviel... How is she now?"

Assassin said, "I booked a room for her, and she's resting next door now."

He must have suffered a considerable blow.

Einzbern's past cheating led to the Holy Grail being tainted, and not only that, but they also lost Saber.

Adding to the burden of housing the soul of the Fourth Heroic Spirit, all these blows combined made her appear to be in poor mental condition.

"Shirou, do you want to go see her?"

"Well, let's talk about the enemy first when we get there."

The red-haired boy asked, "Do you know who the mastermind is?"

Assassin said, "According to Irisviel, the Avanger who descended during the Third Holy Grail War was a god named Cornunos—"

That's how it should have been, but in reality, it was a very weak girl who answered the summons and was decisively defeated in the early stages of the Holy Grail War.

Cornunos...!?

Shirou looked surprised.

"...Do you know?"

Assassin tilted his head and asked.

As the leader of a monotheistic religious order, Baimao Hassan had no knowledge of polytheism.

Shirou's lips trembled slightly: "Are you sure? It's Cornunos who will descend in the Third Holy Grail War."

Assassin nodded slightly.

Shirou fell into deep thought with a serious expression.

Cornunus, an ancient god in Celtic mythology.

The first deity created by Danu, the Mother Earth, symbolizing the god of animals, plants, fertility, and life.

He was also the god of hunting and the king of all beasts, and participated in the creation of the first humans in the world. Therefore, he was revered by the Celts as their ancestor, the "God of Beasts".

As an 8-year-old Japanese elementary school student, Shirou would normally only have heard of Zeus, Odin, Amaterasu, and the like. However, he knew about such obscure gods, which was naturally related to his experience in the fairy kingdom of Britain.

Those were the last days of Shirou's previous life.

Faced with the overwhelming power of the "Nameless King," the conflict that had lasted for over ten thousand years on the island has been quelled.

One day, Shirou accepted the invitation of Ash, the savior, to go together to investigate the great cave in the center of Britain.

His companions included the Black Knight Hector and the Fairy Knight Tertrol.

Unfortunately, the sage Grim disappeared during a battle and has been missing ever since; otherwise, this would have been a reunion of the original members of the hero's party.

"Speaking of which, Shirou really lives a long life. It's been over two thousand years since we met."

The girl from the Winged Clan sat atop Shirou's head and spoke.

"Even if I hibernate with Morgan every time... are humans from another world all this resilient?"

"Ugh...!"

Ash's expression turned embarrassed.

Tertrol's unintentional words pierced her chest—only she knew that Shirou's life was nearing its end.

Despite her best efforts to prolong Shirou's life, magic ultimately has its limits.

More importantly, Shirou no longer possesses the unwavering will to live on, even at the cost of defiling his own soul.

"Just like the fairy tales you love, Morgan."

"Every story eventually comes to an end."

"The dragon is defeated, the prince and princess get married, the bad guys are punished... and that's how the story ends."

"No one wants to see the hero return to a peaceful daily life, or the prince and princess's married life."

"For me, the establishment of the Fairy Kingdom is the end of the story."

"So... that's enough, isn't it?"

"For me, this is the best life."