Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

The girl whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Even if I can no longer replenish your magic, can I still come to you when I feel lonely at night?"

Shirou: "…………"

Fiore gave a shy, mischievous smile.

Shirou nodded and said, "Ah, if it's Fiore, she's always welcome."

"Thank you, then I can rest assured?"

"————Ahem."

Leticia, Shirou's assistant, interrupted the two's ambiguous eye contact with a dry cough.

“Then, please begin synchronizing,” Shirou said in a deep voice.

Half an hour later, the operation was over.

Although the process was somewhat bumpy, it was eventually completed smoothly.

"Koles, are you alright? You not only transplanted 70%, but you even took 80% of Fiore's mark."

The one whose mark was removed is actually quite happy about it, but you must be having a tough time.

"...It's alright, it's not a big deal."

It actually hurt a lot; his whole body ached so much he felt like he was about to collapse—but when Corles thought about how his sister had endured such pain for so long, he couldn't help but try to be strong.

“Koles Fulvig Tree, you are amazing, and of course, Fiore, as your older sister, you are too.”

With Leticia's help, Fiore shook her head and smiled weakly.

"No, that's not true. Now, please praise Koles, he is my proudest brother."

And so, Fiore, the magician, died.

For her, an ordinary human being, the path of life she has chosen is only just beginning.

"That's hard to say. There's a greater possibility that all of humanity will perish in five days."

"I said it with a joking expression," Koles said.

However, Fiore shook her head resolutely: "That won't happen."

"why?"

Fiore looked at Shirou: "Because we humans still have a savior, don't we?"

……

……

If we want to fight Metatron and the Angel Legion, we must first gather all our strength.

The four "Red" Servants who survived the Holy Grail War: Mordred, Atalanta, Achilles, and Semiramis.

It is necessary to unite the strength of the four of them.

The next night, Shirou decided to take Leticia with him and leave the castle to find them.

Through the spies of the Thousand World Tree, it was learned that the "Red" archer Atalanta is currently active in the forest, while the "Red" cavalryman Achilles spends his nights in the town's tavern.

Shirou decides to go find Achilles first.

Following the clues, they found Rider drowning his sorrows in a tavern in Tulipas.

Incidentally, according to local law, Leticia is of legal drinking age, although she has never drunk alcohol.

"Don't get too excited," Shirou whispered a reminder.

"I'm not excited at all."

Leticia held Shirou's hand, looking around curiously.

Due to the strange phenomena occurring around the world, the entire world has fallen into a certain degree of doomsday panic, and the nightlife in the small town is several times more lively than usual, with the cramped taverns filled with people living in a drunken stupor.

"Hmph, going into a bar with a man late at night, if the school finds out, I'll definitely get expelled..."

The so-called Servants are essentially similar to the products of Shirou's "projection magic," not actually existing but rather "records" downloaded from the Throne of Heroes.

Therefore, Servants cannot grow through battle, nor will they decline; they are part of the existing history.

However, this does not mean that Servants do not have their own emotions; they also experience the joys and sorrows of ordinary people.

It's not surprising that people might become dependent on alcohol when facing setbacks and difficulties.

"The glory of the great Trojan hero is about to be tarnished."

Shirou sat down next to Achilles and asked the bartender for a beer.

Achilles glanced up at Shirou and the girl behind him, then muttered impatiently, "Get lost."

"Don't say that. We are all Heroic Spirits chosen by the Holy Grail to appear in this era. It's a rare opportunity... Let's get along well, shall we?"

"It's so noisy. Anyway, the Holy Grail War is over, so I can do whatever I want, right?"

Shirou took a sip of beer: "Although the Holy Grail War is over, it seems that our mission on Earth is not over yet."

Otherwise, how can we explain why neither of us has been recalled by the Throne of Heroes?

"Who knows? Anyway, there's nothing we can do anymore. Let things take their course."

Achilles responded indifferently.

He had completely lost his former heroic spirit; his handsome face was filled with weariness and world-weariness.

Shirou heard what had happened from Fiore and could understand why he had become the way he was.

Chiron's duel, a battle of honor, was interrupted by Aegean, and Chiron died in the process of protecting himself.

Achilles broke his vow never to flee from the battlefield, all for the sake of defeating Aegean—

But he discovered that he had no one to take revenge on.

Aika foresaw Metatron's existence from the beginning, which is why she secretly collected Heroic Spirits.

Although her methods were despicable, her intentions were beyond reproach.

And now, Ayaka Sajou is also in a half-dead state—Achilles no longer understands why he abandoned his master and fled alone.

If I had known it would end like this, I would have preferred to have fought alongside Chiron to the death.

As a soldier, to die on the battlefield.

As a warrior, stay at your peak, at your most dazzling moment.

This is Achilles's life motto.

The second life he longed for was definitely not the kind of life he was living now, barely surviving.

"Ha... How stupid."

Shirou downed the beer in his glass in one gulp.

Achilles' eyes widened: "What did you just say?"

The red-haired boy curled his lips in a mocking smile: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. If I've caused you any misunderstanding, please allow me to sincerely apologize."

I wasn't talking about you, I was saying—the "Black" archer is truly an absolute idiot.

"To think he would lose his life protecting a student like you... even the centaur sage's words are an exaggeration..."

"——————Bang!"

Achilles threw a punch, sending Shirou flying like a cannonball until he crashed into the wall before coming to a stop.

Exclamations and screams echoed through the tavern, mixed with Leticia's voice.

"Mr. Saber!!"

Some of the agitated crowd fled, while others stayed behind to cheer and watch the spectacle.

Achilles walked over, grabbed Shirou by the collar, and lifted him up, his eyes filled with bloodshot intent.

"Saber! Take back what you just said! I won't allow you to insult the teacher!"

"I reject."

"——————Bang!"

Shirou was punched so hard he was shoved into the wall.

"Wow, what a cruel attack."

The red-haired boy crawled out of the rubble and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

Achilles' punch only caused minor superficial injuries.

Because his fists were not imbued with magic, he is now a masterless Servant, just like Shirou.

"Do you want to die, Saber? I'll say it again, take back what you said about your teacher!"

Achilles said through gritted teeth.

He no longer wanted to fight anyone, but if anyone continued to insult Chiron to his face—

“I’m not the one who insulted Chiron, it’s you, Rider.”

"Varied……"

"Your current disgraceful behavior is the greatest insult to Archer!!"

Shirou suddenly sprang into action, knocking the unsuspecting Achilles to the ground.

"You bastard..."

Rider struggled to get up, but Shirou stepped on his chest and then mounted him.

"What great hero of Troy? That's hilarious... You don't look like a hero at all."

Swing your fist and drop it.

"You... uh!"

"Die! Die! Die! You're just tarnishing that guy's reputation!"

He kept throwing punches, and the punches kept landing.

"What's wrong? Weren't you going to avenge the teacher? Turns out it was just talk!"

"I... Waaaaah!"

Shirou's fist slammed into Achilles' face, leaving him speechless and only able to let out a mournful cry.

"Saying you're prepared to take the fall is just a sign of fear, isn't it? You think you can't beat that kind of monster!"

"So even the invincible hero is afraid of failure! Hmm... Go apologize to Archer in hell!"

"…………!"

Each punch landed by the red-haired boy seemed to pierce the earth, producing a tremendous tremor like an earthquake.

Normally, it wouldn't be surprising if a human's head exploded after taking such a punch, but even so—

Achilles only bled from his mouth and nose, nothing more.

"The Unfading Flower of the Brave".

Only attacks from heroes possessing "divinity" or those equipped with "divine weapons" can inflict actual damage on Achilles.

"........."

The patrons who were initially making a fuss in the tavern were stunned by what they saw and gradually quieted down.

The tavern was as quiet as a library late at night, with not even whispers, only the sound of fists hitting faces.

Shirou didn't stop until he had completely lost feeling in both his arms.

As soon as he stood up, Achilles struggled to sit up from the floor.

Although he was beaten so badly that he was almost unrecognizable, he was actually not seriously injured...

"What a cheating skill," Shirou thought angrily.

“…Do you want to continue?”

Shirou looked down at Achilles and delivered a cool line as dashing as Kaoru Hanayama.

Rider shook his head in frustration: "That's enough... Thank you, Saber."