Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

Samael is currently unable to decipher these specially encrypted spells and dares not act rashly.

Seeing that Samael's expression was not optimistic, Artoria, who was worried about Irisviel's safety, couldn't help but anxiously press for answers.

"What should I do?"

"Take her back to Fuyuki City first, and I'll figure out the rest."

"it is good!"

For some reason, upon hearing that deep voice, Artoria's heart, which had been hanging in mid-air, immediately calmed down a bit, and a sense of security welled up in her chest, making her subconsciously nod.

Just as the Knight King was about to pick up Irisviel, who was fast asleep on the grass, and return to Fuyuki City, Samael, under the shade of a tree, glanced at Irisviel's pale face, hesitated for a moment, and finally made up his mind, asking in a low voice.

"By the way, did Alice do anything unusual before this?"

“Unusual? Last night, she said something very strange to me…”

Upon hearing this, Artoria paused, then seemed to remember something, her thoughts drifting back to the previous night.

"Samael is probably the only person in the world who knows your true identity. If he needs you, promise me that you will obey his orders and protect him. You two must get along well."

Under the moonlight, the princess, lost in thought, spoke these words to the knights who were about to go to war, standing in front of the church.

Obey his orders and protect him? So that's what it means...

Did you foresee this outcome all along, Alice?

Artoria gazed at the pale yet serene face before her, her pearly teeth digging into her cherry lips, her heart filled with regret.

I'm so stupid! I should have noticed it sooner.

At this moment, Samael, who had learned the answer from Artoria, also fell silent, tilting his head back and muttering to himself.

In the end, you're still thinking about others, so why can't you think about yourself?

"I will definitely heal her..."

"Ok!"

Artoria nodded emphatically, placing complete trust in the promise before her.

Because he is always the one who creates miracles.

After reaching an agreement, Artoria picked up Irisviel and, accompanied by two maids, led the way to Fuyuki City.

Watching Einzbern and his entourage disappear into the distance, Samael breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at the dense forest behind him.

"Is everything resolved?"

"Almost. All the dangerous magical items in the ruins of Enzwasburg have been recovered; Bazett and Marisbury are leading the clearing out of the remaining androids and earth golems; as for the other issues, don't worry, they're all handled by specialists."

Scáthach emerged from the shadows, nodded, and spoke, her mature and sophisticated demeanor radiating a sense of reliability and reassurance.

Samael breathed a slight sigh of relief, his eyes scanning the surroundings before glancing at something behind a bush.

"What about Sakura?"

“We let her get some sleep; she won’t wake up anytime soon.”

As the leaves rustled, Rin Tohsaka and Ereshkigal, now exposed, exchanged a glance, coughed, stood up, and answered casually.

"We can take advantage of this time to sneak her home. If you want to talk to her, you'll probably have to wait until tonight."

"That's good……"

Samael felt relieved to hear that almost everything had been arranged, and his gloomy mood improved slightly. His gaze towards the others was filled with an unspoken gentleness.

The trust and tacit understanding built up over millennia need no further explanation.

"Oh, and we also had an unexpected bonus."

After a brief exchange of glances, Rin Tohsaka's eyes darted around, and she crept forward furtively, winking at Samael with a mysterious look on her face.

"I found this on the outskirts of the battlefield!"

A moment later, Rin Tohsaka pulled a rope and dragged a...loli out from behind the bushes, bound tightly in a horse-hoof-like position.

Samael watched the chocolate-skinned girl thrashing about on the ground like an eel, her eyes brimming with tears, but unable to break free of the noose due to exhaustion. The gloom in his heart vanished, and a sinister smile crept onto his lips.

We meet again, Little Black...

Chapter 220 Chloe's Judgment Day (4.2k)

At the Tohsaka residence, around dusk.

As the sun sets, its afterglow shines through the window, illuminating a corner of the bedroom and bringing a touch of light. On the bed against the wall, the golden-haired, red-eyed goddess of the underworld sits cross-legged on the bedding, her head resting on her two pale legs.

However, his handsome face lacked the peace and tranquility of deep sleep; instead, his brows were furrowed, and he uttered indistinct murmurs in his sleep, seemingly troubled by something.

They can't even take care of themselves, yet they still worry about others when they're supposed to be resting. Honestly!

Ailey gazed at Samael sleeping soundly on her lap, humming softly to herself. Her arm, raised high, gently fell just before touching his head, her fingertips carefully brushing against his furrowed brow, trying to smooth out the deep lines that had gathered there.

The soothing seemed to have worked; Samael's breathing became much calmer, and the wrinkles on his forehead gradually smoothed out.

Ai Lei nodded in satisfaction, and a beautiful smile bloomed on her face, making everything else pale in comparison.

The setting sun outside the window and the dimness inside the room divide the light and shadow. Under the wonderful contrast of colors, the goddess of the underworld embraces the saint, lowering her head with pity and love to soothe the soul. Such a stunning composition is like a naturally beautiful oil painting, full of poetry and tranquility.

"Yeah..."

The door was gently pushed open, and another head peeked out furtively from the crack, breaking the silence.

"Shh..."

Eresh looked up and saw who it was. She immediately put her index finger to her lips to make a shushing gesture, gently put down the pillow that was pressing her head on her knees, and got off the bed. She pointed to the doorway, indicating that Rin Tohsaka should go outside to talk.

The two goddesses tiptoed into the bedroom, gently closed the door, and went to the more secluded stairwell, where they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Why aren't you awake yet?"

After a short while, Rin Tohsaka leaned against the handrail of the spiral staircase, gestured towards her bedroom, and couldn't help but frown and ask.

After the Battle of Ainsworth, the group quickly dealt with the remaining issues, took a long detour to avoid the military and police who came to search the mountains and inspect the situation, and finally returned to Fuyuki City around noon.

As soon as he got on the bus, Samael fell asleep in the back seat, completely unaware of any external stimuli, as if he were in the hibernation of a snake.

Having slept for most of the day, Rin Tohsaka couldn't help but worry about the condition of her shepherd king.

"I've checked, there's nothing seriously wrong, it's just that the exertion was too great, and I need to rest for a while."

Ai Lei offered words of comfort, then paused, unable to resist rubbing her forehead and humming softly, complaining about someone's recklessness.

"After all, Kirei Kotomine used up all of the hundred or so Command Seals engraved all over his body."

"..."

For a moment, Rin Tohsaka was speechless, inwardly cursing the situation.

A powerful Servant may have a high ceiling and performance, but as a Master who fuels their power, they have an awkward limit.

Even after being demoted and having his identity altered, a dignified god-king is far from being easily controlled by a mortal.

At the beginning of the summoning, in order to make Samael appear, the Tohsaka family's century-old savings were poured in, causing Rin Tohsaka, the dignified young lady of the Tohsaka family who could have easily slept in a pile of jewels and kissed her little darling, to become poor overnight and say goodbye to sparkling things from then on.

In several subsequent operations, Tokiomi Tohsaka spared no expense in order to ensure his Servants had good execution capabilities. Various rare minerals and gems were transported to the basement almost by the kilogram to barely maintain the normal operation of his Servants.

Even so, it was only because the rules of the Holy Grail War were changed, and the winner was decided by a peaceful Holy Grail contest, so that the participants did not have to expend too much magic power.

However, due to Ainsworth's intervention, the originally harmonious competition turned into a life-or-death battle, resulting in a surge in Servant consumption.

Every time Samael faced off against a group, he was basically dealing with top-tier Servants, and the direct or indirect costs almost caused Tokiomi Tohsaka to have a heart attack.

Fortunately, in this Battle of Ainsworth, the Church, as the organizer, showed a rare moment of conscience and was willing to replenish the Master's Command Seals at any time.

It was because of this guarantee that Tokiomi Tohsaka truly witnessed the terrifying power of the card in his hand when it was fully unleashed, as well as the terrifying speed at which its mana was consumed, and his body quickly could not keep up.

When faced with the Calamity Giant Surt, Kirei Mine, who had become Tokiomi Tohsaka's personal supply box, almost every second, transferred the hundred or so Command Seals on his body to Tokiomi Tohsaka to replenish his supplies, barely managing to withstand Samael's exploitative draining of magic power.

In the end, the guy who crippled the fire giant queen who brought Ragnarok was still alive and kicking, while Tokiomi Tohsaka, who served as the oil pipeline, and Kirei Kotomine, who served as the supply box, were the first to give out.

The encounter with Cú Chulainn, the Prince of Light of Ireland, directly led to Tokiomi Tohsaka being completely drained of supplies and remaining unconscious to this day.

Fortunately, the church reimbursed the expenses for this operation; otherwise, even five Tohsaka families would have gone bankrupt after such a battle.

Rin Tohsaka glanced at the two bedrooms on either side, secretly relieved.

If she were alive and had lost all her beloved jewels, she would rather commit suicide.

"Where's Sakura?"

Just as a certain greedy goddess was secretly pleased that her little darlings had escaped a disaster, a question came from behind her.

"The third room from the end of the corridor, this girl still hasn't woken up. We seem to have been a bit too rough. It'll probably be past midnight before she recovers."

Rin Tohsaka answered instinctively, then muttered something under her breath.

"Didn't you already know? Why are you asking again..."

"it's me."

The familiar male voice behind her startled Rin Tohsaka, who had been daydreaming, and she turned around with a look of delight.

"Samael, you're awake!"

"Yeah, I took a nap and I feel okay."

Samael chuckled and nodded, exhaling slightly. He looked around at the silent courtyard and casually asked a question.

"By the way, where's Tokiomi?"

"Your neighbor..."

Rin Tohsaka pointed to a closed door and rolled her eyes slightly.

Samair immediately understood, coughed lightly and looked away, then changed the subject to ease the awkwardness.

"And what about your spoils from the daytime?"

"In the basement..."

Upon hearing this, Ereshkigal casually replied, but Rin Tohsaka, who was standing next to her, immediately realized what was going on and looked suspicious.

"What do you want to do?"

At this moment, Ereshkigal, who was slow to realize what was happening, couldn't help but show a wary expression after being reminded.

"How about I come with you to see this problem child? Come on, I have some things I need to ask her."

Samael, whose character was questioned, rolled his eyes at the two men, feeling quite indignant.

It was just a routine interrogation of prisoners. Do you think I'm that kind of snake?!

However, the two sisters exchanged a glance but did not follow suit. Instead, they stood still and cautiously raised their hands.

"There's one more question!"

"explain……"

Samael waved his hand weakly, looking utterly exhausted.

"Is she really your daughter?"

"..."

Samael's brief moment of distraction led the impatient Rin Tohsaka to believe she had seen through something, her face filled with horror and disdain.

"No way, you actually slept with that guy from Greece! You even had a daughter with him!"

"no!"

After a moment, Samael, his face ashen, gritted his teeth and declared, his cold eyes revealing a murderous impulse.

The instigator shrank back, immediately turning his head away guiltily to avoid the piercing gaze.

However, Rin Tohsaka, unable to withstand the pressure, broke the deadlock with a dry cough and made her stance clear to a certain unruly problem child in the basement.

"Then that's it! To lie at such a young age! They must be severely punished!"

Some of the indignant Rin Tohsaka, before the victims of the defamation could even get started, rolled up their sleeves and stormed down the stairs, displaying a united front against the common enemy.

"That's right, punish them severely!"

Similarly, Ai Lei, who had become an accomplice, couldn't help but follow in her sister's footsteps, vowing to avenge the victims behind her.

Soon, in the dimly lit basement, the light flickered, and three figures pushed open the door, their shadows gradually lengthening, casting a sinister shadow over the prisoner who was firmly bound to the cross. The chocolate-skinned little girl, half asleep and half awake, suddenly opened her eyes and instinctively struggled.