Morgan glanced at Solomon for a moment, then turned to Naoki. She seemed to understand something, then laughed with an enlightened expression.
"So, this is what Naoki meant from the start… the most likely outcome?"
Before the battle began, Naoki had told everyone that his fight with Solomon wouldn't escalate to a life-or-death struggle. To align with Solomon's words that the Counter Force could accept, the most probable outcome was that both would reach a certain level of agreement, resulting in a mutual victory.
The current situation seemed exactly like that.
"So, we don't need to continue the fight?" Artoria asked, frowning.
The one who answered wasn't Morgan or Naoki, but Solomon.
His gaze fixed on Naoki, Solomon said, "Whether the fight continues depends on the Fairy Magus's wishes. Regarding the major decision, we've indeed reached an agreement. The only reason we're still fighting now is because he has a reason to defeat me."
"A reason to win?"
"That's right." Morgan smiled. "If he wins the Holy Grail War to the end, he can marry Merry. To achieve that goal, he needs to eliminate everyone except Lia."
For marriage?
Solomon's gaze toward Naoki shifted slightly. This change made Naoki's face look awkward. "What? Is that not allowed?"
"No… I just thought you had a grander goal. Turns out it's for the woman you love? In many legends, ancient heroes would slay dragons to marry a princess or seize treasure—you're one of those people."
"You could say that."
Naoki pulled Artoria behind him, then took a deep breath. "Alright, let's continue. Summon your Demon God Pillars. Though it'll be a bit troublesome, to completely defeat you, it seems I need to take down all your Demon God Pillars. Only then can it be called a total victory."
"No, that's not necessary."
Solomon shook his head. "I'm afraid if we keep fighting, the outcome won't change. The battle between you and me, I believe, will end with your victory."
It wasn't that Solomon couldn't defeat Naoki, but from their earlier fight, he could already predict the outcome.
As long as Naoki still had those Mystic Eyes, Solomon would eventually lose. The summoned Demon God Pillars would be eroded in no time, and to counter the eroded ones, Solomon would need to summon new ones, which would also be eroded. In the end, it would only increase Naoki's forces.
Of course, there was a solution—using the Demon God Pillars as disposable bombs to destroy the eroded ones, as Solomon had done earlier. But this would only deplete his own Mana without significantly impacting the fight.
Moreover, Marisbury's Mana wouldn't hold out.
Solomon's own Mana was immense, but not infinite. He needed to draw a certain amount from Marisbury to sustain his existence, and Marisbury's Mana was limited.
In contrast, as a Half-Fairy, Naoki, who could draw near-infinite Mana from the Greater Grail, clearly had greater endurance, especially with Imaginary Manifestation…
Thus, though the situation now seemed balanced, the outcome was already quite clear.
"My Magecraft to counter your Mystic Eyes is nearly exhausted. Continuing the fight won't change anything. This time, it's your victory, Fairy Magus."
"Haaa."
As if struggling to accept it, Naoki let out a long sigh. "You're giving up just like that? It makes me feel like I didn't win at all. Though I know you didn't mean it, still…"
"If that makes you uncomfortable, I can apologize, but there's truly no point in continuing the fight. You know that too." Solomon said. "Besides, instead of wasting your strength on an unnecessary fight with me, there's another opponent more worthy of your full effort."
"To become the final victor of the Holy Grail War, defeating me alone isn't enough, Fairy Magus."
Without Solomon saying it, Naoki already knew—or rather, the moment Solomon conceded, he sensed a bone-chilling killing intent. Someone with suicidal intent had been waiting on the sidelines for a while.
After taking a few breaths to recover some stamina and Mana, Naoki looked into the distance. "Fine. Lancer, come out—"
*KLANG!*
Before he could finish, a spear suddenly shot from afar. A bright red flash pierced toward Naoki's chest at incredible speed!
But just before the spear struck, a blue figure intercepted it, and a blade cloaked in fierce wind deflected the spear into the air with a single strike.
Catching the falling spear, Scáthach, standing nearby, looked at Artoria, who stood in front of Naoki, the corner of her lips slightly upturned. "Looks like my opponent will be you, Saber."
"Leave this to me, Master." Artoria said, facing away from Naoki. "You just finished fighting Solomon and haven't fully recovered. Don't push yourself."
"No, I'm actually fine…"
"Just leave it to Lia, Naoki." Morgan interrupted, covering his mouth and pulling him aside. "That girl's been holding some frustrations. As a Servant, she's repeatedly not been by her Master's side when you were in danger. Though she doesn't say it, she blames herself deeply."
"Let her have the stage this time."
Morgan's words made Naoki pause. With so much happening lately, and being used to fighting alongside Servants—usually taking the lead himself—he hadn't noticed that Artoria had barely participated in battles.
After all, this Master was just too strong.
"Huuuuff… alright."
Putting away the Holy Sword, Naoki casually sat on the ground. "Then I'll rest here. You can win, right, Lia?"
"In the name of the sword in my hand and the honor of a Knight, I swear to you, Master, no matter the opponent, I will not lose. I will surely bring you victory."