This was a scene no one present had anticipated. The dark red Gáe Bolg Alternative had directly pierced Ian's body from behind. The long spear, originally meant for Vivian, had been forcefully deflected.
Sizzle.Gáe Bolg Alternative emerged from another part of the man's body, finally stopping in front of the witch. It was clear that without Ian acting as a "shield," Vivian would likely be a soul lost to Scáthach's spear by now.
"..." The overwhelming shock left Vivian speechless. The witch's face was covered in Ian's blood. She felt her mind go blank—this was the first time she had ever felt so utterly helpless.
"..."
[With your emotions sealed by a Command Spell, you actually didn't know why you did what you did.]
[But the moment you detected Gáe Bolg Alternative being thrown towards Vivian,]
[Your body reacted instinctively and began to move.]
[This is why you were able to block this legendary spear—because your actions were almost perfectly synchronized with it.]
[Frankly, you had no reason to do this.]
[However—]
[You felt you had to do it.]
[It was an instinctive urge, something nothing could stop.]
[And you didn't know that by blocking this spear, the course of many events had become irreversible.]
Such a familiar feeling. Scáthach, having thrown Gáe Bolg Alternative, looked at the man who had selflessly shielded Rider's Master from the fatal blow, her eyes somewhat lost. Where had she seen this before? Oh, right. It was during that initiation test. Ian had also blocked her wooden spear in that almost unreasonable way.
Wait—! Scáthach suddenly realized. Her beautiful purple eyes widened slightly in surprise. Could it be... that the person in front of her was Ian?! The Queen of the Land of Shadows grew anxious. The wisdom of the Land of Shadows manifested at this moment. Scáthach's eyes gradually filled with blue light—one of the hero's skills from her treasury, Clairvoyance.
Soon, she confirmed the target's identity, but this only plunged her into deeper sorrow. Yes. It was Ian. The moment she realized this, Scáthach comprehended even more facts. She suddenly understood why Ian had refused to partner with her for the Holy Grail War—because he was already a Servant summoned by someone else! In such a situation, it was naturally impossible to make any partnership declarations.
So was his Master this magus in front of her? No. That couldn't be. Because Scáthach was 100% certain that she was Rider's Master—otherwise, it would be absolutely impossible to give so many commands to such an excellent Rider. But! But! But if so! Why did he shield her from this Gáe Bolg Alternative?!
Scáthach couldn't think of a single logical explanation. Or rather, she no longer had the presence of mind to consider the question. Because—Scáthach's mind was constantly replaying one thought: I... I stabbed Ian? How could this happen?
The moment Gáe Bolg Alternative sensed its master's wavering, it was forcibly pulled back from Ian's body. Blood splattered into the air once more.
"This isn't happening!"
"Lancer, let's leave here!"
In a choice that seemed like an escape from reality, Scáthach sent a Rune Magecraft secret message to Cu Chulainn, comprehensible only between master and student.
"..." To be honest, Cu Chulainn didn't understand why his shishou Scáthach would suddenly give the order to retreat. From his unsuspecting perspective, this was precisely an opportunity to press their advantage. Anyway—if someone got in the way, they got in the way. How could a battle between Servants not have other sacrifices? However—Cu Chulainn knew there was no need to contradict Scáthach. She was both his shishou and his Master. Both logically and emotionally, he shouldn't question her commands.
Regrouping, Lancer Cu Chulainn used his class abilities to swiftly follow his shishou Scáthach and depart from the scene.
On the other side. With the extraction of Gáe Bolg Alternative, blood began to gush from Ian's body.
"Ian?! Ian?!" Vivian looked at him, forgetting what to do. She had imagined many scenarios for their reunion in Fuyuki, but never this heartbreaking scene. The man's reaction, however, was surprisingly calm. Weak, he reached out a trembling hand, with an emotion he himself couldn't comprehend, and gently touched Vivian's cheek, smiling.
"It's fine. I... made it in time. Vivian, it's okay."
"Idiot!" Vivian looked at the bleeding hole in Ian's body, her beautiful blue eyes already washed clean by clear tears. "How can it be okay... you idiot... Why is it always like this..." The witch's voice was filled with a chilling sorrow, her tone becoming like a tragic poem. Then the man slowly collapsed into her arms.
Meanwhile—Rider Artoria also dismounted from Dun Stallion. Having lost her opponent Lancer, her focus naturally shifted back to her sister and the man who had shielded her with unimaginable speed. A vague answer formed in her mind. After all—Artoria knew only one person would so recklessly protect her sister. When she saw the person's face, that thought instantly became reality. It was Ian. That explained everything. He truly would shield her sister from any fatal attack—he loved her that much.
But—why was he... here?
"How could this happen?" Artoria looked at Ian in front of her, momentarily at a loss. She realized he seemed to recognize her, but he no longer had the strength to respond.
"Sister." Artoria couldn't bear to watch any longer; she looked at Vivian. "Why is Ian... here?!"
"..." Vivian knew the truth couldn't be hidden forever—she had intended to tell her after she had commanded Artoria to eliminate all five Servants other than Ian. But all of that was impossible now. The witch whispered the truth: "Artoria. Ian... is also a Servant in this Holy Grail War."
In an instant, Artoria felt her mind reeling from the shocking revelation. Over the past month, Vivian, who had been dedicated to repairing the castle outside Fuyuki forest, had never mentioned such a thing. "Why... didn't you tell me earlier?" she asked.
"..." Yes, why? Vivian couldn't articulate why. Perhaps she still felt Ian was hers alone; or perhaps she felt there was no need to share this with Artoria—she subconsciously still viewed her sister as a romantic rival. But no matter which reason, none sufficed as a reasonable explanation at this moment.
"..." Artoria looked at the silent Vivian, her lips trembling slightly. She gave a self-deprecating laugh, then spoke: "Sister, you're still the same. Even though... this already caused Ian's death once before, didn't it?"
"I..." Faced with this undeniable truth, Vivian was utterly unable to refute. But deep down, she refused to acknowledge one thing—that Ian had left her. She hadn't acknowledged it in the past; she didn't acknowledge it now; and she wouldn't acknowledge it in the future.
However, more than these thoughts, Vivian was concerned about one thing—Ian in front of her was still bleeding from the spear wound. Healing magic. She needed healing magic. But the more desperate she became, the more she forgot how to cast healing magic.
And this extremely chaotic situation took an even more ominous turn. The door of the nearby residence suddenly slid open. Tohsaka Sakura ran out, clutching her chest. Clearly—the girl, as a Master, had established an extremely close connection with her Saber. So, the moment he was severely wounded by Gáe Bolg Alternative, she naturally felt a profound impact.
And for Tohsaka Sakura, who had just emerged, the scene she witnessed was this: Vivian standing there, looking anxious, while Ian, covered in blood, lay in her arms. Beside them was another quite beautiful, equally anxious girl. Almost instantly, the already somewhat unstable Tohsaka Sakura distorted the facts in her mind.
Vivian had harmed her Mr. Ian. Yes. It must be true. She harmed him!
"Let go of my Mr. Ian!" Tohsaka Sakura roared. The girl pressed her hands together, aiming at Vivian. Her eyes completely lost their color at this moment. Her Magecraft Attribute, Imaginary Number, was manifesting to its extreme. No. To be precise, it was an Age of Gods Magecraft with the trait of Imaginary Number.
In normal space, time can accumulate, which is why people feel themselves aging and their bodies deteriorating. But in Imaginary Space, due to the absence of certain substances, time no longer accumulates. This means that time within it cannot be measured equivalently. From one moment to the next, it might be a second, or it might be ten seconds, a hundred seconds, or even ten thousand seconds.
However—while time cannot accumulate, magecraft can. To cast as many spells as possible within this immeasurable time, and then return them all to reality in a "single instant." This is the principle of multi-casting using Imaginary Number. Of course, the price of doing so is having to pay several times the cost of conventional magecraft. Generally, it's a double-edged sword that harms the enemy a thousand times while damaging oneself eight hundred.
But—if she could reclaim Ian from Vivian's grasp, it would be worth it. Tohsaka Sakura no longer cared about any danger. She was going to kill her teacher!
"Teacher Vivian, don't you dare come near Mr. Ian again!!!!!!!!!"
After Scáthach left, the magical barrier set up there also dissipated. Under normal circumstances, Vivian could now freely cast her spells. Tohsaka Sakura's Imaginary Number multi-casting was indeed formidable. However—as the Witch of the Lake, who had lived from the end of the Age of Gods until now, Vivian's mastery of magecraft was already among the best in the world. Multi-casting was certainly terrifying, but the witch could easily counter with more activations in an instant.
However—Vivian found she couldn't think at all. Artoria's questioning, coupled with Tohsaka Sakura's recent roar, had completely snapped the witch's already strained nerves.
Was she hurting him? Was she really hurting him? Vivian wanted to deny this truth, but found she couldn't. Because Ian's pierced body was right in front of her! All the terrifying past memories were completely unleashed at this moment.
"No—!" The witch completely lost the will to defend. She clutched her forehead, awaiting Tohsaka Sakura's attack in a state of utter collapse.
But Rider Artoria would not allow this to happen. She felt it wasn't the end yet. Although she was very reluctant to part with Ian, it was best to temporarily hand him over in this situation!
"Sorry—!"
"Although the situation might be hard to explain, please save him!"
Saying this, Artoria gently laid Ian on the ground. Then she scooped up the distraught Vivian, mounted Dun Stallion, and galloped away into the distance down the street, looking back every few steps.
Seeing Ian freed from "control," Tohsaka Sakura's intention to attack vanished in an instant. She ran over and picked up the man, only to find his body temperature dropping sharply. It was a sign that he was about to leave her. Tohsaka Sakura panicked—she had never expected to encounter such a situation.
"No!"
"Mr. Ian, you can't leave me!"
"That's right!"
"Rin, she must have a way!"
The almost-broken Tohsaka Sakura took out her phone with trembling hands and dialed the number she might never have called again. And after listening to the girl's frantic plea, there was a long silence on the other end of the line. Finally, Tohsaka Rin's response came.
"Wait for me, I'm coming right away. I... will help you replenish his prana!"