After Merlin finished giving his answer, he breathed a sigh of relief. Although 1500 years ago, many people had already guessed this result, a guess was ultimately just a guess. Before an answer was obtained, it was "uncertain." Now, Artoria could be said to truly know that Aslan, her own cousin, was also a King of Men chosen by the Sword of Selection.
It was just that in Merlin's prophecy, the one to become King Arthur was herself. Plus, her cousin preferred to be free and unrestrained. Therefore, her cousin had not walked the path of the King of Men. Since he had been acknowledged by the Sword of Selection before her, then her cousin should have been able to usher in a different new era for Great Britain.
At this moment, Artoria, who had not yet found peace, became even more determined in her idea of having Aslan replace her as the new king of Great Britain.
Merlin used his magic to flick the cold sweat from his head, then nodded at Artoria. His entire body then turned into flower petals, and along with Akuta Hinako, who was not far away, vanished without a trace.
Irisviel looked at the ruins before her. After receiving news from her husband, she naturally also chose to leave. The combat objective had already been achieved. And with the exit of the King of Heroes, the barrier that had been set up around this area had also dissipated. There had also been a lot of noise just now. It would not be good if they were discovered by someone.
Irisviel immediately took Artoria and ran to their car, which was parked not far away. Then, with a foot on the accelerator, the business van shot out like a race car. Artoria immediately fastened her seatbelt, then quickly grabbed the handle. No matter how many times she rode in a car driven by Irisviel, it always made the Heroic Spirit's heart tremble with fear. However, it was a good thing that although it was scary, it was still barely safe. But only... barely.
Before the crowd of onlookers could surround this mansion, the people from the Church had already set up a blockade. At the same time, they explained that this was just a rather serious gas explosion. After all, the mansion was very old, and the gas facilities used were from the earliest batch, so a chain of explosions had occurred. As long as the gas was inspected every year, such a situation would naturally not occur.
Poor Tokiomi. What kind of expression would he have if he knew he was being used as a negative example?
At this time, Tokiomi looked at the clock he had placed next to his table. Discovering that it was already dawn, and confirming that there were no more sounds of battle above his ruins, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. But before long, he heard the sound of stones being moved from the entrance of his basement.
Tokiomi immediately stood up, picked up the staff in his hand, and prepared to directly block any enemy with a fireball. With a loud bang, the already deformed wooden door of the basement was directly opened. After seeing who had come, Tokiomi breathed a sigh of relief. He sat down relaxedly in his seat, and only then did his entire body completely relax his long-tense nerves.
"Kirei... my disciple. I am relieved to see it is you. We have lost this Holy Grail War. I had not expected that an overly powerful Heroic Spirit would, on the contrary, attract a joint attack from others. This is completely different from the ending I had envisioned. It seems we have no way to compete for the Holy Grail this time."
Kirei still had that same calm and indifferent appearance. "I am very happy to see you are alright, Teacher."
After all, using your body, Teacher, as the material for the Holy Grail should be enough to successfully allow the Grail to descend. If something had happened to you, Teacher, wanting the Grail to descend would have been a slightly troublesome matter.
"My respected teacher, actually, you can still obtain the Holy Grail."
Upon hearing his disciple say this, a gleam flashed in Tokiomi's eyes, but he quickly calmed down again. "Tell me your plan first. Without a Servant, it is not a simple matter to obtain the Holy Grail. We still have time; we can still wait 60 years. There is no need to bet everything in this Holy Grail War. Do you understand?"
Kirei's lips curled up slightly. The smile on his face looked somewhat out of place. Tokiomi had, of course, also noticed the smile on his disciple's face. It was just that he thought his disciple had not smiled for a long time, so for a smile to reappear after such a long time, it was a bit awkward, which was also normal.
"I am certain that you, Teacher, can obtain the Holy Grail."
Of course, to be more precise, you, Teacher, will directly become the Holy Grail, becoming a part of the wish you've sought. I imagine you will be very happy. "I guarantee it to you."
Black magical energy began to pour out from the cracks. Tokiomi's instincts as a magus told him that things might be a little different from what he had imagined. It was just that before he could become completely vigilant, endless black magical energy had pulled him into the darkness.
His consciousness was continuously sinking. His brain was like being thrown into a certain soybean milk machine, constantly being thrashed about. Just as Tokiomi was preparing to give up thinking, his brain suddenly became completely clear.
"Father?"
A voice entered his ears. Tokiomi opened his eyes. If it were seen from our perspective, the world Tokiomi was in at this moment was like being shrouded in the special effect of an old film reel. Of course, in the eyes of the person involved, it was certainly no different from the normal world.
Tokiomi looked to the side. A young girl in a purple dress was looking at him with concern. "Sakura..."
No!! That's not right!!
Tokiomi suddenly reacted. No matter what, the person beside him could not possibly be Sakura. Because Sakura had already been sent away by him. And, the Matou family had had a big fire. Sakura Matou's whereabouts were unknown; it was very likely she had already died in the fire.
The next moment, the little girl before Tokiomi's eyes looked as if her whole body was on fire. Her clothes were quickly scorched. Her entire skin began to dry and crack, emitting a burnt, foul smell. That small skeleton seemed to smile at Tokiomi. "It seems you've remembered, Father~ No... Uncle Tohsaka. It's all because of you that I died in the fire."
Tokiomi took a step back, shaking his head, still somewhat unwilling to accept this fact. And the next moment, this small, charred body, as if it had pounced on him, its hands directly clasped his throat, causing him to fall to the ground. At the same time, as its hands continuously squeezed, Tokiomi once again fell into a daze brought on by these things. Finally, he lost consciousness once again.
When this magus's consciousness gradually returned, a little girl's voice once again came to his ears. "Father?"
Tokiomi sat up and rubbed his head. He looked at the girl beside him, frowning slightly. "Sakura?"
The next moment, as if sinking into a deeper layer of a dream, the girl before his eyes once again turned into a charred corpse and pounced on him.