At the moment before the spiral sword shot out, Artoria stopped it, "Berserker, leave Lancer to me, you two hurry and find Illya."
"Alright," After weighing it a bit, Shirou chose to respect her.
After all, the Ahoge King with the sheath couldn't possibly lose.
"Berserker," Cu Chulainn's tone was flippant, "Your heart, I'll come and collect it after defeating Saber."
"Say that again after you've actually beaten me," Dog Bro was undoubtedly extremely powerful, especially if he had unlimited mana supply.
Even against Gilgamesh, he might not necessarily lose.
But Artoria with the sheath was basically a bug, who would win or lose was hard to say.
"Let's go," Bringing Medusa, Shirou accelerated toward the great hollow.
Letting the three face Manaka was actually an extremely risky thing.
Fortunately, Sakura and Rin both had Command Spells.
In times of crisis, they could summon Servants to rescue them.
'Illya.'
After a while, Shirou called in his heart.
["What is it, Berserker?"]
'Everything okay on your side?'
["We're fine, we've already arrived at the great hollow, but Manaka isn't here."]
'What...', Shirou's sprinting footsteps paused.
'Illya, quickly have Rin use the Command Spell! Saber is in danger!'
As he spoke, he started rushing back.
"Berserker?"
"Saber!"
Medusa's voice and Shirou's voice rang out at the same time.
At the same moment—
"Puh! Cough! Cough…"
With his heart pierced, Dog Bro turned back resentfully, "You bastard, just what are you trying to…"
Riiiip!
Dog Bro was swallowed and torn apart by the black shadow.
Manaka stepped out from the darkness, smiling, "Saber, I've come to get you."
Her goal had always been very clear, to separate Artoria and Shirou.
Originally, the defensive line was set at the temple gate.
Who knew that other than Assassin, no one listened to orders.
Since that was the case, might as well devour them all.
Artoria didn't respond, but only looked at her warily.
"Manaka!"
She released the Wind King Barrier, ready to unleash her Noble Phantasm at any moment.
"Eh?", Manaka looked confused, "Still not done playing, Saber? Don't you want to return to Britain?"
"Just one more Servant and I can manifest the Holy Grail and grant your wish."
The girl said with a pure and lovely smile, "Don't you want to fulfill your wish, together with me, together with Berserker?"
"Together with Berserker," Artoria was stunned.
"That's right," Manaka placed her hands behind her back and said sincerely, "To be honest, I'm even a little jealous of you now."
"Jealous of me?", Artoria didn't understand, "Why, I clearly haven't done anything."
"Really?", Manaka's smile slightly cracked, "I've reminded you many times, Berserker is mine, but you always approach him when I'm not paying attention. In the end, you even betrayed me for his sake."
Her finger slid down to her collar and she unbuttoned it one by one.
Then she pulled her dress apart to both sides.
"Look, I can't find the connection between us anymore, Saber."
The crimson Command Spell still had one remaining.
This was the qualification of a Master and also proof that she and Artoria had once formed a contract.
But at this moment, the Command Spell still remained, yet the knight who once swore to protect her had stabbed her personally.
Even so, she wouldn't be angry.
Instead, she indulged her, "I don't blame you, Saber. As long as you form a new contract with me, that'll be fine."
Artoria refused, "Impossible, Manaka. If you really cared about me, then stop this at once. What you're doing now is not something I wish to see."
"There's still time to turn back now!"
So far, Manaka hadn't killed anyone.
It really wasn't too late.
"What are you talking about, Saber?"
Manaka tilted her head, "You're the one who said you wanted to obtain the Holy Grail; the one who said you wanted to fulfill a wish; the one who said you would definitely protect me."
"So you see, I sincerely want to help you. Even now, I'm still willing to help you. No matter the cost."
"But—", Manaka's words were like sharp blades, stabbing into Artoria's heart, "Everything was about to succeed, so why did you give up on your own?"
"I…", Artoria had no words to say.
Manaka continued her blows, "I know, you can't let go of Berserker."
"That's right, originally you were supposed to appear as his Servant. But instead, you were summoned by me, there must be resentment in your heart, right?"
"What did you say?", The Ahoge King was shocked, "Me, as Berserker's Servant?"
"Exactly," Manaka, like a jealous girlfriend in the early stages of love, looked like she was smiling, but her words had no warmth at all, "In the Fifth Holy Grail War, your true Master was actually Berserker, the man whose true name is Emiya Shirou."
"And his adoptive father was the one who summoned you in the Fourth Holy Grail War, Emiya Kiritsugu."
BOOM!
This information was like a bolt from the blue, causing Artoria's body to waver, nearly losing her balance.
She knew Berserker's true name was Emiya Shirou. When Caster died, he had said it himself.
However, despite the same surname, as a Servant, she had never associated him with Emiya Kiritsugu.
She had thought it was just a coincidence.
Now, Manaka's words were like a runaway truck, slamming straight into her as she crossed the zebra crossing.
Under that impact, she completely lost her composure.
"Impossible!"
Artoria flatly denied, "If Berserker... Shirou, is the Master, then why would he appear as Illya's Servant?"
"Haven't you already realized?"
Manaka looked at her, tone gentle, "In this world, there is no Emiya Shirou. So he is the one from another world, the one who was supposed to summon you, but because of me, had to replace Heracles and come to find you as Illya's Servant."
Clang!
Artoria staggered, unable to help but retreat, "Berserker… came to this world to find me?"
Her eyes were full of confusion, completely lost.
"Otherwise?", Manaka continued in a gentle tone, "I couldn't see through Berserker from the beginning, until I saw Archer and realized this Berserker was from another world, then I knew his name was Emiya Shirou."
"Archer… is Berserker from another world?"
One shocking truth after another left Artoria dazed.
"That's right," Manaka laughed lightly, "It was only after I saw Archer that I learned Berserker's true name. Berserker, he's exactly like the young Archer."
"In the Fifth War, he was your true Master. He summoned you and almost died by Heracles' hand to protect you;"
"He trained in swordsmanship to fight alongside you, cooked for you, saw you as a cute girl;"
"He cared for you, liked you, scolded you to cherish yourself, scolded you to not be stubborn, look, aren't all these things very familiar?", She spread her hands.
More than just familiar.
Artoria recalled when they first met, the boy offered his food to her. Beneath the sarcastic words was a message not to be too obsessed.
During their first battle, he could have killed her but only bluffed; second battle, when the church exploded, he didn't have to care for her, yet showed genuine concern;
Third time, when facing the Taiga, knowing she would bully him, yet he still trained earnestly in swordsmanship.
And later, when he didn't want her to bear others' resentment, he returned the sheath.
'Berserker… Shirou. Why didn't you tell me these things?'
"Saber!", Shirou arrived at the scene, facing Artoria's confused gaze, and that delayed response, "Shirou."
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.