Turning around, the magnificent battlefield had vanished. Tohsaka Rin and Waver Velvet were back in the silent night forest. It was still so quiet, as if nothing had happened, except that three people had become two; that honest, magnanimous simpleton would never return... Returning to the real world, Tohsaka Rin stumbled back a few steps, her strength failing her. She leaned against a tree trunk, treading on withered, shattered fallen leaves, and sank to the ground. Her pale cherry-colored lips were faintly white, and she breathed weakly in small gasps.
Clearly, she had poured her all into the battle with the King of Conquerors. Now, she was completely exhausted, weak to the extreme, and no longer even had the magic power to sustain Lancelot's physical form.
At this moment, Tohsaka Rin, aside from her skin and muscles being tougher than an average person's, was just a weak, helpless, delicate girl. This was undoubtedly the best time to kill her. And the current situation seemed quite bad; there really seemed to be an enemy across from her...
Waver Velvet was still wearing the cloak bestowed upon him by the King of Conquerors. Such items of Heroic Spirits remaining in the real world were not without precedent in the original work/canon. In the Fifth Holy Grail War of the original work/canon, Heroic Spirit Emiya returned the ruby necklace he wore to Tohsaka Rin in the original work/canon. After he disappeared, that ruby necklace remained, causing two necklaces to appear in the same world.
It's really strange, speaking of it. Heroic Spirits themselves are merely projections summoned by the Holy Grail, yet the items they carry can either remain as real objects or return with them to the Hall of Heroes. Not to mention, avalon is Saber's noble phantasm, yet it remained in the real world and was even used as a relic to summon Saber.
Of course, what should be discussed now is not this. Let's look at the time, place, and people at this moment.
Time: One o'clock in the morning.
Location: The forest outside Fuyuki City's Shinto (New City).
Characters: A lone man and woman, one-on-one, with the enmity of regicide between them, and the woman seemingly powerless to resist... It looks like something big is about to happen!
Tohsaka Rin leaned weakly against the tree. This complete sense of powerlessness was something she hadn't experienced much since her battle with the Tohno Family. Even bending a finger was so difficult. Tohsaka Rin looked at Waver, who was wearing the luxurious cloak, which was too large for him in the past. The young man's head was bowed, his trembling, twitching, slender body clearly struggling to suppress something.
"Don't you want to avenge your King?"
Tohsaka Rin asked with a relaxed, casual expression, as if seeking death. Waver just responded dully, his head still down.
"No, because you are the King's friend."
"But I killed your King."
"The King is not dead... he has led his army to a new conquest..."
Despite the tearful voice, his inner resolve was still evident. The immature young Magus puffed out his chest and looked towards the distant starry sky, the very place his King was going to conquer.
"I will remain in this era, to sing praises of the King's dream! I have received the King's commendation, and with it, the commendation of a distant future! Now, all I need to do is spend the rest of my life achieving results worthy of this commendation!"
He, still somewhat naive, shed his youthful inexperience in that instant. His years as a young boy ended at that moment, and in the blink of an eye, he became a mature man.
Shedding naivety and confusion, recognizing one's path, and steadfastly following it—this is the true proof of a person's maturity.
Tohsaka Rin also offered her blessings for his growth in life:
"In some worldline, at some unknown time, when the King of Conquerors, Iskandar, materializes again in the real world and unleashes his proud Army of the King, there will surely be a strategist among them who was once named Waver Velvet."
Just then, a sudden round of applause came from the quiet forest. A jet-black phantom, Dissolve into the night Among, emerged from the woods, and Tohsaka Rin smiled brightly.
"Since you're here, why not come out?"
"Oh my, I just wanted to see if my weak and helpless Master would have some delightful development with an indignant, excited, and blossoming young Magus."
The Dragon Witch appeared beside Tohsaka Rin, wearing her enchanting black spirit-armor battle suit. On her shoulder, she carried a figure in purple clothes and a white skirt.
"This is... it's you! The one who interrupted Saber's noble phantasm attack last night and destroyed the Sea Monster... That's Einzbern, Saber's..."
Waver expressed his complete inability to accept the sudden change, speaking incoherently and stammering.
"Oh, young man, what a disappointment! I fully expected you to pounce on my weak, helpless, irresistible Master and enact a passionate, youthful romance! Ah~ You don't happen to like burly men like Rider, do you?"
Jalter feigned a sigh and walked over to pat Waver's shoulder, as if she had missed a wonderful performance, completely oblivious to Tohsaka Rin, whose head was throbbing with 'crossroads' behind her.
"Clang!"
"Ah! Ouch."
Jalter's body suddenly manifested her battle flag uncontrollably and hit herself hard on the head.
"What nonsense are you spouting?!"
Amidst Rin's furious roar, Jalter gave an embarrassed smile, then returned to Rin's side and placed the person from her shoulder in front of Rin.
"Well, well, Master, I've brought you this doll you wanted. To snatch her, I was chased quite a bit by that Little Knight King! I couldn't damage this doll, nor could I kill that Little Knight King. Fighting with this big burden, it's a good thing my strength was solid. I finally beat that Little Knight King, who fought like her life depended on it, until she couldn't stand, then I managed to escape and rendezvous with you."
Rin looked at Jalter with a speechless expression, truly unable to understand how much she disliked Saber. To snatch Irisviel right in front of Saber, Saber must be going crazy now, right?
That's right, the task Rin assigned Jalter today was no longer to continue staying put, but to "invite" Irisviel over, but definitely not to snatch her! However, with Maiya Hisau still severely injured and hospitalized, it was normal for Saber to stay by Irisviel's side at all times.
Irisviel's condition was now utterly terrible; her breathing and heartbeat were almost imperceptible, and her vital signs had reached their lowest point. At this moment, she could barely be called a living being, but merely a doll. In the position of her heart, Rin could feel an unimaginably massive collection of souls, already overflowing, just needing one final location to give it an outlet for its eruption.
The Heroic Spirits summoned in the Fourth Holy Grail War far surpassed those of any of the previous three wars. As long as five Heroic Spirits returned, it would be enough to fill the greater grail and descend into the world. In the original work/canon, the Holy Grail fully descended after Lancelot died by Saber's sword.
However, in this world, Matou Zouken used his methods to create a command spell and summoned Darius III. Although he was an irregular Heroic Spirit, he was still summoned using the Holy Grail system, so after Darius III's departure, he also returned to the greater grail. Darius III, no weaker than Lancelot, filled Lancelot's void. Coupled with the King of Conquerors, who had just departed and returned, Irisviel was on the verge of final collapse.
"Jalter, take her. We're going."
Rin frowned and instructed Jalter, who glanced at Waver on the other side, a murderous intent subtly flickering in her eyes.
"Are we just going to leave that boy alone?"
"He's no longer an enemy, and he has no reason to be our enemy. Besides, this war has reached its end, and there's no point in hiding anything anymore."
Rin stopped Jalter; even for the sake of her bond with the King of Conquerors, she couldn't let Waver get into trouble here.
"Waver Velvet, your battle is over. Leave Fuyuki. The final battle might turn the entire city into scorched earth. Go to the Clock Tower."
Rin finally instructed Waver. Jalter carried Irisviel on her back, bent down to pick up Rin, and then, without another glance at Waver, disappeared into the deep forest of the night.
"Master, are we going home?"
"No, to Ryudoji Temple..."
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.