Editing Fate/Zero:Act 9 Part 5

=== -90:56:26 ===

From the distant west, an army arrived, sweeping rolls of dust at its wake. No one dared to underestimate this invading army since the beginning.

Rumors about its might had already swept through the entire country like a gale long before this army arrived. Usurping the throne of the small country Macedonia in the far west country of Greece, the young king had since then subdued the neighboring countries in the blink of an eye, and became the leader of Corinth.


Alexander – 

It was said that his ambition crossed over the Straits, and he had wanted to extend his insolent neck into this great empire of Persia.

Of course, none of the brave warriors who swore utter loyalty to protect their glorious country would bow their heads before the invader. The warriors bet their augustness and honor as soldiers upon this and countered the attack of Alexander’s army. However, the soaring morale of the enemy that appeared before them terrified them horribly, and they shivered in fright.

It was not due to the command of gods or the call of the greater good; all were only to fulfil a tyrant’s desire of conquest. However – why would these soldiers have such a soaring morale, such a mighty fighting spirit? Even those warriors who swore to protect their country till their death could not contend with them.

However, it was not this that truly shocked the defeated generals.

Young Alexander, standing in front of the captives, opened his mouth and spoke as if he was a kid pulling a prank – what I want isn’t your country. I want to keep progressing toward the East.

Then, is this country merely a foothold for his continuing conquest? – No, of course not.

Then, could it be that his ambitions even exceeded the Iranian plains, and wants to conquer distant India? – No, it’s the East even further away than that.

Seeing that none of his foreign subjects could guess his intentions, the King said loudly.

“My goal is the end of the world. My destination is the furthest border of the East. I want to behold <span id="oceanus">[[Fate/Zero:Translator's Notes#Oceanus|Oceanus]]</span> with my own two eyes. I want leave my footprints at the beach beside that endless sea.”

Of course, no one believed in his words, and they all considered it as boasts that he used to conceal his true intentions.

But this man really did return the domination of his conquered lands to the local nobles, and brought his army away with him continuing towards the East. The defeated generals finally understood when they watched, dumbstruck, his back disappearing into the distance.

None of those ‘reasons’ that the tyrant said were lies.

He was only progressing towards the East, and swept away those who stood in his way.

How pitiful and deplorable were those soldiers who discarded all their glory and riches and left their homelands to follow him!

At first, they also felt indignant.

And they thought how deplorable they are that they have to fight due to such a foolish reason.

But very soon they, who had lost everything, suddenly thought.

What would they see behind that mountain –?

What would they see at the other side of the sky –?

To explore the unknown world; isn’t that the dream that all men had once possessed in their youth?

But as their age increased those men, who had to cement their positions and keep climbing up the social ladder, simply discarded the dream of their youth for those illusionary glories and titles. Now, this man shattered their reason of existence in one night’s time – and once again ignited the dream they had longed for in their hearts.

The men who finally understood this held up the weapons in their hands once again.

They were neither heroes, nor generals- they were just ordinary youths, having just taken out their armor and weapons from the inside of the storeroom. Those hearts from which pride and willpower had been lost, regained only the heavy thumpings of their hearts at that time, and they went after the back of the great king traveling to the east. 

Thus, the army of the King increased endlessly with his victories on his road of progress.

How incredible were those people if they were to be beheld by others' eyes!

Heroes who were once defeated, generals of vanquished armies, and kings who lost their throne; everyone walked together, shoulder by shoulder, with the same smile on their faces and the same light sparkling in their eyes.

Towards Oceanus – 

The men called loudly together.

Forward, to the East, to the more distant East!

Until, together with ‘that man’, they behold the legendary beach.


The long march still continued on without end.

Across boiling deserts, over chilling snow-capped mountains, fording billowing rivers, chasing away ferocious beasts, and fighting for their lives for times out of count with those alien tribes never seen before and the unknown weapons and strategies they deployed.

Innumerable soldiers died in foreign lands.

Their sight scattered while they stared at the back of the King, who continued forward.

Their hearing faded while they listened for the sounds of the tide from the distant East.

Even when they died in battle after giving all they had, their faces still held a proud smile until the end.

Very soon – they’d be able to return to the image in their dreams, the evening-mist-covered seashore that they had once seen.

There, no other sounds existed apart from the sound of the waves ceaselessly splashing against the shore; a distant and far-away sea that one cannot see the end. 

That is the scene that their King described for them, but they never got to see for even once in their lives.

Therefore, this isn’t a scene in their memories – 

But a scene that they continued to long for in their hearts during their heroic crusading lives.

The youth seemed to hear a billowing of the tide when the dream of the Heroic Spirit’s memories that was transmitted from a distant time and space ended.

That billowing had, perhaps, always echoed in his heart.



<center>※※※※※</center> 



Rider agreed without a question as soon as Waver mentioned that they should go have a stroll in the streets.

Of course, for Waver, there was nothing that interested him much in this eastern little town compared to his hometown London. He just wanted to find a book.

Although the easiest way to find books is to use the library, it would appear a bit inconvenient when a giant such as Rider was following him. Moreover, it’s clearly foolish to bring a loud guy such as Rider into the library, which demands silence. Besides, Rider had a history of destroying the library when he was first summoned out. It’s going to be problematic if he went along, got recognized, and Waver had to pay for the damages.

So he had to search in the bookshops – he had to go to larger shops to find English books as local bookshops usually only sell books in the native language. However, a market that is too busy can also be problematic.

It was the first time Waver walked in the streets of Fuyuki Shinto during the day. It was reasonable as he hadn’t had anything in particular that needed him to come out during the day until now. The morning streets were completely void of the nocturnal feeling full of a demonic aura, and the warm sunlight and fresh air can make one’s mood very glad.

“Say, what on earth got into you this time?”

“Nothing in particular; just wanted to lighten my mood.”

Waver replied, his face full of annoyance, to Rider’s rascally question. It wasn’t as if he had something that irritated him or that he was unsatisfied with Rider’s work; it was that pointless actions such as to lighten his mood has nothing in common with Waver’s strategies.

Anyways, no matter what – he wanted to completely forget about the War of the Holy Grail even if for only a little while. That was the truth.

The meaning of joining this War of the Holy Grail had changed a little in Waver’s heart. While these changes were small they completely took over all processes of his brain, making his mind depressed or even suffocating.

“– Alright alright, just stop asking why. Anyways, weren’t you yelling since the day before yesterday that you want to stroll at some busy place?”

“Mmm, the pleasure of feeling the bustling atmosphere in a foreign market is not any less than the pleasure of battles.”

“… Countries brought into war and strife because of such reasons are pitiful indeed.”

Waver mumbled helplessly.

Hearing his words, Rider tilted his head as if very surprised, and asked.

“What’s wrong, kid? You talk as if you saw it with your own eyes.”

“Alright alright, just pretend that I didn’t say anything.”

A rare number of Masters who had established a contract with a Servant can experience former memories of the Heroic Spirit in the form of dreams. Waver was reluctant to mention what he dreamed of this morning although he didn’t know if Rider knew about this. No one should want others to see through events in their memory; moreover, Waver didn’t intentionally want to see those memories in the first place.

Rider immediately expressed immense interest to the shops around them as soon as they arrived at the bookshop in the shopping street in front of the station. It seems like Waver won’t need to worry whether this King of Conquerors will stir up some trouble before Waver’s proper business is done.

“Then I’ll deal with some business in this bookshop.”

“Mmm.”

“Basically, you can do whatever you want, but you absolutely must not step out of this shopping street. We can’t be careless even during the day. You need to be able to rush to me immediately if I am attacked.”

“Mmm! Mmm!”

He didn’t even know if Rider was listening at all. Anyways, Rider’s big eyes, sparkling with light, were completely focused on the surrounding restaurants, toy shops, gaming arcades and food stalls already.

“… Don’t conquer, don’t invade.”

“Huh!?”

“Huh what!? Seriously…”

Worried that they might draw attention if they took too long here, Waver stuffed his wallet into the King of Conquerors’s thick palm.

“Don’t steal anything, and don’t you think about eat without paying! Go use money to buy something if you want it! Do you need me to use the Command Seal to tell you this again properly?”

“Hahahaha! Don’t be so nervous. Macedonian decorum is applicable to all civilized men in any country.”

There was no way to know if he really understood what Waver meant. Rider disappeared excitedly into the crowd of packed and raucous shoppers after he left this indifferent reply. Waver could only sigh as he looked at Rider’s gradually disappearing figure. Although he was still seemingly slightly worried, Rider is extremely adaptable to foreign cultures despite his careless demeanor. The soft methods he used against the MacKenzie couple last night was the best testimony.

However, if Rider spends all the money in the wallet Waver just gave to him, then half of all the funds he prepared for the Fuyuki Holy Grail War would have disappeared. Yet, compared with having Rider trigger some unsolvable problem, it would actually be cheaper to avoid that with spending this amount of money. As long as he can get the Holy Grail, it won’t matter if he doesn’t have the return fare. Waver had more or less matured a little for him to progress from his originally stingy personality to his current caliber of indifference towards money. 

For Waver – he had no plans of buying the book he wanted even if he really did find it. It would be enough to just finish reading it in the bookshop. This was because Rider would definitely interrogate him about his reasons if Rider got to know about this book he wanted to read. Therefore, Waver didn’t want to take the risk in buying it.


Perhaps because there were too many foreign residents here, the foreign language shelves not only contained tourism booklets and cheap paperbacks but also a large variety of other books. Although Waver didn’t expect to really find the target, he found it easily contrary to his expectations. Waver immediately began to quickly browse through the content of the book.

He forgot about time as soon as the book was in his hands. This was Waver’s speciality that didn’t change since childhood. He has the confidence that he won’t lose to anyone when it comes to the understanding of a book after reading. However, in the Clock Tower, this kind of talent he has only makes it easier when researching through books, an ability that’s just like a librarian’s. Therefore, he always thought with hatred that it would definitely be more simple and straightforward had he been the one writing it whenever he saw a book full of unnecessary words and incomprehensible technical explanations.

However, those unpleasant memories were quickly chased out of his consciousness as he flipped through the pages. The content of the book Waver was now reading was very captivating, and it pulled the reader’s thoughts along to gallop together at the distant end of the world.

Waver remained in an oblivious state of reading for he didn’t how long. 

Suddenly, Waver felt some extraordinarily heavy steps, different from that of an ordinary person, coming into his hearing. So he immediately put the book back and pretended a calm demeanor. His sight happened to connect with that of Rider’s, who happened to be looking towards the foreign language shelves, when Waver turned his head around.

[[Image:FZ_v03_00o.jpg|thumb|“Oooh! I found you I found you! Such a short dude hiding between the shelves really can’t be seen by anyone, and is so bothersome to find.” “Normal people are all shorter than book shelves, you idiotic giant! – Speaking of, what did you buy this time?”]]
“Oooh! I found you I found you! Such a short dude hiding between the shelves really can’t be seen by anyone, and is so bothersome to find.”

“Normal people are all shorter than book shelves, you idiotic giant! – Speaking of, what did you buy this time?”

A paper bag, so large that it made Waver feel uncomfortable, was held up in one of Rider’s hands. As if he loved the contents inside to pieces, he eagerly opened it and showed it to Waver on the spot.

“Look! So ‘Admiral’s Grand Strategies IV’ goes on sale today, and I bought the open day limited edition! Wahahahaha, my luck rank indeed work as well as they look!”

Waver couldn’t help but feel a passing headache when he saw that what Rider bought was ten times more idiotic that the most idiotic thing Waver himself could think of.

“Say, you only bought the software for such a big thing…”

Half way through his sentence, Waver suddenly discovered that the large paper bag in Rider’s hand was too enormous as packaging for just one software disc. He immediately realised that this King of Conquerors bought the console as well.

“Alright kid! Let’s hurry back and play together. I even bought an extra controller!”

“Let me tell you this: I don’t have any interest at all towards this kind of vulgar games.”

Hearing Waver say this, Rider immediately furrowed his brows in irritation, and said with a heavy sigh.

“Huh, honestly, why do you like to immerse yourself in that little world of yours? …Don’t you want to just find even a little joy?”

“Stop bothering me! How would a magus like me, who’s searching for the truth, have spare time to do these pointless things? I don’t have extra brain cells to waste on computer games!”

“– Hmm? Then you have extra brain cells to waste on this book?”

As Rider spoke, he pulled out the book that Waver just stuffed back into the bookshelf. This completely unexpected action made Waver uncontrollably rebuke him, out loud and nervously.

“ O – O – Of course not! How do you know I was reading at this one before?”

“Only this one was put in the shelf the other way around; only an idiot would miss it – Huh? ‘Alexander the Great’… isn’t this my biography?”

At this moment, Waver wanted to be swallowed by a chasm opening up in the ground. This current feeling of shame was even worse than having his tutor Kayneth mock his essay.

“You really are a weird guy. Isn’t the real person standing in front of you more reliable compared to these records that you can’t confirm? Isn’t it easier to just ask me whatever questions you have?”

“Aaaaaa! Fine, I’ll ask you I’ll ask you!”

Waver yelled, half crying, and spoke after he grabbed the book from Rider’s hands and flipped to a page that he was particularly interested in.

“Historical records say you were a very short man, so why do you appear like an idiotic giant now?”

“I’m short? Where did you read that!?”

“Look at this! It is said that your feet can’t even reach the foot stool after you conquered the Persian Empire and sat on Darius’ throne, and at the end they had no other choice but to swap that foot stool for a table!”

“Aaa, you mean Darius? That couldn’t be helped; I’m indeed short compared to that tall man.”

Hearing Waver say this name, the King of Conquerors laughed loudly and clapped his hands, then said while gazing at the sky with a face full of reminiscing expressions as if he was remembering an old friend. 

“– Not only was that emperor’s caliber very majestic, his figure was, too. He was indeed a ruler fitting for the mighty Persian Empire.”

From Rider’s description, the other man should have been a giant of more than three meters tall. When Waver’s brain thought of this he couldn’t help but feel a chill.

“Unimaginable… it’s really unimaginable!”

“If we think along your line, then King Arthur was actually a woman! A woman! Isn’t that more surprising compared to my height?

Ah, anyways, this so-called history written by whomever at wherever is very hard to completely and accurately describe the situation back then.”

Rider laughed optimistically and said this as if he cared nothing about the discriminating records left in history.

Waver, staring at his expression, went on to say. 

“You just let other write whatever they want? – It’s history concerning you.”

“Hmm? This isn’t much to be worried about… you find it weird?”

“Of course!”

Waver continued speaking.

“Any ruler in any era would wish to have his name remembered by those after him. They’d definitely all get angry if they know records of them, made by later men, have errors or missed something out.”

“Hmm, true. If you can leave your name behind in history, then it also counts as some kind of immortality. However, all these are meaningless to me. I’d rather have twenty more years of life like this compared to existing in such books with just my name for two thousand years.”

“…”

Although he didn’t know if Rider’s reply, accompanied with a bitter smile, was his true thoughts or only a joke – for Waver, who had just finished reading the history concerning the King of Conquerors, this was exactly the heavy topic that he didn’t know how to answer.

Alexander the Great, who created the largest empire in history to date, refused to lose himself in the glory of this great accomplishment and continued forward at the same time. The curtains of his life fell after a short period of only thirty years.

No matter how later men lamented the tragedy of his passing at the height of his life, the emotions he expressed himself about his short life had a heavy feeling for others no matter how light the tone is.

“Aaa, even if I had only ten more years; I’d be able to conquer the West as well.”

“…Then, after you get the Holy Grail, how about wishing immortality to it?”

Standing behind the King of Conquerors, who excitedly wondered about the possibilities, Waver finally couldn’t control himself and asked as an interception.

“Immortality? This is a good idea. If I won’t ever die, then I’d be able to completely conquer the entire universe.”

Rider seemed to suddenly remember something as he said this, and his face darkened.

“…Speaking of, there was also an idiot who gave up the immortality he once found. Ha, that bastard really manages to stay on my mind.”

Waver had no idea what Rider was talking about, and it was also the first time that Rider spoke to himself in this matter. Right now, Waver had a new understanding to the meaning of Rider’s wish that he spoke of in the quiz of the Holy Grail last night.



In the afternoon, while the two walked on the road back home, Waver was silent the whole way through.

Everything on the streets would soon be enveloped with darkness, and the nocturnal Fuyuki city would once again become the battleground of the War of the Holy Grail. As a Master, Waver would also have no choice but face this cruel war with his Servant.

There was no terror or restlessness.

His Servant was the most powerful one; that was beyond doubt – because he witnessed the might of Rider’s true Noble Phantasm with his own eyes last night.

It still felt like as if he was right there even when he thought about it now, and he was able to feel the scent of the hot wind that blew the boiling sand dunes along.

An army of cavalry in high morale was in front of his eyes. 

And also the majestic and proud face of the king who drew himself to his full height in front of that formation.

Ionian Hetairoi – a Heroic Spirit with such a mighty Noble Phantasm has no reasons for losing. Alexander would definitely defeat all other enemies and obtain the final victory.

That would definitely be called the King of Conquerors, Alexander’s victory – at that end, where would the victory of Waver Velvet, be?

Yes, he would never forget. He was once mocked and looked down upon by those so-called prestigious families and nobilities. He gambled all he had to join the War of the Holy Grail exactly as a counter blow for their contempt towards him. Obtain the victory of the War of the Holy Grail and become the best magus in the world; that was the goal Waver set to himself.

But the War of the Holy Grail that unfolded at Fuyuki completely surpassed Waver’s anticipations… the Servant he summoned happened to be a guy who completely ignored his Master’s command, and acted by himself to fight only with his mighty strength.

If this goes on, Rider would definitely walk step by step towards victory with ease. Meanwhile, could Waver only forever hide behind his Servant with fear, be of no help even till the last minute and just muddle through to the end of the War?

Would he obtain the Holy Grail just because he was lucky enough to draw the most powerful trump card? What would be proven with a self like that? Prove that he obtained glory under Rider’s shadow? At the end, this would only make others continue their mockery.

And if Rider really lost, then – what would a Master as useless as himself do?

This kind of battle… if this goes on until the end, then there would definitely be no changes in him.

It would only display his incapacity, insignificance and humiliation even more when he’s beside an overly powerful Heroic Spirit. This made Waver more ashamed that the humiliation he went through at the Clock Tower. 

“– How come you’re so quiet? Hmm?”

A sound came from somewhere above Waver’s head. Looking up, he saw that Rider still wore the usual innocent smile that he found incredible, and was looking down at Waver. 

''I’ve had enough with looking up at this angle.''

''I don’t want to experience this angle of being looked down upon no matter what.''

''I’ve had absolutely enough of you!''

Although he almost spurted this impulsive sentence out, Waver barely controlled his mood with the final shred of manners in him, and used a more euphemistic way instead.

“Nothing, just feeling a little bored with you.”

“See, you felt bored after all, right? That’s why I suggested us to play this game together –”

“It’s not like that!”

Like usual, this reply had nothing to do with the question, and it finally reached the limit of Waver’s patience.

“Having a Servant who’s so powerful that you’re almost guaranteed to get the Holy Grail… doesn’t bring anything to make me proud of myself! Making a contract with a Servant such as Assassin would have shown my worth even more!” 

Hearing Waver’s words, Rider scratched his head with a snort.

“If you really were to do something so stupid, you’ve probably died many times over by now.”

“That’s enough from you! I have no qualms about dying in my own battle! I wouldn’t be here participating in the War of the Holy Grail if I was afraid of dying!

And – how do I say this – just from when did you become the protagonist!? Always acting by yourself before I gave the order; what kind of a position are you putting me into with all this? Just what did I come all the way to Japan for!?”

“Calm down calm down…”

Different from Waver’s worked-up mood, which was as tense as the tension between a drawn bow and bared sword, Rider still smiled without any seriousness. It was as if Waver was hammering a nail into a bag of rice; he couldn’t use any force. 

“If the wish you want to fulfill after you obtain the Grail is able to move my mighty desires, then the King of Conquerors would be completely at your command from now on – how about that? Do you wish to grow a bit taller?”

“Of course not! … Haaa!”

Seeing that Waver’s mood became more agitated the more he talked, Alexander placed a hand on his head, and interrupted him as if saying ‘isn’t this good enough?’.

“Say, kid, you don’t need to be so eager, right? No matter what, this War of the Holy Grail wouldn’t count as the climax of your life, right?”

“What –!”

Isn’t this ritual the miracle of a lifetime? – Waver, who was about to open his mouth and rebuke, suddenly understood Alexander’s meaning. For this King of Conquerors, the Holy Grail is only a method to make him appear in this world again. His true goal is the conquest the entire, wide-spanning world after the War of the Holy Grail.

“If you really wish to pursue a life full of glory and dreams, then go and fight for yourself. It wouldn’t be too late to find a battlefield made for you after all that.”

“…”

In front of the miracle that was hailed as being able to grant all wishes, this guy’s wish happened to be just obtaining a human body – just how foolish does this action sound?

However, there is nothing wrong with this wish when it comes to someone who thinks his own value is higher than that of the Holy Grail.

Just what kind of a person is this guy, who is so arrogant and confident about his might?

It was with such questions that Waver purposefully checked up on the historical records. However, the more he knew about the glorious accomplishments the history texts listed about this man, the more profoundly he felt that – 

This man merely possessed a charisma that was overwhelming and incomparable with other mortals – so great was it that even those majestic and elite armies who worshiped him, believed in him like a god, and could even give their lives to him.

At the end, Waver had to admit – those who mocked the King of Conquerors’s wish as a boring wish are the foolish ones who merely dragged their bodies along from day to day, and spend their life away on nothing.

“I shouldn’t be the only one unsatisfied with this contract, right?”

Waver asked in a low voice after he silently swallowed his humiliation.

“Hmm?”

“You must have some complaints too, correct? Like why would I, such a useless person, end up being your Master! You would obtain victory even easier if you partnered up with an outstanding Master.”

Without showing if he really understood the meaning from Waver’s heart, Rider said evenly.

“Mmm, you’re right.”

Rider lifted his head and looked towards the sky.

“True, if your figure were more imposing, then it’d look more fitting compared to now.”

The King of Conquerors’s half mocking reply ignited all the anger in Waver’s heart in an instant. As the short Master became even angrier and almost erupted, Rider suddenly took out the world map that never left his side and spoke while pointing at the first page.

“Ok kid, look here, look at the enemy in front of us.”

“…”

The map of the entire world was portrayed in the A2 size paper. Rider’s so-called ‘enemy’ is this entire world.

“Come. Try to draw, in scale, the current appearances of us two beside our ‘enemy’. Line us up and compare us.”

Waver signed helplessly towards Rider’s pointless question.

“How can I draw that –”

“You can’t draw it, right? You wouldn’t be able to draw it no matter how fine your pen is. Even drawing with a needle tip would be too wide – us two are the same compared to the enemy in front us, just two very tiny dots.

Therefore, we shouldn’t care about whether it’s fitting or not at all.”

The tall Servant laughed without restraint.

“This body is just one grain of sand in a desert compared to what I should conquer. You and I are the same, both so tiny. Since it’s so small that it can’t be seen, what’s the point of us two comparing the sizes of our figures?”

“…”

“I feel even more elated precisely because of this.”

Rider laughed openly, and continued to speak boldly.

“The more insignificant I feel, the more I want to use this insignificant body of mine to rule over the entire world. That is indeed the most exhilarating feeling… Listen, that is truly the heartbeat of the King of the Conquerors!”

Waver was completely defeated by Rider’s vigor.

In front of Rider, whose mind was so optimistic, the irritation and anxiety in Waver’s heart were only hassles that don’t deserve to be mentioned. The King of Conquerors’s eyes couldn’t even see those daily anxieties.

“… Basically, your point is that it doesn’t matter what kind of a Master you have. No matter how weak and small I am, it won’t be a problem for you at all, right?”

“Why would you think that? Oi!”

Rider furrowed his brows, forced out a laugh, and patted Waver’s back.

“Kid, this inferiority you feel is indeed the forerunner of having the spirit of a king.

You’d still think that you are insignificant no matter how I explain to you. However, you’d still persist in marching towards a higher goal even knowing this. Aaa, from my experience, the seed of ‘supremacy’ had already started growing in your heart.”

“…You’re not praising me at all; you’re treating me as if I’m a fool.”

“However, kid, you’re so foolish that it’s cute.”

Rider smiled and spoke frankly.

“If I really made a contract with a Master whose ambitions are not too far from mine, like you said, then I would definitely feel really bored. However, your wishes far surpassed your capacities. Someone like you, who would chase after a ‘far-distant glory’, is the basic guideline of living in my time.

– Therefore, precisely because of this, I really feel very happy about making a contract with a foolish kid like you.”

“…”

Waver turned his face aside, not daring to face Rider’s rustic smile.

Why does this idiotic giant always use these unhappy things to comfort me? 

Perhaps no one in the world would be happy when others call him a fool.

Thinking that he didn’t know what emotions he should face Rider with, Waver almost wanted to disappear right now – 

Right this moment, an unanticipated evil chill suddenly passed through Waver’s entire body.

“Arg…!”

All the Magic Circuits in his body began to hurt terribly as if they were in a spasm.

Of course, this abnormality didn’t appear because of Waver’s internal causes. It was because an abnormal chaos appearing in the prana of the surrounding air and his Magic Circuits, calibrated to it, fell into an abnormal state with it.

Standing beside him, Rider also looked solemnly towards the East, as if he could deduce this abnormal prana’s initiating direction with a Servant’s instincts.

“…The riverside.”

Rider said in a low voice like a soldier about to walk into the battlefield. Hearing this, Waver also immediately realized tonight’s battle had already begun.

The War of the Holy Grail was still going on – 

Having no time to attend to the sentiments still entwined within their hearts, the soldiers will once again throw themselves into battle.



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