Fate: How About a New Savior?

Artoria gripped the sword planted in the ground, gasping heavily.

She was on her knees, her pale face streaked with grime and nearly devoid of color. If not for the Holy Sword holding her up, she would have collapsed completely.

Three consecutive Grand Magecrafts, each chained into the next, had left her gravely wounded.

"Don't move. If you try anything more, even if you were once my comrade in arms, I won't hold back," Shiomi warned, raising his wand.

Runes spun around its tip, and with a single thought, he could fire a mana blast strong enough to reduce Artoria to dust.

"What a foolish thing to say. Is that really how a battle-hardened Magus speaks, Tenkei Shiomi?" Artoria forced herself to stand and drew her sword once more, her gaze still cold and unwavering.

This battle would not end unless one of them fell.

"I only wanted to resolve this Singularity through peaceful means," Shiomi said, tightening his grip on the wand as his mana surged, ready to strike.

Artoria likewise raised her blade, black, inverted mana coiling along its edge.

Facing the unleashed true name of "Excalibur" head-on wouldn't be wise—but it was already too late. Artoria had no time left to prepare her Noble Phantasm.

Shiomi no longer hesitated. With diplomacy failed, he took aim—ready to end the corrupted King of Knights with a single blow.

But just then, a slow, deliberate clap echoed from the platform where the Greater Grail stood, reverberating across the vast, empty hollow.

Mash, who had regained some composure and stood on guard with Ritsuka, looked up in confusion, trying to trace the sound.

The applause interrupted the standoff. Shiomi looked up as well, seeking its source.

"There!" Olga Marie shouted.

"Well, well. I must say, I didn't expect this. As expected of a veteran Magus who's survived two Holy Grail Wars—even the great King of Knights can't stand against you," said a calm, emotionless male voice.

Shiomi's eyes shot wide open. His pupils contracted. "You… Lev Lainur?!"

"Huh? Who? Professor Lev?" Romani, unable to see what was happening, could only follow the situation through the comms. "Wasn't he caught in the explosion...?"

Lev stood atop the platform, right in front of the Greater Grail, looking down at everyone below.

"I've had enough of letting you interfere with my plans," Lev said in his usual flat tone.

"You're all right, Professor Lev?" Olga Marie, still unaware of anything amiss, let out a breath of relief and greeted him as if nothing were wrong.

He was a Magus of the Clock Tower, one of the Mage's Association's most valued assets. Every Magus lost only increased the weight on her shoulders.

"Don't be fooled!" Shiomi's shout cut through the tension, snapping Olga and the others out of their daze. His gaze was locked on Lev. "This powder-scented bastard is not the Professor Lev you know."

Lev's eyes narrowed into slits as he gave a cold, artificial smile. "Sharp as ever. I was worried you'd uncover my true identity and goals. But I suppose Chaldea kept you too busy to notice anything, Shiomi."

"Magus are always full of mystery—I'm not interested in whatever you are." Shiomi glanced uneasily at Artoria. "Is this your ally, Artoria?"

"No. I have no connection with this man." Artoria seemed to recognize Lev, but showed no emotion. She lowered her sword and turned toward him.

"I personally set that explosion, and you still survived. That's why I say heretical Magus like you are such a nuisance." Lev opened his wide, three-whites eyes, his expression turning feral. "A perfect plan—ruined by variables like you."

Shiomi subtly adjusted his wand, preparing for a surprise attack. "So you're the one behind Singularity F?"

"You could put it that way. But the Saber over there was utterly useless. I handed her the Holy Grail, and all she wanted to do was revive the other Servants, keep the Holy Grail War going, and maintain the Singularity—never once considering her own wish." Lev shot Saber a look of disgust. "So much for the so-called heroes of humanity."

Artoria didn't flinch at his scorn. She simply raised her sword and pointed it directly at him.

"Unfortunately for you, I saw through your intentions from the start. I never had any intention of cooperating with your so-called plan."

"Is that so? What a shame. Even tainted by darkness, a King of Knights is still a King of Knights." After his theatrical sigh, Lev's eyes snapped open. "Then die."

The earth suddenly cracked open, and a black tendril surged upward, lashing straight toward Artoria. Weakened by her injuries and slowed by the black mud's corruption, she barely dodged a fatal strike, but the shadow still pierced through her shoulder.

"What... is that?" Shiomi froze.

A black limb, veined with molten-red patterns like flowing magma, instantly reminded him of the sea monster Caster had summoned during the Fourth Holy Grail War.

But this was different.

The sheer power—it was on an entirely different scale.

The tentacle, wrapped in writhing black mist, flailed violently and flung Artoria away.

The situation shifted in an instant.

Shiomi didn't hesitate. He rushed forward and caught Artoria mid-flight as she tumbled toward them.

"So naive," Artoria muttered, lying in his arms with one eye barely open. "To show sympathy for someone who tried to kill you..."

"If you want to keep fighting, I can finish you off right now and then go after him," Shiomi said, helping her back to her feet. "Or maybe... the enemy of my enemy—"

"Is a friend, hmm?" Artoria forced herself upright, steadying her blade with both hands as she faced Lev.

But Lev only shook with laughter, shoulders trembling in a cruel, mocking fit.

"Ahahaha! Idiots, the lot of you! Struggle all you like. Even if you make it back to Chaldea's coffin alive, you still won't be able to save anyone here!"

"What are you talking about?!" Shiomi demanded.

"Take Olga Marie, for example. She never had Spiritron Transfer compatibility when she was alive. So how did she even get here?" Lev sneered. "It's simple. Her body is dead. Only her soul made the transfer. And when she returns to Chaldea, that little girl will die for good! After all, I made sure to plant the bomb right at her feet."

His words hit like a hammer blow.

Olga Marie's face went pale with terror. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground, too stunned to move.