Fate: How About a New Savior?

"Mord..red?"

Even after more than ten years, Sakura could never forget the events of the Fifth Holy Grail War—those few brief days fighting side by side with the Servant named Mordred.

Though they lost in the end, Sakura had never once doubted Mordred's strength. She only blamed herself for not being strong enough—unlike her father, who could even surpass the King of Heroes.

"…Ugh... isn't this Mother's boy toy?" Mordred pulled a disgusted face, but her tone was surprisingly familiar. "Wait, why are you even here, Master?!"

"Huh?" Sakura froze.

Shiomi also stood stunned.

He was too surprised to even react to Mordred's incredibly rude jab at him as "Mother's boy toy." What shocked him more was that Mordred actually recognized both him and Sakura.

"Saber... you remember us?" Sakura asked.

Normally, when Servants are summoned, they don't retain memories once they return to the Throne.

Even if the same Servant is summoned multiple times across different Holy Grail Wars, they wouldn't recall past summonings—unless, like Artoria, they made a contract with the World before death, freezing their existence at the final moment of life rather than coming from the Throne of Heroes.

"Oh, right..." Mordred blinked as though just realizing it herself, her expression a little confused. "Yeah, I don't really get it either, but the moment I saw you two, I remembered. Weird thing is, I hadn't realized it at all before this."

Sakura glanced at Shiomi in puzzlement. He, in turn, began analyzing the possible reasons.

"Probably a correction made by the Counter Force when summoning Mordred to this Singularity. Since Sakura and I are here, it might've judged that recalling past memories would help stabilize the Singularity... or something like that."

"You're still saying stuff no one understands, Magus!" Mordred laughed as she approached Shiomi and clapped him on the shoulder.

The Knight of the Sword no longer bore the wariness of a patrolling sentinel. Instead, she had the ease of someone reuniting with an old friend.

"If she can remember, then that's the best outcome," Sakura said, clearly relieved.

Then Mordred noticed Sakura being carried on Shiomi's back and tilted her head.

"What's going on, Master? Why're you being carried?"

"We ran into Assassin and got into a fight," Shiomi explained with a shake of his head. "Because of a lack of intel, Assassin used two Noble Phantasms in tandem and managed to injure Sakura."

Mordred's face turned serious. "Assassin? Don't tell me... you ran into Jack the Ripper?"

"You already know her true name?" Shiomi asked.

"Yeah. I've run into that little creep a few times while patrolling the city. Loves using the fog to launch sneak attacks," Mordred said. "The whole city's covered in mist—perfect fit for her lore. Not that it works on me."

With her high Magic Resistance, Assassin's mist had no effect on Mordred. The second Noble Phantasm, which required close range, was also easily disrupted by the crimson lightning unleashed through her Mana—just like what happened with Shiomi earlier. Even the first Noble Phantasm couldn't breach her defenses.

Their compatibility was just about the worst possible.

"Got it." Shiomi looked at Mordred. "So... is there a Holy Grail War happening in London right now?"

As far as Shiomi knew, a ritual like the Holy Grail War would never be permitted in London, the stronghold of Magus.

For one, too many Magus would be aware of it, causing inevitable chaos. More importantly, the Mage's Association wouldn't allow it in the first place.

After all, buried beneath the Clock Tower lies the Spiritual Tomb of Albion—a repository of mystery, still harboring countless unknowns even after two millennia.

So, with both Assassin and Saber appearing in succession, Shiomi tentatively concluded that this might be a Holy Grail War that never existed in proper history.

"No, there isn't," Mordred replied bluntly.

"What?"

"I mean, no Magus summoned me to begin with." Mordred's expression turned serious. "When I arrived here, I already knew I wasn't brought in by the Holy Grail."

Shiomi's brow twitched. "So it has nothing to do with the Holy Grail?"

While summoning Servants outside the Holy Grail War wasn't unheard of, cases like that were rare.

Over a decade ago, Dr. Heartless had been one such example.

But that summoning—bringing forth Hephaestion—had involved exploiting loopholes and resulted in an unusual outcome.

Now, with both Assassin and Saber appearing in this London Singularity seemingly unrelated to any Holy Grail War, Shiomi realized past precedents might no longer apply.

"Really? Could it be that the summoner is deliberately hiding their presence?" Sakura asked again, trying to confirm the details.

"Can't say for sure. But at the very least, I don't feel any Mana link to anyone, Master," Mordred said with a smile.

"…Don't call me Master. We don't have a contract right now," Sakura said, flustered. "Just call me Sakura."

Shiomi suddenly interjected, "It's not out of the question. If my guess is right, Mordred is a stray Servant—like one who lost their Master in a Holy Grail War. Only in this case, she never had a Master to begin with."

"Fine by me." Mordred held out her hand. "I've been drawing Mana from the land itself, which makes fighting feel restricted. If I could form a contract with a trustworthy Master, I'd be able to fight full throttle."

Her straightforward manner, coupled with the battle they'd just survived, made Sakura feel that forming a contract with Mordred in this Singularity was necessary.

So Sakura climbed down from Shiomi's back, stood firm, and reached out to touch palms with Mordred.

"I declare: my body shall be your shield, and my fate shall rest upon your blade—"

"In the name of Saber, I, Knight Mordred, swear to recognize you as my Master, Sakura."

Ever since becoming a Chaldea Master involved in humanity's restoration, Sakura had possessed Command Spells with slightly altered properties.

The marks on the back of her hand glowed—the contract was renewed.

Just then, a mechanical sound echoed down the street.

Mordred summoned her silver longsword and turned toward the source of the noise.

Steam-powered machines, like something out of a dreamlike steampunk nightmare, began marching toward them. The hostility radiating from them was unmistakable.

"What are those?" Shiomi asked, pulling Sakura protectively toward him.

He was still wary—Assassin might be lurking nearby, and he wasn't about to get separated from Sakura in the fog again.

"We usually call them Helter Skelters," Mordred explained. "Looks like we'll have to take a detour before heading to the base. Been a while since I've teamed up with a Master—let me cut loose a little!"

And with that, Mordred charged into the mechanical horde like a one-woman army.

Shiomi, who had been about to summon the White Ash Wand for a defensive fight, let his guard down.

Looks like he could leave the heavy lifting to Mordred this time.