Type-Moon, but the Servant is Tom

In a dimly lit basement, two men were arranging something.

Due to the excessive darkness, it was difficult to see what they were doing at first glance, but with the faint light of the surrounding candles, one could vaguely make out what seemed to be a silver magic circle on the ground, resembling some kind of occult ritual.

If they were to arrange some offerings like severed heads or internal organs, it would truly resemble a scene from a cult.

"Everything needed for the summoning ritual is ready, Kiritsugu," confirmed one of the men elegantly named Tokiomi, who then approached the summoning circle.

Seeing that Tokiomi seemed prepared to proceed with the summoning, the other man named Kirei stepped back a few steps.

"Finally, the time has come, and the Holy Relic is ready as well," Tokiomi smiled as he touched several holy marks on the back of his right hand, "The timing is perfect too."

He had been waiting for this day for far too long. As long as he could summon King Arthur, the Heroic Spirit, using this most precious Holy Relic, he would undoubtedly obtain the Holy Grail, and it would no longer be impossible to uncover the truth of the Root.

Nothing could go wrong! That was his evaluation of this summoning.

Tokiomi calmly extended his right hand towards the silver summoning circle, while placing his left hand on his right forearm, and chanted loudly.

"“Ye first, O silver, O iron. O stone of the foundation, O Archduke of the Contract. Hear me in the name of our great teacher, the Archmagus Schweinorg.

Let the descending winds be as a wall. Let the gates in all directions be shut, rising above the crown, and let the three-forked roads to the Kingdom revolve."

"I declare—"

Pure white radiance appeared on every line of the summoning circle, and at the same time, the holy marks on Tokiomi's right hand emitted a faint glow.

"Let thy body rest under my dominion, let my fate rest in thy blade.

If thou submitteth to the call of the Holy Grail, and if thou wilt obey this mind, this reason, then thou shalt respond."

"I make my oath here. I am that person who is to become the virtue of all Heaven. I am that person who is covered with the evil of all Hades

"Thou seven heavens, clad in a trinity of words, come past they(?) restraining rings, and be thou the hands that protect the balance."

At that moment, the white light suddenly intensified, engulfing the entire basement, causing the two present individuals to squint their eyes and unable to clearly see the situation before them.

However, this beam of white light came and went quickly. Just two or three seconds later, the light disappeared without a trace.

In the center of the summoning circle, a slender figure appeared.

"Servant Saber, I have come in response to the summoning," a golden-haired, blue-eyed girl clad in silver armor addressed Tokiomi, saying, "Tell me, are you my Master?"

"...," Tokiomi remained silent for a while as he looked at the girl before him.

No matter how you looked at her, she had no connection whatsoever with the ancient King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, right?

He immediately glanced at his right hand, where the Command Seals had indeed appeared, indicating that this Servant was indeed summoned by him.

Casually, Tokiomi walked over to the stand where the Holy Relic was placed and grabbed the small box containing the relic. Upon opening it, he verified that it was indeed the oldest snake skin in the world, the one he had prepared, without being tampered with.

As he turned to look at Saber, who wore a perplexed expression, and then at the snake skin in his hand, Tokiomi felt a sense of despair rise within him. "Did I... buy a counterfeit?"

The same situation was unfolding elsewhere.

Inside a certain castle in Germany, a man dressed in a black overcoat had just completed his summoning.

As the dazzling light from the summoning circle gradually dissipated, a man with long white hair appeared before him, holding something resembling a staff in his hand.

"Kiritsugu, is this... King Arthur?" Irisviel, standing behind Kiritsugu, looked at the white-haired man summoned within the summoning circle, unsure.

Regardless, she couldn't connect the person holding the staff before her with the legendary Knight King, Arthur Pendragon.

Before Kiritsugu could respond, the white-haired man spoke first, "Of course, I am not King Arthur."

"Then who are you?" Kiritsugu asked, "Please introduce yourself."

"I am Merlin, also known as the Mage of Flowers, and I am the Merlin who assists King Arthur. Just call me Merlin, no need for formalities," said Merlin. With his right hand holding the staff, he tapped the ground, and a circle of radiant flowers blossomed at his feet.

"Did the summoning go wrong? I ended up summoning King Arthur's court magician," Kiritsugu took a puff of his cigarette and, looking at the bright side, thought, "But it doesn't matter, as long as they can fight."

"Ahaha, this Master sure loves to joke," Merlin laughed while casually rubbing the back of his head with his left hand, exuding extreme confidence. "I'm not joking at all. Apart from being excellent at running away and preserving my own life, I'm a complete waste when it comes to combat!"

"...Kiritsugu, can we return the Servant...?" Hearing Merlin's carefree words, Irisviel couldn't help but lean close to Kiritsugu's ear and ask softly.

Returning to Fuyuki, by this time, the sky had completely darkened.

And at this moment, Bai Song and Tom finally found a temporary base, or rather, a place to stay, which could be called a magical workshop to make it sound more impressive.

It was a house that had been uninhabited for at least 20 years. Just observing it from the window gave off a rather eerie feeling, making one wonder if there were any ghosts living inside.

However, Bai Song wasn't too bothered by it. After all, Bai Song had previously taken part-time jobs in haunted houses, so they weren't easily scared. And even if they did get scared, they had Tom to help them endure the horror, right?

To be honest, Bai Song had initially planned to smash the window to get in. But before they could execute the plan, they suddenly remembered that Tom could probably squeeze through the door crack. Although Tom would temporarily turn into a flat shape, they would return to normal as soon as the scene changed.

However... when Tom heard this request, they immediately became timid.

"Hey... Tom, why are you clinging to my leg?" Bai Song looked at Tom, who had both hands, feet, and tail wrapped around their lower leg, looking utterly confused. Bai Song tried to pull Tom down with their hands, but it had no effect. Instead, Tom's limbs turned into soft tentacles like an octopus, coiling around Bai Song's leg like a rope.