Type-Moon, is this really not the Reverse Side of the World?

When Irisviel and Artoria arrived at the edge of the battlefield, all they saw was a giant crater. The scene of destruction covered an area several miles in radius. Everything within it had been annihilated, leaving only a massive crater as if a meteorite had struck.

As Irisviel frowned, her eyes filled with tension and worry—Servants had fought on her territory without her knowledge, and...

"Irisviel."

Irisviel turned to see Gilgamesh and Aoi, who had appeared at the edge of the crater at some point.

"What are you doing here?" Irisviel's tone was hostile.

"As the head of the Tohsaka family, I have a duty to monitor and eliminate any potential threats to Fuyuki City," Aoi said, then looked at Irisviel, who only had Artoria with her. "Where is Jiuan?"

Irisviel froze. She subconsciously glanced at Artoria, who had immediately moved to block her path upon seeing Gilgamesh. Lin Jiuan was missing!

After hearing that dragon's roar, Irisviel's first reaction was to go find Lin Jiuan upstairs. But when she got to his room, she found only Artoria. He was gone. The situation was urgent; she worried that whoever had taken him might still be here. She didn't have time to reprimand Artoria for failing to watch him and just told her to bring her here at once.

Seeing Irisviel's evasive gaze, Aoi's expression turned cold. "You lost Jiuan?"

"I will find him!"

"Find him? With you, a stupid woman who can't even take care of him?"

"That's still better than you, a shameless woman who seduces other men while having a husband!"

Just as Irisviel and Aoi's argument heated up, Artoria swung her sword, deflecting a longsword that had suddenly materialized from the void and shot toward Irisviel's face.

"Quick reflexes," Gilgamesh noted contemptuously, looking at Artoria. "An improvement from last night. It seems that 'thing' wasn't eaten for nothing."

"It's more than enough to kill you," Artoria said coldly.

"Oh, is that so?" Gilgamesh's blood-red eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Aoi Tohsaka, do you want to fight?" Irisviel was startled, then glared at Aoi.

"I need to find Jiuan right now. I don't have time to waste with you."

"That's what I was about to say. I wonder who started it!"

"I have no time to argue with a woman who is all talk and nothing else," Aoi said, then looked to Gilgamesh. "Your Majesty."

Gilgamesh tilted her chin up, looking down arrogantly at the 155cm-tall Artoria, a cruel smile suddenly appearing on her lips. "I'll be coming to kill you tonight, Saber."

"That's my line," Artoria retorted, not backing down. "After Iri and I find Jiuan, it will be your time to die, Archer!"

Gilgamesh scoffed and turned to leave with Aoi. "Iri, let's go find Jiuan too," Artoria said after watching them disappear. But there was no response.

Artoria turned her head and saw Irisviel scrutinizing her, her brows furrowed with a hint of suspicion and blame. "Iri, what is it? Is there something on me?"

"Saber, weren't you watching Jiuan? Why did he disappear without you knowing?" Irisviel couldn't help but ask. "And... I've been meaning to ask, why do you have a strange smell on you? And why are you calling him 'Jiuan' now? Didn't you dislike him before?"

Artoria's expression stiffened. She couldn't very well say that she had secretly 'eaten' Jiuan behind Irisviel's back, and then, having lost control and eaten too much, she had been knocked out by the surge of mana. By the time she was awakened by the dragon's roar, he was already gone, and then Irisviel had burst in before she had time to clean up.

"Regarding Jiuan's disappearance, it was my dereliction of duty. For that, I am deeply sorry," she said. "As for the other questions, let's find him first. Don't worry, Iri. After eating that 'thing' from Jiuan, although I don't know his exact location, I can sense that he is still alive and unharmed."

A normal adult certainly wouldn't be so easily placated by Artoria's deflection. But Irisviel was simple-hearted. Confirming that Lin Jiuan was currently safe, most of her worries subsided, and her displeasure with Artoria's failure lessened considerably.

"Okay. In any case, we absolutely must find Jiuan before that shameless woman Aoi Tohsaka does! We absolutely cannot let him fall into her hands and be defiled by her!"

"Of course!" Artoria's expression was grim. "I will do my best to atone for my mistake and bring him back, Iri."

I haven't had nearly enough to eat yet! If he's going to be defiled, it can only be by me, Artoria!

Meanwhile, in Fuyuki City.

A boy with white hair and red eyes, his face pale and lips bloodless, blended into the crowd. "I overdid it." That last ground-clearing attack, unleashing all his mana through the dragon's heart, had felt great, but it had also consumed a massive amount of his power. Now, Lin Jiuan felt incredibly hungry.

Watching the humans walk past him was like a starving beggar watching platters of hot, fragrant, and delicious food being laid out before them. A voice in his head constantly urged him to devour all this food. "It's a good thing I'm an adult. If I were really a Beast, I wouldn't be able to resist this temptation." A feast of helpless 'food' parading before him. If he ate them, he would face no meaningful resistance while replenishing his depleted mana and increasing his power. Lin Jiuan didn't think an uneducated infant could resist such a primal, instinctual temptation.

"But I'm so hungry."

Lin Jiuan stood by a restaurant, looking through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the various delicious dishes on the diners' tables, swallowing repeatedly. As a 'Beast' from the Tokyo Greater Grail, the lack of mana made him want to devour all life to replenish it and ease his hunger. But as a 'human', his instinct made him want to eat food. Even though he knew the tiny bit of mana in food couldn't possibly suppress his craving for power, he just wanted to eat.

But he had no money. And he didn't want to go back to the Tohsaka house or the Einzbern castle to be fought over again. He could only stand outside, staring wistfully at the food, swallowing his saliva.

"What an adorable little one."

Just then, a young woman with hair like fiery red flames and exceptionally beautiful features crouched down beside him. She said gently, "Why are you all alone here?"

....

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