"I hereby declare."
Standing at the edge of the magic circle, Daniel extended his right hand and began reciting the summoning incantation for a Heroic Spirit. It was a line he had long wanted to say, and now, finally, the moment had come.
With a flash of golden light, a blonde girl clad in blue armor slowly emerged from the circle. Seeing her figure, Daniel finally breathed a sigh of relief. While using Avalon as a catalyst had a very high chance of summoning Artoria Pendragon, it wasn't 100%. There was always the possibility of summoning other members of the Round Table, such as Mordred.
Catalysts didn't always summon the original wielder—they could also bring forth related individuals. The summoning system simply prioritized the strongest connection. For instance, when Tokiomi Tohsaka used a snakeskin to summon Gilgamesh, technically either young Gilgamesh or Caster Gil could have appeared.
"Are you my Master?" she asked calmly.
"Yes, I am. Let's head upstairs."
They moved to the villa's living room. Upon seeing the table full of food, Artoria's eyes lit up. When Daniel gave her the okay, she sat down and began eating without hesitation.
When it came to food, no one present could outdo Artoria. Though her table manners were proper and elegant, the speed and volume with which she consumed the food stunned Rin and Ishtar. They had expected the legendary King of Knights to be stoic and noble—not a closet glutton.
"Master, have you all formed an alliance? The Holy Grail can only grant one person's wish."
After eating, Artoria quickly returned to a composed state, eyeing Ishtar warily. She harbored a deep obsession with the Holy Grail, driven by her wish to change a tragic fate.
"I'm not giving up the Grail to anyone."
Rin had no strong desire for the Grail, but Ishtar was different—her wish was simple: an enormous amount of gems.
"There's something you both need to know: the Holy Grail has been corrupted. It can't properly grant wishes."
Daniel proceeded to explain the situation regarding the Great Grail's corruption. Strictly speaking, the corrupted Grail could still grant wishes, but with a twisted interpretation. For example, if someone wished to run faster, instead of improving their speed, the Grail might just eliminate everyone faster than them.
Outside of someone like Kirei Kotomine, most wouldn't want anything to do with such a Grail.
"So this was all for nothing?" Ishtar's expression darkened instantly. The only reason she had descended was the promise of vast quantities of gems.
"That can't be..." Artoria muttered, disbelief in her eyes. Another failed chance to realize her wish.
"Saber, what is your wish?" Daniel asked, feigning ignorance though he already knew.
After a moment's hesitation, Saber voiced her wish. She didn't want to stop Britain's collapse per se—she just couldn't accept the way it had ended.
Although she lacked clairvoyance, she had seen Britain's fate the moment she pulled the sword from the stone. It was destined to fall.
Rin and Ishtar fell silent upon hearing her heartfelt explanation, unsure how to respond.
"Saber, I'm sorry to tell you this, but even a normal Holy Grail wouldn't be able to grant that wish."
"Why not?" Saber asked sharply, her voice rising.
"There are many reasons. First, let me explain the nature of human history."
Daniel launched into a broad explanation. In this world governed by the two great forces of Alaya and Gaia, changing the past was nearly impossible. These Counter Forces existed precisely to prevent such alterations—Chaldea and its Guardians served this very role.
If Saber changed Britain's fate, it would become a Singularity. Chaldea would be dispatched to fix it. If she pushed further to make Britain eternal, it would become a Lostbelt.
This wasn't like the worlds where Daniel served as Grand Mage of Qin or Emperor of the Tang Empire. Those worlds had no Counter Force, and his actions were unrestricted. And even if they did, he wouldn't care. If altering fate meant improving his people's destiny, he was willing to clash with such systems.
In the multiverse of the Nasuverse, Lostbelts replacing Proper Human History wasn't rare—some even succeeded. Not every Chaldea managed to save humanity. In the Marvel universe alone, there were countless timelines lost to zombies, mutants, or Ultron's annihilation.
"If you're willing to sacrifice Proper Human History, it's not impossible to save Britain."
Make Britain a Lostbelt and replace the current human timeline—just like a certain gundam-piloting politician once attempted.
"This can't be happening..."
Saber lowered her head, heartbroken. Others might have seized such an opportunity. But not her. She would never save Britain at the cost of humanity.
"You did the best you could. No one could have ruled better than you in that time."
Daniel continued, offering her perspective from human history's point of view.
During the great debate of the three kings, Iskandar and Gilgamesh had mocked her ideals. But if either of them had been in her place, they would've done worse. The age Saber ruled was the twilight of the Age of Gods—when divine beings retreated, chaos reigned, and ancient monsters ran rampant. It was an era of ruin.
"Eventually, I'll take her to see the Round Table Knights. That should help her heal."
One of Saber's greatest regrets was the fracturing of the Round Table. If she could see that none of her knights ever truly betrayed her—not even Mordred—it would bring her peace.
"Camelot. She should see the Sixth Singularity. And that other timeline—the one with a real Grail. Those are must-visits."
"Fine. Let's just treat this like a vacation."
Ishtar, having gotten over her disappointment, quickly rebounded.
"Gray, are you alright?"
In a remote courtyard in Fuyuki, Waver looked worriedly at his apprentice Gray, who clutched her chest.
"I'm fine, teacher. It's just…"
She couldn't quite explain it. Her heart pounded wildly, and magic circuits within her surged uncontrollably.
"Gray, your hair… how is this possible? The transformation ritual should've ended."
To Waver's horror, a lock of Gray's silver hair had turned gold. The difference between her and Artoria had always been that contrast. If her hair changed, she'd resemble the King of Knights even more.
Fortunately, only one lock had changed. That was enough to calm him—for now.
"Something's off. We're going back to the Clock Tower."
Waver paced in deep thought before finally making a decision.
"I'm fine, really."
Gray didn't want him to leave. They had come all this way to participate in the Grail War, and despite his frailty, Waver had complained not once.
"Alright. But if anything happens, tell me immediately. Understood?"
She nodded. Reassured, Waver began his summoning ritual.
Having studied the Grail system for years, and being a Master in the previous war, Waver quickly manifested Command Seals on his arm and began the summoning chant. Though normally calm, he couldn't help but feel nervous at the thought of seeing Iskandar again.
But when the circle activated and the figure emerged, Waver's expression changed.
"Are you my Master?" asked a handsome red-haired youth.
"…No way."
It was Iskandar. But not the king who had set out for the Ends of the Earth—this was the young prince.
Waver understood. His intense desire to see that Iskandar had blinded him to the nuances of summoning.
"Teacher?"
"Oh, right…"
Thanks to Gray's reminder, Waver snapped out of it and regained composure. A young conqueror… was still the Conqueror.
Boom.
A deafening crash rocked the Fuyuki Church. A figure was sent flying through the window, landing hard in the courtyard.
"Well now, Kotomine. That's quite the sorry state."
Standing on the rooftop in casual modern attire, wine glass in hand, was Gilgamesh. He smiled down at Kirei Kotomine, who now bore a fresh fist-shaped dent in his chest.
"What happened, Master?"
Cu Chulainn burst in, immediately moving to his Master's side.
"Be careful. That's the famous King of Heroes."
A masked Daniel stood beside Bazett Fraga McRemitz, softly warning her.
Bazett, a member of the Mage's Association and designated Sealing Executor, was Cu's true Master. In the original timeline, she never even made it to the war—her Servant stolen by Kotomine.
Daniel normally wouldn't intervene. But upon discovering she was Cu's descendant, he couldn't ignore it. Cu had once taught him Primordial Runes—Daniel owed him.
Since Bazett's death was orchestrated by Kotomine, he simply had one of his shadow clones tail him. The one beside her now, however, was his real self.
"You seem well-informed. Then I'll just eliminate you all."
Still holding his wine glass, Gilgamesh summoned dozens of weapons behind him in golden portals.
"Bastard!"
Cu moved in front of Bazett, spear at the ready.
"No need to rush, Mr. Streetlight King. Tonight, you're the one who's going down."
"YOU DARE—!"
The nickname "Streetlight King" enraged Gil. He'd lived in the modern world for ten years—of course he knew what it meant.
Shing!
Clang!
Gil unleashed his barrage. Dozens of weapons rained down, but Cu deflected them all with glowing crimson arcs.
"Streetlight King—haha!"
Just as Gil prepared to unleash another attack, a voice interrupted him. He turned, scowling as he recognized the arrival.
"You descended? I see…"
Ishtar, flanked by Rin, had arrived. Even without activating his Clairvoyance, Gil understood how she had manifested.
"Rin," Kirei muttered, surprised.
"Don't call me that, Kotomine. I'm here to avenge my parents."
Her eyes burned with fury.
"So you know… Pity. I had hoped to reveal it to you myself—right before I killed you."
Kirei looked almost disappointed. He had wanted to savor her reaction.
"Why did I even come? I really didn't want to see him again."
A voice full of disdain echoed from another direction.
It was, of course, young Gilgamesh. Daniel had been very eager to see this moment—when two Gilgameshes met face to face.
______
(≧◡≦) ♡ Support me and read 20 chapters ahead – patreon.com/Mutter
• Every 100 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.• Every 5 reviews = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.