"Who's that guy?"
Waver looked dazed; he still knew the faces and names of the Masters who participated in this Holy Grail War, and there was definitely no red-haired teenager among them. The red-haired child was another matter, but if the other party had suddenly grown up, Waver thought it was impossible. It was at this time that Waver saw Saber standing behind the red-haired boy.
"That's————!?"
Suddenly, a bunch of question marks appeared in Waver's mind. Why would Saber be with someone other than her Master? And it seemed that he was still fighting alongside the red-haired boy against the Hero King, Gilgamesh. Even looking at the scene of the battle, it was the boy who was confronting Gilgamesh head-on. Could it be an eighth Heroic Spirit? Waver felt like his brain was rusty, and he couldn't figure out the cause and effect. Why did everything seem to change so much after that feast?
While Waver was thinking hard, the surrounding heaven and earth seemed to be affected by some kind of force, cutting through the sky and tearing the earth apart. Then, along with the Hero King and Saber, the three of them suddenly disappeared.
"This???"
Waver watched the scene in bewilderment, while Rider spoke out in surprise.
"Oh, it's a Reality Marble! I didn't expect that young man to also have a Reality Marble!"
Hearing this, Waver fell into shock, and his heart could not be calm for a long time.
"No, we'll have to get out of here. It will be bad if they find us."
Rider still has some magic, but Waver is exhausted at the moment, and he really can't support the strain of a battle. Seeing that Waver was not in good condition, Rider also agreed to retreat temporarily. Waver hurriedly packed up his things and moved away from the Tohsaka Mansion as fast as he could. But in any case, everything that happened tonight was deeply etched in his mind.
This day, as the date of an unprecedented anomalous celestial phenomenon, left a deep memory in the minds of the people of Fuyuki City. The northerly wind stopped as if in a dream, and the heavy, turbid air vanished under the scorching summer sun; the out-of-season sunlight was blazing. The hot and humid weather, which cannot be explained by weather forecasters, appears only in the area centered on Fuyuki City, and the citizens have a strange premonition and are in a commotion.
A succession of urban guerrilla incidents, brutal murders, and disappearances of young children still have no solution, and the lifting of the curfew is still far away. The day before yesterday, there was also an industrial wastewater disaster in the Mion River. The strange events of the past few days have stirred the fragile nerves of the people, and for those who are already exhausted, the anomaly of the weather is a harbinger of an even greater catastrophe to come.
By the time Waver Velvet returned to the house of Mr. and Mrs. Mackenzie in Miyama Town, the night sky had already begun to turn white. He had walked the aisles at night for hours, and if he hadn't encountered a taxi on the road, he wouldn't have been able to get back even by morning. In that remote place, he was lucky enough to meet an empty car, and he didn't know whether to be grateful or angry.
The god of luck should have been on Rider's side when the battle between Saber and Archer was at its peak. This misplaced luck could only be met with sadness. Waver, who finally had a good rest, woke up from his dream and opened his eyes to see the darkness of the night.
"Have I slept for so long...?"
"Yo, you're awake," Rider, who sensed Waver's wakefulness, said. "The air seems dreary tonight, and I have a hunch that the final battle is coming."
Hearing Rider's words, Waver's heart tightened.
"The Last Battle..."
In the end, only one person will survive, and the remaining one will be able to claim the almighty wishing machine, the Holy Grail. As far as Waver knew, the only competitors that were excluded were the Assassin, whom Rider had personally crushed, and Caster, who had been obliterated by an unknown existence. And which side between the red-haired boy and Saber—whom he saw by chance last night fighting Archer—will be the final victor can only be known when that moment arrives tonight.
"Hmm... The other party exuded a fluctuation of magical power, and it seemed that he was inviting us to come over," Rider said suddenly.
"Is he here...?"
Waver swallowed, feeling a little nervous. Seeing Waver wince, Rider laughed and patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry, no matter what, I will keep you safe!"
"I...," Waver was momentarily speechless. He wanted to say that this was also a battle to prove himself, but as the battle of life and death approached, tension was more turbulent than courage.
Rider drew his sword and sliced through the sky.
"Show up, my steed!"
With a call, a familiar mount rushed out of the torn void. The horned Heroic Horse, Bucephalus. The legendary steed that once carried the King of Conquerors and ravaged the eastern world. Now traveling to the battle, it sped across the asphalt, hissing in its eagerness to fight.
"Come on, boy. It's not as secure as it is on the chariot, but let's just go."
Rider, who was on his horse, shifted his body backwards to free up Waver's place. Waver, however, shook his head with a wry smile. The back of a horse that is unparalleled in the world is a place where only heroes are qualified to ride, and it is by no means a place where ordinary juniors can stay. For example, an incompetent magus who can't even do the basics of hypnotic magecraft... or the clown who is not able to do anything and will only get in the way of the King's hegemony...
The glorious path upon which the King of Conquerors, Iskandar, is about to travel is not to be tarnished at will. Waver Velvet once thought he was good enough to be a winner, and he was complacent. But now it's different. After more than a week, and after seeing the real heroes with his own eyes, he understood his incompetence and insignificance. He has understood his own weakness; although he is not depressed, he also understands that he is not qualified to participate in the battle.
But at least in the moments of parting on the eve of the battle, Waver still wanted his Servant to win. Determined, Waver raised his right hand, and the scarlet Command Spell on the back of his hand shone brightly.
"With this Command Spell, Rider, you must seize the final victory."
The Command Spell was used to drive the Servant, and it was only used for Waver's survival in the past, but now it's different.