“You’ve improved, General. That move just now was a bit of a surprise, kid. But you’re such a clueless guy. You're clever, but you know nothing about magic. You have decent talent. Could you be the seventh person?”
Inside the dilapidated warehouse, Cú Chulainn held his spear, looking at Shirou Emiya, who was lying on the ground, a hint of surprise on his face. Judging from Shirou Emiya's counterattack just now, he must usually pay attention to physical training.
In addition to the enormous life force within him that even he found shocking, he could be said to be a very talented guy.
But even with such powerful talent, he could only be described as clueless when it came to magic. He only knew how to use the most basic Reinforcement magic. To him, who possessed ancient magic techniques, Shirou Emiya's Reinforcement magic was simply child's play.
“Forget it, it ends here anyway.”
Cú Chulainn, who couldn't figure out why Shirou Emiya was so weak after thinking for a while, was too lazy to dwell on it. He raised the spear in his hand, preparing to completely kill him. This time, he would cut Shirou Emiya into pieces to ensure that he had no chance of surviving.
“Don't screw with me!”
On the ground, Shirou Emiya staggered to his feet, his hand covering his heart. At this moment, he understood that the memories he previously thought were nightmares were actually real. He had really died once before.
However, he was saved after his death.
“I was just saved... Since I was saved, I can't die easily. I must live. If I die, everything is over. To die meaninglessly in a place like this... Killed by a guy like you who doesn't care about killing and stealing other people's lives...”
Speaking of which, Shirou Emiya raised his head to look at Cú Chulainn, who was already in an attacking stance. His brown pupils were filled with killing intent and anger. His heart began to beat rapidly, and wisps of purple-black, strange aura emerged from Shirou Emiya's body.
“I will kill a guy like you... Completely kill you!”
Following Shirou Emiya's angry roar, Cú Chulainn, who had already noticed the abnormality, unhesitatingly chose to attack, intending to directly kill Shirou Emiya in front of him.
Unfortunately, just as the spear was about to pierce Shirou Emiya's head, a burst of light suddenly lit up in the cluttered warehouse. A figure flashed past Shirou Emiya, and an invisible long sword directly blocked Cú Chulainn's attack.
Long golden hair draped over her shoulders. Her seemingly petite body gave people a sense of longing. Just her back view alone made Shirou Emiya subconsciously feel safe. It was just that when he saw the ahoge on the strange girl's head in front of him, Shirou Emiya always had an itchy feeling in his hands.
“I ask of you, are you my Master?”
The next second, the girl, with her back to Shirou Emiya, turned around. On her petite and delicate face, a pair of large, clear blue eyes looked at Shirou Emiya earnestly as she asked.
“Mas...ter?”
“Servant Saber, has come in response to your summoning. Master, please give your orders.”
“.......”
Looking at the girl in front of him who called herself Saber and spoke in a language he couldn't understand at all, Shirou Emiya suddenly felt a violent throbbing in his heart, as if it was about to jump out of his chest. Shirou Emiya subconsciously pressed his hand against his chest.
“So that's how it is. You are my Master. From now on, my sword will be with you, and your fate will coexist with mine. This contract is complete!”
The moment Shirou Emiya covered his heart, Saber felt an unimaginable surge of magical power pouring into her body. At the same time, along with the magical power came an undisguised killing intent and anger towards Cú Chulainn.
At this moment, Saber already understood her Master's first order, which was to kill the unknown Heroic Spirit in front of her and bring victory to her Master!
Immediately, Saber made a sword-gripping gesture with both hands. Shirou Emiya vaguely saw something appear in Saber's hands. Just as he was about to say something, Saber directly rushed out of the warehouse and began fighting with Cú Chulainn outside.
“What exactly is a contract?”
The moment Saber left, Shirou Emiya hurriedly chased after her and shouted. However, the next second, all his attention was completely drawn to the battle in the courtyard. He saw the man who had easily crushed him just now.
At this moment, he was fighting with the girl who called herself Saber. More importantly, Cú Chulainn was visibly being suppressed by Saber. Her heavy and rapid sword strikes nearly sent the Gáe Bolg in Cú Chulainn's hand flying several times.
“So… So strong!”
Looking at Cú Chulainn, who was gradually being suppressed in front of him, Shirou Emiya's expression gradually became ferocious. His heart was beating faster and faster, and an unnamed killing intent and anger gradually filled Shirou Emiya's mind.
“Kill... Kill him, Saber!”
A roar filled with killing intent suddenly echoed in the courtyard. The two who were fighting subconsciously looked towards him, only to see Shirou Emiya kneeling on the ground, his hand tightly gripping his heart, staring at them with a ferocious expression.
‘What exactly is going on with this kid?’
Looking at Shirou Emiya in this state, Cú Chulainn subconsciously felt a chill in his heart, as if the one staring at him at this moment was not a human teenager, but the cub of an indescribable monster, baring its fangs and roaring at him.
“Yes, Master.”
Saber, who was beside him, felt a little strange about her Master's appearance at this time, but feeling the magic power flowing from her Master's body becoming more and more powerful, Saber chose to obey Shirou Emiya's order and completely kill Cú Chulainn here.
After all, this was the Master with the strongest magic power she had encountered since participating in the Holy Grail War. Such powerful magic power not only allowed her to squander magic power at will, but even her originally powerful attributes were raised by half a level under the blessing of her Master's enormous magic power.
This time, with such a powerful Master, her long-cherished wish might... No, it will definitely be realized.
She will obtain the Holy Grail, return to the moment when the king was first elected through the Holy Grail, prevent herself from pulling out the Sword in the Stone, re-elect the king, and completely change the fate of the country.
“Sorry, Lancer follows Master's orders, you will be retiring here!”
Saying that, Saber leaned forward slightly and began to gather strength, raising her arms and tightly gripping the invisible Sword of Promised Victory wrapped in the Wind Curtain Barrier. Next, she would go all out and try to kill Cú Chulainn in one breath.
“Although it's probably redundant, I still have to ask, Saber, you don't have any intention of holding back, do you?”
Facing Saber who was about to kill him with all her might, Cú Chulainn's expression also became serious. His body squatted down slightly, and the arm holding the Gáe Bolg was raised, and bright red magic power began to burn on the spear blade.
“I refuse, you will be defeated by me here, Lancer.”
“Is that so... Originally, I was just planning to observe... But... I'll take your heart!”
“Hmm?”
Across from her, Saber also sensed a dangerous aura and instinctively made a defensive stance. Cú Chulainn, on the other hand, suddenly stepped forward with his front foot, the ground collapsing under the powerful force, and the entire courtyard was illuminated by the crimson magic light.
“Pierce, Gáe Bolg!”
In the next instant, as the incantation for the Noble Phantasm's release echoed, Cú Chulainn's Gáe Bolg transformed into a blood-red lightning bolt, instantly traversing space to strike Saber's heart.
Bang!
At the critical moment, Saber's powerful Instinct allowed her body to act instinctively, successfully blocking the attack just as it was about to pierce her heart. The immense impact instantly shattered the ground around Saber, and Shirou Emiya, who was kneeling nearby, was also blasted away by the shockwave.
However, Saber had no time to worry about her Master at this moment. Her body began to sink under the force of Gáe Bolg, and her hands gripping the sword hilt began to tremble.
"Ha!"
In the next second, Saber suddenly mustered all her strength and swung. The illusory sword in her hand burst open with a violent gust of wind, instantly deflecting Gáe Bolg. As a price, the sword hidden by Saber was revealed to Cú Chulainn.
"This is... the Sword of the Lake, so it's you!"
Upon seeing the incomparably magnificent golden sword in Saber's hand, Cú Chulainn understood the identity of the person before him: Artoria Pendragon, the legendary King of Britain, also known as Arthur, hailed as the knight among knights, and the King of Knights.
"Gáe Bolg, you are the one known as the Child of Light from Ireland..."
Facing Cú Chulainn, who had recognized her identity, Artoria was not surprised at all. After all, wielding the Sword in the Stone was the best proof of her true identity. The reason she had previously concealed the Sword in the Stone's appearance with the Wind Curtain was to prevent her enemies from easily learning her identity.
However, all in all, this time it wasn't a complete loss. Although her identity had been revealed to the opponent, Artoria also understood the other party's identity. However, just as she was about to speak, Artoria suddenly sensed a fatal crisis.
This time, by the time Artoria reacted, Gáe Bolg was already close at hand. It was completely too late to block it. In the final moment, Artoria could only try her best to avoid being hit in a vital spot.
Puchi!
In an instant, the sound of flesh being pierced rang out, and Artoria's body collapsed. Gáe Bolg, having completed its mission, returned to Cú Chulainn's hand once more.
However, facing his successful strike on Artoria, Cú Chulainn's face showed no joy, only endless anger and disbelief. Veins bulged on his forehead.
"You dodged my attack!"
Cú Chulainn looked at Artoria, who had stood up again, his tone filled with suppressed anger and shame. Someone... someone had actually survived his guaranteed kill, and even dodged it.
"Curse... No, that just now was causality reversal!"
Artoria, kneeling on the ground, looked at Cú Chulainn's angry face and guessed the effect of his Noble Phantasm. It was a causality reversal ability that surpassed curses, representing a guaranteed hit once used.
That attack just now, although it didn't completely pierce her heart, had already seriously injured her.
"Tch! Miscalculation. I revealed this guy, and it would have been bad if it wasn't a guaranteed kill."
Looking at Artoria kneeling on the ground, Cú Chulainn clicked his tongue in annoyance. Then, under Artoria's puzzled gaze, he turned around and walked away.
"My Master is a coward, saying he'll retreat just because the attack was dodged."
"You're going to run away?"
"It's fine if you want to chase after me, but you must be prepared to die!"
Hearing Artoria say that he was going to run away, Cú Chulainn turned his head and glared fiercely at Artoria before leaping onto the rooftop and leaving.
"Kill him, Saber, kill..."
At this moment, Shirou Emiya, who had been blasted away by the shockwave, suddenly appeared, staggering. His eyes were filled with murderous intent as he stared at Cú Chulainn's departing figure, shouting to kill him. However, in the next second, just as Artoria was preparing to continue the pursuit...
Shirou Emiya's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. His wildly beating heart gradually returned to normal.
"..."
Looking at her fallen Master, Artoria chose to abandon the pursuit and walked to Shirou Emiya's side, helping him up and heading inside.
"Where is this?"
Inside the room, just as Artoria had put Shirou Emiya down, he slowly woke up from his unconsciousness. Looking at the familiar ceiling before him, he then noticed the unfamiliar blonde girl beside him and subconsciously asked.
"Wait, who are you?"
"Saber!"
"Saber? What exactly is the contract you spoke of before..."
Speaking to this point, Shirou Emiya suddenly sat up and looked at the location of his heart. He suddenly remembered his previous frenzied, murderous appearance. Even Shirou Emiya himself felt uncomfortable when he recalled it now.
He was clearly not this kind of person, so why did he suddenly become like that?
Could it be because he had almost died twice at that person's hands, and he had become like this out of fear and despair?
"Master, what's wrong?"
Artoria looked at Shirou Emiya, who had stopped in the middle of his sentence, with a puzzled expression. She didn't know why, but her instincts told her that the current Master was somewhat different from the previous one, as if they were two different beings.
"I'm probably sick."
"Ha?"
"It's nothing. Saber, can you tell me why you call me Master, and other things?"
Looking at Artoria's questioning expression, Shirou Emiya quickly shook his head, indicating that he was fine. Then, he began to ask about the Holy Grail War, and Artoria told him everything she knew.
.........
"It seems the plan is going smoothly?"
On the first floor of the Tohsaka residence, Lu Minghao leaned against the sofa, watching Shirou Emiya on TV, asking Artoria about the Holy Grail War. Looking at Shirou Emiya on the screen, who was completely unaware of what was happening to his body, a sinister smile appeared on the corners of Lu Minghao's mouth.
Previously, when Rin Tohsaka intended to use a Command Seal to forcibly order him to save Shirou Emiya, Lu Minghao stopped her. Although he verbally agreed to Rin Tohsaka that he would save Shirou Emiya, in reality, he had already abandoned his first Master, Rin Tohsaka, in his heart.
Initially, Lu Minghao actually still held a sliver of hope for Rin Tohsaka, thinking that with his appearance, Rin Tohsaka, after witnessing his almost overwhelming power, would change somewhat in order to win the Holy Grail War.
But the result was that Lu Minghao had overestimated Rin Tohsaka.
Therefore, when Rin Tohsaka asked Lu Minghao to save Shirou Emiya, Lu Minghao, with the mentality of doing an experiment, first intended to experiment a little. Later, he realized that since he was already planning to modify Shirou Emiya, why not go all the way?
Directly give Shirou Emiya a major overhaul, modifying him into the appearance he needed. When the time came, he could directly replace Shirou Emiya as his Master. As for Rin Tohsaka... As a kind and benevolent Slime.
Rin Tohsaka, as his first Master, he would give her a wonderful death, which could be considered repaying her.
