Or, why don’t you find another savior?

However, the fake Enkidu did not recover and regrow his arm as quickly as before.

Obviously, the confrontation between the two treasures had consumed a lot of his energy. Rather than recovering from external injuries, the power of the Holy Grail was prioritizing filling the internal consumption.

It's just a matter of time.

We must counterattack while the fake Enkidu has lost an arm and is not yet stable.

Shiomi was the first to rush towards the opponent, but he only saw the fake Enkidu sneering.

He then noticed the broken section of the arm that had disappeared up to the root. What he saw was not flesh and bones, but a deep dark shadow.

The Demon Pillar emerged from the broken shoulder of the fake Enkidu, and its evil tentacles swept towards Shiomi on their own accord.

There was a roar from the seaside, and Shiomi, who was retreating, saw more demon pillars emerging from the ground.

Exactly the same demon pillars that were destroyed on the northern city wall just yesterday.

Romani said that the Demon Pillar exists based on the "Seventy-two Pillars", so there will always be seventy-two Demon Pillars at all times.

Therefore, even if it is destroyed at this moment, it will be reborn immediately under the seat of the Magic King.

"I originally thought it was unnecessary. I don't need the little gift left by the Magic King." Fake Enkidu walked to the side, and the demon pillar that emerged from his arm left his body and stood alone on the beach. "It seems that it is necessary to bring these demons with us. The foolish people who rebel against the gods need such opponents to deal with them."

The Demon Pillars were not troublesome, but when the fake Enkidu released these Demon Pillars, Artoria had just released her Noble Phantasm, and Shiomi did not have time to retreat to a safe area, so one person was killed and one was injured.

Not to mention the frequent attacks of several demon pillars, which made it impossible for Altria to accumulate strength and release her second treasure to wipe out these demon pillars.

Those eyes that were as huge as gems but full of ominous aura lit up one after another, and the explosions without tracks almost brushed past the two people who kept dodging.

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, the fake Enkidu arrogantly stretched out his remaining arm. More chains passed through the gaps between the demon pillars and surrounded the two from all directions.

There is no way to retreat.

To avoid the attack of the Demon Pillar, you have to face the chains. To avoid the Chains of Heaven, you have to take the attack of the Demon Pillar head-on.

Then, a door opened at his feet, and chains came out and entangled Shiomi, who was the priority of the attack, and bound his neck and arms.

"not good--"

The feeling of suppressed power came over him again, and just before Shiomi struggled to lose control of his magic power, he raised the red spear in his hand.

Because he was entangled in chains, Artoria was distracted and was also entangled in chains on her way over.

The "Chains of Heaven" is a treasure that can bind even the Bull of Heaven. The higher the divinity, the harder it is to break free.

The hand holding the holy spear could not move, and at the same time, Artoria made a mistake due to distraction, and several chains pierced her abdomen, shoulders and thighs.

"Altria——!" Shiomi shouted worriedly.

At this time, the red spear that had released his real name had already flown out. The fake Enkidu tried to block it, but was pierced through the heart by the red spear and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"...The gun will hit the heart..." The fake Enki's legs were bent, and he looked like he was about to fall. He pulled out the gun and threw it aside, "If it can't destroy the Holy Grail, it will just pierce the heart and--"

Before he finished speaking, the abnormality of his body told the fake Enkidu that the problem was not that simple. Enkidu, who died from the curse of the gods during his lifetime, had an absolute weakness to the curse of death in this body.

Although Zhu Qiang's curse is not as strong as those of the gods, it should not be underestimated.

Even with the Holy Grail as the core, the false Enkidu realized that he could not fight anymore.

Moreover, a third person arrived on the battlefield.

Scathach's red spear pierced through the bodies of several demon pillars like a missile, cutting them in half, and caused an explosion near the false Enkidu.

Unable to gain further results, False Enkidu once again launched a dense barrage of weapons that landed on this side of the battlefield.

Amid the chaotic explosion, he dragged his severely injured body into the air and disappeared at the end of the sky.

"Too slow, Master..."

Having regained his freedom, Shiomi held the injured Altria in his arms in the chaos, and then complained jokingly.

"I thought we were evacuating people quickly enough... but it was still a little slow compared to the other side's retreat speed."

Scathach picked up the red spear that Shiomi dropped and said helplessly.

Chapter 1: Night on the Plain ()

When Altria slowly woke up, her injuries had almost healed.

The carriage moved slowly on the plain road, with some bumps, and she leaned in Shiomi's arms. He was like a huge pillow, making her body sink deeply into it.

She heard Shiomi and Scathach talking.

"So the Holy Grail is in the hands of that fake Enkidu?" said Scathach.

"That's what the other party said himself. I didn't expect that the Holy Grail was in his hands." Xi Jian thought thoughtfully, "But now that the location of the Holy Grail has been exposed, I don't think the fake Enqi will appear in front of us again in the short term."

As long as the Magic King's Holy Grail is successfully recovered, this singularity will begin to repair itself. There is no way the fake Enkidu is unaware of this.

"According to the information provided by Uruk, Enkidu is already dead. So is this Enkidu who appears in front of us now and admits that he is not an impostor, a replica created by the Holy Grail?" Scathach said, looking at the slowly moving horses.

"It should... be more than just a replica." Altria opened her eyes and spoke softly.

Xi Jian lowered her head: "Are you okay now?"

"... a little... not so easy." Altria hesitated for a moment, and only answered this, and then continued the previous topic, "The core power of that person undoubtedly comes from the weapon of God. Now that the Mesopotamian gods can no longer interfere with the lower world, the Holy Grail alone should not be enough to create something exactly the same as Enkidu."

"What do you mean?" Xiomi was very curious.

He adjusted his arm slightly, allowing Altria to sit up a little, so that she could lean against him more comfortably.

"It's just a guess. The body of the Heavenly Chain, the Holy Grail, and the Demon Pillar." Altria continued, "I'm afraid that when the Magic King sent the Holy Grail to this era, he provided a lot of support to the power of the false Enkidu."

"Shouldn't the Magic King devote himself to the next stage after the burning of human principles is completed? Why—" As soon as Shiomi had the question, the question melted away naturally like ice in early spring.

Even though the Human Burning had been completed, the Magic King still had a premonition that his great cause would be overturned, so he repeatedly appeared before Shiomi, trying to undermine his reasons for resisting.

Humans who have overcome death and evolved should no longer fight for the old humans.

——This is what the Magic King said.

At the end of that dream, the Magic King said that the seventh singularity would be their destination. It was a warning and also a hint.

It is implied that in the Seventh Singularity, which was a time long before the birth of the Magic King, he had more deployments and interferences.

Seeing Shiomi's surprised expression, Scathach smiled knowingly. She also agreed with Altria: "Not only that, remember, the real Gilgamesh did not return to Uruk in this era."

"You mean, the reason for Gilgamesh's disappearance may be related to this fake Enkidu?" Shiomi pinched his chin, "Or maybe he is the reason for Gilgamesh's disappearance?"

When Gilgamesh, who is on his journey to find the elixir of immortality, reappears his dead friend, Shiomi is unsure whether the man will lose his composure because of this.

Only by asking Gilgamesh, the servant who cannot leave the tower, can we get a relatively clear answer.

But no matter how you think about it, that impostor is a very suitable candidate to capture or even kill Gilgamesh.

"We'll work our way out when the time comes. Instead of racking our brains here, we should continue investigating this singularity. This will help us uncover the truth of these problems more quickly." Scathach said. She looked at the sky and drove the carriage to a stop by the river.

"Master?"

"At this rate, it will be almost dawn even if we return to Uruk. We might as well rest for a while." Scathach turned around and rubbed Xi Jian's cheek. "Even if you are okay, the Knight King is not."

Altria, lying in Shiomi's arms, just lowered her eyes and did not comment.

"Although the spirit core was not damaged, being pierced through the body by the Heaven's Chain is no small injury." Xi Jian sighed, "I'm sorry, if I hadn't been trapped by the Heaven's Chain, you wouldn't have been distracted."

Hearing his apology, Altria raised one hand and Shiomi held it.

The restored magic power was transmitted bit by bit, and it seemed as if as soon as Altria closed her eyes, she could see her spiritual foundation gradually recovering.

In fact, she could have gotten up from Xijian's arms and leaned against the carriage to rest.

But this is better.

Maintaining physical contact as much as possible can effectively gain magic power.

——Reasons like these are not enough to explain why she accepts the status quo.

The Son of the Red Dragon was born as a perfect king, but when he failed to die peacefully, he was transformed into a god by the secret properties within the Holy Spear.

Looking back, you will find what a lonely road it was, but she never noticed it.

Only when faced with Shiomi, who has a similar nature, would he make the decision to invite her without even understanding her own situation.

When man refused to transform into God, God took back the human heart.

The positions between humans and gods are so similar, not to mention the same desire to save the world.

I want to be his strength, I want to be relied upon by him, and I also want to... rely on him.

Humans are by no means creatures that can exist alone, so they acknowledge their own weakness and support each other.

Same for myself.

"Well, at this rate, even when daybreak comes, we will still need to continue recuperating after returning to Uruk." Scathach signaled to Xijian with her eyes.

“…I know.” Xijian is not an innocent child and knows it better than anyone else.

"Then what are you still hesitating about?" Scathach stroked Shiomi's lips with her fingers. "When we said goodbye at the sixth singularity, weren't some things already very clear?"

"I don't want to be killed by my master." Xi Jian said jokingly.

"If I really had this idea at that time, the gun would have pierced your throat long ago." Scathach pinched her beloved disciple's face fiercely and said with ambiguous and teasing words, "It's better to say that the master will help you hide it from Morgan."

Shiomi really wanted to say that she didn't think some things could be hidden from her, but Scathach just smiled and walked towards the river, not sure whether to fetch water or take a bath.

While speaking these words to her master, Altria just leaned quietly on his chest without saying a word. Only her flushed cheeks and rippling eyes showed that she was not very relaxed.

"Master... do you find it unacceptable?"

"There is no such thing..."

However, actions can express one's current mood more directly than words.

Chapter 2: Night on the Plain ()

Altria Pendragon does not have as much experience in communicating with the opposite sex as her teacher Merlin or her brother Kai.

He had a wife named Guinevere, but their relationship was only in name only.

Therefore, Altria herself was actually very vague about what kind of emotions and thoughts she had towards Xijian Tianxi.

A rejected invitation is just a momentary anger, which will fade away with time. Then you will understand his reasons for not being able to accept it and agree with it from the bottom of your heart.

Perhaps if Shiomi had accepted the invitation at the beginning, she might have felt that it was not a good idea and regarded him as a vase or a decoration that should be taken to the end.

When they said goodbye at the top of the tower, she realized how much everything she had done in the sixth singularity was excessive for him and how much trouble it had caused him.

Rather, he never really resented her for being the Lion King, but just wanted to awaken her heart as a human being.

In those final moments, she tried to express her apology as she knew how to do it to a man.

She had no experience of living as a human being, so she simply replaced the most appropriate way of expressing apology that she had ever heard with the wrong behavior.

But a kiss as an apology has gone beyond its original meaning.

Wrong behavior can also lead to right results.

Just like now, although it was just an act of replenishing magic power, Altria could feel the warmth covering her lips and the emotions behind that warmth.

"You look a little more energetic now." Shiomi helped Altria to sit up. "Is this method more effective?"

"Master, your method of treating women is...very sophisticated, even someone as inexperienced as me can understand..." Artoria placed her hand on his chest and tried to gain the upper hand in words.

"Well, I'm a married man, and in a sense, I'm still your brother-in-law." When Xijian said the last word, a forbidden electric current passed through his head, making his breathing unconsciously quicken.

"So please don't tease me like this anymore. I have my self-respect too." Altria lowered her eyes, trying hard to hold back her shyness.

At this point it no longer mattered whether Morgan was her sister in the blood sense.

She had emotions towards her Master and Xijian Tianxi that she had never thought about before. The closer she got to them, the more disturbed she felt inside.

"I don't mean to tease you." Xi Jian said seriously, "I just feel a lot of pressure suddenly. To Morgan, to Master, and now to you... I seem to be too favored in terms of women."

"At this time, Master still wants to mention other people?" Altria was a little unhappy. She guessed that this might be jealousy.

It’s so strange that one day I will learn to envy others.

Not as a king, not as a knight, but as a woman.

"If I don't say anything, can I really pretend that it didn't happen and ignore it?" Xi Jian put his forehead against hers and couldn't help laughing, "Your forehead is very hot, as if you have a fever."

"...Well..." Altria tightened her grip on the hand on his shoulder in revenge, but Shiomi remained silent.

"It may sound a bit frivolous to say this, but relax and leave everything to me. I won't leave you with any unpleasant memories." Shiomi hugged Altria and placed her in the carriage padded with a mattress.