"So... it really was her."
Mordred sat on the floor with zero dignity, her expression dazed as she stared off into space.
Out of all the possible times and places, she had encountered 'her' in such a bizarre and high-stakes war. She had tried to dismiss it as a hallucination, a trick of the mind born from exhaustion and defeat. But the reality was undeniable.
To be rescued by her Father in such a pathetic state...
"I'm such a loser."
"Hmm."
Kairi Sisigou watched her, unsure of what to say. He had only provided a brief description of the battle's aftermath, but Mordred had instantly confirmed the woman's identity.
Only one Heroic Spirit could make this rebellious knight look so utterly defeated.
The legendary "King Arthur."
And yet, there was something that Sisigou found fascinating. Arthur Pendragon... was a woman?
He carefully swallowed the question. Given Mordred's current mood, asking that would be like throwing a match into a powder keg. It was better to stay silent and wait for her to process whatever baggage she was currently lugging around.
"Are you going to look for her?"
Sisigou watched her closely, testing the waters. He didn't want his Servant to suddenly go off the rails; the peace they currently enjoyed was fragile enough as it was.
"She's not with the Red Faction, and she fought the Black Faction..."
"That means she's almost certainly with the White Faction."
"Of course I'm going to look for her!"
Mordred's spirit suddenly reignited, her eyes burning with a renewed intensity. Meeting her Father again in the middle of a war... she couldn't just ignore such a momentous opportunity.
She needed to see her Father one more time.
That obsession, that deep-seated longing, had instantly eclipsed every other goal she had.
"Hmm."
Looking at her renewed enthusiasm, Sisigou wasn't sure if "look for" meant "talk to" or "pick a fight with." If possible, he wanted to avoid a direct confrontation with the White Faction for as long as possible.
Based on the data he had gathered, the White Faction's combat strength was nothing to sneeze at. They were already struggling against the Black Faction's onslaught; adding the White Faction to the list of enemies would be tactical suicide.
With the Red Faction already down one Servant (Yubel), losing Mordred or getting her into a protracted duel with the King of Knights would push them into an even deeper disadvantage.
Even Amakusa would struggle to maintain order if the situation spiraled further. And then there was that Red Assassin (Minato),if they antagonized the group, He'd have a hard time even leaving his own territory.
"Tch."
"This is getting complicated."
He found himself looking toward the "Priest" with a bit more hope than before. Maybe if they all worked together, they'd actually have a chance of surviving this mess.
***
"So, that's the gist of it?"
Inside the White Faction's base, the group sat around a large table, listening to the reports from Artoria and the Red Archer (Emiya).
"Red Faction vs Black Faction..."
"A Caster who can defeat a Saber in a fistfight?"
"That sounds... ridiculous. Aren't Casters supposed to be magecraft specialists?"
Rin Tohsaka's expression was stiff, as if she were listening to a particularly bad joke.
"But that Saber who was defeated... was she an acquaintance of yours, Teacher?"
Sakura looked at Artoria, her head tilting curiously.
"It was Mordred... one of the Knights of the Round Table."
Artoria didn't see any reason to hide the truth.
The room went silent. Anyone who knew the legend of King Arthur knew exactly what "Mordred" meant.
The knight of rebellion. The one who spearheaded the downfall of Camelot.
"Hmm? You don't need to be so concerned," Artoria stated plainly, seeing the awkward tension. "That's all in the past. I don't harbor any lingering resentment toward the Camelot of old. Someone already helped me achieve my initial ideals ten years ago."
"And as for Mordred... I don't hate her."
She looked at the group, her gaze steady. While she knew her true identity had been revealed, she didn't want them to tiptoe around her history.
To her, the "Legend" was over.
"If anything, she'll probably just try to raise the banner of rebellion against me again the moment she sees me."
Listening to her speak so casually about the downfall of her kingdom, the group was at a loss for words. It wasn't their place to judge the complexities of a father-child relationship that had spanned centuries.
"But... do we actually have a chance of winning?"
Miyuverse Shirou looked around the room, his voice heavy with a pragmatic concern. Aside from Sakura, he didn't know these people well.
He could tell the Masters were capable, but the Servants... that was another story.
The Red Archer and the Black Archer (who was currently absent) seemed to share some deep, dark secret. The air between them was practically vibrating with hostility.
He had answered Ilya's summon for a simple reason: to escape the prison of his original world and to find a way to help Miyu. Julian wouldn't just let her go. He had to act.
But if this "alliance" was going to collapse under the weight of internal strife, he'd rather go it alone.
"We won't know until we try. For now, we need to plan our combat style."
"I've explained the strength of the enemy Servants."
"In a direct clash, even I can't guarantee the safety of the Masters. We need to ensure that the enemy doesn't get close to the core team."
The Red Archer (Emiya) withdrew his gaze. He knew Miyuverse Shirou was talking about him and the Black Archer. He wasn't in the mood for a fight right now; he was just providing a tactical assessment.
It was a far cry from the Fifth Holy Grail War he had lived through. While he still wanted to "settle scores" with his past self, this wasn't the time or the place.
"Leave the perimeter defense to me and her."
Senji Muramasa shook his head, his tone serious as he spoke up.
"As for the rest of you... the three of you Archers are in serious trouble if you let anyone close. Keep your distance and focus on fire support."
He pointed to the three Archers. It was a bizarre situation,the team had managed to pull three ranged specialists at once.
"We need to build a formation that is both offensive and defensive. Artoria and I will hold the front line."
"Sakura, has your Servant still not returned?"
Rin looked at her sister, her curiosity piqued.
"No response to my calls... but he's been drawing a significant amount of mana. He's likely in combat."
"I can sense him... he's close."
"Honestly, where does he wander off to? Leaving his Master without a word... it's unprofessional. He's just like a certain someone."
Rin's pointed look toward Emiya was met with absolute indifference.
CLACK.
"He should be back now..." Sakura said, standing up as she heard a noise in the hallway.
But when she reached the door, she found a blood-soaked figure collapsed on the floor.
"!"
***
"He's okay. The Spirit Core isn't damaged."
"But he was beaten pretty badly."
"Where the hell did this kid go?"
Muramasa stepped out of the room where the injured Servant was resting, his voice raspy with irritation.
"He was on the same battlefield as us, but he disappeared early on," the Red Archer explained, his arms crossed. "I have no idea where he went."
He had assumed the younger Shirou had simply found a better sniping position. He hadn't expected him to leave the battlefield entirely and return in such a state.
"If it weren't for the fact that Masters and Servants can sense each other's presence, people might think 'you* were the one who did this," Rin noted, looking at Emiya.
She and Sakura couldn't understand why the tension between Emiya and the protagonist-Shirou was so thick. They had never even met, as far as they knew.
Miyuverse Shirou, however, had already guessed the truth.
"I told you, I don't know anything."
Emiya sighed, frustrated by the suspicion. He was maintaining the "amnesia" act because he couldn't exactly explain that he was a future version of the boy currently lying on the floor.
That would be a disaster. He could already imagine the chaos it would cause.
"Honestly, young people these days... so full of energy."
"I wish they'd settle down for a bit."
Wait until the other Masters and Servants had retired to their rooms, leaving only a few of them in the main hall.
"Saber, would you mind giving us a moment?" Muramasa asked, looking at Artoria. "I have something to discuss with these two."
"Of course."
Artoria didn't ask questions. While she was curious about what the "Old Man" wanted with the Archers, she respected his seniority. She bowed slightly and left the room.
"Fine. Let's get straight to it."
"You and the black one... you're both here because of the Counter Force, aren't you?"
Muramasa looked at Emiya, his expression dead serious.
"I don't have hard evidence, but the body I'm occupying... his name is also Shirou Emiya."
"And then there's him... and the Master... and the one upstairs."
"Five of us in the same team. I don't think that's a coincidence."
"!"
Emiya's brow furrowed. He hadn't considered the sheer number of "Emiyas" currently gathered.
When he was first summoned, he had assumed he was just part of another Holy Grail War. But this was different.
The Divergent timelines, the completely different experiences...
The "Shirou" who didn't go by the name of Emiya...
And then there was Miyuverse Shirou and the Black Archer.
Muramasa was right. The Counter Force (Alaya) was definitely pulling the strings. But the problem was, Emiya hadn't received any direct "orders" from the Counter Force this time.
Maybe the Black Archer knew something?
"What are you getting at?" Emiya asked, his voice low.
"I'm just saying... Alaya didn't arrange this for a simple brawl."
"Whatever grudge you have with 'Shirou Emiya,' you need to lock it away for now."
"In this war, he is not your enemy."
"If anything, you should be looking outward. That's likely why the Counter Force put you here."
Emiya remained silent, processing the implications. To have so many versions of himself gathered in one place... if Alaya had authorized this, there was something truly catastrophic on the horizon.
"Is it you? The one who lent me that strength?"
Miyuverse Shirou looked at Emiya, his voice quiet. He had noticed the white streak in his hair, a remnant of a previous use of "projection." If this Red Archer was indeed a heroic version of himself, it explained everything.
Tch.
Emiya was beginning to piece together the Black Archer's identity as well. If his hunch was correct, the situation was even crazier than he had imagined.
Five Shirous.
Even the King of Heroes would probably run for the hills if he saw a team like that.
"Everyone sent here... likely has their own role to play."
"Take me, for example. I have a feeling there's something in this war that needs to be cut down, or something that needs to be forged."
"And you... you are a necessary part of this sequence."
Muramasa stood up, his gaze sweeping over the two Archers.
"Even though we're the same person... our vibes are completely different."
As Muramasa walked out, Miyuverse Shirou looked at the remaining Shirou with a sense of wonder. The divergence was incredible. One used the legendary Kusanagi, while another used projection, and yet another was a grizzled veteran.
"Alright. I'll pick this spot."
Muramasa walked outside, surveying a patch of open ground.
"I'm going to start building my Forging Workshop."
"I have a feeling... something big is about to happen. We'd better be ready."
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]