Deep inside the dark, thick woods, far away from the heartwarming scene in the clearing, two figures were hiding in the shadows.
It was a tall, serious man wearing a suit and glasses named Soichirou Kuzuki.
Standing right next to him was a woman hiding under a heavy, dark purple cloak. She was Caster, the witch Medea.
Medea was breathing heavily. Her hands were shaking as she peeked through the trees.
"I cannot believe it,"
Medea whispered, her voice full of pure fear.
"Soichirou, we cannot fight them. That boy and his Servant... they are not normal. They are complete monsters."
Soichirou pushed his glasses up his nose. His face was completely calm, but his eyes were very serious.
"They killed the Assassin you summoned,"
Soichirou stated quietly.
"He didn't even stand a chance!"
Medea hissed, grabbing her magical staff tightly.
"I thought the Assassin could ambush them from the shadows. But the boy didn't even need Scathach to fight. He just appeared right behind Assassin and killed him instantly. He saw right through the stealth magic."
Medea looked at her Master with deep, desperate eyes. She truly cared for Soichirou and wanted to protect him.
"We have to leave Fuyuki City tonight,"
Medea begged him.
"If we stay, that boy will find us, and he will kill you. I will not let that happen."
"There is nowhere to run, Caster,"
Soichirou answered simply.
"If he can see the entire city at once, he already knows we are in this forest."
Suddenly, Medea gasped.
Her magical instincts screamed at her. The air around them suddenly felt incredibly cold and heavy.
Without even thinking, Medea spun around.
She raised her staff and fired a massive, deadly beam of purple magic straight into the dark bushes behind them.
It was her strongest, fastest spell.
But a hand reached out from the darkness.
*Smack!*
Elias casually slapped his bare hand against the deadly beam of magic.
The powerful spell instantly shattered into tiny, harmless purple sparks, falling to the dirt like broken glass.
Medea froze. Her heart stopped.
Elias slowly walked out of the shadows. His dark eyes locked directly onto them.
Behind him, Scathach, Illya, Berserker, Rin, and Luvia were standing quietly in the trees, watching everything.
Elias lowered his hand and looked calmly at Medea and Soichirou.
"You have a very fast reaction time,"
Elias said smoothly, stepping into the moonlight.
"But it won't help you."
Medea quickly stepped in front of Soichirou, spreading her arms wide to shield him.
"Stay away from him!"
Medea yelled fiercely.
"I will not let you touch my Master!"
Elias did not draw his weapon. He just stood there, looking closely at the two of them.
He noticed something very different about them.
Most Masters treated their Servants like tools or weapons.
Shinji had treated Lancer like a dog.
But Medea was acting like a human shield, completely willing to give up her own life to protect the man.
"You two are very strange,"
Elias said softly, tilting his head.
"You do not act like a Master and a Servant at all."
Medea gritted her teeth. She kept her arms spread wide, refusing to back down.
Before she could say anything, a familiar, sweet voice whispered directly into Elias's mind.
It was Dee. Because of their new, deep connection, she could talk to him from far away.
"They are lovers, Eli,"
Dee giggled softly in his head.
"She truly loves him, and he cares for her. How sweet."
Elias's eyes widened just a little bit in surprise.
Then, a small, understanding smile appeared on his face.
He thought about his own family back in Kuoh Town.
He understood exactly why Medea was so desperate to protect Soichirou.
When you love someone, you will do anything to keep them safe.
Elias let out a relaxed sigh and crossed his arms.
"I see,"
Elias said calmly, his dark eyes losing all their coldness.
"You don't actually care about winning the Holy Grail, do you? You just want to survive so you can be together."
Medea blinked, completely caught off guard by his gentle tone.
Soichirou remained silent, but he gently placed his hand on Medea's shoulder, softly asking her to lower her guard.
"That is correct,"
Soichirou finally spoke, his voice steady and honest.
"We have no true interest in the magical cup. We only fought to protect our own lives."
Elias nodded slowly. He thought about it for a brief moment. He had already won the war.
He only wanted to fight strong opponents to learn their moves. He had no reason to kill two people who just wanted to live in peace.
"Then you should surrender,"
Elias offered simply.
"Surrender?"
Medea asked, her voice shaking with disbelief.
"Yes,"
Elias answered, looking directly at Soichirou.
"Drop out of the Holy Grail War right now. Give up your Command Seals. If you surrender, I promise I will not hurt either of you. You can pack your things, leave Fuyuki City tonight, and go live a normal, quiet life together."
Soichirou looked at Elias for a long moment.
He saw the complete honesty in the boy's dark eyes.
The serious man slowly nodded his head.
He raised his right hand and used his magic to completely erase his red Command Seals.
"We accept your offer, Elias Thorne,"
Soichirou said respectfully.
"Thank you for showing us mercy."
Medea let out a huge, shaking breath. Tears of pure relief fell down her cheeks.
She held onto Soichirou's arm tightly.
Without wasting another second, the two lovers turned around and quickly vanished into the dark woods, leaving the war behind forever.
Elias let out a long, tired sigh. He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well, that was easy,"
Elias said, turning back to Rin and the others.
"It seems the Holy Grail War is finally over. Let's go to the church and claim the prize."
A short time later, the group pushed the heavy wooden doors of the Fuyuki Church open again.
Kotomine Kirei was still standing by the altar.
But this time, his fake smile was completely gone.
"Congratulations, Elias,"
Kirei said, his deep voice echoing in the large room.
"You cleared the board. But I am afraid the Holy Grail does not belong to you."
Before Elias could ask what the priest meant, the shadows in the church suddenly twisted and broke apart.
A group of humans stepped out of the dark.
They gave off a very different, very dangerous magical feeling.
It was the Hero Faction from the Khaos Brigade.
At the front of the group stood a young man holding a shining, legendary spear.
It was Cao Cao.
"Hello, Elias Thorne,"
Cao Cao smiled sharply.
"We have been waiting for you."
Elias narrowed his eyes and reached for his weapon. But before he could even summon his Naginata, Cao Cao pulled out a small, glowing black orb.
"We know we cannot kill you,"
Cao Cao said quickly.
"So, we brought a special gift from the Dragon God, Ophis."
Cao Cao crushed the black orb in his hand.
Instantly, a massive, swirling black hole exploded right under Elias's feet. It was the Seal of Infinity.
Elias didn't even have time to blink.
The heavy, dark magic grabbed his legs and violently sucked him down into the black void.
*Snap!*
The hole closed completely, leaving the floor completely empty.
"Elias!"
Rin screamed in pure horror.
Luvia gasped, stepping back.
"What did you do to him?!"
"He is not dead,"
Cao Cao laughed coldly.
"He is just trapped in the Seal of Infinity. He will fall forever in an endless time loop. He is completely removed from this world."
"Papa!"
Illya cried out, her small heart breaking.
She pointed her small hand at Cao Cao.
"Berserker! Smash him! Save Papa!"
The giant Berserker roared with absolute fury.
He raised his massive stone sword and charged forward to crush the Hero Faction leader.
But a huge, muscular man stepped in front of Cao Cao. It was the human descendant of Heracles from the Khaos Brigade. He held a giant club and grinned wildly.
"Not so fast, monster!"
The human Heracles shouted.
"Let's see who is the stronger giant!"
The two massive warriors crashed together, shaking the entire church walls. Berserker was completely blocked.
High up on the church balcony, a golden spark flashed.
Archer appeared, drawing his bow with lightning speed.
He fired a rain of explosive red arrows straight at Cao Cao.
Cao Cao spun his legendary spear, easily blocking the explosive arrows.
"Archer!"
Cao Cao challenged.
"Let's test my spear against your bow!"
The church turned into an absolute zone of chaos.
Down by the altar, Rin backed away, pulling out her red magic gems.
Luvia stood back-to-back with her, ready to cast her own spells.
But Kotomine Kirei just let out a dark, cruel laugh.
"Now, Rin,"
Kirei said smoothly, holding up his right hand. A bright red Command Seal glowed on his skin.
"It is just you and me."
A glowing magic circle appeared on the floor next to the evil priest.
A tall woman wearing dark clothes and a blindfold stepped out of the circle.
She held two sharp daggers attached to long metal chains.
It was Rider, Medusa. Kirei had secretly made a contract with her.
"Kill her, Rider,"
Kirei ordered.
Rin gritted her teeth. Her heart was beating fast because Elias was gone, but she refused to give up.
"I have been waiting a long time to punch you in the face, Kirei,"
Rin growled, her gems glowing brightly in her hands.
The church was completely filled with the loud, crashing sounds of battle.
Rin threw her exploding magic gems at Rider, desperately trying to keep the fast woman away.
High above, Archer rained explosive arrows down on Cao Cao.
On the ground, the giant Berserker and the muscular human Heracles smashed their massive weapons together.
It was an incredibly intense fight.
But Scathach did not join the battle.
She just stood quietly by the door, calmly leaning on her red spear.
"What are you doing?!"
Luvia yelled at her over the loud noise.
"Help us!"
Scathach just smiled a peaceful, confident smile.
"There is no need,"
Scathach answered easily.
"I am just waiting for my Master. A silly trap like that could never hold him."
Right after she spoke, the empty air in the center of the church began to shake.
CRACK!
A loud sound echoed through the room.
The dark, invisible space where Elias had been sucked away suddenly cracked like fragile glass.
SHATTER!
The Seal of Infinity completely exploded into a million pieces.
Elias stepped right out of the broken void and landed softly on the church floor.
He casually brushed some invisible dust off his shoulder.
His broken Adaptivity had easily learned how the endless time loop worked, and he simply broke right through it.
"That was a very boring trap,"
Elias said calmly.
Cao Cao stopped spinning his spear. His confident, arrogant smile completely vanished.
His eyes went wide with absolute shock.
"No... that is impossible!"
Cao Cao yelled, his voice cracking.
"That was the Dragon God's power! You cannot break an endless loop!"
Cao Cao looked into Elias's cold, dark eyes.
Suddenly, a terrible, painful memory flashed in his mind.
He remembered exactly what happened back in Kyoto.
He remembered the complete, humiliating defeat Elias had handed to them.
Cao Cao gritted his teeth. His hands started to shake.
Heracles also stopped fighting Berserker.
The giant human backed away, breathing heavily.
The other members of the Khaos Brigade felt the exact same freezing terror.
They all remembered the monster from Kyoto.
"Retreat!"
Cao Cao ordered loudly, panic finally taking over his voice.
"We cannot fight him! Fall back right now!"
The Hero Faction quickly turned around.
They desperately tried to run toward the shadows to escape the church.
Elias did not smile. He didn't look amused anymore.
"I let you escape in Kyoto,"
Elias said in a deadly, flat voice.
"That's the last chance you have."
He let his dark eyes glow with a heavy, bright purple light.
*Tick.*
Time completely stopped. The entire church froze in a heavy purple glow.
Cao Cao, Heracles, and the other Khaos Brigade members were completely frozen mid-step. They were trapped while trying to run away.
Elias let go of his Naginata. He didn't need a giant weapon for this.
He remembered the exact movements of the hidden Assassin he had easily killed in the forest earlier that night.
He perfectly copied the Servant's silent, instantly fatal assassination technique.
Elias moved like a complete ghost.
He didn't make a single sound.
*Slash. Slash. Slash.*
Moving faster than lightning, Elias walked through the frozen group.
He used the Assassin's deadly, precise strikes to cleanly cut Cao Cao, Heracles, and every single member of the Khaos Brigade.
He calmly walked back to his original spot and lowered his hands.
*Tick.*
The purple light vanished. Time instantly started moving again.
Cao Cao and his team didn't even have a single second to scream.
Before they could take another step, all of their bodies collapsed heavily onto the cold stone floor. They were completely dead.
The loud, chaotic church became absolutely quiet.
Kotomine Kirei stared at the dead bodies of the Khaos Brigade, his eyes completely blank.
He slowly looked up at Elias, realizing that his grand plan was completely ruined.
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