Chapter 573: The Separated Masters and Servants
"I certainly have my reasons for helping you!"
Cornered by Draco at the door, Nero clung tightly to the doorframe, refusing to leave. "Wait a minute, let me finish talking!"
"This is my room, right? Since you are not my servant, this room is obviously not open to you. Hurry up and leave."
The girl in the red dress remained unfazed, even lifting her foot to ruthlessly kick Nero in the backside. Nero yelped in pain but still clung to the doorframe, unwilling to let go.
"You know the rules of the Holy Grail War. A Master without a Servant can't survive even one battle. What will you do if I just leave like this?"
"Thanks for your concern, but don't think I don't know you just don't want to sleep on the streets." Draco sneered, fully aware of her own nature. "Besides, it's just a Servant; I've devoured countless of them already."
She was not lying.
Nero sensed the cold determination in the girl's words, momentarily stunned, her grip loosening, and half of her body was suddenly pushed out the door.
Heaven knows how such a petite body could wrestle with a Servant!
Faced with Draco's merciless expulsion, the fifth emperor of Rome had never felt so helpless: "Wait, but I can't sense my Master anymore! If I can't replenish my magical energy, I could die!"
"What does that have to do with me? Hurry up and get lost; don't disturb my rest!"
Even the way she addressed her had changed, indicating Draco's firm intention to sever ties. With a loud thud, the people in the corridor witnessed the girl in boy's clothing being kicked out of the room, landing squarely on her backside. Amidst the puzzled and astonished gazes, Nero jumped up, clutching her sore rear, and protested loudly to the room:
"How can you do this! Such disrespect! This is a grave sin of disrespect! Even I would get angry!"
The door was firmly shut, and the other party showed no intention of responding, even too lazy to throw her a bone.
Realizing that Draco had no intention of opening the door again, Nero pouted, grumbling in displeasure, and made an effort to shake off the image in her mind, marching away in a huff.
"If I can't stay, then so be it! It's no big deal! I am Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, the fifth emperor of the Roman Empire! There is no problem I can't solve!"
"Where on earth is my Master…"
Nero mumbled as she walked away. Even her deliberate footsteps couldn't break through Draco's heart. Inside the Master's room, the girl in the red dress leaned against the door, lost in thought.
The Master's room is a single room that every Master receives, preset as an ordinary classroom, which can be transformed into a preferred appearance by the Master's magic. It is a completely private space in the Holy Grail War. Conversations and events that occur here will never leak out, and even the Moonlight Crystal will not interfere much.
Only here does the sense of facing destruction's crisis diminish. The Moonlight Crystal has relaxed its restrictions, allowing Draco, who harbors forbidden power, to escape from the prickling sense of danger.
But the Holy Grail War won't stop. Even to find Sakatsuki, she ultimately has to leave her room. If she encounters any crisis outside and is forced to unleash her power— the Moonlight Crystal will undoubtedly impose punishment without hesitation.
Nero is innocent; she hasn't fallen to that extent yet, so she must leave, leave the side of the Beast Draco, as far away as possible.
Since she could be forcibly summoned through 'fate,' Draco couldn't guarantee that the Moonlight Crystal wouldn't casually include Nero as a target for its attacks.
"Speaking of which, when did I become so kind-hearted?"
Murmuring softly, Draco closed her eyes, a mocking smile curling at the corners of her mouth, not sure if it was directed at this world or herself.
"The only Servant I want is Sakatsuki..."
"Where on earth are you?"
————
"As a Master, where has your Servant gone?"
In the infirmary, Bai Ye, faced with such a question, looked helpless as she fiddled with her Command Spell, closed her eyes to sense for a moment, then timidly opened them again.
"It seems, maybe, possibly... not here?"
Sakatsuki sighed in resignation. "All Masters who qualify in the preliminaries will summon their Servants at the awakening site. The Moonlight Crystal can't be wrong about this, unless..."
He suddenly fell silent, recalling the antics he and Draco had engaged in, as well as the existence of the nameless line in the game plot of "Fate/EXTRA": the possibility of Kishiha Bai Ye fighting alongside the nameless (who is almost identical to Red A) and achieving the final victory.
Who knows how many people remember that, back in the Fourth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City, Sakatsuki had encountered another version of himself, who had told him stories of transforming into 'nameless' and experiencing events in the lunar dimension alongside Master Kishiha Bai Ye.
So... after all this, are we back at square one?
Sakatsuki picked up the red robe that had fallen by his legs, examining it closely. This battle outfit, known as 'Akahara's Ritual Garment,' was the very first gift he received—the symbol of the heroic spirit Emiya.
Though it was just a piece of red cloth, it possessed special effects that allowed Emiya to quickly recover stamina and magical energy, significantly enhancing combat power. In the UBW route, Red A could still fight vigorously even after losing Rin as a Master, thanks to the Akahara's Ritual Garment.
It seemed to manifest as 'Archer,' awakening the power of the heroic spirit Emiya.
His thoughts lingered for only a moment before Sakatsuki quickly redirected his attention back to the tangled situation at hand.
Is it possible that Bai Ye in this world is also on the nameless line? Even if Draco doesn't take action, he might trigger the endless tragic wish and become Bai Ye's Servant... but perhaps due to the interference of him and the little red dragon, others might be present but not have signed a contract with Bai Ye?
From this perspective, a layer of worry added to Sakatsuki's heart. He had thought that the one he contracted with was Draco, but if his true Master was Kishiha Bai Ye, then what was Draco's situation now?
Is she okay? Will the Servant she summoned attack her because of Draco's nature, directly targeting this Beast?
Go find her... No, I absolutely cannot do that.
Recalling the situation in the preliminaries, Sakatsuki scoffed, his brows furrowing in undisguised irritation.
That girl, Draco, must be left alone. This time, even he couldn't help this mischievous girl.
"Um... s-sorry?"
Bai Ye cautiously observed Sakatsuki's expression, unsure why he suddenly seemed angry. Sakatsuki snapped back to reality, quickly suppressing his expression and instead smiled gently, shaking his head.
"It's nothing, it's my own problem. Once you recover a bit, you should return to your room. Before the first battle begins, you must find a suitable Servant, or it will be difficult to survive against your opponents."
"Do we really have to fight?"
"Yes, after all, no matter how the rules change, the essence of the Holy Grail War remains the same." Sakatsuki sighed. "Even if you try to flee, in the end, the Moonlight Crystal will treat you as discarded waste."
"Then... can't you help me...?"
Sakatsuki remained silent for a moment, then stood up. "I'm sorry."
There are far too many things to think about—his own matters, Draco's matters, the Holy Grail War, and also... that situation over there.
Sakatsuki had neither the mood nor the reason to help Kishiha Bai Ye. After all, he and this girl were merely acquaintances from the preliminaries. Even if something romantic had happened, it was just an accident, not a matter of will.
That could not become a reason for Sakatsuki to fight for her.
Walking through the corridors of the school building, the people around him bustled about, composed of NPCs and Masters, the new 'students' of the Moon Sea Academy. Sakatsuki knew that the lively scene before him was merely an illusion, like morning dew that vanishes in an instant. When this Holy Grail War comes to an end, the only eternal thing will be one—
Looking up, the brilliance on the horizon surged like ocean tides. This world has no sun, but the gentle moonlight woven from endless streams of data glimmered, reflecting this electronic world as it had for a thousand years.
The Moonlight Crystal, both the Greater Grail and a miraculous object of the world.
He had come for this.
Although the Moon Sea Academy suffered a devastating blow in the preliminaries, its structure remained unchanged after repairs. Sakatsuki easily made his way to the cafeteria on the third floor of the academy, nodding to the NPC server at the ordering counter.
"Excuse me, I'll have a special spicy Mapo tofu from the Red Continent's banquet."
"Sure, that will be 2500 QP."
QP, the digital currency of this world, used to purchase goods and services. Although the finals had just begun, Sakatsuki had already accumulated a certain amount of assets through cheating during the preliminaries.
Receiving the invigorating Mapo tofu, specially designed to counter the holy practitioners, Sakatsuki casually found a seat and began to deal with the pile of troubles before him.
The first thing to pay attention to was his Servant's appearance.
Archer Sakatsuki, with white hair and slightly tanned skin, was a capable young man dressed in black armor and draped in the Akahara's Ritual Garment.
"——He looks exactly like the nameless Red A. So, the prototype for archers really is them?"
He casually muttered, but Sakatsuki didn't pay much attention to this issue. Although he shared a similar appearance, at their core, they were entirely different.
First and foremost, there was the inherent skill that every class must focus on: [Endless Tragic Wish: EX]
If, in the Assassin class, this skill manifested as viewing oneself as a judge, exercising the power to arbitrate others, distorting the love for justice into a partner of righteousness, and wielding the wrath of error, then as Archer—
"There's no change at all..." he muttered, suddenly sensing a burning gaze directed at him.
Looking up, a dazzling golden-red figure came into view. The girl had her golden hair styled in a bun, her petite and adorable face lit up with a smile. As she tilted her head, her bangs swayed slightly, and when she raised her little tuft of hair, her emerald eyes sparkled with joy, like the brilliant sunlight spilling over a Hawaiian beach, so radiant that one couldn't look away.
This scene was just like before.
A fiery emotion surged in his chest, everything faded away, and in Sakatsuki's vision, only this charming girl remained. A thousand words surged to his lips, ultimately transforming into a single sentence:
"So it's you."