Waver climbed into the chariot with difficulty, and Iskandar said in a loud voice:
"Everyone, the next time we meet, we will be enemies! I will not show mercy at that time. Until we meet again!"
The lightning-glittering chariot soared into the sky, and finally, with only the roaring thunder in everyone's ears, the chariot disappeared into the eastern sky.
And Archer silently turned into a golden light and disappeared.
Saber watched the scene speechlessly, standing there motionless. In front of her eyes, she was still reminiscing about the sound of thousands of Heroic Spirits fighting and roaring in the world of "Ionian Hetairoi."
For some reason, Saber felt a little lonely when she thought of the correct ideals she had always believed in; in the end, she was left alone.
"Once... There was a knight who was about to leave who said to me, 'The King does not understand the human heart.' That may have been the thought of that knight."
Saber's beautiful face had a sad look at this moment. Her glass-colored eyes flashed, and sadness enveloped her.
"Saber, it is your faith that gives hope to the people in their patience with poverty. Your path to kingship is not to command a few strong, but to lead the many powerless."
Shirou, who knew how Saber's holy sword really shone at that moment, said seriously after standing up.
"..."
Saber was stunned, looking at the backs of Shirou and Lancer slowly moving away, her eyes a little complicated. She not only felt the shadow of being seen through by the other party but also had a good impression of him because of today's events. All kinds of feelings were inexplicably intertwined, making them difficult for her to digest.
...
Miyama Town, Tohsaka Residence Underground Workshop. Now it was surrounded by a bitter silence.
"Rider's... What is the evaluation of the Noble Phantasm...?"
Tokiomi asked Kirei on the other side of the communicator with some heaviness.
"Same as Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon... That is, exceeding the evaluation criteria."
With a sigh, the conclusion was just as they expected.
Being able to learn about Rider's Noble Phantasm rank before the fight made the Assassin's sacrifice worth a lot. If he fought Rider with insufficient intelligence, Tokiomi would definitely have no way to take on that superior Noble Phantasm.
The only thing that exceeded their expectations was the level of this treasure—even if they knew about this Noble Phantasm beforehand, would they be able to find a way to deal with it?
Previously, Tokiomi had always thought that his Servant Archer's Noble Phantasm was the strongest, but he didn't expect a Servant with a Noble Phantasm of the same level as Archer's to appear. This was really beyond his expectations.
Perhaps throwing away the Assassin pawn was a fatal mistake at this point. When facing a dangerous enemy like Rider, it is better to use human tracking to obtain information than to risk a frontal attack. If you can encounter a situation where Rider and his Master go their separate ways, you can also find an opportunity to assassinate... and so on.
"... Idiot."
Tokiomi shook his head; he had made himself look so embarrassed. This was not a strategy at all; it was simply a whim of the Tohsaka head.
But things weren't to the point of despair, and there was plenty of information to encourage him to pull himself together. For example, the person who made a pact with Iskandar was nothing more than a third-rate magus.
If it was Lord El-Melloi who summoned him at that time and made him the Servant of El-Melloi, then the situation would be much more serious, as the Servant's ability fluctuates according to the power of its Master.
The dispute between Kayneth and his disciple was also taken advantage of by Tokiomi.
"However, speaking of which, why didn't Kayneth participate in this Holy Grail War? According to his character, he shouldn't be afraid to... fight."
Tokiomi muttered with some confusion.
However, since Kayneth did not participate, Tokiomi had one less strong opponent, which was also a good thing. It seemed that the luck of this Fourth Holy Grail War was on Tokiomi's side.
It was finally time to get real.
Tokiomi took the wooden staff beside him in his hand and stroked it calmly and firmly. The extra-large gem in the handle was sealed with the magic power that Tokiomi had spent a lifetime refining. This was the Mystic Code of the magus Tohsaka Tokiomi.
"Since there are no more Assassins, then Kirei, you don't have to spare your strength."
"Yes, I see."
From the side of the magical communicator, Kotomine Kirei's low and indifferent words came.
This first-class disciple and Executor still had quite strong combat power even if he lost his Servant. Now that he could no longer command the Assassin, he no longer needed to hide, and it was time for him to unleash his abilities.
As expected, it was a secondary scenario from now on. Based on the information gathered by the Assassins, Gilgamesh was mobilized to begin expelling the enemy. As for the countermeasures against Rider, they would also find them slowly in the process.
It was finally time to get out of the workshop and onto the battlefield. Quietly feeling the pain caused by the Magic Crest, Tokiomi stood up from his chair.
And this scene was seen by a crow outside the workshop. At the same time, those images were transmitted back to Shirou's mind.
Shirou, who was sitting at his desk at home, sketched with a pen in the notebook on the table.
"After hiding for so long, Tohsaka Tokiomi's turtle is finally willing to show his head."
...
Hours had passed since that feast; the night had gone, and the sun had returned. Shirou couldn't help but yawn as he walked to school.
"Hah~~~~"
Last night, he was dragged by the enthusiastic Rider to a drinking party, but Shirou didn't drink any wine. He stubbornly helped Saber match wits with Gilgamesh, and finally had to take a taxi home by himself.
It was miserable.
"I really shouldn't have attended..." Shirou grumbled.
But in the end, I won the favor of Saber; is this a profit or a loss? Shirou really couldn't judge such an ethereal thing.
The pedestrians around cast curious glances at Shirou's appearance, with dark circles under his eyes and not even carrying his schoolbag, but Shirou didn't care.
"Probably Tohsaka Tokiomi and the others will do something to the castle tonight."
Shirou was immediately aware of this after the Assassin appeared yesterday.