"Bang!!!"
Just as Celenike was whipping Sieg, the door to the torture room was suddenly and violently thrown open.
The intruders were Gordes and Caules.
Earlier, when Caules happened to pass by Sieg's room, he noticed that the door was left open, with distinct drag marks on the ground. Sensing something was wrong, he followed the traces of lingering magic left by Celenike and confirmed his suspicion.
However, Caules knew he wasn't strong enough to handle the situation alone, so he immediately sought out Gordes, who was still awake.
Gordes already had a poor relationship with Celenike, and upon hearing that she was causing trouble again, he didn't hesitate, he stormed in without a second thought.
Gordes: "Celenike, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"
"Musik, mind your own business!"
Celenike's face twisted into a sinister scowl. "But you—when did you start caring so much about this traitor?"
"Hmph, stay out of my affairs."
Gordes had no desire to explain himself to this lunatic. This was his agreement with Siegfried.
Without another word, Gordes stepped forward to untie Sieg, but before he could reach him, Celenike cracked her whip at him without hesitation, narrowly missing his face.
"Celenike! Are you completely insane, woman?!"
"That's right! I'm insane! And today, I'm going to kill this brat!"
Celenike no longer intended to simply torture, she was now preparing to cast black magic to kill Sieg on the spot.
"Stop!"
Reacting quickly, Caules fired a bolt of lightning at Celenike, shocking her body and disrupting her spellcasting.
"Double Strengthening—Fists!"
Gordes enhanced his fists and took the opportunity to knock Celenike out with a single punch, sending her crashing hard against the wall.
"Gordes, you fat pig...!"
Writhing on the ground in pain, Celenike couldn't get up for a long time.
"Calm down for a while."
Gordes scowled darkly. He hadn't expected this lunatic to be so utterly obsessed with Astolfo.
"Are you alright?"
Caules quickly untied Sieg, frowning at the whip marks covering his body.
"Ahem..."
It took Sieg a moment to recover before he weakly responded, "I'm fine. I can still hold on."
Gordes frowned. "Why didn't you just ask for help in the group?"
Sieg: "I've already troubled you all so much... I didn't want to cause any more trouble..."
"Idiot!"
Gordes clicked his tongue in frustration.
How the hell did Jeanne raise this kid?!
…Wait, no.
Jeanne was only with Sieg for three days. Most of that time was spent running around, she probably hadn't even had the chance to teach him much.
So this kid learned to be like this just from watching videos? What exactly did he learn?!
It seemed Gordes now had another responsibility—teaching this kid how to properly function in society.
At that moment, Celenike slowly got up and, while no one was paying attention, moved to block the door. Consumed by rage, she no longer cared about restraint—she was determined to get rid of Gordes and the others along with Sieg.
She prepared to unleash her strongest curse.
But just as she was about to act—
A sudden chill crept up her neck.
The next instant, the world spun around her, and she plunged into endless darkness.
"Hey! Toole! What are you doing?!"
Seeing the headless corpse collapse at the door, Gordes and Caules' faces changed drastically.
"She was about to attack you."
Calmly retracting her axe, the homunculus Toole stated this as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
She had arrived with Gordes and had been waiting outside, but Celenike—so fixated on Sieg—had failed to notice her presence.
Thus, she was ambushed and beheaded, suffering the exact same fate as in the original timeline.
"This... ah..."
Gordes and Caules exchanged looks, unsure how to feel about the situation.
In the end, all they could do was sigh helplessly.
This outcome... might have been for the best.
---
...Fate Zero World...
"What am I supposed to do with this?"
Chihiro frowned, staring at the Holy Grail left behind by Goetia.
Keeping it felt like sitting on a ticking time bomb, but using it...
Could he somehow feed it to Servants like in the game?
Reality is not a game.
Just as he was lost in thought, a message came from the Holy Grail within his own body.
It could consume this Grail to replenish its magical energy.
Wait... it can do that?!
Chihiro hesitated. But at the moment, there really wasn't a better solution.
Fine. Let's do it.
A powerless Holy Grail was useless to him anyway, it was better to recharge the one he already had.
However, he couldn't do it in his room. If the process was too loud and ended up blowing up his house, that would be a disaster.
Activating "Classic of Mountains and Seas," Chihiro flipped to a blank page.
No matter how much noise it made in there, he wouldn't have to worry about it.
Summoning the Greater Holy Grail from within himself, Chihiro threw Goetia's Holy Grail into it.
In an instant, the Grail was engulfed in golden light and devoured by the Greater Holy Grail. A surge of tremendous magical energy filled the air.
The noise level was... tolerable.
At least, as long as no battles broke out, it wouldn't cause a problem—though the dazzling light was a bit much for the eyes.
With this, the magic power expended in summoning the Grand Servant was fully replenished.
Not bad.
At the very least, this Holy Grail War had not been fought in vain.
---
The Next Morning...
Chihiro excitedly shared the good news with Iskandar and the others.
"I can help you all take on physical bodies. It won't consume much magic power, so no need to worry."
Although they had been summoned through cards, they should be able to stay in the present era after being incarnated.
"Hahaha! In that case, I won't be polite!"
Among them, Iskandar was the first to agree. After all, regaining a physical body had always been his dream.
"Hmph, is this supposed to be charity?"
As expected, Gilgamesh refused.
Though, for some reason, his attitude toward Chihiro wasn't as openly hostile as before. Still, it was clear things were tense, and living under the same roof only made things more awkward.
"I don't need it either. Or rather, I don't want to keep an old body like Berserker's in this world."
The First Emperor had a practical reason for refusing, he didn't want an old man's body.
If he were to incarnate, it would have to be in peak condition, like Ruler or Rider's body.
"As for me..."
Artoria hesitated, unsure whether she should accept or not.
"If you're feeling conflicted, just agree to it."
Chihiro advised her, "Instead of returning to the Throne of Heroes and being alone, why not stay in the modern world and take it easy? Let go of those burdens and see things from the perspective of an ordinary person."
"...Really? ...Alright."
After considering it, Artoria agreed.
Chihiro was right.
Rather than return to the Throne of Heroes and stare at the endless battlefield of Camlann, it was better to stay here.
---
Incarnation Begins...
"Alright, let's begin."
Chihiro immediately channeled the Holy Grail's magic power to incarnate them.
Since the Grail was uncontaminated, there was no black mud—only waves of golden light engulfing the two of them.
However, midway through the process, Chihiro suddenly noticed something.
Alarmed, he quickly transported Artoria into "Classic of Mountains and Seas."
When the light faded...
A muscular Iskandar stood before them.
Yes. A very robust, very honest, very straightforward kind of muscular.
Chihiro hadn't expected this outcome, fortunately, he reacted quickly.
"Oh! So this is what it feels like to have a body again?"
Completely unaware of his current state, Iskandar was still basking in the joy of reincarnation.
"Stop talking and put something on already!"
At that moment, Chihiro finally understood what Waver had gone through.
He rushed upstairs, grabbed the biggest-sized clothes he had, and tossed them to Iskandar.
"Hahaha! Much appreciated!"
Iskandar grinned as he dressed—though it was still a bit tight.
"Looks like I'll need to take you shopping later."
"By the way, where's Artoria?"
Only now did Iskandar realize she was missing.
"Ahem, I moved her somewhere else."
Quickly changing the subject, Chihiro asked, "How do you feel now?"
Iskandar: "How do I feel? Fantastic!"
Chihiro: "..."
---
After conducting a few tests, Chihiro confirmed several things:
1. After incarnation, Heroic Spirits lose their ability to turn into spirit form.
2. They can no longer summon their original armor or clothing at will.
(This explained why Gilgamesh never wore armor in the Fifth Holy Grail War.)
3. They require external magic power to sustain themselves.
(If they have a Master, the Master provides it. Otherwise, they must find an alternative source.)
With that settled, Chihiro hurried back inside.
He hadn't forgotten—Artoria was still inside his book.
Finding some proper clothes, he tossed them into the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
Though he could have gone in himself, that would be inappropriate—after all, he was a gentleman.
After waiting five minutes, Chihiro finally let Artoria out.
Her face was flushed red—clearly, the shock had been too much.
And the clothes he picked... seemed a little small.
Chihiro glanced at her, and—
"Where are you looking?!"
Noticing his gaze, Artoria's face turned crimson as she whipped around in embarrassment.
Chihiro also quickly looked away, his expression equally awkward.
(To be continued.)
***
For every 200 PS = 1 extra chapter. Support me on patreon to read 50+ advanced chapters: patreon.com/Blownleaves.