Where's the promised harem of Heroic Spirits? Why is it all just me?

Frankenstein tilted his head and said nothing more.

At the same time, a car stopped at the foot of Yuanzang Mountain. Moonlight shone in through the car window, casting shadows on the seats.

Nightingale rolled down the window and looked up at the top of the mountain thoughtfully. Two white-haired girls were lying on the back seat of her car, one on each side, sleeping uneasily.

-

(21/29)

148.Who is it? (Two in one)

Tonight seemed like just an ordinary night, the sky was covered with sparse starlight, and except for the slightly colder temperature, it was no different from the past.

The moon was obscured by dark clouds, adding a sense of solemnity.

In the end, Kiritsugu Emiya chose to honestly bring everyone to the foot of Mount Enzo, and the black car stopped in front of the steps at the foot of the mountain.

It was already late at night, especially since Liudong Temple had been burned down yesterday, leaving only ashes and ruins on the mountain. No one would come to pay homage in the middle of the night.

There were police cordons and roadblocks on the way here, but when we reached the foot of the mountain, there were no public agency personnel. They were all temporarily driven away by magic.

Sitting in the car, the magicians could also feel a freely flowing magical power coming from underground, but Kiritsugu did not remember setting up any dispelling barriers here.

Was it the work of the Holy Church? Or was it the Greater Grail's inherent ability to conceal itself?

Tōsaka Tokiomi felt more and more that the situation was not normal. There had been a sense of disharmony in this Holy Grail War from the beginning until now.

Of course, the car couldn't go up the mountain, so several people slowly got out of the car. The cool air hit their skin, and seemed to carry the scent of flowers.

"Something's wrong. We've essentially entered enemy territory." Tōsaka Tokiomi turned around and said to them seriously, "It's best if we do this together..."

"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!" Mordred had already raised his heavy sword and roared as he ran towards the top of the mountain.

The metal plates rubbed against each other, making a clanging noise like a moving train, leaving only a cloud of dust.

“…” He looked back with his mouth open as he watched the strongest Heroic Spirit in the team—at least the one Tokiomi thought was the strongest—leave the team.

"Don't worry, we can still accompany you." Seeing Tokiomi's stunned look, Lanis said with a smile.

Kiritsugu, on the other hand, picked up a backpack and squinted at the others: "Sorry, my fighting style is not suitable for public exposure."

As he said that, he actually walked straight into the forest.

“You…” Tokiomi raised his hand again, speechless for a moment.

This team, which was supposedly brought together to face a powerful enemy, was scattered to the ground like a toppled sand tower just before arriving at its destination.

"At least we must defeat the enemy at the top." Lanis asked the mercury maid to pat Tokiomi on the shoulder as a comfort. Then, she walked up the stairs first, and Tamamonomae, who was originally watching the show at the back, immediately followed.

"..." Tokiomi was stunned. He looked at the girls going up the mountain as if on a picnic, and suddenly felt like giving up.

With a team like this, how could we possibly defeat the two super-sized Heroic Spirits who were trying to destroy the Matou family head-on?

Is there really any point in being here, or should I just leave?

Tokiomi stroked the back of his hand, where two blood marks were carved.

If Gilgamesh could participate in this war, then he could rest assured, but that guy is not only unruly but also very selfish.

Especially after the battle at Matou's house that day, his personality became even more unpredictable, to the point that now Tokiomi couldn't figure out what it would take for him to take action.

But this does not mean that there is no way out. If the order is given using a Command Seal, no matter how crazy Gilgamesh is, he will have to act according to Tokiomi's will.

But if he really did that, the relationship between Tokiomi and his servants would be completely broken.

Moreover, in order to reach the source, he must ensure that he has at least two Command Seals. Only in this way can he ensure that the Heroic Spirit can commit suicide according to his own command and complete the most important step of this ritual.

In the end how to do?

Tokiomi turned his head to look at the car and the brightly lit city a few meters away.

Now, it is still not too late to retreat temporarily and hide in your basement. Everything will proceed according to the original plan, and you can pretend that you have never done such a little episode of recruiting allies.

No matter how rebellious Gilgamesh is, since he has accepted the call of the Holy Grail, he will not give in, right?

But why was he so determined to form an alliance and even take action himself for it?

Tokiomi took a deep breath, two choices were presented before him.

One is the daughter who has theoretically been adopted out and has severed all ties with herself.

The other is the Holy Grail, the dream of countless magicians for thousands of years and the long-cherished wish of the Tosaka family for generations.

This doesn't seem to be an equivalent multiple-choice question. As long as Tokiomi makes up his mind and makes the right choice like a true magician.

Tokiomi exhaled slowly through his nose, but before he took a step, he suddenly heard the sound of insects flapping wings.

He looked up and saw butterflies flying past.

.

In the ruins of Ryudo Temple, a piece of land covered with dust and debris was cleared, and Altria lay in the open space, coughing and gasping.

The dark blue flames bound her body like ropes, making her like a stick. Although Altria did not feel the pain of burning, she could feel the magic power in her body being burned.

Just now, she attacked Kama, but was pinned to the ground in just a few rounds.

For some reason, Archer chose to stand on the enemy's side and refused to help. The dissatisfaction with the betraying teammate made Artoria, who was already full of anger, let out an angry growl from the bottom of her throat.

Gilgamesh had been sitting on the rockery, waiting until he was almost drowsy. Suddenly, he raised his head and opened his scarlet eyes.

"Now that they're here, have you kept me in suspense enough?" Gilgamesh looked at Gamo. "Can you also tell me the purpose of this Holy Grail War?"

"Purpose?" Kama raised his head and looked at the moon peeking out from the dark clouds. "Just to make a simple thing complicated."

"At this point, are you still going to hide it from me?" Gilgamesh suddenly said seriously.

"...you already know all there is to know."

"I can sense that something is amiss with this world," Gilgamesh suddenly said. "It's not because of the so-called Holy Grail War."

"What are you talking about?" Kama turned his head and looked at him strangely.

The topic seemed to change suddenly.

"Using the analogy of things existing in this era, if the development of the world is a track through the woods, and the passage of time is a speeding train, then the train should be filled with people to ensure its smooth operation and prevent it from colliding with obstacles and causing death," Gilgamesh said. "But I can feel the timeline shifting, as if the outermost layer of protection has vanished."

"Can you feel it?"

"Originally, it was impossible, until the ruler handed the clay tablet to me," Gilgamesh said. "Compared to the singularity in the tablet's memory, this world seems even more fragile... except for you."

As he said this, he looked at Kama.

"Every time you guys come out and do something, this fragile world seems to become a little more stable."

He said something that seemed very exaggerated but difficult to understand.

But Bree became interested. After all, the things he did for the system tasks were indeed closely related to the timeline.

"I don't know what you're up to, but it's probably a good thing," Gilgamesh said. "This era is gloomy and selfish, with countless people useless to society growing like fungi. But I respect those who carry heavy burdens and move forward."

"That's not what you said last night." Artoria was also a person who carried a heavy burden, but Gilgamesh was full of mockery towards her yesterday.

"There's a fundamental difference between doing something and resisting the tide of the times with your own strength and just trying to escape by relying on miracles," Gilgamesh chuckled.

Altria just lay aside, listening to their enigmatic conversation in confusion.

After all, they have been leveling tools for such a long time together, so Kama still couldn't bear to step on Daimao's face here. What's more, the crisis that Type-Moon Knight King is facing in Britain cannot be saved even if you ask the Emperor to come.

"If you were old, you would definitely not say such things," said Kama.

"I was too kind in the past, and you overlooked a fact." Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes. "No matter my age or my condition, I am always the same king."

Altria lay on the ground with her brows tightly furrowed. She lacked so much information that she couldn't understand what the two were saying at all.

But at least one thing was clear to me, it seemed like they had known each other a long time ago, perhaps even during their lifetime.

They are equally full of divinity, equally extraordinary, and familiar with each other.

Who are these people...?

"clatter……"

The footsteps were light, but a little too loud for the Heroic Spirit. The people chatting in the yard stopped talking and turned to look at the door.

The gate of Liudong Temple had long been burned down, and the collapsed gate pillars buried the road down the mountain. It is rare to still be able to see the location of the gate.

The figure quietly hid behind the pile of rubble and cautiously poked his head out.

Although it was far away, the Servant's superhuman vision could still see the face clearly, and surprisingly, it was Tōsaka Tokiomi.

Because they had to set up the magic circle secretly, Kama and Meili set up anti-familiar magic around them in advance to avoid being peeped.

It was normal that Tokiomi couldn't use his familiar to explore the way, but no one could have imagined that he would choose to walk up directly in person.

At this moment, seeing the heroic spirits in the yard staring at him, Tokiomi felt a chill down his spine.

What about those heroic spirits? Shouldn't they have come up long ago?

It was because Tokiomi thought that the rooftops should be busy with fighting and would have no time to pay attention to him that Tokiomi dared to go up there himself.

As soon as I stuck my head out, I met at least three pairs of eyes.

However, after the shock, there was endless confusion.

The golden heroic spirit sat on the rockery, less than five meters away from the enemy, but the atmosphere seemed extremely harmonious.

"Archer? Why are you here?" The feeling of betrayal overwhelmed the fear, and Tokiomi raised his head and asked.

"Come and witness the end of the Holy Grail War." Tokiomi's tone was harsh, but Gilgamesh was unusually patient.

"..." Before Tokiomi could say anything, a light as bright as daylight suddenly appeared before his eyes.

The girl floated in front of him, her whole body burning with flames, like a fairy in mythology. Kama was suspended in mid-air, lowering his head as if to visit.

"Good evening, uncle?"

“…!” Tokiomi jumped back as if he had received an electric shock.

Being so close, no matter how hard he tried to deceive himself, he couldn't ignore the similarities between the girl in front of him and Sakura.

"Who are you?" Tokiomi cried out, his pupils shaking.

"Old Bug, you guessed it right away." Kama slowly distanced himself, "I'm the Black Servant, Assassin."

Of course he could feel the strong spiritual reaction, but this was not what Tokiomi wanted.

"Who are you? You and...you..." He stopped talking halfway and didn't know how to continue. He almost forgot how to put it.

Finally, he changed the question to a more tactful one: "Are you really a hero from ancient times?"

"For Valhalla, which has jumped out of this world, the flow of time is meaningless." Kama floated in the air, speaking correct nonsense.

Kama deliberately spoke in riddles in order to lead Tokiomi to think the worst in his heart. She really wanted to see how this guy would react.

Tokiomi's eyes widened. He looked at the face that was much more mature than he remembered, and it was as if he was struck by thunder.

Is it really Sakura? How could she become like this?

Not only was his entire body ablaze with fire, but his limbs also seemed to have disappeared, revealing starlight in the transparency.

There was also the evil aura all over his body that seemed to want to drag all of humanity down, and the word "abnormal" was written all over his face.

And most importantly, although Sakura's attitude seemed to indicate that she really knew him, she felt like a stranger who only knew his name.

Thousands of questions gave Tokiomi the courage to ask, "Are you Sakura?"

"I'm sorry?" Kama just smiled.

What do you mean by "regret"? Is it true or not?!

Tokiomi felt angry inside, but he suppressed it.

No matter who she is, as a Heroic Spirit summoned by the Holy Grail, she is not his daughter.

The most important thing now is the people who are still alive.

"I saw... you participated in the attack on the Matou family, right? The people from the Matou family..." He wanted to hide his true purpose like before, but when he saw Kama's familiar face, he choked.

After hesitating for a long time, he asked frankly, as if begging: "Where's Sakura? She's in your hands, right?"

"Every heroic spirit summoned by the Holy Grail has its own goal, like making up for regrets with its own hands." Kama then spoke in a riddle, "If some history did not exist, there would be no regrets."

This sentence did not directly answer any questions, but it was like a thunderbolt that continuously lashed Tokiomi's broken heart, bringing his suspicions to the worst.

Why does this happen?