Fate: How About a New Savior?

Three days later, in the southern city of Dallas... After recovering, Shiomi and Scáthach spent two days making their way back to the closes

Three days later, in the southern city of Dallas...

After recovering, Shiomi and Scáthach spent two days making their way back to the closest U.S. military front line near Washington—Chicago.

"We're finally back. Mother has been trying to reach Father in Chaldea but couldn't get through. All we know is that he ended up in another life-threatening situation."

When Caren saw Shiomi appear at the entrance of the municipal building, she let out a sigh of relief, like a weight had finally been lifted from her chest.

"Sorry about that. Since Master and I formed a team to raid the enemy's headquarters, we had to stay as covert as possible," Shiomi explained with a wry smile.

Of course, it wasn't that Shiomi had deliberately cut off communications with Chaldea just to spend time with his Master. It was due to a far more serious reality about this Singularity.

"I really did want to keep in touch. After all, my husband personally charged into the enemy base on a decapitation mission."

Morgan, who had joined the call, added, "But this Singularity is a little different. As the Celtic army advances and brings more land under its control, it becomes increasingly difficult for Chaldea to observe what's happening inside."

Having infiltrated deep into the Celtic army's headquarters, Shiomi had already entered a zone beyond observation. So this outcome wasn't exactly unexpected.

"If we let the Celts continue expanding their territory, this Singularity will gradually stretch into a long strip—eventually covering the entire United States in the truest sense," Morgan said, pausing in thought. "At that point, it might be more accurate to call it a Lostbelt than a Singularity."

"Lostbelt?" Shiomi looked surprised.

He had heard the term before, but even in the world of Magus, it was rarely mentioned—an obscure concept tied to the operation of parallel worlds under the Second Magic.

—Zepia, Director of the Atlas Institute, also constantly monitored countless parallel worlds.

"Just a figure of speech. Everyone's waiting for my husband and his Master to get back so we can plan our next move," Morgan said, brushing past the topic like it was nothing more than a casual analogy.

Shiomi nodded, then asked, "So, what's the situation been like while we were gone? If you've taken over Dallas, there must've been some major developments, right?"

"Yeah. While we were keeping the Celtic army's main force busy, we also resolved quite a few other issues," Caren replied as she led Shiomi and Scáthach into the city hall, heading toward the council chamber while explaining the recent changes.

After splitting from him and Scáthach, Caren had led her group of Servants and, based on the intel from Fergus, divided them into two teams—one large, one small.

Caren, along with Florence Nightingale and Geronimo, had taken Rama to Prison Island, where they did find Sita. However, to lift the curse on Rama, Sita transferred the curse onto herself and then departed. Rama, though, was successfully cured.

That proved crucial when they returned to the feint unit just in time to intercept Edison and Karna as they launched a surprise attack. Rama held off Karna, and thanks to Florence Nightingale's relentless effort, Edison was ultimately "physically" persuaded to abandon his earlier plans and agreed to team up with Chaldea and a third force against the Celtic army.

"Sounds like you've made some impressive gains," Scáthach praised. "You really are the daughter of my beloved disciple—a capable Master who can hold her own."

Shiomi looked a little sheepish. "Yeah, Caren achieved so much, while Master and I… didn't really accomplish anything worth mentioning—"

As they spoke, they pushed open the doors to the council chamber. Inside, Edison's faction, Geronimo's team, and the Servants Scáthach had previously summoned were all gathered, waiting for their return.

Naturally, because Tesla—Edison's archrival—was among those Servants, the chamber had already become quite lively before they even got there.

Edison and Tesla were locked in an argument until Helena scolded them into silence.

That was the scene that greeted Shiomi as he entered.

"Seeing that you both made it back safely, and hearing from the Master that Chaldea detected your life signs in critical condition..." Geronimo asked with a grave expression, "Did the mission to assassinate the Mad King fail?"

Shiomi pulled out an empty chair. "More or less. Both the Mad King and I were seriously wounded, but that was three days ago. At this point, there are two possibilities: either Medb has already used the Holy Grail to nearly restore the Mad King, or she's still using it to mass-produce more Celtic warriors."

"So basically, she can't do both at once?" Robin Hood chimed in with his usual laid-back tone. "No wonder reinforcements for the Celtic frontline have been slower than expected…"

"Then Medb prioritized using the Holy Grail to heal Cú Chulainn," Scáthach said, taking the seat Shiomi had pulled out.

With no chairs left in the council chamber, Shiomi remained standing by the table, nodding in agreement.

"If that's the case, it's already an impressive result," Rama said approvingly, and the others nodded in agreement as well.

Having once fought the Mad King himself, Rama understood his strength. For Shiomi to have wounded him so severely that Medb was forced to split the Holy Grail's power was something even the young king found praiseworthy.

"As for why the assassination failed..." Shiomi continued, "it's because there was a third Servant at the enemy base besides the Mad King and Medb. That led Master and me to misjudge their total combat strength—"

His gaze turned toward Karna.

"—But we've already identified that third Servant's true name. He's called Arjuna."

"Arjuna?!" Rama was the first to react in shock.

Helena and Geronimo, both well-versed in lore, were also visibly surprised.

Karna, who had been silently listening, responded with a calm voice. "I see. If that man is fighting alongside the Mad King, it makes sense that the two of you couldn't succeed."

"Exactly," Shiomi admitted without hesitation.

Arjuna was a formidable Servant. Even if Shiomi provoked him, there was no way to end the fight quickly.

There was no doubt about it.

Morgan, providing support from Chaldea, spoke up again. Using the device on Shiomi's wrist, she projected a map onto the center of the conference table.

"In terms of numbers, we currently have thirteen Servants and two Masters. That's enough to hold our own in a full-scale Holy Grail War."

"However," Helena added seriously, "even though the number of confirmed Servants on the Celtic side is still small, they include legendary figures like Fergus, Fionn, and Diarmuid, along with Beowulf stationed on Prison Island. And don't forget the infinitely replicating magical beasts and Celtic warriors. The outcome of this war between us will determine the fate of this era—and possibly the world itself."

...

(100 Chapters Ahead)

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