Faintly, it seemed possible to catch the light, delicate fragrance drifting from the girl's body, like a clingy little cat.
'If Mama Tiamat were here, that'd be great,' Alvin suddenly thought to himself.
Although she was called the Mother Goddess of Creation, she seemed quite interested in human food, 'She might actually get along very well with Manaka.'
In truth, Sajyou Manaka didn't really like cooking.
The girl named Sajyou Manaka simply wanted the person she liked to taste her food. As long as she could see him eating something she had made herself, just that alone was enough to fill her heart with a joy called "happiness."
Because she had once been far too lonely, because everything she did would have its future spoiled in advance by "omniscience and omnipotence," it was only after seeing a boy in Britain whose future could not be spoiled that she began to care about him so deeply.
Most girls at this age were looks-oriented to begin with, their values following their facial preferences, and Alvin's appearance happened to perfectly match Sajyou Manaka's fantasy of what a "lover" should be.
The Watchman of Britain, King Arthur's husband, a love that crossed history. Just imagining something like that was already enough to satisfy a young girl's pink, romantic fantasies.
Because it was winter and heavy snow was falling, the ground outside was already covered in snow up to the knees, and there were hardly any people to be seen inside the mall.
Walking beside Sajyou Manaka, Alvin was busy thinking about how to find Kayneth, and how to persuade his teacher to give up on the Holy Grail War and return.
He also wondered which Servant his teacher had summoned…
'Would it be the same as in the original Fourth War, summoning a lancer with Luck E, or would it be, some other Servant?'
Lost in these messy thoughts, the two of them unknowingly ended up buying a whole large bag full of things.
Before leaving, the clerk gave Alvin a puzzled look.
Someone who wrapped themselves up tightly inside a mall, and even wore a "white mask," looked suspicious no matter how you saw it.
Alvin took the heavy shopping bag from Sajyou Manaka's hands, held an umbrella, and silently walked beside the girl.
Before they realized it, they had already passed through the bustling city center and were heading back toward the building where they lived, along quiet streets.
Sajyou Manaka couldn't help sneaking a few more glances at the boy, then quickly said, "Saber, from now on, when you're with me, can you take off the mask?"
"Wearing a mask always feels like there's a bit of distance between us."
Alvin said helplessly, "I mainly don't want to be recognized by people I know."
If he ran into Kayneth and he saw that his student has appeared in Fuyuki as a Servant, who knew what kind of reaction that would cause.
And in the original story, the Servant summoned by Emiya Kiritsugu was King Arthur.
If possible, Alvin really didn't want to finally return to the real world only to end up in some huge love triangle disaster.
Then again, since the worldline had already changed, maybe the Servant Emiya Kiritsugu summoned would be someone else entirely?
Sajyou Manaka thought for a moment and said, "Alright then, I don't want to force you to do something you don't want to do."
"But if possible, at least when we're at home, don't wear the mask. Is that okay?"
If Sajyou Manaka really wanted to, she could completely use a Command Spell to order Alvin to do as she said. It was just that she didn't really like using orders when it came to love.
"If it's just at home, then that's fine."
Seeing Alvin nod lightly, Sajyou Manaka felt satisfied. She grabbed his hand.
"Then let's go back."
Her smile was pure and moving, dazzlingly bright, her eyes filled with the joy of a girl in love.
That instant of radiant charm made Alvin unconsciously reach out and gently touch the girl's fair, delicate cheek.
Sajyou Manaka shyly lowered her head.
However, just as Alvin was about to take Sajyou Manaka's hand and leave, the streetlights suddenly flickered, turning bright and dim for a moment.
Snowflakes drifted slowly down from the inky sky, and the surroundings were so quiet there wasn't a single sound.
Yet in that instant, a golden light quietly lit up within the darkness.
Sajyou Manaka still looked shy, her gaze lowered slightly, but deep within those azure-blue eyes, a trace of icy coldness faintly surfaced.
'The Servants of Fuyuki really don't know how to read the mood at all.'
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a weapon wrapped in golden light shot out, instantly shattering the silence.
The golden blade tore through the air, flying straight toward Sajyou Manaka.
Alvin moved at once. He scooped Sajyou Manaka up in his arms, flashed, and vanished from where he stood.
BOOM!
Accompanied by a thunderous explosion, the golden blade pierced into the ground, and faintly, terrifying magical energy seemed to spread out.
"Your reaction's pretty quick. Looks like you already sensed this king's presence earlier."
After the echo of the explosion faded, an arrogant, lofty voice rang through the street.
Alvin carried Sajyou Manaka away from their original spot and looked up in the direction of the voice.
A pair of crimson eyes were gazing down at them from atop a streetlight.
He was clad in golden armor, tall and well-built, his arms crossed over his chest. He never lowered his proud head, only looking down at Alvin and Sajyou Manaka on the ground, as if they were two insects.
Behind this Servant, several golden rings of light quietly appeared, and faintly, one could see weapons coated in dazzling golden brilliance.
The weapon that had just attacked Alvin had come from those rings.
The Gate of Babylon. A special Noble Phantasm belonging only to the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh. Because it was connected to the space of his treasury, he could freely take out the items within it.
Within the Gate of Babylon were stored the prototypes of all Noble Phantasms. Or rather, the prototypes of human inventions, as well as treasures and rare items from all ages.
Sajyou Manaka stared at the golden king standing on the streetlight, then softly said, "Caster? No, you're an Archer?"
Despite being an Archer, the Noble Phantasms he used were more like a Caster's. This Holy Grail War seemed even more interesting than she had imagined.
After observing for a moment, Alvin couldn't help muttering to himself, "The King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, huh? Didn't expect you to come knocking so quickly."
Although he already knew that such a Servant would appear in the Fourth War. Actually seeing him in person still surprised Alvin a little.
No wonder Gilgamesh was called an "irregular-class" Servant. Just the magical energy he was displaying right now far surpassed that of ordinary Servants.
There was a hint of interest in Gilgamesh's tone, "Oh? You actually know this king's identity?"
After setting Sajyou Manaka down, Alvin smiled, "Someone who collects the prototypes of all Noble Phantasms in the world. There's only one person who can open the Gate of Babylon."
Gilgamesh casually narrowed his eyes.
Then, very quickly, a chill crept into his crimson gaze.
"Since you know who this king is, why do you still dare raise your head and look directly at me?"
In the next instant, countless golden rings of light flared to life behind Gilgamesh.
That magnificent golden radiance was like it was about to light up the entire pitch-black sky.
Almost at that moment, all the hidden observers scattered around noticed the disturbance here.
From the moment Alvin and Sajyou Manaka went out, the Masters participating in this Holy Grail War had already arranged for people to secretly keep watch on them.
What none of them expected was that among the manifested Servants this time, there would be an existence as irregular as Archer.
At this very moment, a woman dressed in a tight black outfit was standing atop a high-rise building, observing the battle through military binoculars.
Hisau Maiya, the woman Emiya Kiritsugu had once saved on the battlefield, who now stayed by his side in order to help her benefactor win the Holy Grail War.
Not long ago, she had secretly followed Alvin and Sajyou Manaka, originally intending to see if she could confirm what kind of Servant Sajyou Manaka had summoned.
She hadn't expected to gain some "extra rewards."
Seeing the astonishing number of Noble Phantasms behind Gilgamesh, even someone as calm as Hisau Maiya couldn't help feeling her heart pound.
Under normal circumstances, a Servant could have at most one or two Noble Phantasms, yet this Archer had already used over a dozen special Noble Phantasms in such a short time.
'This Saber really is unlucky. They might have originally wanted to fish for someone, but they probably never imagined the one who bit the hook would be such an irregular-class existence.'
As she watched the countless Noble Phantasms bombard Alvin, that thought couldn't help surfacing in Hisau Maiya's mind.
However, Alvin's reaction was far faster than Gilgamesh had anticipated.
He stood in front of Sajyou Manaka, swiftly grabbed one of the incoming swords, and then hurled it with all his strength.
That sword quickly collided with the Noble Phantasms fired from the Gate of Babylon.
BOOM!
With a deafening roar, a firework-like burst of brilliant light exploded in the sky.
After that, every time the Gate of Babylon attacked Alvin, he would use the same method. He would grab one of the Noble Phantasms and throw it back, fending off the barrage launched by Gilgamesh.
Normally, even fighting a war of attrition like this for so long would consume a great deal of magical energy.
Yet Gilgamesh quickly realized that the magical energy on this black-robed Servant showed no sign of depletion at all.
"Is it that girl behind him?"
Gilgamesh couldn't help taking a few more looks at Sajyou Manaka. He could tell that her magical energy far exceeded that of ordinary magi.
Very quickly, Gilgamesh shifted his gaze back to Alvin.
'Unlimited magical endurance?'
'If this pair were in a normal Holy Grail War, they would be quite troublesome.'
A pleased smile soon appeared on Gilgamesh's face.
"Looks like I underestimated you earlier, unknown Servant."
"In that case, this king will grant you an opportunity."
"An opportunity to behold the Sword of Rupture."
———
Inside the Tohsaka residence, the moment he sensed what Gilgamesh intended to do, Tohsaka Tokiomi's expression finally turned utterly dreadful.
"Has he lost his mind?"
'The Holy Grail War hadn't even officially begun yet, and the identities of the Masters and Servants were still unclear, and this King of Heroes is already planning to use his strongest Noble Phantasm?'
"King, please calm yourself. Let tonight end here," Tohsaka Tokiomi's voice reached Gilgamesh's ears through special magecraft.
["This king has only just begun to enjoy himself. How could I possibly withdraw now?"]
With a cold smile, Gilgamesh completely ignored Tohsaka Tokiomi's words and lowered his gaze to the black-robed Servant below, "Come. Let me see just how much capacity you have to entertain me—"
Alvin frowned slightly.
If Sajyou Manaka weren't here, even deciding victory or defeat with Gilgamesh tonight wouldn't have been a problem.
But, without the "Manifestation of the Beast," Sajyou Manaka's body was far too fragile.
Even the aftershocks of his clash with Gilgamesh could injure the girl behind him.
"So you care that much about the Master behind you?"
Gilgamesh noticed this as well, but a certain power was already gathering in his hands, forming the special Noble Phantasm known as the "Sword of Rupture."
The Star of Creation that Split Heaven and Earth, Enuma Elish. It possessed power on par with, or even surpassing, the "Sword of Promised Victory." It was truly a world-rending blade, one that even Unlimited Blade Works could not replicate.
That the King of Heroes would use this special Noble Phantasm so soon after meeting Alvin could mean he had sensed Alvin's threat. Or perhaps he was simply acting on a whim. No one could say for sure.
What truly angered Gilgamesh, however, was that after he had taken out EA, Alvin showed no reaction at all, not even the slightest intent to activate a Noble Phantasm.
"You wouldn't be thinking of running away, would you?"
"When this king draws EA and you don't even take a defensive stance, I really am being looked down on."
"No, you misunderstand, King of Heroes."
Alvin slowly raised his head and met Gilgamesh's crimson gaze, "My Master is behind me, so I don't intend to fight you to the death. After all, it might affect her."
"But at the same time, out of respect for you, and as a return courtesy, that's why I haven't used any Noble Phantasms."
"Because my Noble Phantasm is not any kind of weapon."
Gilgamesh paused slightly. For some reason, a faint sense of unease suddenly welled up in his heart, his back inexplicably turning cold.
Very quickly, he looked down at the boy on the ground with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty.
'Me, feeling uneasy?'
'How is that possible?'
No matter how powerful a Noble Phantasm might be, Gilgamesh was confident that the EA in his hands could utterly destroy it.
[T/N: If you asked me, which MC I hate the most, my answer would be, in a heartbeat, this mothafacker.]
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