"It's a pity I can't help you any further..."
Noticing that his hands were starting to dissolve into golden specks of light, Georgios could only sigh regretfully.
Takumi couldn't bring Heroic Spirits back to Chaldea. Even if he went back, he didn't know how to summon Servants at all.
After all, this wasn't a Holy Grail War. It wasn't like you just needed Master aptitude and chant a few words to summon a Servant.
Otherwise, the former Director wouldn't have spent over a decade just to produce one Demi-Servant like Mash, and one who couldn't live long at that.
Georgios could also see Takumi's trait of being compatible with Servant Spirit Origins. Unfortunately, like a bucket that eventually gets full, after obtaining the powers of Jeanne, Jeanne Alter, and Siegfried, this "bucket" was temporarily filled.
Siegfried's power took up the majority, as his Spirit Origin was relatively complete. Jeanne and Jeanne Alter were in worse states than each other, only occupying a small portion.
If it weren't truly impossible, Georgios actually wanted to lend his own power to Takumi as well.
"I've already received care from so many people. Asking for more help would seem a bit greedy, wouldn't it?"
Takumi shook his head and said with a smile.
"Well said. Then I can rest easy."
Hearing Takumi's words, Georgios nodded with satisfaction.
As a somewhat strict teacher-type character, he had to admit that this Little Master was indeed excellent.
Only... I'm afraid even greater suffering awaits you ahead...
Georgios thought this and wanted to say something, but didn't know where to start.
So he sighed, patted Takumi on the shoulder, and didn't say anything more.
"Then I'll be going first. If you ever have the ability to perform Heroic Spirit Summoning, I won't be stingy with my power."
"...Mmh. I will. Goodbye."
Takumi paused for a moment, then calmly squeezed out a smile and waved to Georgios.
The next moment, Georgios turned into specks of light and drifted into the sky.
Once the only person he could talk to was gone, the smile on Takumi's face slowly disappeared. Only then did he realize that the surroundings were terrifyingly quiet.
In the empty ruins, there was no living existence other than himself. It was so silent that not even insects were chirping.
—He was alone again.
Takumi stared blankly at the dissipating light specks. After being in a trance for a dozen seconds, he swayed his body weakly and sat on a relatively intact step.
He extended his left hand, on which was a somewhat crude "wristwatch."
This was something Takumi found among items that most likely belonged to Da Vinci during his initial five months of preparation. There was even a manual next to it.
The function of the "little watch" was simple: send a signal remotely to Chaldea. Once Chaldea received it, it would automatically transport Takumi back.
It was just a bit slow. It took about three minutes after sending the signal to be transported.
After operating the "little watch" to send the return signal to Chaldea, Takumi stared blankly into the distance.
The sun was already touching the horizon. Its afterglow dyed the ruins, and himself, in red.
A breeze swept across the ruins, bringing a trace of warmth to blow through the boy's hair.
The sunset was beautiful, the weather was nice, but Takumi had no mood to appreciate it.
It felt like a piece of his heart was missing. He just sat there blankly.
About a minute passed.
Suddenly, as if reaching a critical point.
Tears burst from his eyes, falling continuously down his cheeks onto the ground.
Was Takumi really strong? Not necessarily.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have stayed in the woods crying just because he got lost.
Just as he said at the beginning, as long as someone could accompany him, he could walk on happily, regardless of whether the teammate was useful or not.
The reason he hadn't truly cried before was simple—he just didn't want to disappoint them.
He didn't want to disappoint Jeanne, who had always believed in him.
But now?
They were all gone. Not a single one left.
'I didn't even... have time to say goodbye to them...'
Tears blurred his vision. Takumi bit his lip, trying not to cry too loudly.
He covered his eyes with his arm, but the tears soaked his sleeve as well.
Not only did he not say goodbye to Jeanne, but from the moment he met Marie and Amadeus, he had been groggy. He hadn't even spoken to them properly, let alone anything else.
Even though they helped him so much, in the end, he hadn't even had a conversation with them...
In the end, he only said a proper goodbye to Teacher George.
It was just—
'Saying goodbye... but will there really be a chance to meet again?'
Takumi had no confidence.
Suddenly, two ear-piercing voices entered his ears. From far to near, the voices became louder and louder.
"Arrogant country bumpkin squirrel from the East! It's all because you insisted on pestering me. Look, we're late, aren't we? There's no one left!"
"Hehe, mere bloodthirsty perverted European guinea pig! I should be the one saying that! It was clearly you pestering me, otherwise I would have arrived long ago!"
"Japanese Rat Snake!"
"Frill-necked Lizard!"
"Deinagkistrodon!"
"Mexican Beaded Lizard!"
...
Takumi froze and looked up sharply.
In the distance under the setting sun, he saw two Servants cursing at each other tit-for-tat.
Elisabeth Báthory and Kiyohime.
"It's all your fault! Since manifesting, I've been arguing with you non-stop. We haven't fought a single proper battle, and now we're about to disappear!"
Elisabeth, whose body was already emitting light specks, glared furiously at Kiyohime, who was also emitting light specks.
"Hah! Did I stop you from fighting? You delayed me from finding my beloved!"
Kiyohime covered her mouth with a fan, her exposed eyes full of mockery.
"You..."
The two Servants pressed their foreheads together, baring their teeth, neither willing to yield to the other.
Takumi stared for a few seconds.
"Pfft, haha..."
Seeing this scene from the game in reality after so long, Takumi laughed through his tears, tears still clinging to the corners of his eyes.
He sniffled and waved to the two with a smile, not caring if they saw him.
After this action, Takumi's figure vanished from this Singularity.
----
In the Darkness.
"Hey, that human Master who suddenly appeared has already conquered a Singularity."
Naberius stared with his body full of eyes.
"Hm? ...How strange. I remember Chaldea should have been silenced by my bomb. Where exactly did such a guy come from?"
Flauros was very puzzled.
The "Grand Bomber" here wasn't like the useless one in the game. One bomb blew Chaldea's defenses apart, causing the Incineration of Humanity formula to burn everything inside Chaldea clean as well.
That was why Flauros was so surprised. Although Chaldea disappeared to some unknown place in the end, the people inside should definitely have been wiped out.
"I recall someone saying that this suddenly appearing human Master wouldn't amount to much, right? Hm? How come he has already recovered two Holy Grails?"
Forneus said with a faint smile.
"Hmph! He's just a human Master. He probably doesn't even know how to use those things in Chaldea properly, right?"
Flauros snorted disdainfully, ignoring Forneus's mockery.
As practically half a founder of Chaldea, Flauros knew too well how complex those systems were.
Just one person in Chaldea? Can you even figure it out?
Flauros issued a taunt against people with low academic ability.
"But none of this matters. If he dares to come, the next Singularity will be his burial ground."
Flauros revealed a cold glint in his eyes, and the space returned to darkness.
---
Chaldea
Takumi returned to Chaldea.
The entire facility remained exactly as it was before he left: empty, with no one around. Only the essential areas maintained power supply.
Even a small footstep could cause a long echo.
Takumi sighed in disappointment and walked toward his room to rest.
Better adjust my condition quickly and enter the next Singularity as soon as possible...
Anyway, for the current Takumi, he didn't want to stay in this Chaldea for even one extra day.