Fate: How About a New Savior?

Unaware that Chaldea's group had led the counterattack against the front line of Magical Beasts, the team returned within the city walls after successfully eliminating eight Demon Pillars. There, they rested and assisted with various tasks—collecting the remains of fallen soldiers, tending to the wounded, distributing supplies, and repairing damage to the walls sustained during the battle.

"...Eight Demon Pillars showed up? So it wasn't just the Magical Beast army attacking the northern wall?"

Shiomi sat on a crate in the city barracks, slowly regulating his breath as he absorbed mana from the Age of Gods' atmosphere.

His teleportation magic wasn't something Scáthach had taught him directly. Rather, after she passed on the Primordial Runes, he developed the spell himself.

The technique allowed for long-range spatial travel but had significant drawbacks. First, the farther the distance, the greater the mana consumption. Jumping straight from Ur back to Uruk had drained nearly as much mana as it would take for Artoria or Morgan to unleash a Noble Phantasm.

Fortunately, there hadn't been any actual barriers in the dense forest—otherwise, spatial restrictions would've pushed the cost even higher.

Second, he couldn't teleport accurately to places he hadn't visited before. That's why he chose to travel to Ur on foot.

It was also a precaution. Arriving somewhere unfamiliar only to run into enemies with his mana reserves nearly depleted could have turned the tide of battle against them.

Especially considering that before they returned to defend, they'd been clashing with a Servant of a major god's caliber.

"How many Demon Pillars did I take down just now? Three, or was it four?" Morgan, who had also played a major role in the fight, showed no signs of fatigue. Instead, she was already checking with Chaldea for the tally.

The reason was simple.

She couldn't accept that her results might be equal to Artoria's.

"Ahahaha... It looks like both of your Noble Phantasms took out three each. The remaining two were brought down by the others working together," Romani said with an awkward laugh, trying to play the mediator.

"So it's a draw then." Artoria nodded in understanding, though she seemed a bit disappointed.

"How about we include the Magical Beasts that got wiped out along the way?" Scáthach leaned lazily against Shiomi, speaking with interest.

Da Vinci grumbled, "How are we supposed to count that? The mana signatures from the Demon Pillars completely scrambled the radar's ability to track the beast numbers."

"Then improve it—you're supposed to be a genius, Leonardo da Vinci," Morgan said bluntly.

"...It's only in moments like this that you acknowledge I'm a genius. Genius witches really piss me off," Da Vinci replied through clenched teeth.

Romani let out a yelp—most likely because his shoulder was getting squeezed as someone's stress relief.

"In any case, I'm just glad everyone's safe," Shiomi said, rubbing his forehead.

Eight Demon Pillars, yet they were stronger than even the twenty-eight Medb had summoned in the North American Singularity using her special methods. It was almost as if... the King of Magecraft himself had taken control.

His gaze swept across the barracks. When he spotted Sakura tending to Ana's wounds, something suddenly clicked in his mind.

"Where's Mari? She's Merlin's sister, after all. Don't tell me she's completely incapable of fighting?"

"That's a harsh accusation, but luckily, I saw this coming—"

Mari's voice rang out in response to Shiomi's suspicion. With her were Hakuno Kishinami and Siduri.

"The King actually left the throne? Are you sure that's okay?" Shiomi asked, mildly surprised.

Hakuno shook his head. "I've temporarily left things in Gilgamesh's hands. When I heard how fierce the battle at the front was, I asked Siduri to help prepare supplies, and I brought them here myself."

"A wise choice. After such a grueling fight, the King showing up to personally support the troops will do wonders for morale," Artoria said approvingly.

"Not at all—Chaldea is the one who's worked tirelessly. If not for you all, I doubt Uruk and the front lines could have withstood these Demon Pillars. This was their first appearance, wasn't it?" Hakuno offered her sincere thanks.

From her response, it was clear—this was the first time the Demon Pillars had shown up as an organized offensive force...

"As for Miss Mari..." Hakuno shook his head. "She's currently focusing most of her strength elsewhere. Even if she comes to the front lines, all she can do is use illusion magic to provide cover."

If it were just about retreating, that'd be one thing. For instance, when Leonidas gave the order earlier, Mari was ready to step in and help with the withdrawal.

It was only because Shiomi and the others returned in time and kicked off the counterattack that it seemed like Mari hadn't done anything.

"A certain task?" Shiomi asked, puzzled.

Hakuno glanced at Siduri, handed over the task of distributing supplies to her, and then turned to the group to reveal the deeper secrets of this Singularity.

"To put it simply, we still don't have a clear picture of things. We've seen the Three Goddess Alliance and a fake Enkidu commanding the Magical Beast army... but it's highly likely these are just decoys. The real mastermind— the King of Magecraft— seems to be planning to bring a god back to Mesopotamia."

"A god?" Scáthach asked. "You don't mean..."

"The primordial mother goddess, the mother of the Mesopotamian gods—Tiamat," Hakuno said, enunciating each word clearly.

At that moment, Mari spoke softly, clearly not intending to shake the morale of the regular soldiers or others nearby.

"Right now, I've sealed Goddess Tiamat within a dream, preventing her from awakening. But it's only a temporary measure—just a way to buy time. If we can't defeat the Three Goddess Alliance and retrieve the Holy Grail that the King of Magecraft sent to this era..."

"Tiamat will awaken?" Morgan asked.

Mari gave a resigned expression. "She won't just awaken. The moment she does, she'll kill me—the one who put her in that dream."

"That's not entirely bad news."

Shiomi cracked a joke, drawing laughter from Morgan, Scáthach, and Hakuno. Mari, however, looked genuinely hurt.

"Still, the King of Magecraft is putting way too much weight on this Singularity," Shiomi continued, the humor fading from his voice. "Beyond the Singularity's inherent power, he even summoned his Demon Pillars here..."

Unleashing eight Demon Pillars in one go—this was something none of the six previous Singularities had ever seen.

"The gap in strength is enormous. From here on, defending the Magical Beast front will only get tougher," Hakuno said with deep concern.

Even as a temporary substitute for the throne, she was still carrying out her responsibilities as a king.

"We don't have a choice. From now on, either Scáthach, Artoria, or I must always remain here to support the defense."

The goal was to avoid unnecessary battles whenever possible—like the one with the Jaguar Warrior in Ur. Situations like that had to be prevented moving forward.

"It's the only way."

Shiomi nodded firmly, agreeing with Morgan's proposal.

...

(100 Chapters Ahead)

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