The Return of Hatred

In a building in the new capital city of Fuyuki.

"Hmm..."

Lying on the sofa, Naoki covered his eyes and groaned in pain. The burning sensation made it feel as though his eyes were on fire, and tears streamed uncontrollably from them.

On the other side, seeing Naoki in this state, Arthur couldn't help but sigh: "Master, you are truly careless. You really removed the seal in such a situation. If I had been any slower, you would be blind now."

"I didn't... hisss~~ I'm not the type to just sit still after suffering a defeat."

Naoki said this while grimacing in pain.

A few hours earlier, before the Matou residence was engulfed and destroyed by Morgan's magical ritual, Naoki removed the sealing cloth and stared sharply at Morgan. As he himself said, he wasn't someone who would willingly accept a loss. Since he was nearly killed by Morgan, he naturally had to fight back.

Morgan must be feeling very uncomfortable now, as her spirit is being eroded and she is being stared at by those evil eyes.

That is, if it really was Morgan.

"We were truly deceived, Arthur." Naoki said while closing his eyes, "That wasn't the real Morgan, but a fake."

"A fake?"

"The soul was on the wrong scale."

Although it was just a glimpse, Naoki had indeed seen what a Servant's soul looks like. Both Arthur and Diarmuid, their souls were like blazing flames, extremely hot. And the soul of Morgan he just saw, although also in the form of a flame, was as weak as a candle in the wind, like a flame that could be extinguished by the wind at any moment.

Naoki could understand that there are differences between souls, but since they are all Heroic Spirits, the differences shouldn't be too great.

The only explanation for this situation is that it wasn't the real Morgan.

"A standard, a puppet, an illusion... If it were Morgan, she could surely do the same, right? The person who appeared at the Matou family was such a person. Otherwise, there's no way to explain why her soul was so weak."

"A puppet..."

Arthur fell silent upon hearing this. He wasn't a Magus and didn't have a deep understanding of Magecraft. In the past, he always left matters related to magic to Merlin and his two Masters. Since Merlin and the previous two Masters were great Magi, Arthur never encountered major problems in this regard, but now.

'I was too careless.'

Morgan must have anticipated that the two of them would go to the Matou family, so she went there first, set up the magical ritual and curses, and then left after leaving a substitute. This also explains why she appeared so boldly before them. Even if a fight had broken out at that time, Morgan wouldn't have been affected, as she was just a substitute after all.

'I was truly deceived.'

Recalling the confrontation with Morgan at that time, Arthur couldn't help but clench his fist. At the same time, he affirmed one thing in his heart – even though their worlds are not the same, even though their experiences might differ, she is still Morgan, still the Magus who indirectly destroyed Camelot, who can see into people's hearts and manipulate emotions... She remains the same as in his memories, unchanged.

"Are you blaming yourself, Arthur?"

Naoki's voice suddenly sounded.

"Master... I'm sorry for hurting you."

"No need to apologize. You did a great job. The injury to my eyes was my own doing. It has nothing to do with you. If it weren't for you, I would have been shot dead long ago. I should be the one thanking you. And I should also be the one apologizing."

Opening his eyes slightly, Naoki looked at Arthur, "Arthur, I'm sorry, I held you back."

Naoki knew that everything Arthur did was to protect him. Since he had said before that his only goal in the Holy Grail War was to survive, Arthur always prioritized protecting him. Otherwise, in the recent situation, with Arthur's Magic Resistance, he could have surely dealt with Morgan's substitute even if he got injured, although it wouldn't have affected the outcome.

Arthur is incredibly strong, so strong that he can even compete with Gilgamesh in a direct fight. As the wielder of the Holy Sword of the Star, as the red dragon of Britain, and as the unparalleled King of Knights, he should be the one with the greatest chance to obtain the Holy Grail and become the winner of the Holy Grail War.

Yet his Master is a useless person like Naoki.

"Although I didn't want to lose to your previous two Masters, I thought with these Mystic Eyes and the opening of my magic circuits, I should be able to assist you to some extent, but it still ended up like this..."

"Arthur, let me ask you, if I were replaced by one of your previous two Masters, you wouldn't—"

"This is a pointless question, Master."

Without letting Naoki finish, Arthur knelt down and held Naoki's hand. "Indeed, if it were Manaka, it would be easy for me to win. If it were Ayaka, she wouldn't be as passive as now."

"But in reality, there is no 'if.' At this moment, in this Holy Grail War, my only Master is you, Natsukawa Naoki."

"Master said that what you need from me is not [victory], but [protection]. You hope that I can protect you. So, no matter how many difficulties and obstacles lie ahead, I will respond to your wish and protect you until the very end."

The desire to save Britain has faded. After no longer being fixated on the past, Arthur now only has two things he wants to do: fulfill his Master's wish and defeat Manaka.

Seeing Arthur kneeling before him and swearing the Knight's Oath, Naoki smiled bitterly: "I can't imagine how painful it will be when that curse strikes again. After all, you really dared to say that. I suggest you say that to the other Manaka next time, and I guarantee you'll win without a fight."

"The issue between Manaka and me... I think it's not that easy to resolve. I have forgotten the past, but she is still trapped in my past."

"..."

He closed his eyes again and lay back facing upwards. Naoki sighed, "Forget it, let's not talk about this now. I'll leave the vigilance to you. I'll rest. I've been bombed twice in a row, and my head is a bit dizzy now."

"Alright, rest well, Master."

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

At the same time, at Mount Enzou, inside a large underground cave.

As if a hole had been dug into the space itself, a black crevice quietly appeared above the large hole, and then, like a waterfall, some black substance flowed out from the crevice.