"Eh, Sakatsuki...?" Inside the shower room, Astolfo had already cheerfully stripped naked. Seeing Sakatsuki enter didn't fluster him in the slightest—he even stood there completely unabashed. "Are you joining me too... mmmph!"
Sakatsuki expressionlessly covered his mouth: "Just hiding from someone, don't get the wrong idea... And what do you mean by 'too'?"
"Mmmph, mmmph mmmph! (It's Roland! He always likes bathing together.)"
"If possible, please don't compare me to that perverted exhibitionist."
"Mmmph! (That's so mean!)"
To prevent Astolfo from making noise that might draw attention from outside, Sakatsuki turned on the showerhead. Meanwhile, beyond the bathroom door, Sieg had already welcomed Jeanne d'Arc inside. Upon entering, Jeanne handed over two bags she was carrying.
"Sieg, these are materials the magus Gordes asked me to bring you—something called... Black Beast Grease and Spirit Roots. He said they're for tonight's assignment." Pausing, Jeanne asked curiously, "Assignment? Does that mean Sieg was given homework too?"
"Yes, I'm currently learning from Lord Gordes, hoping to acquire the techniques for creating homunculi... This is also key to achieving complete independence for homunculi." Sieg accepted the materials Jeanne brought, opening the bags to find items just like those in the game—exceptionally rare and precious components. Though the bags appeared small, their contents were valuable enough to rent a house on London's Filmore Garden Street for an entire year.
However, Jeanne paid no mind to their monetary worth. After satisfying her curiosity, she shook her hand, the lingering odor making the saint frown. "It smells awful... What should I do?"
"It must be the Black Beast Grease. Being magical materials and all... But washing with water should remove the smell." Sieg explained. Nodding, Jeanne headed toward the shower room.
"In that case, Sieg, I'll borrow your bathroom for a moment."
"...Huh?"
Only then did Sieg belatedly realize she might have messed up. If her teacher had hidden when Jeanne arrived, he must have wanted to avoid meeting her. Yet now, the saint was heading straight for the very room where her teacher was concealed—
And the sound of running water in the bathroom naturally interfered with Sakatsuki's awareness of the outside. Or perhaps he was too preoccupied dealing with the rationality-deprived Astolfo to imagine his beloved disciple would betray him like this.
"Ah, wait please!"
Asking a homunculus girl to improvise excuses in a panic was truly asking too much. Under Jeanne's puzzled gaze, Sieg hemmed and hawed before finally coming up with an explanation:
"Rider is in the bathroom right now... Wouldn't you mind?"
"Ah, that's no problem at all. After all, Rider isn't the type to get embarrassed over something like this."
Is that really the issue here?
Sieg's jaw dropped in disbelief, feeling her understanding of the saint had been refreshed once again. Taking Sieg's silence as assent, Jeanne turned the bathroom doorknob. By the time Sieg tried to stop her, it was already too late.
Thus, a life-or-death race against time began in an instant.
First Second—Sakatsuki heard a sound and turned lightning-fast, pinning the naked Astolfo into the bathtub.
Second Second—Astolfo, choking on water, struggled desperately and grabbed the assassin's black robe, his D-rank Strength coming into play.
Third Second—The sound of the robe being torn off and the undergarments ripping was drowned out by the splashing water and the creak of the door opening.
Fourth Second—Jeanne d'Arc pushed the door open and, through the hazy steam, caught sight of a bare-chested young man and the slender, delicate "maiden" pinned beneath him.
Her amethyst pupils contracted. Even with a dual-core processor of a brain, the sheer overload of information rendered her unresponsive. She could only watch as Sakatsuki knocked Astolfo unconscious with a chop, projected fresh clothes onto himself, turned around, and spoke with an impassive expression.
"What are you doing here?"
Behind Sakatsuki, a trembling arm slowly rose from the bathtub, swayed weakly a few times, then flopped back onto the edge—as if accusing someone of heartlessly walking away after getting what they wanted.
Seeing Jeanne still frozen, Sakatsuki suddenly smirked, stepping forward abruptly to tilt her chin up, his face inches from hers, eyes locking onto hers:
"I've seen yours, now you've seen mine… We're even, aren't we?"
His low, magnetic voice reverberated in her ear, and Jeanne completely lost her composure. A maiden's instinct made her take a deep breath before unleashing a scream powerful enough to shatter glass:
"KYAAAAAAAAAA—!!!"
————
"Ahahaha! What an amusing development! Truly, I am most satisfied!"
In the Red Faction's Hanging Gardens, Shakespeare doubled over in laughter. Ignoring his theatrics, Sakatsuki led the homunculi borrowed from Darnic and the mind-controlled death row inmates into the study.
"So, in the end, you still told Ruler nothing?" Atalanta lounged over the back of a chair, her feline ears twitching slightly. "The final battle is tomorrow, you know."
"It's today, Atalanta," Sakatsuki murmured. "Midnight has already passed. The Black Faction's fleet of planes is ready—they'll likely swarm out in a few hours. Of course, I'll finish the final experiment before then and send you back."
Atalanta stood up, pressing herself affectionately against Sakatsuki's back and wrapping her arms around his waist. "Don't try to change the subject. Felines are sensitive, you know. If you can't answer… hmph."
Feeling the pressure on his waist, Sakatsuki winced. "Spare me, please. There's nothing worth discussing about that."
"I'm just curious. That saintess doesn't seem like someone you'd get along with," Atalanta teased. "You, Sakatsuki, the one pulling the strings behind this Holy Grail War. And her, Jeanne d'Arc, the saintess overseeing it. Though your scents are similar, your actions are polar opposites. Not to mention—"
Drawing out her words, Atalanta leaned around to study Sakatsuki's expression. "If my love is straightforward and ruthless, then what is Jeanne d'Arc's love like? In other words, what exactly are you anticipating that makes you keep avoiding her, refusing to give her a chance to talk… mmph!"
Watching Sakatsuki, who had stolen her lips, a glint of mischief flashed in Atalanta's eyes, but it soon melted into resignation. She knew she must have hit the mark—that was why Sakatsuki had silenced her.
But of course. The young man before her was rational to the point of detachment, yet not someone devoid of emotion. Since this was the path he had personally chosen, it must have been carefully considered, leaving no room for others' opinions.
All she needed to do was quietly accompany him through the final stretch of this fleeting dream.
Unlike Artoria, who had arrived in her true form, for Heroic Spirits recorded on the Throne, their summoned selves were mere phantoms. Even if memories were reclaimed, their manifested experiences would be nothing more than a film played at eight times speed—their past emotions diluted, their love grown thin.
Perhaps it was precisely for this reason that heroes became bolder, embarking on adventures they never dared in life, pursuing loves they could never attain in their past existence.
After a long while, their lips parted. Sakatsuki wordlessly stroked Atalanta's hair before shooting a sharp glare at the onlooking Shakespeare: "Are you ready?"
"Oh, oh! Of course! Though this one excels at slacking, even I can't wait for this moment!"
As if sensing the unspoken threat of "Do you have a death wish?", Shakespeare hastily materialized his beloved book and proclaimed loudly: "Very well, let us begin! As I once wrote in verse—'When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars, and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun.'"
"...Too many words." Sakatsuki muttered before snapping his fingers. In an instant, the scenery shifted—everyone, from homunculi to condemned prisoners, now stood beneath the golden Greater Grail. Before them, the masked Avicebron stood silent as a puppet until Sakatsuki's gaze fell upon him, prompting stiff words:
"I have prepared the field using the power of Adam. You have ample time to utilize the Greater Grail."
"Then our thanks, Caster of Black." Sakatsuki nodded coolly before locking eyes with Shakespeare. A white-gold radiance enveloped him once more as the great writer extended the 'First Folio' without hesitation, offering it to Sakatsuki where it merged seamlessly with the miracle of the Third Magic.
Under this arcane power, the golden light swirling around the Greater Grail began resonating. Within the ethereal glow, echoes of time and space seemed to call from distant realms. The book in the Assassin's hands seemed to gain sight, scanning each experimental subject—homunculi, humans, and Servants alike—until, through precise calculation and derivation, it arrived at a satisfactory conclusion.
"It can be done."
"Ohhh, is that so, is that so! The world shall face destruction, yet ultimately be reborn, is that it?" Shakespeare instantly perked up, spreading his arms like a devotee bathed in divine grace—only to suddenly darken his expression, his voice turning hoarse:
"But... are you truly prepared, my Master? Before you lies a sheer cliff face and howling mountain winds. Should you fall, there will be no chance for regret—do you understand?"
The meaning behind those words...?!
Unaware of the situation and merely called in to help, Atalanta blinked in surprise, abruptly raising her head to look at Sakatsuki, only to find the young man also gazing at her with a faint smile.
"Though it may sound clichéd, meeting all of you truly was wonderful, Atalanta. Rest assured, this isn't a farewell—just my personal gratitude, expressed to you as simply 'myself'—"
In the next instant, an overwhelming flood of platinum light swallowed everything. As Atalanta and Shakespeare were blinded to the point of tears, an ancient tome arrived on the far shore of fate. The young man released Shakespeare's Noble Phantasm and caught his own 'miracle.'
Pages turned, and the mystery merged into the young man's chest. The Assassin closed his eyes, where deep within his soul, a sun slowly rose above the azure horizon, refracting a rainbow-hued brilliance.
The long night dispersed—dawn had arrived.
[Assassin · Sakatsuki, logged in.]
[Welcome back.]
"Yes, I'm back." The young man wore a relaxed smile as he stretched exaggeratedly before the bewildered Servants, playfully winking at them.
"Good morning, everyone. What a lovely day~"