"Then my father and I will leave first. Teacher, you're not leaving yet? The influence that the evil god brought to Fuyuki City is beyond imagination. I've been dealing with it all this time," Kotomine Kirei said.
Tohsaka Tokiomi glanced at Kotomine Kirei. "Hmm, fine."
Then Tokiomi turned to Gilgamesh and said, "Gilgamesh, King of Heroes, no matter what, the land of Fuyuki will always belong to you. As long as you wish, I'll make sure Fuyuki's land is always connected to you!"
"Hmph! The whole world is already my private garden! But seeing how respectful you are to me, I'll reward you with a treasure," Gilgamesh said, pulling out a basin from the Gate of Babylon. "This is the prototype of the legendary Treasure Basin. It can bring wealth and fortune to your family."
"Thank you for your reward, King of Heroes Gilgamesh!" Tokiomi's respect now was truly sincere, completely different from his earlier pretentious attitude. After seeing the prototype of the Treasure Basin, he once again started chanting and posed to activate a spell on the ground. After that... on the surface, nothing seemed to happen.
But Gilgamesh felt it clearly.
He didn't say much more. He understood well that this change was because Tia had truly killed Angra Mainyu. After giving the prototype to Tokiomi, Gilgamesh left.
"Teacher, doing this will only strengthen the power of evil," Kotomine Kirei said.
"King of Heroes Gilgamesh is the King of Good. He won't strengthen evil," Tokiomi replied to Kotomine Kirei.
"Teacher, I don't want to argue about this. Let's hurry and deal with the effects the evil god brought to Fuyuki City," Kotomine Kirei said. "But after the evil thoughts disappear, Fuyuki City might…"
Kotomine Kirei, Kotomine Risei, and Tokiomi all left together.
"Tia, you don't want this world to be destroyed, right?" Emiya Kiritsugu asked Tia.
"Yeah," Tia nodded.
"Then I need to start looking into your parents," Emiya Kiritsugu continued.
Tia gave a bitter smile and shook her head.
Although Tia was curious about what had happened to her, she didn't want to investigate them at all. There was no need. With their status and power, no matter how much you dig, you won't find anything.
"There's nothing to check about my parents. Even if you look, you won't find anything. I have a place I need to go next," Tia said. "Instead of running around, I'd rather go ask the Root."
Tia really didn't dare to ask her parents directly: Are you the ones who made Tia and Tiamat? What exactly did you do when I was born? Is what you told me about my past true?
After all, Tia had mixed feelings about them. She respected them as parents, but she also feared the First Beast and Second Beast.
As for digging into their origins, Tia didn't think people who have existed this long would leave behind anything to find.
But asking the Root is different.
The Root has nothing to do with Tia, and there's no need to deal with any emotional stuff.
"Ask the Root?" Emiya Kiritsugu was stunned. "You can reach the Root?"
"I can't, but someone can. And that someone is the Root itself," Tia said, the corners of her mouth curling up.
Before Emiya Kiritsugu could ask more, Tia was ready to leave.
At that moment, Tia suddenly realized something—she had been feeling really uncomfortable before, but now that feeling was completely gone. When did that discomfort disappear? She thought hard but couldn't figure it out.
She glanced at the huge hollow again, then her eyes fell on a 30-meter-long branch of the Imaginary Tree. Her eyes lit up, and she immediately thought of something. She ran straight to the branch.
"Someone can directly connect to the Root!" Emiya Kiritsugu was shocked by what Tia said. "Irisviel, could that be your ancestor, Justeaze?"
Irisviel shook her head. "It's not just our ancestor Justeaze who can connect to the Root. But what Tia just said about 'the Root itself'—I really can't understand. I get someone connecting to the Root, but what does she mean by the Root itself?"
"The Root itself…" King Arthur frowned at those words too.
Meanwhile, Tia was getting ready to forge that branch into the Divine Might Wheels.
Because of the holy sword's seal, Tia always had to look for chances to break it. And this branch was the perfect opportunity.
She grabbed the holy sword, then thrust it straight into the branch. The blade started glowing, and soon the branch was glowing too.
After a while, the light faded, and what appeared was a beastly-looking Hummer.
Tia named it the Divine Might Wheels and immediately linked her spirit to the holy sword, only to find the seal hadn't been lifted at all.
She couldn't help but pout.
Still, looking at the Hummer, Tia was thrilled and couldn't wait to hop in.
"Master, you're being way too casual. This branch should've been made into proper armor or a shield. You can get vehicles anywhere. If Master stood on my blade after I turn into a sword, I could even take you flying," Lancelot's voice echoed in Tia's mind.
"That's not the same! I'll try sword-flying when I get the chance, but owning my own Hummer—that's every man's dream! Besides, this Hummer's power core is the holy sword. It can fly too," Tia said, excited as she started driving.
Of course, Tia's tiny arms and legs couldn't reach anything. She had to raise the seat all the way up just to see outside, so driving was all done through mind control.
"Haha!" At this moment, Alexander the Great summoned his ox cart and yanked Waver up onto it. "Hold on tight, kid! We're gonna race!"
As he said that, Alexander the Great sped up to catch Tia's car.
Emiya Kiritsugu looked completely speechless. Tia was still in the mood to play at a time like this.
"Forget it, Master, let's head back," King Arthur shook her head, clearly helpless about Tia's sudden behavior.
Emiya Kiritsugu still wanted to find out what Tia meant by "the Root," but when he saw her acting so playful out of nowhere, he couldn't help but frown.
"Let's go," Emiya Kiritsugu turned and left.
When the three of them left the huge underground chamber and got back to the parking lot, they got into the car and started the engine—just as Tia and Alexander the Great flew overhead in their vehicles.
"Hey! King of Knights! Want to race? Let's see who's faster!" Alexander the Great shouted casually.
In an instant, King Arthur's face turned serious and calm: "Master, Irisviel, sit tight. I'm starting now!"
(End of The Chapter)
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