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(Loth's P.O.V)
The shift from battlefield to shelter was abrupt. Percy and Annabeth didn't argue—they just moved, insisting we leave before another Servant showed up.
So we did, flying on my construct shielded by an illusion to be invisible and undetectable. The mist in this world was harder to bend to my will, but it still existed in some raw form as mystic energy, ergo I could manipulate it.
With their directions, snow and open space gave way to the calm Japanese town of Fuyuki at night, culminating in the quiet interior of the Emiya residence.
Wooden walls, dim lighting, and the faint mix of antiseptic and food. It should've been calming. It wasn't. It only made everything feel tighter. Contained. Immediate.
I stayed near the doorway, arms crossed, foot tapping while keeping my awareness spread. Percy leaned against the wall, trying to look relaxed but failing. Annabeth stood closer to the center, watching both me and the room beyond.
Inside that room lay Shirou Emiya.
Bandaged. Stabilizing. Alive.
I'd checked him the moment we arrived. Aura Sense confirmed what I knew—his magic circuits were active, but poorly developed. Strained from recent overuse. No structure, no training, just raw output forced through an unprepared system. At his core sat a golden sheath, badly damaged.
Which made no sense. If this was the Fateverse, specifically either of the three alternate routes of Fate Stay/Night: Original, UBW or Heaven's Feel, then Shiro was not supposed to be this hurt.
Which made everything Annabeth had just told me worse.
"…Say that again," I said.
She didn't hesitate. "When we got separated at the Ministry, Percy and I landed near the outskirts of Fuyuki. Near a church."
"We got jumped," Percy added.
"By a Servant," Annabeth finished. "We didn't know what that meant. Just that it wasn't human."
I nodded. I'd already seen one—Gilgamesh. That alone told me this world wasn't something to take lightly. Especially after facing him. Sounds like they headed up close to Kirei Kotomine's church.
Annabeth continued. "He attacked us thinking we were mages. We couldn't fight him. Then Saber and Shiro showed up."
"Saber," I repeated.
"Knight," Percy said. "Armor. Sword. Serious problem."
"I wasnt expecting 'the' King Arthur to be a girl, but Artoria was strong," Annabeth added. "Fast. Controlled. She held him off long enough for us to escape."
I processed that quickly. Then asked the only question that mattered.
"…Where is she now?"
Annabeth didn't answer immediately. Pain flashed in her eyes.
"She's gone."
"Define gone."
"Killed," Percy said.
My heart sank. I exhaled slowly. "…That doesn't track."
"I know," Annabeth said. "From what we've learned, Servants like her are supposed to be among the strongest."
My gaze shifted toward Shirou's room. "She died protecting him."
"Yes."
That told me everything. This Holy Grail war was nothing like the one in my memories. Not only were we involved but who knows what other deviations could occur?
I mean, the most powerful Servant had already been removed.
I straightened. "Then we're done here."
They both looked at me.
"We're leaving. Now." My responsibility as Camp Coordinator was to get Percy and Annabeth back home. Safe and with all limbs intact.
I raised a hand. Energy gathered. A distortion formed behind me—the start of a rift.
"We're not equipped for this," I said, sensing their hesitation. "This world operates on a different power baseline. Higher. Controlled. Focused."
Deadly.
I looked at Annabeth directly. "When I arrived, I felt multiple presences stronger than anything we've faced. Not the simple gods we know. Something else. Refined."
The rift stabilized- a pink portal that would take us straight to Camp Half Blood.
"If we stay, risk escalates. If risk escalates, we lose control."
I paused.
"And if we lose control—we don't make it back."
Percy stayed quiet.
Annabeth didn't.
"No."
I frowned. "…No?"
"We're not leaving."
The rift flickered but I didn't close it.
"Explain." I gritted out, meeting her stubborn gaze with my own. She had no idea the kind of danger they were in.
"We can't abandon him," she said, gesturing to Shirou's room. "He saved us. His Servant died for it. That puts us in this whether we like it or not."
"That's not how survival works Annabeth." my voice came out deep as I injected my aura onto my throat.
"It is when people are involved." She refused to back down. I switched gears.
"Percy a little help?"
Percy sighed. "Sorry Loth, she's got a point."
Traitor.
I looked at him and groaned." Dude, you almost died ten minutes ago."
"Yeah," he said with a raised thumb. "And I'm still here. Thanks for that by the way. You're always so dependable to save the day."
"That's not a strategy." What if I'd been late?
"No," he admitted. "But helping people kind of is. I mean, it's what we've been doing. Just because it's not our world, doesn't mean that has to change. We can still be heroes."
I studied both of them.
Foolish.
Determined.
Unfazed.
Just as I was thinking about knocking them out and carrying them back home, the door slid open.
We all turned.
Shirou Emiya stood there, leaning against the frame. Injured, but standing.
"You should go," he said. "This isn't your fight."
I looked at him, meeting the steady cool gaze. "Then why are you still in it?"
"Because it is mine."
No hesitation.
I recognized the type instantly. This time not through a mere tv screen. Stubborn. Resolved. Very much Insane. Like a sword that only knew one thing, cutting. But this sword was now broken and rusty.
"You don't have a Servant."
"I'll figure it out."
"How?"
A pause.
"I have an alliance."
"With who?"
The front door opened, ushering in a cold draft.
Rin Tohsaka stepped in first. Confident. Controlled. Behind her, Sakura Matou. Quiet. Observant.
And behind them—
Archer.
The moment he saw me, he moved.
No warning. No hesitation.
A generic blade formed in his hand as he closed the distance.
I reacted instantly. Blitzwolfer form snapped into place, claws intercepting his strike mid-swing. Steel met reinforced energy. The impact pushed us apart.
No wasted motion. No words.
Just intent.
"Unknown servant," he said, carrying that same quiet madness in Shirou's eyes. "Not registered with the Grail. Not bound to the throne of heroes."
"Yeah," I replied, unsure of his meaninh. "I get that a lot."
He attacked again, this time dismissing the silver blade for twin swords, black and white. Faster.
So this was Tracing huh? My aura sense tracked the manifestation and construction of his magic with ease.
I adjusted, reading his movements with Blitz's enhanced perception, which put me on the lower end of a Servant's reaction speed.
We clashed again- over dozen times in the confined space— controlled, precise, lethal.
Then—
""Stop!""
Rin and Annabeth yelled in unison, the latter stepping between us.
We both halted. Not out of obedience. Out of calculation.
Archer lowered his blades slightly, still glaring at me. "Explain."
Rin's gaze moved between us, before falling onto Annabeth. "…This is who you summoned?"
Annabeth shook her head. "Not intentionally."
"…Wait," I said. Something was off.
Annabeth raised her wrist.
I saw it. On her tanned white skin.
Three crimson markings. Stylized and structured. Glowing faintly with compressed magic energy that my Aura Sense had failed to pick up on.
Command Spells. I hadn't sensed them...because the energy signature was connected to my own Magic Energy.
My eyes narrowed. "…No."
She met my gaze. "Yes."
Silence. My thoughts were in disarray. This new development changed everything.
Percy blinked. "What does that mean?"
Rin answered. "She's a Master."
"And he," she added, looking straight at me, "is her Servant."
I looked at the markings. Then at Annabeth. Then at my own hand.
And I felt it. Like a heartbeat, resonating between Annabeth and I.
The connection.
Subtle. But real.
A system acknowledgment. A link formed at entry. The summoning circle. Now I know why they had ended up at the Einzbern's castle. It was to summon a Servant using the magic leyline under the castle. And Annabeth...she had used the Necronomicon as a catalyst.
The same Necronomicon that had contained Chaos' corruption and the prophecy about Ragnarok. The Chaos who was at that very instant locked inside my Inner World.
"…You've got to be kidding me," I muttered, running a palm down my face.
"We hoped using the Necronomicon would summon a powerful Servant for us. But we didn't think about it's connection to you. We didn't choose this, Loth." Annabeth said. "But if you think about it, you are the best possible result we could have asked for."
I exhaled. Then laughed once.
Short. Dry.
"So I force my way into a new world, dodge a contract—" I gestured vaguely. "—and still end up drafted into a war I didn't sign up for, because of my good timing?"
"Welcome to the Holy Grail War. Win and you get anything you desire. Lose and it's death. " Rin said with a wry grin that I ignored as I wasn't in the mood.
Instead, I took a deep breath and glared back at Annabeth. For all her faults, she looked remorseful.
"…And apparently, Annie, you're my Master."
"Yes."
A pause.
I nodded once.
"Mmh."
Not agreement.
Just acceptance.
For now.
Because whether I liked it or not—
I wasn't just passing through anymore.
I was part of this system. A servant in a deadly tournament among more experienced, older and wiser opponents.
"Fine. Let's win this fucking thing. Then go home." I declared, already strategizing on how we would all survive. And the first step to that, was ending this war early. Good thing I had a wealth of memories to take advantage of.