Chapter 76: The Promised Future
Then, Irisviel suddenly heard a peculiar sound. It was the sound of footsteps treading upon the stairs, drawing closer to her position.
The woman instinctively lifted her face and saw a red-haired youth who, in her mind, should never have appeared in such a place. Following closely behind the boy was the face of the King of Knights, so familiar to Irisviel.
"Ori... and Saber? You two..."
Saber was the first to speak to Irisviel.
"Though I do not yet understand the full process, we have found a way, Irisviel.
For the sake of your daughter, Illya, pull yourself together, Iris."
With these words, Shirou and Saber simultaneously reached out their hands toward the despondent woman before them.
"Come, we are taking you out of here!"
Hearing this, Irisviel's expression turned blank for a moment. Once she was certain this was not a hallucination, warm tears burst from her eyes and flowed down her cheeks.
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Opening his eyes again, Shirou's consciousness had returned to reality.
"It seems we succeeded..."
Shirou looked at the small, crimson orb of light resting quietly in his palm and smiled.
"Is this... Irisviel's soul? I didn't expect such miraculous magecraft to exist in this world." Saber walked forward curiously to look at the cluster of light in Shirou's hand.
"That's right. This is Irisviel's soul. Now we just need to store it, and once we find a new vessel at the Einzbern home, she can be reborn." Shirou explained to Saber with a smile.
"I see... that is truly wonderful." Saber let out a sigh of relief.
At this moment, Shirou turned his gaze toward the scabbard, Avalon, which lay quietly on the ground where Irisviel's body had vanished. Its exterior was made of gold-colored metal inlaid with striking blue enamel as decoration, and the center was inscribed with lost faerie letters.
The scabbard's ability is immortality—it possesses the power to heal the wielder's wounds and halt aging. Furthermore, this scabbard is the ultimate defensive Noble Phantasm, possessing "Absolute Defense." When its True Name is released, neither the Five Magics nor
the King of Heroes' Ea can touch it. The existence of the scabbard itself is equivalent to "Magic."
If Saber had possessed this Noble Phantasm from the beginning, she would have been the only possible winner of the Holy Grail War.
Shirou picked up the scabbard and handed it to Saber.
"Don't go losing it again."
"Yes." Saber took the scabbard from Shirou, stroking its patterns with a hint of nostalgia.
After withdrawing her gaze, Saber looked toward the Holy Grail on the pedestal, which was continuously overflowing with black mud. Seeing the filth filling the cup, Saber bit her lip in resentment.
"...A Grail like this could never grant the wish I desire!"
Saber's hand gripped her sword tighter, and Excalibur vibrated in resonance. The black mud spreading nearby did not dare approach once it was struck by the dazzling light emitted by the holy sword.
As the ultimate Divine Construct, the holy sword would not be corrupted by the black mud; it would only change as its master changed.
"If we let this mud continue to spread, Fuyuki City will soon be destroyed, and the disaster will spread to the entire world." Shirou looked into the girl's crystal-clear eyes. "To prevent that, we must destroy the 'hole' above. That will stop the overflow of 'All the World's Evil'."
Meeting Shirou's gaze, Saber's eyes flickered before she nodded firmly. "Understood!"
If the Knights of the Round Table were here, they surely would have done the same. At this thought, scenes of the past flashed before Saber—images of campaigning across the land with her knights—causing a faint smile to grace her lips.
Then, she raised Excalibur high. Light gathered continuously, and the magical energy in the atmosphere was rapidly drained, making the air feel stagnant in that instant.
"EX—calibur!!!"
With Saber's cry, the golden holy sword, bursting with blinding radiance, transformed into a terrifying beam of light. Carrying Saber's fury, it surged toward the heavens!
BOOM—!
In that instant, hit by the massive energy of the holy sword, the "hole" that was about to pour black mud downward was directly destroyed. The dazzling light illuminated the entirety of Mount Enzou.
After the hole in the sky was destroyed by Saber, the golden Holy Grail placed on the pedestal within Ryuudou Temple began to grow dim due to the disappearance of the hole. The golden Grail quietly lost its form amidst the searing heat of the flash and then vanished.
Saber closed her eyes, unwilling to look directly at the scene.
"With this, it is completely over."
She was afraid she wouldn't be able to control herself if she didn't withdraw her Noble Phantasm.
Shirou looked at the girl, whose light was fading as she lost the supply of the Grail's Great Source mana. He opened his mouth but couldn't find a single word to say. Saber's heart was currently like the vanished Grail—her original convictions had disappeared with it. What she needed now was certainly not empty comfort.
As Shirou looked at Saber, who had upheld the spirit of chivalry from start to finish, the girl's face was reflected in his eyes. In the end, this small girl had used her slender hands to raise a sword and save everything, yet she could not save herself.
Was this truly an acceptable conclusion? Even as the notification for the "Main Quest" completion rang in his ears, Shirou could not bring himself to be happy.
"Farewell, Shirou. These past few days with you have been a rare, beautiful dream for me."
The girl, on the verge of disappearing, spoke her words of goodbye with a tranquil smile. Unable to find closure, she would likely return to the blood-and-fire-stained Hill of Camlann and continue to wander there forever.
At this thought, an idea suddenly surged in Shirou's mind, growing stronger by the second.
"Saber, although the current Grail is contaminated by 'All the World's Evil,' if I find a way to purify it... I cannot be certain if the true Grail can fulfill your wish, but would you like to see the real Holy Grail one day?"
Shirou's words were not without foundation. He would not stay in this single world; he would go on to experience various worlds. In those infinite worlds, some power to eliminate "All the World's Evil" from the Grail surely existed.
Her breathing grew a bit ragged. The hope she had intended to bury deep in her heart was rekindled by the youth's words.
"Is there... truly a way to achieve such a thing?"
"I will do my best," Shirou answered with a steady gaze.
For Saber, after returning to her past era, time would not move the same as here. Even if Shirou spent several years in other worlds, when he summoned Saber again, she would still be in the state she was just after returning to her own time. This was why Shirou could give her such an answer.
Having received Shirou's affirmative reply, Saber raised her left hand. Light emerged from her open palm, and a scabbard with intersecting blue and gold patterns appeared.
"In that case, Shirou, take this. You will need it the next time you summon me."
This scabbard had been found in this era anyway, so Saber had no reason to be attached to it now. Shirou took the scabbard from Saber's hand and looked at the girl, whose form was becoming increasingly transparent, and spoke with a smile.
"We will see each other again soon, Saber."
Then, the girl with the peerless face revealed a breathtaking smile for the first time—one that came truly from the heart.
"Yes. I will wait for you... Shirou."
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