Fate: Hero Simulator

[3rd POV]

Kyouya's sword didn't hesitate and aimed it at the heart.

The flesh and blood of a human body couldn't withstand the Holy Sword.

The time seemed to slow as Kyouya watched his sword pierce through Aoko's chest, and with the force of the strike, the sword buried deeper into Touko's body.

The Holy Sword pierced through the two sisters, their hearts shattered, sealing the outcome of the battle.

"It's me who won."

Blood poured from Touko's mouth. Although she had experienced it several times before, the feeling of death was truly uncomfortable.

"Is it really a win if you had help?"

"Isn't it? Then what if I consider the last time as my victory?"

Touko mocked her.

If it hadn't been for that reckless man interfering, she would have already beaten her sister.

Why wait until today?

"You... you really are..."

Aoko thought for a moment but found no words to say. After all, she had also received help from a friend last time, so this time...

"You won, sister."

After saying this, Aoko's breath slowly faded away.

Hearing this answer, Touko thought for a while, and in the end, all she could do was let out a helpless, bitter smile.

"Stupid little sister, one-to-one is just a tie."

Touko seemed to have let go of something, but her body had reached its limit.

As Kyouya pulled the holy sword out, their blood kept spilling on the ground, slowly turning them into two cold corpses.

"Is it over?"

He held the Holy Sword, leaning against the nearby wall to rest.

This battle was different from the simulations, and once death came, everything truly came to an end.

But, in the midst of bad luck, the one bit of good luck was that he survived. Even though he had killed someone, he still fought hard to stay alive.

He took deep breaths, feeling the sensation of "being alive." He couldn't tell how much time had passed, but it seemed like everything was over.

But... was it really over?

Even without magic, how could a magus just die like this?

"It can't be that easy to die."

In the quiet underground cavern, a woman's voice suddenly echoed. It startled him, and the source of the voice came from Aoko's "corpse."

"What?"

"It's not that strange, right? I just sent my 'death' further into the future. That sounds very magical, doesn't it?"

She said calmly, and the place where the sword should have pierced her was not even torn, as if the fierce battle had never happened at all.

No, it still had happened.

After all, Touko's body on the ground proved that everything had truly occurred.

"No, it's that you guys won. I really didn't expect that Touko would risk her life like that. I was too careless."

Aoko accepted her defeat calmly and no longer seemed interested in pursuing her "enemy," Kyouya.

"Touko, how long are you going to hide? For the final battle, you can't possibly keep the body you used for resurrection too far away."

"You're hard to fool."

Touko's voice echoed, and soon a figure emerged from the darkness.

It was a face identical to the one of the corpses lying on the ground.

"Surprised?"

She looked at him with amusement, noticing his shocked expression.

This kind of "resurrection" trick was indeed enough to astonish anyone.

Before, Shirou had said something like, "People die when they are killed," but now it seemed like pure nonsense.

Kyouya silently grumbled to himself.

"Sorry, but after fighting with her, I needed to calm down and confirm that you weren't someone with ill intentions. It looks like you just got caught up in it, so... how about we just call it even?"

"That's right, even though we both wanted to kill you, you actually killed us once. It only makes sense to call it even."

The Aozaki sisters somehow found themselves in agreement at this moment.

"Alright, let's call it even then."

He let out a sigh. Dealing with Touko alone had already been tough, let alone having to face a magus as well.

The fact that it all ended without anyone getting seriously hurt was a bit of a blessing in this unlucky situation.

"Don't look so gloomy. You helped me win against Aoko, so I won't let your help go to waste. I see you handle that sword pretty well. How about I just give it to you?"

Touko, of course, understood that the young man before her was no ordinary person.

His combat experience and how a japanese person seemed to understand the Holy Sword so well... there must be many secrets behind it.

However, as a professional magus, Touko knew better than to pry into others' secrets unless absolutely necessary.

This was an unwritten rule among magus.

The Holy Sword, though expensive, with the traces of the Age of Gods on it holding some research value, was ultimately just an artifact.

In the end, there are always experts, and everyone has their own area of focus.

These things were outside of Touko's research scope. Even if she kept them, she wouldn't make any further progress.

"Give?"

He was a bit surprised.

Even if it wasn't exactly a Holy Sword, it was still an old artifact passed down for over a thousand years.

'Could this woman be the legendary wealthy person?'

After considering this woman's temperament, it seemed to align with those wealthy women who liked "training" men with whips.

"You little brat, you're not thinking of something inappropriate, are you? If you don't want it, just give it back to me."

"Of course I want it."

What a joke!

How could he let the Holy Sword slip away now that it was in his hands?

Even if she didn't offer it, Kyouya would simply buy it himself.

After all, he had just helped her a lot and figured he wouldn't be asking for too much.

"Now, about you calling me 'Scarred Red...'"

Touko's gaze grew cold. She had sworn long ago that anyone who used that nickname for her would be killed.

Even Aoko, standing nearby, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. She hadn't expected this young man to have such guts.

The next part was going to be interesting.

As the younger sister, Aoko knew well that her sister wasn't a heartless person and would never kill someone who had just helped her.

But was this favor truly enough to break her promise?

"Grrrr"

A sudden sound interrupted the tension between the three.

Kyouya and Aoko turned to look at the source of the noise.

"I'm hungry, I'll kill you next time."

Next time? But when would that be?

It was really just an excuse not to kill him.

"You're breaking your promise for a guy?"

"It's not exactly breaking it. I just said I would kill anyone who calls me by that nickname, but I didn't say when exactly."

Touko gave her sister a dissatisfied look. Last time, she had treated Aoko to a meal, and this time, it was Aoko's turn to treat her.

At that moment, the moonlight filtered through the shattered surface above and shone down into the underground.

Finally... it's over.

The Aozaki sisters both let out a sigh of relief.

The misunderstanding from years ago was finally cleared up today, and all past grudges were resolved.

They all could start anew.

To be continued...