Fate: Why Don't you Find Another Savior

Gilgamesh, the Archer, retreated on his own, stating that he had "enjoyed it."

Rider, Iskandar, flew in from the Tohsaka residence in Miyama Town, piloting his Noble Phantasm.

Earlier, when Tatsuya and Artoria had retreated to the woods during the battle with Gilgamesh, they had activated the magical signal.

It was a magical tool created by Morgan before they set out. It required only a small amount of magic to destroy, allowing both parties, no matter how far apart, to be alerted to each other's emergencies and rush to provide aid.

However, from the immense magical fluctuations caused by the clash between the "Sword of Promised Victory" and the "Star of Creation of Heaven and Earth," Tatsuya speculated that even Morgan, sitting at home, would have noticed the battle by now.

As the familiar ox cart slowly descended, revealing the figures of Iskandar and Waver aboard, Tatsuya breathed a sigh of relief. His hands loosened, and Artoria, whom he had been supporting, began to slip from his arms. He quickly reached out to catch her again, and they both collapsed to the ground.

He had already expended all his remaining strength in the battle. Although Iskandar had arrived swiftly, Tatsuya had been prepared to use a Command Spell to call Morgan for help.

"Hey, young man, can you hold on?" Rider asked seriously after jumping off the ox cart.

"I'm fine, nothing serious," Tatsuya replied quietly, putting away his red spear.

Rider didn't waste any time. "Hey, kid, you know how to use healing magic, right?"

"Uh... well..." Waver stammered, embarrassed. His magical skills weren't proficient enough for him to use healing magic effectively.

If it were just a minor cut or scrape, he could manage.

But Tatsuya was covered in wounds, looking as though he might die at any moment—this was beyond Waver's abilities.

"It's alright, I can handle it myself," Tatsuya raised his hand, stopping Waver.

As if to affirm his words, the runes on Tatsuya's body began to glow, and his external wounds started healing at a rate visible to the naked eye. Waver estimated that in a minute or two, all of Tatsuya's internal and external injuries would be healed.

However, this kind of self-activated healing magic wasn't as efficient as the healing passed down in the ancient magical families.

"What? You had a trump card this whole time and didn't say anything? I've been worrying for nothing," Waver grumbled with his arms crossed now that the situation was no longer critical.

As Rider patted Waver on the head, Tatsuya just gave a silent smile.

"I'm alright, but Saber's condition isn't as optimistic," Tatsuya said again.

"No... I'm fine," Artoria said, though her eyes were dim. She tried to maintain her calm demeanor, but her voice remained weak. "Thanks to your magic."

Though she had been the primary force in their battle against Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm, her injuries would have been far worse if Tatsuya hadn't noticed the danger in advance and hastily deployed defensive techniques to reduce the damage from Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm as much as possible.

"Now's not the time to pat ourselves on the back," Tatsuya sighed. "For now, I'll use Rune magic to heal you. While your spirit core isn't damaged, you can't transform into your spirit form to recover. We'll have to treat you more thoroughly later."

"Thank you," Artoria smiled bitterly and then closed her eyes, accepting the magical healing without wasting any more of her energy speaking.

Seeing that both Tatsuya and Artoria were gradually recovering, Rider and Waver finally let out a sigh of relief.

As soon as they received the emergency signal, they had hurriedly rushed over from the Tohsaka Mansion in Miyama Town, expecting to engage in a fierce battle with Gilgamesh.

"But it's really strange that Gilgamesh ran away on his own," Iskandar remarked with a hint of confusion. "I didn't think he'd avoid a fight. I was ready to unleash my Noble Phantasm against him."

"Who knows?" Tatsuya offered his thoughts. "Archer always acts on his whims and looks down on his opponents. Maybe he got bored and is waiting for us to be in better shape before launching an attack to wipe us all out in one strike."

Waver curled his lips. "I can't tell if that's underestimating the enemy or something else entirely..."

"More importantly, our investigation here hasn't turned up much. All we know is that the church's overseer, Kotomine Risei, was murdered." Tatsuya took advantage of the break to exchange information with the two. "Judging by the scene, it seems he was attacked from behind by someone he trusted, completely defenseless."

None of them had expected Kotomine Kirei to commit such an act as patricide. Tatsuya also realized that if Kirei wasn't stopped, the situation would spiral out of control, especially if the corrupted Holy Grail fell into his hands.

"It's the same on our side," Rider added, stroking his beard. "We haven't found any trace of Tohsaka Tokiomi."

Waver leaned against the ox cart. "The Tohsaka family's barrier isn't functioning anymore, which means whoever was responsible for maintaining it has been taken away. We searched the entire mansion and only found a small pool of blood in the study."

"From the size of the bloodstains, it's clear it wasn't a fatal injury," Rider said. "After all, if someone had intended to kill, they wouldn't have cleaned up so quickly. The bleeding must've stopped right after the strike."

For servants used to seeing battle wounds and bloodshed, it wasn't hard to deduce that the victim hadn't died on the spot.

"So Tohsaka Tokiomi is still alive," Tatsuya recalled what Kirei had said the previous night at Einzbern Castle. "Kotomine Kirei took the core of the Lesser Holy Grail from Einzbern, and as long as he had that core, it wouldn't matter what the container was."

Waver's expression grew tense. "Are you suggesting Tohsaka Tokiomi could be part of the Holy Grail's advent?"

"I'm afraid so," Tatsuya replied.

As the treatment progressed, Tatsuya's wounds had almost healed, and Artoria's condition had also stabilized.

"We'll have to squeeze onto Rider's ox cart on the way back," Tatsuya said, eyeing their only mode of transportation.

Artoria, understanding the situation, simply nodded. "That's fine."

With a prideful smile, Rider patted the seat of his ox cart. "It might be a bit cramped, but when this baby flies through the air, it's far superior to any modern vehicle."

Tatsuya silently smiled and moved to help Artoria up, but she quickly tried to pull away. "I can walk on my own. A king shouldn't need to be carried by others."

Tatsuya calmly responded, "As a king, you should follow the doctor's advice. You're more seriously injured than I am, Knight King."

Unable to counter his logic, Artoria reluctantly allowed Tatsuya to carry her onto the ox cart. Rider, observing the scene with a grin, couldn't help but comment.

"You're quite skilled when it comes to handling women."

"No, I'm just used to handling kings," Tatsuya quipped as he settled Artoria onto the cart.

Though not exactly as a subject, Tatsuya had indeed spent many years by a queen's side, learning the art of diplomacy and respect in the process.