66 Epilogue II

A few minutes went by and Nora and Artoria continued to exchange blows. Sometimes in the face, but it was not limited to higher places since Artoria would also mix kicks to the area below. However, they were both beginning to slow down.

"Not yet, you still have that pathetic face." Artoria gritted her teeth and struck Nora once again.

"What pathetic face?" Nora asked.

"The damn face that looks like you are about to cry! If you wanna cry, just do it! Don't put that goddamn face for all to see. If you cry, I can at least mock you, but what am I suppose to say if you carry that annoying face the whole day?" Artoria shouted. "You are not this type of guy."

"What. Do. You. Know. About. Me?" Nora spat out.

Lowering his stance slightly, he went for a blow from below, but Artoria evaded it and struck him from one side of his head.

"I don't feel like bragging about it, but I know about you more than anyone." Artoria barely stopped a fist from Nora.

"Bullshit." Nora muttered.

"No, no matter how much I loathe it. You and I are alike." Artoria backed away.

The boy only kept his eyes on her.

"Despair, was it? I have been there. That dark feeling that seems like it could swallow you if you sink deep enough." Artoria mumbled. "I have been pretty deep, enough to feel like living was not worthy. The life of a doll is actually pretty bad, you know?"

Licking the blood from his lips, Nora listened quietly.

"I only received orders that I did not want to follow, but I had no other choice but to do so. Back then, it was the kind of life I led." Artoria grimaced from the pain of her blows and was cursing Nora who looked unperturbed by the damage she caused. "However, I met her. That child, just like Kuroka and Shirone for you, became my light. It is because of her that I was able to meet you, and it is because of you that we can both stand up here right now. I don't care how much you screw up, I will not allow you to regret anything you have done, because it would mean you regret saving her. You from that time would've beaten up the crap out of the current you for the shit you said. Nora, I... I don't feel like I have the right to say this given how much I acted that way, but wake up. Don't look away, face everything like you always do. The black and white cat, can you really face them as you are now?"

"Then what? Should I just forget all the problems I caused?" Nora gritted his teeth.

"I don't know. For me, it might not be a big deal, but I am not you. However, I know that your mindset is wrong. I... Argh, godammit, I would rather punch you in the face like you were before than how you are now." Artoria spat out.

"...Tsk, what an annoying girl." Nora looked down. "Didn't you want to have a chance of beating me up before? I think you could've done it easily and never get hit back if you did not say a thing."

"So what?" Artoria asked. "I don't feel like beating you before what a real challenge... although I felt death for a moment. Once you got back to being the idiot from before, I will beat you up."

"You are pretty unfair for someone guilty of walking in while I bathed." Nora sighed.

The type of gazes directed at Artoria changed in nature, although there was one that felt oddly sympathetic.

"Oi! You don't plan to let that one off even though I went through all the trouble of getting you back on your feet?" Artoria questioned.

"Nope, my innocent was almost taken back then after all." Nora cheekily smiled.

Feeling like hitting him again, Artoria gave up. His eyes looked straight at her with an unusual level of gratitude that made her itchy, but he did not look away. He was still standing after their struggle, despite carrying a severely wounded body, he did not look like he was about to fall.

"You are way too tough." Artoria sighed.

"...ecchi." Nora shyly looked down.

Tilting her head, Artoria noticed that he made it out to be too late when she felt strange gazes on her.

"Don't say a word, muscle head." Natsume blushed.

"Tsk, you knew what I was going to say?" Kouki shrugged his shoulders.

"Etto... What does she mean with tough?" Lavinia tilted her head.

"Awawa..." Shigune panicked.

"...the serious atmosphere just disappeared, as expected, Shiki-san is amazing." Tobio looked impressed.

"I am not sure if you need to be impressed with that." Sae retorted.

"Alrighty, I guess since the girl here loves how I usually am, I need to get my act together." Nora laughed.

Scowling, Artoria pointed at Nora.

"I never said love, you bastard." Artoria muttered.

"Sure..." Nora winked at her.

"...I should've left him alone." Artoria sighed.

Looking exasperated, Artoria just begrudgingly picked up the plates with snacks that remained safe and sat in the corner as she sulkily ate them. She felt a gaze full of kinship coming from Shigune, but since it was directed at the snacks as well, Artoria guarded them tightly.

"Yo! You looking better." Kouki smiled.

"Haha, I am sorry." Nora wryly smiled. "That said, all the things I spouted are not a lie. I believe you guys should treasure your lives more."

"You say that, but you were ready to throw away yours plenty of times. Your life is valuable too." Kouki

"...I" Nora looked unsure. "I can't accept that. I honestly cannot. It has nothing to do with hating myself or anything like that. I just don't want to be the one who stays behind all alone. That said, it is a scum's behavior since I would be making those close to me bear that fate."

Nodding at that, the group waited for him to finish speaking.

"Yosh, let's make things right." Nora nodded. "I am selfish, self-centered, and scummy. I like teasing girls and I would die if don't do it once a day, my hobbies are patting, writing, and cooking. Fighting for my life is more of second nature to me, but I am not scared of dying for those I care about. I guess that means I am broken pretty badly. However, if you guys are ok with it, I have an offer to make."

While waiting, the group felt that Nora was going to say something that will change their lives.

"Would you like to work part-time as my minions?" Nora smiled brightly.

Of course, everyone was speechless.

...

...

...

Listening quietly from beginning to end, Yasaka and Shuri waited in a room next to the group.

"Are you sure you don't want to interfere?" Shuri asked.

"...what for? If he is saying all those things, I must've disappointed him greatly. The mighty leader of the western youkais, that is they call me. A vixen, a cunning monster, a great leader, a charismatic ruler.. honestly, I have been called many things during all these years. However, at this point, they might as well be lies. Me, mighty? What a joke, if I made the person I tried to protect feel like it is their responsibility after I failed to protect my people. A great leader? I have failed my people..." Yasaka gloomily said.

"You know that is not like that, it was something they aimed specifically, one situation that happened to a coincidence." Shuri replied.

"A coincidence, yes, I acknowledge that. However, let me ask you this. How many times can you use that excuse? I will accept it, I failed. Nonetheless, I will not let it happen again." Yasaka stood up.

Sighing heavily, Shuri followed after her.

"You want to say some things to him as well, why are you not going there?" Yasaka asked.

"I think I should let my little girl show him our gratitude all by herself~" Shuri playfully said.

Her words earned a sulky glare from Yasaka.

"Scary~ " Shuri sweated slightly. "I think this is a matter to best handle by those who will walk by his side instead of me. It is not like I have those kinds of feelings for him, although my maternal instincts kick in when he starts being cheeky or needs to be pampered."

Smiling wryly, the woman looked towards the group's room.

"I can see that some of those girls will walk VERY close to him in the future~" Shuri giggled.

"You..." Yasaka glared at Shuri.

"It is best if you don't let your guard down, you know if you start looking away, who knows when he will be snatched away. At that time, you can only blame yourself for losing him." Shuri commented.

Stunned, Yasaka felt those words have an extreme effect on her feelings, she felt complicated and an unusual amount of pain and jealousy invaded her heart.

"My child can be your ally~" Shuri retreated with hasty steps.

Frozen in place, Yasaka took quite a while to move once again. Her mind, always rejecting one thought, began hesitate and little by little, she began considering several scenarios she always denied.

Part 3

3rd Person POV

"You have done well, with this, you have proved yourself capable of beating the sickness roaming in this city. I knew you could do it. I am certain that after overcoming this challenge, you can survive no matter what kind of evil situation you find yourselves in."

A youthful voice proclaimed, it belonged to a woman whose charm was like beautiful flowers. In front of her beauty, the people walking among the busy street were losing touch with reality and forgetting what they were doing. She was wearing a white dress-like cloak with a flower design that reached mid-tighs, her legs covered by black knee socks held by a garter belt. However, her immense beauty did not seem to affect the three individuals standing in front of her.

The first person to respond to the woman was a young man with black and white hair and blue eyes. His attire consists mainly of a black and white tunic with blue accents, black pants, thigh-high armored boots, and a short white cape with a black edge. Aside from his boots, his left arm has a gauntlet, and he wears a set of faulds at his waist. A sword scabbard hangs at his left side, and red marks coat his right gloved arm. He looked distinctively like a knight and he had many troubles during his journey for looking as such. The young man looked exasperated and could not help but speak up.

"...I was honestly hopeful with you said something about some special training, I mean, you guided us for years and we have learned the basics and more regarding fights and even strategies, the knight's way, all the chivalry codes. That much, I am grateful for." The young man half closed his eyes. "But, do tell me, what kind of evil are we dealing with inside a casino right in the middle of The Vegas?"

"...human greed!" The woman proudly said.

The young man face palmed at that answer.

"Hahaha, as expected of Merlin-sama, an answer lacking in common sense."

A voice beside the young man lively laughed. It belonged to an androgynous-looking boy who is fancily dressed, beautiful beyond all compare, he had a similar outfit as the young man, but he was wearing a skirt instead of pants, he had pink hair and purple eyes, with long hair held in a single braid.

"Astolfo, you are not any better..." The young man retorted.

"You two, you need to put more faith in Merlin-sama's training, I am sure it will be useful in the future."

Slightly younger than the young men, a girl said. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, her outfit consisted of a white leotard-like battle suit covered (?) by a long white coat that did nothing to hide the front part. Like the others, she wore white gloves.

The pure faith the girl had in her made the woman sweat coldly, which cause the young man to glare at her questioningly.

"Ahem, anyways. Charlemagne, housing the soul of the king of the franks. Astolfo, housing the soul of one of the twelve knights under Charlemagne, and another of those twelve knights, Bradamante. You have all done well until now, we have been through many adventures, and while it pains me to say this, you need to go and spread your wings." The woman, Merlin, shed tears. "Now it is time to fulfill your task, go to the church, you must aid them in their times of need and wait for the chosen one. Until then, an important person will need your help, she will be easy to find... she is a klutz after all so her cover will be blown up pretty soon, ehem, you must pay attention to the signs until she appears before you!"

"Yes! Merlin-sama!" Bradamante nodded, her tearful face looked sad due to their partying.

"Sounds suspicious..." Charlemagne sighed.

"Haha, it is nothing new so I say we just go along with it, besides, I am sure it shall be a fun task. Besides, don't you think that becoming a holy knight sounds cool!?" Astolfo asked.

"Now that you mention it..." Charlemagne pondered silently.

Using the opportunity when the cautious one was unaware, Merlin teleported away.

"Guys... Now that I think about it, how are we supposed to get to the church's HQ?" Astolfo suddenly said.

"Ah!" Bradamante blanked out.

"I knew it, I should've known that she would play tricks on us until the end." Charlemagne facepalmed again. "We don't even have passports so using a plane will be a pain..."

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3rd Person POV

"I think this is it for me, my child. I have reached the limit of what I can live. The throne and the queendom are yours. My only regret is that I was not able to pay back what those accursed invasors did..."

Despite looking like she was in her thirties, a woman lying on a fancy and broad bed was saying her goodbyes to a sad-looking younger girl in her teens.

"Mother!"

Crying, the young girl held the woman's hands. The unwillingness in her tone was plain as the day, but fate did not seem to be on her side as the woman's body was beginning to turn into light particles.

"Such a cry baby, I feel sorry for leaving you, but it has to be done. I have been pushing my departure until we repealed the invasors. That said, I think I am being irresponsible by leaving you all this mess after even my most loyal knights died. Your first task will have to be reestablishing our knight order, and with our thin male populace wiped out, the Faes will have to face a choice, to let our race die or to go out and find a partner. Do not be afraid though, since there is one child who will lend us her strength. She might be a whimsical one, but I did manage to make her promise to lend her aid to us. The offspring of one of the heavenly dragons will be an ace you will have to learn how to use."

The light particles were initially slowly dispersing but the more she talked, the faster they did so.

"Listen, there is one last card you can use in case everything seems bleak. It is lying dormant below the castle, the old atelier of my mother. That's it... I am afraid I cannot say anything else... goodbye, my child..."

As the light particles dispersed, the young girl remained in place crying for a long time, it was until the tears in her eyes had dried up and nothing more came up that she stood up. Her crying self was no more, a serious and cold look replacing it. Leaving the room, a rather small figure was waiting for her.

"You have a scary face."

It was a young Fae, although her stature seemed small by their standards as well given how several knights were surrounding them and they had the same height or higher than the now cold-looking girl.

"I can't afford to have a free spirit like before, I have been entrusted with a Queendom. Not to mention, some foreign enemies will require me to take harsh decisions. I have to act as Mother advised me, cold-headed and ruthless."

"Is that so? It is a shame, your kindness and smiles would've made you a charismatic queen in your own right. However, if that is your choice, I will support it. That is what friends are for."

Nodding, the smaller figure looked up to the taller one.

For a moment, a brief smile covered the lips of the taller one, but she erased it at once, fearing that she would not be able to maintain her new persona.

"Don't worry, your smiles, I will remember them even if no one else does. Your kindness will always be kept in my heart. Even if you do not express them again, I will do it in your stead."

With a smile as bright as the sun, the smaller figure nodded.

"You have my gratitude, Harbetrot."

"This is nothing at all, Morgan." Harbetrot said. "So, what is your next course of action? I acted out of place and went around gathering a group of applicants for the knight order. I also had our remaining knights apprehend the few humans who used the chance while everything was chaotic to force their way and kidnap our kin, although I will leave everything else to you since this was the best I could do while Her Majesty was..."

"No, you have done enough. Don't feel sorry, Mother did not have regrets." Morgan lied. "Won't you reconsider becoming a Prime Minister? Your judgment is always accurate if you were to occupy that position..."

Shaking her small head, Harbetrot turned down the offer.

"My origins are humble, I am but a tailor, I lack the appropriate knowledge to help you lead a nation. However, I will do everything in my power to support you from the shadows." Harbetrot patted her chest.

"Is that so? I will take those words as a promise then." Morgan sighed. "Guards. Behead those intruders and cut all ties with the human world at this instant, before doing so though, expel the humans."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Harbetrot looked at her friend questioningly.

"I am aware that not all of them were guilty, but because of them is that the invasors got in. Instead of living while trying to tell them apart, we get rid of them altogether. We need to build our defenses first in case another attack comes again." Morgan said. "Follow me, there is a place we must go."

A nearby knight bowed and left to accomplish the given task, while others followed after Morgan and Harbetrot.

...

...

...

"Homunculus, is it?" Morgan pondered aloud as she sat on her throne.

While the coronation was not done yet, no one doubted her rightful place.

"Hesitating? The machine that would create has already started the process after you pressed the button." Harbetrot commented.

"No, I am just curious why mother never used it." Morgan wondered aloud.

"You are recreating the Knight of Treachery, so I reckon that she was cautious, not to mention, there was no such a need before." Harbetrot replied.

Nodding at that, Morgan was half convinced.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise and the doors to the throne room burst open.

"Your majesty, I could not stop them!"

A knight came rolling on the ground.

"Is it you? I see. I heard the news. I will fulfill what I promised, you now have the strongest knight under you, that said, I will go and take a nap. The name is Melusine by the way."

The small figure of an armored girl came in and left after saying such a thing.

"That's Albion's daughter?" Harbetrot sweated coldly.

"I heard that she was like a storm, but I guess I underestimated the rumors. Her strength is the real deal, but she lacks the aristocratic personality her father had." Morgan did her best to not show a change of expression. "I believe that I will need to show her the way I manners before she officially joins our knight's ranks."

"...good luck." Harbetrot offered a silent prayer.

"We also need to get the recruits." Morgan stood up.

...

...

...

"There are more applicants than I thought." Morgan glanced around.

It picked her interest two individuals that stood out, a large blonde woman and a young girl with tattered clothing.

"Those two are?" Morgan asked.

Pulling a list, Harbetrot began looking at the applicants' names until she found what she was looking for.

"Barghest, that is the tall woman's name, she is a Fae but her particular kind is similar to the Onis in the east." Harbetrot said. "...her reason to apply is a bit of an issue, although her skills seem like the real deal."

"Oh? What reason did she give?" Morgan asked.

"...she is looking for a partner." Harbetrot blushed. "She heard that knight women are popular nowadays."

"...I see. If she has the skills, let her join, we will deal with that other issue later." Morgan declared.

"...I am sure this one will cause chaos later, but it is Your Majesty's choice." Harbetrot sighed.

Nodding, Morgan stared at the other figure.

"...she is a stubborn one. She was among the kidnapped girls from before, and as soon as she learned that it was Your Majesty that ordered their death, she decided to join." Harbetrot explained. "She is from a special type of Fae tribe that has a vampiric nature. She does not seem very suited for front line combat, but showed skills with the bow."

"I see. Let her join if she wants, I don't mind it." Morgan spoke. "What is her name?"

"She said she was... Baobhan Sith." Harbetrot muttered.

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Author's corner.

Feel free to ask what you did not understand about this chapter.

I added many parts that had nothing to do with Nora, but will have an impact on the future plot. Plenty of FGO characters.

That said, good day to you.