"Such a beautiful strike…"
As her body gradually dispersed into golden motes of mana, Black Saber's gaze grew distant.
"I still lost… In the end, no matter how fate may change, as long as I stand alone, I always meet the same end, don't I?"
"I must admit, I envy all of you a bit—apparently not only Morgan, but even versions of me in other worlds have the chance to find companions to walk alongside."
At last, her eyes settled on Gawain:
"But it's so strange… You and he bear no resemblance, yet seeing you always brings him to mind."
"I cannot fathom why he vanished without a word… I so hoped, at the end, to turn the tables with dignity."
"—The Black Dragon of Britain."
Leaving behind these cryptic words, Black Saber's form vanished.
"What does that mean—'the Black Dragon of Britain'? Could she be referring to Oberon?"
Gawain furrowed his brow in surprise. He felt that Black Saber's final gaze had passed through him, directed at some unseen presence, as though she were recalling someone beyond this world. But… "the Black Dragon of Britain"? He vaguely recalled that in Moon Cell's Britain there was some tale of a dual dragon conflict between Artoria and Oberon, ending with the Red Dragon's victory… but the color seems off. Isn't Oberon the White Dragon?
"Eh? Wait, what's happening?! Why am I suddenly glowing gold? Huh? I'm glowing too?"
At that moment, Artoria's astonished voice came from behind him. Gawain looked back to see Artoria staring at her own hands in shock.
"What's the matter? Don't flinch so easily," Gawain said, shaking his head with mild exasperation. Indeed, he sensed the connection to this world fading rapidly now.
"It seems that by defeating Black Saber, our mission here is complete… Then, until we meet again, everyone of Chaldea."
"Oh! Is that so? Then… farewell, everyone!" Artoria exclaimed, waving energetically to Ritsuka Fujimaru and Mash.
"If fate allows it, I hope you might visit our homeland someday… I will show you around the Fairy Kingdom!"
"It's a world utterly different from your Human History, yet so beautiful!"
Truly beautiful—if one sets aside the detestable nature of many fairies within it. After bidding farewell to the Chaldea entourage, Gawain considered and then added a remark to Olga-Marie:
"By the way, Director Olga-Marie, about that explosion at Chaldea you mentioned earlier—there still seem to be many unresolved questions… Think carefully about the cause. Chaldea is so vast; it wouldn't be surprising if there were a traitor among you."
At this point there was nothing more he could do. He had hoped to help Olga-Marie somehow, but unexpectedly the mission ended right after defeating Black Saber and they were all sent back. So his limited warning was all he could offer.
Then a surge of golden light enveloped him, obscuring his vision. When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the pitch-black cell.
["Grand Saber defeated. You have earned the right to reclaim the Holy Grail. Singularity F has been cleared."]
["This FATE/Parallel Destiny simulation is complete."]
["In this original singularity restoration, where all origins converge, you once again chose the path of humanity's preservation."]
["But… is that truly right?"]
["For you, is restoring Human Order definitely the correct choice?"]
…This system's evaluation messages do enjoy obscuring things. How could restoring Human Order be wrong? Gawain paid it little heed, focusing instead on the next line:
["Completion Rating: B (Good)"]
Only a B? Because he didn't challenge Fou? Or because he could not find a way to rescue Olga-Marie? Looking at the grade, Gawain wondered. Yet given that the system hinted failure or death in FATE/Parallel Destiny might carry serious penalties, he had chosen the safest route for this first run. He had no desire to test those penalties.
["You have gained a new Trait draw opportunity. Draw now?"]
Gawain silently selected "Yes."
["Drawing Traits based on your performance in this simulation…"]
Though it was called "drawing Traits," the interface looked much as before. Soon, golden light appeared:
["You obtained an inherent Trait: Administrator's Talent (SR)."]
Administrator's Talent (SR): You possess extraordinary governance ability; your skills in administration and logistics are outstanding. When you hold significant—but not overt—control over a faction, that faction's development accelerates and is more likely to gain positive buffs.
"Oh—indeed, I precisely drew one of the SR Traits I'd initially selected… Could it be I overthought it? Perhaps the drop rate for pre-selected SR Traits is actually quite high?"
Gawain murmured, stroking his chin. He opened the Trait pool for this FATE/Parallel Destiny run and saw densely packed N- and R-tier Traits; the combined chance for the two SR Traits and one SSR he had preselected was under 1%. The toxicity of that pool reminded him of various "pit of despair" mechanics.
Yet by now he was unsurprised. With his "Great Fortune" Trait literally written on his record, drawing a pre-selected SR Trait was almost trivial. Only obtaining "Administrator's Talent" instead of the even higher "Blessing of the Holy Sword" made him feel his luck was somewhat off that day.
Nevertheless, the hidden benefits of this FATE/Parallel Destiny simulation were immense. Beyond the direct rewards of Traits, skills, and Noble Phantasms, the battle experience itself was invaluable. Previously, no matter how many simulations he'd run, they remained simulations. But this time, he had participated as a firsthand actor, even experiencing the perspective of the Holy Swordbearer in combat against Black Saber. This kind of genuine duel memory—master versus master—is priceless for improving one's own capabilities. Real combat experience, even brief, surpasses hours of solo practice against the void, and against a high-level opponent, its impact multiplies.
Lowering his gaze, Gawain gently clenched his fist. He now felt each muscle engaged in every swing, the true weight of facing Artoria (the Excalibur bearer) in his memories, the calm judgment at each instant even when the blade pressed close. If tomorrow he had to face the arena again, that anxious terror would be much reduced. He could even consider running another FATE/Parallel Destiny to accumulate more battle experience.
However, upon trying to start a new run and select Traits, he found his previously used Traits locked:
["Because 'Otherworldly Holy Swordbearer Gawain' remains alive, Traits 'Administrator's Talent,' 'Natural Ruler,' and 'Blessing of the Holy Sword' are bound to that role and cannot be reselected."]
His character-selection screen now included the card for the role he had just played as a pseudo-Servant, though it bore a note:
["This Servant cannot currently be used, as the special summoning conditions are not met."]
So the system encourages mixing new Traits to form fresh roles, rather than repeatedly rerunning the same build. Gawain pondered this, but it didn't trouble him: he had enough other Traits remaining for new combinations. He could run another simulation to hone his skills further—perhaps even run through all seven singularities alongside Ritsuka and Chaldea.
Yet when he tried, the system displayed:
["Apologies, the daily limit for FATE/Parallel Destiny runs has been reached. You cannot proceed further today."]
"Tch… there is a limit," Gawain frowned. At that moment, another system message appeared:
["Since over half of the players have cleared it, a new real-world simulation will commence."]
["Welcome back, Player #001, ID: Gawain."]
["Simulation Start: Simulation #1005."]
["Queen's Era 2018, for unknown reasons you were captured by Fairy Knight Tristan in New Darlington…"]
......…