Tohsaka Rin stared at the beautiful, mature woman who appeared before them, exuding a sensual aura and clearly familiar with Morpheus.
A sense of crisis surged within her, one she'd felt not long ago when she noticed how close Matou Sakura seemed to Morpheus. Now, it was back... stronger.
"Morpheus, she is…?"
"Medea…" Morpheus said, his voice trailing as he called out her name.
The name made Rin pause. She quickly realized this woman was the legendary witch of betrayal, the one who'd even killed her own children... Medea!
Her presence here could only mean one thing: she was a Servant, an opponent in this Holy Grail War!
But then Morpheus said something that stunned Rin.
"You know me?" Morpheus asked, a hint of confusion in his voice. He wasn't fazed by Medea's question and instead countered, "But if you know me… your current appearance…"
"Maybe the Grail messed up. It was supposed to summon this world's Medea, but it called me instead. Still, it's a chance, so I answered the call. I thought I might find you through the Grail," Medea replied.
She wasn't truly angry with him. She'd already noticed something... Morpheus carried the aura of a Servant!
He'd come to this world as a Servant too, but beyond that, Medea sensed a human essence in him, even a divine one.
He was like a hybrid.
"Find me, huh… I ended up here with no choice in the matter, but you being here too…" Morpheus frowned slightly. "That's not normal!"
"Why not? Because I'm interrupting your flirting with your Master?" Medea said, glancing at Rin. She smiled at the girl, who looked awkward but was trying to act nonchalant. "Nice to meet you, magus."
Despite Medea's notorious reputation in myth, Rin responded politely. "Nice to meet you, Lady Medea."
"Quite courteous. A word of advice... this guy's a thief of hearts. He loves to steal them and then vanish without a trace!"
Rin glanced at Morpheus, then said earnestly to Medea, "Thank you for the warning, Lady."
Morpheus rolled his eyes. "I made it clear from the start I'd have to leave, didn't I? And it's not like I chose to back then... I had no choice. If I hadn't done what I did, the whole ship might've disappeared."
He protested, "I was saving the world, preserving history!"
That only fueled Medea's anger. "I'd rather have gone with you than be left alone!"
She took a deep breath, suppressing the fury born of worry. "If Artemis hadn't used her divine power to contact me, and Apollo hadn't helped confirm you were okay, I would've lost my mind!"
Then she asked, "So, you were summoned this time to claim the Grail?"
She smiled. "If you need it, you can ask me. I might consider letting you have it."
Morpheus was taken aback, and Rin's eyes widened. "Your Master would agree to that?!"
"Oh, my Master? He'd agree in a heartbeat. He's desperate for the Holy Grail War to end so he can escape," Medea said with a laugh that sent a chill through Rin, sparking an inexplicable fear.
"What does that mean? Escape?" Rin thought.
Morpheus, both surprised and approving, asked, "You've got your Master tied up?"
"You know I'm actually pretty gentle," Medea said, praising herself before huffing. "That guy... he's not even human. They say the ancient world was barbaric, but even Sparta wouldn't do this!
"They believed in survival of the fittest, natural selection. But this guy sacrifices countless children's lives to extract mana!"
Morpheus, unfamiliar with later events, was stunned. He knew Medea had been betrayed her first master, but not that he was this monstrous.
"I suggested freeing the kids and building a new workshop. I even showed him ancient divine magic. And he got jealous... tried to use a Command Spell to make me kill myself!"
Medea gave a slight smile.
"Though I'm not thrilled with my legend in this world, the Noble Phantasm it gave me isn't bad. It lets me sever my contract at will."
Rin's back went cold. The Command Spells, born from the Grail's contract, were the strongest link between Master and Servant.
They made the relationship seem like master and slave, with three absolute commands... even suicide... enforceable. It was a way for Masters to protect themselves, given Servants' overwhelming power.
But this woman claimed her Noble Phantasm could break that contract, escaping any command. It was chilling!
Rin glanced at Morpheus, but he showed no fear... only excitement. "Rule Breaker?"
"Exactly. You knew," Medea nodded, not hiding anything. She and Morpheus had no need for secrets. She even asked warmly, "Do you need it?"
Rin's heart tightened.
But Morpheus shook his head. "No need. I'm a bit special. Command Spells don't affect me negatively... only positively. I'm not even a Heroic Spirit's avatar. I'm the real thing."
Rin's jaw dropped, struggling to process this, while Medea wasn't surprised. She nodded lightly. "Seems after that incident, you've been through things that would shock even great heroes. Shall we find a place to talk?"
"Then come with me. I have questions for you too. You don't seem to need the Grail, so… Medea, will you help me destroy the entire Holy Grail ritual?"
***
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