The giant body quickly regenerated its shattered arms and legs before rising once more. It stepped back half a pace.
Berserker's glare was still filled with fury toward Larva—but his absolute obedience to his Master far outweighed any rage.
Meanwhile, Rian only gave a faint smile at Illya's tsundere attitude, as though genuinely enjoying every spontaneous reaction from the little girl.
After that, without a single word, Illya and Berserker turned around and left the battlefield.
Larva slowly walked toward Rian. Her gaze followed Illya's retreating back for a moment, but soon returned to the man standing before her.
Rian didn't say anything, simply watching her with a faint smile.
A moment later, Larva lifted her face and looked up at him with gentle eyes as she asked, "Master… Mother used quite a lot of magical energy just now. Are you alright?"
Rian turned, raising his right hand to touch his chest—right over his heart—as he leaned forward slightly.
"Ugh…" Rian groaned, his expression blatantly exaggerated. "Your son feels dry… Mother, you drained too much out of me."
Larva simply stared at him for a moment before smiling gently. Without a word, she reached out and wrapped him in a warm embrace, as if amused by his theatrics.
"If you can still act like this," Larva said in a tender tone, "then you're perfectly fine."
"Yes, I'm fine," Rian replied with a faint smile. "It just feels like… using Domain Expansion: Infinity twice in one day."
Larva released the hug, tilting her head as she looked up at him with a curious expression, clearly not fully understanding what he meant.
Catching that look, Rian chuckled softly. "It means you just drained about thirty percent of my energy," he explained, glancing up at the sky. "Come on, let's go home."
Larva nodded quietly. The two of them then walked away, leaving the battlefield behind, returning to their home as a Master and Servant who had just shared a trial together.
However, their journey home was far from peaceful. Barely ten steps along the sidewalk, Rian's Six Eyes caught something—a faint vibration, impossibly subtle to anyone else.
In that instant, the world seemed to slow, leaving only the echo of his heartbeat pounding in his ears.
With a movement nearly impossible for human eyes to follow, Rian dipped low and scooped Larva into his arms, lifting her in a princess carry.
Larva's young, cross-shaped eyes widened.
Each strand of her eyelashes trembled visibly in the slowed flow of time. A soft, breathless gasp slipped from her lips—long, delicate, almost soundless.
A rosy flush spread across her cheeks, and her lips curled into a small, startled pout on her petite face.
Rian's body shifted subtly, his muscles tensing with perfect precision.
His foot pressed into the sidewalk, creating a small crack under the sudden pressure. With one powerful push, his body shot backward.
All of this happened in an instant in the real world—yet within the slowed bubble of time, every detail was carved with crystal clarity.
The next second, just as Rian's foot touched the sidewalk, an arrow struck the ground and erupted in a burst of blue fire—clearly the result of magical energy.
Rian glanced toward the source of the attack, his lips curling into a slight smirk.
"I thought they were just watching… turns out they weren't?"
Still held securely in the princess carry, Larva looked up at Rian's face from close range. Her right hand reached up, touching his cheek with a soft, gentle motion full of concern.
"Master," Larva whispered. "Should we retaliate?"
Rian lowered his gaze to her for a moment before he nodded slowly. "Yeah. We'll return the favor for their rudeness."
Rian released his Mana with astonishing precision, reinforcing his body to an extraordinary degree.
With one powerful push, his body shot forward—bounding from rooftop to rooftop while still carrying Larva effortlessly in his arms.
Once again, Larva was slightly taken aback.
For a human not born in the age of gods, Rian's physical strength, finesse, and sheer volume of magical energy were nothing short of astonishing.
And beyond that, being carried like this by Rian made her face grow warmer and her heartbeat race uncontrollably.
***
In the distance—specifically atop an abandoned factory construction site—stood a man accompanied by a young girl.
The man held a bow in his hand. He had clearly just released a shot, with Rian and Larva as his targets.
That man was none other than one of the Servants bearing the Archer Class in the Fifth Holy Grail War of the Fate/stay night world.
He had short white hair slicked back, sharp gray eyes, and tanned skin.
His appearance was distinctive: a tight, sleeveless black shirt with silver accents that emphasized the contours of his muscles, complemented by a metal plate around the collar.
Black pants with two straps circling his thighs and two more around his shins gave a sense of practicality and sturdiness.
His outfit was completed by black metal-plated boots that reinforced the aura of a battle-hardened warrior.
Standing behind Archer was the young girl who served as his Master—Rin Tohsaka.
Rin was a young woman with teal-blue eyes and long, wavy black hair styled into twin side tails.
Part of her hair was tied with black ribbons, while the rest flowed freely behind her.
Her attire consisted of a white blouse with a red tie, a red skirt, and long black stockings.
Archer frowned deeply and turned sharply toward Rin. "Rin," he called in a firm tone, "this is bad. We—"
But before he could finish his sentence, a dark crimson mana burst shot past them—fired by Larva.
The attack intentionally missed and struck the building frame beside them.
The steel structure disintegrated instantly, cleanly severed in a straight line, its edges frozen solid as if turned to stone.
Both Archer and Rin froze, horrified, whipping their gazes toward the source of the attack.
On a building one block away, Rian still held Larva in a princess carry.
Larva's cross-shaped eyes glowed brightly, the pattern reflecting across her face as if extending beyond it.
Larva's gaze fixed on Rin and Archer, a pout forming on her cute face—partially hidden behind the dark bluish scarf around her neck.
The attack Larva had just unleashed was different from the mana bursts she used against Berserker.
This was one of her personal abilities, called Eyes of Red Star.
These eyes could be considered the aggressive counterpart of the Eye of Blue Star.
Instead of merely observing or analyzing, the Eye of Red Star directly attacks using planetary energy.
The extraordinary effect of this skill was its ability to pierce through both the physical and magical attributes of its target.
In addition, this attack could inflict curses or debuffs, weakening the enemy while feeding Larva's own mana into the strike.
The mana burst from earlier was merely a small demonstration of its capabilities.
"Hey!" Rian shouted loudly. "Why are you trying to run away like that? How rude! Has proper etiquette not been invented in this place?"
Meanwhile, Rin glared back at Rian and Larva, her eyes sharp.
"Tch!" Rin clicked her tongue. "This Eighth Master is ridiculously strong. Damn it—I thought after fighting Berserker, his mana reserves would be heavily drained."
"Besides, what's with that physical strength of his? What kind of Magus is he supposed to be?" Rin complained, still staring with a mix of frustration and curiosity.
Then Rin quickly glanced at Archer, who continued to frown as if trying to piece together something that felt off. Rin couldn't help but wonder what was on his mind.
"Hey, Archer," Rin called out, trying to pull his attention. "Do you know anything about that Servant?"
"I'm not sure…" Archer replied with a hesitant tone. "It feels strange… like he isn't an ordinary Servant. And… from the very start, isn't it impossible for there to be an eighth Master?"
"I know that," Rin answered shortly, without tearing her eyes away from Rian and Larva.
While Rin and Archer began discussing, Rian—still carrying Larva in a princess carry—let out a heavy sigh as he watched the two from afar.
Then, with a loud, clear voice, he shouted:
"Hey… if you two are just going to stand there, fine. I'll come to you, alright?"
Archer and Rin froze on the spot, cold sweat trickling down their temples as they braced themselves for Rian's approach.
"Mom, this might get a little unstable," Rian whispered softly as he tilted his head closer to Larva. "Could you please hold on a bit tighter?"
Larva looked at him for a moment before nodding gently. Her small arms wrapped around his neck—firm, yet tender.
Rian lowered his stance slightly, gathering power in his legs.
Then, with a single explosive push, he leapt from the rooftop toward the abandoned factory structure where Archer and Rin were waiting.
Archer immediately dismissed his bow, replacing it with a pair of short swords—one black, one white—each bearing a yin-yang emblem on the hilt.
__
Additional Note:
Add me favorite/Collection and Comment, then give me some power stone and Rate my fanfic. Don't forget that!