Inside that lavish master-bedroom space—forced into existence by Rei Ao's will, with its own independent rules—time had long since lost its meaning.
No one knew how long it had been.
Maybe only an instant,
or maybe a stretch of time that wasn't short at all.
At last, the room's blush-inducing, mind-swaying storm of intensity gradually ebbed, melting into a long, satisfied afterglow.
The air was thick with an indescribable richness and languor—a strange blend of divinity, the planet's primal power, and traces of something even higher.
The sight was nothing short of breathtaking.
Alaya and Gaia—two incarnations of the Counter Force—were no longer remotely like the cold, imposing figures they had been at first.
Rei Ao lounged against the headboard, his expression as calm as ever, as if the soul-shaking communion that would make any sentient being tremble had been, to him, nothing more than a casual stretch.
His deep gaze swept across the three women at his side—each with a special status, and yet now all showing the unmistakable posture of having been tamed.
His fingers idly combed through Tiamat's silky long hair.
Only after a moment did Rei Ao finally speak.
His voice was even, yet carried an absolute finality that allowed no debate, ringing clearly in the ears of Alaya and Gaia as their awareness slowly returned.
"Alaya. Gaia."
At the sound of his voice, both girls' bodies trembled faintly.
Their long lashes fluttered as they forced their eyes to focus on him.
Their expressions were impossibly complicated—lingering haze, profound awe, a hard-to-name shyness…
and… something stranger still, like an attachment carved into the foundation of their very existence.
The coldness, the rejection, the lofty superiority—gone without a trace.
"This Holy Grail War, and everything that may follow from it—everything tied to the Greater Grail system in Fuyuki City," Rei Ao said, his tone as casual as assigning routine work.
"You—and the Counter Force side you represent—are not allowed to interfere anymore."
"Any form of intervention, warning, corrective protocol, or attempt to summon 'cleaners'—stop it. All of it."
"Mark this place as an 'observation zone' or a 'silence zone.' Call it whatever you like."
"Bottom line: don't bother me—and don't bother the people I'm protecting."
His words were direct and domineering, leaving no room for negotiation.
In Alaya's violet eyes, faint streams of data flickered—an instinctive assessment of what such an order might mean for the continuation of the Human Order.
But stronger than that was a near reflexive obedience born from what she had just experienced.
She lightly bit her lower lip. Her voice was no longer icy—now it carried a slight rasp, and a softness she couldn't quite hide.
"…U-understood."
"This area will be specially marked. Standard protocols… suspended."
Gaia's emerald eyes also fixed on Rei Ao.
The planet's usual indifference had been replaced by something far more vivid.
She nodded, her voice equally gentle.
"…Planetary side… will observe in silence. No proactive interference."
Their answers meant the Counter Force was, by default, acknowledging and allowing this anomalous Grail War—and everyone entangled with it.
It was almost unprecedented.
"Good." Rei Ao nodded in satisfaction, then added, "As for this corrupted Grail system—and that 'little cup' hiding under Mount Enzō—I've got my own plans."
"You don't need to worry about it."
Alaya and Gaia nodded again, raising no objection at all.
Right now, in front of Rei Ao, they were as docile as students who had just received the most important lesson of their lives.
With the instructions delivered, Rei Ao gave Tiamat—who was pressed close against him—a light pat.
Tiamat understood at once.
Though her eyes were full of reluctance, she still obediently loosened her embrace and slowly sat up.
Rei Ao rose as well, casually straightening himself.
He cast one last look at the two Counter Force girls—whose minds were clearing, yet whose eyes still followed him with tangled emotions—and at the gentle, devoted gaze of the Mother of Creation beside him.
"Then I should go back," he said lightly. "There are still a few… 'household matters' to wrap up over there."
As the words fell, his figure began to blur and turn translucent, like a watercolor painting dissolving into air.
"W-wait…" Alaya instinctively reached out, as if to grab hold of something.
But halfway through the motion, she stopped.
She could only stare at him with those violet eyes—regaining some spark, yet dyed with a different kind of feeling.
Gaia parted her lips slightly as well.
A tiny, barely perceptible ripple flashed through her emerald gaze.
In the end, she only watched in silence.
Tiamat never looked away.
She kept her eyes on him until his form completely vanished from the space he had created—and ruled.
In the room, only three women remained—each with thoughts of her own, each having undergone an unimaginable "baptism"—along with the same luxurious surroundings that now felt like witnesses to everything.
In the next instant, Rei Ao's figure surfaced as if rising from underwater.
He reappeared in the courtyard of the Tōsaka residence.
It was still the dead of night.
Moonlight flowed like water.
But the atmosphere in the courtyard had changed—subtly, yet unmistakably—since the moment he left.
That razor-taut tension was gone.
What lingered in the air was the faint, not-yet-settled turbulence of mana, and a light… post-battle scent.
There were fresh scorch marks and damage on the ground.
The plants around the courtyard were a little disheveled.
Clearly, there had been an exchange—not especially fierce, but real.
Overall, though, the mood was calm.
It even carried a hint of… eerie harmony.
Artoria, Ishtar, Ereshkigal, and Medusa were all still there.
Irisviel, Rin, and Sakura were safe under the eaves.
The Conqueror King, Iskandar, and his young Master, Waver, were still present too.
Only, Iskandar's expression looked somewhat complicated.
And Waver's eyes seemed a little red.
Most eye-catching of all was the golden Holy Grail in the center of the courtyard—the one Rei Ao had casually "made," then later forgotten.
It still hovered there in silence, giving off a gentle light that somehow felt faintly mocking.
Rei Ao's return made no sound.
But everyone sensed him immediately.
"Rei Ao!" Artoria looked over first.
A flicker of relief crossed her green eyes—only to be replaced at once by something more complicated.
Ereshkigal simply nodded quietly.
Medusa remained silent, standing in the shadows as always.
Irisviel hurried over, concern written on her face.
"Rei Ao-kun, are you alright?"
"Just now… the sky suddenly became so strange, and then it went back to normal…"
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