Shinji Matou at Your Service-Chapter 940 - : The Reason for the Summoning

The scabbard originally belonged to Kiritsugu Emiya. He used it to summon Saber and participated in the Fourth Holy Grail War.

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Later, to protect Irisviel, the scabbard was embedded into her body as a conceptual weapon. During the war, it returned to Saber briefly. After Saber left, it was implanted into Kiritsugu's body to heal him from the corruption caused by the black mud.

When Kiritsugu and Maiya left Fuyuki for the war-torn Middle East, he secretly took the scabbard out and placed it on his daughter. It was his greatest wish for his daughter's safety, the most protective force in the world, and something that only a strong and sincere ideal could preserve.

Ten years ago, Kiritsugu Emiya's lofty yet foolish ideal of Hero of Justice resonated strongly with the scabbard.

Now, it has awakened once again due to the pure and innocent call of Illya. This connection has allowed Saber to reappear and manifest in this household.

Of course, beyond the connection between the scabbard and Saber, another condition was involved—Kiritsugu's ritual from ten years ago. At that time, Irisviel, as the Lesser Grail, had absorbed the souls of two Servants, severely weakening her bodily functions. She could only rest within a special ritual designed for her. The ritual was a summoning circle, but summoning was merely a common term among Masters. The ritual had other functions, such as stabilizing spiritual foundations and accelerating a Servant's mana recovery. It also had a calming effect on the Lesser Grail, which housed the souls of Servants.

From the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War, until Aozaki Touko created a new body for Irisviel, she mostly remained within this ritual, preserving her soul. After she gained a new body, Kiritsugu did not erase the ritual, and since the old warehouse was rarely used, it remained intact until today, when Illya's magic and wish reawakened it, forming a connection between the real world and the realm of fantasy.

Illya standing in the summoning circle placed her hand on her abdomen, where a light that resonated perfectly with Saber flickered. It was the ultimate ideal of a king, a treasure with the same name as the legendary land of faeries, Avalon.

After ten years of silence, this treasure has appeared once again in this world, in front of Saber.

"Go, Illya!"

Saber said to her new Master, her gem-like eyes filled with both nostalgia and anticipation.

"Yes."

Illya nodded firmly.

"That monster..."

"Don't worry. I am here—we are here!"

As the two stepped out of the warehouse, the courtyard had transformed into a different scene.

The steel giant was still alive, continuing to unleash storm after storm with its immense power.

However, this time, the storm could no longer rampage freely. It was firmly confined to the center of the courtyard, within a small space surrounded by black iron stakes rising from the ground—an iron cage.

For a terrifying giant capable of tearing down walls and blocking bullets with its flesh, mere iron pillars should have posed no threat. Whether using an axe, sword, or brute strength, the giant could easily destroy them.

However, the iron pillars were not merely a single row but ten rows, twenty rows. Even the giant, with its unparalleled strength, needed time to break through them. By the time the obstacles were cleared, a woman in tight leather stood in front of him once more.

Compared to the giant, the woman in purple appeared of normal human size—perhaps tall among women, but still insignificant and fragile when compared to the giant. It seemed she could be crushed with a single blow of the axe or sword.

But when the giant did swing his weapon, the result was completely unexpected.

The seemingly small and fragile woman successfully blocked the giant's axe. She did not dodge or use any technique; she simply stopped the giant with raw strength.

"■■■■■■■■■■■■────!"

The frustrated giant let out a furious roar. This was his first attack to be blocked. Even when Saber had repelled him earlier, it was only because she had caught him by surprise.

Gripping his axe with both hands, the muscles of the giant, already well-defined, bulged even more, and his veins became visible under his skin.

Yet, even with this, he could not make the small woman take a single step back.

No, not only did she not retreat, but—

"I won't let you pass, Berserker! Go back!"

In her cold voice, the woman's waist-length purple hair flew up as her previously bent arms and knees straightened instantly. The sudden burst of power deflected the giant's descending axe and forced the massive body of the giant to retreat—back to its original position.

At the same time, the iron bars that the giant had destroyed were quickly repaired. By the time the giant regained his balance, the cage had been restored, once again trapping him within the iron prison.

A man with slightly lighter-colored hair stepped out from behind the purple-haired woman, raising a hand toward Berserker's direction and clenching it in mid-air.

"Kazikli Bey!"

What happened next seemed like a repeat of previous events.

The giant used brute force to break through the cage, only for the purple-haired woman to immediately block him with even greater strength, forcing him back into his original position. Then, the iron bars would repair themselves, and the Berserker would be trapped again.

This cycle had already been repeated several times. This was why Saber had enough time to talk to Illya and guide her in retrieving the sheath.

"Big liar, Shinji! It's you!"

Illya shouted in shock when she finally saw the face of the person controlling the iron cage.

"I told you, stop calling me—"

There was only one man Illya would call a liar: Shinji Matou. He habitually turned his head to complain, but before he could finish, he froze when he saw the familiar knight standing beside Illya.

"—Artoria!"

"Long time no see," Saber, Artoria, greeted him with a radiant smile.

"Yeah, long time no see, but why are you—wait, why do you have that thing?"

The first part was directed at Artoria. He hadn't expected her to appear at this time, especially since Kiritsugu had not returned yet.

The second part was because he noticed the scabbard in Illya's hand. It was Artoria's holy relic, and with it, he could understand why she had appeared. But a new question arose. In Shinji's understanding, the scabbard should have been with Kiritsugu, so he was surprised that it had already been given to his daughter.

It was likely done to protect her—with his knowledge of Kiritsugu, Shinji quickly came to this conclusion, and his expression returned to normal.

At that moment, he heard a voice from Medusa, filled with urgency.

"Shinji, watch out! Get out of the way!"