Buzz~
The Heavenly Sword released a brilliant beam of light.
On one side were mountains, rivers, and lakes; on the other, the people and culture of the nation—all of it fused at that moment, transforming into a dragon soaring into the sky.
As the dragon shot into the sky, the clouds suddenly parted, revealing a dazzling blue firmament.
It was as if that dragon was the guardian dragon of the Empire.
Far across the sea, thousands of miles away in Japan—
Artoria gazed westward, already sensing the vast surge of energy,
"So this is your trump card, Emperor?"
Previously, when Shikotei had emphasized that Nameless belonged to his Empire, she had begun to sense where his confidence lay.
It was precisely this: using Nameless's origin to confer titles upon him in the name of the First Emperor.
Once the conferment succeeded, it would serve as an anchor to locate Nameless for real.
In this regard, it was even more effective than her Avalon.
Because Avalon had already been shattered into near nothingness in some unknown battle.
Even as its former master, she could no longer locate it.
All she could vaguely sense was that Avalon seemed to have some close connection with Kirina.
Strangely—
Avalon, the so-called ultimate protective Noble Phantasm, now felt like a—
Prison.
Sealing Kirina tightly within.
Who exactly was that child?
Why would Nameless go so far as to sacrifice Avalon to seal her?
Artoria couldn't even fathom it.
What kind of battle had he gone through for even Avalon—impervious to Excalibur's destructive force—to shatter?
It must have involved a cataclysmic war capable of annihilating humanity and resetting Earth itself.
"Could the Firs Emperor really find Nameless?" Mordred exclaimed beside her.
——
Meanwhile.
In France, Jeanne also looked up at the sky, her golden eyes filled with frustration,
"Another fool thinking they can find Nameless through conferment. You're all just dreaming!"
"But… didn't you come here for the same reason…"
The pink-haired knight Astolfo weakly murmured beside her.
If she truly didn't believe in Artoria's conferment of the Round Table Knights helping locate Nameless, then why would she follow her all the way to Fuyuki City?
All the Paladins stared blankly at Astolfo.
Of course it's you!
Truly a textbook example of pink, twisted, blackened.
Hey? If you know how to talk, why don't you say more?
Every time you open your mouth, you stab straight at the sore spots.
Aren't you afraid Her Majesty will slice something off?
"Hehe, I'm simply surveying Fuyuki Academy City to see if we in France could establish a similar magic academy," Jeanne frowned slightly as she answered.
Fuyuki Academy City was a magical research academy personally ordered to be built by the First Emperor.
Once the experimental model was complete, it would be rolled out across half of Asia—ushering in an era where everyone could become much more than themselves.
"But… it feels like by saying this, you've basically admitted de—"
Astolfo wanted to continue, but was immediately swarmed by the Paladins who shut his mouth tightly.
Each of them wanted to beat him to death.
As expected of someone with the "Rationality Evaporation" skill—completely unable to control that blabbering mouth!
"Heh, Witch of Vengeance was Alaya's very first video release. I was the first one here—how could I possibly lose?"
Jeanne replied haughtily.
As the unrestrained Emperor of France, whatever she desired was hers—how could she lose?
However—
The moment she uttered these words, a shocking change unfolded before everyone.
Back in the Eternal Emperor video, when Nameless confronted the gods at the altar, he had deliberately constructed a tomb there.
It was essentially a do-or-die act — Nameless had dug his own grave beforehand, fully prepared to die in battle against the gods.
To faithfully recreate that scene, during the conferment ceremony, Shikotei had also prepared an identical grave.
And now—
The grave, which had remained silent all this time, suddenly—
Cracked open.
——
Inside the living room.
As the dragon soared across the LCD screen—
Kirina's eyes sparkled.
"Oh my, he actually summoned a dragon!"
It was absolutely unbelievable.
"Indeed." Sanjiro's expression was complicated as he stared at it.
"That's what makes this so troublesome."
Sanjiro felt an intense headache.
So long as he did not abandon his heritage, he would always remain part of the Empire's human order.
And as the supreme ruler, Shikotei could utilize his Imperial Privilege to confer titles upon him.
Once the conferment succeeded, Shikotei would be able to sense him.
No underhanded tricks required — Shikotei would locate him through pure, legitimate means.
"Imperial Teacher, huh… With how proud the First Emperor is, bestowing such a title is no small thing."
Kirina sighed in amazement.
That man had always claimed to surpass even the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, selecting the title "Emperor" to name himself.
From this alone, one could see how unimaginably proud he was.
But now—
Shikotei had publicly and forcefully conferred upon Nameless the title of Imperial Teacher.
The teacher of the Emperor — a position equal to or even above the Emperor himself.
"Still, considering Nameless's feats, only such a title would be fitting. Compared to the First Emperor, King Artoria was really quite stingy."
Kirina recalled the previous conferment.
Back then, Artoria had only bestowed upon Nameless the title of Knight of Holy Light, merely an ordinary Round Table Knight.
If she had taken that chance to name him Prince Consort(husband of a king/monarch), would there have been any room left for others?
Actually, the First Emperor could confer the title of Imperial Consort too, right… I mean, no way, the Emperor is a male right?
"…King Artoria's conferment was fine as it is."
Sanjiro rolled his eyes.
You think I want these titles?
Walking through 6000 years of human history, working overtime day and night — who the hell wants to keep becoming more famous!
If every Heroic Spirit started conferring titles on him, he might as well just commit suicide and go sign a new contract with Alaya to become a wage slave again.
"Damn you Alaya, clearly trying to fully expose me, work me to death, and then keep me on permanent overtime!"
Sanjiro had finally seen through that heartless capitalist's schemes.
He had been resting for years.
To Alaya, even a donkey on a farm wouldn't be allowed to rest like this.
Damn it — even the cruelest capitalists would shed tears at this level of exploitation!
Ding-dong~
Just as he was about to curse again, a message notification popped up on his phone.
Sanjiro's entire body tensed instantly, subconsciously thinking another exposure video had been released.
That damned bastard wouldn't have just uploaded footage of Shikotei's latest moves, right?
However—
When his trembling fingers tapped open the message, he found this:
[Hello, would you like to meet him?]
???
Sanjiro was utterly shocked.
Even more so than when Gilgamesh had appeared before him out of nowhere.
Because the sender was—
[Alaya!]
That damned heartless capitalist was actually asking politely?
Had it grown a conscience and decided to treat him better?
Sanjiro took a deep breath, suppressing his impulse to rage: "How do I meet him?"
The reply came instantly:
[Monster Reborn]
(Yu-Gi-Oh reference XD)
"…You play cards too?"
Sanjiro froze for a moment.
That card's effect allowed you to revive characters long dead and summon them back to the field.
He immediately understood — wasn't this exactly how it worked?
And why was he so sure?
Because—
He himself was a card!
He had been conned into signing the contract, walking the one-way path of saving humanity!
Alaya!!!
——
Crack~
Before everyone's eyes—
That small grave completely split open.
"Hm?"
Shikotei slightly frowned as he gazed at the cracking grave.
It was an exact replica of the one Nameless had prepared for himself back then.
But after successfully defeating the gods, Nameless's body had completely dissolved into light, leaving the grave unused.
Everyone around looked utterly baffled.
This development was entirely unexpected.
During Artoria's previous Round Table conferment, everything had gone smoothly — why was there a deviation now?
Crack~
The grave fully split apart.
Though it was just an ordinary, unmarked little grave—
At that moment, it was as if a sealed chapter of history had been reopened!
A deafening roar of battle cries erupted from within.
Tens of thousands of black-armored soldiers roared in unison:
"Wind! Great wind!"
"Wind! Great wind!"
"Wind! Great wind!"
——
Their synchronized chants merged into an overwhelming flood of sound, perfectly uniform beyond imagination.
Everyone felt as if they were witnessing once again the moment when the First Emperor led the army, standing side by side with Nameless against the gods.
But unlike merely watching a video—
This was a fully immersive, real experience — allowing them to personally witness that glorious and passionate scene.
They could even hear the voices of Nameless and the First Emperor!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Tens of thousands of soldiers in black armor marched in perfect unison.
The past and present converged at this moment!
——
In Fuyuki City, inside the presidential suite—
Mordred was dumbfounded. "What the hell is this?!"
"The First Emperor invoked Imperial Privilege, and through the Dragon of the Empire's Human Order, established a connection with Nameless, forcibly summoning him from Alaya."
Artoria took a deep breath, as though glimpsing that collective human consciousness.
Did it truly possess independent will?
"Summoned… from Alaya?" Mordred was utterly astonished. "Isn't this just like the Holy Grail summons in the Unlimited Blade Works video?"
Alaya — the collective will of humanity, selecting counter guardians to preserve its survival.
Each Heroic Spirit was equivalent to a temporary worker under Alaya, descending in their Heroic Spirit form to assist in safeguarding human history.
But Nameless was a formal employee under Alaya, able to travel to various eras for deeper work.
Every time he went to a new era, it was equivalent to another timeline version of Nameless being created.
Once he sacrificed himself and perished, he would return to Alaya's embrace.
Truly he was Alaya's favorite sla- ahem worker!
Now, Shikotei had temporarily summoned Nameless from that sacrificed timeline?
Under the watchful gaze of Mordred and everyone else—
The altar's grave fully split open.
A figure, extremely familiar, walked out from it.
He reached out and swept his hand backward.
The historical gate from over two thousand years ago, which had opened, was casually closed by him.
Everything returned to tranquility.
Shikotei stared blankly at the man before him, his voice trembling slightly as he said:
"Teacher, Shikotei sees you once more!"
Standing before him was the Nameless who had once taught him hand-in-hand, saved him time and again, and even at the cost of sacrificing himself had severed the connection between gods and men!
As they saw his signature red cloak and snow-white hair—
Countless viewers across the world exploded—
AlmightMiddleFinger-[Holy crap, it's Nameless! The living Nameless!]
Blorbo-[Damn, I've always watched his legendary videos, never thought I'd get to see the real Nameless appear before my eyes!]
GigglesThenShit-[Sigh, looks like the one summoned this time is Nameless in a Servant form. The real body is likely still fighting to protect human history in some timeline.]
…
Under the mixed emotions of countless viewers.
"Shikotei, long time no see."
Sanjiro smiled as he greeted.
Walking out from the historical scroll, seamlessly linking past and present, standing on a world-staring stage—
This entrance was incredibly flashy.
The key was: no one could locate his true body.
Alaya, you finally acted like a decent person!
When I beat you up in the future, I'll stab you one less time!
Indeed, the one who appeared now was adult Sanjiro, essentially in Servant form.
Sanjiro smiled and said.
"The ancestor gods risked everything to create a future for humanity. And you have fulfilled your mission well. I am proud of you. This is your era now, you don't need me anymore."
The hidden message was clear—
Please don't come looking for me; you continue being your First Emperor, I'll go back to being my peaceful, carefree high school student.
Sanjiro had no desire to stand out—being lazy was far more comfortable!
After Alaya had repeatedly released those videos, he finally accumulated enough legendary status. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to descend at all.
Even this descent came with a time limit.
After saying just a few sentences—
His entire body began to fade, gradually disappearing.
This descent itself was forced by the conferment; it was a projection summoned from the river of history and naturally didn't involve life or death.
He wasn't even a living being—so how could he truly come back to life?
At that moment—
"Teacher, I beg your pardon."
Shikotei suddenly bowed in apology and pointed to a Heroic Spirit below the altar:
"Chen Gong, lend Teacher a hand!"
"May I?"
Chen Gong's face instantly lit up in surprise. Without hesitation, he ran over.
"Nameless, I've long admired you!"
Don't come any closer!!!
Sanjiro almost lost his high-and-mighty persona.
There was no helping it—with this guy, everyone was a heroic sacrifice!
This guy had a notoriously wicked saying—
As long as our strongest fighter and the enemy's strongest fighter die together, what remains is a skirmish between foot soldiers, and victory becomes simple!
"My apologies, Lord Nameless."
Chen Gong eagerly activated his Noble Phantasm.
Buzz—
Vast magical energy frantically surged into Wei Gong's body, turning his originally crumbling form into one recharged like a massive portable battery.
This was his Noble Phantasm, Two-Pronged Formation, which could temporarily supercharge its target!
With this recharge, he could last a bit longer.
"..."
Sanjiro had mixed feelings.
He never imagined he would one day be treated as Chen Gong's human firework.
Even though he used to blow up others…
Ahem, as a conscientious Master, how could I have done such things?
At this time—
Shikotei once again bowed:
"Teacher, I wish to invite you to my Palace for a chat."
"Alright."
Sanjiro nodded.
The two instantly disappeared from the altar, arriving at the floating Palace in the sky.
After the two disappeared—
Everyone went completely crazy.
The most exciting, most highly anticipated conversation between the First Emperor and Nameless, spanning ancient and modern times—why weren't they allowed to watch it?!
SinMommy-[Your Majesty the First Emperor, please kindly share Nameless with us!]
RebelliousExecutive-[Damn it, what are they talking about?]
YaoiBreed-[I really want to see, I really want to hear! Why won't you let me?!]
…
As countless people went mad—
The two strolled inside the resplendent Epang Palace.
Shikotei sighed softly as they walked,
"Teacher, since we parted back then, over two thousand years have passed."
"Yes, I still remember—you were just a small child back then." Sanjiro also sighed softly.
In his mind, scenes of their first meeting surfaced again.
The strong First Emperor had once been a cute little child with rosy cheeks and pearly teeth.
"Teacher, I accomplished the missions you spoke of: unified carriages, unified script, standardized weights and measures… But what happened afterward?" Shikotei asked.
In the video The Eternal Emperor, it was obvious that developments diverged from his memories.
How did the immortal First Emperor later rule his empire?
"Uh, that timeline went down a dead-end road—but I've already corrected it."
Sanjiro answered.
If you knew the exact details, it would get all fatherly-sonly again!
"So even now, I cannot do without your guidance." Shikotei suddenly smiled confidently."Teacher, would you continue to guide me and help me thoroughly defeat America?"
Only before this person could he let go of all pretense and be an ordinary person.
Once the other left, Shikotei was completely alone.
The self-address of 'Lonely One' was quite ironic.
Though he became the emperor of countless people, there was no one with whom he could chat freely.
"Sorry. I'm too tired already—walking through thousands of years of human history… it's time I got some rest."
Sanjiro tried to reach out to pat his head.
However—
The once small child was now taller than him, so he gave up.
He smiled and said,
"Shikotei, I've always been proud of you. So, please don't seek me out anymore—you should enjoy your life."
Facing the lofty First Emperor, if he came knocking it would surely destroy Sanjiro's peaceful life.
Might as well stab himself and sign up with Alaya again.
"Teacher, you're truly carefree!" Shikotei laughed softly.
Even standing before today's First Emperor, whose might was beyond anyone's reach, he remained so relaxed and content.
In fact, he had every right to be.
Even Shikotei himself had been aided by him.
He had helped countless Heroic Spirits throughout human history.
Kings and generals were nothing in his eyes.
Shikotei sighed as he walked:
"I have decentralized all power, probably because of your influence. Perhaps one day, I too will choose to retire alongside you, living the life you enjoy…"
His words halted abruptly.
In the grand palace, once again, only his lonely self remained.
That person had disappeared once more.
"Such a cunning teacher, I haven't even punished you for deceiving your sovereign yet!"
Shikotei closed his eyes. On his always beautiful face, surpassing both gender and reason, there was a faint hint of loss.
However—
He did not linger in sadness or disappointment, instead revealing a mischievous smile of success:
"Teacher, we will meet again—you won't be able to run away!"
(Ahh fuck, the author may have a plan on genderbending Shikotei!)
…
It was as if waking from a dream.
Sanjiro slowly opened his eyes, seeing the familiar ceiling above.
On the LCD screen before him, the enfeoffment ceremony was still being livestreamed.
Previously, he had purely projected himself into that scene, while his true body was asleep.
"Alaya actually did a good job this time. Shikotei should give up on looking for me now, right?"
Sanjiro's mood instantly turned joyful.
He had finally pulled off a comeback with a sliver of health.
So satisfying!
Just as he was about to reward himself with a cup of iced Coke, he suddenly saw an extremely mysterious ripple emerge from the void.
A dragon-shaped phantom!
It silently merged into the center of Sanjiro's brow, causing his eyes to abruptly turn into brilliant gold.
Filled with an imperial, overwhelming majesty.
This aura of majesty flickered like an illusion, vanishing in an instant—only Fou, lying nearby, glanced at it briefly.
Sanjiro was silent for a moment, then raised his middle finger toward the ceiling,
"Fuck you! Alaya! Weren't we only supposed to have a simple meeting? Why the hell did the conferment still succeed and establish a connection?!"
Sanjiro finally crashout.