Ignoring what Kirei was about to say, Sora withdrew his arm.
Thud!
Kirei's body collapsed heavily, a pool of crimson spreading beneath him on the ground.
At the same time, a dark crevice opened, and Merlín stepped out silently from behind Sora.
Looking at Kirei lying on the ground, Merlín clicked her tongue: "Master, you're quite ruthless!"
"Killing your own Master without hesitation."
"What, you have a problem with that?" Sora glanced at Merlín.
"Eep!" Merlín was startled. "Not at all, Master!"
"After all, I'm just a pitiful, weak, and helpless magus. How would I dare have a problem with Master?" Merlín said pitifully.
"Heh!" Sora sneered at Merlín. "You think I can't tell you're being sarcastic?"
"You know? I'm just not crushing you right now. If I wanted to carry the game and obliterate you, I could do it!"
"Then you'd probably be sticking out your tongue, making bunny ears with your hands by your head!"
"You don't want to try that, do you?" Sora threatened.
"This..." Hearing Sora's words, Merlín was stunned. Of course, she didn't want to try it.
She looked again at Sora's expression and realized he seemed serious.
Thus, this troublesome incubus finally understood her situation.
"Sigh, it seems I'm completely at Master's mercy too!" Merlín lamented self-pityingly. "True enough, those who toy with others eventually get toyed with themselves. I'm no exception."
"Fine, fine, I'll work hard for Master this time!"
Merlín approached Kirei and reached out.
She would now remove the Command Spells from Kirei's hand, allowing Sora to find a new Master as a magical energy supplier.
This was what Merlín had been working on during that time.
After all, killing a Master was too easy for a Servant… the difficult part was how to survive and fight after killing the Master.
Simply put, it was about magical energy.
How would the remaining Servant obtain the magical energy needed to sustain themselves?
Once that problem was solved, the Servant could normally stay.
After retrieving the Command Spells from Kirei, Merlín also handed a sword to Sora.
"What's this?" Sora asked instinctively.
But the moment he took the sword, a surge of magical energy filled his body.
Sora understood… this was a substitute magical energy source Merlín had found for him!
'A sword as a substitute source?'
To be precise, it was a katana, a Japanese-style blade.
'But how could a sword become my magical energy supply?'
"What's going on?" Sora asked again.
"It's simple!" Merlín glanced at the sword in Sora's hand. "This sword seems to have been the sacred object of some shrine, but someone stole it and sold it."
"Naturally, without people's worship, the sword gradually lost its spirit. But before its spirituality faded, it was quite powerful."
"I found it suitable, so I took it. It's perfect for absorbing magical energy and transferring it to you, Master. After all, as a sacred object receiving worship and absorbing leylines' magical energy, it's a professional match."
"Anyway, it wasn't too difficult!" Merlín waved her hand.
But despite her words, these actions of Merlín were not something just anyone could pull off.
Sora didn't mind either.
After a while, Merlín removed the Command Spells from Kirei's hand.
"Master, it's done!" Merlín looked at Sora.
"OK! Thanks for the work, Merlín!" Sora said casually.
"Oh? Hehehehe, how rare, Master, you say things like that!" Merlín covered her mouth and giggled.
"I thought you'd always have the 'stern boss' style!"
"Heh!" Sora sneered disdainfully.
"As long as you don't stir up trouble, my attitude won't be too bad."
"But can you do that, Merlín?"
"Well..." Merlín's expression stiffened at Sora's words.
"Alright, Master, you really know me well."
"Can't help it, it's my nature. And besides, I'm a beautiful girl. Isn't it normal for beautiful girls to be a little willful?"
"Oh, a beautiful girl who's several thousand years old, right?" Sora scoffed.
"M! A! S! T! E! R!" Merlín stomped her foot in embarrassment.
Seeing her like this, Sora chuckled: "Alright, alright, let's talk business. What's next?"
"That depends on what kind of Master you want to find!" Merlín looked at Sora.
"What kind of Master are you looking for? Of course, Merlín could be one too!"
"From now on, you call me Master, I call you Master, and we're even. Isn't that wonderful?"