Reborn with Steve Stand-Chapter 814: Counter Force Risk Management

"You must be insane, right?!"

The girl, furious, grabbed Fang Mo by the collar and shouted, "Do you know how long I've been searching for you?!"

"Uh, well..." Fang Mo's gaze drifted, something rare for him. "I didn’t actually return to the Throne of Heroes."

"Liar!"

At that, Rin Tohsaka seemed even more infuriated. "I already checked! There’s no such thing as the 'All-Star Kichiku Universe' Lostbelt!"

"Uh..."

"You were lying to me, weren't you?"

Rin's forehead was now marked by a few veins of anger as she continued, "If I had just been the winner of the Holy Grail War, I wouldn't be in this state. Yet the Counter Force insists my achievements are extraordinary, saying I drove away some terrifying entity from beyond the stars... That must have been you, right?!"

"Huh? The Counter Force really said that about me?" Fang Mo asked, now genuinely curious. "Did they say anything else about me?"

"It 'was' you, wasn’t it?!"

Rin’s frustration hit a new high as she slammed her small fist into Fang Mo’s chest with a resounding "bang."

If it had been any other Heroic Spirit, they might have spat blood from such a blow. However, thanks to his crystal matrix armor, Fang Mo remained unharmed, though he awkwardly chuckled and attempted to reach out to pat Rin’s head.

"Don't you dare!"

Rin swiftly dodged his hand, clearly still fuming.

"Hey, don't be mad," Fang Mo said with a teasing grin, shrugging as if to diffuse the situation. "I came all the way back just to see you, didn’t I?"

"What is 'wrong' with you?!" Rin finally snapped. "First, you tell me you're Adolf, making me worry constantly. Then, you staged a betrayal, and in the end, you change the entire world, take all the blame, and commit suicide..."

"You had all of us emotional for so long, only for us to discover it was all a lie!!!"

At this point, Rin was speaking through gritted teeth, her tone a mixture of confusion and anger, as if she couldn't understand why Fang Mo had done what he did. "What was the point of all this?!"

"It was fun."

Fang Mo responded instinctively.

"Wh... what?" Rin was dumbstruck. "Fun... what do you mean by 'fun'?"

“Tehe~☆"

Fang Mo suddenly did a playful, childish gesture.

"You crazy idiot!!!" Rin finally lost it, throwing another punch toward Fang Mo’s side as she shouted, "You seriously went through all that trouble just for fun?!"

"Hahahaha..."

Fang Mo caught Rin’s fist, still laughing as he pressed it down. "Hey, you can’t blame me. You’re just too cute. Every time I see you, I can’t help but want to mess with you. Watching you run around in circles, completely confused... for some reason, that just makes me so happy."

"You..."

Rin’s fist froze in place. "What are you saying?! Even if you're joking, there should be limits! You can't change the whole world just for something like that..." 𝑅Ά₦ŐВЕ𝙨

"Just a simple world," Fang Mo interrupted with a smile. "Compared to what interests me, it’s no more significant than a speck of dust."

"Ugh..."

Rin was momentarily stunned by his response and quickly turned her head, her voice faltering. "Hmph! Anyway... you’re lying again, aren’t you? You never tell the truth, do you?"

"No, not this time," Fang Mo shook his head, still smiling. "This time, I’m telling the truth. By the way, my real name is Fang Mo."

"Eh?"

"I admit I was acting a bit, but you can’t really blame me, can you?" Fang Mo said earnestly. "At first, I just wanted to mess with you, but I got too into the role. It’s like playing Adolf became weirdly addictive. And besides, don’t you think I did a pretty good job?"

"You acted like absolute trash."

Rin scoffed.

"Really? Is that why you cried?" Fang Mo grinned cheekily.

"Shut up, you idiot!" Rin yelled.

"Look, I’m not from your world; I’m from beyond the stars," Fang Mo continued, spreading his arms. "Not from a parallel world or anything, but from a place farther away than your solar system, your galaxy, even farther than your universe itself. A place that surpasses both reality and the stars, beyond dreams and the rivers of time—a godly realm."

"Then why did you come here in the first place?" Rin asked, somewhat reluctantly.

"I was interested in your world’s Root, the Holy Grail, and the Heroic Spirit system," Fang Mo answered truthfully. "At first, I just wanted to study those things. But then I found out that messing with you was much more fun..."

"You jerk..."

"Hey, I came back, didn’t I?" Fang Mo coughed, interrupting her. "I made a deal with Heroic Spirit Emiya, the real Archer. He agreed to help me mess with you, and in return, I helped him leave the Throne of Heroes. So, I pulled him out, and the first thing he did was tell me you’d been looking for me."

"So, you came back for that reason?" Rin asked.

"Yeah," Fang Mo nodded. "Though with the difference in the flow of time, I had no idea how much time had passed here."

"At least you have a little bit of decency left..."

Hearing this, Rin's tone softened slightly. But after a moment of thought, she asked, "So Archer has already left the Throne of Heroes?"

"Yeah."

Fang Mo raised his chin proudly. "For some reason, the Counter Force seems to be really scared of me..."

"No wonder."

This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēnovelkiss.com.

Rin muttered to herself, then spoke up. "In that case, you might as well pull me out of the Throne of Heroes too."

"Huh?" Fang Mo blinked. "Why?"

"I don’t want to be a Heroic Spirit." Rin immediately responded. "There’s already Hassan for the Assassin class, right? I’m definitely not qualified for a Grand Assassin. The only reason the Counter Force wants me as a Heroic Spirit is to keep an eye on you, isn’t it?"

"You mean..."

"What else would it be?" Rin shot him a glare. "They figured if you’re too busy playing tricks on me, you won’t have the time to mess with other things!"

"Hahahaha!"

Fang Mo couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

"How dare you laugh!" Rin’s face turned red with embarrassment, and she angrily jabbed the bizarre gun Fang Mo had given her into his side. "Look at this ridiculous Noble Phantasm you left me! It only has two bullets!!!"

"Haha... okay, okay, I’ll stop laughing."

Fang Mo stifled his laughter, then casually blasted a nearby monster to pieces with a single gesture. "Alright, let’s go. I’ll pull you out of the Throne of Heroes."

Saying this, Fang Mo closed his eyes and began focusing.

He had left a handle made of Ender Metal at Ryuudou Temple. Even though he wasn’t sure which timeline or world this was, the transport mechanism of Brown Magic was highly sophisticated. In some cases, it could even perform inter-world teleportation.

Soon enough, Fang Mo sensed a faint light in his consciousness, distant but reachable. With a slight mental effort, the space around them collapsed and shattered, followed by a flash of green light.

When the light dissipated, they found themselves at the ruins of Ryuudou Temple.

"Is this..."

Rin looked around and asked, "Are we back?"

"Looks like it."

Fang Mo surveyed the area. It was daytime, with bright sunlight. But the temple had collapsed entirely, reduced to charred ruins. The ground still bore the scars of their battle, and even the dense, chaotic magical energy of the Angra Mainyu hadn’t dissipated.

"Hmm?"

Fang Mo raised an eyebrow in surprise. "This timeline..."

"It probably hasn’t been long since you left."

Rin, understanding Fang Mo’s thoughts, explained, "The Throne of Heroes is outside the concept of time, so time moves differently there."

"Alright." Fang Mo nodded in agreement.

He now understood what had happened. Judging by the current state of things, only a short time had passed since he left this world. However, because of Rin’s status as a Heroic Spirit, she experienced time differently, hence why it felt like she had been searching for him for so long.

"So, you turned into a Heroic Spirit right after the battle?" Fang Mo asked.

"More or less," Rin turned her head, explaining, "After the battle, Fujimaru explained some things to me. She didn’t tell me you’d tricked me, but she invited me to visit her organization... and the next thing I knew, I was like this."

"Alright." Fang Mo nodded and began activating the "Mom’s Love" module.

Thanks to his experience extracting Archer, Fang Mo already had a rule in place. With some minor adjustments, he could use it to pull Rin from the Throne of Heroes. In no time, he bound Rin to the process and activated his ability.

"Come forth! My eternal foe, Big Rin!"

With his right hand pointed at Rin, Fang Mo called out.

A flash of white light enveloped her.

As a Heroic Spirit projection composed of mana, Rin was subject to the rules of the "Mom’s Love" module that Fang Mo had edited. A powerful logic emanated from Fang Mo, forcibly breaching the Throne of Heroes and pulling Rin’s true form back into reality.

Under normal circumstances, this would have removed her Heroic Spirit status.

But, as it turned out, not everything went according to plan.

Just as Fang Mo tried to pull Rin out, a strange, overwhelming power appeared from nowhere.

Suddenly, Fang Mo realized the white light wasn’t just pulling Rin; it was expanding uncontrollably, rapidly encompassing the entire Ryuudou Temple. The light didn't stop there—it spread further, engulfing the whole Fuyuki City in mere seconds.

And yet, it didn’t stop.

The light accelerated, spreading across the planet.

At the same time, Fang Mo felt a powerful, almost violent sense of separation. Everything around him seemed to blur and fade, as if the world itself were trying to expel him. Even the planet he was holding felt similarly rejected.

"What the...?"

Fang Mo was thoroughly confused. What was going on now?

Before he could process it, another flash of light appeared, and Fang Mo spotted Fujimaru Ritsuka tumbling into the dirt nearby. Clearly dazed, she quickly noticed Fang Mo.

"...You?"

Upon seeing him, Fujimaru seemed to understand what had happened.

She stood up, dusted herself off, and walked toward Fang Mo. "Well, congratulations. You get to take this world with you."

"Wait, what?" Fang Mo blinked. "Are you serious? Why are the Counter Force entities suddenly so generous?"

"They didn’t have a choice. This Lostbelt would’ve been pruned either way," Fujimaru explained with a shrug. "Better for you to take it than for it to cause more trouble. They just hope you don’t come back."

"Why do those two loli Counter Forces hate me so much?"

Fang Mo sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I can't make any promises. The best I can do is try not to create another Lostbelt next time... Oh, by the way, does Chaldea need extra hands? I could sign up and help fight for justice or whatever."

"......"

This time, Fujimaru didn’t even respond. She just stared at Fang Mo as if to say, "Do you think that’s even remotely possible?"

"Come on, don’t look at me like that."

Fang Mo shrugged. "What if you run into some boss you can’t handle? Summon me, and let them taste true despair. How about that?"

Saying this, Fang Mo reached out and activated the "Mom’s Love" module, creating a small block of pixelated grass in his hand.

"Here, a holy relic."

Fang Mo handed it to Fujimaru. "Consider it a gift. I’m not some imperialist making unreasonable demands. If you’re ever in a bind, just summon me. Call it paying back a favor."

As he finished speaking, the oppressive feeling around them reached a peak.

With a massive ripple of spacetime, Fang Mo was forcefully expelled from the world.