"Showing mercy, are you?"
Artoria gave her sword a light shake. Invisible Air: Barrier of the Wind King flared once more, cloaking the golden blade just as the waves began to settle.
When she had struck back against the magic spear Morgan summoned from the sky, Artoria had sensed that if Morgan had followed up with another Magecraft attack, she would've been left with only two options—
Either retreat severely wounded.
Or release her Noble Phantasm and reveal her true name to escape the crisis.
Now that Morgan had joined the enemy Servants in the Holy Grail War, concealing her identity had become nearly pointless—a tactic that could collapse at any time.
Morgan's true name had also been exposed in their clash. But unlike Artoria, Morgan displayed abilities she wasn't familiar with, and the consequences of their exposed identities were clearly unequal.
"I told you, I only came tonight to say hello, Artoria." Morgan wore the same faint, timeless smile she always had.
"A greeting…"
Artoria knew full well how cruel and vicious her sister could be. Calling a life-or-death battle a "greeting" wasn't entirely out of character.
"If you want to take out an enemy tonight, or bow out yourself, then come at me," Morgan said, her tone teasing. "That person won't mind."
That person?
Artoria paused before realizing Morgan meant her Master—Tenkei Shiomi.
In the Holy Grail War, of course a Master wouldn't object to their Servant eliminating another.
"But if we defeat the top-ranked Saber on the very first night, we'll end up with a target on our backs," Morgan said, speculating on the grim scenario with the same serene tone, as if it didn't concern her at all.
"Too bad for you. I don't plan on exiting the Holy Grail War in a place like this."
Artoria remembered her wish, tightened her grip on the sword hilt, and prepared to continue the fight.
"Hmph..." Morgan raised her magic spear.
Just as the clash was about to resume, a sudden explosion of lightning and thunder shattered the tension.
Artoria's gaze snapped toward the bayside warehouse in shock. Bolts of lightning twisted and cracked across the ground like serpents, their blinding light visible even from several hundred meters away.
Sensing the mana laced in that lightning, Artoria immediately grew wary.
Morgan had kept her attention locked to the fight, leaving her no room to observe the rest of the battlefield—until now.
She finally noticed Irisviel being helped away by a woman with short black hair.
Maiya Hisau—Kiritsugu Emiya's assistant.
Which meant Kiritsugu was nearby too.
Artoria quickly grasped the situation.
"So it wasn't just my imagination. You've already wrapped things up and come here?" Morgan seemed mildly surprised, letting out a silent sigh. "You'd rather step into battle yourself than let your Servant handle it. My husband really is impossibly stubborn…"
Husband? Artoria was stunned.
"...So someone's trying to interfere on our end, and you're stepping in to block them? Much appreciated." Morgan glanced away, not even looking at Saber, her tone teasing as she addressed someone else.
She was holding a long-range telepathic conversation with her Master. Artoria realized it instantly.
"In that case, as your wife, I'll simply observe from the sidelines. Don't hold back—fight as you wish."
With those words, Morgan vanished into spirit form, disappearing from the surface of the sea.
But as a fellow Servant, Artoria could still see her. Morgan was rapidly heading toward the bay warehouse.
Iri had already been evacuated by Maiya, which meant Kiritsugu was likely observing the battle from that area.
Resolute, Artoria—though unable to turn into spirit form—leapt from the water and followed after Morgan, rushing toward the other battlefield where conflict had already begun to unfold in silence...
"Oh? You didn't try to stab me in the back, and even put down your weapon? Are you really that unsure of yourself, Artoria?"
Morgan, having shed her Servant form and changed into modern clothing, looked mockingly at Artoria, who had also swapped into a black suit.
Clearly, without any prior agreement, both had independently chosen to end their fight.
"If it were a fair duel, I wouldn't hesitate to kill my own sister, even if she were a Servant," Artoria said flatly. "But attacking a blood relative from behind... I'd regret that later."
With that, she turned her gaze from atop a container to the battlefield down Warehouse Street.
On one side stood Morgan's Master, Tenkei Shiomi.
On the other, the Servant Lancer.
The battle wasn't one-sided. Before arriving, Artoria had even assumed that the thunder Magecraft was Lancer's doing.
In truth, it was the opposite.
Ice covered the warehouse street—something that shouldn't exist this season.
Shiomi stood at the center. His clothes were torn in a few places, but there were no visible injuries. He looked slightly battered.
Compared to him, though, Lancer was in far worse shape—kneeling with his longer red spear as a crutch, while holding a shorter yellow spear in a guarded stance.
Residual electricity crackled across Diarmuid's scorched body—clear signs of a direct lightning strike.
When Shiomi began casting his Grand Magecraft, "Thunder Reign," Lancer's Master had immediately ordered the release of his Noble Phantasm's seal.
If not for the special ability of the red spear, "Gáe Dearg: Crimson Rose of Exorcism," Diarmuid knew that even a Servant like himself would've suffered severely from a direct hit.
"You can nullify and block Magecraft, but you can't fully disrupt it once it's been cast... and you wield a pair of spears, one short and one long." Shiomi brushed the dust from his shoulder. "And you recognized the Celtic warrior's 'Ford of the Forked Branch' formation. Lancer, I know your true name now."
Lancer showed no reaction. In a battle of this intensity, releasing a Noble Phantasm was inevitable.
A Magus well-prepared for the Holy Grail War would naturally deduce Diarmuid's identity from the distinct red and yellow spears.
What concerned him more was the presence of Saber and Berserker, who had ended their own battle and arrived nearby, now standing side by side to observe. Lancer feared they'd formed an alliance—an outcome that could spell disaster for him and his Master.
Just as Lancer was about to advise a retreat, Berserker suddenly summoned a weapon and hurled it at Tenkei Shiomi.
The weapon didn't pierce him—it landed firmly, embedded in the frozen ground.
"Borrow this. Finish the fight already," Morgan said with casual ease.
Watching Shiomi suppress his irritation, Lancer stepped forward, grasped the weapon, and pulled it free.
"Hey, hey... who's supposed to be the Master here?"
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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