["Exactly, Da Vinci,"] Romani didn't even call her Leonardo, forcing a smile, ["You're joking, right? How could a universal genius forget to add autopilot to a vehicle… so you're bluffing us, aren't you?"]
Da Vinci smiled, took out her magic staff, and began to charge it, "Saying it's a bomb is exaggerated. It's really just using my magical circuits and the staff to detonate itself."
"Wait, Da Vinci!", Mash blocked her stubbornly, "If you're going to control it, it'd be better to let me intercept… I will bring victory for Master."
"Victory isn't something you just say," Da Vinci blinked, "Mash, you don't actually have the will to fight the Round Table Knights, do you? Even if they did such things."
Mash lowered her head as if her core had been touched, sadly, "That's right. I don't know why… even though they did that, I just don't feel like facing them as enemies."
"See?", Da Vinci spread her hands, "If you don't have resolve, how will you challenge an opponent stronger than yourself?"
"I…", Mash couldn't reply.
"…Lady Da Vinci," Bedivere's tone softened, "Let us try to fight first, and… I don't think Lady Mash holding that belief is a bad thing…"
"Look, Da Vinci," Fujimaru Ritsuka pointed at the people here, "Your tactic has been completely rejected by us… the Director doesn't approve either."
Olga Marie interjected in time, ["That's right, Da Vinci. Your existence is crucial; don't be impulsive… for now let Mash try. You assist Mash from the rear."]
"How noble," Da Vinci was a bit helpless, pointing at the Enforcement Knights surrounding them, "We can try, but doing so means abandoning these refugees, right?"
"If everyone goes out, no one will protect the refugees."
At those words, the group fell silent.
"I don't dislike such naivety."
The universal genius Da Vinci smiled, "But sometimes sacrifices are necessary, besides, I've long been prepared."
"From when I saw that red-haired Archer, I thought there might be a chance of a pursuit."
"If it comes to that, even without refugees, do you think, facing the Round Table Knights, with our current numbers, there's any chance of a clean retreat?", Da Vinci asked.
"…", Silence surrounded them.
Da Vinci clapped her hands, "Alright, next is the great genius's performance… and you do your part too, Romani."
She looked at Romani sitting within Chaldea, "Even if you're a coward, you at least try, right?"
"How could I?", Realizing Da Vinci was serious, Mash couldn't accept it, "Da Vinci… Romani, Director, stop her!!"
Olga Marie remained silent.
Romani smiled helplessly, ["There's nothing we can do, this is what Da Vinci does. She must go."]
"Doctor!"
"Director!"
Mash said, "This shouldn't be. We've been walking to save people, so why sacrifice—"
"Hahaha…", Da Vinci laughed, "Don't be sad, Mash. I'll floor the accelerator and drag them all into the explosion!"
"Then… goodbye, Director, Fujimaru Ritsuka, Mash, and Dr. Romani."
Vroom!
The engine roared.
Tires skidded, sparks flying.
BOOM!
A mushroom cloud shot up from the center of the Enforcement Knights.
A violent storm rose.
"Huh?", Da Vinci, ready for a heroic sacrifice, blinked her eyes.
'What's happening?'
"Da Vinci!", Mash's voice broke with tears!
"Da Vinci!", Fujimaru Ritsuka's voice was grave too.
Bedivere, seeing the two avoid each other's gaze, hesitated to speak.
["Emiya!"]
["Wah— Director!"]
Romani, chair and all, was shoved aside like trash by Olga Marie, who was both excited and nervous.
In the dim distant sky, a golden meteor fell rapidly, coming to a stop before Fujimaru Ritsuka.
That meteor was Shirou, riding the Emperor's steed; with everyone stunned, amid the nuclear-scale explosion behind him he quipped, "Sorry about this, looks like I stole someone else's entrance…"
———
Time rewinds a few minutes earlier.
Following Agravin's order, Lancelot immediately led a guerrilla unit to pursue Fujimaru Ritsuka, who was about to enter the mountain area.
Spurring their horses, they caught up just before she went deep in.
The Enforcement Knight in front reported instantly, "Sir Lancelot, enemy spotted! Shall we wait for the third formation?"
Lancelot surveyed the towering ridges ahead and said, "No need. Waiting for the third formation would be too late. Charge directly, while we hold them, the third squad will split into two to encircle the refugees."
"As long as they don't abandon the refugees, dealing with the rebels is only a matter of time."
Battle-hardened Lancelot saw their situation at a glance and arranged things properly, "Of course, the order is to capture the rebels alive. If they don't resist, avoid harming the refugees."
Lancelot raised his sword, "Unblemished Lake Light."
"Listen, this isn't the King's order, it's Agravin's command. Don't waste time—"
"To think an order would not complete that mission, forbidding us from entering the Holy Capital," Lancelot knew Agravin was singling him out.
'But such behavior…'
"Boring conspiracies. Finish this fast and return to the Holy Capital!"
Lancelot led the charge.
"UNDERSTOOD!"
An Enforcement Knight shouted strongly, "The honor of the Knight King and ours is at stake!!"
"CHARGE!"
As they were about to catch the vanguard, the first formation, Lancelot poured magic into his blade, preparing a cleaving strike to break the giant boulder blocking the mountain pass ahead.
Suddenly, a chill at his back, as if being watched by some flood-beast.
What followed was a blinding crimson light.
"This is!"
Lancelot reined his warhorse and looked back.
Gazing at the sky, he saw a youth riding a golden steed, bent and stringing an arrow.
The surging magical power on that arrow could be sensed clearly even a thousand meters away.
"A Rider?"
Lancelot's expression shifted; he prepared to intercept, "No, would a Rider toy with this?"
And it was unmistakably a Noble Phantasm.
There was no time for further thought.
The crimson arrow tore through the air like it would shred it, and in a blink it was before Lancelot.
Lancelot was not surprised but pleased.
It seemed not to be a true-name release; the Noble Phantasm was simply fired like an arrow.
In that case, he would be blunt.
A knight shouldn't die from bare-handed contact; he intended to catch the arrow with his superlative skill.
With his ability, it should be a sure thing.
However, at the moment his hand was about to touch the arrow, the youth in the sky uttered an incantation that made Lancelot feel terribly uneasy.
"Broken Phantasm!"
Lancelot: "???"
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