"Laaaaaaah!!"
"Ugh!"
Rider's chariot was too big to maneuver within the castle. But Rider wasn't the type to follow a path politely. He crashed through walls, and the hooves of the divine bulls pulverized the marble floor. The lightning they were wreathed in would turn any enemy to cinders with just a touch.
Lancer couldn't close the distance in the face of this onslaught, which was like a small typhoon. Even with Kayneth's healing, his wounds weren't fully closed, and he couldn't see a clear path to victory. Seeing his servant struggling, Kayneth tried to provide support, but he couldn't interfere in a battle between servants. He couldn't attack Waver, who was on the chariot, so the master-master difference meant almost nothing. There was a difference in magical energy, but that alone wasn't enough to turn the tide.
Even if his Gae Dearg could nullify the lightning at its tip, he couldn't land a clean hit on Rider, who was moving at high speed.
But,
"Not yet!!"
He had dedicated this body to his master, Kayneth, as a knight. He couldn't fall to his knees in despair or resignation. He ignited the vow he had held in his heart since he received this temporary form and charged forward with a roar.
Even with two demonic spears, Lancer couldn't face the Gordius Wheel head-on. But he chose to. He chose to attack head-on. His target: the two divine bulls pulling the chariot. He would slip between them and deliver a single strike to Rider's chest.
Rider understood Lancer's aim and took the challenge. He stopped for a moment and grinned. Lancer's lips curved into a smile in return.
No more words were needed. Magical energy, enough to make Kayneth's face contort, accumulated in Iskandar and the Gordius Wheel.
Lancer lowered his stance, carefully gauging the distance. Even a single misstep would result in a fatal wound. With Kayneth as his master, who had no concept of 'retreat' in his head, this would likely be their final exchange in this Holy Grail War.
"There lies glory, To Philotimo! The far-reaching conquest, Via Expugnatio!"
"Gouge out—Gae Dearg!"
With an explosion, the Gordius Wheel accelerated from a dead stop to top speed, surpassing human comprehension and closing in on Lancer. Lancer's attack, too, was beyond human limits. Leaving a red afterimage, his demonic spear deflected the lightning of the Gordius Wheel.
To the heroic spirits, all movements were in slow motion, like a fleeting dream. But to the masters watching, the next moment, Lancer was crushed by the Gordius Wheel. The Gordius Wheel slowed down, smashing through a wall, and came to a stop. Lancer, a miserable sight, was coincidentally lying right in front of Kayneth.
"Master... I am sorry."
With those words, Lancer's form faded away.
"What...?"
Kayneth stared blankly at Lancer, who had vanished into a wisp of magical energy, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
The battle was over. Rider had won.
Rider dismounted his chariot and walked towards Kayneth, who had completely lost his will to fight. In his right hand, he held a thick, dull-gleaming sword.
Just then, the irregular servant appeared. It was Sho Yozuki.
"Lancer's master, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald. If you are a man of pride, I would ask you to listen to what I have to say."
---------
I guess I was too late.
The lower floors of the castle were completely destroyed. A battle between a human and a servant wouldn't cause this much damage. There had definitely been a servant-on-servant battle. And now, only Iskandar was standing. Lancer was nowhere to be found, even though Kayneth was there.
If I had arrived a little earlier, I might have been able to negotiate with Lancer as well. But it's good enough that Kayneth is here.
"Talk?"
"Yeah. I'd like you to hear the story behind this Holy Grail War."
"Hey, are you okay!? Where have you been all this time!"
Waver leaned over the side of the chariot and fell out.
"I was with Saber fighting Caster. I'm not hurt."
"Caster!? What was he like!? Did you beat him!?"
Waver barraged me with questions. I knew he had a lot to ask, but something else came out of my mouth first.
"More importantly, why did you come here? I told you to wait, didn't I?"
"Why... I was just curious..."
"You came here just because you were curious? And you brought my master with you? To a dangerous place? This was a negotiation with a master, you knew there was a high chance of a fight, right?"
"I'm sorry! You don't have to get so mad! Besides, Rider was the one who said we should go in the first place!"
"I'm talking about a worst-case scenario! You can't just act based on the results and then regret it later when it's too late—"
A weak jolt hit my leg.
"Stop it."
"You stop it too, boy. It's unseemly."
Iskandar silenced Waver with a fist. He grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and threw him back onto the chariot. He fell headfirst, but I hoped he hadn't twisted anything.
"Rider, that's not helping. Don't be so selfish."
"Don't misunderstand, boy. We are merely allies, not master and servant. Not everything will go your way."
"Rider! Ugh!"
Something felt like it was about to well up from deep inside my body, and I quickly suppressed the feeling.
"...I get it. Let's talk about this later. Right now, Kayneth... looks like he's in no condition to talk."
He still hadn't recovered from the shock of his defeat. At this rate, I didn't think we could have a proper conversation.
"I'll contact Saber's master."
I said that and walked away, glad that we had exchanged numbers. I was about to call the number when I noticed a small figure following me.
"Sakura?"
"You're acting weird today, Sho-oniichan."
"Yeah... I guess so."
I had worried my master. Looking back on it, I might have been a little too worked up.
"It's okay, don't worry about it. I was just a little irritated."
"Really?"
"Really."
It's fine.
---------
"So you're back, Kirei. From the look on your face, it seems you didn't get the results you wanted."
When Kirei Kotomine returned to the room he had been given at the Einzbern castle, he found an unexpected guest. It was a handsome young man with a golden ratio physique. It was the Archer-class servant summoned by Tokiomi Tohsaka, the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh.
He was unceremoniously gulping down some of the expensive wine Kirei had secretly collected. Kirei didn't mind him drinking the wine. It wasn't something he desperately wanted; he just thought it might fill the hollow void in his heart. He wasn't the kind of man to be so attached to something that had failed to fulfill its purpose.
Kirei was fed up with this servant who, for some reason, insisted on following him around. Kirei was one of the masters participating in the Holy Grail War. He was. Past tense. His servant, Assassin, had already been defeated by Archer, and he had been eliminated. To save his life, he was supposedly under the protection of the supervisor—or so the story went.
In reality, he was acting as a pawn for Tokiomi, who had allied with the supervisor, and was tasked with gathering information on the other teams. For Kirei, a single-handed raid on an enemy base was an act of foolishness that deserved any kind of scolding. For instance, what would happen if the servant in front of him let something slip?
(What is this feeling?)
Despite the situation, Kirei's heart was surprisingly calm. He was even surprised himself. Gilgamesh could read this from his unchanging expression but said nothing.
"Sit down. I've poured you some wine. I won't hear you refuse."
"You even prepared another glass. How thoughtful, Archer."
The piercing gaze and the voice that sounded like a devil's whisper were annoying, but for once, Kirei felt like getting drunk and obediently took the glass.
"So?"
"So what?"
"I said, give me a story to go with this wine, Kirei. Starting with today's outcome."
"There's nothing much to tell. I snuck into Saber's fortress at the same time as Caster, but the castle was already empty. I only watched the servant battle from afar."
"I see. That's certainly boring."
He downed the wine in one gulp.
"Though I did get to observe the irregular servant's fight."
"I'm not interested."
Kirei dismissed him curtly.
"Then what do you want to hear from my mouth?"
"What you saw and heard, and what you felt about it."
"It seems I'm not living up to your expectations."
"It seems you are quite the disappointment. You didn't even use the 'arrow' I gave you, did you?"
"The arrow that can manifest the form of my soul, you mean."
"Yes. It might help you understand the pleasure your soul seeks."
A simple arrow was taken from Archer's Noble Phantasm, Gate of Babylon, and bestowed upon him. If Archer's words were true, there was no reason not to use it.
(What am I afraid of... afraid? I'm not using this because I don't believe this servant's words.)
"I will forgive your disrespect. I will accompany you in this boring game for a while longer."
Archer, who had completely seen through Kirei's feelings, laughed with delight.
---------
In the dimly lit depths of the sewers, a place so dark that even a person with night vision couldn't see, was a large underground water tank. This was Caster's team's hideout.
Hidden in the darkness, Ryuunosuke Uryuu was wholeheartedly creating his art. He was carefully and meticulously working on a child he had kidnapped, bringing it closer to his ideal. He poured all his passion into it, following his artistic impulse. He carved away all the unnecessary parts, and it was complete.
"Alright. This should do. Oh, Master, welcome back~"
"..."
He innocently smiled and approached his great teacher, the respected pioneer, Caster Gilles de Rais, upon his return.
He proudly pointed at his new creation as if showing it off to a parent.
"Look, Master! The human organ failed, but this time I tried a different method! For the organ... hey, what's wrong, Master?"
"I am sorry, Ryuunosuke."
"Huh? Sorry for what? Speaking of which, what happened to Jeanne d'Arc, the one you went to get? Did you end up killing her?"
His long robe, like a large fish, swept through a pool of blood on the floor. He touched the instrument Ryuunosuke had so proudly shown him.
"Of course not. I had to inflict a little pain to help her get better, but I wouldn't kill my light so easily."
A scream that could rip space apart came from the instrument he was testing. Ryuunosuke secretly pumped his fist at its quality.
"I was so close, but that scoundrel...!!"
In response to Caster's anger, the volume of the screams grew louder. His anger was making him put more and more force into it. When a servant's full power is applied to soft human flesh and its internal organs...
"Ah, whoa! Stop, stop! You'll break it, Master!"
Ryuunosuke frantically tried to stop him. Caster obediently let go.
"So... a rival in love appeared?"
"What a dreadful and rude thing to say, Ryuunosuke! I would never have such base emotions for my holy maiden! And to lose my heart to a thief like that!"
He grabbed Ryuunosuke by the shoulders and shook him back and forth. His eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his skull.
"Then what is it?"
"It's a simple matter. I was simply prevented from bringing the holy maiden to me."
"Oh, is that it?"
Ryuunosuke finally understood and clapped his hands.
"So, what are you going to do now? You're not going to give up, are you?"
"Of course not! But... with my Prelati's Spellbook destroyed, I am at a loss."
"Prelati's Spellbook... oh! That book made of human skin!? It's broken? You can't summon those squiggly things anymore!?"
"Unfortunately."
Ryuunosuke's shoulders slumped in genuine disappointment. But his voice didn't reach Caster.
"This is not the end. The holy maiden will surely be in my hands--"
And,
"I will kill that scoundrel with my own hands!!"
--------------------------------------------
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