A gush of hot, sweet-smelling blood splattered onto his shoulder.
Of course, this wasn't Ryougi Raku's blood; a small katana had appeared in his left hand at some point and was now firmly lodged in Arcueid Brunestud's abdomen.
With a slight twist, Arcueid, just as he expected, coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood.
"My apologies, great Black Princess..." Ryougi Raku said with an insincere apology and a mischievous smile, meeting Arcueid's eyes.
In her crimson gaze, there was only shock and confusion.
Intense pain coursed through her as she felt the foreign object in her abdomen.
Arcueid knew that this time, she had truly met her match.
To be ambushed so easily, without her even noticing—was it the Holy Church, the Dead Apostle Ancestors, or those mages?
However, now was not the time to ponder such things.
Since this person could evade her detection, they were undoubtedly powerful.
Her top priority now was to minimize her losses.
Hearing Ryougi Raku's mocking tone, Arcueid felt a surge of anger and was about to unleash all her magical energy to tear the young man, whom she had felt a flicker of goodwill towards just moments before, into shreds!
But Ryougi Raku was faster.
Without a word, he slashed the katana, widening Arcueid's wound.
At the same time, he used his own power to leave a deep curse in the wound, then swiftly leaped away, putting distance between himself and Arcueid.
He had no idea what the enraged Princess might do.
The curse was necessary; a mere ordinary wound would be like a tickle to Arcueid, healing completely in moments.
Ryougi Raku, who understood Arcueid well, knew that she still had two helpers and a pet who hadn't arrived yet.
To be safe, he first crippled one of the opponent's important combatants; that way, if a real fight broke out, it would be relatively easier for him.
The Princess's two bodyguards, the Sixth Ancestor of the Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, the Black Knight Rizo-Waal Strout, and the Eighth Ancestor, the White Knight Fina-Blood, plus her pet, the First Ancestor, the Primate Murder—none of them were easy to deal with!
"It was my mistake..." Arcueid said to herself with a self-deprecating smile, furrowing her beautiful brows.
There was a strange curse in the wound that greatly reduced her healing ability.
She glanced at the katana in his hand; it wasn't a cursed weapon.
It must be his ability, Arcueid thought, but this kind of ability was the most annoying for an immortal species!
"But since you know my name, who are you?" Arcueid asked softly, as if nothing had happened.
Of course, this was just a delaying tactic; as long as she could buy enough time, her bodyguards would arrive, and she would be safe.
Looking at the young man before her, Arcueid could sense that he wasn't some ancient monster; both his body and soul matched his outward age.
'I hope he's inexperienced enough... to let me wait for reinforcements.'
However, even she wasn't confident in that thought.
Nevertheless, her question was sincere.
Faced with such a powerful yet young individual, she was shocked and wanted to know who he truly was.
"I am Ryougi Raku!" Ryougi Raku answered the Princess's question straightforwardly.
However, he still savored the sweet scent from before, and as he thought this, his gaze involuntarily fell upon Arcueid's fresh, red lips, which had just exhaled a breath like orchids.
Feeling Ryougi Raku's gaze, Arcueid's face suddenly flushed, whether from shyness or annoyance.
But in an instant, she recovered.
'Ryougi Raku... no wonder!' To the Princess, this Ryougi Raku, who had suddenly appeared, participated in the Holy Grail War, and once defeated Merem, was a name she had heard of!
Merem, one of the Twenty-seven Ancestors, was not someone who could be easily defeated!
Even at her peak, the Princess would have to put in some effort to defeat Merem!
---
'However, he is ultimately inexperienced...' Arcueid thought with a faint smile.
She had already stirred her magical energy; Lord Strout and Lord Blood must have felt it.
They would arrive here soon.
Although Arcueid was proud and noble, she was not arrogant.
Facing an unknown individual and her gravely injured body, venturing forward recklessly was a grave mistake.
If she suffered any losses, the Holy Church and the White Wing Duke would not let her off easily.
At the same time, not far from this location, a cold-faced knight in black, holding a demonic sword that seemed to possess infinite magical power just by looking at it, easily sliced through the head of a Dead Apostle—one of the White Wing Duke's subordinates, now used by the White Wing Duke to hinder their progress.
Beside him, a white knight also wore a gentle smile, and even more conspicuously, a large, snow-white dog lay lazily on the ground.
"Hey, Strout, let's go back quickly when we're done; the Princess is waiting for us!" Surprisingly, it was the lazy big dog that spoke, and its voice was a beautiful female voice.
The big dog scratched its head with a front paw, saying impatiently.
Although its tone was poor, those who knew its true nature dared not show any displeasure, for it was the First Ancestor of the Twenty-seven Ancestors, a semi-finished Type-Earth, a monster created by Gaia specifically to eliminate humans... the White Beast; Primate Murder—Bremet!
Of course, the two knights were not among those who feared it.
As Dead Apostle Ancestors, non-human entities, Primate Murder had no right to dictate their lives or deaths!
Facing the White Beast's disrespectful tone, the Black Knight remained aloof.
Having fought alongside this companion for centuries, she already understood its personality.
"Yes, yes, Strout, let's hurry back.
Making the Princess wait is a great sin..." The White Knight, Blood, said softly.
He was a handsome young man, and his voice, like his face, had a delicate quality.
However, his true nature was completely opposite to his appearance.
Strout glanced once more at the thoroughly dead Dead Apostle, who was about to turn to ash.
Still cold, he said, "Let's go back... Humph, this Dead Apostle left by the White Wing Duke is completely meaningless.
He knows that we won't stray far to chase him to protect the Princess.
It seems this unlucky fellow must have defied him somewhere, so he was sent to die!"
Just as it's said that your enemy, not your friend, knows you best.
The so-called Dead Apostle King, who had been their adversary for centuries, understood the Black Princess's course of action perfectly, just as the Black Knight and her companions understood the White Wing Duke's code of conduct.
Blood, with a feminine gesture, pinched his fingers as if to ward off the foul smell, and distastefully swept his gaze over the ashes on the ground.
"How disgusting.
Couldn't the White Wing Duke have sent a handsome young man?" he complained, his expression growing increasingly displeased.
'Send a handsome young man for you to sodomize?' Strout and Bremet thought simultaneously.
This seemingly feminine White Knight had a preference for handsome young men, only consuming their blood and nothing else.
Of course, every handsome young man whose blood he consumed was first "cherished" by him, personally experiencing what it was like to be gay.
"Hmph, I have no intention of commenting on your preferences, but don't delay the Princess's important matters..." Strout's gaze, devoid of emotion, swept over the White Knight beside him, his tone still indifferent, but he subtly moved away from the pervert.
"Don't worry, Strout, I, Blood, know what to do." Blood's tone was uncharacteristically serious.
Although he was a pervert in his heart and actions, his loyalty to the Princess was unquestionable, and furthermore, he secretly respected the Black Knight before him.
Nodding, Strout was about to say something more when a powerful surge of magical energy emanated.
This magical energy fluctuation was so familiar to them, for it belonged to the Princess they had guarded for centuries.
Instantly, the faces of the two people and one beast present changed dramatically.
The Princess, despite being so gravely injured, was still unleashing such intense magical energy, indicating she had encountered a formidable enemy!
Was it the White Wing Duke's feint? Or the Holy Church taking advantage of the situation?
However, no matter what it was, there was only one correct choice at this moment.
"Hurry!" Without Strout's reminder, Blood and Bremet rushed over at their fastest speed.
And at the moment of this magical energy burst, in a forest, a young woman, dressed in aristocratic hunting attire, wearing riding boots, advanced with a disdainful arrogance and a cold expression.
The surrounding trees could not impede her progress in the slightest.
The girl possessed the noble beauty befitting an aristocrat.
For convenience, her brown hair was tied into a single ponytail.
She wore a strange glove on her right hand, and a peculiar long whip was fastened at her waist.
Just by her attire and equipment, the word 'Queen' would spring to mind.
At the same time, fifty people silently followed behind her.
They all had cold, expressionless faces, but the dense magical energy emanating from these fifty individuals made the entire air thick.
These were fifty mages of rank!
However, these arrogant mages, like an army, strictly followed the young woman before them, as if everything existed for her.
This orderliness and solemnity made the entire night eerie and quiet.
"Hmm?" Feeling the powerful magical energy fluctuation from the direction of Vienna in the distance, the previously silent troop finally halted.
The magical energy, like thick blood, was so powerful that Lorelei also uttered a word of confusion.
But just a single utterance conveyed a powerful aura.
"Lady Barthomeloi, that magical energy fluctuation should be the Dead Apostle's Black Princess..." Her adjutant, closest to her, reported the situation immediately, bowing respectfully.
This fifty-person squad was the renowned Clone Squad, the pride of the Barthomeloi family.
Each generation of the Barthomeloi family head commanded them.
Whether out of human dignity or aristocratic pride, the Barthomeloi family had been at odds with the Dead Apostles for a long time.
And their greatest enemy was the so-called Dead Apostle King, the White Wing Duke.
The Barthomeloi family had fought this so-called Dead Apostle King for countless generations.
The fifty-person squad was composed of mages who had submitted to or joined the Barthomeloi family.
Each generation of the Clone Squad abandoned mage research, focusing solely on hunting Dead Apostles and combat.
Unlike those arrogant yet foolish mages, every member of the Clone Squad was a powerful mage who had grown through slaughter.
Even the Mage Killer, Kiritsugu Emiya, would not find it easy to deal with any one of these fifty.
Lorelei Barthomeloi, the current head of the Barthomeloi family, had, a few years prior, been passed the position by the previous head, and like previous Barthomeloi family heads, she reigned over the entire Clock Tower.
Though still young, her power had not yet reached the level of a 'Law,' but she far surpassed other mages.
The so-called prodigy, the genius Kenneth, wasn't even fit to carry her shoes!
"Arcueid Brunestud, huh..." Cold, arrogant words flowed from the young woman's mouth.
"That filthy mongrel?" Although it was a question, it carried an absolute certainty.
Lorelei still disdained the Ancient Red, the Dead Apostle Black Princess.
She possessed absolute pride; her birth was for the purpose of hunting Dead Apostles, hunting Ancestors.
"Hmph, it seems Tephram fought Arcueid before.
I didn't expect that while chasing Tephram, we wouldn't find him, but we'd encounter this Black Princess..." Lorelei muttered to herself.
The surrounding mages merely listened quietly, not uttering a single word.
Tephram Otenrosse was the White Wing Duke's true name.
He was originally a great mage but had transformed himself into a Dead Apostle through magical research.
The Barthomeloi family had fought and killed the White Wing Duke for an unknown duration, and Lorelei intended to end all this animosity by her own hand—to personally kill the White Wing Duke, using his life to achieve her supreme glory, and to adorn the title of "Grand Marshal of Magic" that she was about to acquire!
"Let's go, let's go take a look! If we can't catch the White Wing Duke, then killing this Black Princess will do..." With a slight sneer and coldness, Lorelei commanded.
As long as it was a Dead Apostle, it was her target for slaughter!
"Yes!" the adjutant replied sternly, simultaneously making a gesture.
The remaining forty-nine mages silently resumed their movement.
Lorelei was completely unconcerned about taking advantage of Arcueid after her fight with the White Wing Duke.
To her, these creatures weren't even considered human!
Unbeknownst to the parties involved, a powerful force silently joined the battlefield.