Excalibur Proto, Penetrating Blade of Gold.
With the sound of clashing metal, two weapons slammed into the ground directly in Hope's path, causing cracks to spiderweb across the earth.
"You two... are Lily and Morgan!"
The Command Spells on their hands burned, a sign of their Servants' arrival.
Watching the Pendragon Sisters emerge from the darkness, Irisviel and 'Blue' Artoria finally realized who their Servants were.
"Irisviel, long time no see."
It was the same perfect King Arthur with the voluptuous figure. Her emerald eyes glanced at Gilgamesh and the others as Artoria spoke bluntly.
"King of Heroes, Ishtar, can you not even protect your own Masters?"
Beneath the black dress was an eternally enchanting, coldly elegant figure.
Looking down at Gilgamesh and Ishtar, Morgan clearly remembered their unfinished contest from last time.
Standing alongside Artoria, the two sisters were the Servants belonging to Irisviel and 'Blue' Artoria.
"Hmm?"
Looking up with cold eyes at Artoria and Morgan, Hope reached out again.
This time her movements were considerably slower than before, but this slowness made her even more terrifying.
Because with these slow movements, the flow of time in the entire world seemed to decelerate. They realized Hope was moving slowly, but their own actions became even slower. This slowing, like a film projector, made everyone present feel physically uncomfortable.
Effortlessly passing through the defenses of 'Blue' Artoria, Artoria, Gilgamesh, and the others, by the time the women regained their senses, Illya had already been brought before Crimson Moon by Hope.
"Don't you dare hurt Illya!"
Ignoring Irisviel and the others, Crimson Moon merely leaned close to Illya and gently sniffed, "Mmm, it is Bloodriver's scent. What do you think, Hope?"
"Crimson Moon-sama, I believe this child is a homunculus, created using a relatively low-end, ancient traditional craft."
"Clearly, this child carries Master's bloodline. Furthermore, I believe the source of her blood is that other homunculus over there."
At this point, Hope fell silent.
"Bloodriver's bloodline..."
Without another word, Crimson Moon's thoughts turned to Arcueid and Altrouge. She had sent her two daughters to the world where Ryuya was, and she didn't know how they were faring now.
But...
"Human over there... do you know my husband?"
"His name is Bloodriver Brunestud."
"Or... I remember he said he had another name."
Her noble posture overwhelming everyone, Crimson Moon stood up and walked over to Irisviel and the others, finally uttering that name.
Ryuya!
…
"Hayasaka? Hayasaka?"
Hearing her name called, Hayasaka looked up. What met her eyes was a girl of quite extraordinary beauty.
Although she looked no different from a normal human at first glance, this girl was floating in mid-air.
Incidentally, her ears were also pointed.
Blonde hair, red eyes, and a dreamlike cuteness. Hayasaka knew the woman before her was the one who claimed to be her Servant.
"Damn it, does maintaining your existence really consume this much of my stamina?"
Having been inexplicably brought to this unfamiliar world, Hayasaka remained calm because she had already witnessed countless supernatural forces and beings.
She was mentally prepared for anything that happened around her. After Kaguya's rise and the resolution of her mother's troubles within the Shinomiya Family, a transformed Hayasaka had no more worries.
About three days ago, while helping Kaguya handle company affairs, she suddenly opened her eyes to find herself in another world.
She wasn't the least bit surprised by this phenomenon, having heard Kaguya talk about the events in Snowfield City long ago.
Preliminarily judging that she had also been caught up in a similar incident, the appearance of the strange Command Spell on the back of her hand, and the Servant before her who called herself Vivian, solidified her belief.
Only...
"There's no helping it, Hayasaka. Your magical energy is really quite weak. If I want to maintain a normal form, it consumes a large amount of your magical energy..."
"You don't have much magical energy, so I have to use your physical stamina instead. Even then, the conversion efficiency is very slow."
Sighing, Vivian knew her Master didn't seem to fully trust her, but she didn't really care.
Having also heard about the events of the previous Snowfield City incident from Artoria, Morgan, and Merlin, Vivian was undoubtedly excited upon arriving in Snowfield City.
Eager to see Ryuya, to see that younger brother she constantly thought about, she felt there was really nothing to be done about Hayasaka's lack of magical energy.
"Well, aren't there any other effective, fast methods to replenish it? Something even an ordinary person like me can use?"
"There are, but I don't think you'll like either method."
Shaking her head, Vivian looked reluctant.
"What methods? Tell me. Difficulty isn't a problem."
For Hayasaka, the more challenging something was, the more interesting she found it. So she wanted to know the methods Vivian mentioned.
"Well, the difficulty isn't actually high. The first one is killing people. Human blood and souls can be converted into magical energy."
"Killing people? Let's forget that one."
Hayasaka refused without hesitation. She wasn't the type who enjoyed killing. Although she had witnessed plenty of darkness during her time with the Shinomiya Conglomerate, something like killing... she wouldn't agree to it.
"Then the second one is even less feasible. The method of 'mana transfer' requires... that kind of act. Although I don't dislike you, Master, I don't want to do that sort of thing."
She was somewhat euphemistic about the second method. Vivian didn't spell it out, but the meaning was clear.
"Mana transfer? That... I'll pass on that too."
When mentioning mana transfer, a certain figure inexplicably surfaced in Hayasaka's mind. She decided it was better to just eat more to replenish her energy.
Walking towards the hotel's cafeteria, at this moment, both Hayasaka and Vivian inexplicably had the image of a certain person appear in their minds. That person was...