"Seven days bound by the three great Words of Power."
"From the Wheel of Restraint, Guardian of the Scales—"
The chant followed the orthodox cadence. On the outskirts of Bucharest, Romania's capital, in a desolate cemetery abandoned to weeds and cracked stone, Kairi Shishigou—wearing a black jacket—completed the summoning of the key that would open the Greater Grail.
Radiance erupted.
As the curtain of pure white light faded, what stood before Kairi Shishigou was a knight clad in silver armor, helm fully enclosed, presence sharp enough to cut the air itself.
"Answer me—"
"Are you my Master?"
It was phrased as a question, yet the voice rang with iron certainty, as though stating an established fact.
If I refuse now, he'll probably chop me into neat little pieces.
That thought crossed Kairi Shishigou's mind as he dragged himself upright, a crooked smile tugging at his lips.
"Yeah. I'm your Master. Name's Kairi Shishigou. Guess we'll be working together from here on out, Saber."
Clang—
At his words, the fully enclosed helm shattered—or rather, unfolded. Through a clever internal mechanism, it split into fragments that retracted smoothly back into the armor.
"Servant Saber answers the summons. I am one of the Knights of the Round Table, the sole legitimate heir of King Arthur—Mordred."
"Huh?"
Kairi Shishigou froze.
He had used a Holy Relic tied to a summoning specialist Lord to call forth a Knight of the Round Table, but he never imagined the one who would answer was Mordred.
Among the Round Table, aside from monsters like Lancelot or Gawain, Mordred ranked among the very strongest. Yet her infamous reputation as the 'Knight of Betrayal' was enough to make even Kairi Shishigou wary.
And more importantly—
"All of England must've gone mad… Mordred is supposed to be a girl?!"
The words slipped out before his brain caught up.
A blade kissed his throat.
"What did you just say?" Mordred's voice was bright, almost cheerful. "I didn't quite catch that."
The moment she was summoned, the girl named Mordred staged a betrayal worthy of her legend.
Kairi Shishigou broke into a cold sweat as she snarled at him.
"Do not call me a woman. Got it?"
"Yes! Yes! I understand!"
The burly-looking necromancer folded instantly. Even a veteran who had crawled through battlefields felt his legs shaking now.
No matter how powerful a magus might be, when faced with the killing intent of a Heroic Spirit—and a sword pressed to the neck—submission came naturally.
Kairi Shishigou might look fierce, but he was still a magus. A mortal. To a Heroic Spirit, he was little more than an insect—harmless and fragile.
"Good."
Mordred withdrew her weapon and shook her head as she looked at him.
"With the way you dress, I thought you might be my kind. Turns out you don't even know how to talk."
"Like anyone could understand what goes on in your head…" Kairi Shishigou let out a slow breath. "So this is why King Arthur refused to name you his successor, huh?"
He glanced around the cemetery.
"A Heroic Spirit can't be fond of this place. How about we head to my workshop instead?"
"Oh?" Mordred sneered. "At least you know better. Summoning a Heroic Spirit in a place like this is disgusting."
Her gaze swept the gravestones with open contempt.
"Did you grow up living among corpses, necromancer?"
"Not exactly. But close enough. I grew up on battlefields."
As he spoke, Kairi Shishigou walked toward the center of the cemetery.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Mordred stared at him. "Didn't you say we were going to your workshop?"
Kairi Shishigou laughed.
"This is it. The underground crypt beneath the graveyard. Strong ley lines, and surprisingly comfortable."
"Comfortable?" Mordred gaped. "You've been around corpses so long you've gone completely deranged!"
◇◇◇
Leaving that bickering Master and Servant aside, Rhodes remained immersed in his study of modern technology.
Before him sat a new-model Leopard 2 main battle tank.
This oversized toy, produced by Krauss-Maffei, was contraband in virtually every country—exceptions could be made for certain parts of Africa.
At the moment, the tank had been completely dismantled. Runes were engraved across its armor plating, while the reactive armor had been replaced with enchanted explosives, reducing structural damage while greatly improving defensive efficiency.
The most eye-catching change lay with the main gun.
Gone was the thick steel barrel. Under Rhodes' unorthodox modifications, it had been replaced by a pair of magnetic rails.
After magical treatment, the rails possessed the performance of a rapid-fire railgun. Its destructive power rivaled that of an M1 Sherman.
It couldn't quite reach the boastful fantasy of "fifty-six tons of steel, three hundred and fifty rounds per minute, armor-piercing, high-explosive, incendiary—all at once, the king of battle vehicles," but at one hundred and sixty rounds per minute with enchanted shells, even the sturdiest fortress would be reduced to slag.
Unfortunately, it had no place in the Holy Grail War.
At least, not yet.
Until Black Assassin began producing a tidal army of Dragon Tooth Soldiers, weapons designed for large-scale warfare like this would remain gathering dust in storage.
"Hah… finished."
Rhodes examined the fully enchanted railgun, a playful glint in his eyes.
"A railgun doesn't have to be mounted on a tank. It could also be used for—"
"Brother, I'm coming in!"
The door was yanked open without warning. A blond boy burst inside, hopping with energy, immediately poking around to spy on the results of Rhodes' recent research.
"Tch… Roche, is it?" Rhodes smiled politely. "It's been a while."
With a casual lift of his hand, invisible magical power swept outward. Precious materials and experimental results blurred, then vanished from Roche's sight in the blink of an eye.
"Huh? What kind of magecraft is that?" Roche asked with feigned innocence, eyes glittering with curiosity. "Teach me, Brother!"
Rhodes' smile turned mocking.
"Of course not."
He leaned back slightly.
"My foolish little brother."