"This..."
After Iori pointed it out, the artificial girl's expression turned serious. A faint glow of magical power lit up in her beautiful red eyes as she stared at the church in the distance. A moment later, surprise showed on her face.
"This is... a barrier?"
"That's right. The front half of the chapel is fine, but the church graveyard in the back is completely covered by a powerful barrier. That means the priest has already summoned his Servant." Iori shook his head slightly.
"It's not an absolutely unbreakable fortress, but rushing straight into a temporary workshop of a mage from the Age of Gods would just be asking for death."
"...You were originally thinking of ambushing the priest?" Sella looked at Iori in shock. "Why?"
"For your victory, my dear Master." Iori smiled faintly. "Even if we win against the Red side, there will still be competition within the same faction. After all, there can only be one final winner... and this man is your biggest rival."
Sella was still confused. "Priest Kotomine Shirou... But according to his records, he's just an ordinary priest who is passionate about helping the weak. He hasn't shown anything special, nor does he have any experience related to the Holy Grail War."
"If he were really just an ordinary priest, why would the Church send him?" Iori curled his lips.
"But there's no point talking about that now. He's a very cautious person. At this distance, his Servant should have already noticed our presence, yet there's been no movement at all. That proves he won't leave his 'safe zone'."
"Trying to ambush and assassinate him would be far too difficult... I've decided to abandon this operation plan."
"Alright!"
Sella chose to trust Iori. Even though this boy sometimes acted on impulse, the silver-haired girl was starting to feel that following his orders wasn't so bad... After all, she was an artificial human.
But just as the two of them were about to retreat, the sky suddenly darkened. A cold wind swept through the forest, making sounds like ghostly wails, and an indescribable oppressive feeling descended on everyone's hearts.
"This is..."
"Don't let go of your perception!" Iori suddenly shouted sharply. "Focus your mind, don't use any magic!"
"Understood... but what exactly is this?" Sella felt like she couldn't breathe. Her frail body couldn't withstand such overwhelming pressure, and she couldn't help leaning against Iori's back. But the moment she touched the boy's body, her breathing became much smoother.
"This is the presence of a ruler." Iori looked up at the sky. "A Servant with kingly attributes has descended... I just don't know who they're targeting."
Even so, he already had a guess in his heart, because coming to this forest was purely a spur-of-the-moment decision. Under normal circumstances, there was only one strategic target here.
Crack!
A blinding bolt of lightning tore through the sky, striking the cross at the top of the church. As thunder and sparks flared, a hemispherical magical barrier also faintly appeared.
Next, a rather complex magic circle emerged above the church. A beam of light formed by highly compressed magical energy caused the air temperature to spike instantly, as if it had hit something in midair.
That figure gradually revealed itself. Looking closely, it was a black-armored lancer riding a warhorse.
"The target really is the priest!"
Iori nodded, and suddenly an idea burst through the dark clouds in his mind like sunlight, making him excited.
"Great chance. Sella, get ready to go with me!"
"Huh? Go together?" Sella asked uncertainly. "To gang up on the priest and his Servant?"
"No, we're going to the church graveyard. If I'm not mistaken, that priest should have put some things there."
Iori grinned. "Master, let's go empty out his sixty years of savings!"
———
For Vlad III, the true leader of Yggdmillennia (Black faction), Master Darnic was indeed hateful, but there was no direct conflict of interest between them.
The reason he used the Curse of Blood to control him was not purely out of venting anger, but also to seize actual control of Yggdmillennia.
Now that even his Spirit Origin had been altered, his way of thinking was closer to that of the tyrant he had been in life. Within his own territory, there could only be one leader.
He did not only want to become the "king" of the Servants, but also make all the Masters of Yggdmillennia bow their heads.
Achieving this was not difficult. Or rather, once he had controlled Darnic, this authority had already fallen into his hands.
This was because although Yggdmillennia was a powerful organization, it was held together by Darnic's methods and strength.
He gathered a large number of mage families that were on the brink of collapse or had already collapsed, and used a shared surname and cheap Magic Crests, the mass-produced crests unique to Yggdmillennia, to establish the concept of a "family".
To put it bluntly, it was just a group of losers huddling together for warmth. It was only under Darnic's almost obsessive expansion that it grew to a scale far beyond that of ordinary families.
In such a lineage, setting aside the peripheral members, even the "main family" had no real blood ties or familial affection to speak of.
Since Vlad III had taken control of Darnic, the other magi had no reason to complain about it. At most, they had a few grumbles about "having to obey a familiar".
But just like a certain Tohsaka Tokiomi in some parallel world, when it's time to lower your head, you lower it. 'Who told you to summon a dad~'
Compared to the internal affairs that were easy to settle, powerful external enemies were the real threat.
And after synchronizing with "parallel world memories", the one Vlad III feared most was neither the green comet that could fight alone against thousands, nor the noble and radiant son of the sun, but the priest and his Servant.
The priest himself was not very strong, but he had methods to counter "vampires". Vlad III was not sure whether his Spirit Origin could remain stable.
If he were to completely transform into the Berserker class (a vampire), then he would absolutely be unable to withstand purification powers.
On the other hand, the priest's Servant could create a myth-level aerial fortress. This thing had an overwhelming advantage in faction warfare. Compared to it, Yggdmillennia's headquarters, painstakingly built over decades, was basically worthless...
To eliminate this major hidden danger, Vlad III decided to strike first. Since it was inconvenient for him to leave his "territory", he sent out the most mobile Servant, Rider, to ambush Kotomine Shirou.
As for where the intelligence came from, that had to be credited to Darnic. Nicknamed "Eight-Tongues", he was quite formidable when it came to connections. Not to mention that the Clock Tower itself was hardly a clean or upright place.
The intelligence that Iori and Sella needed Rhine Gold to lure Lord El-Melloi II into providing was something Yggdmillennia could gather with ease.
And all the resources Darnic had accumulated now belonged entirely to Vlad III, providing a solid foundation for planning strategies and tactics.
By the way, Vlad III did not only change the original action plan. He also did not overlook the most important aspect of the Holy Grail War, Heroic Spirit summoning.
To win a war, having a "king" as the commander was essential, but the quality of the territory (Romania), the people (Yggdmillennia), and the generals (Servants) was also very important.
In the parallel world, the Black faction Servants of Yggdmillennia were, in overall strength, actually weaker than the Red faction of the Mage Association.
This was because Darnic, as the undisputed family head, seemed gentle and generous on the surface, but in truth was very careful to suppress the family members, never allowing anyone to gain the ability to challenge his authority.
Originally, in order to ensure his own victory in internal competition, he would make the magi below him prepare their own relics.
The result of this was that Yggdmillennia's Servants were generally one tier weaker than those on the Association's side.
The truly top-class relics were actually only two, the "Bloodstained Bodhi Leaf" and the "Poisoned Arrowhead", and they did indeed summon top-tier Servants... but those two Masters each had flaws in personality or physiology, and would not be a match for the combination of Darnic and Vlad III.
Of course, Darnic never imagined that the Red faction would be able to directly "move away" the Greater Grail. Even if he could suppress his own faction's Masters, if he couldn't win the faction war, it would all be pointless~
Vlad III was clearly more confident than Darnic. He was not afraid of his subordinates being too strong, but feared that they might be too weak.
So this time, Vlad III took out Yggdmillennia's collection and selected the very best relics from it. The Servants he summoned were far stronger than before.
Among them, the one that surprised him the most was Rider. Although this Heroic Spirit was undoubtedly best suited for the Saber class, being summoned through the Rider class aspect still allowed her to display extremely powerful strength.
That was why he sent her here. Her mobility was the most suitable for carrying out an ambush.
If Kotomine Shirou had not yet summoned a Servant, or if the Red faction had not yet gathered most of its forces, then Rider could directly kill him.
And if the priest had already assembled most of his faction's strength, then the ambush would lose its meaning. Vlad III did not want to start a decisive battle outside Romania, and Rider could disengage and retreat using her class advantage.
Vlad III believed that even if the enemy had multiple Servants, if Rider wanted to leave, no one would be able to stop her.
As for Rider's overwhelming power, the priest in the church and his contracted Servant experienced it most directly, awe-inspiring.
It was not merely a gathering of magical energy or brute force. It carried a dignity that only the strongest Heroic Spirits possessed, like a god descending into the world. Even an attack launched from afar was enough to make people tremble.
With a casual swing of the long spear covered in ferocious thorns, an A-rank magical cannon was shattered. With a distant point of the spear tip, the wind pressure released made the barrier above the church flicker on and off.
Without a doubt, this was a top-tier Servant, and her Magic Resistance was at least B rank or higher. Breaking through this church was only a matter of time.
"This is troublesome... Are you confident, Assassin?"
"Confident in what? Confident in escaping alone, or in escaping while taking you with me?"
"Uh~"
The handsome young man with white hair, darker skin, and dressed in priestly robes showed a troubled smile. "Is there no option to repel the enemy?"
"Nope. After all, I'm just an Assassin. How could I possibly fight that kind of monster head-on?"
Although her class was Assassin, the young man's Servant was a beauty wearing an exaggerated black dress. Her thick black hair cascaded all the way to the ground, and her entire body exuded a luxurious yet decadent aura.
Her pointed ears showed traces of something inhuman. Her beauty was exactly as described in many epics, the kind that could make kings fall into obsession, the so-called bewitcher of all living beings.
Now that the enemy was at the gates, she was not anxious at all. She even had the mood to mock her own Master. "If only my Master weren't such a cheapskate."
"You should have let me start working earlier. If we were inside the 'Garden', no matter how many more Servants came, there would be no need to fear them."
"You're right. I didn't think it through enough."
Kotomine Shirou smiled apologetically. "However, not letting you build the Garden wasn't because of financial considerations."
"In fact, when I decided to summon you, I had already resolved to go bankrupt, and in order to make this firework bloom a bit more beautifully, I worked hard to save up sixty years' worth of assets."
"Heh heh~"
Hearing this, the Empress Semiramis closed her eyes in satisfaction and nodded slightly, as if praising Kotomine Shirou's resolve.
However, the priest then continued. "Your Noble Phantasm requires several days of continuous chanting to activate."
"If we add the time needed to integrate the materials, it will take even longer. Before we secure enough combat power to ensure safety, we can't start lightly."
"I'll accept that reason for now... But what do you plan to do next, Master."
"If you don't make a decision soon, the barrier will be broken~"
"No choice. We can only take the risk and call that great hero back."
Kotomine Shirou frowned deeply and asked his Servant, "Can you ensure that no abnormalities will be detected?"
"Who do you think I am?" Semiramis said with great confidence. "Even heroes from the Age of Gods would be unable to detect my methods."
"That's good. After all, we can't let others discover that their Masters have been 'raised in captivity', now can we~" The young priest's smile was gentle and harmless, but his words revealed extremely shocking implications.
Using his position, the young man was able to get close to every Master. These prodigies of the Clock Tower were undoubtedly outstanding magi, but compared to a witch from the Age of Gods like Semiramis... the gap in knowledge and technique was on an entirely different level.
By using Semiramis's "poisoned wine" to cripple the Masters, causing their consciousness to fall into chaos, he could then control their actions.
After that, whether it was Heroic Spirit summoning or further command in battle, everything was secretly manipulated by the priest.
This was the crime Kotomine Shirou committed in order to realize his ideals.
It was disgraceful, but very effective.
Semiramis's techniques were flawless. Even though she used "poison" to control the magi, it did not damage their magic circuits, nor did it affect the flow of magical energy between them and their Servants.
Kotomine Shirou was nominally entrusted by those Masters to act on their behalf in this war, thereby gaining command authority over their Servants.
As long as he used the excuse that "the magi are unwilling to take risks and prefer to command the war from behind the scenes", he could isolate Servants from their Masters, making it impossible for even legendary heroes to notice anything amiss.
At present, the priest had not yet managed to control all the Red faction Masters. The Servants under his indirect command numbered only two... Of course, even calling back just one of them, working together with the Empress, should be enough to repel the enemy Rider.
There was just one small problem.
The two Masters who had been reduced to husks were in the church basement. Previously, ordering those two heroes to go out and act freely was also to keep them away from their Masters, allowing Semiramis to carry out more delicate operations.
If the Servants were called back now, it might raise suspicion... They could only trust in Semiramis's abilities.
"Use a Command Spell. The barrier won't hold for much longer."
"Understood, Master."
Semiramis smiled faintly, and on the sofa in the church basement, a certain magus immersed in fine wine and incense hazily raised his hand. A flash of crimson Command Spell passed by...
———
The Black faction's Rider was a Servant with extremely distinct features, the kind that left a deep impression at first glance.
Her upper body was wrapped in rough black steel armor, solid and reliable. From her slender waist and prominent chest, her gender could be discerned, but there was none of the softness expected of a woman.
Instead, it was full of sharp edges, as if the surface were covered with jagged dragon scales, giving off a ferocious feeling. Rather than armor meant for defense, it was more like a ferocious beast had been sealed inside it.
Her helmet was also fully enclosed. The protrusions on either side of the crown resembled dragon horns. There was no trace of emotion in the eye slits, only coldness and lifeless silence.
Her lower body was equipped with skirt armor suited for riding. Steel plates protected both sides of her thighs, while inside was a black long skirt like formal wear. Under magical reinforcement, even the fabric had the hardness of metal.
The slender calves visible beneath the skirt... were also wrapped in black stockings like sheets of iron, without a single inch of skin exposed.
And this was only the Servant herself. Her "formidable" aspects did not stop there.
As a Rider, she naturally used a long weapon. However, calling that vicious-looking thing a "lance" would be far too gentle a term, completely unable to describe its terror.
More accurately, it looked like a torture device. On the pitch-black, spiral lance, crimson crystal spikes jutted out like congealed blood, as if proclaiming how many enemies this dark overlord had trampled in the past.
As for the warhorse beneath her, the symbol of a "cavalryman", its appearance was equally imposing. Pale mane, crimson eyes, and a tall body that seemed to exist somewhere between living creature, steel, and undead, filled with a wild and defiant beauty.
The kind of thing that, if it appeared in an RPG game, players would grind hundreds or thousands of times just for a single chance at it dropping.
But at this moment, as Rider's mount, it was actually less eye-catching than its master.
This appearance was so striking that Iori recognized Rider's true name at a glance.
[Artoria Pendragon]
That's right, the King of Britain who wielded the holy sword.
She should have been summoned without dispute as Saber, but just like the great hero Heracles, who is best suited as an Archer, as one of Europe's most famous legendary heroes, she possessed extremely broad class compatibility.
Aside from her aspect as a holy sword wielder, she also had legends related to other weapons and mounts. As long as she did not appear with a Berserker Spirit Origin, she could at the very least be considered a top-tier Servant.