Declaration of war?
At the very first sound from the uninvited guest, all the Servants, Demi-Servants, and Pseudo-Servants present had already stepped in front of their respective Masters.
Beyond the breach in the villa, the 'person' had a humanoid form, standing roughly two and a half meters tall. Its mouth possessed an abnormal four-part jaw, and it wore a striking brownish-yellow armor. Its headpiece was massive and ornate, while gilded edges and the gaps in its armor emitted a deep blue glow.
Before Ritsuka Fujimaru and the others could even speak, the uniquely designed, exquisitely crafted blue-green 'claw' weapon in its hand was already aimed at them. At its tip, a plasma sphere—charged for quite some time—was ready to fire.
In almost the same instant, Saber and Ruler cried out sharply, "Master/Shirou! Watch out!"
Zzzzt—whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, a sky-blue plasma beam flared from the breach and shot inward like a falling star.
Boom!
The entire building shuddered violently as countless fragments of shattered stone and debris crashed onto the open ground around them.
Clatter—!
Even in broad daylight, the explosive plasma sparks formed from magical energy were dazzling. The scattering fragments of light spread nearly ten meters outward, like a blooming blue-white firework erupting in daylight.
At the center of the explosion.
The high-temperature impact of the plasma blast pierced through multiple load-bearing walls of the villa, leaving behind a straight, charred trench in the ground, as if scorched by molten flow. Bricks, wooden flooring, and furniture were all reduced to burning charcoal as thick smoke billowed from the villa.
"Cough... cough..."
At the end of the plasma blast's path, Mash planted her great shield into the ground and let out a long breath. "Senpai, everyone... are you alright?"
"Cough, cough, I'm fine... right—!" Ritsuka Fujimaru quickly turned to look at the summoning circle behind him. "Gilgamesh, Jeanne, is the ritual circle okay...?"
"No problem."
"AAAAAH—!!"
At that moment, a piercing scream suddenly rang out, cutting through everyone's attention. Ishtar clutched her head, letting out a scream like a startled marmot.
Although faint sky-blue plasma currents still crackled across her body and her skin was charred in places, Gilgamesh knew what she truly cared about was something else...
Looking at the magic workshop beneath her feet—now scorched by the sudden plasma heat—melted precious metals, shattered jewels, and drawers filled with burning yen, pounds, and dollars, Gilgamesh fell silent.
This foolish woman, just like her vessel Rin Tohsaka, was both financially strained and obsessively greedy.
Having inherited Rin's memories and part of her personality, Ishtar naturally felt immense pain at the destruction of her 'property.'
"My house! My home! My money! You bastard! You ugly four-mouthed freak! I'm going to kill you!!"
In the next moment, Ishtar roared as her magical energy exploded outward, dispersing the smoke. Her crimson eyes seemed almost to bleed.
"Maanna! Blow it to pieces!"
Boom!
Another massive hole was blasted through the villa's roof as she shot into the sky. Seeing the various alien figures that had suddenly surrounded the area—especially the brown-armored one that had fired the shot—her eyes grew even redder.
In an instant, from the bow-shaped flying vessel Maanna she controlled, countless golden beams shot out, raining down upon the aliens below like laser missiles.
Boom boom boom boom!!
"Shirou! Protect yourself!"
"Master! Stay safe!"
Bang! Bang! Two more human-sized holes were blasted through the walls. Feeling the trembling ground and hearing the continuous roars and explosions, the two 'ordinary people,' Shirou Emiya and Waver, could only stare at each other.
This 'secret' magic workshop was now completely exposed. The entire roof above them had been destroyed, forming a massive opening to the sky, allowing sunlight to pour in.
"That foolish woman... well, even if she's unreliable, she's still somewhat useful."
Golden ripples appeared as Gilgamesh shattered collapsing structural debris while deploying defensive Noble Phantasms around the workshop. At the same time, he barked at Ritsuka Fujimaru to continue the summoning.
As for Mash, she was a Shielder. Her duty was never to charge the front lines, but to protect Ritsuka Fujimaru—the last Master of Chaldea—at all times.
"Mr. Waver..."
As dust and debris rained down, Shirou clenched his fists, his face filled with confusion. After a brief silence, he finally spoke. "Didn't Rin say before that the Holy Grail War is supposed to be conducted secretly at night?"
"Huh?"
Waver shook the dust off his clothes and sighed. "Emiya, you still don't truly understand the world of magecraft."
"Take magi as an example—beings who pursue the path of magecraft. What restrains them? Laws? Rules? Agreements?"
"Heh. To them, those are nothing more than scraps of paper. The only thing that truly binds them... is power."
As he spoke, Waver skillfully pulled out a cigar, cut it, flipped open a butane lighter, lit it, warmed the tip, and took a satisfied puff.
No rush. Let me calm my nerves with a cigar.
This wasn't just for show... well, alright, there was a bit of that, but more importantly, it had practical effects.
Back when Waver had struggled with how to present himself as a proper Lord, a certain alcoholic magus had once advised him: "A cigar and a suit are a man's armament."
And so, the timid young Waver disappeared. In his place stood Lord El-Melloi II, dressed in a suit year-round, cigar always in hand.
At the same time, while Waver liked cigars, it wasn't for their flavor. The cigars he carried were among his few Mystic Codes.
The tobacco inside was specially prepared to suit his needs, with various types serving different purposes—defense, barrier formation, mental stabilization, and even catalyzing magical circuits.
The one he took out this time was a mental stabilization cigar.
"...Haa." Exhaling a stream of smoke, Waver crouched down and continued working on the summoning circle as he spoke earnestly.
"After obtaining such powerful Servants, it's only natural that beings like them would disregard the so-called agreements that bind ordinary third-rate magi like us."
"The world of mystery and the mundane... in truth, they are the same—survival of the fittest, if not even more ruthless. The world of magecraft has never been as beautiful as its spells make it appear."
Shirou Emiya froze for a moment, then fell silent.
To be honest, he barely understood the things Ritsuka Fujimaru, Romani, Da Vinci, and Gilgamesh had been talking about—Singularities, the Incineration of Humanity, human history, King Solomon, the foreign god... none of it had truly sunk in.
But he knew one thing.
What that foreign god was doing was wrong—completely at odds with his ideals.
A Holy Grail War fought at night... even if the battles were excessive, even if someone tried to kill him, Shirou could still accept it. He wasn't unreasonable.
Servants were simply too powerful. Once battle began, it became a life-and-death struggle. If the scale got out of control, it wasn't something they could easily restrain.
But this—an outright assault in broad daylight, completely undisguised, with no regard for the safety of ordinary people or the exposure of the magecraft world—this filled Shirou with anger.
Call it powerless rage, or meddling where he didn't belong—having experienced the catastrophic end of the previous Holy Grail War, he refused to let anyone else suffer the same tragedy.
I have to do something! Even if it costs me my life!
Just like the promise he made to his father, Kiritsugu Emiya—a hero of justice was supposed to step forward at times like this, wasn't he?
"Hey, kid, what're you thinking about?"
Carrying the crimson spear that pierced with certain death, Cú Chulainn grinned casually, flashing bright white teeth. He slapped Shirou hard on the shoulder, sending him stumbling with a cry of pain.
"Lancer, weren't you—"
"Sigh, I used healing Rune magic on that homunculus girl... but you know her condition. I'm not a Caster, so that's about as much as I can do."
"Now that the enemy's come knocking, I'll leave her to you, kid... as for me—Saber and Ruler are already fighting out there. Hiding behind women isn't my style."
With that, Lancer spun the crimson spear over his shoulder, tracing several elegant arcs before vanishing in a blur.
"Lancer, wait—I'll go too—"
Before he could finish, Shirou's expression suddenly changed. His body stiffened as he collapsed to the ground. Numbness and piercing pain surged through him, as if countless ants were gnawing at his flesh from within.
"Ugh... ah..."
Arc-like particles of magical energy began to coil around Shirou's body out of thin air. His muscles spasmed violently as high-quality magical circuits—far beyond his current level of magecraft—flickered into existence.
"No way... this guy's magic circuits haven't even been activated?"
Seeing this, Waver frowned. After years of teaching at the Clock Tower, he had seen all kinds of magi students.
Well... not quite. He had never seen someone like Shirou Emiya.
He had magical energy. He could use reinforcement and projection magecraft.
And yet—his own magic circuits weren't even activated.
"You... have you been using your nerves as magic circuits this whole time? Who taught you?! This is malpractice!!"
Blue-green magical light gathered in Waver's hand as he helped Shirou up, examining his condition. Then—he was stunned.
His strong sense of responsibility as a teacher made him instinctively furious at whoever had taught Shirou.
"Wait... his physical condition—what is this?"
"It's obvious. Just like Ishtar, this boy is undergoing a transformation into a Pseudo-Servant. As for his Saint Graph..."
Noticing something, Gilgamesh paused, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Interesting... very interesting. It's Archer. It seems he's strongly resisting you."
If Rin Tohsaka and Ishtar were a near-perfect fusion with exceptional compatibility, then Shirou's case was entirely different. Setting aside compatibility, the consciousness of the Archer-class Saint Graph was clearly resisting merging with him.
With an amused smile, Gilgamesh raised his hand. From a golden ripple, he tossed a vial of elixir toward Waver.
"Make him drink it. I don't have time to let him slowly adapt to the fusion. What we need right now is immediate combat strength."
"Wait, King Gilgamesh—"
"Hm?"
Even under such agony, Shirou managed to stand. Seeing the determination in the red-haired boy's eyes, Gilgamesh's impression of him improved slightly.
"This elixir... it should be able to heal Illya, right...?"
"Illya? Hmph. That homunculus with only a few days left to live?"
Gilgamesh chuckled, casting a sidelong glance at Shirou. A strange glint flickered in his crimson eyes. "Boy, what do you think of the treasures in my treasury?"
"However... you've reminded me of something. The Lesser Grail..."
With that thought, Gilgamesh's smile faded slightly. Swish! Another vial of elixir appeared from the golden ripple and gently fell before Shirou.
"Accelerate the fusion of your Saint Graph. We need to strengthen every ounce of our power—there's no time to waste."
Only the Wise King version of Gilgamesh would show this kind of consideration. If it were the other version, he would only grow more arrogant—giving Shirou an elixir to save a dying homunculus would be out of the question.
"Gilgamesh, Dr. Romani and the others are ready!"
At that moment, Ritsuka Fujimaru's delighted voice rang out. At the same time, brilliant golden particles burst forth from the summoning circle.
"Good! Ritsuka, now!"
"Yes!"
...
Boom boom boom boom boom boom!!
Rat-tat-tat!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
"Die! Die! Die! Die die die die—!!"
Like a bomber hovering in midair, Ishtar's furious barrage of beams nearly engulfed the entire area.
The continuous explosions roared like an unending storm of sound, whipping up violent gusts that made one's eardrums tremble.
"ROAR—!"
A Sangheili commander in brown armor charging at the front was struck by over a dozen golden beams. Its energy shield shattered, and it staggered before dropping to one knee. Though its armor was riddled with holes and blood poured from its wounds, its finger never left the trigger of its Type-25 plasma rifle.
"For Selene—!"
After landing several plasma hits on Ishtar, scorching her body in multiple places, another golden beam finally pierced its head. Its weapon continued firing aimlessly into the sky for a few final shots before it collapsed.
Ishtar—Magic Resistance: A.
Unfortunately, it was useless. Even more plasma shots rained toward her. On the ground, more and more former Covenant forces gathered, and heavy weapons and vehicles began to appear.
A red-armored Sangheili commander waved a Type-1 twin-bladed energy sword and roared, "Suspend attacks on other ground targets—prioritize locking onto her! Concentrate fire—open fire!!"
Crackle!
A thunderous shockwave erupted!