Accompanied by someone's groan, bits of rubble slowly fell from the body trying to rise, making crisp sounds as they hit the ground.
"Ahhh, ow ow ow ow—"
Raising her still-numb arm, the dizzy Mordred barely managed to get up from the ground. With the stimulation of her magical energy, she quickly recovered her clarity.
"That guy hit way too hard!"
Mordred grumbled internally. Alaric's sudden punch was ridiculously powerful—it was as if she had seen an image of Gawain, that muscle-brained gorilla.
In broad daylight, Gawain, blessed by the power of the Saint's Numbers, possessed absurd levels of strength and defense. He could withstand attacks meant for armies or even castles, earning him the title of the Iron Wall.
With Alaric's punch, Mordred felt as though her entire life flashed before her eyes, like a slideshow of her past.
It wasn't just the overwhelming strength. The brilliant light energy imbued in the punch was the main culprit that had almost caused her to pass out entirely.
Her innate B-rank Magic Resistance had no effect at all; it was pure magical energy. Even just the impact of that alone had been enough to leave Mordred struggling to defend herself.
Grimacing, Mordred grumbled about Alaric while stretching her stiff body. She used her magical energy to stimulate her limbs, warming them up and gradually regaining full mobility.
At this moment, Kairi Sisigou approached Mordred. After giving her a quick once-over to confirm she was unharmed, he spoke:
"You're finally awake. It seems the battle's over now."
"Huh?"
Mordred, who had thought she'd only been out for a short while, was just about to go find Alaric to settle the score. But hearing Sisigou's words, she noticed the changes on the battlefield.
Alaric and Achilles were gone, replaced by the Black Rider and a young homunculus she didn't recognize.
Not only that, but Mordred also caught sight of the airborne garden hovering over the Yggdmillennia castle. It had captured the Greater Grail—
Ignoring the green whirlwind attempting to approach the floating garden, Mordred grabbed her head in disbelief.
"No way?"
What on earth had she missed?
Just thinking about it gave Mordred a headache. She sighed deeply and said, "What do we do now~~ Master?"
Refusing to think about it any further, Mordred decided to dump the problem onto her seemingly wise Master, Kairi Sisigou.
Sisigou, who wasn't much better off, had been observing the entire battle while Mordred was unconscious. Hearing her question, he paused mid-motion as he was about to light a cigarette. After a moment of hesitation, he said:
"Your friend seems to be up to something troublesome."
After Mordred had been knocked out by Alaric, Kairi Sisigou had witnessed the turn of events on the battlefield. From Frankenstein's death to the arrival of the Ruler, Jeanne d'Arc, and finally, the departure of Alaric and Achilles—
All these dramatic changes had occurred while Mordred was unconscious. As a mere magus who could only watch from the sidelines, Sisigou could only relay this information to the now-awake Mordred.
Meanwhile.
The young homunculus, Sieg, who had finally regained consciousness, suddenly broke free from Astolfo's arms and exclaimed in alarm:
"Watch out!"
"It's fine now, it's fine!"
Astolfo quickly reassured him, seeing the panic on Sieg's face. "There's no more fighting. They've all left!"
With Astolfo's explanation, Sieg soon understood the current situation but still looked disheartened. Fortunately, he quickly pulled himself together.
However, just as Sieg and Astolfo got up, an unexpected figure appeared in front of Astolfo. Even from a distance, Mordred and Kairi Sisigou raised their eyebrows.
"Oh, no, I can't allow this, Rider."
The voice of a slightly deranged woman rang out, and in that instant, Astolfo's body trembled. Upon seeing the expression on the newcomer's face, he gave an awkward smile.
"Ah… Honestly, I'd prefer if you just got mad instead."
The woman standing before Astolfo was none other than Celenike Icecolle Yggdmillennia, the Master of the Black Rider—Astolfo.
A beautiful, intelligent, but cruel magus, Celenike made her living through curses and assassinations. She harbored an obsessive attachment to her summoned Rider, Astolfo.
But after Astolfo repeatedly defied her will for Sieg's sake, Celenike had finally reached her limit.
She could no longer tolerate Astolfo's disobedience, repeatedly embarrassing her for the sake of this homunculus—
So, Celenike came up with a brilliant idea.
For this plan, Celenike even ignored the tragedies unfolding in the Yggdmillennia castle, prioritizing her desires instead.
"Hey, Rider, tell me your True Name."
Her expression grew increasingly unhinged as she grinned, her eyes wide open. The sinister tone in her voice sent shivers down the spines of both Astolfo and Sieg.
But faced with his Master's question, Astolfo still answered honestly:
"Astolfo, one of Charlemagne's Twelve Paladins. Why?"
"No, that's not it!"
Mockery crept into Celenike's deranged expression as she sneered:
"You're just a Servant—a degraded copy of the Heroic Spirit Astolfo!"
"Hmm~~ I suppose you could say that."
Astolfo tilted his head thoughtfully, seemingly agreeing with her statement. However, Sieg's expression told a different story.
Astolfo's response only drove Celenike further into madness. She began clawing at her scalp in a frenzy, oblivious to the blood streaming down her face.
"That's why!! I've never considered you to be Astolfo. You're just a Servant, a familiar, a toy!"
Her deranged gaze locked onto Astolfo as she recalled every moment of enjoyment she'd had with his beautiful body over the past few days—All this time, he was just a toy!
"Even so, even so, even so! You act like an idiot, doing whatever you please! Embarrassing me for some random fly that buzzes around!"
Seeing his Master's state, Astolfo finally realized something was wrong. With an awkward smile, he turned to Sieg and said:
"Sieg, get out of here—"
"Pests must be exterminated. But—"
Celenike's expression suddenly calmed, though the blood on her face made her look even more terrifying. "Squashing a fly dirties your hands, and I don't want that.
But that's exactly what familiars exist for, isn't it?"
Hearing this, Astolfo's expression turned to panic, but he no longer had the right to refuse—
"By the power of the Fourth Command Seal, I order you: Kill that homunculus, immediately!"
Buzz.
As the ominous crimson glow of the Command Seal flared, its overwhelming force descended upon Astolfo. Despite the A-rank Magic Resistance provided by his Luna Break Manual, Astolfo could not defy the Command Seal's power.
No matter how desperately he resisted—it was futile! But—
Slash.
Without any emotion, a blade swept across Celenike's neck, sending blood splattering in an arc that even stained her glasses.
Mordred, who executed the strike as casually as cutting weeds by the roadside, did not spare Celenike another glance. She simply turned and walked away.
Defiling a knight like Astolfo? Even Mordred couldn't stand to watch such behavior. Besides, Mordred was in no mood for such a pointless drama right now.
The sudden turn of events left both Astolfo and Sieg stunned. The Master of the Black Rider had been killed so easily.
However, her death had little effect on Astolfo. With his B-rank Independent Action skill, Astolfo could continue acting on his own for two full days, even without a magical energy supply from a Master.
At the same time, as Mordred tried to maintain her cool, she noticed a figure falling from the airborne garden in the distance.
That figure was one she recognized very well.
The Ruler of this Holy Grail War—Jeanne d'Arc.
Though she hadn't witnessed it herself, based on the information Kairi Sisigou had provided, Mordred concluded that Jeanne must have entered the garden through the passage created when the Greater Grail was captured.
As for why it had fallen, that was not something Mordred could comprehend.
Shortly after the Saint fell, in the many floating gardens that had already begun to move—
The Aurora bloomed.
It was a radiance that Mordred was all too familiar with. Before this, it was precisely this light that had caused her to fall into a brief coma, the reason for which she still had not been able to uncover.
She could only treat it as an embarrassing past and keep it hidden.
But never in her wildest imagination did Mordred think she would see a similar light again at this moment—and on such a terrifying scale.
Even at a distance of a thousand meters, not to mention differences in altitude, it was already far away.
Yet to Mordred's eyes, the seemingly slender Aurora likely exceeded her estimates in scale, extending endlessly toward the heavens and the earth, slicing through the world.
Just the true nature of what Mordred could glimpse left her puzzled and deeply uneasy.
Although she had not seen the impact of the Aurora as it pierced the earth, Mordred's instincts told her—the world was drawing closer.
As a clone of King Arthur and a Knight of the Round Table, Mordred was acutely aware of what such phenomena implied. Something akin to the nature of the Tower at the End of the World had appeared here.
"Hey, Master, this thing is really bad. You'd better inform your bosses."
Mordred turned her head and looked at Kairi Sisigou, saying, "This might be something truly catastrophic!"
Seeing Mordred's seriousness, Kairi Sisigou waved the phone in his hand.
Almost immediately after the Aurora had risen, Kairi Sisigou received a contact from the Clock Tower.
When Kairi Sisigou pressed the call button, Lord El-Melloi II's shocked voice rang out: "What's going on over there? Why has the Clock Tower detected the activation of the Root?"
Even though full-scale materialization of the soul hadn't been achieved, the act of fulfilling Alaric's wish was undoubtedly an act of magic—only magic could accomplish what Alaric desired.
Thus, the activation of the Root was only natural.
Whether it was the Swirl of the Root (Akasha Record) or the awakening of Alaric's soul itself, both were matters far beyond the scope of the Holy Grail War in the eyes of the Clock Tower. Especially with the Aurora rising and its theft from the world, the degree to which land was being lost—though not immense—was still astonishing.
What's more, no one could assert that the rate of loss would remain constant.
"I don't know. Judging from the situation, it seems Kotomine Shirou and the others might've obtained the Greater Grail?"
Kairi Sisigou could only repeat the information he knew, which left Lord El-Melloi II momentarily silent.
At the Clock Tower—
After hearing Kairi Sisigou's somewhat absurd report, Lord El-Melloi II pinched his brow. His already exhausted expression made this man, who was only in his thirties, look even more haggard.
After all, the development of events was indeed quite ridiculous. The activation of the Root was something the old geezers of the Clock Tower would not ignore.
Thinking of this, Lord El-Melloi II felt an even greater headache.
After a long period of silence, Kairi Sisigou received nothing more than a promise to be informed later, which made him raise an eyebrow slightly, though he said nothing.
Not just Mordred and her Master—nearby, Sieg and Astolfo also witnessed the brilliant Aurora that split the skies. It was a spectacle visible throughout all of Romania.
What maintained the existence of this Aurora was not something else, but the world itself.
The lands consumed by the Aurora were converted into energy to sustain the Aurora, ensuring its continued existence.
Sieg was extremely familiar with the presence of that light.
And precisely because of this, Sieg couldn't help but freeze in place.
What… was that?
As Sieg pondered, a proclamation that seemed to echo throughout the universe yet also resonated in his heart and ears suddenly erupted:
"Hear me! All gathered here in this domain—warriors of unmatched strength, invincible champions! Even if you are enemies who clash like fire and water, or people of different eras who would never otherwise meet, now is the time to entrust your backs to one another! My true name is Jeanne d'Arc! As the Ruler of this Holy Grail War, I make this decree: Join forces to vanquish the one who has taken the Grail! Let us return this Holy Grail War to its origin!"
With absolute authority, the declaration sought to undo the chaos before true calamity could emerge. The saint's proclamation echoed in the minds of every Servant and Master.
For Mordred and Kairi Sisigou, as well as Sieg and others nearby, it went without saying—but even the Black faction Servants far away in Yggdmillennia reacted differently to Jeanne's words.
After Chiron had returned alone, the Masters still in Yggdmillennia's castle also received the news of Darnic and Vlad III's deaths.
For them, this was undoubtedly a devastating blow. Not only had they lost Darnic, their backbone, but also Vlad III, the pinnacle of the Black faction's Servants.
Now, the Black faction's remaining Servants were Chiron, Avicebron, and the yet-to-return Astolfo.
Only three Servants remained, while the Red faction still retained powerful Servants like Karna, Achilles, Atalanta, and Mordred—or rather, the Red faction had only lost Spartacus so far.
With such a massive disparity, how could they have any confidence to continue the fight?
Among the Masters, only Fiore Forvedge and Roche Frain remained.
Caules Forvedge, who could still be considered competent, had lost his qualifications due to Frankenstein's death, leaving only this ragtag group.
Fiore Forvedge was crippled and unable to act as a Magus. Roche Frain was too immature, with no advantages beyond his aptitude as a Master. And Celenike Icecolle, a madwoman, cared little for the survival of Yggdmillennia.
The released homunculi Sieg had freed only added to the chaos. Leaving them alone wasn't an option, but imprisoning them wasn't one either.
All these problems erupted on this night, leaving Yggdmillennia's Magi utterly unprepared.
Despair began to spread throughout Yggdmillennia's castle.
However, this atmosphere was altered with Jeanne's proclamation—and the arrival of someone.
"Good evening, Black faction's Caster."
Dressed in priestly robes, Kotomine Shirou smiled as he looked at the Magus before him. "It seems you've heard the Ruler's proclamation, haven't you?"
"Yes, although the development of events has exceeded my expectations, it remains within an acceptable range."
Avicebron gazed at the intruding Kotomine Shirou and the three Servants at his side—Karna, Achilles, and Atalanta.
Half of the Red faction's Servants were following him, their sheer presence exuding an overwhelming pressure that could make anyone tremble.
But this meant little to Avicebron, whose only concern was whether his plan could succeed.
Thus—
"What is it you want, Red faction's Master?"
Avicebron's tone was flat as he asked, "If you win, I might consider collaborating with you. But you're just a defeated man who was cast out of the garden. Are you here to seek my cooperation?"
As a Caster, Avicebron naturally had familiars to observe the outside world. He was well aware of how Kotomine Shirou had been forced to leave the floating garden by Alaric's pressure.
In Avicebron's view, even with three powerful Servants, Kotomine Shirou was no match for the one who had claimed the garden.
Had he not been a step too late, Avicebron would certainly have pledged allegiance to the one in the garden.
Hearing this, Kotomine Shirou's expression remained unchanged. He was not offended by Avicebron's words and instead patiently said, "That's correct. Which is why we need to cooperate. I don't need those golems you've been creating—I need your Noble Phantasm."
The golems Avicebron created were indeed of excellent quality, capable of holding their own against Servants. But they were insufficient to face the one who had claimed the garden.
Thus, what Kotomine Shirou sought was a greater power.
And Avicebron's developmental Noble Phantasm fits the bill perfectly. This was why Kotomine Shirou had come here first.
"My Noble Phantasm is still missing the most critical component—the Magic Reactor Core—"
Avicebron did not refuse Shirou. Or rather, from his perspective, it didn't matter who he worked with, as long as he could complete his Noble Phantasm.
"Regarding that, I cannot provide you with direct help, but what I want is for you to become my Servant and continue using those homunculi to supply magical energy."
Kotomine Shirou finally revealed his intentions, causing Avicebron to narrow his eyes slightly and reply, "This question… it seems someone else will be answering it for you."
Tap, tap.
Before Avicebron could finish speaking, the sound of approaching footsteps from not far away drew Shirou's attention.
Karna and Atalanta, who had already noticed the newcomer, were unsurprised. Achilles, on the other hand, raised his hand in greeting. "Hey, teacher!"
The one who appeared was none other than the great Greek philosopher Chiron, accompanied by Fiore Forvedge and the others.
With his Clairvoyance, Chiron had naturally detected Shirou and his group entering the castle to meet Avicebron. However, given Jeanne d'Arc's earlier declaration and the strange changes in the Hanging Gardens, Chiron knew now was not the time for battle.
Moreover, Fiore Forvedge, upon learning that a Red Faction Master had infiltrated, had insisted that Chiron escort her to meet Shirou and the others.
Chiron, pushing the wheelchair, finally stopped a short distance from the group. His calm gaze swept across Karna and the others, lingered briefly on Achilles, and ultimately settled on Shirou.
This was his first meeting with Shirou. Not only their first encounter but considering what he had overheard in the Hanging Gardens during Jeanne's conversation, it was clear that Shirou's ambitions were vast.
Yet no matter how grand his ambitions were, at this moment, they were nothing more than fleeting illusions.
With the rise of the aurora, Chiron was well aware that everything was already too late.
The Greater Grail had already been activated—
While Chiron was observing Shirou and his group, Fiore Forvedge, seated in her wheelchair, smiled and said, "Pleased to meet you. I am Fiore Forvedge Yggdmillennia. May I ask your name?"
"My name is Kotomine Shirou. Pleased to meet you, Master of the Black Faction," he replied with a calm smile.
Understanding the situation, Shirou added, "There's no need for me to elaborate further. My purpose here is to seek cooperation. As you can see, the Grail has already been taken and has even been used to make such a wish.
This is something neither any Master nor Servant would want to see. Therefore, we must change it."
"Are you suggesting cooperation as Ruler proposed?" Fiore placed her hands together on her lap and asked, "Or are you asking for a transfer of command seals as part of this cooperation?"
Faced with her questioning, Shirou maintained his composure and smiled. "At this point, such a transfer is unnecessary. All I ask is for a normal cooperative arrangement. Of course, I also hope to obtain magical energy resources from you.
After all, my Servants consume an unusually large amount of mana."
"Magical energy resources…"
Hearing this, Fiore immediately thought of the freed homunculi. If they were to be returned to their nutrient tanks—
Before Fiore could answer, the sound of footsteps once again interrupted the conversation.
Standing at a high vantage point not far away was Jeanne d'Arc, overlooking the Black and Red factions below. Her gaze finally rested on the white-haired man.
"So, you are Kotomine Shirou—"
Shirou, calm as ever, waved at her and said, "Pleased to meet you. I am Kotomine Shirou."
Looking at the serene young man, Jeanne immediately recalled what Alaric had mentioned about the Red Faction Master's wish…
But now was not the time to dwell on that!
Even though she had finally met Kotomine Shirou, Jeanne decisively refrained from asking about his motives. There were more pressing matters at hand.
After organizing her thoughts, Jeanne quickly spoke, "By the authority of the Ruler, I am temporarily suspending this Holy Grail War. I ask that you join forces to eliminate that enemy before resuming this war."
No matter what, the spread of the aurora could not be allowed.
This was the only thing Jeanne was certain of.