In stark contrast to the battlefield where Artoria disguised as Black Assassin and Red Rider Achilles fought, the combined efforts of Sakatsuki and Atalanta had instead forced Black Saber into a disadvantageous position.
Twin blades Kanshou and Byakuya flashed as gun-spears parried Black Saber's slashes. The young man fixed his mesmerizing rainbow-blue eyes on his enemy's torso, holstered his pistol, and delivered a devastating straight punch with clenched fist!
The howling winds carried the threat of that brutal fist. Siegfried, who had suffered its damage before, dared not underestimate it, retreating steadily while deflecting Sakatsuki's attacks with his demonic sword again and again.
Yet just as he focused on Sakatsuki, an arrow sliced through the air, piercing his shoulder with pinpoint accuracy. Though excruciating pain shot through him, the Dragon Slayer's expression remained impassive. With a calm swing of his sword, he kicked up a dust screen to obscure himself from ranged attacks. "Battle Continuation" activated, rapidly healing the arrow's penetrating wound.
With this divine skill, Siegfried could recover from any non-fatal injury at incredible speed—provided it wasn't instantly lethal.
Unfortunately, even the best techniques lose their edge when overused.
Moreover, Siegfried's opponents happened to be Greece's mightiest huntress and Sakatsuki, who possessed intimate knowledge of every Heroic Spirit's abilities.
A crisp gunshot rang out as Sakatsuki pulled the trigger. Projectile magic bullets tore through the wind barrier, followed immediately by fully-charged arrows that found the hidden swordsman, inflicting fresh wounds!
"Your tricks won't work on us anymore, Black Saber."
Before Siegfried could react, Sakatsuki closed the distance again, forcing the Dragon Slayer to raise his greatsword in defense without time to activate his skill.
Here lay Siegfried's dilemma.
Though his inherent skill Battle Continuation allowed disengagement, his opponents were a long-range specialist Archer and an Assassin with Presence Concealment. Any attempt to create distance would make Red Archer's attacks deadlier, while Sakatsuki—who had nearly slain Black Lancer—would bare his most lethal fangs!
Wasn't Atalanta and Sakatsuki's relentless pressure precisely to force Siegfried into using Battle Continuation, dragging the battle into their preferred war of attrition and assassination?
"Haah..." Siegfried exhaled roughly, arrows embedded in his arm and calf. Watching Sakatsuki's approaching figure, a trace of ferocity finally surfaced on his typically stoic face.
His Master had been restless minutes earlier, yet had strangely fallen silent afterwards, entrusting complete control of the battle to Siegfried.
While grateful for his Master's trust, the Dragon Slayer couldn't forgive tonight's string of failures.
Even one as humble as him carried the pride of a Dragonslayer!
Siegfried would make these enemies understand—even outnumbered two to one, he would cut them all down!
With a thunderous roar from the silver-haired swordsman, the black night sky was painted orange-red. The True Ether within his azure jewel unleashed without restraint—not concentrated at a single point, but spread wildly, transforming into the thickest, most boundless twilight sword energy that engulfed the entire battlefield!
The razor-sharp sword light blotted out the sky, and Atalanta was startled to find her vision obscured, while Sakatsuki involuntarily took a step back, feeling a bone-chilling killing intent permeate his entire being!
Within this twilight domain, Sakatsuki's connection with Atalanta had been severed, meaning he had to withstand Siegfried's fierce assault alone before Atalanta could return to the battlefield!
With just one move, the tides of battle had reversed.
This was the foundation of a top-tier Servant, this was the Dragon Slayer of the Netherlands, this was Siegfried!
Cornered, Sakatsuki licked his parched lips, his fighting spirit rising instead of waning. As he watched Siegfried approach slowly, his wounds healing rapidly, the iridescent blue in his eyes grew even more dazzling.
With a flick of his right hand, the barely recovered mana surged forth once more, replaced by the radiant divine aura emanating from his palm—so potent it was discernible even before fully taking shape.
In the distance, the red Rider mounted his chariot with a roar, charging toward the vigilant Ruler.
Here, the black Saber advanced with drawn sword within the twilight field, while the Assassin sneered, a projected divine construct Noble Phantasm ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice.
—At this critical juncture, the leaders of both factions simultaneously issued their commands.
"That's enough, you three." The priest smiled faintly. "Our Berserker has already fallen into enemy hands. There's no need to reveal any more information."
"Withdraw for now, Saber, Assassin. You've done well, but you have other matters to attend to next," Darnic said solemnly. "Additionally, announce this to all masters and servants of Yggdmillennia."
Watching the images relayed by his familiars, Darnic suppressed his confusion and displeasure before continuing.
"The Rider has escaped with one of the homunculi. That homunculus is a crucial vessel—it must be captured alive and brought back."
Indeed, after dealing with the red Berserker, the black Rider—Astolfo—had returned to the fortress first and done something utterly incomprehensible to everyone.
—At this pivotal moment in the Holy Grail War, he had fled the Fortress of Millennia with a homunculus that had awakened its own will.
And according to Caster's assessment, that homunculus was vital material capable of serving as the "core."
Truth be told, when Darnic learned of this, he was left speechless by the Rider's unprecedented actions.
The existence Rider was willing to flee to protect was, after all, just a homunculus—originally a defective product in terms of physical construction, not even worth considering an obstacle. Letting it escape wouldn't have been an issue.
But if it was the "core," that changed everything. Even if it required deploying Servants, the homunculus had to be recaptured.
Yet, why did Rider want to let the homunculus escape? He couldn't possibly flee with it—in the end, Servants were nothing more than familiars that couldn't survive once their causal ties were severed.
In other words, Rider's actions were utterly meaningless. Saving a homunculus?
Impossible. It was just trash—how could it possibly integrate into the world?
For Darnic, who had lived as a magus for a century, this was completely unfathomable.
Setting aside this absurdity, Darnic then connected the causal line to his Servant, Vlad III.
"Voivode, the time has come."
"Hmm, this time, I'll definitely make that assassin pay."
The black Lancer's killing intent traveled along the threads of causality, drawing a satisfied smile from his Master.
How could he possibly let the Red faction's Servants off so easily? After all, this was the territory of Yggdmillennia, the absolute home ground of the Fortress of Millennia!
If Sakatsuki could briefly sever the leyline to weaken Vlad III, then couldn't he, Darnic, the lord of Yggdmillennia, manipulate the leylines to conceal his presence?
Those damned Red Assassin and Archer would never expect that the black Lancer had already infiltrated their rear, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
Just to be safe, Darnic relayed another message to Saber and Assassin: "Later, you two will feign retreat first. If those two Servants manage to escape, you'll be the ones to finish them off."
"Understood."
"Got it."
Siegfried and Artoria each responded, but Vlad III could never have anticipated that one of these two Servants would, in the next moment, connect to another thread of causality.
"Sakatsuki, danger approaches from behind you!"
————
Rewinding to shortly after the Red Berserker was captured, the black Rider, Astolfo, hastily returned to the fortress in spirit form.
Of course, he was seizing the opportunity presented by the black faction's full-scale mobilization tonight. For a brief window, they wouldn't have the capacity to worry about a mere homunculus.
This was the perfect chance—the perfect chance for that pitiful homunculus to escape.
The homunculus had just been practicing walking when the Black Rider, holding his breath, suddenly knocked on the room's door. With minor injuries on his body, he smiled and extended a hand to the homunculus.
"The timing couldn't be better. Quick, let's escape!"
Before the homunculus could grasp the situation, the handsome pink-haired knight took its hand and began running. They dashed through the corridors, passing patrols who offered no resistance—only gazes filled with sorrow and a glimmer of hope. They passed wounded homunculus brethren huddled in corners, awaiting death's arrival... Finally, the stone golems created by Caster spotted them and gave chase.
Though the homunculus lacked any means of resistance, it was accompanied by a legendary paladin, the famed adventurer—after much evasion and hiding, the two, panting heavily, finally managed to flee the fortress.
Exiting through the rear gate on the fortress's eastern side, they were met with a raging river, its muddy currents cascading like a torrential downpour—clearly a magical trap.
On the opposite shore, as far as the eye could see, lay a range of towering mountains. The landscape was treacherous, but it represented freedom. A freedom tinged with fleeting joy and harsh reality—yet one that could at least instill the will to live.
But to reach this precious freedom, they would have to breach the defenses set by the Fortress of Millennia.
"Hmm... From now on, you absolutely must not let go of my hand, okay?"
The homunculus nodded nervously. The surrounding area was undoubtedly littered with magical traps and barriers. For a Servant, it might be manageable, but for a mere homunculus—a defective product that could be pushed to the brink of death by even minor magic—it might not survive ten seconds.
But Astolfo confidently smiled and said, "I've got this—ta-da!"
What he pulled out was a thick, leather-bound tome. Though the text and symbols on the cover were faded and indistinct, the homunculus understood that this was clearly an item related to magecraft.
"Once upon a time, I saved a woman named Rosalind. She gave this to me as thanks. Just holding it can break any magecraft!"
Amazing, the homunculus marveled.
This was one of the Noble Phantasms of the Black Faction's Rider—Astolfo, one of Charlemagne's Twelve Paladins. A whimsical adventurer who had embarked on countless journeys and even reached the moon, he possessed more Noble Phantasms than even Achilles, another Rider.
"—Though, there's one tiny problem. Even though this is a Noble Phantasm, I kinda forgot its True Name!"
The homunculus' admiration had barely taken root before being mercilessly crushed by Astolfo's utterly absurd remark.
"...Huh?"