The joyful time spent petting the cat was always fleeting. After bidding farewell to Atalanta and Achilles, Sakatsuki did not immediately return to the Red Faction's stronghold. Instead, he followed Artoria's coordinates and pursued her trail.
In the original story, alongside the capture of the Red Berserker by the Black Faction, another event unfolded—the Black Rider, Astolfo, defected with the homunculus.
Due to Gordes' incompetence, this seemingly trivial incident eventually escalated into a calamity for the Black Faction—
The Black Faction's sole top-tier Servant (Vlad III's raw strength could only be considered first-rate), Saber Siegfried, committed suicide.
His heart was transplanted into the homunculus, becoming the catalyst for the latter to break free from the shackles of limited lifespan and step onto the Holy Grail War battlefield as a transcendent being.
Whether the homunculus lived or died was inconsequential to the Black Faction. However, Siegfried's death dealt a devastating blow to their overall combat strength, causing their defenses to crumble during the subsequent invasion by the Red Faction. Black Berserker Frankenstein was slain by Red Saber Mordred.
Tonight, Sakatsuki had three objectives for his intervention:
First: Preserve the homunculus, allowing him to continue destabilizing the Black Faction's unity.
Second: Preserve Siegfried, ensuring this great hero did not perish so easily.
Third: Recruit Siegfried, turning him into a combat asset for the Blue Faction and ▉▉▉.
Countless thoughts raced through Sakatsuki's mind as his ghostly figure traversed the night in Romania. In his spiritual form, he swiftly arrived at Artoria's location.
As he drew closer, he could clearly sense the presence of Servants in the forest. Yet, concealed by Presence Concealment and the Cloak of Hades, no one was aware of his arrival.
And Sakatsuki had no intention of revealing himself just yet.
"To drive someone to despair, you must first give them hope."
As the Assassin moved, magical trajectories gradually took shape, encircling the area where the homunculus, Servants, and magi were entangled.
Once everything was in place, Sakatsuki leaped onto a tree branch and began replenishing the mana he had yet to fully restore.
"...And the reverse holds true as well."
————
In the forest, tensions were reaching a breaking point.
"W-wait! Hold on! Let me go, Saber! And Assassin!"
Astolfo had not considered resisting, but the gap in capabilities between him and these two Servants was too vast. In an instant, he was subdued, left to struggle helplessly.
"That bastard Darnic... To think he'd bother me with such nonsense..."
As the creator of the homunculus, Gordes harbored no affection for his "creation." Like Dr. Victor Frankenstein, he regarded the homunculus with nothing but disgust and contempt.
His wrist was gripped tightly, on the verge of snapping. In the silence, the homunculus desperately fought to rouse his exhausted, muddled mind.
"Hmph, I don't get it. Why is Caster so fixated on this defective product that can't even move without consuming its own lifespan?"
The disdain from their creator nearly pushed the homunculus to the brink of collapse, but beyond their crumbling mental defenses, a voice had been supporting them all along.
"Bastard! What are you thinking? Don't hesitate, don't give up! You want to survive, right? You told me you didn't want to die! Then shouldn't you fight to the very end?!"
Even as he was captured, knowing he would face judgment from the two leaders of the Black Faction upon his return, Astolfo still struggled and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"You have that right! No matter what anyone says, I, Astolfo, will acknowledge you!"
Faced with such a disobedient Rider, Siegfried remained silent, like an emotionless autonomous doll, while the black-robed Assassin trembled slightly, seemingly shaken.
Sensing an opportunity, Astolfo desperately tried to persuade his two companions:
"We manifested to fulfill our wishes! But does that mean we should tolerate everything? Have you forgotten the demeanor of heroes? I hate this! I may be the Black Faction's Rider, but before that, I am Astolfo, one of Charlemagne's Twelve Paladins! I won't abandon that child, absolutely not!"
Rider's words forcibly dragged the homunculus's fragile spirit back. That's right—at the very least, they had the resolve to live. No matter how pitiful that life might be, they wanted to survive so they could stand tall before those who had helped them.
Hadn't they wished for exactly that?
Gordes, his mood disturbed by Rider's shouting, turned and unleashed a furious tirade at him. Meanwhile, the homunculus took advantage of their creator's underestimation to search for the fangs they possessed—what they needed now was destruction, to go all out and seize the power to take lives in order to survive.
They had once used this power to shatter their incubation pod. As a result, they had gained a fleeting moment of dreamlike freedom, earned the favor and aid of Rider and Archer, as well as the magus Reika Rikudou.
So now, at the very least, let me wield this power once more to claim eternal freedom—
"Strasse/Gain!"
Using the language they knew, they drove their own mystery, willing destruction as the outcome.
It was the only magecraft rooted in their body—the homunculus's sole chance to bare their fangs at a magus.
If the target was glass, the glass would shatter completely. If a human stood in their way, their arm would be crushed, and their heart devoured by magical energy.
Yet the one who had seized the homunculus was none other than their creator—the very one who had bestowed this magecraft upon them.
"Guh!"
In his shock and anger, Gordes finally remembered his qualities as a magus.
"Anamorphism eisen arm!"
The arm flickering with blue circuits clashed against Gordes's transformed iron grip, erupting into a small, meaningless burst of sparks.
The compatibility was terrible. A flawed product crafted using Einzbern's alchemy faced Gordes, who had also studied alchemy—a lethally poor match.
Gordes was shocked by the homunculus's rebellion, but the homunculus who attempted to kill him had already reached its physical limit after delivering that strike.
"You... damn... thing...!!"
Gordes trembled all over, consumed by rage. His body bore no real injuries, and the pain would soon fade. Wounds of that level wouldn't take a day to heal—a few seconds of healing magecraft would suffice.
The problem was that the one who had inflicted harm upon him was none other than a mere magical energy supply battery—prey he was supposed to devour, a being meant to be consumed—suddenly baring its fangs with unmistakable killing intent.
For Gordes, who had already endured immense pressure that night, this was undoubtedly the final straw.
"Don't fuck with me!! A mere homunculus...! Me! You actually tried to kill me! Impossible! Impossible, impossible, impossible!!"
Half-mad with fury, Gordes let his anger take over and punched the homunculus away. Any thought of Darnic's orders or Caster's requests had long vanished from his mind.
The Iron Arm magecraft hadn't dissipated yet, and the metallic crunch of his fist striking the homunculus's chest rang out. The dignity and elegance befitting a magus seemed to have been cast aside as Gordes continued to pummel the homunculus with his iron fists. The exhausted homunculus could offer no resistance, its breath stifled by the cold earth as the chill of the ground slowly spread.
Ah, I'm going to die—the homunculus was certain. Even if Gordes spared it now, there was no saving it. That last punch had already shattered its heart.
And the murderous Gordes would never let it go, no matter what.
The brutal scene unfolded before the heroes' eyes. Astolfo could clearly feel the sudden tightening grip of Saber and Assassin on his shoulders, conveying their masters' disbelief.
Especially Artoria. She stared blankly at the dying homunculus, only one thought left in her mind.
Where is Sakatsuki? Where is Lord Sakatsuki?
What happened to his promise to save everyone, that no one would be sacrificed or die tonight?