"What? It's actually Karna!" Hearing Shirou's narration, Gordes froze for a moment. As a Master of the Holy Grail War, how could he not know Karna's great name? He was a well-known existence.
"And I saw your posture just now, you wanted to call out the other Master, right?"
"Don't be silly, with me here, how could he dare to come out!"
"He's not afraid of death!" Shirou patted Gordes' shoulder and said with a smile. Although this guy was a bit foolish, he wasn't a bad person. In the future, after Darnic and the others died, as a survivor, he even took on the heavy responsibility of re-adjusting the bodies of the Homunculi. But now, before his pride was completely shattered, he was undoubtedly just a useless old man.
Gordes was speechless at Shirou's words. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. After Gordes fell silent, no one else would stop Siegfried and Karna's battle. The two exchanged blows, spear and sword clashing. Their battle only concluded when the sky began to lighten.
"If this continues, we'll be fighting until dawn. I don't mind, but what about you? Your Master seems fed up."
"..." Siegfried eventually put away his greatsword in
silence. Gordes seemed to want to say something, but couldn't. The clashing fighting spirits of the two were too dense; he instinctively understood that this was a world where outsiders could not intervene. Afterward, Siegfried, forbidden to speak by his Master, abandoned his slight persistence and spoke: "I hope that next time, I can truly fight to my heart's content with you."
This sentence contained an extraordinary, earnest expectation that Red Lancer Karna was unaware of. He also didn't know what was hidden within the magnificent heroic legend of Heroic Spirit Siegfried. But even so, he was full of admiration for those words. Karna nodded slightly, praising the swordsman's words. If asked why, it was because this was also a hidden wish in Karna's heart. It wasn't something exaggerated like a promise or an oath. The two viewed each other as beings to be eliminated, understood each other as opponents to be fought, and thus shared that resonance.
"Ah, my luck is truly great. Black Saber, I sincerely thank you for this good fortune of facing you in our first battle." This was Karna's unexaggerated praise. It contained the bond of warriors. "I hope it is my sword, my spear, that will strike you down," a dream as pure as a boy's.
"Then, farewell. Black Saber."
"..." A silent greeting. In an instant, Karna's body turned into a spirit form and disappeared. The sky also took on a pale purple hue, signaling dawn.
"What a splendid battle. As expected of Germany's foremost hero." Facing Jeanne's praise, Siegfried nodded silently. Gordes glared at Siegfried, who had spoken without permission, then collected himself and faced Jeanne again.
"Ruler. Then, would you please accompany us? If you plan to supervise the battle in Trifas, wouldn't it be pleasant to stay briefly at Millennia Castle?"
"No, that wouldn't guarantee fairness. You don't have to worry; my perception is dozens of times that of an ordinary Servant. Even if a battle occurs anywhere in Trifas, I can immediately rush there." Jeanne mercilessly refused. This Great Holy Grail War was an unprecedented conflict between two opposing forces.
Under no circumstances could she show favoritism to either side, not even symbolically.
"Let's go, Saber." Gordes's voice clearly contained suppressed displeasure. His objective was clear; from the start, it was to secure the Ruler. Unexpectedly, Red Lancer disrupted his plans. Even if he wanted to use Siegfried's power to subdue the Ruler, it was already too late. Gordes was still a magus, no matter what. He wasn't so foolish as to let Servants fight in broad daylight.
"If that's the case, then I'll be leaving too, Miss Jeanne!"
"Although this trip was short, it was a good experience with you!"
"See you next time!" With that, Shirou smoothly slipped into Gordes's car, waving goodbye to Jeanne. Watching Shirou's fading figure, Jeanne sighed helplessly.
"I haven't even asked anything yet!"
"Now I'm alone again!"
"Never mind, let's keep going!" Picking up the luggage left on the ground, Jeanne continued on her way.
________________________________________
Riding in Gordes's vehicle, Shirou followed the Saber team to the Yggdmillennia family's main base, Millennia Castle. There, he was warmly welcomed by Darnic and the other Masters.
"Welcome, Assassin! Now, all seven of us in the Black Faction are finally here!" Looking at Shirou, Darnic was overjoyed. He had already received notification from Sagara Hyouma beforehand, so he naturally understood Assassin's strength. With his addition, their side's strength would greatly increase.
"Speaking of which, where is your Master?" Looking around for any sign of Sagara Hyouma, Darnic's brow couldn't help but furrow.
"My Master? I don't know where he went."
"Anyway, after arriving in Romania, he disappeared without a trace!"
"But he gave me prior orders to come here and obey Mr. Darnic's command." Shirou replied with a smile to Darnic's question.
"Did he hide?" Darnic's brow furrowed, then relaxed. As an old monster who had lived for over a hundred years, such matters couldn't affect him. He wasn't concerned about Sagara Hyouma's intentions. The primary goal now was to defeat the Red Faction's seven Heroic Spirits.
"In that case, I will temporarily command you, Assassin!"
"Please rest assured, I will obey your orders, Mr. Darnic."
Seeing himself smoothly integrate into the Black Faction, Shirou couldn't help but smile slightly. Now, he finally had teammates. In this seven-on-seven Great Holy Grail War, a lone Servant could easily be ganged up on. For example, the Red Faction's Berserker, who was desperately rushing here, would soon be captured by the Black Faction.
Just as Shirou was thinking about what would happen next, a joyful cry suddenly came from the side.
"Hey, hey, are you the Heroic Spirit from the future?"
Looking at Rider Astolfo, who had an expectant look on his face, Shirou replied with a smile, "That's right, I am a Servant from the future, Shirou."
"Shirou? Are you from the East?" Hearing Shirou's True Name, Fiore also asked doubtfully.
"That's right!"
"I'm just from Japan, but our worlds are different."
"In my world, the Holy Grail War is still in Fuyuki, and I was even a Master in the Fifth Holy Grail War!"
"The Fifth Holy Grail War?" Hearing the topic of the Holy Grail War, everyone became interested. After all, weren't they currently participating in a Holy Grail War? They didn't expect Assassin to be an experienced Holy Grail War participant.
"Then, Mr. Emiya, which hero did you summon? And what was the Fifth Holy Grail War like?" Hearing Fiore's questions, the other Masters and Servants in the hall pricked up their ears, listening intently.
"The Fifth Holy Grail War, huh!" Feigning a nostalgic expression, Shirou said seriously, "Our Holy Grail War could be described as a battle of gods!"
"My summoned Saber was King Arthur, Archer was King of Heroes Gilgamesh, Lancer was Child of Light Cu Chulainn, Rider was Medusa, Berserker was Hercules, Assassin was the local sword saint Sasaki Kojirou, and Caster was the witch Medea."
"That Holy Grail War almost flattened Fuyuki City at the time!" Shirou said, feigning emotion, deliberately concealing his own information.
________________________________________