"That Rider… he really pisses me off!"
As Mordred dashed forward, she clenched her teeth, seething with irritation at Rider's arrogance. That attitude—he clearly didn't even acknowledge her existence.
She finally set Sisigou down from her shoulder and glanced back toward where they'd come from.
The thunderous roar resembling a bomber's flyover had finally subsided at the town's center, and the dazzling golden radiance had faded entirely after that massive strike.
In the aftermath of the fierce explosions, the battlefield had grown eerily quiet.
Though powerful shockwaves had erupted from the town's core, they posed no threat to a Servant like Mordred. She remained utterly unaffected.
Her instincts told her that neither Arthur nor that insufferable Rider from their faction had suffered much injury.
She needed to do something—anything.
"If you keep carrying me around like this, my bones will eventually shatter."
Sisigou grumbled as he leaned heavily against a nearby wall, struggling to remain upright. The fog from Assassin's Noble Phantasm hadn't injured him, nor had the brief skirmish with Shirou Emiya. Even being flung aside by Rider's collision had merely left him with minor scratches.
It was Mordred's wild, reckless sprint through the town—like a speeding race car ignoring his human limitations—that had nearly robbed him of consciousness.
"That's just because your physical condition sucks, Master. I bet that Master of the other-world Arthur isn't nearly this weak!"
Mordred roughly slapped Sisigou on the shoulder, nearly causing him to vomit the bile he'd fought so hard to suppress.
This roller-coaster feeling really was too much.
"Well, Master! Before we leave, I think I should leave those guys a little parting gift!"
Grinning widely, Mordred raised her crimson sword toward Arthur and Rider's positions, openly voicing her intentions to Sisigou.
"Does my opinion even matter? Regardless of whether I agree or not, you're going to do whatever you want anyway, aren't you?"
Having finally steadied himself, Sisigou calmly pulled a cigarette from his jacket and lit it with practiced ease.
"But... we still have enough mana left for you to unleash your Noble Phantasm once more."
"Heh!"
Mordred's grin widened, and scarlet lightning surged violently around her, flowing into the sword she held aloft.
A terrifying surge of magical energy burst from her blade, initially glowing with pure silver brilliance, only to warp grotesquely, stained by the swirling hatred and defiance pouring forth from Mordred herself.
A crimson beam blasted into the sky, encircled by spiraling bolts of red lightning.
"[Clarent Blood Arthur]!!"
Mordred roared defiantly, unleashing a colossal wave of hatred-laden power toward Arthur and Achilles, overwhelming everything in its path.
---
"Your Master should already be dead after taking Missy's Noble Phantasm head-on."
Achilles flashed Arthur a confident smirk, though his voice held a note of genuine disappointment. Losing the chance to properly duel the legendary King of Knights was a significant letdown for someone who relished battle as much as Achilles did.
But this was a Holy Grail War. Achilles wouldn't interfere with his faction's strategic decisions merely to indulge his own desires. War was never something one could bend purely to personal whims. Though his active lifespan had been brief, Achilles had still tasted the realities of war, knowing every decision was critical.
At that moment, the dust around Arthur and Achilles gradually cleared. Where Shirou Emiya had previously stood was now utterly empty, leaving only devastation and countless glowing swords conjured from mana.
Regrettably, Shirou hadn't been able to analyze Achilles's shield—[Akhilleus Kosmos]—at all, making projecting anything remotely similar impossible.
Although [Rho Aias] and [Akhilleus Kosmos] were considered defensive Noble Phantasms of similar ranks, the former was merely a conceptual armament, while the latter was a divine construct forged by the gods themselves.
Indeed, while [Akhilleus Kosmos] had shattered completely under Karna's spear strike, [Rho Aias]—which specialized specifically against thrown weapons—had struggled merely to withstand a single B+ ranked Noble Phantasm from Cú Chulainn.
In practice, the gap between the two was enormous. Moreover, Shirou Emiya's projected [Rho Aias] was already degraded by projection, placing it far below [Akhilleus Kosmos] in true defensive capability.
And neither in the past nor the future would Shirou Emiya ever possess the capability to analyze and recreate divine armaments. At best, any projection would merely replicate the shape, utterly devoid of its special powers.
However—
Achilles suddenly sensed something wasn't quite right.
Firstly, Arthur hadn't shown the slightest sign of fading away, indicating his Master was still alive somewhere. Secondly, Shirou Emiya wasn't a Servant like Astolfo; Astolfo's disappearance could be explained, but Shirou Emiya should have left behind a corpse. Yet nothing remained.
Unfortunately, neither Achilles nor Arthur had the luxury of contemplating this further.
In the midst of war, there simply wasn't enough time to puzzle out every mystery.
Aside from the vanished Shirou Emiya and Astolfo, another Servant remained—one who had now absorbed the destructive force of two Noble Phantasms.
"The moment is here! My strike will shatter all oppression, crush all tyranny—such is Spartacus!"
A grotesque mass of gray flesh, barely recognizable as human, roared defiantly, its entire form radiating blinding energy.
Both Arthur and Achilles immediately sensed the immense magical power contained within. If released all at once, it would easily raze the entire town to the ground.
Yet their reactions differed completely.
Achilles merely shrugged with unconcern, holding his spear casually toward Arthur, his shield still at his side.
Arthur, however, wore a grim expression, frantically scanning the surroundings. He could still sense his contract intact—his Master hadn't perished under Archer's attack, though he surely wasn't unscathed either. Otherwise, Arthur wouldn't be here desperately searching for his missing Master.
At precisely that moment, a fierce crimson beam flashed across the distant sky, radiating an oppressive hatred so potent Arthur felt it pressing down upon him personally.
He instantly recognized that loathing—it was hatred directed specifically toward himself. And he also understood with absolute certainty that the approaching attack carried unique, devastating consequences meant only for him.
---
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
discord.gg/wisetl
patreon.com/wisetl