"A worthy opponent indeed," Lancer said between blows. "Let's finish this!"
Saber nodded, stepping forward with her left foot, her invisible sword enveloped in a deep blue aura. Lancer answered with both spears whirling like a vortex.
Under the dim lights of the docks, the two legendary heroes charged at each other—steel clashing, sparks flying, and the rush of battle wind filling the night.
"Alright, now it's our turn to advance, Rider!"
Saber and Lancer, hearing my shout and sensing the surge of magical energy from Rider as she charged straight at them, immediately stopped fighting and dodged Pegasus's attack.
BOOM!
A powerful explosion hit them, sending both Lancer and Saber flying back.
"Saber…" Irisviel, worried for Arturia, didn't notice me standing right behind her.
"Irisviel, behind you!!"
Saber rolled back to avoid the blast, quickly got up, and tried to dash toward me—only to be blocked by Rider. Without hesitation, I grabbed Irisviel by the neck from behind and began reading the information within her body.
"Found it…" I muttered as I forcibly pulled Avalon from her. Irisviel let out a piercing scream.
"AHHHHH!!"
Once I extracted Avalon, I immediately copied it and embedded it into my own body.
"Rider's Master, stop this!" Saber shouted, seeing Irisviel limp in my grasp. She charged forward with all her might, ignoring Rider entirely.
Kiritsugu, witnessing the chaos, stopped keeping his sights on Kayneth and tried to assist by shooting at me. But it was useless—the bullets melted away before they could even touch me.
Blue flames began to swirl around us. This was a spell I created myself, inspired by the movie Fantastic Beasts—Protego Diabolica. As I chanted the incantation, the entire area was engulfed in blue fire. I had crafted this spell with the First Magic, and its effect was truly satisfying.
Everyone froze in shock at the sight of the devastation.
"Saber… do you want to save this woman?" I asked, locking eyes with her.
Saber, momentarily halted by Rider, stopped.
"Rider's Master, what do you want?"
"Heh… it's simple. Throw your sword to the ground—right where I stand."
Kiritsugu frowned at my strange request. But before he could speak, Arturia immediately threw Excalibur toward my face rather than my feet. It nearly struck me, but Rider deflected it with both of her blades.
"Thanks, Rider. You can return to my side now."
Rider walked calmly toward me, unfazed by the raging flames. Irisviel was still limp in my grasp, unable to move as my grip tightened around her neck.
"I've given you what you wanted. Now let her go," Arturia demanded angrily.
I ignored her. Instead, I reached for Excalibur lodged in the ground and pulled it free. Lancer, who had just regained consciousness, was stunned to see Arturia so badly wounded—but he smirked faintly.
"Looks like you're in pretty bad shape, Saber."
After examining the sword for a moment, I tossed it back to Saber. My purpose in this war had already been fulfilled.
I lifted Irisviel into the air.
"It'd be a waste to let this woman die… after all, she's the Lesser Grail vessel," I spoke to Rider through telepathy.
"Master, whatever your decision, I'll always be by your side," Medusa replied with a nod.
Without hesitation, i pierce my hand into Irisviel's chest.
"AHHHH… Ki…rit…su…gu… I… Lo~"
Her breathing stopped as I pulled her heart from her body. Of course, she wasn't dead—I had already secured her soul with the Third Magic.
"Good grief… what a hassle," I muttered, tossing the still-beating heart toward Kiritsugu.
"Take that as a gift from me."
Kiritsugu's eyes turned bloodshot as he caught it.
"IRISVIEL…!!!"
Saber cried out, charging toward me, but the blue flames barred her way.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning shot in my direction—only for Medusa to swat it aside with ease.
"STOP, ALL OF YOU!!"
"Oh, for crying out loud…" Iskandar appeared on his chariot in his usual flashy anime style, but this time wielding a staff crackling with lightning.
"Alright, I'll stop. Besides, my goal here is already complete."
"Hahaha, thank you for heeding my words, young magus," Iskandar said, then turned to glance at Saber and Lancer.
"Your duel was beautiful… two knights clashing for pride and glory. Rider, you are a loyal knight, obeying your master's command… But tell me, what's the point of an honorable one-on-one if you strike your opponent while their guard is down?"
Saber straightened her posture, gripping her sword tightly while her other hand remained injured.
Caster raised his hand.
"Join me, the four of you. Together, we'll conquer the world!"
"Caster, this isn't the time for jokes," Waver Velvet snapped sharply.
But Iskandar only laughed harder.
"Caster, this truly isn't the right time for jokes…" Saber said, her eyes fixed on Irisviel, who now sat atop Pegasus, held by Rider—looking down at them with an air of pride.
Lancer looked on with a mix of surprise and admiration, then gave a faint smile. "You certainly are confident, Caster."
Iskandar laughed proudly. "Of course. I am Iskandar, King of Conquerors. I will not rest until the land and skies themselves bow before me."
His massive chariot, pulled by towering warhorses, circled the dock. Lightning crackled around it, as if thunder itself were praising its master.
"Wow… he really acts like the whole world belongs to him," Allen muttered, half amused, half impressed by the grand spectacle before him.
Then Iskandar stood tall, his voice heavy and resonant.
"HEAR ME, HEROES IN HIDING!"
The words echoed across the water, reverberating through the dock with kingly authority.
"I, Iskandar, King of Conquerors, call upon you! Cease your petty tricks and skulking in the shadows! Tonight, let us gather—not to murder each other like thieves in the dark—but to look one another in the eye as Kings, Knights, and Heroes!"
His charisma radiated outward—an aura of a ruler who had commanded countless armies and claimed city after city. Now, that same commanding presence summoned both friend and foe to stand beneath the moonlight.
"Show yourselves, and declare your dreams and ambitions! Speak—what is it that brought you to the Holy Grail War?"
Moments later, a flash of golden light revealed a tall man with blonde hair, clad in golden armor.
"You're making quite the racket, Caster," he said with disdain.
Iskandar greeted him with a broad grin. "Excellent! Another King steps out of the shadows."
The golden-armored man scoffed. "You dare call yourself a King in the presence of the one true King? I am the sole sovereign of all creation. Everything in this world belongs to me—including the Holy Grail."
Before he could continue, a creeping darkness spread from the far end of the dock. Emerging from it came a towering figure in jet-black armor, his crimson eyes locked solely on Archer.
"What is that?" Waver asked, unable to read its stats.
"Hey, what do you see? Can you tell me?" Iskandar asked his Master, but the young man shook his head.
"Looks like he's using some concealment spell."
Berserker said nothing—he only glared at Archer with the air of a challenger.
"Hey, Archer… looks like that guy wants a piece of you," I said bluntly.
Archer's gaze sharpened. "How dare this mongrel stare at the King of Kings!"
A golden portal opened behind him, spitting out two holy weapons that streaked toward Berserker. At the last second, Berserker twisted aside, catching one weapon in midair and using it to deflect the other.
BOOM!
The explosion shook the dock. Berserker raised the captured sword toward Archer, as if mocking him.
"Hey, Archer… looks like the black knight really does want to challenge you. Honestly, if I were you, I'd be pissed already," I teased.
"Silence, mongrel!" Archer roared, unleashing more weapons from his portals.
Some came straight at me, but the blue flames of Portego Diabolica burned them to nothing before they could touch the ground.
Gilgamesh—that name now crystal clear in my mind—was growing visibly frustrated. Berserker dodged his attacks with insulting ease, fanning the flames of his temper.
"Yare yare… the King sure loses his cool fast. If Enkidu saw you like this, he'd be disappointed," I said casually.
Iskandar turned toward me, chuckling. "Hohoho… boy, do you know Archer's true identity?"
"Of course. He practically announced it earlier—'the oldest King.' That leaves only Gilgamesh. Add in his arrogance and his habit of calling everyone 'mongrels'… pathetic, really. If anything, he's the mongrel here, being half god, half man."
Iskandar burst into booming laughter. "Hahahaha! Boy, you have guts."
Saber and Lancer were clearly shocked by my words—and so were several Masters watching from the sidelines.
"You dare, magus, to call this King a mongrel?!" Gilgamesh snarled, opening dozens of Gates of Babylon at once.
The weapons aimed directly at me, as if he'd completely forgotten Berserker was even there.
"Hoo… am I wrong? In this era, someone of mixed blood like that would be called a mongrel, wouldn't they?" I goaded him again, watching his eyes burn redder.
Hundreds of weapons flew at me, only to melt away instantly in the blue fire cloaking me.
Berserker seized the opening—he shot forward at impossible speed, swinging his blade for Archer's neck.
CLANG!
The strike was blocked by yet another weapon from the golden portals.
Far away, Tokiomi Tohsaka, who had been watching intently, clenched his fists in concern. Archer's identity was now exposed, Gate of Babylon had been used openly—and worst of all, Gilgamesh was letting his emotions spiral. This was dangerous.
He raised his hand, speaking the Command Seal.
"Archer, by my Command Seal, I order you to calm yourself and withdraw!"
"TOKIOMI!!! How dare you command me—"
"You're very lucky I'll remember this." After saying that, Archer vanished from the scene.
"Hey, so… do you all still want to continue this fight? And Saber, you still seem pretty angry at me," I said while mounting Pegasus, preparing to leave. But Saber didn't move an inch.
"Rider, you may fight Saber, and I grant you permission to use all of your power."
"Understood, Master."
The mana surging from Rider suddenly skyrocketed, his parameters spiking to their peak.
"What the—?! The prana output is massive, and some of his parameters are hitting EX… the rest are A-rank!" Waver exclaimed in shock as he read Rider's mana and speed stats.
Meanwhile, Iskandar only laughed loudly, ignoring his Master's words.
Then Berserker, who had been standing still until now, suddenly seemed to go berserk at the sight of Saber and charged forward. Medusa, seeing the opening, wasted no time and rushed at Saber as well.
Artoria braced herself for the worst. Berserker closed the distance with terrifying speed, swinging his sword from her left. She blocked the strike, but her injured hand couldn't grip her weapon tightly, making her lose balance.
At that moment, Rider appeared behind her, aiming to stab her with a chained dagger. Saber tried to turn and block, but Berserker kicked her, throwing her off just enough to fail in deflecting Rider's strike.
Just as she was ready to face death—
DING!
A crimson spear intercepted Rider's dagger, and in the same instant, a golden spear thrust toward Rider's stomach. With a swift leap, Rider avoided Lancer's attack.
I swooped in on Pegasus, catching Rider in mid-air and carrying her away at full speed.
"See you next time—bye-bye!"
As I flew off, I felt like I'd forgotten something. Eh, whatever. They can handle it themselves.
The moment Allen was gone, Portego Diabolica went wild, transforming into three enormous dragons of blue fire that began devouring everything in their path.
"Oh hell… this is a mess. Guess I'll have to step in."
"What kind of magecraft is this?!" Waver's face turned pale as he watched the three dragons rampage.
Saber, already overwhelmed from battling Berserker, now had to contend with raging flames that were annihilating everything around them.
Author note : hey thanks for your enthusiasm about this FF, I hope this week I can get more than 50 power stones to motivate me in this story.
You can now support me on patreon and can access the entire collection in my library.
link is down below.
patreon.com/RRam784