The port at midnight was silent. Because of the heavy snow over the past few days, transport ships had temporarily stopped operating. Not a single figure could be seen in the night.
At this moment, two figures were moving through the darkness.
Not long ago, after Irisviel had "reminded" him, Alvin realized something.
Maybe Sajyou Manaka's [Omniscience and Omnipotence] did not work on him, but her own perception was just as strong and he was still her servant. If she used a Command Seal, then no matter how high his Magic Resistance was, in the end he would have no choice but to submit.
He had to send Irisviel away first.
Once he understood this, Alvin immediately set off, taking Irisviel with him as they left the port.
While his thoughts drifted, the two of them stepped through the snow. Accompanied by the soft crunching sound underfoot, they had unknowingly reached the edge of the port area.
In midair, a faint crimson barrier could be seen flickering in and out of sight.
It was a special barrier meant to block presence. In order to keep others from sensing her location, Sajyou Manaka had deliberately set up this concealment field.
However, just as the two were about to leave the port's boundary, a clear and pleasant girl's voice suddenly rang out from the darkness ahead.
"Saber?"
The moment that voice sounded, "Irisviel's" body visibly tensed.
Even as one of the founders of the Holy Grail system, she was wary when facing this Princess of the Root. And now she was far too weak, merely a lingering fragment of consciousness.
'Manaka really did notice.'
Alvin's heart sank. He stepped forward, standing in front of Irisviel.
Sajyou Manaka slowly walked out of the darkness. Her black rose-colored long dress swayed in the cold wind. Golden hair flew freely, and on her porcelain-like face was a charming smile.
She lightly pressed a hand against the skirt before her knees, her posture elegant, her tone full of surprise and delight.
"I didn't expect you to notice so quickly. I thought it would take at least a few more days."
"At first, when I saw you get shot, I really thought you were dead… but then I thought about it. How could [Omniscience and Omnipotence] fail to foresee and avoid that kind of risk in advance?"
Alvin let out a helpless sigh.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
Right now, he truly felt a headache coming on.
Not long ago, he had chosen Sajyou Manaka in front of Morgan. Alvin had even felt rather satisfied with his decision.
He knew Artoria and Morgan's personalities. If he had chosen Morgan back then, they would surely have felt a certain regret.
Choosing to continue with Sajyou Manaka as his master might have seemed like offending the Artoria sisters on the surface, but in truth it avoided offending either side.
After all, Artoria was the kind of person who, once she acknowledged a master, would guard them until the very end unless it crossed her bottom line. Of course she hoped Alvin would do the same.
And Morgan… after being rejected by him, she would only be stirred into wanting to forcibly "N.T.R" him.
But he never imagined that even after choosing Sajyou Manaka, she would still pull something this big.
Secretly modifying the rules of the Holy Grail War. If the other servants found out, they would definitely gang up on her.
Alvin steadied his thoughts and said in a low voice, "Manaka, it's not too late to stop."
"Stop?", Sajyou Manaka tilted her head, "I'm doing this so we can stay together forever, Alvin."
"As long as the Greater Grail keeps existing, servants will never disappear, don't you think that's wonderful?"
'But I still want to go back.'
Alvin hesitated.
"If there isn't enough magical energy, the Greater Grail will still disappear, right?"
"Then we just keep filling it with magical energy. And that's very simple. Dead servants can provide it."
Sajyou Manaka smiled gently.
"Besides… the Greater Grail already contains enough magical energy."
That sentence left Alvin stunned for quite a while.
Soon, as if recalling something extremely important, his pupils slowly widened.
'Wait a second…'
'This is the Fourth Holy Grail War.'
'But if I remember correctly, during the Third Holy Grail War, the Einzbern family had summoned an irregular Avenger-class servant, Angra Mainyu.'
'After Angra Mainyu was eliminated and absorbed by the Grail, the Greater Grail was contaminated. The so-called magical energy within it was actually the "black mud" that could corrupt servants and turn them dark.'
In order to make the Greater Grail exist permanently, Sajyou Manaka did not seem to care at all about what consequences it would bring.
Because for this Princess of the Root, there was no such thing as "emotion."
Doing whatever she pleased, as long as her wishes came true, that was Sajyou Manaka.
"Don't you want to stay with me forever?", she suddenly asked, her sapphire eyes dimming slightly.
Alvin opened his mouth. He had wanted to calm her first.
But before he could speak, Sajyou Manaka softly said, "Forget it, once everything settles, you'll understand me."
"As for now, return to my side, Saber."
One of the Command Seals that had just been transplanted onto Sajyou Manaka quietly faded.
A Command Seal was activated at this moment.
Yet Alvin did not move at all.
Sajyou Manaka froze.
"The Command Seal didn't take effect?"
'Because Saber's Magic Resistance is too high?'
'That makes sense. After all, he is Saber. One Command Seal probably isn't enough for him.'
'In that case…'
Sajyou Manaka raised her right hand again, her voice gentle.
"Saber, heed my command. Return to my side—"
The second Command Seal lit up.
And still, there was no reaction.
Sajyou Manaka was completely stunned.
'Eh? Why?'
'No matter how high a servant's Magic Resistance is, it should be impossible to resist two Command Seals.'
"Saber—"
Just as Sajyou Manaka was about to use the third Command Seal, someone slowly stepped forward from behind Alvin.
Silver hair danced in the cold wind. The white dress fluttered backward, perfectly outlining her graceful and alluring figure.
When she saw the silver-haired beauty behind Alvin, Sajyou Manaka's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly.
"So it's you causing trouble, Holy Maiden of Winter?"
Alvin also turned to look at the woman behind him, astonished.
"You can block Manaka's Command Seals?"
"It's not that I blocked them. This is simply one of the rules of the Holy Grail War."
"Irisviel" gently shook her head, her voice cool and pleasant.
"I can sense that not long ago, Miss Sajyou summoned a new servant."
"According to the rules of the Holy Grail War a master can only possess one servant."
Her gaze softened as she looked at Sajyou Manaka.
"Saber no longer belongs to you, Miss Sajyou."
Sajyou Manaka's heart suddenly skipped. She stared stiffly at "Irisviel."
"What are you trying to do?"
"From the moment you summoned a second servant, Saber entered a state of having no master."
"Irisviel" lifted her eyes softly.
"And I… also do not have a servant."
Her fair and delicate hand gently touched Alvin's right hand.
A cool and soft sensation spread from her palm.
Buzz!
Under Sajyou Manaka's blank gaze, a new contract formed.
As if unable to believe it, Sajyou Manaka slowly lowered her head to look at her own hands, then looked forward again.
The contract between her and Alvin… had been severed.
"W-What did you do?", Her voice trembled faintly.
Someone had just stolen her servant right in front of the Princess of the Root.
And now this woman was still holding his hand.
'What kind of humiliation is this?'
Even Sajyou Manaka had never imagined that someone would exploit the loophole she created in the Grail's rules. At the very moment she summoned a new servant, that person formed a new contract with Saber.
Boom!
At that moment, from a warehouse behind Sajyou Manaka, a jet-black pillar of light shot down from the sky.
Almost at the same time, magi all across Fuyuki turned to look in that direction.
———
Inside the Holy Church, Kotomine Kirei quickly walked to the church entrance, staring in disbelief at the dark pillar of light near the port.
After watching it solemnly for a long time, he muttered, "The eighth… servant of this Holy Grail War?"
'How could that be?'
'Logically, there should only be seven servants fighting.'
'Then why now…'
'And if I am not mistaken, this is—'
'Ruler?'
Normally, the Holy Grail War would only summon seven servants. Through their battles, the final victor would summon the legendary wish-granting machine known as the Greater Grail.
But according to Kotomine Kirei's understanding, there was another situation where an eighth servant might appear.
When the form of the Holy Grail War was extremely unusual, with an uncertain outcome that required a Ruler to judge.
Or when the impact of the war might distort the world itself, a Ruler would also descend.
And servants qualified for the Ruler class shared one common trait: they had no wish before death.
If Fuyuki truly had an eighth servant, it was highly likely to be Ruler.
The only question was who this Ruler was.
"Ruler… In the past three Holy Grail Wars in Fuyuki, I've never heard of Ruler appearing."
Tohsaka Tokiomi stepped to the church entrance, gazing toward the port.
"It seems even the 'Grail' believes there's something wrong with this Holy Grail War."
After tonight, all the servants had shown themselves once. Tokiomi already had his own judgment about their strength.
First, the Archer he summoned, the King of Heroes. His strength was undoubtedly at the very peak among servants.
But Caster had not fallen into a disadvantage when fighting Archer. That alone proved Caster was not inferior to Archer.
As for Saber, there was no need to say more. Earlier tonight, he personally killed the Einzbern Berserker.
Among all the servants, Saber might be the greatest threat.
From the moment the servants revealed themselves, Tokiomi had felt things gradually slipping beyond his control.
Now there was even a suspected Ruler descending.
Was that a good thing or not?
Just as Tokiomi was thinking this, the phone in his pocket suddenly rang.
He took it out and said in a low voice, "Hello? Aoi… what is it?"
Before the Holy Grail War began, he had told Tohsaka Aoi to focus on this "battle," and she had understood.
With his wife's personality, she would not call him lightly unless she encountered real trouble.
The moment he answered, he heard Aoi's voice on the verge of collapse, helpless and breaking.
"Rin…"
"What?", Tokiomi frowned, not understanding.
On the other end, Aoi tried desperately to stay calm, but her voice was filled with despair, ["Rin… Rin is missing!"]
Boom!
When he heard that, Tokiomi's eyes widened. It felt like a thunderclap struck his mind.
"How is that possible? Have you searched nearby?"
Tonight, all servants and masters had shown themselves. Logically, no one should have had the motive to kidnap Tohsaka Rin.
["I searched… One of her shoes was left in the park. She definitely didn't just wander off."]
There was panic and the sound of tears in Aoi's voice.
Tokiomi's expression shifted repeatedly.
His two daughters, Matou Sakura had run away not long after being adopted into the Matou family. She was even in Saber's hands now.
And now Rin was missing too.
In a sense, magi are cold creatures. They are human, but absolutely rational.
Though he had feelings for his daughters, Tokiomi also valued the inheritance of magecraft.
And Tohsaka Rin was the child most suited to his jewel magecraft.
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