The second Servant game ended in less than half an hour due to the simple competition system and the overwhelming strength of certain Servants.
Assassin suddenly emerged as a dark horse. Despite being fully targeted in the later stages, he still won first place.
The second place was not Arash, who had great momentum at the beginning, nor Iskandar, who was charging ahead with the advantage of his chariot. Instead, it was Nero, the main force who competed with Assassin in the later stages. When she was clearing the ground with magic cannons and bombing Assassin, she inadvertently claimed the heads of many others.
Iskandar used his chariot to race across the field and finally beat Arash by one point to win third place. It became increasingly difficult for Arash to secure kills once people became wary of him, so he ended up in fourth place.
Vlad III maintained full firepower in the late game. With his limitless magical energy allowing for the continuous release of his Noble Phantasm, he barely squeezed into fifth place. Diarmuid took sixth. Okita Souji, due to her weak constitution and lack of effective attacks in the middle of the chaos, only secured a few suicide points and ended up in last place.
After two games, the final scores of the seven groups of Masters and Servants were tallied:
Kiritsugu Emiya's Assassin Group: Ranked first with 24 points (4 + 20).
Asuna Yuuki's Saber Group: Ranked second with 21 points (21 + 0).
Flora's Berserker Group: Ranked third with 18 points (15 + 3).
Alice Nakiri's Caster Group: Ranked fourth with 17 points (2 + 15).
Kenneth's Lancer Group: Ranked fifth with 12 points (10 + 2).
Waver's Rider Group: Ranked sixth with 11 points (1 + 10).
Megumin's Archer Group: Ranked seventh with 7 points (3 + 4).
"I'm sorry, Master. I am useless and have failed your expectations. Please punish me for my incompetence."
Diarmuid knelt on one knee in front of Kenneth to apologize. He felt that his poor results had dragged down the advantage Kenneth had fought so hard to win in the first game.
Kenneth's face didn't look good. He was very angry. He had worked hard to finish third in the first game, but due to Diarmuid's defeat, their overall ranking had dropped two places. Kenneth wanted to curse Diarmuid, but when he thought about the ferocity of the Servant melee, which was essentially a battle between demigods, he swallowed the words that came to his lips.
"Forget it. This battle is not entirely your fault. The final battle will begin soon, and you still have a chance to make amends." Kenneth paused, then added sternly, "Don't let me down again."
"Yes!" Diarmuid lowered his head and responded.
A similar scene occurred with Asuna Yuuki.
"Woohoo... I'm sorry, Asuna-san, it's all my fault for being so useless." Okita Souji lay in Asuna's arms, crying like a pear blossom bathed in rain.
"Okay, okay, you've worked hard. It doesn't matter," Asuna said, gently stroking her back to comfort her.
"But... it is obvious that you took first place, while I came in last... Woohoo~!"
"I was just let off the hook by everyone. Otherwise, how could I have gotten first place with my level? I am already very content. It really doesn't matter."
"But what should we do in the final battle? Asuna-san, if I am this unreliable, everyone will definitely come after us. After all, we have so many points."
"This is indeed a big problem..." Asuna rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on.
Although their group was currently ranked second, after two games, everyone knew that their group's overall combat strength was the weakest. Yet, they held a massive amount of points. In the eyes of the other groups, they were just a big, juicy piece of meat waiting to be devoured. It was inevitable that they would be targeted by every group.
We have to think of a solution quickly, Asuna thought. Even though she didn't care about winning or losing, she didn't want to lose in an ugly fashion.
The situation was similar for the other groups. Except for Flora, who didn't care, and Alice Nakiri, who just wanted to have fun, the teams of Kiritsugu, Waver, and Megumin were all deep in thought, strategizing for the final battle.
The final battle did not start immediately, giving the seven groups of players enough time to rest. The girls who had returned from Dimension City acted as operations staff, preparing food and recovery supplies.
"Not as delicious as yours, but still pretty good." Artoria gave this evaluation after finishing her lunch.
Knowing that Artoria's defining attribute was being a glutton, Takumi naturally worked hard in this area. During these past few days, all of Artoria's meals had been cooked by him personally. Otherwise, Artoria would not have been so willing to grant him favors.
Although Artoria was naive in some aspects, she wasn't lacking common sense. It wasn't proper for her to dress in a bunny suit in front of the opposite sex. If Takumi hadn't lured her with delicious food, she wouldn't have even considered it.
Hearing Artoria's rating, Takumi took advantage of the opportunity. "Want to eat these delicacies all the time? If you want, just come to my Dimension City."
Artoria glanced at Takumi but did not answer. She had heard these words many times recently. While tempted, she wouldn't be unable to walk just because of food.
Seeing this, Takumi was not discouraged. As long as he didn't cancel the summons, Artoria would have to follow him. There would be time to slowly win her over. However, he decided he would not touch Artoria romantically until she regained her physical body.
After lunch, the game continued.
The venue changed again. The space expanded significantly, with stone forests and various structures rising from the ground, simulating forests, towns, and plains to form complex terrain like a small island.
"This is the battlefield for the third event: The Points Battle. Everyone already knows the basic rules. What needs to be added are the details," Nero announced, gathering everyone once more.
"First, flight restrictions have been lifted. As long as you are within the arena, you can move freely, but lethal force is still prohibited. Secondly, the initial location is selectable. You may choose a starting point on the map. The game will not begin until everyone is in position."
"Location selection is done confidentially by the referee, so no one will know where the others are and must search for them. Of course, if you choose an open location to expose yourself, that's your choice. The time limit is four hours. Captured point flags must be held until the end of the time limit to count."
"Those are the detailed rules. Do you all understand?"
Everyone nodded. Then, they examined the map. After choosing their initial locations, they wrote them on small notes and handed them to Artoria, the referee, receiving their point flags in return. The flags were small, only the size of a palm, and inserted into a strap so they wouldn't hinder movement.
After all seven groups chose their locations, Artoria handed Takumi the slips. Takumi waved his hand, spreading teleportation magic beneath the players, sending them to their corresponding coordinates.
"The Finals, the Battle for Points, begins now!"
Artoria's voice spread throughout the arena. Receiving the order, all seven groups took action.
Unfortunately for Kenneth, his group's initial location coincided with Megumin's group; they almost overlapped. In a town area with many buildings suitable for hiding, the two groups landed in houses right next to each other.
Kenneth planned to establish a magic workshop here, set up a base camp, and then advance steadily. Megumin, however, planned to take the initiative because she was in last place. She chose this place hoping to intercept Asuna's team, analyzing that the complex buildings were the most likely place for the survival-focused Asuna to hide.
As a result, the two parties met by coincidence. Arash and Diarmuid discovered the enemy immediately and quickly warned their Masters.
"Tsk, bad luck. Lancer, let's retreat." Kenneth's expression changed, ready to avoid the battle. He didn't have time to quarrel with Megumin; he needed to grab points. Megumin's team was ranked last, so there was little benefit in beating them, and they were a tough nut to crack. Instead of struggling with them, he would rather find the teams of Kiritsugu, Asuna, or Alice.
"Want to escape? No way! Arash, keep them here!"
Hearing that Kenneth wanted to withdraw, how could Megumin let him get his wish? The scores from the first game hadn't been settled yet! Moreover, unlike Kenneth who looked down on her low points, Megumin was currently desperate and vicious, wanting to rob everyone she saw.
Therefore, as soon as Kenneth and Diarmuid walked out of the house, Arash's arrows flew toward them. Megumin followed closely, releasing multiple small spells, sending a barrage of attacks at the duo.
"Lancer! Accept the challenge!"
Seeing that he couldn't retreat, Kenneth had no choice but to fight. He wore the strap on his body and controlled the Volumen Hydrargyrum to form an absolute defense sphere, huddling inside to protect himself while allowing Diarmuid to fight freely.
Diarmuid did not hesitate. Wielding his two spears, he faced the arrows and magic, rushing toward Arash.
"Let's settle the score from the second game!"
"Tsk!"
Arash saw Diarmuid coming with fierce momentum. Because Megumin was too close, he dared not confront the Lancer head-on. He quickly picked up Megumin and retreated rapidly to create distance.
While the fight began on one side, progress was being made elsewhere.
In the open space next to the town, Iskandar summoned his chariot, took Waver into the air, and began to search for enemies. Not far away, he found Flora and Vlad III at the junction of the plains and the town. Without saying a word, Iskandar drove his chariot and rammed straight into them.
On the Stone Forest side, Asuna Yuuki and Okita Souji met Alice Nakiri and Nero. Asuna chose this side because she felt the terrain suited Okita's fighting style, could restrain Iskandar's chariot, and offered easy escape routes. Alice had chosen it randomly.
Alice and Nero didn't care about winning or losing, as long as they had fun. Therefore, Nero hadn't even used her Territory Creation to set up a base. When they met, they didn't fight.
"Wait, Alice, let's form an alliance." Asuna was preparing to trick Alice into joining her, but Alice nodded without thinking.
"Okay."
"Can we... huh? You agree already?" Asuna was stunned halfway through her speech, and Okita was equally surprised.
"That's right, isn't it just an alliance? No problem, I agree." Alice walked up with a smile, stretching out her hands to rub Asuna's dazed face. "With our relationship, do we need so much nonsense? If you ask, I won't refuse."
Asuna came back to her senses and nodded. "Okay."
The alliance was finalized. Nero and Okita, seeing their Masters had such a good relationship, also accepted the alliance. Then, the two Servants looked at each other.
"Hmm, you look a lot like me," Nero noted.
She hadn't talked much to Okita before. Now that she looked carefully, she realized Okita looked incredibly similar to her, as if cast from the same mold, differing only in hair and eye color. Okita, who had never seen Nero up close, was also surprised.
"Hey, now that you mention it, if you look carefully, you really do look alike." Alice looked back and forth between them.
"It is indeed very similar," Asuna agreed.
The two were confused. Why did a Roman Emperor and a Japanese warrior from the Bakumatsu period look so similar?
If Takumi were here, he would tell them this was the "Saberface" phenomenon. Just wait until Artoria (various versions), Jeanne d'Arc, Mordred, Morgan, Gray, the Valkyrie sisters, and Uesugi Kenshin were summoned—then they would see what true resemblance looked like. Not to mention the male versions like Bedivere and Arthur. It was a characteristic of the Moonlit World. But since Takumi wasn't there, their question remained unanswered.
"Forget it, why bother? Besides, it's interesting, isn't it?" Nero shrugged and didn't delve into it.
"Well, His Majesty Nero is right. Let's discuss what to do next." Okita tacitly ignored the question as well.
"Alice, what are your plans?" Asuna asked.
"Plan..." Alice scratched her head. "How about just finding a target and beating them up?"
She really didn't have a plan; her only goal was to join the fun. She would go wherever a fight broke out, acting as a casual agent of chaos.
"Doesn't that mean you have no plan?" Asuna was speechless. She always felt Alice was somewhat unreliable in this game.
"How about you? What are your plans?" Alice asked back.
"My plan..." Asuna's original plan was similar to what Megumin had guessed: stay on the sidelines, preserve points, and steal opportunities later. But now...
Asuna glanced at Alice and Nero. Including themselves, there were four people, so they didn't have to be so passive. At the same time, Asuna had a bold idea.
"I have a very interesting idea." Asuna told the three of them her thoughts.
After listening, their eyes lit up.
"Mmm, this is a great idea. I agree."
"Master, you are simply a genius."
"It's really interesting. Okay, let's do it."
The three immediately agreed to Asuna's plan. Then, the four of them quietly hid and began to prepare. When they appeared again, everything about them had changed except for the straps holding the flags. They happily chose a direction and couldn't wait to start the slaughter.