As the Great Holy Grail War approached its climax, Ruler grew increasingly confused by the situation unfolding before her.
Looking back now, something had felt wrong from the very beginning.
A seven-on-seven war between Heroic Spirits certainly called for a Ruler, but Jeanne did not feel that this was the mission she had been entrusted with.
Deep within the Holy Maiden's heart, something was urging her forward. It felt less like a sense of duty and more like a sense of danger.
Why had the "Red" faction attacked her?
What were they plotting?
When Jeanne saw the "Red" Assassin's enormous aerial fortress, her anxiety reached its peak.
Even after reviewing the history of past Holy Grail Wars, that Noble Phantasm was far too abnormal.
The "Hanging Gardens of Babylon" put Jeanne on high alert.
It seemed she needed to meet the Masters of "Red," who had never once shown themselves until now.
Then Jeanne told Shirou what she was thinking.
"I plan to go meet 'someone' tonight."
"Who?"
"There is someone hidden within this Holy Grail War whom I must meet. I don't know who they are, and I'm not even sure whether they are a Servant or a Master, but I have to see them."
The Holy Maiden's words were vague, yet they carried a strange kind of conviction.
Shirou could feel the absolute resolve Jeanne held within her.
I see. She really is a lot like Artoria...
"Understood. Then I'll give you a ride."
"What?"
Jeanne blinked in confusion, and in the next instant, a pure white airship wrapped in golden light appeared above their heads.
"W-What is that!?"
Jeanne stared at it in astonishment.
Its size and tonnage were nowhere near those of the "Hanging Gardens of Babylon," but in terms of Mystery, the two were practically on the same level.
Unlike the enormous aerial fortress, which emphasized defense and suppression, the Ehangwen prioritized mobility.
In the original history of King Arthur, it had been a high-speed yacht capable only of traveling across water.
But in this world, it had gained flight capabilities and a bow ram. As a Noble Phantasm, it could no longer be called the same thing as its source text.
The key point was this: the "Red" Assassin had hidden the Hanging Gardens as her trump card until now, while Shirou had brought this thing out with the casual air of, "Oh, right, I think I have one of these."
The "Hanging Gardens of Babylon" had been Jeanne's basis for judging that the "Red" faction was secretly breaking the rules, but after seeing Shirou pull out something like this, she could not help starting to doubt herself.
"Alright, stop standing there. Let's get on."
"Wait... where are you touching me, Artorius! I can get on by myself!"
Jeanne angrily covered her butt and jumped onto the airship.
Shirou piloted the chalk-white craft away from the ground, accelerating from zero to supersonic speed in an instant.
Ruler had never experienced anything like it before. At most, she had ridden in an airplane, and the sudden acceleration made her stumble and lose her balance.
Shirou reacted instantly and caught her from behind.
"Are you okay, Ruler?"
"...Guh!?"
The Holy Maiden stared blankly at the boy holding her as he asked, her fair cheeks slowly turning crimson.
...
Semiramis was the first to notice the chalk-white airship approaching from the distance.
"That is... Tch... what a troublesome Master and Servant!"
Semiramis had assumed she would be the sole ruler of the Romanian skies, only to find that Manaka Sajyou had managed to infiltrate her Magical Workshop.
Not only that, but her Servant, that arrogant red-haired boy, also possessed a Noble Phantasm capable of flight.
There was no way Shirou's actions did not carry a hint of provocation.
Although Semiramis was so furious she nearly bit her lip until it bled, she did not take the bait.
Her immediate priority was to cover Shirou and the "Red" Heroic Spirits, who had already left the Hanging Gardens and were marching toward the Fortress of Millennia.
Semiramis decided to ignore the "Black" Saber, who was deliberately provoking her.
She had already formed a secret pact with Manaka Sajyou. Saber might not know about it, but surely he was not stupid enough to challenge her directly.
"Then I shall prepare some foot soldiers while I have the chance."
Assassin stood at the bow of the Hanging Gardens, looking down at the forest below that was about to become a battlefield.
Then she gracefully turned her palm, and a massive pitch-black cauldron appeared in midair.
The overturned cauldron rained yellowed bone fragments onto the ground. Once the bone dust sank into the soil, it grew wildly like plants, eventually forming skeleton soldiers with lizard-like heads and jaws.
Dragon Tooth Soldiers.
Compared to Servants, they were extremely fragile.
But as long as the caster remained, they could be produced almost endlessly. They were more than enough to deal with the Yggdmillennia Homunculi.
Semiramis looked over her arrangements with satisfaction.
At the far end of the pitch-black forest, the Yggdmillennia clan and their Servants seemed to have finally made their move.
Unlike the small-scale clashes up to now, this place had a battlefield, soldiers, weapons, commanders, territory that had to be seized, and above all, a "King" who had to be annihilated.
With little time remaining before the decisive battle whose final goal was complete annihilation, Semiramis quietly waited for that moment to arrive.
"...?"
The Empress blinked. Why had something beside her been glowing this whole time?
She turned to look, and there it was, the chalk-white airship speeding toward her... no, crashing straight into her.
"Huh?"
After enhancing her vision with Mana, she saw the "Black" Saber standing at the bow of the airship.
"What the hell is that guy thinking?"
Semiramis was dumbfounded.
From the perspective of a standard Holy Grail War, Shirou's high-mobility craft, "Ehangwen," was unquestionably a Noble Phantasm beyond normal standards (Rank EX).
Even so, it was still nowhere near the level of the Hanging Gardens.
The difference in size alone was absurd. The Hanging Gardens were more than ten times larger, and at least a hundred times heavier.
Shirou steered the airship straight toward the Hanging Gardens without the slightest hesitation.
At most, the Hanging Gardens might suffer minor damage. On his side, it would only end with the craft destroyed and everyone on it dead.
"Tch... have you lost your mind, Saber!? Do you want to die that badly?"
As Semiramis forced the Hanging Gardens into an emergency evasive maneuver, she used sound-transmission Magecraft to shout furiously at Shirou in the distance.
If he were trying to snipe Assassin, the one who ruled this place, that would at least make sense. But what was the point of launching a suicide attack?
"Why are you dodging?" Shirou asked back.
"Because you're trying to ram me!"
Semiramis went pale with anger. "You clearly have artillery. Why are you insisting on ramming me!?"
"No, I'm not getting into a firepower contest with Caster. I'm not stupid."
Shirou knew very well how terrifying the Hanging Gardens' firepower was.
He could sense more than ten intense Mana reactions alone. In terms of single-shot power, his side might have the advantage, but even Ehangwen would have a hard time breaking through the enemy's barrage and defensive spell formulas.
"More importantly, why did you dodge...? Is there some reason you can't let it take damage, Assassin?"
"Ugh...!"
Semiramis froze.
This boy... he really is sharp...
The Hanging Gardens were the key to tonight's operation. Not the slightest mishap could be allowed.
That was precisely why Semiramis had only sent out Dragon Tooth Soldiers to fight the "Black" faction instead of committing the Hanging Gardens to the battlefield, despite possessing enough firepower to crush the enemy one-sidedly.
Had the "Black" Saber noticed even that?
Assassin drew in a sharp breath.
The Hanging Gardens completed its evasive maneuver, and the chalk-white airship scraped past the lower section of the fortress without damaging its core.
Semiramis grabbed the railing beside her, bracing herself against the impact as she glared at Shirou with wide, almond-shaped eyes.
"Very well. Now it is my turn to strike back!
Be vaporized in my radiance, and regret your reckless advance.
Tiamtum Ūmu: Eleven Black Coffins!!"
At the Empress's command, the Hanging Gardens' defensive mechanism activated.
Twelve long, rectangular pitch-black slabs floated around the Hanging Gardens, each over twenty meters in length. Now, they transformed into main cannons and fired light projectiles that tore through the sky.
The Hanging Gardens' interception spell formula, "Eleven Black Coffins."
A massive black coffin modeled after the eleven Magical Beasts said to have been born from the legendary monster Tiamat. Each light projectile it fired possessed power equal to a meteor falling from high altitude.
"————————!"
The Hanging Gardens launched a fierce assault on the airship and Shirou, as though pouring out the Empress's fury.
The red-haired boy standing at the bow remained perfectly calm, watching as the light projectiles capable of easily shooting him down closed in before his eyes.
Although those light projectiles did not reach the "Anti-Fortress" class, a single shot of their A-rank "Anti-Army" firepower would be enough to vaporize most Heroic Spirits.
At last, just as the light projectiles were about to swallow him and the airship, Shirou activated the main cannon.
Like the Hanging Gardens, the chalk-white airship's power source and main cannon were not a Noble Phantasm, but genuine Magecraft.
It was the Divine-class Grand Magecraft wielded by Morgan, the Fairy Queen: the Holy Lance Rhongomyniad.
The Light of the End overflowing from the ship's inner core did not fire straight forward. Instead, it became a spiral of magical light.
Like a river of radiance, the Holy Lance's energy coiled around the airship and deflected every light projectile fired by the Hanging Gardens.
"..."
Semiramis frowned, her expression turning grave.
It could not be called a defeat, but this was the first time her annihilation spell formula had been blocked by Magecraft.
Although she always insisted that she was not a Magus, deep down, the Empress still took pride in her Magecraft.
She could accept an opponent using a Noble Phantasm or "Magic Resistance" to oppose her, but she could not tolerate someone matching her in a Magecraft battle.
Just as Semiramis was about to unleash a second volley at even greater output,
"Alright, I suppose it's time for me to retreat."
"Running away, are you, 'Black' Saber!?"
"I never planned to fight you in the first place."
Shirou waved to her with a faintly mocking smile. "I only came to make a delivery... See you later."
"What!?"
Semiramis whipped around and saw a dignified white figure.
"Don't call me a delivery... you idiot."
Ruler, holding the Holy Banner, had appeared on the deck of the Hanging Gardens.
"I finally get to meet you, 'Red' Assassin... Semiramis, Empress of Assyria."
So this was your real objective, Saber...
Assassin bit down on her red lips in humiliation. Allowing Ruler to break through this far was an absolutely intolerable failure.
Fortunately, if there was one saving grace, Shirou was not currently on the Hanging Gardens.
If Ruler saw him, everything would be ruined.
Although Semiramis had been thrown off for a moment, she quickly regained her composure.
Ignoring the red-haired boy as he withdrew from the scene, she gave the young Ruler a confident smile.
"So, Ruler. Why are you mingling with the 'Black' Saber? Did the two of you strike some private bargain?"
"N-No... there's nothing improper going on! Our relationship is completely innocent!"
Semiramis: "?"
It had only been a casual question, yet for some reason, Ruler's cheeks flushed red as she squirmed and denied it with all her might.
...
"Alright, Ruler's escort mission is complete. Next..."
Shirou steered the airship toward the main battlefield.
The melee between the "Black" and "Red" factions should already be reaching its peak, and he intended to use this chance to pick off an opening.
According to the pact he had made with Sisigou and the others yesterday, Mordred's main target from here on would be the "Black" side, while Shirou's main target would be the "Red" side.
After seeing how fired up Mordred had been yesterday, Shirou was feeling motivated too. He could not afford to lose to her.
With that thought, he turned around.
"Looks like I don't need to go looking for enemies after all... As an Archer, isn't it a little reckless to come straight to me?"
Shirou looked at the beast-eared girl standing about ten meters away from him, the "Red" Archer.
Atalanta's long hair was lifted by the high-altitude winds, fluttering in the air.
Shirou thought she must have jumped aboard when he rammed the Hanging Gardens and sent Jeanne onto it.
She really was agile.
So, was this Assassin's arrangement? Did she turn the tables on me?
No, Assassin definitely did not know about this.
Besides, sending Archer after an opponent even the "Red" Lancer failed to defeat would be like feeding meat to the enemy.
After seeing my airship, Archer ignored the order to attack the "Black" faction and hid inside the fortress specifically to wait for me...?
That is reckless as hell.
Shirou looked at the "The Sign of a Woman in Distress EX" on his Status Parameters and sighed helplessly.
"Being targeted by a beauty like you, am I lucky, or unlucky?"
"..."
Killing intent flashed in Atalanta's eyes.
"I'm kidding... I get it, I get it."
With an air of "I suppose there's no helping it," Shirou summoned his favored black bow.
"Anyway, this is what you were waiting for, right?"
The corners of Atalanta's mouth lifted.
In life, to protect the chastity she had sworn to preserve, she had imposed a trial on the suitors drawn by her beauty.
They had to race her and beat her. Those who lost could only die.
Even so, men who refused to give up kept coming to challenge her, and every single one failed.
Atalanta had absolute confidence in her archery, equal to her confidence in her speed.
This divine bow, blessed by two great gods, would never lose to anyone.