Irisviel patted herself in a daze, feeling her connection to the Lesser Grail sever, as though she had become an ordinary homunculus again.
For her, this was clearly a good thing. She'd been created for the sole purpose of serving as the Lesser Grail's vessel, but in her short nine years of life she had found someone she loved, and given birth to a precious daughter of her own.
"Ruler, put down what you're holding. Iri, get back!"
In the face of Kiritsugu's command, Saber only leveled her invisible blade at Yimi.
"Saber, I don't think Ruler is an enemy…" Even as she said it, devoted as ever to Kiritsugu, Iri took a few steps back.
Kiritsugu glanced at the single Command Spell still on his hand. He hesitated for a moment. He'd sensed it from the first time he used one—if Saber truly intended to resist a Command Spell, he might need two to force compliance. He had planned to keep at least two in reserve as insurance, but somehow he'd lost one along the way.
And there were still six Servants on the field.
"That's the Lesser Grail?" Ritsuka stared at the cup-shaped object in Yimi's hand. "It should only have absorbed two Servants' worth of mana. Did Lancer secretly die when no one was looking?"
"I can hardly pretend I didn't hear that, Ruler's Master."
Speak of the devil—Diarmuid arrived, late and on foot, with no transportation of his own. "How unusual. I thought I'd be the last to arrive. I assumed a proud Servant like Archer would have been the first on the scene."
You couldn't blame him for the low presence. Of the seven Servant slots, five had shown up to the banquet—not counting Assassin, whom everyone had dismissed from the start—and you can guess who hadn't been invited.
"Never mind all that, Lancer. The Grail has appeared early for whatever inexplicable reason. Stop standing there in a stupor. Don't let that absurd chivalry of yours cost us victory."
Kayneth's voice carried an edge of impatience.
Of course he was impatient. As one of the Twelve Lords of the Clock Tower, he had—naturally—a political engagement. But unlike most romance stories where neither party wants the arrangement, he genuinely loved his fiancée. He deeply regretted letting Sola-Ui participate in this Holy Grail War, and—even more—regretted summoning Diarmuid as a backup, a Servant whose myth was already stained with a legend of infidelity.
That tear-shaped mole carried an innate charm effect. Whether for that reason or not, Sola had been openly infatuated with Lancer from the start—going as far as to belittle her own fiancé to defend the man.
And of all things, that charm couldn't enchant Irisviel from the Einzbern family, or that brat of a Master serving Ruler.
"It's the same chaos as the first night all over again." Lord El-Melloi II's voice carried unmistakable fatigue. "Shouldn't the urgent matter right now be stopping Lancelot's attack on Rider? Are you trying to wrap up the entire Holy Grail War in one night?"
"And why not?" Diarmuid didn't understand. He leveled both spears at Yimi. "She wears the face of a child, but I cannot pretend the spear she fired at me earlier didn't happen. As a fellow spear-wielding Servant, I'd very much like to test the depth of her skill."
"This is my last Command Spell, Saber." Kiritsugu invoked it with a wince. "Use your Noble Phantasm on Ruler. Take back the Grail with everything you have."
"Master…"
Saber's hand trembled faintly. Invisible Air dispelled. The wind blast pushed Irisviel back another stretch, and Excalibur—the gorgeous, ravaged blade—stood fully exposed to the open air.
There was nothing she truly wanted to resist. The only thing holding her back was how close Irisviel still stood.
Beyond that—yes, she had acknowledged Ruler as a genuine child, but as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and the strongest Heroic Spirit summoned to this Grail War, to show that child pity or mercy would only be an insult.
"Ex—calibur!"
Brilliant golden mana gathered along the blade, then erupted with her swing, sweeping over the small girl's body and folding upward into a colossal pillar of light.
"Ruler!"
Linked to Yimi by contract, Ritsuka of course knew the strike had done no damage. But she was a little puzzled—her little kitten was already holding the Lesser Grail, and the Greater Grail was right there too. Were they really not worried about wrecking one of them?
Here we go again…
Saber saw it clearly now. Last time hadn't been coincidence. Bathed in the light, the little girl had twisted the attack meant for her sideways, dropping it onto someone else's head.
"Such a powerful Noble Phantasm produced no effect?" Mid-question, Diarmuid's arm snapped rigid, leveling at the little girl. "My lord?"
"Lancer?"
There was no doubt. Kayneth had used a Command Spell.
Anyone seriously participating in the Holy Grail War knew exactly which obstacle to remove first.
"This Ruler possesses a barrier-type Noble Phantasm for self-defense. Lancer, shatter it with your Noble Phantasm."
Gáe Dearg, the Crimson Rose of Exorcism—its blessing was the unraveling of magecraft.
"This isn't right…"
But after he swept the spear through, the little girl before him stood entirely unharmed. At the far end of the light, the strike materialized over the head of a stern-looking young homunculus who had been scolding a white-haired, red-eyed little girl. The homunculus dropped dead on the spot. The little girl shrank against a wall, trembling.
Yimi finally moved. With her other hand she summoned the Spear of Longinus and blasted Diarmuid away the same as before, then looked down at the cup in her hands.
She'd been hoping—still hoping—to see what the Grail actually held. But she could smell something foul inside.
At the same moment, Iskandar—still hovering in the sky—suddenly grabbed Waver and landed, because Lancelot's Noble Phantasm had just destroyed his chariot.
"Now we're in trouble."
"There's no mistake. That Berserker has zero mana cost."
"Zero mana cost? Is that even possible?" Waver gaped.
"It is possible." Irisviel suddenly cut into their conversation, her gaze drifting to Ritsuka, who had so far done absolutely nothing. "The Third Magic—achieved by reaching the Root through the Holy Grail…"
"…Materialization of the Soul. Which produces infinite mana." Tokiomi Tohsaka, observing the battle through a familiar from afar, felt something unbelievable and feverish flicker behind his eyes.
Ruler's Master was a True Magic User? That was why she had been able to summon such a powerful Servant!
Kiritsugu, watching through his sniper rifle, felt his eyelid twitch wildly. He suddenly thought back to the one Origin Bullet he had wasted, the only one so far.
Ritsuka felt their stares.
Ritsuka was a little uncomfortable, because Ritsuka had done practically nothing in this Holy Grail War.
But Ritsuka folded her arms across her chest and—to ward off a surprise attack—maintained an aura of inscrutable depth and said nothing.
"How are we supposed to beat a combination like that?" Waver slumped to the ground, even slipping into a duck-sit.
Iskandar flicked him hard on the head.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"You haven't given everything yet, and already you're giving up? Boy, don't you still have two Command Spells? Conveniently, I happen to have a treasure I'd like to show you as well."
"Right, Command Spells…" Waver knew, even so, that they probably couldn't defeat this extra-class pairing. "By my Command Spell—Rider, defeat Berserker with everything you have!"
If he didn't give it his all, he knew he would look back on this day with regret no matter how it ended.
"They seem to have misunderstood something, but this is your chance, Fujimaru. You hold the floor now. Stop the chaos. At the very least, get Lancelot to break off from Rider," Lord El-Melloi II said, seizing on their reactions.
The scene was too chaotic. Ritsuka didn't hear him.
Ritsuka was lost in her own thoughts. It had only been a few days, and the Holy Grail War was already close to wrapping up? She'd seen Command Spells used several times in the last ten minutes alone?
She literally hadn't supplied a single point of mana the whole time, because she had never had this sweet a start in any Singularity. Servants were doing the heavy lifting, and Command Spells were being handed out like candy.
It seemed like everyone present had used a Command Spell except her. Should she use one herself, just to boost the participation rate?
Ritsuka glanced at the Command Spells on her hand and—of her own volition—used the first one of this Holy Grail War.
"By my Command Spell—Ruler, use a Command Spell on Berserker."
Lancelot: "?"