Apparently, the protagonist was about to make her presence felt

Because of the [Avalon] within her, Irisviel's physical condition improved the closer she got to Saber—relatively speaking. When the car reached the vicinity of the Church, she was even able to sit up with her own strength.

So she sat up.

Then she saw her most trusted Knight being whipped around by a young man with a wicked expression, and if he paused even slightly, he would be pierced by swords and spears shot down from above.

"Saber!"

Irisviel cried out in surprise. In her eyes, the blonde girl, though not physically imposing, possessed the most reliable arms in the world. Her resolute eyes shone with courage and determination, capable of overcoming any obstacle, no matter how strong.

But why, as the strongest class and the most skilled swordsman, was Saber driven into such a desperate situation by that nouveau riche-like man?

The strongest—wait a minute, a thought flashed through Irisviel's mind.

Saber is the strongest class, Artoria is the Heroic Spirit most suited to this class. In her best condition, she should be invincible.

However, Saber was not in a perfect state at this moment. She was not injured, but rather lacked a crucial Noble Phantasm.

King Arthur, who had the blood of a red dragon, shared the same habit as the dragons of collecting treasures. So, what was the most valuable item in Camelot's storehouse?

The holy sword [Excalibur], symbolizing "victory"? The holy spear [Rhongomyniad], accompanying kings on battlefields for many years? The Round Table that bears countless legends? Or perhaps the true Holy Grail, ultimately found by Galahad, son of Lancelot and a pure Knight?

Each one is a renowned treasure, its value immeasurable and therefore incomparable.

But there was another treasure that witnessed both the king's victory and her downfall. It was because of this treasure that King Arthur died at the hands of Mordred in the final battle. It would not be a Britain linked to this treasure.

That is King Arthur's sword sheath, and in terms of Noble Phantasm, it is an EX Noble Phantasm of the same rank as the Primordial King's Holy Sword [EA] - [Avalon].

"Maiya!" Irisviel struggled to use Magecraft to retrieve [Avalon], which had been sealed within her as Conceptual Weapon. "Give this to Saber!"

"But madam..."

"Go quickly!"

Kiritsugu Emiya had given orders not to return the scabbard, and even to conceal it from Saber, preventing her from knowing that the scabbard was in their possession. Irisviel's orders contradicted Kiritsugu's, but Maiya, a battle-hardened soldier, could also deduce that only with [Avalon] could Saber defeat Archer.

Take care, madam.

After hesitating for a moment, Maiya finally took the sword sheath, opened the car door, and rushed out.

The moment [Avalon] left her hand, Irisviel lost all her strength and slumped back onto the back seat. This time, she didn't even have the strength to roll over and find a more comfortable position.

"Saber..."

Silently murmuring the name, she hoped her prayers would lend the young Knight a bit of strength.

"That's... Avalon!"

Upon seeing what Maiya was holding, Jizi couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

It can heal any injury or illness, and even prevent aging. It can defend against any attack, and even ignore True Magic interference.

The strongest defensive Noble Phantasm.

Jizi suddenly had the idea of taking it away.

Even though it cannot be used, the allure of the powerful magic contained within the EX-rank Noble Phantasm is enough; with it, Jizi can even recreate a divinely bestowed Ahoge).

But in the end, she held back. Even with two chances of a miracle, she could only guarantee taking down two Servants, while she had three opponents. It was safer to watch from the sidelines and observe the battle unfold.

A few thoughts flashed through her mind, and there was Maiya had already reached the edge of the battlefield. She threw the scabbard in her hand into the air and shouted the name "Saber" to attract attention.

Saber, turning back at Maiya's call, saw a familiar object flying towards her—her lost refuge.

"Avalon! But how could this be...?"

The surprise was so overwhelming that even Saber was stunned and didn't know how to react. Archer, however, showed no gentlemanly manners; his iron whip and sword followed Saber's figure, and this time she had no way to avoid it.

"Nani!"

For the first time, Gilgamesh's expression changed slightly. His attack did hit Saber, but there was no reaction whatsoever, not even a "duang" sound effect; it was as if she had vanished.

"That scabbard?"

Archer quickly figured out the reason. He stopped his pointless attacks and stared intently at the [Avalon] in Saber's hand. He sensed incredibly powerful magic and a high degree of mystery emanating from it, even reaching the level of [EA].

After her initial shock, Saber quickly recovered and stopped dwelling on details like why [Avalon] was in Maiya's hands. Sheathing her sword, her entire demeanor changed.

A smile curved the girl's lips, a smile of victory and confidence. She held the holy sword [Excalibur] level, pointed it at Archer, and declared loudly:

"Hmph, your defeat was already sealed, Archer!"

The wind spirits, having completed their charge, circled around Saber once more. Saber's hair swayed violently in the wind, like a victory flag. Powered by the wind, she sped forward, reaching the pile of stones beneath Archer's position in just a few breaths. Then, she swung her sword sideways and cleaved the pile of stones in two.

Archer had naturally jumped away long before that, but there was nothing around him to use as a foothold to look down from, so he had no choice but to reluctantly stand back on the ground.

"You bastard, you're quite capable, managing to elevate me, the noble king, to the same level as you."

"Enough with the nonsense, prepare to die!"

Saber lunged forward with her sword raised, while Archer summoned a halberd from the void and slammed it down from above, forcing Saber to stop and defend. However, after his attack was blocked by the holy sword, Archer simply released his grip and summoned a long sword-like Noble Phantasm that slashed upwards towards Saber's abdomen.

The attack from above suddenly lost its force, causing Saber to lose her balance and fall forward slightly. Helpless, she had to reactivate the magic of [Avalon] to block the attack. She then turned to the side, changing her thrust into a strike, and used the blade of her sword to strike Arhcer's waist. Arhcer quickly released his longsword, took out a small shield to protect himself, and barely managed to block the attack.

Saber was somewhat surprised by these exchanges. She had originally thought that she could completely suppress Archer as long as she got close, which was why she had removed the [Avalon] defense. However, she did not expect that Archer's own martial arts skills were not bad either, and his ability to summon Noble Phantasm at will made him quite troublesome.

She gritted her teeth, determined to maintain Avalon's defenses. Although such a duel was unfair, she couldn't care less about that for the sake of victory.

"I underestimated you before, and I apologize for that. But Archer, that's the end of it for you!"

"Heh, I never expected anyone to dare speak such words to me."

Saber was completely protected by an impenetrable dimensional barrier, and no matter how Archer attacked, he couldn't harm her in the slightest. Cornered in a corner, Archer seemed to have no way to avoid it. A thunderous sword strike with the force of a hurricane was about to cut her in half, but Archer still looked relaxed.

!

Saber swung his sword, but felt no real impact—how could that be? Where could he have hidden?

The sound of chains coming from above made her look up, and she saw a Gilgamesh Flying Object floating in the air, connected to the top by a chain that was taking Archer up with it.

"Even the sky is my domain!"

"Really?!"

A shout came from the higher sky, where thunderclouds seemed to be gathering, and it turned out that Rider had arrived in his [Gordius Wheel].

Saber frowned. Of all times, Rider had to interfere at this crucial moment. It seemed impossible to take down Arhcer now.

Even if Archer had a flying Noble Phantasm, Saber was confident that she could jump to that distance with the power of the wind spirit, without gaining a significant height advantage, and then use [Avalon] to defend against the opponent's attack and kill him with the Holy Sword.

But Rider's arrival made the situation much more complicated. After defeating Arhcer, Saber wasn't confident she could deal with Rider—even with Avalon, using her Noble Phantasm still consumed mana, and to fight Rider's army, she had to keep it active at all times. With her Master not around and no ability to Independent Action, Saber couldn't withstand such drain.

The other two kings had similar thoughts at this moment. If they didn't go all out, neither of them could do anything to the other, but neither of them could accept the outcome of killing one opponent only to have the other reap the benefits.

With the [Gordius Wheel] nearby, Archer couldn't fly away. The three of them warily scanned the other two from the air and the ground, but no one dared to make the first move.

However, unexpected changes were taking place in places unseen by them.

After handing the scabbard to Saber Maiya returned to the carriage, where someone was waiting for her to take care of them.

But when she opened the car door, she realized that something was wrong with Irisviel.

I initially thought it was just simple weakness, but why is her body gradually becoming ethereal?

Upon learning Irisviel's true identity Maiya immediately thought of the Holy Grail transformation, but something seemed off. There were still four Servants who hadn't been recycled, so why was this happening?

In the original work, when Irisviel lost her form, three Servants remained—Saber, Archer, and Berserker. The Holy Grail transformation was a process; it didn't mean that the Holy Grail would only appear after all the Servants' souls were recovered. Rather, it was a gradual process until the very end.

Now, without [Avalon], Irisviel, as a human, has finally succumbed to her strain.

Maiya looked nervous, but she didn't know what to do. If Kiritsugu were nearby, at least there would be some way to pause things!

"Then let me do it--"

A voice echoed in Maiya's mind, but she couldn't identify its owner. As the voice finished speaking, Maiya felt something surge up inside her body.

"Cough cough... Ughhhhh... Cough cough cough cough!"

A large pool of Mercury, mixed with blood and covered with various runes, coughed up from Maiya's mouth.

--Moon Volumen Hydrargyrum!

But Kayneth is already dead, and besides, why would it come out of his own body...?

!

Maiya suddenly remembered that she had been captured by Lancer before. Kayneth didn't do anything to her and let her go, even letting her rescue the lady who had been kidnapped by the Assassin.

So it was sabotaged so early on!

Mercury is a toxic substance. Even if it is a slow-acting poison, storing such a large amount in the human body will cause damage. Therefore, Kayneth —actually Jizi —deliberately cast an illusion spell on her to prevent her from noticing the damage caused by the Mercury poison. Now that the spell has been lifted, the enormous burden has suddenly fallen back on Maiya's body, and she collapsed helplessly to the ground.

The Mercury attracted each other on the ground, quickly gathered into a ball, and then moved toward Irisviel's body, covering her completely except for her neck and above.

Maiya didn't know the purpose of this technique and could only watch helplessly. However, this layer of Mercury seemed to have halted the process of Irisviel's Holy Grail transformation.

What does this mean? What Kayneth —no, what is Assassin trying to do?

Jizi's goal is to purify the Holy Grail, which is essentially about resolving the All the World's Evil. Before the Holy Grail is completed, some Black Mud will flow out through the cup that Irisviel has taken form, and this is what Jizi is currently guarding against.

Kayneth's spell interrupted Irisviel's Holy Grail transformation, at least eliminating the worry about the Black Mud overflowing.

But problems remain.

Kayneth is dead, and the Mercury will soon lose its effectiveness due to the lack of magical power. At that time, the Holy Grail will still appear, and the Black Mud will still emerge, unless a winner is determined in a short time.

Looking at the three kings still locked in a stalemate, Jizi knew that was impossible.

Since that's the case, we'll have to activate Plan B (which I just thought of).

The atmosphere at the Church ruins was tense; even the slightest movement could have serious consequences. Therefore, Jizi had to carefully move to the car, and then—

"!"

A familiar magical aura suddenly appeared in everyone's senses.

"Assassin!"

Saber turned her head toward the direction from which the aura was coming, and just to be safe, she also prepared [Avalon]. However, Arcehr and Rider did not seem to have any intention of taking advantage of the chaos, and both looked in that direction.

Beside a small car, Maiya Hisau lay on the ground, convulsing in pain. The despicable Assassin, holding Irisviel, whose body was mostly covered in silver metal, gave Jizi a mocking smile before quickly running away into the distance.

"Please entrust the Holy Grail to me for now! And please rest assured, Your Majesties, I have no desire for the Holy Grail; I will present it to the true king!"

Leaving behind words no one would believe, Jizi quickly disappeared without a trace.

The Magecraft cast on Irisviel was Kayneth's masterpiece. Jizi herself didn't understand the principles behind it at all, and if it failed, she wouldn't be able to cast it again. Therefore, she had to preserve the spell's integrity.

Since Kayneth is dead and no one will willingly supply him with magic, Ji Jizi into her own hands. She kidnapped Irisviel, partly to break the deadlock and create some change, and partly to maintain the spell.

Irisviel herself remained conscious, but she could do nothing and could only let the assassin, who was more terrifying than a flood or a wild beast, take her to the Unknown place.

"Saber..."

--------------------------------ps-----------------------------

P. S. 1. The final draft of the outline is finished, so there shouldn't be any more problems, right?

P. S. 2. However, I've already named all the previous outlines "Final Version"...

P. S. 3. In short, I'll try my best to make it coherent. Please point out any shortcomings. Although it's too late to revise it now, at least it will help me keep that in mind when I write stories in the future—if you still have any expectations for Director Luo.

P. S. 1. I only found out after some research that Artoria's gun—the one that killed Mordred —has True Name Release ability that's also a beam cannon... Imagine the Knights of the Round Table fighting in ancient times. There were over 150 of them at the Round Table. When the battle started, they all had a party around the Round Table, and then Ahoge stood alone at the front, arms outstretched to the sides, one a pistol and the other a hand sword. After activating the beam cannon, she slowly brought her arms inward...