Time passed, yet they remained

"I hadn't realized before, but the sheer number of assassins is really troublesome."

Although the Invisible Air could blow them away with a single blow, the Arondight could kill them instantly with a single sword strike, and the Yellow Rose of Mortality could kill them with a single scratch, the sheer number of them still plunged the Servants into a fierce battle.

Fortunately, the assassins, driven by destructive desires fueled by "evil," do not distinguish between targets; anyone appearing in their field of vision becomes their target.

The most eye-catching figure in the entire arena was Archer, clad in golden armor, and many Assassins rushed towards him.

The fate of those guys goes without saying. But thanks to that, the pressure on the Knight here is much less.

"It's rare for me to feel grateful that Archer was that guy."

"Lancer, after we deal with these assassins, it'll be our turn to face him."

"Then do you have any ideas, First Knight?"

"Our king possesses a powerful Noble Phantasm capable of turning the tide—but..."

"Avalon is with Alice; only in this way can she maintain her physical vitality."

Although they knew that an even tougher battle would follow after defeating the assassins, the Knight did not delay. Their weapons transformed into long dragons as they charged into the King of Conquerors.

"Hmph, even if they reappear, it'll still be the same old performance."

"After all, they are just assassins; the advantage is in our hands on the front lines."

They didn't pursue the fleeing assassins, because they had turned into a black mist and merged back into the Black Mud as soon as they left the area.

"The clowns are all gone... so what kind of pleasure can the three of you give me now?"

Having probably failed once, Archer had become more cautious in his actions. He already held the Ea in his hand, pointing the tip at his opponent in a provocative manner.

"Those who have already been defeated shouldn't come out again. Wouldn't it be better to obediently return to their 'seats'?"

"Hahaha, that disrespectful scoundrel must be put to trial again! Besides, I have this opportunity to fight that guy once more—this time, I won't be fooled by those petty tricks!"

"..."

"He'll probably be here a while, so you guys can keep him entertained in the meantime!"

Countless Noble Phantasm emerged from the spatial portal behind Archer.

The battle begins again!

--------------------------------Before--------------------

"Lancer, if I may be so bold, in your current state, you will not only fail to help in the upcoming battle, but will actually become a hindrance."

"..."

"Yes, I do have a way, but it also comes at a price."

"..."

"Let me explain first. As you know, Irisviel is the Lesser Grail; her heart is the key to the Holy Grail's descent."

"..."

"Don't rush, I'm just trying to explain the background clearly. She was Homunculus specifically to fulfill this mission, so her Magic Circuits are designed to be extremely complex. If you let her supply magic for you, you can recover most of your strength in a short time."

"..."

"Yes, I know she's barely staying alive thanks to Avalon's power, so this is the crucial part."

"..."

"Connect your materialized core— the Spirit Core —to Irisviel, and magic will flow between you, as if you were part of her Magic Circuits. At the same time, she will be unconscious, so all that magic will be at your disposal."

"..."

"The downside is that if something happens to her, you will also disappear. Unlike the disappearance of a Servant when the Master dies, this disappearance is from the perspective of existence—simply put, you cannot return to the 'seat'. Although it will not affect the original body located in the 'seat', your existence as a Servant will truly cease."

"..."

"At the same time, if you die in battle, your Spirit Core will automatically become something belonging to Irisviel —serving as an organ to replace her heart and sustain her life. This does indeed take advantage of your feelings, so I'm telling you the truth and the choice is yours."

"..."

"To be honest, if you disagree, I don't have a Plan B."

"..."

"... Although your agreement was part of my plan, I still want to ask, aren't you angry that I'm threatening you? I'm just like those others, exploiting your noble qualities to coerce you!"

"..."

"Really...? Because that's exactly what you're willing to do—let's just take it as fact and listen."

"..."

"Thank you, Lancer. You are a true Knight."

----------------①----------------

"How on earth did Rider defeat such a monster?!"

Under the barrage of Noble Phantasm, the Knight were so exhausted from dodging and parrying that they couldn't find any opportunity to counterattack.

"Let's wait patiently a little longer. Although we're forced to defend, it won't be so easy for him to take us down."

Just as Berserker said, Lancer's agility allows him to move freely through the dense barrage of bullets, Saber's Invisible Air can restrain ranged attacks to some extent, and Berserker's own abilities allow him to defend while also taking possession of Noble Phantasm.

The reason they were able to achieve this was not only because the three Knights were all unparalleled warriors, but also because their positioning was relatively wide apart. In order to suppress all three of them with firepower at the same time, the Archer spread out the barrage at a wider angle, so each Knight had to deal with relatively fewer attacks.

Of course, if Archer were to focus all his attention on one person, neither Saber, Lancer, nor Berserker would be able to handle it easily. But if he actually did that, the two who weren't suppressed would certainly not let him off easily.

More importantly, Archer's Noble Phantasm count is no longer unlimited.

Originally, "Gate of Babylon" had the function of recovering Noble Phantasm that were fired, but only if the Noble Phantasm belonged to an Archer. Berserker's "Knight does not die with empty hands" could steal Noble Phantasm, so those Noble Phantasm that had changed owners could not be recovered.

Even if it claims to possess all the treasures in the world, the Gate of Babylon is not inexhaustible. Only one or two Noble Phantasm in each era can gain global recognition and be imbued with mystery; the accumulation over thousands of years might reach a terrifying number. But without the ability to be retrieved, how long can it withstand such extravagance?

Admittedly, Archer would have used Ea, leading to a different outcome. However, as he stated, the battle with the three Knight was merely a warm-up. His true opponent was Rider, who had recently defeated him. If he were to waste his mana on this, he wouldn't be able to fight at full strength when Rider arrived.

That makes sense, but--

As more and more Noble Phantasm accumulated at Berserker's feet, Archer finally realized that the combined strength of these clowns who thought they could be easily manipulated was not so simple. At the same time, the stalemate was getting a bit boring, so in order to quickly deal with these clowns, he raised Ea.

"Enuma-Elish!"

As the strange rotating mechanism on the sword spun rapidly, wave after wave of destructive magical energy spread out. However, unlike its original crimson magical light, after being bathed in All the World's Evil, the radiance of this holy sword of creation turned into an unsettling pitch black.

The divine power that once created the world is now being used as pure destructive force, gathering and erupting within this confined space.

"He actually unleashed the Ea? Gilgamesh gone mad?"

"This proves he's in a tough fight, doesn't it? Looks like that little girl, the Knight King, is quite capable."

"Coming these words from someone who defeated Archer, they hardly sound like praise."

"Hahaha, don't worry about the details."

At this very moment, when a fierce battle is taking place at the Tohsaka Residence, the very person who instigated these conflicts— Jizi herself—is chatting with someone elsewhere.

And the person she was arguing with turned out to be Rider.

It might sound a bit excessive, but it was all planned long ago. The Archer emerging from the Black Mud couldn't be approached easily, and without breaking through the Archer, one couldn't reach the Holy Grail.

The only way to untangle this knot is to seek the Rider's help.

The Rider's aura was already very faint after the previous battle. It was almost a feat for him to arrive nearby at this time. If he were to try to activate his Reality Marble, it would really cost him his life.

In order to catch Archer off guard, Jizi left the Tohsaka Residence at the start of the battle, giving the Knight time to buy time, while she went to a place where Archer could not sense her and waited for Rider's arrival.

This is also to replenish the Rider's status—in layman's terms, it's about restoring health by switching regions.

Jizi's Mask is currently on the Queen Consort's face, and through this connection, Jizi's magic—because she recognizes Irisviel as her master, her current magical power is still considerable—is flowing backwards to Weber, and then Weber can supply Rider with magic.

As for why it wasn't directly supplied to Rider, one reason is that the Mask is, after all, Jizi's true form. It's one thing for a cute boy, but putting yourself on a muscular man's face is a bit... The main reason, however, is that Rider himself requested it.

Previously, in order to defeat Archer, Rider, who had been using her own magic, finally began to draw magic from Weber, and in a very large amount. The sudden loss of so much magic caused great damage to Weber's body, so Rider suggested that they restore Weber first.

"It looks about right."

"While I'm far from being at my peak, I'm still strong enough to put up a fight. But Caster, are you sure you're okay like this?"

As her magical energy dissipated, Jizi's body became thinner and even translucent, which inevitably worried Rider, since she was the key to purifying the Holy Grail.

"Don't worry, that's enough." Jizi waved his hand to reassure him, "You just need to use the chariot to get me nearby."

The special agency of the World Administrator has not yet reacted, but I am capable enough on my own. I will bet the power of my last remaining ahoge (antenna -Ahoge) and I will surely be able to eliminate the All the World's Evil!

-------------------Notes------------

① As usual, just imagine what Lancer would say.

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

P. S. I'm a little unconvinced... The handling of some characters seemed a bit off... Please be forgiving.

P. S.2. Let Kayneth and Sola-Ui fend for themselves... I really don't know them well.

P. S. 3. I will continue to improve...