Why Don't You Find Another Savior?

Morgan saw the problem and immediately raised her hand. A spell rapidly took shape, unfolding above Caster's head before launching its attack.

But the magical bombardment was blocked by the Sea Monster's tentacles. Though it tore open a small gap, the wound regenerated in an instant, swallowing Caster back inside.

"Now, let us raise the banner of salvation once more! Gather, you who have been abandoned! Gather, you who have been cast down! I shall lead you! I shall rule you! The resentment in the hearts of us oppressed ones shall surely reach the heavens! Oh, Lord above! I shall praise You by calling You to account!"

Caster's shrill voice pierced the thick fog and echoed across the entire river.

The churning waters began pushing him upward. The Sea Monsters beneath his feet had multiplied without anyone noticing. Considering the depth of the Miyuen River, merely imagining their numbers was enough to make one's skin crawl.

"It's too late. I had intended to kill Caster before those Sea Monsters wrapped around him." Morgan lowered her hand and sighed softly. "Now, I'm afraid there's no way to stop him from completing this vile summoning spell."

But Shiomi turned to scan both banks of the river. The disturbance Caster had caused had already awakened the citizens living near the shore. Lights were coming on in house after house, and before long, Caster's actions would be noticed by uninvolved ordinary people.

"Morgan!" Shiomi rarely raised his voice at Morgan. Realizing it was inappropriate, he lowered his tone again. "Could I ask you to—"

"As you wish, my husband." Morgan's light, almost inorganic voice was exceedingly gentle.

Before Shiomi could finish his request, the fog over the Miyuen River grew even thicker. Now, even Artoria could no longer make out Caster's location.

Yet the silhouette of the enormous thing gradually rising from the water, seemingly about to pierce the clouds, remained clearly visible.

This was what Shiomi had wanted to ask of her: to keep the situation contained before it worsened further and became exposed to unrelated people.

Creating a dense fog that blocked perception was no more difficult for Morgan than lifting a hand.

"Thank you," Shiomi said solemnly.

"You really are that kind of man. You always act as though you care only about that small handful of people and things around you, but your ambition is so vast that even this world may not be able to contain it." Morgan suddenly placed her hand against Shiomi's cheek as though no one else existed.

After stroking him lightly a few times, Morgan withdrew her hand and summoned her weapon into her grasp. Her attire transformed once again into battle dress.

This time, Shiomi extended his hand before her. "Lend it to me."

"Oh?" Morgan did not hand it over immediately.

"Aren't you a queen? Since you're a king, stay in the rear where you belong. Stop always thinking about fighting personally." Shiomi said, "Leave the front line to me."

"Then I shall await your results." Morgan handed him the weapon. "If the situation changes, we can discuss it then."

Shiomi carried the Demon Spear. "Caster mentioned a Master just now... If his Master gave the order, that person may be nearby."

"The usual arrangement. You handle the Servant, and I'll handle the Master." Morgan nodded in understanding.

Just as the two finished discussing it, Artoria, clad in armor, rushed over as well. "The alliance has not yet ended. In that case, please allow me to head to the battlefield with you, Shiomi."

"You won't be the only one heading to the battlefield." As Shiomi spoke, the King of Conquerors' ox cart descended onto the riverbank.

The King of Conquerors looked utterly confused. "What's going on? Why did this river suddenly become so foggy? Is that Caster's doing too?"

"It's merely a means of isolating the ordinary people." Shiomi said, "King of Conquerors, would you join the King of Knights and me in subjugating Caster?"

Iskandar grinned, seeming rather excited. "Hoho! To take the field alongside a fierce warrior like you—excellent, excellent! Let me personally appraise your strength on the battlefield!"

After saying that, he looked at the two of them again. "But if both of you ride my Noble Phantasm as well, you won't be able to bring out your full strength, will you?"

"There is no need. I have received the protection of the Lady of the Lake and can walk freely upon water." Artoria declined with a composed smile.

Shiomi wrote a rune in the air. "More or less the same for me. With runes for water avoidance and flight, I can move freely as well."

"Then that's perfect! Hey, boy, wait here on the shore." Iskandar set Waver down from the ox cart. "Contact me if anything happens."

"Got it." Waver agreed.

Then Shiomi gave Morgan a deep look before turning, leaping into the air, and racing into the fog over the river alongside the King of Knights and the King of Conquerors.

Bloody Battle at the Miyuen River

The Miyuen River, more than ten or twenty meters deep, had now completely become a gigantic tank filled with flowing water.

The monster bred within that monstrous tank was the gigantic creature Caster had summoned.

As they rushed from the shore onto the river, the view obscured by Morgan's magical fog became clear once more.

Only then did Artoria realize the extent to which the Sea Monster had multiplied. She swung her sword with all her strength, severing tentacles as wide as two or three people standing side by side.

But the instant the tentacles were cut apart, they began regenerating on their own. Other tentacles nearby were drawn by the attack and quickly converged on her, forcing her to retreat every time she severed one.

Unlike the battle in the forest last night, there was indeed only one Sea Monster in the Miyuen River. Yet its countless tentacles were far more troublesome than dozens of smaller Sea Monsters.

"Saber! Get back!"

Shiomi's voice rang out. Artoria leaped from the water's surface, evading the tentacle that would have wrapped around her a moment later. After a nimble flip in midair, she landed at Shiomi's side.

Before Artoria needed to ask, the river surface rapidly froze where Shiomi lightly tapped it with the end of the Demon Spear, the ice extending toward the Sea Monster.

The tentacles that had been writhing and lashing wildly gradually slowed, then froze in the blink of an eye.

"You've sealed its movements!"

Iskandar's ox cart hovered in midair.

He had not been watching idly from above. He had driven the cart repeatedly into the mass of tentacles, but his attacks were limited. Whether lightning or weapons, they could inflict only minor damage.

"Now isn't the time for admiration, King of Conquerors!" Shiomi raised his hand, and a fierce wind suddenly rose over the river.

The two Servants immediately understood Shiomi's plan.

First, use powerful magecraft to freeze the Sea Monster's movements. Then use another method to sever the Sea Monster along with all its tentacles.

"Then I shall lead the charge! You two, don't drag my chariot into this as well!"

Laughing loudly, Iskandar drove the ox cart along the frozen river, tearing through the ice and Sea Monster in his path.

But it was only a straight line. They still needed a wider-ranging attack.

Artoria beside him was already prepared.

No signal was needed. A warrior's instinct made Shiomi and her attack at the same time.

"Strike Air!"

"Vacuum Wave."

A gale powerful enough to rip people apart swept across the Miyuen River. As Iskandar's ox cart rose into the sky, it swept up all the other frozen Sea Monsters and pulverized them.

Yet even so, the thick fog over the river remained unaffected, showing no sign of dispersing.

The violent currents stirred up by an attack infused with considerable magical energy naturally affected both banks of the Miyuen River.

Waver and Irisviel, who had remained on shore to observe the battle, immediately sensed the approaching wind pressure. They instinctively raised their arms to shield themselves. But after closing their eyes for quite some time, they heard only the wind passing by on either side, with no other impact.

When they opened their eyes, they saw that Morgan had divided the gale and diverted it around where they stood.

And Morgan had not even moved a finger.

"This alone is not enough," Morgan said blandly.

The moment her words fell, the tentacles that had sunk beneath the water along with the ice began to grow wildly as though they possessed lives of their own. They burst through the surface, throwing up waves several meters high.

"That thing! Is it immortal?!" Waver cried out in shocked despair, clutching his head and stamping his feet anxiously.

A battle of this scale was already beyond the level where a novice Magus like him could intervene.

He even felt a little envious that Shiomi could fight shoulder to shoulder with those Heroic Spirits.

"You created the fog in this area, did you not, Witch of Britain?" An elegant male voice sounded from one side.

A man in a dark red suit walked toward them, holding a gemstone staff.

"You are—" Irisviel recognized him.

Morgan glanced at him. "You are Sakura's father, the King of Heroes' Master, Tokiomi Tohsaka?"

"At present, it would not be appropriate for me to be called Sakura's father." Tokiomi smiled apologetically. "Her father is fighting on the Miyuen River."

"Can't you have your Servant do something?" Morgan asked coolly.

Tokiomi gave a bitter smile. "The King of Heroes has his own considerations."

As he spoke, he raised his head to look into the sky. Through the fog, Waver and Irisviel could vaguely see a golden flying vessel, seemingly a Noble Phantasm crafted from gold and emeralds.

"Is that so." Morgan was unconcerned. She turned and walked toward the other end of the embankment. "The fog will soon spread across all of Fuyuki. That way, the Holy Church and the Mage's Association won't need to worry about concealing the truth."

"As the overseer of Fuyuki's land, I am deeply grateful." Tokiomi bowed. "However, may I ask what the Witch intends to do now—"

Morgan stopped. "That third-rate Magus Servant said that his Master wanted him to do this. How would an amateur who doesn't even know what the Holy Grail War is know to use Command Spells to order a Servant?"

The implication was clear: someone had to be manipulating things from the shadows, intending to interfere as the Holy Grail War began entering its most intense stage.

"Then please allow me to accompany you as the head of one of the Three Founding Families of the Holy Grail War," Tokiomi quickly requested.

If Morgan killed Caster's Master afterward, then much of the credit for subjugating Caster would fall to the Berserker faction.

Even at a time like this, Tokiomi was still thinking of how to properly claim his share.

"There is no need. Any Magus of this era, whatever help they might wish to offer, would only burden me." Morgan rejected him coldly. Then she tilted her head and added, "Of course, if you believe yourself capable of matching my husband, that would be another matter."

After saying this, Morgan vanished into the dense fog.

Only after coming back to themselves did the three Masters realize that visibility on both banks of the Miyuen River had fallen to an outrageous degree.

Even by pouring magical energy into their sight, they could barely make out Shiomi and the two Servants fighting amid the endlessly regenerating Sea Monster.

"Sigh, that is why one speaks of heroes from the past..." Tokiomi muttered to himself.

Although both Waver and Irisviel were wary of him to varying degrees, he had no intention of fighting here.

"Please rest assured, you two. The main event now is subjugating the Caster faction, which has ignored the rules of the Holy Grail War and abandoned the concealment of mystery. I will not be your enemy."

"That would be for the best." Irisviel responded gravely. "We have no intention of fighting among ourselves at a time like this either."

Lingering Ghost

Ryunosuke Uryu did not know what the Holy Grail War was. All he knew was that Bluebeard, the old gentleman who called himself Caster and whom he had summoned a few days ago, possessed an "artistic aesthetic" beyond his understanding.

As long as he followed that gentleman, he could appreciate unprecedented art and spectacles brimming with "coolness."

Lying atop the bridge over the Miyuen River, Ryunosuke gripped the railing. He was so excited that he had already pitched a tent, and he loudly showered Bluebeard with lavish praise.

He no longer cared at all that his workshop had been destroyed earlier.

He had even begun to forget how he had arrived here or how he had used Command Spells to order Caster to perform this magecraft.

Even Caster's words—"If it is the request of my Master, my dear friend, I, Gilles de Rais, shall never refuse"—made no sense to him.

"Huh... huh..."

Ryunosuke began wondering whether he had become so excited that he was short of oxygen. His thoughts had grown sluggish, and only supreme happiness filled his body.

Then the crisp sound of high heels passing by rang beside his ear.

Ryunosuke turned in confusion and only then noticed that thick fog had spread everywhere without him realizing it. Even the enormous Sea Monster was shrouded so thoroughly that only its outline could be seen.

There was no one else around, and no cars passed over the bridge.

Everything was deathly silent.

Then how had he seen those sights just now?

"Hey, do you know what's going on? It suddenly got foggy here."

Looking at the silver-haired woman emerging from the fog, Ryunosuke did not even notice her breathtaking face or think about how to draw pain and despair from it. He merely asked blankly.

"You are Caster's Master?" Morgan ignored Ryunosuke's question.

Ryunosuke was deeply dissatisfied and staggered toward Morgan. "Hey, did you hear me? Why did it get foggy here?!"

He reached out, intending to seize Morgan and demand an answer.

But before he came close enough to touch her, his entire body flew backward and hit the ground.

"It hurts..."

Ryunosuke raised his head. The world spun around him. Though it was a winter night, he felt warmer than ever before.

Something bright red filled his vision. Ryunosuke lay helplessly on the ground. "So warm..."

Morgan merely stood there, coldly watching Ryunosuke Uryu, whose limbs had been severed and whose blood pooled beneath him.

"His limbs have been cut off, yet all he feels is the pain of falling and the strength to cling to life while barely breathing." Morgan spoke to herself. "I warned you once already, Bug Master. Did you think that merely living long enough meant you could do whatever you pleased?"

As her words rang out, ghostly blue flames abruptly surged up and swept across one side of the Miyuen River bridge's pedestrian walkway.

Ryunosuke Uryu's body swelled. At the instant the Winged Blade Worms were about to burst free from within him, both he and his body were consumed by flames.