Or, you guys find another savior

Although she knew in her heart that she had no substantial connection to Artoria Pendragon.

But since she was also "Morgan," it was necessary to witness the holy sword of the human history's King Arthur.

"Feel honored, Artoria. I'm serious."

Morgan raised her left hand high, and a white light condensed with immense magical power shone.

Chapter Ten: No Passing

Lancer, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, was feeling rather dejected.

He had been wandering the streets of Fuyuki all day, emitting his Servant aura, but even as night fell, not a single Servant had responded to Lancer's unspoken challenge.

He had even expected that night would be the time for the Holy Grail War participants to engage in battle, and had specifically chosen the bayfront warehouse district north of Fuyuki City.

His Master, who intended to intercept enemies here, had also set up a barrier in the vicinity to prevent unauthorized individuals from intruding.

But... not a single person arrived.

Just as Diarmuid began to think that he wouldn't be able to battle enemy Servants tonight, an explosion sounded from the sea on the side of the adjacent seaside park.

Following it came powerful magic and a Servant's aura.

It seemed that a Servant had already begun fighting before he could even issue his challenge?

Then, under his Master's instructions, Diarmuid left the bayfront warehouse district and headed towards the seaside park.

Standing on a treetop and looking into the distance, Diarmuid clearly saw two female Servants fighting.

Even more astonishingly, the two female Servants looked so alike. This made Diarmuid deeply surprised and helped him understand the current situation.

If one of his old acquaintances had been summoned as a Servant in the Holy Grail War, he too would have asked his Master for permission to face that acquaintance first.

"The ones fighting... are Saber and Berserker..."

His Master's voice came through the magic channel, and Diarmuid knew his Master was considering how to proceed.

"Master, that Berserker not only excels in close combat but also wields powerful magic. Even Saber, with her excellent magic resistance, has suffered at her hands," Diarmuid reported the observed battle situation to his Master.

Facing such an opponent, Diarmuid's blood surged, and he wanted to challenge Berserker. However, as a knight, he couldn't allow himself to intervene in a duel between Servants as a third party, as it went against his knightly code.

But his Master had no such qualms.

"It seems that if that Berserker remains, she will become a troublesome enemy. Lancer, go assist Saber in defeating Berserker."

"But! My Lord! This kind of interference is truly—"

Diarmuid couldn't help but plead with his Master, who was observing from the shadows.

"This is an order."

But his Master simply issued a cold ultimatum.

The Lancer-class Servant clenched his twin spears, which were still wrapped in rune cloth to conceal their true forms.

Even though he had to go against his knightly way, Diarmuid did not want to disobey his Master's logical command.

"...As you command," he replied with difficulty and charged towards the battlefield of the two Servants.

The next moment, a sudden sense of crisis made Diarmuid stop in his tracks.

As if appearing out of nowhere, a whirlwind composed of black crows suddenly materialized. It started with only a dozen or so, but within two seconds, it rapidly grew to hundreds or thousands of crows.

The shrill cries of the crows sounded ominous.

In an instant, the crows dispersed again, and in the center of that "whirlwind" stood a young man dressed in winter clothing.

"A very correct tactic, but I'm afraid this is a one-way street from here on. Please turn back, Lancer, and your Master." Xi Jianxi extended his hand, making a gesture to turn them back.

Recognizing at a glance that the person was not a disguised Servant but a Master in the Holy Grail War, Diarmuid's tensed body relaxed slightly.

That trick of appearing out of nowhere could be an illusion or spatial transfer. Either way, it proved that the opponent was no ordinary person.

However, it was common sense in the Holy Grail War that a Master could not contend with a Servant.

"Stand down. I do not wish to stain my twin spears with the blood of another Master." Diarmuid raised his spears, the tips pointing towards Xi Jianxi's forehead.

Seeing that his persuasion was ineffective, Xi Jianxi slowly lowered his arm. "That won't do. Others are catching up, and it would be quite a buzzkill to interrupt them, wouldn't it?"

In fact, he had left the decision to engage in battle to Morgan herself. After Xi Jianxi had brought Sakura and Karen home and settled them, he had rushed over without delay.

Seeing that Morgan and Artoria's battle was approaching its climax, and Morgan was not at a disadvantage, Xi Jianxi had planned to wait.

However, he hadn't expected that Lancer's Master would want to join the fray, allowing the Servant to take advantage of the situation.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot disobey my Master's orders," Diarmuid could only retort. "If you refuse to let me pass, then I will have no choice but to force my way through with brute strength!"

The Lancer class possessed the highest base agility stat among Servants in the Holy Grail War, an A-rank, even higher than Rider's agility base.

Diarmuid, as an excellent Lancer, possessed an agility level of A+.

He was confident that with his speed, contemporary Magus could not stop him from passing—

Or so it should have been.

As Diarmuid attempted to bypass Xi Jianxi and rush towards the battlefield, he was met with a low sweep kick the moment they passed each other.

Caught off guard, he hastily blocked, and the immense inertia sent him flying back several meters further than where he had just charged from.

"How... is this possible..." Diarmuid couldn't believe it.

Xi Jianxi's leg hadn't actually injured him, but the shock it delivered was more than enough.

A human Magus, capable of keeping up with a Servant's speed and counter-attacking based on it.

"This is our chance! Take down Berserker's Master, Lancer!"

The Master's command followed, and Diarmuid no longer hesitated, nor did he have any regrets.

Being able to match a Servant, even a human Magus, this Lancer no longer held any contempt for him.

Having repelled Diarmuid, Xi Jianxi, at this moment, inscribed four runes around him.

"The Shallow Waters of the Four Branches?"

Something no Celtic warrior could possibly not know.

It was a vow of never to retreat or be defeated, an inscription that allowed no escape or survival.

"Are you perhaps related to the Red Branch Knights, or a descendant of those warriors?" Diarmuid assumed a stance to fight.

"What exactly is going on?" Xi Jianxi had no intention of answering, and a pebble flew from his hand.

"Hagalaz."

As the rune's pronunciation echoed, the pebble, as it flew past the dodging Diarmuid's cheek, suddenly exploded, unleashing a frigid magic potent enough to freeze anything.

Despite his full effort to evade, he still inevitably had his left arm, along with the hand holding the short spear, coated in a thin layer of ice, which spread all the way to his neck.

Astonished, Diarmuid looked at his arm, then with a slight exertion, the released magic dispersed the ice.

Then, the Spear Servant let out a genuine laugh.

"Power that can repel me, profound Rune magic, I am glad to have met an opponent like you."

"Annoying, I really didn't want to fight you..."

Xi Jianxi assumed a stance with his bare hands, completely contradicting his words.

Chapter 11: Two Battlefronts

The once calm seas off the coast of Fuyuki were now in turmoil.

Artoria's figure rose and fell with the waves, and she looked at Morgan, not far away, panting.

In her life, Artoria had never engaged in combat with her sister Morgan, and to her, Morgan's magic and spear techniques were all unfamiliar.

From a combat perspective, Morgan was clearly more well-rounded than Artoria.

Morgan's skillful use of magic on the battlefield might even surpass that of Artoria's teacher, Merlin.

As Saber speculated this in her heart, Morgan's declaration reached her.

"Feel honored, Artoria. I am serious."

Artoria couldn't help but muster her full attention, channeling her magic to its limit, even reinforcing her internal defenses to avoid being injured by the same attack a second time.

When the white magical light in Morgan's hand condensed to its maximum, it suddenly flew from her hand and disappeared into the sky.

Artoria was on full alert.

"Saber! Above you!"

Irisviel's delicate voice called out from the shore, anxiously warning Artoria.

Unable to guess the form of the next magical attack, Artoria prioritized her internal defenses and kept an eye on Morgan's every move, inadvertently neglecting her surroundings.

She suddenly looked up.

Directly above Artoria, the space and the water's surface were like ink dropped into water, turning black as they rippled.

Pale blue magical light points appeared on the "water's surface," slowly rotating around the center of the ripples.

Dense magic emerged from "beneath the water's surface."

A sharp spear tip slowly appeared and rotated from within.

Not good!

Artoria's intuition screamed a warning. She instantly released the 'Wind King Barrier' that concealed her weapon's form, revealing the sword body shining with golden light, and swung it upwards with all her might to meet the Demon Spear.

The Noble Phantasm and magic collided, and the immense magical power caused the sea, already rough with waves, to deeply concave around Artoria.

There was no time to release her True Name, so she could only meet it with her Noble Phantasm's original form.

The colossal magical power forced Artoria, standing on the sea, to bend her knees. She blocked the Demon Spear descending from the sky with all her strength, and as her power reached its limit, the King of Knights let out a spirited battle cry.

"Haaahhh—!!!"

The two forces canceled each other out, and the sea surface was pushed down several more meters by the wind pressure. After a moment of silence, a hurricane strong enough to tear people apart spread outwards in all directions.

Irisviel, on the shore, fell onto the beach, instinctively lowering her body to withstand the aftermath of the battle.

Also affected were Kiritsugu Emiya and Maiya Hisau, who had rushed to the beach park following the signal from Irisviel's portable transmitter.

Their battle-hardened instincts allowed the two to immediately take cover behind thick tree trunks.

A gust of wind swept past the sides of the tree trunks, tearing off fragile leaves and branches. The park's forest roared.

The battle commenced directly at the seaside park. The nearest high ground in this area was the bayfront warehouse district, several hundred meters away, featuring cranes and tall towers.

Having no choice but to approach stealthily through the woods, Kiritsugu Emiya reached a spot very close to his wife, Irisviel.

"Kiritsugu, it seems there are others fighting nearby," Maiya Hisau's voice came through his wireless communication earpiece. "The two sides engaged appear to be Berserker's Master and Lancer's Servant. They're moving towards the bayfront warehouse area of Fuyuki."

Kiritsugu couldn't help but feel a profound shock.

The Holy Grail War had only a rough rule about not fighting in front of civilians; the choice of who to oppose and who to ally with was left to the Masters and Servants.

The fact that the Master and Servant were fighting separately was beyond Kiritsugu Emiya's understanding of the Holy Grail War.

Could it be that Berserker, having lost his reason due to Mad Enhancement, abandoned his Master, leaving the Master vulnerable to attack by another Servant?

If that were the case, why wouldn't he use a Command Spell to summon his Servant back for defense?

Was there not enough time? Kiritsugu harbored further questions.

"I've spotted the Madam's location, Kiritsugu," Maiya reported again. "It seems she collapsed on the beach due to the aftershocks from Saber and Berserker's battle."

Kiritsugu tightened his grip on the Walter sniper rifle in his hand and made a decision. "Maiya, go and assist Iris. I'm going to see who is engaging Berserker's Master."

"Understood."

Having issued the order, Kiritsugu immediately set off, moving through the trees and bushes of Fuyuki Seaside Park, heading straight for the bayfront warehouses.

He had no intention of revealing himself to assist anyone. Saber and Berserker were locked in a fierce struggle. If Saber were in danger of losing, Kiritsugu would choose to snipe Berserker's Master from the shadows.

He moved quickly along the eastern side of the port, staying in the shadows, and scaled the neatly stacked shipping containers by hand, searching for a suitable vantage point.

The most ideal location would be the gantry crane at this site; it was the highest point in the entire bayfront warehouse district.

However, if that were the case, someone would have surely occupied it beforehand, using it as the best lookout tower to monitor any Master or Servant approaching from any direction.