Type-Moon: Card Servants Chapter 26

This is troublesome. The King of Conquerors thought to himself, though he still appeared relaxed on the surface, as if everything were under his control.

...Should I make a move? Mikaela thought to himself. At that moment, he felt the urge to use Kayneth's hand to forcibly eliminate either the King of Conquerors or Waver.

Even if they used Ionioi Hetairoi, he would not hesitate to unleash Oath of Judas's Zero Rated Power and force the King of Conquerors out of the war right here!

"Tonight, we gathered here to eliminate Caster, correct?" The anger had already faded from Kayneth's face. With a single glance, he saw that the current situation was highly unfavorable for his student, so he spoke up. "Saber, Rider, this is not where we are meant to fight. If you wish to fight, it can wait until after we have dealt with that murderous maniac, Caster."

"...I have no objections." Mikaela was the first to state his position. His fist tightened slightly. He had nearly forgotten that Kayneth did not have the buff of a fiancée right now and would not deliberately do something so "high-profile."

In that Magus's eyes, although his student had stolen the Holy Relic he had prepared in advance, any punishment would have to wait until they returned. He would not start beating up his own student in front of "outsiders."

It was like a brat doing something wrong outside: the parents apologized in public, then went home and used all eighteen kinds of weapons on their child.

As expected, I need to get rid of him first. A cold glint flashed through Mikaela's eyes as he watched Kayneth's composed expression. Fortunately, Diarmuid was highly skilled, but his Noble Phantasms did not have an especially wide killing range. In that case... Mikaela was confident he could kill him in secret!

However, that Magic Workshop constructed from magical furnaces was indeed quite troublesome. It seemed that after returning this time, he needed to speak with Emiya Kiritsugu and have Kayneth's Magic Workshop blown up sooner rather than later.

"Oh? Prioritizing Caster? I have no objections either. Those corpses I saw on the way here filled me with rage." The King of Conquerors naturally agreed with Kayneth's suggestion with both hands.

"That filthy bastard involved ordinary people and does not even understand the most basic magical concealment. If we do not kill him soon, he may do something even more insane. Dealing with him now is naturally the wisest course of action." Kayneth glanced at the Sea Demon corpse behind Mikaela, disgust flashing through his eyes as he said calmly, "And that fellow cannot even control his own familiars. I shall teach him a lesson in what it means to be a Magus."

"Mmff! Mmff!"

Waver seemed to want to say something, but the King of Conquerors covered his mouth. Judging from his "furious" expression, he felt that his teacher was making a veiled jab at him.

"My Lord!"

"Kid."

"Alice, stand behind me."

The three Servants sensed something immediately and each protected their Master. Sea Demons surged out from all directions like a tide. As though they had discovered intruders, they attacked Mikaela, the King of Conquerors, and Diarmuid the instant they emerged.

"%￥＃＃￥＆*"

The Sea Demons' eerie voices echoed through the space.

"Hmph. Trash should act like trash. In the name of El-Melloi, slaughter them all, Lancer." Watching the Sea Demons attack him, Kayneth wore a disgusted expression, apparently unwilling to use his Magic Crest to attack those filthy sewer monsters.

"Yes, my Lord!"

Diarmuid accepted the order and flicked his hand slightly, retrieving Gae Dearg, which he had thrown at the King of Conquerors.

"This is troublesome. Saber, could you lend me a hand?" The King of Conquerors swung his sword, cutting down many Sea Demons lunging at Waver. He was caught between the two of them and could not use the power of his ox cart at all.

While he could use lightning to destroy the Sea Demons around them, doing so would inevitably injure Saber and Lancer as well.

"..."

Mikaela said nothing, but his actions proved that he would help the King of Conquerors. Four spears of light destroyed all the Sea Demons surrounding the ox cart, while golden chains bound the others, allowing the King of Conquerors to swing his weapon and cleave them in two.

Miscalculation

The battle ended quickly. Although there were many Sea Demons, without Caster's magical energy empowering them, their "numbers" were nothing but a joke.

"My Lord... this situation is somewhat different from last time." After killing all the Sea Demons, Diarmuid stood beside Kayneth like a proper knight and said calmly, "Last time, after I killed these monsters, they revived and split into even more individuals. But now, they died very quickly."

"It is probably because of Caster." Kayneth was not surprised. Diarmuid had already told him about last night's events. He had initially assumed it was a trait of the monsters themselves, but now it seemed highly likely that it was due to the Noble Phantasm in Caster's possession.

"With such a commotion, unless Caster is deaf, he should be heading here."

Mikaela also put away his spears of light and golden chains, slinging Oath of Judas onto his back. Looking at Kayneth, he said calmly, "That saves us the effort of searching for him. The sewer system here is complicated. If we had to search for him slowly, it would only waste time."

"However, he may also flee." Kayneth placed his hands behind his back, his attitude rather arrogant. "Facing three Servants and a genius Magus such as myself, he has no chance of victory. If he is not an idiot, he will not openly come out and fight us."

"Indeed. If he is not an idiot, facing three Servants and a genius Magus alone would undoubtedly be seeking death." The King of Conquerors also lightly flattered Kayneth. He could tell that this arrogant fellow did not seem to be a bad person.

"..."

Mikaela remained silent. That was right. No normal Servant would confront three Servants head-on unless they were someone as prideful as Gilgamesh, someone who did not regard anyone else as worthy of notice.

But Caster was different. No matter who dared to stop him, he would come out and challenge them, seeing whose fist was harder. After all, his wish was to revive Jeanne d'Arc. Whoever stood in his way was his irreconcilable enemy.

Judging from last night's events, the other side's tactics and personnel arrangements differed considerably from the Fourth Holy Grail War he remembered.

But that was only natural... Mikaela had replaced Artoria in arriving in this world. Caster was not blind enough to mistake him for the so-called "Jeanne d'Arc." His heart was surely filled with the desire to "revive Jeanne d'Arc," and to achieve it, he would stop at nothing to defeat everyone.

"Let's go."

Kayneth spoke calmly, casually tossing out a rat-like Magic Crest and letting it crawl along the ground.

"This is a detection Magic Crest my Lord just made. It can locate Caster." Diarmuid explained from the side, afraid that Mikaela and the King of Conquerors might not understand. After all, the magical methods of their era were much more advanced than those of modern times, though due to the disappearance of "Mystery," modern Magi had developed magic in all sorts of ingenious directions.

Ancient Magi placed greater emphasis on destructive power. There was not much basis for comparison between the two; it could only be considered a difference between eras.

"That is quite a useful little gadget." The King of Conquerors stroked his chin, seemingly quite interested in the rat Magic Crest. If his army had something like that, there would be no possibility of getting "lost" in the future.

"Hm?"

However, what was strange was that the rat ran in the opposite direction, as if it had sensed something outside.

"..." Mikaela frowned slightly and looked calmly at Kayneth. "Is it tracking Caster's aura, or the aura of his Master?"

As the first Servant to arrive at the scene during last night's battle, Diarmuid must have obtained something from either Caster or Ryunosuke. In a surprise attack, he would inevitably have acquired a piece of flesh, a scrap of clothing, hair, fingernails, or something similar.

No matter what it was, once handed to Kayneth, he could immediately make a detection Magic Crest. It was somewhat crude, but practical.

"Both." A hint of unease flashed across Kayneth's arrogant face. He had first located Caster's Magic Workshop before releasing the detection "rat" to search for those two.

Because most Magi stayed within their own Magic Workshops, and the Servants had already besieged them last night, remaining inside his own Magic Workshop should have been the best choice. But things had turned out somewhat beyond his expectations.

He had found Caster's Magic Workshop, but neither Caster nor his Master was here???

"Hah." Kayneth took a deep breath. Seemingly feeling that he had made a fool of himself, he said angrily, "What a lowly Magus. He doesn't even understand the most basic rules of magecraft combat!!!"

"He's a black Magus, unlike us." Waver fanned the flames from the side. "Before Gilles de Rais became a Magus, he was actually a soldier. The only magecraft knowledge he likely possessed was that grimoire his friend gave him. He wouldn't fight inside a Magic Workshop like we would."

"Shut up! Waver Velvet."

As though Waver had struck a sore spot, Kayneth roared at him, "What you said only proves that he is a lowly Magus. Fighting within a Magic Workshop is common sense for every Magus. Without a Magic Workshop, the power a Magus can wield will be greatly reduced."

"But fine. Since he isn't in his Magic Workshop, I'll gladly accept this Command Seal reward." Kayneth regained his haughty expression. Originally, he had not cared about the so-called "Command Seal" reward. He had merely disliked Caster's methods and intended to kill him.

But after being provoked by his own student, Kayneth felt that it was time to get serious.

"Oh? Is that so, Professor? When it comes to Servants, I won't be afraid of you." Waver found his courage at that moment, because only Servants could deal with Servants!

Although the King of Conquerors spent all day eating, drinking, and having fun, Waver believed in him! He could definitely defeat his professor's Lancer.

"My Lord, I shall offer glory unto you." Diarmuid immediately declared his position.

"Hahahaha! Kid, since you trust me so much, I'll definitely bring victory to you as well." The King of Conquerors laughed to himself, then looked at Mikaela. "What do you think, Saber?"

"..."

Mikaela said nothing. Looking outside, he calmly replied, "I only want to eliminate Caster."

The Fifth Head of the Tohsaka Family

"Oh? How boring. Aren't we going to put something on the line?"

The King of Conquerors seemed somewhat dissatisfied with Mikaela's words. In his view, merely killing Caster was hardly difficult.

That black Magus's summoned monster was indeed impressive, but he still had a way to wipe it all out. What he truly feared... was the Noble Phantasm behind Saber before him.

"No. I don't like gambling." Mikaela seemed unwilling to deal with the King of Conquerors at all. He was the sort who could kill a conversation with a single sentence, conveying everything he meant without wanting to waste more words on him.

"..."

Irisviel, meanwhile, was extremely nervous. Emiya Kiritsugu had previously said that Kayneth and Waver were definitely allies. At first, she had doubted it, but after seeing how Kayneth intentionally or unintentionally protected Waver...

She understood.

So the two really were allies. It was simply that Kayneth was poor at hiding his feelings, while Waver was quite shrewd. One look was enough to tell that he intended to go against his professor.

Although Aila-chan was protecting her from behind and the Oath of Judas remained deployed at all times to prevent the King of Conquerors and Diarmuid from suddenly attacking them—

Irisviel was still extremely tense. She hoped they could make it safely through the night, so she could return and tell her husband that their intelligence had been correct.

"!!!!!!"

After emerging from the drain, Mikaela, the King of Conquerors, and Diarmuid all frowned. They sensed a violent surge of magical energy emanating from nearby. It felt as though this energy had been accumulating for a long time before erupting all at once.

Every Servant and Master in Fuyuki City could sense it.

"A provocation?" Kayneth looked toward the source of the magical eruption, his tone unfriendly. "We haven't even come knocking, yet he has exposed his own location in advance."

"No, it is an invitation. He is inviting us." The King of Conquerors gave a different answer. Looking at the site of the magical eruption, he said calmly, "If it were a provocation, this magical energy should carry killing intent. But this energy has merely erupted, like fireworks, making people unable to resist taking a look."

"..."

Mikaela furrowed his brow deeply. What was going on? With such violent magical energy, could it be that Caster intended to sacrifice himself and summon the Sea Demon from the original work?!

That thing was terrifying. If allowed to continue developing, Fuyuki City would be destroyed.

There were Servants capable of dealing with it. If Gilgamesh unleashed his full firepower, the Sea Demon would die even if it did not want to. But what Mikaela feared most was encountering Gilgamesh.

What a pain.

Mikaela sighed inwardly. He picked up Irisviel, intending to hurry to the scene and assess the situation. If Gilgamesh really was there, then he would just sit back and slack off!

If Gilgamesh was not there, then he needed to end the battle quickly and use the Oath of Judas to slaughter that Sea Demon along with Caster.

Revealing one trump card was no big deal. It would let the others see his "true strength," making them wary of him while also leading them to believe that this was all the strength he possessed.

"No matter what, we'll know once we go take a look. We're going together to eliminate Caster anyway." The King of Conquerors summoned his ox cart and had Mikaela, Diarmuid, Kayneth, and the others climb aboard, then headed for the center of the incident at top speed.

Kayneth naturally climbed aboard, then looked at Waver, whose legs were trembling beside him. He revealed what could be called a cheerful smile and said, "Student Waver, would you like an 'extra lesson'? It is a rare opportunity for you to participate in the Holy Grail War."

"!!!!" Waver's legs trembled even harder. The boy who had just dared to talk back to his professor was now unable to utter a word. At the same time, he inwardly blamed the King of Conquerors. Why did he let them get on?! If they attacked, wouldn't the two of them be dead for sure?

"Irisviel, take my hand."

Mikaela continued protecting Irisviel, keeping her behind him.

However, the ox cart was rather cramped, so Mikaela and Irisviel were practically pressed together. Her quite hot body was tightly pressed against Mikaela's slender frame.

On the other side, Diarmuid protected his Lord as well, watching the King of Conquerors and Mikaela with considerable vigilance. Though those two could be trusted, necessary caution was still required. If they suddenly attacked, he would strike without hesitation and take his Lord away.

"Let's go!"

The King of Conquerors drove the ox cart toward the source of the magical eruption.

Outside the Matou family residence, Tohno Shiro, who had been preparing to "pay a visit," also sensed that enormous magical energy. His body trembled slightly, as though he understood what was about to happen.

"What is it, Shiro? Are you going over there to see how things are?" Gilgamesh stood atop a streetlamp beside Tohno Shiro, his crimson eyes fixed on him as though he wanted to see whether Shiro intended to save his own daughter or check on the situation elsewhere.

"No... I'll leave that side to my disciple. Our primary objective right now is to rescue my daughter."

Tohno Shiro took a deep breath. To be honest, facing someone from another of the Three Great Families placed immense psychological pressure on him. The Matou family was also one of the ancient lineages; their magecraft and hidden reserves were surely far greater than those of the Tohsaka family.

Though he had brought Gilgamesh with him, Tohno Shiro understood clearly... even if his life were in danger, this King would not lend him a hand.

Because if an exterminator could not even exterminate bugs, asking the King to help would be the height of disrespect.

"Creeeak..."

As though it knew guests had arrived, the gate slowly opened. A Berserker shrouded in black mist charged at Tohno Shiro with a roar.

"Mad dog, get lost!"

Gilgamesh had anticipated this long ago. The Gate of Babylon opened, launching an attack at Lancelot.

Perhaps sensing the danger, or perhaps acting on his Master's command, Lancelot charged toward Gilgamesh.

"Tonight is likely to be quite lively." Tohno Shiro adjusted his clothes and drew the "unfinished" Jeweled Sword forged by generations of the Tohsaka family. Looking at the hooded Matou Kariya ahead, he said coldly, "The fifth head of the Tohsaka family has come to take back his daughter. Kariya, I did not come here to see you. Call out Old Man Matou."

Chapter 68: The Man of Rebellion

"Tohno Shiro!!!"

Matou Kariya's voice brimmed with hatred. Looking at Tohno Shiro, who still maintained his elegant composure, he could not understand how this man still had the nerve to come and save Sakura!!!

He was the one saving Sakura!!! He had entered this Holy Grail War precisely to save Sakura!!

"I want to see Old Man Matou. He owes me an explanation, Kariya!" Holding the unfinished Jeweled Sword, Tohno Shiro maintained his elegance, but he had not forgotten that he was inside the Matou family estate.

Every Magus had their own Magic Workshop. Seeing Matou Kariya tortured until he was barely recognizable, Tohno Shiro regretted even more deeply that he had not discovered sooner that the Matou family's magecraft had already become corrupted?!