Moon's Card Servant

"…I want to use it, but the current situation doesn't allow it."

Mikaela said calmly, "You should know that in this Holy Grail War, I am merely a tool for my Master. While I wish to save the people, I cannot use my Noble Phantasm without my Master's command."

"…………"

Diarmuid fell silent. He naturally understood this principle. In the Holy Grail War, although they were heroes of the past, in the eyes of Magus, they were merely familiars.

The Lord had also emphasized his identity when he was first summoned, stating that he was merely a familiar existing in this world through magic, not a hero who created miracles through flesh and blood.

Of course, his Lord treated him very well. No matter what, as long as he said he 'didn't understand,' his Lord would look displeased and then explain the principles of the matter to him.

Mikaela's inability to use his Noble Phantasm now was not due to difficult activation conditions, but because his Master did not permit him to unleash that Noble Phantasm.

Seeing that Diarmuid no longer spoke, Mikaela also saw no need to waste more words. He had already made it clear that he could not easily use his Noble Phantasm, and he wouldn't say anything more.

"Hm?" Just then, Mikaela noticed that the King of Conquerors had stopped his attack and was rushing back in his chariot.

"Is there no other way?" Seeing the King of Conquerors return, Diarmuid tightened his grip on his spear, appearing quite angry. He wasn't angry at the King of Conquerors' return.

Rather, he was angry at his own powerlessness. Although he possessed the Yellow Rose of Mortality, which could inflict irreversible damage on that Sea Demon, its sheer size was too great. What was the point of destroying a few tentacles?!

If he couldn't find its 'core,' then his efforts would amount to nothing more than destroying a few tentacles.

"Don't be so dejected, Lancer." The King of Conquerors returned with a hearty laugh. He had already noticed that his young Master and Lancer's Master, as well as Saber's Master, had left the area. It seemed they were preparing to prevent other civilians from approaching.

"Right now, even stopping it is incredibly difficult. This situation is hopeless. To completely destroy it... if Archer and Berserker were here, perhaps their Noble Phantasms could annihilate that monster in one go. But now... they haven't come. Although I dislike baseless speculation,"

"But their absence now doesn't necessarily mean they aren't observing us from nearby."

Upon hearing this, Diarmuid and Mikaela's expressions turned grim. Human hearts are wicked. They both began to suspect if Archer and Berserker were watching from the sidelines.

"Despicable scoundrels," Diarmuid cursed, but he quickly suppressed his anger and looked at the King of Conquerors, "What should we do now?"

"…………" Mikaela also remained silent, his gaze sweeping the surroundings, hoping to find Archer and Berserker's hiding place. After all, there was a real possibility. If Tohno Shiro had rescued Matou Sakura, then Matou Kariya might have handed Berserker over to Tohno Shiro.

The King of Conquerors' smile gradually faded. He looked at the Sea Demon with a solemn expression and said earnestly, "I don't know what to do now either. However, that monster is moving its body. I can feel that the Caster who was 'devoured' still has control over the monster. It wants to approach the coast to prey on humans and increase its magic."

That's right. The King of Conquerors, being the closest to the Sea Demon, could clearly sense its objective. Its target was clear: to enter the city district... and wreak havoc, devouring those filled with fear.

"First, after our Masters deploy the barrier to disperse civilians, we find Caster's Master and eliminate him. Although he is not the one providing the magic, a Servant without a 'Master' will soon disappear from this world. Then, we just need to patiently prevent it from landing."

"That guy is an ordinary person with no magical foundation. If we're being honest, he's just a 'normal person'," Diarmuid interjected. As the Servant closest to Ryunosuke, he knew very well that the guy was an 'unlucky' ordinary person with no magic in his body.

According to his Lord, although that guy had no magic, his ancestors might have been from a Magus family, just a fallen one.

From the messy magic circle seen in the news, it was clearly something 'deliberately' drawn. It was evident he knew some things.

Such an existence was 'harmless' to Magus, but now... precisely because he was 'ordinary,' the current problem had become even more difficult.

"...Then there's only one way." The King of Conquerors looked at the Sea Demon in the river and said seriously, "Saber, I can hold it off for a few minutes. After that, it will be up to you."

"………………" Mikaela felt a headache coming on. He knew the King of Conquerors was setting a trap for him here.

Seeing Mikaela's silence, the King of Conquerors said calmly, "I don't know if you are the so-called 'Judas,' but I can feel that the cross you hold contains immense power. If you unleash it, it might be no less than an 'Anti-Fortress' Noble Phantasm."

"Archer and Berserker are not here. The only one who can stop that monster now is you. After I use my Noble Phantasm, I can hold it off for a few minutes. Whether you choose to use your Noble Phantasm afterward, I don't know."

"I only know one thing: we cannot ignore the people before us. Heroes, kings, they all stand at the forefront to protect more people! Bearing all responsibilities on their shoulders."

"Although you are a woman, there is an old Chinese saying that a woman can be as heroic as a man."

PS: "One more chapter"

Chapter 74: Can Be Annihilated

A woman can be as heroic as a man.

Hearing this, Mikaela's lips twitched slightly. He didn't know what to say for a moment. He admitted his appearance was a bit feminine, but surely there were delicate-looking boys in ancient times too.

Even though he had hidden his gender, did the King of Conquerors really not realize he was a boy?!

However, this was not the time to dwell on such matters. Under the 'sincere' gazes of the King of Conquerors and Diarmuid, Mikaela remained silent, but a conflicted expression appeared on his small face, as if he was contemplating whether to follow his 'Master's' orders or the King of Conquerors' words and unleash the true power of his 'Noble Phantasm.'

"But how exactly do you plan to hold it off?" Diarmuid pointed at the Sea Demon approaching the shore, looking at the King of Conquerors with some helplessness. "Even if you and Saber fought together, you could only temporarily hold it back. While you were adapting to fighting it, it was also adapting to your fighting style."

Diarmuid had seen it clearly just now. When the Sea Demon was first summoned, it was mostly on the defensive, barely fighting back. It only started to counterattack slowly after about a minute.

The time when the King of Conquerors' chariot was caught was a demonstration of its counterattack. Its speed wasn't particularly fast, but its sheer numbers were overwhelming. Just as a few tentacles were cut off, more than ten tentacles appeared the next second, lunging at the King of Conquerors, making it impossible to even swing his weapon in time.

"Do you know about Inherent Domain?" The King of Conquerors revealed a smile and looked at Diarmuid seriously. "That is my most proud Noble Phantasm, my trump card."

"Inherent Domain?!"

Both Mikaela and Diarmuid displayed expressions of 'surprise.' The former was feigned surprise, while the latter was genuine astonishment.

Diarmuid knew about this. The details were not important, but in essence, an 'Inherent Domain' was a Great Magecraft that could alter the world. Such a Great Magecraft... even the current genius Kayneth couldn't perform it. Even most ancient Magus couldn't perform an 'Inherent Domain.'

But the King of Conquerors claimed to have an Inherent Domain?!! How was that possible??? Wasn't he Rider?

"I won't go into detail. Anyway, I'll go and trap that thing first. The situation afterward will depend on you. If my Master returns, please inform me, because within my Inherent Domain, I am unaware of the outside world," the King of Conquerors solemnly instructed, then drove his chariot towards the Sea Demon.

He could only do so much. The rest depended on whether Saber was willing to activate her Noble Phantasm.

To be honest, the King of Conquerors was genuinely curious about Saber's identity. If she was indeed Judas, why was she wearing modern maid attire? Could it be that she had once betrayed 'Jesus,' and now, by wearing maid attire, she intended to say... that in the days to come, she would serve her 'Lord' under the name of a 'servant'?

If that were the case, it would be quite amusing.

After the King of Conquerors departed, the atmosphere at the scene became somewhat peculiar again. Diarmuid looked at Mikaela, while Mikaela gazed at the Sea Demon ahead and the King of Conquerors' retreating back.

"I am not a hero, nor a king, nor even a woman."

If King of Conquerors were to preach his grand theories to those ancient heroes, they might have gotten fired up and, disregarding their Master's will, immediately unleashed their Noble Phantasms to obliterate the Sea Demon.

Just like Diarmuid beside him, who constantly spoke of bringing victory to his Lord, but if he possessed a Noble Phantasm with 'anti-fortress,' 'anti-nation,' or even 'anti-world' capabilities, he would likely have already used it to destroy the Sea Demon about to crawl ashore.

How ironic. In Mikaela's original ideal world, he should be at home, carefree, bickering with his mother, teaching students without a worry, and simultaneously trying to awaken his father.

Yet here he was, in this so-called Holy Grail War, forced to rack his brain over interpersonal relationships, analyze everyone's strength, and match them with 'relative' enemies, all while he hid behind the scenes, watching them fight and determine the victors.

And they themselves would just barely survive until the very last moment, awaiting the descent of the Great Grail.

In Mikaela's eyes, King of Conquerors unleashed his Inherent Domain, taking away the Sea Demon that had already 'adapted' to this area.

Soon, about a minute later, Kayneth was the first to return. Upon his arrival, he asked Diarmuid why the Sea Demon had vanished.

Diarmuid recounted everything that had just happened to Kayneth, causing the Lord from the Clock Tower's expression to turn quite peculiar. He stared at his Servant, his voice tinged with a chilling tone, "Are you certain it was an Inherent Domain?! That guy isn't even a Caster, so why could he use such a great magecraft?!"

"My Lord, I would not dare deceive you." Diarmuid naturally understood his Lord's mood, as Inherent Domain had always been a coveted goal for Magus. Once this level of great magecraft was unleashed, even Servants could be fought.

If a Caster had used an Inherent Domain, Kayneth's expression wouldn't have been so strange; he would have merely snorted, indicating that he too would eventually master such things in the future.

But! King of Conquerors couldn't use magic at all. How could he possibly wield an Inherent Domain that countless Magus couldn't?

"Huff, huff, huff, what happened?" At this moment, Waver and Irisviel also arrived. Their designated area was closer, so they had come together while traveling.

Diarmuid repeated the story and, because Irisviel had arrived, he also mentioned that Mikaela possessed an 'anti-fortress' Noble Phantasm.

"Saber." Irisviel stood beside Mikaela, looking at the Oath of Judas beside him. She seemed somewhat surprised, wondering if the cross in his hand was truly an 'anti-fortress' Noble Phantasm.

"Can it be killed?"

Kayneth cut to the chase, looking at Mikaela rather impolitely. "Can your Noble Phantasm eliminate that Sea Demon? If not, then I will have to contact the Church and the Magus Association to send people over."

As far as Kayneth was concerned, the Holy Grail War was optional. The current 'Sea Demon' already posed a serious risk of revealing mysteries.

Although they had just made repairs and set up a magical barrier to disperse onlookers, the magical barrier was only a temporary fix. People could still observe from afar with telescopes. If this dragged on and Fuyuki City was destroyed, Both the Church and the Magus Association would have a massive headache.

"It can." Mikaela naturally did not want the Holy Grail War to end. He said calmly, "However, that decision rests with my Master."

At this moment, all eyes were on Irisviel, as she was the nominal Master.

PS: "Owe 14 chapters."

Chapter Seventy-Five: Preparations Complete

"Um..." Irisviel felt a bit pressured as everyone's gaze fell upon her. While she really wanted to say, Saber! Unleash your Noble Phantasm!

However, as Mikaela was their trump card, Irisviel wouldn't make any promises without authorization. Moreover... after the Sea Demon was contained, her heart had calmed down. They possessed a trump card capable of defeating a Caster.

This meant others likely had similar trump cards. Rider's Inherent Domain might be able to defeat Caster, but he didn't want to do that. Instead, he deliberately let Caster escape to gauge their own strength.

Because, in Irisviel's mind, Kayneth and Waver were like a pair of close master and disciple, while she was a complete 'outsider.'

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Irisviel hesitate, Diarmuid frowned slightly. He looked at her very seriously. "We need Saber's Noble Phantasm to exterminate that monster. While I know Archer and Berserker are watching from the sidelines, we cannot let countless people die because of them."

"This..."

Irisviel was torn. She looked at Mikaela, who seemed to be contemplating Diarmuid's words.

"Yes, but I need to speak with our associate first." Mikaela nodded slightly, speaking on behalf of Irisviel. He then turned his gaze to Kayneth, saying calmly, "Lord from the Clock Tower, you may see this Holy Grail War as insignificant, but to us, it's something that concerns our entire lives. Caution is always wise. What I, my Master, and that associate discuss next cannot be overheard by you."

"No matter, he's just a dirty magus killer." Kayneth sneered. He knew perfectly well who Mikaela wanted to speak with.

Or rather, anyone who had thoroughly investigated the intelligence would know that the Einzbern family had found the notorious magus killer, Emiya Kiritsugu, and had him marry into the Einzbern family, marrying Irisviel, who was at her peak physical condition as an artificial human.

When Kayneth received this intelligence, he was puzzled, wondering what madness had possessed the Einzbern family to take in such a despicable individual.

However, after entering this Holy Grail War, Kayneth understood. The Einzbern family wanted someone with strong practical experience and the ability to see through the current situation to assist their artificial human in winning the Holy Grail War.

The so-called marriage into the Einzbern family was a joke. The Einzberns likely didn't regard Emiya Kiritsugu as anything more than a tool to win the Holy Grail War.

"Forgive me."

Mikaela wasn't overly angered, as if Kayneth were correct. He placed the Oath of Judas on the ground, seemingly to 'monitor' the three of them, with his spear of light and chains ready to be launched at any moment.

He himself then took Irisviel to a spot not far from the riverbank and began calling Emiya Kiritsugu. Under normal circumstances, Emiya Kiritsugu should have 'just' arrived nearby.

"Have you found Caster's Master?" After connecting Emiya Kiritsugu's call, Mikaela got straight to the point, asking if he had found Caster's Master.

Given his operational capabilities, he was likely perched on a vantage point with a sniper rifle, observing every location from which the 'battlefield' could be seen.

Although Waver had proposed setting up a magical barrier in areas with the largest crowds to reduce the leakage of mystery, there were still some places he could account for. While the idea was good, even the most perfect plan had loopholes.

This was why Kayneth had called it a temporary fix. However, this method was currently the best they could achieve.

"I have." Emiya Kiritsugu's voice was calm. "Shall I tell you his location?"

Just as Mikaela had surmised, Emiya Kiritsugu's speed was remarkable. Upon learning that Caster was about to cause a major incident, he had quickly destroyed Tohno Shiro's house and rushed over. Traveling unimpeded, he quickly found a location with a panoramic view of the 'battlefield' and began observing to identify Caster's Master.

However, with Mikaela's accurate information, Emiya Kiritsugu quickly located Caster's Master and pinpointed his position.

"No need. You handle that guy; I'll handle Caster," Mikaela said calmly. "Currently, neither King of Conquerors nor Diarmuid can completely eliminate Caster. Only I can defeat him."

"What are your chances?"

Emiya Kiritsugu didn't ask Mikaela what they would use to deal with Caster, but rather how much chance of victory they had, as some things couldn't be hidden.

Having spent so many days together, Emiya Kiritsugu had a pretty good idea of his Master's temperament. He was far too cautious, considering every possibility for the best outcome, even unconsciously relying on the information his Master gathered.

"Seventy percent. The King of Conquerors' Inherent Domain significantly weakened the Sea Demon summoned by Caster. Coupled with you killing Caster's Master the moment I initiated 'attack,' there's a seventy percent chance of victory." Mikaela sensed Oath of Judas and noticed that Waver was already calling his Servant, inquiring about the Sea Demon's condition.

A soldier approached Waver and explained the situation within the Inherent Domain.

No matter what, he had to take the place of the 'Artoria' from the original story and slay that great Sea Demon. Even if he couldn't slay it, he had to show that he had 'given his all.'

"Is that so?"

Emiya Kiritsugu fell silent for a moment, then said very calmly, "Give it your all. What are the chances of victory?"

"Slaying it is not a problem," Mikaela said with considerable pride. Over these past few days, he had pretty much figured out his Servant's capabilities.

"That's good then." Emiya Kiritsugu seemed to breathe a sigh of relief on the other end, then hung up. There was nothing more to say now.

"Let's go." Mikaela looked at Irisviel beside him and walked towards Waver and Kayneth. He took a deep breath inwardly, hoping that Judas would successfully eliminate the big guy. Otherwise, he would definitely have to expose something next.

Judging by Emiya Kiritsugu's tone, if Mikaela slacked off any further, he would likely use a Command Seal without hesitation, forcing Mikaela to use all means necessary to slay the Sea Demon.

He... really was capable of doing that.

Chapter 76: Divine Grace Barrier

"It seems they've reached an agreement."

Looking at Mikaela and Irisviel returning, Kayneth seemed to have already seen what was about to happen from their expressions.

"First, I need to clarify one thing." Mikaela glanced at Irisviel, then turned his gaze to Kayneth and Waver, saying calmly, "My Noble Phantasm is not an anti-city Noble Phantasm. To be precise, it is an entity that suppresses 'magic power'."

Since there was no such thing as "Bane Energy" in this world, Mikaela could only describe it roughly: Oath of Judas, Zero Rated Power Divine Grace Barrier.