"A man who had once nearly conquered the world must be treated with caution. Tomorrow, I'll discuss it with Tohno Shiro and settle on a plan to surround and eliminate the King of Conquerors. Without the King of Conquerors as Kayneth's trump card, he can be ignored as well."
Emiya Kiritsugu stubbed out the cigarette in his hand. He held the King of Conquerors in great apprehension. If he had previously regarded him as a brute, or someone who simply looked foolish—
Then after hearing Mikaela's words, he understood clearly that the image of a brute the other party had cultivated was utter nonsense.
He might have seemed foolish, but he was definitely not someone whose brain was made entirely of muscles. From observing the battlefield, Emiya Kiritsugu could tell that the King of Conquerors was not only clever, but exceptionally skilled at using others to force them into revealing their trump cards.
When they had joined forces to attack Caster, the King of Conquerors had been the first to reveal his trump card, using his Inherent Domain to trap that Sea Demon. It had looked like he was exposing his strength.
But after thinking about it afterward, one would realize that although the King of Conquerors had revealed his Inherent Domain, no one knew what it looked like inside, what functions it possessed, or even exactly how he had attacked the Sea Demon.
Mikaela, on the other hand, had truly exposed her strength. Oath of Judas, Zero Rated Power—Divine Grace Barrier—had been laid completely bare before the King of Conquerors and Diarmuid. They were battle-hardened heroes, so they naturally understood at a glance just how powerful such a barrier was.
"Haa..." Emiya Kiritsugu slowly exhaled a wisp of white smoke. He seemed about to say something, but quickly frowned as though he had sensed something, his gaze turning toward the next room.
There's a fluctuation of mana.
At that moment, Emiya Kiritsugu was like a hunter, his eyes turning incomparably sharp. As a magus killer who had survived countless battles, he would never believe that the stray fluctuation of mana had been an accident!
Seeing Emiya Kiritsugu's expression, Maiya Hisau, the woman who understood him best, seemed to realize something. She waved at Mikaela, telling her not to speak, then pointed at the wall beside them.
"..." Mikaela seemed to understand as well. Her gaze sharpened, and upon seeing Maiya Hisau's gesture, she decisively crushed the card in her hand.
Judas! Deploy!
Oath of Judas plunged into the ground, and countless golden chains and spears of light burst forth, attacking the room next door.
Boom—!!!
Along with the deafening explosion, Mikaela gestured for Emiya Kiritsugu and Maiya Hisau to leave for now. She stared coldly at the next room, where a "familiar" fluctuation had already reached her through the smoke.
"Hahahaha." Amid a hearty laugh, the King of Conquerors—Iskandar—held the panicked Waver in his arms and smiled at Mikaela. "Yo, what a coincidence, Saber. Little Master and I actually ran into you here."
The King of Conquerors' smile was filled with sincerity, but Mikaela's expression darkened.
Sure enough... she was not a proper Servant, nor was she some so-called magus. She simply could not sense whether anyone was nearby. Although the cards possessed other sensory abilities, she had not used them. Out of trust in Emiya Kiritsugu, and because she had personally checked the place once herself, she had naturally let her guard down somewhat.
But she had never expected that this tiny bit of relaxation would allow their intelligence to be overheard.
How much did they hear? Mikaela wondered inwardly, because she and Emiya Kiritsugu had discussed a great many things tonight.
While treating Irisviel, they had discussed how, after transforming into Artoria, she could wield the legendary Holy Sword—Excalibur.
Mana consumption was another enormous issue, however. Once Irisviel absorbed the souls of five Servants and connected to the Greater Holy Grail, then as Irisviel's Servant, Mikaela would be able to draw upon the Greater Holy Grail's mana and release Excalibur's power "without limit."
It would not matter if the later intelligence was exposed, but if they had overheard even that, then things would become troublesome.
They have to stay here tonight!! A trace of killing intent flashed through Mikaela's eyes. She had decided that even if she had to reveal part of her trump cards tonight, she would leave the King of Conquerors and Waver behind.
In the Holy Grail War, intelligence was extremely important. Mikaela and Emiya Kiritsugu both believed that.
"Saber!" Irisviel looked at the King of Conquerors and Waver, seemingly stunned as well. She had not sensed at all that a Servant pair was in the room beside hers.
"Leave it to me!"
Mikaela looked at the King of Conquerors and Waver, her voice ice-cold. "It seems I underestimated you in the end. As expected, people with great wisdom like you must be killed decisively."
When Waver saw the King of Conquerors come to his side, he gained a bit of confidence. He shouted, "Rider!! Their accomplices are here! Find them quickly!!"
"Oh! Kid, it seems you obtained some incredible intelligence." Seeing Waver's excited appearance, the King of Conquerors immediately realized that his Little Master had learned something unimaginable. He smiled. "But for now, we should retreat. Saber is clearly in an extremely mad state. If you keep provoking her, the two of us will die here tonight."
With that, the King of Conquerors immediately picked up Waver and slammed into the wall beside them, smashing open an exit to the outside. Without another word, he leaped out with Waver.
"Don't think you can run!"
Naturally, Mikaela would not simply watch the King of Conquerors and Waver escape. She threw Oath of Judas without hesitation, and the Divine Grace Barrier opened once more, directly enveloping all three of them!
"Pardon me, madam." Maiya Hisau returned, carrying Irisviel in a princess carry.
This was Emiya Kiritsugu's order. He understood very well what a terrifying state Mikaela would fall into once she learned that her trump card had been discovered. To prevent Irisviel from becoming Mikaela's weakness—
Emiya Kiritsugu had Maiya Hisau take Irisviel away. The three of them would leave the hotel first.
The Divine Grace Barrier enveloped the King of Conquerors and Waver, plunging them into an agonizing state. Waver felt as though he could not breathe. The mana within his body seemed frozen in time, utterly unusable. Even the Command Seal in his hand grew somewhat "dim." Terror filled Waver's eyes. He seemed to already see Saber brutally killing him and the King of Conquerors.
"...I see. Mana is being consumed, and Noble Phantasms cannot be activated, but that does not mean it cannot be broken." The King of Conquerors looked at his body, which was dispersing like snowflakes, as well as the golden chains that had already bound him.
He moved slightly and found that he could not move at all. Those golden chains were incredibly sturdy, as though within this barrier they were indestructible. No matter how hard he struggled, he could not break free.
The King of Conquerors' smile gradually vanished as he looked at Mikaela. "This round, I'm afraid I've won, Saber."
"Are you joking? You have no ability to resist now." As Mikaela entered the Divine Grace Barrier, she held two golden spears in her hands. Step by step, she slowly approached the King of Conquerors. She intended to pierce both his and Waver's hearts.
"Yes, I cannot resist. But surely you understand that I would not come here without making preparations." The King of Conquerors smiled again. "For example, your Master is currently being pursued by Lancer."
"Boring." Mikaela would not believe that the King of Conquerors had truly brought Diarmuid here. Even if Diarmuid had come, she would kill the King of Conquerors and Waver first!!
Under the Divine Grace Barrier, Mikaela moved somewhat slowly. Like the King of Conquerors, her body was gradually turning translucent, as though she were about to vanish from this world.
But judging from the current pace, in another five seconds, the King of Conquerors' heart would be pierced!
Four seconds.
The King of Conquerors' smile remained unchanged. He seemed to be looking forward to what would happen next.
Waver's face, however, remained filled with terror. He knew that his teacher's Servant had returned with his teacher and had not come with them at all!!!
Three seconds.
Mikaela tightened her grip on the golden spear. To pierce his heart accurately, she decided to strike from the closest possible distance.
If she threw it, Mikaela was not confident that she could hit his heart with such precision.
So the best option was to walk up to him and drive the spear into his heart! Make sure he was completely dead!! Then kill Waver while she was at it.
Two seconds.
Mikaela was now less than five meters from the King of Conquerors.
"By Command Seal, return at once!! Saber!!!" Emiya Kiritsugu's urgent voice suddenly rang out in Mikaela's heart.
"!!!!"
Mikaela understood at that moment. The King of Conquerors had not been lying to her. He had truly brought Diarmuid here. The terror on Waver's face was real, because he knew nothing.
"Looks like, in the end, this king made the right bet." The King of Conquerors bared a set of white, even teeth. Seeing Mikaela's body turn translucent, he knew she was about to return to her Master's side.
"Die—!!!"
At the instant before she was transferred away, Mikaela no longer cared about the distance. Without hesitation, she hurled the spear of light in her hand.
Splurt—!!!
(③④②⑨⑥⑦④⑥⑤)
The spear of light pierced through the King of Conquerors' chest.
The Impossible Servant
"Cough!"
The King of Conquerors crouched halfway down, clutching his wound. A trace of relief flashed through his eyes. He had come so close—just a little closer, and Saber would have pierced his heart.
"Rider, are you all right?!"
After Mikaela left, the Divine Grace Barrier was lifted. Waver grabbed the King of Conquerors' cloak worriedly. They had nearly died just now.
"I'm fine. You could say I picked up a second life. As expected, preparing things in advance is useful." The King of Conquerors looked at the hole in his chest. Without caring about his injury, he looked into the distance and sighed faintly. "Kid, this is the first lesson you need to learn. No matter what, you must learn how to 'see.' Enemy and friend are merely labels. Sometimes enemies become friends, and friends become enemies."
"?????" Waver did not understand why the King of Conquerors was saying this, but he did not waste time asking. He used a rather crude healing spell to mend the wound in the King of Conquerors' chest.
"Good. Next, we need to go intimidate that Saber. Kid, you must stay by my side at all times from now on. Otherwise, your life may be in danger."
After recovering from his wounds, the King of Conquerors wore a confident smile again. Though he did not know what information his Little Master had overheard, Saber's reaction made it clear that she intended to erase the two of them immediately.
"Ah, all right." Waver nodded and did not deny the King of Conquerors' words. In fact, he felt they needed to take the initiative now. Otherwise, tomorrow... their side would be surrounded and eliminated.
Elsewhere, to avoid causing Mikaela trouble, Emiya Kiritsugu decisively leaped from the third floor to the first with Irisviel and Maiya Hisau. With magecraft, the three of them could ignore the damage from the fall.
Servants could only be handled by Servants. Emiya Kiritsugu was very aware of that. He and Mikaela had agreed that she would deal with Servants, while he would deal with Masters.
The two had clearly divided their responsibilities. Likewise, if either had a chance to kill a Servant—or a Master—they would never hesitate.
That was why Emiya Kiritsugu knew very well that he could not bring Mikaela any trouble. So he fled decisively, giving the enemy no opportunity.
However, at the instant he jumped down, a knight hiding in the darkness revealed a helpless smile. Just as that person had expected.
At that moment, a golden radiance appeared in the sky. Mikaela had decisively deployed the Divine Grace Barrier to kill the King of Conquerors. The knight hiding in the darkness also knew he could no longer remain concealed. He entered spirit form and rushed toward Emiya Kiritsugu and Irisviel.
"Sorry, but this road is blocked, Saber's Master... and her assistant."
Emiya Kiritsugu, Irisviel, and Maiya Hisau abruptly stopped upon hearing those words.
"Go!" Maiya Hisau immediately recognized the owner of that voice. Without hesitation, she drew a pistol and fired several shots toward the sound, shouting at Emiya Kiritsugu, "Take madam and leave!"
"Oh? Admirable courage, but those things are useless against me."
Diarmuid revealed himself. With only a few swings of his spear, he cut apart the incoming bullets. Knowing that time was short, Diarmuid smiled and pointed his spear at Irisviel. "Though we were allies earlier, we are enemies now, Saber's Master."
The moment he finished speaking, Diarmuid charged! He was incomparably decisive, like a leopard launching an attack with lightning speed the instant it spotted its prey!
"...By Command Seal."
Emiya Kiritsugu gripped Irisviel's hand tightly, and the Command Seal on his hand shone with a piercing red light.
"Hm?!" Surprise flashed through Diarmuid's eyes. He had never expected that the holder of the Command Seal was not that lady, but this weathered-looking man.
Under other circumstances, Emiya Kiritsugu would never waste a Command Seal to summon Mikaela back. But the situation was already extremely critical.
If Mikaela could not return in time, then he, Irisviel, and Maiya Hisau would likely all die here.
How many seconds could he hold out? Emiya Kiritsugu did not know. A human facing a Servant was like an egg striking a stone. It was better to summon Mikaela back decisively.
Boom—!!!
After being summoned back by Emiya Kiritsugu, Mikaela no longer had her composed expression. She stared fixedly at Diarmuid, astonishing fury flashing in her eyes.
"Yo, Saber. The moon looks rather nice tonight, but you seem to be in a poor mood." Diarmuid spun his spear and revealed a smile with a unique charm. Holding the long and short spears in his hands, he looked at the rage written across Mikaela's face. "Although we cooperated an hour ago, this is still the Holy Grail War. For victory, you can hide yourselves, and we can use any means necessary as well."
"When did you form an alliance..."
Mikaela took a deep breath and temporarily suppressed the fury in her heart. She was certain that Diarmuid and the King of Conquerors had not had much time to communicate.
If the two sides had truly had time to talk, it would probably have been when Mikaela leaped from the King of Conquerors' ox cart while carrying Irisviel.
If it had really happened then, Waver would not have looked so panicked. He was not like his future self, so intelligent and composed, nor had he gained Zhuge Liang's support.
During their combined assault on the Sea Demon, Mikaela and Diarmuid had been together for most of the time. The King of Conquerors had had no chance to communicate with Diarmuid.
Even after she deployed the Divine Grace Barrier, the King of Conquerors had merely returned to his Master's side and watched the Sea Demon disperse alongside Diarmuid. Irisviel had been beside them then and naturally knew that they had barely exchanged words, only expressing wariness toward her "Noble Phantasm."
When they finally left, Mikaela had kept her full attention on the King of Conquerors and Diarmuid. Only after confirming that the two had left at different times had she felt reassured enough to come to Emiya Kiritsugu's hotel with Irisviel.
It could be said that at this stage, anyone could have appeared here. Gilgamesh or Hassan of the Hundred Faces, perhaps—but Diarmuid was the one person who should never have been here.
"Well now, how would I know? If Saber is willing to share your secret, then I'll share this secret with you." Diarmuid smiled faintly, clearly having no intention of revealing it.
Theresa
In truth, this was not a secret at all.
The King of Conquerors and Diarmuid had only had one brief opportunity to communicate, one that Mikaela had unconsciously overlooked.
Although it had only lasted a moment, the two had tacitly nodded, both believing it to be a good plan.
Earlier, when dealing with the Sea Demon, Mikaela's Divine Grace Barrier had been about to dissipate. Diarmuid and the King of Conquerors acted together, deciding to deliver the final blow to Caster and the Sea Demon he had summoned.
It was then that the King of Conquerors, driving his ox cart, said to Diarmuid, "How much chance do you think the two of us have against Saber's barrier?"
After the King of Conquerors spoke, Diarmuid fell into thought. He knew that if he and the King of Conquerors attacked Saber together, there would be only one outcome: both of them would die.
The Divine Grace Barrier did not possess much destructive power, but it seemed to be a Noble Phantasm specifically designed to restrain "Mystery." Against existences like Servants, who relied on mana to manifest in this world, its threat was simply enormous.
Neither Diarmuid nor the King of Conquerors possessed long-range means of attack. That meant that if they wanted to attack Mikaela, they had to approach her.
But Diarmuid, who had fought Mikaela before, knew very well that victory could not be achieved in a short exchange.
Her martial skill might not match his, but she was not someone he could defeat quickly. If Mikaela deployed the Divine Grace Barrier at that point, then Diarmuid would be the one to die.
"There is no chance of victory."
Though helpless, that was indeed the truth. If it came to a direct battle, he had no chance of winning.
Before you continue