Cards of Fate/Grand Order: Chapter 44

Night had fallen, and Mikaela, much like an Assassin, began his operation under the cover of darkness. He placed the explosives and other items Emiya Kiritsugu had purchased beforehand into his cards, preparing to give Kayneth, who was staying at the hotel, a surprise.

Through Mikaela's dedicated development over the past few days, he discovered that his 'Quirk' could continue to grow. For the current card 'Quirk,' he could store a portion of items. As long as the object was small, storing it wouldn't consume much magic.

That's right, it didn't consume much magic. The cost of storing items seemed to depend on their 'size.'

If it were an item of normal size, like an apple, the magic consumption wouldn't be particularly high.

But if a steamroller were stuffed into a card, the magic consumed would likely be no less than that used for Judas.

He didn't know if living people could be stored, but logically, they shouldn't be able to... because Mikaela didn't believe living people could enter the card's world.

If the cards could be further improved in the future, perhaps living people could be stored. But now wasn't the time for such talk. Mikaela had already arrived below the hotel and was deep in thought.

Should he bury the bombs all at once, destroying Kayneth's magic workshop and incidentally blowing up everyone in the hotel?

Or, like in the original story, leave some room for maneuver and use the 'fire alarm' to lure everyone out? However, this would only destroy Kayneth's magic workshop and put him at a disadvantage.

"Forget it. Even if you escape this ordeal, you won't escape the next. Might as well send you off."

After a moment's thought, Mikaela made his decision. He wouldn't act like in the original story; he would simply destroy the entire hotel where Kayneth was staying!!!

Arriving at the hotel, Mikaela quietly concealed his presence, preparing to infiltrate the hotel and start planting the bombs.

However... as he entered the hotel, Mikaela suddenly felt something was off.

It was too quiet all around. There wasn't even a receptionist at the front desk. Within Mikaela's range of perception, there were no footsteps, no dripping water, nor the sounds of any living beings moving.

This was far too abnormal for a hotel, and it gave Mikaela a sense of crisis. He seemed to understand something and decisively crushed the card in his hand. Numerous bombs leaped out from the card.

"BANG—!!!"

The explosion rang out. Mikaela immediately entered his spiritual form. Spiritual form could ignore most physical damage. Mikaela used this to evade the shockwave generated by the explosion.

The moment the bombs were thrown, Kayneth, in a certain room, wore a sarcastic smile. Hah, as the Lord of the El-Melloi school, how could I not anticipate that the enemy would resort to any means to destroy my magic workshop?!

After speaking with the King of Conquerors, Kayneth understood that if this continued, not only would his magic workshop be destroyed, but he might also implicate other ordinary people. Although sacrificing those people wouldn't matter, as long as the lives of ordinary people could bring him value.

Kayneth didn't mind using them to achieve glorious victory. However, at present, keeping those ordinary people around would only bring him inconvenience and even the risk of revealing the mystical. Therefore, Kayneth decisively used his authority to buy out the hotel.

What? Not selling? Is that up to you to decide?!

At that moment, Kayneth mobilized his connections and forcibly acquired the hotel, adding it to the Archibald family's assets. Although he didn't care about this so-called rundown country hotel, for the victory in the Holy Grail War, Kayneth had to buy it.

"BOOM—!!!"

After the explosion, nothing had changed. If anything had changed, it was probably just a bit more dust on the ground.

It seemed that before Mikaela arrived, Kayneth had already perfected the setup of his magic workshop. Previously, Kayneth's magic workshop, while powerful, was like a castle in the air—impressive-looking but very fragile.

But now it was different. Kayneth had solidified the foundation. Unless he voluntarily deactivated the magic barrier, Mikaela could only break through it by force.

"………………"

The plan had failed again. To be honest, Mikaela was extremely annoyed at this moment. What was going on?! It felt like all his calculations had yielded mostly negative results. If Tohno Shiro and Matou Kariya hadn't achieved such great success, he would probably be incredibly frustrated right now.

Mikaela canceled his spiritual form. The Oath of Judas was slung across his back, ready to use the zeroth rated power—Divine Grace Barrier—to trap and kill the invading King of Conquerors and Diarmuid.

However... the other party had already discovered his presence, but they hadn't released their Servant to fight him. Were they wary of him?

Mikaela pondered this. He thrust the Oath of Judas into the ground. Instead of immediately using Theresa's card, he first shot out several golden lances, shattering the magic barrier on this floor.

"BOOM—!!"

Unlike the previous bomb explosions, the golden lances clearly dealt significant damage to the magic barrier, as evidenced by the dimming 'space' around them.

"Still not coming out? You want me to go up there? Naive fool." Mikaela sneered. He seemed to understand Kayneth's intention—to stall for time to complete something.

But how could Mikaela let him succeed!

"Crack."

Theresa's character card and the weapon card for Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment were crushed simultaneously.

Irisviel was currently in the process of a frantic replenishment with Emiya Kiritsugu, so Mikaela had ample magic. He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Heavenly Fire, unsheathe—!!!"

The Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment, which had been in the form of dual guns, now transformed into a giant sword. The blade was wreathed in raging flames as it launched a fierce attack upwards.

This attack! It was even more terrifying than the last.

Chapter 112: Desperate Situation

The flames released from the Heavenly Fire Greatsword instantly shattered the surrounding magic barrier. Although theoretically, the power generated by the three mana reactors was enough to resist an anti-city Noble Phantasm, that was only when protecting 'a single location.'

If the power was too dispersed, like Hassan of the Hundred Faces, the more 'individuals' they scattered into, the weaker their power became!

Coupled with Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment, which was ranked first in destructive power among Divine Keys, even though Mikaela couldn't use most of its power now, unleashing even a small portion was enough to completely destroy the magic barrier Kayneth had set up.

"BOOM—!!"

In an instant! The entire hotel seemed to be engulfed in flames. Under the terrified gaze of ordinary people, the hotel, which had stood for who knows how many years, was thus rendered useless.

"Damn it! She's a lunatic!!!"

Kayneth cursed. He was currently on the King of Conquerors' chariot. Diarmuid had already removed his bandages. His skin still bore red marks, seemingly a lingering effect from yesterday's fire damage.

"……As expected, Saber doesn't play by the rules," Diarmuid said, gripping his long and short spears, expressing his helplessness at his Master's curses.

After all, his Master had been full of high spirits, intending to have an evenly matched magical 'offensive and defensive battle' with Saber. But he hadn't expected Saber to be so volatile. Upon realizing he had been discovered, she didn't say a word, pulled out her second Noble Phantasm, and blasted upwards.

Although the three magical energy furnaces could resist attacks from anti-city Noble Phantasms, they could only do so at full power.

Kayneth had only just initiated the startup sequence for the magical energy furnaces; he hadn't actually activated them yet. He planned to fully power them up once Saber grew impatient, intending to show Saber what a Magus truly was.

However, before Kayneth could even display the full power of his magical workshop, Mikaela had dismantled his entire setup!!!

"This is why I hate defensive battles," the King of Conquerors sighed, looking down at Mikaela. He wasn't particularly surprised by this outcome, as the defending side was always at a disadvantage.

It was like last night when they faced Mikaela. The opponent could only passively defend, while they could actively attack.

But now, the situation was reversed. The hunter had become the prey, and the prey had become the hunter.

"Are you planning to run away like this? Just as I expected." Mikaela was currently engulfed in flames, a consequence of using Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment. While they hadn't transformed into Theresa, they weren't going to die immediately; they were merely heavily injured.

They had expected the King of Conquerors and Kayneth to press their advantage while they were 'heavily injured.' However, they were far more cautious than Mikaela had anticipated. The moment their magical workshop was destroyed, they fled instead of engaging in combat.

This meant... Diarmuid's injuries were far more severe than Mikaela had realized, otherwise, they wouldn't have avoided a fight.

At the same time... Emiya Kiritsugu seemed to have noticed their situation. Using the connection between Master and Servant, he had remotely cast healing magic, restoring some of Mikaela's injuries. But if he had time to cast healing magic on Mikaela, he should have spent more time replenishing Irisviel's mana.

More than any healing magic, mana was what Mikaela needed to continue fighting. As long as they had enough mana, they could extinguish the flames of Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment themselves.

However, there was no time to extinguish them now. Mikaela watched the departing carriage and let out a soft snort. Without a word, they canceled Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment and summoned the Oath of Judas once more.

Countless chains extended from the Oath of Judas, spreading across the sky. Mikaela leaped lightly, landing on the chains.

The golden chains seemed to 'awaken,' surging towards the King of Conquerors' carriage. Mikaela didn't move, controlling the chains with sheer willpower to charge towards the enemy, much like sword-riding in a Xianxia novel.

If old Mr. Newton saw this, he would surely jump out of his coffin in anger.

"So, I hate fighting Saber. That guy's Noble Phantasm is just too versatile," the King of Conquerors muttered, his mouth twitching slightly. While they might be faster, it was easy to deduce that if Saber was chasing them, they must have a way to slow them down.

The best method... was probably...

"Crack!"

The Theresa card was crushed again. Mikaela, who was 1.6 meters tall, shrank once more. Wearing a nun's habit, their blue eyes fixed on the King of Conquerors' carriage, their small hand suddenly clenched.

"Swish—!!!"

A golden spear appeared in Mikaela's hand. Without a word, they threw the golden spear.

"!!!!!"

The King of Conquerors had been keeping a close eye on Mikaela behind them. When they saw the golden spear flying towards them, they immediately changed direction, dodging the attack.

This is troublesome...

The thought crossed the minds of the King of Conquerors and the others. They all knew that in the instant they dodged the attack, the carriage's speed had decreased by a fraction. Even though it was only a tiny amount, they understood the consequences this would bring.

"How many more times can you dodge?!" Mikaela's lips curved into a strange smile. They had intended to sneer, but due to their Theresa form, the sneer turned into a "shameless smile."

"Swish swish swish—!!!"

Not only was Mikaela conjuring golden spears with their hands, but the Oath of Judas also fired thirteen golden spears, hurtling towards the King of Conquerors. Their target was clear: to slow down the King of Conquerors' carriage.

In terms of speed, the extension of the golden chains beneath Mikaela's feet was slower than the carriage's speed. However, they had harassment tactics that could easily cause the King of Conquerors' carriage to gradually slow down.

Little by little, the faster the attacks, the more the King of Conquerors had to focus on driving the carriage to dodge Mikaela's attacks.

This effectively shattered the King of Conquerors' plan to buy time. From Mikaela's perspective, they could clearly see the burn-like wounds on Diarmuid. He was indeed seriously injured and hadn't recovered even now.

Sigh! If I had known Diarmuid was so badly injured, I should have gone and killed him last night. Why wait until tonight?!

Despite some regret, Mikaela remained focused on attacking the Chariot of Godly Might. They knew tonight would yield results!

"...I can't anymore."

After the King of Conquerors dodged several more of Mikaela's attacks, their speed slowed down again. Diarmuid took a deep breath, feeling a dull ache in his muscles. His injuries hadn't fully healed, but if this continued, both his Lord and himself would surely die.

Someone had to stay behind and stop Saber.

PS: "I was too tired after visiting the comic convention yesterday and fell asleep directly. I sincerely apologize. I'll make up for it with four chapters today ()."

Chapter 113: Die! Diarmuid!

Someone had to stay behind. Although the four people present didn't say a word, this thought echoed in all their minds.

There was no such thing as strength in numbers, because if they all charged forward, Saber would simply unleash that terrifying barrier, and they would all perish at her hands.

Right now, someone had to stay behind to die!

Yes, not to cover a retreat, but to truly die.

"My Lord."

Diarmuid stopped looking at Saber and knelt on one knee before Kayneth. He lowered his head and said in a deep voice, "I'm afraid I cannot allow you to obtain the Holy Grail."

"..." Kayneth remained silent, then angrily retorted, "You are merely a mere familiar, a familiar that survives on my magic. I am your Master; do not take it upon yourself to do something foolish."

"..." Diarmuid raised his head, looking at Kayneth with firm eyes. He knew that his Lord was a true genius. His knowledge, his background, and his unique charisma had deeply captivated the newly manifested Diarmuid.

In Kayneth, he saw a reflection of his true Lord – Finn MacCool, in his youth.

The two shared many similarities in their youth, which made Diarmuid increasingly respectful of Kayneth. From the bottom of his heart, he believed Kayneth to be his true Lord, a Lord he needed to protect even at the cost of his life.

"Please allow me to do the last thing for you in my life."

Diarmuid gripped his spear tightly and said with utmost seriousness, "My Lord, with your talent, even without a Servant, you can win this Holy Grail War. Therefore... I must hold back Saber and allow you to escape from here."

"You, you, don't just talk to yourself!" Kayneth seemed to have reached his limit, and he berated Diarmuid, "What's the point of delaying, even if you buy time? Right now, besides that Archer, no one can defeat Saber."

That's right, after researching for half a day, Kayneth suddenly realized that only that Archer, the King of Heroes—Gilgamesh! —could pose a significant threat to Mikaela.

This was because most of the power Mikaela was currently displaying was in close-quarters combat. Whether it was that giant flaming sword or that bizarre barrier that could isolate all mysteries, both required getting close to the opponent to unleash their immense power.

Diarmuid and the King of Conquerors, who specialized in melee, were completely suppressed by Mikaela, unable to retaliate.

"My Lord, I believe in your talent, I believe you can create miracles. All you need now is a little time. I... No! It should be I, Diarmuid, who is willing to create an opportunity for you, an opportunity for you to have enough time to figure out how to deal with Saber."

As soon as he finished speaking, Diarmuid leaped from the ox-drawn carriage. Kayneth closed his eyes and sighed deeply. He raised the Command Seal in his hand, with only two remaining.

"In the name of the Command Seal, Diarmuid, I permit you to fight to the death."

"In the name of the Command Seal, Diarmuid, you must defeat Saber!"

After the two Command Seals vanished, Kayneth activated his healing magic, seemingly intending to restore some of Diarmuid's injuries at this moment.

However, it was regrettable that facing the damage inflicted by Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment, even high-quality healing magic could only restore a small portion of the injuries.

Still, Kayneth's intention was clear: I have given you everything I can. If you still cannot win, then it is simply Diarmuid's bad luck to have encountered an unbeatable opponent.

"Sigh." The King of Conquerors sighed. He had originally intended to stall for time and let Diarmuid recover from his injuries, but unexpectedly, due to Saber's relentless pursuit, Diarmuid was forced to take the initiative, using his life to delay Saber's advance.

"..."

Waver looked at his teacher's retreating back. Although he didn't say a word, he felt that his teacher... didn't seem as sharp-tongued and harsh as he had imagined.

"Ah, My Lord, my wish has long been fulfilled." Diarmuid felt the abundant mana within him and, for a moment, couldn't feel the burning sensation from his injuries.

His heart was filled with pride. To have met such a Lord, to serve such a Lord, that was his wish in this life.

"Clang—!!"

As he jumped off the ox-drawn carriage, Diarmuid swung his twin spears and attacked Mikaela.