Such a tremendous attack made even Gilgamesh on the ground narrow his eyes. Ea in his hand began to turn again, and a vast amount of magical energy burst from its hilt.
"—Enuma Elish!"
"—Binding Chains Severed: Overweight Arondight!!!"
A roar loud enough to temporarily deafen anyone nearby resounded across the battlefield. But immediately afterward—
Creak!
A grating sound suddenly rang out. After landing, Lancelot was abruptly wrapped in chains that extended from who knew where.
The Chain of Heaven—the treasure from the King of Heroes' treasury, a chain of restraint that even the Bull of Heaven could not break free from—now bound Lancelot's hands, feet, shoulders, waist, and even his sword tightly!
"Though you managed to wound the King, you did well, Lancelot—"
There was no trace of mockery in his words. Looking at Lancelot, bound by the chains, Gilgamesh's eyes even flickered with a hint of praise. It was a tribute to the only knight across from him who had managed to wound him.
Yes, he had wounded him—
The all-out strike Lancelot had unleashed earlier had left a huge wound on Gilgamesh's chest, and blood was pouring from it without stopping.
This, too, was something Gilgamesh had never expected. Though he had been forced to release Ea's True Name in haste because of the lack of time, Lancelot had actually cleaved through the magical energy unleashed by Ea itself!
Seeing Lancelot keep his speed even after breaking through Ea, Gilgamesh had been unwilling, but had no choice but to use the Chain of Heaven. However, judging from Lancelot's earlier charge through his ranks, releasing Arondight seemed to have sealed away that thieving hand of his—Knight of Owner.
Even though the Chain of Heaven had restrained him in midair, Lancelot had drawn Arondight, and the enhancement from the Holy Sword had pushed his Strength to an extraordinary level. How could he be restrained so easily? Besides, against an enemy without divinity, the Chain of Heaven was nothing more than an exceptionally sturdy chain.
That was why, the instant the Chain of Heaven bound Lancelot, the chains had let out that grating sound under the strain of his tremendous force. Several of them had even snapped under the pressure!
But Enkidu's sacrifice had not been in vain. The chains had obstructed Lancelot's momentum and slowed him down a little.
That brief pause had given Gilgamesh a chance to catch his breath. He leaped backward, dodging Lancelot's slash, but the tip of the sword still tore through his Golden Armor. The armor, whose hardness surpassed that of every metal in the world, offered no resistance at all to Arondight. It was like a hot knife slicing through butter.
The Golden Armor was cut open from top to bottom, and the blow carved a horrifyingly large wound across his chest as well.
Looking at Lancelot, still struggling desperately despite being bound by layers of chains, and at the chains trembling under the strain, Gilgamesh knew the Chain of Heaven could not hold him for long. But even that little time was enough—
Four blades fell from the sky, each piercing one of Lancelot's limbs and severing the tendons in his hands and feet.
Clang—
Unable to keep hold of his sword, Lancelot let Arondight fall to the ground with a clear ringing sound. The trembling chains gradually fell still.
"Needless to say, you're the only one who's ever made the King feel that death was close. But mongrel—"
His praise gradually turned cold. Gilgamesh looked at Lancelot with icy eyes, anger once again burning in the King's gaze.
"Daring to hold back during your duel with the King—isn't that a little too arrogant?"
Though Gilgamesh was an unpleasant man, his perception ranked among the best of all heroes. During Lancelot's desperate attack, the golden king had clearly noticed that the main reason Lancelot's momentum had faltered was not the Chain of Heaven, but Lancelot himself. For a brief moment, even the light of the lake upon his blade had dimmed.
If that strike had come down with all his strength... Even Gilgamesh couldn't help feeling a chill in his heart. Though he had narrowly escaped disaster, the incident had also left the King feeling deeply humiliated.
"I wasn't holding back. It's just that my Master has already died..."
There was no need to hide it, so Lancelot calmly explained what had happened. That was also why the severed flow of magical energy between Servant and Master had left him in such a predicament.
Otherwise, the Chain of Heaven alone would never have been enough to hold the knight.
"Tch—To think you'd end up like this because you ran out of magical energy. How boring. But it looks like that Tokiomi fellow was still somewhat useful."
After hearing Lancelot's answer, Gilgamesh sneered. The golden ripples behind him stirred gently, and a sword emerged from within, the sharpness of its blade not to be underestimated.
"Mad dog, you've lost this round. Die content, carrying the King's praise with you!"
Gilgamesh declared this as he took aim at Lancelot's heart.
Lancelot had no other thoughts. As he watched the Noble Phantasm about to pierce his chest, his heart was unexpectedly calm.
So this was how he would leave the stage. He still hadn't apologized to his King—what a failure of a knight. But before that...
My King, let me cut down those who have shown you such disrespect!
But what happened the next second caught both of them off guard—
"Haah—"
A blast of azure wind swept in from afar, blowing away the Noble Phantasm right in front of Lancelot!
"Saber?"
Gilgamesh immediately jumped backward. In this situation, he had no chance of winning in a one-against-two fight.
After seeing the familiar sword technique, Lancelot whipped his head around and looked toward the direction from which the gust had come—
Seeing the golden-haired, blue-eyed girl in the distance, the one he admired and longed for with all his heart, the battered knight murmured:
"My King—"
P.S. Two chapters today, making up for the day before yesterday. I still owe yesterday's chapter. (Spits blood)
Chapter 69: Saber Takes Action
"Hmm?"
Having just returned to their base with Irisviel, Saber suddenly sensed something and turned to look toward Tohsaka Mansion.
Though their base and the Tohsaka Family's were both in Miyama Town, they were some distance apart. Still, how could the Gate of Babylon, which seemed to gild half the night sky, escape Saber's notice?
"What's wrong, Saber?"
Noticing her Servant's strange behavior, Irisviel turned to look at her.
"Nothing. It was probably just my imagination."
Saber shook her head, but still asked Irisviel, "Irisviel, do you know who's fighting Archer?"
"It's Berserker."
The answer didn't come from Irisviel, but from another man's voice.
"Kiritsugu!"
Seeing her husband emerge from the base to welcome her, Irisviel happily went to his side and asked with concern, "How are you feeling?"
"Thanks to you, I'm all right now."
It seemed that only when he was with his wife did Emiya Kiritsugu show the genuine smile that belonged to him.
"Kiritsugu, you said it was Berserker?"
Saber's brow furrowed at Emiya Kiritsugu's words. She had always felt that there was some inescapable connection between her and that black, frenzied Servant.
"While you were all drinking together, Berserker and his Master attacked the Tohsaka Family's base..."
Kariya had never intended to hide his movements. Besides, a battle as spectacular as the one involving Archer was impossible to conceal from the familiars that magi sent out to scout.
"..."
"If you want to go, then go."
As if he understood what his Servant was thinking, Emiya Kiritsugu's subdued voice reached Saber. Then a set of keys landed in her hand, leaving her astonished.
Irisviel, standing beside her husband, smiled and reminded Saber, "Be careful when you drive."
The engine roared at the gate of the courtyard, then gradually faded into the distance.
As the headlights disappeared into the distance, Irisviel looked at her husband curiously.
"Berserker's Master seems ready to die this time. If Saber joins the battle between Berserker and Archer now, something unexpected might come of it."
Emiya Kiritsugu lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and explained his reasoning.
"It's just that we still haven't seen any sign of Lancer tonight."
It was no secret that the Masters of Lancer, Caster, and Berserker had allied with one another in this Holy Grail War. No one knew exactly what terms they had agreed on, but there was no doubt that their alliance gave the other Masters a headache. Anyone planning to act against one of the three had to consider the consequences of facing three Heroic Spirits at once.
But tonight—
Lancer should, in theory, have acted alongside Berserker. That ought to have made an assassination attempt on Tohsaka Tokiomi more likely. Yet Lancer was nowhere near Berserker, and hadn't even attended the drinking party.
This strange situation gave Emiya Kiritsugu something to think about.
The glaring headlights flashed through the narrow alleys of Miyama Town. Perhaps to make it easier for Saber to act, the keys Emiya Kiritsugu had tossed her weren't for the Mercedes-Benz she'd used before, but for another vehicle: the two-wheeled, rear-wheel-drive "Demon King," the terrifying YAMAHA VMAX.
Hearing the roar of the steel beast beneath her lifted Saber's previously gloomy mood. The sensation of moving at such high speed was simply incomparable to what she had felt when driving the Mercedes-Benz.
That was right. This really did feel more like riding a horse.
Compared to a car, where she sat in a seat and was restrained by a seat belt, this heavy motorcycle let Saber become part of the vehicle and control its center of gravity. It was far better suited to letting her Riding skill shine.
The streets of Miyama Town were a formidable obstacle for a heavy motorcycle traveling along the ground. And the VMAX, modified from top to bottom to pursue maximum acceleration, handled more like a car in a short-distance drag race than a vehicle built for turning. It was practically incapable of turning. Yet Saber's superb skill overturned even the laws of physics, which said you couldn't turn while traveling at high speed. Before her, that rule meant nothing.
Saber had completely mastered the machine's characteristics. When a turn approached, she didn't slow down; she opened the throttle instead, directing all the excess torque toward the rear wheel. The rapid acceleration was so forceful that it nearly flipped the whole vehicle over, lifting its front wheel off the ground. In that instant, Saber used the explosive force of Mana Burst to force the vehicle to tilt, completing the turn. It was as if she had used sheer force to twist its forward direction.
At this speed, perhaps she could—
In Saber's memory, Archer's fighting style, like that of some obscenely rich spendthrift, had left a deep impression on her. Berserker's strange way of fighting was a good counter to Archer, but how long could he hold out against such a sheer number of Noble Phantasms?
Faster!
—At the very least, she wanted to see the true face beneath Berserker's black helmet.
An inexplicable feeling made Saber twist the throttle as far as it would go.
If I don't meet that black Servant, it may become the greatest regret of this Holy Grail War for me.
That was what the voice in her heart told her.
She didn't need to search for the battlefield. Archer's Noble Phantasms, which had turned almost half the night sky gold, and the explosions that rang out from time to time made the perfect guideposts!
Boom—
Screech—
The roar from nearby and the shrill sound of rubber tires scraping against asphalt rang in Saber's ears at the same time. Saber leaped off the motorcycle and rushed straight to the battlefield, not bothering with the pungent smell of burning rubber.
There!
From a distance, Saber saw the golden Servant looking down at Berserker, who was bound by chains. The Gate of Babylon had opened behind him, and he seemed about to kill Berserker, who had been reduced to such a sorry state.
There was still time!
The Holy Sword in her hands gleamed with a brilliant golden light amid the spiraling air. The high-pressure wind, which had been meant to protect the Holy Sword, was released from its invisible barrier. It burst forth with a roar like a ferocious dragon.
"Strike Air!"
The wind, compressed until it was nearly solid, roared as it struck the Noble Phantasm in front of Berserker and sent it flying!
When an object moves through the atmosphere at tremendous speed, it tears through the air in front of it, leaving a vacuum behind. The surrounding air is then drawn into that vacuum, forming a current that chases the object that passed through. In modern car racing, a car behind another can follow in the lead car's wake and use the Slipstream to accelerate.
The pressure Saber released from Invisible Air caused the same phenomenon. As the wind struck the Noble Phantasm and sent it flying, the gale left a vacuum in its wake. Saber had already prepared for this. She pushed off hard with her feet and plunged into the vacuum's "passage."
"Saber?"
When he recognized the figure that had suddenly appeared before him, Archer jumped backward, apparently wary of Saber.
But what surprised Saber most was surely the voice that came from behind her.
"My King—"
Hearing that long-forgotten title, Saber turned around in astonishment to look at Berserker. Though bound and kneeling on the ground, he still refused to bow his back.
His flowing purple hair, his handsome face that even blood and grime could not conceal, and the demonic sword lying at Berserker's side brought back the memories buried deepest in Saber's heart.
"You—you are—"
I still owe you another chapter. (Spits blood)
I'll make it up tomorrow.
Chapter 70: King and Knight
"You are—?"
After seeing Berserker's face, Saber's eyes widened. She seemed unable to believe what she was seeing and murmured:
Before you continue