Stalemate (Three Chapters Owed) / Countermeasures

"We shouldn't linger in this situation, so what we need to do now is repel Archer..."

"Repel" is not the same as "kill".

After listening to Medea's explanation, Saber quickly understood the current situation. Although she was worried about Irisviel and the two children who were left behind at the base, the battle experience honed in blood made Saber make the best choice in an instant.

"Woman, interrupting the King proposal ceremony is a capital offense!"

A voice filled with deep anger emanated from the golden Servant's mouth.

"No, let's kill him!"

After Archer finished speaking, Saber said through gritted teeth.

"Well..."

Another flash, and the purple figure appeared beside Saber, looking at her helplessly and saying:

"My current mana reserves are only enough to assist you. If you can kill Archer, that would be ideal, but everything must be done 'as quickly as possible'!"

As Medea spoke her last sentence, her tone became serious. Perhaps even Medea herself didn't realize that the safety of the two children in the stronghold was also on her mind.

A Magecraft array appeared from Medea's hands, and Saber, bathed in the Magecraft light, could clearly feel her condition recovering and her aura constantly rising.

As for Gilgamesh, whether out of confidence in his own strength or a persistent lapse in judgment, he actually stopped his Noble Phantasm attack and watched the scene with an appreciative eye.

Soon--

The Magecraft's glow began to fade, Medea's slightly weary voice rang in Saber's ears once more:

"My current magic only allows me to do this much. I'll assist you from now on."

"Leave it to me!"

Feeling the renewed strength within her, Saber's confident voice brought an unexpected sense of peace.

"However, Caster..."

Saber's concerned gaze surprised Medea.

"What's up?"

"Is it difficult for you to use these Magecraft now?"

Saber's question confused Medea a little, but she still answered:

"It's just a bit taxing, but not strenuous. Why do you ask?"

Since Medea's hood didn't block Saber's view, Saber bluntly stated her thoughts:

"Then why is your face so red?"

"..."

Chapter 113. Stalemate (Three chapters due)

Why is your face so red?

"..."

Saber's straightforward "concern" startled Medea, who quickly recovered and blushed even more beneath her hood.

Seeing Medea's appearance, Saber's doubts deepened. Could it be due to discomfort from the previous battle?

Just as I was about to ask further, I was interrupted by an impatient voice from the other end:

"Isn't this boring charade over yet?"

Saber turned to meet Gilgamesh's crimson eyes:

"No matter how much you struggle, the King will show you with facts just how vast the gap is between us. And then... you will willingly become the King queen."

Gilgamesh's offensive remarks, while attracting Saber's attention, also made the beauty under the hood breathe a sigh of relief.

Regardless of Medea's thoughts.

Saber, raising her Holy Sword, let its cold, sharp edge pierce through the smoke of battle, her gaze fixed on the golden Heroic Spirit on the other side of the battlefield.

"Such arrogant words! Wait until I cut off your head, then let's see what you'll say then!"

The headlights shone like a sharp sword, shattering the night that shrouded the Miyama Town, while the engine's deep roar startled the people along the way from their slumber.

Accelerate, accelerate, and accelerate again--

This was the only thought in the mind of the driver of the "beast" beneath him. At this moment, his eyes were only on the mansion that was gradually growing larger in his field of vision.

Boom--

The "beast" smashed open the courtyard gate with a rampaging motion. At the same time, the pungent smell of burning flesh, accompanied by a screeching sound, filled the courtyard.

The man opened the car door and stepped out of the driver's seat, completely ignoring the twisted and deformed front of the car. He began to scan his surroundings: the damaged lawn and the scattered bricks and stones on the ground, the courtyard ravaged by the battle, was completely unrecognizable.

That is--

The moment his gaze turned to the foyer, the man's blank pupils suddenly contracted:

Under the moonlight, a shocking pool of "eerie red" crashed against the dam of his nerves like waves.

The man strode to the doorway and crouched down to examine the only clue before him. Although he didn't know what had happened before, the still-visible blood told him that not much time had passed since this "horrible thing" occurred.

The man burst through the half-closed door and rushed into the room. However, he found that the living room on the first floor of the mansion was not as messy as he had imagined. The decorations and furniture were exactly the same as when he left.

Thump thump thump--

The man went up to the second floor. The old wooden staircase creaked under the weight of his impatient mood.

A bad premonition gradually spread in his heart, perhaps because he had witnessed the deaths of others countless times. Men have an almost premonition-like sensitivity to such ominous events.

The man kept pushing open the tightly closed door on the second floor, the loud bangs of the door hitting the wall echoing throughout the entire mansion. However, the man who started it all remained unmoved, continuing his violent actions that were almost like smashing the door.

It seemed that only in this way could he slightly alleviate his anxiety.

One door, two doors...

The men had searched most of the rooms on the second floor, but found nothing.

Until--

The last door.

Unlike before, a hint of hesitation appeared in the eyes of the man with his hand on the doorknob, though it lasted only a moment.

Intuition told the man that the answer he was looking for should be inside this door, but he didn't sense any murderous intent or any danger.

The man, his gaze returning to calm, gently pushed open the door.

As the door was pushed open, the entire room came into view:

The cold moonlight streamed through the broken window, and the disheveled bed seemed to still retain warmth, but the room was empty.

Looking at everything before him, the man standing in front of the silent doorway uttered no sound from his dry throat.

He could only stand there dumbfounded; even the incessantly ringing phone in his arms couldn't make the man move an inch.

At this point, a crack was finally pierced through the man's hardened heart.

"Hmm--"

How long have I been stuck here?

Saber, constantly going against the tide of Noble Phantasm, suddenly thought of this question.

At this moment, even Saber herself couldn't remember how many Noble Phantasm she had knocked away or broken, but Noble Phantasm of various shapes and sizes, standing upright or lying on the ground, were densely packed around the path Saber was taking.

"Still won't you face reality, Saber!"

Watching Saber "struggle" under the onslaught of his Noble Phantasm, Gilgamesh's crimson eyes flashed with greed:

"It's alright, as long as it's you, the King patience is always plentiful."

The golden-haired Heroic Spirit awaits the moment when Saber will submit to it.

Because he believed

--Saber must look beautiful in that form.

"Stop dreaming!"

Gilgamesh's response was a "Wind King's Hammer" that compressed air to its limit, but it was pulverized by Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm before it could reach him.

Damn it!

Saber, whose anger was already rising due to the golden-haired Heroic Spirit, couldn't help but feel bitter after seeing this scene.

The Noble Phantasm in Gilgamesh's Treasury far exceeded Saber's expectations. Even with Medea's enhancement, Saber still felt a slight tingling and numbness in her arm after swinging them so many times.

We can't delay any longer!

Saber thought to herself that neither Irisviel's side nor her own side could allow this stalemate to continue!

Clearly, this isn't the only person holding this view.

"F**K!"

Medea, who was watching the game, suddenly heard a curse behind her. She turned around and saw Wang Xiaoming staring at her phone as if he were looking at her father's killer.

"What's wrong?"

Medea, who had come to Wang Xiaoming's side, asked.

"I don't know what happened to Emiya Kiritsugu, he's not answering the phone."

Hearing the busy tone from his phone, Wang Xiaoming shoved it back into his pocket in frustration, then asked Medea:

"Given the current situation, can we resolve this battle quickly?"

"No..."

Medea shook her head with a wry smile, but she didn't say the rest of her thought aloud:

If this stalemate continues, then it's possible that we ourselves will be the ones to suffer defeat.

Although Wang Xiaoming had become a mediocre True Magic through his own efforts, the magic power he had previously replenished was merely a drop in the ocean compared to his current level.

Even just assisting Saber, his own magical power was already insufficient, let alone using offensive grand Magecraft.

But without a decisive blow, Medea turned to look at Saber, who was once again at a disadvantage on the battlefield...

Medea, who was pondering how to break the deadlock, suddenly heard Wang Xiaoming's voice in her ear:

"In that case, there's no point in continuing this stalemate... Let's retreat first."

Chapter 114. Countermeasures

Since we've lost contact with Emiya Kiritsugu, it's almost certain that something has happened at the base. The current stalemate on the battlefield is clearly not beneficial to our side, so it would be better to withdraw directly.

Wang Xiaoming's suggestion was supported by Medea. As he said, given the current situation, a temporary retreat might be the best option. After briefly assessing her remaining magical energy, Medea said to Wang Xiaoming:

"I currently have enough magic power to perform a grand spatial teleportation Magecraft, but I need some time to prepare the base. However..."

"But what?"

Wang Xiaoming's nerves visibly tightened.

If it's just about stalling for time, Saber should be able to hold out for quite a while given her current condition on the battlefield. But what if some unexpected things happen...?

"Since the barrier of the previous stronghold was 'killed,' the teleportation point I set up within the barrier was also destroyed. Without a teleportation point location, I can only teleport to the nearest one possible."

"It's nothing..."

Relieved, Wang Xiaoming turned his gaze to the two heroic Heroic Spirit locked in fierce combat on the battlefield, and suddenly thought to himself: