Although there had been many, many, many, many... an awful lot of unexpected developments, this unprecedented 8v8 Great Holy Grail War had finally entered its last stage: an internal showdown.
After round upon round of ruthless elimination, only the following three teams of Masters and Servants stubbornly remained in the competition-
Master Reika Rikudou, with two Servants: Black Avenger Gawain and Black Assassin Jack the Ripper;
Master Sieg, with two and a half Servants: Black Rider Astolfo, Red Avenger Kriemhild, and six minutes of Saber Alter Siegfried;
Master Kairi Shishigou, with one Servant: Red Saber Mordred.
Clearly, the three sides were not evenly matched in terms of Servant strength, but according to two of the participants, Ms. Reika Rikudou and Mr. Sieg:
Black Assassin Jack the Ripper had yet to recover from her serious injuries, while Red Avenger Kriemhild had struck some sort of deal with her Master, Sieg, the price being that she would not participate in the three-way showdown.
Thus, what had initially looked like an overwhelming advantage for Sieg's team suddenly became a slight edge for Reika Rikudou's team.
Sieg and Kairi Shishigou naturally realized this as well. The confrontation between the Black and Red factions' Servants was indeed over, but that did not mean they could not form an alliance themselves.
Add in the decidedly "trivial" personal grievances between Mr. Gawain and Ms. Mordred, and the result was the scene before everyone's eyes.
Before Yggdmillennia Castle lay a grassland that had, in a very physical sense, been forced to endure countless battles-no, by now it ought to be called scorched earth.
This battle-scarred stretch of scorched earth was about to face yet another trial.
"Sir Gawain, you fought your way through blades and spears alongside our King. Don't embarrass yourself."
"Mordred, chin up, chest out.