Under the reality-warping effects of its high-latitude location, "evening" in Gray River Town had lost its original meaning. All that remained was a term for the period when people shifted from work to rest.
By the time the pitch-black "evening" passed and the equally pitch-black "night" arrived, a burly man was already standing on the icefield north of town.
It was Heracles.
This time, however, he had not agreed to let Illya accompany him, instead leaving her in the safer rear. At the cost of fighting alone, the great Hero had gained the freedom to unleash his full strength.
Waves of magic power mingling divinity and ferocity soon spread across the icefield. Even as they drew the Azure Servants' attention, they concealed the presence of Gai Nie, the White Saber hidden beneath the snow.
Faced with such a direct, almost provocative challenge, the Azure faction naturally had no reason not to respond.
Barely more than ten minutes later, two figures slowly emerged from the swirling snow, their presence as Servants unmistakable.
Watching the battlefield through images projected by a Familiar at the inn, the others took a closer look and noticed a new face. Standing beside the Azure Berserker was not the Azure Archer, but a girl carrying an oddly shaped greatsword.
But setting that oddly shaped greatsword aside for now, the main issue was... didn't she look a little too much like a certain King of Knights?
Everyone, Sovell included, raised their eyebrows. As though they had reached some strange unspoken understanding, their gazes kept shifting between the girl in the image and Artoria.
In the end, they all reached the same conclusion: they were practically identical!
The children initially wondered whether the enemy had summoned Artoria's sister Morgan, but the very next moment after they voiced that guess,