Death of the loyal
A little earlier in time, Kiritsugu Emiya was unaware that the Holy Grail could not fulfill his wish; he was still relentlessly pursuing that unrealistic dream. During the Banquet of the Three Kings' Meeting, he discovered that Lancer had already left, and this was a golden opportunity. So, he infiltrated the hotel.
Having thoroughly analyzed everything about the Hyatt Hotel —the load-bearing walls, the building materials, and so on—and planted explosives at the fulcrum, dispersed the crowd, and then gently pressed the button, the multi-billion dollar hotel was reduced to ashes. Kiritsugu then reached a safe vantage point to observe the hotel's condition.
"With an explosion like that, no amount of Magecraft will work. It's over."
Just as Kiritsugu breathed a sigh of relief, a light appeared behind him. It was the effect of the Command Spell. Faced with this unavoidable killing intent, Kiritsugu Emiya found his only way out. He used Time Alter Acceleration, which was not enough for him to dodge Lancer's deadly spear tip, but it could buy him enough time to use the Command Spell.
"Saber!" The holy sword clashed with the demonic spear, and the powerful gust of air sent Kiritsugu flying.
"Saber? I never imagined your Master was such a treacherous villain!" Diarmuid shouted. Artoria, having just suffered a major blow, addressed her enemy, "Lancer, the situation has changed somewhat. May I explain this to my Master?"
"As a knight, I should normally grant such a request, but I will show no mercy to the assassin who just tried to kill my Lord. Saber, let's talk after you defeat me." Then, her twin pistols moved like snakes, attacking from all sorts of tricky angles.
Artoria pushed her inner pain into a corner, drew her sword to fight. Even though she had a thousand reasons not to fight anymore, she couldn't let Kiritsugu die here simply Kiritsugu was Irisviel's husband.
The twin pistols fell like the arms of a giant ape, sparking against the invisible sword. This man was skilled; he was not an opponent who could be dealt with half-heartedly. Only by Servant fighting nearby, Kayneth, enveloped in Volumen Hydrargyrum, pulled himself out of the ruins with his wife.
"Heh heh heh, luckily I did my scouting beforehand. This time you have nowhere to escape, you rat."
"Kayneth, if your reconnaissance work were truly that excellent, those Magecraft set up in the hallways and between floors wouldn't have been completely useless," Sola-Ui interrupted untimely, giving Kayneth a sharp retort. Kayneth cleared his throat and said, "After all, to guard against that man, the outer perimeter is mostly equipped with detection spells. Achieving this much in such a short time is already the limit. Alright, now for the proper Magecraft's duel."
The Volumen Hydrargyrum carried Kayneth straight to Kiritsugu Emiya, transforming into a sharp flying sword that rapidly approached Kayneth. Kiritsugu, holding a submachine gun, tilted out an entire extended magazine, yet left not a single mark.
"Just as expected, a rat with a name but no substance." Kayneth seemed to have the outcome decided, and charged straight down. Just after the last bullet was fired, his left hand, which had been hidden, pulled out an old-fashioned musket. An exquisitely crafted bullet was fired from it. The Volumen Hydrargyrum extended its tentacles, trying to deflect this bullet as it had blocked the previous ones, but it disintegrated the moment it made contact.
Just at the critical moment, a sudden change occurred. A surging, pitch-black substance erupted from the ground, like a broken fire hydrant. Lava-like Black Mud surged forth, opening its gigantic maw beneath the feet of the two Heroic Spirit, ready to devour Artoria and Diarmuid whole. The two Master were also within this range.
A lot of Black Mud splattered like raindrops and landed on the crowd evacuated from the Hyatt Hotel. For many people, their flesh melted into bones the moment they came into contact with it.
In a flash, a figure swept past. Bai Mo seemed to have entered a video slowed down several times. He quickly arrived at the center of the battlefield, looked at the gushing Black Mud, raised his fist and slammed it heavily onto the ground. The Orca Tyrant Fist, with the force of 50,000 horsepower, directly blasted a huge hole in the asphalt road to prevent the Black Mud from splashing everywhere. He then prepared to grab Artoria and Diarmuid by the collar and take them away from here.
Every moment was seized to the limit, but it wasn't just Bai Mo who seized the opportunity; Diarmuid did the same. The instant the Black Mud was released, he didn't jump up like Saber to give Bai Mo space to save him. The Black Mud erupted right beneath his feet, but he gave up his chance to live. Holding his spear, he hurled the Gáe Buidhe, and instead, he was completely engulfed by the Black Mud.
The Gáe Buidhe, like a sharp arrow, intercepted Kiritsugu's fatal attack in mid-air. Kayneth reacted quickly, immediately turning his spear and retreating to a safe position. At this moment, he felt a burning sensation in his left hand, and the Command Spell that symbolized his Master status disappeared.
"Lancer, how is this possible?"
Everyone watched the surging Black Mud. Lancer had vanished. If it weren't for that punch, the Black Mud would have erupted like a fountain, killing everyone who had just evacuated from the hotel. A woman emerged from the Black Mud, dressed in a pure white gown, like a flower in the wasteland. But everyone knew perfectly well that she was a poisonous flower that would take lives.
"What a pity, only one was caught, what a disappointment."
The white-clad girl spread her arms wide and leisurely twirled a few times in the gruesome Black Mud. Then, with a standard curtsy, she introduced herself, "Good evening, everyone. My name is Francesca, just call me Fran. Artoria- chan, it's been a long time! I've really, really wanted to see you."
"Why do you know my name? And who are you?" Artoria questioned, but Bai Mo acted faster than her. A Magnetic Field Heavenly Blade fell from the sky, cleaving the girl in two. Bai Mo had seen this woman in Ryunosuke Uryu's memories. She claimed to be a friend of that disgusting Caster. After Fran arrived, Ryunosuke had basically become a tool. He hadn't even been told about Caster's workshop; he was just made to do disgusting jobs.
What kind of normal people could be associated with those two? And with their unbridled behavior, Bai Mo wouldn't be polite to them. The Magnetic Field Heavenly Blade fell, and Fran, now in two, fell into the Black Mud, but the Yinling girl's voice still lingered.
"That's really rough, isn't that how you treat women? But I quite like it, there aren't many people who can do this." Fran's playful voice came from within. The next moment, the ground surged again, and a figure emerged from the Black Mud, a crimson spear pointing directly at Artoria.
The clang of metal sent shivers down Artoria's spine. A tingling sensation shot through her arm. Diarmuid before her had undergone a drastic transformation; his skin was now dark, his eyes bloodshot, and his speed and strength were on a completely different level. His magical energy was almost overflowing, causing cracks to appear in his body. The spear thrust again, easily slicing through her armor and leaving a gruesome wound on Artoria's abdomen.
It was incredibly fast, and in the next instant it was aimed straight at her neck. In her Instinct, Artoria almost saw him gouge out his own head.