Mordred, the Rebellious Knight

"――――I declare.

Your body shall serve under mine, and my fate shall rest upon your sword.

If you heed the summons of the Holy Grail, if you submit to this will and this reason, then answer me!

I hereby swear.

I shall be the one who accomplishes all good in this world.

I shall be the one who enacts all evil in this world.

You, clad in the Seven Heavens of the Three Great Words.

Come forth from the wheel of restraint, guardian of the Balance―――!"

A dazzling light illuminated the entire basement.

Then, after bathing the basement in light for over ten seconds, the brilliance slowly faded, revealing an armored figure standing before Yu Feng.

Yu Feng stared at the figure in surprise.

"You are...?"

"My name is Mordred! The one true heir of Arthur Pendragon, the King of Knights!

I ask you, are you my Master?"

After being summoned, Mordred introduced herself first, only to notice Yu Feng standing before her.

Mordred looked at Yu Feng, suddenly froze for a moment, then scrutinized him. "You... look awfully familiar."

Yu Feng twitched at the corner of his mouth. Why did this scene feel so familiar? Hadn't I just experienced this somewhere?

Mordred's expression abruptly changed as she looked at Yu Feng. "It's actually..."

Mordred looked at Yu Feng and fell silent for a moment, as if she did not know how to say it.

"Hey! What's going on down there?! Making such a huge racket! Are you trying to tear my house apart?"

Just then, Rin Tohsaka's furious voice rang out. She stormed into the basement, with Emiya following behind her.

But when Rin Tohsaka entered the basement and saw Mordred, she paused in surprise. "Huh? You actually succeeded in summoning one?"

Yu Feng shrugged. "As you can see."

"Is she Saber? She's Saber, right? She has to be, right?" Rin Tohsaka asked, her eyes shining as she stared at Mordred.

Yu Feng was not used to seeing Rin Tohsaka like this and could only nod helplessly.

Seeing that, Rin Tohsaka hurriedly shoved Yu Feng aside and walked over to Mordred.

Emiya held back a laugh and teased, "Looks like you've been cast aside."

Yu Feng rolled his eyes. "What right do you have to say that? Aren't you the same?"

Emiya froze for a moment at those words and looked toward Rin Tohsaka. The two fell silent.

Rin Tohsaka walked up beside Mordred and looked at Yu Feng. "So? Do you know her true name?"

Yu Feng glanced at Mordred. Seeing that she was silently lost in thought, he answered Rin Tohsaka's question. "Mordred. Mordred, the Rebellious Knight."

Rin Tohsaka's expression after hearing that answer clearly said, You're lying to me, leaving Yu Feng rather helpless.

"It's true. She said it herself. You can ask her if you want."

Only then did Rin Tohsaka reluctantly believe him a little. She glanced at the contemplative Mordred, thought for a moment, and said, "It's not that I don't believe you. I just never expected... well... the legendary Rebellious Knight Mordred to be a woman."

Clang!

The moment Rin Tohsaka finished speaking, silver light flashed. Mordred had already placed her sword against Rin Tohsaka's neck, her face brimming with killing intent. "If you say one more word about me being a woman, I'll kill you. I mean it!"

Cold sweat instantly broke out on Rin Tohsaka's forehead as she hurriedly apologized. "S-Sorry. My mistake."

Rin Tohsaka had not expected Mordred to be so sensitive about people calling her female. Was it because of the throne?

Probably?

It had to be, right?

Rin Tohsaka thought to herself.

Mordred snorted coldly before sheathed her sword and looked at Yu Feng. "Hey, why are you here? And who's my Master?"

Yu Feng looked at Mordred and clearly felt many memories appear in his mind. They were not his own, but Pantaleon's memories.

"I won't answer the first question for now. But unless something unexpected happens, I'm your Master. And the one beside me is the Master of the Servant beside me."

Mordred looked at Emiya, surprise appearing on her face. "Huh? A Servant?"

Emiya nodded slightly. "Yo. Nice to meet you."

Mordred ignored Emiya's greeting and instead looked at Yu Feng as if she would cut him down if he did not explain himself, leaving Yu Feng helpless.

"Well... how should I put it? In this Holy Grail War, you can understand it as me joining forces with her. Yeah, that's about it."

Mordred looked at Emiya, then at Rin Tohsaka. "Joining forces? Just the two of them? What's wrong with you?"

What was with this inexplicable irritation?

Rin Tohsaka and Emiya thought at the same time.

Yu Feng felt that it was not convenient to say anything to Mordred in front of those two, so he directly grabbed her and left. Before going, he left them with one sentence: "I need to talk to her about something. You two can discuss your own matters first."

After Yu Feng pulled Mordred away, Emiya looked helplessly at Rin Tohsaka. Rin Tohsaka, meanwhile, was looking at him with a pleasant smile. If she had not been cracking her knuckles, Emiya might really have believed that she intended to have a serious talk with him.

Yu Feng pulled Mordred out of the basement and into the living room.

Mordred looked at Yu Feng with displeasure. "You..."

Before Mordred could finish speaking, Yu Feng tossed something at her. Once she saw what it was, she froze. "Why do you have my helmet?"

Yu Feng replied irritably, "How else do you think I summoned you? Seriously."

Mordred clicked her tongue.

"Don't think you can change the subject just like that. I asked you a question. Why are you here? And you joined forces with that guy downstairs? Is there something wrong with your head? Also... do you know about that matter?"

Yu Feng said helplessly, "One at a time. Don't rush through your questions. I need to sort things out before I can answer you properly, don't I?"

"First, I'm currently in a Possession State. I'm possessing this body, and my class is Archer Class—in other words, I'm a Pseudo-Servant.

Second, this Holy Grail War is already different. The Holy Grail can no longer grant every wish, so I basically don't need it anymore. Don't ask me why the Holy Grail can't grant every wish. If you ask, I don't know.

Third, there's nothing wrong with my head. I'm perfectly clearheaded. And when you ask whether I know about that matter, which matter are you talking about? Say it clearly."

Mordred seemed not to have listened closely to Yu Feng's words. Only after he finished his last sentence did she let out a sigh of relief.

"The Holy Grail has a problem? You..."

Yu Feng interrupted Mordred. "Stop! Don't ask. And let me tell you something: in this Holy Grail War, we might run into some familiar faces."

Mordred looked at Yu Feng with an unhappy expression. "You know, I really want to hit you right now?"

But as if she knew she could not beat Yu Feng, she merely vented verbally and did not press the matter further. Instead, she looked out the window.

Mordred secretly glanced at Yu Feng, a complicated look flashing through her eyes.

"Never thought I'd see you again. You know what I did too, right? After all, I'm called the Rebellious Knight."