But clearly, Kayneth was being stubborn. Even knowing full well there might be extreme danger, he still insisted on going to Mount Enzo.
Because he knew that the final victor of the Holy Grail War would most likely be decided there.
"Are you saying you think I'll lose, Lancer?"
Kayneth looked at Mordred, "And you? Are you satisfied with that?"
Mordred froze for a moment.
"Your father, your mother, even Morgan le Fay are all participating in this Holy Grail War. Don't you want to prove yourself to them?"
Unlike the Mordred of proper history, in Alvin's timeline, Mordred had a fairly decent childhood.
But there was still a major problem, her presence was too faint.
With an overwhelmingly strong mother, and another equally dominant King Arthur… for a long time, Mordred had been caught between them, shrinking back in fear.
It wasn't until Alvin returned later that she finally felt a trace of warmth.
For a girl like Mordred, who had grown up lacking love, even the smallest bit of kindness from someone would stay with her forever. She'd repay it at any cost. Not to mention that this person was Alvin, whom she had held special feelings for since childhood.
But even Alvin, most of the time, treated her like a child.
It was as if they had all overlooked her identity.
She was the Knight of Treachery.
She could indeed stop Kayneth in this Holy Grail War and let him survive until the end, but was that really what she wanted?
She wasn't the only one who needed to prove herself.
At that moment, Kayneth extended his hand toward Mordred.
"Lancer, will you stand and fight alongside me, or will you just survive until the end of the Holy Grail War and let it conclude meaninglessly without doing anything… decide for yourself."
Mordred was stunned. She thought, 'Wasn't I the one trying to persuade him not to participate? Why is Master now the one persuading me instead?'
But just as Master said, if this Holy Grail War ended quietly like that… it would be a bit of a waste.
Besides, she still hadn't avenged Rider's slander against her Master.
Looking at the blond, blue-eyed man in front of her, a curve quickly rose at the corner of Mordred's lips.
"In that case, let's make a mess of it!"
———
It was magic power to the extreme.
The radiance of mana filled the space. As the contract was completed, Alvin once again felt an endless stream of magical energy pouring into his body.
'Though she is young and her humanity is somewhat lacking, when it comes to sheer magical reserves, there probably isn't a mage who can compare to Manaka,' Alvin thought.
He looked over Sajyou Manaka's small, slender figure and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, all sides' Servants should already be watching Mount Enzo. Manaka, what was your original plan?"
"The Holy Grail War is supposed to be a game where Master and Servant fight side by side to defeat other opponents. But ever since we joined, there have been quite a few outside factors interfering, haven't there?"
Sajyou Manaka's voice was soft and sweet, "So I just want to return this Holy Grail War to its most original state."
"Fight each other on the mountain summit until the Greater Grail descends."
Got it. To put it plainly, she didn't really have a plan. Because she was completely confident in her own strength, from the very beginning what Manaka wanted was to make all the Masters abandon their strategies.
Either bring their Servants up the mountain to compete for the Greater Grail… or watch helplessly as another Master claimed final victory and took away the all-powerful wish-granting machine.
"Aren't you worried that once the other Masters get up the mountain, they'll gang up on you?"
After understanding all this, Alvin couldn't help but shake his head.
Most Servants and magi couldn't fly. Going up the mountain meant cutting off their own escape route. There would be no way to run.
"If the Masters cooperate, and with their Servants as their cards, then yeah, that would probably be troublesome."
Sajyou Manaka thought for a moment, then smiled, "But with the Greater Grail right in front of them… who would bother dealing with a Master who doesn't even have a Servant?"
Only after Servants are eliminated can the Greater Grail gather magical energy from them. A troublesome existence like Sajyou Manaka, even if someone defeated her, there'd be no real benefit. For the Masters, targeting her first simply wasn't worth it.
Rumble!
Just as the two were still talking, a faint, low sound of thunder seemed to echo from afar.
Along with it came a scream.
Sajyou Manaka pressed her lips together, a little displeased, "Someone's already here so soon… I thought they'd observe first to check for traps."
"That depends on the person. Some people just charge in headfirst… though he's actually being pretty polite."
Alvin looked up toward the balcony outside, "Otherwise, with his personality, he'd probably have rushed in to find us directly, right?"
A chariot was speeding in from the edge of the night. A burly man, his cloak fluttering in the cold wind, leapt down from it.
As if sensing the abundant magical energy inside the building, he raised his head and looked over with a meaningful gaze.
"Do you need my help?"
Sajyou Manaka couldn't help but ask. Even though she trusted Alvin's strength, she still felt a bit worried.
But just as that concern arose, a faint, delighted smile appeared on her face again.
For Sajyou Manaka, even emotions like worrying about someone else felt incredibly fresh. Something she had never experienced before.
Her personality really is a bit strange… Alvin said, "Go purify the Greater Grail in the backyard. I'll handle things here."
A smile danced in Sajyou Manaka's bright, captivating eyes as she said cheerfully, "If you can't hold on, make sure to tell me, okay?"
As the girl stood and headed through the back door toward the place where the Greater Grail would descend, Alvin silently took out his white mask and slowly put it on.
———
[Outside the Courtyard]
Waver carefully scanned his surroundings, then soon looked up ahead.
Even with his poor magical aptitude, he could sense that in the backyard of this standard Japanese-style building, a very distinct presence was spreading.
This aura was exactly the same as the "hole" in the sky.
'The Greater Grail!'
'Without a doubt, the true Greater Grail is right in the backyard of this building!'
"Rider, why don't we go straight to the backyard?"
Waver couldn't help but ask, "Even though the Greater Grail hasn't descended yet, maybe we could use it to do something… and Saber's original Master is probably on Mount Enzo too. If she gets there first, that'd be troublesome, right?"
"Don't rush. At this point, rushing won't help anyway."
The King of Conquerors stared ahead, "And that 'original Master' part can be dropped now."
Waver froze, his face suddenly stiff.
He seemed to realize something, "You mean they've already reconciled? No, wait, Saber just fought her not long ago. How could it be so fast—"
"Aren't women fickle creatures? Looks like you don't understand at all, Master."
The King of Conquerors said with a hearty laugh.
Even in such a dangerous situation, he still appeared as rough and carefree as ever, as if he didn't sense any danger at all.
"Who said I don't understand! And can you not joke around in a situation like this?"
Waver covered his face in despair.
"Saber's Master is already troublesome enough. If Saber really has returned to her side…"
Just thinking about that scenario made Waver feel utterly powerless.
"Getting scared before even seeing the enemy, that's not like you, Master."
The King of Conquerors laughed loudly. Then he looked toward the backyard, "Besides, the one who'll really be under pressure isn't us."
No Servant or Master in this Holy Grail War would allow Sajyou Manaka to approach the Greater Grail freely. If Alvin really intended to stay here and guard her, it meant he would have to face every Servant as his enemy.
He was the one under the greatest pressure.
Waver's eyelid twitched slightly.
He faintly felt an aura locking onto him.
Then, a gentle young man's voice echoed across the open front courtyard.
"The King of Conquerors… I didn't expect you to be the first to arrive at Mount Enzo."
Waver's heart tightened. He quickly located the source of the voice and looked up at the rooftop.
The cold wind howled through the deep night, heavy snow fell in thick flakes, and the eaves were covered in a thick layer of white.
In the dim light, a boy dressed in black sat in the snow, his figure slender. Through the eyes of his white mask, he quietly gazed at them.
The White Dragon of Britain.
His magical energy was stronger than ever before. Even Waver could vaguely sense just how dangerous Saber was at this moment.
The King of Conquerors smiled, "Saber, it seems you've reconciled with that young lady?"
Alvin nodded.
"Good. If the Holy Grail War lacked you, it would be rather dull."
As he spoke, the King of Conquerors looked toward the backyard, "Let me ask one more thing. Is your Master doing something near the Greater Grail right now?"
Alvin nodded, then quickly shook his head, "She needs to purify the corruption within the Greater Grail, so she can't be disturbed for now."
The King of Conquerors let out a short laugh, "So you're here to stop all Servants from going to the backyard to find her, right?"
Waver was shocked. He knew Saber was the most troublesome Servant in this war, especially with a Master who seemingly had infinite magical supply. But no matter how strong a Servant was, fighting multiple opponents alone was impossible.
Not to mention, just Rider and Archer alone would already be enough to give Saber a headache.
Yet in this situation, he didn't retreat with his Master. Instead, he stood alone in the front courtyard, blocking everyone from approaching.
Was it absolute confidence, or was he being a bit too blind about his own strength?
Seeing Alvin neither confirm nor deny, the King of Conquerors simply smiled faintly.
"Tonight, I had a long discussion with the King of Heroes about what it means to be a king. I'm curious, do you have your own unique view on kingship?"
Despite his rough exterior, the great king had a thoughtful side, and Alvin had always held a certain level of respect for him.
After thinking for a moment, he let out a light sigh, "You're asking the wrong person, Rider."
"I'm not a king, nor do I have the capacity to become one. If I had to say… I only want to assist my king in governing her nation well. That's all."
The King of Conquerors was taken aback. Over the past few days, he had even gone to a library to look up stories about ancient Britain, so he had some understanding of the White Dragon.
A despicable king, longing for the return of the Age of Gods, cruel and tyrannical… that was how history described the White Dragon.
But from their encounters in the Holy Grail War, those historical descriptions… seemed a bit off.
"Well then, serving your king as a subject, that kind of loyalty deserves recognition."
"Saber… as a king, I want to ask you one final question."
The King of Conquerors leaned on his chariot, his deep gaze fixed on the boy ahead, "Are you willing to join my ranks, and after the Holy Grail War ends, raise the 'Holy Grail' of victory together with me?"
Alvin was stunned for a moment, then quickly laughed, "Rider, are you asking me to abandon my Master and even King Arthur, and become your soldier?"
"Would you really be interested in someone who betrays their former master?"
The King of Conquerors paused, then scratched his head before letting out a relieved laugh.
"You're right. If you had truly abandoned your Master tonight, I probably wouldn't have acknowledged you either."
No matter what Sajyou Manaka's intentions were, or whether she was cheating… one thing was certain, Alvin had remained her sword and shield from beginning to end, faithfully guarding this place.
That kind of loyalty from a Servant to their Master, he really shouldn't have tried to recruit him.
What he should do instead was give it his all.
"My words tonight were indeed a bit abrupt. My apologies."
After regaining his composure, the King of Conquerors looked at the boy on the rooftop and said slowly, "As a warrior, the best recognition you can give someone is on the battlefield."
For a brief moment, the cold wind seemed to freeze.
Rumble!
The surroundings shifted like ripples spreading across a lake, quietly changing.
The heavy snow from before vanished, and all that remained was a sky filled with yellow sand.
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