The saint Jeanne d'Arc stood between the Servants of the two factions and said loudly and solemnly, "Today's battle ends here. Although we have defeated Yamata no Orochi and Ibuki Douji, none of you are in your best condition."
"Considering that during the battle just now each of you carried different responsibilities and were affected to varying degrees, fighting now would undoubtedly be extremely unfair!"
"So, in the name of the arbiter of the Holy Grail War, I declare that the conflict on this land will be temporarily suspended and will resume three days from now!"
"Three days?"
Vlad III slowly walked over and let out a cold laugh. "The Red faction is currently rushing to build its own military fortress to oppose our headquarters. Delaying the time will only allow their preparations to become more complete."
"But Your Excellency the Grand Duke should also consider the losses on your own side." Jeanne said very seriously. "Is the Black faction fully prepared right now?"
Vlad III fell silent.
'Completely prepared? Of course not!'
Shuten Douji had ambushed Siegfried, and he himself had been jointly targeted by everyone.
Now the Black faction had suddenly lost two Servants, and Asterios was still recovering from injuries… It would not be an exaggeration to say their strength had been greatly damaged.
In contrast, aside from Mordred being heavily poisoned and Iori's aura weakening, the Red faction had almost no losses.
If the two sides fought now, relying on the advantage of the home field and the support of the Greater Grail, Vlad III was confident he could hold the castle and remain undefeated. But to win in a full confrontation… that was almost impossible.
Of course, even if the situation was unfavorable, the Grand Duke would never show weakness in front of the enemy.
For him, war was a life-or-death game whose outcome no one knew until the final moment. Showing even a little weakness would result in the enemy swallowing you whole, skin and bones alike.
Thus, in life, Vlad III had nearly crushed his own humanity in order to resist the powerful Ottoman Turks, and only then could he win victory after victory in brutal defensive wars…
Now was the same. He had never feared fighting many with few.
"However, I believe the Servants of the Red faction also have no energy left to continue attacking, right?" Jeanne turned her head and asked the Red side again.
King Arthur nodded honestly. Mordred clenched her teeth. Iori watched coldly from the side, while Achilles and Atalanta looked eager to fight… but after glancing at Jeanne, they dismissed the idea.
If they started fighting now, it was very likely Jeanne would be pushed to the opposite side. That would be more loss than gain.
Besides, Jeanne's "toughness" had been seen by everyone. There were really not many people present who could ignore her opinion.
"Alright. Since no one objects, it's settled!"
Jeanne let out a long sigh of relief, glad she had finally stopped the war. Although her direct interference in the operation of the Holy Grail War seemed somewhat improper, special circumstances required special measures.
"In addition, there's one more thing."
The holy maiden smiled at everyone.
"Setting aside our respective positions, the act of driving away Yamata no Orochi itself is a tremendous achievement. All of you protected this land and its residents, so it is only natural that you receive a corresponding reward."
"Reward?"
Achilles felt even more regretful. On the battlefield he always charged ahead bravely, and when sharing spoils he was always the one who took the best portion.
But this time he had practically done nothing, so he was destined to rank at the end.
For this great Greek hero, that was extremely humiliating.
Atalanta was more practical. "Specifically, what kind of reward?"
"Sorry, I don't have any treasures to give you. Among the items I possess, the only thing that can be used as a reward is probably Command Spells."
Jeanne carefully looked over everyone and then said, "Servants who entered the poisonous mist to attack Yamata no Orochi, along with their Masters, will each receive one Command Spell… except for Red Berserker."
In fact, the Command Spells she was giving away were meant to remove the curse poison!
Jeanne had forced the two factions to temporarily cease fighting in order to maintain fairness.
However, curse poison was not something that could be cleared away in a day or two, and Command Spells were extremely precious strategic resources.
Using an extra Command Spell meant losing a hidden trump card, which was unfair to those Servants and Masters.
So Jeanne made this decision, using her own Command Spells to offset the losses each side had suffered.
Among them, Iori and Karna were exceptions. The two Command Spells corresponding to the former had already been used up, which needed no explanation.
As for Karna, due to the protection of his armor, he actually hadn't been affected… but the Command Spell would still be given.
"Red Saber, Red Lancer, Black Rider, and… Black Lancer!"
Besides the three who directly confronted Yamata no Orochi, there was one more person in this Holy Grail War who had been "selected" by the "butler," and that was Vlad III, who had restrained one of Orochi's heads all by himself!
"Hm?" The Grand Duke was somewhat surprised, but he quickly figured it out.
First, Jeanne might be seeking relative fairness between the two factions, so each side would receive two Command Spells.
Second, Vlad III had indeed played a major role. Yamata no Orochi was like a dragon-type monster in a game, its head looked fierce and terrifying, but its tail was no less threatening.
"That's wonderful news. I should inform my Master." Vlad III smiled and said casually... his Master had long since been enslaved by him.
Of course, it was still necessary for Chiron and Rider's Masters to come claim their Command Spells…
"Huh?"
"This…?"
Under everyone's surprised gaze, the Black faction Servants froze one after another, inexplicably looking at each other.
"Why… can't we contact our Masters anymore?"
Just as a terrible suspicion rose in Chiron's mind and he was about to rush back to headquarters at full speed, the expressions of the Black Servants suddenly changed drastically.
"The channel… the mana channel has been cut off! Who did this?!"
"This is bad!"
The centaur sage looked grave as he gazed toward the direction of the Yggdmillennia castle.
"Could this be Caster… Master!"
This was awkward…
When a Servant cannot contact their Master, there are generally two possibilities.
First, the Master has been killed. There's nothing much to say about that. Second, the Master voluntarily transferred the Command Spells to someone else, which means giving up the identity of Master.
The first possibility was unlikely. The Black faction Masters were all inside the Yggdmillennia castle.
Even if enemies had invaded, leaving aside the many defensive measures, this involved multiple Masters losing contact simultaneously. At the very least someone should have sent a warning before dying.
As for the second… Servants should be able to sense the change in Command Spell ownership, and the mana channel would not be cut off.
There was only one other possibility...
"The contract has been forcibly terminated!"
Jeanne, as Ruler, seemed to sense something as well.
"The Black faction's Command Spells have now returned to the Greater Grail… no, they've been redistributed. New Masters have already appeared!"
At that very moment, Vlad III, King Arthur, and Chiron all changed expressions again.
Their mana channels with their Masters had reconnected, but the magical energy flowing through them was completely different from before, both in quantity and quality.
If it had to be compared, the previous amount of mana was like a small stream, while the current one was like a wide canal.
"What exactly happened?" Black Rider frowned deeply. Although she didn't like her Master very much, as a Servant she still didn't want anything to happen to her.
Vlad III didn't care about Darnic's life or death, but this made him feel as if someone had played him like a fool, which put him in a very bad mood.
"Once again… this time it's me who's been betrayed?!"
"Caster!"
After a brief moment of thought, Chiron immediately gave the answer, speaking in a heavy tone.
"Almost all the Red faction Servants are here, so the possibility of an external enemy is very small. Among those remaining in the Yggdmillennia headquarters, the only one capable of doing this is Medea!"
"Medea?"
Iori looked at Chiron in surprise. This was information he truly didn't know before. He had thought it was some kind of figurine maniac.
"So the Caster you summoned is Medea... the 'world-famous' witch of betrayal?"
"Yes."
"Oh… then who usually guards the Greater Grail?"
"Caster, of course."
"So in the headquarters you only left Medea and an injured Berserker?"
"..."
"Well…"
Iori asked very sincerely, "Didn't you ever think that might cause a problem?"
Of course they had thought about it.
Chiron felt helpless inside.
As fellow Greek Servants, he was wary of Medea. But he also knew that Medea was not an unreasonable woman.
As long as there was no conflict of interest and no sensitive issue was touched, Medea had no reason to cause trouble.
The title "Witch of Betrayal" was a tragic label, and it was not Medea's true nature.
In this faction there were powerful Servants everywhere. Medea was in a weak position, so Chiron didn't think letting her interact with the Greater Grail would cause any problems.
Even when this battle began, Vlad III had been left to guard the headquarters. As long as the Shield of Christ remained there, Medea would be suppressed even if she tried to cause trouble.
…But who could have expected Shuten to suddenly go mad and stab Saber in the back!
Vlad III, who hated betrayal the most, left the castle because of that incident, and afterward came the battle to subdue Yamata no Orochi… Everything had almost ended perfectly, yet Medea suddenly jumped out to stir up chaos!
... Even Chiron felt mentally exhausted by the twists and turns of this Holy Grail War.
"Medea, huh? That woman truly never changes!" Vlad III said through clenched teeth.
Because he possessed memories from parallel worlds, he had replaced many of the relics in order to strengthen his faction and prevent betrayal from happening. Yet he still ended up being tricked by Shuten Douji and Medea…
'Could it be that being stabbed in the back was simply Vlad III's fate?'
'Damn it!'
"So does that mean we all have to obey Medea now?" Black Rider glanced at the furious Vlad III.
She didn't submit to the Grand Duke, but she at least acknowledged that he was a competent "king," so she could temporarily follow his command. But what was Medea supposed to be?
A true king should never bow beneath a witch.
After all, whether it was Guinevere or Morgan, both had ultimately bowed beneath her.
"The most important thing now is confirming whether the Masters are safe." Chiron looked worried.
His Master was talented but, due to physical limitations, could not deal with sudden situations. If something happened to her…
However, he soon no longer needed to worry, because the betrayer had already walked openly in front of her "former companions."
"Who's there?!"
Jeanne turned toward an empty space and asked sharply.
A seductive chuckle sounded. Purple magical energy gradually gathered together and finally formed the figure of a cloaked witch.
It was Medea, the one who had tricked everyone.
"You actually dare appear in front of me!"
A red light flashed in Vlad III's eyes. Just as he was about to act, he saw Medea raise her right hand and remove her glove...
The back of her hand and her forearm were covered with dense Command Spells, at least more than ten at a rough count.
"Your Majesty, it would be best not to resort to violence. Otherwise I will have no choice but to take measures for self-defense."
"Hmph!"
Vlad III sneered.
"I will not fear mere death!"
"Your Majesty is a proud and honorable king who stands alone. Naturally you cannot be threatened. But you also don't wish to lose this Holy Grail War, do you?"
Medea laughed softly.
"Although I have become your Master, I am not a harsh woman. This is merely a method a weak woman used to protect herself. Perhaps it is a little extreme. Please forgive me."
"If you call 'betrayal' 'self-protection,' then it seems the name 'witch' is not entirely slander." King Arthur said coldly. "Even if you seized the Master's authority, do you really think that will make us submit?"
"Medea, what happened to the magi?" Chiron did not argue about right or wrong and asked directly. "What about my Master, Fiore?"
"She is very safe. Please don't worry, Lord Chiron. I have not harmed them. At most, when transferring the Command Spells… they might have felt a little pain."
Medea said it very casually. Chiron frowned slightly but still chose to believe her.
It wasn't because he trusted Medea's character, but because keeping the Masters alive was more useful to her... surely the witch understood that logic.
"Everyone… including the Red faction. There's no need to be so tense. I didn't come here to disrupt this Holy Grail War. I came to end it."
The Red faction Servants watching the scene and the Black faction caught in a dilemma all focused their attention on the robed witch.
"What do you mean?" Atalanta was the most familiar with Medea, but even she was dissatisfied with her actions.
"You only controlled the Black faction Servants, yet you talk about ending the war. Are you ignoring our Red faction?"
"Why must there be killing and fighting? The power of the Greater Grail is far stronger than we imagined."
"I have already found a method that does not require that extremely inefficient ritual, yet can still activate the Greater Grail and fulfill all your wishes!"
"What..."
"That's impossible!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Who do you think I am?"
Medea said proudly, "In my eyes, the 'system' of the Holy Grail War holds no secrets. This method of letting sacrifices slaughter each other is not only inefficient but also full of unpredictable variables. No wonder it has never succeeded."
"I am different from those incompetent human magi. I will not waste even a trace of magical power. This Greater Grail can completely become a wish-granting machine for all of you."
"When the time comes, no one will need to fight over it. Everyone can happily reshape the world according to their own wishes."