"How boring."
Looking at Saber and Lancer lying on the ground, Akatsuki's eyes were filled with boredom; ever since becoming the earth uo, she hadn't encountered an opponent who was her equal in battle.
If it weren't for the fact that waking up that giant spider and fighting it might destroy the Earth, Akatsuki would have fought it long ago.
Nowadays, only Tohsaka Rin and the others could soothe the boredom in Akatsuki's heart; as the saying goes, even the dullest game can pass an entire afternoon when played in front of the person you love.
"Now! At this very moment! All you Servants who have been summoned to this land but are hiding in fear, gather here! Searching for you one by one is too much trouble; if you come forward and offer your necks for slaughter, it will save me a lot of effort! If there is any coward who dares not show their face, then you should just crawl back to the Throne of Heroes!"
Kirei Kotomine was currently in the Fuyuki Church, far from the Fuyuki Docks, monitoring everyone's movements with the help of Assassin, who was hidden atop a gantry crane at the Fuyuki Docks.
Like Kiritsugu Emiya and Maiya Hisau at the edge of the battlefield, he could see and hear every word and action of Akatsuki.
Kirei Kotomine briefly described everything Akatsuki was doing at the scene into the jewel communicator beside him; hearing this in the basement of the Tohsaka Family home, Tohsaka Tokiomi rubbed his forehead in distress.
"...This is bad."
Tohsaka Tokiomi's voice came through the brass speaker. Unlike Kiritsugu Emiya, who was skilled at using technology, Tohsaka Tokiomi, as a pure Magician, had a natural aversion to such things. His tone held a hint of bitterness. Hearing Tohsaka Tokiomi's words, Kirei couldn't help but frown and nod.
"Indeed, it is very bad."
Kiritsugu Emiya scoffed at Akatsuki's speech. After all, who among those who could become Servants wasn't a famous figure in human history? How could they not know that Akatsuki's behavior was a provocation?
However, Tohsaka Tokiomi and Kirei Kotomine could not be like Kiritsugu Emiya, because they knew there was one Servant who would definitely not let such a provocation go unheard.
After Irisviel and Lancer's Master applied healing magecraft, Saber and Lancer finally regained their ability to move. As they pushed themselves up, a golden light appeared in everyone's sight.
The light, somewhat blinding in the dark night, finally landed atop a lamppost over ten meters above the ground, transforming into a figure clad in golden armor.
"Mongrel, the time for barking is over."
Just as Archer spoke, a sudden loud noise drowned out his voice, so much so that no one heard what he said. Everyone except Akatsuki turned their heads at the same time to look at the southeastern sky.
The source of the loud noise was as obvious as the noise itself.
"A chariot?!"
While Saber and Lancer were surprised, Rider's chariot was already very close to Akatsuki, and in the next moment, it was about to run right over her. However, Akatsuki stood still.
Akatsuki, the source of the provocation to the many Servants, could not possibly be stunned into inaction by this sudden chariot; the only possibility was that she had no intention of dodging at all.
And in the next moment, Akatsuki confirmed their suspicion.
Akatsuki took a punching stance, seemingly intending to meet the charging chariot head-on. When Akatsuki and Rider's eyes met, Rider actually took the initiative to turn the chariot away.
"Lower your weapons! You are now in the presence of a King!"
Although he had actively avoided Akatsuki, he still spoke heroically after landing, his volume comparable to the thunderous roar when the chariot appeared.
"My name is the King of Conquerors—Iskandar! I have manifested as Rider in this Holy Grail War!"
"Rider?! What are you doing?!"
An overly panicked Waver shrieked while grabbing Rider's cloak; at this moment, even his fear of Rider's massive frame was temporarily forgotten because Rider had voluntarily revealed his True Name and Noble Phantasm.
"Thwack!"
A zero-frame startup; even if Waver realized it, he couldn't dodge. The sound of a forehead flick was clearly heard by everyone present, and Waver's protests came to an abrupt halt.
Seeing no response, Rider still held his head high, ignoring everyone as if they weren't there and completely disregarding his Master's stunned expression. Rider continued: "Everyone, submit to me and yield the Holy Grail! If you do, I shall regard you as my dearest friends and share with you the joy of conquering the world. Especially you! Beautiful golden one!"
He finished by pointing at Akatsuki, who was standing to the side.
Archer was just about to say something when Lancer beat him to it.
"To dare to be the first to announce your True Name in this war where everyone hides them... such spirit earns my deep admiration. However, it is a pity that I cannot accept your proposal. I have already decided that, to fulfill my duty as a knight, I will offer the Holy Grail to my new lord in this life, and that person is not you, Rider."
The interrupted Archer glared at Lancer and tried to speak again, but Saber followed Lancer's words immediately, giving Archer no chance to interject: "This joke has gone too far, Rider! Regardless, I too am the ruler of a nation, bearing the weight of all the people of Britain and the knights who follow me. No matter how great you, Alexander the Great, may be, I cannot abandon my country and people to serve under you."
"Boring. Rider, don't expect a response from me. If we're talking about kings, I am also a king of sorts, though unlike you kings who lead armies and rule nations, I rule over my own—or rather, the world's—'sins'."
"Oh? The King of Britain and the King of Sins?"
Rider seemed very interested in Saber and Akatsuki's words.
"Though I do not know what a 'King of Sins' is, it is truly surprising. I never expected the famous king of knights to be a young girl who looks to be only in her teens. I see your height isn't even 1.6 meters; you're even three centimeters shorter than my Master." (Waver 157cm, Saber 154cm.)
"King of Conquerors! Do you have a problem with my height, you bastard!"
Saber's aura suddenly surged; she seemed to take great offense at Rider mentioning her height. "A true king is definitely not determined by such superficial appearances as height!"
"What spirit! But still, the gap between you and what I imagined is just too large. That's the world-renowned king of knights, and yet you're not even as tall as my Master..."
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