"Lady Guinevere, this is the Holy Grail..."
Deep beneath Yggdmillennia Castle, within an equally vast cavern, Clan Head Darnic gestured toward the fully formed Golden Holy Grail.
Unlike the original Holy Grail, its cup was empty, with no Black Mud flowing from within.
At this moment, if Guinevere wished, she could use the Holy Grail to make a wish and end this farce of a war.
But she still wanted to fight the First Hassan.
Standing guard beside the Holy Grail, she called the King of Knights. After learning the status of the battle on that front, she reported her own situation and urged the King of Knights to hurry over.
Next, she tried calling Saber Mordred but couldn't get through. So, she called Ruler Jeanne d'Arc instead.
As a Servant who had descended by possessing a host body, she still had the original owner's phone and other belongings in her pocket.
"Is that so? Both sides have deployed domain-type Grand Magecraft, so you can't supervise them?"
Archer of Red's Unlimited Blade Works was one, of course, but Achilles's spear also possessed an effect akin to a Reality Marble.
It could deploy a domain designed for one-on-one combat. Within this domain, time and space would be sealed off, and skills related to luck and blessings would be nullified. Both combatants would be forced to rely solely on their own strength to determine the victor, fighting until one was defeated.
"Didn't expect this, did you? You forced me to acknowledge that you are neither male nor female, and as a result, I can now unleash this Noble Phantasm against you."
Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē was the name of Achilles's spear when used as a barrier. Normally, this spear could not be unleashed against a female opponent.
But Mordred refused to acknowledge her gender in front of others, and Achilles, respecting her insistence, had promised to honor her choice.
Time and space froze. Birds and insects ceased their movements. Only Achilles and Saber-class Mordred could move within the isolated barrier.
Because the spear had become a barrier-type Noble Phantasm, Achilles now faced Mordred—who wielded her Holy Sword, had shed her armor, and bore numerous wounds—with a shield in one hand and a bare fist in the other.
This shield was named Akhilleus Kosmos, a defensive barrier-type Noble Phantasm powerful enough to rival the original Rho Aias used by Archer of Red.
Mordred's sword struck Achilles's shield, while Achilles's fist landed on Mordred's abdomen.
In terms of pure strength, even though she was stronger than when she was a doll, Mordred was still no match for Achilles.
"Damn it!"
She bit her lip so hard it bled. Yet, the more desperate she became, the steadier her sword grew. She began to emulate Guinevere's style from before she met the King of Knights—feinting and probing, searching for an opening in her opponent's defense.
Meanwhile, within Unlimited Blade Works, Archer of Red was overwhelming Chiron.
Though both were Archers, Archer of Red excelled at dual-wielding swords. However, before deploying his Reality Marble, he had already suffered a defeat in close combat against Chiron's Pankration.
As a result of his A+ rank Skill, Wisdom of Divine Gift, the Great Teacher Chiron naturally mastered any non-exclusive combat technique from Greek mythology. This included Pankration, known as the oldest form of martial arts.
Having learned from his earlier loss, Archer of Red was now fighting like a true Archer within his Unlimited Blade Works, attempting to end the battle with an endless barrage of blades.
It became clear that while Chiron knew everything, he lacked a decisive finishing move. His Noble Phantasm, Antares Snipe, fell directly from the constellation Sagittarius without him needing to draw a bow, but its power was insufficient—it was merely an A-rank Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm.
Moreover, trapped within Unlimited Blade Works, he couldn't activate Antares Snipe in a sky devoid of stars, filled only with countless interlocking gears.
To win, he would have to endure until he could shatter Unlimited Blade Works, but he couldn't break it, nor could he wait any longer.
Indeed, Archer of Red claimed his kill before Chiron even had a chance to use his Noble Phantasm.
Countless swords pierced Chiron's body, leaving him only enough time to offer a resigned, sighing smile to his Master outside the barrier.
Back on the battlefield between Achilles and Mordred, shadows began to ripple into existence within the frozen spacetime.
This was Sakura's Imaginary Numbers Magecraft—she had opened fixed gates within this suspended dimension.
"Sakura, I'll help you pinpoint the location. Only you can do this."
While Achilles and Chiron were trapped in their respective barriers, Sakura and her Master engaged the enemy Masters. The two ordinary Masters were quickly defeated and captured by Sakura.
The one offering to help Sakura was Morgan herself.
After facing Kiritsugu Emiya, who was now aided by his Servant, Kirei Kotomine realized that staying would only mean dying repeatedly. He had truly fled.
With Morgan now free, Sakura was finally able to locate the severed spacetime and use her Imaginary Numbers Magecraft to open gates within it.
Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē was shattered, and the nearly defeated Mordred escaped. But this was of little consequence.
For Achilles, the greatest blow was the defeat of his teacher, Chiron, followed by the capture of his Master.
"Stay put, enemy Rider. I assume you don't want to be forced to commit suicide by three Command Spells.
"You probably don't know yet, but this Holy Grail only requires the souls of five Servants to be filled, and that number has already been reached. Guinevere already holds the Grail. This Holy Grail War can be considered over."
Achilles frowned, his pride stung. With Kirei's retreat and Chiron's defeat, he was surrounded by enemies. This disastrous situation had come about because his and Chiron's Masters had been overconfident, believing they could easily gain the upper hand in this engagement.
He dropped his spear and sat on the ground. With his Master in enemy hands, what else could he do? Yet, he hadn't completely given up the fight.
His only wish upon being summoned was to battle to the death.
"Hey, you! What Servant are you, to have defeated Master Chiron? You... fight me!"
As Achilles challenged Archer of Red in the small town, Kiritsugu Emiya called Shiki Tohno. He was waiting for Tohno and his Servant to kill Roa and nullify Kirei Kotomine's immortality buff.
The pursuit continues.
"Archer, Saber, and Lancer."
When Lancer Gareth's name was mentioned, Kiritsugu Emiya glanced at Morgan. He breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't so much as raise an eyebrow, then continued:
"Since Lord Achilles still wishes to fight, the three of you will... no, take turns facing him."
Ultimately, Kiritsugu remembered that his Archer was no Knight.
He was also curious about which hero Archer was and how he had managed to defeat Chiron.
Now that he knew Guinevere had secured the Holy Grail, he felt the rest of the war was nothing more than a farce within a farce.
-
Meanwhile, in Yggdmillennia Castle, after entrusting the Holy Grail to the King of Knights for safekeeping, Guinevere formally challenged the First Hassan.
"Lord Hassan-i Sabbah! If you don't come out and fight me, I'll bring ten thousand people to your temple ruins and have them piss on the head of the god you worship!"
It was a shameless but effective threat. When the First Hassan reappeared, his gaze on Guinevere was a mixture of exasperation and amusement. He let out a sigh.
In the next instant, on the very spot where Vlad III had been defeated, ghostly flames erupted around the First Hassan. The fire consumed his tattered cloak, forging armor in its place.
The greatsword known as Azrael materialized in his hands.
"Thou seekest death. If that is thy wish, then I shall toll the bell in mourning for thee!"
Guinevere's challenge had truly angered the First Hassan.