Iskandar summoned his chariot, grabbed Waver without ceremony, and leapt inside with natural ease. Then he turned, extending his arm in a direct invitation to Arthur and the others.
Seeing that, Arthur exchanged a brief glance with Iri and Artoria before nodding. In this war, Iskandar and Waver were, at the very least, among the few reliable variables.
As soon as Arthur helped Iri onto the chariot and turned his attention to Aoi, she instinctively stepped back half a step, as if accepting that invitation was simply impossible.
"Tokiomi's body is still here… and this is my home… Where else could Rin and I go but here?"
Her voice was trembling.
From Tokiomi's death, to the revelation of Kirei's betrayal, to Hassan's assassination attempt, Aoi's mental state had been pushed far beyond its limits.
She broke down into tears once again.
Her sobs echoed through the air, and with that, Rin stirred awake.
"Arthur."
Iri's voice came softly. She gently shook her head at him.
"…Alright."
Arthur let out a small sigh before replying with a faint smile.
"Aoi, unfortunately, nowhere in Fuyuki is truly safe until the Holy Grail War ends. You and Rin need to stay with us," he said.
"But…"
Aoi shook her head repeatedly, almost frantically. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes dull—at that moment, she looked like someone on the verge of a complete breakdown.
Even Rin, still in her arms, began to cry without fully understanding why.
Seeing that, Arthur extended his hand and gently placed it on both of their heads, almost by instinct.
Once again, his head-patting skill came into play.
"It's okay. I'll protect both of you," he said.
"Mm…"
Aoi's breathing gradually steadied.
Her shoulders stopped trembling, and little by little, she seemed to regain a trace of clarity, letting out a faint, almost inaudible sound.
"You have to keep your promise!"
Rin, still with teary eyes, extended her pinky finger toward Arthur, leaning forward as if it were something extremely important.
"Of course."
Arthur smiled genuinely and hooked his finger with hers, sealing the promise.
"If you break it, I'll never forgive you!"
Rin bared her small fangs and let out a childish growl, trying to look threatening—though she only looked adorable.
"Yes, yes, yes~ Shall we get on the chariot now, Lady Rin and Lady Aoi?"
He replied lightly, extending his hands to both of them.
Aoi hesitated for a brief moment.
But then she placed her right hand in his.
Rin, without hesitation, firmly grabbed his left.
"Ah—"
With a single precise motion, Arthur pulled both of them up onto the chariot.
"Rider."
"Understood!"
Iskandar grinned widely. With a sharp motion of his chin, he yanked the reins hard.
Bucephalus neighed loudly, its front legs rising before surging forward.
In the next instant, the chariot shot into the sky.
---
"Rider, what do we do?"
Waver, completely terrified by the sight of that monster, instinctively shrank behind Iskandar, clutching part of his cloak as if it could shield him from an inevitable disaster.
"Don't worry. Since Caster is the one who caused all this trouble, we just need to deal with him. Wasn't that what we decided from the beginning? Hahahaha!"
Even after witnessing, one after another, the absurd feats displayed by Arthur and Gilgamesh—powers that completely defied common sense—Iskandar remained unfazed. Even after revealing his own ultimate trump card, he showed not the slightest hesitation. On the contrary, he seemed even more excited. With a wide grin, he slapped Waver firmly on the shoulder, his laughter echoing loudly, filled with confidence.
"Lancer, what do you plan to do? Since you've already spent a lot of mana in your battle against Archer, how about I take care of Caster? After all, Command Seals as a reward for victory are something we can't ignore in the Holy Grail War."
Without beating around the bush, Iskandar made his intentions clear. Under Waver's silent and slightly awkward gaze, he practically declared that he wanted the victory for its benefits as well.
"No."
Arthur's response was immediate.
"One of my goals in this war, from the very beginning, was to annihilate that worm. I've already wasted too much time on other things," Arthur replied in a cold tone, his irritation making it clear that this was personal.
"Alright then."
Iskandar replied without offense. On the contrary, his eyes shone with even greater excitement. To him, that only made things more interesting.
It didn't take long before they got close enough to truly grasp the scale of the disaster caused by Gilles.
What had once seemed like a distant threat now revealed its full monstrosity.
Due to its colossal size and completely fragmented mind, Gilles no longer appeared to possess any trace of rationality. Only primitive, chaotic instincts and a distorted obsession remained.
He screamed Jeanne d'Arc's name incessantly.
The moment he sensed Artoria's presence, the monster reacted immediately.
Its gigantic body moved toward the building where they were.
Wherever the sea demon passed, everything was corrupted.
Everything turned into that viscous, dark-purple swamp, spreading voraciously and devouring everything around it like a living, ever-growing avalanche.
If nothing were done—
The city of Fuyuki would be completely swallowed within less than two and a half hours.
Realizing this, Arthur did not hesitate and immediately summoned Longinus.
Seeing this, Iskandar deliberately moved away from him.
'Sakura.'
Arthur called out mentally.
---
At that moment, Sakura was in the Einzbern territory, distracted, building a snowman alongside the other girls—a nearly ironic contrast to the chaos unfolding in Fuyuki.
Even so, she heard his call clearly.
Her body reacted instantly.
"Sakura, what's wrong?"
Kohaku immediately noticed the change in her behavior, her tone filled with genuine concern.
"Arthur needs me."
Sakura answered without hesitation, raising her hand to show the Command Seal now glowing with increasing intensity.
"What are you waiting for, Sakura? Do what you have to do."
Caren, who was nearby, spoke directly, almost impatiently, as if it were obvious.
Sakura let out a small laugh, then raised her hand as the Command Seal shone brilliantly.
"With this Command Seal, I order you: use all your power to defeat your enemy, Berserker!"
The moment she finished speaking, one of the petals of the Command Seal vanished.
---
(End of Chapter)
A/N: Tell me, you guys had already forgotten that his class is Berserker, right?