"That's enough!"
Yusei appeared in the center of the battlefield, his sword blocking Berserker's attack.
"Ruler?" The others stopped upon seeing him.
Yusei glanced around and then announced, "The Master of Berserker has violated the rules of the Holy Grail War and has been eliminated."
As he spoke, Berserker, controlled by Sakura using a Command Spell, began to fade away as if dispersing into spirit form.
Everyone was shocked, both by the fact that one faction had been eliminated and by the revelation that there were actual rules for the Holy Grail War.
Saber looked seriously at Yusei, strongly suspecting that the Berserker Faction was eliminated because its Master refused to bribe the Ruler.
"Saber, your gaze is quite rude. Of course, there are rules for the Holy Grail War. The most important, and the only one that truly matters, is not to harm civilians outside the Holy Grail War."
Hearing this, Saber's expression softened slightly. She also believed the Holy Grail War should not involve outsiders.
"I see. So, we must be mindful of the battlefield to avoid affecting civilians?" The tall Rider nodded in agreement.
"That is also our wish," Lancer affirmed seriously.
In the distance, Kiritsugu, who had been observing the entire situation, lowered his sniper rifle impassively and spoke into his communicator, "Stand down. Now is not the time to defy the Ruler."
"Understood."
Seeing that everyone had stopped, Yusei smiled lightly, "I came here to announce this matter. Thus, six factions remain in the contest for the Holy Grail. I wish you all success in your endeavors."
With that, Yusei also vanished.
The remaining participants, seeing this, dispersed separately. There would be no more fighting tonight.
After taking Sakura back to their residence and settling her in, Yusei went to check the situation at the Matou Residence, ensuring it was completely destroyed before returning.
In the following days, Yusei only needed to quietly watch the various factions battle each other. He didn't even need to lift a finger, as those who sought the Holy Grail would inevitably clash and slaughter each other.
However, Yusei didn't want to wait too long. Since he had the identity of the Ruler, he should make good use of it to accelerate the pace of this Holy Grail War.
The next day, Yusei got up early to prepare for the day's arrangements.
Although he was in a Servant State, he still maintained the habit of sleeping… after all, he was a pseudo-Servant.
According to his plan, today he would find Caster and provoke him into a rampage, forcing him to fight the other factions and speeding up the war.
"First, I need to find that Uryu Ryunosuke. That should be easy for me, the Ruler," Yusei muttered to himself with a smile.
The Ruler identity was very useful. He could locate every Master and Servant through his connection to the Command Spells.
After leaving breakfast for Sakura and instructing her not to leave the house, Yusei departed for Ryunosuke's location.
…
Inside a residential building in Fuyuki City
Ryunosuke was still fast asleep on the floor. Next to him was a woman bound tightly.
The woman was alive, but after prolonged fear and exhaustion, her eyes were vacant.
When Yusei arrived, he saw Ryunosuke immediately.
"Caster isn't here?" Yusei's eyes fell upon the bound woman, and his disgust for Ryunosuke grew.
Yusei didn't consider himself a saint who could save all seven billion people on Earth, but he also wouldn't tolerate someone who took pleasure in the suffering and death of others.
He nudged the sleeping Ryunosuke with his foot.
"Get up. Hurry up and get up."
"Huh?" Ryunosuke woke up groggily and immediately saw the unfamiliar face, "Who are you?"
Yusei ignored him and proceeded to untie the woman.
Seeing this, Ryunosuke naturally objected, "Hey! What are you doing with my sacrifice?!"
Yusei yawned, sat down on the living room sofa, crossed his legs, and showed no intention of paying attention to Ryunosuke.
Among his Class Skills was [God's Resolution], which allowed him to use Command Spells directly on Servants. In simple terms, he could control them.
As for why Yusei didn't just use Command Spells to force other Servants to commit suicide, that was because he had to consider factors like skill cooldown and Magic Resistance.
If he tried to command another Servant to kill themselves, he could probably manage at most one per day. That would take at least seven days.
Furthermore, while Yusei could issue Command Spells to other Servants, their respective Masters could also issue Command Spells.
The result would likely be the Command Spell effects canceling each other out, and it would provoke all the Servants to attack him, the Ruler. It was a completely losing proposition.
The best approach was what he was doing now: control Uryu Ryunosuke, use commands to control Caster, and let the Servants fight and wear each other down.
After all, among all the Masters, Ryunosuke was the easiest target to manipulate.
Yusei looked at Ryunosuke. The latter, seeing that Yusei was ignoring him, was getting angry and prepared to use a knife to make Yusei his next sacrifice.
Yusei smiled, picked up a fruit knife from the table, and threw it.
Thud!
The knife pierced Ryunosuke's hand, pinning it to the floor.
"Ah! My right hand! My... art!"
Yusei had no patience for his howling.
"Hurry up and use a Command Spell. Tell Caster to get back here now."
He felt no sympathy for Ryunosuke. A serial killer like him deserved to die.
However, Ryunosuke seemed to have a morbid reaction. Looking at his pinned, bleeding hand, he started laughing happily.
"Art! This is art!"
Yusei felt a vein throbbing on his forehead, 'Had I achieved the opposite effect?'
"I'll turn you into art too! Master Bluebeard, come back quickly! We have another sacrifice here!" Ryunosuke shouted morbidly.
Seeing this, Yusei finally nodded with satisfaction. At least this guy wasn't wasting his time.
The Command Spell effect activated, and a red light flashed.
At this time, Caster materialized before Ryunosuke.
"Oh, Ryunosuke? Are you in some danger?" Although Caster said this, his gaze was fixed on Yusei.
Yusei didn't waste words. He directly activated his ability using his Ruler Authority.
"By the power of the Ruler, I invoke God's Resolution! Caster, I command you! Declare war! Declare war upon all factions, upon all Servants, upon all Masters!"
Two Command Spells were issued directly. Caster had no way to resist. In an instant, he was forced to bow to Yusei, then withdrew.
Without a doubt, Caster had now become Yusei's puppet!