The car sped along the mountain road, not slowing even as a cliff loomed beyond the next bend—if anything, it accelerated.
Yet, just as it was about to plunge over the edge, the vehicle executed a sharp, elegant drift, hugging the curve and staying firmly on the road.
In the passenger seat, Artoria watched, a few cold beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Even for a Servant, that was nerve-wracking.
"Iri, your skills are… something else," Artoria said, her voice tinged with unease.
"Of course! Though when I first got this little toy, I could only drive around the castle grounds. Never beyond them. Now I can finally enjoy a proper joyride!"
Irisviel's face was lit with a carefree smile as she laughed.
But these few days of freedom were all she had left.
As the vessel of the Holy Grail—a homunculus of the Einzbern family—Irisviel's body would gradually transform into the Grail itself as the war progressed, eventually becoming the container for its manifestation.
In the process, she would slowly lose consciousness, until finally, her life would fade.
Irisviel knew her fate. Yet for Kiritsugu's sake, she accepted it calmly.
If she had to die sooner or later, dying for the sake of her beloved's dream… wasn't that rather romantic?
Though their marriage had begun as part of a deal with the family, over their time together, Irisviel had truly come to love Kiritsugu.
"Still… could we slow down a little? I'm a bit worried we might hit someone…"
Artoria sighed helplessly, her hand gripping the seat tightly.
"No need to worry, it's fine! This mountain road leads to the Einzbern villa—no one else comes this way!"
Irisviel giggled from the driver's seat.
"But speaking of which, that blond guy is really impressive… Kiritsugu mentioned on the phone earlier that he was the one who took down Assassin yesterday. To eliminate a Servant so decisively before the war even properly began…"
"He is indeed formidable. I can sense his immense power… Iri, I have a feeling he may be the strongest Servant in this Grail War." Artoria nodded in agreement.
Amateurs see the excitement; experts see the skill.
As a fellow Heroic Spirit, she could perceive the terror of Gilgamesh's strength—the sheer extravagance of launching Noble Phantasms at will. And yet, Mydei had batted those projectiles away like they were a child's toys…
Such fearsome power…
"Could you not defeat him, Saber?" Irisviel sounded surprised.
"It's hard to say. If I were at my full strength… maybe."
Artoria flexed her fingers. With her tendons severed, her right hand still couldn't exert much force. Without full use of her thumb—the most crucial digit—many of her techniques remained sealed.
Diarmuid had known exactly what he was doing.
Artoria: My thumb's useless now!
Of course, when Artoria spoke of her "full strength," she meant having Avalon, the sheath of Excalibur.
With that EX-ranked Noble Phantasm in her possession, her power would skyrocket to a truly top-tier level. Without the sheath, even Excalibur alone was formidable, but it wasn't quite the same.
But now, Avalon was inside Irisviel. Returning to her peak condition would be… difficult.
"Eh? How could someone that strong appear in this war… But he seemed pretty easygoing, didn't he? Do you think we could become friends?"
Irisviel's thoughts drifted into naive speculation.
"Impossible. Anyone summoned by the Grail has unfinished wishes or regrets… So… in the end, every Servant is an enemy."
Artoria shook her head regretfully.
"Then what about you, Saber? As a great hero of legend… do you also have a wish you want fulfilled?"
Irisviel looked at her curiously.
This was the legendary King Arthur, after all…
But it was precisely their casual chatter—and the distraction brought on by mentioning Mydei—that made them fail to notice the figure standing just around the bend.
Thump!
A dark shape was sent flying.
"Iri, stop the car! We hit someone!"
"Huh? There's really someone out here? Who stands behind a mountain curve in the middle of the night… I thought it was a speed bump."
Irisviel blinked, her expression entirely innocent.
"Be careful, Iri. Stay close to me when we get out. That was a Servant."
Artoria's voice was low and serious.
To think the enemy would be waiting here… and with her injuries not yet healed…
Her expression stern, Artoria stepped out of the car with Irisviel.
Just then, the Caster who had been sent flying climbed back to his feet.
Blood trickled down his face from a cut on his forehead, but he showed no sign of pain—such minor injuries meant nothing to a Servant. He could always replenish his mana by killing a few children later.
Right now, what mattered was…
"My saint—"
As soon as the words left his mouth, a sonic boom cracked through the air. A spear of crimson crystal shot toward him at blinding speed, aimed directly at his head.
BOOM!!
The scarlet lance fell from the sky like a kinetic weapon, its tremendous force striking Caster and blasting a massive crater into the cliff face behind him.
Dust billowed everywhere, obscuring everything in the night.
"Didn't finish him off. What a pity…"
Mydei landed lightly, clicking his tongue as he stared into the swirling dust.
He could already tell—Caster's presence was gone.
Sure enough, when the dust cleared, nothing remained but a few bloodstains and the ruined road.
"Berserker? What are you doing here?" Saber stared sharply at Mydei, her guard fully up.
If he decided to attack Irisviel now, she wasn't confident she could stop him.
"Relax, I've no intention of fighting you two right now." Mydei's tone was casual as he observed their tense postures.
"You still haven't answered my question." Artoria pressed.
"Nothing much. Just cleaning up a rat hiding in the gutter. Though this one got away too fast. Tsk. Shouldn't have underestimated him—useless in a fight, but surprisingly good at running. Should've opened with my Reality Marble…"
Mydei sighed, rubbing his forehead. Now that he'd failed to kill Caster here, tracking him down again would take time.
And every day Caster remained alive, more victims would suffer.
"The Caster summoned in this war is a murderous deviant. He and his Master are two of a kind. If we don't take them out early, a lot of people will die. Is that reason enough for you?"
"...It is." Artoria nodded. Her intuition told her Mydei wasn't lying.
"But, you're really quite kind, aren't you? Normally, Servants would prioritize winning the Grail War above all else." Irisviel gazed at him with open curiosity.
"Of course. There's no one in this world kinder than me." Mydei stated it as simple fact, without a hint of embarrassment.
"Berserker, there's one thing I don't understand. Why is your Master so young? A child that age shouldn't have been chosen as a Master, and even if she were, summoning a Servant should be nearly impossible."
Artoria seized the chance, while they weren't yet outright enemies, to voice the question that had been bothering her.
"Simple. It's because I chose Sakura that she became a Master—not the other way around."
"Choosing such a young child as your Master… this war is far too dangerous. If the other Masters learn your Master is a defenseless little girl, they'll target her without hesitation!"
Artoria's voice was sharp with reproach. And she wasn't wrong—it was almost certain to happen.
Even setting aside others, if Kiritsugu decided Mydei was too troublesome to handle head-on, he might very well go after Sakura.
After all, his ideals hadn't yet been shattered. To save the world, sacrificing one small girl would seem a cheap price.
In truth, most magi had no bottom line. In the face of ultimate victory, such a thing meant nothing.
"Simple. I'll just kill anyone who lays a hand on Sakura. And besides…" Mydei looked at Artoria, a strange glint in his eyes. "Aren't we enemies? Why do you care?"
"Don't be absurd! Even between enemies, there should be lines we don't cross. Are you mocking me, Berserker?" Artoria's voice rose with anger.
To harm an innocent child just for victory? That was not the kind of person she was.
"I didn't mean it like that. 'Upholding your principles'? How touching. Such noble chivalry." Mydei shook his head slightly. A bit too upright for her own good.
And clearly not the most emotionally intelligent. They said the king did not understand the hearts of people, and in a way, that was exactly it—Artoria lacked that kind of insight.
Otherwise, things might not have ended the way they did.
After all, that 'son' had only wanted her father's recognition.
She just went about it in somewhat extreme ways…
In the end, Britain held only two kinds of people: those who adored the king, and those who adored her in rather twisted ways.
"Well… since I didn't get him, I won't stick around. I need to consider other options. Who knows, maybe we'll cooperate later." Mydei smiled slightly.
Then, with a sudden leap, he shot into the air and flew off into the distance.
"Coming and going like the wind… I really don't understand him. But somehow, I get the feeling he isn't that eager to win the Grail." Irisviel tilted her head, puzzled.
If he really wanted to win, wouldn't finding a reliable Master make more sense?
Besides, Saber's hand was injured, she wasn't at full strength, and she'd just been through a major battle—she was in a weakened state.
If Mydei wanted to eliminate her, now was the perfect time. Yet he'd shown no hostility at all.
"Now that I think about it… even in that earlier situation, he didn't show any hostility toward the other Servants either…" Irisviel was thoroughly confused.
"Well, never mind. However you look at it, he'll likely become our enemy eventually…" As she spoke, Irisviel turned to Saber. "Right now, the priority is getting us home."
Thanks to Mydei's… forceful intervention, half the mountainside had collapsed, blocking the road back to the villa.
As a mere homunculus, there wasn't much she could do. But Saber could handle it.
--+--
Inside the church, Risei Kotomine stood before the altar. It was only the first night of the Holy Grail War, yet conflicts were already emerging.
As the supervisor, it was his duty to monitor the war's progress.
Just then, the large doors behind him slowly opened, and a tall, sturdy figure walked in.
"As a Servant, you should be fighting. Why have you come to this neutral ground, the supervisor's domain?"
Risei spoke calmly once he recognized the visitor.
"The Caster summoned in this war is a serial killer. Issue a notice. Have all Masters unite to eliminate Caster first. And the Church should also devote resources to finding him."
Mydei didn't waste words, stating his purpose directly.
The Church would issue a bounty eventually anyway, but by then it would be too late. So Mydei decided to come himself and speed things up.
"The Holy Church, as the supervisor, has no right to interfere in the Holy Grail War. Please leave. If the situation truly escalates, I will issue an appropriate decree."
Risei frowned, refusing Mydei's demand.
But Mydei wasn't having it. Impatiently, he materialized a crimson spear and casually drove it into the floor.
"Either notify the Masters now, or die. Your choice. You seem to be misunderstanding. This is a notice, not a request."
"Besides, the supervisor doesn't participate in the Grail War? Did you really think I didn't know about Kirei Kotomine's connection to Tokiomi Tohsaka?" A cold smile played on Mydei's lips.
"How do you, a Servant, know so much?" Risei stared at Mydei in confusion. This Servant was… unusual, to say the least.
"Enough talk. Just send the notice, or I won't be polite." Mydei had no patience for further discussion. Because… dawn was approaching.
If he didn't get back soon, Sakura would wake up.
He didn't want to waste time on an old man and have his little sister wake up to find him gone.
In the end, Risei yielded to Mydei's intimidation…
And Mydei, once finished, returned straight to his temporary home.
--+--
T/N: HSR Fic out on MapleTL!
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.