The black knight's resentful eyes stared at Saber, causing a chill to rise in her back.
"Ugh... Ah..."
The roar with a hint of pain made everyone present frown. Suddenly, the black knight's whole body exuded an inflated murderous aura. With a lift of his toes, he took an iron rod in his hand and then suddenly rushed towards Saber!
Seeing this scene, Saber showed a somewhat helpless expression. The tendon in her right hand still couldn't heal, meaning her thumb couldn't be used strongly. Since the thumb is the most important part for holding a sword, she couldn't even grip her weapon steadily, let alone fight.
Although Saber wanted to hold on, she finally felt a kind of powerlessness. In her current situation, she simply couldn't fight Berserker, who possessed the strongest melee ability. Her petite body, which was only 154cm, seemed about to fall under Berserker's fierce advance.
Just as Saber raised her sword, intending to risk her life to protect Irisviel, she suddenly heard a voice—one that made such a sacrifice unnecessary.
"Lancer! Stop him!" Shirou said suddenly.
"Yes!"
Lancer didn't think twice and didn't hesitate to follow Shirou's orders. His body swept across the ground like a swift shadow, and in an instant, he was in front of Berserker, stabbing out with a swift shot!
Clang————!
"What!?"
Seeing that his shot was blocked by Berserker with the iron rod, Diarmuid froze.
"Lancer! Berserker is capable of turning anything in his hand into a Noble Phantasm!" Shirou immediately reminded him.
Hearing this, Diarmuid was startled and dodged Berserker's attack. In the moment of retreat, Diarmuid turned around and fired a shot, using the demon-breaking crimson spear to cut through Berserker's armor. Between the splatters of blood, everyone saw a bone-like human figure in the armor, resembling a demon-like existence.
"What the hell is that?" Waver held his breath in fright.
At this moment, Rider flicked the reins and drove the Gordius Wheel into the battlefield!
"Ahhh!!!"
The chariot, entwined with thunder and lightning, sped at high speed, knocking Berserker—who had been fully focused on Saber—into the air!
Berserker was knocked back and rolled more than ten meters, finally coming to a stop after hitting the wall of a tall building. Lying on the ground, Berserker stretched out his legs weakly, trying to stand, but the blow he received seemed to make him realize he could no longer fight. As soon as he stopped moving, his outline began to blur; he de-materialized, restored his spirit form, and fled.
The King of Conquest, seeing Berserker leave, smiled in victory. Then he looked at the crowd.
"Well, everyone, we'll see you later!"
With that, Rider lowered his head. "Little Master, do you have anything else to say?"
He saw Waver, who had rolled his eyes and fainted. It seemed that when they assaulted Berserker, Rider's momentum was too violent, causing Waver to faint from fright.
"... Cheer up, you guy."
Rider sighed at his Master, tightened the reins of the two sacred bulls, and drove the Gordius Wheel toward the sky. With the roar of thunder and lightning, Rider's figure moved farther and farther away.
"Finally gone..."
Irisviel's nervous mood finally relaxed. Then, remembering something, she turned her nervous gaze back to Shirou and Lancer.
"It's almost time for me to go."
Shirou stretched without any nervousness. This was the confidence of one who possessed the strength of a Heroic Spirit.
"You can tell those two snipers out there to come out now," Shirou said with a smile, then turned to leave.
Lancer smiled and waved at them, then put away his spear and followed Shirou closely. Irisviel, hearing Shirou's last words, widened her eyes in fright.
"That kid... how does he know where they are!?"
At the same time, Emiya Kiritsugu, observing from the top of the tall building, saw the red-haired child below again.
"... Sure enough, it wasn't by chance. He really found out about me a long time ago."
Kiritsugu's right hand, holding the sniper rifle, trembled slightly. "Is this the Holy Grail War? Even a child who looks only 7 or 8 years old gives off such a sense of oppression!"
Below, Saber put down her sword tiredly. Her right arm, with its severed tendons, was still trembling slightly.
"So that's it... the Holy Grail War!"
Even a child in her time was a figure who could play tricks. The girl recalled what had just happened, her glass-colored eyes full of shock.
...
The girl's beautiful face and blonde hair appeared on a crystal ball. Silver armor wrapped around her slender body, and her long hair flowed like gold. As one of the seven Servants, the Heroic Maiden was summoned as Saber. She was the most petite, yet the most brave and majestic.
No matter what predicament she was forced into, she resolutely confronted the enemy. Caster couldn't take his eyes off Saber's form. He could not move away, for that figure—so deeply missed—and that noble profile were the phantoms Caster had been searching for through time and space.
"Achieved... my long-cherished wish!"
Caster's emaciated, pale cheeks were drenched in tears of excitement.
"Joan of Arc...!"
Caster shook his dry fingers, his voice choked, and his hands clutched at his head as if he were going to tear his scalp off.