Bangbangbang!!!
Watching the fallen Sola-Ui, Emiya Kiritsugu fired several more rounds for good measure.
The moment he'd detected the surrounding magecraft trapping him, he'd begun searching for whoever was maintaining it.
This was both a crisis and an opportunity.
Handled correctly, he could turn the tables and reverse his disadvantage.
Lancer's Master had been fatally careless in the end.
Against someone that negligent, Kiritsugu had countless methods of execution.
By pushing his body to a near-death state, the target had predictably dropped her guard.
Then, using Innate Time Control to accelerate himself, he had appeared before Sola almost as if teleporting.
That was why she hadn't noticed his approach until the bullet was already inside her.
Because Emiya Kiritsugu could manipulate his own "time."
This was the power of Innate Time Control.
Though the physical toll was immense, Kiritsugu was long accustomed to it. This time, he had deliberately weaponized the technique's side effects, inducing a near-death state to deceive Sola-Ui.
"Have to move. Now."
Having confirmed that Sola had sustained fatal injuries, Kiritsugu didn't linger.
Given Servant reaction speeds, Lancer would already be aware and en route.
He couldn't afford to waste another Command Spell to summon Saber.
VROOOOM!!
The magecraft field had collapsed. Climbing into his vehicle, Kiritsugu drove away from the scene.
"!"
"How?"
Sakura Kyoko had been mid-pursuit of Jonouchi when her body suddenly froze.
The contract was fracturing. Something terrible had happened.
"Why did she die?!"
"What did that man even protect?!"
Incomprehension. Kyoko couldn't fathom how this had happened.
In the time it took her to chase Caster, her own Master had been killed?
Thinking of Kayneth's infuriatingly haughty face, she seethed with anger.
Always acting so superior, and he couldn't even protect his own fiancee?
And Sola's death had been so abrupt that Kyoko didn't even know what had occurred on their end.
If danger had struck, a single Command Spell would have been enough to summon her. How had Sola been cut down before that?
"Hmm?"
Jonouchi noticed Lancer's abrupt halt and the shift in her demeanor.
He didn't possess conventional "magecraft." His abilities were unique, bestowed rather than learned.
'Her LP is dropping...'
Like data readouts, Jonouchi could see the Life Points ebbing from Sakura Kyoko's form. Dwindling just as his own were.
And if they hit zero, it meant "game over."
"Your partner... is she dead too?"
The question came out heavy. Jonouchi's expression was serious.
"Tch! This time..."
Snapping back to herself, Kyoko shot him a look, ready to spit something harsh, when she suddenly realized the hexagram binding her arms had dissolved.
"Go."
"And hey... you're just a kid. Stop thinking about killing people."
The words were annoying, coming from Caster. But Kyoko didn't waste time arguing.
The persistent trap was gone. Her hands were finally free.
Her silhouette vanished into the night sky.
She needed to see the site of Sola's death for herself.
"Alright, one headache dealt with."
"Now for this side."
Without sparing further thought on the girl's situation, Jonouchi turned toward the remaining commotion.
"Mongrel! Such insolence toward this King will be repaid with your life!"
The golden-armored King hurled his decree at the white-clad Emperor.
Crashcrashcrashcrash!!
Launched swords and spears slammed into the energy shield projected by the Knightmare, detonating on contact.
"Rider! This guy is way too much!"
"We can't hold out much longer like this."
Waver watched the alarms blaring inside the cockpit and shouted.
"Mm."
Rather than panic, Lelouch simply fell silent.
His intention had been to probe Archer's combat potential. The results exceeded expectations.
Considering the possibility that deeper trump cards remained hidden, further escalation would be unwise.
If it came to it, he might need to rally other Servants to take down this golden King.
Of course, that was only the conventional solution.
After all, a Servant might be "invincible." But the Master behind them was always a vulnerability.
"Saber, I'll await word from you and that man."
"I hope for a satisfying answer."
Withdrawing inside the Knightmare, Lelouch and the towering machine vanished into the sky.
"Hmph. Mongrel..."
Watching the enemy retreat behind a shield while absorbing his barrage, Gilgamesh had already made up his mind.
He would personally kill this insolent pretender King.
Whoosh!
"?"
But a sudden whistle of displaced air made him turn his head slightly.
A streak of luminous energy grazed past, leaving a thin crimson scratch on his handsome face.
Looking down, he saw Berserker in the distance, holding a golden longbow, another arrow already nocked.
The figure looked more like a true Archer than he did.
"Assassin... tch."
"Called away?"
Sensing a shift, Gilgamesh glanced at the spot where Kenshin's form had vanished.
That could only mean Kirei was in trouble.
With Lancer, Rider, and Assassin departing, only Saber, Berserker, Archer, and Caster remained on the field.
And Berserker had timed his attack perfectly, striking the instant Assassin disappeared.
Using a bow against Archer was beyond mere provocation.
"That weapon... forged from the bone, blood, and flesh of a dragon."
"You slew a creature that possessed the concept of 'Divinity'?"
Having seen through Berserker's bow, Gilgamesh spoke in a cold voice.
"A dragon? Divinity?"
Recalling the bizarre greatsword from earlier, Saber turned to look.
Compared to the resentment-laden evil dragon sword, this golden longbow radiated an entirely different kind of majesty. Its divine aura was unmistakable.
If one focused, one could even "taste" the essence of a dragon within it.
'A hero who specialized in slaying dragons?'
History had no shortage of such figures. But whether this was truly one of those legendary individuals remained unconfirmable.
Especially with the qualifier of "Divinity" in the equation.
Legendary dragons were numerous. But dragons that also bore the concept of Divinity were exceedingly rare.
"..."
Still offering no reply, Berserker merely drew the bowstring.
The weapon in his hands was simply something forged from a monster he had once slain.
That it carried draconic authority and divine pressure was only natural.
After all, the beast had been a "Primal."
Bahamut, the Dreadwyrm!
An ancient dragon whose cataclysmic rampage had once threatened to unmake the entire world.
Crafting weapons from defeated monsters was hardly new ground for Berserker.
"Then let this King serve as your opponent personally."
"What lies beneath that helmet of yours?"
"This King is most curious."
Finally stirred by the desire to stretch his limbs, Gilgamesh had no intention of leaving.
Berserker's origins, he was determined to unravel them.
It had been a long time since anyone this interesting had crossed his path.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]
PS: Happy New Year's Eve, everyone!