"Hey, Master! Are you sure it's a good idea for us to leave Royal Mother and the others to deal with the Black Faction, while we run deep into enemy territory without permission?"
While the Black and Red factions engaged in a fierce battle, the final Servant team of the Red Faction had quietly snuck incredibly close to the Millennia Fortress.
This was, naturally, the Saber team consisting of Mordred and Sisigou.
Their original plan was to head to Trifas and join the battlefield as a surprise force. While it might not guarantee a major strategic achievement, it would at least allow them to show their stance to the Red Faction's leader, Amakusa Shirou. They hoped that when they eventually boarded that massive Hanging Gardens, they wouldn't just be poisoned like the other Masters.
Mordred naturally disdained Sisigou's somewhat cowardly plan, but considering it was a viable way to get close to her Royal Mother, she ultimately agreed.
From her perspective, as long as she could fight, she was happy.
However, plans were ideal, while reality was harsh.
Due to certain changes, Mordred's Riding skill—because of a certain individual—was not as pitifully low as E, but at best, it barely scraped a D-rank.
As a result, after Mordred snatched the steering wheel, she and Sisigou arrived inside Trifas several hours later than planned.
Unfortunately, due to Mordred's reckless driving, the car finally broke down completely on a road not far from a village.
Although Mordred was saddened by the loss of her beloved ride, she had no choice but to abandon it and walk with Sisigou toward the Black Faction's base.
Hearing her complaints now, Sisigou turned his head away in exasperation.
"That is because you wasted so much time that even if we went to the battlefield, we would be useless. At this point, apart from sneaking into their base while the Black Faction's attention is on the battle, we have no other options."
"How is that entirely my fault! It's because you didn't tell me the direction earlier, Master!" Mordred immediately raised her fist in protest.
Unfortunately for her, having spent these past few days together, Sisigou had already figured out how to handle her. He merely responded with a dry chuckle and ignored the pouting Mordred, turning his attention to the village ahead.
"Hmm... speaking of which, there is still some distance to the Millennia Fortress. Should we go to that village and borrow another car?"
Looking at the village, which was entirely enveloped in darkness without a single light, Sisigou stroked his chin in thought.
Hearing his words, Mordred's eyes lit up, and she said excitedly, "Oh! What is there to hesitate about? It isn't our first time anyway. Let's go borrow another car and take it for a spin!"
"Ugh..."
Listening to Mordred's unrefined remarks, Sisigou rubbed his forehead. If Caster and that young priest found out he had corrupted Mordred like this, they wouldn't be mad at him, would they?
Sisigou sighed silently.
In the end, he decided to follow Mordred into the village to get a car. As he said earlier, if they wanted to achieve something quickly, they had to increase their speed.
But the moment the two stepped into the village boundaries, they stopped simultaneously.
"This place is creepy."
Sensing something amiss, Mordred frowned. She instinctively sniffed the air, inexplicably feeling that the scent here was strange.
Furthermore, one thing puzzled her: why had the loud chirping of insects outside completely vanished after entering the village?
It made her inexplicably uneasy.
Compared to her confusion, Sisigou's expression had already turned serious. His right hand instinctively reached into his coat, gripping the handle of his shotgun.
"Be careful, Saber. The air here reeks of a mixture of blood, corpses, and magical energy. I'm afraid something dangerous has appeared here."
"Being able to clearly identify the components of this weird stench... I have to say, Master, you are pretty disgusting."
While she roasted Sisigou, Mordred had already summoned her armor and royal sword.
Clearly, she also realized something was wrong.
The two paused for a moment. After confirming there were no immediate attacks or traps, they continued deeper into the village, following the source of the stench.
As a pair who still retained some benevolence, Sisigou and Mordred tacitly chose not to leave but to investigate further. This wasn't just confidence in their strength; it was also out of consideration that this village clearly showed signs of human life.
Both morally and reasonably, they had to investigate thoroughly.
But when the two turned a corner and arrived at a church in the center of the village, they simultaneously froze in place.
Because here, they found a massive number of corpses.
The corpses included the old and the young. Based on their attire, they were just villagers. Now, whether elderly or children, all had been murdered, their bodies piled up like livestock in the clearing in front of the church.
In the center of the pile lay a massive magic circle drawn with fresh blood. Pounded into the very center of the circle was a wooden inverted cross, to which an androgynous young figure was nailed.
Witnessing this bloody, violent scene with its occult religious overtones, Sisigou and Mordred felt a chill run down their spines.
Especially when Sisigou noticed the pattern of the magic circle on the ground, he froze.
"Is this... a Heroic Spirit summoning circle?!"
Recognizing the type of array, Sisigou displayed a shocked expression. Only then did he realize that aside from the inexplicable corpses and the youth in the array, this entire setup was a Servant summoning ritual identical to the one he had used to summon Mordred.
"Who in the world... Haven't all the Servants been summoned already? Why is someone still trying to summon a Heroic Spirit?!"
Realizing this, Sisigou muttered to himself, his expression turning grim.
Right at that moment, an abrupt, light chuckle echoed from above them.
"My, my. I didn't expect that simply following her orders to complete a welcoming ceremony for an old friend would result in an audience. I wonder if you are lucky, or unlucky."
"Who is there!"
Hearing the voice, Mordred did not hesitate. She unleashed a slash in the direction of the sound.
Crimson lightning flared, and to avoid the strike, the figure hiding in the shadows was forced to jump out.
"Oh my, a Servant and a Master. This is truly surprising and an honor."
Glancing back at the massive gouge Mordred's sword aura had left in the church, the grayish-black figure clicked his tongue in wonder, stepping out of the darkness to reveal his true appearance.
It was a young boy with grayish-white hair styled in an ear-length bob. His eyes were hollow, his body somewhat ethereal, and he had heavy dark circles and sunken eye sockets. He was currently looking at Mordred and Sisigou with a smile.
"Who are you? Why are you here? Did you do all of this?"
Staring at this guy who looked like anything but a good person, Sisigou confirmed the boy wasn't on his list of known individuals while quietly pulling his shotgun from his coat.
"Yes. This is a welcome party I specifically prepared to greet my old friend. Do you think he will like it?"
Acting as if he didn't see Sisigou's movements, the boy chuckled, walked to the edge of the magic circle, and tilted his head to look at them.
"Tch, nothing but disgusting trash. If your friend likes these things, then you two truly are birds of a feather."
Seemingly losing her patience, Mordred locked her gaze on the bizarre boy and asked Sisigou.
"Hey, Master, are you ready? Can I go slice him up now?"
Sisigou adjusted his sunglasses, which served as a Mystic Code. After confirming the guy didn't possess any particularly powerful magical energy, he did not hesitate.
"Go ahead, Saber. Whatever the reason, this guy genuinely harmed the innocent villagers here. Since we've run into him, we can't let him go."
"Alright! Leave it to me!"
Getting the answer she wanted, Mordred's face lit up with excitement. Tossing out a foreign phrase she had just learned, she raised her sword and charged at the bizarre boy.
"You disgusting bastard, die!"
The boy merely smiled softly. He pulled a strange book with bizarre binding and an incredibly slick-looking cover from his coat, then snapped his fingers.
The next moment, the piled corpses of the villagers abruptly exploded. Several disgusting monsters resembling starfish but possessing six grotesque tentacles burst forth from the gore, lunging at Mordred.
Seeing this, Sisigou's expression changed drastically. Looking at those monsters and the strange book in the opponent's hand, he immediately realized something.
"Wait, Saber! Quick, grab that guy's book!"
"What?"
But Mordred's attention was entirely consumed by the monsters snapping at her; she hadn't heard what Sisigou said clearly.
At that moment, the boy spoke again.
He lightly tossed the book into the magic circle. With an eerie smile, he said to Sisigou and Mordred.
"It's useless. The ritual was completed from the very beginning. All it lacked was a gift I once gave my old friend. As for now..."
The array suddenly began to emit a purple-black light. The boy named Sieg, who was nailed within it, let out a miserable scream the moment the light appeared.
Witnessing this, both Sisigou and Mordred's expressions changed.
"It is already done."
Saying this, the male François Prelati, whose body was gradually fading away, offered a final smile.