Chapter 43. Developments from the factions – A Caster-class Servant appears!
Amid the endless chatter of the world.
The Celestial Curtain screen remained as radiant as ever, and the storyline continued to unfold.
[Under the moonlight, the beautiful King of Britannia was conversing with a modern young lady – a magus.]
[As if fate had long since been decided, the ill-fated bond between the Yukinoshita family and Artoria continued, for the summoning circle of Saber in this 5th Holy Grail War was casually drawn ten years ago by Yukinoshita Haruno.]
[Because of this, the summoning process for Saber this time was negatively affected.]
[Clearly, Saber is the strongest class among the seven Servants, yet she appeared pitifully weak.]
[Although Yukinoshita Yukino possessed extremely strong magical aptitude, she failed to establish a connection with the Servant, resulting in even the ultimate trump card of the King of Knights — Sword of Promised Victory Rank A++ the Excalibur being unable to be unleashed.]
[But even so, Artoria did not utter a single word of complaint.]
[Since she had been summoned into the Holy Grail War, she would, of course, give her all to protect her Master and obtain the Holy Grail!]
[Outside the warehouse, Yukinoshita Yukino was still a bit dazed, but eventually spoke her name.]
["My name is Yukinoshita Yukino, just call me Yukino."]
["Yukinoshita, huh… Master, just call me Artoria."]
[The King of Knights with the ahoge spoke seriously, her clear eyes showing a hint of alarm upon hearing the name Yukinoshita.]
[Goddamnit, I've fallen into this family's hands again…]
[Have I become a family heirloom or what?]
[After a brief moment of shock, Artoria quickly regained her composure, took a deep breath to calm herself.]
[Looks like I'm going to have nightmares again tonight.]
[Hopefully, in the final moment of the Holy Grail War, Yukino won't follow in Haruno's footsteps.]
[Say something like "With Command Seal, I order you, Saber, destroy the Holy Grail"...]
[But quickly, sensing two strange presences rushing over at high speed, the King of Knights' gaze sharpened.]
[Was it because the commotion was too loud, attracting the attention of Servants secretly watching?]
[Immediately, the King of Knights turned to face her Master, expression serious: "Yukino, stay here and don't leave. I'm going to deal with the enemy."]
["Huh?!"]
[Seeing the blonde girl vanish in a flash, Yukino was a bit flustered.]
[But a strong sense of stubborn justice wouldn't let her stand by idly—she quickly gave chase.]
"That's a hell lot of information."
Inside the Celestial Curtain, Yukinoshita Haruno tilted her head in surprise.
Her version in a parallel world had not only participated in the previous Holy Grail War.
Apparently, she even became the sole winner.
But according to Saber, she destroyed the Holy Grail even after it had already fallen into her hands?
That's the all-powerful Holy Grail that can grant any wish!
Could there be some hidden mystery behind the Holy Grail War?
However, just thinking about how her parallel self had once partnered with King Arthur—
Haruno couldn't help but smile softly, the corners of her lips lifting.
What an honor...
...
"The King Arthur of this Holy Grail War isn't even in her prime form, what a shame."
The little girl in the white dress with a blue butterfly bow, Honma Meiko sighed.
She had really been looking forward to Artoria's brilliant performance, using the Holy Sword to pierce through the Holy Grail War!
"Totally agree!"
Next to her, the world's top diva Luo Tianyi nodded, her expression a bit regretful.
"Agree +1."
Her close friend, Hatsune Miku with twin green ponytails, also sighed.
...
The Celestial Curtain screen shifted again, the perspective changed, sparks flying everywhere.
[In the dark alley, a sudden battle erupted!]
["Boom boom boom…!!"]
[The Young Master in white gave a helpless smile, throwing out countless gem magecraft from his hands, while simultaneously enhancing his body with Reinforcement magecraft, frantically dodging toward the only remaining escape route.]
[However, the awe-inspiring Holy King had no intention of showing mercy.]
[Her eyes were sharp and cold, and with a sword wrapped in Wind Barrier, she unleashed thousands of strikes in the blink of an eye — but all were narrowly dodged by the opponent.]
["I surrender, I surrender~."]
[Raku Sou raised both hands gracefully, a somewhat indifferent smile on his lips.]
[However, everyone knew the Knight King never showed mercy.]
[Artoria tightened her grip on her sword hilt, contemplating whether or not to withdraw her attack.]
[She said seriously: "There is a Command Seal on your wrist. You must be a participant in the Holy Grail War. If you withdraw voluntarily, I can of course spare you."]
["Clang——!!"]
[Suddenly, two streaks of sword light shot over, causing the Knight King's pupils to contract as she instantly raised her sword to block the blow.]
[In that instant, a white-haired female Servant stood in front of Raku Sou.]
[The Archer in black observed the battle. When she saw the small figure behind the Ahoge King, she let out a cold sneer and mocked: "Yukinoshita Yukino, is this how you treat the person who saved your life?"]
[Upon hearing that, Artoria immediately grew suspicious.]
[She turned her head and looked at Yukino, waiting for instructions.]
["Life savior… could it be…?!"]
[Yukinoshita Yukino was startled, hurriedly pulling out the ruby pendant from her white neck — this was the item that allowed her to survive Medusa's attack.]
[The girl bit her lip, carefully observing Raku Sou, and quickly recognized the familiar white sleeve.]
["Raku-senpai, I'm sorry…"]
[Yukino bowed her head in shame.]
[She hadn't stopped Artoria just now, and nearly caused a huge mistake.]
[But Raku Sou didn't seem to mind, smiling gently: "It's fine. This isn't the right place to talk. My church is very spacious. You can come and take a look, and also learn more about the Holy Grail War."]
["Really?!"]
[The girl was stunned.]
["Yukino!"]
[The Knight King frowned. If this person had ulterior motives toward her Master, there was a real possibility he would lure Yukino into a magic formation zone.]
[Based on her experience from the previous Holy Grail War, such things were entirely possible.]
[At that point, no matter how brave she was, she might not be able to guarantee Yukino's life.]
["I trust Raku-senpai. If he saved me, he definitely wouldn't kill me."]
[The girl looked up at her Servant and spoke firmly and sincerely.]
["Fine then, I'll do my best to protect you."]
[The Knight King sighed.]
[This Master is hard to teach…]
[If it were that shameless Haruno instead, she'd probably already be bombing the building by now.]
"Eh?"
Outside the Celestial Curtain, upon hearing Artoria's inner thoughts, Haruno scratched her head in confusion.
What the hell had she done in the previous Holy Grail War that made the real King Arthur still hold such a grudge?
…
["Let's go, I'll take you to meet my senpai."]
[Raku Sou's eyes showed a trace of nostalgia as he spoke calmly.]
[That person was the overseer of this Holy Grail War, an arm full of Command Seal. Letting her explain the rules of the Holy Grail War to Yukino was the most appropriate.]
[Yukino nodded, and Artoria stood closely by her side with caution.]
[Under Archer's displeased gaze, the figures of the group gradually faded into the distance.]
[The air still echoed with her furious complaints: "Drown in your ideals and die, you idiot."]
[It seemed the white-haired female Servant didn't like Yukinoshita Yukino very much.]
[Approximately a few minutes later.]
[This desolate land welcomed two more uninvited guests.]
[The one in front wore a tight blue outfit, muscles taut, followed by a detective with a small mustache, face serious, already in a state of full alert.]
[They were none other than the hero from Celtic mythology — Cú Chulainn and his Master.]
["We're late, huh…"]
[Mouri Kogoro lit a cigarette and sighed.]
[Cú Chulainn crouched down, using rune magecraft to enhance his five senses, then sniffed the air lightly.]
[He quickly found traces.]
[He stood up, a bit regretful: "Several Servants fought here. If we'd gotten here earlier, I could've had a good fight."]
[Mouri Kogoro said helplessly: "You really are a battle maniac."]
[Cú Chulainn laughed heartily: "Haha, well, that's the only thing that brings me joy…"]
["Who's there?!!"]
[Before the words even finished, his gaze suddenly turned sharp, and he looked up at the sky.]
[Even though there was clearly nothing there, Cú Chulainn suddenly sensed a gaze spying on them, and furiously hurled his cursed spear.]
[Blood-red light tore through the sky.]
["Crack——."]
[It was as if something had just shattered.]
[That repulsive feeling of being watched also vanished along with it.]
["Cheap trick."]
[Cú Chulainn sneered coldly.]
[Facing the unexpected turn of events, the mustached detective asked in surprise: "Lancer, did you sense something?"]
["That kind of technique… most likely a Servant from the Caster class."]
[Cú Chulainn nodded, offering his analysis.]
["…The Holy Grail War has truly begun. Danger is everywhere."]
[Kogoro sighed with emotion: "Let's go. This place has become a vortex."]
["I thought you'd tell me to follow the trail some more."]
[Cú Chulainn smiled.]
[For the safety of his Master, he had no choice but to suppress his thirst for battle.]
[The silhouettes of the two gradually faded under the moonlight.]
...
"Doggo-bro is so cool!"
A wave of admiration followed, and some began to grow curious about the identity of the Caster.
…
[Ryuudou Temple, underground magic formation site.]
[Countless torches were stuck between the statues on either side, casting a gentle glow.]
[Staring at the shattered crystal ball in her hand, the witch in the purple cloak gritted her teeth in anger.]
["Tch, that damned blue dog, how dare he bark like a mad mutt…"]
["Hm hmm…"]
[The sound behind her quickly caught the witch's attention. She turned around in a panic.]
[A girl with long ash-brown hair frowned slightly, gesturing with sign language.]
["…No foul language allowed? Understood, Shouko-sama."]
[The witch's expression turned respectful, her gaze tinged with fondness, and she gave a slight nod.]
[Looking at that pitiful figure, her expression grew distant as she recalled the first time they met…]
Under the curious gazes of countless people—
The camera slowly shifted, and the screen on the Celestial Curtain lit up once again.
The scene transitioned to a magnificent, gold-plated mansion, filled with a lavish atmosphere.