"That Berserker's parameters surpass those of ordinary Servants—he's easily in the realm of top-tier heroes."
In the penthouse suite of a hotel in Shinto, Tenkei Shiomi sat at the edge of the bed, eyes fixed on the watery reflection conjured in the room.
The rippling magecraft mirror displayed a distant scene: the battle unfolding in the cemetery behind the Fuyuki Church.
Saber vs. Berserker.
He muttered absently to Morgan, who was lying on the bed beside him.
"How does he compare to me?" Morgan asked.
Shiomi paused, glancing over to find Morgan wrapped in a bathrobe. Her robe hung loosely off one shoulder, the chill elegance of her expression tinged with an alluring softness.
"You two are completely different types…" Shiomi thought aloud. "That man is probably one of those legendary heroes still remembered in modern times—someone whose name is widely known. That kind of recognition would explain stats this high."
In other words, he was benefiting from a fame bonus.
"You're not wrong." Morgan had no real intention of making Shiomi compare them seriously.
Though both Berserkers, the one summoned in this Holy Grail War was a textbook example—deprived of reason by Mad Enhancement, but with stats that pushed every threshold.
By contrast, Morgan—more Magus than warrior—had a Strength of C and Endurance of E. There was no comparison.
She rose from the bed, walked barefoot to the minibar, and pulled out two cans of beer. She handed one to Shiomi, who was still watching the battle in the mirror.
The cold can against his cheek startled him.
"Beer, huh?" He cracked it open and took a sip.
"You've barely been back and already you're glued to that water mirror instead of taking a break," Morgan said lazily, half-lidded eyes watching him as she swirled her own can. "Are you that worried about Sakura? She's a Magus trained by me, you know. No one else has ever had that privilege."
She was subtly telling him to relax. As someone not officially part of this Holy Grail War, his priority should be covert observation.
After all, just yesterday afternoon, Shiomi had told Morgan he was heading back to Fuyuki.
He'd left the Grand Order decision at the Clock Tower in Caren's hands and had Gray accompany her. Then, taking the fastest flight available, he'd returned to Japan with Morgan and arrived in Fuyuki by noon.
Instead of going home, he checked into a hotel in Shinto and began watching over the situation from the shadows.
By nightfall, a significant surge of mana had erupted from the church—clearly a Servant clash.
He'd been observing the battle ever since.
"...Knowing how strong someone is is one thing. Caring about them is another," Shiomi said, sipping his beer. "And... I didn't expect Sakura's Servant to be Mordred."
"As a Servant, she's not weak," Morgan replied flatly. "Besides, Mordred was created by the version of me from this world using Artoria as a template. Her base abilities aren't that far off from Artoria's."
"No, what I mean is... this changes things. We'll probably need to operate separately and stay out of sight for a while," Shiomi said. "If you ran into Mordred, conflict would be hard to avoid."
"Sharp as always, my husband," Morgan said with a smirk, clinking her can against his. "That's exactly what a certain someone did during the last Holy Grail War."
Shiomi chuckled. "Maybe so. But when Kiritsugu Emiya was working in the shadows, he only had Maiya Hisau. I've got you."
"Heh..." Morgan leaned against him, one hand slipping into his robe to stroke his collarbone. "I'm not trying to interrogate you, but I'd still like to know—what made you change your mind?"
Shiomi had originally planned to let Sakura handle the Holy Grail War on her own. But now, he'd come back to Fuyuki and was quietly keeping watch.
"I got hold of a rather important piece of intel. Haven't confirmed it yet, but that's exactly why I needed to come back and see for myself," Shiomi said. "I'll tell you when it's time."
"You were just saying how you wanted to let the kids be independent," Morgan noted, not at all bothered by his change in attitude.
"That doesn't mean I can sit and watch Sakura walk into battle and die," Shiomi said, eyes on the distant graveyard. "Besides... there's something strange about the Einzbern's Lesser Grail this time."
"Relax. That Berserker alone won't be enough to take down Sakura and Mordred," Morgan said as she turned his face toward her and kissed him firmly.
"Really now…"
Shiomi got the message, wrapped his arms around her, and let go of the battle in the mirror.
…
The battle at the church cemetery raged on.
Unlike the wide-open grassy field outside, the tighter terrain here severely limited Berserker's mobility. Saber used that to her advantage, landing several blows that left gashes across his body.
Though the wounds regenerated quickly and didn't seem to slow him down, Saber had already realized that her sword alone wasn't enough to pierce his defense. Taking inspiration from her Master's earlier support, she began channeling Mana into her blade, enhancing each strike through the amplification function of Clarent, the Brilliantly Shining Royal Sword.
Combined with the lingering effect of the Rune Sakura had placed on her, Mordred's strikes only grew fiercer.
With another Mana-infused swing, she deflected Berserker's attack, sending his massive body crashing behind several gravestones.
Just as she prepared to charge again, an explosion erupted from the forest nearby.
"What?!"
She turned instinctively—but in that moment, Berserker surged forward and brought his stone sword crashing down.
Saber blocked the blow but didn't immediately counter. Instead, she took the opportunity to glance toward the source of the explosion.
Dust billowed from the trees, and the sound of splintering trunks followed. Then, Sakura burst from the woods, carrying Rin. The two of them fired off volleys of magical projectiles at a swarm of a dozen or more silver familiars.
Behind the silver tide, Einzbern emerged slowly, ascending the slope.
While Saber had been locked in combat, Sakura and Rin had evidently clashed with Einzbern in a separate battle between Masters.
From the looks of it, Rin had likely walked into a trap, and Sakura had arrived just in time to pull her out of danger, retreating under the pressure of the familiars' assault.
Just then, Berserker shifted tactics. With sudden force, he shoved Saber back and broke from their engagement.
"What—?!"
Saber's instincts flared.
In an instant, Berserker leapt backward, flipped in midair, and launched himself toward Sakura and Rin.
Einzbern had seized the moment, altering her strategy to target the Masters directly—hoping to finish them off while they were still regaining their footing.
She narrowed her eyes, that frigid expression tinged with a flicker of confidence.
At this distance, even Archer's support was limited. He had just loosed a barrage of arrows to bring down the familiars chasing the sisters.
"You bastard—!"
Saber flared with Mana, slammed her foot against the ground, and shot forward toward Berserker.
But she was one step too late. Berserker's stone blade was already descending—on course to strike down both Masters before Saber could intercept.
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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