This small church alone cannot stop King Arthur. Unlike a berserker like Iori, Rider, just like the three knight classes, possesses the skill 'Magic Resistance'.
She is a natural mage killer. Even a great witch from the Age of Gods cannot shake the Black Knight King at her peak.
After all, without the "Hanging Gardens," the Empress is just a second-rate Servant who is good at poisoning. Her direct combat ability is honestly quite disappointing.
It was precisely because of the huge gap in strength that Iori's thoughts could not help but change, if the Black faction Servant could only hold a stalemate with Empress Semiramis, then he would naturally take advantage of the chaos.
But now it was clearly a crushing match. Iori might even have to step in and help the priest instead.
These two options do not conflict. Whether taking advantage of the chaos or stepping in to help, everything was a decision Iori made for the sake of "balance."
He was not an arrogant person. Although he was not weak, it was still too early to think about dominating the Holy Grail War alone. Fighting an entire faction's Servants by himself was pure fantasy.
Only by letting Kotomine Shirou, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, and the two major factions of Yggdmillennia clash with each other and gradually weaken each other could the combination of Iori and Sella have any hope of winning.
Iori came here with two purposes,
First, to create a singularity. Second, to obtain soul materialization, and by the way, raise his own status a bit.
As a Servant, he also did not want to let Sella down. Saying he would help her was not a lie, so there was also the goal of letting Sella win the Holy Grail War.
Creating a singularity was easy. No matter whether the Red or Black side won, history would deviate from its original course. Especially on Amakusa's side… with some effort, it might even turn into a Lostbelt.
But to satisfy Gudako, Iori, and Sella at the same time, he absolutely could not just go along with Amakusa's plan. He had to seize the Greater Grail for himself.
And to do that, neither the Red nor the Black side could be overwhelmingly dominant.
…Wait, what is this Black Lancer Alter supposed to be?
The Servant lineup of Yggdmillennia changed? Is the butterfly effect this obvious?
"No, at this rate the church won't hold!"
Just as Iori was about to attack Black Alter, a dazzling red light suddenly lit up in the sky.
Like the scorching sun, golden-red magical power surged and gathered into a heroic and handsome figure.
Holding a golden spear, the entire figure turned into a blazing fireball and crashed toward Black Alter on the other side of the sky.
And the Black Knight King did not show any weakness. Even in the face of an attack as powerful as a meteor, she urged her horse forward and thrust her lance head-on. Two weapons beyond human control collided...
BOOM!
Black like mist, blazing like fire. The two forces of magic were evenly matched. The shockwave exploded across the forest sky, bending the tall trees one after another.
This was not even a Noble Phantasm. Both sides had only released their magical power, yet if this had happened on the ground, the force would easily punch through a building.
"A Command Spell? Looks like… Karna?" Iori was also impressed by their power, but unlike Sella, who was completely stunned, he could still think calmly.
It seemed that he was right not to rashly ambush the priest earlier. Amakusa Shirou had already gathered at least one more Servant. Even if Iori could defeat Semiramis, he would not get past the demi-god Sun's Child.
But now, with Black Lancer Alter holding Karna back, Iori could continue his plan.
"Lancer holding Rider won't be a problem. If Black Rider refuses to retreat, we might even try to keep her here… Semiramis?"
Amakusa Shirou shifted his attention from the sky back to the Assassin and asked with concern when he saw her staring blankly, "What's wrong?"
"Someone has broken into my Garden!"
For the first time, the Empress's calm expression disappeared. "Damn it! It's the one from the forest earlier… There's no important target there. What is he trying to do?"
"Perhaps..."
"Whatever he's trying to do, daring to covet my Garden is unforgivable!"
"Calm down, Semiramis."
Amakusa Shirou deliberately emphasized the Assassin's name, which made her settle down slightly.
"Think carefully, my Empress. Two uninvited guests appearing at the same time cannot be a coincidence. Acting rashly will only make us fall into the enemy's trap."
"Hm… You mean this is a trap?" The Empress lowered her eyes, then came to her senses. "It's to test us!"
"That's right. Although you are an Assassin, your combat style is closer to that of a Caster. Only at a specific location can you display first-rate combat power. Otherwise…"
"Are we supposed to stay here and wait for them to leave?"
Semiramis was furious. "Let them cause trouble in my Garden?"
"Those things are important, but we must give something up."
The priest's mood was not good either. If Semiramis was angry out of a woman's possessiveness over outsiders intruding, then Amakusa Shirou had a very practical reason.
Over the past sixty years, enduring hardship and wandering, he had dug up and purchased numerous ancient architectural components and precious artifacts. All of them were stored in the church graveyard protected by barriers.
If the intruders had any crooked thoughts, wouldn't half a century of effort turn to dust?
Thinking about this, the priest even felt that Command Spells were not that precious, "You and I cannot leave the church. Then use a Command Spell to call Archer back!"
"This is an original stone tablet, recording important sacrificial events of the temple."
"Take it!"
"Gold cups and silver plates! Precious ritual vessels. This style… at least two thousand years old."
"Take them!"
"Ancient Babylonian-style stone pillars, uh… we can't take this, right?"
"Smash it!"
———
Western churches often have cemeteries underground or nearby. Some devout nobles and even royalty would place their coffins in churches.
This custom even influenced myths. For example, the great Irish hero Fionn. One version of the story says his body was buried beneath a church, waiting for the day he awakens.
(A/N: This legend is similar to King Arthur. Fionn was indeed one of Arthur's prototypes. For example, both of them were tragically cheated on by a handsome and noble knight…)
Priest Kotomine was low-key and chose an ordinary church, but the graveyard alone was extremely spacious, enough to hold his "collection."
At this moment, the once peaceful graveyard had been filled with all kinds of large and small, strange and odd objects.
Among these clutter were extremely expensive gold and silver vessels, bronze and pottery with ancient charm, and rough bricks and stones.
Especially the heavily weathered building materials that looked like a layer of sand would fall off with just a light touch…
At first glance, there was no unified feature. To ordinary people, it looked like a garbage dump.
But to a magus, it was completely different. Because regardless of value, every single item here was authentic.
Not movie props or modern cheap imitations. Every brick and tile had over two thousand years of history. They were relics of ancient Mesopotamian civilization.
Of course, old does not automatically mean antique. Having thousands of years of history does not necessarily make something precious.
At least from a magus's perspective, the number of items here that truly carried "Mystery" and could be used for research or as casting mediums… was very small.
Most of them were just cultural relics in a worldly sense, valuable to archaeologists or governments.
…What was truly shocking was that there were simply too many of these "useless things" piled up.
If everything here were converted into money, it could probably buy a small country.
Even the Twelve Lords of the Clock Tower would be shocked.
This scene was something ordinary people would rarely see. It required outrageous wealth or perseverance across generations to collect to this scale.
Such wealthy families did exist, but their wealth existed as workshops, Holy Relics, Magic Crests, spiritual lands… in forms that were priceless on the Mystery side.
Absolutely no one would convert that level of wealth into piles of "historical" bricks and stones.
Nor could any mage family maintain such a hobby for several generations. People that foolish would not be able to continue their lineage.
And that was indeed the case. The one who gathered so many Babylonian relics was not a true magus, but merely a priest who could perform "miracles."
Kotomine Shirou.
His true identity was the special class 'Ruler' summoned in the Third Holy Grail War. His real name was "Amakusa Shirou Tokisada."
For special reasons, he obtained a living body and spent the next sixty years building up strength for the Fourth Holy Grail War.
To gather these artifacts, he spent half a century of time and effort, changing from a handsome young man with black hair and pale skin into a white-haired, dark-skinned eccentric…
But as everyone knows, construction work is hard and tragic. For example, right now, Amakusa Shirou's decades of savings were being looted and destroyed by someone with absolutely no sense of morality.
"Take everything we can carry!"
Iori and Sella were as happy as if they were shopping in a department store for free. Sella, who had good taste, selected the items.
Iori wrapped up small but valuable objects, and for large items that could not be taken, he casually punched or slashed them.
In less than three minutes, the graveyard was already in a mess. Many innocent graves were also caught in the destruction… For that, Iori could only say sorry.
"Alright, that's about enough." Iori weighed the large bundle in his hands. Over a hundred kilograms felt light to him, but he knew when to stop.
It was not because he felt guilty toward Amakusa, but because he simply could not carry more… He was wearing a black suit, and had materialized his Shihakusho to use as a sack. Although it was durable and wide, it was not a storage bag with inner space.
'Not having a spatial item is too troublesome. I wonder if 'Shambhala' can be modified…'
"Berserker, my box can carry some too!"
Sella's small face was flushed red. She ran back and forth among the relics. The heavy physical exertion made her exhausted, but she was extremely excited… Probably no woman could resist the thrill of a shopping spree, even an artificial human.
"No, we need to retreat. That priest isn't dead. Even though Rider is drawing fire for us, who knows what backup he still has."
"Mm… alright!"
Since Iori said so, Sella did not object, though she still quickly grabbed a few rune bone pieces that looked like divination tools.
Having successfully raided the base, the two retreated into the forest. Iori suggested carrying Sella while escaping.
The silver-haired girl initially refused, but soon realized she would only slow him down, so she decisively jumped into his arms.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The scenery on both sides retreated rapidly. Tall trees merged into continuous shadows. The strong wind pressure made it hard for Sella to open her eyes, but she vaguely realized this was not even Iori's limit.
To take care of his physically weak Master, the Berserker was already restraining himself while running.
They should be far enough from the church now, Sella thought.
Suddenly, the artificial girl felt her heart tighten. A sharp pressure radiated from Iori, making her hold her breath.
Then Iori suddenly accelerated.
Swish!
A glowing green arrow drew a smooth and elegant arc through the gaps in the forest. It barely grazed past Iori's back and struck a large tree.
Its force was long and powerful. The arrowhead sank deep, leaving only the tail trembling outside.
In the blink of an eye, the arrow turned into spiritual light and disappeared. It was made of magical energy.
"Enemy Archer?" Sella reacted immediately, her pale slender fingers gripping her Servant's clothes tightly.
"No, more likely 'allies'… They really won't let us go that easily!"
Iori's tone was relaxed. He sharply changed direction without slowing down and suddenly leapt onto the treetops, moving swiftly through the dense canopy.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Branches and leaves brushed past them. Sella could not see what was happening, only hear the short and dangerous sounds of arrows cutting through the air. From the timing of Iori's turns and dodges… the arrows were even faster than sound.
Sella did not know how Iori could handle arrows faster than sound, but he clearly was not relying on hearing. Every time, he acted just in advance and avoided the impact point.
However, the Archer hiding in the shadows was clearly no ordinary opponent.
Even though the target used dense treetops for cover and kept moving rapidly, theoretically disappearing from sight in an instant and making pursuit with projectiles impossible, the arrows still shot over precisely and persistently, like maggots on a bone, preventing Iori and Sella from escaping.
'Was it 'Clairvoyance'?'
As a descendant of the Einzbern family, Sella was very familiar with the traits of different classes.
As the class best at long-range sniping, Archer usually possessed the skill 'Clairvoyance'. Combined with 'Independent Action', allowing distance from the Master, they could become the strongest scout and hunter.
Strictly speaking, an Archer who abandoned pride could pose a threat to the enemy Master no less than an Assassin.
To put it plainly, in sub-species Holy Grail Wars, Assassin becoming MVP was just because the poorly made system could not summon strong knight classes, and the Masters were generally low-level.
But relying solely on 'Clairvoyance' still could not achieve such precise continuous sniping through a forest.
The enemy Archer's archery was almost divine. In addition, there was probably strong tracking ability to constantly pinpoint Iori's position in the forest.
Hiding in the shadows and suppressing the enemy with long-range shooting… the opponent's tactic was simple and efficient. Iori, carrying someone while escaping, had no chance to fight back.
Realizing that she had become a burden, Sella frowned and quietly clenched her fist. The red Command Spell on the back of her right hand showed its silent presence.
"No!"
Iori's voice sounded in her mind. She looked up and saw that the boy was calm, with no sense of urgency as if being hunted.
Even though each arrow was powerful enough to pierce tree trunks and rock from hundreds of meters away, there was no fear on his face.
"Using a Command Spell now would be too wasteful. We are far from desperate!"
Clang!
Before the words finished, Sella felt a brief sense of weightlessness, as if passing through a layer of water film.
She was momentarily dazed. When she steadied herself, she found that Iori had already stopped. The arrows no longer pursued them.
The surroundings had changed greatly, and the trees were noticeably denser than before.
"This is… teleportation? Spatial displacement?"
As someone with a strong family background, Sella quickly realized they had used an unconventional method of movement.