Once the two had finished with Berserker, and Ludwig had him pinned to the ground, unable to move, Kariya Matou dragged his crippled left leg and limped across the jagged, uneven terrain left by the battle to stand before them.
He did not order Berserker back into spiritual form. Partly because he could tell Ludwig had other intentions, and partly because he didn't want such an act to further degrade their non-existent trust into the negatives. He still had things he had to finish; even if he were to die, it would have to be after those tasks were complete.
"Berserker's Master..." Artoria frowned.
"This should prove I have no hostile intent. It was simply a case of Berserker going berserk," Kariya defended himself wearily.
Ludwig looked down at the Mad Warrior shrouded in black haze. Even at this proximity, he couldn't discern the Servant's physical features; he could only sense that the man was indeed clad in full armor.
He shook his head. "That isn't the issue anymore."
"Master?" Artoria asked, momentarily confused.
"Regarding the alliance with Kariya Matou, I think there's room for discussion," Ludwig said, looking at Artoria. "Just now, he very cooperatively gave up Berserker's True Name. Now, it should be fine for you to state yours as well, right?"
A flicker of confusion crossed Kariya's eyes.
On the night of the battle at the harbor, before Berserker had revealed himself, Kariya had merely had his Servant watch the battle from a distance while he observed the scene through shared vision—right up until Archer fell from the sky. Spiritualized Servants could move much faster than physical ones, including entering a battlefield. Because of that, although he had confirmed the battle between Saber and Lancer and even Rider's intrusion, Kariya hadn't focused on them, nor had he heard the True Names revealed.
Regarding the Holy Grail War, Kariya's mind was entirely fixed on Tokiomi and Tokiomi's Servant, Archer.
"It has already been exposed anyway, so it matters little." She looked toward Kariya. "My name is Artoria Pendragon, the Knight King who once ruled Britain. I have descended in this Holy Grail War under the Saber class."
After she finished her introduction, Kariya stood stunned. He looked down at Berserker, who was growing restless at the mention of Saber's name, struggling to rise but remaining pinned.
"So that's how it is..." Kariya remarked with a bitter sigh.
He didn't know if he had drawn the shortest straw possible, never expecting that Lancelot's own sovereign would also manifest as a Servant.
"What exactly is going on?" Artoria sensed something was wrong. She looked at Ludwig. "Master, please explain."
"..." Ludwig looked at Artoria for a moment, silent and conflicted. "Berserker's True Name... is Lancelot."
"What?" Artoria thought she had misheard.
Beside them, Kariya cooperated, giving his Servant an order: "Release For Someone's Glory, Berserker."
The pinned Lancelot, lacking the capacity for complex thought and bound by Kariya's will, naturally obeyed. Once the black fog shrouding his body vanished, Ludwig finally understood that it had been Lancelot's Noble Phantasm.
"If I expend a Command Spell, I can even make him take the form of others," Kariya explained. "In life, he had many exploits where he traveled in disguise to build his renown. Those deeds were sublimated into this Noble Phantasm."
"I've read the books; you don't need to explain," Ludwig muttered, pursing his lips.
In contrast to the exhausted Kariya and the reluctant but relaxed boy, Artoria looked as though she could barely keep her footing. Even though he was clad in armor and his face was hidden by a helm, she had no reason to doubt the truth.
The True Name, combined with this Noble Phantasm and that inexplicable hostility and obsession—it could be no one other than Lancelot. There was no need to force Berserker to remove his helmet or reveal his signature holy sword, Aroundight, to verify his identity.
Her knees lost their strength. A sudden, unheralded despair forced her to her knees on the shattered ground as she stared at her fallen friend—the Knight of the Round Table she had once been most proud of.
"...You... so much..." She could barely find her voice. "Do you hate me that much? My friend... to have turned into such a terrible form, to fall so far just to hate me? Knight of the Lake..."
The Knight of the Lake struggled, letting out sounds that weren't words—anger, frustration, resentment, or something else entirely, so complex they were impossible to distinguish.
"Hey..." Ludwig called out to Kariya.
Kariya immediately ordered Berserker to spiritualize, making him vanish from Saber's sight.
Artoria, who had been reaching out a hand as if to touch and comfort her old friend, snapped out of her shock. She remembered that she was a Servant and the purpose for which she was participating in this Holy Grail War.
"That's enough for tonight. Kariya Matou, come with me back to the base first," Ludwig said. "It's the perfect time for me to hear about the task you wanted to entrust to me—the one you were willing to give up your Servant and Command Spells for."
"We aren't dealing with Archer first?" Kariya asked, unsettled.
Ludwig walked over to Artoria and helped her up. "If we take out Archer, but you die from the overload of Berserker's combat before I finish the job, who do I go to? And who do you go to?"
"In other words, you're looking for a down payment?" Kariya was more than willing; he needed rest as well.
"After all, I'm still counting on Berserker to cause Archer some more trouble," Ludwig said. "That gold-plated guy keeps his head a bit too high."
"Heh..." Kariya couldn't help but chuckle at Tokiomi's misfortune, getting sabotaged by his own Servant.
Artoria, however, suddenly gripped the hand Ludwig was using to support her and stood firm on her own. "Neither Master nor I have expended ourselves. We can continue the fight. If the task at hand does not involve other Servants, we can go right now."
"Saber?"
Ludwig saw Artoria's cold expression. She was undoubtedly forcing herself to remain calm, turning herself back into a war machine for the sake of the Holy Grail. Only by obtaining the Grail and saving Britain could she dispel Lancelot's resentment and her own regret.
This was a decision Artoria had made long ago; it took her only a moment to reaffirm her resolve. She had to hold onto the hand of Ludwig, the strongest Master, and join forces with him to expel all other Masters and Servants and take the Holy Grail into her hands.
"It seems your Servant is more eager than you are," Kariya said with a helpless smile.
Ludwig squeezed Saber's hand and sighed. "Fine. Anyway, even if we do nothing, the other factions will be making moves. It's better for us to stay active. And Kariya—watch your Servant. Use a Command Spell if you have to."
"I'll lead the way."
Kariya had no objections. He nodded, pulled his fallen hoodie back over his head, and began walking toward Miyama-cho with a low voice.
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Type-Moon: The A-Ray Knight's Holy Grail Journey
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