Karna's withdrawal was quite decisive.
Having already had combat experience, he knew very well that he was currently no match for this deity who had descended into the mortal world in her true body.
So, even before Amakusa Shirou Tokisada could issue the latest orders, after leading Artoria away from that small town and exchanging only a few rounds, Karna directly took to the skies and flew toward the upper atmosphere.
Watching from below, Artoria's brow furrowed quite heavily.
She had reason to suspect the Red Lancer was mocking her for being a deity who couldn't fly.
If it weren't to prevent Amakusa Shirou Tokisada from thinking, 'It seems there's no chance for this Holy Grail War, so I'll hide and wait for the next one in a few decades,' Artoria would have pulled out the Holy Spear long ago.
After all, the power of a spearhead falling from the sky was indeed terrifying, and its strike range was vast.
It was unlikely their 'Floating City' could withstand it.
Rolling her eyes in annoyance, Artoria turned back toward the town.
Her primary mission was to ensure the 'Jack the Ripper' transcendence ritual wasn't disrupted, not to chase a Servant from a certain faction across long distances.
Karna watched Artoria's clean and decisive turn back, feeling somewhat helpless for a moment.
He could only report the situation here to Father Amakusa.
"...I understand. Let's temporarily stop the exploration of Sighisoara," Amakusa Shirou Tokisada also felt somewhat helpless. "Go assist Rider in bringing Archer back first."
"Is it necessary for Archer to exit the stage?" Karna asked back.
"Not yet," Amakusa Shirou Tokisada replied. "If there's anything to say, it's better if everyone just talks it out."
Karna didn't believe Amakusa Shirou Tokisada's words; he felt this man likely had some other trick up his sleeve to handle Archer... was he going to have her master use a command spell?
Or something else?
But Karna didn't speak out of turn; his job was to follow instructions.
Just like always.
Karna turned toward the direction of the light, then, burning with surrounding flames, he flew toward the source of the flash.
Fortunately, both Rider and Archer were the types who didn't hide their tracks once their blood was up; otherwise, in this pitch-black place, they would be hard to find.
Atalanta noticed it immediately.
Someone was watching her.
It wasn't Rider; that guy's gaze wasn't so cold.
So... is it Lancer?
Atalanta turned toward the direction where the booming sounds of Artoria and Karna's battle had come from.
A conspicuous red fireball was flying in their direction.
Karna broke off the engagement?
Atalanta had the answer instantly.
Then, without a word, she made a sharp turn and sprinted at full speed toward Sighisoara.
If it were only Rider, she was confident she could stall him for a while.
But if Karna was going to intervene as well, she would not only lose for sure, but lose quite quickly.
Well, so, she planned to defect from the Red Faction.
The faction she intended to join was, naturally, the Ruler Faction.
After all, she didn't yet know what kind of character the Black Faction had.
But the Ruler's side definitely suited her heart.
After all, they had opened a temple to baptize the resentments and sins of children and give them a chance at reincarnation.
They cared for children!
Atalanta felt she might share a common language with them.
As for being forced by command spells...
She didn't believe the Ruler wouldn't have a way to transfer a Servant's ownership!
Tsk, if only she had met her master before.
Then she could have found an opportunity to shoot her master and then defect.
Atalanta was just such an unstable Servant who would lose her logic and reason because of children.
Of course, there was another important reason.
She wanted to see with her own eyes if Jack the Ripper's fate was as that deity had said.
To see if all children could have a beautiful future.
"Big Sis?" Seeing that Atalanta had suddenly changed course and stopped chasing him, Achilles felt deeply disappointed and regretful.
Especially since he also realized the reason she changed course was because of a fireball flying toward them in the sky.
"Damn Lancer! Always meddling!" Achilles saw that Atalanta was running toward Sighisoara, and guessing her intentions slightly, his expression darkened instantly.
"Whish, whish, whish—" Achilles directly summoned his warhorses, intending to drive after her.
Although his speed was slightly superior to Atalanta's, it was somewhat unrealistic to expect to intercept her before she entered Sighisoara given the distance between them.
So, he decided to use a cheat.
If Achilles was thinking 'motherf***er' in his heart, then Karna was completely bewildered.
He hadn't even arrived yet, so why did Archer suddenly change course?
And the direction she was running... was exactly toward a point where she would eventually cross paths with that deity's return route.
"Did I mess something up again?" Seeing the malicious expression Achilles threw his way, Karna suddenly hovered in mid-air.
---
Siegfried felt as though he had been having a run of bad luck these past few days.
Meeting his wife from his past life should be a good thing... no, it should be considered bad luck, because they weren't in the same faction.
He had a heart-to-heart with his wife... and found that the impact of his actions on her was truly devastating. He felt deeply guilty, but before he could apologize with full sincerity, he was interrupted again.
This time, he came with orders to support his allies from the same faction, only to encounter a vehicle from the Ruler Faction midway.
And that wife from his past life suddenly pushed open the car door just as he arrived.
Their gazes happened to meet.
"Lord Siegfried!" The other party was startled, and the name she blurted out was the one he was so familiar with.
It was just that her voice sounded a bit off, filled with... oh, a yandere style, which sent chills down his spine.
"Kriemhild..." Siegfried stopped in his tracks, looking at Kriemhild with a complex expression.
Then, a woman with a dark aura appeared behind her.
The moment he saw that woman, Siegfried gripped his sword tightly and looked at her with wary eyes.
Not human, not a Servant, not a Phantasmal Species...
She was a creature that had never appeared in Siegfried's knowledge.
Compared to him, she was still relatively weak.
But that dark presence... aside from himself, Lancer, and Archer, there was likely no other Servant in the Black Faction who could surpass her in terms of aura.
"A dark creature?" Siegfried frowned and glanced at Albedo, then looked at Kriemhild standing in front of her and asked, "Is she also part of the Ruler Faction?"
"You mean Albedo?" Kriemhild, who had regained a bit of her composure, glanced at Albedo beside her, then glared at Siegfried rather unfrankly. "That's right! Albedo is also part of the Ruler Faction, a companion I can trust with my back!"
Kriemhild's voice fluctuated, making Siegfried frown.
Albedo, on the other hand, looked at Kriemhild with some surprise, but didn't open her mouth to contradict her.
It was the first time she had heard Kriemhild call her a 'companion'.
But since her master's Servant had said so, then as a 'companion', she naturally had to give her some face.
"Saber, you are stopping in front of our vehicle with a weapon in hand. Are you planning to declare war on us?" Albedo glared at Siegfried and began to skillfully frame him. "So, are you representing the entire Black Faction? Or just yourself?"
"No, please don't misunderstand," Siegfried immediately let his sword dissipate, then explained somewhat frantically, "I only stopped because I felt someone or something familiar nearby as I approached this area."
Kriemhild knowingly applied that to herself.
A blush began to appear on her face.
But she quickly snapped back to her current position.
Her expression turned serious instantly.
"The Ruler is currently conducting activities ahead; passage is prohibited." Kriemhild manifested her demonic sword, then walked between Siegfried and Sighisoara, facing him with a cold expression. "If you insist on forcing your way through, then I can only grant you liberation here."
Although Albedo didn't know what Kriemhild was planning, since she had said so...
Then as a companion, she naturally had to back her up.
So Albedo expertly summoned her full set of black armor, then held her giant axe and walked to Kriemhild's side, showing her hostility toward Siegfried.
"Actually, my companions are also in Sighisoara right now, and they've encountered enemies. I just want to go and support them; I have no intention of disturbing the Ruler's work," Siegfried tried to explain.
But Kriemhild had no intention of listening.
She just stood stubbornly in place, staring fixedly at Siegfried.
She looked very much like she was saying, 'If you dare to abandon me again and head inside, I'll fight you to the death.'
Albedo's intuition told her the atmosphere was very strange.
But Siegfried looked quite sorrowful, so she began to wonder if something was wrong with her intuition.
Well, this is what happens when a tsundere and a dense guy collide.
This was the first time Albedo had seen it in person, and she wasn't very familiar with it.
So she also assumed a stance of going all out.
With her keen hearing, the sound of something sharp piercing the air entered Albedo's ears.
She reacted immediately, timely pushing Kriemhild to the side.
An arrow struck the spot where they had been standing and suddenly exploded.
Siegfried looked up sharply and found the Archer from his own Black Faction running toward him as if being chased by a dog.
And behind him, the Berserker from the same faction followed closely.
Right on their heels was a small figure completely wrapped in silver armor.
Well, they looked to be about the same height as Berserker.
So, was he here to support Archer and Berserker in fighting that sword-wielding warrior?
"Is the situation not looking good?" After firing the arrow, Chiron noticed Kriemhild, who had been obscured by the person in black armor. When he recognized that the Servant before him was one of the Ruler Faction's assistants, Berserker, Chiron's face darkened instantly.
"Yeah, it seems things are indeed not looking good," Siegfried also looked at Chiron with a slight twitch of his eye.
He could already feel Kriemhild's mana rising.
She was about to explode!
"Hmm? What? Why have you two stopped running?" Mordred walked toward Chiron and Frankenstein with a thuggish, arrogant stride, asking mockingly.
"Hmm? And who are you?" Kriemhild got up from the ground, giving Albedo a hand in the process, before turning her gaze toward Mordred.
"Saber of Red, Mordred." Mordred sized up Kriemhild and Albedo. Seeing that the hostility on their faces vanished the moment they heard her true name, she immediately understood their identities. "You must be my Father's companions, right?"
"Father... ah, you mean His Majesty King Arthur, the Ruler." Kriemhild was stunned for a moment, then a bit of kindness appeared on her face.
Albedo's face was hidden under her armor just like Mordred's, so no expression could be seen.
However, Mordred noticed that the hostility emanating from her vanished even more abruptly than Kriemhild's.
"Princess Mordred, it is a pleasure to meet you." Albedo bowed politely toward Mordred. "My master is the partner of your father, Her Majesty Artoria."
"Oh, that guy." Mordred nodded in realization. "I was wondering where that dark aura on him came from; turns out he was just tainted by yours."
Well, actually, is there a possibility...
That the dark aura might not have come from her alone?
Albedo thought to herself with a secret sigh.
"Perfect, now it's three-on-three." Mordred naturally walked over to stand beside Kriemhild and Albedo, then stared straight at Chiron. "You managed to escape through a gap before, but you aren't planning on running again now, are you?"
"Berserker, we shouldn't be enemies," Chiron attempted to persuade Kriemhild.
"But you just shot an arrow at me." Kriemhild glared at Chiron with a displeased expression. "And it even exploded."
"I didn't see you; that strange black-armored warrior over there was blocking my line of sight. I truly had no intention of attacking you," Chiron explained.
"So you were planning to shoot her?" Kriemhild pointed at Albedo and asked Chiron.
Chiron nodded.
"Then it's even simpler. She is Li Lin's Servant. Attacking her is equivalent to attacking the Ruler Faction. Therefore, your declaration of war remains unchanged."
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