"What an honor, what a privilege this is for us…"
With the authority granted by Selene, Darnic guided the World Chronicle as it hovered in the center of the castle's grand hall, his words brimming with exaggerated excitement.
His extravagant yet sincere reaction was somewhat of a contradiction; on one hand, it seemed like a performance, and on the other, he was genuinely impressed by Selene's power. After all, the stronger the Servant, the higher the likelihood of victory in the Grail War.
Standing on the platform in the middle of the grand hall, Darnic took a quick sideways glance at Celenike, who was being guarded by two golden-armored Imperial Guards.
"The visions… Celenike, you must have seen them too…"
Generally, after a Master summons their Servant, they often catch glimpses of significant events from that Servant's life, like a blurry reflection of the Servant's legend.
Due to Celenike's insufficient mana during Selene's summoning, Darnic had to urgently supplement her mana, forming a brief connection between their mana circuits. By chance, this let him glimpse into parts of Selene's past.
Recalling the dream from last night, Darnic felt a shiver run down his spine.
Beneath that merciful face of the Empress lay endless death, wars, massacres, and ruin…
In the blood-soaked terror of public executions, the Empire's rebels were slaughtered like animals—hung, impaled on thorns, beheaded by blades.
In dense jungles, mysterious tribes and ancient cities were wiped out in fires and explosions, turning to ash.
Under purple-red lights streaking through the sky, massive fortresses groaned in agony, while gigantic beams seared through all they touched—whether human bodies or stone walls, everything was mercilessly consumed.
…
In dark, lightning-streaked storms, under deafening thunder, monstrous beasts loomed over landscapes like Jörmungandr, the World Serpent, dominating the horizon with terrifying grandeur.
And this was only a fraction of it—an endless sea of corpses, demons, giant pale beasts, twisted creatures mutating from humanity's own genetic flaws…
In these fragmented glimpses, Darnic saw flourishing realms conquered under Selene's boundless ambition for expansion and dominion, a cold and ruthless pursuit of dominance.
Even though these visions were hazy and incomplete, they had given him a chilling insight into the terrifying nature of an Empress combined with divinity, intensifying his intent to leverage his status as Selene's Master.
As for Vlad III, whom he once considered his trump card, bah—a third-rate Servant, useless!
People grow tired of the old and look toward the new, and Darnic was no exception.
Through the Encyclopedia's 3D projection, the Masters and Servants watched the battle between Saber of Red, the rebellious knight Mordred, and the golems, homunculi, and Astartes warriors in clear detail. The visuals and sounds were vividly projected, offering everyone a more immediate sense of Mordred's intense battle prowess.
Besides Darnic and Selene's Master Celenike, all the Masters seemed shaken by Saber of Red's ferocious, unrestrained fighting style.
"That Saber must be Mordred, the rebellious knight from the Arthurian legends. Her Noble Phantasm is probably above rank B. She's powerful." Staring at the demolition-like destruction on the screen, Caules marveled.
Earlier that morning, he'd been impressed by his own Berserker, Frankenstein's, B-rank Noble Phantasm, yet Mordred's was even stronger.
"She's every bit the Saber, the most balanced and versatile class among Servants…" Vlad, who had forgone the throne and stood beside Darnic, remarked.
Selene's Astartes warriors were indeed resilient with their base stats, but when faced with a Saber-class Servant equipped with Noble Phantasms and unique skills, even they struggled to keep up.
"Yes, my lord," Darnic replied, diligently keeping his tone deferential toward Vlad.
"According to the World Chronicle granted by Her Majesty, Saber of Red's stats are Strength B+, Endurance A, Agility B, Mana B, Luck D, Noble Phantasm A… aside from her low Luck, every stat is C or higher, making her very well-rounded as a Saber."
"Indeed, she's formidable… though still within expectations. Her Majesty will handle her," Vlad observed the screen briefly, noting the way Selene's involvement had begun turning the tide. His attention now shifted toward other plans.
"Darnic, aside from that man who fled, have any other Red Masters revealed themselves?" Vlad inquired.
"Not as of yet, Your Majesty. Aside from this man, named Kairi Sisigou, the remaining six Red Masters are gathered at a church on the mountain near Sighișoara."
"Uncle, do you know who this Kairi Sisigou is? He doesn't seem like a conventional magus," Fiore, seated in her wheelchair, asked curiously.
Darnic nodded. "Yes, he isn't a typical magus. According to our family spies within the Clock Tower, Kairi Sisigou is a necromancer who takes on mercenary work, accepting contracts from anyone—be they from the Clock Tower or otherwise."
"Disgusting…" Goldolf sneered.
To him, magecraft was a noble pursuit, a field for study and research, not a means of making a living. The other Masters largely shared this disdainful view, with their faces showing signs of scorn or confusion. Necromancy had always been associated with decay, with the stench of death and rot.
"Don't underestimate him," Darnic warned. "He's formidable. Besides Fiore and myself, none of you are likely to match him."
Then, turning his gaze toward the screen, he continued, "And remember, the Red Masters are all elite magi from the Mage's Association. Let's stay vigilant and maximize our advantages."
While the Yggdmillennia Masters were perhaps weaker in terms of pure talent, they did have an edge in mana supply due to their artificial circuits. This allowed them to divert mana needs elsewhere, protecting their energy reserves from being overtaxed by their Servants.
"All of the Red Masters are gathered? Perfect, this means they only have three Servants protecting them. From what we know, the Red Berserker, Rider, and Archer are advancing toward us…"
"While Saber is holding out against Her Majesty…" Vlad glanced at Selene, who had just hurled Saber of Red across the battlefield, and his expression darkened. "This is our opportunity."
"Your Majesty, are you suggesting a raid?" Instantly grasping Vlad's plan, Darnic could already taste victory.
Honor and fair play meant nothing in war; there was no need for a head-to-head confrontation with the Red Servants if they could destroy their Masters instead.
"Yes. I'll turn their tactics against them. Red will have no idea we've already read their moves. Caster and the Masters will remain here to defend the castle. With the Astartes warriors patrolling the grounds, we should be secure until Her Majesty returns," Vlad declared.
"As for me, I'll lead Saber, Archer, and Berserker, along with a group of Astartes warriors, to annihilate the Red Masters."
Buzz!
"Damn it! Am I really going to die here?"
Through the crimson arcs of lightning, Mordred burst from the collapsed rubble, bloodied and enraged. She jumped up, but in the direction opposite Selene's position. Yes… Mordred had chosen a tactical retreat.
She wasn't stupid. With her opponent's superior strength and magical output, she'd gain nothing by continuing the fight, especially this early in the war.
She bolted without a second thought; sometimes, retreat was just the smart move.
Boom!
In the instant Mordred cleared the ruins, Selene's silver blur crashed down behind her, scattering rubble and debris like bullets.
Swish, swish, swish!
Like bullets, shards of debris shot outward, slamming into the stone walls and splintering into countless fragments, some of which pelted Mordred as she fled.
"Damn it! Who would've thought someone with such elegance and grace could be more violent than me!" Mordred muttered, pushing her body to the limit, her crimson lightning crackling fiercely.
Standing up from the crater, Selene watched Mordred's retreat. "Oh? No more fighting… what a pity. I hadn't gotten enough of our sparring, but fine, I'll send you off."
Holding out her hand, Selene channeled her mana, conjuring a lance of purple-red energy. If not for Darnic's bounded field keeping bystanders away and the Yggdmillennia clan's evacuation of the small town of only twenty thousand, Selene might've held back.
Thud!
Under the intense burst of mana, the ground beneath her cracked and caved. Selene gripped the energy lance, aimed in Mordred's direction, bent low, and hurled it with a powerful throw.
The lance shot forward like a meteor, blossoming into a massive sphere of energy upon reaching Mordred's last known position, glowing brighter by the second.
"It's over…" Selene turned her back, not out of fear of the upcoming blast, but simply because true queen never look back at explosions.
As the gigantic purple-red orb expanded, it suddenly contracted, forming a small dot.
BOOM!
With a blinding flash and an ear-splitting roar, the world seemed to crack open.
The blast wave leveled the surrounding buildings, tearing apart the ancient structures that had stood through centuries of history. Like paper in a gale, the debris whirled through the air, colliding, breaking, and dissolving into dust.
The blinding light faded, leaving only scars on the devastated ground. It was as if the blast had erased the entire area.
"If you survive that, then it's your own luck. Though… the power was significantly reduced; maybe a seventy or eighty-meter radius. With any luck, they'll dismiss it as a gas explosion…"
At the Mountaintop Church in Sighișoara
"Master, it appears Saber has encountered a formidable opponent…"
Semiramis.jpg
Exuding a sweet aroma, a black-garbed, alluring woman pressed her finger to the shoulder of a white-haired youth dressed in priest's robes.
"No, Assassin. I think it's safe to say we're all facing a formidable opponent now. Who would've thought a Grail War would summon such a powerful goddess to the battlefield…"
With a troubled expression, the young priest named Amakusa Shirou Tokisada lifted his head.
"A goddess… and a goddess with an army…"
Having complete faith in her Master's assessment, Semiramis raised her pierced palm, her elegant, alluring face seemingly unsuited for assassination.
"Semiramis, we need the Hanging Gardens up and running as soon as possible. I have a feeling this will be a grueling fight."
The rare use of her true name signaled Semiramis that her Master was serious.
"I understand. The Gardens should be ready within two days. By the way… has Saber been taken out?"
Her surveillance familiars, which she'd sent to monitor Saber's battle, had been swiftly destroyed by those golden-armored giants. While she couldn't see much of the fight, the sheer energy of the final blow indicated the Red Saber wasn't her opponent's equal.
"No, Saber escaped with the help of a Command Seal. For now, let's focus on our strategy…"