Meanwhile, Mordred regrouped with Kairi Sisigou, informing him of the unexpected interference that had forced a temporary halt to their original plan.
Afterward, she led him out of the thick fog.
"Hey, are you okay, Master? Want me to give you a good slap on the back?" Mordred asked, grinning.
"Cough! Cough, cough, cough! Don't bother, Saber! If you slap me, I might end up worse off!" Kairi retorted between wheezes.
Given Mordred's lack of restraint, that wasn't an exaggeration.
"Geez, I was actually worried about you, and you go and badmouth me? But hey, if you've got the energy to complain, you're fine," Mordred said, folding her arms with mock disdain. "Oh, and didn't you rig up some fancy anti-poison mask? Fat lot of good that did."
Having been briefed by Artoria about Jack the Ripper's abilities, Kairi had prepared an anti-toxin mask. He'd even enhanced it with magical protections against Jack's fog. The results, however, were… underwhelming.
"I underestimated things," Kairi admitted with a wry smile. "A Servant's Noble Phantasm… breaking through that isn't as simple as I thought."
"Ha! That's what you get for acting all cocky. Didn't turn out so great, did it?"
After a while, Kairi's breathing stabilized, though his face was still pale.
"That fog's something else… feels like I just inhaled two lungfuls of acid. Not that I've ever drunk acid, but that's probably close."
Jack's fog was corrosive, though it only affected organic matter like human bodies. Clothes and other items remained untouched. The fog could be blocked with magic, but its magical origin made it a formidable hazard.
"So, what happened exactly?" Kairi asked.
"There's a Servant fight nearby," Mordred explained. "Father and that country bumpkin already went to check it out, and I'm here to make sure you don't get turned into mincemeat by Assassin."
"A Servant fight?" Kairi frowned. "Is it between Red and Black faction Servants?"
"Who knows? Doesn't matter to me. Anyone who picks a fight is getting their head lopped off. I always keep my word," Mordred replied confidently, clearly itching for a fight.
Suddenly, her eyes widened.
"Saber, we—"
Before Kairi could finish his question, an overwhelming force struck him.
Mordred grabbed his collar and hurled him away with lightning speed.
As he flew through the air, Kairi caught a glimpse of Mordred unsheathing her sword and slashing at a streak of light hurtling toward them.
BOOM!
The street erupted in an explosion, fire and debris soaring three stories high. The destruction was visible even from Artoria's position.
---
"That's where Mordred is," Jeanne said, alarmed. "There's another Servant?"
The streak of light that had pierced the darkness wasn't consistent with the attacks of either Jack the Ripper or Mordred. It was most likely from an Archer-class Servant.
"It's unlikely to be Atalanta," Artoria mused. "We've just fought her, and Amakusa Shirou Tokisada wouldn't dare antagonize us right now. There's no reason for him to engage."
Her tone grew more serious. "Which means… it's Black Archer?"
Though only speculation, it was the most plausible explanation under the circumstances.
"But why…" Artoria muttered, her mind racing. "Why are so many Black faction Servants concentrated here?"
Currently, Black faction Servants included Rider (Astolfo), Saber (Siegfried), Archer (Chiron), and Assassin (Jack the Ripper).
"That's more than half their forces. Is just one homunculus enough to warrant such a deployment?"
Artoria's gaze shifted to the clocktower—the source of the arrow that had targeted Mordred. The tower was the tallest structure in the town, an ideal vantage point for an Archer.
Her thoughts returned to the battlefield between Siegfried and Astolfo. Something is off.
"Jeanne, go to the clocktower and find Black Archer and their Master. Inform them of our intention to join forces against Jack the Ripper and request their cooperation."
Artoria's instincts told her that the situation was veering into unpredictable territory.
Jeanne nodded, immediately heading for the clocktower.
The battle between Siegfried and Astolfo was nearing its conclusion, with Siegfried emerging as the overwhelming victor.
Artoria decided this was the moment to intervene.
There are questions that only they can answer, she thought.
"Amakusa Shirou Tokisada… is this your doing?" Artoria murmured.
---
On the battlefield, Astolfo lay motionless on the ground, thoroughly defeated.
His dazzling lance was embedded in the earth some distance away, having been knocked from his grasp during the fight.
"Ugh. A third-rate Servant like you wasted so much of my time," Gordes grumbled, his arrogance on full display as he commanded Siegfried. "Go, Saber. Pick up that third-rate Servant and the homunculus Caster was so obsessed with. Archer seems to have engaged Red Saber—we need to provide support."
Siegfried, ever the silent and obedient warrior, carried out his orders without complaint. He grabbed both the incapacitated Astolfo and the homunculus Sieg with ease, lifting them like dolls.
When Siegfried returned to Gordes' side, the Master scrutinized Sieg with disdain.
"...I don't see anything special about him. What could possibly interest Caster so much? He's just an ordinary homunculus."
"Ugh…" Astolfo groaned weakly.
"Tch! A third-rate Servant, an incompetent Master, and even Caster is failing to keep things under control. I can't fathom what Danic sees in that woman to make her one of the seven Masters."
Gordes' complaints fell on deaf ears as Siegfried continued his stoic silence, his expression unchanging.
Suddenly, Siegfried tensed, his body going rigid and his gaze sharp as a blade.
"Master… someone's coming."
Gordes paled at the announcement.
"Who is it?! A Red faction Servant trying to ambush the Black faction's finest Master?!"
"...No, the one approaching seems to be…"
Siegfried left the sentence unfinished. As a radiant light bathed the area, the oppressive tension in the air lifted like dust being gently brushed away.