Chapter 30: C30
Artoria and Diarmuid were fiercely fighting, filling the cold autumn night with a sense of excitement and tension.
"Boom, boom, boom!!"
Suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed from the distant sky.
A new Servant had arrived!
Artoria and Diarmuid locked eyes, then after a moment of swords clashing, they both backed off and turned their gaze to the southeast sky.
As Shirou looked up, he spotted a flying object approaching them, trailing purple sparks of lightning. The source of the noise was now clear. Irisviel gaped in amazement, exclaiming, "A chariot!"
The chariot was an ancient one, with two heads, pulled by large, muscle-bound bulls rather than horses. The bulls' hooves were pounding the void as they pulled the magnificent and luxurious carriage.
No...
The chariot wasn't just hovering in the air, its wheels were thundering and the bulls were stepping on lightning rather than the ground.
As the bulls and chariot moved through the empty sky, purple lightning flickered creating a deafening noise and raising the surrounding temperature. The magical power of the lightning was likely on par with the full-force attacks of Lancer and Saber. It could easily kill someone like Shirou, who was completely an E-rank newbie and had no combat experience whatsoever.
The conquering king, Iskandar, had finally appeared as a Servant!
In his hand, Waver's delicate frame was being held like a small kitten, tears and snot streaming down his face, making him look both comical and embarrassing.
The chariot finally came to a stop. Waver's fear of heights subsided, but his own embarrassment kindled the arrogance and anger in his youthful and energetic heart.
"Rider!!!" Waver screamed, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, scolding Iskandar. "I will definitely, definitely, definitely make you understand that a Master should not be bullied! Watch out or I'll make you leave right now!"
Iskandar laughed, completely disregarding Waver's anger, and then gestured toward Saber and Lancer who were staring at them, "Oh? You can try now, young man."
"I...I...next time, I'll...I'll deal with you!" Waver shrank under the gaze of Saber and Lancer, his anger instantly turning into fear for his life.
Iskandar placed Waver on the chariot and then happily patted his shoulder, "Hahaha. Such generosity, as expected of my Master."
After seeing Iskander's appearance, Shirou was ready to run away. But before that, there was one piece of information that he wanted to confirm no matter what.
As Waver appeared on the battlefield, a disdainful voice filled with disgust echoed throughout the warehouse dock, "So, it's you, Mr. Waver Velvet. Stealing your noble teacher's Holy Relic and coming to this remote countryside to participate in the war of magi. Hahaha... Mr. Waver Velvet, you are truly audacious. It seems that my usual discipline towards you was not enough, making you forget how much of a foul and dirty rat you are. Well, let me teach you one last lesson as a magus. The war of magi at the cost of death! "
Without a doubt, the hateful tone and the voice that made Waver tremble with fear belonged to the Clock Tower's First-Class Lecturer and one of the Twelve Lords, the "Child Prodigy" Kayneth.
"It seems that the Lancer team has not changed," Shirou thought to himself.
Currently, Shirou has identified all the Servants in this Holy Grail War, except for Assassin. Although the Master has not yet been confirmed, the goal of this mission has been largely accomplished.
According to what Shirou knows about the fourth Holy Grail War, if Assassin is still Hassan of the Hundred Faces, he should already be ambushed in the highest vantage point - the crane. However, Shirou's position is too far from the crane and he cannot observe such a distant place with the naked eye without using the Saint Graph. But if he uses it, he will be exposed.
Furthermore, if the Saber group has not changed, Kiritsugu and his assistant may be still nearby. If Kiritsugu were to discover him, he would probably consider Shirou as a participant.
Kiritsugu is a determined individual who will stop at nothing to achieve his goal, even if it means using morally questionable methods. Despite his kind nature, Shirou knows that if he were to come across Shirou, his approach would shift to a "better to be safe than sorry" mentality, and he would likely kill him without hesitation. Without the protection of a Saint Graph, Shirou's physical body would be vulnerable, and the outcome of a sniper attack would be fatal.
With the task accomplished, it would be wise for Shirou to retreat as soon as possible.
Shirou decided to leave the scene without drawing attention to himself. He had no desire to watch the Live version of "Fate/zero" or to hear Iskandar's insults directed towards Kayneth in order to protect Waver. Furthermore, the outcome of the battle at the docks was different than what he had expected. Artoria and Diarmuid fought fiercely, and Artoria never removed her armor during the fight, which rendered Diarmuid's "Yellow Rose of Mortality" ineffective and prevented him from causing any serious or permanent injuries.
Shirou had intended to retreat, but his plans were thwarted by the emergence of the naturally arrogant Gilgamesh, who was drawn to the scene by the clash between the two "King" Servants.
A faint golden light illuminated the area as a figure in shining golden armor materialized on top of a street light pole, about ten meters above the ground.
"Such audacity, for those who do not respect this King and dare to recklessly call themselves 'King', unexpectedly two of them appear overnight," the figure in golden armor spoke, with a tone of contempt and disdain towards the other Servants present on the scene.
Despite similarities in Gilgamesh's haughty demeanor and Iskandar's prior overbearing and self-assured attitude toward Diarmuid and Artoria, their fundamental nature differed. Iskandar's speech and gaze lacked the same chill and mercilessness present in Gilgamesh's.
Iskandar appeared taken aback by Gilgamesh's aggression and appeared puzzled as he scratched his chin. "Even if you address me with disrespect," he stated, "I am still Iskandar, a renowned conqueror king in the world."
"I alone am the hero who deserves the title of king among the heaven and earth! The rest are nothing more than a pack of disrespectful mongrels!" Gilgamesh declared crudely, making a statement that was even more insulting than an insult. Artoria, too, looked surprised by his words, but Iskandar remained forgiving and let out a sigh, his expression one of surprise.
"Why don't you tell us your name first?" Iskander jokingly said. "If you're a king, you wouldn't be afraid for people to know your name, right?"
Gilgamesh's eyes turned red with anger as he glared at the giant in front of him. "You're asking me? A mongrel asking me, a king?"
Normally, it would make sense for Iskander to ask Gilgamesh his true name, but in Gilgamesh's eyes, it was a great disrespect. However, this was not due to Gilgamesh's intention to conceal his true name, it was simply his emotional madness causing him to feel this way. As the golden king's anger began to rise, a killing intent could be seen on his face. "If I were to allow you wear the glory of submitting to me, yet you remain ignorant of my name, your submission would hold no value for me."
As Gilgamesh spoke, a strange, fiery energy began to emerge on both sides of him. In the blink of an eye, blades and spears, each radiating a dazzling brilliance, materialized out of thin air. These were no ordinary weapons, but Noble Phantasms, powerful artifacts with immense destructive capabilities.
Waver trembled with fear, Kayneth held his breath, and even Irisviel, who was on the battlefield, couldn't help but tense up. In the face of so many powerful Noble Phantasms, no one, whether they were a magus or an ordinary human, could remain composed.
"But before that, you mongrel, why don't you come out? I, the king, have already arrived, yet you refuse to pay homage to my glory. This is the sin of arrogance and it deserves the king's punishment." The golden king spoke with a haughty and cold tone.
It appears that there is still a Servant concealed in the vicinity who has yet to reveal themselves.
Shirou, who was about to withdraw from the area, heard Gilgamesh's words and trembled as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning. Although Gilgamesh didn't say his name, Shirou couldn't shake off the feeling that the words were specifically directed at him.
"This king, is there another Servant hiding here?" Iskander asked Gilgamesh, his eyes fixed on the golden king.
"Hmph, you call yourself a king yet you can't even see the number of mongrels hiding here. How dare you call yourself a king in front of me?" Gilgamesh sneered coldly.
"Hahaha," Iskander laughed in response to Gilgamesh's sarcasm, "A king with grand ambitions and a drive for domination doesn't need to know and do everything himself, isn't that taking away the ability of his subordinates to shine?"
"Hmph, you are nothing but a mongrel who has delusions of grandeur and surrounds yourself with other mongrels. What right do you have to call yourself a king of glory?" Gilgamesh sneered contemptuously.
"I am Iskandar, the King of Conquerors, who toils tirelessly day and night, not for his own glory and not to be known as a conqueror, but for the sake of my subjects." Iskander confidently replied, engaging in a verbal battle with Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh glared at Iskander for a moment before sneering, "A king cannot be humiliated! You, mongrel, have broken the king's law, and must be punished by the king."
"Hahaha! You are a king and I am also a king, how can one king punish another? You have laws and I have laws as well, how can they restrain my actions?" Iskander laughed, not taking the threat seriously.
Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed, showing a dangerous glint.
"Madness," Gilgamesh spat out the word contemptuously, then he turned his attention away from Iskander and focused it on Shirou's location.
And then--
"Whoosh!"
Three Noble Phantasm weapons, shining with radiant light, shot toward Shirou like meteors.
What the f*ck!!
Shirou's mind was in turmoil as he saw the three shining weapons heading towards him, he couldn't help but curse at Gilgamesh's twisted sense of enjoyment in watching a commoner struggle and die to assert his own kingship and arrogance. The only thought in his mind at this moment was one word.
"F*ck!"
Shirou's heart was in shambles, but the blades rushing toward him was all too real. He had no choice but to merge with his Saint Graph and become Demi-Servant in order to dodge the incoming Noble Phantasms.
He had no other option, his body was too young and his magic circuits were not developed enough. Even though he possessed Emiya's projection, it was not sufficient to project a sword to fight against Gilgamesh's weapons. He could only evade.
"Boom boom!"
Like bombs dropped by bombers, the warehouse where Shirou was hiding was completely blown up, its stacked blocks tumbling down in a cloud of thick smoke. In the chaos, Shirou was exposed-!
Or rather, the moment he fused with his Saint Graph, Shirou was exposed!
"Oh? Who is our guest?" Iskandar inquired, his voice laced with curiosity as he crossed his arms.
AN: Next 37 Chapters are up on my Patreon: patreon.com/bcloud
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