Boom, boom.
Two huge bursts of fire lit up the sky. Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others narrowed their eyes and looked up.
"Ugh, what happened?"
"Aaaah!"
Hearing that familiar roar, Fujimaru Ritsuka recognized the newcomer at once. "Is that Lancelot?" As he spoke, he quietly glanced at Mash.
A pitch black fighter jet cut across the sky. Standing on top of the aircraft was Berserker Lancelot.
"Wait. Why is there a fighter jet in this world?" Fujimaru Ritsuka noticed the problem immediately.
Kadoc stood beside him and said with a perfectly serious expression, "That Evil of Humanity probably brought it here. If he can freely tear space open, getting a fighter jet should be easy enough."
"I see. That explains it," Fujimaru Ritsuka said with a nod.
By then, Moriarty and Musashi had returned to their side. Moriarty reminded them, "Even if we know where it came from, we do not have any anti air attacks, except for that one."
Following Moriarty's words, everyone looked at the Vimana again. The Vimana, which had just descended quite a bit, rose again. Under everyone's gaze, it shot straight into the sky.
"???"
"Did the King of Heroes just abandon us and run?" Moriarty asked in confusion.
"No." Kadoc shook his head. Following his gaze, everyone saw the fighter jet climbing after the Vimana.
Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others understood. "So Lancelot is chasing Gilgamesh?"
"Aaaah!"
Boom, boom, boom, boom.
Four more missiles launched from the fighter jet toward the Vimana. Four streaks of golden light emerged behind the Vimana and intercepted them again.
Watching the aerial battle above, Fujimaru Ritsuka asked uncertainly, "In this kind of air battle, we probably cannot help, right?"
"Not probably. We absolutely cannot help," Moriarty said. "But another one has arrived."
He pointed in the direction from which Lancelot had flown. Everyone saw a small black dot sprinting toward them at extreme speed.
"Senpai, prepare for battle!" Mash raised her shield in front of everyone. Musashi also walked forward with her swords. Only Moriarty remained where he was.
As if noticing Kadoc's gaze, Moriarty immediately explained, "Hey, hey, I am just a man of mathematics, remember? When I fought you before, I relied entirely on the power of the Three Goddesses of Fate. Without their power, I was already close to my limit in the last fight."
Kadoc thought about it and accepted that logic. He did not force Moriarty and instead became alert together with Fujimaru Ritsuka.
"That is the King of Knights!" Mash cried out. Hearing her voice, everyone understood the newcomer's identity.
"The King of Knights. If she is an enemy, she may be a powerful opponent on Heracles's level."
While everyone stayed on guard, Artoria had already arrived not far from them.
Artoria first looked at the black and gold aircraft fighting in the sky, then at Fujimaru Ritsuka's group. When she saw Mash's shield, her gaze sharpened.
"That shield..." Her gaze moved past the shield. She saw Mash behind it, and then Fujimaru Ritsuka behind Mash.
"Are you the Master?" Artoria asked Fujimaru Ritsuka. The sword in her hand showed that she was still on guard.
Fujimaru Ritsuka poked his head out. "Yes. Miss Artoria, are you on our side?"
"Idiot. Who asks that directly the moment someone arrives? No one is going to answer you," Kadoc reminded him from the side.
"If there is no other Master here, then I am on your side. I did not expect to find the Master while chasing Sir Lancelot on the way here. Let us form a contract now."
"..."
Watching the Master and Servant form a contract, Kadoc decided that he wanted a quiet moment to himself.
While everyone else was focused on Artoria, Moriarty walked over to the silent Kadoc.
"Did you notice it?"
Kadoc looked at the riddle man, Moriarty, with dark lines practically forming across his face. "Notice what?"
"The attitude of the Servants. Including me, every Servant gives me the feeling that they are in a hurry. It is as if we urgently need to find Fujimaru Ritsuka, form a contract with him, and help him."
Kadoc turned to look at him. "Then what are you in a hurry about?"
Moriarty shook his head. "I am not the one in a hurry. The one behind us is. Do you remember what that Evil of Humanity said when he described this game?"
"A disaster more severe than the Incineration of Humanity and the Lostbelt invasion."
Moriarty nodded. "Even the Incineration of Humanity and the Lostbelt invasion did not make the Counter Force mobilize this aggressively. It seems the Counter Force is truly anxious this time. In other words, this disaster may be far greater than we imagined."
After speaking, Moriarty looked at Kadoc, only to find that aside from his initial surprise, Kadoc had no further emotional reaction.
"What, in a crisis concerning the survival of humanity, do you not want to do something?"
Kadoc glanced at Moriarty without expression, then looked toward Fujimaru Ritsuka.
"He is here, and the Counter Force has personally acted. My panic changes nothing. It is better to do my job as support. In the end, even if humanity is destroyed, I am only a prisoner right now."
Moriarty looked at Kadoc with a strange expression. Kadoc stared back without concern. The two looked at each other for half a minute before turning away at the same time.
During that short exchange, the fight in the sky had reached its result. After the fighter jet ran out of missiles, Gilgamesh, with his almost limitless ammunition, suppressed Lancelot completely. In the end, after using a shield-shaped Noble Phantasm to withstand Lancelot's suicidal crash, the battle reached its conclusion.
As Lancelot fell from the sky, he finally saw Artoria on the ground.
"Arthur!"
The black Arondight was gripped in Lancelot's hand. He adjusted his direction in midair and fell toward Artoria and Fujimaru Ritsuka's group.
Artoria stretched out a hand and stopped Mash and Musashi from advancing.
"Master, may I handle him?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded. "Of course."
"Thank you, Master." Artoria turned toward Berserker Lancelot. "I am sorry, Sir Lancelot."
She set her stance. Golden light slowly appeared from heaven and earth before gathering into the sword.
"EX... Curry Stick!"
"Aaaaaaah, Arthur!"
Lancelot vanished inside the massive golden beam. Everyone watched the dispersing golden motes of light, and their faith in defeating Wu Ling grew firmer again.