Fiore may be the elder sister, yet she doesn't give off the "final boss" feeling at all.
Even though TYPE-MOON's elder sisters are usually all eccentric characters.
That she's as pure-hearted as Saegusa-chan… truly remarkable.
Magical herb girls, crazy psycho goddesses, or damaged red women—those ones properly follow the template.
Ah, well, there was someone who played the final boss even though she was the younger sister.
Perhaps once she violated the laws of nature and started doing tentacle things, she ended up being treated as unfortunate.
Well then, Fate's final episode part ends with Saegusa-chan's evil smile.
By the way, I'd like Saegusa-chan to perform an ankō dance atop a tank.
…Mm.
A customer at this hour?
Maybe the Dengeki pirate book finally arrived.
Ruler had indeed successfully blocked Berserker's attack.
However, that protection extended only to the range necessary to shield Ruler herself—at best, she could protect a small area around her.
Berserker's attack boasted a range large enough to swallow the entire battlefield in a single strike, and even if Ruler blocked it, the shockwave could hardly be confined.
The slash of light had not only scorched the battlefield but had reached all the way to Millennia Fortress.
Magical breaching was considered nearly impossible; the fortress, whose defensive power was said to withstand even a Servant's Noble Phantasm, had been driven to the brink of collapse by a single blow.
"…ッ…"
A falling piece of rubble struck Caules's head; blood trickled down from his forehead.
For Caules, who had no experience with earthquakes, the sensation of the world turning upside down was a first—he truly had no idea what had just happened.
Even so, he was forcibly made to recognize the simple fact that Millennia Fortress had been hit by some overwhelmingly powerful attack and had partially collapsed.
And he understood this precisely because he was outside Millennia Fortress.
Red Berserker's final strike had grazed the workshop where Caules resided, shattering the fortress.
Had he remained inside, he surely would have been killed.
But because his Berserker had been at his side, his life was saved.
The instant she sensed danger, Berserker had grabbed Caules and leapt out of the fortress. Thanks to that, Caules escaped with mere scratches, and Berserker was uninjured.
"Berserker, are you alright?"
"Viiiii…"
The Berserker standing beside him nodded.
It seemed she was unharmed as well.
Caules pressed a handkerchief to his forehead and used healing magecraft on the wound.
While doing so, he looked over the devastated state of Millennia Fortress.
The outer wall, supposedly ironclad, had been blown away—literally sliced apart.
As far as Caules remembered, there should have been no other workshops in the collapsed section besides his own.
"…Anyway, we need to regroup with Sis.
We can't rely on the fortress's defenses anymore."
He muttered this and led Berserker back toward the shattered fortress.
With the walls collapsed, entering was easy.
Climbing over the rubble-clogged passages with difficulty, Caules re-entered the fortress interior.
At that moment—Caules had momentarily forgotten that this was a Holy Grail War.
Certainly, the battles had appeared to be one-on-one clashes between Servants.
But that was merely how events happened to unfold.
Outside of Servant duels, combat continued elsewhere—dragon-tooth soldiers, golems, and homunculus foot soldiers were engaged in mutual slaughter.
Right now, a dragon-tooth soldier that had survived Red Berserker's catastrophe was closing in on Caules's back.
Just one enemy—but for a third-rate mage like Caules, more than enough to kill him.
"Vvv—NAAAAAAAAAAOU!"
Once again, his life was saved by his own Servant.
She leapt at the intruder approaching her Master's back and, wielding her mace—her Noble Phantasm—smashed it mercilessly to powder.
At the same moment, Berserker shoved Caules deeper into the fortress.
"Uwah!"
Rolling across the floor, Caules finally understood—only after scrambling back to his feet—that he had been moments from being killed by a dragon-tooth soldier.
"Thanks, Berserker. You saved me."
"Vvvv…"
With an almost scolding posture—hands on her hips—Berserker chided him to be careful.
As Caules let out a relieved sigh—
A detonating sound reached his ears.
Something had exploded deep within the fortress.
"No way…"
The worst possible scenario flashed across his mind.
Just now, Caules had been attacked by a dragon-tooth soldier.
That meant: such a low-level minion had managed to infiltrate Millennia Fortress.
In other words, an opening large enough for them to pass through had formed.
The defensive wards surrounding the area had been blown away.
There were now no physical barriers to prevent entry.
"Berserker—let's go!"
Feeling a chill like cold wind piercing his bones, Caules broke into a run.
Dragon-tooth soldiers were weak—from a Servant's perspective.
But mages were only human.
There was no guarantee Caules would not fall.
Except for Caules, every other Master's Servant had been deployed elsewhere.
In effect, the Masters were nearly defenseless.
Before entering the war, the Black faction's Masters had each used their private workshops as strategic bases, deploying their Servants separately to reduce risk.
If enemies infiltrated the fortress and all the Masters were in one place, they could be wiped out at once.
By dispersing, they reduced the risk of total annihilation.
However—
that strategy assumed only a few infiltrators.
It also depended heavily on Millennia Fortress's defensive strength.
If multiple enemies breached the fortress simultaneously, the strategy became fragile—
Each Master would be targeted individually and at nearly the same time, forced to deal with threats alone.
If a Master died, even the greatest hero would vanish.
Protecting the Masters was imperative.
At the end of the corridor lay Fiore's room.
As Caules neared Fiore's workshop—
Its door exploded outward.
The shattered remains turned to wooden dust, slammed against the opposite wall, and fell.
"Sis!"
Panicking, Caules rushed into Fiore's room.
What he saw was Fiore's private chamber, utterly ravaged.
The bed was a mess, the paintings on the walls were torn, the windows shattered.
And on the floor lay the crushed remains of what had once been a dragon-tooth soldier.
"Oh my, Caules.
Thank goodness—you're unharmed."
Fiore was holding the crushed head of a dragon-tooth soldier aloft with the massive metal arm attached to her back—
while simultaneously stomping another dragon-tooth soldier with a different arm.
Bronze-Link Manipulator
Enhanced-Connection Mystic Code.
A powerful mystic code born from Fiore's own custom design—capable, it was said, of allowing even a third-rate mage to slay a first-rate one.
Its reaction speed surpassed even bullets, and it could fire light projectiles at distant enemies.
Because Fiore's legs were disabled, she had survived magical battles only thanks to this device acting as her limbs and crushing her foes.
After crushing the skull in her grasp, Fiore walked toward Caules.
"Caules. What about the other Masters?"
"No idea. I came straight here. Archer—?"
"He seems unharmed.
But now that the enemy's minions have infiltrated the fortress, this place is no longer safe.
We have to move."
"Yeah, but we need to confirm the others' safety first. And their Servants too."
Fiore nodded.
Without knowing how much fighting strength remained, or whether the Black faction could still function, they couldn't yet decide whether to attack or defend strategically.
Caules and Fiore left the wrecked room, heading toward the throne room where Darnic resided.
From the outside, Caules had seen that section remained undamaged; it was likely the most secure place.
"Archer sent mental communication—apparently the enemy Servants retreated for some reason. A reset, perhaps."
The massive explosion caused by Red Berserker had been enough to nullify all the ongoing stalemated duels.
The nondirectional wave of destruction had struck friend and foe alike.
It seemed no Servant had fallen, but the battle flow was disrupted.
Everyone now needed to reassess the situation.
For the Black faction, whose fortress had been half-destroyed, restoring order was an urgent priority.
They needed to regroup with all Masters at least once, to confirm the command structure.
"…ッ…"
A group of dragon-tooth soldiers blocked the pair's path—
a swarm of skeletons filling the corridor.
"Berserker—handle it!"
"UWIIIIII!"
Roaring, Berserker charged.
A mass of pure violence, she swung her mace with ferocious strength, shattering skeleton soldiers one after another.
Even if weak Servants, dragon-tooth soldiers were nothing to a Berserker.
But just after Berserker broke through the front line—
arrows shot forth from behind the rubble.
Even if they couldn't defeat Berserker, they could kill the Master behind her.
Bronze-Link Manipulator, however, was not so easily bested.
Fiore's reinforced mystic code reacted faster than bullets.
Ordinary arrows would, of course, be deflected.
If it were only Fiore, she could likely handle this situation alone.
But Caules, Berserker's Master, was different.
He had no such mystic code.
He had no powerful defensive magecraft.
Thus, Fiore and Berserker were forced to protect him.
In a narrow corridor with nowhere to hide, area-suppression arrow fire was a threat.
Fiore's mystic code was not suited for wide-area defense; suppression fire was its weak point.
She clenched her teeth, unable to find an opening to counterattack—
Then, red-hot arrows rained down.
Exploding magical energy obliterated the enemy archers in an instant.
"Reckless, Master."
"We're both being reckless, Archer."
Fiore smiled toward the Archer who had arrived.
Archer's body was covered in wounds—
a testament to how ferocious his battle against Red Rider had been.
His cheek was deeply cut, his hands drenched in blood.
"I'll heal you immediately, Archer."
"My thanks.
Ah—right. It seems the other Servants have returned to their Masters.
Fortunately, not a single one has fallen yet."
Red Berserker's death had gone as expected.
Though Archer hadn't known his movements in detail, Berserker had acted in ways advantageous to the Black faction—except for the final self-destruction.
Hearing Archer's report, Fiore nodded.
Their allies were safe.
That single fact filled her heart with relief—
but she forced herself not to relax.
The Red faction had not withdrawn for good.
At that moment—
A massive vortex of magical energy fell from the airborne fortress.
■
Red Assassin surveyed the devastation spread out beneath his Noble Phantasm—
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Aerial Garden of Vanity.
The burned plains—
the corpses and shattered golem pieces were gone—
only a vast charred expanse remained.
Beyond it lay the collapsed Millennia Fortress.
"To think that to bring down that fortress, I believed even Lancer's Noble Phantasm would be necessary…
How convenient."
Assassin smiled elegantly.
"Well done, heroes.
Though it seems none of you settled your individual duels—
no matter.
A short wait, and you shall have your rematches."
Red Berserker's self-destruction had become a massive explosion that engulfed nearly the entire battlefield.
As a result, every Servant engaged in duels had their battles nullified, and the Red faction had withdrawn to the airborne garden.
Red Archer asked Assassin:
"That is acceptable enough.
But approaching the fortress—
surely you are not intending to kill the enemy Masters directly?"
"Of course.
We are simply taking back the Greater Grail."
Only Shirou and Red Caster understood the true meaning behind Assassin's words.
Even Red Lancer tilted his head slightly.
"Well then—watch closely."
The airborne garden swept arrogantly across the battlefield and positioned itself directly above Millennia Fortress.
A floating castle was something that should exist only in fairy tales.
If the people of Trifas saw such a massive structure blotting out the moon, what would they think?
And more importantly—
what of the Black faction, now crushed beneath it?
Their panicked expressions were easy to imagine.
"Now behold.
This is the very depth of magecraft."
Assassin spread both arms and unleashed a formula.
A roar—
Wind surged upward.
A tornado formed, extending downward toward the collapsed fortress.
"You can't mean…
You truly intend to steal it?"
To Rider's words, Assassin nodded and shouted:
"Of course!
This garden was constructed for that very purpose!
Now—reveal the mystery that rivals the Age of Gods!
Expose your radiant, hideous form!"
The tornado swept away rubble, scraped the earth, and at last—
The exposed Holy Grail appeared.
"That… that is the Grail?"
Archer's eyes widened.
"Hahaha!
Magnificent!
A masterpiece indeed!
Even I, who am not a mage, can feel this overwhelming magical power!
Too beautiful—
so beautiful it sends shivers through me!"
Caster trembled with joy.
Even silent Lancer opened his eyes wide.
Such an artifact would be rare even in the Age of Gods.
Indeed, worthy of being called an omnipotent wish-granting device.
The souls of six Servants that fell in the previous war and sixty years of accumulated pure magical energy—
Much had been shaved away by the abnormal summonings of this war, but even so, the power was staggering.
With the magical energy present now, most wishes could likely be granted.
"Tch. It's completely fused with the leyline.
You lot—I must pour power into the Grail for a while.
Clear the way.
If we fall here, everything becomes foam and vanishes."
"You need not tell us.
You, too—do not fail."
"Yeah yeah, I know what I gotta do.
Stop barking orders at me."
It would be some time before the Grail could be secured within the airborne garden.
During that time, the Black faction would certainly attempt to reclaim it.
This meant the roles had reversed—the Red faction, who had planned to assault the fortress, were now forced into defense.
Even floating in the sky, the garden was close enough that Servants could reach it on foot.
"I'll kill Saber."
Lancer declared, unusually assertive.
Perhaps he didn't want anyone stealing his rival.
Naturally—
Lancer recognized Saber as his true equal.
If given the chance, he would seek their rematch above all else.
Rider and Archer also had opponents they needed to settle matters with.
The Red faction was clearly at an advantage now.
But even so—they could not be careless.
Only four Servants, including Assassin, could be counted as reliable combatants.
Saber was acting alone; Berserker was gone; Caster was useless.
Black Rider and Black Berserker were absent or presumed out of action; Black Assassin unseen.
Numerically, both sides were roughly equal.
The troublesome one was Ruler.
Her presence alone could tilt the battle dramatically.
And if Shirou and Assassin's true intentions were exposed, conflict would be unavoidable.
Therefore—
even with advantage, they could not relax.
Whether they could hold off the Black faction until the Red faction secured the Grail—
That alone would decide victory.
Everyone present understood—
the Black Servants storming upward understood—
the Masters watching from below understood—
This was a battle against time.