232 Vague Result

Fuyuki, Hotel.

Shimmering spiritual particles of dazzling gold converged from the void, coalescing into the form of Arkhan.

"So, this is what it feels like to be in spiritual form?"

Arkhan squeezed his own hand, then shrugged.

"No wonder nobody likes it."

It was his first attempt to try spiritual form, and the sensation was akin to turning into rootless duckweed, a spirit with no tangible existence. Convenient, perhaps, but utterly uncomfortable.

"You did well, Lancer." Kayneth rose from the sofa, admiringly gazing at Arkhan.

Arkhan's performance tonight couldn't have pleased him more. Single-handedly taking on both the King of Heroes and the King of Knights, and effortlessly emerging victorious—such a brilliant record would be unparalleled in the annals of the Holy Grail Wars.

If it weren't for maintaining his noble image, Kayneth might have felt the urge to burst into big laughter.

The only regret, perhaps, was that none of the Servants had been eliminated tonight.

Nevertheless, Kayneth remained supremely confident. With Arkhan's strength and his support as the genius Master, victory in this Holy Grail War was just a matter of time.

With such a splendid track record, no one would dare label him merely a theorist from now on.

"To be honest, my victory wasn't all that easy." Arkhan's lips curled with a hint of helplessness. Extending his hand, a dimly colored crystal ball appeared in his palm.

Sensing that the magical energy reactor held less than half its magical energy, Kayneth's mouth twitched slightly.

According to the Clock Tower's standards, the magical energy a magical energy reactor could hold was roughly equivalent to the reserves of conventional ley lines over five years. Such a vast amount of magical energy was more than enough to support a regular Servant throughout an entire Holy Grail War without any concerns.

Yet, with just tonight's battle, Arkhan had drained half of the magical energy.

This level of consumption was terrifying!

'If Lancer hadn't brought the magical energy reactor and instead used my own magical energy to supply him...'

Just the thought of it made Kayneth shudder. If that were the case, he'd probably be sucked dry by now.

"Stop giving me that look. Equivalent exchange, isn't that the basic principle of your world of magecraft?" Arkhan casually tossed the magical energy reactor back into the space storage, sat on the couch, and poured himself a cup of pre-steeped tea.

After all, the Divine Keys on him were not the original but Noble Phantasms created by the Throne of Heroes. Each time he used them, it required a significant amount of magical energy.

Due to the limitations of his class, apart from Abyss Flower, using other Divine Keys required even more magical energy. When facing Gilgamesh, he used both Void Archives and Cosmic Juggernaut consecutively. It was the consumption of these two Noble Phantasms that left the magical energy reactor with only half of its magical energy reserve.

Just using two Divine Keys already demanded such a massive amount of magical energy. If he were to unleash other Divine Keys, the required magical energy would be astronomical.

Fortunately, before coming to Fuyuki, he had Kayneth prepare two extra magical energy reactors, bringing the total to five. Deducting the one used in the previous battle, he was left with four magical energy reactors. Combined with three command spells, it was enough for him to display his full strength in this war.

If it were just about winning the Holy Grail War, Arkhan wouldn't need to make extensive preparations. However, he descended here to address the crisis in this world, making it necessary for him to ensure his own peak combat power.

He had an inexplicable feeling that the source of this crisis was hidden somewhere in the corners of this Holy Grail War.

However, his Master obviously didn't have this awareness.

Lord El-Melloi was entirely focused on the Holy Grail War, pacing back and forth the room.

"Now that Archer is severely injured, it's the perfect opportunity to eliminate him. But with that obviously strong Berserker standing guard as his ally, it might not be easy to deal with. Hey, Lancer, what do you think about cooperating with other Masters to take down Archer together?" Kayneth turned to Arkhan and asked.

"Given the current situation, do you think anyone dares to approach us for cooperation?" Arkhan replied casually.

Kayneth paused for a moment, then quickly realized.

Arkhan's performance tonight was too outstanding; both of them must have become targets of other Masters. At a time like this, other Masters wouldn't dare to cooperate with them, afraid of getting implicated. But he also hesitated to let Arkhan go solo, considering his terrifying magical energy consumption.

Besides, Kayneth understood the principle of benefiting from the struggle between others.

If Arkhan managed to deal with Archer, and other Servants immediately launched an attack on them, their situation would be dangerous. However, giving up the chance to eliminate Archer made him feel uneasy.

Wouldn't that mean they did nothing tonight?

"Rest assured, even if we don't make a move, others will definitely step in." Arkhan said casually while sipping his steaming hot tea. "Gilgamesh isn't much of a threat to us, but for others, it's a different story. Facing one tiger or two, that's the choice they have to make, not us."

"But can they really take him down?" Kayneth was deep in thought while rubbing his chin.

"Don't underestimate them. After all, they are heroes who left their mark on history." Arkhan said calmly.

"You have a point." Kayneth nodded, then smirked. "You caused such a ruckus for Caster who's already exited the stage, Caster should feel honored."

Tonight's probing was mainly Arkhan's attempt to find out who targeted Ryuunosuke and Gilles. But the final result remained vague.

Compared to the original Fourth Holy Grail War, this Holy Grail War had undergone significant changes. Artoria had been reversed into Alter form, and Kirei had summoned not Assassin Hassan but Berserker Cu Chulainn.

However, these details weren't important. What mattered was that all Servants who had appeared before lacked the prerequisites to kill Gilles.

It wasn't that they lacked the ability; the key was that Gilles was killed right after being summoned, indicating that the attacker had foreseen his arrival. There were no signs of battle at the scene, suggesting Gilles was eliminated without any resistance.

The only one capable of meeting both conditions was Gilgamesh, but given his personality, he wouldn't do such a thing.

In that case, there was only one possibility left.

Arkhan gazed at the night scenery outside, his black eyes revealing the same depth of mystery.