Mordred Pendragon and Merlin

At the Yggdmillenia residence, Gordes reported the events that took place when he and Siegfried encountered the Ruler.

Hearing that a lord from the Clock Tower intended to intervene made everyone visibly panic. Based on what they knew, a lord was the most skilled person in a particular field of magecraft, recognized by other lords. Simply put, a lord was the strongest magus in their field of expertise.

However, while the members of Yggdmillenia were panicking, a handsome man standing beside a pale middle-aged man who resembled a vampire showed no signs of distress. He began pondering the identity of the lord mentioned by Gordes, but he couldn't recall anyone fitting the description Gordes had given.

At first, the man thought the lord Gordes was talking about might be the new lord of the Creation Department, but the magecraft used seemed closer to the Astrology Department. While he was lost in thought, the middle-aged man snapped him out of it.

"There's no need to worry, Darnic. Whether they're a lord or whatever you call them, they are still just a human. As long as we are on this land, no one can defeat me!" 

Vlad the Third, known by the nickname Dracula, spoke arrogantly. Darnic and the other Yggdmillenia masters, hearing Vlad's declaration, knelt in respect and acknowledged his claim, though deep down, Darnic began to feel uncertain due to the many unexpected variables that had suddenly arisen.

Meanwhile, Vlad suddenly sensed a large surge of energy coming from the forest near the city center. He swiftly vanished, heading to investigate the source of this energy.

Seeing that Vlad had left, Darnic ordered the others to return to their respective rooms. However, he discreetly instructed his two best nephews, Caelus and Fiore, to gather information about the lord Gordes had mentioned, and if possible, to bring them to their side.

------

A few days later,Kaoru and his group, who had successfully summoned their second and third servants, decided to explore the area to gather information.

However, over the past few days, Trifas and the surrounding areas had become filled with patrolling homunculi. For various reasons, only Merlin, one of the servants, was able to move around freely, thanks to his illusion magic, which could perfectly conceal his identity.

Meanwhile, Kaoru's other two servants were far too powerful. Even though illusion magic could hide their appearances, their immense power would easily give away their disguises to other servants.

As they explored the various attractions Romania had to offer, they were suddenly interrupted by a voice calling out.

"Ohhh, isn't that old man Merlin? Hey!!! Old man Merlin, let's fight!!!"

Surprisingly, a girl? appeared, greeting Merlin and immediately attacking him with a sword.

"Oh, little Mordred... still not getting along with your father, huh?"

On the other hand, Merlin easily dodged the attack and even had time to tease Mordred.

Meanwhile, a burly and intimidating man approached Kaoru.

"Sorry about that, the kid is really hard to control, and it seems she recognized your servant, um..."

The man wanted to apologize to Kaoru for Mordred's reckless actions.

"Kaoru, Makoto Kaoru. Nice to meet you, Shishigou Kairi."

Shishigou Kairi, a freelance necromancer, was participating in the Holy Grail War as a mercenary hired by the Clock Tower.

"And yes, they've known each other for quite some time. Mordred Pendragon and Merlin. Those names should ring a bell, right?"

Initially, Kairi had only been suspicious of his servant's sudden dash when she sensed something. But hearing those names, which were famous among magus and even common folk, Kairi began to understand why Mordred had immediately run off upon sensing the presence of the Grand Mage.

However, the image Kairi had of the Grand Mage was vastly different from the one standing before him now. Merlin seemed more like a troublesome young man who enjoyed causing chaos and teasing others.

The fight between Mordred and Merlin resembled more of a teacher playfully bullying his student, with Merlin even using simple illusion magic to prank Mordred, making it look like she was being humiliated.

Suddenly, Kairi realized that they were fighting in the middle of the city in broad daylight. He looked around, but something was off—there wasn't a single person around, not even the souls of the dead. Kairi strained to figure out what was going on, eventually deducing that they were in another dimension resembling the city. At that moment, he could only sense five people, including himself.

Through the process of elimination, Kairi concluded that Kaoru, the master of the Grand Mage Merlin, was the one who had created this dimensional space.

"So, what business does the Clock Tower have in meddling with the Holy Grail War, Shishigou-san?"

Though Kaoru had his own suspicions, he still asked Kairi to gauge his response. As expected, Kairi relented and explained that one of his missions was to secure the Holy Grail. However, he had already decided to abandon that mission, as Kaoru's presence made it impossible. 

Being a freelance magus, Kairi had a strong sense of survival, and he could sense danger in people. From Kaoru, he could feel death lurking at the slightest misstep.

Kaoru then explained about the neutral faction he and Jeanne had created, noting that many anomalies had arisen in this Holy Grail War. Hence, they had formed the neutral faction to eliminate these anomalies.

Hearing about the anomalies, Kairi decided to share what he knew. For instance, the Red Faction, apart from himself, seemed to now have only one remaining master. When he arrived at the Red Faction's base, for some reason, all the servants were following the orders of a single individual, which aroused Kairi's suspicions. Moreover, Mordred's instincts also made her hate that person.

Knowing the identity of the Red Faction's master, Kaoru chose to remain silent, finding the situation rather interesting. After all, that Ruler-class servant didn't hold much sway over this Holy Grail War, as long as that person didn't obtain the Holy Grail.

Jeanne eventually invited Kairi to join the neutral faction, feeling that despite being a necromancer, Kairi was one of the few people she could trust.

After the skirmish between Merlin and Mordred ended, they officially decided to become allies and share information. Kaoru then released his power, causing the dimension to crack and shatter, returning everything to normal. They parted ways, heading toward their respective goals.

----

"Master, I hate to admit it, but that person we met is really strong. You'd be dead if you fought him!"

Mordred shared her thoughts with Kairi.

Surprisingly, Kairi agreed with her statement.

"Yup. Not only that, but right after we returned from that dimension, I sensed another servant—one even more terrifying than the Grand Mage Merlin. A presence like a wild beast, ready to devour its prey at any moment!"

This time, Mordred was truly shocked. She knew Merlin was incredibly strong, and Kaoru, his master, was equally powerful. But the thought of there being another servant stronger than Merlin was something she couldn't even fathom.

Fortunately, they were now on the same side, and Kairi wasn't too concerned about who won the Holy Grail War, as long as he managed to capture his target.

The two of them then headed to another location, their next objective.