[134] The Invincible King of Conquerors

Puchi—

Beside Kazuya, Matou Zouken's head and neck lay separated on the ground. No insects appeared; instead, a large amount of blood gushed out, resembling a human's body.

Watching this scene, Kazuya nodded in satisfaction. "Now, the only regret is that we can't experiment with pulling the Heroic Spirits into the dream world... Speaking of which, Altera should be a dream of her true self. I wanted to see if I could pull her in... But was it because her true self, The Giant God Sefar, or the present Heroic Spirit Altera, are both awake and thus not possible?"

Meanwhile, in an unnoticed location, within the underground cavern of Ryuudou Temple, a blood-covered insect twitched a couple of times and finally fell to the ground, devoid of life.

Matou Zouken—dead.

Under the radar of everyone, this man, who had lived for hundreds of years and was deeply twisted, met his end.

Even his corpse was devoured by the surrounding black mud.

...

"This is quite troublesome," Kiritsugu muttered as he looked through binoculars at the battle taking place in Ryuudou Temple, furrowing his brows.

Just by observing the people fleeing from Ryuudou Temple, he could tell that this incident was gradually becoming known. Now, it depended on the Mage's Association's hidden measures. It seemed like they were already taking action...

Around Ryuudou Temple, one bounded field after another began to appear.

Soundproofing, warding off intruders, and more.

But... such a well-known temple in Fuyuki City suddenly closing down would surely provide various kinds of information to those in the know.

"Archer, how are you holding up?" Kiritsugu asked as he glanced at the two Command Spells on his hand.

He had just used one Command Spell to save Archer, whose spiritual core had been slightly damaged.

"Ah, I'm fine," Archer EMIYA replied as he appeared by Kiritsugu's side. "It was a bit unexpected. I thought my spiritual core would completely collapse, but it turns out there was only minor damage. It seems the local reinforcement here is more significant than I imagined."

"As expected, this local reinforcement phenomenon benefits you, Rider, and Berserker the further we go into the war. One reason is that the Noble Phantasms of other Heroic Spirits will gradually be exposed, breaking the information imbalance. Secondly... even your popularity is rising now. If we wait for three to five more years... and summon you again in Fuyuki, your strength should see a noticeable increase."

"That's true... Huh? Berserker disappeared?" EMIYA said, his words abruptly halting.

Berserker had vanished in the midst of Lancer's attack.

Karna, who witnessed Berserker disappearing from his sight, was surprised.

"Was he defeated? No... that guy should be able to resurrect six times! Did he escape through space manipulation? A forced use of Command Spells? No... that's... Matou Zouken has already died. So... the Holy Grail? Did the Holy Grail shift Berserker on its own?"

In an instant, Lancer made his judgment.

The Holy Grail...

No, it was something inside the Holy Grail, sensing danger.

It sensed the danger from these Masters who wanted to disassemble it. However, Command Spells had already been bestowed... they were given years ago.

They couldn't be retrieved.

But it didn't want to wait for its demise.

So, seizing the opportunity when Matou Zouken died, it took everything from him, including the connection with Berserker.

Even though there were no Command Spells left.

The Greater Grail still had decades worth of stored mana, and... Berserker had been previously contaminated by Matou Zouken with the black mud.

Thus, the black mud forcibly transferred Berserker.

Its goal was to protect itself.

"Rider—activate the Reality Marble!" Kayneth exclaimed. "Don't envelop that Caster, just bring Lancer and Saber inside. This is the best opportunity!"

"Hey, hey, I rushed here with great effort! Can't I at least watch?" Kazuya protested, running over to them. "Come on, Rider! Can't I be present, even if I don't participate? I just want to watch! I want to see your battle!"

"Haha, sorry, Caster, but that's not possible!" Rider laughed heartily while activating the Reality Marble. "You're quite tricky to deal with, perhaps even more so than Lancer. So, we have no choice but to leave you outside to wait. Hahaha!"

"Rider..." Lancer who wanted to say something, suddenly felt the scenery change.

In an instant, they were in a vast desert.

Rider, Saber, and Lancer—just the three of them.

"Oh, this feeling..."

"What's wrong, Rider?" Waver asked in confusion.

"Haha, of course! This time, using the Reality Marble consumes only half the usual amount of magical energy! Moreover... the pressure of the surroundings on the Reality Marble has decreased significantly. It must be because of my subjects! Yes, I can feel the power they're giving me—my subjects from the mortal world!"

Waver's eyes widened, and he paused for a moment. Then he slapped his forehead as if he remembered something. "Cosplaying at conventions... and it still has this effect?"

It was quite simple, as the news had already circulated about the "Godlike Iskandar, Perfectly Embodying the King of Conquerors" appearing at anime conventions. If the usual local amplification for other Heroic Spirits was 1, Iskandar's was 2.

Attending anime conventions, walking down the streets brazenly, and unabashedly displaying himself. Plus, being surrounded by people on the Fuyuki City Bridge.

These actions were embarrassing to Waver, but they had an entirely different effect.

The King of Conquerors, Iskandar, came even closer to his true self on the Throne of Heroes.

However, it was only a step closer.

But...

"Haha, well then, my army is now invincible! Those who once fought alongside me on the battlefield are now connected to me and have become the subjects of Macedon!" King Iskandar said, patting Waver by his side. "I hold the past, present... and the future in my hands... Hahaha!"

"Rider..." Waver's eyes sparkled as he said, "In that case, you are truly invincible! Lancer, are you ready? You will face the unprecedentedly invincible King of Conquerors!"

"Come." Lancer raised the lance in his hand. "Let me shatter your invincibility."

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