the time for war

At the Yggdmillenia residence, Chiron reported to his master about the meeting with Kaoru.

According to Chiron, Gordes' suspicion was correct.

Chiron confirmed that Kaoru was indeed a lord.

But more than that, the strange fact that a human possessed a weapon equal to or perhaps even surpassing a noble phantasm made Kaoru a dangerous individual to them.

However, after conversing for a while, Chiron realized that Kaoru had no intention of becoming their enemy; there seemed to be another target in mind.

Fiore Forvedge Yggmillenia, Chiron's master, remained silent, contemplating Chiron's words.

She glanced at her brother, Caules Forvedge Yggmillenia, who was also a master, with Frankenstein as his servant.

"What do you think, Caules-kun?"

Caules thought for a moment. If what Chiron said was true, that this Kaoru they were discussing had another goal, then the possibility of him becoming an ally wasn't zero.

But still, as a human, he couldn't trust others easily, especially if Kaoru was indeed a lord, meaning he could survive amidst the attacks of the cunning old power-hungry men.

And such a person might be even more dangerous than just a sly fox.

"Chiron-san, are you truly certain that this lord has no intention of becoming an enemy to the Yggdmillenia family?"

Hearing Caules' question, Chiron, fully confident in his instincts as a centaur, nodded without hesitation.

And with that confirmation, Caules suggested to his sister that they align with the Ruler and that lord.

The reason was simple: Chiron's confidence and the fact that the lord was cooperating with the Ruler.

As long as the Yggdmillenia family didn't violate the rules of the Holy Grail War, Caules was certain the Ruler would remain neutral.

And as the Ruler's ally, the lord would likely be bound by some oath to remain neutral as well.

But before Fiore could act, a homunculus suddenly reported that a horde of monsters was preparing to attack Yggdmillenia's castle.

-----

"Magnificent!!! No matter how I write it, everything always leads to the same ending... tragedy, destruction, failure... truly magnificent!!!!"

In a narrow, isolated room, a middle-aged man laughed maniacally while writing something in a book.

Yet no matter how he altered the storyline, everything always ended in death.

Shakespeare, a servant of the Red Faction in the Caster class, and one of the few servants possessing one of the most dangerous powers.

The ability to distort reality.

But there was something strange about Shakespeare—he was utterly obsessed with bloody tragedies and grim endings.

That's why, when he wrote a story where his master was the main character, and everything ended in failure, it brought him immense joy.

He didn't care about the Holy Grail; what he wanted was to create a tragedy that could be remembered for all time.

And the fact that even if his master used a command seal to ensure victory, the master would still end up dead in the end.

Shakespeare, having gotten what he wanted, became even more deranged, continuing to write the unfolding story of this Holy Grail War.

----

At a corner of the battlefield, seven young individuals observed the war's progress.

They were the masters from the troublemaker faction.

And their true identity? Reincarnators on a mission from an organization to seize the Holy Grail.

The seven of them watched as the Red Faction initiated the war by summoning a horde of skeletal monsters and launching an assault on Yggdmillenia's castle.

"So, captain, do we strike now?"

One of the reincarnators asked a young man standing at the front.

"Wait until Vlad III, Karna, and Sieg appear. Those three are the biggest threats right now."

The young man referred to as the captain gave orders to his team.

The battle proceeded as expected, with Astolfo betraying and killing his master, followed by Sieg's sudden appearance and his eventual role as Astolfo's master.

Then came Adam, Avicebron's masterpiece, and Spartacus, who turned out to still be alive but had transformed into a monstrous being.

Watching the chaos, the captain frowned, noting the numerous anomalies that were happening.

In the end, however, he dismissed his bad feeling, assuming all the weird occurrences were the result of the butterfly effect.

Moments later, a massive explosion rocked Yggdmillenia's castle.

An unusual sight followed, as a flying castle appeared directly above Yggdmillenia's estate.

The seven of them could see that the war was becoming increasingly strange, especially when Semiramis' Hanging Garden of Babylon failed to seize the Holy Grail.

They witnessed the appearance of Vlad III, who shockingly had transformed into a monster, and Karna, who was assisted by several servants in trying to defeat Vlad.

Meanwhile, the masters of the third faction decided it was time to act and began summoning their own servants.

-----

Just before the war erupted.

At Yggdmillenia's residence, Caules and Fiore, having received news that the enemy forces were advancing, became a little panicked, as their preparations were still incomplete.

"Yo, Chiron-san... need some help?"

A man's voice suddenly made everyone in the room tense up, except Chiron, who had already recognized the voice.

"Sigh... please don't scare the young ones, Lord Kaoru!"

Kaoru then suddenly appeared from one of the room's corners.

He was still wearing his camouflage cloak.

And next to Kaoru was another figure, also wearing a cloak, but for some reason, the only visible part of the face was a mass of black fog.

Seeing the second figure made Chiron slightly wary, but remembering that Kaoru was on the Ruler's side, he lowered his guard.

"It seems the priest is getting impatient. If you don't hurry, you might all end up dead…"

Understanding the hidden meaning behind Kaoru's words, Chiron decided to send Caules and Berserker ahead, and if possible, to involve Rider in dealing with the enemy forces.

Meanwhile, Chiron himself wanted to ask Kaoru for help in protecting his master.

Although Chiron wasn't entirely sure about his decision, he still hoped Kaoru would safeguard his master.

"Stop dreaming, Chiron!!!... if I want it, by killing this girl, you would disappear too… you know that, don't you?"

With a cold expression, Kaoru spoke, gazing at Chiron and Fiore.

"Yes, I know, but you won't kill my master, Lord Kaoru."

But Chiron wasn't worried, especially after hearing Kaoru's words.

It was true Kaoru was incredibly powerful, and if he wanted, Kaoru could easily kill Fiore, and Chiron wouldn't be able to do anything.

However, because Kaoru hadn't attacked them and instead informed them that the Red Faction had launched a full-scale assault, it meant that Yggdmillenia—or at least Chiron and Fiore—still had some use to Kaoru.

That was why Chiron dared to ask for Kaoru's help.

Seeing that Chiron was completely unafraid made Kaoru laugh, followed by Chiron.

"As expected from a sage, how interesting! Fine! I promise to at least ensure that the Yggdmillenia family won't perish."

Even though Kaoru didn't care about the Yggdmillenia family, if Fiore or her brother survived and became the family's head, Kaoru could use the fact that he protected them to enjoy a long, leisurely vacation in Romania.

After getting confirmation from Kaoru, Chiron finally left to join the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Kaoru took Fiore to one of the safest spots and watched the war from a front-row seat.

----- 

With the death of Celenike, her master, Astolfo slowly began to disappear.

However, thanks to Sieg's timely arrival, they made a master-servant contract on time.

Thanks to Kaoru's training, Sieg, who was once weak and hesitant, had now transformed into a determined and strong young man.

Not only that, as a homunculus, Sieg also surprisingly possessed excellent combat abilities.

Together with Astolfo, he fended off the monster attacks.

Shortly after, reinforcements arrived—a small girl wielding a mace.

Though small in stature, the girl had tremendous power.

"As expected of Berserker, we can't lose, Master!!!"

Astolfo became even more excited with the arrival of reinforcements.

But, before long, two monsters appeared simultaneously from the forest.

A golem over ten meters tall, with various flora sprouting from its footprints.

The second monster resembled a mass of black flesh that devoured and destroyed everything in its path.

As if that weren't enough, an explosion erupted in the middle of Yggdmillenia's castle, followed by the emergence of a flying castle from its hiding place directly above the Yggdmillenia estate.

Then came Karna, engaged in battle with a monstrous figure bearing a terrifying face.

Amidst the shock and chaos, a beautiful voice rang out, accompanied by a dazzling red light.

"Clarent... Blood... Arthur!!!!!"

The light cleaved through the land, obliterating the monster horde.

And as the light faded, a knight clad in silver armor with hints of red appeared.

"Fools!!! Why are you just standing there? There are still plenty of enemies!!!"

Who would've thought a knight could curse so crudely?

"Come on, Mo-chan... no need to be so harsh, smile!!!"

Then, a silver-haired man holding a wooden staff and dressed like a wizard appeared, advising the knight.

"Shut up, Merlin!!! When monsters attack, and they just stand frozen, they might

 as well sleep at home!!"

The knight then dashed toward one of the monsters, which had the form of a mass of flesh.

On the other side, those who had been shocked by the sudden appearance of the monsters finally snapped out of it and began to move.

Little did they realize, there was yet another faction lurking, ready to eliminate them all.