"This Servant is actually this strong?! The situation has changed." Kiritsugu Emiya, holding a sniper rifle and watching the battlefield at all times, wavered after seeing Meruem display overwhelming strength while fighting two at once.
If such a powerful heroic spirit were left unchecked, it could very likely disrupt his plans. The best approach was to unite with the other Masters and kill him.
And this Servant's Master still hadn't shown up. Who it was remained a mystery. Aside from Archer, a class with Independent Action, normally a Master must keep a certain distance from their Servant—otherwise the Servant can't bring out their proper combat power.
And the Berserker class absolutely couldn't have such an ability, so Meruem's identity was worth pondering.
The threat was simply too great. Even Kiritsugu Emiya, the Magus Killer, finally couldn't hold back.
"SABER, in the name of my Command Spell, I order you to assist CASTER and LANCER and kill this unknown Servant before you." Kiritsugu's voice rang directly in Artoria's mind as he decisively used a Command Spell.
If he could resolve the biggest problem here, paying the price of one Command Spell would be worth it.
"Kiritsugu." Artoria said, her body trembling. From her expression, you could see she was painfully enduring something. "I didn't think you'd be this despicable. This violates chivalry."
The last trace of goodwill Artoria had toward Kiritsugu vanished with this Command Spell.
Despicable? If it leads to victory, so what? If the Holy Grail truly is omnipotent, if it really can grant any wish, then only I can save humanity.
Artoria's words couldn't affect Kiritsugu at all. Or rather, at this point, nothing could affect him anymore.
Because his heart had long since died.
Unfortunately, Kiritsugu would never know that his wish could never be fulfilled. End war? Create a world where no one cries? But wherever there are people, there will be conflict. Even the Holy Grail couldn't make that wish come true.
Because the Holy Grail is nowhere near that powerful.
Or rather, there's an even simpler way to eliminate war—eliminate humanity. Otherwise, war can never truly stop.
If someone watched closely, they would notice that at this moment, both Artoria and Diarmuid's expressions were so dark they looked like they could drip water.
"Sorry, Irisviel." Trembling, Artoria raised the holy sword in her hand. Her stunningly beautiful face even twisted slightly from the struggle. "Even if it's Kiritsugu's order, it violates my chivalry... so... I refuse!"
Artoria's pain and Kiritsugu's command left Irisviel at a loss for what to do.
Command Spells aren't omnipotent. Don't assume Servants can't resist Command Spells. Artoria's Magic Resistance is AAA-rank. That isn't only because Saber has high Magic Resistance as a class, but also because Artoria carries the blood of the Red Dragon, giving her naturally high resistance to magecraft. She can even resist the binding of one Command Spell.
So if Kiritsugu truly wanted Artoria to attack Meruem, he would have to pay the price of at least two Command Spells.
But if Kiritsugu did that, then the next time he wanted Artoria to do something she didn't want to do, it would be difficult.
For a moment, Kiritsugu fell into hesitation as well. He hadn't expected Artoria's resistance to be this intense.
"That's enough!" Bolts of lightning fell from the sky, charging toward every Servant in the center and forcibly separating them all.
It was the Conqueror King, Iskandar's Chariot of Divine Might. The Conqueror King, who had seemed "offline" for a while, finally came online.
As expected, the veteran driver starts drifting the moment he disagrees.
"Looks like SABER's Master isn't this lady in front of us. You have a lady charge the front line while you hide in the shadows. If SABER's Master—you—are a man, then I really look down on you. You're even more contemptible than LANCER's Master." The Conqueror King might look thick-headed, but that doesn't mean he's stupid. On the contrary, he's the type who seems simple but is actually sharp. Linking Artoria's condition to what happened earlier, he saw through the fact that Artoria's Master wasn't Irisviel at all—there was someone else.
"SABER's Master, LANCER's Master, and CASTER's Master—I don't know where the three of you are watching from. But don't stain a knight's battle with filthy methods. Have them withdraw. If you continue using despicable means to disgrace those two, this king will join the battle and subjugate you!"
As the Conqueror King finished saying this, Artoria and Diarmuid's faces remained hidden in shadow, making their expressions unreadable. But from their trembling bodies, you could tell they were still fighting fiercely against the Command Spell orders.
This was the Conqueror King's magnanimity—or rather, the magnanimity a hero ought to have. The kind of magnanimity magi would never understand, and never possess.
"Tch." Kayneth was unwilling, but he could judge that the situation wasn't the best time to press the attack again. Even if he ordered another all-out assault and they still managed to kill that unknown Servant in the end, he might also lose the qualification to compete for the Holy Grail.
That would be a terrible trade.
"LANCER, withdraw for now. Let's end it here tonight."
"Heh heh, everyone—looks like I'll be leaving too~ Looking forward to seeing you next time. But before that, don't die, okay?" Seimei said with a wicked grin at everyone. After speaking, his body turned into spirit form and vanished before their eyes.
On Kiritsugu's side, although he didn't speak like Kayneth, you could tell he also abandoned the idea of ganging up on Meruem, because Artoria's struggles gradually lessened until she returned to normal.
"Kiritsugu Emiya—let's see each other again." Others didn't know who Artoria's Master was, but Meruem did.
With three Servants attacking together, even Meruem wouldn't get away unscathed. Although he looked relaxed against Seimei and Diarmuid earlier, that didn't mean Meruem could handle three Servants' assault at the same time.
Especially when one of them was Artoria—who, if she got Avalon back, could even surpass Goldie, a top-tier heroic spirit.
Meruem was currently being suppressed by the FATE world. If he wasn't careful, he might really lose here. At the very least, he'd have to reveal a few hidden trump cards to have a chance of breaking out of a three-on-one.
Artoria and Diarmuid both expressed their thanks to the Conqueror King.
"King of Conquerors, thank you." Even Meruem thanked him. If the Conqueror King weren't into both men and women with no restrictions, maybe being friends with someone like him wouldn't be bad.
"You're definitely not Berserker, so I'm very curious what you actually are. Can you tell me?" The Conqueror King looked at Meruem seriously. And with that question, he also voiced what Kiritsugu and Kayneth were thinking.
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