"My apologies, Lady Guinevere, for not providing a satisfying fight."
The sword pierced his back, and death awaited Siegfried. He had truly given his all, but defeat was defeat.
In his eyes, Guinevere's swordsmanship had reached a level where she could "write the Holy Sword in reverse."
Light began to emanate as Siegfried faded away. In his final moments, he spoke no more words. Perhaps, for him, there was nothing to complain about in this honorable defeat.
As he vanished, far behind them, where Morgan and the main force were still advancing, Amakusa Shirou quietly sighed in relief. With memories of a Holy Grail War from another world...
Siegfried's early elimination was a blessing for both him and them. For him, it meant avoiding the risk of being eliminated like a fool after inexplicably giving away his own heart due to some random verbal persuasion. For them, it meant they wouldn't have to face the "Sieg risk"—a homunculus with Siegfried's transplanted heart, his protagonist aura maxed out.
"Assassin, perhaps..."
"Master, are you still unable to let it go?"
"No..."
"If you can't let it go, I can fight you again."
In that other timeline, Amakusa Shirou had meticulously planned everything, yet he never anticipated that a newly born homunculus could win the sympathy of so many enemy Servants—even the Overseer at the time, Jeanne, had sided with him. Was he bitter? Amakusa still felt a trace of resentment.
But then again, failure was failure. He had seared Sieg's "talk-no-jutsu" into his memory. Moreover, after arriving in this world, he had met a colleague named Kiritsugu Emiya.
Through their conversations, Amakusa learned that Kiritsugu had once shared the same dream of world peace. Only then did he finally find true release.
"No, Assassin. That is a wish even the Holy Grail's miracles cannot grant. Besides, not everyone wishes to become one. In fact, those who desire humanity to merge into a single entity are an extreme minority."
"Speaking of which, should we try... what comes after kissing? I've never had that kind of experience before."
In the private channel between Master and Servant, Semiramis remained silent for a long time. She opened her eyes and looked at Amakusa, who sat beside her with his eyes closed, unsure whether he was being serious.
But if Amakusa was serious, she wouldn't mind replenishing her beloved Master's magic.
"I say, Assassin, why are you blushing? Guinevere just sent word for us to go pick up the prisoners. You and Amakusa should go."
"By the way, you should still be combat-capable even before the Hanging Gardens are complete, right?"
After all these years, Morgan was only gentle with a select few, like Guinevere. With none of them present, her tone was sharp, causing Gareth, whom she had summoned, to tremble in fear.
Gareth was truly terrified of her mother.
"We understand."
What did Amakusa and the Empress understand? They understood they were being sent to retrieve the short, stout Gordes, as well as Cú Chulainn and Caren, who had been defeated by the King of Knights and finally captured.
"Lia, aren't you going to kill this Caster?"
"Shouldn't we interrogate him for information first? He's an enemy Servant, after all. He should know more than what Mordred managed to probe."
"But we have that short, stout Master!"
"As you've taught me before, information from interrogations must be cross-verified separately. Besides, given the enemy Caster's strength, our... cough, Lancer couldn't beat him."
"Hehehe, Caster, did you hear that? The enemy actually has a Servant who can't beat you! You're so amazing, ya know!"
Cú Chulainn's staff had been taken, and his hands were bound, but Caren faced no such restrictions. The tiny girl stood beside him, taunting him relentlessly.
"My Little Master, why didn't you summon me as a Lancer?"
"Stupid dog, still barking!"
Cú Chulainn didn't get angry at his venomous little Master. He simply flicked her forehead with just enough force to make the girl, who delighted in others' pain, experience some of her own.
After watching them for a moment, Guinevere contacted Morgan and learned that Amakusa and the Empress were on their way. She then unfurled her still-extended dragon wings and swept the King of Knights—who had cooperatively dismissed her armor—into a princess carry.
A message arrived from the King of Conquerors: Mordred was already fighting a spear-wielding Servant and had been pushed onto the defensive just a few exchanges into the battle.
"Guinevere, do you still want to fight?"
"Of course! Siegfried didn't give me a satisfying fight at all!"
"So, this spear-wielding Servant?"
"As you know, I specifically sold the Holy Relic linked to Achilles to that kid from the Yggdmillennia Family."
In preparation for the Great Holy Grail War, Guinevere had also been collecting Holy Relics. She had the power to choose which Servants from the Camelot era were summoned, and she had a room overflowing with relics of top-tier Servants. If she wished, she could even attempt to summon Gilgamesh.
The problem was the limited number of slots in the Holy Grail War. Moreover, to ensure she could fight to her heart's content, she had intentionally suppressed the strength of her faction's other Servants.
After most Masters had chosen their desired Servants, the only Class left for Morgan to freely choose was Lancer.
For that slot, she could have summoned the incredibly powerful Karna. But she claimed she wasn't familiar with him and insisted on summoning a "child" she knew.
As for why she didn't also give away the Holy Relic linked to Karna...
Guinevere still retained her memories of Fate/Apocrypha. Although she couldn't be certain if the Yggdmillennia Family would summon the same Servants after so many changes, she still had to consider the possibility that the enemy might summon Servants like Chiron.
If too many top-tier Servants like Karna, Achilles, and Chiron gathered on the enemy's side...
She worried they might become too overwhelmingly powerful.
"Guinevere, we've arrived, but the King of Conquerors has already started fighting him."
"Lia, I see it. I also see that Mordred is severely injured..."
Achilles, the great hero of Greek mythology, was renowned for his invincible strength and immortal body. Of course, equally famous was his Achilles' Heel, the weakness that could destroy his immortality.
Roughly speaking, Achilles and Siegfried were the same type of Servant, with Achilles being a complete superior to Siegfried in terms of strength.
Furthermore, Achilles possessed Dromeus Komētēs, the legendary Noble Phantasm that made him "the fastest among all heroes of all eras."
While Guinevere had been flying here with the King of Knights, Mordred had been defeated by Achilles' divine speed and his equally top-tier close-quarters combat, which he unleashed after abruptly planting his spear.
In the sky, Achilles' Troias Tragōidia and the King of Conquerors' Gordius Wheel streaked across the heavens like meteors. As Servants with similar Noble Phantasms, they fought with exhilarating joy.
"It makes sense. Two of the horses pulling Achilles' chariot were gifts from the sea god Poseidon, while the Thunder Oxen pulling the King of Conquerors' chariot are sacred beasts related to Zeus."
"It's not just the charioteers; even the horses and oxen pulling them must be excited by this fated connection, right?"
Descending from the sky, she saw Sakura treating Mordred, and even more clearly, she saw the defiant bitterness in Mordred's eyes after her defeat.
Although Guinevere wanted to avenge Mordred immediately, interfering now would mean stealing the King of Conquerors' prey. She would end up alienating both sides.
"For now, let me treat you."
Guinevere knelt before Mordred, feeling a headache coming on as she examined her heavily damaged doll-like body.
Meanwhile, in the forest not far from Yggdmillennia Castle, homunculi armed with swords, spears, and halberds began to surround them.