"Phew... phew... I apologize... Rider, I really cannot go on."
In the forest on the other side of the battlefield, the homunculus boy named Sieg by Astolfo was currently leaning against a tree, panting and recovering his stamina.
Three hours had passed since Astolfo took him out of the Millennia Fortress, but because his physical constitution was simply too weak, even after so long, they had only managed to flee this far.
"How can this be! Freedom, a new life, they are right in front of us. We absolutely cannot slack off at a time like this!"
Seeming dissatisfied that Sieg would say something akin to giving up at a time like this, the French knight Astolfo pouted and tugged at his hem.
Not long ago, through the connection between Servant and Master, he had already learned that the Yggdmillennia clan had discovered he had taken an escaping homunculus out of the Millennia Fortress.
Although, because Avicebron was not present, the Yggdmillennia clan did not care much about a small homunculus this time, that did not mean they could let him leave.
Setting aside the fact that just recently, the Yggdmillennia leader Darnic, acting on the orders of his Servant, Vlad III, had issued a lockdown and a thorough investigation of the city; just to figure out why a homunculus serving as a magical battery would escape inexplicably, and to prevent problems with the magical batteries acting as the foundational energy source for the war, they could not let them leave safely.
That was why Astolfo was in such a hurry.
Although his sanity had evaporated, he was not stupid. If they did not take the opportunity to leave Trifas while the Black Faction had not yet taken action, leaving later would probably not be so simple.
"But... I really cannot walk anymore..."
Although he knew clearly in his heart that Astolfo was right, Sieg was also very helpless right now.
Mass-produced by Gordes with the purpose of being a magical battery, he possessed excellent Magic Circuits at birth at the cost of sacrificing his bodily functions.
If his will to live had not been strong enough, he would have collapsed back when they broke through the barrier earlier.
Furthermore, after entering this jungle, Sieg inexplicably felt a desire to wait here and anticipate the appearance of a certain person.
This strange feeling confused him greatly. He did not know anyone other than Astolfo, who saved him, and Chiron, who took him in. So who was he anticipating?
"Sigh, I really do not know what to do with you."
Seeing that Sieg truly had no extra stamina to continue the journey, Astolfo ultimately could only sigh helplessly, deciding to rest on the spot for a while.
But just as he turned around, preparing to see how much further it was to exit the forest, a gray figure unexpectedly barged into his vision.
Oh no!
Almost instantly, Astolfo realized he had still been too careless. He never expected that the one the Black Faction sent to search for them was not Archer Chiron, as he had discussed with him beforehand, but Saber Siegfried, who was supposed to be fighting the Red Faction Servants.
If the opponent was Saber, he had absolutely no chance of winning!
"Since things have come to this, do I really have no choice but to forcefully use my Noble Phantasm to escape with Sieg?"
Thinking this, Astolfo immediately turned to look at Sieg.
But when he saw that Saber's Master, Gordes, had appeared behind Sieg at some unknown point and grabbed him by the back of the neck, the hope in his eyes instantly turned into panic.
"Stop! Saber's Master! You will hurt him doing that!"
"Hah?! Do you even know what you are doing?!"
Seeing that he and Saber had appeared before him, and this chaotic kid still had not grasped the situation, Gordes, who was already in a bad mood, instantly became furious.
The reason he appeared here could be called an accident, or it could be considered the result of converging worldlines.
Because under the influence of inexplicable emotions earlier, he had almost risked completely destroying his relationship with Siegfried by issuing an order to forcefully make him release his Noble Phantasm to interfere in the battle between the Black Berserker and the Red Rider, and had even caused Siegfried to be injured as a result.
If Darnic had not arrived just in time to stop him, Siegfried would very likely have been sneak-attacked by the enemy Archer while releasing his Noble Phantasm, leading to severe injury or even death.
But even so, Siegfried still left the battlefield injured, and Archer Chiron, who was originally responsible for hunting down the homunculus, replaced him in battle.
Correspondingly, Chiron's original task fell to them.
Thus, this scene occurred.
Seeing that Astolfo had absolutely no intention of obeying orders, Gordes did not bother arguing with this guy whose sanity had evaporated. He directly issued an order to Siegfried, commanding him to subdue Astolfo and bring him back along with Sieg.
Siegfried had no objections. Taking a step forward, he reached for Astolfo.
"Dammit, I will not submit to you! I am going to take him away today!"
But clearly, as one of the Twelve Paladins of Emperor Charlemagne, Astolfo, although having lost his reason, also possessed absolute persistence regarding what he believed in.
Knowing that negotiation was useless, he did not hesitate anymore. Summoning his gorgeous lance named "Trap of Argalia," he thrust it at Siegfried.
Seeing Astolfo get serious, Siegfried frowned slightly, but still chose to obey his Master's command, dealing with Astolfo's attack bare-handed.
After all, the effect of "Armor of Fafnir" worked on the magical level as well as physical attacks. As long as the rank did not reach B, no matter how absurd the effect of Astolfo's lance was, it would not take effect.
While the struggle was happening here, Gordes on the other side was examining Sieg, who was struggling in his grasp.
"You look just as ordinary as the other homunculi I created. Why didn't they want to escape, but you did?"
Looking at Sieg, whose Magic Circuits and bodily functions were exactly the same as ordinary homunculi, Gordes felt somewhat puzzled.
Although giving magical batteries intelligence was indeed foolish, as the creator, Gordes knew very well how simple the intelligence he set for the homunculi was.
Although their learning ability was very strong, they were completely unable to understand emotions. And without emotions, why would they want to escape?
Thinking of this, Gordes instinctively loosened his grip slightly and asked Sieg.
"Hey, homunculus boy, tell me what the purpose of your escape is."
But the moment Sieg slowly raised his head to look at him, Gordes froze in place.
It was not emotions he saw, nor was it the will to survive.
What Gordes saw in the depths of his eyes was only endless chaos and confusion. It was like catching a glimpse of an indescribable terror, instantly freezing him in place.
At that moment, Sieg suddenly raised his hand, balled it into a fist, and smashed it toward Gordes's chest.
"Understanding/Unlocked."