Just as Fiore was nervously watching the clash between the heroic couple, Darnic's telepathic message suddenly reached her ears.
Rider had run off with the homunculus that Caster had selected to be the core of the Noble Phantasm.
Except for Gordes and Saber, the other masters and Servants had all gone out to pursue.
The castle's security issues and the hospitality for the guests were temporarily entrusted to the homunculi to be fully responsible for.
"I am very sorry, everyone." Fiore looked at Artoria and the others with an expression of regret. "Because of some problems in the castle, I have to excuse myself for a while. During this time, for all your needs, you can issue instructions to the homunculi of our Yggdmillennia Clan."
"You are too polite, Fiore." Jeanne turned her head to look at Fiore and responded.
"Don't worry about us, just go ahead and attend to your own business." Daniel replied with a smile.
Finally, after taking one last reluctant look at the image transmitted by the familiar, Fiore left the RV in her wheelchair with the assistance of a homunculus.
Well, to be fair, she actually really wanted to know what the final outcome of these two would be.
It was the same nature as being halfway through watching an anime, but your boss suddenly tells you to work overtime.
"I feel like if they keep fighting like this, they won't be able to decide a winner even by dawn." After Achilles left, Sanzang returned directly to the place where Kriemhild and Siegfried were fighting to observe their battle in secret.
"Fighting to decide a winner is not the point this time." Daniel responded. "The point is when Siegfried can understand what he should be doing right now, and when Kriemhild can honestly say what she wants to say from the depths of her heart."
"Blindly defending and not taking the initiative to attack won't accomplish anything."
"Then can I go back now? I feel like the situation here is very boring." Sanzang asked.
"Not yet," Daniel refused. "Because I don't know if the Red Faction or Black Faction will pull any more tricks, I have to ask you to keep an eye on things, Sanzang."
"I feel like you're making things difficult for me, Sanzang."
On the other side, the homunculus boy, who was indeed holding Astolfo back due to his limited mobility, was panting as he clutched the Noble Phantasm that Astolfo had forced upon him, following closely behind.
Perhaps his desire to survive was so strong that his body had actually adapted to this level of movement in such a short time.
"La la la la—"
Watching Astolfo, who was skipping and singing in front of him like an elementary school student on a field trip, the unnamed homunculus boy felt very bewildered.
He couldn't understand why this boy named Astolfo, whose class was Rider, was helping him so enthusiastically.
But he was truly grateful to him.
…Grateful, huh.
The homunculus boy felt he had learned a new word.
But this sense of ease came to an abrupt halt when a young girl wearing a white wedding dress appeared.
"Ya, yahoo—Berserker, could you pretend you didn't see anything and let us pass?" Astolfo greeted the Servant from his own faction with an awkward wave.
"Mm-hmm!" Frankenstein's voice sounded filled with anger, and she gripped the war hammer in her hands tightly, looking as if she would rush over and smash Astolfo with it at any moment.
"Ah, I guess that's a no." The ease and comfort on Astolfo's face dissipated, golden light particles gathered in his hands, and his lance began to appear.
"Be careful not to get caught in our attacks! Otherwise, you'll die!" After giving the homunculus boy behind him a warning, Astolfo took the initiative to attack Frankenstein.
One touch and you're down!
Astolfo's target was Frankenstein's left leg.
Frankenstein responded immediately.
"Ugh—!" She unceremoniously smashed the war hammer, which was shining with dazzling electric light, toward Astolfo.
The moment the lance and the war hammer collided, the shockwave forced the ground around them down by a few centimeters.
The homunculus boy was also blown aside by the wind generated by the shockwave, slamming heavily into a tree trunk.
Magic circuits began to appear on the surface of the homunculus boy's body, running rapidly under his control.
He easily used self-healing magic.
The injuries he had just sustained from slamming into the tree trunk were immediately healed.
The homunculus boy clutched the large sword he had dropped to his chest, then stumbled and ran in the other direction.
Before leaving, the homunculus boy saw Astolfo's brilliant smile.
"Yare yare, there's just no communicating," Astolfo sighed and muttered, looking somewhat helplessly at Frankenstein, who was attacking him like a frantic beast.
"Mm-mm-mm—" Frankenstein was locked in a struggle with Astolfo.
"The one who can't communicate should be you, Rider." Darnic's voice suddenly rang out from behind Astolfo, and the sound of something being thrown to the ground immediately caught his attention.
Using his lance as a pivot point, Astolfo vaulted over Frankenstein in one motion, taking a confrontational stance facing the group.
"Boy!" The homunculus boy was lying in pain at the feet of the horse ridden by Vlad III.
"Let him go!" Astolfo shouted, glaring angrily at everyone in front of him.
"Rider, do you know what you are doing right now?" Darnic asked, staring coldly at Astolfo.
"Of course I do! I'm just helping a boy who wants to survive this Holy Grail War!" Astolfo replied, his tone righteous despite his lack of a strong argument.
"…Rider." Caules looked at Rider with some surprise.
Fiore helplessly covered her forehead with one hand.
"Rider, if it's just a desire to survive, then everyone here has that desire," Darnic replied, ignoring Astolfo.
"No! The boy is completely different from you all!" Astolfo retorted. "He didn't volunteer to join this Holy Grail War!"
"But he was created by us specifically for this Holy Grail War," Darnic replied. "Furthermore, the homunculi we create are not endowed with self-awareness; the so-called 'desire to survive' you speak of is likely just a self-delusion caused by your Loss of Reason."
"Because you are Astolfo, one of the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne; you are a hero, a knight."
"And this Holy Grail War was born entirely out of personal desire, which differs from your ideals, so you used your Loss of Reason to hallucinate a homunculus boy hoping to survive the Holy Grail War."
Darnic wove his lies skillfully.
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