"How did Caster die?" Crouching on the ground and fiddling with the remains of a magic doll, Astolfo turned his head to ask the homunculus responsible for leading the way.
"I do not know. There were no survivors in Caster's magic workshop, nor was there any equipment to play back recorded footage." The homunculus replied expressionlessly.
"Mmmph—" Frankenstein let out a muffled groan, then smashed the wall next to her with her hammer.
"It seems there aren't any traps either." Astolfo stood up, shrugged helplessly, and continued walking inside, his eyes scanning the remnants on the ground. "There are no traces of the attacker left on the ground either; could it be that the Red Faction's Assassin has been deployed?"
Only an Assassin with the Presence Concealment skill could avoid the surveillance outside the castle and the gaze of the homunculi, and sneak into this heavily guarded castle under Chiron's supervision.
"Currently, the only Red Faction Servants who have not yet appeared are Caster and Assassin." The homunculus responded.
Astolfo suddenly stopped in his tracks.
At his feet lay the charred corpse of a homunculus.
His location was closest to the large magic doll hidden in the rear, which was suspected to be under construction by Caster.
"This homunculus is..." Astolfo looked at the charred corpse, a bad premonition arising.
"It is the homunculus you previously took out of the castle." Glancing at the charred corpse on the ground, the homunculus replied.
A look of regret appeared on Astolfo's face, and he slowly crouched down, placing his hand on the dry, stiff charred corpse.
"I'm sorry, even though I promised you I would save you." With tears in the corners of his eyes, Astolfo looked at the charred corpse on the ground and apologized repeatedly.
"Why?" The homunculus looked at Astolfo as if it had seen an incomprehensible scene. "Why would Lord Rider apologize to a homunculus that attempted to escape its own mission?"
Astolfo looked up, shook his head at the homunculus, which had not changed in the slightest compared to before.
If this homunculus had developed self-awareness like the charred corpse, he would have had the thought of explaining it to the other party.
But now... even Astolfo had no interest in talking to a puppet.
In this magic workshop, which had been mostly scrapped due to the loss of its master, neither Astolfo nor Frankenstein had any thoughts of conducting a detailed investigation.
After all, just as it appeared on the surface, it had been attacked, and there were no traces left by the perpetrator.
The two Servants almost unanimously shifted their target of suspicion to the Red Faction's Assassin, who had yet to make an appearance.
When he learned of this conclusion, reached by both Rider and Berserker, from Fiore, Darnic's complexion instantly turned livid.
If it was indeed an Assassin who had infiltrated the castle's basement, then wouldn't the location of the greater grail, hidden in the void, also be...
Glancing at the battle situation, which seemed evenly matched due to Chiron's participation, Darnic turned and quickly disengaged from the area, weaving through the Dragon Tooth Soldiers and heading toward the castle.
When he saw that the greater grail storage area was gone, Darnic's face turned livid.
When was it moved away?
How was it moved?
Why were there no signs?
Surveying the surrounding walls, which showed no signs of damage, and the gates on both sides of the drawbridge, which were clearly only wide enough for one person to pass through and far narrower than the volume of the greater grail, yet remained undamaged, Darnic's mind was a mess.
He had already confirmed it with his familiar; although there was residual magic, the greater grail had indeed disappeared from this void.
Connecting this to the suddenly assassinated Caster, Darnic had reason to suspect that the two remaining Servants of the Red Faction had infiltrated using some method, and after killing Caster, had transferred the greater grail using some kind of magic.
Then, where was the greater grail at this moment...
Darnic looked up, gnashing his teeth, toward the direction where the Hanging Gardens were scheduled to hover.
"Has it already been stolen! My greater grail!"
In the shadows, the rat-like familiar suddenly turned into shadow and entered a crack in the wall.
Meanwhile, in a space one hundred meters away from the castle's void, Shalltear was looking at the greater grail, which appeared even more dazzling now that a Servant had exited the stage, with a relaxed expression.
Turning her head to look at the soil blocks that had been resealed behind her, Shalltear looked at Aura with an expression of admiration.
"While transferring the greater grail, you also used the soil blocks I shattered to reseal the passage opened up behind; Aura, well done."
"Heh, it's nothing." Aura patted her own head, a proud arc unable to help but hang on the corners of her mouth. "After all, the opponent is a cunning and insidious human Magus. If I had used other soil blocks to reconstruct it, the opponent might have noticed something. Fortunately, when I was lurking in the shadows earlier, I observed the style of the surrounding walls carefully. Plus, combined with the optical books I read when I used to work at the Shinomiya Conglomerate, and having simulated the evolutionary process of the crack arrangements in my mind after the light source of the greater grail disappeared, I ensured that compared to before, not a single crack has changed."
Aura's face turned slightly red.
While Aura and Albedo were frantically learning new knowledge, she was drinking black tea and chatting in the student council office.
She felt like she was falling slightly behind these two colleagues.
---
"Ahahahaha—!" The wild man with a brilliant smile, Spartacus, was galloping across the battlefield.
Anything that blocked his path, whether it was a homunculus, a magic doll, or Dragon Tooth Soldiers, was swept into ruins by his sword, sent flying into the sky, and then landed heavily on the ground.
"Oppressors! Where are the oppressors!" Spartacus aimed directly at the Hanging Gardens.
He had already sensed that his source of magical energy had suddenly been severed; the Black Faction's Caster was likely gone, and without a master, he probably wouldn't last much longer, so he was currently sprinting at top speed.
He had to at least bite a piece of flesh off the oppressors before disappearing!
"Isn't the situation a bit unfavorable?" The Red Faction's Caster, Shakespeare, asked as he turned his head toward the direction of Spartacus outside the garden, while handing the tachi, Miike Tenta, which he had strengthened, to Amakusa Shirou Tokisada.
"Mm, it is indeed a bit unfavorable." Amakusa Shirou Tokisada nodded and replied. "To describe it in one sentence, that is 'plans are never as fast as changes'."
"Should we detonate him now?" Shakespeare asked.
"It is not yet time." Amakusa Shirou Tokisada replied with a smile.
His gaze was not currently fixed on Spartacus.
After all, Spartacus, to whom he had attached a detonation device, was currently just a bomb that could self-destruct at his whim.
What he cared about was how to make the paths of Spartacus and Jeanne overlap.
Being so close, and having seen the other party's existence with his own eyes, no matter how dull Amakusa Shirou Tokisada was, and no matter how much the privileges he once held as the Ruler class had been reduced, it was impossible for him to mistake the Ruler again.
"Ruler, Jeanne d'Arc. You have deceived me so bitterly."
"Hm? Mmm-hmm!" Upon hearing the familiar name, Shakespeare instantly acted as if he had overdosed, bloodshot eyes appearing, and began dancing around wildly. "That figure! Ah! So that's it! That is the enemy of the motherland, the witch Jeanne!"
Amakusa Shirou Tokisada looked at Shakespeare, who was suddenly acting like he was having a cerebral orgasm, with a look of disgust, and stepped back two paces, distancing himself slightly.
"I have suddenly been struck by inspiration! Father, may I write a little story?" Shakespeare asked, looking at Amakusa Shirou Tokisada excitedly.
"Better not." Amakusa Shirou Tokisada's mouth twitched slightly, and he politely declined. "I am worried that if you write this story, you will ruin my plan again."
"Hm? Ah, is that so." Shakespeare seemed to understand something, a look of frustration on his face. "Father, you intend to let Jeanne and Berserker meet, and then detonate that bomb when they fight due to a dispute, to blow that witch to death."
"Truly... Subarashii!" Shakespeare suddenly perked up. "Although the narrative quality is like a pile of stinky dung that is hard to look at, as far as the climax of the story goes, having the stubborn fossil of a girl blown up by a bomb at the moment of impending victory is still a pretty good ending!"
"Your personality is truly malicious, Caster." Amakusa Shirou Tokisada could no longer maintain his expression at all.
"Mm! Decided! Such a theater, naturally, must be watched up close! Father, I am going on a bit of a long journey! Hahahaha—!" Shakespeare laughed loudly, held his head high, and left.
"Shirou, do you need me to make that useless writer stay?" After Shakespeare's figure disappeared, Semiramis appeared beside Amakusa Shirou Tokisada and asked with a look of disgust.
"No, let Shakespeare go play for a bit." Amakusa Shirou Tokisada shook his head and replied. "Since the identity of the Ruler has been reconfirmed, the further away that saint is from us before we obtain the greater grail, the better."
"Besides, I am also very curious to see what kind of ending Shakespeare will give the saint."
"I am more worried that before that Ruler ending appears, Saber will first hack that useless writer to death with one sword strike." Semiramis reminded him. "Don't forget, that traitor Saber is still following beside the Ruler like a bodyguard."
"Then wouldn't it be better to lure Saber away first?" Amakusa Shirou Tokisada replied with a smile. "Presumably, Caster should also understand this point."
Does he really understand?
Semiramis expressed doubt multiple times.
After all, Shakespeare's performance just now was like he had lost his mind.
It just made people feel very uneasy.
Come to think of it, Shakespeare wouldn't want to have a Calamity Hill with Saber, would he?
If that were really the case, then he might just never return.
But looking at the 'everything is under control' smile of Amakusa Shirou Tokisada next to her, Semiramis chose to keep her words stuck in her throat and not say them out loud.
Anyway, that useless writer is the same whether he is there or not.
As long as I am in this Hanging Gardens, Shirou will absolutely not be in any trouble!
Semiramis was certain of this and once again turned her form into spirit particles and left.
"Tch!" Kicking a lunging Dragon Tooth Soldier into scraps, Mordred spat disdainfully. "These things are really weak to death, but they keep sticking to us like ants, which is annoying to look at."
"Saber, be careful. The Red Faction Berserker is about to cross paths with us." Jeanne suddenly turned her head to look at the forest nearby and warned, "Although it seems he has changed factions and became a Black Faction Servant, his stability is extremely poor... Huh?"
"Huh? What's wrong?" Seeing that Jeanne's tone had suddenly changed, Mordred looked at her in confusion and asked.
"It seems the Red Faction Berserker's master has changed to the Black Faction Caster, and just a moment ago, the Black Faction Caster was eliminated. Now, the Red Faction Berserker is at the end of its rope and will soon return to the throne." Jeanne tilted her head, looking troubled as she answered.
"Ha? You mean that guy is about to finish?" Mordred had an expression of 'is that really a thing?' and said, "Then let's just ignore him."
"Mm, let's do that." Jeanne chose to stop thinking.
In any case, there had to be Daniel meddling behind such strange occurrences.
After all, even the location of the greater grail had inexplicably been shifted by several hundred meters.
"Achoo—!" Daniel, inside the RV, couldn't help but sneeze.
"...Is it possible that for that Ruler, faction switching is such a common occurrence that she's no longer surprised by Berserker's behavior?" Seeing Jeanne and Mordred still heading straight for the Hanging Gardens, Shakespeare tilted his head in confusion.
He had already heard that the Archer had defected to the Ruler Faction.
On top of that, even Saber had become an ally of the Ruler...
Shakespeare suddenly felt that in this Holy Grail War, the one who was breaking the rules the most was none other than the Ruler herself!
Should one say, as expected of a witch!
"As expected, I should be the one to present a stage play meticulously crafted by me, Shakespeare, for the dear young witch." Shakespeare's smile gradually began to turn twisted.
"However, before that, I must first drive the troublesome Saber away from the Ruler's side."
"Rebellious Knight of the Round Table, let me let you taste what it's like to be a King!"
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