Meanwhile, on the other side.
Cloaked in darkness like the endless night, with demonic eyes as cold as the moon, Sakatsuki fully unleashed his nature as an assassin, revealing his brutal efficiency—and thus began the nightmare for the Black faction.
Magic bullets shrieked through the air, trailing streaks of light as they descended from the sky, striking Vlad III's stakes with pinpoint accuracy, shattering them completely. The exposed Vlad III wore a livid expression as he roared, raising his hand. A torrent of dark energy surged forth, obliterating everything in its path—dragon-tooth warriors, golems, homunculi—flattening the uneven terrain before vanishing into the horizon.
Countless trees and debris swayed and collapsed, the deafening roar sending plumes of dust into the air.
Yet not a single shadow emerged from within.
Sakatsuki had vanished once more.
"Gone?"
"But, my lord, there's still one left here!"
Astolfo, maneuvering his hippogriff with frantic dodges, had drawn the relentless pursuit of Spartacus. The gladiator, now nearly the size of a cosmic monster, swung his massive hand with terrifying force. A startled cry rang out as a figure plummeted from the sky!
"Tch." Vlad III let out a displeased grunt but still flicked his wrist, summoning stakes to catch the falling figure. He snapped, "A Rider, frightened enough to fall from his mount? Truly, you—"
"Eh? What'd you say, my lord? I can't hear you!"
Astolfo's boisterous shout echoed from above. Vlad III's expression twisted in alarm, but before he could react, the stakes shattered. A pitch-black gun barrel pressed against his face—and the trigger was pulled.
BANG!
Agony tore through his cheek as if it had been ripped apart. Vlad III bellowed, clutching his face, acutely aware of the shattered bone beneath his fingers. The deep indentation was unmistakable. Pain ignited the prince's fury—his bloodied hand seized the gun barrel and wrenched it away, only to find it empty.
Sakatsuki had already crossed his fists. With a sonic boom, he drove a punch straight into Vlad III's chest.
A crisp crack of bone echoed, followed by the destruction of dozens more stakes. Even as a makeshift barrier formed, the force of the blow sent Vlad III flying backward. By the time he steadied himself, Sakatsuki had once again activated Presence Concealment, melting into the endless shadows.
An assassin's Presence Concealment, combined with the Circle of Stillness unique to Bajiquan, made the already agile killer even more ghostly—nearly indistinguishable from his surroundings.
How could one discern another patch of darkness within the night itself?
Vlad III no longer had the luxury of mourning his damaged Noble Phantasm. With a furious clench of his fist, stakes surged forth like a flood—not for a wide-range attack (which would be useless against Sakatsuki), but as spears aimed straight at the Red faction's Archer—Atalanta!
As a commander, Vlad III understood the principles of warfare. Judging by Sakatsuki's earlier actions, he would never allow this female archer to come to harm.
But he overlooked one crucial fact—Atalanta was no third-rate Servant. She was one of Greece's greatest hunters.
"If you wish to catch me, then try your best!"
Noticing the incoming attack, Atalanta leaped up, nimbly traversing the battlefield as the wooden stakes pursued her relentlessly. Yet when Atalanta was determined to flee, even an ambush from all sides couldn't trap her.
In the darkness, an overly burly figure revealed a vague outline. A sinister gust of wind rushed toward her, making Atalanta's fur stand on end. She desperately twisted her body, dodging the stakes while veering to the side.
Whoosh—
A hurricane swept across the ground—not a natural phenomenon, but the massive palm strike of a rebellious gladiator who had mutated into a monstrous behemoth!
Like a falling leaf, Atalanta was tossed up and down by the turbulent currents. Even worse, Vlad III seized Spartacus's "assist," hurling countless stakes toward her.
"...Assassin!"
Realizing she couldn't evade them all, Atalanta didn't hesitate to call for backup. The black-cloaked assassin appeared as expected, swiftly wrapping an arm around her slender waist while gathering her fluttering emerald-green hair with his other hand. Holding her in a princess carry, he carried her through the storm of stakes.
Curled up against the young man's chest like an oversized cat, Atalanta looked up at his face, her cheeks slightly flushed.
To think there was someone she could rely on so freely in the midst of battle—this was a first for her...
"Are you alright?"
Atalanta blinked before realizing Sakatsuki was speaking to her. "Mm, I'm fine. Thanks, Assassin."
"Just call me Sakatsuki."
As he spoke, Sakatsuki freed a hand to fire several shots in succession. His magical bullets cleared a safe zone around them. Setting Atalanta down, he instructed,
"This battlefield isn't suited for you. Go support the others—I'm sure you'll be more effective elsewhere."
As Sakatsuki said, neither Vlad III, whose strength nearly matched Karna's, nor Spartacus, who was impervious to ordinary attacks, were opponents Atalanta could defeat with just her hunting bow... and tattling wouldn't help either.
As for Astolfo, who was still flying high above and refusing to come down, he clearly didn't need Atalanta's assistance either.
"Understood." Atalanta nodded without hesitation, turning to leave—but then she paused, her beast ears twitching slightly.
"Stay safe, Sakatsuki."
"Huh? Oh." Sakatsuki was taken aback, but Atalanta had already left. The rumbling in the distance grew louder—evidently, the three Black Faction members, while fighting among themselves, also intended to drag him into the fray.
Unfortunately, since Sakatsuki had gone out of his way to extract Atalanta from the battlefield, he had no intention of returning.
"See you again if fate allows."
Reluctantly unclenching his fist, the young man pushed off the ground, abandoning the increasingly perilous battlefield—along with Spartacus's mad laughter.
—And then, he arrived in the forest, where the flamboyantly dressed playwright had been waiting for some time. The Black Faction's Berserker, Frankenstein, stood dazed nearby, like a puppet drained of power.
"Oho! Has the true master I serve finally arrived? As you instructed, I've already sealed the Black Faction's Berserker within my Noble Phantasm!"
Shakespeare winked at Sakatsuki. "Now then, it's time to test your hypothesis!"
"I know." Sakatsuki took a deep breath to calm himself.
The reason he suppressed his battle lust and chose to reunite with Shakespeare was to attempt two things.
And these two matters, Sakatsuki had no intention of informing Artoria or Reika about. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, he decided to bring along a little one...
"Mommy Sakatsuki?" A shadow coalesced, revealing a loli with ice-blue eyes blinking playfully as she appeared before the two.
"Mhm." Sakatsuki's expression softened slightly as he crouched down, gently patting little Jack's head before turning to Shakespeare.
"Alright, I'll begin now."
"Ohoho, proceed proceed! 'To shadows turn for solace, in phantoms seek thy fill!'"
Ignoring Shakespeare's eccentric remarks, Sakatsuki closed his eyes as a pale golden light gradually enveloped him. He then stepped forward.
Amidst the shimmering light, the great literary figure beside him instantly vanished, replaced by Frankenstein wielding her warhammer and the Doctor standing before her, smiling with open arms.
What followed was simple—Sakatsuki cleaved through the Doctor's phantom with a single slash, subdued the charging Frankenstein, and once again offered her a projected white flower.
"Our second meeting, Frankenstein."
The young man who spoke these words didn't look at Frankenstein's face but instead fixed his gaze on her chest—more precisely, the energy core concealed within. Then, without mercy, he pronounced her elimination:
"You will die here."