The sixth day of the Holy Grail War, as the sky over Fuyuki City was once again shrouded in moonlight and darkness.
At Marisbury's residence.
"The time is almost here. From now until sunrise, this city will become the battlefield that determines the outcome of the Holy Grail War."
Though five groups of participants remained, after observing over the past few days, Marisbury was certain that, aside from himself and Naoki, the other participants lacked strong ambition to win the Holy Grail War. Thus, his conclusion was that as long as he triumphed tonight and defeated his greatest obstacle, the rest would merely be cleanup.
Marisbury had absolute confidence in Solomon's combat strength. The 72 Demon God Pillars, though limited by the scale of a Servant's Spirit Origin and unable to be summoned all at once, were still unmatched. No one in the Holy Grail War could face multiple Demon God Pillars simultaneously.
"You're still insisting on coming with me, Master?" Solomon asked Marisbury.
Marisbury smiled. "Yes, I'm still convinced that Mr. Natsukawa and I can reach an agreement. I've prepared my offer, and next is direct negotiation with Mr. Natsukawa. This could be a negotiation that determines the future of humanity. Not attending in person would only show my lack of respect."
"With you by my side, I'm not worried about my safety."
With Solomon's abilities, assigning one or two Demon God Pillars to protect Marisbury was simple—though doing so would be slightly troublesome when facing Naoki.
Nodding, Solomon raised his hand, and several magic circles appeared beneath Marisbury's feet. After a brief flash of light, they merged into his body.
"I've given you comprehensive Magecraft protection. Neither physical nor magical interference will affect you. Of course, for Noble Phantasms and the like, the effect is limited. I'll also assign one Demon God Pillar to guard you later."
"Thank you very much, King."
"A small effort. If you were to retreat immediately, it'd make things a bit difficult for me—let's go, then."
Naoki hadn't specified the meeting location, but Solomon knew that once his side moved, the other side would follow, and ultimately, both parties would meet face-to-face.
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"They've started moving."
At the base, sensing Solomon's movement, Naoki, fully prepared, stood and looked at everyone in the room.
Artoria, Mordred, Morgan, Atalanta, Scáthach, Odysseus.
Touko, Aoko, Shiki, Rei.
And Naoki, with Merry still lying upstairs.
With a lineup like this to face Solomon, even Naoki, as a participant, felt it was a bit excessive. Additionally, Arcueid and Okita Souji hadn't joined yet, though Arcueid had said she'd help in her own way.
"Then, as agreed yesterday, Sensei, Aoko, Mordred, and Atalanta will try to sneak in and eliminate Marisbury, while the rest of us will hold off Solomon on the main battlefield."
"Can't I join the main battlefield too? Fighting humans feels like nothing." Mordred grumbled, slightly dissatisfied. She'd long awaited the chance to fight alongside her Father King and Mother Queen.
Morgan nudged Artoria slightly. After a moment's hesitation, Artoria stiffly raised her hand and patted Mordred's head. "Sir Mordred, I leave the secondary battlefield to you. I look forward to your performance."
"Alright, let's go, Aoko, Cat Girl, and Puppet Master. Whoever comes, I'll take them all down cleanly!"
This kid is easy to handle.
Everyone watching Mordred had the same thought.
"Glad you're so enthusiastic—then we'll head out first, Naoki." Aoko stood. "Don't get too carried away and use up all your energy. Save some for when I come for you later."
"Yeah, be careful, Aoko and the others. I think you might encounter one of the Demon God Pillars."
"Mordred and I will handle it, Naoki, don't worry." Atalanta replied. "You all be careful too. I don't want anyone not coming back."
"Then you'll have to let me touch your ears later."
"Not a chance."
After giving Naoki a disdainful look, Atalanta and the others left the base.
Once they were gone, Rei tugged at Naoki's sleeve. "Master, if you want to touch cat ears or tails, I can transform into Miss Atalanta for you to touch as much as you like. Or stay in my current form—that works too."
"Hear that, Lia? I have some similar little accessories in my room in London. Want to try them sometime?" Morgan chimed in.
"Morgan, now's not the time for that. And rather than a cat, I prefer a lion."
"Then just modify it a bit."
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Watching the sibling-like banter unfold, Naoki couldn't help but sigh—there was no pre-war tension at all.
But that was fine. If they were tense now, they'd be exhausted before the battle even started.
"Thanks, Rei."
"No need to thank me. Easing your burden is my duty."
Patting Rei's head, Naoki smiled at the group. "Alright, let's head out. This may not be the final battle, but it should be the most impactful fight in the Holy Grail War."
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Upstairs at the base, in Merry's room.
Hearing footsteps from below and the sound of the door closing, Riddell, sitting by the bed, understood the situation downstairs.
"They've left. It's about to begin—Gray, you're not going?"
"No, I'll stay here." Gray shook her head. "Big Brother gave me the task of looking after Sister Merry properly."
[But you actually want to go, don't you? The you now has the strength to go out there—just stab anyone you don't like with your spear!]
"Maybe… yeah. Of course, I want to stand with Big Brother, but there's no need right now. Big Brother's already surrounded by so many people, so my job is to wait for him to come back here."
"Welcome back—I think Big Brother will want to hear those words later, so I'll wait here for him and the others to return."