"Yay, long live hubby!" x2
Seeing Golden Gil defeated by Ryuya, Female Gil and Enkidu cheered happily.
They both ran behind Ryuya, hugging him with beaming smiles.
"In the name of a retainer, I petition the King to return immediately."
Similarly, sensing the King of Heroes' injuries, Tokiomi, far away in Snowfield City, had no idea what was happening.
He simply used a Command Spell to make Gilgamesh quickly leave the battlefield.
With a flash of magical energy turning into starlight, Golden Gil vanished.
Seeing Golden Gil disappear, everyone present understood what it meant… the Master had used a Command Spell.
"Hahahaha... To think the very first encounter of this Holy Grail War would yield such a spectacular battle."
His robust frame accompanied by hearty laughter, the King of Conquerors, Iskandar, clad in a red cloak and with a rugged appearance, could no longer contain his excitement and strode right up to Ryuya.
"Allow me to introduce myself. This king is Iskandar, the Conqueror of Macedonia."
As a monarch who galloped across half the world, Iskandar's name was naturally known to all. Actively driving his chariot before Ryuya, he dismounted and laughed heartily.
"Conqueror Iskandar, yes. Your name is quite renowned."
Smiling, expressing appreciation for Iskandar's boldness, Ryuya hadn't spoken more than a few words when he suddenly reached forward, plucking a spear tip from the air between two fingers.
It was Diarmuid's Gáe Dearg, the Red Rose of Exorcism.
"What?!" xN
Everyone was shocked by Diarmuid's sudden appearance. With the Golden Gil's recent disappearance, most had relaxed slightly.
No one expected a second Servant to appear at this moment. More shocking than Diarmuid's ambush was that Ryuya seemed to have anticipated it.
"Blocked it? Truly impressive."
Relieved that Ryuya blocked his surprise attack, as his Noble Phantasm was a constantly active type, Diarmuid didn't need to invoke its true name, as he had been forced to attack Ryuya by Kayneth using a Command Spell.
Diarmuid's heart wasn't in this fight.
Though ordered to continue attacking Ryuya, his actions were stiff and lacked fluidity, clearly against his knightly code.
"My apologies. My Lord compelled me to attack. Though I dislike this, I hope you understand."
Wielding one long and one short spear with ferocious prowess, a model of close combat, Diarmuid lived up to his title 'First Spear of the Knights of Fianna', his combat strength formidable.
"Oh, it's fine. I don't mind."
Shaking his head, thinking of the legend that Lancers always have Luck E, Ryuya felt both Diarmuid and Cú Chulainn indeed had poor luck.
'But speaking of which, Artoria at home was also a Lancer... her Luck stat was E too, right?'
His thoughts drifted for a split second, and that one-in-ten-thousand chance was seized by Diarmuid.
"Gáe Buidhe, the Yellow Rose of Mortality!"
The short spear's effect prevented wound healing. Wielding it, he intended to deliver a heavy blow to Ryuya.
"Hmm? A curse."
Instincts honed from ten years of battle within Rashomon allowed Ryuya to react at the last moment. A light twist avoided Diarmuid's strike.
Looking at the shallow cut on his left arm, he hadn't been fighting seriously at all.
"A curse? Quite interesting."
With a mere casual shake of his left arm, the authority of the Sun God outright expelled Diarmuid's curse.
Completely disregarding an injury that even Saber couldn't withstand in the original work, Ryuya's combat power was terrifyingly strong.
"What?"
Seemingly unable to believe his most confident attack only resulted in a scratch, Diarmuid was stunned. As he stood shocked, he heard a swift whistling sound from behind Ryuya. It was...
His eyes widened. Just as Diarmuid was about to speak, the speeding bullet was caught by Ryuya's hand.
"Origin Bullet?"
Looking at Kiritsugu's specialized projectile in his hand, Ryuya smiled, as if saying, "Why are you so disobedient?"
Lightly pressing his thumb against the bullet, mimicking a certain Railgun's signature move, he aimed at a location in the distance… where Kiritsugu was stationed with his sniper rifle.
"Damn it!"
Having restrained himself after Golden Gil's defeat and Iskandar's arrival, Kiritsugu, like Kayneth, wanted to seize the chance to eliminate Ryuya.
But Kiritsugu was even more patient than Kayneth and waited for the precise moment during the clash between Diarmuid and Ryuya to strike.
Believing his attack was guaranteed to work, he never imagined the bullet would be caught.
Contemplating his rifle's performance, it wasn't until Ryuya raised his hand that Kiritsugu realized things had gone terribly wrong.
Bang!
The bullet shot forth with the force of a roaring star, making one marvel how such power could come from a flick of a finger.
Accompanied by a sonic boom, Kiritsugu's vision blurred, followed by...
Boom!
Reacting first, Saber, though despising her Master's sneak attack, understood her duty.
As her Excalibur trembled in her hand, Artoria's body was forcefully pushed back dozens of meters through the earth, leaving a massive trench.
'What terrifying power. If that bullet had hit Kiritsugu, it would have likely blown right through his shoulder.'
Frowning at the now-destroyed Origin Bullet, Saber let out a long sigh of relief, having saved her Master's life.
"Diarmuid, retreat!"
Noticing others besides himself were present, Kayneth also felt prolonging the stalemate was disadvantageous.
Wanting to leave with Sola, he found his fiancée staring at him with an intensely cold gaze, like looking at an enemy… an expression he'd never seen on Sola before.
While hesitating, his body moved automatically. He found a seemingly weak point in the barrier and chose to make his exit first.
However...
Thud!
Feeling the barrier block his path, Kayneth's face changed. This situation was...
'It's a Reality Marble!'
Like Kayneth, wanting to leave this crisis-filled area, Kiritsugu and Saber also realized the situation had slipped from their control.
Every hair on their bodies standing on end, the two Masters instantly understood they had likely kicked a hornet's nest.