That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

“Archer, because of my good eyesight, I found you right away. I just contacted Fujimaru and the others. It’s not too late to explain the situation after everyone is here. You think so too, right?”

"Feel the same."

Olga Marie nodded. Archer seemed to understand how to maintain appropriate distance in relationships, or in layman's terms, how to be tactful.

A little over ten minutes later, Mashu leaped to the rooftop with the orange-haired girl in her arms. After getting down from Mashu's arms, the orange-haired girl happily rushed towards Olga Marie: "Director! I'm so glad you're alright."

"Fujimaru... Ritsuka!?" Olga Marie was taken aback by the warm embrace, wondering if her relationship with her was really that good.

She remembered the name because not long ago, this Master candidate, who had no foundation in magic or related knowledge and only possessed the adaptability of a Master, had fallen asleep during a meeting and was angrily kicked out, barred from participating in the mission.

But why is she here?

Mashu's expression immediately relaxed upon seeing Olga Marie.

"What's going on?" Olga Marie pushed Fujimaru Ritsuka away with disdain, her sharp gaze piercing Mash. The girl's current appearance was completely different from before; she was wearing tight-fitting armor and holding a giant shield that could almost serve as a door.

Mash hesitated and said, "It may be hard to believe, but I have now become a Demi-Servant."

"This is something that's obvious at a glance. What I want to ask is why it's only been successful now."

Fujimaru Ritsuka muttered dejectedly, "How cold."

Mash nodded: "You should know that Chaldea prepared a Servant in advance. Due to special reasons, he had been in a state of slumber. When I was on the verge of death, he made a contract with me, asking to lend me his power in the hope that I could eliminate Singularity F."

"So that's why you chose this half-baked guy as your Master?" Olga Marie glared at Fujimaru Ritsuka beside her.

Fujimaru Ritsuka pointed to herself in surprise: "I'm the Master?"

"Yes!" Olga Marie replied decisively, stepping closer to Fujimaru Ritsuka, hands on her hips, exuding arrogance, "A candidate with no magical foundation, no related knowledge, only the adaptability to a Master!"

"Thank you for your explanation, Director." Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled wryly and raised her hand in a gesture of surrender.

Just then, a blue figure appeared, and Caster Cú Chulainn greeted him with a smile: "Yo, you're their leader?"

Olga Marie nodded: "Caster and Archer, you are the last two Servants who have not been corrupted."

"Huh? You know quite a bit about it. I roughly know why you've come. We are Servants, and we also want to end this Holy Grail War. How about we cooperate readily?"

"That's all we can do."

Mashu praised, "Director, thank goodness you're alright. You've managed to survive in such an environment. You truly deserve to be called Director."

Olga Marie shook her head with her arms crossed: "No, I shouldn't be standing here. A magician saved me."

"Magician, are there any other living people in this city?" Fujimaru Ritsuka exclaimed in surprise.

“Of course such a thing is impossible. I personally confirmed after the disaster that there are no living people in this city,” Caster Cú Chulainn said firmly.

Olga Marie glanced at Caster Cú Chulainn. "He is a very skilled magician and the Master in this Holy Grail War."

Caster Cú Chulainn paused, then asked solemnly, "Does that guy look about the same age as Fujimaru, and has white hair?"

"You know him?"

"Of course I know him! No wonder you know what happened here. The magician you met was Saber's Master."

“Saber, the first Servant to be corrupted? No, he doesn’t have Command Seals. I’ve checked that myself.”

“For a magician of that level, hiding Command Seals would be incredibly easy, and he probably doesn’t even need them. Since you know something about Servants, you should know what Command Seals are.”

"A highly concentrated magical crystal."

“That’s right. If it’s that guy, he can create Command Seals with ease.”

Upon hearing Caster Cú Chulainn's words, Olga Marie's thoughts were immediately disrupted. "Wait, let's exchange information first. Only in this way can we determine the differences in our opinions."

After some conversation, Olga Marie had a pretty good understanding of the situation. First of all, Hall hadn't lied to her, and the intelligence she received from Caster and Archer confirmed this.

But Hall must have many secrets he hasn't told her.

Caster Cú Chulainn stroked his chin and asked, "Speaking of which, your organization's name should be something like Chaldea, right?"

“Caster, do you know him?” Fujimaru Ritsuka asked in surprise.

“Before you arrived, that guy knew you were coming to Fuyuki City and told me that information.”

Olga Marie pondered, "If he's on Saber's side, why would he tell you this kind of information?"

“Your statement is not quite right. Although that guy claims to be Saber’s Master, according to him, he only fulfills Saber’s requests and does not assist Saber beyond that. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be standing here now.”

Is he an enemy?

"Yes and no. He's similar to Berserker. As long as we don't provoke him, we'll probably be fine. On the other hand, if he makes a move against us, the game is over. Don't underestimate him just because he's a human magician; his strength could be even more terrifying than Saber's."

"Judging from what you're saying, you must have fought with them. Let's leave aside that magician for now. Do you know Saber's real name?"

"Of course, once you've fought her and witnessed her Noble Phantasm, you can't forget it. Although I never had a direct confrontation with her, when she defeated Berserker, she used the second sword of the Chosen King—Excalibur."

Olga Marie glanced at Mash for some reason: "King Arthur!"

“Even among all Saber-class Servants, he is one of the top-tier beings, a truly terrifying individual,” Archer echoed, arms crossed.

"We dealt with the corrupted Rider before you arrived, and just now we teamed up with Mash to eliminate Assassin. Berserker disobeyed Saber's orders, so we don't need to worry about him. The only enemies left to deal with are Lancer and Saber. With your help, we can end this Holy Grail War tonight."

······

In the deep underground cavern of Fuyuki City, Hall rested with his head on Black Saber's lap. Black Saber had changed into a gorgeous evening gown, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, with long sleeves that accentuated her youthful figure and made her appear even more noble and mysterious.

Hall stared into Saber's indifferent eyes and asked, "If they lack the strength and resolve to protect this era, what will you do?"

Black Saber replied indifferently, "Then let's treat it as an obstacle and eliminate it together. As long as Master is by my side, there's nothing to be afraid of."

She has been using her own power to maintain the existence of this world, delaying the time it takes for the world to burn, and waiting for someone who can bear all of this to arrive.

She bears a responsibility similar to that of the Sword of Kings, summoning Howl to this world for two reasons: first, to maintain the stability of this world, and second, to have Howl act as a figure similar to Merlin, guiding this Holy Grail War and serving as a last resort.

This is the conclusion Hall has drawn from his observations over this period of time, and it is also the reason why Black Saber possesses the skill "Guardian of Humanity".

Hall smiled slightly and reached out to stroke the Knight King's pretty face: "In any case, we'll have an answer tonight."

"Yes, thank you, Master." Black Saber closed her eyes, revealing a rare hint of tenderness.

Chapter 291 Rafe Lenore Floros

Archer Shirou Emiya, Caster Cú Chulainn, and Shielder Mash Kyrielight are all top-tier Servants capable of standing alone. With the three of them working together, defeating the Shadow Servants Assassin Hassan and Lancer Medusa would be a piece of cake.

Moreover, Assassin Hassan and Lancer Medusa do not like to team up due to their compatibility.

Archer Shirou Emiya possesses the C-rank innate skill "Clairvoyance," which differs greatly in function from Caster's Clairvoyance, which allows him to see into the future. It's more accurate to think of it as eagle eyes. Standing at a high vantage point, he can capture the movements of the entire city. He found Lancer Medusa with almost no effort and then dealt with her in less than five minutes.

Later, they were ambushed at the entrance of the Great Hollow by Assassin Hassan of the Cursed Arm, but the attack failed due to the presence of the strongest shield, Shielder Mash Kyrielight, as the demon's arm could not penetrate the giant shield at all.

Assassin's appearance meant the assassination attempt had failed, and he was eliminated by Caster Cú Chulainn with a single fireball.

With that, all the Shadow Servants who obeyed Saber's orders were eliminated, and Fujimaru Ritsuka and her group entered the cave tunnel leading to the Great Hollow.

Water dripped from inside the cave, and streams of cold air, carrying the smell of decay, flowed out.

Olga Marie felt the surging evil magic power and couldn't help but shiver, clutching her arms: "What filthy magic power! Is the Greater Grail system really stored inside?"

“I’ve already said it, that’s not the Holy Grail, it’s a curse, the most powerful one, a curse that originates from the same source as our Servants. Little sister, you’d better be careful too, or you’ll become no different from them if you accidentally get tainted by the curse.” Caster Cú Chulainn warmly put his arm around Mash’s shoulder and teased her.

Mashu replied earnestly, "Mr. Caster, thank you for your advice."

Archer Shirou Emiya added nonchalantly, "I wouldn't mind giving you a ride when the time comes."

“This…” Mashu didn’t know whether she should thank him or how to respond.

"Wait! Wait!" Fujimaru Ritsuka forcefully separated Mash and Caster Cú Chulainn, glaring at him with displeasure: "What do you want to do to my junior schoolmate?"

“Senior…” Mashu blushed.

"Haha." Caster Cú Chulainn chuckled.

As they left the dark cave and their vision returned, the scene opened up dramatically, as if they had arrived at the end of the world. The flat wilderness was empty, stretching into the distance to a high platform, its back to the dark night sky, where an ominous curse was hanging from the black sun.

Standing atop a high rocky platform, Black Saber, clad in a black evening gown and wielding a holy sword, looked down at the newcomer: "You've finally arrived before me."

"She is Saber, King Arthur was a woman."

Olga Marie stared at Black Saber, horrified by the terrifying, surging magical power emanating from her; it was simply beyond the capabilities of a Servant.

Black Saber's gaze fell on the giant shield in Mash's hand. She let out a soft exclamation, and her expression subtly changed. She was very familiar with the properties of that shield. The Round Table, which once symbolized justice and fairness, was, in a sense, the strongest shield that inherited the King of Knights.

Is this also an unavoidable karmic connection...?

Black Saber patiently waited for their arrival before taking her seat.

Caster Cú Chulainn drew runes to probe the underground space. Upon seeing Black Saber, he didn't show any overt hostility, but greeted her in a flippant manner: "Yo, Saber, isn't your master, who looks like a shadowy figure, here?"

Black Saber said calmly, "If you can't even defeat me, you're not qualified to meet Master."

Caster Cú Chulainn clicked his tongue in amazement: "Planning to take on three at once? No wonder he's the renowned King of Knights."

"It doesn't matter. I also have some special circumstances. In a sense, doing it this way is actually fairer."

Olga Marie couldn't help but step forward and question, "Saber, you know what's happening in this city! If you really are the legendary King of Knights, shouldn't you stop all of this?"

"This is not something I should tell you, and besides, my duties as king are over." Black Saber shook her head.

"Let's put it another way: as long as we defeat you, we can end this Holy Grail War and resolve this singularity!"

“I am the core of this world.” Black Saber nodded.

"Hmph." Archer Shirou Emiya snorted coldly, displeased.

The original runes confirmed that no one else existed in the Great Void. Caster Cú Chulainn asked, "Wait, I need to confirm one last thing. Is that guy really your Master? I've seen your Master before, and it wasn't him. Besides, you two shouldn't have a contract relationship. It seems like he's the one who instructed you, causing this change in the Holy Grail War."

Black Saber coldly replied, "On the contrary, it was I who recklessly summoned Master using the power of the Holy Grail."

"what?"

Olga Marie was startled. A Servant could summon a Master? There's no such magic, but it might be possible if someone possessed the Holy Grail.

"He is a magician who transcends this world."

Caster Cú Chulainn speculated about Hall's identity: "Could he be Merlin?"

Black Saber shook her head.

Caster Cú Chulainn scratched his head: "I just can't understand it. It seems that only strength can decide the outcome."

Black Saber seemed to have been waiting for these words, her fighting spirit soaring to the sky.

"Be careful!" Mash sensed the fluctuations in Black Saber's magical power and raised her giant shield to block in front of everyone.