How come the Ace of Cups isn't considered the Holy Grail?

“It’s a directional barrier, but not entirely.” Bazdilot stood still. “But this obstacle shouldn’t be a problem for you, right?”

"Since you claim to have the power to crush the gods, then show me here."

"...I would have done it even without you telling me."

After saying this, Alcides began moving towards the upper levels of the meat processing plant, which was still in the process of transforming, in order to attack Philia, who was clearing away the monsters that were falling from the sky.

Upon hearing that his servant had left, Bazdilot began to do what he was supposed to do.

Servant versus Servant (Felia: ?), Master versus Master – this is the kind of battle the Holy Grail War should be like…

Bazdilot pulled a pistol from his pocket, walked to the shadows on the stairs, pointed the gun at Haruli, who was frozen in place in front of him, and spoke indifferently.

"You think so too, don't you, unfamiliar Master?"

"what……"

When Halluri met the eyes of the owner of the magic workshop, she felt as if the blood in her body had stopped flowing.

It was as if the person standing in front of her was not a human, but a synthetic monster created solely to kill.

There is no turning back.

It's not just a matter of being physically inseparable; there's also no room for maneuver in terms of stance.

They are now.

Without a doubt, they are 'enemies'.

Chapter 287 That 'Thing' and 'That Thing'

How did Halluri meet Philia?

Actually, it wasn't anything serious. It was just that when she was chosen to become the Master and summoned the true Berserker, something unexpected happened, resulting in her being seriously injured by a casual attack from the Servant she summoned.

At the time, she thought her life was about to end at the hands of her servant, and regretted that her wish to take revenge on the magical world could not be fulfilled. So she planned to let Berserker fulfill this last wish in her place.

It was at this time that she encountered Felia, who was passing by, and was rescued by her.

Berserker, who should have been completely irrational and indiscriminately attacking anyone, became as docile as a golden retriever raised from a puppy under Philia's caresses.

Not only did it quiet down, but it also signed a contract with Felia as instructed, establishing a master-servant relationship.

It is no exaggeration to say that every breath she takes, every drop of blood flowing through her veins, and everything she owns belongs to Philia.

If she hadn't met Philia back then, she wouldn't have been able to continue participating in the Holy Grail War, and she wouldn't even be standing here now!

So, what should I do with this life that I've been given a second chance at?

As Haluri was feeling a little regretful for having followed the crowd to this place, this question popped into her mind.

For a moment, she didn't care about the gun barrel she was facing. She let out a long breath as if a heavy burden had been lifted, and the fear in her eyes lessened. She calmed down instantly.

'As expected... I still need to take revenge on the world of magic, right?'

A girl who hates the world of magic gains the talent of a magician the moment she can switch her own emotions.

'Yes...that's right. From the very beginning, she planned to wreak havoc in this world without restraint and then disappear. So what is she afraid of now?'

In her heart, she was already prepared to use everything she had gained in order to extricate herself from this situation.

Unaware of the changes occurring within Haluri, Bazdilot stopped a short distance away, his gun still firmly aimed at her.

"Did you come here on your orders?"

"It was... Miss Philia's suggestion; I just followed her."

"So that's how it is, that 'thing' is called Philia..." After the battle in the workshop had been going on for a while, Bazdilot finally learned what his enemy was called.

"What exactly is that 'thing'?"

Bazdilot asked Haluri about Philia's true identity, but Haluri only said that Philia was her benefactor and nothing else.

Because she really didn't know anything.

"She is my benefactor. I only need to know this. I don't need to know anything else."

Philia, who was eliminating monsters in the distance, heard what Haruli was saying and let out a clear laugh.

"Oh my, you were just trembling like a little deer a moment ago, but now you can say such endearing things~"

"However, once they notice my charm, they really have no interest in learning more about me!"

Completely ignoring what she was saying, Alcides continued to shoot arrows at her. The arrows, seemingly appearing from nowhere, always managed to fly out of her blind spots, then were deflected by the dense magic binding her body, heading towards the hordes of magical beasts that kept descending from the sky.

Every monster struck by the arrow met a gruesome end, its body shattered to pieces. At this moment, Alcides displayed his prowess as an archer, the arrows hidden among the scattering blood and gore as they hurtled toward Philia.

"That's it?" Philia smiled smugly, about to say that no matter how many arrows you send, it won't matter, she can easily return them all.

As she watched the dozens of arrows that had been shot out of nowhere, flying from the open ceiling into the sky, she silently swallowed back what she was about to say.

Although she wasn't particularly afraid of the arrows, why did those bronze arrows turn into birds with metal wings and beaks as they fell toward her?

"These are... the strange birds of Lake Stinfalis, aren't they? The familiars of the Western God of War?" Philia couldn't help but utter words of admiration as she looked at the giant birds that were flying menacingly toward her.

"Ha, you're quite capable!"

At the same time, Haluri's attention was also drawn to the sight of Philia being besieged by countless giant birds.

Bazdilot didn't miss the opportunity and immediately pulled the trigger, firing a bullet from his gun.

clang!

As if it had hit an invisible wall, the bullet, specially modified by Bazidillot and capable of penetrating high-level defensive magic, was deflected in mid-air by something unknown.

Then, 'that thing' revealed itself in the center of the workshop.

A sound that was almost as loud as noise rang out in the space between Bazdilot and Haluri. A huge, rusty iron block appeared, accompanied by the sound of steel rubbing against steel, and became a wall that separated the two of them.

The massive iron block swept across Philia's side, shattering all the strange birds with a single blow. The noise gradually expanded until the huge shadow appeared in full in the center of the workshop.

Bazdilot and Alcádez, who were in the arena, didn't even have time to be amazed by the appearance of 'that thing'; all their attention was focused on the size of 'that thing'.

"Eh?"

The Berserker that appeared before Haruli was much larger than she had initially estimated when she summoned it; it was now a monstrous form that could rightfully be called a monster.

Before coming here, it was only the size of an elephant, but now it has become a giant machine that can carry away the entire Optimus Prime train on the otherworld travel line... Spider?

At least the shapes look very similar.

“dddd enemy enemy iii…… enemy ddd enemy enemy iiiidi people people people people……”

The creature called Berserker trembled and made a 'creaking' sound, as if it were making a sound.

what?

What is it saying?

Haruri, the master of this thing, looked confused, while Philia, whose giant bird attacking her had been easily dealt with by Berserker, smiled and urged her on.

"Hurry up, Halluri, you're the Master, give the order!"

"what?"

"Berserker is asking who the enemy is. If you don't answer, it might consider everyone here, including you and me, as the enemy and destroy the entire city!"

Is this... a test of her ability to kill?

"Berserker! The enemy is..." Without delay, she immediately called for her servant, but as the order was about to be given, her human side, rather than that of a magician, caused her to hesitate briefly.

She finally made her decision.

"The enemy... is this 'magic workshop'!"

"Please... cause a huge disturbance and destroy this place!"

Chapter 288 Francesca: It's alright, 'I' will take action!

"Crunch, crunch—"

As if delighted by Haruli's command, the Berserker moved its massive form, the sound of steel scraping against steel echoing throughout the space.

Philia jumped to Haluri's side, squinted, gently placed her hand on Haluri's shoulder, and said with a gentle smile, "Hmph~ You cleverly avoided it. It seems you can't just give the order for the Berserker to kill the opponent..."

“I…I didn’t mean that…” Halluri racked her brains, stammering as she tried to find a suitable reason for her actions.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I wasn't blaming you~"

Seeing the tension and guilt written all over her face, Felia chuckled as she used her magic arrows to eliminate the remaining magical beasts one by one, while calmly saying to Haruli with an unchanging smile:

"After all, if Haruri were a child who could easily issue orders to kill, then she wouldn't be considered human anymore, but rather a magician. In that case..."

—Your life has no value to me anymore.

The second half of the sentence was drowned out by the Berserker's rampage, but Haluri, who was very close to Philia, heard it clearly.

She was serious...

Haluri broke out in a cold sweat.

Berserker deliberately erased his own form, crushing the surrounding walls and ground, his powerful force destroying the exits of the passages that had been transformed into another dimension.

Fragments of rubble were scattered, and the surrounding area had become a ruin.

"Alright, leave the rest to Berserker. You should leave now!" Philia clapped her hands and urged her.

"We must deal with that terrifying-looking magician and the twisted heroic spirit carefully, otherwise, if we don't handle them properly, it will cause those disgusting 'sludge' to be scattered all over the ground."

With that, Philia left behind Haruli, leaping among the rubble and disappearing from sight.

Without the slightest hesitation, the moment Philia left, Haruri ran towards the exit where the otherworldly transformation had been lifted, as if she were fleeing from something.

Filled with gratitude for Philia who saved her, yet also with fear of her, the question that had haunted her mind so many times before resurfaced.

'What...did I summon?'

……

"Wow, tonight is going to be really lively..."

Inside the mansion in the swamp, Watcher's shadow, now back in its captain skin, sat in the old chair, sighing in a tone like a true old man watching a spectacle.

Sigma, who was lying on the sofa with his eyes closed, opened them and first glanced at the communicator he had tossed aside.

Faldius just contacted him, asking him and the Servant he summoned to go to the factory area to help quell the disturbance caused by other Masters and Servants, but he declined the order by giving the excuse that "the real name of the summoned Servant is Chaplin and his combat power is low".

"what happened?"

"The real Berserker has caused quite a stir at the workshop of the real Archer Master in the Factory District. It looks really big, you could call it a monster, and it seems to be growing."

"Saber, who just dealt with the fake Rider at the Central Hospital, is on her way there. The true Caster's Master has also sent her Servant to quell the unrest over there..."

"Etc., etc……"

Sigma quickly stopped the captain, who was trying to bombard him with a large amount of information at once. This barrage of information required him to take a little time to process it all.

Let him think about it... First of all, the Servant from the Central Hospital was taken care of by Saber?

Didn't the captain and the others say that Saber was going to the Central Hospital tonight to investigate?

Why did they just kick out the fake Rider?

And was the commotion in the factory area caused by the real Berserker invading the real Archer's workshop?

The real Caster is preparing to quell the commotion over there... Although he doesn't know who the other party's Master is, he thinks it might be related to Faldeus.

Since things didn't work out with him, Faldius went to the other side to quell the unrest in the factory district... well, that makes sense.

It is indeed quite chaotic...

After sorting through the information he had obtained from the captain, Sigma thought to himself.

The Saber group, in particular, are simply superhuman; they managed to eliminate another Servant in just over half a day!

Will he find out from the captain that the real Berserker has left the game?

No, this time, even the real Archer might be taken down along with them...

The thought of Saber's group moving towards the factory area, and him attacking in Lancer form, made Sigma rub his temples in frustration.

Is this the kind of monster he'll be facing next?

……