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

Apart from Shishikage Kairi, all the other Red Masters are under their control. Even if her Master can't take it anymore, they will make him take it.

Don’t understand, but respect.

Atalanta shook her head, no longer chasing after Spartacus, and instead led Frankenstein, who was pursuing her, into the cedar forest, using the complex terrain to temporarily shake off his pursuit.

Then, seizing the opportunity when Spartacus jumped between the two wounded Mordred and Siegfried, she nocked two arrows on her bowstring and aimed them at the cloudless night sky that had become clear after the clash of their Noble Phantasms.

"With my bow and arrows, I beseech Apollo and Artemis for protection, and offer this calamity..."

"Phoebus Catastrophe!"

Chapter 154 Are you ready for the explosion?

The meteor flying backwards has reappeared.

After that, an endless rain of arrows poured down from the empty night sky into the crater created by the two Noble Phantasms.

Mordred and Siegfried, trapped in the pit, both suffered serious injuries from each other's Noble Phantasms. Mordred's armor was half broken off at an angle, leaving almost only her lower body intact.

Without armor, Siegfried, who withstood the Noble Phantasm with his bare body, had charred and wounded bodies all over.

Upon seeing the rain of arrows falling from the sky, the two, who were initially on guard against Spartacus suddenly jumping between them and shouting "love," were about to dodge backward when they noticed the range of the arrow rain and stopped in their tracks.

Since Amakusa Shiro Tokisada's only request was to use his Noble Phantasm on Spartacus, Atalanta controlled the range of the arrow rain, ensuring it all landed on Spartacus alone.

Because of the reduced range and the lack of anyone to counteract it beforehand, this rain of arrows lasted longer than the one she released at the beginning of the battle.

Having been taught about the effects of Spartacus's Noble Phantasm inside the castle, Siegfried guessed Atalanta's plan and immediately left the area.

Although Mordred didn't know what Spartacus's Noble Phantasm was, she also realized something was wrong when she saw Siegfried leave.

After tentatively unleashing a crimson lightning sword strike that cleaved Spartacus in two, she watched as his flesh gradually multiplied and reassembled his body, and made up her mind.

I'm not staying here anymore. Let whoever wants to beat this disgusting thing beat it up!

Soon, Atalanta's rain of arrows stopped, and Spartacus, who had swelled into a muscular monster and completely lost his human form, shone with a dangerous light. His eyes widened and he murmured unconsciously in a hoarse voice.

"My strike will shatter all oppression... crush all power... This is—Spartacus!"

……

"Is it finally here?"

After being briefly distracted by the large mass of Spartacus that had fallen into the pit and Atalanta's Noble Phantasm, Yuuto looked at the Sky Garden moving toward them, got up and stretched.

If they don't come soon, Yuuto will have to consider whether he should move the Greater Grail to them.

Unaware of what Yuudou was waiting for, Shiki-kai was still watching Mordred's side. When he saw Spartacus's body growing bigger and bigger, like a silver ear fungus soaking in water, not only him, but even Leticia, who knew nothing, noticed that something was wrong.

"Hey, hey, hey, isn't that a bit bad over there?"

The cigarette in Shishi Jie Li's mouth fell to the ground, but he couldn't care less at the moment. With a sense of foreboding, he turned his head and saw that Yu Du had somehow gotten a strange machine on his arm and was waving a card at him.

"I've already said, I won't shield you from danger, so..."

Yudu placed the [Hall of Light] in the arena, gave a thumbs-up to the drastically changed Shishikai Kairi, and laughed spiritedly: "Ready for an explosion?"

Lion's Robbery: "!!!"

Yudu's figure, along with Leticia and the town behind them, disappeared. In their place, Mordred, whose armor had been repaired, reverted to her spiritual form and appeared before Lion's Destruction Realm.

"Hey! Master, that big guy over there doesn't look good, we—"

"Run away—!"

Without any time for pleasantries, Shizi Jieli immediately got Mordred into the car, started the engine, and floored the accelerator, heading towards the Black Faction's castle at top speed.

Spartacus, having reached his limit, transformed into light.

The massive explosion, carrying immense magical power, spread outwards. Pure light and heat evaporated everything visible to the naked eye, leaving only that dazzling light in the entire world for a moment.

It was a magical storm that, if caught in it, would severely injure anyone who survived.

The Servants throughout the battlefield all used their own methods to avoid the impact of the explosion.

This scene was like a replay of the Noble Phantasm clash between Mordred and Siegfried, but even more powerful and with a wider range.

"It's too late, Master! We can't escape like this!"

Inside the car, Mordred saw the eggshell-like semi-circular light getting closer and closer, cutting a large hole in the roof. He then leaned out from the back seat.

Lion's Roar Realm knew what she meant, and the Command Seal on the back of his hand immediately emitted a red light in response.

"By Command Spell! Saber! Use your Noble Phantasm to stop it!"

"Oh! Leave it to me!"

Mordred, who wasn't wearing a helmet, had her mana fully restored by the Command Spell. Clarent in her hand once again unleashed a dazzling pillar of crimson lightning. Watching the light and heat approaching them, she revealed a confident, almost arrogant, smile.

"Rebellion against my magnificent father—!"

……

Just as Mordred and Kairi were using Command Seals for the first time in this Holy Grail War in order to escape for their lives.

Leticia opened her eyes and found herself in the entrance of a temple-like building, with the town she had been brought with her behind her.

Because Yuto had told her about this beforehand, she quickly calmed down in the unfamiliar environment.

The sudden teleportation did not disturb the sleeping residents of the town, who were unaware that they had been moved along with the entire town without their knowledge.

But can this be considered moving?

Bathed in the gentle white light of this space, Leticia wandered into the temple, lost in thought.

The temple is a circular building constructed entirely of white stone, with columns resembling the crooked columns of the Parthenon standing around it.

Further inside, you'll see a steel altar that looks like some kind of mechanical device, upon which sits a steel statue of a blue-eyed white dragon.

Yuuto had been holding the statue's wings, trying to see if they could move, but he let go of them after Leticia walked in.

"How's it going in town? Anything unusual?"

"No, the town is very quiet. Everyone seems to still be asleep." Leticia looked at the statue of the blue-eyed white dragon with a puzzled expression.

She had a feeling that she heard a faint dragon's roar after entering...

Is it an illusion?

"Speaking of which, Mr. Yudou, where are we?"

Shaking her head, not paying attention to the matter, Leticia asked Yuuto.

Previously, Youdu only said that he would teleport her and the town to a place, but he didn't say what that place was, so she is now a little curious.

"Here? Hmm... If you're asking about this space, then you can consider it my inherent barrier, but if you're asking about this building..."

As Yu Du stroked the statue of the Blue-Eyed White Dragon, various colored orbs of light appeared in the air around the statue as he spoke, revealing the souls of dragons of different appearances.

"It is a funeral parlor."

The layered roars of dragons reached Leticia's ears.

This time, she heard it very clearly.

Chapter 155 Hitchhiking

You Du didn't stay in the funeral hall with Leticia for too long.

He mentally estimated the time and figured that the explosion caused by Spartacus's Noble Phantasm should have ended by now, around the time Amakusa Shirou Tokisada started to grab the Greater Grail, so he dispelled the field magic.

In the blink of an eye, the two and the town behind them appeared where they had disappeared, except that the foundation of the town seemed to have sunk slightly.

When the people in town wake up tomorrow, they will probably be shocked to find that their town has turned from a plain into a basin.

Just imagining the townspeople's dumbfounded expressions when they planned to leave town the next day, only to find the road blocked by mud, made Youdu unable to suppress the upturn of his lips.

Well, as someone who saved their lives, it shouldn't be a problem for me to feel schadenfreude about the troubles they might encounter later, right?

With a silent smile, Youdu turned his gaze to the Black Square Castle, a stark contrast to the quiet and peaceful atmosphere of the town.

From a distance, the dark hurricane shattered a section of the Black Cube Castle's ground, revealing a hidden underground space.

The powerful suction constricted the hurricane into a slender pipe, and a sphere, missing part of its outer shell and revealing a golden female statue inside, was slowly drifting towards the Sky Garden under the force of the suction.

That's the Aegis of Champions.

As a servant, Yuwatari could be so certain the moment he saw it.

It was a feeling that seemed to come from nowhere, much like his role as a referee in the Holy Grail War—a unique quality that Servants could immediately recognize.

Leticia, who also witnessed this scene, pursed her lips and pointed to the car that was being pulled into the air by the powerful suction of the hurricane.

"By the way... isn't that Mr. Lion Robber's car?"

"Ah, it really is them, even Mordred is in the car..."

Yu Du looked in the direction she pointed and nodded in agreement.

"Looks like we left a little late, but if we go now, we should still be able to catch a ride, right?"

Without wasting any more time, Yuuto led Leticia toward the Black Faction's castle and successfully stepped onto a large piece of rubble. Together with the Servants standing on the rubble or castle ruins, they were sucked into the Sky Garden.

Leaving Mordred aside as a Servant of the Red faction, the Black faction includes Vlad III, Siegfried, Chiron, Avisbro... Hmm?

Why is Astolfo here too?

Yu Du looked at the somewhat disheveled pink-haired boy diagonally opposite him with some confusion.

Doesn't your eagle know how to fly?

Semiramis probably can't stop them right now, otherwise they would have been attacked long ago if they were slowly flying up on the stones. Astolfo could have just flown up on his eagle, right?

Is ridesharing really that appealing?

Strange thoughts swirled in Yuuto's mind. During this time, apart from Mordred, the other Servants also noticed his and Leticia's presence.

However, because of his status as a referee, most of them just glanced at him and Leticia with curiosity before looking away, without any intention of coming forward to talk to him. Even Siegfried and Astolfo just nodded at him.

That's understandable, since the Red team not only stole the Black team's base, but now they're going to take the Greater Grail right in front of them. It's so arrogant that it's practically slapping them in the face. So they probably have no interest in chatting in this situation.

Yuuto expressed his understanding and followed them at a leisurely pace after entering the Sky Garden.

Chiron gestured to Vlad III upon seeing this, and then received a reply from the other that he should ignore him.

As for the Ruler, he probably came to supervise the Holy Grail War just in case, since he witnessed the change of ownership of the Greater Grail as the judge of the Holy Grail War. It doesn't matter if he comes along.

Vlad III now only wants to find Lancer of the Red side to finish the battle they just fought, and then use his sharp spear to pierce these petty thieves who dared to snatch the Greater Grail from his hands!

……

"Ruler is approaching."

The image displayed in the revelation flashed by, and Amakusa Shiro Tokisada successfully captured Yutari's figure using the surveillance magic inside the Sky Garden.

Unfortunately, it was too late; the other party had already entered the interior of this sky garden.

Semiramis felt a little regretful as she watched Yutari following behind the Black Faction Servant in the scene.

If she sees the enemy on the battlefield, she can directly use the 11 black panels of the "Tiamtum Umu" floating outside the Sky Garden to fire out a barrage of extra-specification magic bullets, each with the power of a falling meteor, for a comprehensive attack.

Faced with such an attack, even Ruler would definitely suffer serious damage, right?

Semiramis was so certain of this.

However, before she could find an opportunity to use those counter-attack techniques, Yuwatari took advantage of the gap while they were taking away the Greater Grail and, together with the Black Faction's Servants, invaded the interior of this aerial garden.

"What a pity. If Saber from the Black faction were on our side, facing Ruler would have been much easier, wouldn't it?"

Standing before the Greater Grail they had captured, Amakusa Shiro Tokisada could not hide his joy and chuckled softly.

"What should we do? Should we send Lancer and the others to intercept him?"

Amakusa Shiro Tokisada hesitated for a moment, but ultimately rejected Semiramis's proposal.

"No, let them deal with the Black faction's Servants according to the original plan."

Able to summon dragons stronger than Karna, and not just one... such an existence might not be able to match even if others joined forces.

Karna and Achilles might be able to stall for time, but he wasn't sure if Yudu had any divine weapons or similar items hidden away, so it wasn't entirely safe.

Rather than letting them die in vain and waste our strength, it would be better to let them deal with the Black faction's Servants and end this Holy Grail War as soon as possible.

As for Ruler, let him handle it.

“Of course, we’ll take care of him!” Semiramis interrupted Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, who was making arrangements for the Servants, and looked at him with displeasure.

"You are my Master. How can a Master fight while the Servant stays in the rear?"