Chapter 451: [451] The Gathering Storm in Sighișoara - The End of the Clash
"Why did you save me?"
Even through the mask, Mordred could feel a gaze—calm, resolute, and impossible to resist.
The thought of lying rose and faded in her mind. In the end, she simply answered quietly:
"Consider it a knight’s pride."
To replace King Arthur, Mordred had received knightly education, mastering all the proper forms and etiquette. Yet at her core, she was a violent supremacist.
But even someone like her—a knight who believed in the survival of the fittest, who would resort to underhanded tactics for victory—still adhered to the principle of never dragging uninvolved civilians into the fray.
If the witch Morgan le Fay had taught her how to fight and how to become a king, then that cold, emotionless "father" seated high upon the throne had taught Mordred how to live proudly as a human being.
—Even though she herself was nothing more than an inhuman machine that had sacrificed all emotion.
Father... I despise you so much, yet I admire you just as deeply...
Mordred couldn’t help but think. The masked stranger seemed satisfied with her answer. After a moment of silence, he nodded lightly.
"I understand. Then let tonight’s battle end here."
The latter remark was directed at Chiron, who responded with a bitter smile. "Assassin, are you sure about this? The enemy Saber is severely wounded..."
Their earlier skirmish had proven that the two Assassins were evenly matched in strength, and Chiron was confident he wouldn’t let his prey—the Red Saber—escape.
Yet Artoria shook her head.
"Too many of our Masters have arrived, and neither of us excels at protection."
Following her pointed direction, Chiron blinked in surprise. "The Master... and Lord Caules?"
Indeed, as the clash between Servants reached a temporary halt, the battle between Masters also seemed to draw to a close. Sensing their Servants’ precarious conditions, the Masters tacitly ceased their conflict and hurried back to their sides.
"Saber, what happened?"
Kairi Sisigou also returned to Mordred’s side. He bore no obvious injuries—though his face and abdomen were bleeding, they were merely superficial wounds.
After greeting their newly arrived ally, Sakatsuki, he turned his attention to the masked stranger who had accompanied them all this way, the one with the small lion mask. "She’s speaking with the Black Archer... So, is she the Black faction’s Master or Servant?"
"A Servant. And like me, an Assassin," Sakatsuki answered in place of the silent Mordred, resolving Kairi’s doubts.
"I see. No wonder we couldn’t detect anything unusual—if she’s an Assassin." Kairi warily drew his shotgun again. Two against two, with his Servant at a severe disadvantage. The situation was dire.
"What now, Assassin? Should we flee?"
"No need. Don’t forget my class." Sakatsuki glanced at Mordred, whose face was twisted with humiliation and shock, then said leisurely, "Unless the Black faction wants to risk losing all three of their Masters by fighting us tonight, this will undoubtedly end in a draw."
"Even so, if a real fight breaks out, we’d be the first to die..." Kairi Sisigou muttered, not lowering his weapon.
Meanwhile, Chiron looked at Fiore, who was propped up by four mechanical arms and covered in dust, then at Caules scratching his head with an embarrassed expression, quickly piecing together what had happened.
"It seems none of our battles went smoothly."
"Mm... I’m sorry." The Yggdmillennia heiress averted her gaze awkwardly. "If Caules hadn’t helped, I might have been injured—or even killed."
In her battle against the seasoned mercenary and necromancer Kairi Sisigou, Fiore’s inexperience showed despite her genius. Kairi cleverly used parked cars to restrict her Mystic Code’s movements, nearly hitting her with enchanted bullets from his sawed-off shotgun.
At the critical moment, Caules summoned a beast spirit to shield his beloved sister from the fatal strike.
But at this point, Fiore couldn’t help voicing her worried reproach: "Really, what were you thinking? Coming here without Uncle Darnic’s permission is one thing, but you didn’t even bring your Servant! What if something dangerous had happened?"
"Sis, I’m sorry..." Caules realized how reckless he’d been, especially since he hadn’t anticipated the enemy’s terrifying Assassin being present.
Now, while the enemy had only one Master visible, the Black faction had three Masters counting Reika who was hiding somewhere.
If Assassin was correct that neither she nor Chiron possessed defensive skills or Noble Phantasms, then no magi’s frail body could possibly withstand the Assassin’s demonic spear—
Was this the end?
Realizing this, Fiore—though curious about her Assassin’s peculiar outfit—managed to keep a straight face and nodded at her. After reaching a consensus, she turned to Sakatsuki:
"Then let’s call it a night."
"I can still fight!" Red Saber Mordred raised her sword defiantly, only to be restrained as Kairi dragged his temperamental Servant aside. Meanwhile, Sakatsuki stepped forward under everyone’s wary gazes, smiling as he extended a hand to Fiore.
"Good. It seems we’ve reached an agreement."
Under the rainbow-blue Mystic Eyes of the Assassin, Fiore remained still while Black Assassin stepped forward to grasp his hand briefly before cleanly releasing it.
"Let’s leave it at that."
With that declaration, the Black faction’s Masters and Servants withdrew—so cleanly and decisively that no trace of reluctance could be seen.
In contrast—the Red faction’s Saber cut a rather sorry figure.
BOOM!
Mordred’s fist smashed through a several-meter-wide wall as she silently vented her fury, her face icy.
She hated herself for being so careless, for letting the enemy Archer grievously wound her, becoming the deadweight she despised most.
She was furious—furious at that masked woman, no, the Red Faction’s Assassin, who had never revealed her identity, playing house with her as if watching a joke.
She resented—resented the Ruler who bore such an uncanny resemblance to her father, resented herself for even mistaking someone else for her father, which had alerted the Black Faction’s Archer and indirectly led to their subsequent defeat.
These two emotions intertwined, gnawing at Mordred’s heart like venomous serpents. Yet beyond them, there was another indescribable feeling lingering within her, impossible to shake.
"Saber, how does it feel to battle other Servants?" Kairi asked, smoking a niche cigarette called ’Ryūen,’ as he walked up to Mordred.
Saber didn’t answer, merely staring silently at the sky. Her insides burned as if scorched, and even the chilly autumn wind went unfelt. Why did the cold moonlight feel so dazzling—?
"Your expression..." Sakatsuki stepped forward, the corners of his lips still curled in an inscrutable smile. "Are you feeling... disappointed?"
Like a bolt of lightning, the realization struck Mordred.
So that was it—disappointment. Yes, disappointment...
I, Mordred, am disappointed. Deeply disappointed because some expectation of mine has gone unfulfilled—
"Father..."
She murmured it so softly, yet her voice carried such clarity that both Sakatsuki and Kairi could hear the hatred and longing within it.
The rebellious knight leaned on her greatsword, tilting her head back to gaze at the moon. The shattered horns of her helmet materialized, obscuring her striking features.
"I truly, truly wanted to see you again..."
The flames of hatred had burned out. The girl’s voice was faint, like embers drifting from the aftermath of a blaze.
"If I could see you, I wouldn’t be able to contain the joy in my heart—and then I’d kill you with everything I have."
"My father... Arthur..."
Far away in Sighișoara, a king removed the mask of disguise, golden hair unfurling as she unabashedly displayed her beauty under the moonlight.
Turning to look back, ripples stirred in those saintly blue eyes, lingering for a long, long time.
"Mordred..."