[FGO]: 44 (Patreon)

Along the way, they encountered many Homunculus, but these Homunculus were either interstellar players or as stiff as robots. None of them stopped Astolfo or even asked a question.

Thus, Astolfo brazenly led the young boy out of the castle gates and into the forest.

However, their good luck ended there.

A familiar, a one-eyed owl made of clay, was standing coldly on the castle wall, watching them as they gradually moved away.

Before long, a loud broadcast began to echo throughout the castle.

The gist of it was: "The Salon has closed down! The boss, Astolfo, has eloped with his male secretary!"

The broadcast immediately caused a huge commotion in the Yggdmillennia's castle.

The Masters and Servants of the Yggdmillennia quickly mobilized, vowing to capture Astolfo, the cross-dressing Servant who loves to act cute.

Among them, the most enthusiastic was the fat man, Gordes.

Perhaps it was because his Servant, Siegfried, had a draw with Karna the day before, and Jeanne d'Arc had been ignoring him, making him feel like he lost face in front of others.

Finally, having this chance to stand out, he was determined to perform well and let everyone know that he, Gordes, was the best magus of the Yggdmillennia and the best candidate for the clan leader.

Darnic and Fiore would have to step aside!

...

At this time, Ryou and Jeanne had also entered the forest near the castle.

As if by fate, Siegfried and Gordes were the first to find Astolfo and the Homunculus boy.

In terms of acting cute and being funny, no one could beat Astolfo. But when it came to real combat, the only one he might be able to defeat was the comically incompetent Caster from the Red Faction.

Despite knowing he was no match, Astolfo was unwilling to give up.

He directly took out his Noble Phantasm, "Trap of Argalia."

This magical lance had almost no killing power, but as long as it hit any part of the body, even armor, the area below the target's knees would be forcibly turned into spirit form.

Simply put, it bestowed a short-term crippling buff on the enemy, which was quite terrifying.

If this lance were in the hands of a master, victory could be achieved in an instant!

Unfortunately, Astolfo was a weakling.

No matter how he swung the magical lance, he couldn't even touch a single hair of Siegfried, let alone utilize the lance's effect.

Clang!

With a light sound, the magic lance was knocked away, and Siegfried expressionlessly placed his sword at Astolfo's throat.

On the other side, although Gordes wasn't much of a person, he had some skill and quickly knocked the Homunculus boy to the ground.

Both Astolfo and the boy were defeated, and the situation seemed hopeless.

No!

You are underestimating the power of Trap-kun.

With Siegfried's sword at his throat, Astolfo managed to bring Siegfried's intelligence down to his level and used his rich experience to defeat the dragon-slaying hero.

With a tearful and impassioned talk no jutsu, Siegfried was convinced by Astolfo to consider ripping out his own heart to save the Homunculus boy!

WTF!? Are you Naruto!?

A bewildered Gordes was also knocked out by Siegfried.

Then, Siegfried calmly and without hesitation inserted his hand into his chest.

Just as Siegfried was about to break the tradition that unlucky Lancers don't commit suicide.

Two figures suddenly rushed out of the forest—Jeanne and Ryou.

"Self-mutilating friend over there, let's talk this out!"

Ryou quickly shouted to stop Siegfried's self-harming action.

"Saber of the Black Faction, Siegfried, what are you doing? Please stop!" Jeanne, her face full of anxiety, tried to prevent Siegfried from committing suicide.

To Jeanne, who was both a judge and the game master, Siegfried choosing suicide over dueling other Servants indicated that he found the game experience extremely poor and wanted to quit the game entirely. This was a blatant act of defiance, and Jeanne was determined to stop it.

However, Siegfried seemed completely influenced by the aura of madness and did not halt his actions.

Seeing no other option, Ryou decided to stop joking around.

"I thought Karna's highly regarded opponent would be a great hero of exceptional renown, but seeing you today is truly disappointing! Utterly disappointing!"

Sorry, brother, I have to borrow your name again. I believe you won't mind in the afterlife, Ryou insincerely apologized to Karna in his heart.

In the Throne of Heroes, Karna, sitting on his throne, suddenly sneezed.

On this side, invoking Karna's name indeed caught Siegfried's attention.

No great hero would ignore their reputation and honor, especially since Ryou's words would be intolerable even to an ordinary person.

Originally expressionless, Siegfried deeply furrowed his brows but also stopped his actions.

"Shifting your responsibility to a newborn Homunculus, like an infant, and choosing to retreat to the Throne of Heroes like a coward—Siegfried, the dragon-slaying hero, your heroic spirit name is weeping!"

Ryou pointed directly at Siegfried, loudly accusing him.

Siegfried remained silent.

"Wasn't that too harsh?"

Astolfo, standing by, touched his cheek with a finger.

"Hmm?"

Ryou glared.

"Eek!"

Astolfo immediately raised both hands to his head, acting as if he was afraid Ryou would hit him.

"You might have a point, but all my life, I've lived as a wish-granting machine without personal desires. This is the first time I want to help someone out of my own will..."

Siegfried said in a deep voice. It was rare for the usually taciturn hero to say so much.

"If you don't know what you want, then keep living and find out for yourself. Or are you satisfied with just saving one person, feeling relieved enough to return to the Throne of Heroes without guilt?"

"Or could it be that your Master has made you feel numb and fed up?" Ryou's icy gaze pierced straight at the fat man lying on the ground.

"Why don't I do you a favor and kill your Master? That way, you can be freed as well."

Sensing Ryou's blatant threat, Siegfried didn't hesitate and immediately raised his sword to block the way between Ryou and Gordes.

Though he didn't speak, his meaning was clear: if you want to kill Gordes, you'll have to step over my dead body.

"You said you were a wish-granting machine without distinguishing right from wrong. Now, I want to kill this fat man, so get out of my way!"

Ryou declared, assuming an attacking stance.

"Ryou!"

Jeanne, seeing how the situation had developed, couldn't help but look worried.

Ryou gave her a reassuring look, then turned his gaze back to Siegfried, noticing a clear expression of anger on the previously emotionless face.

"Oh, I thought you were a robot without any emotions."

Ryou teased with a smile.

In the next second, Ryou used a Descent card to transform into Sasaki Kojiro. With a light tap of his foot, he instantly bypassed Siegfried's defense and appeared beside Gordes.

The long sword was already drawn and placed against the oblivious Gordes' neck.

Such incredible speed left everyone present utterly shocked.

There wasn't much to be surprised about. As a heroic spirit, Sasaki Kojiro's highest attribute was agility, reaching A+, which was nearly the highest except for a few exceptional figures.

In addition, Ryou's agility was at a D- level.

Siegfried's original heroic spirit has an agility rank of B. As a Servant, this rank drops by a whole grade to C.

The gap is nearly three or four major ranks, which is simply overwhelming.

"Wow! So fast! Even faster than my little hawk!"

Astolfo exclaimed, seemingly oblivious to the tense atmosphere.

Jeanne couldn't help but lower her fists from her chest, clearly relieved.

With such speed, almost no one could harm him, except through extremely wide-area attacks or causality-ignoring strikes.

Faced with Ryou's incredible speed, Siegfried was hesitant to move, fearing for Gordes' safety.

"How about we make a deal? Of course, since I have the upper hand, the deal is mandatory," Ryou said with a cheerful smile.

"I'll find a way to save this homunculus boy," he added, pointing to the fallen Homunculus boy.

"To show my sincerity, I'll give you this first."

Ryou took out a crystal vial containing a heart and tossed it to Astolfo.

"Ah! Oh! Eek!"

Astolfo, caught off guard by his actions, fumbled but eventually managed to catch the vial.

His clumsy movements made it seem like he might drop and break the vial at any moment.

Ryou, not wanting to worry about it, looked away and explained, "This is Karna's heart. Transplant it into the homunculus boy, and it will save his life."

"Thank you! You're a good person!"

Astolfo said gratefully, tears welling up in his eyes.

His girlish demeanor made even the staunchly straight Ryou feel a bit uncomfortable.

Siegfried's gaze also softened slightly.

"I'll spare this fat man's life. In return, you must join us."

Siegfried's expression wavered. Ryou's display of speed made him realize he could not save his Master.

"It seems you don't trust me. How about this then: you sign a contract with Ruler," Ryou suggested casually.

"What are you thinking!? I’m the Ruler of the Holy Grail War. I absolutely cannot..."

Jeanne looked at Ryou in shock, not expecting him to make such a suggestion.

"You absolutely cannot participate in the conflict," Ryou finished her sentence.

"You know that..."

Just as Jeanne was about to say something, he made a calming gesture to stop her.

"Precisely because you are Ruler, there is no one more suitable than you. Jeanne, you’ve seen it yourself. Like you, Siegfried has no desire for the Holy Grail. Isn't that the perfect qualification for joining you?"

"But..."

Jeanne hesitated visibly.

"Jeanne, don't forget, there's something unusual about this Holy Grail War...”

Ryou subtly reminded her. Jeanne quickly understood his implication: Amakusa Shirou, who survived the last war, was lurking in the shadows, ready to cause chaos.

"More strength is always better."

After speaking, Ryou turned again to the pondering Siegfried.

"What do you think, Siegfried? I understand if you don't trust me, but surely you have no doubts about Jeanne, the Saint of France?"

"I can sign a contract with Ruler, but you must promise me that as long as the Black Faction does nothing unjust, I will not fight against them. Also, I need to see my Master leave safely with my own eyes," Siegfried finally agreed.

Jeanne, being pragmatic, immediately raised her holy banner and solemnly vowed, "I, Jeanne d'Arc, swear by my true name, to honor the agreement with Siegfried. Should I break this oath, may the Lord's divine retribution befall me!"

Ryou smiled slightly, voluntarily stepped away from Gordes, and deactivated his Descent state.

Jeanne nodded to Siegfried, then took Gordes' hand and transferred the Command Spells from his hand to her own.

Thus, Jeanne became Siegfried's Master.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! What about me!? What about me!"

Astolfo, unwilling to be left out, jumped in to make his presence known.

"What, do you want to join our camp as well?"

Ryou asked with a half-smile.

"Exactly. Let me tell you, my Master makes me do all sorts of disgusting things every night. Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps!"

Astolfo exclaimed, hugging his shoulders and shivering dramatically.

"I'm so sorry to disgust you, Rider!"

A mature, sultry voice interrupted, filled with suppressed anger.

"Wha!!! Master?!"

Astolfo looked in the direction of the voice and saw a group of people approaching.

Leading them was Vlad III, riding a black warhorse and dressed in a gentleman's suit, with other Servants and Masters surrounding him.

Among them was a voluptuous woman whose ample chest seemed about to burst the buttons of her outfit, with hints of black lace visible under the fabric. The silver-haired lady looked at Astolfo with a furious expression, as if she wanted to devour him.

"Master, I didn't mean it!"

Astolfo immediately adopted a defensive crouch, holding his head.

The more he tried to explain, the more his previous words seemed laughable. The Servants managed to keep their composure, but the Masters, especially the pair of siblings, had awkward expressions, trying not to laugh.

"I recognize you. You’re the one who used despicable means to kill the Red Faction's Lancer," said Vlad, looking down at Ryou.

Ryou responded with a smirk.

"And who are you?"

Vlad turned his gaze to Jeanne.

"I am Jeanne d'Arc, the Ruler of this Holy Grail War," Jeanne replied solemnly.

"Oh? I didn't know the Ruler had the authority to steal other people's Servants."

Jeanne's face showed a hint of embarrassment.

Although she felt justified, for someone as straightforward as her, it wasn't something to be proud of. Especially since she was caught red-handed right after doing it, which made her feel even more awkward.

Vlad pressed on, and Jeanne remained silent.

Ryou, however, couldn't stand it anymore.

You vampire maniac, mind your own business! How dare you bully my wife? You're courting death!

Ryou stepped forward, and said, "Not as bad as you. The competition hasn't even started, and you're already rushing to take the trophy home. Such behavior, tsk tsk tsk~"

"It's all strategic," Vlad, having been a ruler, maintained his composure.

"Huh! That's funny. When it's you, it's strategy. When it's others, it's despicable. You're quite adept at double standards."

Ryou's face was full of mocking sarcasm.

"Black Rider took our important specimen. Do you intend to interfere in this matter as well?"

Avicebron, wearing a mask, suddenly spoke.

"Rider, come here now," the silver-haired lady also shouted angrily at Astolfo.

But this time, Astolfo stood firm.

"No! I swore to protect him! I, Astolfo, one of the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne, swear I will not hand him over to you!"

Astolfo dramatically flipped his cloak and stood in front of the boy.

"Is it such an important specimen?"

Ryou's face then showed a strange smile.

"To complete your Noble Phantasm 'Golem Keter Malkuth', you just need someone with magic circuits, right? Which means, any of those magus over there could work, right? Let me count, one, two... six. Congratulations, you have six candidates."

Ryou smiled cheerfully.

"!"

However, to everyone else, that smile looked like the grin of a demon.

"Shut up! Sensei would never do that!"

Roche, who respected Avicebron as his master, immediately retorted loudly.

But Avicebron himself did not offer any rebuttal.

"Oh right, your wish is to complete the Noble Phantasm, but have you told them what you plan to do once it's complete? You don't mean to say that after finishing it, you'll just display it as a statue, do you?

From what I know, once your Noble Phantasm is complete, it will keep growing and, with its Reality Marble, turn the surrounding environment into a paradise. You intend to use this Noble Phantasm to purify the world, am I right, Avicebron?"

"!!!"

Ryou's revelation immediately shook the Black Faction's resolve. Every pair of eyes turned toward Avicebron with suspicion and uncertainty.

After all, no sane person would like someone with a world-ending dream.

"Sensei, he's lying, right?"

Roche, who had always served Avicebron as a disciple, looked at him with an expression of disbelief, seeking confirmation.

But Avicebron did not answer him. Instead, he faced Ryou, "Who exactly are you to know such secrets?"

Ryou shrugged.

"When you see enough, you naturally come to know."

Avicebron did not probe further and turned to Roche.

"Roche, I am moved that you regard me as a teacher, but I am inherently a deeply misanthropic person. It is because I loathe humanity's myriad ugly faces that I wear this mask, for I cannot even bear to look directly at such ugliness."

"Sensei, you mean...?"

Roche looked at Avicebron in shock.

"Ah, he is not wrong at all. This world, especially humanity, is so grotesque that it must be purified! Only that primordial paradise is my sole pursuit!"

Speaking of his deeply hidden dream, Avicebron's tone unknowingly grew fervent.

But his apocalyptic declaration caused the Masters of the Black Faction to instinctively distance themselves from him.

Their current mindset was probably akin to that of normal people suddenly finding themselves next to a lunatic.

"You are quite the eloquent speaker..."

Darnic, the head of the Yggdmillennia family, quickly realized that if this continued, the Black Faction would not only fail to unite but might even start fighting amongst themselves.

But as soon as he began to speak, Ryou interrupted him.

"Oh, and you, Darnic, head of the Yggdmillennia family."

Even before Ryou started, Darnic felt a shiver run down his spine.

This young man in front of him had managed to turn one of their key assets, Avicebron, against them with just his words.

Regretting his decision to intervene, Darnic felt a pang of regret.

Seeing that Ryou was about to reveal his secrets, Danic hurriedly tried to stop him.

"Enough!"

Knowing he could not let Ryou speak, Danic immediately raised his staff. Just as he was about to attack, a black spear suddenly appeared before him.

"Darnic, let him speak. Even I am somewhat curious," Vlad III coldly observed him.

A bead of sweat dripped from Darnic's forehead as he sensed the implicit threat in Vlad III's gaze.

"Grand Duke, it's better if you don't know, because the measures he's prepared are likely meant to deal with you," Ryou said leisurely.

This statement dropped like another bombshell.

However, perhaps due to already being numbed, the expressions of the crowd didn't change much.

Except for Darnic, whose forehead began to sweat more profusely. He offered a one-handed salute to the Grand Duke.

"Grand Duke, please don't listen to this man's nonsense. You must remember, he is from the enemy camp..."

"No matter. I will discern the truth of his words myself," the Grand Duke waved his hand, stopping Darnic's defense.

Darnic stepped back respectfully on the surface, but inside, his fury was erupting like a volcano.

Just a mere vampire! A creature no better than a familiar, how dare he treat me this way!

Ignoring Darnic's inner turmoil, Ryou continued to reveal his secrets.

"I recall the clan head being proficient in soul-devouring magic, right? By consuming the souls of infants, you maintain the appearance of someone in their twenties or thirties despite being over a hundred years old..."

Ryou's words immediately filled those present who still had a conscience with shock and disgust.

Among the Servants, Jeanne, Chiron, and Siegfried visibly showed displeasure, and Astolfo even started yelling.

"That's so cruel! So inhumane!"

As for the Masters, Fiore and her brother had different reactions; the brother remained composed, showing no emotion, while the sister covered her mouth in shock, looking at Darnic's back in disbelief.

Unable to bear it any longer, Darnic was about to use a Command Spell, but the Grand Duke seemed to anticipate his move. He positioned his spear tip at Darnic's neck, preventing him from saying another word.

Ryou glanced at Danic and continued.

"But you would never guess, the clan head's ambitions are much greater. The secret techniques he's developed, combined with Command Spells, can even devour a Servant's soul and seize their body, right?"

"!!!"