Fate: Oppression

by Gavius

Alaya is gone. The Counter Force is gone. Without them, the Throne of Heroes released all the Heroes on Earth against the planet's will. When Gaia sensed that the World is on the brink of collapse, she sent its First Hero to fix the mess. Now, Shirou Emiya has to save the day once again. What can a Retired God, a Treacherous Knight and a Boastful King do to save the planet? [AU]

22. Chapter 21 - Arc V

DISCLAIMER: I do not take credit from the Fate universe and its characters. The rights and credits go to the original authors.

Read the notes in the first chapter if you haven't done it already.

This is my very first story. I'm confident in my grammar, but if there are any mistakes, then let me know and I'll try to figure out how to fix them as soon as I have time.

Hope you enjoy.

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FATE/Oppression
-Arc V-

Chapter 21

Planet: Earth
Date: June 10 2020
Location: Underground Workshop – Shatby District (Alexandria - Egypt)

(======)

Roche Frain Yggdmillennia was happy.

And how could he not be? After all, after the disastrous calamity that had destroyed his family, now he had finally found a new purpose, a new goal to devote himself to with both his body and soul. He had found something, and someone, to start over with and and give meaning to his life, his research, and his lost hopes again. And that was all that mattered.

For those who don't know him, Roche was a thirteen-year-old boy born into the house of Frain under the Yggdmillennia clan, one of the largest Magus clan in the world, which was located in Romania and boasted a centuries-old history, almost millennial. In the past, in fact, the Yggdmillennia clan had been powerful and famous, so much so that it could afford to declare itself independent from the Mage's Association as their own independent Magecraft organization. However, over the centuries their power had gradually diminished, their influence drastically reduced, until the clan and all its members were completely estranged from the Association and even from the other major Families.

The reason behind this unexpected turn of events, of course, had been their inability to manage and enhance their power. In fact, even though they had a long history, they were not a family of Lords due to the poor quality of their Magic Circuits. After all, Yggdmillennia was a unique family of Magi that preferred to take in other families rather than continue a single bloodline, which had drastically reduced and diminished the power of their Crest over the centuries; so much so that they were often not recognized as a noble thaumaturgical family anymore.

But all of that was in the past. And Roche Frain Yggdmillennia himself didn't care about the past. After all, the Yggdmillennia clan was no more. Yep, you heard that right: it was no more. It was gone. Destroyed. Erased. Completely wiped out from the face of Earth. Their members were now gone, and apart from Roche the only survivors left were his 'sister' Fiore – who had given up Magecraft long ago due to her physical disability and moved to New York City – and his 'brother' Caules who had decided to join the Clock Tower several years before. But the others? They were no more. Gordes, Celenike, Hyouma and even the Family head Darnic… they were dead. All of them. They had been completely annihilated almost a month prior. And now, without them, it was only a matter of time before the Yggdmillenia clan and its entire name would be dissolved entirely.

But how did it happen, would you ask? Well, the most accurate answer would be: because of this accursed Holy Grail War. But still… it would be useless to explain it here. That was another story, after all. A story too long to be told. And besides, even Roche himself didn't care about it anymore. He didn't care one single bit. Even though he had lost his previous home, and more importantly his former clan and family... it just didn't matter to him.

Because now, at this moment, he was happy. Which was a surprise, given the hard times he was experiencing.

Roche didn't care about his family, after all. More accurately, he didn't care about anyone at all. It had been inevitable. Having been born into the Yggdmillennia clan and having been well-known in the field of Doll Engineering, Roche had been raised like all other members of his house: nursed by Golems from the moment of birth until reaching the age where the crest could be passed on to him. He had been completely raised by Golems because his parents could rarely leave the Workshop to see him, and for this very same reason the Golems had to take care of him and his education completely. Consequently, this caused him to become very cold and detached from all forms of relationships and human attachment despite his young age of thirteen. Humans had completely abandoned him, and because of that he had learned not to care for them in turn.

Therefore, Golems had become the norm instead of humans within his eccentric upbringing, so much so that he could even remember the face of every Golem that had cared for him even if he had forgotten his own parents' faces. But that was to be expected. He had no interests in humans or even other Magi. And while he was able to exchange words with others, allowing for dealings in bidding wars to secure resources, he did not display the cordiality normally found in dealing with humans. Even now, he compared it to how a man speaking to a dog or a cat could hardly be said to be bonding in heart or mind. Humans were all annoying and useless pests compared to his beloved Golems, and he had no use for them and their so-called "love".

He didn't need love. He didn't need humans. All that mattered to him were his Golems, and his never-ending quest to create a perfect artificial being. That's why it didn't matter. That was the reason why he was happy despite his family's recent demise.

And it was also the reason why the sight that surrounded him right now did not affect him at all.

The siege of Alexandria.

Alexandria of Egypt, one of the oldest and most famous cities in the world, the port of wealth and glory, and the same city which had become his new hiding place after the mission of the Yggdmillennia family had failed so terribly, was currently under attack.

Because a literal army of Golems was razing it to the ground.

Roche couldn't be happier than that.

He didn't care about the dead and wounded. He didn't care about the chaos and destruction spreading throughout the city. He didn't even care about the desperate cries and death rattles echoing in the air. Humans did not deserve his attention. They were nothing but annoying pests, and they totally deserved to disappear in his opinion. The entire metropolis could completely collapse and be razed to the ground, for all he cared.

Because the mastermind behind this sudden and vicious attack was none other than the one person Roche loved and respected the most.

The thirteen-year-old boy whistled, strolling and hopping merrily through the streets in panic without a care in the world. He brushed past a group of escaping humans, ignored their cries and desperate pleas, and openly laughed as he watched a rock Golem take down an entire group of survivors with a single swing of its arm. On the other side of the road, four other Golems were chasing a second group of tearful fugitives – a few cops and soldiers from the Army, judging by their clothing and weapons – chasing them relentlessly in spite of their useless struggle to survive. The ground shook with their every step, and Roches almost whistled in amazement as he saw one of the Golems fire a beam of energy from its hand and hit the fugitives in full. Then, a portentous wall of rubble and debris blinded everything for several meters, making the world a succession of screams and noises.

A beaming smile splitted his lips when the smoke cleared. Despite the roar of the battle and the earthquakes that occurred around him, the young Roche did not stop his walk, advancing at a cheerful pace through the devastated streets, the wrecked cars and the corpses thrown on the sidewalk. He even dared to laugh as he watched an entire building collapse in the distance. The attack, the deaths, the destruction... it just didn't matter to him. It didn't matter at all. The only thing that mattered was that he had finally completed his task, and now he could finally return to the one and only person who mattered in order to give the news to him.

Because that was the most important thing: his beloved and incredibly cool Professor.

As I've said above, the boy did not care for humans... but the only exception to that was his respect for a certain someone: a Servant. A Caster-Class Servant who had found him shortly after his family's demise, when he had lost everything and everyone, and who had chosen to take him as a disciple. And man… Roche really did love that Servant. Instead of addressing him with hiss class name, he just called him 'Professor' precisely because of his admiration for him. Ever since the boy had miraculously escaped the wrath his family had endured, the 'Professor' had found and rescued him, sharing his passion and love for Golems with him and showing him the way. A way, a path to a new purpose, a new existence, and a new life.

The Professor had saved him, and had become his benefactor.

And more importantly: he loved Golems! Just like him! They shared the same passion! And while this Servant – no, his Professor – was not a king or a person of high status that one would normally treat as such to appease their dignity, his achievements in the Golem field were more than enough for Roche to treat him as such. The Professor was an ideal teacher, and ever since he had rescued him and brought him into his Workshop, they had spent all of their time on his creations. The Professor's legends were worthy of worship to Roche, so he had every trust in his work and even felt genuine happiness while helping him.

Thus, it was with refound joy and a huge smile on his face that the boy entered the Servant's secret lair after his task was completed.

"Professor! Professor!" he exclaimed cheerfully, entering the underground Workshop with a toothy smile full of hope and trepidation. "I have great news!"

His eyes soon found the only occupant of the room. The 'Professor' was currently looking at some papers on his study table, reading them with morbid attention as he sat on a wooden chair at the back of the room. To those who watched him, he appeared as a tall, slender man who wore a featureless mask without openings for the eyes or the mouth, a full-body suit with black and purple stripes, and a blue mantle. Due to the mask he wore, however, it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or even if he felt any emotion at all; but Roche didn't mind. He didn't even care for it. He had long since become accostumed to his Professor's mannerisms.

After a few seconds of silence, the Caster slowly turned his gaze away from the papers, glancing at the boy with his hidden eyes. "Roche," he greeted him slowly. His voice was dull and blank behind that mask, devoid of any kind of emotion or warmth. "You're back."

The boy joined him with a happy step, almost hopping with excitement. "It's working, Professor!" he said with a joyful smile, his arms shaking in trepidation. "The second wave has started smoothly! The Golems are doing an excellent job outside, even better than the last time! At this rate, we will be able to collect enough Magical energy even before our previous predictions! We're almost close to achieving your goal!"

The masked Servant stared in silence for a long time. Then, his head lowered as he exhaled an imperceptible sigh.

"Finally," he spoke after a while, his voice low and blank as before. "It took a long time to create my Golems, but now we are finally close to the goal."

"Of course, Professor!" Roche replied excitedly, raising his arms aloft in trepidation. His eyes were literally sparkling as he stared at his 'Professor' with an adoring gaze. "You are an unparalleled master of the Golem Arts! You are an army by yourself! Watching your work during the past month has been a great inspiration for me! I'm truly grateful!"

The man merely smiled under his mask. "You flatter me, Roche."

"But still!" the little boy continued, jumping around the basement and waving his arms around like and excited child. "Kidnapping and using the humans to provide Magical energy for the Golems instead of draining yours was a wise choice. An outstanding idea! You really are a genius, Professor!"

His excitement was visibly obvious despite those terrible words.

The Caster's emotionless mask turned to him slowly. "You don't seem upset over the fact that I've exploited countless innocent lives," he noted.

"Of course not!" Roche smiled, wide and proud, dismissing that thought with an excited smirk. "First-class Servants require immense amounts of Magical energy. It's only logical to offload that burden to the lower beings."

The smile behind the mask was almost audible when the man spoke. "That's quite the statement coming from a fellow Magus and human," he said, moving to place a couple of vials on the appropriate shelf with an habitual movement. "I guess you really don't care about them."

Roche stood proudly. "Why would I? Mages, Priests, civilians... it doesn't matter, because they're all the same to me. Humans are all annoying, and they deserve to disappear! Golems are much, much better than them! To be honest, I'm feeling quite excited, actually! Don't you agree with me, Professor?"

The tall Servant stared in silence for a while.

"…I wish I could relate," he merely spoke in the end, his voice blank and devoid of emotion. "My life has been filled with nothing but misfortune. Thus, I'm not familiar with the emotion that you describe."

The young Magus paused at that. "I'm... sorry," he frowned, lowering his eyes with a dejected expression.

But the Caster merely shook his head. "It doesn't matter," he finally dismissed the topic, turning to the boy once again. "So? Have you completed your task?"

Just like that, Roche Frain Yggdmillennia found his smile once more. "Yes! The Golems have finished gathering all the ingredients," he reported dutifully with a resolute nod. "Now, everything is ready for your Noble Phantasm."

Contrary to what he expected, his 'Professor' didn't react openly to the news. He just remained completely still for a moment, before shaking his head with a silent mutter. His lack of reaction greatly confused the boy.

"The ingredients are ready, but one more thing is required," the Caster explained slowly, seeing his obvious perplexity.

Roche tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Huh? What is it?" he asked.

"A Core," the Servant answered. He moved to the main table at the center of the room, his armored hands moving over the papers and documents depicting his final project and his most ambitious work as he explained slowly. "My ultimate Golem requires a living heart to drive it. It needs a creature with the suitable Magic Circuits to serve as its core. That will complete my Noble Phantasm, Roche."

"I see..." the young boy mused in understanding. "Is that why you were testing the last subject we have retrieved?"

The Servant turned his unseen gaze towards the right. Roche's eyes soon followed.

A giant tank filled with green liquid was located to the right side of the Workshop. Inside the tank, a young woman was immersed in a green liquid. She was an elegant girl who could not have been more than twenty years old, with long golden blonde hair and an attractive face.

A face that was currently immersed into a deep, induced slumber.

Both the Professor and the boy stared at her sleeping face for a few moments. Until, the masked Caster stepped closer to the tank with his arms crossed. "Indeed. The girl's Magic Circuits are exquisite," he replied. "To think that the Clock Tower would send such a promising and skilled Mage here in the middle of nowhere. The girl's Magical energy is extremely high compared to the norm. When my Hunting Golems brought her here five days ago, I thought she was bound to be suited as a Core…"

Then, suddenly, his shoulders fell, and the Servant let out a long sigh under the boy's stunned face.

"But, alas, that is not the case. My recent research showed that her Circuits are not compatible with the project. Her Magical energy is not enough. Thus, she is not suited for the task," he explained with audible disappointment.

Roche couldn't believe his ears. "But how? I thought she came from a very powerful lineage of Mages!" the boy exclaimed, unable to understand.

"Speculations won't change the facts. Her Circuits and Magical energy are not compatible with Adam's Core. We must accept reality and move forward. My dream is to create the original giant of the legends of my people. The War, the Holy Grail… they do not interest me. Completing my Noble Phantasm is all that matters to me."

He clenched his fists, his masked head lowering in frustration.

"But until I find a compatible subject, all my work won't be enough," he stated through gritted teeth.

Roche visibly startled at his Professor's wounded tone. "P-Please do not lose hope now, Professor!" he exclaimed vehemently – almost frantically. "There's still a lot that we can do! The Golems outside are still gathering Magical energy from humans as we speak, and we've already ammassed a great amount of it so far! Besides, I've sworn to do everything in my power to make your dream come true! I will not rest until you'll have accomplished your hope!"

At his words, the Servant stilled imperceptibly. Slowly – but surely – he raised his head and turned towards the boy who was looking at him with ardent determination. "You…" he said. "Do you really mean that, Roche? Would you really be willing to do anything to help me achieve my goal?"

"Of course!" Roche beamed with a dreamy expression. "As a fellow Golem user, I look forward to seeing your dream fulfilled, Professor! That is my wish, after all!" he openly declared, his eyes gleaming with admiration. There was not a single trace of hesitation in his face as he spoke those words.

The Caster stared at him, long and hard.

"…I see," he mused in the end. "Both of us meeting here was truly a blessing, indeed."

He waited for a couple of seconds. Then, with no further ado, the masked Servant stepped forward all of a sudden, extending a hand towards the unaware and hopeful Magus standing in front of him.

"Thank you, Roche," Caster spoke with an eerie voice. "I'll take your word for it."

Then, he grabbed his shoulder, squeezing it with a grip that was hard and more oppressive than ever.

And for the first time since he had met him a month prior, the youngest member of the Yggdmillennia clan felt a twinge of fear arise inside his mortal soul in front of the imposing and menacing silhouette of his Professor.

---

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/+/+/+/+/+/+/

.

Hades is watching me. I can feel his scrutinising look.

"Do you ever wonder what you might have been?" he asks.

"What do you mean?"

"What you would have been if you never became a God."

I choose to be funny. "A Hero of Justice."

Hades shakes his head.

"You fucker," he says, almost pityingly. "You have no idea of what you want to be, do you?"

.

/+/+/+/+/+/+/

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Planet: Earth
Date: June 10 2020
Location: Port of Alexandria – West Verge of the Nile Delta (Alexandria - Egypt)

(======)

Despite his poor state of mind, Shirou couldn't help but worry.

For the first time, as absurd as it may seem, the current concern he was feeling had nothing to do with his inner turmoil. Nevermind all the nightmares and the fragments of his past that continued to plague him every time he closed his eyes to force himself to sleep. Nevermind his never-ending concern about Morgan le Fay and Tyr's stolen Artifacts. Nevermind his growing shame and guilt over the facade he was forced to uphold in front of his comrades. Nevermind all of that and all of it. This had nothing to do with the current situation he was facing. And yet, even despite that, he still couldn't help but worry. A lot.

The Ruler and the group of Servants had just landed at the port, reaching their new destination after three full days of travel. A destination that, unlike all of those they had previously visited, had a significant and substantial importance in the heart of one of them: Alexandria of Egypt.

As was widely known, Alexandria was the second largest city in Egypt, with a population of 5.2 million, stretching 32km along the Mediterranean coast in the northern part of the African country, as well as one of the largest, most ancient and most famous cities in the history of the entire planet. In the centuries following its foundation, the once small port city grew rapidly and became bigger and bigger; until it became a major center of Hellenic civilization and eventually replacing Memphis – in present-day Greater Cairo – as Egypt's capital for a long time. Also, during that same period, it had been home to the Lighthouse of Alexandria that ranked among the Seven Wonders of the World, as well as the storied and legendary Library. Called the "Bride of the Mediterranean" by locals, it was a city rich in history, cultures and heterogeneity; boasting an ultra-millennial history and even a reputation as the largest city in the ancient world before being eventually overtaken by Rome.

But of course, the most important and known detail of all was that this city was founded by none other than Alexander the Great in 331 BC. Therefore, it was one – if not THE – most famous city founded by the Macedonian Emperor during his campaign of conquest. A city that, among other things, still took the name of its founder even today after so many millennia of history.

So… yes, they had every reason to be worried. Shirou and his companions knew that, after all. There was no way thet their boisterous Rider couldn't be thrilled to set foot in this place after all this time.

And yet, that was not the case.

Because right now, Iskandar was not excited. He wasn't happy, nor elated, nor thrilled. He wasn't even pleased right now. Not at all.

On the contrary, the King of Conquerors was uncharacteristically silent and still, almost statuesque, with his arms crossed and his body completely rigid while he stood on the port's shore without moving a single muscle. He wore a deep, heavy scowl on his chiseled features as he gazed upon the city with a hard gaze. The very same city that he himself had founded along with his army when he was alive, during his campaign in Egypt after the siege of Tire and Gaza. The same city that he had designed, that he had seen rise to life from nothing, when the whole Nile Delta was still barren and almost devoid of civilization, if not for a few villages and small towns near its banks. The same city that today, even after all this time, still bore his name as a sign of glory and honor, despite the fact that he had left it immediately after its foundation, and never returned.

Until today.

Now, he had finally returned. And the King himself, Iskandar, stood still and solemn as he set foot on this soil after more than two thousand years, his red eyes narrowed and his brows furrowed as he watched the city around him with an unreadable expression. He stood, completely oblivious of Shirou's worried stare as he kept frantically glancing at him from his right, and even of Mordred's stunned face on his left. He didn't even care about Artoria's and her Knights' silent hesitation, nor of Salieri's growing concern. He had noticed all of that, of course. And yet, he didn't react to it. He didn't react, nor talk, nor blink. Because now, right at this moment, it didn't matter to him. It didn't matter one single bit.

He was finally back. Back on his sacred soil, on the lands that had been part of his great Empire. He was back into the city that he himself had founded, designed, created after months and months of military campaigns and incessant conquests. After two thousand years, the King had returned, and he didn't know how to react. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to do. Both Shirou and Mordred realized this soon enough. They knew that their friend was at loss right now. The saw it, after all. They saw all of that, and even more, as they watched their tall and muscular companion remain still like a statue, unable to move in front of the view that surrounded him. And all they did, all they could do, was to keep close to him, trying to offer him a small amount of support with their presence, despite the growing sense of concern inside their sinking hearts.

They simply couldn't help it. And how could they? After all, the King was back into his domain. He was back into his kingdom, his Empire. Consequently, there should have been joy and elation in the air. The city should have been singing and cheering. The people should have rejoiced and celebrated; for their King had finally returned. And yet, as much as it pained them, that was not the case. There was no joy in the air; no cheers and celebrations to be heard. And even if that was to be expected, since no one would have believed Alexander the Great to be alive again, that awareness did little to nothing to ease the tension. Because the only thing that greeted Shirou and his friends as soon as they landed on the port was a heavy, dull silence filled with unspoken fear; along with the occasional earthquakes that shook the city every now and then.

It was a grim sight.

Shirou felt his heart clench painfully inside his chest as he slowly, tentatively, raised one arm to put his hand on Iskandar's shoulder. Alexandria was no longer as beautiful as he had imagined and hoped. It wasn't a breathtaking sight at all. On the contrary, it was a sight of horror, and tragedy, and death.

In fact, the entire city was under attack. The majority of the port area was a frenetic coming and going of soldiers, volunteers and law enforcement officers. The streets were flooded – literally flooded – by civilians on the run, while countless cars, vans and vehicles were desperatly trying to make their way through the living river of fleeing bodies, moving away from the central area of the metropolis and heading towards the port to leave the continent. It was a gruesome sight. Men, women, children... all of them fleeing in a desperate attempt to save themselves, their desperation causing panic and chaos in the city as far as the eye could see. The sun was high in the sky, noon almost approaching, and the unbearable heat seemed to almost multiply at the sight of so many people running desperately, plunging the city into screams and shouts of terror and panic.

The God of War felt his mind go numb with rage as he watched the devastation unfold before him. He could see that numerous buildings in the distance had already collapsed, some houses were completely destroyed, and a few clouds of smoke and debris were rising high into the sky like columns of black and pitch. And as civilians continued to run and escape through the streets, more and more buildings were suddenly torn down and completely razed to the ground in the distance. Even a distant skyscraper, visible even from the port more than five kilometers away, was suddenly hit by a sudden ray of light and collapsed on itself, generating a few massive explosions and earthquakes. Civilians were fleeing in the midst of that chaos, screaming and crying and moaning like wounded animals, heading for the harbor in a desperate attempt to leave the city by ship. They were scared, desperate, terrified; praying and invocando every existing deity so that they could save themselves… but it was all in vain. There was no hope, there was no mercy in the midst of that sight of death and horror.

The silence was broken by a deafening noise. A few military helicopters flew over the sky, aiming towards the central part of the metropolis, but they were of little use in this situation. Shirou watched in helpless frustration and horror as the flying vehicles flew towards the epicenter of that chaos, only to be suddenly hit by a sudden series of energy beams coming from the hinterland and exploding in the air. Some of them even crashed on the city, destroying a couple of houses and buildings in the distance. It was a useless effort, and it was far too late to try and save them.

Truly, it was a horrible sight. Just like Edinburgh, just like Paris, just like Marseille all over again. And there was nothing Shirou could do to prevent all of this. He was but one man, one God, against the entire force of the Throne scattered throughout the planet and waging War for no reason, with no idea of where to go and what to do to stop all of this.

Still, he couldn't lose hope now. He could still save these people's lives, even if it was already too late for many of them. He couldn't save everyone... and it had taken a long time for him to accept this reality when he was younger.

But in order to do that, first he had to help those who needed him now.

"Rider..."

The King of Conquerors didn't reply to his gentle call. His red eyes kept staring at the chaos around him with an unreadable expression. He didn't even move when the Ruler tried to shake him with his arm once, then twice. He was completely still, almost numb to the world around him. Even Artoria and the Knights were starting to grow worried by his silence.

Mordred was literally shaking by the rage flowing through her veins. "Ohi, Rider!" she suddenly roared, startling almost everyone in the group but him. She gripped Iskandar's left arm with one hand, yanking it with considerable force as she glared at him with a snarl on her lips. "Get a fucking grip already! Pull your shit together! We have to do something!"

Again, he remained completely still, his brows furrowed and eyes focused. Shirou and Artoria shared a worried glance; and even Bedivere, Gawain and Salieri were starting to feel slightly anxious in front of the silence of the muscular Servant. This was not what they were expecting from him. They had expected him to be furious, and outraged, and perhaps even worried as he always had been before… but now, he just seemed lost. The great and boisterous Iskandar, the King of Conquerors himself, had been rendered silent as stone in front of this sight. And that was something they didn't see very often.

Until, just as Mordred was about to punch him in the face, he suddenly grabbed her fist with one hand and stopped her.

Shirou, Mordred, and the others watched as the King of Conquerors frowned thunderously upon the sight of his ruined kingdom.

"This cannot be," he spoke for the first time after a long while. His voice was low at first, but then it gained more and more power as his frown deepened and his fists began to tremble even as he kept his arms crossed. He was literally shaking due to the rage flowing through his veins. "This wasn't supposed to happen. I cannot, no… I will NOT stand for this!"

Everyone stared at him in silence, and despite the man's abrupt outburst, none of them were surprised by that reaction. They already knew that Egypt had fallen into a sudden state of crisis thanks to the news they had seen a few days ago, but what they were witnessing now was even worse than what they had expected. It was much, much worse. The level of destruction here was comparable to the devastation that had hit Edinburgh in the past. Perhaps even worse than that.

And Iskandar, being Iskandar, simply couldn't accept such a reprehensible sight. This was his city. This was his land. These were his people. Iskandar may be greedy. Yes. He may be selfish and ambitious. Of course. He may even be misguided and foolish. Absolutely. But if there was something good about him, as Shirou and Mordred knew very well, that was his unshakable and undying loyalty. Iskandar may have been many things during his life, but he had always, ALWAYS, cared for his people. He had ALWAYS cared for his followers and his people. No one could touch what was his – his lands, his wealths and especially his people – and not pay the consequences. That had always been true, both now and in the past.

Therefore, he couldn't accept to stand by and do nothing when his city was under siege. This soil had been a part of his Empire, once. And although more than two thousand years had passed since then and his Empire no longer existed, in both his hearth and mind, Iskandar truly thought of this land and these people as his own. He simply couldn't help it. He had conquered them once, and he would conquer them again. There was no room for debate. Hence, he couldn't just allow something like this to happen.

He was the King of Conquerors. His goal was to conquer the whole world and win the hearts of every men. How could he succeed in such an feat if he wasn't even able to defend his previous kingdom?

Alexander the Great steeled his resolve with a mighty frown.

"Very well," he rumbled. "It is time for me to defy both heaven and earth. Here and now, once again, I shall reclaim what is rightfully mine!"

He roused himself with a sudden jolt, his jeans and T-shirt being replaced by gold-trimmed boiled leather armor of Greek patterning and a fur-lined red mantle with a gust of wind. As soon as his armor appeared, Shirou, Mordred, Artoria and the others shared a relieved smile, happy to see that he was finally back to his senses. They summoned their battle attires as well, and then promptly moved to follow him as he began to walk amidst the chaos with a hurried pace, aiming to the inner city.

They brushed past the tide of fleeing civilians, completely ignoring the soldiers and cops who tried to stop them from advancing towards what for any normal human being was nothing but death.

Until, Iskandar stopped abruptly. Shirou and his friends stopped as well, staring at his towering frame as he spoke through gritted teeth. Around them, people kept running and screaming, so frightened and terrified that they didn't even seem to notice them.

"Boy… Saber…" he said, addressing his companions with his back turned to them. Judging by the trembling of his shoulders, it wasn't out of disrespect, but out of the real and sincere haste and emotion he was feeling right now. "What you see before you... the land and the sky, the city and the people... this is my kingdom."

Despite the tense situation, the Ruler and the Saber listened to him. Behind them, Artoria, Bedivere, Gawain and even Antonio Salieri listened as well, watching closely as the Rider clenched a fist with barely suppressed rage.

"I am well aware that my time as a monarch is over, just as my ownership of the these lands and people," he continued to say. For once, his voice was neither boisterous, nor jovial. He was serious – as serious as he could be – speaking with a tone that was both solemn and commanding in front of his fellow Servants. "And even if they now belong to no one, they were mine to protect once. It was a great responsibility. One that I failed miserably in life, due to my insatiable ambition that prompted me to leave this place behind to pursue new conquests."

Mordred and Shirou shared a silent glance. They had no doubt that what he was saying was true. There was nothing but truth in his words.

"But now, I am no longer King here. I no longer have my previous power and status. Not yet, anyway," he said, shaking his head slightly, as if he were trying to convince himself. Then, he turned towards the two of them – his allies, his companions, and his friends; staring straight into their eyes. "Still, I want to protect them. I still want to fulfill my previous responsibilities, even if I failed to do so before. And I cannot do that alone."

He watched them, staring into his friend's eyes with a fire that burned inside his red orbs.

"I have nothing to offer you yet, but... will you help me?" he asked. "Will you aid me in this quest to defend my land and my people? Will you stand by my side, as faithful companions, as I reclaim the city and save my people from this unjustified suffering?"

His demand was met with silence.

Shirou and Mordred glanced at each other.

Then, without the slightest trace of hesitation, the two of them shared a nod with an excited smirk.

"Keh! Who do you take us for, Rider? After everything we've been through, do you seriously think that we would step away from this?" she asked back at him, her eyes shining with trepidation as she scoffed in a sarcastic way.

Even Shirou couldn't help but grin a little as he saw Iskandar's face visibly relax a bit. "The kid's right. We're in this together. You know we can't allow this sensless destruction to spread, Rider. This is my– no, our duty," he declared, deadly serious.

The Macedonian Emperor stared at them, long and hard; with so many different emotions flashing inside his eyes. Concern, resolve and pride were certainly there.

"The three of us made a deal," the red-haired Ruler continued again, seeing that the gigantic Rider was still trying to process his overwhelming emotions. "We stay together, we stop the War together, and we see to the end of this. Together," he stressed, patting the man's arm with one hand and Mordred's shoulder with the other. "That is not up to debate, am I right?"

"Yeah! What are we lazing about for? We have an entire city to save!" the Knight of Treachery boasted with a smirk that was a mix of trepidation and resolve. Her emerald eyes gleamed as she shot a playful stare to the muscular Servant. "How about this: we help you reclaim this city, and then you show us around the place as our guide. Then, we'll call it even. Are you good with that?"

Despite his inner turmoil and the tense situation they were facing, Iskandar's lips parted into a wide, excited grin under his friends' supportive smiles.

"Very well. We have a deal!" he readily agreed in a boisterous manner.

Shirou nodded in approval. "Good. Then let's get down to it," he ordered.

"Hell yeah!" Mordred grinned.

They shared a silent nod, exchanging a few glances of support and complicity and preparing themselves to fight once mo–

"Oh my, it seems that we've been completely forgotten here."

The red-haired Ruler sighed, trying and failing to ignore Salieri's sarcastic remark as he turned towards the rest of the group. The Italian Berserker was watching them with a smug grin and arms crossed, and he inwardly flinched as Artoria and her Knights fixed them with a blank, unimpressed stare. It seemed that they hadn't enjoyed to be left out of that moment either. Even Mordred seemed a bit sheepish now. They really had forgotten about them for a moment there.

Luckly for everyone, the King of Knights dismissed that topic with firm step forward. "Let us not waste time," she said in all seriousness, glancing at Iskandar for a brief second. "I will help you as well, King of Conquerors. As a fellow monarch, I know all too well how painful it is to see your kingdom fall into chaos." As soon as Mordred's head snapped up at those words, the female King shook her head and offered her a smile in reassurance. "The past is past. Let us strive together for a better future. Are we in agreement?"

The muscular Rider blinked once after that offer, caught off guard by the woman's words. Then, he roused himself out of stupor and grinned, offering for the first time a nod of sincere gratitude to his fellow King.

"You have my thanks, King of Knights. I won't forget this."

Then, with no further ado, he turned around and summoned his sword, his spatha, facing the unknown threat along with Shirou and Mordred.

"Very well. Then, we shall ride forth now!" the King of Conquerors declared, raising the Sword of the Kupriotes to the skies with a bellowing roar of battle. "We depart for the front at once!"

They moved, swift as the wind and strong as a storm, making their way through the fleeing crowd and rushing along the main road. And then, after a couple of minutes of searching, as soon as they left the port and reached the innermost part of the metropolis, they halted once again.

It didn't take long for them to find the cause of such a ruckus.

Golems.

A large number of Golems were currently wreaking havoc and destruction throughout the city. A gigantic horde― no, a veritable army of artificial creatures scattered in all directions and ravaging everything they touched. They were tall, numerous, and extremely weird-looking. It literally seemed to be observing an army of statues – living statues, Shirou immediately remembered – emerging from the very bowels of the earth. Even more, they came in various shapes and types, both humanoid and non-humanoid. Among those surrounding the group of Servants, some examples included a slender one made from spirit wood in the exact form of humans, a few misshapen beasts with limbs like spiders currently crawling on a building, and a dozen of Golems capable of flight that appeared to be modeled after dragonflies. But there were many others around them, with even more shapes and sizes. It was literally impossible to list them all.

Shirou, Iskandar and the others watched with wide eyes as the Golems continued their work of destruction. There were thousands of them. They were infesting the streets, assaulting civilians, and spreading death and destruction everywhere around them. In the midst of that chaos, their dull and empty roars echoed through the city, similar to the sound of rock clashing against rock; above the screams of the citizens, the roar of the explosions, and the raging of flames and fire. And as soon as he saw that horrible army of misshapen creatures, the red-haired Ruler felt a chill descend upon his spine.

Because he had already realized what he was watching. In fact, as soon as he laid eyes on them, Shirou's eyes immediately narrowed to Structurally Analyze the Golems in order to understand what kind of enemy he was about to face. Golems were also a form of weapon, after all. Living weapons, to be exact; and this fact alone was more than enough to allow him to learn and discover almost everything about them just as easily as he could Analyze or Trace a sword, a gun or any kind of weapon. And unfortunately for him, he didn't like what he 'saw'. He didn't like it one bit.

Surprise, surprise.

The first thing he discovered was enough to confirm his greatest concern: the Golems around him were the unequivocabile work of a Servant. There was no doubt about it in both his heart and mind. After all, Golems were nothing more than inhuman creations of stone and bronze compared to humanoid homunculi. Artificial (and, consequently, limited) creatures usually built by Mages specialized in Construction and Doll Engineering. However, these Golems around him right now were anything but limited. Not only were their forms and numbers too high compared to what humans would have usually been able to create, but their quality was absolutely peerless. It was such that a modern Magus would barely have been able to build a single one of them in a year's time, and they also possessed fluid movements without a trace of the typical awkwardness displayed by normal Golems. Even without Analyzing them, it was simply impossible to believe that they were created by humans.

Even worse, they had been clearly created for combat. Their shapes, their movements and even the terrifying dedication with which they were chasing the civilians showed that the Golems were built for a single purpose: to kill and absorb Magical Energy from humans. Shirou and his friends could already tell that much. Some of them were even wielding some form of rudimentary rock clubs and metal swords in their hands. It was painfully obvious that they were specialized in killing. And that was something that neither the Ruler nor the rest of his companions could accept. They would not, they could never allow this massacre to continue further.

Iskandar's imposing frame shook with a thunderous indignation. "You vile, disgusting beings! You have trespassed into my domain for far too long!"

Then, with a bellowing roar, the King of Conquerors charged forward, raising the spatha to the sky and crushing the concrete with each of his steps. He was the first to spur into action, and he did so with overwhelming power.

As soon as his sword was aimed to the sky, a sudden roar of thunder rumbled in the air, echoing for miles and miles. Not even three seconds later, a portentous rain of lightning rained down from the cloudless sky, crashing with monstrous power upon a Golem that was about to crush with its body a family of tearful fugitives thrown into the middle of the road. The entire body of the Golem was obliterated, turning into nothing more than a smashed mass of rocks and molten metal.

But it wasn't over yet. Fueled by solemn indignation, the mighty Rider charged again and crashed into a second Golem of at least three meters in size, smashing its torso with a single push of his shoulder and causing it to fall and tumble to the ground. The newly-saved group of civilians stared with wide eyes as the gigantic man dressed in Greek armor roared his battle cry with a bellowing fury, slamming a fist into another enemy and completely piercing its chest with inhuman power. The entire colossus was pulverized like nothing.

Civilians and fugitives all around immediately noticed the sudden commotion. Shirou, Mordred and the others almost gaped in shock as they watched Iskandar throw his sword like an arrow, hitting the head – if you could call it that – of yet another Golem, causing it to hiss and collapse to the ground like a dead weight. The King of Conquerors recovered the weapon shortly after that, knocking down yet another enemy with a ferocious grunt as more and more people began to gather and stare at him in sheer amazement and shock.

The Rider stomped on a fallen Golem shaped like an insect, shattering his head. Even the ground itself shook for several meters under his foot. Then, he stopped his sudden assault and rounded on the group of people staring at him with wide eyes and mouths open like fish thrown out of water. Even the Golems all around stopped as well.

"Hear me, my people! My brethren!" he cried, spreading his arms to the sky. "Rejoice, for the time of suffering is gone! The time of ruin is over!"

Shirou and Mordred could literally feel their jaws hit the floor as absolute silence fell across the entire street. They were stunned, just like the Knights and Salieri. Even Artoria looked torn between being baffled and incredulous.

'Rider, what the fuck are you doi―'

"Now, quell your fears! Embrace your hopes, for this city and this land shall be oppressed no longer!" the muscular Servant roared, his deep and strong voice echoing in the air and in the hearts of the people. "Because I, the sovereign and conqueror of all that there is, have finally returned!" he declared with a powerful roar.

The general amazement and disbelief were indescribable.

"All this death and destuction ends now! As long as I am here, no one shall be deprived of their life! That is my PROMISE!"

Everyone just stared at him incredulously, completely stunned and unable to speak after that weird declaration. It was so sudden and unexpected that no one knew how to react. As the crowd exchanged hesitant glances, Shirou just donned a hand on his temples to forestall the feeling of an incoming headache. He didn't even need to turn around to know that Mordred and the others were as shocked as he was.

After what seemed like an eternity, one single policeman wearing a torn uniform and with a bleeding head stepped forward from the crowd. "W-Who are you?" he asked.

A wide and proud grin split the Servant's features. "I am the lord and ruler of this land! The King and Emperor who will conquer all that there is to see!" he answered loudly, raising his strong, powerful voice. Then he stomped again on the ground, raising his spatha to the sky as his grin widened out of proportions. "I am the King of Conquerors, Iskandar! Founder of this city and ruler of the Macedonian Empire! And I have returned after all this time to free my city and my people from oppression!"

Sheer silence greeted his declaration. But it didn't last long this time. Everyone's attention was immediately shifted to the right side of the street.

In fact, as soon as they fully realized the presence of the new enemy Servants, all the Golems within a hundred meters suddenly roused themselves as one, breaking their previous stillness and emitting a lugubrious metallic wail. Then, not even a moment later, they began to advance towards the intruders with obvious killing intent; charging directly towards Iskandar, the crowd and the other Servants. Soon after their first step were taken, more and more people began to panic once again, and their cries and screams of fear started to echo amidst the crowd.

But luckly for them, hope hadn't died yet. The King of Conquerors reacted promptly, slashing the air with his Sword of the Kupriotes and summoning a second rain of lightning from a gash in the air, and the attack collided against the army in charge with an absurd roar. In less than a blink of an eye, a whole dozen of Golems had been destroyed and shattered by the overwhelming power of the attack, exploding into a thousand pieces like nothing.

The King of Conquerors leaped in font of the crowd, his cape waving in the wind in front of everyone's stunned gaze.

"Worry not, for I shall cleanse the city from those creatures. Hope will not die as long as we remain steadfast," he declared with confidence. Then, he raised one arm, pointing in direction of the port. "Now go, my fellow brethren! Gather together once again and stay safe! I shall bring your city and your freedom back!"

Despite the shock and general disbelief, slowly but surely, a few loud and resounding cheers began to echo all around.

Alexander the Great basked himself in the cheers of his people with a victorious grin.

The very next second, however, he almost jumped in shock as an arrow darted near his cheek all of a sudden, startling him for a moment. The projectile hit the head of a Golem a few meters away, generating a small explosion that also destroyed the other artificial beings around it. Somewhere in the distance, in another part of the city, a thunderous explosion was heard echoing for several seconds, making the entire metropolis tremble. Then, silence was again interrupted only by the echo of the civilians fleeing all around.

Shirou stepped next to Iskandar, a black bow already in hand and his face morphed into a deadpan as he fixed him with a blank stare. "You're an idiot, you know that?" he sighed with irritation, shaking his head even as he fired another arrow to the left, knocking down a small Golem on the rooftop of a building. He was followed by Mordred, Artoria and the others, who moved to place themselves next to him.

Iskandar merely raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Huh? What? What did I do?" he asked, sounding genuinely confused by their blank stares.

The others just gave him a deadpan in response. Salieri openly laughed form the side.

"No matter, we don't have time for this. We shall re-discuss the concept of secrecy and caution with you after the city is freed, King of Conquerors." Gawain stressed as he readied his stance and pointed his broadsword Galatine to the army of Golems gathering in front of them. "This is a battle, so we must destroy our enemies first."

"I concur. We shan't waste any more time," Bedivere promptly agreed.

Mordred parted her lips into a feral grin as everyone began to prepare themselves for the battle, stepping forward along with Antonio Salieri as her horned helmet reformed over her head. A few bolts of red prana coursed through the air as she raised Clarent above her shoulder as if it were as light as a feather. Artoria did the same from the other side, reading her invisible sword with a focused expression.

Shirou stepped forward as well. He stared at the increasing number of Golems around them with a cold gaze. "Be warned: these Golems are almost certainly controlled by a Servant," he said, speaking to everyone in the group before they could go on the offensive. "Their quality is extremely high and their movement designed for combat. Therefore, never let your guard down. We must destroy all of them and locate the Servant's postion."

Antonio Salieri smiled as he summoned his menacing armor with a snap of the fingers, passing a thumb over the blade of his thin, dark longsword – Wildfire Blade – with a predatory movement. "Molto bene," he mused, speaking in his native tongue and letting out an evil laugh. "Then allow me to begin a beautiful performance and lure the enemy Servant out."

"However," the God of War cut him off, suddenly. He turned his head towards the mad Servant, sparing a glance to Mordred and Iskandar as well. "Do not forget the most important thing: our primary goal is to save as many lives as possible. Focus your efforts on the civilians first. Make sure that they're safe. Then, and only then, you shall do whatever you must to stop the attack before it's too late. Don't let a single hostile escape."

He fixed the Berserker with a stern stare. "Are we clear?"

Everyone smiled in silent agreement. The Italian Berserker merely scoffed, but then dipped his head in a nod all the same.

Mordred, Iskandar, Artoria and the others shared a silent nod of resolution. Then, they focused back to the army of Golems that was slowly growing closer to them.

Artoria stepped forward with a solemn expression. "Very well. Then let's begin at once!" she ordered, raising her sword into a stance and enveloping her entire frame with a gust of wind and prana. Then, not even a second later, she leaned forward and dashed against the enemies at maximum speed, officially starting the battle.

No one dared to go against the words of the King of Knights.

And thus, their struggle began once again.

Shirou was the first to follow Artoria's example. With one great push the distance between him and the targets was crossed, and the red-haired Ruler broke away from the group to enter the fray with inhuman speed. He dismissed his bow and Traced a longsword instead, destroying the first horde of Golems with a single swing. Next, he jumped high and landed in the midst of a group of twenty Golems, slamming his sword on the ground and generating a wave of energy that cut and shredded all of them like trees hit by an avalanche. His weapon shattered under the force of the blow, its purpose already fulfilled, dissolving itself into a dust of prana.

But the God of War had more than a single weapon in stock. This time, the Traced a long, yellow spear with a twitch of his fingers, making it spin in his hands and deflecting a sudden beam of red energy coming from the side. Shirou dashed to the left, attacking another horde that came from East. He impaled the first Golem with the pointed tip of his spear, and then rotated it to defend himself against another beam of light. This time, the attack was sent back to the sender, and the beam crashed against a rock-type Golem similar to a muscular man, destroying its arms as if they were made of paper. The Golem fell to the ground after a single second, shattering in an avalanche of stones and rocks.

Still, there seemed to be no end to the enemies that were assaulting him. Other Golems suddenly began to appear out of nowhere, some of them coming to life from the destroyed bodies of others or even from the ground itself. The Ruler had to hold back a growl of frustration at the sight, taking a step back as a gigantic Colossus-shaped Golem began to emerge from the concrete beneath his feet, forming before his very own eyes. He gritted his teeth frustration. This was bad, extremely bad. The number of Golems was continuing to grow and did not appear to be decreasing. He still counted hundreds – no, thousands of them. This couldn't be good.

He swallowed his growing anger with a scowl. The Holy Grail War had started a little over a month ago. To think that a Servant had been able to create and build so many Golems in such a short amount of time… whoever was behind this attack was an extremely dangerous person. He had to find the mastermind and stop this madness at once.

Therefore, he steeled his resolve. With a click of the tongue and a renewed determination, he began his charge once again and assaulted all the enemies relentlessly, attacking and destroying each and every Golem that dared to stand in his way. He threw his spear forward, piercing two enemies in the head and destroying them with an explosion of prana and wind. Not even a second later, he punched the giant colossus made of concrete right in the chest, sending it backwards and making it crash against a wall. Another sword had already appeared in his waiting hand with a flash of green, and the Ruler used it to smash the head of an insect-like Golem who attempted to bite his leg. Then, he focused his gaze to the right, turning his head towards a Golem Hunter pursuing a small group of civilians above a bridge.

He reacted with disarming speed. "Trace On."

In less than a blink of an eye, his sword disappeared in a cloud of prana, replaced by a long, elegant-looking pitch-black spear: a Projection of the legendary Tonbogiri, a legendary spear of his own creation capable of cutting through any metal.

Shirou weighed the spear, readied his stance, and then threw it directly at the Golem chasing the fugitives with accuracy worthy of the best Lancer class Servant. The spear planted itself into the target's chest, making him halt and stiffen for a few seconds, before starting to release an eerie glow with its entire frame. Not even a second later, the spear actually broke into dozens of glass-like objects, all of them floating in the air and moving to cut and shred the Golem's body as if they were little arrows with a will of their own. Until, after three seconds, the entire stone Golem had been reduced to nothing more than a series of broken, formless rocks.

As the civilians took advantage of that opportunity to take cover, Shirou sighed and, with a casual movement of his legs, stepped to the right; avoiding a sudden attack by yet another wolf-shaped Golem who had attempted to pounce him from behind. Then, without even blinking, he appeared right behind the enemy and grabbed it from its paws, hurling it at a dragonfly-shaped Golem that was flying through the air, shattering them both in one fell swoop. Rocks and metal rained down on the city for several seconds, generating a view that was almost suggestive.

The red-head didn't waste time, though. He spared a single glance to the left – where Bedivere was currently engaged in combat with a humanoid-shaped Golem threatening to assault other humans – and he threw a single sword at the enemy without even taking aim. He didn't need to turn around to know he had hit the target, allowing the silver-haired Knight to finish it off. Instead, he crushed another opponent made of stone with a single punch, and then moved to reach a narrow alley where he had glimpsed a group of humans hiding to escape the charge of a faceless, ten-foot-tall Golem.

He appeared before the humans like a flash, blocking the swing of a mace made entirely of rock with his bare hands. He glanced at the terrified civilians behind him, cursing mentally as he saw the shock and disbelief flashing inside their eyes. Damn it. With so many enemies flooding the city, there was no way for him to defend the humans without revealing himself. It was simply impossible.

Good grief. This wasn't supposed to happen.

Whatever. Now it was not the time for this. Their safety was the priority. "All of you, run. Get away from here," he ordered, still blocking the Golem's mace with his own hands. "Now!"

The humans jumped in shock and fear, but complied without a word. As they began to flee and run, Shirou crushed the enemy's weapon with his hands, and then promptly smashed his chest with a side kick. The Golem shattered in a literal blast of metal, only to be replaced by three others who took its place.

Shirou's fingers twitched. He summoned his faithful katana, dashing to the attack. And after an incessant series of lunges, cuts, dodges and portentous leaps, all the Golems in the alley were completely obliterated. Shirou came out of the narrow street with a single leap, crashing against another enemy and slamming his sword on its head with a silent grunt. As the enemy disappeared into a pile of mud and rocks, the ancient God took a breath and slowly stood up, dusting his white cloak off with one hand.

From the corner of the eye, he could see Artoria running along the main street beyond an intersection on the right. She was fighting an entire horde of Golems on her own, dashing among the enemies with dazzling speed and grace, almost divine, knocking down every enemy in her path with disarming ease. The woman moved her invisible sword with precise and elegant movements, dancing and twirling on her legs with almost unparalleled skill. Despite his better judgment, Shirou lowered his guard for a second as he stared at her from afar, feeling himself inexplicably drawn to her for some reason. He watched in silent fascination as the King of Knights slid between a Golem's legs, severing them with a swing of her blade and slamming her boot against a second one, cratering its chest like nothing. Each of her movements was generating an endless path of destruction, and more and more enemies were mowed down with each swing of her blade.

A powerful combination of elegance and deadly force. It was almost breathtaking to see. Even if he himself didn't know why.

Shirou didn't move as his trained senses alerted him of another Golem charging at him from behind. He didn't even react, for there was no need to. The very next second, in fact, Mordred had already appeared behind him, blocking the Golem's mighty stone arm with her sword before it could strike him and severing it completely. The Golem hissed and groaned as it stammered back, its cry similar to a dull rumble of stones.

"Stop staring at Father and focus, Ruler," Mordred scolded him in a blatantly sarcastic way, flashing him a sly grin as she opened her helmet while he turned to her. "Don't tell me that you were getting distracted? You, of all people?"

The red-haired Ruler scoffed with an amused smirk. "I was just offering you a chance to show off, kid. Give me a little credit here," he replied with a casual shrug, his smirk widening even more as he saw her stiffen all of a sudden. He grabbed the wounded Golem with one single arm, tossing it in the air with disarming ease. "These Golems are not a threat to us, but their numbers are overwhelming. If we want to stop them, we must find the Servant who's controlling them and kill it."

"Got it!" she exclaimed, swinging Clarent against another opponent that had been careless enough to attack her when she was turned towards her ally. She severed its leg without even turning around, and then she lifted it entirely with her arms, hurling it in the air towards the Golem that Shirou had thrown in the sky just a moment prior. "Take this!"

The two Golems collided mid-air, exploding in a hazy rain of metal and rock.

As the Ruler and the Saber exchanged a high-five, Artoria appeared next to them with a silent jump. "These waves are endless. The Golems just keep coming," she stated seriously, her voice as blank as her face. Her emerald eyes fixed on Shirou as both him and Mordred turned to face her in that brief moment of respite. "We won't be able to defend the civilians at this rate."

Shirou clenched his fists. He knew the woman was right. These Golems were no match for strong Servants like them, but they still were an incomparable war force able to easily match the average humans and Mages in combat. Also, their overwhelming numerical superiority was an issue on which the Ruler was stumbling upon even now. Despite all his knowledge and powers, he had no way to quickly eliminate thousands and thousands of Golems scattered throughout the city. Well, technically he did know a way… but that option wasn't viable right now. Not when the current battlefield was the whole city itself; and especially not when the civilians had not yet been evacuated. He could not endanger them – or even worse – involve them in the attack. He simply couldn't.

His golden-brown eyes stared at Artoria with utmost seriousness. "Artoria, can you detect who's controlling the Golems? Are you able to detect the origin of their mana with your Dragon Core?" he asked.

The King of Knights shook her head. "I've tried, but I wasn't able to feel anything," she answered with a frown. "The more I try to expand my senses, the more I realize it. There's something wrong with this place. The entire city is completely enveloped in some sort of… Magic Veil. A Spell, perhaps, which prevents me from detecting any source of mana. Even my Core seems to be effected by it in some way."

That made him pause. Shirou's eyes narrowed with a frown while Mordred arched a brow in confusion. Magic Veil? A Spell? He hadn't sensed anything like that when he set foot in Alexandria. What was going on here? "What do you mean? I feel nothing of the sort," he replied.

She just shook her head a second time. "I don't know how to explain it either. But there's no time to talk," she said, rounding her body in a swift motion to decapitate a small skeleton-shaped Golem that suddenly emerged from the ground behind her. In less than a second, the enemy's head was already rolling on the ground. "All I know is that there's something in this city, something that's blocking my senses. I'm not able to detect anything right now."

Mordred growled in frustration. "How the hell are we supposed to find the target, then?" she hissed, throwing Clarent like an arrow and planting its tip inside the head of a ten-foot-tall Golem.

The God of War was about to reply, but something happened in that moment.

The sound of screams and gunfire rang out in the distance. The three Servants turned in direction of the sound, their eyes narrowed in alarm. Shirou spun on his feet, before setting off to run towards the commotion he was feeling and hearing, leaving the female Knights behind. Thanks to his enhanced senses and abilities, it took little time for him to reach the cause of the commotion: another assault. A group of civilians had been surrounded by a horde of gigantic Golems, at least a dozen of them, in the middle of a sideway street close to a wide plaza called "El-Tahrir Square" or also "Liberation Square". Among the group of terrified innocents, a couple of military men were desperately trying to drive away the artificial beings by firing at them, but it was useless. The bullets didn't even scratch their bodies made of reinforced stone. It was a useless effort.

But they hadn't taken into account his presence. With yet another jump, the red-head landed right above a Golem with a crash, piercing its chest with his own body. Then, when he saw that the others had noticed his presence and were moving to attack, he dashed like a bolt of lightning and shot them down one by one with a Traced katana. Until, in but a few moments, the civilians had been freed.

The soldiers stared at Shirou as if he were an alien. Then, perhaps out of instinct, they raised their guns and took aim at him.

"S-Stop right there! Don't m-move!" one of them ordered, his voice as trembling as his body. He was shaking so much that the rifle he was aiming at him wasn't intimidating at all. The others were no much different than him on that regard.

Shirou just sighed with a silent curse. Perfect. Simply perfect. Not only was he forced to use his powers in front of humans to stop the Golems from destroying everything, but now he was even being threatened by those he was supposed to protect. Way to go, Shirou Emiya. The First Hero of Humanity almost snorted at that thought.

Gently, he took a step forward and raised his arms in a gesture of non-hostility. "Listen, I know you're scared, but this is not the time–"

"I said don't move!"

Unable to quell his panic and overwhelmed by survival instinct, the man fired at him without a warning.

The Ruler reacted promptly. He summoned back his katana and deflected all the bullets with disarming precision. He didn't even blink as his arms and body moved with a speed that humans couldn't even conceive. Until, after about ten seconds, all that remained around him was a pile of bullets sliced in half and dead silence.

Shirou narrowed his eyes as the man lowered his trembling rifle, his face a mixture of horror and fear, his eyes filled with unshed tears. "Ya Allah…" the man stuttered in a low voice, his tears now flowing like rivers as he shook his head in disbelief. "Ya Allah protect me. W-What is–"

Suddenly, a hand chopped the back of his neck out of nowhere, knocking him unconscious in an instant.

The God of War glared as Antonio Salieri appeared in a dust of prana, holding the body of the unconscious soldier with one arm. The other soldiers and civilians screamed in surprise, and a few of them even passed out in shock. It was to be expected, given the menacing armor and demonic helmet the Servant was wearing. He looked genuinely terrifying right now, especially to the eyes of simple human beings. It was simply inevitable.

Shirou glared at him as he approached slowly. He crossed his arms while the last addition of their group lowered the unconscious soldier to the ground, releasing the body. "You're still as rash as before, Berserker. There was no need to knock him out. Despite what you believe, I had the situation under control," he said with a cold tone of voice, his eyes narrowing slightly as the other Servant opened his helm to reveal his elegant and handsome face.

The Berserker smirked, dismissing his words with a casual shrug. "I do not doubt that, Ruler. But still, it's best to dispose of all nuisances during a battle, don't you agree?" he replied back, his red eyes smug despite the hint of madness shining inside of them.

His only reply was a noncommittal grunt. The red-haired Ruler turned his attention back to the group of soldiers and civilians. "Listen to me, all of you. I know you're scared, I know you're confused, but please trust me when I say that we mean no harm to you," he said, looking at the entire group of humans with a sincere but solemn gaze. He inwardly flinched when he saw a couple of women and children take a few steps back, but he continued nonetheless. "We just want to help you! I swear!"

His only answer was sheer silence. Shirou didn't fault the humans for their distrust. He was no King of Conquerors, no King of Knights. He was not an imposing and charismatic figure. He didn't even have a Charisma Skill, to be honest. On the contrary, even if he had, his charisma probably was the lowest among all the Heroes of the Throne, despite him being the First Hero of the human race.

He was the most hated Hero of world, after all.

Antonio Salieri was openly laughing at his pathetic attempt to reassure the humans. Shirou paid him no mind. "Please, just trust me on this!" he tried again. "Go away from here! Far away! Get back to the port or find some shelters or some other place to hide! We'll try to destroy the... the monsters and free the city in the meantime!"

That caught everyone's attention. However, before he could continue, a powerful earthquake shook the ground all of a sudden. The retired God cursed under his breath as he turned around and saw a pair of metal Golems bursting out of the ground from a road a few hundred meters away, shattering asphalt and concrete as they hoisted themselves onto their four legs, roaring their wrath to the heavens with a metallic screech. The soldiers and civilians behind him started screaming again, throwing themselves to the ground in fear.

Shirou placed himself in front of the humans to shield them. "Berserker!" he barked.

Antonio Salieri merely grinned with mad euphoria. He raised his longsword and placed it in a strange position: with the hilt facing the ground and the blade resting on his left shoulder. Then, with his right hand, he drew a line over the blade, as if he were touching some invisible strings hidden above it; playing it as a violin. And just like in the past, it worked. A soft and elegant melody echoed with every movement of his clawed fingers, and a violent burst of energy was summoned out of the blue.

The pillars of energy surrounded the Golems without any hesitation, before blasting them with overwhelming power. The Golems exploded upon contact like pins hit by a bowling ball, generating a wave of molten metal and energy that rained down for several tens of meters. Then, silence descended once again.

The Italian Berserker observed the aftermath of his attack with silent satisfaction. "Hmph. Scatenato," he said smugly to himself, basking his body in the sound of silence.

…well, not quite.

"We're gonna die here!"

"Monsters! We are surrounded by monsters!"

"...ohmygodohmygodohmygod..."

"–nd! This is the end!"

...

"WILL YOU STOP SCREAMING?" Salieri yelled all of a sudden, rounding on the group of survivors with wide, enraged eyes filled with madness. A dark, twisted aura of anger, hatred and death began to surround him as he glared at the group of humans; an effect due to the Mad-Enhancement of the Berserker Class.

Both the soldiers and the civilians startled physically at his outburst – terrified to their very deep core – and fell silent instantly, staring at him wide eyes filled with tears.

The Berserker glared for a while, before resuming his composure with a blank smile. "…Thank you," he simply said.

His only reply was a group of trembling bodies uttering silents prayers.

"…Right," Shirou sighed, shaking his head. Then, he coughed and tried to grab everyone's attention again. "Listen, despite what it may seem, we don't want to hurt you. We're trying to help you here. I promise."

They still didn't seem to believe him, as shocked as they were.

"Come on! There's no need to be afraid. We saved your lives just a moment ago, remember that?"

The humans slowly opened their eyes after being faced with that reality, their eyes glancing frantically between him and Berserker. Shirou pressed his advantage.

"I know that my... 'ally' seems a little weird – and crazy – but he means well. I assure you."

"Crazy? Oh my, you wound me, Ruler. I merely represent humanity's punishment for being God's beloved race," Salieri pointed out.

"You're not helping me here!"

Shirou was about to lose hope, but luckly for him the humans seemed to rouse themselves from fear at that point. He almost sighed in relief as he saw the soldiers and the civilians share a silent, hesitant glance. One of them even lowered his gun to stare at him with wide, worried eyes; taking one step forward to speak in behalf of others. Judging by his uniform and the medals on his chest, he had to be a high-ranking soldier. "Y-You..." he stuttered. Paused. Took a deep breath. Tried again. "You really… want to help us?" he asked, staring at Shirou with obvious apprehension.

There wasn't a single trace of deceit on his face as he answered. "We do. We'll do whatever we can to free the city and stop this chaos," he said, offering him a little smile.

The soldiers stared, long and hard. Until, they finally lowered their weapons after hearing that. The civilians behind them seemed to relax as well, albeit slightly.

"Just… who are you people? What is going on here?" one of them asked.

"Why are those creatures attacking us?" was another man's question.

"Where did you come from? What are your powers?" a soldier questioned as well.

Shirou raised a hand, silencing them instantly.

"Listen, I can't answer your questions. Even If I wanted to, there's no time," he stated, pointing to the city around them. The smoke, the tremors and the explosions continued to echo from a distance. "I'm just as confused as you are, believe me. But me and my friends wish to help. We can help you free the city, because we have the power to do that," he stressed, looking at each and every soldier in the eyes.

He pressed his advantage as soon as he saw the tiny glimmer of hope begin to shine inside their eyes.

"Please, believe me. We just want to help."

The group seemed to contemplate the idea, the soldiers especially.

It was then that something happened again.

A portentous explosion thundered in the distance, and Shirou and everyone else immediately glanced to the sky as a dull, deafening noise began to echo in their vicinity. After a couple of seconds of confusion, it didn't take them long to notice what had caused all that commotion.

A military helicopter had been swarmed by a group of flying Golms shaped like dragonflies, destroying its engine with a deafening blast. The flying vehicle was now slowly plunging towards the ground, dangerously approaching their position as it fell towards its final destination. Even from the ground, the pilots' desperate screams could be heard loud and clear.

Shirou and Salieri reacted on instinct, immediately summoning their weapons to hand as the soldiers and civilians began to scream in panic. Shirou cursed under his breath, summoning his bow with wide eyes and raising his arms to take aim. He knew that the pilots were still alive inside the vehicle, but there was nothing he could do to save them; at least not from his position on the ground. But he had to do something, because at this rate the entire helicopter was going to crash onto them, killing all the civilians and soldiers. As loathe as he was to admit it, the only option left was to―

"AAAHHLALALALALALAI!"

A bellowing roar echoed through the heavens.

Shirou and Salieri turned their gaze to South. They watched, wide-eyed, as Iskandar appeared out of nowhere aboard Godious Wheel, its entire frame wrapped in electricity and thunders. With a powerful cry, the gigantic Rider whiplashed his bulls, and the chariot darted across the sky, fast as lightning. It summoned a burst of lightning that destroyed the flying Golems like nothing, before reaching the falling helicopter with a speed that was physically impossible to reach for a chariot of that size. And then, with nothing but his bare hands, the King of Conquerors grabbed the flying vehicle with his arms, halting its fall with a loud grunt of effort under the humans' incredulous and unbelieving stares.

But now it was not the time for disbelief. Whether they wanted to admit it or not, the miracle was indeed happening before their eyes. Shirou openly smiled in approval as Iskandar raised the helicopter above his head, urging the bulls to guide the chariot towards the ground with a slower, gentler pace. Once he reached his companions' location, the muscular Servant finally released the damaged vehicle on the ground, and the pilots immediately stepped out of it with a loud cry of joy, falling to the ground and crying in desperate relief.

"Do not falter now, my fellow brethren, for the battle is not won yet!" the mighty King declared with confidence, staring at the humans' incredulous faces. Then, he drew his sword, whipping the bulls with a powerful cry. "Keep going now! Keep fighting until the enemy is no more!"

With that, he disappeared; blasting through the sky again as Gordious Wheel soared with an impressive speed. With every meter that he crossed in the sky, dozens and dozens of lightning bolts rained from above his chariot, striking and killing the Golems infesting the city below.

Shirou stared at at his retreating form with a proud smile. He shook his head in amusement, before turning to the group of humans once more. "See? We can help you. We'll make sure that this senselss chaos ends as fast as we can," he said, offering them a resolute smile. He gave a nod towards the soldier who had spoken earlier. "You guys focus on helping the people. We'll deal with the monsters."

The soldier stared back at him with stunned amazement. It had been a very long time since Shirou had seen an expression of pure hope blossom on a human's face.

"Y-You… really think you guys can put an end to this?" he questioned, his voice now tinged with hope.

Shirou merely grinned in response. "I promise you: we will stop this. We'll bring whoever or whatever is behind this attack to justice. You have my word."

The man hesitated, staring into his golden-brown eyes for a second. Then two. Then three. Then, he didn't hesitate anymore.

"Very well," he said, sharing a trembling nod with the red-head. "We… we will refrain from attacking you and focus on the safety of the people. I will also inform my units – what little remains of them, at least – and order them not to engage against you and your allies. The army will entrust the city's freedom to you."

Despite himself, Shirou offered the soldier a grateful smile. "Thank you. We'll do our best," he said with sincer gratitude. "Now bring those civilians to safety, soldier. The battle is not over yet."

With a silent nod and a hasty salute, the man moved and did as he was told. One moment later he was gone, as the soldiers began to escort the civilians through the destroyed streets once again.

Shirou watched their retreating forms for a few seconds.

"Keh! You ain't half bad at making speeches, Ruler."

The God of War smiled wryly at the familiar voice. He didn't even turn around as he felt Mordred, Artoria and her Knights appear to the right, landing with a silent step next to Salieri.

He let out a tired sigh. "I know it was a pathetic attempt, kid. Don't tease me too much," he tried to deflect.

"Nonsense. It was a heartfelt speech. I was almost impressed, Shirou," Artoria defended him with a slight smile. Almost, she said. Shirou nearly scoffed.

On his part, Antonio Salieri openly laughed. "Kuhuhu… indeed. You could give the King of Conquerors a run for his money," he snickered with obvious sarcasm, and for once even Mordred had to bite her lips in order to stop herself from laughing. Not even her Father's disappointed stare was enough to stop her snickering.

It was Bedivere the one who brought everyone's attention back to the current situation. "Now that this matter is settled, what are we going to do?" he asked, glancing between his King and Shirou. As expected of the first Knight of Camelot, he was always the most focused one. "The Golems are far too numerous for us to handle in this situation. We cannot possibly stop them all with our current strenght."

"And I can't use Excalibur's full might either. It would destroy the city and the people if fully activated," the King of Knights admitted seriously.

"Indeed. We are running out of options," Gawain stated with a frown.

The God of War steeled his resolve after a few moments of pondering. If the situation was going to be like this, then it was time for drastic measures.

"Let's speed up the process, then," he said with a resolute tone.

He didn't waste any more time. With a portentous leap, he abandoned El-Tahrir Square and moved along a small, green park placed in the middle of it, leaving his companions behind to deal with the incoming Golems. Instead, he jumped over a parked truck, and then leaped again to land on the roof of an old building from the eighteenth century, observing the city from above with critical eye. Then, he began to build up his Magical energy.

"Trace On."

Reaching out with his hands, he summoned his black bow and opened a palm. A thin rod manifested in his open hand with an electric hiss and a flash of dark energy, similar to a black arrow. The same arrow he had used the first time he met Artoria, back in Scotland, and also during the battle in Paris, a few weeks prior. A pitch-black weapon with a few small edges coiling around the thin core, spiraling around it and somewhat curving outward. A weapon of old, one of his favorites, that was extremely similar to a certain sword he had forged and used long, long ago; back when he was still the God of War.

Hrunting, the Beast Hound of the Red Plains, the red sword of seeking annihilation. It didn't even require any prana for him to Trace; it simply popped into his mind and insisted to be used.

It was a copy, of course. A mere Projection compared to the original. But now, since he had lost the original and most of his weapons were no longer stored in his Reality Marble, one copy was the best he could afford. It had to be enough.

"Do not fail me now, old friend," he whispered, notching the arrow on his bow. He angled it in the best position. He took aim towards the blue sky. And then, gathering as much mana as he could, he loosed the arrow with one eye closed and a great mental effort.

The arrow shot into the air like a silent missile. Then, just as it had done all the times before, it broke apart upon reaching its apex. It splinterted into dozens upon dozens, hundreds upon hundreds, and thousands upon thousands, raining down on its targets with frighteningly effective precision and power. A few seconds later, shocked, confused shouts echoed throughout the city below. Enemy Golems fled down the streets, both their bodies and weapons destroyed, hounded by an ancient weapon told to chase and destroy.

Until, within a range of five hundred meters, all the enemies were destroyed in less than a minute.

Shirou narrowed his eyes with a smirk, his job far from finished, and immediately moved to jump above a tall turret to the North. He Traced the same arrow a second time, notching it on his faithful bow.

Then, he took aim a second time, gathering his prana once more and preparing himself to repeat the same process again, and again, and again.

He took aim towards the sky with a furrowed gaze.

Hrunting was going to rout them all.

---

.

/+/+/+/+/+/+/

.

King Oberon examines my newly forged weapon. As he observes with wide eyes the various facets and details of the golden blade, his expression becomes impressed. He almost stares in awe at the Sword. I share a victorious grin with Vivian and Wryneck at the sight.

Surprised, the King of Fairies gives me back the Sword.

"It's... incredible. Just incredible. The power poured into the blade, the sheer amount of prayers and hopes you were able to collect, all the different entities you must have met…" King Oberon trailes off.

He closes his eyes. "I am speechless."

I'm uncomfortable with the attention and praise.

"It's not as amazing as you make it out to be," I scoff.

Oberon chuckles.

"You're certainly the most powerful man I've ever met, no doubt about it," he says. "I'm just glad you are using your gifts to help other people, I suppose."

.

/+/+/+/+/+/+/

.

---

Planet: Earth
Date: June 10 2020
Location: Al Mamurah Beach – Al Mandarah Bahri (Alexandria - Egypt)

(======)

As soon as the ground trembled, Caster stopped his chant, turning his head to stare at the horizon. There, in the distance far away from the beach on which he was standing right now, he could see the explosions and the arrows raining down the city with cataclysmic fury. He exhaled a long sigh, shaking his head in mild disappointment.

"I see," he mused, feeling the sudden demise of hundreds and hundreds of Golems thanks to his mental link with them. "It appears that our visitors are more dangerous than I thought. I suppose there's no other choice, then."

He took a few steps on the sand, turning his head back to his final creation. Despite his stoic posture, his mind could already feel the frustration and anxiety building up from the inside. Even now, after all this time, it was the same as back then. It was always the same. No matter how much time passed, there was one thing that never changed in his eyes.

This world was rotten to the core.

'War, plagues, famine, pandemics... even though the light of God envelopes everything, why are the people of this world... so unsightly?'

Humans, Mages, Servants... it didn't matter. Their Core was the same. It was always the same, and it was always going to be the same.

Why could no one see that but him?

Indeed, this world was rotten to the core.

'Some day, this world has to change.'

Some day, this world must be saved.

He would stop at nothing to reach his goal. He would mercilessly trample anyone underfoot so long that it was for the sake of realizing his dream. This world needed salvation. This world needed to start anew.

And his latest creation, his ultimate hope, was the one and only key that could lead humanity towards the path to salvation.

'Then, and only then, we will reach Paradise.'

Then, and only then, they would reach Eden.

"Professor! W-What is happening? Professor!"

The masked Caster roused himself from his thoughts. He raised his head, turning in direction of the voice. There, hidden under the waves of the sea, his latest creation stood motionless and resolute, with only its sleeping head barely above the water's surface. His young 'disciple' Roche was there as well, currently trapped within the Golem's head by a thick layer of pristine rock and stone, his entire body trashing and sweating and crying as he was being absorbed by the Golem.

He truly hadn't seen that coming. Poor boy.

The Servant watched his pupil's suffering with stoic impassiveness. "It's painfully obvious by now that you will become the Golem's Core," he explained without an ounce of emotion.

Roche stared at him with wide eyes, desperately crying and trashing around as he tried to break free from the Golem's body. His efforts were uttely useless at this point.

"B-But why!? Why are you doing this!?" the boy cried with a broken voice.

Caster merely stared as the boy's body and energy kept being absorbed by the Golem. "Not every Magus can be used as Adam's Core. One must possess high-quality Magic Circuits and be spiritually compatible with the Golem's creator," he explained slowly. "That's where you come in, Roche. Despite your physique, your Circuits are extremely developed. The Yggdmillennia clan has raised you well. Not to mention, of course, our shared passion for Golems and our disappointment in the human race. Those are the qualities that made you the ideal subject for the project."

"Thus, the most compatible Magus for Adam's Core... is you, Roche," he concluded, as if it were a foregone conclusion.

"B-But!" Roche screamed, desperate and terrified. "I'm your disciple! Professor, I thought we were a team!"

He shook his head. "Not anymore. Now I am just a Servant. And thus, your enemy."

The boy's heartbreak was painfully visible after that statement. The boy sniffled as horror and realization dawned on him completely. "You betrayed me... I thought you were different, but in the end... you're just the same as the Pharaoh," he lamented with a weep.

"Not exactly," his 'Professor' corrected him, stoic and blank as always. "To begin with, I was never interested in you or the Holy Grail War. You were just a means to an end, Roche."

"B-BUT WHY, PROFESSOR!? I RESPECTED YOU! I ADMIRED YOU!" he screamed with visceral despair. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE DIFFERENT FROM THE SUN KING! SO TELL ME, WHY...?"

The masked Servant didn't even flinch at his wounded and desperate plea. "Your affection towards me was really comfortable," he spoke with honest impassiveness. "However, you forgot something about me, Roche: I am a pessimist and a misanthrope. Even making eye contact makes me sick to the point of wearing this mask."

Roche widened his eyes.

As the Servant's blank mask glared impassively at him. "How were you never able to realize that I would plot to bring your demise?"

Tears began to fall profusely from the boy's face.

Then, panic and horror overwhelmed him completely.

"No… no, NO! STOP! I don't want to become a Golem!" he cried, trashing desperately in attempt to break free. "I love making Golems, but I don't want to become one! I don't want–!"

His mouth disappeared under rock and stone, his entire body now sinking inside the Golem's.

The Professor stared at his final moments with a calm and collected gaze.

"Farewell, Roche," he saluted him for the last time. "You have every right to despise me."

Then, as soon as the boy's frame disappeared inside the Golem's body, Caster raised one of his armored arms and began to chant once again.

"Born of Mother Earth, let thee take in the wind's wisdom, drink deep of the Water of life. An armament of fire thou shall wield to drive away the demon known as disease. Thine resentfulness destroys thee, yet thine righteousness cleanses thy body. Thine own justice will be the guiding light to cleanse thy blood. Let thee be a colossus, soaring amongst the highest peaks. Let thee be stone, unyielding and firm. Let thy form befit thine office. Our guardian, our leader, our great foundation."

"Thou are of earth, yet not of clod."

"Thou are a man, yet not human."

And as the Caster continued his chant… as the Golem began to absorb every last drop of his consciousness… Roche Frain Yggdmillennia felt himself wandering in his thoughts amid a world of black.

'Professor... we really are the same,' he mused in his final moments. 'We both despise the annoying humans in this world. We both want them to disappear forever... '

"Thou are our dream, our hope, our love. Thou shalt rest in Paradise. Thou shalt rule it, for we will be led to its gates by thee."

'But then... after all of this... why are you trying to create... another human being?'

"Thou art Dream. Thou art Hope. Thou art Love."

He closed his eyes, disappearing into a final shower of golden dust.

'Heh... how weird indeed... Professor.'

"Thou bearing the Holy Spirit, thy name shall be Adam!"

And just as Roche disappeared from existence, the Golem finally rose to life instead, roaring a bellowing cry to the heavens and emerging out of the water with a deafening roar and an explosion of energy and fury.

Caster stared at his creation with an unseen smile as a shower of salt water drops began to rain on the beach. "Ah... I've made it," he mused, his voice finally showing a hint of commotion for the first time since he had been summoned back into the world. "I finally made it! This is Eden!"

Adam took 'his' first step outside the sea, generating a resounding earthquake with his movement. And as soon as the Golem raised its foot, a few sprouts and plants began to mysteriously appear and blossom on the sand of the beach.

The Servant watched with trepidation as Adam began to walk more and more steadily on its legs, leaving the sea behind and aiming towards the city. He jumped on the Golem's shoulder with one portentous leap, observing the world from the apex of his creation.

"Now go. Kill everything for the sake of cleansing this world of all sorrow," he ordered.

The Golem roared its fury with each of its steps, its cry echoing through both heaven and earth.

While Avicebron patted his creation's head with one armored hand, shooting a challenging glare to the world below.

---

Planet: Earth
Date: June 10 2020
Location: Stanley Bridge – Stanley neighborhood (Alexandria - Egypt)

(======)

Iskandar guided his chariot across the sky, quick as lightning and determined as the most unyielding thunder.

The bulls bellowed angrily as they galloped into the air, obeying his will. From his position above, the mighty Rider could clearly see the state of panic and terror the city had plunged into. People running in every direction, cars abandoned into the streets, ambulances full of injured people, sirens echoing everywhere… it wasn't a pretty sight. There was nothing beautiful to be found in the chaos of war. On the contrary, it was a gruesome, terrible sight; one that was way too similar to the catastrophes he had seen in previous battles. One that made his very own blood boil inside his veins.

Because this time, he was no longer fighting in a foreign land. He was no longer in America, or in Britain, or in France; where he had been forced to fight but he hadn't yet started his personal quest for Conquest. No… this time, he was in his land, in his city. This was his domain, and the great Iskandar couldn't allow what was his to be stolen and soiled, or even worse, hurt. There was simply no way he could accept such an outrage. There was no way in hell. Such a sin had to be punished with death; an exemplary one.

The Rider's fury was apocalyptic as he guided Gordious Wheel against a storm of flying Golems, destroying them all with a single swing of his sword and a roar of thunder. How dare these tiny, insignificant puppets wreak havoc in his land? In his domain? In his presence? Iskandar would think nothing over burning them until naught but the ashes of their artificial bodies were left. Today, whoever the Servant who had so foolishly decided to assault his city was, it would meet its end by his blade. These people were his.

The King of Conquerors would not allow what was his to be hurt.

Alexander the Great had been a great many things during his life. He may have been greedy and selfish, he may have been arrogant and foolish. He may also have been mad and morally reprehensible, sometimes. But despite his never-ending ambition and all his defects, he had always cared for those who lived under his rule. He had always cared for his retainers and vassals, despite what many believed. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, that was more important than the King's bond with his people. The King's joys were his people's joys, after all. And following that logic, his people's sorrows were also the King's sorrows. It was simply inevitable. The two concepts could not be separated from each other. A King and his people shared a bond that could not be severed, for in Iskandar's mind they were one and the same; despite what many would have said about his Kingship.

The King and his people lived in two different worlds, yes. The King must live a grander life than any other's, indeed. But all of this and all of that had to be in order to conquer his people's hearts, to embody his people's image of admiration. Thus, at the end of the day, one could not exist without the other. Despite the differences in status, power and wealth between the two of them, there was one thing that both the King and his people shared in spite of everything: the joy of a just rule. The pride of a peaceful kingdom. For the King was nothing without his people, and the people would fall to danger and anarchy without their King. Hence, no matter their obvious difference in power and status, no matter what riches could stand between those two worlds, in the end they couldn't help but share what mattered the most: their pain and joys. Therefore, if his people were suffering, Iskandar was suffering as well.

And that was unacceptable. He couldn't let his own people suffer, even if his Empire was gone and these folks no longer were his people. A King could never be alone. He could not abandon those who lived under his domain, for they were the very same reason why the fire of ambition burned within him. If he allowed them to die, that fire would die as well. And without that fire, there was no King of Conquerors. There was no Alexander the Great. And that simply couldn't be.

He would save them. He would free the city and then conquer it all over again, if necessary. He had fought, led and waged countless wars in order to pursue his ideal of conquering and possessing. But not even he, in his entire life, had enjoyed to see or, sometimes, to cause and generate destruction and raids. Killing, subjugating and destroying were NOT his way of Conquest. Death, terror, panic were NOT his way of Conquest. The chaos spreading all around him was something that Iskandar could NEVER accept and tolerate, especially here in his land, where his people had lived and where the city itself was still linked to his own name.

He had to stop this madness, at any cost.

With a powerful battle cry, Iskandar gave a tug on the reins, ordering the bulls to head in direction of another group of Golems with a mental command, his cape flapping majestically to the wind. The animals bellowed their fury, immediately descending and galloping towards the Rider's next targets. Gordius Wheel descended at maximum speed, wrapped in lightning, reaching the ground in less than three seconds. It was like seeing a bolt of lightning falling from the sky, unstoppable in its descent and dazzling in its majesty.

As soon as it landed, the chariot trampled and scorched and bruned everything that stood in its way. The Golems who encountered his charge were pulverized and destroyed, no matter their shape and size. Every now and then, a few lightning bolts fell from the sky as the King passed, burning and shattering those beings made of rock with bursts of energy. In less than a minute, an entire neighborhood was freed thanks to him, and despite the people's cheers reching his ears from behind, Iskandar did not stop his charge. Now it was not the time to celebrate. He would do so after the city had been freed and the mastermind behind this mess killed. That, he swore.

Next thing he knew, he had reached his companions again, joining them as they kept fighting and destroying the artificials puppets around them with disarming ease. Despite their numbers, the Golems were no match for trained and skilled Servants like the King of Knights and her loyal followers, even though there seemed to be no end to their hordes. Even the weird Berserker stood his ground against so many opponents, using his longsword to both slice through the enemies and summon energy waves upon them.

With the corner of his eye, the muscular Rider could also see the Ruler's unmistakable frame positioned above a building to the left, firing yet another rain of arrows with his bow while Mordred destroyed the Golems around him with her broadsword, shielding him from their attacks as he kept firing relentlessly on the streets. Iskandar inwardly nodded in approval at the scene, surprised by the way they had learned to work as a team after more than a month of traveling and fighting together. Although he would hardly admit it out loud, he was really glad to have them by his side. To see his companions giving their all in attempt to free the city and defend his people was something he wouldn't forget easily after this day. Despite their ups and down, they really did mean a lot to him.

He was just about to move and join them, when he stopped abruptly.

Because something happened all of a sudden.

A ferocious and gruesome roar echoed in the air with frightening force, so strong that even he couldn't help but hesitate for a second. A moment later, the entire city shook and trembled as a mighty earthquake began to shake the earth itself, making the buildings vibrate and even destroying some of them in the distance.

Iskandar stopped his chariot as Shirou, Artoria and the others leaped away from their positions, landing next to him with their expressions steeped in clear alarm.

"What was that?" Gawain asked, looking around frantically with his sword still in hand. The others appeared to be as confused as he was.

Shirou's narrowed eyes were focused on a specific direction. "It came from the sea," he said with utmost seriousness, dissolving his bow with a twitch of the fingers. He then shared a single glance with Iskandar. "Rider, bring us close to beach. Quickly."

The King of Conquerors nodded. As soon as everyone boarded his chariot, Iskandar gave another tug on the reins, and the bulls began to rise once more. It took them less than five minutes to reach the other side of the city, flying throught the sky with a speed that would have made any human vehicle pale. Until, they reached their destination, and the gigantic Rider stopped his bulls once again, stepping out of the chariot and dissolving it with a mental command as his allies jumped on the ground.

Finally, the Servants landed right above a large and elegant bridge built right over the sea, close to a large inlet on the city beach. It was at least 400 meters long and 30 meters wide, and it had four towers designed in Islamic style built at its vertices, giving it an elegant and decidedly one-of-a-kind look. Unbeknownst to them, it was called the "Stanley Bridge", and it was one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city. But right now, that insignificant detail didn't matter to them. They had other priorities to address. But if they hadn't been in the midst of a siege, however, Iskandar would not have hesitated to enjoy that view. Especially since he was in Alexandria, of all places; the same city that he himself had founded.

Right now, however, the eyes of the Servants were glued only to the tall and scary figure towering above the bridge.

It was an exceedingly large Golem of fifteen meters in height, made with costly, pristine materials similar to stone and wood of a dark color. It had a muscular and immense build, almost terrifying to behold, and powerful arms capable of destroying any building with a single swing. He also had a face without features, and its entire frame oozed of Magical Energy, so much so that every Servant and perhaps every Magus would have been able to detect it even without being well-versed in Magecraft. Several large pointed spikes poked out of his shoulders, and the Golem was staring at the world with blank eyes that glowed with a green light and sharp teeth gritted together in rage as it walked on the beach, shaking the earth with every step.

Iskandar stared at the Golem – and at the Servant placed on its shouder – with wide eyes. Without even glancing at them, he could already feel that his companions were having his exact same reaction.

"What is that?" Mordred hissed with a deep scowl, staring at the giant with a look of disgust.

Iskandar had no answer to that. And he didn't even care for it, actually. But a single glance to Ruler was enough for him to realize that he had already discovered something about that Golem, somehow. Perhaps the boy possessed some kind of ability as a Ruler class Servant, allowing him to discern his foes' general information with a mere glance. An enviable skill, no doubt.

Right now, however, he forced himself to focus his harsh glare to the Servant controlling the giant.

"Stop right there, Servant!" he bellowed with his powerful voice, stepping forward with a thunderous frown on his chiseled features. "Cease your advance, for you are in the presence of the King!"

Much to everyone's shock, the giant obeyed the order.

The gigantic Golem stopped its march after hearing Iskandar's powerful command, halting abruptly on the bay. Then, he slowly but surely turned to stare at the group of Servants on the bridge with a blank face, similarly to the Servant on its shoulder who did the same, his face hidden behind an emotionless mask.

A few seconds of absolute silence passed.

Until, the unknown Servant decided to break the ice. "I see. So you are the ones who have been destroying my Golems," the man mused to himself, his voice blank and empty. "It's about time you showed up. But I'm afraid you are a bit too late," he said without the slightest hint of emotion.

Shirou stepped forward as well, placing himself next to Iskandar along with Artoria and Mordred. "What is the meaning of this? Why are you storming the city with Golems?" he demanded with a solemn tone, raising his voice so that the other could hear him.

The man just tilted his head to the side. "This is a Holy Grail War. And with my Golems, I'm going to bring salvation to this land," was the other's cryptic response.

"Salvation!?" Iskandar roared in a sudden outburst, looking extremely outraged by that Servant's words. "You have seized and wounded my city and you call that salvation!? I will not stand for such madness, fool!"

Then, without hesitating even for a second, the mighty Rider drew his spatha, pointing its tip at the masked Servant as his face became morphed into an expression of solemn and righteous fury. "Hear me and mark my words, Servant! I command you, as the King and ruler of this land, Iskandar, to stop this meaningless act of folly and withdraw your Golems at once! Do so, and I shall grant you a painless death despite you having committed the sin of assaulting and soiling my city!" he ordered with a bellowing roar, his voice as loud as it could be. "Now, let us hear your answer!"

His words were greeted by nothing but silence.

Surprisingly enough, however, the Servant didn't move at all after the Rider's powerful statement. He didn't even react after realizing that he was standing before the King of Conquerors himself, the very same man who had founded this city. He didn't even care, apparently.

"Then I answer you as Avicebron, Servant of the Caster Class," the tall and slender man replied evenly, his body unmoving in a very unnerving way. "My answer is: no."

Shirou, Artoria and the others narrowed their eyes. So that was his true name: Avicebron, the philosoper of doctrine. Also known as Solomon ibn Gabirol in life, a eleventh-century Spanish poet and philosopher. He was the man who coined the name of an entire thaumaturgical system, the "Kabbalah", and who also was one of the major figures who began the process of leading Europe towards its Renaissance period through bringing Greco-Arabic and Jewish lore and enlightenment to the cultural circles of Europe. It was probably for this very same reason that he had been able to become a Servant and being recorded in the Throne as a 'Hero'.

Even if he wasn't really one.

He wasn't even a warrior, actually. His stats and powers were extremely low even compared to the average Servants.

Mordred snorted with obvious anger after that introduction. "Tch. Another freaking Caster. Why is it always Casters those who cause so many problems?" she spat with frustration.

For once, everyone shared her irritation.

Artoria increased her grip on her sword. "You're not willing to give up, then?" she solemnly demanded.

"I am not," was the Caster's emotionless reply.

Iskandar was starting to grow extremely pissed. However, Shirou placed a hand on his shoulder, urging him to calm down for the moment. Then, the red-haired Ruler focused his gaze back on the enemy, his face now morphed into a mask of steel. "Then, before your death, let me ask you one last thing: why are you doing this?" he questioned out loud, his voice low and strained, perhaps in attempt to quell his own anger. "Are you attacking the city of your own free will, or have you been tasked to do this? Answer me."

Avicebron stared at him with his unseen eyes for but a few seconds. "I don't know why you're asking, but no one tasked me with anything. I am acting of my own volition," he stated without batting an eye. Shirou's glare soared after hearing that, but he didn't seem to mind at all. "This world is rotten to the core. It is devoid of hope. Thus, it needs a correction. And with this Golem, I shall finally open a path to Heaven. I will bring salvation to the world with my supreme Noble Phantasm," he declared with his blank tone of voice, pointing to the Golem above which he was standing with obvious pride. "Golem Keter Malkuth!"

Mordred stared at him with a furioso snarl. "Are you stupid!? As if that ugly mud puppet could bring salvation to the world!"

"What insolence," the Caster commented. "I can see that you guys have very different ideals compared to mine. There is nothing to discuss here."

"...I agree. There's no need to waste words with a madman," Shirou stated through gritted teeth. "You have endangered an entire city and killed countless civilians. As a Ruler-Class Servant, I cannot and will not tolerate such madness even for a second longer. You will die here and now, Caster."

"But of course! And as the King of this land, I shall be the one to cut your head today," Iskandar promptly declared, cracking his neck with a smile that was anything but reassuring.

The masked Servant stared from his giant's shoulder as Shirou, Artoria, Salieri and the others readied their stance and glared at him. He merely sighed with a small shake of the head.

"I see. Your presence is indeed a curse in this world. In that case, allow me to–"

In less than a blink of an eye, a sudden shower of red arrows darted at him with an impressive speed.

Avicebron reacted purely on instinct. He physically startled, and then raised one arm to summon a barrier around him. He managed to block most of the projectiles, but one arrow still managed to catch him by surprise and get past his guard, thrusting itself in his shoulder with a painfully and frightening precision.

A trickle of blood dripped from his wound. The Caster grunted as he shot a stare towards the Ruler who had fired at him. "So that's how it is," he mused, his tone still blank despite the pain in his body. "You're coming for me already. That's fine with me, but..."

"I know," Shirou cut him off with a stern voice, his bow still aimed at the enemy. "Even if we take you down, that Noble Phantasm won't stop. I can see that its Magical energy is truly impressive."

The others widened their eyes after hearing that, stunned by the news. Even Iskandar had to pause for a moment. But unfortunately for them, Shirou was not lying with his statement. The Golem in front of them was something that even the Gpd of War was struggling to understand fully.

An imitation of the Primordial Human Adam, the first human created by God according to the Old Testament. Golem Keter Malkuth was not a simple Golem with a gigantic frame, but an autonomous Reality Marble that had the ability to continually repaint the world into Heaven for as long as he existed on the earth. Just by stepping on the ground, its body was endlessly supplied with mana from the planet itself, and at the same time, it encroached on the surrounding land and turned it into "Eden". Furthermore, it was able to receive the blessing of the earth so that as long as its feet were on the earth, it could not be destroyed with any means. It would continue to move unhindered even if its maker, Caster, perished.

And – perhaps the most dangerous detail of all – as the span of his Eden expanded, so would the giant's size as well. It would grow and grow and grow, until it finally exceeded every natural law and became unstoppable even against the strongest Servant.

So, in essence, it was a very dangerous opponent.

Shirou cursed inside his head.

The Caster smiled behind his mask as he saw that realization dawn upon the Servants. "Indeed. I have gathered tons of energy from humans during these days," he slowly explained. "My Golems are all connected to Adam, so even if destroyed, their energy will still be transfered to him. I've spent an entire month to create and perfect my Noble Phantasm. It won't go down no matter what you try."

Antonio Salieri watched him with an enraged scowl. "For a man who was a philosopher in life, you've become even more crazy than me, Caster," he commented sarcastically, his red eyes flashing with anger.

"True madness is not what a man can do, but failing to see how rotten this world is," Avicebron replied without batting an eye. Then, he snapped his fingers, and Iskandar and his allies began to worry once again.

Because in that moment, Adam reacted.

With a roar that shook both heaven and earth, the giant raised a mighty arm, summoning a sword of stone in its hand. Then, it swung at them with a portentous cry, forcing the group of Servant to jump away and scatter around.

Except two of them, of course.

Iskandar and Shirou did not move from the bridge. On the contrary, the red-haired Ruler dashed forward, meeting the Golem's attack head on. With a loud crash and a gigantic shockwave, he parried the gigantic sword of the enemy with his own blade, blocking the attack with both of his arms. The entire bridge groaned and shook under the force of the blow, and the concrete under Shirou's feet cracked as he blocked the Golem's weapon with his entire body.

"This giant transforms the world indiscriminately. It exists solely to replace reality," he grunted with a furious scowl, struggling to hold the enemy's blade away. His eyes glanced at the Golem's feet as more and more plants began to blossom and grow upon the beach due to Adam's Magical power. "This goes beyond the Holy Grail War... and that makes it my enemy!"

With a tug of the arms, he parried the sword away, making the giant stumble for a split-second. Iskandar noticed the opening immediately, and did not hesitate this time.

With a bellowing roar, he charged forward and summoned Gordious Wheel with a single mental command. Then, he slashed against the Golem's hand, severing it with a clean cut and making Adam lose 'his' weapon. However, it was no use. Just as he and the others were about to press the advantage and attack again, Adam roared and swung its other arm at them, forcing them to flee. Not even a second later, the severed hand had already reformed on the damaged limb, grabbing the fallen sword as well as if it hadn't been wounded.

Iskandar drove the chariot away, narrowing his eyes as he was joined by Artoria and her Knights. This situation was far from favorable for them, and it also felt like déjà vu.

Everyone could already tell that much. This situation was just like the Gigantic Horror back in France all over again. A giant, mighty and highly destructive foe with endless regenerative abilities and obvious offensive superiority. And more importantly, unlike thir past battle in Marseille, this time Iskandar, Shirou and the group were at a clear disadvantage against the Golem, both in terms of position and numbers. Despite Adam's strenght and speed was no match for them, they did not have the numerical superiority necessary to fully contain the Golem's advance towards the city, and fighting within the metropolis greatly limited their options. And that was a problem. A huge, gigantic problem. Shirou, Artoria and the others knew that, since they had learned a lot from all their previous battles.

And the fact was that they could not release their true powers and their Noble Phantasms to stop that monster, otherwise they would risk of further destroying the city and involving countless civilians. They would inevitably end up destroying and wiping out the whole bridge – not to mention the whole district – especially if they decided to activate the full power of Excalibur or their other Noble Phantasms. So… it was no use. They literally had their hands tied right now.

Therefore, as they realized immediately, the situation was tense.

Avicebron seemed to realize that as well. "How irrational," he mused with a small chuckle. "It's no use. You won't be able to stop my Golem with these useless efforts."

"Shut up!" Mordred roared, slashing against the giant's blade and batting it away with a grunt of fatigue. "Save your cheap talk, Caster!"

Artoria stepped next to her rebel son, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Stay calm. We mustn't be careless."

The Caster merely shook his head. He snapped his fingers again. Then, within the next three seconds, the small group of Servants could feel their mood worsen considerably.

Because the entire army of Golems which had previously been scattered around the city, now had suddenly decided to respond to their master's call, swarming the entire bridge with monstrous and impressive swiftness and surrounding Iskandar, Mordred, and the rest of the group in less than five seconds. A veritable army of Golems of all shapes and sizes, all of them gathered in one place and with their gaze focused on the seven targets in front of them. All of them ready to battle and unleash their might against them. It wasn't a good turn of events. It wasn't good at all, especially since they were now completely outmatched in numbers. And that without taking into account Adam's gigantic frame that was still towering above them, roaring its fury to the heavens with a bellowing cry.

They were surrounded.

And the masked Caster smiled behind his mask, staring at his enemies from Adam's towering frame.

"I'm afraid you have no chance of victory," he stated simply with his emotionless voice, as if it were a fact. "I'm rather poor at combat... however, proper preparation to compensate for such is what truly defines a Magus. Now, you guys are all alone against my army. It's over."

Mordred, Shirou, Artoria and the others swallowed, sweating a little as all of them took a few steps back, taking a defensive formation with their weapons drawn and their backs close to each other.

All of them, except one.

Iskandar stepped forward, staring at the Golems and Caster with a powerful frown.

"Alone, you say?"

Shirou and his companions stared with silent wonder at the Rider of the group as he sported an amused smile in the midst of all that chaos. Even Salieri and the Knights of the Round Table seemed extremely confused by his actions.

Yet, the muscular man with red hair and beard didn't seem to mind, wearing a wide, proud smirk on his lips as his shoulders trembled in a silent chuckle, hic elegant cape flapping in the sea breeze. A small, thin gust of wind began to form around his body, enveloping his imposing frame entirely.

"If you really believe that a King stands alone, Caster," the King of Conquerors spoke slowly, his voice as serious as he could be. "Then so be it."

The wind force became blinding, increasing in intensity all of a sudden. Shirou and Mordred stared, astonished, as a real living storm began to roar to life around Iskandar's frame; investing and enveloping everything around them in a hurricane of wind and prana. Artoria, Bedivere and Gawain stiffened, narrowing their eyes and covering their faces with their arms in order to keep watching through the incessant wind; followed by Salieri and Mordred who did pretty much the same, looking as stunned and confused as they were.

Even Avicebron tensed slightly in wariness from Adam's shoulder, his cloak flapping on his back because of the waves of pressurized air that were assaulting him relentlessly. All around him, Shirou watched with wide eyes as the storm coming from Rider's frame began to engulf everything – the bridge and the Golems and the entire city all around – until the Ruler sank to the ground with Mordred and sheltered her with his body as best he could, unable to see anything against the sting of the winds even as Iskandar's voice began to echo amidst the storm.

"Here is your final question, Caster! Does a King stand alone? If you really believe that, then you don't understand at all!" the King of Conquerors declared, staring at Avicebron's tense and wary frame with a confident grin. "Then I suppose I'll have to show you. I'll show to you, and to my comrades, exactly what a King's true might is!"

The storm became overwhelming at that point. Shirou and the others couldn't even keep their eyes open anymore.

But then, suddenly and without a warning, it ceased. Everything became quiet, and the entire world was blinded by light.

Shirou, Mordred, Artoria and everyone else waited for a few seconds. Then, slowly and tentatively, they finally opened their eyes, only to widen them in sheer shock not even a second later. They almost could not believe what they were watching. Because as soon as their eyes opened again, a sudden realization dawned upon them all. They were no longer standing over the bridge in the city of Alexandria. They were no longer surrounded by the sea and the ruined metropolis. The sight that greeted them was different, completely different, and almost breathtaking to see.

The God of War and his friends could not believe their eyes.

Because the world was no more, and another had taken its place.

A vast, gigantic desert of dunes and sand surrounded them. Shirou, his allies and even Avicebron with his Golems stared in silent disbelief as a scorching desert of sand extended around them for miles and miles under the sun burning in a blue, cloudless sky. A wide, scorching, infinite desert; stretching as far as the eye could see. There was nothing to find around them but sand, and the entire place instilled a feeling of vastness and emptiness that took everyone's breath away.

Shirou narrowed his eyes, almost too stunned to be able to speak. Because despite the odds, he knew where he was. He knew where – what this world was, by instinct. And he almost couldn't believe it. He knew, with a clear and crystalline certainty that left no room for any kind of doubt; for he himself was familiar (extremely familiar) with what he was witnessing right now. And as much as he was tempted to deny it, what he was staring at now was–

"A Reality Marble?" Artoria whispered, watching the desert with her wide, emerald eyes filled with wonder.

Indeed. A Reality Marble. A mental image materialized into the real world. The ultimate materialization and projection of one's inner world onto reality. The final step and pinnacle of all Bounded Fields, where the boundary line became the space itself and the mental image became as real as it could be…

…and a painfully familiar sight for the God of War.

Shirou felt his heart clench inside his chest. The sight around him hit way too close to home, unfortunately.

"T-This is..." Avicebron stuttered, frantically looking around from his giant's shoulder. Mordred, the Knights and Salieri looked stunned as well. Even the Golem Adam, a living and walking Reality Marble itself, was staring at the desert with an enraged frown on his horrible face.

Iskandar basked his body under the light of sun, his lips still curved into a confident smile.

"My armies once rode across these sands," the King of Conquerors spoke. "The legendary sands of Persia, those of the Asian continent, even the very same sands of this land… we crossed them all," he stated with utmost confidence and pride. "The place all the heroes who stood with me, through joy and sorrow, will never forget."

Shirou, Mordred and the others turned to him with wide eyes.

As the marching of sandaled feet began to echo strongly in the air, coming from the dunes behind the Rider's back.

The Macedonian Emperor stood still as the dusty wind flapped his red cape majestically. "I can make this world real, because it still exists within our hearts!" he declared with pride, spreading his arms towards the sky.

Everyone just stared with mouths agape, stunned, as an gigantic army of warriors dressed in the styles of ancient soldiers from all over the Asian subcontinent began to appear in the distance, armed with swords and shileds and spears. Mordred and the other Knights of the Round watched in sheer amazement as the army of warriors kept marching closer and closer on the sand, coming to Iskandar's aid as he kept staring at Caster and his Golems with a confident grin.

"Behold my endless armies!" the Rider cried, throwing his arms even wider. "Their bodies long destroyed, and their souls offered to the world as Heroic Spirits! And yet, these legendary heroes pledge their loyalty to me! They still choose to answer my call!"

There were no words to describe it. It was more than an army: it was a veritable sea of warriors, all of them dressed in Greek and Persian armor and wielding every kind of weapon from the ancient times. There were so many of them that their numbers almost appeared to match – or perhaps even to outmatch – the number of enemy Golems. They marched and stomped and advanced, reaching their King's side and pounding their spears into the sand.

Shirou could do nothing but stare at Iskandar in wonder, similarly to Artoria, as the King of Conquerors cried out the name of his ultimate Noble Phantasm with so much pride and confidence in his voice that the very same dunes of the desert seemed to tremble.

"My bond with them is my greatest treasure, my never-ending pride, my path of Kingship!" he cried with his boisterous tone filled with power. "The ultimate Noble Phantasm that I, Iskandar, possess― My Ionian Hetairoi!" he roared.

As soon as the King's cry echoed thoughout the desert, loud and boisterous cheers went up across the ranks of soldiers, battle cries chanting the name of their commander and pounding their spears on the sand.

Even the Servants could do nothing but watch in amazement as the armies roared their approval, raising their weapons and shouting in support of their King.

Mordred gulped with a stunned expression. "N-No way... each of these soldiers is a Servant?" she breathed.

That, indeed, was a surprise, even for the First Hero of Humanity. Shirou could tell that that much with just a single glance to this world. This Noble Phantams was not a simple Reality Marble like Shirou's own, not at all. Just like how Artoria's Excalibur could be called the physical actualization of her ideals as a King – and also, in a way, of Shirou's previous ideals – in the same way, Ionian Hetairoi was the actualization of Alexander's commanding abilities and his kingship. It was an irregular Noble Phantasm, and an entirely different Reality Marble compared to those used by others.

Normally, in fact, only a God, a very powerful Magus or something beyond normal reality like Daemons would be capable of materializing such a complex environment inside their mind; and as Iskandar was none of those things, reproducing it alone should have been impossible for him. Hence, it came about through the combined efforts of his personal guards and warriors who all shared his dreams and pledged allegiance to him after many victories and defeats. And that pledge remained true even now, beyond death; allowing all these warriors to manifest as Heroic Spirits even though they weren't really "Servants". They were simply soldiers, souls of warriors long gone and linked to Iskandar's legend thanks to their bond with him. But they and their King were able to recreate the land in which they once marched and shared many joys and sorrows, because it was imprinted upon the heart of each soldier and their lord, allowing them to bring forth this world despite Iskandar's human nature.

And that was something that few – no, very few Servants would have been able to match. At least in terms of complexity, of course.

Shirou watched, with narrowed eyes, as the army of soldiers and warriors stopped just a few meters away from them, raising their weapons and cheering at the sight of their King. He could see Bedivere and Gawain stiffen in shock as they kept glancing in every direction to observe the endless army, similarly to Mordred whose jaw was almost on the sand in amazement. The kid's eyes were literally sparkling at the vision of so many soldiers manifested thanks to the power and dreams of Iskandar, while Antonio Salieri was whistling, visibly impressed despite the mad frown on his face. Only Artoria was observing that view without losing her focus, but even her emerald eyes betrayed a hint of stunned stupor and – despite her best efforts to hide it – a glimmer of envy and sadness at the sight of so many warriors gathered before Iskandar and revering him as their lord.

Because even she could see the sheer loyalty and trust shining inside those warriors' eyes. She could clearly see that those men valued their King a lot, and that was something that she was not used to see. The entire fighting force around them was fully composed of a peerless array of famed and legendary warriors only heard reverently in legends, and even if they were not as strong as a a real Servant, all of them had personally fought with Iskandar on the battlefield. They swept across continents during their life, no matter what they faced, without giving up even after their own death. And despite what many would say, they did all of that only because they sincerely believed in their King and his ideals. As a leader who only desired to become stronger and more magnificent, Iskandar had lived more fully and had become a man more real than any other; and with that example he had inspired his men enough to leave upon them an impression of never-ending loyalty that not even death could conquer. They were even able to break the rules of space and time to fight once more at their King's side thanks to that; and just like him, they would wager everything that they were on the King's dream.

They were Iskandar's greatest treasure within treasures, and more than mere followers and soldiers, they were his true friends.

And that was something that Artoria had never seen before, even during her own rule. To witness such a never-ending loyalty, one that went even beyond time and space… it felt like a physical blow to her. To her, who had been betrayed by her own subjects, and who according to Tristan, Mordred and many others had never been able to understand the hearts of her own followers due to her inhuman perfection.

So, as much as it pained her to admit it, she couldn't fully contain the small glimmer of jealousy at the sight of Iskandar's Noble Phantasm. She simply couldn't help it.

And Shirou noticed that all too well.

"Don't worry too much, King of Knights," came his familiar voice at that point. Artoria physically startled after hearing his words, turning to him along with Bedivere, Gawain, and Mordred. The King and her Knights stared at him with a wary expression.

The red-haired Ruler offered her a smile that was… weird. Extremely weird. Not even Artoria could fully decipher the emotions and thoughts behind his face. "There's no need to compare your rule to that of another King," he said to her with that strange smile. His eyes softened when he saw that he had hit the spot with his words. The female King had started to blush straight up to her ears, like a child caught during a prank. It was strangely amusing to watch. "Every King is different, and it's foolish to compare the way they rule. Iskandar chose to be greedy. He chose to be a man who could inspire admiration and loyalty, and he succeeded. Even I can't deny that his efforts deserve a modicum of respect."

His smile widened at that point, becoming more sincere as he watched the woman lower her head a little. "You, however, chose to sacrifice everything for the sake of your people and your land. You chose to put your life on the line for the sake of others, and that is even more admirable to me. Because a King who lives to satisfy himself can be admirable, but a King who lives for her people… is beautiful beyond words," he said, sounding completely honest with his words as they left his lips.

Artoria's head snapped up after hearing that, her cheeks tinged of a pink color. Shirou was almost tempted to laugh at her face as she visibly struggled hard to suppress an embarrassed smile from her lips, her eyes glancing in every direction but him.

He also didn't miss the way in which Mordred's shoulders slumped in shame as she watched that interaction. The God of War merely sighed with mirth.

"And you don't need to worry either, kid," he said, speaking to her as well and placing a hand over the girl's shoulder. He stared at the eyes of Artoria and all of her Knights for a few seconds, focusing on Mordred's face for a little more and offering them another smile. "Despite the end that your story had, your efforts still have value. Your ideals are just, no matter what anyone will say. The past is no more, and what matters the most is that you're all here now. In fact, all of you can move on now, and create a better future for yourselves. So hold you head high, will you? Don't let this sight bother you too much. Am I clear?"

Mordred, Artoria, Bedivere and Gawain exchanged a silent, hesitant look. Then, sharing one last glance to the cheering army intent on singing the name of Iskandar around them – who, luckly for them, was too busy being immersed in 'his own world' to notice their stares – they narrowed their eyes and steeled their resolve.

"Yes... you're right, Shirou. I won't let this bother me," the King of Knights agreed with a resolute nod. "Not anymore," she added, turning her gaze towards her Knights with a serene expression.

Bedivere and Gawain nodded with wide smiles. "Of course, my liege! No matter what, we will always stand by your side and support you, because for us there's no greater King than you. You are our one and only King, now and forever," Bedivere swore with a bow and one hand raised on his chest, right above the heart. He was the weakest among the Knights of the Round Table, but undoubtedly the most loyal in his oath to her.

"Indeed. Our loyalty is even more real than this Reality Marble," Gawain stated as well with a sudden burst of confidence, sparing a glance to his younger sibling as well. "... don't you agree, Mordred?"

The Knight of Treachery visibly blushed when her Father turned to her with a little smile. The poor girl lowered her eyes under the woman's expectant gaze, frantically trying – and failing – to assume a resolute demeanor. Her neck and ears glowed a beet crimson under the scorching sun. Shirou covered his lips to hide an amused grin at the scene.

"W-Well, I g-guess…" Mordred stuttered awkwardly, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. Her shy and embarrassed tone was a stark contrast to the confidence and bravado that she used to display all the time. "I-I mean, of course! Rider is m-my friend, b-but that doesn't change... I-I mean, I took an oath..."

It was useless. She was not going to finish that sentence, no matter how hard she tried. For those who knew her, that reaction was to be expected. The Knight of Treachery was still struggling to deal with her own emotions, after all. Even after their previous reconciliation after the duel, it still was not easy for her to admit that she cared about her father, especially in her face. She was even shooting a desperate glance towards Shirou, silently begging him to rescue her from that situation. And usually, the Ruler would have gladly done so… but right now, he was too busy trying to hold back a snicker to actually care. It was simply too amusing to watch.

Luckly for her, however, Artoria stepped forward and placed one hand on her shoulder. The girl visibly stiffened at the contact, still not used to being touched by her Father.

"Don't worry, Mordred. I understand," the older woman said, offering her a little smile. Mordred was openly blushing now, unable to cope with her emotions. "I'm glad to have you back at my side. I really am."

The girl's only reaction was lowering her head with a blush and a stiff body, trying to suppress the twitching on her face.

However, at that moment, the cheers around them stopped abruptly, and Shirou and the others blinked as Salieri whistled with a raised brow from the right.

They all turned towards the direction the Italian Berserker was pointing to, only to see the army of soldiers and warriors around them shift all of a sudden. They watched, confused, as the first line of the army opened, clearing a path towards their King. Then, from the newly-formed path, a large and muscular black steed with an imposing frame appeared, almost three meters tall and elegantly adorned with a golden saddle and red bridles. Judging by the looks of it, the horse had to be a Heroic Spirit linked to Iskandar too.

"Ah, Bucephalus!" the King of Conquerors greeted, patting the animal's dark mane fondly. "It has been too long, partner."

Then, after a moment of silence, the muscular Rider turned to his companions, offering them a mighty grin as they watched him in confusion. "A King must live a grander life than any other's! He must embody his people's image of admiration!" he declared out loud.

His army of soldiers raised their spears to the sky and cheered.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" the chanted in chorus.

Iskandar climbed on the back his mighty steed. "He who is worthy of all heroes' envy, and he who leads their way, is the King. He collects all their dreams and stands as their guide!" He stared at his army and his companions, his face a mask of confidence that could have defied both heaven and earth. "Therefore, the King is not alone, for his will equals that of all his followers combined!"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Chorus, repeat.

"Now, then…" Iskandar turned to Avicebron once again, staring at the Caster's tense body as he frantically glanced around his army of followers with obvious nervousness. "Shall we begin, Caster?"

Despite his emotionless mask and the gigantic Golem upon which he was standing, Avicebron couldn't help but flinch a little.

"As you can see, what we have created here is a plain. And unfortunately for you, now we have an army as well. My army of heroes, against your army of Golems," the muscular Rider grinned, wide and proud. "Who do you think will win?"

The masked Caster took a few seconds to recollect himself. "…I see. As expected of the King of Conquerors. You really are the man who achieved the greatest popularity as a human being," he mused, his voice lacking any form of emotion. "But in the end, even your army shall fall against the might of my Noble Phantasm. The Golem I've created possesses life. He is the creation of life. Your army, on the other hand, is nothing but a tool of death. A means to spread tyranny and persecution."

"Do NOT speak to me about persecution, you fool!" Iskandar cut him off sternly, glaring at him with a mighty rage. "I never took pleasure in plundering and killing! But you, who have raided my city and killed my people without even batting an eye, are even worse than a monster! And I will take pleasure in freeing my city from you and your stone puppets."

Avicebron almost snorted. "Hmph. Even in front of Eden itself humans will always choose the path to death," he mused with disappointment. "There is nothing to discuss, then. Let's see which of our armies is the best, King of Conquerors."

"That we shall see soon enough."

Having made his point, in that moment, Iskandar turned his trusted Bucephalus towards Shirou and Mordred with a slow and solemn movement. The Ruler and the Saber moved to stand close to him.

"I shall ask you again, my friends," he spoke to them, and only to them, watching his companions from the back of his black steed. "Will you aid me in this battle? Will you join me and my followers as we charge against the enemy army?"

The only answer he received from them was a wide, predatory smile.

"Keh! You sure like to show off after having kept your Noble Phantasm hidden until now, Rider!" Mordred spat with a sly, feral grin. She summoned Clarent again in a flash of prana and red bolts of lightning, pointing the tip of the broadsword against Adam and the army of Golems. "I ain't gonna repeat myself. Let's settle things with that ugly giant once and for all!"

A proud grin split the King's features. "And what about you, boy? What do you say about joining me for today?" he pressed again, turning to the Ruler.

Shirou merely scoffed, spreading his hands with a twitch of the fingers. In a flash of black and white, Kanshou and Bakuya appeared in his waiting hands, and the Ruler raised the blades into a familiar position.

His lips parted into a smirk. "Of course," was all he said.

"Excellent!" The King of Conquerors then shot one last glance at Artoria. "I can see that you've finally dispelled your doubts. Very good! I shall count on you too, King of Knights! Take your Knights and lead the charge with them! I will leave the eastern front to you," he declared with a smile and serious tone. "And take Berseker with you as well. I shall leave his strategic use into your capable hands."

What a nice way to basically say: 'I leave the mad Servant to you, good luck.' And Salieri noticed it all too well despite his crazed mind.

"Hmph. How unfortunate. It seems that you guys will always consider me a bother no matter what I say," the Berserker spoke with an amused smile. Then, he broke into a fit of mad laughter for no reason, grabbing the attention of some of Iskandar's soldiers. "Kuhu... hahahahahahahaha!"

Artoria ignored him with a sigh, already used to his antics. "Very well. Me and my Knights will deal with the Golems scattered around the giant," she conceded, sharing a confident smile with her fellow King. "Let's see which of us will be finished first, King of Conquerors. We shall show you the might of the Round Table!"

Iskandar's grin widened out of every human proportions. "Well spoken!"

Then, he turned towards the enemies once again, and everyone fell into a silence filled with trepidation.

Shirou and Mordred smirked.

Artoria and her Knights readied their stance.

Salieri summoned his longsword with a blood-thirsty expression.

And the army of warriors pointed the spears forward.

As the King of Conquerors raised his spatha to the sky, signaling his army to focus and roaring a portentous battle cry.

"ANNIHILATE THEM!" he bellowed with an ear-splitting roar. "CHARGE!"

And charge they did.

Avicebron frowned behind his emotionless mask as the entire army of Servants and warriors began to roar and charge against them like a mighty avalanche, led by Iskandar and his steed from the front. The entire desert of this world was shaking due to the sea of men stomping towards them.

"So be it," he steeled himself. "Move, Golems. Commence activation!"

Thus, Adam and the Golems charged as well.

Until the clash of the two armies was accompanied by a deafening shockwave.

It was a gruesome fight. Some could have called it struggle, but that word wouldn't have made justice to the scene happening right now. Iskandar's army of warriors and the legions of Avicebron's Golems clashed with a roar of thunder, fighting fiercely to utterly destroy each other. It was literally impossible to describe in detail the chaos that was generated once the two armies clashed. It was just an incessant succession of screams, roars and clashing of swords. Shields were hoisted, spears were hurled, and numerous beams of energy and prana soared among the ranks of warriors engaged in combat against their artificial opponents.

And amidst that chaos, the giant Golem Adam was fighting as well, roaring furiously as he swung its arms madly in the air in order to block and deflect all the spears and arrows that were being hurled at it. At its feet, Shirou, Mordred and their companions darted through the enemy lines like silent Assassins, destroying and taking down dozens and dozens of enemies with a precision worthy of their title of top Servants. However, despite their best effort, the Ruler and his friend couldn't help but notice that more and more plants and flowers were starting to bloom on the sand of the desert with each of the Golem's steps. And as if that wasn't enough, the more the 'Eden' began to spread and grow at its feet, the more tall, fast and strong the giant was becoming as well. And that was something that none of the Servants could allow.

Hence, they had to act quickly. Shirou leaped backwards, avoiding the mace of a tall Golem and then dashing forward again to drive Kanshou and Bakuya into its chest, instantly destroying him with a burst of prana. He paid no mind to the chaos spreading around him as he turned his body around, instinctively cutting down another opponent with his blades and then moving to the next, and the next, and the next. Ranks and formations had long since broken into nothing but a chaotic struggle of life and death, and there was no need for him to focus on such needless things.

Next thing next, he threw his twin blades towards the sky above, slicing three flying Golems with a single attack. Then, as the blades disappeared into nothingness, he summoned his bow again and carefully Traced a few red arrows. He took aim towards the giant currently intent on defending himself from the relentless attacks of Iskandar who kept assaulting its legs with Bucephalus. And so, closing one eye and gathering prana in his bpw, the red-haired Ruler fired his shots with an expert movement due to years – and centuries – of practice.

The arrows were aimed true, and hit the giant Golem straight into the eyes, blinding its sight for a while and making it roar in pain. The Ruler shared a nod with Artoria, who was running on the sand towards him and slashing every opponent with her invisible blade. "I took its sight!" he exclaimed towards the King. "Now is your chance!"

"It's useless," Avicebron countered cooly from the Golem's shoulder. His hand was already moving to heal the giant with Magic. "No matter what petty tricks you use, they'll never be enough to best my Go― Nngh!"

It had happened in an instant. As soon as Caster had been distracted with his Golem, the King of Conquerors had promptly seized the chance to attack from below, throwing his spatha in the air as if it were no heavier than a knife and hitting the enemy Servant straight in the head. Shirou, Artoria and the others engaged in battle amid the ranks below smiled as they saw the Caster's mask break, Iskandar's sword now deeply embedded inside the enemy's head, right between his eyes.

The army of worriors cheered, and the gigantic Rider smirked.

However, perhaps thanks to his bond to the Golem, the Servant didn't die right away.

"H-Heh... what a p-pity, King of Conquerors," Avicebron wheezed weakly after recoiling with a gasp, his mask completely broken and his face now reduced to nothing but a confused mixture of tanned skin and pouring blood. Even despite that, however, he was still able to talk and breathe. "But m-my role... is already over. N-Now that my Noble P-Phantams is active… I have no regrets," he stated with his dying voice, glaring at the world with wide eyes.

Adam roared its fury, generating a portentous wind that sent dozens of soldiers flying all around.

Mordred scowled with a frown. "Tch. As expected, that Golem is still moving!" she spat, cutting an enemy in half without tearing her eyes away from Caster.

But just as Shirou was about to fire on him again, Avicebron's frame began to finally disappear, his body turning into a dust of prana dissolving into nothingness. "I leave the r-rest… in your hands… Keter Malkuth," the Servant wheezed his final words.

"If it's you... I know you can create... Paradise in this land."

Then, he disappeared, and his Magical energy was promptly absorbed by the Golem.

Golem Keter Malkuth opened 'his' eyes after his master's demise, staring at the world with nothing but raw fury. Then, his mouth opened as well, emitting a bellowing roar that shook both heaven and earth, investing Iskandar's Reality Marble with a wave of wind and oppressive energy that knocked down the soldiers and destroyed all the Golems around him.

Shirou re-opened his eyes once the wind stopped, staring at the giant Golem with a furous scowl. 'Damn it. As expected of the Primordial Giant, he's strong.'

He steeled his resolve, his mind and body solely focused on Adam now that the other Golems were no more.

'But that doesn't mean that I will let you run away!'

"Now!" he cried.

With a portentoso leap, Artoria crossed the distance, and the Ruler stared as the King of Knights raised her arms into a vertical slash, her invisible sword almost glowing in her hands. She slammed Excalibur's blade against the Golem's face with a battle cry, the attack powerful enough to generate a whole shockwave around them. Adam groaned in pain, its head snapping into a weird position, and then fell to the ground with a roar, making the entire desert tremble as Iskandar's army began to attack it with spears and arrows.

The King of Conquerors grinned as he galloped on his steed. "As expected of the King of Knights! Your strenght has no rival!" he bellowed, giving a tug on Bucephalos's reins and prompting the animal to jump and stomp against the colossus' legs. The Golem roared and trashed its arms as the limbs were heavily damaged. Then, he disengaged, ordering the horse to put some distance from the Golem as its legs began to regenerate like nothing.

But he wouldn't give that monster a moment of respite. "Go forth now, my followers!" he roared with his bellowing voice, galloping among his soldiers' ranks. "Raise your cries of war! As long as our chests beat with ambition for the far horizon, the campaign shall never end!"

The men roared, and then charged once again.

"Keep going!" Gawain called out over the billowing dust, slashing incessantly with Galatine against Adam's left arm.

A bright beam of red soared over Shirou's head and slammed into the sands before him, courtesy of Mordred's furious charge. The Golem quickly parried the female Knight's blow with its arms as the detonation hampered its movements, but it was forced to dodge yet another of Iskandar's signature bolts of lightning. Shirou gave a quick glance back and saw Salieri's fading silhouette far above, but his glowing dark frame roared with energy for all to see. Shot per shot, the sand ahead of the Berserker was continuously assaulted with unrelenting force as the Italian musician-turned into Servant moved his fingers in the air, as if he were playing an invisible piano. Golem Keter Malkuth roared in pain as a series of white-dressed Grim Reapers appeared before it with a dust of mana, shooting every inch of its body with guns and bayonets as Salieri laughed madly from above.

On the other side, Artoria was closing the distance with Bedivere, but Adam had already managed to get back on its feet despite the constant assaults of Iskandar's army. As the Golem raised its massive arm to swing against the assailants, Artoria pointed her blade backward, and a new whirlwind formed. Invisible Air shrieked violently as it grew wild, then she let it detonate. The surge flung her forward as Salieri's bombardment lightened in response.

With cataclysmic power, she crashed against the Golem's chest, and then swung her blade with a sharp cry. Adam's entire body was sliced in half from the chest up, making the giant roar in pain. Its severed bust collapsed into the ground helplessly while trashing its arms around, and the legs soon followed suit, generating an explosion of sand and dust that shook the desert for miles. As the giant collapsed, the army of soldiers and warriors from Iskandar's Reality Marble began to break ranks, moving away from the falling colossus with another series of cheers.

But, alas, it was no use. Not even ten seconds later, Shirou and his companions watched with a growing sense of frustration as Adam's body began to reform and re-attach itself, while more and more plants and flowers began to blossom on the sand close to its body. He was growing visibly taller, its frame clearly exceeding twenty meters in size by now, and at this rate it was going to become even more powerful and resistant than before.

"What an enormous Magical energy," Bedivere breathed with narrowed eyes.

Artoria re-grouped with the others as Iskandar and his steed did the same. "According to the Old Testament, the original humans transformed their surroundings into Eden by only existing," she explained, her voice tinged by a distinct note of frustration. Her face twitched in serious concern as even more plants began to blossom near the giant's feet. "And nobody can shed blood in Paradise."

"In other words, something like swords and arrows won't damage it at all," Iskandar concluded with a deep frown, stabilizing Bucephalos with a tug on the reins.

Adam's ear-splitting roar echoed throughout the desert. Shirou and his allies startled, leaping away at the last second as the Golem began to swing a massive sword of stone against them. The jumped away and avoided the first slash, and then jumped again, and again, and again. Each of the giant's swings made the earth tremble and the sand explode, slashing and cutting dozens and dozens of soldiers from the army. Their bodies flew in the air like skittles, before vanishing into nothing with a dust of prana.

"Fuck! What are we supposed to do, then!?" Mordred cursed as she blocked yet another swing of the giant's sword with Clarent, shielding an entire legion of warriors behind her. "If its surroundings keep turning into Eden, it will become invincible!"

Shirou dashed forward with steeled resolve, landing on the Golem's outstretched arm and then leaping toward its face, his arms raised in a vertical slash as he summoned his twin blades. Much to his shock, however, Adam reacted accordingly this time, and Kanshou and Bakyua clashed against the giant's free hand with a shockwave.

He widened his eyes. 'Shit, its movements are getting faster!' he realized. 'It's already reaching completion!'

Before he could even blink, Adam batted him away forcefully, and the Ruler crashed into the desert with an explosion of sand and dust. He was already back on his feet in a moment, his twin blades gone and replaced by his faithful bow. He narrowed his gaze and summoned a few red arrows, gathering prana inside his body as his eyes narrowed and began to Analyze the giant. He didn't even glance at Mordred and Iskandar as they moved closer to his position, never tearing his eyes away from the Golem.

'I see,' me mused, furrowing his brows as his eyes showed him the energy Core hidden inside the giant. 'That's the source of his power. If I gather enough power to pierce his Core in one blow...' He shook his head. 'No, it won't be enough.'

"Rider! Fall back! I have an idea!" he then began to say, turning to the gigantic Servant riding his steed.

Mordred and Iskandar shared a nod. They re-grouped with him immediately, joined by Artoria, her Knights and Salieri soon after, while the soldiers and warriors from the armies formed a wall of shields in front of them.

The King of Conquerors stared at him. "Do you have a plan, boy?"

Shirou nodded. "The Golem is an autonomous Reality Marble. It won't be destroyed as long as its feet touch the ground," he explained with utmost seriousness. "The only way to kill it is to sever its legs, and release our Noble Phantams against its entire body as it falls to the ground. We must defeat it in one blow before it reaches completion and becomes immortal."

The others narrowed their eyes, nodding in understanding.

The God of War looked at each and every one of them. "Mordred, you aim at its head," he ordered, getting a nod of trepidation from the blonde girl. "Bedivere and Gawain will go for its legs, while Salieri will handle the arms. Iskandar, you must destroy the Golem's feet once its legs will be severed, and I will pierce its Core with my arrow."

Finally, Shirou turned his focus to the woman next to him. "Artoria, you shall be the last one to attack. As soon as the Golem falls and the others retreat, release your Noble Phantasm. That should be more than enough to completely obliterate it." He shared a silent nod with her, sparing a glance to the others. "Are we clear?"

"Got it."

"It shall be done."

"Very well."

"Keheheh... how amusing!"

Mordred grinned with feral trepidation. "Seven simultaneous attacks. If we fail, it becomes immortal… heh! This seems like a serious business!" she spat in excitement, lifting Clarent onto her shoulder like a baseball bat.

Everyone shared a nod of agreement. Then, they took position and prepared themselves.

Saconds passed, followed by tense silence.

Until, Iskandar roared his battle cry once more.

"Let's go, then!" he cried with a bellowing roar. "TO THE GLORY THAT LIES BEYOND THE HORIZON!"

Mordred was the first to spur into action as the army of soldiers began to advance and charge, their roars of war still ringing inside her ears. She dashed forward like a living bolt of red prana and lightning, leaping in front of Adam's face and raising her arms to deliver an enraged slash. "Hey, wooden puppet!" she roared. "Don't go hiding your ugly face now!"

Yet, just like it had done with Shirou, the giant parried her blow, its massive sword of stone clashing against Clarent with a roar of thunder. Mordred gritted her teeth, snarling in outrage and fury as she kept pushing against the oppressive power of the enemy.

Behind her, Iskandar and the others began to attack as well.

"Save... the world..."

Everyone widened their eyes.

Caster's voice – Avicebron's voice – suddenly echoed from the Golem's mouth as it continued to struggle with Mordred, pressing its weapon against Clarent with wide eyes.

"I will... put an end... to all sorrows!"

Salieri's face twitched with a crazy frown. "Caster's soul has fused with the Golem!" he realized.

"I will bring this world back to life!" Adam roared. "Paradise is almost complete! I will bring everybody back to Eden!"

Gawain and Bedivere didn't waste time.

"There!"

With a portentous dash, the two Knights leaped from the soldier's ranks and crossed the distance, their blades crashing against the Golem's legs with overwhelming power while it was being distracted by Mordred. The stone and wood cracked and imploded, shattering the legs of the colossus with a thunderous explosion of energy and debris. Immediately, Adam roared and stumbled in pain, its limbs now still barely attached to its feet by a thin layer of rock. But the two Sabers weren't done yet.

"Switch On: Airgetlám!"

"Excalibur Galatine!"

Just like that, their battle cries were followed by two beams of golden energy, and the sudden release of their Noble Phantasms completely obliterated the target's legs. Without them, Adam could do nothing but groan and lose its balance, trashing its body as the twenty-meter giant began its slow but inevitable fall to the ground.

Taking advantage of the moment, Salieri burst into action as well with a mad fit of laughter.

"Decrescendo, crescendo, FORTISSIMO!" he chanted, wielding his Wildfire Blade like a cross-like baton and summoning a legion of Grim Reapers while an eerie music started to play around him. Then, he ordered them attack, and his white-clad minions began to swarm the Golem's arms and attack mercilessly with spears like a swarm of ants intent on devouring a carcass. Until, in less than two seconds, Adam's arms were finally severed from its shoulders in spite of the Golem's trashing and furious struggles.

All the while, the Berserker stared at that view with a crazy laughther. "Kuhuhuh... ahahahahahah!"

Iskandar followed suit. "Now is the time! Attack!"

With a powerful roar of war, the King and his army charged against the Golem's severed feet, inflicting upon them the very same might of an avalanche. The King of Conquerors stomped on them with Bucephalos, slashing at the rocks and stones with his sword as his men did the same until nothing remained of them. The plants and flowers around them stopped to blossom as soon as every stone was smashed completely into pieces.

Next, Shirou kneeled on the sand and took aim with his bow. Energy coursed through his body. It swirled around him like a gust, moving his white cloak around his shoulders. Time slowed all around him.

'Caster,' he mused inside his head, staring at the falling giant with a focused gaze. 'Your Giant can indeed transform the world into Paradise. It could also have led the people to Eden. It's a creation way more powerful than a mere Golem; something close to the Gods themselves.'

With an electric hiss, a large weapon appeared in his right hand: a long spiral-shaped sword imbued with prana. He notched it on his bow, taking aim carefully.

'However, not even a philosopher like you could predict this one thing,' he thought with a smile, releasing the arrow.

Caladbolg shot across the sky like a silent missle, enveloped in blue energy. It hit the target on the chest, piercing it with an explosion and destroying its Core completely. Adam's entire body began to break apart and collapse with a dull moan of rage, flames and prana exploding inside its shattered chest.

The First Hero of Humanity smirked…

…while Mordred and Artoria stepped forward as soon as the army of Servants and soldiers moved away from the collapsing enemy, their swords respectively clad into a flame of crimson and gold.

And then, with a shared nod and refound resolution, father and son released their attacks at the same time.

"Clarent–"

"Ex–"

'Heroes do not fear Gods.'

"–Blood Arthur!"

"–Calibur!"

And so, the desert world was blinded by flames.

There were no words to describe that sight. Everything became a simple succession of blinding lights, thunderous winds and earthquakes. The desert shook, the air hissed, and the winds moaned for what seemed to be an eternity. It was impossible to observe the direct effect of the combined attack, even for the Servants. However, when the dazzling light thinned out and the trembling of the sand ceased after more than fifteen seconds of chaos, a calm and relaxing silence finally descended over the entire desert land. And as the smoke cleared, a large portion of the dunes was now replaced by a long and wide crater about one hundred meters in size.

Iskandar and his men raised their weapons to the sky, roaring their cry of victory.

And Shirou, Artoria and everyone else finally allowed themselves to smile and relax.

The enemy had been defeated.

Golem Keter Malkuth had been completely wiped out.

"A clean headshot!" Mordred cheered out loud, giving a thumbs-down in direction of the crater. "Go find Eden elsewhere, you fool!"

"I think you destroyed way more than just the head, kid," Shirou mused with a sweat-drop as he joined them, chuckling a little in amusement. He shared a nod with all of his companions as they gathered around him. "Good job, all of you. That was very well done."

Everyone just nodded in shared relief.

Thus, the Servants turned again and stared, watching with a relieved smile and a serene expression on their faces as Iskandar cheered and celebrated with his army of soldiers and warriors all around them.

Until, when everything was over, the sea of sand faded away and the Reality Marble began to disappear slowly, leaving Shirou and his friends standing above Stanley Bridge again, basking themselves under the light of sun.

The siege of Alexandria had finally been stopped.

---

.

/+/+/+/+/+/+/

.

We're in Greece again. While the other Fairies race under the morning sun, I stand next to the shore. Astraea is sitting on the beach next to me. She pushes her legs out and then pulls them in, rhythmically.

"Do you have a wish?"

I reply that I don't understand what she's asking.

"A wish," she repeats. "Something that you've poured your dreams into, something you want so badly."

I contemplate.

"It'd be nice to wish for something selfish, like having my fair skin and red hair back," I reply. "But wouldn't it be better if your wish is to make the world a gentler place?"

Astraea stares, before giggling.

"You're a big softie under that cynical frown," she comments.

Then, she smiles. "I think that's why the Fae love you so much, and why you're so good at fighting."

"Why?" I ask, feeling bemused by what she is saying.

The Goddess of Justice stares at me with an amused gaze.

"You continue to hope," she simply says.

.

/+/+/+/+/+/+/

.

---

Planet: Earth
Date: June 10 2020
Location: Citadel of Qaitbay – Port of Alexandria (Alexandria - Egypt)

(======)

"When me and my army destroyed Tire, most of the towns on the route to Egypt quickly capitulated. However, we were met with resistance at Gaza. The stronghold was heavily fortified and built on a hill, requiring a siege. Therefore, when my engineers pointed out to me that the attack would be impossible because of the height of the mound... that encouraged me all the more to make the attempt."

Shirou and the others sweat-dropped, sharing a quick, amused glance with each other as they kept listening to Iskandar's recollection of times long past.

Five hours had passed since the siege had been foiled. They were currently seated atop the highiest tower of the Citadel of Qaitbay, a 15th-century defensive fortress located on the Mediterranean sea coast of the city, situated on the eastern side of the northern tip of Pharos Island at the mouth of the Eastern Harbor. Shirou, Mordred, Artoria and the rest of the group sat in circle, watching and listening intently as the King of Conquerors talked, gazing upon the ruined city below with a mask of ice.

"After three unsuccessful assaults, the stronghold fell; but not before I had received a serious wound on my shoulder," Iskandar continued, his voice low and deep, his red eyes taking in every detail of the destruction inflicted upon the metropolis in front of them. "Egypt was only one of the countless territories I conquered from the Persians. After one quick trip to Siwa, I was crowned in the temple of Ptah at Memphis. Apparently, the Egyptian people did not find it disturbing that I was a foreigner― nor that I was basically absent for my entire reign here."

Mordred placed one hand on his shoulder. She gave him a sad smile. "You really cared for them, huh?"

The King of Conquerors didn't answer. He just nodded with a grave expression. "Even though I was a conqueror, these people saw me as a liberator," he explained. "To reward their loyalty, I decided to help them as best as I could. I restored the temples neglected by the Persians and dedicated new monuments to the Egyptian Gods. In the temple of Luxor, near Karnak, I built a chapel for the sacred barge. I also reformed the taxation system on the Greek models and organized the military occupation of the country… but right after that, I had to leave again, departing for Asia in pursuit of the Persians."

The more he listened to that story, the more Shirou understood. Despite his reputation as a cruel and ruthless conqueror, Iskandar really did care for those who lived under his rule. Even now the Ruler could clearly see this fact in his eyes, just like everyone else could.

And it was probably for this very same reason that the sight of the wounded city was a hard blow to take for him.

"What you see before you now was nothing more than a swamp back then," the Rider sighed, his eyes steeped in memories. "The Nile Delta was so peaceful and quiet... I never would have imagined that my city would become one of the most famous capitals in the world," he admitted, his tone placid but tinged with a distinctive note of pride all the same.

Shirou patted his shoulder as well, sharing a nod with Artoria. "And today you freed it again. Your efforts have saved countless lives, and prevented many deaths," he said to him with a gentle voice. His golden-brown eyes softened a little when he saw a small glimmer of emotion flash in the man's red orbs. "You should be proud of what you did, Rider."

"Yeah… even if your approach was not exactly subtle," Salieri scoffed from the side. The Berserker's sly grin only widened upon seeing the glare Mordred was sending him.

The King of Conquerors paid him no mind. He just stared at the city for a long while. The destroyed houses, the collapsed buildings, the dying flames, the smoke clearing in the distance… he saw all of it and all of that with a clear and painful clarity.

And he didn't like it. He didn't like it one bit.

"So this is what you had to go through, King of Knights," he spoke slowly, his voice merely above a whisper. Artoria glanced up at him with a sympathetic expression. "Your Kingdom destroyed, your very own land ruined by fire and death... I never witnessed any of this during my life."

Artoria clenched a fist. Her Knights had the decency to lower their heads and close their eyes in shame… especially Mordred.

"And what do you think of it, King of Conquerors?" was her soft reply.

The man swallowed, his shoulders trembling slightly in front of the entire group.

"It's... unbearable," he admitted through gritted teeth. His voice was lower – extremely lower – compared to his usual boisterous manner, and filled with repressed anger and fury. "I see now why you wanted to change the past with your wish for the Grail. To see everything you had strived for during your life being destroyed right in front you, to witness in your final moments your people's and your kingdom's demise, to watch all of that crumble and die with your very own eyes… it's no wonder you would feel such despair. I think… I think I can understand that now, even if just a little."

The smile Artoria offered him was both regretful and understanding. "...I'm sorry you had to experience such a view as well, Rider."

He shook his head, still watching the city from above. He knew his kingdom was over. He knew his Empire was no more. These people and this land did not belong to him now. This wasn't even his old city anymore. He knew that. He already knew that.

And yet... and yet…

"How were you able to accept it?" the muscular Rider asked. Slowly, very slowly, he turned towards her with his head, his gaze focused solely on her and his eyes flashing with so many different emotions that even Shirou and Artoria couldn't help but flinch a little.

Because more than a question, Iskandar's words were a plea. A begging. A desperate cry for answers. Because despite all his pride and all his accomplishments, despite everything he was and had been, this was something that Alexander the Great had never experienced before. He had experienced loss, yes. He had lost many battles, lost many followers during his war campaigns, but this… this was simply different.

Even if it was not the same, even if it was hypocritical, even if it did not make any sense… he had to know.

He had to know how to cope with this and move on. He simply had to.

Artoria glanced at her Knights. At Bedivere, and Gawain; and even at Mordred. And despite the regret and pain she was feeling inside, despite those haunting memories that would never truly abandon her… she smiled.

"I was able to accept it because I'm not alone now. Not anymore," she anwered truthfully. And in front of her smile, in front of that rare, beautiful smile of hers, even the Knights of the Round couldn't help but smile and nod despite the lingering sadness inside their hearts.

The female King glanced at Mordred as the girl lowered her head in shame. "I will never forget my failures and my kingdom's end. But at least I can move on now," she admitted. "I shall mourn it. I shall shed tears over it. But I shall never forget it. And let alone undo it." She turned her head fully towards Mordred at that point, offering her a smile under Shirou's approving stare.

The Knight of Treachery tensed, unsure of how to react. But this time, in spite of herself and everything she had done and said before, she returned the smile as well.

Until, Artoria focused her gaze back on Iskandar, her eyes shining with a little bit of mischief. "Besides, the past won't stop me from building something new. From fighting and giving my all to protect the people now. My kingdom is no more... but I can still fight to protect these people all the same," she added with a resolute tone.

"Does that ring a bell, Rider?" Artoria asked him, a hint of sarcasm clearly present in her voice.

The King of Conquerors scoffed. "To actually use my own words against me... you're slyer than I thought, King of Knights."

"Well, I merely learned a thing or two along the way. I did travel with you so far, after all," she countered, making him snort in amusement.

Shirou grinned as well at the scene, glad to see that the tension in the man's shoulders had disappeared, even if just a little. "She's right, you know," he then said as well, sharing a smile with Mordred. "Besides, you should know that better than anyone, Rider."

"That's right! You wouldn't shut up with that whole 'a King is never alone' thing up until this morning! Why are you so down in the dumps now?" Mordred asked right after him, flashing a grin to the taller Servant.

Iskandar sighed. "I know what I said, Saber. But this," he waved one arm around, pointing in direction of… well, everything. "This is something I cannot stand. My city destroyed, my people targeted for no reason… How can I possibly accept it? This is not what an honorable War of Conquest should be! The Holy Grail War should not be this way!"

Mordred nodded with a solemn movement. "To conquer, but not destroy."

"To win, but never humiliate," Shirou quoted as well.

Iskandar smiled a little. He saw what they were doing there. "No innocent lives should be lost because of a battle between Servants," he concluded in the end, banishing his previous rage and doubts and replacing them with a new refound determination. "I will not let my land and my people be hurt because of some mad Servant's folly. What happened here today is something that must never happen again. I cannot stand for it."

The God of War smiled at his resolve. He stood up, offering him a hand with a nod. "If you can't stand it, then help us put an end to this."

Alexander the Great clenched his fists. Then, he steeled his resolve.

He grasped the Ruler's hand with a powerful grip.

"That I shall do."

Artoria, Mordred and the Knights stood up as well from the tower, sharing a nod and a smile with the two red-heads as well.

And a resolute silence descended upon the group of Servants as they stood under the light of sun.

"Hmph. Do you honestly believe that a group of Heroes who are loved by God could truly be friends?" Salieri spoke all of sudden, crossing his arms and scoffing with an expression of distaste. "I certainly don't."

...

What?

Shirou and the others turned to him slowly, utterly lost on what was going on through the mad man's mind. The Ruler's right eyebrow twitched slightly in annoyance. Good grief, he really hated to deal with these crazy Servants. "Stop spouting nonsense, Berserker. If you fool around too much, you might regret it," he warned.

Antonio Salieri merely raised a brow. "Do I need to remind you who was foolish enough to reveal his powers and name in front of an entire crowd of humans?" he asked back at him, his tone obviously provocative. He openly grinned when everyone's eyes turned to Iskandar to stare at him with a blank gaze. The Macedonian Emperor just scratched his neck with a sheepish grin under their stares. "Because that was a foolish mistake, indeed."

The God of War sighed, trying to quell the feeling of an incoming migraine at the mere reminder of that scene. But in the end, after a long while of pondering, he chose not to think too much about that problem. Because if he did, it would only add more stress on his already troubled mind. He had already a lot of things and problems to deal with. The War, the memories, Tyr's stolen artifact, Morgan le Fay... the list was growing and growing by day. Even his own struggle to keep his identity hidden was already stressful enough.

Yes, his plate was already full. He was surely going break if he decided to add more to it.

"No matter, there was no other way," he finally said after a while, shaking his head in frustration with a sigh. "Let the humans think what they will. I admit that it was a reckless move, but we wouldn't have been able to protect them without exposing ourselves a bit. We had no choice, given the situation."

"I concur. It was bound to happen, sooner or later," Bedivere agreed as well.

"And they had already seen the Golems, too," Mordred added with a frown.

The Italian Berserker snorted at their dismissive answers.

"Hmph. Just you wait. I'm sure this mistake will come back to bite you sooner or later," he spoke with a disinterested tone, before breaking into a dark chuckle all of sudden. "Kehehehe..."

Not for the first time, the entire group was tempted to kill him here and now.

Shirou sighed, shaking his head again. "Enough of that. Now that Caster and his Golems are gone, we should focus on searching the city for other eventual threats. We need to make sure that the situation is under control," he spoke to everyone, immediately grabbing their attention.

Mordred, Iskandar, Artoria and the others shared a nod.

Once again, the red-haired Ruler turned to the King of Knights. "Artoria, are you able to use your Core now that the city has been freed? Can you detect anything?" he asked to her, fixing her with an expectant gaze.

The woman closed her eyes for a while, focused, and tried to expand her senses.

Yet, much to everyone's surprise, she shook her head.

"No, I cannot. There's still something blocking my perception skills. It's the same Magic Veil from before."

Shirou widened his eyes. Again with this 'Magic Veil'. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"What? Father, you can't detect anything even now?" Mordred questioned, confused.

Artoria frowned, as if immersed in some deep thoughts. She seemed to be confused by that situation as well. "I... I don't know how to explain it. Somehow, it feels like the entire city is enclosed within a veil, a Spell. A Bounded Field, perhaps, but if it is one, then it's extremely different compared to those I've felt and saw so far. I've never felt anything like this before. But whatever it is, it's messing with my Core and my abilities," she explained with a serious tone. "However..."

"What is it?" Iskandar pressed, raising a brow.

Once more, the King of Knights closed her eyes, trying to focus a second time. "Now that the Golems are gone, if I focus hard enough… I can feel something coming from the city," she said, furrowig her brows. The female King opened her eyes after a few seconds of silence, turning her gaze in a specific direction: West. "A source of Magical energy, coming from that direction. A very faint one," she stated, pointing a finger towards a distant part of the city.

The others shared a silent look. "Then we should go investigate a bit," Shirou decided, urging Artoria to take the lead. "Lead the way, then."

Everyone shared a nod.

As expected, the walk was a long one. Despite being well-trained and powerful Servants, it took almost twenty minutes for them to travel across another side of the city by foot. Artoria quickly guided her allies through the rooftops of Alexandria with a fast and resolute pace, running under the light as the sky neared sunset. And when they finally stopped, Shirou and his group had arrived in a completely different district of the city, one called Shatby District.

Without wasting time, Artoria led them through the entrance of an abandoned building in a state of evident decay. Once inside, they followed the King of Knights until they reached a wide basement, and once they did, they immediately realized what they were looking at: a Magus' Workshop. Maybe it was Avicebron's Workshop, given the scattered documents and projects depicting dozens of Golems, some of which the group had personally fought just over five hours prior during the siege. Yep, it was definitely Caster's. Thank goodness that man was gone now.

But it was another detail that caught their attention.

A giant tank filled with green liquid was located to the right side of the Workshop. Inside, a young woman was immersed in a strange green liquid. An elegant girl who couldn't be older than Rin, with long golden blonde hair styled entirely in large coils and tied tightly by some elegant ribbons even as she was immersed in the semi-thick liquid. Her bright blue dress was reminiscent of the color of the sky, and her entire body was floating in the liquid without any resistance, her eyes closed and her face immersed in a deep, induced slumber.

She had to be some sort of captive kidnapped by Caster. A test subject, perhaps. But for what?

"She's the one," Artoria stated with a serious tone. "The Magical energy I feel is coming from her."

Well, then. The group didn't waste time.

With a single but powerful punch, the King of Conquerors broke and shattered the glass with disarming ease, detroying the tank and making all the liquid leak out. At the same time, Shirou grabbed the girl's unconscious body before she could fall, lowering her on the ground with a delicate and careful movement. Then, slowly but surely, he placed a hand above her heart and began to infuse a bit of regenerative prana into her body.

Seconds passed, followed by minutes.

Until, his efforts finally paid off. The girl woke up abruptly thanks to the sudden 'charge' of mana, breaking into a coughing fit as her body struggled to let out all the liquid inside her lungs.

All the while, Shirou held her body carefully in his arms as the others gathered around him to watch.

"Easy there, you're free now. You're safe," the Ruler said with a calm, collected tone of voice, trying to reassure the young woman.

After a few minutes, her coughing fit ended, and the blonde woman slowly opened her eyes with a groan of pain, revealing a pair of copper orbs almost tending to red, her gaze blurry and unfocused. However, as soon as her gaze landed on the man holding her in his arms and his companions, she widened her eyes and an expression of shock and alarm blossomed on her beautiful face.

"S-S-Ser... vants...!" she choked out weakly, her voice hoarse and her body weak due to having been just awakened from her long, induced sleep.

None of them were surprised by that reaction. On the contrary, her statement only served to prove their inner suspicion. The girl possessed both Magic Circuits and energy, and she recognized them as Servants. Hence, she was a Magus. There was no doubt about it.

Shirou raised one hand in a non-hostile gesture. "Relax. You're safe now," he reassured her with a gentle voice. "We don't want to hurt you. I promise."

The girl seemed to hesitate for a couple of seconds, still shaken and confused by what was going on. Then, she slowly bagen to relax, her eyelids falling as tension began to gradually leave her face.

"W-Where... am I?" she wheezed weakly, her voice showing a clear northern accent in spite of her weak tone.

Shirou glanced at his companions. "This is the city of Alexandria," he patiently explained. "We just found you here inside an enemy Servant's Workshop. Avicebron's. He was a Caster, but he is dead now. We just freed you."

A flash of recognition shone inside her copper orbs. The girl widened her eyes, her brows rising slowly.

"A-Avicebron?" she muttered, stunned. "N-No... no, nonono."

They watched in silent confusion as the woman's face began to blossom with panic. Shirou, Mordred and Iskandar shared a worried glance.

"Calm down. Do not panic," Shirou ordered with a calm but firm tone. "Just focus on me and answer my questions. Who are you? What is the last thing you remember?"

The woman stopped her rambling, fixing the Ruler with a stare filled with tension and sheer panic.

"M-My name is… Lu-Luviagelita Edelfelt," she wheezed after a long while of deep breaths. "A-And I was sent here... b-by the Clock Tower... to investigate... a case."

Shirou and his friends narrowed their eyes. "A case?" he pressed.

The woman – Luviagelita – nodded; her face a mask of panic and relief mixed together.

"I-I was sent here… to investigate the sudden extermination of the Yggdmillennia clan… by the hand of... the Sun King himself."

---

CODEX PLANETAE

[COUNTER FORCE] Database

Taken from the notes of Alaya

Subject: Tyr [-Shirou Emiya-], #1 among the Ancestral Heroes

Alias: God of War, Humanity's Liberator, Grand Hero, God-Slayer, First Hero of Humanity

Description:

As Ado Edem repeatedly emphasized to me during our meeting organized by [ERROR], the bond that binds Shirou Emiya and the being known as "All the World's Evil" is extremely complex in its nature, and consequently it is also extremely hard - and vexing - to unravel in its entirety. As loathe as I am to admit it, being able to carry out a detailed research and gather more information on this topic during he last few centuries has proved to be a frustratingly difficult challenge for me, even with the aid of the [COUNTER FORCE] and its constant monitoring of the God of War.

The reason why this so-called bond is so difficult to define in a precise way and by normal means is due to the fact that there doesn't seem to be any kind of 'direct' correlation between the two, despite their existence and actions mirroring each other closely. In fact, while neither me nor my sister possess any clear and convincing evidence to prove any kind of direct link between the First Hero of Humanity and the King of Daemons, the similarities between their bodies and their actions seem to be apparently unmistakable; so much so that even I find myself almost unable to deny it even without possessing convincing proof, given that their lives and existences are nearly the same, almost specular to each other. It is for this very same reason that in the Reverse Side of the World many Gods and even some among the Fairies chose to refer to the King of Daemons as the God of War's child, despite the fact that there is no blood relation and no apparent correlation whatsoever between the two.

One thing is certain, however: it is undeniable that the actions of the God "Tyr" were the main cause which eventually led to the birth of the "Avenger", just as it is impossible to deny that the "Avenger" is the direct consequence of the evolution brought by the God "Tyr" on the human race; the humans' propensity to evil being the main key and link between the two.

Is this perhaps the reason why they resemble each other so much, in both their bodies and mentality?

…this matter requires further research.

---

One detail that many people tend to forget is the fact that Iskandar is more than just a mad and insatiable Conqueror with a gigantic ego. Not that this definition of him is wrong – because it isn't XD – but ever since I ended up in this fandom I came to the conclusion that many people chose to despise him due to the fact that he semi-trashed their 'beloved' Artoria during the so-called banquet of Kings in Fate/Zero.

Well, on my part, I believe the truth lies somewhere in between. Yes, Iskandar is certainly not the ideal model of King since he's a man who has committed very, very reprehensible acts during his reign. And he certainly had no right to criticize Artoria's way of ruling... but the same can be said of Artoria as well. In the Nasuverse, King Arthur chose to become an emotionless King, and this choice alone eventually led him/her to make some very questionable choices (according to some legends, he/she slaughtered all of those who didn't want to join his/her kingdom, including their infants). So, in my personal opinion, both of them are Kings who have both virtues and defects, but to say who is more right or wrong between the two is useless. The real difference between them, in my humble opinion, is that Artoria did all that she did for the sake of others, while Iskandar did everything solely for himself. The first was morally admirable and just but died in despair and with a lot regrets by her own son's blade, and the other lived happily and in glory for most of his life but was eventually remembered as a tyrant and an extremely violent and morally insane character (which is true, in some way, even if most people forget that things were different in his time compared to Artoria's). What they do have in common, though? They both died without accomplishing anything, without helping anyone, and their kingdoms disappeared like nothing.

I'm not trying to defend neither of them nor to take sides on this dispute... I'm just musing about the irony behind these characters. Just as Artoria is way more than what Iskandar said of her in Fate/Zero, in the same way Iskandar is way more than the cruel tyrant that many labeled him to be. That is why they're so interesting to write for me. They are extremely complex characters, and I love it.

Anyway, we've finally seen Iskandar's long awaited Noble Phantasm, and the group has also arrived to the shores of Egypt. Things are going to get pretty interesting in this Arc, and I hope it can arouse your interest, even if just a little. Furthermore (a detail that some may not know) according to several real sources, Alexander the Great was extremely good at throwing knives, even in battle. I've tried to include this detail in the story, if you have noticed. He thew his sword a lot in this chapter, after all XD

Just a little warning: we're gonna see Shirou's memories only for the duration of this Arc. They will no longer appear after the fifth Arc. Why? You'll see soon enough.

Next chapter: banquet of Kings (and Pharaohs). Also, the moment of truth about Shirou is getting closer… but I'm not gonna spoil that ;)

In case I've missed some, as always, please forgive me for any eventual misspellings and grammar mistakes. If you point them out to me, I will correct them as soon as I can.

See you next time.