As he ran across the battlefield, hacking his enemies away with his spear, Red Hare let out a loud neigh before he shouted, a wide smile on his face.

"This is fuuuuuun! Buhihihihi!"

Wasting no time in searching for his next prey, he charged in the direction of the fortress, hoping to find a worthy opponent. Until now, he had only fought common fodder and, even though he found it amusing to slash his enemies apart, he wasn't satisfied as his warrior spirit desired for an exciting battle.

A battle that would make his blood boil! For his name is Lu Bu and he only fights against the strongest!

...

The strongest?

Red Hare suddenly stopped in his tracks in the middle of the battlefield as he tilted his head, deep into his thoughts as his mind was running at full speed, his inner self swimming across a sea of carrots.

Be it because of his instinct as a warrior or as an animal, Red Hare already knew who was the strongest around in the region, a memory of being crushed to the ground crossing his mind. And, just as he was wondering if he should obey his instincts or honor his current allegiance, he blinked when he noticed an imposing figure standing in his way, walking in his direction.

"Neigh?" The centaur stared at the being in front of him, his mind rebooting itself as carrots danced in it, before he then let out a smirk as he found the solution to his dilemma. There was only a single answer for him to reach as he is Lu Bu.

"It's time for the Exa-Red Form to be revealed!"

Robin Hood let out a small breath as he surveyed the town from a high spot, looking for any villagers or enemies roaming on the roads, mainly the latter of whom he found almost no presence, much to his surprise.

'I guess it's natural that the place is deserted of soldiers, given that the young king and that stellar guy are rampaging through the fortress, but it doesn't change the fact that damages were already done to the town.'

He couldn't help himself but to frown when he saw the poor state of the town and its surroundings.

Streets and houses were badly damaged and roads were not maintained. The lands were nothing more than wastelands, with no sign of nature anywhere. Even the residents they rescued and took to a makeshift shelter protected by Boudica and Mata Hari did not look well, the majority of them suffering from malnutrition and showing signs of injuries, most likely from both the lack of crops and the foreign soldiers.

Looking at the scenery before his eyes, Robin could only shake his head in exasperation, making him believe that this particular era deserved its title of Britain's 'Darkest Ages'. Although his own era saw its share of tyrannical kings, the share of destruction was on an entirely different scale.

And from the corner of his eyes, he saw a group of armored soldiers, causing him to immediately jump from his spot and rush to their location.

Although he wasn't fighting in his favorite environment, that being a forest, he was fast enough to take the soldiers by surprise as he managed to lend his arrows straight into their heads, killing them before they noticed his presence.

'Don't they have better things to do like protecting their lord instead of staying here and terrorizing the townspeople?'

Robin thought, staring at the corpses down on the road as their actions reminded him of nostalgic memories of his past.

"It looks like there were still a few left in the town."

Robin heard a voice coming from behind him, causing him to glance above his shoulder to see Atalanta walking in his direction before he nodded.

"Yeah, good thing that I found them quickly." He said before he looked at his companion and snorted when he saw what she carried in her arms, two children.

"And I can see that you kept yourself busy."

"Of course, it is my duty to save children... I mean, people." Atalanta said, making Robin snort before he looked at the children and gave them a cheeky smile.

"Are you two okay? Did that strange lady do anything weird to you two?" He asked and his smile widened when he saw Atalanta's eyebrows twitch in annoyance, but he knew that she would do nothing as long as she carried the children in her arms. And when he saw the children shake their heads, he simply let out a weak laugh.

"Seems like I don't need to report you to Lady Raikou once we're back to Chaldea."

"Stop with the jokes. Anyway, I'll take those two to Boudica and Mata Hari, what about you?"

"I'm going to look over the town one more time just to be safe. Then I'll just do the usual, making traps and everything... although I'm sure that they won't be necessary knowing our assault team." Robin said as he looked in the direction of the fortress where he could see from afar signs of fighting going on.

Although, rather than fights, it seemed like a one-sided massacre to Robin as he could see debris flying in the air and some soldiers among them, nonetheless the sounds of explosions echoing in the distance. And from his position, he had a good view of Artoria just blasting her enemies away with just a single swing of her sword like they were flies, making him shudder a bit at her prowess.

'I already knew that she would be strong, considering that she's the one who would become the legendary King of Knights later in life even if she's still a teenager, I never thought that she would be that powerful...'

Even though he understood that he was in a parallel world and not the one he and Chaldea came from, he believed that there shouldn't be much difference between the two Artorias but after witnessing her display, he started to have huge doubts about it.

'The older brother is also an anomaly when compared to the Kay the Round Table knows... There is also that mage Merlin, as far as I'm told, aside from her gender, her personality differs quite a lot from what I've heard, her antics being the only similarity... And there is also that dog...'

Robin couldn't help but be incredulous as he saw the dog, holding a sword in its mouth, quickly rush through a group of soldiers and slash them in the process before he yelled out a howl.

'That's neat...I would have liked to have a dog like that when I was alive.'

To say he was impressed to see such a skilled dog is an understatement, but the very thought made him understand that this timeline was full of absurdities. It wasn't like the dog was an ancient or mythical beast, in fact, from the report he received from Da Vinci and talks with Artoria, Cavall was just a regular dog that she found as a puppy. The very thought that a regular dog could become that strong felt absurd to him, nonetheless made him believe that his owners must be out of the world to achieve such a feat.

Internally, he found himself a bit relieved that his world's King Arthur and her knights of the Round Table weren't as bizzare as this world's residents, despite all of their quirks.

Letting out a sigh, Robin scratched his head before he headed out to the edge of the town, preparing himself to set some traps as a measure of safety.

"Everyone, please don't panic. We will be safe here."

"If anyone's feeling hungry or thirsty, we also got some food and water. Don't hesitate to ask."

Meanwhile, Mata Hari and Boudica were doing their best helping the townspeople as many of them were restless, especially because of the fighting happening at the fortress. But no matter how much they tried to calm them down, it didn't lower their anxiety at all.

"It seems like it will be harder than we expected."

"We can't blame them for being scared like that. Given their states, they must have been living under harsh conditions for a long time and, even though this town is at the outskirts of the fortress, the clashes are powerful enough to be seen and heard from here. They must be worried about how they could potentially be involved in the fights, be it directly or as collateral damage."

As she looked at the townspeople,

"That's true. By the way, why did you choose to stay behind to help people instead of fighting? Considering your skills, wouldn't it be better for you to be on the frontlines?" Mata Hari asked, knowing Boudica's life as a warrior queen and general.

At her question, Boudica just looked aside while scratching her nose, looking a bit ashamed.

"Well, it's because I wanted to redeem my sins, to relieve my guilt... or something like that."

"Your sins? Ah, you don't need to speak about it if it bothers you."

"No, it's okay. I've talked about it with Ritsuka and Mash in the past, so I don't really mind sharing once more. And it's not like it's a secret since my history is well-known. The thing is... when I was alive, I was too angry at the Romans for what they did to my people and husband and that, in the midst of my revenge against them, I assaulted anyone who was associated with Rome in a way. And at some point, I razed three whole cities, one of them being Londinium, killing anybody in sight, be it citizens or soldiers. Not really the brightest thing I've done..." Boudica said, sporting a remorseful expression at the last part, before she shook her head.

"In any case, after I was told that our destination was Londinium, I thought that, to redeem myself of my mistake, I'd protect the townspeople instead of fighting this time. This is pretty selfish of me, isn't it?"

At her question, Mata Hari simply let out a small smile.

"There may be people who think that, but it's not like you're doing anything wrong, so don't think too much about it. Although you have your own reasons for saving them, it's not like you have any bad intentions towards them, right?" She said as she softly placed her hand on Boudica's head before she ruffled her red hair, making the former queen blush.

"And here I'm supposed to be the eldest here..." She muttered, feeling a bit embarrassed which made Mata Hari chuckle.

"Now you understand how we feel when you do this to us. Anyway, we should go see the townsfolk now and help them relax until everything is over."

"You're right. However, you seem rather calm about this. Aren't you worried?" Boudica asked Mata Hari as she followed her, seeing her walk with a bright smile on her face.

"Of course I am. It's just that I'm pretty used to being on the sidelines like now, and it doesn't help that I'm useless when it comes to fighting, I have no other choice but to leave that part to others. That said, I don't intend to sit idly by either, so while the others do their part, I'll just do mine all the while trusting them to get the job done."

"Is that so? Still, I'm a bit surprised that you would trust somebody you just met a few hours ago like that."

"I was a spy when alive, so I'd like to say that I have a good eye when it comes to judging people. And from what I've seen, I can say that both Artoria and Kay are worth trusting... although I wished they could rein in their madness a bit, especially Merlin's."

Hearing her comment, Boudica couldn't help but laugh. If there was anything she knew from their brief encounter, it was that the trio never did things by halves by any means.

Vivian couldn't suppress the headache that came to her head as she witnessed the disaster happening before her eyes. One swing, an entire troop of soldiers were sent flying to the sky. Another swing, a chasm has been dug into the ground. And the one that followed, the fortress's walls were easily blown apart, as if they were made of straws. And if it wasn't enough, a swing powered-up with her magical energy would end the job, destroying everything around her without discrimination.

'In what ways did they raise this girl for her to become that strong?!'

"Alright, Cavall, let's clear this area properly before we go to our next spot. I'm sure that if we do a decent job, Brother will reward us with a feast!"

"Woof!"

'And how in the world do you call that "clear the area properly"?! You just destroyed the area and called it a day!'

Vivian felt the urge to retort to Artoria's words, but she simply let out a sigh, feeling too exhausted from everything that had happened in the past few hours since she made the mistake of trying to stop Kay and others.

'This is all of Kay's fault! Once everything is over, I'll make him take responsibility for his actions!'

[Oh... In that case, let me also participate in your little project. I want to have a taste of Kay too.]

[No, you won't! Have you forgotten that we're married to Lot?!]

[You are married to Lot, not us. We may share a body, but we're not the same person.]

[You...!]

Hearing her alternate personalities argue with each other, Vivian closed her eyes and tuned their voices out of her mind, not wanting them to distract her attention while she was in the midst of a battlefield.

"Artoria, I can feel a new presence with Kay and the others, they must have succeeded in summoning one of those Servants. Don't you think it's time for us to regroup with th..." Vivian started to say before she stopped when she saw Artoria look up at the fortress, a frown on her face, while Cavall was growling at her feet. Feeling something wrong with their behaviors, she followed her gaze only to gasp when she saw two people looking down on them.

'Since when they were here, I didn't notice their presences at all... But more importantly, their apperances...'

"To think that you two would be our opponents, how laughable..."

"What is laughable is that we're fighting on the same side, Artoria."

'Are they... us? Or rather, us as Servants? If that's the case, then she... My counterpart must have hidden their presence with her Magecraft, but how did Artoria notice them? Were her instincts so sharp that she could still detect them? No, now isn't the time to think about it...'

Quickly shaking her head, Vivian then readied her staff, preparing herself to fight the Servants.

"Arthur, these two aren't like the soldiers you've fought until now, so be ca..."

As she tried to warn Artoria, she blinked when she noticed, out of the corner of her eyes, her little sister suddenly pouring her Magical Energy into her sword to the point it overflowed before she wasted no time in unleashing a huge blast at their counterparts standing on the fortress's wall.

"Wha..." Vivian could only say that as she saw Artoria's attack flying in the direction of the Servants who both remained firm in their position, her counterpart created a Bounded Field around them which stopped the attack as the blast grinded against it before it caused an explosion.

But before she could do anything, like scolding Artoria for her rashness or assisting her with her Magecraft, she widened her eyes in shock when she then saw her immediately launch a flurry of sword blasts, all being stronger than the first one. She could only stare speechless at her younger sister as she continued her assault, not stopping once thanks to her Magic Core producing more mana than she expended in her attacks. And as the sword strikes piled up against the Bounded Field, resulting in more explosions being made, it didn't take long before the barrier was shattered with the wall being blown apart, alongside a part of the fortress.

"That should be enough for a warm-up... Hmm? Is there something wrong, big sister?"

"Ah, no... Just don't mind me and fight as you wish..." Vivian mumbled tiredly, finally understanding that no matter what she did, Artoria would just ignore her and go at her own pace, completely ignoring all notions of common sense and the like.

"It seems that they aren't down yet." Artoria said as she looked at the hole she created in the fortress, a frown on her face, before she turned to Cavall.

"Cavall, I'm sure that there is still some small fry remaining in the castle, so I'll give you the mission of finishing them all. I'm counting on you."

"Woof!"

And with that, Cavall ran away, his sword in his mouth, while Artoria suddenly jumped inside the hole with no hesitation, causing Vivian to let out a long and deep sigh as she rubbed her temples, feeling a headache.

'I should have stayed home this morning...'

Mash couldn't help but think that she wasn't really needed as she ventured inside the fortress alongside Ritsuka and Kay, the latter shooting down any enemy the moment they appeared on sight with his bow. And even if they hide themselves behind walls or pillars, Kay would shoot them down, his arrows easily piercing through whatever structures they were hiding behind. While she felt a bit frustrated that she couldn't do her job as a Servant, which is to fight and protect her Master, she felt also relieved to have Kay as an ally instead of an enemy.

"So we're not going to regroup with Arthur and the others?" Ritsuka asked Kay as they were heading straight to the throne room, opting to take down Vortigern as soon as possible.

"Yeah, I don't want to take too much time. I still have dinner to make, so..."

"I believe dinner should be the last thing on your mind right now, Sir Kay."

"Sorry about that, I wanted to try to lighten the mood. That said, I wasn't joking when I said I didn't want to take too much time. The longer we take, the more problems it will cause for others, especially with the wars going on across Britain, so the sooner the better."

"But don't you think it's too reckless for us to move forward alone? Shouldn't it be better for us to join forces with others and increase our chances of winning?"

"You're right, but from what I'm feeling, I'm sure I'd win against Vortigern even alone." Kay said with a smirk on his face, causing the girls to stare blankly at his face, unsure what to say to his statement.

"What should we do, Senpai? I understand that Sir Kay is strong, but I feel like he's getting a little too arrogant..."

"Well, it's a matter of fact that Kay is strong and he just steamrolled everything since we met him so maybe we should give him the benefit of the doubt..."

"Look, if you don't have faith in my words, then you girls can go join the others. I'll just wrap everything on my own... Oh?" Kay started to say before he stopped in his tracks, alerting the girls as they prepared themselves for the worst.

"Kay, what happened?" Ritsuka asked him as she placed herself between Kay and Mash, ready to use Mystic Code or her Command Spells while the latter brought her shield up, prepared to block any upcoming attack.

"No, I was just thinking how nice Vortigern was to send a Servant to greet us." He said as his bow dissipated into stardust before a blue sword appeared in his hand while both Ritsuka and Mash were confused by his statement as they didn't see anybody other than themselves, nor did they receive any warning from Chaldea about a Servant coming in their direction.

[Ritsuk-]

And just as they heard Romani's voice, Mash noticed a blue blur rushing at them from the corner of her eyes. However, it was so fast that she didn't have the time to react as she saw something glittering approaching her head.

"Not on my watch." Kay said as he swung his sword upwards, the clash of steel echoing down the hall, making Mash realize that the glint was coming from a blade. And then, he wasted no time kicking the blue blur away before he swung his sword once more, unleashing a powerful blast at their aggressor. But before it could reach them, they easily stabilized their bodies in the air before deflecting the blast down to the ground with a punch, much to the girls' surprise while Kay had a wide smile on his face.

"Interesting, I suppose not all Servants are as weak as Basashi."

"I don't know who you call Basashi, but I am the strongest."

As the Servant approached them, walking leisurely, Mash and Ritsuka could only watch in disbelief as the one who nearly screwed through Mash's head with a blade was only a young girl. However, they both realized that there had to be more to her, having learned to not judge people through their appearance only.

[Everyone, be careful! That Servant is no joke! She may be as strong as the Knight of the Round Table when they were blessed with the Lion King's gifts... No, in fact, she may be stronger than them by a mile.]

As soon as they heard Romani's warning, both Ritsuka and Mash felt a shiver run down their spine as they both stared at the young girl in shock, having bad memories from the time they spent against the knights in the last Singularity.

"Sir Kay, what should we do?" Mash asked as she placed herself in front of Ritsuka while keeping her eyes on the Servant before them. Kay, for his part, only shrugged his shoulders before he held out his hand in front of him.

"For one, I'm not sure if I can fight her without holding back, so I'd rather you girls go away and join the others while I deal with her. I can't really protect the two of you while fighting, you know."

"What? You can't be serious..." Mash muttered as she looked at Kay with a dumbfounded stare while he simply gave her a smile.

"Don't worry, I'll give you two a special bodyguard. She should be as strong as five Basashis, so you two should be fine."

"I don't know what to think of five Basashis, knowing that you easily crushed him like a pancake upon first meeting..." Ritsuka muttered under her breath, causing Kay to let out a chuckle as he brought up his hand in the air before he shouted.

"Heed my call… Yggdrasil, the Great Spirit of the World Tree!"

"What?"

"What did he say!?" Romani screamed in shock as he jumped out of his seat, staring at the monitor displaying Kay and the girls where he and everyone in the control room saw a young girl emerging from a magic circle which appeared at their feet, along with several alarms going off.

"What's going on?!" Da Vinci shouted as she looked at Silvia who was staring at her monitor in disbelief.

"Ma'am, the being Sir Kay named Yggdrasil, her Magical Output is off the shart… A Divine Spirit… No… it's an actual living goddess!"

"You can't be serious!" Da Vinci shouted before she picked Romani by his collar and started to sway him back and forth in frustration. "How can he summon a living goddess like that?! And more less, a being from the Nordic Myth! Just what's his deal?!!"

"Leonardo, stop this!! I'm getting sick!"