Then, the Servants who descended from the sky and the Black Faction Masters who hastily sought refuge on the city walls encountered the giant. Riding on its shoulder was the traitorous magus—Avicebron.
"Ah, so everyone’s here."
"What the hell, you bastard! Caster, what are you suddenly doing?!" Caules shouted, waving his arms.
"...Betrayal. That’s what this is."
Hearing Gordes’ mutter, Fiore was shocked and quickly turned to search for Avicebron’s Master, Roche.
After passing through the ruins and the critically injured homunculi, she finally spotted the boy—more broken than the scene before her, more anguished than the homunculi beside him.
Fiore heard Roche’s whisper, but there was no time for his grief. She cried out:
"Hurry, Roche! Use your Command Spell—make your Servant stop!"
Hearing the familiar call, the golden-haired boy Roche lifted his hollow gaze, glanced at Fiore, then clutched his head and screamed in despair:
"I don’t know! I don’t know anything! Why did you abandon me, Teacher?!"
Fiore’s pupils contracted. In her vision, Roche’s right hand was bare.
Where was the Command Spell? Where had the mark symbolizing the Master-Servant contract gone?!
Didn’t this mean the Black Faction had lost control over Caster Avicebron?!
"Master, Black Assassin has betrayed us!"
Bad news kept coming. The moment Chiron landed, he swiftly approached Fiore and reported:
"Both leaders, Darnic and Vlad III, have fallen. Caster Avicebron and Assassin Artoria have defected to the Red Faction... There’s no time for lengthy explanations. Hurry and find Reika Rikudou, Master!"
"Ah... Ah!" Fiore belatedly realized. She pulled a small brocade pouch from her pocket. "This is something Miss Reika gave me before she left. She said it was a farewell gift!"
"Throw it away, Master!" Chiron reacted instantly, snatching the pouch and hurling it away with an archer’s strength. "Be careful—it might be a trap!"
"R-Right." In the heat of the moment, Fiore didn’t resist, only watching regretfully as the exquisite keepsake fell from the wall into the chaotic battlefield below, erasing the last trace of Reika’s presence in the Black Faction.
"Well, there’s good news too, isn’t there, Teacher?"
A streak of emerald light streaked across the sky as three warhorses neighed. A chariot screeched to a halt before Fiore, its tailwind tousling her hair. A tall, imposing warrior, resting a short spear on his shoulder, whistled at her.
"Once a Rider of the Red Faction, now bound by Romania’s leyline to repay a debt! And not just me—Lancer and Archer are here too!"
As he spoke, the radiant sun warrior Karna, wielding his divine spear, and the wild huntress Atalanta made their entrance. Tama, looking up at the towering giant, couldn’t help but sigh.
"Feels like there’s been an awful lot of big guys showing up lately."
"After all, they’re magi. It’d be strange if the Casters from past Holy Grail Wars didn’t stir up some trouble." ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦·𝘯𝘦𝘵
The black-robed youth appeared effortlessly before the group. Meeting Fiore’s fully alert gaze, he curled his lips: "I come representing the Clock Tower. Tell me, does the current Yggdmillennia still possess the courage to oppose me?"
"You killed both my uncle and Lord Vlad III..." Fiore averted her eyes with visible resentment.
"Don’t frighten Miss Fiore. She’s a wonderful person!" With a cry from Hippogriff, Astolfo once again played the role of transport, landing safely with Siegfried. Having overheard the conversation mid-flight, he was the first to direct his fury at Avicebron:
"Caster! Have you betrayed us? Have you betrayed your Master!?"
Avicebron nodded nonchalantly in response:
"If we’re speaking of betrayal—at the very least, I’ve certainly betrayed your expectations."
"Enough with your word games!"
"I’ve no intention of disguising my actions... No, perhaps it’s better if I continue playing the villain here. Indeed, I’ve betrayed you all, and now I shall eradicate you completely—using this supreme ’Golem Keter Malkuth’ to bring salvation to the world."
Hearing the magus’s declaration, Astolfo grew even more incensed.
"You fool! How could such puppet toys possibly save the world!"
Astolfo’s outburst could only be described as recklessly fearless. While he alone lacked rationality, the other Servants watched the colossal figure before them with grave expressions.
"What is this... that divine radiance..."
It didn’t inspire fear, nor did it particularly convey strength. If anything, "beautiful" was the most fitting description. Yet this wasn’t ordinary beauty—it was the quintessence of divine creation, a golden being destined for glory from the moment of its birth.
...One might even say it inspired an almost irresistible urge to prostrate oneself before it. Merely witnessing its form conjured vivid images of inevitable defeat in one’s mind.
"How impertinent of you—though I suppose that’s to be expected from one whose reason has long since evaporated."
Hearing this, Astolfo puffed out his chest and declared with confidence:
"Exactly! That’s why I’m not afraid at all! No matter what you’ve created, no matter how you flaunt your power, in the end it’s just another Noble Phantasm!"
"—Well said. Which is precisely why my arrow won’t hesitate in the slightest."
At this declaration from above, Avicebron immediately looked upward as earth rose beneath his feet, forming a barrier that blocked the supersonic arrow.
Chiron had somehow reached the tower’s summit, now level with the giant Adam, his undisguised fury piercing through Avicebron.
"You barely escaped with your life, Avicebron. But the next arrow will certainly take it."
"Hmph. Targeting me, are you? That’s fine, but—"
"Indeed. Even if I eliminate you, your Noble Phantasm won’t cease."
"Then why aim for me at all?"
"Needless to say, traitors must be dealt with swiftly."
"Hmm... How unreasonable."
Even under the Sage’s arrows, Avicebron chuckled lightly: "I never thought even you would act out of anger."
The arrows streaked like shooting stars, piercing through Avicebron’s body in an instant—yes, passing through without any resistance.
The power of the Command Spell had seized Avicebron, swiftly pulling him away from this battlefield where a puppet-maker’s skills were no longer needed.
"What a pity, Archer. It seems my time of punishment has not yet come." Under Chiron’s furious yet helpless gaze, Avicebron gradually dissipated, leaving only the towering giant Adam behind.
"I leave it to you, Light of Wisdom. You... you alone can create paradise for this land! You must, you absolutely must!"
As if hearing its master’s final plea, the primordial giant Adam roared. The circular holes across its body lit up one after another with the green glow of life, and in response, a black obsidian sword of destruction formed in its grasp. Amidst the violet radiance filling the sky, the giant brought its blade crashing down!
The target—the young head of the Black Faction, Fiore!