Surrounded by furious members of the Black Faction, Gordes, who had willingly handed over the Black Saber Siegfried, found himself trapped under their collective wrath.
"What were you thinking, Uncle Gordes?!"
"How could you just give away our Saber like that?!"
"The Command Spells are gone... which means Saber has completely severed ties with the Black Faction."
"King Arthur and Siegfried... Do you realize your stupidity might doom the Yggdmillennia?!"
Voices overlapped, faces twisted in anger.
Accusations, accusations, accusations... Not a single word of comfort could be found.
This is ridiculous—I’m the victim here! It wasn’t any of you with a blade pressed to your throat, it was me!
After barely surviving, why should I have to endure your endless criticism?!
Amid the sea of hostile figures, Gordes opened his mouth, words of defense rising to his lips—only to falter and retreat.
No... Deep down, he knew.
The Black Faction’s Saber, Siegfried, the Dragon Slayer of the Netherlands, a peerless hero who stood equal to the Red Lancer, Karna.
In any Holy Grail War, he would be an undisputed top-tier Servant, a trump card any faction would cling to with desperate resolve.
Though Servants belonged to their Masters, if anyone were to compare Gordes and Siegfried, the choice would be obvious, wouldn’t it?
Of course. A cowardly, arrogant fool of a man could never measure up to a legendary hero.
Perhaps having lost all hope in Gordes’ continued silence, the crowd dispersed, as though the farce had finally reached its end. The now-empty room held only Gordes and a slender figure moving about, tidying the mess left behind.
Noticing the sound beside him, Gordes lifted his despondent gaze and recognized the one who had stayed.
"Sieg... I know you. The homunculus who fled under a hero’s protection, only to return of your own accord."
Ah, unlike me—who never earned even a moment of a hero’s favor. Even the treasure I barely managed to grasp was discarded for something far more worthless—
"Why help me? You must realize that without a Servant, I’m worthless now."
Faced with Gordes’ self-deprecation, Sieg pondered for a moment before answering earnestly:
"If I were in your position, I probably wouldn’t have done any better."
"Yeah. Death is terrifying, after all."
With a derisive snort, Gordes let out a sound of contempt from deep in his chest. He wanted to lecture this ignorant homunculus about the pride of magi, to tell her that magi would willingly throw their lives away in pursuit of their goals—but in the end, he remained silent.
The man who had abandoned his strongest Servant to save his own skin had no right to speak of such things. If anything, in that moment, he had embodied everything the magi despised and scorned.
No wonder the Yggdmillennia members were so furious. It wasn’t just about Siegfried—his actions had spat upon the very principles magi upheld.
"...I really am nothing but a complete fool." Gordes clutched his head, groaning. His back hunched in defeat, the once-arrogant aura around him had long since crumbled into disappointment.
Sieg didn’t comfort him but nodded in agreement instead: "Indeed, even I can’t stand your foolishness."
"Although this matter is your fault, it’s not solely your fault. And no matter what, you’re still the one who created us. For the joy of our birth, this is precisely my reason for repaying you," Sieg said. "But that’s all there is to it. I still have to participate in the Holy Grail War with Rider. If you’ve already lost your will, you’d better leave now."
Despite the cold words, they stirred an emotion in Gordes’s heart. He stared fixedly at the silver-haired, red-eyed homunculus—his life’s greatest achievement... even though she had rebelled against her creator and even gained the support of heroes.
"Do you all desire freedom so much? You’re just pure batteries, tools to be discarded once used up."
"Watch your words, or I might just slice off that belly fat of yours?"
Gordes gritted his teeth, letting out a low groan—but the other party was a Master with a Servant, worlds apart from a down-and-out loser like him. Thinking this, he could only raise his voice and speak his mind directly.
"Anyway! Whether you want to leave, stay, or seek freedom—do whatever you want! It has nothing to do with me anymore!"
Setting aside his infuriating, unrepentant attitude, the result was that Sieg’s goal had been achieved without him realizing it.
"What do you mean ’huh’? Can’t you even understand something so simple? You really are—guh!"
With the homunculus’s merciless "ultimate pig-slaying fist," Gordes clutched his stomach and slowly slid to the ground, motionless.
"The teacher was right. For someone like you, this method really is simpler."
The homunculus girl swung her arm cheerfully, then flashed Gordes a bright smile.
"But still, thank you."
Red Faction, Hanging Gardens
A calm, sword-like chill of killing intent pierced through the entire room.
"Though I had prepared myself for being summoned away, can you explain why you chose the worst possible method?"
Shutting out Amakusa and Semiramis, when Siegfried grew truly angry, the pressure of the Dragon Slayer descended upon Reika and the others.
"I share these doubts," Artoria added. "Why push Gordes, Saber’s former Master, into the spotlight? I believe this is biased and will cause him significant psychological harm."
Faced with the two Servants’ questioning, Reika smiled helplessly. "You should understand—I’m not the one who devised this plan."
"Then call Sakatsuki out."
Under the two Servants’ insistence, Reika activated the communication spell, and the young man’s composed voice echoed in the room—clearly, he had been present all along.
"I see. You have doubts about my and Jack’s actions? Then let me explain, Siegfried. There are three reasons for carrying this out."
"The first is to take you away without arousing suspicion on our side."
"Without suspicion? You mean the method of seizing the Command Spell and Servant ownership?" Artoria asked.
The moon was bright and the stars sparse. Sakatsuki removed his robes in his private room, revealing his muscular back, and five crimson wings spread out in the mirror.
His own Command Spell. Artoria’s Command Spell.
Shakespeare’s Command Spell. Avicebron’s Command Spell.
And the newly acquired one—Siegfried’s Command Spell. Google seaʀᴄh 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮※𝓷𝓮𝓽
"Given the urgency, I directly stripped Avicebron of his Command Spell, forcing him to summon the Primordial Giant ahead of time to prevent the Black Faction from gaining absolute dominance. However, making a Servant betray their Master without their consent is bound to raise suspicions."
"Now, the Black Faction has all heard Gordes shout the words of transfer, and Siegfried disappeared right after—even if it’s not enough to make them misjudge the situation, it’s more than enough to sow doubt."
"Secondly, we can use Jack’s presence to deepen their suspicions further."
"Jack?" Reika couldn’t help but ask curiously. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"It’s simple logic. You’re just too close to see it clearly, Reika."
Sakatsuki laughed, his confident voice echoing through the room.
"Right now, do the Black or Red Factions have any idea of our existence—the Blue Faction?"