Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

Even if he dies in this Holy Grail War, he will not suffer any harm.

It was like losing a game, simply disqualifying oneself from the competition; losing in this way didn't even incur any punishment for Astolfo.

But Shirou Emiya chose to save himself at the cost of his own life.

What an unequal choice this is! To sacrifice one life to save a dispensable doppelganger—how ridiculous!

Moreover, he and Emiya Shirou didn't have a deep relationship; they were just strangers who had exchanged a few words.

At least, Astolfo, who considered himself a hero, couldn't bring himself to risk his life to save a clone like Shirou Emiya did.

He thought it was a very foolish thing to do.

But that's exactly what Shirou Emiya did. Even though they were Servants, Shirou Emiya believed that they existed above his own life.

This was a habit he couldn't change.

Astolfo walked out of the ruins, a crimson light shone from the edge, and a hawk landed in front of him.

Even with a Noble Phantasm like Atalanta's, his mount suffered not the slightest damage.

This is Astolfo's Noble Phantasm and also his mount—[The Phantom Horse That Does Not Exist in This World].

The Hippogriff is just as its name suggests, its existence is very vague, and it is not even clear whether it exists or not.

Astolfo, the rider, is a tangible being. Whenever the eagle is about to fade away, the tangible rider pulls it back. They cycle between disappearance and reappearance.

However, Astolfo was not riding a hawk at the time, and although he could not use its abilities to evade Atalanta's attacks, the hawk was able to make the perception of "non-physical existence" even stronger by displaying its power.

He elevates himself from this dimension, erasing his own existence, so that the Noble Phantasm cannot harm him at all.

Although it couldn't prevent the Noble Phantasm from harming Shirou Emiya and Astolfo.

Chapter 151 The Second Night Ends!

"Buzz!"

With a buzzing sound, emerald green magic began to surge around Achilles.

Achilles completely disregarded Spartacus's impending self-destruction, his eyes fixed solely on his burning desire to fight Arthur.

Even as the pressure mounted, his expression remained unchanged.

Since Arthur has not disappeared, there is only one thing he needs to do now.

Here, let the King of Knights retire!

Now is the perfect opportunity; Arthur is not capable of stopping the two Servants from unleashing their Noble Phantasms under his own attack.

All that could be heard was the sound of the ground cracking. A speed even faster than thunder erupted from Achilles' body, and just like before, the green light shot straight toward Arthur's position without any obstruction.

"The roar of the beast!!"

As Spartacus's laughter subsided, crimson flames engulfed his mountain-like body.

As if he had sunk completely to the bottom of the sea, the world suddenly fell silent the moment Spartacus exploded.

It was as if his terrifying light did not exist.

However, the silence lasted for less than a second.

"boom--!"

A wave of intense heat, accompanied by a deafening roar, and billowing smoke, like a sandstorm sweeping across the sky, rose from the center of the town. Crimson flames bloomed in a dazzling display, like alluring and beautiful spider lilies vying for attention.

The shockwave from the violent explosion rippled outwards from the center of the town like locusts, hurling up already collapsed buildings and sending shattered reinforced concrete raining down like a meteor shower.

The flames instantly filled the pitch-black night, and the entire town shone as brightly as the sun the moment Spartacus exploded.

Then, crimson light descended upon the land that had become ashes.

The second night finally came to an end with the final bombing, and the sun, shining slowly through the clouds, illuminated the town that had become ruins.

It also shone on a white flag that appeared from the west.

The one holding the flag was a blonde woman with an extremely determined gaze.

Before her lay an incredibly wide ravine that stretched into a deep, basin-like pit.

The entire town was deserted. Everything had been reduced to ashes in the explosion.

"What exactly happened here?"

Joan of Arc never expected to witness such a scene. If she hadn't arrived late, perhaps the town wouldn't have been destroyed.

She condemned herself in her heart.

On the plains far from the town, a battle between Servants was also taking place. Both battles were ongoing simultaneously, and Jeanne was too busy to rush over from either battlefield.

Even with such unavoidable reasons, Joan of Arc was still filled with remorse. She knelt down, clasped her hands together, faced the ruins and the entire battlefield, and began to pray.

The scene changes.

On the distant plains beyond this town, countless black steel spikes rise from the ground, and the entire area is covered with an innumerable array of gravel and potholes.

The grasslands across the entire plain seemed to have been engulfed by fierce flames, turning a scorched black under the sun's rays.

At this moment, Vlad III stood on the steel spikes that rose from the ground, his eyes fixed solemnly on the direction where the sun was rising in the distance.

Meanwhile, Saber from the Black faction, standing behind him, also looked exhausted as she plunged her sword into the ground, panting heavily.

Vlad III dispatched Rider, who had a mount, and Archer, who could provide remote support, to assist the King of Knights as quickly as possible.

He and Saber would arrive later to block Berserker's retreat, ensuring Caster would change his contract.

Although the Red team is located further away from the town where Shirou Emiya is, Achilles and Atalanta are the two fastest Heroic Spirits in Greek mythology, arriving at roughly the same time as Archer and Rider of the Black team.

After the previous battles between Shirou Emiya, Arthur, Achilles, and Atalanta, the Master of the Red Assassin would naturally not send only two Servants to support Mordred.

The red Lancer naturally went along as well, and naturally, the black Saber, Caster, and Lancer met the red Lancer.

On this plain, the three Servants began their battle.

As for Caster, he knew he couldn't participate in such a struggle, so he took on the responsibility of protecting the Black Master.

Joan of Arc, who had rushed over from the Red Army camp, immediately encountered this fierce battle. The extremely terrifying fight between the three riders forced Joan of Arc to stop in her tracks.

"Uu——!"

A cry, seemingly from some unknown creature, came from the distance. Danic, who was riding alongside Vlad III, looked in the direction of the sound.

Astolfo, covered in dust, carried the dying Shirou Emiya to Vlad III.

"Rider, where is the King of Knights?"

Vlad III glanced at Shirou Emiya, who had fallen into a complete coma, and asked Astolfo a question.

"No, I don't know, but could you treat Emiya first?"

Astolfo shook his head and looked at Danic beside him.

He didn't want Shirou Emiya to die by his own hand because of this; he would feel incredibly guilty.

After dodging Atalanta's Noble Phantasm with Shirou Emiya, Astolfo didn't hesitate for a moment. He immediately mounted his mount and left the town at top speed, his only thought being to save Shirou Emiya, who was still breathing.

Then he saw terrifying explosions flashing across the town and crimson light falling from the sky.

The powerful impact nearly caused him to lose his grip on Shirou Emiya, and Astolfo suppressed his curiosity to find out what had happened.

They immediately rushed towards Vlad III's location.

Red team – Berserker and Archer are eliminated.

Black moves – Assassin moves away from Black.

Arthur—his fate is unknown.

Chapter 152 Arthur Who Has Disappeared

"you're awake!"

Just as Shirou Emiya opened his eyes, an extremely anxious voice came from beside him.

Emiya looked in the direction of the sound, and a head of pink hair filled his vision.

"Rider?"

Emiya asked a question.

"Lie down first, about your injuries—?"

Astolfo saw Shirou Emiya trying to sit up in bed and quickly pressed him down, trying to make him lie back down.

Although he had been treated with the self-healing magic, his injuries were too severe. According to Caster's assessment, he would need at least a month of rest.

But Emiya's current energy and spirit are completely unlike that of someone who has just recovered from serious injuries.

Astolfo reached out and touched Shirou Emiya, his eyes revealing a look of complete bewilderment.

"How--?"

Before the word "me" could even be uttered, Astolfo directly pulled off the blanket covering Shirou Emiya and stared intently at the extremely strong and perfect muscles on Emiya's body.

"How did you recover so quickly!"

Astolfo examined Shirou Emiya's muscles with great care, he asked a question with a look of utter surprise.

He's just a magician, not some magical creation, Dead Apostle, Elf, or Servant. How could he have suffered such a serious injury and recovered in such a short time?

"It's probably because of my unique physical condition!"

Emiya chuckled and scratched his head, without explaining to Astolfo why he had recovered so quickly.

After all, even now, there are familiars in his room monitoring him, so he can't possibly reveal what's inside him.

This will only attract the covetousness of others.

Emiya felt the warm current flowing through his abdomen and couldn't help but let out a wry smile.

If it weren't for the thing inside his body that the orb of light mentioned, he might have died countless times already.