Davidian's Holy Grail War

Once this scroll is completed, it will form a mandatory oath, which cannot be broken even if the person dies. The object of this oath is the magic circuit. Therefore, Kenneth knows that if he gives up now, Kiritsugu Emiya will never be able to kill him. But if he does that, he will have to give up the Holy Grail and the honor of the Archibald family.

“It’s not a difficult choice. Your immediate priority is no longer winning the Holy Grail War. It’s returning to the Mage’s Association and using every means at hand to restore your magic circuits, isn’t it?” Kiritsugu said softly, leaving Kenneth in a difficult position.

Seeing Kenneth's hesitation, Kiritsugu said nothing more. Instead, he released the safety on his submachine gun.

Okay, now there's no need to choose.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Davian seized his opportunity. His Nameless Sword found a golden opening and slashed at Diarmuid's neck. If this strike landed squarely, Diarmuid would be doomed.

But suddenly someone intervened in their battle, her golden blade blocking Davian's nameless sword. Diarmuid used this opportunity to create distance, and Davian also chose to retreat.

"Oh? That's quite interesting. So you've realized I'm a threat and are planning to team up to deal with me first? That's exactly what I like." David smiled as he looked at the two people in front of him. He hadn't expected to encounter such a situation; it was a bit troublesome.

Diarmuid could clearly sense that his Master had changed; the magical energy path connecting him had been switched. Kenneth was no longer his Master, so who was his Master now? He had only been separated from him for a short while; what had happened?

He turned to look, only to see Kenneth staring at him with a helpless expression. His fiancée, Soravie, was in his arms in his wheelchair, but Diarmuid could see the deep resignation in her eyes. Clearly, he hadn't willingly relinquished his Mastership.

"By Command Spell, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, obey my command and, together with the swordsmen, defeat Davian." A cold and sinister voice emerged from the darkness. Diarmuid hadn't even seen his new master's true face before receiving this order. And from this sinister feeling, he could roughly tell who had orchestrated this.

"Oh? Judging from his appearance, he was forced. And what about you? Do you still want the Holy Grail?" Davidian blocked Diarmuid's path while simultaneously questioning Artoria. Judging from the situation, he figured he was likely forced into a two-on-one fight today.

Chapter 181 RPG!

Artoria was also quite unhappy, and she wanted to quit as well. After all, she had accepted Britain's fate and understood that their era had indeed reached its limit, and she had done enough. But when a Command Spell struck, she had no choice but to accept it. Having come this far, she still wanted to fight for her Master to the very end. Especially Kiritsugu's ideal of achieving peace for all humanity—it wasn't that she didn't want to try.

But she was still annoyed, so she remained silent during the battle. She simply joined forces with Diarmuid beside her to launch a relentless attack on Davian, who also stopped complaining. "Fine, this is a bit troublesome. But since we're already here, let's all stay."

After all, Artoria wasn't in her complete form yet; one of her hands appeared to have been injured by that deadly yellow rose. Therefore, Davidian didn't perceive Artoria as a particularly significant threat, since she wasn't in her full form.

Davidian still felt annoyed; the two of them were incredibly well-coordinated in their attacks. It was only their second time fighting together, yet they were already moving so smoothly. Even Davidian was finding it somewhat difficult; these two were truly troublesome, no wonder they were among the pinnacle of their respective eras.

[Artoria's Master is indeed something else. Seizing control of Diarmuid, and collaborating with Artoria's suppression...] Just as Davian was thinking this, bullets came from the southeast. He recognized the sound immediately as a sniper rifle. Good grief, modern weapons are joining the fray now?

A shield appeared beside him, blocking the incoming bullet. Gareth vanished immediately after his brief appearance. Davidian had actually wanted to summon Tristan alone to cut the man who was shooting from the shadows to pieces. But after thinking about it, he decided against it, hoping the man would back down and stop shooting from the shadows.

However, it seemed the other party was still unyielding; bullets continued to rain down on David in the darkness. David gradually grew angry; to be honest, he was genuinely furious.

So, fiery wings unfurled from his back, forcing the two people in front of him back. To be honest, he had a wide variety of attack methods. If he hadn't simply wanted to give Dimurdo a proper ending, he could have won the battle long ago. After all, pure melee combat and using anything else are completely different concepts.

"You, unable to unleash the full power of the Holy Sword, and Diarmuid summoned without being at his strongest class, even if the two of you attacked together, you couldn't possibly defeat me. I'll prove that now!" Devian gripped his sword with both hands and charged between the two, facing them with all his might.

He had just forced Diarmuid back when Artoria's holy sword immediately attacked him. However, the instant their swords clashed, David's Nameless Sword swiftly devoured the golden light of Excalibur. The holy power of the Star Sword was completely reduced to nothingness by this forbidden black sword. Had Artoria not immediately withdrawn her own holy sword, the Star Sword might have been completely suppressed.

But the moment she created distance, Davian launched a fierce attack, giving her no chance to breathe. His black sword, imbued with the flames of a phoenix, forced Artoria to retreat step by step. Her armor even showed signs of being scorched by the flames. Davian was no longer holding back; he wanted to win.

Diarmuid rejoined the battle, and despite it being a two-on-one situation, Davian gained the upper hand. Artoria's holy sword was completely countered by Davian's nameless sword, and neither of them were as skilled as Davian. What terrified them even more was that Davian seemed completely unconcerned about getting hurt; he was even willing to fight them to the death without a second thought.

Finally, Diarmuid revealed his weakness first. In the instant he turned around, Davian swept his nameless sword across the sheath of his holy sword, and launched his fatal attack once again!

[Void Iaijutsu! A fleeting moment of silent reading!]

The Nameless Sword ignited with a powerful flame, severing Diarmuid and his twin spears in two. Fortunately, a hint of relief flickered in Diarmuid's eyes at the end. He hadn't had a truly satisfying fight, but at least he'd died a somewhat worthy death. His only regret was not knowing what would happen to Kenneth and Sohrab after he was gone…

“You’re next, Artoria.” David pointed his holy sword at Artoria, this time showing absolutely no mercy.

However, the moment Diarmuid was defeated, Artoria's attacks became far more ferocious than before. Her left hand had finally recovered, and now she could finally unleash her full power in a fight against Davian.

Even if Excalibur were to be suppressed by Davian's Nameless Sword at the moment of contact, at least Artoria's own fighting strength had now recovered, and Davian was now feeling the pressure. Indeed, Artoria herself was stronger than the Excalibur. Davian had always had this feeling—that when everyone was alive and in full condition, the King was the strongest at the Round Table, while Lancelot and he were merely shockwaves.

Even in his current state, he couldn't claim to have a complete and unassailable advantage against Artoria in close combat. He felt that defeating Artoria would be quite difficult if he didn't reveal his other ability.

And there are already four; the container is almost full. That little girl from the Einzbern family… the most pressing matter now isn't fighting Artoria here, but taking that woman away.

He spread his wings and soared into the sky, bullets hurtling towards him, trying to force him back to the ground. However, Davian paid no heed to the onslaught of modern weaponry, casually deflecting the bullets with a swing of his sword. But this distraction gave Artoria an opportunity; she leaped forward, landing right in front of Davian and slamming him to the ground like a ball.

Struck to the ground by the heavy blow, Davidian grew increasingly agitated. He didn't know how to describe his current state; he only knew he was genuinely unhappy. Don't think that just because he's a parallel universe counterpart of King Arthur, Davidian is truly incapable of killing him!

[Phoenix Unparalleled Slash!]

The fiery orange phoenix, along with its slash, hurtled towards Artoria. Artoria, unsure if she could withstand the attack, chose to dodge without hesitation. However, Davidian, having anticipated her dodge, launched a surprise attack, slashing directly at her with his sword.

However, this seemingly inevitable strike missed its mark. This time, it wasn't just a bullet; David was forced to retreat just before it landed, narrowly avoiding the rocket-propelled grenade that had landed between them. Good grief, they even brought out an RPG! What a formidable opponent!

Chapter 182 Acquisition of the Lesser Holy Grail

The two emerged simultaneously from the smoke and dust of the explosion. David patted the dust off his clothes with his free hand. There's a saying, "If you don't court death, you won't die." He really wanted to summon the Tenth Reconnaissance Division to drag out the sniper hiding nearby and Artoria's Master, and kill them both.

But he held back; he wasn't so easily driven to madness. The explosion had prevented his fatal attack on Artoria, but it had also freed him from her attack range. The phoenix's wings unfurled behind him, and he soared into the air.

The berserker, magician, assassin, and spearman have all been defeated. Only Gilgamesh as an archer, Iskandar as a cavalryman, and Artoria as a swordsman remain. For Davian, only Gilgamesh is troublesome; the poorly armed Artoria and Iskandar, whom he has already defeated once, are not problems.

After Davian ascended and left the abandoned complex, Artoria went to find her Master. She didn't understand why Davian had left; if the fight had continued, he had a very good chance of killing everyone who opposed him. Why had he retreated?

As she found Kiritsugu Emiya, she also spotted Kenneth and Sorawie, who were already preparing to flee. Kenneth's magic circuits were essentially ruined, and repairing them would require an unknown amount of effort. Kiritsugu was too lazy to bother with him now; he didn't have time. When Davidian took off, he already knew what that guy was up to.

"There's no time, Saber! We have to get out of here immediately; that guy's target is Alice."

After saying that, Kiritsugu immediately boarded the motorcycle driven by Hisau Maiya. The two of them sped towards Irisviel's hiding place, while Artoria also entered spirit form and rushed there at her fastest speed. She knew that four Servants had fallen, the Holy Grail was about to appear, and only two more Servants were needed to fill it.

But Davian was far faster than them; he burst through the roof and into the small warehouse. Did this mere level of concealment magic really think it could stop him from spying? Looking at Irisviel lying within the magic circle, Davian slowly walked over.

"With four Servants added to your ranks, you probably don't even have the strength to stand up anymore. Poor doll, is this all the mission you have?" Davidian looked at the disposable item created by the Einzbern family on the ground, feeling pity but unable to change anything.

"Great Lord Camelot, I never imagined that you would be the first to come to my side at this moment. What a pity..." She closed her eyes, already aware of her impending fate. No one else could get here in time; it was too late.

Davidian didn't respond to her words; he simply calmly swung his sword, destroying all the magic circles before him. The Lesser Grail was inside the puppet's body; it would manifest once the weight of a single Servant was added. So, the decisive battle would take place there. But before that, he needed to ensure his victory was truly assured.

He hoisted Irisviel onto his shoulder, spread his wings, and soared away. In this Holy Grail War, only Gilgamesh's aircraft could rival his speed. Everyone else was far inferior; by the time Artoria and the others arrived, they would likely only find ruins.

When Davidon landed again, he had arrived at the Tohsaka family mansion. The surrounding security was of no use. He gently placed Alice on the ground, letting her sit against the wall. After all, her life was nearing its end, and Davidon wanted her to live comfortably.

"Oh? You brought the Lesser Grail with you? Lancer has already been killed by you, hasn't he? How fast! Because of you, the intruder, we original participants haven't been able to fight each other properly in this Holy Grail War." Gilgamesh displayed his noble demeanor. He didn't seem to have any complaints. After all, a king has his own battles, and tearing and rolling around in the mud like a wild dog is not something he should be doing.

"So you do know this woman's true colors. But never mind, there's no point in saying all this. You probably already know why I'm here. Hero King, I beg for your help. If I can secure the Holy Grail, then I will owe you a favor."

As the flames subsided, Davian revealed his true form and made a promise. For victory, for his own mission, he was now willing to bow his head and beg for the Hero King's help, even if it would leave him indebted to someone immensely.

The King of Heroes raised his head triumphantly. Although the person before him hadn't explicitly submitted, the fact that he'd made such a promise was astounding. Truly worthy of being the King of Heroes! Hmph!

"Tokiomi, you heard it too. This is what the person in front of you said, isn't he? What are you planning? To use that three-stroke Command Spell to make me commit suicide? Or are you going to force me to fight this person? Don't think that a mere one or two strokes of the Command Spell can force me to obey. Although my magic resistance as an archer is relatively average, you can't forget my equipment." Gilgamesh didn't even turn around, directly questioning Tokiomi who came out of the house.

Tokiomi was now in an awkward position. He could tell from Gilgamesh's words that Gilgamesh was more interested in the proposal from David. If he were to use a three-stroke Command Spell to force Gilgamesh to commit suicide or fight David, would he be instantly killed by David? After these past few days of battles, he had learned just how terrifying Servants were. He was just a mere modern mage; even a dozen of him wouldn't be enough for David to kill in ten seconds.

However, if Gilgamesh were to be forcibly commanded using a three-stroke Command Spell, reaching the Root would require the sacrifice of seven Servants. No matter which choice he made, he seemed trapped in a dead end.

David looked at Tokiomi, who was caught in a dilemma, and knew that he was also struggling internally. This was how magicians were; the allure of the Root was immense for them. They were willing to pay a heavy price for it, some even risking their lives.

He didn't know which category Tokiomi belonged to: one that valued his own life more, or one that valued reaching the source more. If it was the former, that was fine. If it was the latter, then it was more troublesome.

Finally, after an internal struggle, Tokiomi could only raise his hand with a wry smile, severing his connection with Gilgamesh. It seemed he had no choice but to give up this time.

“You made a wise choice.” David nodded, after all, he had done the Tokiomi family a favor. If he really had to kill Tokiomi, he would have preferred to just do it from the beginning.

As compensation, he presented Tokiomi with a magical costume he had acquired during his world travels. Tokiomi looked at the costume and accepted it with great grace. A loss on one front, a gain on another—this was quite a good outcome.

Chapter 183 The Corrupted Holy Grail

Subsequently, Davian and Gilgamesh established a bond, and when they united, they became the strongest and invincible duo in this Holy Grail War. No one could defeat them; the outcome was already decided.

"So, what's next?" The Hero King nonchalantly abandoned any thought; his job was simply to provide the physical force. Planning and strategizing weren't things he should be doing right now.

David shrugged, then transformed into a large bird and soared into the sky. The crimson flames illuminated almost half the sky; this arrogant provocation revealed his location and signaled the impending battle.

"Heh heh, that's quite arrogant, but I like this style." Gilgamesh laughed, and then the rest was simple.

Once Davidan landed on the ground, he calmly took on his responsibilities: "Then, I will handle Iskandar. After all, I said so before, and this is merely fulfilling my promise."

"Then it's up to you, King of Heroes. I owe you a favor this time, and I'll find a way to repay you." Davidian also has his own adversaries; when they return, the Holy Grail will appear, and Davidian will leave this place.

Upon hearing his words, Gilgamesh burst into laughter, saying, "Then I think the time for you to repay this favor will come in the not-too-distant future. In this matter, you still have to trust me; it's not the function of these eyes, but my intuition."

Davidian remained noncommittal. If he really had the chance to repay this favor so quickly, he would certainly be more than happy to do so, since he didn't like owing people anything.

The Hero King could tell what David was thinking just by looking at his expression. He smiled and then transformed into a golden spirit particle, heading to the road that Iskandar would inevitably take to get here to wait for him.

This Holy Grail War will come to an end tonight. Iskandar is determined to win! No one can stop him, he said!

Davidan then led Irisviel to an open area not far from the Tohsaka mansion, which was just right. Otherwise, if Artoria were to use her Noble Phantasm to bombard him, the resulting damage to the surrounding area would be enormous.

He had already sent out his signal, and the others would likely be heading towards this location. But that wasn't enough; he needed to do more to ensure they could accurately locate him.

Therefore, he released his magical information without hesitation. If a Soldier's senses were likened to radar, then within Artoria and Iskandar's perception range, he was now a beacon in the darkness; as long as they weren't blind, they would surely find him.

Sure enough, not long after, Artoria appeared in front of her.

Along with him came his gloomy Master. Davidian didn't want to comment much on this guy, but if he really had to say something, he was just a gloomy, withdrawn, antisocial madman.

If he still doesn't know what's good for him, I wouldn't mind taking his head.

"Master of the Swordsman, this Holy Grail War is already quite simple. Only three Servants remain, and I have joined forces with the Archer. He has already gone to wait for him on the road that the cavalry must take to get here, and the outcome is self-evident. Therefore, I am the only obstacle in your path to the Holy Grail. Once you defeat me, the Holy Grail will be yours."

David drew his holy sword, and the flames of the phoenix engulfed the entire battlefield. He was ready for the final battle.

Kiritsugu Emiya said no more, and the next moment he raised his submachine gun and fired a burst of bullets at David. Although the bullets were burned up by the flames before they could even get close to David, David, now at full power, was not stingy with the magical power he had accumulated over the past 1,500 years.

He must return to his own world; he must go and find his own king.

Artoria charged towards him in silence, but her expression wasn't sad; in fact, it could be described as relaxed. This was their final battle, and her competitive spirit was ignited.

Although her previous experiences were not pleasant, this final battle was surprisingly easy for her.

The two clashed again, neither holding back, and their opponent was not the kind of enemy they could defeat by holding back.